Echo hc -150 won t start
[The Best Defense] One Gian Leap 12: Prisoners of No War
2024.04.21 16:47 OGNovelNinja [The Best Defense] One Gian Leap 12: Prisoners of No War
First Previous Next
Chief Supervisor Holm Dar Date: 15.7.3.6.218 HC Location: Librarian Survey Ship Curious Observer, transiting Sector E5J7
“The Engineers report ready for voidspace traversal, Shipmaster.” Nna tapped at his controls, displaying the ship's readiness indicators.
“High tide is passed,” Holm grumbled.
“As your grandmother would say,” Nna observed, “the splashing pup catches no fish.”
“It doesn't mean we haven't wasted time with this bickering.” Holm felt his ears flatten against his scalp, remembering how he'd finally had to call the senior-most Engineer, Farmer, and Healer in for a repeat of the same briefing they'd given Sinak. “We should have been on our way periods ago.”
Normally, even a ship as small as theirs needed little more than a period to recharge their voidspace capacitors. If there had been decent infrastructure in the system, they could have tapped into beamed power from a stellar energy collector; but this far from the red dwarf primary, they'd had to rely on their internal fusion reactors. But they had been floating in System E5J7-9 for over two periods now, and it was entirely because of inter-Guild rivalries. Every one of the Guilds, even the Farmers, had been dragging their flukes over the matter with the natives. After the new power allocation forms had reached Engineer Senior Journeyman Znik Tol, however, things had simply gone downstream from there.
Now everyone on the ship knew the whole story. Holm was quite certain he'd be demoted when he returned to civilization. Well, nothing for it. He was too senior for his position anyway. It had been politics that landed him a survey assignment that should have been the responsibility of a junior supervisor at best. Now it would be politics that swept him into something else as well.
“Secure the ship for void traversal,” he ordered, shaking off his weed-gathering. “Signal Spacer Senior Journeyman Sinak to proceed when ready.”
*****
Jessica Richards Date: Is time still the same out here? Location: Big room in space
Getting kidnapped should be terrifying. Getting kidnapped by aliens, as it turned out, was mind-numbingly boring.
“I wish we know where we are going.” Chris looked out the window in the outer door. “Alien guy not very chatty.”
The window didn't hold much of a view, of course; in fact, unless you were right up against it, you couldn't even see the stars outside. The light inside their oversized prison cell just turned the glass -- or whatever the hell it was -- reflective. Lights that never turned off, either; they were on some kind of alien day-night cycle, but only dimmed rather than went out. So all they had was a small window into the infinite nothingness, four nearly-featureless walls, and a blank inner door that presumably led to the rest of the alien ship. That door had only opened a few times so far, once when their toilet arrived, and twice more when the alien excuse for food had been delivered.
“Kinda expected, really.” Pete shrugged. “We're 'prisoners with no rank.' We're not going to be told anything they consider useful intelligence.”
And there was each other, of course, but that only went so far when most of them couldn't understand each other. Jessica wasn't sure why the aliens could translated all their languages into Alienese, but they couldn't turn Portuguese into Indian or Chinese into English.
Wait, was it Indian or Hindi? Or something else? She'd have to ask. She didn't want to use the wrong term and offend Manjeet. Her college and the HR department had been very clear about the need to use appropriate terms, but she couldn't remember what it said about this. Though both had been very clear about the use of Latinx, and that hadn't gone over well. She still hadn't wanted to talk to Pete after that, much less Nash.
Zhao Hua, who was sitting with her back against one of the walls by the outer door, asked something. Jessica couldn't understand it, but from her expression the Chinese woman was concerned about her.
“I'm okay,” she assured Hua. Chris and Pete had had to tell her that 'Hua' was the other woman's given name, not her family name. That had been yet another faux pa. “I'm just a little . . . overwhelmed.”
Her life in Denver had been simple. Everything and everyone was understandable. She knew where everyone was, and who to associate with. It was comfortable. Here, though, there was no comfort. No place to sit, other than the little mats they had instead of beds. No way to rest under the lights that didn't go out. No distractions. Just the little amount of conversation they could get from each other, and the inside of their own heads.
Jessica still wanted to believe this was all a trick. Some sort of elaborate prank. Like, maybe that view out the window was a giant TV screen. The room could be human-made. And for crying out loud, the aliens used Microsoft Sam as their voice.
But that was actually what made it circle back around to being believable. Why would anyone fake something so unimpressive? And even if it was some amazingly bold reverse psychology, how could you fake this weird sideways gravity thing? Or even just reduce it to the level they were at now? They'd all tried seeing how far they could jump in the lower gravity -- well, except for Katharina Wolter, who was too egotistical for that -- and that was impossible to fake.
And mildly fun. It turned out that if you were moving, you could feel that somehow one side of the room was 'uphill.' Chris and Ricardo had tried to explain why, but it didn't make sense to Jessica. All she got was that it had to do with the direction of the spin of the ship, like when she'd tossed Ricardo's shoe. Apparently, she should have paid more attention in physics class.
Nestir, the Russian guy, was also sitting with his back against the wall, but in his case it was the wall on the “downhill” side of the room. He'd had his eyes closed like he was trying to rest, but now he jumped up, turned, and pressed his ear against the wall.
Most of them noticed, including Pete. “What is it, Nestir?”
“Slushat'.” Nestir tapped the wall.
“What?”
“Slushat'!” This time, Nestir cupped one ear. “Slushat'.”
“I don't hear anything.” Jessica looked up, too, but only saw the plain metal ceiling with its exposed pipes and lights.
“No, I get it.” Peter frowned. “Something just changed. I can feel it in the deck, too.”
“What?”
“Spend enough time afloat, you get a feel for ships. I wasn't on any of the really big ones, mind you, but big enough. Only I have no clue what this one is supposed to feel li--”
“To entering dark space this vessel is preparing.” The Aliensoft Sam voice was back. Overhead, the lights dimmed, then brightened, then dimmed, then brightened. “To secure immediately all crew from functions unnecessary. To evacuate required from compartments unsecured.”
“What's going on?” Jessica looked around, worried. The lights continued their cycle. A babble of different languages rose up, probably everyone else asking the same thing. She raised her voice. “Hey, aliens! What are you talking about?”
The German lady started yelling over her, as if determined to be the loudest voice in the room. “Ich verlange mit Ihrem Vorgesetzten zu sprechen!”
“Impressive voice, I must say,” Thando commented. “I wonder if she was an opera singer?”
“She does hit the high notes,” Manjeet agreed. “But no . . . what is word? Upasthiti. Makes audience like you.”
“Appeal?”
“Good enough. She has no appeal.”
“To entering dark space this vessel is preparing. To secure immediately all crew from functions unnecessary. To evacuate required from compartments unsecured.”
“Evacuar?” Ricardo echoed in Portuguese. “Para onde?”
“Exactly my thought,” Peter replied. “Sounds like an automated announcement. Like closing time at the store.”
“Norte.” Nash scoffed. “In Mexico, abuela kick you out store. No bother annuncio. No escucha, hit con chancla.”
“Yeah, trust me, Nash, I'd prefer we had your abuela and her shoe for backup right now.”
“I settle for abuela hit Alemán.” Nash clicked his tongue, glancing sideways at Frau Wolter, who was still yelling at the ceiling.
“Baines-san,” Chris asked, “what normally make ship sound different?”
“Could be a bunch of things. Depends on where you are and what kind of ship. But the loudest part is usually the engines.”
“If spaceship,” the Japanese kid said slowly, “is probably big engines.”
“Yeah. I thought of that.”
“So.” Thando grunted. “We are going somewhere. Good. At least it's not the same view without end.” He gestured at their only window.
“Space big,” Chris pointed out. “We have no idea how fast we are going right now. All we see are stars, yes? But aliens, they are from distant star, so must have way to go faster. Maybe big engine need time to work.”
Jessica felt worried. “Wait. I watched the Artemis blast-off. Doesn't going faster mean extra gravity?”
“Gravidade?” Ricardo asked, looking questioningly at Peter and Nash. “Não, girar.”
“Rotate?” Peter frowned. “You mean the spin gravity thing? Are they going to stop spinning?”
Jessica's eyes widened in horror, and she tried to control her breathing. “Why would they stop spinning?”
“Whatever it is,” Thando rumbled, “we got nowhere to go.”
“That's what worries me.” Pete tried to hide it, but Jessica saw his eyes flicker to the outer door. The door that apparently opened into space.
Jessica closed her eyes, trying not to hyperventilate; but the sound of choked sobs caught her attention and she opened them again. A little distance away, the Korean woman, Ji-min, was kneeling on the floor and rocking back and forth, clutching her stomach. She took a deep breath. Having a panic attack wouldn't help anyone, including herself. She forced herself to leave the knot of worried, babbling people and knelt down next to Ji-min. She'd barely talked to her -- not that she could say much -- but Ji-min seemed to have the worst time of all of the abductees, even vomiting twice into their new toilet.
“Hey.” They had almost no vocabulary in common, but Jessica hoped her tone would work. “Ji-min. I hope I'm pronouncing that right. I'm not really good with languages.”
Ji-min sniffed loudly, looking sideways at her. Not knowing what else to do, Jessica just kept talking.
“Actually, I'm terrible at languages. I studied French because, well, everyone did Spanish. Okay, and the French teacher was kinda hot. Bad mistake now, huh? I mean, unless we run into some French aliens. If my roommates were here, they'd do better. One of them loved watching K-dramas. She probably knows at least a few words in Korean. And the other one . . . well, actually, she'd probably be useless too. She's into all kinds of neo-pagan stuff. Lots of Norse runes and Egyptian gods.”
“Ihaega anne dwaeyo.” Ji-min sniffed again, but she didn't seem to be crying as much. Her arms were still wrapped around herself, but at least she was looking at Jessica.
“Yeah, I know, I'm babbling. Actually, it's all a shameless distraction. And as long as I'm busy distracting you, I can't panic either. Win-win, right?”
“Win-win?” Ji-min repeated. She nodded. “Win . . . good?”
“Oh, you know some English?” Jessica was surprised. The Korean woman had barely spoken a word since they'd woken up, only communicating with Chris in a mix of their own languages.
But Ji-min just shook her head, then started talking in Korean; hesitantly at first, but then picking up speed. Jessica kept smiling and nodding. It was only fair, right? She'd babbled in English. She couldn't complain if it went the other way.
Weirdly, though, she thought she heard a lot of familiar words in there. She didn't think there was that much shared vocabulary.
Finally, Ji-Min took a deep breath, extended one hand, and said “Jeoneun Ji-min*-imnida*. Laong taim no sei?”
It took Jessica a moment to realize those last four syllables had actually been heavily accented English -- long time no see. Yet it also sounded practiced and familiar, kind of like how Americans would say common French phrases like au contraire or c'est la vie and get them right in a very wrong kind of way.
That was a . . . weird thought. Did Korean use English the way English speakers used French?
“Hi, Ji-min.” Jessica pushed the thought away and took Ji-min's hand. She enunciated carefully. “I'm Jessica. I'm very pleased to meet you.”
Ji-min nodded. “Virry preest to meech-oo,” she repeated.
“To entering dark space this vessel is preparing. To secure immediately all crew from functions unnecessary. To evacuate required from compartments unsecured.”
Ji-min cringed at the sound, and Jessica scowled up at the ceiling. She'd been making progress, damnit!
“Hey, aliens!” She raised her voice again, though she didn't try to go as loud as the Wolter chick. Jessica figured that was unnecessary. If they could carefully aim translations directly at each one of them individually, then they could pick up what everyone was individually saying, too. So she just kept it loud enough to make it clear she was addressing them. “We can't leave, you know. So what's going on? Why does this place need to be evacuated? Is there an emergency?”
Nothing. More talking from the others, more yelling from Wolter. Then the announcement repeated itself.
Jessica finally lost control, though instead of panic she just got angry. “For fuck's sake, you slimey bug-eyed alien freaks! What kind of stupid pea-brained idiotic game are you playing? If you're going to leave us in here with absolutely nothing to do, then don't bother us with announcing how you're evacuating your dark spaces!”
Snorts of surprised laughter from Pete and Manjeet made her realize she'd gotten a bit louder than she'd intended. Her face flushed.
“Emergency none.” Aliensoft Sam was back. “Routine central processing warning is.”
“So now you talk to us? What, do I have to insult you for you to show up?”
“Negative. Preparation of transition to dark space complex is. Additional: context lacked to understand description of vegetative cerebral structure.”
It took Jessica a moment to realize what Aliensoft Sam was referring to. She sighed. “Never mind that. What the hell is going on?”
“Entering dark space we are. Negatively required for action subjects are. Danger unanticipated. Previous warning by regulation required.”
“So I was right.” At some point, Pete had come over to stand near Jessica, which gave her a start. The others were right behind him. “It's an automated announcement.”
“Correct.”
“Great.” Jessica made a face. “Most exciting thing all day, and it's just bureaucracy. Hey, aliens, when are we going to have something to do?”
“Negatively required for action subjects are. If inquiring on subsequent contact, sustenance provisions provided will be shortly. Advisement, appetite may be delayed in consequence of dark space sickness. Device/drone/Roomba dispense will after transition.”
“That's not what I -- wait, what?”
“Duties have I elsewhere. Communication this shall cease.”
“What the fuck, Sam! You can't just drop that and not explain!” Jessica waited a few seconds. “Sam! I'm talking to you!”
“Apparently he can and he will,” Pete observed. “Or can and won't. Whatever. What's with the Sam?”
Jessica shrugged. “You know, the Microsoft Sam voice?”
“Oh. Makes sense. Good a name as any, I guess.”
“At least there is good news,” Thando stated.
“What's that?” Jessica looked at him, confused.
“More food coming.” Thando patted his stomach. “I need fuel for this girlish figure.”
Jessica stared at him, then had to chuckle. He was by far the most muscled person there. “Well, if you can call it food. They've never heard of spices.”
“Very not umami,” Chris agreed.
They'd all received the same thing with each meal delivery, individually packaged for each of them, though the contents of each meal had been different so far. The last time, the food was something that looked like red carrots, had the consistency of a baked potato, and tasted like a cheap oats-and-raisins cereal bar. The kind you choked down because it was “health food,” while dreaming of a bowl of pasta. At least, that's what Jessica did, but she really liked pasta. She wondered if she'd ever taste it again.
Supposedly the food met their dietary requirements. After the bizarre pronouncement about this 'hegemony' thing and denying even the basic concept of human rights, Aliensoft Sam had just calmly went off on a surreal series of questions about their dietary needs. It leaned so far into organic chemistry that Ricardo and Manjeet -- who turned out to be a pharmacist -- were the only ones who understood it. Even then, they'd been unable to communicate with each other, so they'd both gotten very frustrated.
“It's probably shipboard rations,” Peter suggested. “Or they gave us the dregs, since we're prisoners. But I've had worse MREs.”
“Si.” Nash laughed. “Em-ahr-ay! Recientemente excreta. Har'ed comprende. Food is . . . no es aceptable, en mi hotel.”
“'Har'ed?” Jessica had gotten most of it, but that was a Spanish word she'd never encountered.
“He means me,” Peter explained. “Jarhead. You know, my . . . job?”
“Oh.” She nodded. Peter had been avoiding talking about what he was. She figured it was a soldier thing. Don't give the enemy information. Not that they didn't already know. How clueless would the aliens have to be to miss something so obvious?
“To move from doors native subjects must. No toleration shall be of interference in device/drone/Roomba.”
It was Aliensoft Sam again, but another recorded announcement -- one they'd all heard several times by now, including the stuttering translation of whatever Alienese word they used for the delivery robot. The other door, the one without a window in it, slowly started sliding to the side. The first time it happened, they'd all backed away nervously; now, only Peter, Nash, and Thando moved, conspicuously standing between the door and Jessica, Ji-min, and Hua.
"That's not really necessary, you know," Jessica told them.
"If we get attacked by a mob of schoolchildren, I'll gladly hide behind you," Peter snarked back. "Until then, I'll do my job."
Jessica let it slide. It wasn't like they had a lot of other things to do, after all. If he and the other two wanted to play at being heroes, fine. Though she had to admit it was still weird to see Nash acting protective. Or maybe he was just spoiling for a fight.
The other side of the door was a small space, just large enough for the form waiting inside. It was a boxy, practical shape, about three and a half feet tall and a bit more than that long. It looked a lot like a grocery store cleaning robot with a retractable forklift. With a nearly-silent whirr, it started rolling forward on four wheels. Not hover jets, not mechanical spider legs, not anything exotic. Just wheels.
Frankly, Jessica found the design disappointing. The aliens seemed kinda low-effort.
Normally, the drone made its delivery and left; this time, the inner airlock door closed, shutting the robot in with them. They all looked at each other, confused.
"Well, Sam did say it wait until after dark space," Chris pointed out.
"What is dark space?" Manjeet asked.
"I think it hyperspace."
Jessica perked up. "Like in Star Wars?" Finally, a term she recognized.
"You've seen Star Wars?" Pete looked skeptical.
"Just the most recent one, but yeah."
Chris made a face. "Does not count."
"Have to agree." Manjeet nodded.
"Dark space transition in one span," Aliensoft Sam intoned.
Pete frowned. "That would be more useful if we knew how long a 'span' was."
A beat later, the alien computer said, "Eleven."
"Why'd it start with eleven?" Jessica wondered out loud.
"Hyperspace!" Chris ran to the outer door to look out the window.
"Ten."
"A span does not seem very long," Manjeet observed.
"Nine," said Aliensoft Sam. "Eight."
Or perhaps Jessica should think of it as Auto-Sam? Computer Sam? It would be helpful if the voice had even a little variation when different people were speaking. Or maybe there was only one alien on the ship?
They crowded around the window, even Katharina Wolter, though she used her elbows to muscle her way to the front. Jessica hung back instead. She had a hard time looking out into that endless depth of stars as it was. She wasn't sure she could handle whatever was about to happen.
"One," Auto-Sam finished. "Transition."
There was a rolling flash of light outside the window, like a bolt of lightning on a cloudy night. Then . . .
Jessica staggered as a wave of dizziness washed over her. Everyone else had similar reactions.
". . . que?"
"Ho kya rha hai . . . ?"
"The fuck is happening?"
"Chikushō!"
Was this what Alien Sam had mentioned? Dark space sickness? Jessica shook her head. She felt like the room was spinning, but she fell back on her old dance team days. Focus on one point. Keep steady. The most obvious point in her vision was the window to the outside, so she stared at the darkness she'd been avoiding a moment before. She forced herself to straighten up and breathe. The dizziness didn't quite fade, but she was able to push it aside for now. Hopefully it wouldn't last very--
Another rolling flash outside, and the dizziness was over as fast as it had come.
"Everyone okay?" she called out, carefully moving her head. There was a little bit of wooziness as she did so, but it quickly faded. Those who understood her answered in affirmatives. "Okay. Hey, aliens! What just happened?"
No answer.
"Fine. Hey, you sons of flea-spotted syphilitic hyenas!"
Still nothing.
"Get your diminutive vegetative cerebral organs in here!"
"Oh, nice one!" Chris congratulated her.
Pete shrugged. "Might have overplayed it."
"Worth a shot," Jessica said. "Insulting them seemed to work the last few times."
"It's usually not a great idea to antagonize the warden."
The abductees slowly started spreading out again, though the English speakers still grouped together. Jessica watched as Nestir wandered over to the delivery drone and started examining it. Previously, when it had dropped its cargo and immediately left, they hadn't had much chance to look at it. Nestir seemed to be making up for that now, even going so far as to lay down on the floor to try to look at the undercarriage. She didn't see anything unusual about it, just some designs on the outside that were either alien letters or abstract modern art, though she couldn't rule out a verdict of 'both.'
Thando grunted. "Nestir looks like he's going to try to take it apart."
"He's bored," Pete answered. "We're all bored, but I get the feeling he's the kind of guy who tinkers in his garage instead of watching TV. Let him have this."
"Hmm." Jessica thought about that. "We need activities. That was only the first time we did that . . . 'dark space' thing. Who knows how long we're going to be cooped up? Or even if they'll give us any magazines or something. So we need stuff to do."
"You mean like school activity?" Chris asked, doubtful.
But Pete was nodding. "Yeah, keeping busy is important. Though in . . . my line of work, we mostly do that to keep out of trouble. Not really an issue here."
"And in your 'job,' you know how to conduct exercises, right?"
Pete eyed her. "Physical training exercises, or . . ."
"What other kind is there?"
"The kind with lots of marching and map-reading."
"I'm just thinking we could use some organized activity, and that's at least good for our health, right?"
"Sure, but getting everyone to agree will be--
Pete broke off as Nestir seemed to have gotten close enough to trigger the drone. It opened a compartment on its side, revealing eleven identical containers of identical yet unidentified substances.
"Native subjects to take sustenance," Aliensoft Sam announced. "Caution recovery from dark space sickness. Place discards in pile when finished are."
The eleven squared-off bowls were gently lowered onto the floor. The drone then turned precisely in place and headed for the door again, scooping up the empties from the last meal as it did so. The airlock door opened to let it out.
"So much for that." Jessica sighed again. "Well, who's hungry?"
Without waiting for an answer, she scooped up two containers and headed over to Ji-Min, who was sitting alone once more. She wasn't sure how much she could do, but she was going to try for more progress.
"Here, Ji-min!" she said brightly, handing her one. The other woman stared at it. "Not sure what we have today. This one looks kinda like . . ."
Abruptly, Ji-min dropped the food, rose unsteadily, and rushed for the toilet. The others turned at the sudden movement, but when they saw where she was headed, they all looked away. The toilet hadn't come with any privacy screens, and everyone had silently agreed to just turn their backs when anyone was using it.
But after a moment, Jessica followed. The sound of Ji-Min's retching made it clear she wasn't using it as intended, anyway, and she'd held roommates' hair back enough times after late-night parties to know that maybe the other woman could use a friend. Ji-min had short hair, but that didn't mean a hand on her back wouldn't help.
"Hey, sorry, Ji-min," she said softly when she got to her side. "I guess you were still a bit dizzy from the whatever-it-was. I guess this is the 'dark space sickness,' huh?"
Gasping for breath, Ji-min rocked back on her knees, leaning against the toilet seat with one arm, rubbing her stomach with the other. She moaned something, but Jessica couldn't even make out individual syllables, much less any words.
"It's okay. Take your time." Jessica reached out for her, and Ji-min flinched. Jessica hesitated, but after some hesitation, Ji-min nodded her thanks and leaned against her.
Jessica noticed the small but fresh stain on Ji-min's blouse. It was a simple white button-down, still mostly tucked into her business-like pencil skirt. It must have caught some backblast. She made a mental note to ask the aliens about some kind of laundry service. Maybe some new clothes -- they made a whole toilet, so surely they could make clothing.
"Gomawo," Ji-min said, after a false start where she had to cough and clear her throat. "Gomawo. Th-thaan-ku? Thann-ku."
"You're welcome." Jessica smiled at her.
But, still distracted by the stain on Ji-min's blouse, she saw something else. Or rather, realized what she was already seeing. Ji-min wasn't just holding her hand on her abdomen. She was tracing an unconscious, comforting circle. Not high, where her stomach was; but lower. Much lower.
Ji-min's hand froze, and Jessica raised her eyes to see the other woman looking at her, an expression of such fear that she almost recoiled. But then her brain caught up, and she realized that whatever 'dark space sickness' was, Ji-min did not have it.
"It's okay, Ji-min," Jessica said, aware of her own voice shaking with sudden trepidation. She mouthed the words that she didn't really believe, but had to say. "It's okay . . ."
Oh, crap, she thought to herself. I hope one of us knows how to deliver a baby.
*****
Deputy Supervisor Nna Tss Date: 22.7.3.6.218 HC Location: Librarian Survey Ship Curious Observer, transiting Sector E5J7
Tsirlan physiology was less susceptible to the physical effects of void sickness. One had to be quite careless to injure one's self during an unsecured transit. However, regulation was regulation, and there was no reason not to observe the forms by strapping into a smart chair molded to his body.
Besides, the straps against his carapace allowed him to avoid betraying the symptoms those of his species did experience, namely the prolonged daze and potential hallucinations that were an unavoidable aspect of void travel. It was most disconcerting, and the mere fact that every known unaugmented sentient save one experienced it was no excuse for not displaying the proper leadership one of his rank and position should.
The other members of the Librarian command team were still limp in their own smart chairs, some of them twitching unconsciously. Nna had left the feed from the cargo hold live on his station, though in a smaller holographic display since his first duty was to check the surrounding space for any --
A glance at the cargo bay feed with just two eyes soon turned into all six staring at the information. The natives were upright and . . . eating? How? The absurd thought that he was accidentally watching a recording was quickly disproven as he verified the feed. Most sentients required extensive training to avoid emptying their digestive organs. Perhaps one or two of the natives could be well enough to eat, but all of them? No, nine of them . . . it appeared Subject Two was still suffering the effects, and Subject Nine was assisting her.
With an appendage still trembling from the effects of the traversal, Nna backed the recording up to the moment of the traversal, and felt the phantom sensation of a cold trickle down both of his spines. Subject Two was not suffering from void sickness. Her symptoms only started well after the traversal was completed. In fact, none of the natives showed any but the barest reaction.
It was impossible. No amount of training could resist the effects of the void, even with the strongest void shields in place. That was why he had set the automated servitor to wait until the subjects indicated they were ready for sustenance. Only a trained psychic with the proper implants, or the bio-engineered Xgrar servitors of the Domination, were known to be so resistant.
It was impossible . . . like so many things about the natives.
Further study, thought Nna, is required.
submitted by OGNovelNinja to HFY [link] [comments]
Chief Supervisor Holm Dar Date: 15.7.3.6.218 HC Location: Librarian Survey Ship Curious Observer, transiting Sector E5J7
“The Engineers report ready for voidspace traversal, Shipmaster.” Nna tapped at his controls, displaying the ship's readiness indicators.
“High tide is passed,” Holm grumbled.
“As your grandmother would say,” Nna observed, “the splashing pup catches no fish.”
“It doesn't mean we haven't wasted time with this bickering.” Holm felt his ears flatten against his scalp, remembering how he'd finally had to call the senior-most Engineer, Farmer, and Healer in for a repeat of the same briefing they'd given Sinak. “We should have been on our way periods ago.”
Normally, even a ship as small as theirs needed little more than a period to recharge their voidspace capacitors. If there had been decent infrastructure in the system, they could have tapped into beamed power from a stellar energy collector; but this far from the red dwarf primary, they'd had to rely on their internal fusion reactors. But they had been floating in System E5J7-9 for over two periods now, and it was entirely because of inter-Guild rivalries. Every one of the Guilds, even the Farmers, had been dragging their flukes over the matter with the natives. After the new power allocation forms had reached Engineer Senior Journeyman Znik Tol, however, things had simply gone downstream from there.
Now everyone on the ship knew the whole story. Holm was quite certain he'd be demoted when he returned to civilization. Well, nothing for it. He was too senior for his position anyway. It had been politics that landed him a survey assignment that should have been the responsibility of a junior supervisor at best. Now it would be politics that swept him into something else as well.
“Secure the ship for void traversal,” he ordered, shaking off his weed-gathering. “Signal Spacer Senior Journeyman Sinak to proceed when ready.”
*****
Jessica Richards Date: Is time still the same out here? Location: Big room in space
Getting kidnapped should be terrifying. Getting kidnapped by aliens, as it turned out, was mind-numbingly boring.
“I wish we know where we are going.” Chris looked out the window in the outer door. “Alien guy not very chatty.”
The window didn't hold much of a view, of course; in fact, unless you were right up against it, you couldn't even see the stars outside. The light inside their oversized prison cell just turned the glass -- or whatever the hell it was -- reflective. Lights that never turned off, either; they were on some kind of alien day-night cycle, but only dimmed rather than went out. So all they had was a small window into the infinite nothingness, four nearly-featureless walls, and a blank inner door that presumably led to the rest of the alien ship. That door had only opened a few times so far, once when their toilet arrived, and twice more when the alien excuse for food had been delivered.
“Kinda expected, really.” Pete shrugged. “We're 'prisoners with no rank.' We're not going to be told anything they consider useful intelligence.”
And there was each other, of course, but that only went so far when most of them couldn't understand each other. Jessica wasn't sure why the aliens could translated all their languages into Alienese, but they couldn't turn Portuguese into Indian or Chinese into English.
Wait, was it Indian or Hindi? Or something else? She'd have to ask. She didn't want to use the wrong term and offend Manjeet. Her college and the HR department had been very clear about the need to use appropriate terms, but she couldn't remember what it said about this. Though both had been very clear about the use of Latinx, and that hadn't gone over well. She still hadn't wanted to talk to Pete after that, much less Nash.
Zhao Hua, who was sitting with her back against one of the walls by the outer door, asked something. Jessica couldn't understand it, but from her expression the Chinese woman was concerned about her.
“I'm okay,” she assured Hua. Chris and Pete had had to tell her that 'Hua' was the other woman's given name, not her family name. That had been yet another faux pa. “I'm just a little . . . overwhelmed.”
Her life in Denver had been simple. Everything and everyone was understandable. She knew where everyone was, and who to associate with. It was comfortable. Here, though, there was no comfort. No place to sit, other than the little mats they had instead of beds. No way to rest under the lights that didn't go out. No distractions. Just the little amount of conversation they could get from each other, and the inside of their own heads.
Jessica still wanted to believe this was all a trick. Some sort of elaborate prank. Like, maybe that view out the window was a giant TV screen. The room could be human-made. And for crying out loud, the aliens used Microsoft Sam as their voice.
But that was actually what made it circle back around to being believable. Why would anyone fake something so unimpressive? And even if it was some amazingly bold reverse psychology, how could you fake this weird sideways gravity thing? Or even just reduce it to the level they were at now? They'd all tried seeing how far they could jump in the lower gravity -- well, except for Katharina Wolter, who was too egotistical for that -- and that was impossible to fake.
And mildly fun. It turned out that if you were moving, you could feel that somehow one side of the room was 'uphill.' Chris and Ricardo had tried to explain why, but it didn't make sense to Jessica. All she got was that it had to do with the direction of the spin of the ship, like when she'd tossed Ricardo's shoe. Apparently, she should have paid more attention in physics class.
Nestir, the Russian guy, was also sitting with his back against the wall, but in his case it was the wall on the “downhill” side of the room. He'd had his eyes closed like he was trying to rest, but now he jumped up, turned, and pressed his ear against the wall.
Most of them noticed, including Pete. “What is it, Nestir?”
“Slushat'.” Nestir tapped the wall.
“What?”
“Slushat'!” This time, Nestir cupped one ear. “Slushat'.”
“I don't hear anything.” Jessica looked up, too, but only saw the plain metal ceiling with its exposed pipes and lights.
“No, I get it.” Peter frowned. “Something just changed. I can feel it in the deck, too.”
“What?”
“Spend enough time afloat, you get a feel for ships. I wasn't on any of the really big ones, mind you, but big enough. Only I have no clue what this one is supposed to feel li--”
“To entering dark space this vessel is preparing.” The Aliensoft Sam voice was back. Overhead, the lights dimmed, then brightened, then dimmed, then brightened. “To secure immediately all crew from functions unnecessary. To evacuate required from compartments unsecured.”
“What's going on?” Jessica looked around, worried. The lights continued their cycle. A babble of different languages rose up, probably everyone else asking the same thing. She raised her voice. “Hey, aliens! What are you talking about?”
The German lady started yelling over her, as if determined to be the loudest voice in the room. “Ich verlange mit Ihrem Vorgesetzten zu sprechen!”
“Impressive voice, I must say,” Thando commented. “I wonder if she was an opera singer?”
“She does hit the high notes,” Manjeet agreed. “But no . . . what is word? Upasthiti. Makes audience like you.”
“Appeal?”
“Good enough. She has no appeal.”
“To entering dark space this vessel is preparing. To secure immediately all crew from functions unnecessary. To evacuate required from compartments unsecured.”
“Evacuar?” Ricardo echoed in Portuguese. “Para onde?”
“Exactly my thought,” Peter replied. “Sounds like an automated announcement. Like closing time at the store.”
“Norte.” Nash scoffed. “In Mexico, abuela kick you out store. No bother annuncio. No escucha, hit con chancla.”
“Yeah, trust me, Nash, I'd prefer we had your abuela and her shoe for backup right now.”
“I settle for abuela hit Alemán.” Nash clicked his tongue, glancing sideways at Frau Wolter, who was still yelling at the ceiling.
“Baines-san,” Chris asked, “what normally make ship sound different?”
“Could be a bunch of things. Depends on where you are and what kind of ship. But the loudest part is usually the engines.”
“If spaceship,” the Japanese kid said slowly, “is probably big engines.”
“Yeah. I thought of that.”
“So.” Thando grunted. “We are going somewhere. Good. At least it's not the same view without end.” He gestured at their only window.
“Space big,” Chris pointed out. “We have no idea how fast we are going right now. All we see are stars, yes? But aliens, they are from distant star, so must have way to go faster. Maybe big engine need time to work.”
Jessica felt worried. “Wait. I watched the Artemis blast-off. Doesn't going faster mean extra gravity?”
“Gravidade?” Ricardo asked, looking questioningly at Peter and Nash. “Não, girar.”
