Lurker > The Mana Sword

oh, okay. Ive been wondering that for a while, everything else was pretty self explanatory

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what exactly does the blue mean in your charts Inviso

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Oh never mind, I thought you said before leg 2, not leg 2 exactly.

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Underleveled posted...

Has there ever been an NEL in Leg 2 before? I really don't think there has been off the top of my head.

Depends on if you count superlegs like S19 I guess?

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Chee & Hung to run the table as first team to get first every single leg of the season

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interesting twist to the yield

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decided to get started on season 8 and just finished the first episide

this is going to be rough

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I had Chee and Hung as my winner pick and Cody and Nathan as first out in my pre-season predictions so Im feeling great

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that felt a little underwhelming, but if it was only half an episode I guess I get it

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wheres my detour

how can I even be sure Im watching TAR if Phil isnt telling me about two tasks, each with its own pros and cons

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Claire getting wrecked by a watermelon is the Erik gives up immunity of TAR

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I think we have the same rough upper/middle/lower tiers from the season, even if there's a bit of shuffling around within the tiers.

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speaking of TAR

1. TAR5 - Colin & Christie
2. TAR2 - Oswald & Danny
3. TAR1 - Kevin & Drew
4. TAR7 - Rob & Amber
5. TAR3 - Teri & Ian
6. TAR6 - Gus & Hera
7. TAR4 - Jon & Al

I'm not completely sold on that positioning yet, 1, 3 and 7 are all pretty close for me and I think there may end up being movement there as I continue through this ranking. Anyway, I had a good time with season 7, and it was about as enjoyable as I rememebered it. I'm curious to hear why a few of you guys seem to dislike it so much. Teams were a bit of a mixed bag, but I think overall the cast was good. Obviously I'm a Romber fan, and Rob is great here. Meredith and Gretchen bumbling their way into 4th is terrific - a storyline I totally forgot about until the rewatch. Uchenna and Joyce and good, satisfying winners, probably the best ones up to this point. Brian and Greg were fairly fun for the bro-y archetype. Ron "Did you know I was in the military" and Kelly sucked, but at least they got hosed at the end. Lynn and Alex I didn't completely hate, but the anti-Romber sentiment that was running throughout the season wore a little thin after a while. I get it, given this was hot off the heels of All-Stars, but in 2020 it's a little eye rolling.

I think the biggest knock against the season is that the route actually kinda sucks. Not circumnavigating the globe is lame. They spent too long roaming around South America early in the season, and some of the legs were very linear. The leg Brian and Greg got eliminated especially stands out. It was basically a straight line with zero catch-up points because the Detours and Road Blocks were so straightforward, so they were completely dead from the start just by virtue of leaving the pit stop last. Which, whatever, it happens sometimes, but I feel like this was the first season I really noticed it.

Also yes Rob and Amber totally got hosed at the end there, but given how unbelievably lucky they were the entire race up to that point, it's hard to feel too bad. Also the fact that they already won a million bucks. And then would win another million in 6 years.

Thus concludes all the seasons I had watched on original airing for a while. The combination of Season 8 being Season 8 and me going off to college at the time had me fall off the show until Season 15, so aside from the first couple episode of All-Stars, these will all be new to me for a while, even though I do know who wins every season.

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Nicole being the first two-time winner is the ending this season deserves imo

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Listen Im going to try my best to enjoy it because I know what comes after

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I remember liking 7 well enough back in the day, but I also do actually find Rob entertaining so thats probably part of it.

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Took a while to get through this one, but TAR6 complete.

1. TAR5 - Colin & Christie
2. TAR2 - Oswald & Danny
3. TAR1 - Kevin & Drew
4. TAR3 - Teri & Ian
5. TAR6 - Gus & Hera
6. TAR4 - Jon & Al

This was probably the most interesting rewatch for me of the seasons so far. I didn't remember a ton about season 6 and I remember not caring for it that much, but it was a bit better than I recalled, certainly enough so to put it over season 4. My main problem with 6 is that it's actually just kind of exhausting to watch. The Bickering Couple factor is ratcheted up to 11, and the fact that final 6 is entire couples, most of which are constantly fighting, really drags it down. Must of the truly likable teams go out early and I would have liked to see more from some of them, specifically Lena & Kristy and Gus & Hera.

The one team that actually surprised me the most on this rewatch was Kris & Jon. There's no doubt they're relatively boring, but they are so dang wholesome next to most of the other top finishes. It's also refreshing to have a team that was actually respectful of other cultures and didn't blame everyone in other countires for not speaking English. I was definitely rooting for them in the finale. Speaking of finale, I was BLINDSIDED because in my memory I was certainy that Adam & Rebecca went out in 4th place and Hayden & Aaron made final 3. It was kind of fun to be surprised by a result that I thought I already knew. If it weren't for Reichen & Chip, Freddy & Kendra would easily be the worst winners so far. Kendra suuuuucks, and Freddy is extremely whatever. Overall, not an incredible season, but I would say I was pleasantly surprised.

it's finally romber time

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Its almost impressive how literally the worst case scenario happens every week. Like, if two months ago someone mapped out how this season could be the absolute worst at every turn, thats what actually happened.

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HoH spoilers

ugggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Nice try BB, not even Will can save this season

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It's little hard to say definitively because he stops short of finishing whatever word he was saying and it's sorta muffled, but it certainly sounds like that's the direction he was going.

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trash

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Underleveled posted...

Spencer Bledsoe would have already had that puzzle done before Julie checked back in.

BB legend moves in next door, huh? Rachel? Paul?

zingbot

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Please one of Day/David/Kevin win HoH please please please

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thats making the assumption Memphis is capable of not being a moron, which is unlikely

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imagine still watching this season

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TAR5 Complete. Lots to unpack here. Some season 31 spoilers in this writeup too in case anyone is avoiding.

1. TAR5 - Colin & Christie
2. TAR2 - Oswald & Danny
3. TAR1 - Kevin & Drew
4. TAR3 - Teri & Ian
5. TAR4 - Jon & Al

Not a terribly unpopular opinion, but this season is incredibly good - mostly due to the strength of the cast. Even the lesser teams that dropped early felt worthwhile. My recollection of this season was also pretty off on a number of things. For one - Charla and Mirna are actually kind of great. This was not my initial opinion some 15-odd years ago, but they won me over this time. Mirna's eternal victim complex still gets a little annoying at times, but they added a ton to the season. I also like Chip a lot more than I remembered too. He's more fun that I recall, even though it's really weird they let him run the race by himself this season. Linda and Karen are awesome too (this hasn't changed) and they're #2 on my list. Brandon and Nikki were less of the "dumb model" stereotype that I was expecting too, even though the Jesus shit was grating.

Colin and Christie are the last big ones. I was shocked to find out that Colin is actually not as much of a psychopath as my old memories believed. Like, yes, he's intense, but aside from the cab incident, and the Ox being broken, he's surprisingly even-keel through most of the season. To the point where they're actually a little boring through the first few episodes. This was wild to revist, and realize that he's actually not that much different from his Season 31 self, aside from slightly better frustration management skills. It's also a bit of a bummer that the end of the season came down to weird flight stuff that basically locked Chip & Kim into winning. The ending could have been so much more exciting without that 10 minute lead. The Colin & Christie loss is a bit easier to take knowing they get redemption 26 seasons later, though.

Long story short - best season, and probably stays that way through the entire run, but I suppose we'll see. Moving on, Season 6 falls in the same bucket as Season 4 in that I don't remember much, save for the existence of Jonathan & Victoria. Not particularly looking forward to this one, but maybe I'll be surprised.

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Yeah, honestly I'd rather just wait a year as opposed to have a rushed, compromised season with jumbled cast. I can live with some time off from Survivor.

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Underleveled posted...

If they really waste this week getting rid of Ian instead of Tyler...

have I got some bad news for you

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Random question -

Anyone know if theres anywhere to watch TAR 30 & 31? Prime only has 1-29, and it doesnt look like CBS All Access has any TAR for some reason.

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Yeah, Stormblood is very hit or miss. The Gyr Albania areas are boring as hell, but the Ala Mhigo story is decent. The Doma areas are great, but the story there is iffy.

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Blech, no thanks.

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TAR 4 beated.