“Rotate?” Peter frowned. “You mean the spin gravity thing? Are they going to stop spinning?”
Jessica's eyes widened in horror, and she tried to control her breathing. “Why would they stop spinning?”
“Whatever it is,” Thando rumbled, “we got nowhere to go.”
“That's what worries me.” Pete tried to hide it, but Jessica saw his eyes flicker to the outer door. The door that apparently opened into space.
Jessica closed her eyes, trying not to hyperventilate; but the sound of choked sobs caught her attention and she opened them again. A little distance away, the Korean woman, Ji-min, was kneeling on the floor and rocking back and forth, clutching her stomach. She took a deep breath. Having a panic attack wouldn't help anyone, including herself. She forced herself to leave the knot of worried, babbling people and knelt down next to Ji-min. She'd barely talked to her -- not that she could say much -- but Ji-min seemed to have the worst time of all of the abductees, even vomiting twice into their new toilet.
“Hey.” They had almost no vocabulary in common, but Jessica hoped her tone would work. “Ji-min. I hope I'm pronouncing that right. I'm not really good with languages.”
Ji-min sniffed loudly, looking sideways at her. Not knowing what else to do, Jessica just kept talking.
“Actually, I'm terrible at languages. I studied French because, well, everyone did Spanish. Okay, and the French teacher was kinda hot. Bad mistake now, huh? I mean, unless we run into some French aliens. If my roommates were here, they'd do better. One of them loved watching K-dramas. She probably knows at least a few words in Korean. And the other one . . . well, actually, she'd probably be useless too. She's into all kinds of neo-pagan stuff. Lots of Norse runes and Egyptian gods.”
“Ihaega anne dwaeyo.” Ji-min sniffed again, but she didn't seem to be crying as much. Her arms were still wrapped around herself, but at least she was looking at Jessica.
“Yeah, I know, I'm babbling. Actually, it's all a shameless distraction. And as long as I'm busy distracting you, I can't panic either. Win-win, right?”
“Win-win?” Ji-min repeated. She nodded. “Win . . . good?”
“Oh, you know some English?” Jessica was surprised. The Korean woman had barely spoken a word since they'd woken up, only communicating with Chris in a mix of their own languages.
But Ji-min just shook her head, then started talking in Korean; hesitantly at first, but then picking up speed. Jessica kept smiling and nodding. It was only fair, right? She'd babbled in English. She couldn't complain if it went the other way.
Weirdly, though, she thought she heard a lot of familiar words in there. She didn't think there was that much shared vocabulary.
Finally, Ji-Min took a deep breath, extended one hand, and said “Jeoneun Ji-min*-imnida*. Laong taim no sei?”
It took Jessica a moment to realize those last four syllables had actually been heavily accented English -- long time no see. Yet it also sounded practiced and familiar, kind of like how Americans would say common French phrases like au contraire or c'est la vie and get them right in a very wrong kind of way.
That was a . . . weird thought. Did Korean use English the way English speakers used French?
“Hi, Ji-min.” Jessica pushed the thought away and took Ji-min's hand. She enunciated carefully. “I'm Jessica. I'm very pleased to meet you.”
Ji-min nodded. “Virry preest to meech-oo,” she repeated.
“To entering dark space this vessel is preparing. To secure immediately all crew from functions unnecessary. To evacuate required from compartments unsecured.”
Ji-min cringed at the sound, and Jessica scowled up at the ceiling. She'd been making progress, damnit!
“Hey, aliens!” She raised her voice again, though she didn't try to go as loud as the Wolter chick. Jessica figured that was unnecessary. If they could carefully aim translations directly at each one of them individually, then they could pick up what everyone was individually saying, too. So she just kept it loud enough to make it clear she was addressing them. “We can't leave, you know. So what's going on? Why does this place need to be evacuated? Is there an emergency?”
Nothing. More talking from the others, more yelling from Wolter. Then the announcement repeated itself.
Jessica finally lost control, though instead of panic she just got angry. “For fuck's sake, you slimey bug-eyed alien freaks! What kind of stupid pea-brained idiotic game are you playing? If you're going to leave us in here with absolutely nothing to do, then don't bother us with announcing how you're evacuating your dark spaces!”
Snorts of surprised laughter from Pete and Manjeet made her realize she'd gotten a bit louder than she'd intended. Her face flushed.
“Emergency none.” Aliensoft Sam was back. “Routine central processing warning is.”
“So now you talk to us? What, do I have to insult you for you to show up?”
“Negative. Preparation of transition to dark space complex is. Additional: context lacked to understand description of vegetative cerebral structure.”
It took Jessica a moment to realize what Aliensoft Sam was referring to. She sighed. “Never mind that. What the hell is going on?”
“Entering dark space we are. Negatively required for action subjects are. Danger unanticipated. Previous warning by regulation required.”
“So I was right.” At some point, Pete had come over to stand near Jessica, which gave her a start. The others were right behind him. “It's an automated announcement.”
“Correct.”
“Great.” Jessica made a face. “Most exciting thing all day, and it's just bureaucracy. Hey, aliens, when are we going to have something to do?”
“Negatively required for action subjects are. If inquiring on subsequent contact, sustenance provisions provided will be shortly. Advisement, appetite may be delayed in consequence of dark space sickness. Device/drone/Roomba dispense will after transition.”
“That's not what I -- wait, what?”
“Duties have I elsewhere. Communication this shall cease.”
“What the fuck, Sam! You can't just drop that and not explain!” Jessica waited a few seconds. “Sam! I'm talking to you!”
“Apparently he can and he will,” Pete observed. “Or can and won't. Whatever. What's with the Sam?”
Jessica shrugged. “You know, the Microsoft Sam voice?”
“Oh. Makes sense. Good a name as any, I guess.”
“At least there is good news,” Thando stated.
“What's that?” Jessica looked at him, confused.
“More food coming.” Thando patted his stomach. “I need fuel for this girlish figure.”
Jessica stared at him, then had to chuckle. He was by far the most muscled person there. “Well, if you can call it food. They've never heard of spices.”
“Very not umami,” Chris agreed.
They'd all received the same thing with each meal delivery, individually packaged for each of them, though the contents of each meal had been different so far. The last time, the food was something that looked like red carrots, had the consistency of a baked potato, and tasted like a cheap oats-and-raisins cereal bar. The kind you choked down because it was “health food,” while dreaming of a bowl of pasta. At least, that's what Jessica did, but she really liked pasta. She wondered if she'd ever taste it again.
Supposedly the food met their dietary requirements. After the bizarre pronouncement about this 'hegemony' thing and denying even the basic concept of human rights, Aliensoft Sam had just calmly went off on a surreal series of questions about their dietary needs. It leaned so far into organic chemistry that Ricardo and Manjeet -- who turned out to be a pharmacist -- were the only ones who understood it. Even then, they'd been unable to communicate with each other, so they'd both gotten very frustrated.
“It's probably shipboard rations,” Peter suggested. “Or they gave us the dregs, since we're prisoners. But I've had worse MREs.”
“Si.” Nash laughed. “Em-ahr-ay! Recientemente excreta. Har'ed comprende. Food is . . . no es aceptable, en mi hotel.”
“'Har'ed?” Jessica had gotten most of it, but that was a Spanish word she'd never encountered.
“He means me,” Peter explained. “Jarhead. You know, my . . . job?”
“Oh.” She nodded. Peter had been avoiding talking about what he was. She figured it was a soldier thing. Don't give the enemy information. Not that they didn't already know. How clueless would the aliens have to be to miss something so obvious?
“To move from doors native subjects must. No toleration shall be of interference in device/drone/Roomba.”
It was Aliensoft Sam again, but another recorded announcement -- one they'd all heard several times by now, including the stuttering translation of whatever Alienese word they used for the delivery robot. The other door, the one without a window in it, slowly started sliding to the side. The first time it happened, they'd all backed away nervously; now, only Peter, Nash, and Thando moved, conspicuously standing between the door and Jessica, Ji-min, and Hua.
"That's not really necessary, you know," Jessica told them.
"If we get attacked by a mob of schoolchildren, I'll gladly hide behind you," Peter snarked back. "Until then, I'll do my job."
Jessica let it slide. It wasn't like they had a lot of other things to do, after all. If he and the other two wanted to play at being heroes, fine. Though she had to admit it was still weird to see Nash acting protective. Or maybe he was just spoiling for a fight.
The other side of the door was a small space, just large enough for the form waiting inside. It was a boxy, practical shape, about three and a half feet tall and a bit more than that long. It looked a lot like a grocery store cleaning robot with a retractable forklift. With a nearly-silent whirr, it started rolling forward on four wheels. Not hover jets, not mechanical spider legs, not anything exotic. Just wheels.
Frankly, Jessica found the design disappointing. The aliens seemed kinda low-effort.
Normally, the drone made its delivery and left; this time, the inner airlock door closed, shutting the robot in with them. They all looked at each other, confused.
"Well, Sam did say it wait until after dark space," Chris pointed out.
"What is dark space?" Manjeet asked.
"I think it hyperspace."
Jessica perked up. "Like in Star Wars?" Finally, a term she recognized.
"You've seen Star Wars?" Pete looked skeptical.
"Just the most recent one, but yeah."
Chris made a face. "Does not count."
"Have to agree." Manjeet nodded.
"Dark space transition in one span," Aliensoft Sam intoned.
Pete frowned. "That would be more useful if we knew how long a 'span' was."
A beat later, the alien computer said, "Eleven."
"Why'd it start with eleven?" Jessica wondered out loud.
"Hyperspace!" Chris ran to the outer door to look out the window.
"Ten."
"A span does not seem very long," Manjeet observed.
"Nine," said Aliensoft Sam. "Eight."
Or perhaps Jessica should think of it as Auto-Sam? Computer Sam? It would be helpful if the voice had even a little variation when different people were speaking. Or maybe there was only one alien on the ship?
They crowded around the window, even Katharina Wolter, though she used her elbows to muscle her way to the front. Jessica hung back instead. She had a hard time looking out into that endless depth of stars as it was. She wasn't sure she could handle whatever was about to happen.
"One," Auto-Sam finished. "Transition."
There was a rolling flash of light outside the window, like a bolt of lightning on a cloudy night. Then . . .
Jessica staggered as a wave of dizziness washed over her. Everyone else had similar reactions.
". . . que?"
"Ho kya rha hai . . . ?"
"The fuck is happening?"
"Chikushō!"
Was this what Alien Sam had mentioned? Dark space sickness? Jessica shook her head. She felt like the room was spinning, but she fell back on her old dance team days. Focus on one point. Keep steady. The most obvious point in her vision was the window to the outside, so she stared at the darkness she'd been avoiding a moment before. She forced herself to straighten up and breathe. The dizziness didn't quite fade, but she was able to push it aside for now. Hopefully it wouldn't last very--
Another rolling flash outside, and the dizziness was over as fast as it had come.
"Everyone okay?" she called out, carefully moving her head. There was a little bit of wooziness as she did so, but it quickly faded. Those who understood her answered in affirmatives. "Okay. Hey, aliens! What just happened?"
No answer.
"Fine. Hey, you sons of flea-spotted syphilitic hyenas!"
Still nothing.
"Get your diminutive vegetative cerebral organs in here!"
"Oh, nice one!" Chris congratulated her.
Pete shrugged. "Might have overplayed it."
"Worth a shot," Jessica said. "Insulting them seemed to work the last few times."
"It's usually not a great idea to antagonize the warden."
The abductees slowly started spreading out again, though the English speakers still grouped together. Jessica watched as Nestir wandered over to the delivery drone and started examining it. Previously, when it had dropped its cargo and immediately left, they hadn't had much chance to look at it. Nestir seemed to be making up for that now, even going so far as to lay down on the floor to try to look at the undercarriage. She didn't see anything unusual about it, just some designs on the outside that were either alien letters or abstract modern art, though she couldn't rule out a verdict of 'both.'
Thando grunted. "Nestir looks like he's going to try to take it apart."
"He's bored," Pete answered. "We're all bored, but I get the feeling he's the kind of guy who tinkers in his garage instead of watching TV. Let him have this."
"Hmm." Jessica thought about that. "We need activities. That was only the first time we did that . . . 'dark space' thing. Who knows how long we're going to be cooped up? Or even if they'll give us any magazines or something. So we need stuff to do."
"You mean like school activity?" Chris asked, doubtful.
But Pete was nodding. "Yeah, keeping busy is important. Though in . . . my line of work, we mostly do that to keep out of trouble. Not really an issue here."
"And in your 'job,' you know how to conduct exercises, right?"
Pete eyed her. "Physical training exercises, or . . ."
"What other kind is there?"
"The kind with lots of marching and map-reading."
"I'm just thinking we could use some organized activity, and that's at least good for our health, right?"
"Sure, but getting everyone to agree will be--
Pete broke off as Nestir seemed to have gotten close enough to trigger the drone. It opened a compartment on its side, revealing eleven identical containers of identical yet unidentified substances.
"Native subjects to take sustenance," Aliensoft Sam announced. "Caution recovery from dark space sickness. Place discards in pile when finished are."
The eleven squared-off bowls were gently lowered onto the floor. The drone then turned precisely in place and headed for the door again, scooping up the empties from the last meal as it did so. The airlock door opened to let it out.
"So much for that." Jessica sighed again. "Well, who's hungry?"
Without waiting for an answer, she scooped up two containers and headed over to Ji-Min, who was sitting alone once more. She wasn't sure how much she could do, but she was going to try for more progress.
"Here, Ji-min!" she said brightly, handing her one. The other woman stared at it. "Not sure what we have today. This one looks kinda like . . ."
Abruptly, Ji-min dropped the food, rose unsteadily, and rushed for the toilet. The others turned at the sudden movement, but when they saw where she was headed, they all looked away. The toilet hadn't come with any privacy screens, and everyone had silently agreed to just turn their backs when anyone was using it.
But after a moment, Jessica followed. The sound of Ji-Min's retching made it clear she wasn't using it as intended, anyway, and she'd held roommates' hair back enough times after late-night parties to know that maybe the other woman could use a friend. Ji-min had short hair, but that didn't mean a hand on her back wouldn't help.
"Hey, sorry, Ji-min," she said softly when she got to her side. "I guess you were still a bit dizzy from the whatever-it-was. I guess this is the 'dark space sickness,' huh?"
Gasping for breath, Ji-min rocked back on her knees, leaning against the toilet seat with one arm, rubbing her stomach with the other. She moaned something, but Jessica couldn't even make out individual syllables, much less any words.
"It's okay. Take your time." Jessica reached out for her, and Ji-min flinched. Jessica hesitated, but after some hesitation, Ji-min nodded her thanks and leaned against her.
Jessica noticed the small but fresh stain on Ji-min's blouse. It was a simple white button-down, still mostly tucked into her business-like pencil skirt. It must have caught some backblast. She made a mental note to ask the aliens about some kind of laundry service. Maybe some new clothes -- they made a whole toilet, so surely they could make clothing.
"Gomawo," Ji-min said, after a false start where she had to cough and clear her throat. "Gomawo. Th-thaan-ku? Thann-ku."
"You're welcome." Jessica smiled at her.
But, still distracted by the stain on Ji-min's blouse, she saw something else. Or rather, realized what she was already seeing. Ji-min wasn't just holding her hand on her abdomen. She was tracing an unconscious, comforting circle. Not high, where her stomach was; but lower. Much lower.
Ji-min's hand froze, and Jessica raised her eyes to see the other woman looking at her, an expression of such fear that she almost recoiled. But then her brain caught up, and she realized that whatever 'dark space sickness' was, Ji-min did not have it.
"It's okay, Ji-min," Jessica said, aware of her own voice shaking with sudden trepidation. She mouthed the words that she didn't really believe, but had to say. "It's okay . . ."
Oh, crap, she thought to herself. I hope one of us knows how to deliver a baby.
*****
Deputy Supervisor Nna Tss Date: 22.7.3.6.218 HC Location: Librarian Survey Ship Curious Observer, transiting Sector E5J7
Tsirlan physiology was less susceptible to the physical effects of void sickness. One had to be quite careless to injure one's self during an unsecured transit. However, regulation was regulation, and there was no reason not to observe the forms by strapping into a smart chair molded to his body.
Besides, the straps against his carapace allowed him to avoid betraying the symptoms those of his species did experience, namely the prolonged daze and potential hallucinations that were an unavoidable aspect of void travel. It was most disconcerting, and the mere fact that every known unaugmented sentient save one experienced it was no excuse for not displaying the proper leadership one of his rank and position should.
The other members of the Librarian command team were still limp in their own smart chairs, some of them twitching unconsciously. Nna had left the feed from the cargo hold live on his station, though in a smaller holographic display since his first duty was to check the surrounding space for any --
A glance at the cargo bay feed with just two eyes soon turned into all six staring at the information. The natives were upright and . . . eating? How? The absurd thought that he was accidentally watching a recording was quickly disproven as he verified the feed. Most sentients required extensive training to avoid emptying their digestive organs. Perhaps one or two of the natives could be well enough to eat, but all of them? No, nine of them . . . it appeared Subject Two was still suffering the effects, and Subject Nine was assisting her.
With an appendage still trembling from the effects of the traversal, Nna backed the recording up to the moment of the traversal, and felt the phantom sensation of a cold trickle down both of his spines. Subject Two was not suffering from void sickness. Her symptoms only started well after the traversal was completed. In fact, none of the natives showed any but the barest reaction.
It was impossible. No amount of training could resist the effects of the void, even with the strongest void shields in place. That was why he had set the automated servitor to wait until the subjects indicated they were ready for sustenance. Only a trained psychic with the proper implants, or the bio-engineered Xgrar servitors of the Domination, were known to be so resistant.
It was impossible . . . like so many things about the natives.
Further study, thought Nna, is required.
2024.04.18 20:03 DTG_Bot This Week in Destiny 04/18/2024
Source: https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/Article/twid-04-18-2024
This week in Destiny, we’re thinking about clans. Well, clans and fireteams. In other words, all the people that you join on your path to gear and glory. We’ve got a few related updates, so let's get into it!
List of topics for the week:
Image Linkimgur
First up, Hawthorne will be receiving a vendor reputation track. Guardians can earn clan reputation by completing activities, with higher difficulty activities giving more progress and playing with clanmates giving a large bonus to progression.
Clan bounties are also getting some love, with the Nightfall bounty no longer requiring clan level 6 to claim. There will also be two new bounty types, one for Seasonal content and one for dungeons. All clan bounties will also grant some clan reputation.
The clan perks of yore had gotten a little stale, so they’re getting a full refresh. Check out the new perks below:
Clan LevelPerk NameDescription ------------------ 2Live Fire SaleRaid Banners sold from Hawthorne cost less. ------------------ 3Bountiful BountiesThe first clan bounty completed each week grants an Exotic engram. 4Of Hawks and PigeonsRaid Rotator Challenges grant Spoils of Conquest. Trials wins grant additional Trials reputation. 5Weapon RitualistEarn bonus crafted weapon XP from completing ritual playlist activities. 6Alloy CompletionistCompleting all clan challenges in a week grants an Ascendant Alloy.
Lastly, clan XP is getting a rework on the backend to be more consistent along with some XP source tuning, so players should have an easier time consistently earning XP for their clans. If you’ve never been in a clan, now’s a great time to hop in and meet some new friends.
Image Linkimgur
We first introduced Fireteam Finder in November with our raid stress tests. During those tests, the community showed up in droves to help us see how far we could push the system. We were happy to see how well the system performed under heavy use, and the testing helped us confirm that Fireteam Finder was ready for beta.
When we released the beta in December, we were pleased to see players immediately connect, forming fireteams and tackling all types of content together. We continued to work hard to make improvements and iterate based on your feedback including:
With Destiny 2: Into the Light, we’ve introduced a variety of activities and rewards to celebrate the lead-up to The Final Shape. This includes a blend of limited-time content with activities and rewards that will continue to be available to players after the event ends. We’d like to give you a full breakdown of the content plan leading up to The Final Shape.
We've been thrilled to see the response to our reveal of Pantheon and know players are eager to jump in and play. While our initial stab at a boss gauntlet was always intended to be a time-limited event, we are eager to see player feedback about the mode to inform future plans.
We really like the attunement experience so far, and while it won't be available right at the launch of The Final Shape, we’re already working on bringing back a new attunement experience for BRAVE weapons sometime during Echoes.
We’re hoping the full details of these activities will help you prioritize where you want to spend your time and what rewards you’d like to prioritize.
Today’s Bounty will be supporting Ronald McDonald House and their Kilts For Kids campaign. This is the thirteenth edition of the annual event, and supporters will have a chance to earn the all-new Heart of a Highlander emblem and the Kilted Out shader. For every point the Bungie fireteam scores during the stream, we will be donating $2 to Ronald McDonald House.
Joining us on the Bungie fireteam today will be Benny and PureChill. Below are a few important details for the stream:
Light Lotus
Image Linkimgur
To celebrate the release of Onslaught, we put out a challenge, offering a reward to the first three fireteams that completed Onslaught on Legend difficulty. Today we wanted to share the teams that met this challenge.
Team 1Team 2Team 3 ------------------ SpecialHeroGoldDemon12Duckymomoman ------------------ FLARPESToxicRhyme0Son TStormChewBombhelp
Congratulations to the winning teams! We’ll be reaching out to the winners on Bungie.net with more details on prizing.
In preparation for The Final Shape, our datacenter underwent a full upgrade late last year. In the past, we’ve run our servers with a combination of configurations which made understanding performance and load balancing tricky. This time we preferred a single setup that was much more powerful than the previous versions.
In our early load testing, we didn’t fully saturate our server CPU usage. Because the testing showed that we were able to achieve our target concurrency numbers at this range of CPU usage, we concluded the testing.
But when we shipped Destiny2: Into the Light, we quickly realized something was wrong. As people started joining the game and our concurrency numbers grew, our performance metrics weren’t scaling as expected. Some servers were getting close to 100% usage while others were effectively at 0%. Correspondingly, some users were having a normal experience, and some were having consistent problems—rewards showing up late, getting kicked from the game, and so on.
We realized that the servers were not fully utilizing the available hardware resources. Additionally, an operating system misconfiguration and reporting problem was causing our load balancer to stress the servers even further.
Once we understood the root cause, we mitigated the immediate problem on launch day by adding additional servers. This gave us enough breathing room to prepare the real fix. The next morning, we deployed the fix that allowed the servers to be able to use all the machine resources.
In preparation for The Final Shape, we are:
Image Linkimgur
Known Issues List Help Forums Bungie Help Twitter
THE FINAL SHAPE PRE-ORDER ITEMS
Players looking to claim the reward items from pre-ordering The Final Shape need to visit the Special Deliveries Kiosk in the Tower to receive anything that has not yet been claimed.
Anyone unable to claim items that they are expecting should double check the status of their pre-orders with the platform where their pre-order was purchased.
KNOWN ISSUES
While we continue investigating various known issues, here is a list of the latest issues that were reported to us in our #Help forum:
Oh, so if Mr. Miyagi teaches karate by making you apply wax, he is a genius. But if Shaxx asks you to go fishing in preparation to fight the Witness, he is a madman? Shame on you, Guardian.
Vanade via TwitteX
Image Linkimgur
When you whisper to the void worm, does it whisper back? Well, sometimes it bounces back.
Movie of the Week:
[
Image Linkimgur](https://twitter.com/R0Wgod/status/1779360724432703647)
And that’s everything we have for this week. With Destiny 2: Into the Light in full swing, we’ve seen some pretty impressive god rolls on those BRAVE arsenal weapons. But don’t let up, Pantheon is only a few weeks away. Make sure you are geared up and ready to go.
We’ll be back next week with another TWID. Until then, be good to each other, and thanks for hanging out with us.
Destiny 2 Community Team
submitted by DTG_Bot to LowSodiumDestiny [link] [comments]
List of topics for the week:
- The Final Shape raid on June 7.
- The Final Shape clan updates.
- Fireteam Finder out of beta.
- Destiny 2: Into the Light content in Year 10.
- Bungie Bounty for Good.
- Onslaught Legend challenge winners.
- Destiny 2: Into the Light launch day server fix. ##Save the Date: The Final Shape Raid
The Final Shape Clan Updates
We’re also delivering some new content and quality of life improvements to clans that we hope will breathe some life into the system and encourage players to play with their clanmates.Image Linkimgur
First up, Hawthorne will be receiving a vendor reputation track. Guardians can earn clan reputation by completing activities, with higher difficulty activities giving more progress and playing with clanmates giving a large bonus to progression.
Clan bounties are also getting some love, with the Nightfall bounty no longer requiring clan level 6 to claim. There will also be two new bounty types, one for Seasonal content and one for dungeons. All clan bounties will also grant some clan reputation.
The clan perks of yore had gotten a little stale, so they’re getting a full refresh. Check out the new perks below:
Clan LevelPerk NameDescription ------------------ 2Live Fire SaleRaid Banners sold from Hawthorne cost less. ------------------ 3Bountiful BountiesThe first clan bounty completed each week grants an Exotic engram. 4Of Hawks and PigeonsRaid Rotator Challenges grant Spoils of Conquest. Trials wins grant additional Trials reputation. 5Weapon RitualistEarn bonus crafted weapon XP from completing ritual playlist activities. 6Alloy CompletionistCompleting all clan challenges in a week grants an Ascendant Alloy.
Lastly, clan XP is getting a rework on the backend to be more consistent along with some XP source tuning, so players should have an easier time consistently earning XP for their clans. If you’ve never been in a clan, now’s a great time to hop in and meet some new friends.
Fireteam Finder Moving Out Of Beta
Earlier this week, we removed the beta tag from Fireteam Finder. We’re thrilled to reach this important milestone, with the feature set and performance reaching a place where we are comfortable moving it into its full release.Image Linkimgur
We first introduced Fireteam Finder in November with our raid stress tests. During those tests, the community showed up in droves to help us see how far we could push the system. We were happy to see how well the system performed under heavy use, and the testing helped us confirm that Fireteam Finder was ready for beta.
When we released the beta in December, we were pleased to see players immediately connect, forming fireteams and tackling all types of content together. We continued to work hard to make improvements and iterate based on your feedback including:
- Destiny Companion app and Bungie.net integration.
- Updated Roster tab to display 12 players on each per page.
- Improved screen-to-screen flow.
- Improved feedback when submitting applications.
- Legibility improvements on listing info.
- Clearer indication of new pending applications for leaders.
- Added emoji to listing titles.
- Onslaught and Zero Hour options.
- Over 60 additional bug fixes and other improvements.
Destiny 2: Into the Light in Year 10
Image LinkimgurWith Destiny 2: Into the Light, we’ve introduced a variety of activities and rewards to celebrate the lead-up to The Final Shape. This includes a blend of limited-time content with activities and rewards that will continue to be available to players after the event ends. We’d like to give you a full breakdown of the content plan leading up to The Final Shape.
LIMITED-TIME ACTIVITIES AND REWARDS
To start, we want to highlight the content that will only be available during Destiny 2: Into the Light.Pantheon activity and emblems
Pantheon is our raid boss gauntlet that will be available from April 30 to June 3. With Pantheon, we wanted to create a unique and challenging event that players could test their mettle against, prior to our big battle in The Final Shape. Pantheon will offer a chance to earn a variety of emblems, and similar to the limited-time emblems we’ve made available in past Contest Raids, we expect the exclusivity of these emblems will make them highly sought after.We've been thrilled to see the response to our reveal of Pantheon and know players are eager to jump in and play. While our initial stab at a boss gauntlet was always intended to be a time-limited event, we are eager to see player feedback about the mode to inform future plans.
Destiny 2: Into the Light and Pantheon Seal and title
The Godslayer title, earned through the Pantheon event, and the Brave title, earned through Destiny 2: Into the Light Triumphs, will also be limited-time rewards. As is the case with Moments of Triumph, these titles are meant to commemorate a unique moment of time and show others players your accomplishments during Destiny 2: Into the Light. When you see these in the future, you’ll know these are the Guardians that stood tall as we prepared to battle the Witness.BRAVE arsenal limited-edition variants
As we’ve previously mentioned, the limited-edition variants of the BRAVE arsenal weapons will only be available until June 3.Hall of Champions and associated quests
The Hall of Champions and associated content, such as the Arcite 99-40 quests, armor chests, and weapon attunement, will no longer be available after June 3. While the Hall of Champions will have served its purpose as a base of operations as we defend against the Witness’s forces before The Final Shape, some of the content associated with the Hall of Champions, like the Parade armor sets, will still be available in the future. Based on the reaction to Destiny 2: Into the Light, we’ve decided that the Superblack shader will return later on as well, but the best time to grab these rewards is before The Final Shape, while they have a deterministic path.We really like the attunement experience so far, and while it won't be available right at the launch of The Final Shape, we’re already working on bringing back a new attunement experience for BRAVE weapons sometime during Echoes.
CONTENT CONTINUING AFTER JUNE 3
There are new features and rewards in Destiny 2: Into the Light that we plan to keep around after the event ends.Onslaught Activity and BRAVE Arsenal Weapons
The Onslaught activity and its BRAVE arsenal weapon rewards will move to Vanguard Ops as a dedicated playlist when The Final Shape releases. We are planning for weapon attunement to return in a new form sometime during Echoes.PvP Maps
All three of the new PvP maps arriving on May 7 will be sticking around after Destiny 2: Into the Light concludes.The Whisper and Zero Hour Exotic Missions and Rewards
These reprised Exotic missions will continue to be available and move to the Legends tab after June 3. The Exotic weapons and catalyst rewards from these missions will also still be available to earn from Eris Morn and Ada-1.Parade Armor and Shaders
Finally, as mentioned above, the armor and shaders added in Destiny 2: Into the Light will be available to earn after June 3. We’ll have more details in the future on the new ways you can earn these rewards, but for items that take a good deal of time to earn like Superblack, we want to make sure we honor that commitment when we bring it back.We’re hoping the full details of these activities will help you prioritize where you want to spend your time and what rewards you’d like to prioritize.
Bungie Bounty For Good
The Bungie Bounty For Good returns, as promised, for its second livestream. Join the Bungie Foundation today, April 18, as we join the community in the Crucible and put some good out into the world.Today’s Bounty will be supporting Ronald McDonald House and their Kilts For Kids campaign. This is the thirteenth edition of the annual event, and supporters will have a chance to earn the all-new Heart of a Highlander emblem and the Kilted Out shader. For every point the Bungie fireteam scores during the stream, we will be donating $2 to Ronald McDonald House.
Joining us on the Bungie fireteam today will be Benny and PureChill. Below are a few important details for the stream:
- Playing 6v6 Crucible matches.
- Matching to UK host (since we used a US host last time).
- The Bungie fireteam will be 4 to 5 players. The community will be able to match both against us or with us.
- The winning teams will earn the Light Lotus emblem. If the Bungie team wins, any fireteam members that joined us will earn the emblem.
Light Lotus
Image Linkimgur
Onslaught Legends Winners
Image LinkimgurTo celebrate the release of Onslaught, we put out a challenge, offering a reward to the first three fireteams that completed Onslaught on Legend difficulty. Today we wanted to share the teams that met this challenge.
Team 1Team 2Team 3 ------------------ SpecialHeroGoldDemon12Duckymomoman ------------------ FLARPESToxicRhyme0Son TStormChewBombhelp
Congratulations to the winning teams! We’ll be reaching out to the winners on Bungie.net with more details on prizing.
Destiny 2: Into The Light Launch Day Server Fix
We wanted to give a brief explanation of what caused the launch-day issues and how we plan to avoid similar issues for the launch of The Final Shape.In preparation for The Final Shape, our datacenter underwent a full upgrade late last year. In the past, we’ve run our servers with a combination of configurations which made understanding performance and load balancing tricky. This time we preferred a single setup that was much more powerful than the previous versions.
In our early load testing, we didn’t fully saturate our server CPU usage. Because the testing showed that we were able to achieve our target concurrency numbers at this range of CPU usage, we concluded the testing.
But when we shipped Destiny2: Into the Light, we quickly realized something was wrong. As people started joining the game and our concurrency numbers grew, our performance metrics weren’t scaling as expected. Some servers were getting close to 100% usage while others were effectively at 0%. Correspondingly, some users were having a normal experience, and some were having consistent problems—rewards showing up late, getting kicked from the game, and so on.
We realized that the servers were not fully utilizing the available hardware resources. Additionally, an operating system misconfiguration and reporting problem was causing our load balancer to stress the servers even further.
Once we understood the root cause, we mitigated the immediate problem on launch day by adding additional servers. This gave us enough breathing room to prepare the real fix. The next morning, we deployed the fix that allowed the servers to be able to use all the machine resources.
In preparation for The Final Shape, we are:
- Validating the settings for every service that could have this kind of problem.
- Improving reporting so that we can monitor the behavior of load balancing.
- Running additional stress scenarios and adding more test coverage for our servers.
- Running performance comparisons for servers running under different configurations.
- Re-evaluating our capacity estimates, to ensure we have the right hardware in place for launch. ##Player Support Report
Image Linkimgur
Known Issues List Help Forums Bungie Help Twitter
THE FINAL SHAPE PRE-ORDER ITEMS
Players looking to claim the reward items from pre-ordering The Final Shape need to visit the Special Deliveries Kiosk in the Tower to receive anything that has not yet been claimed.
Anyone unable to claim items that they are expecting should double check the status of their pre-orders with the platform where their pre-order was purchased.
KNOWN ISSUES
While we continue investigating various known issues, here is a list of the latest issues that were reported to us in our #Help forum:
- Claiming a New Light Kit can override existing loadouts on the selected subclass.
- One of the prison cells in the Warlord’s Ruin dungeon has an additional door blocking solo completion.
- The Laser Cutter ship’s wings and translucent parts of the Afterglow Sparrow disappear when equipping certain shaders.
- The Gilded Cage ornament for the Whisper of the Worm Exotic is missing some details when viewed from specific angles.
- Players who have text chat disabled via settings or age gating will have text chat UI disappear entirely instead of displaying a disabled message.
- Players experiencing issues with no game audio since Update 7.3.6 should attempt to set their in-game Voice Chat setting to Off.
NO TASK TOO SMALL
Image LinkimgurOh, so if Mr. Miyagi teaches karate by making you apply wax, he is a genius. But if Shaxx asks you to go fishing in preparation to fight the Witness, he is a madman? Shame on you, Guardian.
Vanade via TwitteX
Image Linkimgur
RETURN OF THE WORM
Image LinkimgurWhen you whisper to the void worm, does it whisper back? Well, sometimes it bounces back.
Movie of the Week:
[
Image Linkimgur](https://twitter.com/R0Wgod/status/1779360724432703647)
And that’s everything we have for this week. With Destiny 2: Into the Light in full swing, we’ve seen some pretty impressive god rolls on those BRAVE arsenal weapons. But don’t let up, Pantheon is only a few weeks away. Make sure you are geared up and ready to go.
We’ll be back next week with another TWID. Until then, be good to each other, and thanks for hanging out with us.
Destiny 2 Community Team
2024.04.18 20:03 DTG_Bot This Week in Destiny 04/18/2024
Source: https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/Article/twid-04-18-2024
This week in Destiny, we’re thinking about clans. Well, clans and fireteams. In other words, all the people that you join on your path to gear and glory. We’ve got a few related updates, so let's get into it!
List of topics for the week:
Image Linkimgur
First up, Hawthorne will be receiving a vendor reputation track. Guardians can earn clan reputation by completing activities, with higher difficulty activities giving more progress and playing with clanmates giving a large bonus to progression.
Clan bounties are also getting some love, with the Nightfall bounty no longer requiring clan level 6 to claim. There will also be two new bounty types, one for Seasonal content and one for dungeons. All clan bounties will also grant some clan reputation.
The clan perks of yore had gotten a little stale, so they’re getting a full refresh. Check out the new perks below:
Lastly, clan XP is getting a rework on the backend to be more consistent along with some XP source tuning, so players should have an easier time consistently earning XP for their clans. If you’ve never been in a clan, now’s a great time to hop in and meet some new friends.
Image Linkimgur
We first introduced Fireteam Finder in November with our raid stress tests. During those tests, the community showed up in droves to help us see how far we could push the system. We were happy to see how well the system performed under heavy use, and the testing helped us confirm that Fireteam Finder was ready for beta.
When we released the beta in December, we were pleased to see players immediately connect, forming fireteams and tackling all types of content together. We continued to work hard to make improvements and iterate based on your feedback including:
With Destiny 2: Into the Light, we’ve introduced a variety of activities and rewards to celebrate the lead-up to The Final Shape. This includes a blend of limited-time content with activities and rewards that will continue to be available to players after the event ends. We’d like to give you a full breakdown of the content plan leading up to The Final Shape.
We've been thrilled to see the response to our reveal of Pantheon and know players are eager to jump in and play. While our initial stab at a boss gauntlet was always intended to be a time-limited event, we are eager to see player feedback about the mode to inform future plans.
We really like the attunement experience so far, and while it won't be available right at the launch of The Final Shape, we’re already working on bringing back a new attunement experience for BRAVE weapons sometime during Echoes.
We’re hoping the full details of these activities will help you prioritize where you want to spend your time and what rewards you’d like to prioritize.
Today’s Bounty will be supporting Ronald McDonald House and their Kilts For Kids campaign. This is the thirteenth edition of the annual event, and supporters will have a chance to earn the all-new Heart of a Highlander emblem and the Kilted Out shader. For every point the Bungie fireteam scores during the stream, we will be donating $2 to Ronald McDonald House.
Joining us on the Bungie fireteam today will be Benny and PureChill. Below are a few important details for the stream:
Light Lotus
Image Linkimgur
To celebrate the release of Onslaught, we put out a challenge, offering a reward to the first three fireteams that completed Onslaught on Legend difficulty. Today we wanted to share the teams that met this challenge.
Congratulations to the winning teams! We’ll be reaching out to the winners on Bungie.net with more details on prizing.
In preparation for The Final Shape, our datacenter underwent a full upgrade late last year. In the past, we’ve run our servers with a combination of configurations which made understanding performance and load balancing tricky. This time we preferred a single setup that was much more powerful than the previous versions.
In our early load testing, we didn’t fully saturate our server CPU usage. Because the testing showed that we were able to achieve our target concurrency numbers at this range of CPU usage, we concluded the testing.
But when we shipped Destiny2: Into the Light, we quickly realized something was wrong. As people started joining the game and our concurrency numbers grew, our performance metrics weren’t scaling as expected. Some servers were getting close to 100% usage while others were effectively at 0%. Correspondingly, some users were having a normal experience, and some were having consistent problems—rewards showing up late, getting kicked from the game, and so on.
We realized that the servers were not fully utilizing the available hardware resources. Additionally, an operating system misconfiguration and reporting problem was causing our load balancer to stress the servers even further.
Once we understood the root cause, we mitigated the immediate problem on launch day by adding additional servers. This gave us enough breathing room to prepare the real fix. The next morning, we deployed the fix that allowed the servers to be able to use all the machine resources.
In preparation for The Final Shape, we are:
Image Linkimgur
Known Issues List Help Forums Bungie Help Twitter
THE FINAL SHAPE PRE-ORDER ITEMS
Players looking to claim the reward items from pre-ordering The Final Shape need to visit the Special Deliveries Kiosk in the Tower to receive anything that has not yet been claimed.
Anyone unable to claim items that they are expecting should double check the status of their pre-orders with the platform where their pre-order was purchased.
KNOWN ISSUES
While we continue investigating various known issues, here is a list of the latest issues that were reported to us in our #Help forum:
Oh, so if Mr. Miyagi teaches karate by making you apply wax, he is a genius. But if Shaxx asks you to go fishing in preparation to fight the Witness, he is a madman? Shame on you, Guardian.
Vanade via TwitteX
Image Linkimgur
When you whisper to the void worm, does it whisper back? Well, sometimes it bounces back.
*Movie of the Week: *
[
Image Linkimgur](https://twitter.com/R0Wgod/status/1779360724432703647)
And that’s everything we have for this week. With Destiny 2: Into the Light in full swing, we’ve seen some pretty impressive god rolls on those BRAVE arsenal weapons. But don’t let up, Pantheon is only a few weeks away. Make sure you are geared up and ready to go.
We’ll be back next week with another TWID. Until then, be good to each other, and thanks for hanging out with us.
Destiny 2 Community Team
submitted by DTG_Bot to DestinyTheGame [link] [comments]
List of topics for the week:
- The Final Shape raid on June 7.
- The Final Shape clan updates.
- Fireteam Finder out of beta.
- Destiny 2: Into the Light content in Year 10.
- Bungie Bounty for Good.
- Onslaught Legend challenge winners.
- Destiny 2: Into the Light launch day server fix. ##Save the Date: The Final Shape Raid
The Final Shape Clan Updates
We’re also delivering some new content and quality of life improvements to clans that we hope will breathe some life into the system and encourage players to play with their clanmates.Image Linkimgur
First up, Hawthorne will be receiving a vendor reputation track. Guardians can earn clan reputation by completing activities, with higher difficulty activities giving more progress and playing with clanmates giving a large bonus to progression.
Clan bounties are also getting some love, with the Nightfall bounty no longer requiring clan level 6 to claim. There will also be two new bounty types, one for Seasonal content and one for dungeons. All clan bounties will also grant some clan reputation.
The clan perks of yore had gotten a little stale, so they’re getting a full refresh. Check out the new perks below:
| Clan Level | Perk Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Live Fire Sale | Raid Banners sold from Hawthorne cost less. |
| 3 | Bountiful Bounties | The first clan bounty completed each week grants an Exotic engram. |
| 4 | Of Hawks and Pigeons | Raid Rotator Challenges grant Spoils of Conquest. Trials wins grant additional Trials reputation. |
| 5 | Weapon Ritualist | Earn bonus crafted weapon XP from completing ritual playlist activities. |
| 6 | Alloy Completionist | Completing all clan challenges in a week grants an Ascendant Alloy. |
Fireteam Finder Moving Out Of Beta
Earlier this week, we removed the beta tag from Fireteam Finder. We’re thrilled to reach this important milestone, with the feature set and performance reaching a place where we are comfortable moving it into its full release.Image Linkimgur
We first introduced Fireteam Finder in November with our raid stress tests. During those tests, the community showed up in droves to help us see how far we could push the system. We were happy to see how well the system performed under heavy use, and the testing helped us confirm that Fireteam Finder was ready for beta.
When we released the beta in December, we were pleased to see players immediately connect, forming fireteams and tackling all types of content together. We continued to work hard to make improvements and iterate based on your feedback including:
- Destiny Companion app and Bungie.net integration.
- Updated Roster tab to display 12 players on each per page.
- Improved screen-to-screen flow.
- Improved feedback when submitting applications.
- Legibility improvements on listing info.
- Clearer indication of new pending applications for leaders.
- Added emoji to listing titles.
- Onslaught and Zero Hour options.
- Over 60 additional bug fixes and other improvements.
Destiny 2: Into the Light in Year 10
Image LinkimgurWith Destiny 2: Into the Light, we’ve introduced a variety of activities and rewards to celebrate the lead-up to The Final Shape. This includes a blend of limited-time content with activities and rewards that will continue to be available to players after the event ends. We’d like to give you a full breakdown of the content plan leading up to The Final Shape.
LIMITED-TIME ACTIVITIES AND REWARDS
To start, we want to highlight the content that will only be available during Destiny 2: Into the Light.Pantheon activity and emblems
Pantheon is our raid boss gauntlet that will be available from April 30 to June 3. With Pantheon, we wanted to create a unique and challenging event that players could test their mettle against, prior to our big battle in The Final Shape. Pantheon will offer a chance to earn a variety of emblems, and similar to the limited-time emblems we’ve made available in past Contest Raids, we expect the exclusivity of these emblems will make them highly sought after.We've been thrilled to see the response to our reveal of Pantheon and know players are eager to jump in and play. While our initial stab at a boss gauntlet was always intended to be a time-limited event, we are eager to see player feedback about the mode to inform future plans.
Destiny 2: Into the Light and Pantheon Seal and title
The Godslayer title, earned through the Pantheon event, and the Brave title, earned through Destiny 2: Into the Light Triumphs, will also be limited-time rewards. As is the case with Moments of Triumph, these titles are meant to commemorate a unique moment of time and show others players your accomplishments during Destiny 2: Into the Light. When you see these in the future, you’ll know these are the Guardians that stood tall as we prepared to battle the Witness.BRAVE arsenal limited-edition variants
As we’ve previously mentioned, the limited-edition variants of the BRAVE arsenal weapons will only be available until June 3.Hall of Champions and associated quests
The Hall of Champions and associated content, such as the Arcite 99-40 quests, armor chests, and weapon attunement, will no longer be available after June 3. While the Hall of Champions will have served its purpose as a base of operations as we defend against the Witness’s forces before The Final Shape, some of the content associated with the Hall of Champions, like the Parade armor sets, will still be available in the future. Based on the reaction to Destiny 2: Into the Light, we’ve decided that the Superblack shader will return later on as well, but the best time to grab these rewards is before The Final Shape, while they have a deterministic path.We really like the attunement experience so far, and while it won't be available right at the launch of The Final Shape, we’re already working on bringing back a new attunement experience for BRAVE weapons sometime during Echoes.
CONTENT CONTINUING AFTER JUNE 3
There are new features and rewards in Destiny 2: Into the Light that we plan to keep around after the event ends.Onslaught Activity and BRAVE Arsenal Weapons
The Onslaught activity and its BRAVE arsenal weapon rewards will move to Vanguard Ops as a dedicated playlist when The Final Shape releases. We are planning for weapon attunement to return in a new form sometime during Echoes.PvP Maps
All three of the new PvP maps arriving on May 7 will be sticking around after Destiny 2: Into the Light concludes.The Whisper and Zero Hour Exotic Missions and Rewards
These reprised Exotic missions will continue to be available and move to the Legends tab after June 3. The Exotic weapons and catalyst rewards from these missions will also still be available to earn from Eris Morn and Ada-1.Parade Armor and Shaders
Finally, as mentioned above, the armor and shaders added in Destiny 2: Into the Light will be available to earn after June 3. We’ll have more details in the future on the new ways you can earn these rewards, but for items that take a good deal of time to earn like Superblack, we want to make sure we honor that commitment when we bring it back.We’re hoping the full details of these activities will help you prioritize where you want to spend your time and what rewards you’d like to prioritize.
Bungie Bounty For Good
The Bungie Bounty For Good returns, as promised, for its second livestream. Join the Bungie Foundation today, April 18, as we join the community in the Crucible and put some good out into the world.Today’s Bounty will be supporting Ronald McDonald House and their Kilts For Kids campaign. This is the thirteenth edition of the annual event, and supporters will have a chance to earn the all-new Heart of a Highlander emblem and the Kilted Out shader. For every point the Bungie fireteam scores during the stream, we will be donating $2 to Ronald McDonald House.
Joining us on the Bungie fireteam today will be Benny and PureChill. Below are a few important details for the stream:
- Playing 6v6 Crucible matches.
- Matching to UK host (since we used a US host last time).
- The Bungie fireteam will be 4 to 5 players. The community will be able to match both against us or with us.
- The winning teams will earn the Light Lotus emblem. If the Bungie team wins, any fireteam members that joined us will earn the emblem.
Light Lotus
Image Linkimgur
Onslaught Legends Winners
Image LinkimgurTo celebrate the release of Onslaught, we put out a challenge, offering a reward to the first three fireteams that completed Onslaught on Legend difficulty. Today we wanted to share the teams that met this challenge.
| Team 1 | Team 2 | Team 3 |
|---|---|---|
| SpecialHero | GoldDemon12 | Duckymomoman |
| FLARPES | ToxicRhyme0 | Son |
| TStorm | ChewBomb | help |
Destiny 2: Into The Light Launch Day Server Fix
We wanted to give a brief explanation of what caused the launch-day issues and how we plan to avoid similar issues for the launch of The Final Shape.In preparation for The Final Shape, our datacenter underwent a full upgrade late last year. In the past, we’ve run our servers with a combination of configurations which made understanding performance and load balancing tricky. This time we preferred a single setup that was much more powerful than the previous versions.
In our early load testing, we didn’t fully saturate our server CPU usage. Because the testing showed that we were able to achieve our target concurrency numbers at this range of CPU usage, we concluded the testing.
But when we shipped Destiny2: Into the Light, we quickly realized something was wrong. As people started joining the game and our concurrency numbers grew, our performance metrics weren’t scaling as expected. Some servers were getting close to 100% usage while others were effectively at 0%. Correspondingly, some users were having a normal experience, and some were having consistent problems—rewards showing up late, getting kicked from the game, and so on.
We realized that the servers were not fully utilizing the available hardware resources. Additionally, an operating system misconfiguration and reporting problem was causing our load balancer to stress the servers even further.
Once we understood the root cause, we mitigated the immediate problem on launch day by adding additional servers. This gave us enough breathing room to prepare the real fix. The next morning, we deployed the fix that allowed the servers to be able to use all the machine resources.
In preparation for The Final Shape, we are:
- Validating the settings for every service that could have this kind of problem.
- Improving reporting so that we can monitor the behavior of load balancing.
- Running additional stress scenarios and adding more test coverage for our servers.
- Running performance comparisons for servers running under different configurations.
- Re-evaluating our capacity estimates, to ensure we have the right hardware in place for launch. ##Player Support Report
Image Linkimgur
Known Issues List Help Forums Bungie Help Twitter
THE FINAL SHAPE PRE-ORDER ITEMS
Players looking to claim the reward items from pre-ordering The Final Shape need to visit the Special Deliveries Kiosk in the Tower to receive anything that has not yet been claimed.
Anyone unable to claim items that they are expecting should double check the status of their pre-orders with the platform where their pre-order was purchased.
KNOWN ISSUES
While we continue investigating various known issues, here is a list of the latest issues that were reported to us in our #Help forum:
- Claiming a New Light Kit can override existing loadouts on the selected subclass.
- One of the prison cells in the Warlord’s Ruin dungeon has an additional door blocking solo completion.
- The Laser Cutter ship’s wings and translucent parts of the Afterglow Sparrow disappear when equipping certain shaders.
- The Gilded Cage ornament for the Whisper of the Worm Exotic is missing some details when viewed from specific angles.
- Players who have text chat disabled via settings or age gating will have text chat UI disappear entirely instead of displaying a disabled message.
- Players experiencing issues with no game audio since Update 7.3.6 should attempt to set their in-game Voice Chat setting to Off.
NO TASK TOO SMALL
Image LinkimgurOh, so if Mr. Miyagi teaches karate by making you apply wax, he is a genius. But if Shaxx asks you to go fishing in preparation to fight the Witness, he is a madman? Shame on you, Guardian.
Vanade via TwitteX
Image Linkimgur
RETURN OF THE WORM
Image LinkimgurWhen you whisper to the void worm, does it whisper back? Well, sometimes it bounces back.
*Movie of the Week: *
[
Image Linkimgur](https://twitter.com/R0Wgod/status/1779360724432703647)
And that’s everything we have for this week. With Destiny 2: Into the Light in full swing, we’ve seen some pretty impressive god rolls on those BRAVE arsenal weapons. But don’t let up, Pantheon is only a few weeks away. Make sure you are geared up and ready to go.
We’ll be back next week with another TWID. Until then, be good to each other, and thanks for hanging out with us.
Destiny 2 Community Team
2024.04.04 20:02 DTG_Bot This Week in Destiny 04/04/2024
Source: https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/Article/this-week-in-destiny-04-04-24
This week in Destiny, we’re gearing up for Destiny 2: Into the Light. We’re less than a week away from our next major content update, and we’re pretty excited about it.
List of topics for the week:
Video Link
Here is a quick summary of everything we shared.
We announced the reprised versions of two classic Exotic Missions: The Whisper and Zero Hour. These reprised versions will retain some familiar elements of the classic missions, but you’ll also find updated puzzles, encounters, rewards, and Triumphs, as well as new secrets to discover on Legend difficulty. The Whisper will be available on April 9 with the launch of Destiny 2: Into the Light and Zero Hour will be available in May.
The Whisper
Eris Morn wants to pick your brain. Nothing creepy, she just thought she could use your memories to shape an updated version of a weapon that would be very useful against the Witness. Yes, it's Whisper of the Worm, the Exotic Sniper Rifle that lives in your Power weapon slot. Just be careful when jumping around in the dark because sometimes we don't remember things like they used to be. And you don't want to... drown... in... the Deep.
Zero Hour
Ada-1 has a mission for you. You need to go back to the old Tower, take down some Fallen pirates that want to get a hold on a very powerful weapon of our past, and maybe, just maybe, face a scary robot called TR3-VR that feels very lonely and wants to give Guardians a hug. The updated and craftable Outbreak Perfected Exotic Pulse Rifle is waiting for those who manage to avoid him and finish on time.
Additional Crafting Options
After obtaining the Exotic weapon from each of these reprised missions, new quests will become available. This will allow you to unlock additional crafting options, including upgrading each weapon's unique intrinsic behaviors. A new quest will become available each week for three weeks.
Reprised Ships
In addition to the new Exotic weapons you’ll earn, you can also earn reprised versions of the classic ships. The Whisper will offer a new ship with an updated look, Karve of the Worm, inspired by A Thousand Wings, while Zero Hour will offer, Vimana Junker, also with an updated look built on the frame of Scrap CF-717-91 and inspired by Outbreak Perfected.
New maps:
In our January 18 TWID, we revealed our plans to add character re-customization to Destiny 2 before the launch of The Final Shape. During this week’s livestream, we announced that character re-customization will be coming with Destiny 2: Into the Light on April 9! With this update, you’ll be able to modify the appearance of your Guardians anytime, without cost or limits to the number of changes.
To do so, simply launch Destiny 2, and you'll notice a new option when you hover over a character at the character selection screen. While you can change the body type, face, haihead, and markings, keep in mind it won’t be possible to change from one origin to another (i.e., Human, Exo, or Awoken).
We shared a few words about Pantheon, the new raid boss gauntlet starting on April 30. In Pantheon, you’ll have the opportunity to face raid bosses in a weekly challenge with escalating difficulties and rewards. This is a chance to rally your clan or use Fireteam Finder to take on this challenge. We’ll have more details as we get closer to the release.
Image Linkimgur
We’re thrilled to show you what we’ve been working on! In addition to seeing new gameplay, you’ll get some developer insight and a behind-the-scenes look at what you can expect as we journey into the Traveler. Make sure to tune in and join us. You won’t want to miss it!
When:
We also have several available channels that will be localized versions in the following languages:
The Final Shape Developer Gameplay Preview will also bring with it a new Twitch Drop. If you watch for at least 15 minutes, you can earn the new Tigris Fati emblem.
Tigris Fati
Image Linkimgur
And if you were shy of getting the Those Who Held Dear and Echo Diamond emblems from our Destiny 2: Into the Light Developer Livestreams, you can earn progress towards those emblems during our Gameplay Preview, too. Those Who Held Dear requires 1 hour of watch time, while Echo Diamond is granted after 3 hours of total watch time.
Those Who Held Dear
Image Linkimgur
Echo Diamond
Image Linkimgur
Hello, everyone, and welcome to another PvP Strike Team update. This is going to be a smaller one, simply because most of our work for this release has been centered around wrapping up the PvP Map Pack, which will be released in May. However, in addition to the weapon balance changes we mentioned a couple weeks ago we have some additional impactful changes we'd like to discuss. So, let's get to it.
Competitive
For Update 7.3.6, we’re making some changes to the game modes available in the Competitive playlist. We’re removing Survival and Countdown Rush and replacing them with 3v3 Clash and Collision (and for Collision we have changed some zone placements on maps like Dead Cliffs and Vostok, based on feedback from Labs). For Clash, we will also be swapping the ammo meter system for the ammo crate system. Collision was tested in Labs with the ammo crate system and was designed with it in mind, but internally we have also been testing Clash with crates for some time.
The benefit of the crates system, in the Clash game mode specifically, is that it continues to promote map movement and helps to disincentivize passive teamplay which can occur when there are no on-map objectives to otherwise encourage flow in and out of engagement zones. This change will result in a small net increase in Special ammo availability in Competitive compared to the ammo meter system, while still being an overall reduction from the pre-Update 7.3.5 respawn values.
Trials
We have heard the feedback that the Special ammo economy in Trials, while improved, doesn't feel quite right just yet. So, for the first two weeks of Update 7.3.6, we will be experimenting with it to gather additional data.
The first week of Trials, we will be running what we refer to as the "unrestricted" Special ammo crate system, where all four ammo crates spawn every round (one by each team's initial spawn and two in neutral locations), and players who have Special ammo will drop it on death when they are killed. We will use this to draw a baseline for an upper limit of Special ammo in the Trials environment.
The second week, we will be moving to a "restricted" version of ammo crates, where only two crates spawn each round (the ones by each team's initial spawn). While players will still lose Special ammo on death, they will not drop Special ammo bricks. This variant will end up with Special ammo availability being between the current ammo meter system values and the previous respawn values.
During these first two weeks, we will gather a substantial amount of data and feedback on how both amounts feel and play, to inform future tuning of the Special ammo systems for Trials. The plan is to return to the current version of the ammo meter system in the third week of Trials, until we can further tune the values.
Notswap Improvements
In Competitive in Update 7.3.6 and in Trials for the first two weeks while we run the ammo crate experiments, we will be rolling out an improved version of the Notswap modifier, which will now remove ability energy if you change the ammo type of a weapon in your Kinetic or Energy slot mid-life. We are implementing this change because being able to quickly and freely swap between weapons mid-engagement nullifies the downside of using a weapon with limited ammo and pushes the risk-vs.-reward proposal out of balance for making those choices.
To clarify, this means you can swap between weapons with the same ammo type without a penalty. For example, if you have Conditional Finality in your Kinetic slot, you can swap it to an Eye of Sol (or any other Special ammo weapon in that slot) without losing energy. However, if you swap to an Immortal (or any other Primary ammo weapon in that slot), Notswap will trigger and drain your ability energy similarly to if you had swapped a part of your subclass or an Exotic armor piece. This should prevent occurrences of players running Special weapons and swapping to Primary weapons immediately after using their ammo, which will make the game state easier to understand.
Terms of Service Update
We have also updated our Terms of Service with a focus on matchmaking manipulation. Moving forward, intentionally manipulating matchmaking to gain an unfair advantage, whether using smurf accounts or external third-party tools, will be a bannable offense. This includes attempts to bypass any of our matchmaking systems, including Outlier Protection, Ranked, and Fireteam-Based matchmaking. A smurf account is defined as an account that has been intentionally deranked or sabotaged over a sustained period to present itself as a very low-level player for the sole purpose of manipulating matchmaking (which our detections differentiate from actual players). Players who utilize these accounts moving forward will be subject to bans and restrictions, depending on the severity of the abuse.
This will have no effect on players who play in legitimate fireteams of mixed skill, for example those who are helping other players to get to the Lighthouse or earn Adepts in Trials of Osiris or Guardians who are playing with clanmates or friends who have different skills than their own. In addition, all initial warnings or bans will be manually reviewed by the team.
Corrections from 7.3.5 Patch Notes
Two changes that were meant to ship with Update 7.3.6 were erroneously included in the 7.3.5 patch notes:
G’day folks, it’s the weapons team here with the balance changes for this release. It’s a small one, with most changes relating to weapons shipping with Destiny 2: Into the Light weapon archetypes.
Weapon Archetypes
These changes are all to base weapon damage except where otherwise noted, and they apply to both PvP and PvE.
Breech-Loaded Grenade Launchers see a fair amount of usage in PvE, but it’s mostly wave frames for add clear, or blinding grenades for crowd control. We’re cranking up their impact damage for single-target utility (and so The Mountaintop feels as juiced as it deserves). At the same time, the current radius on disorienting grenades is larger than reasonable for the amount of ammo these have, so we’re reining that in a little.
Image Linkimgur
Image Linkimgur
Image Linkimgur
Each New Light Kit contains:
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_All.png)
Hunter
[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Hunter.png)
Titan
[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Titan.png)
Warlock
[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Warlock.png)
[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Void_Hunter.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Solar_Hunter.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Arc_Hunter.png)
Titan
[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Void_Titan.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Solar_Titan.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Arc_Titan.png)
Warlock
[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Void_Warlock.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Solar_Warlock.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Arc_Warlock.png)
As part of this update, we’ll also be updating our text chat language filtering rules. We'll continue to monitor and audit their performance. For more information on our language filters, visit our Text-based Language Filtering FAQ.
Some players may see chat off by default after the update. This is intentional for our younger players. For more information, please visit our Date of Birth Requirements for Destiny 2 and Bungie Services. If you’d like to see what options you have for your account or change available settings, you can visit Settings and go under the Social tab to view or change your text and voice chat status.
With the release of Destiny 2: Into the Light on April 9 comes the new PvE wave-based defensive activity, Onslaught. To celebrate the release, we’re looking to reward Guardians who are among the first to conquer the mode on its highest difficulty.
Details
Starting on April 9, when Update 7.3.6 goes live, the first three fireteams to complete all 50 waves on Legend difficulty will receive a Lord Shaxx 7-inch mini replica helmet per fireteam member (3 per team total).
Image Linkimgur
We will announce the winners in next week’s TWID and will reach out to the winners shortly after on Bungie.net. You can get the full details on our rules and eligibility page.
Show us what you’re made of, Guardians!
Image Linkimgur
Known Issues List Help Forums Bungie Help Twitter
DESTINY 2 AND ACCESS TO FEATURES
Last month, we implemented birth date requirements into Destiny 2. As detailed in our Date of Birth Requirements article, some players may be unable to access certain features and functionality based on age or region, such as purchasing Silver or text chatting.
Players who need to correct their information can submit a help ticket for our team to review.
KNOWN ISSUES
Savathûn, the Witch Queen, can be scary and intimidating. But smol Savathûn is just cute and adorable. We bet the smol Lucent Moths give hugs.
Art of the Week: Mingway via TwitteX
Image Linkimgur
RoCat Jumping. Let that concept sink in.
Movie of the Week:
[
Image Linkimgur](https://twitter.com/oddmb_/status/1773065025873195425)
That’s everything for this week! We can’t wait to see everyone dive into next week’s update. Onslaught, the BRAVE arsenal weapons, reprised Exotic missions, character re-customization, and the list goes on. Remember to pace yourself, take breaks as needed, and make sure to follow our Destiny2Team accounts, as we’ll be monitoring the update and responding to questions and feedback. It should be a fun week!
We’ll be back next week with another TWID. In the meantime, be excellent to each other, and thanks for hanging out with us.
Destiny 2 Community Team
submitted by DTG_Bot to LowSodiumDestiny [link] [comments]
List of topics for the week:
- Recap of Developer Livestream #3
- The Final Shape Developer Gameplay Preview on April 9
- PvP Strike Team update
- Weapons balance update
- Reduced costs of Strand Fragments
- New Light Tutorial Skip and New Light Kit
- New Light experience wallpapers
- Updating the default chat experience
- Iron Banner returns
- Onslaught Legend challenge details
- Player Support Report
- Art and Movie of the Week
Destiny 2: Into the Light Developer Livestream #3 Recap
Earlier this week we shared some additional details about Destiny 2: Into the Light with our third livestream. This included details about two reprised Exotic missions, a look at the new Crucible PvP maps coming in May, the announcement of the Pantheon PvE challenge, updates to the New Light experience, character re-customization, and more!Video Link
Here is a quick summary of everything we shared.
Reprised Exotic Missions
Image LinkimgurWe announced the reprised versions of two classic Exotic Missions: The Whisper and Zero Hour. These reprised versions will retain some familiar elements of the classic missions, but you’ll also find updated puzzles, encounters, rewards, and Triumphs, as well as new secrets to discover on Legend difficulty. The Whisper will be available on April 9 with the launch of Destiny 2: Into the Light and Zero Hour will be available in May.
The Whisper
Eris Morn wants to pick your brain. Nothing creepy, she just thought she could use your memories to shape an updated version of a weapon that would be very useful against the Witness. Yes, it's Whisper of the Worm, the Exotic Sniper Rifle that lives in your Power weapon slot. Just be careful when jumping around in the dark because sometimes we don't remember things like they used to be. And you don't want to... drown... in... the Deep.
Zero Hour
Ada-1 has a mission for you. You need to go back to the old Tower, take down some Fallen pirates that want to get a hold on a very powerful weapon of our past, and maybe, just maybe, face a scary robot called TR3-VR that feels very lonely and wants to give Guardians a hug. The updated and craftable Outbreak Perfected Exotic Pulse Rifle is waiting for those who manage to avoid him and finish on time.
Additional Crafting Options
After obtaining the Exotic weapon from each of these reprised missions, new quests will become available. This will allow you to unlock additional crafting options, including upgrading each weapon's unique intrinsic behaviors. A new quest will become available each week for three weeks.
Reprised Ships
In addition to the new Exotic weapons you’ll earn, you can also earn reprised versions of the classic ships. The Whisper will offer a new ship with an updated look, Karve of the Worm, inspired by A Thousand Wings, while Zero Hour will offer, Vimana Junker, also with an updated look built on the frame of Scrap CF-717-91 and inspired by Outbreak Perfected.
New PvP Maps
As we mentioned in our February 22 TWID, we’re excited to release three new Crucible maps on May 7. While these maps will also be available in 6v6 playlists like Control, they have been specifically built with a focus on 3v3 game modes in mind, including Dominion, Survival, and our newest mode, Collision. With the new maps, you’ll get to enjoy the backdrop of new locations you haven’t yet explored in PvP , including Europa, Neomuna, and the terraformed Pyramid ship.New maps:
- Eventide Labs (Europa)
- Cirrus Plaza (Neomuna)
- Dissonance (terraformed Pyramid ship)
Character Re-Customization
Image LinkimgurIn our January 18 TWID, we revealed our plans to add character re-customization to Destiny 2 before the launch of The Final Shape. During this week’s livestream, we announced that character re-customization will be coming with Destiny 2: Into the Light on April 9! With this update, you’ll be able to modify the appearance of your Guardians anytime, without cost or limits to the number of changes.
To do so, simply launch Destiny 2, and you'll notice a new option when you hover over a character at the character selection screen. While you can change the body type, face, haihead, and markings, keep in mind it won’t be possible to change from one origin to another (i.e., Human, Exo, or Awoken).