1. TAR2 - Oswald & Danny
2. TAR1 - Kevin & Drew
3. TAR3 - Teri & Ian
4. TAR4 - Jon & Al

Bad season is bad. The finale is a rough crew when somehow David & Jeff are the most palatable team there, and they ended up completely hosing themselves. Reichen & Chip suck, and Jon & Kelly were both pretty shitty people too. Jon primarily but Kelly wasnt great either.

There were some better mid-tier teams than I remembered. Jon & Al were still best, but Tian & Jaree were pretty great too. Steve & Dave were alright too for how long they lasted.

Very excited to wash the bad taste out of my mouth with season 5.


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Yeah, I mean I understand it in that context, but it still felt a little unfair to me is all. Not that it matters.


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Finished TAR 3. Hot rankings update.

1. TAR2 - Oswald & Danny
2. TAR1 - Kevin & Drew
3. TAR3 - Teri & Ian

Flo is a monster and Zach is an unbelievable saint. Dude deserves that money even if Im not sure Id consider that a satisfying ending. Flo wasnt awful early on, but I forgot how much it ranked up until the finale where it basically exploded. Woof.

I didnt find myself particularly attached to any team this season. I think Ian crosses the line from being a likable curmudgeon into being an asshole a few too many times, but Teri is a badass. Ken and Gerard were probably a close #2. I also thought the early crusade against Derek and Drew was super weird because they...didnt seem to do anything to deserve it? I dunno.

On to season 4, which I am...uh...I cant recall anything about 4 from my original watch.

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Veto Spoilers

nice that someone outside the power alliance won, but it almost certainly means kaysar is dead this week

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Cliff Robinson passed away. RIP

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just peeked to see who noms were this week

this season is garbage

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100% agree, Wil and Tara definitely make the season and it wouldnt be what it is without them.

I think the race route is a bit more interesting than season 1, which is another treason why I give it an edge. Its also really fun to go back and watch these now that Ive traveled a bit since I was 12. I was in Sydney earlier this year and it was pretty cool to see them running around the city with me being able to recognize the places they were going.

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swordz9 posted...

Yeah, its all RNG. I wouldnt worry about it. Just play like usual and stuff will eventually level up. It takes a ton of grinding to hit 10 for all links anyways

but why do that when I can just run 23-8 forever

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It's a random percentage chance for each link at the end of any battle. The higher level the link already is, the lower the chance of leveling up. Higher stamina stages give you higher chances at getting level ups.

Basically it's entirely RNG.

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slowly been grinding out the links for my kamehameha team over the past few days

so many saibamen have died for this

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Finished my TAR 2 rewatch. Updated seasons rankings & team faves !

1. TAR 2 - Oswald & Danny
2. TAR 1 - Kevin & Drew

Wil is such an unbelievable tool, and Chris & Alex kinda suck, theyre just douchier Rob & Brennan. That being said, that finale is so damn good. The stretch from the final clue to the finish line is still heart-pounding, and Blake & Paige werent as far back as I had remembered, either.

Back when I had watched the season originally, I loved Gary & Dave. They were still good and had some funny quips and moments, but werent as prominent as I remembered. I appreciated Oswald and Danny a lot more on the rewatch so they take the edge for me now. Excited to start season 3 to reexperience Flo.


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Still hanging on at 8%, gonna be close.

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I think your attacker is completely independent of your connectors and support teams, so you should always be using your highest stat unit that falls under the bonus categories. So just keep using LR Hercule, TEQ SSJ Gotenks or EZA INT Gohan.

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the benefit is doing a 50-pull is a lot cooler than a 7-pull!

but yeah, no real reason not to wait a couple days and see what the ticket situation ends up being once the celebration starts

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Finally had a good chain battle run and hit 76m. I think thats pretty close to my theoretical maximum given my box and friends, so I guess I just cross my fingers and hope thats enough to stay top 10%.

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Black Mage doesnt get good until 60.

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Did the Babadi IDBH. Was pretty easy, although it took 22 turns so I just missed out on that mission. Probably would have been fine if I actually had the links leveled on the team I was using. Oh well.

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After flailing around for a few days I think Ive decided I dont like chain battle.

My friends are all mostly terrible and very few have optimized teams set up for this.

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