Additional Name Change Available April 9
Destiny 2: Into the Light will also bring the option for an additional one-time name change to all players at no cost. On April 9, after the update has gone live, you can log into bungie.net and change your Bungie ID using these step-by-step directions If you didn’t take advantage of our previous name change opportunity, now you’ll have two. Choose wisely!Pantheon
Image LinkimgurWe shared a few words about Pantheon, the new raid boss gauntlet starting on April 30. In Pantheon, you’ll have the opportunity to face raid bosses in a weekly challenge with escalating difficulties and rewards. This is a chance to rally your clan or use Fireteam Finder to take on this challenge. We’ll have more details as we get closer to the release.
New Light Tutorial Experience
We also shared details on some updates we’re bringing to the New Light experience and the way players can choose to interact with it. If you missed our livestream, we have a full breakdown below, after the weapons balance update.The Final Shape Developer Gameplay Preview
Join us on April 9 at 9:30 AM PT when we’ll share all-new details and gameplay from The Final Shape during our Developer Gameplay Preview.Image Linkimgur
We’re thrilled to show you what we’ve been working on! In addition to seeing new gameplay, you’ll get some developer insight and a behind-the-scenes look at what you can expect as we journey into the Traveler. Make sure to tune in and join us. You won’t want to miss it!
When:
- April 9 at 9:30 AM PT
We also have several available channels that will be localized versions in the following languages:
The Final Shape Developer Gameplay Preview will also bring with it a new Twitch Drop. If you watch for at least 15 minutes, you can earn the new Tigris Fati emblem.
Tigris Fati
Image Linkimgur
And if you were shy of getting the Those Who Held Dear and Echo Diamond emblems from our Destiny 2: Into the Light Developer Livestreams, you can earn progress towards those emblems during our Gameplay Preview, too. Those Who Held Dear requires 1 hour of watch time, while Echo Diamond is granted after 3 hours of total watch time.
Those Who Held Dear
Image Linkimgur
Echo Diamond
Image Linkimgur
PvP Strike Team Update
Image LinkimgurHello, everyone, and welcome to another PvP Strike Team update. This is going to be a smaller one, simply because most of our work for this release has been centered around wrapping up the PvP Map Pack, which will be released in May. However, in addition to the weapon balance changes we mentioned a couple weeks ago we have some additional impactful changes we'd like to discuss. So, let's get to it.
Competitive
For Update 7.3.6, we’re making some changes to the game modes available in the Competitive playlist. We’re removing Survival and Countdown Rush and replacing them with 3v3 Clash and Collision (and for Collision we have changed some zone placements on maps like Dead Cliffs and Vostok, based on feedback from Labs). For Clash, we will also be swapping the ammo meter system for the ammo crate system. Collision was tested in Labs with the ammo crate system and was designed with it in mind, but internally we have also been testing Clash with crates for some time.
The benefit of the crates system, in the Clash game mode specifically, is that it continues to promote map movement and helps to disincentivize passive teamplay which can occur when there are no on-map objectives to otherwise encourage flow in and out of engagement zones. This change will result in a small net increase in Special ammo availability in Competitive compared to the ammo meter system, while still being an overall reduction from the pre-Update 7.3.5 respawn values.
Trials
We have heard the feedback that the Special ammo economy in Trials, while improved, doesn't feel quite right just yet. So, for the first two weeks of Update 7.3.6, we will be experimenting with it to gather additional data.
The first week of Trials, we will be running what we refer to as the "unrestricted" Special ammo crate system, where all four ammo crates spawn every round (one by each team's initial spawn and two in neutral locations), and players who have Special ammo will drop it on death when they are killed. We will use this to draw a baseline for an upper limit of Special ammo in the Trials environment.
The second week, we will be moving to a "restricted" version of ammo crates, where only two crates spawn each round (the ones by each team's initial spawn). While players will still lose Special ammo on death, they will not drop Special ammo bricks. This variant will end up with Special ammo availability being between the current ammo meter system values and the previous respawn values.
During these first two weeks, we will gather a substantial amount of data and feedback on how both amounts feel and play, to inform future tuning of the Special ammo systems for Trials. The plan is to return to the current version of the ammo meter system in the third week of Trials, until we can further tune the values.
Notswap Improvements
In Competitive in Update 7.3.6 and in Trials for the first two weeks while we run the ammo crate experiments, we will be rolling out an improved version of the Notswap modifier, which will now remove ability energy if you change the ammo type of a weapon in your Kinetic or Energy slot mid-life. We are implementing this change because being able to quickly and freely swap between weapons mid-engagement nullifies the downside of using a weapon with limited ammo and pushes the risk-vs.-reward proposal out of balance for making those choices.
To clarify, this means you can swap between weapons with the same ammo type without a penalty. For example, if you have Conditional Finality in your Kinetic slot, you can swap it to an Eye of Sol (or any other Special ammo weapon in that slot) without losing energy. However, if you swap to an Immortal (or any other Primary ammo weapon in that slot), Notswap will trigger and drain your ability energy similarly to if you had swapped a part of your subclass or an Exotic armor piece. This should prevent occurrences of players running Special weapons and swapping to Primary weapons immediately after using their ammo, which will make the game state easier to understand.
Terms of Service Update
We have also updated our Terms of Service with a focus on matchmaking manipulation. Moving forward, intentionally manipulating matchmaking to gain an unfair advantage, whether using smurf accounts or external third-party tools, will be a bannable offense. This includes attempts to bypass any of our matchmaking systems, including Outlier Protection, Ranked, and Fireteam-Based matchmaking. A smurf account is defined as an account that has been intentionally deranked or sabotaged over a sustained period to present itself as a very low-level player for the sole purpose of manipulating matchmaking (which our detections differentiate from actual players). Players who utilize these accounts moving forward will be subject to bans and restrictions, depending on the severity of the abuse.
This will have no effect on players who play in legitimate fireteams of mixed skill, for example those who are helping other players to get to the Lighthouse or earn Adepts in Trials of Osiris or Guardians who are playing with clanmates or friends who have different skills than their own. In addition, all initial warnings or bans will be manually reviewed by the team.
Corrections from 7.3.5 Patch Notes
Two changes that were meant to ship with Update 7.3.6 were erroneously included in the 7.3.5 patch notes:
- We have clamped the Competitive reward point values to make them less variable and more predictable. The Competitive Point Reward system scales the points you gain or lose, based on how good the enemy team was compared to your own and how far under your expected rank you currently are. However, with values between 5 and 275 possible, the reward amounts often felt random. We have reduced the possible variance to 50 and 200, which should make fewer games’ reward values feel questionable and will reduce the magnitude of the swings you could get between games.
- The post-game Trials weapon rewards will now only grant the weekly weapon. For example, if the weekly Adept weapon is The Summoner, all post-game drops will also be The Summoner, to make it easier for people to target farm the roll of the weapon they are interested in.
Destiny 2: Into the Light Weapon Balance Update
Image LinkimgurG’day folks, it’s the weapons team here with the balance changes for this release. It’s a small one, with most changes relating to weapons shipping with Destiny 2: Into the Light weapon archetypes.
Weapon Archetypes
These changes are all to base weapon damage except where otherwise noted, and they apply to both PvP and PvE.
Breech-Loaded Grenade Launchers see a fair amount of usage in PvE, but it’s mostly wave frames for add clear, or blinding grenades for crowd control. We’re cranking up their impact damage for single-target utility (and so The Mountaintop feels as juiced as it deserves). At the same time, the current radius on disorienting grenades is larger than reasonable for the amount of ammo these have, so we’re reining that in a little.
- Increased impact damage by 40%.
- This works out at roughly a 15% damage buff, though total damage varies depending on blast radius stat.
- Reduced disorienting grenade radii (both damage and disorienting) by 15%.
- Increased lightweight Bow base damage by 6%. (Le Monarque and Wish-Ender are not affected in this change.)
- Reduced base damage by 5%.
- Hand Cannon
- Precision Hand Cannons can 2-crit, 2-body low-resilience Guardians again and more easily get 3 critical hits with damage boosts.
- Increased base damage by 6%.
- Adaptive Hand Cannons have an increased range cushion for the 3-tap, and we’ve offset their damage reduction from Explosive Payload to allow them to 3-tap Guardians of any resilience within optimal range.
- Increased body shot damage by 1%.
- Increased critical hit damage by 4%.
- Precision Hand Cannons can 2-crit, 2-body low-resilience Guardians again and more easily get 3 critical hits with damage boosts.
- Pulse Rifle
- Rapid-Fire – Have increased forgiveness and allow 8 critical hits to kill low resilience Guardians.
- Increased body shot damage by 3.5%.
- Increased critical hit damage by 1%.
- Lightweight
- Increased body shot damage by 6%.
- Increased critical hit damage by 3%.
- Adaptive
- Increased body shot damage by 5%.
- Increased critical hit damage by 2%.
- Rapid-Fire – Have increased forgiveness and allow 8 critical hits to kill low resilience Guardians.
- Scout Rifle
- Rapid-Fire
- Increased base damage by 2%.
- Rapid-Fire
- Shotgun
- Precision
- Corrected a rounding issue that was causing Precision Shotguns to require one extra pellet to kill max-resilience Guardians.
- Precision
- Whisper of the Worm is coming back and will be craftable, so we wanted to ensure it’s a meta pick for damage. Its DPS is already respectable, so we’ve increased its reserve ammunition, substantially increasing its sustained damage potential.
- Increased total ammunition from 18 to 24 (before reserves mods).
- One Thousand Voices already delivers massive damage per shot, but you’d run out of ammo so fast it was hard to justify bringing it compared to other high damage options. We’ve increased the reserves to help with this.
- Increased total ammunition from 7 to 11 (before reserves mods).
- Quicksilver Storm has been one of the top PvE Primary weapons since it shipped in Season of Plunder, and the time has come to dial it back a little. With these changes, it’s slower to build up grenades, and the grenades deal reduced damage. But given that previously one magazine would give you three grenades, and each grenade hit like a heavy grenade launcher, it’s still a very strong option.
- Increased shots to trigger rockets by 50%.
- Reduced grenade area-of-effect damage vs. combatants by 37.5%.
- The Last Word
- Increased base damage by 6%.
- Forerunner inadvertently received the Primary ammo Sidearm critical damage bonus. We've fixed that issue and increased its base damage to compensate.
- Increased base damage by 6%.
- Recluse is back, along with Master of Arms. In its previous state, it was just a little too strong and would eclipse other damage perks, so we’ve brought it down a little. In this form, it’s balanced against perks with a similar use case.
- Reduced the damage bonus from 20% to 15%.
- The first version of Magnificent Howl on Luna’s Howl was super strong. Shortly after it shipped, it ended up getting redesigned, so it’d stop breaking PvP. Now that Luna’s Howl is returning, we wanted to bring back the potential to two-tap Guardians in PvP, but with a little more effort. Here’s the new perk description:
- The number of Precision final blows before reloading affects the total rounds granted with increased range and damage. Precision final blows while Magnificent Howl is active extend the effect for additional rounds.
- For Micro-Missile to make sense on the random-rolled version of The Mountaintop, we decided to convert it into an intrinsic, which we could then re-use to make more micro-missile frame Grenade Launchers in the future. We also really didn’t want to return to a Mountaintop PvP meta, so this version can no longer one-hit kill in PvP, but the improved impact damage increases its viability in PvE. Giving it a more unique role, it can now be used as a rocket-like jumping tool. We expect some epic Movie of the Week contenders with this one.
- Redesigned this perk to be a weapon intrinsic and rebuilt it to do less direct damage vs. players, while giving it dramatically more self-physics impulse.
- Retuned its PvE damage to be competitive with other Breech-Loaded Grenade Launchers.
- Granted it a slightly increased reload speed.
- Permeability
- Fixed an issue where this perk was causing the The Slammer Sword to get stuck on the Strand damage type.
- Flinch can have a randomizing effect on duels, so to increase the reward for skilled gunplay we’ve reduced flinch on Primary weapons across the board.
- Reduced flinch taken by all Primary weapons by 15%.
- Sunshot became very unforgiving with the new sandbox changes and needed a buff.
- Increased Precision damage by 11% to address this.
- Wish-Ender's exit damage was dealing too much damage, so we’ve adjusted the weapon’s base damage to compensate.
- Reduced base damage by 5%.
- Corrected some weapons getting incorrect ammo amounts from the meter rewards and crates.
Reduced Strand Fragments Cost
Starting with Destiny 2: Into the Light on April 9, we’re reducing the cost of Strand Fragments from 200 Strand Meditations to 100. We hope this change allows players to catch up on any missing fragments for their Strand builds as you all prepare for The Final Shape.New Light Tutorial Skip and New Light Kit
We’re calling Guardians of all experience levels to join, rejoin, and bring friends to battle against the Witness. While the New Light campaign serves players new to games like Destiny 2, it might not fit those players already experienced with first-person shooters.Ride to the Tower with an Arcadia-class Ticket
Starting in Destiny2: Into the Light, after completing the second New Light mission, Shaw Han will ask you to sync with his ship in the Cosmodrome, providing a new option to leave the New Light tutorial early and head straight to the Tower. The option to skip the tutorial will remain for the rest of your time in the Cosmodrome and no matter when you leave, you will still receive critical rewards like your ship and your Sparrow, so don’t worry about missing out if you decide to skip. The ship will remain in the Cosmodrome for the duration of A Guardian Rises, so players who choose not to skip immediately can do so at any time afterwards.Image Linkimgur
Image Linkimgur
Tools for the Job: New Light Kits
To help bridge the power gap between new Guardians and our more seasoned defenders, players will now be able to head to the Tower and choose a kit handpicked from Ikora and the Vanguard. New Light Kits are bundles that contain a curated set of gear and subclass abilities. These kits are themed around specific subclass fantasies to help provide players with a shortcut to buildcrafting and give them a taste of that sweet, sweet space magic. There are nine kits in all, one for each Light subclass. Players can claim one per class. Enjoy!Image Linkimgur
Each New Light Kit contains:
- 2 Legendary weapons
- 1 Exotic weapon
- 4 Rare armor pieces and a Legendary class item
- Subclass abilities such as Aspects and Fragments
New Light Experience Wallpapers
To celebrate the upcoming updates to the New Light experience, we’ve got some seriously sweet wallpapers for you to enjoy.16:9
[Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_All.png)
Hunter
[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Hunter.png)
Titan
[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Titan.png)
Warlock
[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Warlock.png)
Mobile
Hunter[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Void_Hunter.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Solar_Hunter.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Arc_Hunter.png)
Titan
[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Void_Titan.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Solar_Titan.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Arc_Titan.png)
Warlock
[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Void_Warlock.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Solar_Warlock.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Arc_Warlock.png)
Updating the Default Chat Experience
With Destiny 2: Into the Light, we are making some changes to the default chat experience to allow players to connect with other players more easily by creating a more social experience. On April 9, we’ll be updating text chat to auto-join chat channels by default. When you log in, you’ll immediately see other players chatting in-game and can jump right into the conversation. Players will also default to auto-join voice chat when in a fireteam or fireteam lobby. Voice chat for local and team channels will still be off by default.As part of this update, we’ll also be updating our text chat language filtering rules. We'll continue to monitor and audit their performance. For more information on our language filters, visit our Text-based Language Filtering FAQ.
Some players may see chat off by default after the update. This is intentional for our younger players. For more information, please visit our Date of Birth Requirements for Destiny 2 and Bungie Services. If you’d like to see what options you have for your account or change available settings, you can visit Settings and go under the Social tab to view or change your text and voice chat status.
Iron Banner Returns
It’s your first opportunity to earn the new Tusk of the Boar Grenade Launcher and the reprised Multimach CCX Submachine Gun. So even if you’ve already nabbed the Tributary emblem or Iron Lord title, you have two very good reasons to jump back in!Onslaught: Legend Challenge
Image LinkimgurWith the release of Destiny 2: Into the Light on April 9 comes the new PvE wave-based defensive activity, Onslaught. To celebrate the release, we’re looking to reward Guardians who are among the first to conquer the mode on its highest difficulty.
Details
Starting on April 9, when Update 7.3.6 goes live, the first three fireteams to complete all 50 waves on Legend difficulty will receive a Lord Shaxx 7-inch mini replica helmet per fireteam member (3 per team total).
Image Linkimgur
We will announce the winners in next week’s TWID and will reach out to the winners shortly after on Bungie.net. You can get the full details on our rules and eligibility page.
Show us what you’re made of, Guardians!
Player Support Report
‘bout to howl at Luna!Image Linkimgur
Known Issues List Help Forums Bungie Help Twitter
DESTINY 2 AND ACCESS TO FEATURES
Last month, we implemented birth date requirements into Destiny 2. As detailed in our Date of Birth Requirements article, some players may be unable to access certain features and functionality based on age or region, such as purchasing Silver or text chatting.
Players who need to correct their information can submit a help ticket for our team to review.
KNOWN ISSUES
- Gilding the Guardian Games title, Champ, does not alter the Gilded counter.
- The Season of the Wish versions of the Dreaming City weapons are not dropping the Burnished and Blueshift Dreams shaders.
- The Last Rite Scout Rifle uses the same visual appearance as The Prophet Scout Rifle.
Smolvathûn
Image LinkimgurSavathûn, the Witch Queen, can be scary and intimidating. But smol Savathûn is just cute and adorable. We bet the smol Lucent Moths give hugs.
Art of the Week: Mingway via TwitteX
Image Linkimgur
Ascend the Mountaintop
Image LinkimgurRoCat Jumping. Let that concept sink in.
Movie of the Week:
[
Image Linkimgur](https://twitter.com/oddmb_/status/1773065025873195425)
We’ll be back next week with another TWID. In the meantime, be excellent to each other, and thanks for hanging out with us.
Destiny 2 Community Team
2024.04.04 20:02 DTG_Bot This Week in Destiny 04/04/2024
Source: https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/Article/this-week-in-destiny-04-04-24
This week in Destiny, we’re gearing up for Destiny 2: Into the Light. We’re less than a week away from our next major content update, and we’re pretty excited about it.
List of topics for the week:
Video Link
Here is a quick summary of everything we shared.
We announced the reprised versions of two classic Exotic Missions: The Whisper and Zero Hour. These reprised versions will retain some familiar elements of the classic missions, but you’ll also find updated puzzles, encounters, rewards, and Triumphs, as well as new secrets to discover on Legend difficulty. The Whisper will be available on April 9 with the launch of Destiny 2: Into the Light and Zero Hour will be available in May.
The Whisper
Eris Morn wants to pick your brain. Nothing creepy, she just thought she could use your memories to shape an updated version of a weapon that would be very useful against the Witness. Yes, it's Whisper of the Worm, the Exotic Sniper Rifle that lives in your Power weapon slot. Just be careful when jumping around in the dark because sometimes we don't remember things like they used to be. And you don't want to... drown... in... the Deep.
Zero Hour
Ada-1 has a mission for you. You need to go back to the old Tower, take down some Fallen pirates that want to get a hold on a very powerful weapon of our past, and maybe, just maybe, face a scary robot called TR3-VR that feels very lonely and wants to give Guardians a hug. The updated and craftable Outbreak Perfected Exotic Pulse Rifle is waiting for those who manage to avoid him and finish on time.
Additional Crafting Options
After obtaining the Exotic weapon from each of these reprised missions, new quests will become available. This will allow you to unlock additional crafting options, including upgrading each weapon's unique intrinsic behaviors. A new quest will become available each week for three weeks.
Reprised Ships
In addition to the new Exotic weapons you’ll earn, you can also earn reprised versions of the classic ships. The Whisper will offer a new ship with an updated look, Karve of the Worm, inspired by A Thousand Wings, while Zero Hour will offer, Vimana Junker, also with an updated look built on the frame of Scrap CF-717-91 and inspired by Outbreak Perfected.
New maps:
In our January 18 TWID, we revealed our plans to add character re-customization to Destiny 2 before the launch of The Final Shape. During this week’s livestream, we announced that character re-customization will be coming with Destiny 2: Into the Light on April 9! With this update, you’ll be able to modify the appearance of your Guardians anytime, without cost or limits to the number of changes.
To do so, simply launch Destiny 2, and you'll notice a new option when you hover over a character at the character selection screen. While you can change the body type, face, haihead, and markings, keep in mind it won’t be possible to change from one origin to another (i.e., Human, Exo, or Awoken).
We shared a few words about Pantheon, the new raid boss gauntlet starting on April 30. In Pantheon, you’ll have the opportunity to face raid bosses in a weekly challenge with escalating difficulties and rewards. This is a chance to rally your clan or use Fireteam Finder to take on this challenge. We’ll have more details as we get closer to the release.
Image Linkimgur
We’re thrilled to show you what we’ve been working on! In addition to seeing new gameplay, you’ll get some developer insight and a behind-the-scenes look at what you can expect as we journey into the Traveler. Make sure to tune in and join us. You won’t want to miss it!
When:
We also have several available channels that will be localized versions in the following languages:
The Final Shape Developer Gameplay Preview will also bring with it a new Twitch Drop. If you watch for at least 15 minutes, you can earn the new Tigris Fati emblem.
Tigris Fati
Image Linkimgur
And if you were shy of getting the Those Who Held Dear and Echo Diamond emblems from our Destiny 2: Into the Light Developer Livestreams, you can earn progress towards those emblems during our Gameplay Preview, too. Those Who Held Dear requires 1 hour of watch time, while Echo Diamond is granted after 3 hours of total watch time.
Those Who Held Dear
Image Linkimgur
Echo Diamond
Image Linkimgur
Hello, everyone, and welcome to another PvP Strike Team update. This is going to be a smaller one, simply because most of our work for this release has been centered around wrapping up the PvP Map Pack, which will be released in May. However, in addition to the weapon balance changes we mentioned a couple weeks ago we have some additional impactful changes we'd like to discuss. So, let's get to it.
Competitive
For Update 7.3.6, we’re making some changes to the game modes available in the Competitive playlist. We’re removing Survival and Countdown Rush and replacing them with 3v3 Clash and Collision (and for Collision we have changed some zone placements on maps like Dead Cliffs and Vostok, based on feedback from Labs). For Clash, we will also be swapping the ammo meter system for the ammo crate system. Collision was tested in Labs with the ammo crate system and was designed with it in mind, but internally we have also been testing Clash with crates for some time.
The benefit of the crates system, in the Clash game mode specifically, is that it continues to promote map movement and helps to disincentivize passive teamplay which can occur when there are no on-map objectives to otherwise encourage flow in and out of engagement zones. This change will result in a small net increase in Special ammo availability in Competitive compared to the ammo meter system, while still being an overall reduction from the pre-Update 7.3.5 respawn values.
Trials
We have heard the feedback that the Special ammo economy in Trials, while improved, doesn't feel quite right just yet. So, for the first two weeks of Update 7.3.6, we will be experimenting with it to gather additional data.
The first week of Trials, we will be running what we refer to as the "unrestricted" Special ammo crate system, where all four ammo crates spawn every round (one by each team's initial spawn and two in neutral locations), and players who have Special ammo will drop it on death when they are killed. We will use this to draw a baseline for an upper limit of Special ammo in the Trials environment.
The second week, we will be moving to a "restricted" version of ammo crates, where only two crates spawn each round (the ones by each team's initial spawn). While players will still lose Special ammo on death, they will not drop Special ammo bricks. This variant will end up with Special ammo availability being between the current ammo meter system values and the previous respawn values.
During these first two weeks, we will gather a substantial amount of data and feedback on how both amounts feel and play, to inform future tuning of the Special ammo systems for Trials. The plan is to return to the current version of the ammo meter system in the third week of Trials, until we can further tune the values.
Notswap Improvements
In Competitive in Update 7.3.6 and in Trials for the first two weeks while we run the ammo crate experiments, we will be rolling out an improved version of the Notswap modifier, which will now remove ability energy if you change the ammo type of a weapon in your Kinetic or Energy slot mid-life. We are implementing this change because being able to quickly and freely swap between weapons mid-engagement nullifies the downside of using a weapon with limited ammo and pushes the risk-vs.-reward proposal out of balance for making those choices.
To clarify, this means you can swap between weapons with the same ammo type without a penalty. For example, if you have Conditional Finality in your Kinetic slot, you can swap it to an Eye of Sol (or any other Special ammo weapon in that slot) without losing energy. However, if you swap to an Immortal (or any other Primary ammo weapon in that slot), Notswap will trigger and drain your ability energy similarly to if you had swapped a part of your subclass or an Exotic armor piece. This should prevent occurrences of players running Special weapons and swapping to Primary weapons immediately after using their ammo, which will make the game state easier to understand.
Terms of Service Update
We have also updated our Terms of Service with a focus on matchmaking manipulation. Moving forward, intentionally manipulating matchmaking to gain an unfair advantage, whether using smurf accounts or external third-party tools, will be a bannable offense. This includes attempts to bypass any of our matchmaking systems, including Outlier Protection, Ranked, and Fireteam-Based matchmaking. A smurf account is defined as an account that has been intentionally deranked or sabotaged over a sustained period to present itself as a very low-level player for the sole purpose of manipulating matchmaking (which our detections differentiate from actual players). Players who utilize these accounts moving forward will be subject to bans and restrictions, depending on the severity of the abuse.
This will have no effect on players who play in legitimate fireteams of mixed skill, for example those who are helping other players to get to the Lighthouse or earn Adepts in Trials of Osiris or Guardians who are playing with clanmates or friends who have different skills than their own. In addition, all initial warnings or bans will be manually reviewed by the team.
Corrections from 7.3.5 Patch Notes
Two changes that were meant to ship with Update 7.3.6 were erroneously included in the 7.3.5 patch notes:
G’day folks, it’s the weapons team here with the balance changes for this release. It’s a small one, with most changes relating to weapons shipping with Destiny 2: Into the Light weapon archetypes.
Weapon Archetypes
These changes are all to base weapon damage except where otherwise noted, and they apply to both PvP and PvE.
Breech-Loaded Grenade Launchers see a fair amount of usage in PvE, but it’s mostly wave frames for add clear, or blinding grenades for crowd control. We’re cranking up their impact damage for single-target utility (and so The Mountaintop feels as juiced as it deserves). At the same time, the current radius on disorienting grenades is larger than reasonable for the amount of ammo these have, so we’re reining that in a little.
Image Linkimgur
Image Linkimgur
Image Linkimgur
Each New Light Kit contains:
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_All.png)
Hunter
[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Hunter.png)
Titan
[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Titan.png)
Warlock
[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Warlock.png)
[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Void_Hunter.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Solar_Hunter.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Arc_Hunter.png)
Titan
[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Void_Titan.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Solar_Titan.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Arc_Titan.png)
Warlock
[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Void_Warlock.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Solar_Warlock.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Arc_Warlock.png)
As part of this update, we’ll also be updating our text chat language filtering rules. We'll continue to monitor and audit their performance. For more information on our language filters, visit our Text-based Language Filtering FAQ.
Some players may see chat off by default after the update. This is intentional for our younger players. For more information, please visit our Date of Birth Requirements for Destiny 2 and Bungie Services. If you’d like to see what options you have for your account or change available settings, you can visit Settings and go under the Social tab to view or change your text and voice chat status.
With the release of Destiny 2: Into the Light on April 9 comes the new PvE wave-based defensive activity, Onslaught. To celebrate the release, we’re looking to reward Guardians who are among the first to conquer the mode on its highest difficulty.
Details
Starting on April 9, when Update 7.3.6 goes live, the first three fireteams to complete all 50 waves on Legend difficulty will receive a Lord Shaxx 7-inch mini replica helmet per fireteam member (3 per team total).
Image Linkimgur
We will announce the winners in next week’s TWID and will reach out to the winners shortly after on Bungie.net. You can get the full details on our rules and eligibility page.
Show us what you’re made of, Guardians!
Image Linkimgur
Known Issues List Help Forums Bungie Help Twitter
DESTINY 2 AND ACCESS TO FEATURES
Last month, we implemented birth date requirements into Destiny 2. As detailed in our Date of Birth Requirements article, some players may be unable to access certain features and functionality based on age or region, such as purchasing Silver or text chatting.
Players who need to correct their information can submit a help ticket for our team to review.
KNOWN ISSUES
Savathûn, the Witch Queen, can be scary and intimidating. But smol Savathûn is just cute and adorable. We bet the smol Lucent Moths give hugs.
Art of the Week: Mingway via TwitteX
Image Linkimgur
RoCat Jumping. Let that concept sink in.
Movie of the Week:
[
Image Linkimgur](https://twitter.com/oddmb_/status/1773065025873195425)
That’s everything for this week! We can’t wait to see everyone dive into next week’s update. Onslaught, the BRAVE arsenal weapons, reprised Exotic missions, character re-customization, and the list goes on. Remember to pace yourself, take breaks as needed, and make sure to follow our Destiny2Team accounts, as we’ll be monitoring the update and responding to questions and feedback. It should be a fun week!
We’ll be back next week with another TWID. In the meantime, be excellent to each other, and thanks for hanging out with us.
Destiny 2 Community Team
submitted by DTG_Bot to DestinyTheGame [link] [comments]
List of topics for the week:
- Recap of Developer Livestream #3
- The Final Shape Developer Gameplay Preview on April 9
- PvP Strike Team update
- Weapons balance update
- Reduced costs of Strand Fragments
- New Light Tutorial Skip and New Light Kit
- New Light experience wallpapers
- Updating the default chat experience
- Iron Banner returns
- Onslaught Legend challenge details
- Player Support Report
- Art and Movie of the Week
Destiny 2: Into the Light Developer Livestream #3 Recap
Earlier this week we shared some additional details about Destiny 2: Into the Light with our third livestream. This included details about two reprised Exotic missions, a look at the new Crucible PvP maps coming in May, the announcement of the Pantheon PvE challenge, updates to the New Light experience, character re-customization, and more!Video Link
Here is a quick summary of everything we shared.
Reprised Exotic Missions
Image LinkimgurWe announced the reprised versions of two classic Exotic Missions: The Whisper and Zero Hour. These reprised versions will retain some familiar elements of the classic missions, but you’ll also find updated puzzles, encounters, rewards, and Triumphs, as well as new secrets to discover on Legend difficulty. The Whisper will be available on April 9 with the launch of Destiny 2: Into the Light and Zero Hour will be available in May.
The Whisper
Eris Morn wants to pick your brain. Nothing creepy, she just thought she could use your memories to shape an updated version of a weapon that would be very useful against the Witness. Yes, it's Whisper of the Worm, the Exotic Sniper Rifle that lives in your Power weapon slot. Just be careful when jumping around in the dark because sometimes we don't remember things like they used to be. And you don't want to... drown... in... the Deep.
Zero Hour
Ada-1 has a mission for you. You need to go back to the old Tower, take down some Fallen pirates that want to get a hold on a very powerful weapon of our past, and maybe, just maybe, face a scary robot called TR3-VR that feels very lonely and wants to give Guardians a hug. The updated and craftable Outbreak Perfected Exotic Pulse Rifle is waiting for those who manage to avoid him and finish on time.
Additional Crafting Options
After obtaining the Exotic weapon from each of these reprised missions, new quests will become available. This will allow you to unlock additional crafting options, including upgrading each weapon's unique intrinsic behaviors. A new quest will become available each week for three weeks.
Reprised Ships
In addition to the new Exotic weapons you’ll earn, you can also earn reprised versions of the classic ships. The Whisper will offer a new ship with an updated look, Karve of the Worm, inspired by A Thousand Wings, while Zero Hour will offer, Vimana Junker, also with an updated look built on the frame of Scrap CF-717-91 and inspired by Outbreak Perfected.
New PvP Maps
As we mentioned in our February 22 TWID, we’re excited to release three new Crucible maps on May 7. While these maps will also be available in 6v6 playlists like Control, they have been specifically built with a focus on 3v3 game modes in mind, including Dominion, Survival, and our newest mode, Collision. With the new maps, you’ll get to enjoy the backdrop of new locations you haven’t yet explored in PvP , including Europa, Neomuna, and the terraformed Pyramid ship.New maps:
- Eventide Labs (Europa)
- Cirrus Plaza (Neomuna)
- Dissonance (terraformed Pyramid ship)
Character Re-Customization
Image LinkimgurIn our January 18 TWID, we revealed our plans to add character re-customization to Destiny 2 before the launch of The Final Shape. During this week’s livestream, we announced that character re-customization will be coming with Destiny 2: Into the Light on April 9! With this update, you’ll be able to modify the appearance of your Guardians anytime, without cost or limits to the number of changes.
To do so, simply launch Destiny 2, and you'll notice a new option when you hover over a character at the character selection screen. While you can change the body type, face, haihead, and markings, keep in mind it won’t be possible to change from one origin to another (i.e., Human, Exo, or Awoken).
Additional Name Change Available April 9
Destiny 2: Into the Light will also bring the option for an additional one-time name change to all players at no cost. On April 9, after the update has gone live, you can log into bungie.net and change your Bungie ID using these step-by-step directions If you didn’t take advantage of our previous name change opportunity, now you’ll have two. Choose wisely!Pantheon
Image LinkimgurWe shared a few words about Pantheon, the new raid boss gauntlet starting on April 30. In Pantheon, you’ll have the opportunity to face raid bosses in a weekly challenge with escalating difficulties and rewards. This is a chance to rally your clan or use Fireteam Finder to take on this challenge. We’ll have more details as we get closer to the release.
New Light Tutorial Experience
We also shared details on some updates we’re bringing to the New Light experience and the way players can choose to interact with it. If you missed our livestream, we have a full breakdown below, after the weapons balance update.The Final Shape Developer Gameplay Preview
Join us on April 9 at 9:30 AM PT when we’ll share all-new details and gameplay from The Final Shape during our Developer Gameplay Preview.Image Linkimgur
We’re thrilled to show you what we’ve been working on! In addition to seeing new gameplay, you’ll get some developer insight and a behind-the-scenes look at what you can expect as we journey into the Traveler. Make sure to tune in and join us. You won’t want to miss it!
When:
- April 9 at 9:30 AM PT
We also have several available channels that will be localized versions in the following languages:
The Final Shape Developer Gameplay Preview will also bring with it a new Twitch Drop. If you watch for at least 15 minutes, you can earn the new Tigris Fati emblem.
Tigris Fati
Image Linkimgur
And if you were shy of getting the Those Who Held Dear and Echo Diamond emblems from our Destiny 2: Into the Light Developer Livestreams, you can earn progress towards those emblems during our Gameplay Preview, too. Those Who Held Dear requires 1 hour of watch time, while Echo Diamond is granted after 3 hours of total watch time.
Those Who Held Dear
Image Linkimgur
Echo Diamond
Image Linkimgur
PvP Strike Team Update
Image LinkimgurHello, everyone, and welcome to another PvP Strike Team update. This is going to be a smaller one, simply because most of our work for this release has been centered around wrapping up the PvP Map Pack, which will be released in May. However, in addition to the weapon balance changes we mentioned a couple weeks ago we have some additional impactful changes we'd like to discuss. So, let's get to it.
Competitive
For Update 7.3.6, we’re making some changes to the game modes available in the Competitive playlist. We’re removing Survival and Countdown Rush and replacing them with 3v3 Clash and Collision (and for Collision we have changed some zone placements on maps like Dead Cliffs and Vostok, based on feedback from Labs). For Clash, we will also be swapping the ammo meter system for the ammo crate system. Collision was tested in Labs with the ammo crate system and was designed with it in mind, but internally we have also been testing Clash with crates for some time.
The benefit of the crates system, in the Clash game mode specifically, is that it continues to promote map movement and helps to disincentivize passive teamplay which can occur when there are no on-map objectives to otherwise encourage flow in and out of engagement zones. This change will result in a small net increase in Special ammo availability in Competitive compared to the ammo meter system, while still being an overall reduction from the pre-Update 7.3.5 respawn values.
Trials
We have heard the feedback that the Special ammo economy in Trials, while improved, doesn't feel quite right just yet. So, for the first two weeks of Update 7.3.6, we will be experimenting with it to gather additional data.
The first week of Trials, we will be running what we refer to as the "unrestricted" Special ammo crate system, where all four ammo crates spawn every round (one by each team's initial spawn and two in neutral locations), and players who have Special ammo will drop it on death when they are killed. We will use this to draw a baseline for an upper limit of Special ammo in the Trials environment.
The second week, we will be moving to a "restricted" version of ammo crates, where only two crates spawn each round (the ones by each team's initial spawn). While players will still lose Special ammo on death, they will not drop Special ammo bricks. This variant will end up with Special ammo availability being between the current ammo meter system values and the previous respawn values.
During these first two weeks, we will gather a substantial amount of data and feedback on how both amounts feel and play, to inform future tuning of the Special ammo systems for Trials. The plan is to return to the current version of the ammo meter system in the third week of Trials, until we can further tune the values.
Notswap Improvements
In Competitive in Update 7.3.6 and in Trials for the first two weeks while we run the ammo crate experiments, we will be rolling out an improved version of the Notswap modifier, which will now remove ability energy if you change the ammo type of a weapon in your Kinetic or Energy slot mid-life. We are implementing this change because being able to quickly and freely swap between weapons mid-engagement nullifies the downside of using a weapon with limited ammo and pushes the risk-vs.-reward proposal out of balance for making those choices.
To clarify, this means you can swap between weapons with the same ammo type without a penalty. For example, if you have Conditional Finality in your Kinetic slot, you can swap it to an Eye of Sol (or any other Special ammo weapon in that slot) without losing energy. However, if you swap to an Immortal (or any other Primary ammo weapon in that slot), Notswap will trigger and drain your ability energy similarly to if you had swapped a part of your subclass or an Exotic armor piece. This should prevent occurrences of players running Special weapons and swapping to Primary weapons immediately after using their ammo, which will make the game state easier to understand.
Terms of Service Update
We have also updated our Terms of Service with a focus on matchmaking manipulation. Moving forward, intentionally manipulating matchmaking to gain an unfair advantage, whether using smurf accounts or external third-party tools, will be a bannable offense. This includes attempts to bypass any of our matchmaking systems, including Outlier Protection, Ranked, and Fireteam-Based matchmaking. A smurf account is defined as an account that has been intentionally deranked or sabotaged over a sustained period to present itself as a very low-level player for the sole purpose of manipulating matchmaking (which our detections differentiate from actual players). Players who utilize these accounts moving forward will be subject to bans and restrictions, depending on the severity of the abuse.
This will have no effect on players who play in legitimate fireteams of mixed skill, for example those who are helping other players to get to the Lighthouse or earn Adepts in Trials of Osiris or Guardians who are playing with clanmates or friends who have different skills than their own. In addition, all initial warnings or bans will be manually reviewed by the team.
Corrections from 7.3.5 Patch Notes
Two changes that were meant to ship with Update 7.3.6 were erroneously included in the 7.3.5 patch notes:
- We have clamped the Competitive reward point values to make them less variable and more predictable. The Competitive Point Reward system scales the points you gain or lose, based on how good the enemy team was compared to your own and how far under your expected rank you currently are. However, with values between 5 and 275 possible, the reward amounts often felt random. We have reduced the possible variance to 50 and 200, which should make fewer games’ reward values feel questionable and will reduce the magnitude of the swings you could get between games.
- The post-game Trials weapon rewards will now only grant the weekly weapon. For example, if the weekly Adept weapon is The Summoner, all post-game drops will also be The Summoner, to make it easier for people to target farm the roll of the weapon they are interested in.
Destiny 2: Into the Light Weapon Balance Update
Image LinkimgurG’day folks, it’s the weapons team here with the balance changes for this release. It’s a small one, with most changes relating to weapons shipping with Destiny 2: Into the Light weapon archetypes.
Weapon Archetypes
These changes are all to base weapon damage except where otherwise noted, and they apply to both PvP and PvE.
Breech-Loaded Grenade Launchers see a fair amount of usage in PvE, but it’s mostly wave frames for add clear, or blinding grenades for crowd control. We’re cranking up their impact damage for single-target utility (and so The Mountaintop feels as juiced as it deserves). At the same time, the current radius on disorienting grenades is larger than reasonable for the amount of ammo these have, so we’re reining that in a little.
- Increased impact damage by 40%.
- This works out at roughly a 15% damage buff, though total damage varies depending on blast radius stat.
- Reduced disorienting grenade radii (both damage and disorienting) by 15%.
- Increased lightweight Bow base damage by 6%. (Le Monarque and Wish-Ender are not affected in this change.)
- Reduced base damage by 5%.
- Hand Cannon
- Precision Hand Cannons can 2-crit, 2-body low-resilience Guardians again and more easily get 3 critical hits with damage boosts.
- Increased base damage by 6%.
- Adaptive Hand Cannons have an increased range cushion for the 3-tap, and we’ve offset their damage reduction from Explosive Payload to allow them to 3-tap Guardians of any resilience within optimal range.
- Increased body shot damage by 1%.
- Increased critical hit damage by 4%.
- Precision Hand Cannons can 2-crit, 2-body low-resilience Guardians again and more easily get 3 critical hits with damage boosts.
- Pulse Rifle
- Rapid-Fire – Have increased forgiveness and allow 8 critical hits to kill low resilience Guardians.
- Increased body shot damage by 3.5%.
- Increased critical hit damage by 1%.
- Lightweight
- Increased body shot damage by 6%.
- Increased critical hit damage by 3%.
- Adaptive
- Increased body shot damage by 5%.
- Increased critical hit damage by 2%.
- Rapid-Fire – Have increased forgiveness and allow 8 critical hits to kill low resilience Guardians.
- Scout Rifle
- Rapid-Fire
- Increased base damage by 2%.
- Rapid-Fire
- Shotgun
- Precision
- Corrected a rounding issue that was causing Precision Shotguns to require one extra pellet to kill max-resilience Guardians.
- Precision
- Whisper of the Worm is coming back and will be craftable, so we wanted to ensure it’s a meta pick for damage. Its DPS is already respectable, so we’ve increased its reserve ammunition, substantially increasing its sustained damage potential.
- Increased total ammunition from 18 to 24 (before reserves mods).
- One Thousand Voices already delivers massive damage per shot, but you’d run out of ammo so fast it was hard to justify bringing it compared to other high damage options. We’ve increased the reserves to help with this.
- Increased total ammunition from 7 to 11 (before reserves mods).
- Quicksilver Storm has been one of the top PvE Primary weapons since it shipped in Season of Plunder, and the time has come to dial it back a little. With these changes, it’s slower to build up grenades, and the grenades deal reduced damage. But given that previously one magazine would give you three grenades, and each grenade hit like a heavy grenade launcher, it’s still a very strong option.
- Increased shots to trigger rockets by 50%.
- Reduced grenade area-of-effect damage vs. combatants by 37.5%.
- The Last Word
- Increased base damage by 6%.
- Forerunner inadvertently received the Primary ammo Sidearm critical damage bonus. We've fixed that issue and increased its base damage to compensate.
- Increased base damage by 6%.
- Recluse is back, along with Master of Arms. In its previous state, it was just a little too strong and would eclipse other damage perks, so we’ve brought it down a little. In this form, it’s balanced against perks with a similar use case.
- Reduced the damage bonus from 20% to 15%.
- The first version of Magnificent Howl on Luna’s Howl was super strong. Shortly after it shipped, it ended up getting redesigned, so it’d stop breaking PvP. Now that Luna’s Howl is returning, we wanted to bring back the potential to two-tap Guardians in PvP, but with a little more effort. Here’s the new perk description:
- The number of Precision final blows before reloading affects the total rounds granted with increased range and damage. Precision final blows while Magnificent Howl is active extend the effect for additional rounds.
- For Micro-Missile to make sense on the random-rolled version of The Mountaintop, we decided to convert it into an intrinsic, which we could then re-use to make more micro-missile frame Grenade Launchers in the future. We also really didn’t want to return to a Mountaintop PvP meta, so this version can no longer one-hit kill in PvP, but the improved impact damage increases its viability in PvE. Giving it a more unique role, it can now be used as a rocket-like jumping tool. We expect some epic Movie of the Week contenders with this one.
- Redesigned this perk to be a weapon intrinsic and rebuilt it to do less direct damage vs. players, while giving it dramatically more self-physics impulse.
- Retuned its PvE damage to be competitive with other Breech-Loaded Grenade Launchers.
- Granted it a slightly increased reload speed.
- Permeability
- Fixed an issue where this perk was causing the The Slammer Sword to get stuck on the Strand damage type.
- Flinch can have a randomizing effect on duels, so to increase the reward for skilled gunplay we’ve reduced flinch on Primary weapons across the board.
- Reduced flinch taken by all Primary weapons by 15%.
- Sunshot became very unforgiving with the new sandbox changes and needed a buff.
- Increased Precision damage by 11% to address this.
- Wish-Ender's exit damage was dealing too much damage, so we’ve adjusted the weapon’s base damage to compensate.
- Reduced base damage by 5%.
- Corrected some weapons getting incorrect ammo amounts from the meter rewards and crates.
Reduced Strand Fragments Cost
Starting with Destiny 2: Into the Light on April 9, we’re reducing the cost of Strand Fragments from 200 Strand Meditations to 100. We hope this change allows players to catch up on any missing fragments for their Strand builds as you all prepare for The Final Shape.New Light Tutorial Skip and New Light Kit
We’re calling Guardians of all experience levels to join, rejoin, and bring friends to battle against the Witness. While the New Light campaign serves players new to games like Destiny 2, it might not fit those players already experienced with first-person shooters.Ride to the Tower with an Arcadia-class Ticket
Starting in Destiny2: Into the Light, after completing the second New Light mission, Shaw Han will ask you to sync with his ship in the Cosmodrome, providing a new option to leave the New Light tutorial early and head straight to the Tower. The option to skip the tutorial will remain for the rest of your time in the Cosmodrome and no matter when you leave, you will still receive critical rewards like your ship and your Sparrow, so don’t worry about missing out if you decide to skip. The ship will remain in the Cosmodrome for the duration of A Guardian Rises, so players who choose not to skip immediately can do so at any time afterwards.Image Linkimgur
Image Linkimgur
Tools for the Job: New Light Kits
To help bridge the power gap between new Guardians and our more seasoned defenders, players will now be able to head to the Tower and choose a kit handpicked from Ikora and the Vanguard. New Light Kits are bundles that contain a curated set of gear and subclass abilities. These kits are themed around specific subclass fantasies to help provide players with a shortcut to buildcrafting and give them a taste of that sweet, sweet space magic. There are nine kits in all, one for each Light subclass. Players can claim one per class. Enjoy!Image Linkimgur
Each New Light Kit contains:
- 2 Legendary weapons
- 1 Exotic weapon
- 4 Rare armor pieces and a Legendary class item
- Subclass abilities such as Aspects and Fragments
New Light Experience Wallpapers
To celebrate the upcoming updates to the New Light experience, we’ve got some seriously sweet wallpapers for you to enjoy.16:9
[Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_All.png)
Hunter
[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Hunter.png)
Titan
[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Titan.png)
Warlock
[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Warlock.png)
Mobile
Hunter[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Void_Hunter.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Solar_Hunter.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Arc_Hunter.png)
Titan
[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Void_Titan.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Solar_Titan.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Arc_Titan.png)
Warlock
[
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Void_Warlock.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Solar_Warlock.png) [
Image Linkimgur](http://downloads.bungie.net/images/Wallpapers/New%20Light/NewLightSkip_Wallpapers_Arc_Warlock.png)
Updating the Default Chat Experience
With Destiny 2: Into the Light, we are making some changes to the default chat experience to allow players to connect with other players more easily by creating a more social experience. On April 9, we’ll be updating text chat to auto-join chat channels by default. When you log in, you’ll immediately see other players chatting in-game and can jump right into the conversation. Players will also default to auto-join voice chat when in a fireteam or fireteam lobby. Voice chat for local and team channels will still be off by default.As part of this update, we’ll also be updating our text chat language filtering rules. We'll continue to monitor and audit their performance. For more information on our language filters, visit our Text-based Language Filtering FAQ.
Some players may see chat off by default after the update. This is intentional for our younger players. For more information, please visit our Date of Birth Requirements for Destiny 2 and Bungie Services. If you’d like to see what options you have for your account or change available settings, you can visit Settings and go under the Social tab to view or change your text and voice chat status.
Iron Banner Returns
It’s your first opportunity to earn the new Tusk of the Boar Grenade Launcher and the reprised Multimach CCX Submachine Gun. So even if you’ve already nabbed the Tributary emblem or Iron Lord title, you have two very good reasons to jump back in!Onslaught: Legend Challenge
Image LinkimgurWith the release of Destiny 2: Into the Light on April 9 comes the new PvE wave-based defensive activity, Onslaught. To celebrate the release, we’re looking to reward Guardians who are among the first to conquer the mode on its highest difficulty.
Details
Starting on April 9, when Update 7.3.6 goes live, the first three fireteams to complete all 50 waves on Legend difficulty will receive a Lord Shaxx 7-inch mini replica helmet per fireteam member (3 per team total).
Image Linkimgur
We will announce the winners in next week’s TWID and will reach out to the winners shortly after on Bungie.net. You can get the full details on our rules and eligibility page.
Show us what you’re made of, Guardians!
Player Support Report
‘bout to howl at Luna!Image Linkimgur
Known Issues List Help Forums Bungie Help Twitter
DESTINY 2 AND ACCESS TO FEATURES
Last month, we implemented birth date requirements into Destiny 2. As detailed in our Date of Birth Requirements article, some players may be unable to access certain features and functionality based on age or region, such as purchasing Silver or text chatting.
Players who need to correct their information can submit a help ticket for our team to review.
KNOWN ISSUES
- Gilding the Guardian Games title, Champ, does not alter the Gilded counter.
- The Season of the Wish versions of the Dreaming City weapons are not dropping the Burnished and Blueshift Dreams shaders.
- The Last Rite Scout Rifle uses the same visual appearance as The Prophet Scout Rifle.
Smolvathûn
Image LinkimgurSavathûn, the Witch Queen, can be scary and intimidating. But smol Savathûn is just cute and adorable. We bet the smol Lucent Moths give hugs.
Art of the Week: Mingway via TwitteX
Image Linkimgur
Ascend the Mountaintop
Image LinkimgurRoCat Jumping. Let that concept sink in.
Movie of the Week:
[
Image Linkimgur](https://twitter.com/oddmb_/status/1773065025873195425)
We’ll be back next week with another TWID. In the meantime, be excellent to each other, and thanks for hanging out with us.
Destiny 2 Community Team
2024.02.15 18:15 Bluethingamajig 32 Teams/32 Days: New England Patriots
32 Teams/32 Days: New England Patriots 2023-24 Season
Record: 4-13, Last in AFC East Playoffs: Definitely not this year.Link to Last Year's 32/32 Pats Looking for a different team's writeup? Check the 32/32 Hub here
Hello friends and foes, and welcome to the season that non-Patriots fans have sought and desired for more than two decades. I am Bluethingamajig, returning for the end of an era. I am joined in this writeup by u/ecupatsfan12 for the third year in a row. Thank you greatly for your contributions to the project.
First I must make a confession. Last year, I expressed (a new) hope that would not make any comparisons to 'The Rise of Skywalker'. Unfortunately, I jinxed it. Just like that movie, this Patriots year was a bit of a disaster. At various points, I could understand what was supposed to be happening and visually it resembled what it tried to be, but holistically was an incoherent mess that failed to trust itself and its viewers. Thus, it receives my movie metaphor award for the season.
This year had so much frustrating offensive ineptitude, enough injuries to worry a Ravens fan, at times the worst offensive line in the NFL competing with the Giants, a QB that lost the ability to play QB, and a defense that still managed to be among the top in the NFL despite the lack of support from either special teams or offense. As you will see in this season review, the defense was a bright spot in a drunken molasses flood of apathetic sludge. The defense was the only bright spot. The team as a whole was bad.
The 2023 Patriots would best compare to the 2019 Patriots. In Brady’s last year in New England, a bad offensive line and sub-par receivers led to rather frustrating offensive results, and despite their 8-0 start and a dominant defense, the team limped to a first round playoff exit. Compare these 2019 results of a 16-10, 17-10, and 13-9 (all wins) to the 2023 stretch of 10-7, 10-6, 6-0 (all losses).
The year was so bad it resulted in parting ways with Bill Belichick. After 24 years, 18 playoff berths, 9 Super Bowl appearances, 6 Lombardi trophies, and unspeakable trauma to the rest of the NFL, Patriots owner Robert Kraft felt it was time to move on. I'll get back to this in its own section later. Farewell, Bill, you will remain beloved in New England for the two decades of dominance.
Ultimately, I am an optimist. I will be doing my best to explain why this season wasn't actually that bad (it was pretty bad, though) and why Patriots fans should be hopeful for the future. Without any further ado, let us begin.
Directory and Contents
Main PostThe Season, briefly Highlights and Lowlights 2023 Roster Changes: draft and free agency Season Statistics -The Mac Jones era, a post-mortem Game Recaps Position Group Review Coaching Review -The Bill Belichick era, a post-mortem
Separate Comments
A Look to the Future: -The New Patriots Head Coach: Jerod Mayo (and other coaching hires) -2024 Free Agents -Team Needs 2024 GM Simulator -2024 Draft -2024 Free Agent and Roster Preview Schedule Preview Conclusions
The Season
The season began with optimism and renewed enthusiasm. Gone was Matt Patricia and in his place the familiar butt-chin of Bill O'Brien and line coach Adrian Klemm. Hopefully, Mac Jones would recover to his rookie year performance, the O-line would perform. Spoiler alert: They didn't.The season started with close losses to the Eagles and Dolphins, both games strongly reminiscent of last year's close losses of "shooting yourself in the foot, but then making a comeback before falling just short". A win against the Jets brought the Patriots up against Dallas, where the team just collapsed, and in the process, lost their two best defenders to season-ending injuries.
The Patriots had another disasterclass against the Saints, before the team started to recover in a refball-heavy loss against the Raiders (Josh McDaniels is 3-0 against Bill Belichick as a head coach). Then, the Bills came to town where the Patriots had by far their best performance of the year, a signature win that the Patriots failed to replicate for the rest of the season.
A second loss against the high-flying Dolphins preceded quite possibly the worst 4-game stretch to watch in a very long time, and certainly the worst 4 offensive performances in the Belichick era. First, a 17-point showing against the Commanders who had just traded away their best defenders. Then, a pitiful 10-6 loss to the Colts, 10-7 loss to the Giants, and when Bailey Zappe took over, a 6-0 loss to the Chargers.
Fortunately for the Patriots, there would be a small reprieve as the Pittsburgh "plays down to their competition" Steelers kindly hosted the Patriots, letting New England walk away with a 21-18 victory. A loss to the Chiefs, a dramatic win against the Broncos, a loss to the Bills, and a final defeat with all the might of a wet fart at the hands of the Jets rounded out a miserable season for Patriots players and fans (though I imagine it was a euphoric delight to all the Patriots haters).
Thus ended a 4-13 campaign. Some quick notes to round out the season:
The Patriots went 4-8 in 1-score games, suggesting an 'unluckiness' value of 2 games, yet only 4.5 pythagorean wins (2 total blowouts pushing that value down), implying that the Patriots were in fact as bad as they looked. If you exclude the blowouts in which the team just died, pythagorean wins improve to 5.5 across 15 games. Still bad obviously, but not atrocious.
Highlights and Lowlights
Highlights
Bluethingamajig: In a 4-13 season, there are few reasons to celebrate. Most moments are frustrating, demoralizing, or straight up painful. But god damn was it satisfying to watch Mac (attempt to) do the griddy on a game-winning touchdown in the last minutes of the game vs. Buffalo.ecupatsfan12: I would say beating Pittsburgh on Thursday night football in an otherwise lost season.
Ohanrahans: Christian Gonzalez's high point INT on Tua
joeyolo74: When the hire of BOB was announced
Lowlights
Bluethingamajig: There are plenty of terrible throws to choose from, but that god-awful interception against the Colts in Germany sticks out. I don't need to describe it further, you already know which one I am talking about.ecupatsfan12:- Throwing a horrific interception on the goal line by Mac Jones sealing his and Bill’s fate
Ohanrahans: Back to back horrific INTs in Germany vs. the Colts from Zappe and Mac.
joeyolo74: The no-show against New Orleans
2023 Roster Changes
Notable moves and draft review written by ecupatsfan12Notable Cuts, Trades, and Free Agency Departures/Acquisitions
Jakobi Meyers-WR-departs to Las Vegas after it was revealed he was a secret sleeper agent at the end of last year. His gaffe plus criticism of the coaching staff lead the Patriots to not resign him and instead signed JuJu Smith Schuster. Jujus leg went out after him after a few games and he made minimal to no impact and has a giant dead cap. Losing Jakobi who always found a way to get open and surely find a way on his fathers secret Mac Jones low light video was a death knell to our offensive scheme.Nelson Agholor-WR- Departed to Baltimore to a proud stable franchise after being brought here from LV. He reverted back to his old self in New England-struggling with the playbook and having a bad case of the dropsies. Of course- he went on to do well in Baltimore.
Damien Harris- RB- Harris was coming off injury and signed with our neighbors up north the Bills. He got hurt again and didn't play much this year- with the emergence of James Cook I expect Buffalo to be willing to let him walk. I keep my eyes peeled for him if Zeke decides to walk.
Jonnu Smith-Tight End- Wearing the infamous #81 for the Patriots- his play nearly drove fans to commit crimes and lose their sanity. He was traded to the Falcons for a low round pick where he was a glorified tackle for the Falcons and a top red zone run game weapon for departed Coach Arthur Smith.
In short- Bill let most of the offensive talent walk. I think this was two fold-first it was a way to get younger and better and cheaper like most teams do. I also think that the veterans in the locker room were growing frustrated at the new normal without Tom Brady in the building. Criticism of Matt Patricia and the Patriot Way were simmering to a boil- like frustrated youth football players when they discover their coach is really only coaching to ensure his son who is Zach Wilson bad faces no competition to play QB. The lasting image of Mac Jones in New England is him getting trampled by Chandler Jones before he went off the reservation in the Lunatic Lateral in Vegas- and in the SAME GAME screaming at Matt Patricia “Throw the f***** ball!! The quick game SUCKS!!!”. While Mac may have been too vocal-his feelings were echoed by many in the locker room.
The defensive talent remained largely intact from the prior year which is reflected in their performance and tape. We sought to upgrade our offensive additions
WR Juju Smith Schuster- Mr Big Chests favorite teammate was largely fine in the locker room but his chronic leg problem worsened and he spent most of the season on IR. When he did play- he looked completely washed. This money should have gone to Jakobi-and now we are surely going to have to eat his contract. Which isnt bad with our cap situation- Im just glad he doesnt like massages.
TE Mike Gesicki- Due to Miami moving to a zone Shanahan esc scheme in which blocking is essential Gesicki fell out of favor with Miamis brass and was picked up to fill the void left by Jonnu Smith. Gesicki showed flashes of being able to catch well and get open- but struggled to block. Essentially a much slower swiftless version of Kelce- Gesicki couldnt produce with a revolving door at the QB position and will likely be on the road again. Still young enough- I would not be shocked if he signed in Kansas City where he will go to the baby GOAT and surely be great.
RB Ezekiel Elliott- The longtime Cowboys center decided to switch back to his original position at running back. I was wary of this signing as I dont like signing major character concern guys post Antonio Brown. I was proved wrong- Zeke looked refreshed and was very positive and well liked in the locker room. I would love to have him back and finish his career in New England.
RT Calvin Anderson, Riley Reiff, Connor McDermott-all played in at least one game. None stayed healthy
Early in the offseason our budding sophomore corner Jack Jones decided to live up to his reputation as a headcase and decided to bring a gun with him through the airport where of course he was busted. Due to the patriots zero tolerance policy with weapons post Mr Hernandez-he was released where he was signed by the LV Raiders and wound up getting a pick off Mahomes on Christmas Day.
We wound up getting JC Jackson from the Chargers after he shit on Brandon Staleys defensive genius and brought him back into the fold. JC has all the talent in the world but is dealing with mental health issues and was away from the team for much of last year. In a positive environment- I look forward to JC getting back on track. We are on the hook for his contract anyway- so I hope it works out. I hope our defensive backs stay away from Panda Express and the airport.
2023 Draft Review
1.17- Christian Gonzalez- CB-Oregon- Gonzalez, the brother in law of Lions QB David Blough was a shining star of the 2023 draft class and is shaping up to be contending with Sauce Gardner as a young standout corner. In 4 games he tallied 14 stops and a pick. Grade-A2.45- Keion White-DE-GA Tech- This stone face fella had a solid year tallying 12 stops and a sack. I look for him to take a big jump forward next year. Grade- B
3.76- Marte Mapu- ILB/S- Sacramento State- Versatile very talented young man-tallied 12 stops with a forced fumble and a pick in his rookie year. Very raw but talented. I like him a lot. Grade B+
4.107- IOL Jake Andrews Troy- received limited play time- will likely step in once David Andrews retires to continue on his legacy. Grade- incomplete
4.112- Chad Ryland K UMD- Bill blew this pick. We have had HORRIFIC luck drafting kickers recently. Our first attempt at a Nick Folk replacement was a proud boy who got cut after training camp- our second attempt was also terrible. Surely 3rd time's the charm right- WRONG. Ryland was one of the worst kickers in the league, hitting 64 percent of his field goals. He will probably be cut in the offseason/camp. Grade- F
4.117-Sidney Sow- IOL-EMU- A diamond in the rough- got some play time on the offensive line. A solid contributor and possible starter next year. Grade- B+
5.144- Atonio Mafi- IOL- UCLA- didn't play much this year- incomplete grade.
6.187- Kayshoun Boutte- WR LSU- Boutte showed flashes of following Jamarr Chase's footsteps at LSU but was marred by poor attitude and questions about his commitment resulting in him falling to us. Boutte proceeded to complain about his play time- got benched and then got busted for illegal gambling. He will probably be cut in the offseason- Grade D.
6.192- Bryce Baringer- Very good punter and a actually good specialist- Grade A.
6.210-Pop Douglas- WR- Liberty- I loved this guy coming out and he didn't disappoint and became a fan favorite. He was actually able to get open and produce with the ball in his hands and tallied 49 grabs for 561 yards. He will be our slot receiver this year. Grade- A+
6.214- Ameer Speed- DB- No longer on the team.
7.245- Isaiah Bolden- DB- Jackson State- Went on IR at the end of the year. Will play a lot on special teams and will probably get moved to safety. Like his college coach- he is coming and will probably play a ton on specials this year- Grade-incomplete.
Early Grade- B. Our defense is in pretty good shape which coincides with Bill's unquestioned prowess on defense. However- our offense is completely devoid of talent due to horrific years of drafting and GM me (Elliott Wolf IRL) will spend all of this year's draft and half of next year's draft breathing life into a dormant offense.
Season Statistics
Stats sourced from PFROffensive Statistics
| Statistic | 2023 Value | League Rank | 2022 Value | League Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passing Yards | 3069 | 28th | 3536 | 20th |
| Pass NY/A | 5.1 | 29th | 6.1 | 16th |
| Rushing Yards | 1627 | 26th | 1812 | 24th |
| Rushing Y/A | 3.9 | 25th | 4.3 | 21st |
| Points/Drive | 1.10 | 32nd | 1.63 | 25th |
| Turnovers | 29 | 27th | 23 | 14th |
| Starting Field Position | 26.2 | 30th | 30.8 | 2nd |
The Michael McCorkle Jones era, a post-mortem
In his rookie year, Mac was a pro-bowler, unambiguously the best performing QB of his draft class (compared against QBs on the Jets, the Urban Meyer-Jaguars, the Bears, and IR), and a major contributor to a wildcard playoff berth. Although he had some flaws, such as lacking the arm talent to throw off-platform and lacking strength to hit the out routes, Mac was a precise, consistent, and accurate passer attacking the middle of the field. Since then, he has fallen into the depths of...still somehow third best QB in the class. And if you dislike Justin Fields, second best.
Here's how this shook out.
| Statistic | Mac Jones (2021) | Mac Jones (2022) | Mac Jones (2023) | Bailey Zappe (2023) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yards/Start | 224 | 214 | 193 | 195 |
| Completion % | 67.6 | 65.2 | 64.9 | 59.9 |
| NY/A | 6.5 | 5.8 | 5.4 | 4.6 |
| TD:INT Ratio | 1.7 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.7 |
| QBR | 50.9 | 38.4 | 36.6 | 23.4 |
In 2023, Mac broke as a QB. He did not trust the offensive line (for good reason), and thus spent more time watching the line than the defenders downfield. He did not trust the receivers (for good reason) to get open or run the correct routes, so he waited to confirm that they were in the right spot. By then, of course, it is too late to throw. He did not trust the coaching. There are reports that, in one instance, Mac audibled into a specific play. Then, when the play worked exactly as designed and the first read got open, Mac instead checked it down for 2 yards; either because he did not trust the play he himself chose, the other players to execute, or his own ability to throw. After the first part of the season, Mac got tired of the team losing games on him and he himself became the primary reason for losing.
As an example for contrast, Brock Purdy is so effective because he rarely had those problems this year. He trusts the line to hold long enough. He trusts his receivers will be in the right spots, and he throws the ball before they are open because he trusts their skill and the playcall will get them open at exactly the right time in exactly the right place. These are skills that Mac lost since his rookie year, in part because the team around him got worse. Purdy's biggest problems are when the defense can keep up with the receivers (if you throw to someone who doesn’t get open in time, you look silly), when he sometimes abandons the plan and starts playing hero ball, which he does not have the arm talent nor accuracy to do, and when Shanahan goes bizarro mode with his playcalls.
The eye-test marginally favored Zappe over Mac, but that doesn't say much. Zappe was bad, too. Both traditional counting stats and underlying stats, such as epa/play agree that Zappe was significantly worse than Mac. The difference is that Zappe played more aggressively and with higher variance. Thus, he was occasionally good enough to reach the endzone, whereas Mac was consistently bad in 2023.
I still think Mac can be a good QB in the NFL. But he needs to relearn how to QB properly first.
Defensive Statistics
| Statistic | 2023 Value | League Rank | 2022 Value | League Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passing Yards | 3543 | 11th | 3681 | 16th |
| Pass NY/A | 5.8 | 9th | 5.7 | 9th |
| Rushing Yards | 1584 | 4th | 1793 | 6th |
| Rushing Y/A | 3.3 | 1st | 4.1 | 4th |
| Points/Drive | 1.60 | 5th | 1.63 | 3rd |
| Turnovers forced | 18 | 23rd | 30 | 2nd |
| Opp. Starting Field Position | 31.7 | 32nd | 28.9 | 19th |
Special Teams
Kicking: Chad Ryland was the worst FG kicker in 2023 at 64%. At least he made his XPA. Punting: Bryce Baringer was a capable punter; the Patriots had the second-most number of punts behind the Jets. K/P Returns: The Patriots returned punts poorly and allowed opponents to return punts well. This flipped on kick returns; the Patriots returned kicks well including a Jalen Reagor TD, and covered their kickoffs well too.Game Recaps
Week 1-Defeat: Eagles (25) at Patriots (20)Ah, the start of the season. An opportunity to build new narratives. Clean out the stench of last year’s failures. Prove the team is a legitimate threat to make the playoffs from day one.
…Or the team could just take last year’s script. Start poorly, shoot yourself in the foot, then clamp down defensively and make a comeback that falls just short. This game, the final point of failure was an Official’s Review overturning an on-field ruling. Kayshon Boutte failed to keep both feet in bounds on fourth down in the red zone.
The Eagles vaunted defensive line gave the Patriots fits all game. Most people predicted the defending NFC Champions to take this game, but the Patriots fought hard and made it close. Also, Tom Brady was at the game. Record: 0-1
Week 2-Defeat: Dolphins (24) at Patriots (17)
Highlight previous recap, ctrl c, ctrl v
…overturning an on-field ruling. A lateral play failed to convert a fourth down.
Record: 0-2
Week 3-Victory: Patriots (15) at Jets (10)
A team once coached by Parcells struggling on offense featuring a 2021 first round quarterback and an elite defense hosted a team once coached by Parcells struggling on offense featuring a 2021 first round quarterback and an elite defense.
Despite a small but healthy Patriots lead through most of the game, the Jets almost stole this game but Zach “at least he can throw far” Wilson’s hail mary fell incomplete.
Three competitive games where. In the first two, if the team played just a little bit better, they could have walked away with a win. This time, they finally do. Record: 1-2
Week 4-Defeat: Patriots (3) at Cowboys (38)
What an absolute disaster of a game. Mac played horribly and the defense stopped trying after both Judon and Gonzalez suffered season-ending injuries. Record: 1-3
Week 5-Defeat: Saints (34) at Patriots (0)
“Wanna see me do it again?” Record: 1-4
Week 6-Defeat: Patriots (17) at Raiders (21)
What clever writers this season had. After two abysmal performances, the script writers saw fit to return the team to the tried and true method of shooting yourself in the foot before just barely failing a comeback. For this game, the final mistake was a game-ending safety.
I vaguely recall being frustrated by refball in this game, but I cannot recall what for. Record: 1-5
Week 7-Victory: Bills (25) at Patriots (29)
Even bad teams are capable of good games, but I did not wish to describe this Patriots team as bad. I still had faith they could put it together and reach somewhat decent. And helping that faith grow was the announcement that Onwenu would move to Right Tackle, benching Lowe, and having Sow take Right Guard.
This paid immediate dividends as the O-Line’s pressure rate allowed dropped more than half from 45% to 20%. With sudden competency, the Patriots carried a 13-3 game to halftime. In the second half, Buffalo woke up and roared back to a 25-22 lead late in the fourth quarter.
For the first time this season (and possibly Mac’s career), I get to say this: Buffalo left too much time on the clock. The offense orchestrated a perfect 2-minute drill with Mac hitting Gesicki for the walk-off touchdown. After looking utterly dead against the Saints and Cowboys, the Patriots gave fans hope. Five of the next 6 games were against very beatable opponents. These foes had lost their QBs, were selling on the season, or were plain old bad. Maybe, just maybe, the Patriots could drive back to .500.
Why yes, I do write more about games in which the Patriots won or looked competitive in. Thank you for asking. Record: 2-5
Week 8-Defeat: Patriots (17) at Dolphins (31)
Okay, so the Dolphins were the 6th of 6, not as beatable team mentioned in the week 7 summary. New England rarely wins in Miami and this game was no exception. Although never out of reach, the game was Miami’s to lose with no real likelihood of the Patriots stealing a win.
Still, the next 5 games are legitimate opportunities to prove their mettle and flirt with wild-card contention. Record: 2-6.
Week 9-Defeat: Commanders (20) at Patriots (17)
So, Washington traded away their two (dubiously) elite pass rushers for draft picks. It didn’t matter as the NFL’s worst defense held the NFL’s worst offense to a paltry 17 points. It wasn’t even anything like a dramatic last-second victory for Washington either. They took their final lead in the third quarter. Both teams were held scoreless in the fourth. 15 whole minutes of punting, punting, and a game-ending interception at the edge of field goal range.
But one quarter of offensive misery is not enough. It would soon get much worse. Record: 2-7
Woche Zehn-Niederlage: Colts (10) at Patriots (6)
See the “Lowlights” section for information on this game.
But five quarters of offensive misery is not enough. It would get much worse. Record: 2-8
Week 11: Bye
A good week to recover from my eye injury. And brain injury. And emotional well-being injury from watching this team.
Week 12-Defeat: Patriots (7) at Giants (10)
New York legend Tommy Devito lit up the Patriots secondary for nearly 200 yards.
But nine quarters of offensive misery is not enough. It would get much worse. Record: 2-9
Week 13-Defeat: Chargers (6) at Patriots (0)
After Mac’s latest benching, he was done for good this season. In comes Bailey Zappe for a torrentially rainy Foxborough game. The only good thing that came out of this game is that it reminded people that Bailey Zappe was not some elite QB squandered on the depth chart. You may think that is a strawman argument, and it is. But it echoes real sentiment that some people thought Zappe (who was cut in camp and nobody picked up on waivers, nor offered a contract to while he was on the practice squad) was a legitimate starter in the NFL.
But thirteen quarters of offensive misery is not–wait, it is enough? Fucking finally. Record: 2-10
Week 14-Victory?: Patriots (21) at Steelers (18)
Hot off the heels of being clapped by the 2-10 Cardinals, Pittsburgh turned to Trubisky in place of injured Pickett. Interestingly enough, Trubisky is also not a starting caliber quarterback in the NFL. Just in time for the Steelers to badly play down to their competition and get clapped by the 2-10 Patriots.
Okay, clapped might be too strong a word for this game, but Zappe had a couple excellent passes that Mac would not have the courage to throw. Record: 3-10
Week 15-Defeat: Chiefs (27) at Patriots (17)
The defending Super Bowl Champions entered Foxborough and took care of business. Like the Miami game in week 8, this game was not some blowout, but the Chiefs were never in any real danger of losing to the Patriots. The Chiefs scored on 4 straight possessions to take a 3-score lead and cruised to a win. Record: 3-11
Week 16-Victory: Patriots (26) at Broncos (23)
The Broncos had largely recovered from their early season catastrophes and were fighting their way to wildcard contention. Exactly like how the Patriots were, except for the whole fighting their way to wildcard contention part.
Nevertheless, today would be a beautiful Christmas gift to New England fans. Despite gifting Denver a first-and-goal for their first snap, the defense made the stop and forced a turnover on downs. Late in the third quarter, the Broncos hit a double whammy when New England scored a TD and, on the subsequent kickoff, forced a fumble to score a second TD in mere seconds of game time.
Remember though that this Broncos team had recovered from their early disasters. In the fourth quarter, Wilson marched for touchdowns on two consecutive drives to tie the game. It was time for a bizarre two minute drill. Belichick seemed willing to run out the clock to go to overtime, but Payton insisted on burning timeouts to get the ball back once more. So Bailey hit Devante Parker on the left sideline on third down and a few more short passes brought New England to field goal range. Chad Ryland hit a career best 56-yarder to win the game. Record: 4-11
Week 17-Defeat: Patriots (21) at Buffalo (27)
This game would not be another upset. After faffing about for much of the season, Buffalo realized they essentially needed to win out to make the playoffs. Apart from a Jalen Reagor kickoff return TD to open the game, Buffalo soundly outplayed the Patriots scoring 20 straight points and held a comfortable lead all game.
Although the Patriots did make it close at the end, they could not engineer another 2-minute (actually 6 minutes left in the game) drill to steal another victory. Instead, Buffalo burned five minutes of clock to end the game. Record: 4-12
Week 18-Defeat: Jets (17) at Patriots (3)
There is something oddly appropriate that Bill Belichick’s last game during his worst ever season in New England would be a total dud against the Jets. 15 straight victories over the Jets came to an end this day in a whimper, just like how Bill’s career in New England ended in a total dud of a season. This day would be the Breece Hall show, individually out-gaining both quarterbacks combined. Record: 4-13
Position Group Review
Quarterbacks: Bad. Very bad. Not a starter in the NFL anywhere bad.Running Backs: Decent, but hampered by offensive line injuries and overall offensive ineptitude. Rhamondre spent much of the early season looking for big runs instead of taking what was available. Then he got injured. Zeke took what was available, but that alone was not enough to carry the offense.
Offensive Line: Despite several excellent members, the line as a whole was awful. Trent Brown was excellent until he wasn’t. Cole Strange, while an elite run-blocker, is dreadfully mediocre in pass blocking. David Andrews is good as always, but not outstanding. Sidy Sow and Atonio Mafi are adequate for rookies, but definitely need to make a huge step forward next year. Onwenu is excellent, but spent a fair part of 2023 injured. Jake Andrews and Vedarian Lowe did not impress.
Tight Ends: One of the few quality performers on offense.
Wide Receivers: Bourne and Douglas were good but also injured. Everyone else was not only bad, but made the QBs worse.
Defensive Line: Excellent in both run defense and pass rush. Veterans have shown excellent stability, rookies have shown excellent growth.
Linebackers: Ja’Whaun Bentley continues to impress with his improvement every year. Jahlani Tavai has been rescued from the bust heap, and even Anfernee Jennings made a mark this year. Pass rushing linebackers struggled this year, with Judon injured and Uche regressing badly.
Box Safety/LB: Guys like Dugger, Peppers, and Mapu are all over the field making plays. Hopefully, they will continue to menace opponents for years to come.
Defensive Backs: Despite approximately infinity injuries, the CBs still managed to be a strength of the team. Aggressive waiver-wire and bargain-bin shopping kept the position afloat throughout the year. If there is one thing Belichick does better than anyone else in the league, it is coach up unheralded CBs to be reliable starters.
Special Teams: Punting good, kicking bad, coverage bad.
Coaching Review
Head Coach: Bill Belichick2023 Coaching Grade: A 2023 GM Grade: C 2021-2023 coaching staff management grade: F
Whatever flaws Bill has, none of them are his ability to coach football. Whatever reasons led to parting ways with the team at the end of the year, none were on his specialty; the defensive side of the ball. Despite Patriots opponents having the NFL-best field position, playing with a lead, and rarely needing to worry about what the Patriots offense might do, New England had a top defense. Fifth best points per drive, outstanding run defense, ninth in DVOA, and played with intensity and effort on every play. Certainly, the Patriots problems were not on the defensive end.
The Bill Belichick Era, a post-mortem
The largest reason for Bill's departure, in my opinion, is his failure and unwillingness to onboard new and upcoming coaches, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. Most coaches simply do not last long enough to lose their coordinators multiple times (Yes, I am aware of McVay and Shanahan. Ask me again in 15 years and multiple SB rings later whether I think they are immune to this). Bill has lost his help over and over again, and in his old age, it appears he is just tired of it.
Bill ran out of enthusiasm and willingness to bring in outsiders or up-and-comers to teach them the system and make them trusted advisors. This is evident in doing things like having Matt Patricia run the offense, then bringing BOB back but allegedly not allowing him to hire his own staff, and most recently not getting any head-coaching job offers. Supposedly, there weren’t enough coaches to conduct opponent scouting during the year. It certainly is not his ability to coach that team owners are worried about. It is all the other things in management that worry fans, owners, and especially Robert Kraft.
In terms of brain drain, consider this list: Dante Scarnecchia, Cole Popovich, Carmen Bricillo, Matt Patricia, Adrian Klemm. I'm also pretty sure I am forgetting one other person. This is the chain of disaster from great to awful in the O-line coaching department in as many years. But then also: losing Ivan Fears, Ernie Adams, Josh McDaniels, and many more finally did Bill in. It was less the straw that broke the camel's back as it was a dozen falling anvils.
Although nearly every team would instantly fire their own DC for Bill if he were available, reports are that he only wants a head coaching position and wants organizational control on top of that. The second detail is a major sticking point and reason teams are reluctant to hire him. Although I like the 2023 draft class so far, his drafting as a whole has been between bottom-half and bottom-third for most years in the past decade. I still stand by my statement that it is fundamentally impossible to win multiple SBs when drafting poorly, but bad drafting has absolutely caught up to the team and it shows in their 4-13 record.
Furthermore, his frugal, value-oriented free agency spending is no longer special in the NFL as other teams have gotten smarter about how they analyze, assess and pay for talent. Bill always loves to zig when the NFL zags and has had a few recent 'value' hits such as getting Jabrill Peppers and Jahlani Tavai to look good, but otherwise signed bad and injured WRs and 3 IR'ed right tackles. When Bill looks smart for not overpaying JC Jackson, he follows it up by lowballing Jakobi Meyers, who is one of the best possession receivers and had great synergy with Mac.
Ultimately, his mediocre drafting record, free agency misses, and the baffling staff management of recent years has led Kraft to believe that the team needed a new direction for the 2024 season. Goodbye Bill. I and many other Patriots fans will always remember you fondly for your role in bringing unprecedented and unmatched domination to New England, even if the luster faded over the past couple years. Not bad for a system coach.
Offensive Coaches
Offensive Coordinator: Bill O'BrienGrade: B-
It may seem generous to give a grade in the B-range to the coordinator who managed to get worse results than Matt Patricia last year, but it is reasonable. A good decision with a bad result is still a good decision. If we consider the season as a group project, BOB was the only offensive coach doing anything useful while everyone else might as well have been sniffing glue. The offense presented a facade of being professional and prepared. Scheming and playcalling were all fine. They just couldn't get any points.
Anyway, BOB has departed the team to be OC at Ohio State, but subsequently reported going to be HC at Boston College instead.
O-Line Coach: Adrian Klemm
Grade: F
I'm sure there are some Steelers fans who were baffled by the hire and are now experiencing a smug 'I told you so'. Regardless, I do not think anyone could predict what a disaster Klemm was. There were a few mitigating factors like rampant injuries (there were A LOT of O-line injuries) and limited talent (Vedarian Lowe makes me pine for the days the team had Marshall Newhouse), but Klemm managed to make it worse. According to the Boston Herald (not always the most reliable reporting), Klemm was displeased by the lack of talent and instead of, oh I don't know, doing some fucking coaching to improve them, he decided to throw a hissy fit to the front office for giving him bad players. And then later quit on the team. Excuse me, "took a leave of absence". Good riddance.
Wide Receivers Coach: Troy Brown
Grade: D
When was the last time you were genuinely impressed by a Patriots WR? New England has, due to Brady being pretty good at football, gotten by with value picks coached up to fit Brady's preferences rather than seeking elite talent. Troy Brown has not been getting results coaching up receivers (amazing how I shift into results-based analysis when it suits my narrative).
Several coaches in addition to Troy Brown qualify for these next words, but nothing he has done has impressed. The receivers do not look prepared. They do not have mastery of the playbook. They, apart from Meyers previously and Douglas in 2023, seemingly do not develop or improve in any way. Some blame is with Belichick's inability to draft and sign receivers, but you would expect at least some hits, some improvement, and some decent route-running.
I have great appreciation and love for Troy Brown the WR, but I have lost any and all remaining optimism for Troy Brown the WR Coach.
Other Offensive Coaches
TE Coach: Will Lawing. WR Assist: Ross Douglas. Well-liked by the team, accepted a position at Syracuse. RB Coach: Vinnie Sunseri. Took over for long-time coach Ivan Fears; heading to Washington (the state) for 2024
Defensive Coaches
Linebackers Coaches: Jerod Mayo and Steve BelichickGrade: A
Despite the offense floundering for most of the year, the defense has kept on humming led by the yin/yang duo of Jerod and Steve. Mayo balances his intensity and leadership skills against his details for Xs and Os. To supplement that, Steve Belichick has inherited a fair bit of his father's vast knowledge of defensive scheming and practical philosophy, and has been responsible for playcalling since Flores left.
D-Line Coach: Demarcus Covington
Grade: A
The defensive line had low-key been the best part of the team in 2023. Several years ago, I predicted that Covington would take on D-line duties due to his college coaching experience, while the recently-hired Jerod Mayo would take over LB coaching. I was right, then, and Covington made the best of the opportunity.
CB Coach: Mike Pellegrino
Mike was dealt a good hand that very rapidly turned into an awful hand. Although Bill is known for coaching up defensive backs, Mike still gets credit for the immediate impact of Christian Gonzalez, finally making Myles Bryant look like a decent CB, and otherwise working with a bunch of castoffs and waiver-wire throughout the year. The team was at one point missing CBs 1, 2, 3, and 4 to injuries, yet still looked like a cohesive and competent unit in most games this season.
Safeties Coach: Brian Belichick
To be completely honest, I have no idea how capable Brian is at this role. When Bill and Steve take all the attention, Brian largely slides on by unnoticed. If I recall correctly, he played lacrosse at Rutgers. Correction: Brian played lacrosse at Trinity College. Steve played lacrosse at Rutgers
Other Coaches
Coaching Fellowship V'Angelo Bentley Coaching Fellowship Keith Jones Strength/Condition Moses Cabrera and Deron Mayo
Rest of post in comments below
2024.02.07 17:57 RealIstros Last Epoch FAQs For Newcomers
I have decided to compile the most common questions asked in this subreddit in the last 2-3 weeks and answer them properly so newcomers can access information easier and the post quality of the subreddit would increase, may this be useful to someone.
Q: Should I buy this game now?
If I missed any common questions ask in the comments, I or another user could answer them.
Edit: Fixed typo and grammatical mistakes, changed the wording on some of the questions and answers to make them more readable.
submitted by RealIstros to LastEpoch [link] [comments]
A: Buying the game right now lets you play it right now and learn its systems to an extent. Also buying it before release gives a free cosmetic pet.Q: Will the price increase after launch?
A: No, it will stay at $35.Q: Will there be a sale during launch?
A: No, there won't be a sale any time soon.Q: Which edition should I buy?
A: The extra content included in the Deluxe and Ultimate Editions are all cosmetic + the soundtrack. These editions will persist in the Steam store forever so you can buy the Standard Edition now and if you enjoy the game or want to support the developers or like the cosmetics you can upgrade to Deluxe or Ultimate edition at a later date without any price penalties. But currently it is not possible to upgrade from Deluxe to Ultimate edition without paying the full price.Q: What are the new things in the 1.0 update?
A: 2 factions, 2 masteries, new visuals, new uniques, new skills and skill trees, balance changes, bug fixes, better optimization, increased mob density, and many more small changes.Q: What happens to the characters we make right now?
A: They will continue to exist in a permanent cycle named 'Legacy'. This cycle shouldn't be confused with temporary cycles, when the temporary cycle ends all characters created in that cycle will be moved to the Legacy cycle where they can be accessed. What happens to your stashes, crafting materials, gold, etc. are currently unknown.Q: What is the difference between the permanent Legacy Cycle and temporary cycles?
A: Currently there is no difference, for a few cycles Legacy and temporary cycles will share the updates meaning new content can be played in both. This will not be the case at some point where new content will be temporary cycle exclusive. It should be noted, however, that the Legacy Cycle might get the new content at a later date.Q: Why should I play the temporary cycle at release?
A: Because everyone starts from zero: 0 gold, 0 stashes and 0 characters, if this seems intriguing then the temporary cycle might be for you. Also temporary cycles will have a ladder (leaderboard) whereas Legacy Cycle won't.Q: Will the story be finished in the 1.0 update?
A: No, it will be finished in a later update.Q: Do I need a build guide to enjoy the game?
A: No, every build can do the endgame content to an extent but following a build guide would also teach a lot of different mechanics about the game. If you like playing high quality, educational, tailored builds then follow a guide, if you want to learn about the game as you go and experiment then make your own. The game is very forgiving when it comes to making your own build.Q: Which class/mastery should I play?
A: All classes/masteries offer something unique, play whichever one seems the most interesting to you.Q: What is the best build?
A: There are many 'good' builds but every build can do endgame content to an extent. Play whatever seems interesting to you. Alternatively you can also check out the content creators for builds.Q: Who are good content creators for LE?
A: There are many but I won't name there here in case I forget someone and offend them. Hopefully other user could point their favourite creators.Q : Any tips for new players?
A: Read the in-game guide (Accessed by pressing G), it is very well written and explains a lot. Craft often, experiment, respec, use the in-game loot filter (Accessed by pressing Shift+F), use Last Epoch Tools and TunkLab. There are also a lot of new player guides on Youtube. (This is a general search query, I don't guarantee the results are from reliable sources, please do your own research.)Q: Where can I report bugs, leave feedback, etc.?
A: The best place would be Last Epoch's Discord, the forums or the in-game Feedback/Bug Reporting tool.Q: What is the endgame like?
A: Currently there are normal and empowered monoliths. You access the empowered monoliths by completing the 3 highest level normal monoliths. Empowered monoliths are harder than normal monoliths at base and let you scale their difficulty and rewards further with special a mechanic called corruption. Each echo (Basically a map from PoE or a Rift from D3) has a objective and completing the objective without dying gives you extra loot that you choose before entering the map.Q: Will there be endgame improvements for the 1.0 update?
There are also 3 dungeons with unique mechanics and unique rewards. One dungeon is similar to delve from PoE and serves as a gold sink. Another dungeon makes you switch between Fire and Necrotic immunity and at the end lets you gamble the special currency you collected in the dungeon for Exalted and Unique items. Final dungeon makes you switch between timelines and lets you create the best items in LE. Each dungeon has a boss battle at the end and each boss has their own unique drops, each dungeon has 4 tiers and T4 dungeons are especially hard.
Finally there is the Arena with 4 tiers just like Dungeons which makes you fight a number of waves of enemies and a final boss battle for their unique drops. There is also an Endless mode where each build competes to push as far as possible and earn their place in the leaderboard.
A: No but endgame content additions are something the developers will focus for the future updates.Q: Why can't I customize my character? Why are they gender locked?
A: This was a stretch goal in Kickstarter but it was never reached. Right now it is not in the priorities list and isn't confirmed if it will ever be a thing.Q: Why can't I respec my mastery?
A: There is no correct way to handle this, some people prefer their choices having consequences and others prefer easier respec. The developers opted for an easy passive and skill respec but permanent mastery choice. There are no plans to change this for now.Q: The game is too easy! Does it get harder?
A: The campaign is generally regarded as easy until late campaign where it picks up the difficulty. Also some builds have an easier time going through the campaign. We don't know if it will be harder in the 1.0 update.Q: Bow/Projectile skill hit registration is bugged!
The endgame has infinitely scaling difficulty through the corruption mechanic so you choose the difficulty at the endgame.
A: Known bug, hopefully will be fixed in the 1.0 update.Q: I have terrible performance! Will it be improved?
A: Optimization is something that is constantly improved. If it is an abnormal issue you can create a support ticket.Q: I have terrible lag! Will it be improved?
A: All we know is that they have been massively upgraded for the 1.0 update. If it is an abnormal issue you can create a support ticket.Q: Is there a true offline mode where I don't need an internet connection to play the game?
A: No but it will be introduced with the 1.0 update.Q: Can you use MTX in offline mode?
A: No, there is currently no way to validate the MTX purchases in offline mode.Q: Does the game have controller support?
A: It does. However, it is sub-optimal where many users reported problems with targeting, it is improved every patch though.
Edit: Fixed typo and grammatical mistakes, changed the wording on some of the questions and answers to make them more readable.
2024.01.31 23:40 matte_purple Big 12 2023 Uniform Tracker: Season-in-Review
Hello CFB! Welcome to the 2023 Big XII Uniform Season Review! In this historical/bittersweet year, we saw some impressive ball, added four teams, 2 are gearing up to leave, while another 4 are on the way. It’s been wild. We’re all proud of our Big XII teams, let’s check it out.
In this edition of the tracker, we’ll review each team’s different suits, my favorite and least favorite looks (helpfully labeled by Helmet/Jersey/Pants color), and a brief summary of my thoughts moving forward, uniforms and otherwise. And remember, “worst” is not an indicator of being a “bad combo” unless I explicitly say so, and apart from one or two, I’m sure they'll be alright. After that, I’ll give out my favorite content of the season in THE Big 12 2023 Uniform Awards, which will be a hoot. Later on, I’ll rank each team’s uniforms (that sweet offseason content) but for now we’ll get into it.
I’m u/matte_purple, and let's 3,2,1 go!
#3 University of Texas Longhorns(12-2)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/Adp4Tky
Number of Combos: 2 Best: White/Orange/White Worst: White/White/White
The last time UT Football produced a 12-win season and a Big 12 Title was 2009 with QB Colt McCoy. The program is - say it with me everyone! - BACK. From a Big 12 fan perspective, it's a bittersweet. You have a nationally recognized program with wide appeal that had several exciting games, tons of success, a tough but fair path to the Big 12 Championship, and a playoff appearance to show for it. But, they're also leaving for the SEC. It stings. I, for one, am a little sad about them leaving. They have a great roster, Quinn Ewers returning for another round, and a top 10 class on the way. Short of a Natty appearance, this was about everything a UT fan could have wanted. Your only losses being OU and the eventual CFB runner-up? That's a sweet deal. Here’s to your time in the SEC.
Obviously, UT doesn’t switch it up very often (in fact, it's been the same overall template since the 50s). There were a few changes introduced in 2022, notably removing the Longhorn on the collar, as well as the TV numbers on the top of the shoulders. Both design features appeared in 2013, when Texas upgraded to Nike’s Pro Combat Hypercool template. By virtue of my own template, I have to pick my least favorite of the two combos, so I’ll pick the away. The power and recognizability of the burnt orange jersey really does it for me. But of course, both looks are very nice (obviously, otherwise they wouldn't have stayed the same for nearly 75 years). The bold “Texas” on the front, which was first added in 1959, and reappearing in 1983-present, takes the cake. That's it for the Longhorns. What a season, now go kick some SEC butt!
#16 Oklahoma State Cowboys(10-4)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/zBT21Da
Number of Combos: 13 Best: Black/Black/Orange Worst: Orange/White/Black
Roller coaster. Struggles at the start of 2023, including a rotating QB carousel, and hard losses to South Alabama and ISU, put a severe damper on the mood in Stilly. Then followed a domination of some Big 12 heavy hitters - including an excellent Bedlam win - before dropping an inexplicable 45-3 loss to a battered UCF. How do you have so many highs, lows, and nail-biters in a season? Ultimately, HC Mike Gundy, QB Alan Bowman (who will come back for his 7th season!), and game-breaking RB Ollie Gordon II led the Cowboys to a nice season, culminating in a pretty great bowl game, a tough Big 12 champ game, and a build-up to what should be a wild 2024 season. Don’t count out the Pokes, because they’ll still find a way.
The Cowboys did something I did not expect. They refreshed their already incredible uniforms this summer into ones that may not be beat. Oklahoma State always manages to get the balancing act of honoring brand and tradition while also fostering an exciting variety right. My favorite is the Black/Black Orange from Bedlam. It has all of the benefits of a blackout while keeping the sweet splash of orange. It’s mean as hell, gets the color ratio right, and exemplifies the new update really spectacularly. Last on my list was their combo worn against UCF. Not only was it the same combo worn in KSU’s blowout last year, but it was also featured in the disastrous 2023 UCF game. It feels unbalanced for a tricolor, the black weighs it down. It’s a shame that the orange shell helmet has to be put this low, as it’s my favorite Cursive shell. Some of my other favorites from the Cowboys include their all-blacks worn vs UT and KSU, their W/W/O option in Week 2, and their orange suits versus KU. Give them a look!
#15 University of Oklahoma Sooners(10-3)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/Vnt1z8I
Number of Combos: 3 Best: Red/White/White Worst: Gray/Gray/Gray
The other half of the SEC bound duo didn’t fare quite as well as UT, but they still did alright! Obviously, the season was a step up from 2022’s 6-7. HC Venables schemed his way to 80th nationally in total defense and 49th in scoring defense and his youthful team showed great execution in most of their games. QB Gabriel even had a game against WVU where he threw for 5 TDs and ran for 3. That's the real deal. They only lost to OSU, KU, and AZ, which were all great teams this season. They are in a great position heading into the SEC, and are slated to play some very tough teams next year. I’m going to miss OU, just like Texas. I have enjoyed KSU and OU’s recent history, but seriously, good luck in the SEC, Sooners.
Uniform-wise, this year was actually rather similar to last year for the sooners. The last time OU updated their suits - even in a minor fashion - was 2018 in their move to the Jordan brand. They also filled out the OU logo on top and changed the font on the “Sooners” up front. The anthracite uniform was released last year and was the only alternate worn this year, so overall it was a fairly pedestrian season for uniforms. My favorite of the three was the away look, simply for the fact that the home uniform has many similar looks across the nation. The white has a little bit more originality, it’s got a nice bit of color, and really pops against the home team. Since I have to pick a “least favorite,” I went with the “Unity” uniforms. I actually like it a lot. I think the color is great, and the story is even better. They honor OU alum Prentice Gautt, the first Black scholarship player for the Sooners, starring as a RB from 1957 to '59. And he played in the NFL! The anthracite uniforms sport the word "unity" on the nameplate, with "together" sewn on the collar. Also featured is the OK state outline on the pauldrons. I especially love that. But the stripe down the helmet doesn’t match the other stripes on the shoulders/pants, and it looks like there were a few helmets that were painted matte, not glossy, so it finds itself in my least favorite OU uniform of the year. Maybe we’ll see more alternates in the SEC? I’m just glad we didn’t get the “Lay Down the Wood” alternates this season.
#18 Kansas State University Wildcats (9-4)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/FlLUvZm
Number of Combos: 2 Best: SilveWhite/Silver Worst: SilvePurple/White
Should this season feel like a disappointment for Wildcat fans? It’s hard to say. They had some VERY good games that went close. The Missouri game was lost thanks to a SEC record-breaking 61-yd FG, OSU was a weird case of black magic in Stilly, and their UT game was lost thanks to some odd OT play-calling and crucial special teams errors. Change around some possessions and you would have had a hell of a season. Sprinkle in some magic from true-freshman QB Avery Johnson (5 rushing TDs against TTU - the first to do it in the Big XII since Collin Klein in 2012 - and an efficient Pop-Tart MVP Bowl showing), and QB Will Howard, who led K-State to a wild 246-72 against losing opponents at home and broke KSU’s passing TD record. The lone loss at home was to ISU in a snowy version of Farmageddon. Some staff turnover, QB Will Howard leaving for Ohio State, and some tough NFL Draft and transfer exits will make things hard, but remember, they still have a great RB in Giddens, good WR transfers, proven QB Avery Johnson, and former TTU coach Matt Wells to work as OC. Weird, but still good, season for the ‘Cats.
Well, it’s another average year for the ‘Cats. K-State wore 3 combos last year and cut out their one alt this year. Just like UT, KSU has a style, and they stick to it. Bill Snyder introduced this look in ‘89, his first season at KSU. He threw in a helmet for military appreciation three times, but that’s it. HC Chris Klieman and his EQ team have maintained much of the same idea, only releasing alternates 2 times in his 5 years (changing silver to white twice doesn't really count in my book). That could change with a renewed Nike contract though. He’s been quoted as saying they can “start exploring those options” earlier this year. Just like last year, I chose the away look as my favorite because it looks so good against most every home uniform out there. I mean, take a look at that OSU vs K-State look? Or vs KU’s black alt? That silver shines nice above the white. The home is definitely good as well, just not quite as dashing. From here on out, we get lots more variety in our teams!
West Virginia University Mountaineers (9-4)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/h4SHYPS
Number of Combos: 11 Best: Blue/Yellow/Blue Worst: Yellow/Yellow/Yellow
One of the most surprising Big 12 teams in 2023. Just months after Neal Brown rumors swirled, QB JT Daniels transferred, and hope seemed lost, they rose up and made a pretty great run. WVU was slotted at the bottom of the preseason poll, and they took that personally. QB Garret Greene was promoted to starter, the defense survived some tough injuries, and RB Jahiem White emerged, who will no doubt become a big part of the offense moving on. WVU closed out the season winning ⅘ games, losing to OK-State, OU, Penn, and a miraculous Hail Mary from Houston. Closing out the season with Neal Brown covered in Mayo with 9 wins is a lot better than what many Big 12 fans expected. They are riding high into the offseason!
WVU really knocked it out of the park. They only had a few looks that I thought were okay. For the most part, every look they wore had a lot of style. My least favorite were the “Gold-Rush” uniforms, simply because it’s so yellow. I think they tend to be most fans' least favorite. My favorite was the new version of the “Country Roads” suit introduced vs Pitt last year. While that version was primarily white, this year’s was a beautiful home variety that was perfect for the Backyard Brawl. It was also worn against UNC to great effect. The sublimated road map, the state outline logo with the Flying WV on the inside, the consistent striping on the helmet and pants, all topped off by the “Mountaineers” on the chest. This isn’t as retro as, say, the new OK-State suits or Texas Tech throwbacks, but they aren’t meant to be. It’s modern without looking corporate, and feels genuine. It's a sleek way to end their uniform year. Other stars include their standard home outfit of B/B/Y and my favorite away look, their W/W/B with the state-outlined flying WV on the helm from Week 5.
#23 University of Kansas Jayhawks(9-4)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/JamagD0
Number of Combos: 12 Best: Blue/Blue/Red Worst: Blue/Red/Blue
The last two seasons of KU football have been the best since 2007. HC Lance Liepold inherited a demoralized program after Les Miles was removed, but he’s turned it into something promising. They finished the season ranked for the first time in 16 years, and finished with a winning record and bowl victory for the first time in 15. KU opened the season with four wins, upset #6 OU in an instant classic, and won a bowl game against UNLV. Aside from a weird loss to TTU, a heartbreaker against KSU, and “normal” losses to UT and OK-State, KU continues to be a rising star. With new uniforms and alts, competitive Ws and Ls, a new stadium coming soon, and some star talent, this team is a phoenix. I’m excited to see what happens next year! This is about as nice as I can be to KU, so moving on!
The Jayhawks were one of three Big 12 schools that updated their uniforms over the summer. And to wide acclaim, I might add. It’s clean and cohesive, and the “Kansas” wordmark projects a confidence that was severely lacking with the old look. The “KU” letter logo is thankfully going away. It was only worn once last year and zero times this year. The shoulder stripes outlined in red is another great touch. Speaking of Trajan font, it’s the main reason I picked the Blue/Red/Blue as my least favorite combo. First, why would you continue to use an “outdated” jersey when you have a revamped blue jersey? It just reminds fans of the old KU. Second, why did they decide to wear primarily red against TTU? The whole combo reminded me of 3D glasses, and just felt disjointed. The B/B/R combo vs UCF was actually my favorite. It got the ratio of blue-red right, with the facemask tying the pants and the shoulder stripes together. No stripes on the helmet helps, too. My 2nd favorite was the all-white worn against Nevada in Week 3. It’s beautiful (and the winning combo I chose last year). The stripes on the helmet not matching the rest of the design puts it down one peg. Their blackout suits will definitely make an appearance in the Uniform Awards, so stay tuned.
Iowa State University Cyclones (7-6)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/OUycgfa
Number of Combos: 8 Best: White/White/Red Worst: Red/Red/Red
With six winning seasons in seven years, ISU under Campbell is having its best years since the 1910s. They bounced back from some gambling scandal news, ended with high performing and record setting play by QB Rocco Becht, four-straight road W’s - a school record - and 21 underclassmen and six true freshmen making big plays this season. Aside from some head-scratching losses to Ohio, Memphis, and Iowa, the others were competitive and fun (especially that Farmageddon game, right Cyclones?) I look forward to seeing their path in the new Big 12!
This was ISU’s most ambitious uniform year since their 2018 refresh. Apart from “blackout madness” that was the year 2020 for the ‘Clones, we saw lots of new ideas here, including two alt helmets. Their new black and cardinal helmet was worn twice in 2018 and once in 2019 before returning in Week 12 of 2023. I personally like it way more than the black/white Block I helmets (my main gripe with the blackouts is the lack of cardinal accents). But the next suit was BEAUTIFUL. The Jack Trice throwback featuring the chevrons that Trice and his team wore in 1923 was executed well, and brought us the best helmet they’ve worn since 1994 and 2007. The Ames helmet is simple and a beauty. Sure, this suit isn’t the sleekest alternate uniform out there. But the legacy, and history more than make up for the slightly odd tan pants look. My subjective best look is certainly that White/White/Red look worn against BU in Week 9. If ISU is going to continue to use the Block I logo, they may as well put it on a helmet that pops, and the cardinal accents paired with the bold pants looks smooth. Their worst - IMO - was the all-red suit worn in the bowl. It’s just so much red. Hot colors all in one big block looks clunky without suitable accents, and a primarily red logo doesn't stand out. Perfect time to add a vintage more yellow logo to the helm, perhaps? Overall felt like a sweet spot season with good throwbacks, fun spins on the regulars, and a perfect use of the black uniforms.
Texas Tech University Red Raiders (7-6)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/kRrjnXk
Number of Combos: 10 Best: Black/Black/Black Worst: Red/White/Red
The much hyped Red Raiders had a tough year. 2016 with Mahomes was the last time a TTU QB has started every season game. 2023 QB Tyler Shough suffered a broken leg in the season’s first Big 12 game. The injuries were tough for TTU through 2023, but to have to play three different QBs for several consecutive years is the equivalent of a dead man’s hand in modern CFB. Apart from the QB heartbreak, I think Tech finished strong in Nov. for Joey McGuire’s 2nd year. We saw some needed maturation from both QB Behren Morton and OC Zack Kittley. We saw some promising snaps from young guys, which will be important with some big seniority turnover on the sideline. Add on a top 25 recruiting class for 2024, and there is still plenty of reason to be optimistic for 2024. Hopefully the witch doctor in charge of the QBs can stop messing around. A disappointing season for TTU, but it may set up the pieces for something great.
I found myself looking ahead to the 2024 Adidas refresh during many weekends of the tracker. Not to say that TTU’s current closet is bad, it’s just lacking. We’ve seen what a great update can do for KU and OK-State, and Texas Tech deserves it. They struck gold in 2022 with their throwbacks (including this year’s 1978 throwback in Week 3), but we really need a clean slate. Luckily, the Adidas x Mahomes deal can swoop in and save TTU from the odd dual-tone stripes on the pants, chevron shoulder stripe, and small font on the chest. My standouts on the season were the Black/Red/Black combos worn 3 times this season, the 1978 look, and my top choice, the blackout worn against KSU in Week 7. All-black looks great when it’s actually a school color, and the red and white feels punchy on a black canvas. I’m excited to see it redone next season! My least favorite was the Red/White/Red worn against WVU’s all-yellow. The yellow did it no favors, but the Double T logo is literally 99% red. Putting it on a red helmet just isn’t right. It was the only time red helmets were worn this season. Keep your chin up, Tech fans. We’ll get through it!
University of Central Florida Knights (6-7)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/gYErwiN
Number of Combos: 11 Best: White/Blue/Blue Worst: Gold/White/Black
By far the most successful of the new four, they had a rocky season as well. After a steady non-con, they suffered loss after loss until the UC game, and then a magical blowout upset at home against Bedlam-winning OSU. They then suffered two more losses, including a one against GT in their bowl. Not a horrible start to their Big 12 career, but there’s lots to improve. Helping in the offseason are returning stars RJ Harvey, one of the better RBs in the Big 12, and WR Javon Baker, both important cogs in the UCF siege engine. They'll have a busy off-season in Orlando, but in Gus we Trust!
One thing that always rubs me the wrong way in most teams are “tri-color” or “mismatched” looks.Teams usually look best with some symmetry or majority color to them. The one exception to the rule is UCF. When your colors are all “intermediate” like white, gold, or black, as opposed to teams with bolder colors, you can squeak over the line. UCF wore a tri-color three times and looked decent in all of them. The mismatched lightmode suit versus Cincy in Week 10 was the only one I didn’t care for, due to the odd font style. The lightmode concept worked okay when paired with all white and similar accents, but it just looks cobbled together when pieced with other templates. Their best combo is, of course, the Space U game combo. The specialty suit has a unique shock of canaveral blue, a fantastic new helmet, and tons of Easter eggs and fun design choices make this one a treat. I’ll talk about it more in both the uniform awards and the UCF uniform ranker that will come later in the offseason, but just know I absolutely adore it. My favorite non-alternates are the White/Black/White combo worn in Week 9 against WVU and the all-black stunner with the alternate knight logo worn vs Houston.
Texas Christian University Horned Frogs (5-7)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/1WgQy8H
Number of Combos: 12 Best: White/White/White Worst: White/White/Black
What a fall from grace for the Horned Frogs. After being America’s darling in the last months of the 2022 season, they won only 3 Big 12 games. Their DC was let go, OC Briles felt inconsistent, and a few hopeful NFL departing draftees makes for an interesting off-season. The team failed to qualify for a bowl game, marking the first time since 2010 that a team who reached the CFP Title game failed to earn bowl eligibility the following season. On the bright side, redshirt Freshman QB Josh Hoover has some promise. The youth of the team as a whole has promise. Once he gets more experience and competition with Morris coming back in the spring and can get better at ball protection, I think there’s some opportunity for a higher ranking. Plus, TCU has a record of 53-11 following a losing season, so history is on their side!
TCU carried over 4 combos from the 2022 season, including the all-white combo that is definitely my favorite uniform of their season. But for the most part, aside from the bright spots of the new “frog-only” logo helmets and some novel new combos (like the all-purple, White/Black/Black, and Purple/Black/Purple), the season felt like a tad downgrade over last year’s uniforms. I can’t put a pin on it. But in my opinion, TCU looks great in black with purple accents. The inverse just feels off. The exceptions are the all-white and the White/Purple/White worn vs CU. My least favorite combo (W/W/B at K-State) really felt bland. The plain black pants make me sad when added to the white canvas. They throw off the rest of the suit balance wise, especially considering the only other black on the suit are like 3 of the collar’s diamonds. This suit could have really raised some eyebrows with a black helmet, or another all-white rendition. Slightly worse than last year, but I still really enjoy the variety from the ‘Frogs.
Brigham Young University Cougars (5-7)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/Vl4CqIL
Number of Combos: 11 Best: White/Royal/White Worst: Black/Black/Black
There was a lot of hype for BYU’s inaugural Big 12 season. The Cougars waited 12 years for an invite since going Independent from the Mountain West. Behind transfer QB Kedon Slovis, the Cougars were able to go undefeated in their non-conference play, highlighted by an exciting road win over Arkansas. And then reality struck. They won against Cincinnati in their conference home opener, and Texas Tech in a home night game, but lost every game afterwards. They had very real chances to knock off Oklahoma and Oklahoma State (in 2OT) at the end of the season, but couldn’t finish. A tough time full of questions for BYU, but I think the most glaring issue is a lack of experience in this conference. With some playing time, both coaches and players alike WILL be better next year.
BYU does the whole tradition thing very similar to K-State, Texas, and OU, with the only variety being the colors. All of these looks - except for the black uniforms they introduced this year - feel very traditional and classic. In fact, I’d bet you could show any one of the royal or navy combos to a non-football fan and convince them they were the preeminent BYU look. But one of them takes the cake: The White/Royal/White combo dates back to 1969, was worn by BYU in their 1984 national title season, and were brought back to wide acclaim in 2009. They have been worn frequently ever since. And boy, is there a reason for it. The beautiful color, the symmetry, the consistent striping, the iconic logo, this is the one. I love variety in uniforms, but this one should be celebrated. I also really enjoyed their Navy/White/Navy and even their all-navy look. Their worst look, as mentioned before, is the all-black. Why? Simple: Black is not a BYU color. I know the age of “Black for Black’s Sake” uniforms never really went away, as shown by Houston, KU, and a few other alternates in CFB, but it feels especially egregious here. BYU has an absolutely gorgeous color palette, and instead of leading with royal, they made it a secondary color. Plus, why on earth wasn’t the Stretch Y logo royal? The uniform itself is fine, but it just isn’t “BYU.”
University of Houston Cougars (4-8)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/N2AevXy
Number of Combos: 9 Best: White/Blue/White - Oilers Worst: Red/Red/Red
There were glimmers of hope for this Houston team throughout the season, winning games vs UTSA and Sam Houston, grabbing a surprise win against WVU, and winning in OT vs Baylor. Other than those scant few victories, it was a rough one for the Coogs (luckily, basketball is soothing some of those burns).Dana Holgerson continues to be a tough case. We’ll see how they recover next season.
Houston has always struck me as a team that didn’t really mind what they wore from game to game. Most of their combos feel standard, a little plain. They don’t have that much of a logo history to fall on, their color scheme is pretty regular, and usually, their alternate attempts are different varieties of black. That changed this season with the introduction of their Oilers-inspired suits. It’s historical. It looks incredible. The striping and coloration is PERFECT. Their look is a tribute to the rich history of a football-mad city, not a reminder of a franchise leaving a fan base behind. It's a shame the No Fun League issued a cease and desist to Houston for the color scheme (even though Rice also has an Oilers “throwback” that didn’t get in trouble). I really hope these come back. My least favorite look, much like Iowa State, is that all red look. It’s so bold and there’s no break in color. It’s compounded by the monogram logo and odd leg stripes. These uniforms feel like the other side of the BYU combo coin in a lot of ways, with one major color, all very “Houston” like, but without the history or magic of the royal blue. Maybe we’ll see another surprise like the Oilers look next year.
Baylor University Bears (3-9)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/b1ZMIR4
Number of Combos: 9 Best: Yellow/Yellow/Green Worst: Yellow/White/Yellow
The skid continues for Baylor. Two years removed from the Big 12 championship, Baylor does not look good. HC Dave Aranda is 23-25 in his fourth year in Waco, with a wide margin between his best and worst moments. The Bears had wins against Long Island University, Cincinnati and a miraculous comeback versus UCF, which is pretty slim pickings. Coupled with some heartbreaking losses, it wasn't the year to be in the Baylor line. At least the only way forward for the Bears is up. The Bears have a surprising 2024 class but still feel enigmatic.
Last year, Baylor fans consistently echoed a need for variety in their uniforms. The only time an article of yellow clothing was worn in the 2022 season was the all-yellow suits, which is a WILD fact. The whole premise of the 2019 update was interchangeability, and it was finally utilized here. This year was a breath of fresh air. They introduced three new combos, one of which was my favorite for the season. The Yellow/Yellow/Green combo was worn in Week 1 and Week 13 (A perfect beginning and end to the season - uniform wise, that is). They totally flipped the script on combos and made me a very happy uniform tracker. These have the perfect ratio of green to yellow while maintaining a nice simplicity. These are wonderful! My least favorite was also a brand-new combo: The Yellow/White/Yellow. It starred in what looked like a football acid trip on the TV vs TCU’s “Blood Red” threads, and I just don’t really like these. The green collar especially bugs me. I know these uniforms were much anticipated by the fanbase, and I wanted to see them, too, but the timing and the way the format just doesn't match up with this particular combo irks me. Almost every other combo is a win for me. Next year, more variety and logos would be a very welcome addition. After all, there’s 27 possible combos with their current wardrobe, and more when you add alternate helmets and such. This is probably one of the most improved teams uniform-wise in the Big 12.
University of Cincinnati Bearcats(3-9)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/gKXdRQW
Number of Combos: 11 Best: Black/Black/Red Worst: Red/White/White
A rough entry for the Bearcats, in large part due to mediocre QB play from Emory Jones and a rocky first season for HC Scott Satterfield. In the end, it was just poor timing for both realignment and signing a new coach. Facing brand new teams is a tough pill by itself. The Bearcats won their first two non-con games against EKU and Pitt before promptly dropping 7 games in a row. Their sole Big 12 win came against Houston. And hey, just like BU, there’s no other way but up for Cincy.
The Bearcats were the last Big 12 squad to get new uniforms this summer. And yeah, they look pretty plain, but it works for them! It allows for a sleek, versatile look where each piece can be subbed out for another with little fuss. The only problem with that is this: Cincinnati definitely has a signature look. The all-black or black with red accents is the primo Bearcats style. This means that red jerseys and helmets kind of feel odd. Case in point, the worst look. The Red/White/White uniform has such promise. The helmet has some sort of unique paint on it that makes it seem almost velvety. But something about this look just feels wrong to me. I can’t pinpoint it. Anyway, my favorite look from them is the Black/Black/Red from Week 4 vs OU. Man, I guess red is a good pants color. It provides the right punch of color to a uniform without offsetting the balance of it and works great as a secondary color. Both these and KU, same story. Both of them went through the same simplification process this summer. Also, the C-Paw logo being scattered abundantly really helps out, as it’s the most recognizable symbol UC has. It's a good, clean look with the right pop of color. What else can I say? A good job uniform wise for Cincy. Maybe not award-winning, but stylish - if conventional.
Now, let's check out our Four Corners friends, joining in this summer!
University of Arizona Wildcats (10-3)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/m6CGYB5
Number of Combos: 8 Best: White/Blue/White Worst: White/Red/Red
What a surprising year for the Wildcats! After finishing 1-11 just two years ago, the Wildcats ended their season with a victory in their first bowl appearance since 2017 before heading to the Big 12. Their record included some very impressive wins against ranked teams like Washington State, Oregon State, UCLA and Utah. If one possession would have changed, they could have grabbed ranked wins against USC and Washington as well. Arizona was a giant slayer this year. I’m a little scared to see them in the Big 12. Fifita the breakout QB star and a large upperclassmen squad is back for 2023, and I think new hire Brennan can bridge the gap by riding momentum, while adding in some hires like former UNM/ASU (he he) coach Danny Gonzales for support. Bear down!
Arizona’s uniforms are a brilliant revitalization of the uniforms worn in the Dick Tomey era of football. In 1987, Tomey became head coach at Arizona, earning Pac-10 "Coach of the Year" honors in 1992. He coached five future NFL first-round draft picks, 20 All-Americans, and 43 Pac-10 first team players. His teams were highlighted by a tenacious "Desert Swarm" defense, where the uniform name comes from. His 95 school wins is the most in Arizona school history. These particular suits were introduced as alternates in 2019 after the Wildcats experimented from 2012 on with gradients. They were updated full time in 2021 to great applause. It’s timeless! And that goes for each variation of them. For the most part they remain consistent with the mismatched stripes, white “A” helmet, and sleek template. Aside from the stripes on the white uniform not being “mismatched” like the White/Blue/White uniform (my favorite, by the way), I feel great about each uniform worn, except for one. Much like other teams with a red secondary color, the red uniforms are a lot. It’s manageable with just one piece of red, but it feels like a lot even with the striping. Beautiful work still, and unique!
University of Utah Utes (8-5)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/ZEWfa7f
Number of Combos: 10 Best: White/White/White Worst: Black/White/Black
Utah had a bad case of the injury blues. TE Brant Kuithe and tailback Micah Bernard were both tough losses. QB Cam Rising was banged up bad during the 2022 Rose Bowl. The sixth-year senior hoped to return at some point in 2023 but was unable to do so. With a medical redshirt in hand, he has an opportunity to carry Utah to great things. Hopefully the transfer and recruiting trail can help the Utes, though: 4 sophomores and one freshman started on the offensive line in the bowl game. Jackson, the team's leading rusher with 797 yds, entered the transfer portal, as did backup QBs Barnes and Johnson. Three starters will have to be replaced in the secondary. The Utes have talked up some serious game, but they can certainly rise to the challenge. After all, Kyle Whittingham and his entire Utah program boast an 8-5 record in a “down” year. Also, I am VERY excited to see a Big 12 rendition of the Holy War.
I hadn’t done much research on the Ute’s uniforms before this season, and I was very pleasantly surprised. Utah has some of the nicer Under Armour templates I’ve ever seen. Updated in 2017, they go toe-to-toe with many other “updates” from the time period. Mainly, this is due to the no-nonsense and unique striping on the shoulders, the pleasing and easy to work with color scheme, and the easy font. The chest plate gets a little busy with the captain's patch, bowl patch, “UTAH” wordmark, and UA logo, but that's the only real issue I have. My favorite look by far is their all-white throwbacks worn in Week 8 and 11. They draw from various designs, including 1970s-1990s shoulder stripes, the interlocking UU logo from the 1960s, and - my favorite touch - the unique font from the 1970s. These are incredibly sexy. Other standouts are the home throwbacks worn in Week 4, the Ute Proud suits from Week 7, and their all blacks worn against ASU. But their home suits are excellent as well! I would put their Red/White/Red standard right at 4th on the season. The Black/White/Black suit just didn’t tickle my fancy. I think the gray stands out in it, which feels a little disjointed. But it’s still a pretty great suit. Damn good work from Utah. Keep an eye out for them in the Uniform Awards.
University of Colorado Buffaloes (4-8)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/7SCSU5A
Number of Combos: 12 Best: White/White/White Worst: Black/White/Gold
Coach Prime dragged his team to the finish line, ending with a final record of 4-8. The Buffaloes went 1-8 in Pac-12 play and ended the season with six consecutive losses. While it was a tough way to end Colorado's Pac-12 time, the finale at least provided some positives. Two-way star Travis Hunter has solidified himself as a great talent, the Sanders brothers will go back in action next year (assuming there aren’t too many fashion shows during the football season), and RB Dylan Edwards had a few grand slam runs that could lead to even more growth. They have a season under their belt and undeniable hype building for their Big 12 return. I’m excited to have K-State play against them this year!
Similar to TTU, I found myself anxious for the next rendition of CU’s uniforms that Deion said would come in 2024. They still wore some heaters, especially the Gold/Black/Gold (TBT the 1990 Colorado squad) and my favorite look, the all-white smoke show from Week 1. What is there to say? This is the perfect mix of gold leaf and black. The all-white field against TCU’s purple is gorgeous. I think this combo has the best flow in the line-up. My issue with CU’s uniforms this season stems from a lack of standardization. It felt like there were lots of uniforms from various years being thrown around. We know Coach Prime wants to add bling with the gold leaf/chrome, but it felt jarring throwing in a new helmet to a clearly older design sometimes. Look through the album to see what I’m talking about. My least favorite is the Black/White/Gold worn in Week 13. Tri-colors don’t do it for me. The different shades of gold make this feel way too jumbled. Which is your favorite?
Arizona State University Sun Devils (3-9)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/eXCLv20
Number of Combos: 12 Best: Yellow/Maroon/Yellow - Sparky Worst: Maroon/Black/Black
ASU had one non-con win and 2 PAC-12 wins. But they were still an enjoyable team to watch! There were 3 incredibly close losses where Arizona State looked like a team that could blow things up! I’m excited to see where first year HC Kenny Dillingham takes the program, and they have some very fun games versus Texas State and Wyoming in 2024’s non-con, and - selfishly - I am very excited to see them against the Wildcats. Lots to do in the offseason and a tough schedule ahead make for a busy Sun Devil crew. Watch out for sunburn, Big 12 bros!
What a stylish season for ASU. For the first time in 5 years, ASU had a white helmet option to go along with the gold and maroon. My least favorite suit was a product of the ASU’s earlier uniform refresh worn in Week 2 against Oklahoma State. It’s an older suit, has that knit sweater look (which some people love, but I don’t). The color scheme would have looked great using the new suits. I do like the Arizona Flag design on the chest though, it’s one of the things I missed about the new template. Speaking of the new template, it’s a sleeker design. They removed the large subliminal flag on the chest, most of the striping, and much of the other chest clutter. They added a large pitchfork on the leg (a move I go back and forth on), but the whole refresh seemed to have “simplify” in mind. Which works great! ASU is known best for its color scheme. That’s why my favorite suit works so well. Yellow/Maroon/Yellow, sparky on the lid. A great color combo that really just feels like the Sun Devils. The simplified uniform really does great. My second pick has to be the White/White/White, utilizing the sweet new white shell, and my third pick is probably between the White/White/Maroon suit worn in Week 5 and their “Ghost Story” uniform from Week 9. The black/yellow and white all combine for a fantastic alternative. Not very valuable as an every-day wear, but a nice suit for special occasions. The black pitchfork looks exemplary, and you can really see the Arizona flag on the side of these.
Well, everyone! That’s it! I can’t believe the 2023 season is over. 18 damn teams’ seasons and uniforms reviewed. I hope you had as much fun as I did! I want to thank u/CockADoodleBOOM and u/holytrolly_ for providing me inspiration. I appreciate the opportunity to continue the tracker, and I'm excited to again next year! Over the offseason, I’ll post a team specific uniform ranking, as well my “2023 Uniform Awards” sometime soon. If you have any questions about the tracker or a team, feel free to PM or comment, and leave an upvote! I appreciate every single one of you, from the constant commenters to the casual lurkers. Until next season, in America’s most exciting football conference!
submitted by matte_purple to CFB [link] [comments]
In this edition of the tracker, we’ll review each team’s different suits, my favorite and least favorite looks (helpfully labeled by Helmet/Jersey/Pants color), and a brief summary of my thoughts moving forward, uniforms and otherwise. And remember, “worst” is not an indicator of being a “bad combo” unless I explicitly say so, and apart from one or two, I’m sure they'll be alright. After that, I’ll give out my favorite content of the season in THE Big 12 2023 Uniform Awards, which will be a hoot. Later on, I’ll rank each team’s uniforms (that sweet offseason content) but for now we’ll get into it.
I’m u/matte_purple, and let's 3,2,1 go!
#3 University of Texas Longhorns(12-2)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/Adp4Tky
Number of Combos: 2 Best: White/Orange/White Worst: White/White/White
The last time UT Football produced a 12-win season and a Big 12 Title was 2009 with QB Colt McCoy. The program is - say it with me everyone! - BACK. From a Big 12 fan perspective, it's a bittersweet. You have a nationally recognized program with wide appeal that had several exciting games, tons of success, a tough but fair path to the Big 12 Championship, and a playoff appearance to show for it. But, they're also leaving for the SEC. It stings. I, for one, am a little sad about them leaving. They have a great roster, Quinn Ewers returning for another round, and a top 10 class on the way. Short of a Natty appearance, this was about everything a UT fan could have wanted. Your only losses being OU and the eventual CFB runner-up? That's a sweet deal. Here’s to your time in the SEC.
Obviously, UT doesn’t switch it up very often (in fact, it's been the same overall template since the 50s). There were a few changes introduced in 2022, notably removing the Longhorn on the collar, as well as the TV numbers on the top of the shoulders. Both design features appeared in 2013, when Texas upgraded to Nike’s Pro Combat Hypercool template. By virtue of my own template, I have to pick my least favorite of the two combos, so I’ll pick the away. The power and recognizability of the burnt orange jersey really does it for me. But of course, both looks are very nice (obviously, otherwise they wouldn't have stayed the same for nearly 75 years). The bold “Texas” on the front, which was first added in 1959, and reappearing in 1983-present, takes the cake. That's it for the Longhorns. What a season, now go kick some SEC butt!
#16 Oklahoma State Cowboys(10-4)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/zBT21Da
Number of Combos: 13 Best: Black/Black/Orange Worst: Orange/White/Black
Roller coaster. Struggles at the start of 2023, including a rotating QB carousel, and hard losses to South Alabama and ISU, put a severe damper on the mood in Stilly. Then followed a domination of some Big 12 heavy hitters - including an excellent Bedlam win - before dropping an inexplicable 45-3 loss to a battered UCF. How do you have so many highs, lows, and nail-biters in a season? Ultimately, HC Mike Gundy, QB Alan Bowman (who will come back for his 7th season!), and game-breaking RB Ollie Gordon II led the Cowboys to a nice season, culminating in a pretty great bowl game, a tough Big 12 champ game, and a build-up to what should be a wild 2024 season. Don’t count out the Pokes, because they’ll still find a way.
The Cowboys did something I did not expect. They refreshed their already incredible uniforms this summer into ones that may not be beat. Oklahoma State always manages to get the balancing act of honoring brand and tradition while also fostering an exciting variety right. My favorite is the Black/Black Orange from Bedlam. It has all of the benefits of a blackout while keeping the sweet splash of orange. It’s mean as hell, gets the color ratio right, and exemplifies the new update really spectacularly. Last on my list was their combo worn against UCF. Not only was it the same combo worn in KSU’s blowout last year, but it was also featured in the disastrous 2023 UCF game. It feels unbalanced for a tricolor, the black weighs it down. It’s a shame that the orange shell helmet has to be put this low, as it’s my favorite Cursive shell. Some of my other favorites from the Cowboys include their all-blacks worn vs UT and KSU, their W/W/O option in Week 2, and their orange suits versus KU. Give them a look!
#15 University of Oklahoma Sooners(10-3)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/Vnt1z8I
Number of Combos: 3 Best: Red/White/White Worst: Gray/Gray/Gray
The other half of the SEC bound duo didn’t fare quite as well as UT, but they still did alright! Obviously, the season was a step up from 2022’s 6-7. HC Venables schemed his way to 80th nationally in total defense and 49th in scoring defense and his youthful team showed great execution in most of their games. QB Gabriel even had a game against WVU where he threw for 5 TDs and ran for 3. That's the real deal. They only lost to OSU, KU, and AZ, which were all great teams this season. They are in a great position heading into the SEC, and are slated to play some very tough teams next year. I’m going to miss OU, just like Texas. I have enjoyed KSU and OU’s recent history, but seriously, good luck in the SEC, Sooners.
Uniform-wise, this year was actually rather similar to last year for the sooners. The last time OU updated their suits - even in a minor fashion - was 2018 in their move to the Jordan brand. They also filled out the OU logo on top and changed the font on the “Sooners” up front. The anthracite uniform was released last year and was the only alternate worn this year, so overall it was a fairly pedestrian season for uniforms. My favorite of the three was the away look, simply for the fact that the home uniform has many similar looks across the nation. The white has a little bit more originality, it’s got a nice bit of color, and really pops against the home team. Since I have to pick a “least favorite,” I went with the “Unity” uniforms. I actually like it a lot. I think the color is great, and the story is even better. They honor OU alum Prentice Gautt, the first Black scholarship player for the Sooners, starring as a RB from 1957 to '59. And he played in the NFL! The anthracite uniforms sport the word "unity" on the nameplate, with "together" sewn on the collar. Also featured is the OK state outline on the pauldrons. I especially love that. But the stripe down the helmet doesn’t match the other stripes on the shoulders/pants, and it looks like there were a few helmets that were painted matte, not glossy, so it finds itself in my least favorite OU uniform of the year. Maybe we’ll see more alternates in the SEC? I’m just glad we didn’t get the “Lay Down the Wood” alternates this season.
#18 Kansas State University Wildcats (9-4)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/FlLUvZm
Number of Combos: 2 Best: SilveWhite/Silver Worst: SilvePurple/White
Should this season feel like a disappointment for Wildcat fans? It’s hard to say. They had some VERY good games that went close. The Missouri game was lost thanks to a SEC record-breaking 61-yd FG, OSU was a weird case of black magic in Stilly, and their UT game was lost thanks to some odd OT play-calling and crucial special teams errors. Change around some possessions and you would have had a hell of a season. Sprinkle in some magic from true-freshman QB Avery Johnson (5 rushing TDs against TTU - the first to do it in the Big XII since Collin Klein in 2012 - and an efficient Pop-Tart MVP Bowl showing), and QB Will Howard, who led K-State to a wild 246-72 against losing opponents at home and broke KSU’s passing TD record. The lone loss at home was to ISU in a snowy version of Farmageddon. Some staff turnover, QB Will Howard leaving for Ohio State, and some tough NFL Draft and transfer exits will make things hard, but remember, they still have a great RB in Giddens, good WR transfers, proven QB Avery Johnson, and former TTU coach Matt Wells to work as OC. Weird, but still good, season for the ‘Cats.
Well, it’s another average year for the ‘Cats. K-State wore 3 combos last year and cut out their one alt this year. Just like UT, KSU has a style, and they stick to it. Bill Snyder introduced this look in ‘89, his first season at KSU. He threw in a helmet for military appreciation three times, but that’s it. HC Chris Klieman and his EQ team have maintained much of the same idea, only releasing alternates 2 times in his 5 years (changing silver to white twice doesn't really count in my book). That could change with a renewed Nike contract though. He’s been quoted as saying they can “start exploring those options” earlier this year. Just like last year, I chose the away look as my favorite because it looks so good against most every home uniform out there. I mean, take a look at that OSU vs K-State look? Or vs KU’s black alt? That silver shines nice above the white. The home is definitely good as well, just not quite as dashing. From here on out, we get lots more variety in our teams!
West Virginia University Mountaineers (9-4)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/h4SHYPS
Number of Combos: 11 Best: Blue/Yellow/Blue Worst: Yellow/Yellow/Yellow
One of the most surprising Big 12 teams in 2023. Just months after Neal Brown rumors swirled, QB JT Daniels transferred, and hope seemed lost, they rose up and made a pretty great run. WVU was slotted at the bottom of the preseason poll, and they took that personally. QB Garret Greene was promoted to starter, the defense survived some tough injuries, and RB Jahiem White emerged, who will no doubt become a big part of the offense moving on. WVU closed out the season winning ⅘ games, losing to OK-State, OU, Penn, and a miraculous Hail Mary from Houston. Closing out the season with Neal Brown covered in Mayo with 9 wins is a lot better than what many Big 12 fans expected. They are riding high into the offseason!
WVU really knocked it out of the park. They only had a few looks that I thought were okay. For the most part, every look they wore had a lot of style. My least favorite were the “Gold-Rush” uniforms, simply because it’s so yellow. I think they tend to be most fans' least favorite. My favorite was the new version of the “Country Roads” suit introduced vs Pitt last year. While that version was primarily white, this year’s was a beautiful home variety that was perfect for the Backyard Brawl. It was also worn against UNC to great effect. The sublimated road map, the state outline logo with the Flying WV on the inside, the consistent striping on the helmet and pants, all topped off by the “Mountaineers” on the chest. This isn’t as retro as, say, the new OK-State suits or Texas Tech throwbacks, but they aren’t meant to be. It’s modern without looking corporate, and feels genuine. It's a sleek way to end their uniform year. Other stars include their standard home outfit of B/B/Y and my favorite away look, their W/W/B with the state-outlined flying WV on the helm from Week 5.
#23 University of Kansas Jayhawks(9-4)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/JamagD0
Number of Combos: 12 Best: Blue/Blue/Red Worst: Blue/Red/Blue
The last two seasons of KU football have been the best since 2007. HC Lance Liepold inherited a demoralized program after Les Miles was removed, but he’s turned it into something promising. They finished the season ranked for the first time in 16 years, and finished with a winning record and bowl victory for the first time in 15. KU opened the season with four wins, upset #6 OU in an instant classic, and won a bowl game against UNLV. Aside from a weird loss to TTU, a heartbreaker against KSU, and “normal” losses to UT and OK-State, KU continues to be a rising star. With new uniforms and alts, competitive Ws and Ls, a new stadium coming soon, and some star talent, this team is a phoenix. I’m excited to see what happens next year! This is about as nice as I can be to KU, so moving on!
The Jayhawks were one of three Big 12 schools that updated their uniforms over the summer. And to wide acclaim, I might add. It’s clean and cohesive, and the “Kansas” wordmark projects a confidence that was severely lacking with the old look. The “KU” letter logo is thankfully going away. It was only worn once last year and zero times this year. The shoulder stripes outlined in red is another great touch. Speaking of Trajan font, it’s the main reason I picked the Blue/Red/Blue as my least favorite combo. First, why would you continue to use an “outdated” jersey when you have a revamped blue jersey? It just reminds fans of the old KU. Second, why did they decide to wear primarily red against TTU? The whole combo reminded me of 3D glasses, and just felt disjointed. The B/B/R combo vs UCF was actually my favorite. It got the ratio of blue-red right, with the facemask tying the pants and the shoulder stripes together. No stripes on the helmet helps, too. My 2nd favorite was the all-white worn against Nevada in Week 3. It’s beautiful (and the winning combo I chose last year). The stripes on the helmet not matching the rest of the design puts it down one peg. Their blackout suits will definitely make an appearance in the Uniform Awards, so stay tuned.
Iowa State University Cyclones (7-6)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/OUycgfa
Number of Combos: 8 Best: White/White/Red Worst: Red/Red/Red
With six winning seasons in seven years, ISU under Campbell is having its best years since the 1910s. They bounced back from some gambling scandal news, ended with high performing and record setting play by QB Rocco Becht, four-straight road W’s - a school record - and 21 underclassmen and six true freshmen making big plays this season. Aside from some head-scratching losses to Ohio, Memphis, and Iowa, the others were competitive and fun (especially that Farmageddon game, right Cyclones?) I look forward to seeing their path in the new Big 12!
This was ISU’s most ambitious uniform year since their 2018 refresh. Apart from “blackout madness” that was the year 2020 for the ‘Clones, we saw lots of new ideas here, including two alt helmets. Their new black and cardinal helmet was worn twice in 2018 and once in 2019 before returning in Week 12 of 2023. I personally like it way more than the black/white Block I helmets (my main gripe with the blackouts is the lack of cardinal accents). But the next suit was BEAUTIFUL. The Jack Trice throwback featuring the chevrons that Trice and his team wore in 1923 was executed well, and brought us the best helmet they’ve worn since 1994 and 2007. The Ames helmet is simple and a beauty. Sure, this suit isn’t the sleekest alternate uniform out there. But the legacy, and history more than make up for the slightly odd tan pants look. My subjective best look is certainly that White/White/Red look worn against BU in Week 9. If ISU is going to continue to use the Block I logo, they may as well put it on a helmet that pops, and the cardinal accents paired with the bold pants looks smooth. Their worst - IMO - was the all-red suit worn in the bowl. It’s just so much red. Hot colors all in one big block looks clunky without suitable accents, and a primarily red logo doesn't stand out. Perfect time to add a vintage more yellow logo to the helm, perhaps? Overall felt like a sweet spot season with good throwbacks, fun spins on the regulars, and a perfect use of the black uniforms.
Texas Tech University Red Raiders (7-6)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/kRrjnXk
Number of Combos: 10 Best: Black/Black/Black Worst: Red/White/Red
The much hyped Red Raiders had a tough year. 2016 with Mahomes was the last time a TTU QB has started every season game. 2023 QB Tyler Shough suffered a broken leg in the season’s first Big 12 game. The injuries were tough for TTU through 2023, but to have to play three different QBs for several consecutive years is the equivalent of a dead man’s hand in modern CFB. Apart from the QB heartbreak, I think Tech finished strong in Nov. for Joey McGuire’s 2nd year. We saw some needed maturation from both QB Behren Morton and OC Zack Kittley. We saw some promising snaps from young guys, which will be important with some big seniority turnover on the sideline. Add on a top 25 recruiting class for 2024, and there is still plenty of reason to be optimistic for 2024. Hopefully the witch doctor in charge of the QBs can stop messing around. A disappointing season for TTU, but it may set up the pieces for something great.
I found myself looking ahead to the 2024 Adidas refresh during many weekends of the tracker. Not to say that TTU’s current closet is bad, it’s just lacking. We’ve seen what a great update can do for KU and OK-State, and Texas Tech deserves it. They struck gold in 2022 with their throwbacks (including this year’s 1978 throwback in Week 3), but we really need a clean slate. Luckily, the Adidas x Mahomes deal can swoop in and save TTU from the odd dual-tone stripes on the pants, chevron shoulder stripe, and small font on the chest. My standouts on the season were the Black/Red/Black combos worn 3 times this season, the 1978 look, and my top choice, the blackout worn against KSU in Week 7. All-black looks great when it’s actually a school color, and the red and white feels punchy on a black canvas. I’m excited to see it redone next season! My least favorite was the Red/White/Red worn against WVU’s all-yellow. The yellow did it no favors, but the Double T logo is literally 99% red. Putting it on a red helmet just isn’t right. It was the only time red helmets were worn this season. Keep your chin up, Tech fans. We’ll get through it!
University of Central Florida Knights (6-7)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/gYErwiN
Number of Combos: 11 Best: White/Blue/Blue Worst: Gold/White/Black
By far the most successful of the new four, they had a rocky season as well. After a steady non-con, they suffered loss after loss until the UC game, and then a magical blowout upset at home against Bedlam-winning OSU. They then suffered two more losses, including a one against GT in their bowl. Not a horrible start to their Big 12 career, but there’s lots to improve. Helping in the offseason are returning stars RJ Harvey, one of the better RBs in the Big 12, and WR Javon Baker, both important cogs in the UCF siege engine. They'll have a busy off-season in Orlando, but in Gus we Trust!
One thing that always rubs me the wrong way in most teams are “tri-color” or “mismatched” looks.Teams usually look best with some symmetry or majority color to them. The one exception to the rule is UCF. When your colors are all “intermediate” like white, gold, or black, as opposed to teams with bolder colors, you can squeak over the line. UCF wore a tri-color three times and looked decent in all of them. The mismatched lightmode suit versus Cincy in Week 10 was the only one I didn’t care for, due to the odd font style. The lightmode concept worked okay when paired with all white and similar accents, but it just looks cobbled together when pieced with other templates. Their best combo is, of course, the Space U game combo. The specialty suit has a unique shock of canaveral blue, a fantastic new helmet, and tons of Easter eggs and fun design choices make this one a treat. I’ll talk about it more in both the uniform awards and the UCF uniform ranker that will come later in the offseason, but just know I absolutely adore it. My favorite non-alternates are the White/Black/White combo worn in Week 9 against WVU and the all-black stunner with the alternate knight logo worn vs Houston.
Texas Christian University Horned Frogs (5-7)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/1WgQy8H
Number of Combos: 12 Best: White/White/White Worst: White/White/Black
What a fall from grace for the Horned Frogs. After being America’s darling in the last months of the 2022 season, they won only 3 Big 12 games. Their DC was let go, OC Briles felt inconsistent, and a few hopeful NFL departing draftees makes for an interesting off-season. The team failed to qualify for a bowl game, marking the first time since 2010 that a team who reached the CFP Title game failed to earn bowl eligibility the following season. On the bright side, redshirt Freshman QB Josh Hoover has some promise. The youth of the team as a whole has promise. Once he gets more experience and competition with Morris coming back in the spring and can get better at ball protection, I think there’s some opportunity for a higher ranking. Plus, TCU has a record of 53-11 following a losing season, so history is on their side!
TCU carried over 4 combos from the 2022 season, including the all-white combo that is definitely my favorite uniform of their season. But for the most part, aside from the bright spots of the new “frog-only” logo helmets and some novel new combos (like the all-purple, White/Black/Black, and Purple/Black/Purple), the season felt like a tad downgrade over last year’s uniforms. I can’t put a pin on it. But in my opinion, TCU looks great in black with purple accents. The inverse just feels off. The exceptions are the all-white and the White/Purple/White worn vs CU. My least favorite combo (W/W/B at K-State) really felt bland. The plain black pants make me sad when added to the white canvas. They throw off the rest of the suit balance wise, especially considering the only other black on the suit are like 3 of the collar’s diamonds. This suit could have really raised some eyebrows with a black helmet, or another all-white rendition. Slightly worse than last year, but I still really enjoy the variety from the ‘Frogs.
Brigham Young University Cougars (5-7)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/Vl4CqIL
Number of Combos: 11 Best: White/Royal/White Worst: Black/Black/Black
There was a lot of hype for BYU’s inaugural Big 12 season. The Cougars waited 12 years for an invite since going Independent from the Mountain West. Behind transfer QB Kedon Slovis, the Cougars were able to go undefeated in their non-conference play, highlighted by an exciting road win over Arkansas. And then reality struck. They won against Cincinnati in their conference home opener, and Texas Tech in a home night game, but lost every game afterwards. They had very real chances to knock off Oklahoma and Oklahoma State (in 2OT) at the end of the season, but couldn’t finish. A tough time full of questions for BYU, but I think the most glaring issue is a lack of experience in this conference. With some playing time, both coaches and players alike WILL be better next year.
BYU does the whole tradition thing very similar to K-State, Texas, and OU, with the only variety being the colors. All of these looks - except for the black uniforms they introduced this year - feel very traditional and classic. In fact, I’d bet you could show any one of the royal or navy combos to a non-football fan and convince them they were the preeminent BYU look. But one of them takes the cake: The White/Royal/White combo dates back to 1969, was worn by BYU in their 1984 national title season, and were brought back to wide acclaim in 2009. They have been worn frequently ever since. And boy, is there a reason for it. The beautiful color, the symmetry, the consistent striping, the iconic logo, this is the one. I love variety in uniforms, but this one should be celebrated. I also really enjoyed their Navy/White/Navy and even their all-navy look. Their worst look, as mentioned before, is the all-black. Why? Simple: Black is not a BYU color. I know the age of “Black for Black’s Sake” uniforms never really went away, as shown by Houston, KU, and a few other alternates in CFB, but it feels especially egregious here. BYU has an absolutely gorgeous color palette, and instead of leading with royal, they made it a secondary color. Plus, why on earth wasn’t the Stretch Y logo royal? The uniform itself is fine, but it just isn’t “BYU.”
University of Houston Cougars (4-8)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/N2AevXy
Number of Combos: 9 Best: White/Blue/White - Oilers Worst: Red/Red/Red
There were glimmers of hope for this Houston team throughout the season, winning games vs UTSA and Sam Houston, grabbing a surprise win against WVU, and winning in OT vs Baylor. Other than those scant few victories, it was a rough one for the Coogs (luckily, basketball is soothing some of those burns).Dana Holgerson continues to be a tough case. We’ll see how they recover next season.
Houston has always struck me as a team that didn’t really mind what they wore from game to game. Most of their combos feel standard, a little plain. They don’t have that much of a logo history to fall on, their color scheme is pretty regular, and usually, their alternate attempts are different varieties of black. That changed this season with the introduction of their Oilers-inspired suits. It’s historical. It looks incredible. The striping and coloration is PERFECT. Their look is a tribute to the rich history of a football-mad city, not a reminder of a franchise leaving a fan base behind. It's a shame the No Fun League issued a cease and desist to Houston for the color scheme (even though Rice also has an Oilers “throwback” that didn’t get in trouble). I really hope these come back. My least favorite look, much like Iowa State, is that all red look. It’s so bold and there’s no break in color. It’s compounded by the monogram logo and odd leg stripes. These uniforms feel like the other side of the BYU combo coin in a lot of ways, with one major color, all very “Houston” like, but without the history or magic of the royal blue. Maybe we’ll see another surprise like the Oilers look next year.
Baylor University Bears (3-9)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/b1ZMIR4
Number of Combos: 9 Best: Yellow/Yellow/Green Worst: Yellow/White/Yellow
The skid continues for Baylor. Two years removed from the Big 12 championship, Baylor does not look good. HC Dave Aranda is 23-25 in his fourth year in Waco, with a wide margin between his best and worst moments. The Bears had wins against Long Island University, Cincinnati and a miraculous comeback versus UCF, which is pretty slim pickings. Coupled with some heartbreaking losses, it wasn't the year to be in the Baylor line. At least the only way forward for the Bears is up. The Bears have a surprising 2024 class but still feel enigmatic.
Last year, Baylor fans consistently echoed a need for variety in their uniforms. The only time an article of yellow clothing was worn in the 2022 season was the all-yellow suits, which is a WILD fact. The whole premise of the 2019 update was interchangeability, and it was finally utilized here. This year was a breath of fresh air. They introduced three new combos, one of which was my favorite for the season. The Yellow/Yellow/Green combo was worn in Week 1 and Week 13 (A perfect beginning and end to the season - uniform wise, that is). They totally flipped the script on combos and made me a very happy uniform tracker. These have the perfect ratio of green to yellow while maintaining a nice simplicity. These are wonderful! My least favorite was also a brand-new combo: The Yellow/White/Yellow. It starred in what looked like a football acid trip on the TV vs TCU’s “Blood Red” threads, and I just don’t really like these. The green collar especially bugs me. I know these uniforms were much anticipated by the fanbase, and I wanted to see them, too, but the timing and the way the format just doesn't match up with this particular combo irks me. Almost every other combo is a win for me. Next year, more variety and logos would be a very welcome addition. After all, there’s 27 possible combos with their current wardrobe, and more when you add alternate helmets and such. This is probably one of the most improved teams uniform-wise in the Big 12.
University of Cincinnati Bearcats(3-9)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/gKXdRQW
Number of Combos: 11 Best: Black/Black/Red Worst: Red/White/White
A rough entry for the Bearcats, in large part due to mediocre QB play from Emory Jones and a rocky first season for HC Scott Satterfield. In the end, it was just poor timing for both realignment and signing a new coach. Facing brand new teams is a tough pill by itself. The Bearcats won their first two non-con games against EKU and Pitt before promptly dropping 7 games in a row. Their sole Big 12 win came against Houston. And hey, just like BU, there’s no other way but up for Cincy.
The Bearcats were the last Big 12 squad to get new uniforms this summer. And yeah, they look pretty plain, but it works for them! It allows for a sleek, versatile look where each piece can be subbed out for another with little fuss. The only problem with that is this: Cincinnati definitely has a signature look. The all-black or black with red accents is the primo Bearcats style. This means that red jerseys and helmets kind of feel odd. Case in point, the worst look. The Red/White/White uniform has such promise. The helmet has some sort of unique paint on it that makes it seem almost velvety. But something about this look just feels wrong to me. I can’t pinpoint it. Anyway, my favorite look from them is the Black/Black/Red from Week 4 vs OU. Man, I guess red is a good pants color. It provides the right punch of color to a uniform without offsetting the balance of it and works great as a secondary color. Both these and KU, same story. Both of them went through the same simplification process this summer. Also, the C-Paw logo being scattered abundantly really helps out, as it’s the most recognizable symbol UC has. It's a good, clean look with the right pop of color. What else can I say? A good job uniform wise for Cincy. Maybe not award-winning, but stylish - if conventional.
Now, let's check out our Four Corners friends, joining in this summer!
University of Arizona Wildcats (10-3)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/m6CGYB5
Number of Combos: 8 Best: White/Blue/White Worst: White/Red/Red
What a surprising year for the Wildcats! After finishing 1-11 just two years ago, the Wildcats ended their season with a victory in their first bowl appearance since 2017 before heading to the Big 12. Their record included some very impressive wins against ranked teams like Washington State, Oregon State, UCLA and Utah. If one possession would have changed, they could have grabbed ranked wins against USC and Washington as well. Arizona was a giant slayer this year. I’m a little scared to see them in the Big 12. Fifita the breakout QB star and a large upperclassmen squad is back for 2023, and I think new hire Brennan can bridge the gap by riding momentum, while adding in some hires like former UNM/ASU (he he) coach Danny Gonzales for support. Bear down!
Arizona’s uniforms are a brilliant revitalization of the uniforms worn in the Dick Tomey era of football. In 1987, Tomey became head coach at Arizona, earning Pac-10 "Coach of the Year" honors in 1992. He coached five future NFL first-round draft picks, 20 All-Americans, and 43 Pac-10 first team players. His teams were highlighted by a tenacious "Desert Swarm" defense, where the uniform name comes from. His 95 school wins is the most in Arizona school history. These particular suits were introduced as alternates in 2019 after the Wildcats experimented from 2012 on with gradients. They were updated full time in 2021 to great applause. It’s timeless! And that goes for each variation of them. For the most part they remain consistent with the mismatched stripes, white “A” helmet, and sleek template. Aside from the stripes on the white uniform not being “mismatched” like the White/Blue/White uniform (my favorite, by the way), I feel great about each uniform worn, except for one. Much like other teams with a red secondary color, the red uniforms are a lot. It’s manageable with just one piece of red, but it feels like a lot even with the striping. Beautiful work still, and unique!
University of Utah Utes (8-5)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/ZEWfa7f
Number of Combos: 10 Best: White/White/White Worst: Black/White/Black
Utah had a bad case of the injury blues. TE Brant Kuithe and tailback Micah Bernard were both tough losses. QB Cam Rising was banged up bad during the 2022 Rose Bowl. The sixth-year senior hoped to return at some point in 2023 but was unable to do so. With a medical redshirt in hand, he has an opportunity to carry Utah to great things. Hopefully the transfer and recruiting trail can help the Utes, though: 4 sophomores and one freshman started on the offensive line in the bowl game. Jackson, the team's leading rusher with 797 yds, entered the transfer portal, as did backup QBs Barnes and Johnson. Three starters will have to be replaced in the secondary. The Utes have talked up some serious game, but they can certainly rise to the challenge. After all, Kyle Whittingham and his entire Utah program boast an 8-5 record in a “down” year. Also, I am VERY excited to see a Big 12 rendition of the Holy War.
I hadn’t done much research on the Ute’s uniforms before this season, and I was very pleasantly surprised. Utah has some of the nicer Under Armour templates I’ve ever seen. Updated in 2017, they go toe-to-toe with many other “updates” from the time period. Mainly, this is due to the no-nonsense and unique striping on the shoulders, the pleasing and easy to work with color scheme, and the easy font. The chest plate gets a little busy with the captain's patch, bowl patch, “UTAH” wordmark, and UA logo, but that's the only real issue I have. My favorite look by far is their all-white throwbacks worn in Week 8 and 11. They draw from various designs, including 1970s-1990s shoulder stripes, the interlocking UU logo from the 1960s, and - my favorite touch - the unique font from the 1970s. These are incredibly sexy. Other standouts are the home throwbacks worn in Week 4, the Ute Proud suits from Week 7, and their all blacks worn against ASU. But their home suits are excellent as well! I would put their Red/White/Red standard right at 4th on the season. The Black/White/Black suit just didn’t tickle my fancy. I think the gray stands out in it, which feels a little disjointed. But it’s still a pretty great suit. Damn good work from Utah. Keep an eye out for them in the Uniform Awards.
University of Colorado Buffaloes (4-8)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/7SCSU5A
Number of Combos: 12 Best: White/White/White Worst: Black/White/Gold
Coach Prime dragged his team to the finish line, ending with a final record of 4-8. The Buffaloes went 1-8 in Pac-12 play and ended the season with six consecutive losses. While it was a tough way to end Colorado's Pac-12 time, the finale at least provided some positives. Two-way star Travis Hunter has solidified himself as a great talent, the Sanders brothers will go back in action next year (assuming there aren’t too many fashion shows during the football season), and RB Dylan Edwards had a few grand slam runs that could lead to even more growth. They have a season under their belt and undeniable hype building for their Big 12 return. I’m excited to have K-State play against them this year!
Similar to TTU, I found myself anxious for the next rendition of CU’s uniforms that Deion said would come in 2024. They still wore some heaters, especially the Gold/Black/Gold (TBT the 1990 Colorado squad) and my favorite look, the all-white smoke show from Week 1. What is there to say? This is the perfect mix of gold leaf and black. The all-white field against TCU’s purple is gorgeous. I think this combo has the best flow in the line-up. My issue with CU’s uniforms this season stems from a lack of standardization. It felt like there were lots of uniforms from various years being thrown around. We know Coach Prime wants to add bling with the gold leaf/chrome, but it felt jarring throwing in a new helmet to a clearly older design sometimes. Look through the album to see what I’m talking about. My least favorite is the Black/White/Gold worn in Week 13. Tri-colors don’t do it for me. The different shades of gold make this feel way too jumbled. Which is your favorite?
Arizona State University Sun Devils (3-9)
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/eXCLv20
Number of Combos: 12 Best: Yellow/Maroon/Yellow - Sparky Worst: Maroon/Black/Black
ASU had one non-con win and 2 PAC-12 wins. But they were still an enjoyable team to watch! There were 3 incredibly close losses where Arizona State looked like a team that could blow things up! I’m excited to see where first year HC Kenny Dillingham takes the program, and they have some very fun games versus Texas State and Wyoming in 2024’s non-con, and - selfishly - I am very excited to see them against the Wildcats. Lots to do in the offseason and a tough schedule ahead make for a busy Sun Devil crew. Watch out for sunburn, Big 12 bros!
What a stylish season for ASU. For the first time in 5 years, ASU had a white helmet option to go along with the gold and maroon. My least favorite suit was a product of the ASU’s earlier uniform refresh worn in Week 2 against Oklahoma State. It’s an older suit, has that knit sweater look (which some people love, but I don’t). The color scheme would have looked great using the new suits. I do like the Arizona Flag design on the chest though, it’s one of the things I missed about the new template. Speaking of the new template, it’s a sleeker design. They removed the large subliminal flag on the chest, most of the striping, and much of the other chest clutter. They added a large pitchfork on the leg (a move I go back and forth on), but the whole refresh seemed to have “simplify” in mind. Which works great! ASU is known best for its color scheme. That’s why my favorite suit works so well. Yellow/Maroon/Yellow, sparky on the lid. A great color combo that really just feels like the Sun Devils. The simplified uniform really does great. My second pick has to be the White/White/White, utilizing the sweet new white shell, and my third pick is probably between the White/White/Maroon suit worn in Week 5 and their “Ghost Story” uniform from Week 9. The black/yellow and white all combine for a fantastic alternative. Not very valuable as an every-day wear, but a nice suit for special occasions. The black pitchfork looks exemplary, and you can really see the Arizona flag on the side of these.
Well, everyone! That’s it! I can’t believe the 2023 season is over. 18 damn teams’ seasons and uniforms reviewed. I hope you had as much fun as I did! I want to thank u/CockADoodleBOOM and u/holytrolly_ for providing me inspiration. I appreciate the opportunity to continue the tracker, and I'm excited to again next year! Over the offseason, I’ll post a team specific uniform ranking, as well my “2023 Uniform Awards” sometime soon. If you have any questions about the tracker or a team, feel free to PM or comment, and leave an upvote! I appreciate every single one of you, from the constant commenters to the casual lurkers. Until next season, in America’s most exciting football conference!
2023.12.15 19:28 BaBaBaBanshee 2023-24 Bowl Games Ranked by Intrigue.
42.Famous Idaho Potato Bowl-Georgia State vs Utah State
Two Blue teams on a blue field is too much blue for me and I say this as someone who exclusively cheers for blue teams. Best bowl mascot though.
41.Famous Toastery Bowl-Old Dominion vs Western Kentucky
BOOOOO! CALL IT THE BAHAMAS BOWL YOU COWARDS!
One team that got to leave the C-USA vs a team that is still probably trying to figure a way out.
40.Camellia Bowl-Arkansa State vs Northern Illinois
Ol’ Butch Jones finally got the red wolves to a bowl after a couple of absolutely dismal seasons he has gotten them back to some form of respectability.
They will take on a NIU squad that went from being really good 2 years ago to awful last year and then to the mediocrity of this season.
This bowl could show us what path the huskies finally tend to stick on for next year and it could show us if this is just the beginning to success in Jonesboro for Jones.
39.Myrtle Beach Bowl-Georgia Southern vs Ohio
#MACtion meets #FunBelt
I know I ranked the Potato Bowl last for their blue field but the teal one just looks so much nicer than the dark blue to me.
Anyway, some stuff about the actual game; The bridesmaids of the MAC and the eagles of Statesboro clash to see if the Sun Belt truly was the best G5 conference this year as a middle of the pack Sun Belt squad takes on the 3rd best in the MAC.
38.Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl-Toledo vs Wyoming
FUCK THE BARSTOOL NETWORK! Oh, this will also be on the CW… Good.
The Rockets are coming off of failing to repeat as MAC champs after losing their rematch to the RedHawks, Wyoming can relate to a somewhat lesser extent as they followed the trend of many MWC contended this year starting off hot with wins over Texas Tech and Fresno State at home but their inability to perform well on the road cost them any chance at holding a conference championship.
These are two teams that really felt they should have won gold at the end of the year and only one of them will get to hold a trophy high (it’s surprisingly not a golden barstool).at the very end.
37.EasyPost Hawaii Bowl-Coastal Carolina vs SJSU
It’s not the worst excuse to be hungover and tired on Christmas.
The beach chickens fly west to the most pristine beaches in the whole country to take on a program that is much more used to playing well past midnight on EST.
These are also another pair of teams that just missed out on playing for a championship.
36.68 Ventures Bowl-EMU vs South Alabama
I know bowls should be neutral sites but when it comes to the smaller games it’s always more interesting when they will have a sizable crowd that is cheering for one team.
35.Quick Lane Bowl-BGSU vs Minnesota
While a 5-7 team playing for a bowl always feels wrong to me. I can't deny that a MAC team getting to playa B1G team at ford field doesn't sound fun especially when BGSU is the team that gave Minnesota of all time and definitely under Fleck’s tenure.
So, Minnesota and Fleck either get a chance at revenge, or the Falcons get to make another statement by beating yet another P5 team this year.
34.ReliaQuest Bowl-#13 LSU vs Wisconsin
The only time I wanted Iowa and LSU to play in a bowl game and you took it from me!
33.Cheez-It Citrus Bowl-#17 Iowa vs #21 Tennessee
Which team deserves to be ranked less? AND I STILL WANTED IOWA VS LSU DAMN IT!
32.Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl-Cal vs Texas Tech
The Golden Bears are finally back to bowling as they take on only the second most disappointing team in Texas this season in and what was probably a punishment for such a mediocre season, they got sent to the shadow realm known as Shreveport.
Sorry Cal that this will be your reward for finally getting back to it though.
31.Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl-Marshall vs UTSA
I have no idea who scooter is and why I should care about their coffee but isn't it weird that this bowl has had three sponsors and two of them have been drink based?
Should be a lot of Roadrunners fans and they hope it will turn out better than their last game in Frisco where they lost by multiple scores to the Aztecs as a ranked team.
30.TransPerfect Music City Bowl-Auburn vs Maryland
Taulia’s last stand as a Terrapin as he looks to turn up the heat against these Freezy War Eagle Tigers from the SEC.
29.Isleta New Mexico Bowl-Fresno State vs NMSU
Jerry Kill is a miracle worker. The aggies have done so many first this season from back-to-back bowl games to destroying an SEC team to going to a conference championship that now they look to avoid doing another first by continuing their shockingly undefeated record in bowls as they get ready for a dog fight with a Fresno State team that started super-hot but has since struggled mightily the past few weeks against not even very good teams.
The Aggie faithful are hoping to cheer on their NMSU team to another win as they fill into their rival's stadium to see the bulldogs go winless against teams from the land of enchantment.
28.Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl-App. State vs Miami(OH)
A conference runner up vs a conference champ as two of the best in the G5 fight it out to take on each other and cancer.
27.R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl-Jacksonville State vs Louisiana
The NCAA tried to stop it, but the cocks were just too game, and they got themselves a bowl game against the Ragin Cajuns in their home away from home. JSU will always remember their first, only this game will tell if it will be one worth remembering or will it be something they’ll try to forget.
26.Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl-Air Force vs James Madison
The other team in the fuck the NCAA gang.
Though the Dukes are still pissed as they still were still robbed from a chance to play for the Sun Belt Championship and maybe even a NY6 bowl.
They will definitely be ready to make a statement against the Falcons as the Air Force might just need all of Lockheed Martin’s catalog because they are the final in the MWC trio of teams that started the season hot but fell off in the second half.
If the Air Force that showed up for the first half of this season shows up, then expect a great G5 classic.
25.AutoZone Liberty Bowl-Iowa State vs Memphis
Memphis gets a taste of some of that sweet XII action that they missed out on during realignment as the sirens blare about the coming cyclone.
I always love me some G5 vs P5 bowl games and the Liberty bowl should be pretty packed for this one so it also should be one of the better bowl environments of the year.
24.Military Bowl-Tulane vs Virginia Tech
After missing out on the postseason last year the Hokies are back to that familiar feeling of playing in the winter.
They will face quite the challenge as with backing from what should be far from a bipartisan crowd (fitting for how close they’ll be to DC) they will take on one the best in all of the American in the Green Wave who will be looking to regroup after a disappointing game in the AAC Championship and missing out on punching their return ticket to the NY6.
23.Wasabi Fenway Bowl-Boston College vs #24 SMU
The Wasabi is spicy, but the weather probably won't be as the Mustangs get their free trial run with an ACC game before joining the conference next year.
This will be a nice litmus test for them as an away team in the conference even if they are disappointed by the double standard from the playoff committee that left them out of the NY6(Man ACC teams both future and present really got screwed by them).
22.SERVPRO First Responder Bowl-Rice vs Texas State
After a decade in the FBS the Bobcats are finally bowling, and they’ll get to play a fellow Texas school in Texas! There might be better teams playing against each other lower on the list but shit like this is why I love bowls and college football.
21.SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl-Northwestern vs Utah
The biggest surprise in the B1G had to be Northwestern as after a whole offseason of drama and controversy many had them picked to finish last in the conference, but David Braun had different plans and in his first season as a head coach managed to right the ship back on course to winning waters and for that a bunch a young adults get the rewards of Sin City.
While this isn't the season Utah had pictured for themselves considering all their injury issues and the fact that they played 11 P5 teams this year, I don't think that have anything to be ashamed of.
Though I suspect that they want to enter the XII with some winning momentum while the wildcats know that they are now on people’s radar and hope to make the most of it and build some momentum to a division less and much tougher B1G next year.
20.RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl-Syracuse vs USF
The Bulls are finally back bowling, and they get reunited with their former Big East conference mate in Syracuse.
As the Orange wait for the Brown era to begin next season, they will just have to hope their interim HC can go 2-0 and avoid the upset against some bulls looking to wreck this like it was made from fine China.
19.Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl-Miami(FL) vs Rutgers
Speaking of Big East reunions.
This will be Rutgers first time going to a bowl game in almost a decade without covid shenanigans and o you know what they did in that bowl game they beat an ACC team by multiple scores something Miami will definitely look to avoid as they hope to against their traditionally poor bowl record for the last 15 years as they have only been victorious once in that time frame.
18.Guaranteed Rate Bowl-Kansas vs UNLV
Speaking of a team that has only won one bowl game in 15 years the Kansas Jayhawks though the sunflower sorrow is less about a poor bowl win loss record and more the fact that they’ve only been to two in that time frame.
Though things are definitely on the up in Lawrence as Lance Leipold looks to get his first bowl win.
Speaking of teams on the up, damn what a season UNLV has had!
I mean they got to go to their first ever conference championship and they have a chance at cracking into double digit wins though to do this they’ll have to stop their 2-game losing streak and pull a P5 upset that’s going to take more than what it took to beat Vanderbilt.
17.Duke’s Mayo Bowl-UNC vs West Virginia
Remember back when the Mountaineers were upset that they didn’t get to the ACC?
Well, I doubt they are upset about it now with talks of uncertainty in the ACC’s future while the XII seems stable despite their two best teams leaving after one embarrassed the entire league in its final season.
These two conferences will be in a desperate race for a distant bronze in the future of college football as we march closer to the greed of a P2 landscape.
Ignore all that existential dread and focus on the existential dread instead of seeing the broadcast inevitably dip shit like Oreos in mayonnaise again.
Oh yeah and these teams have also had very different seasons where one came in with big expectations and managed to trick many into expecting even bigger with their early season play before regressing to just being good instead of great the other came in with almost no expectations and quietly put together a sold season that most people have slept on a win here could get people to finally notice and acknowledge it.
16.Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl-Georgia Tech vs UCF
UCF is the team that finally convinced the AD to terminate the contract of the Collins and ever since then they’ve slowly unlocked their potential and success with Key as the yellow jackets will likely only get better in the future.
So now two teams from bordering states with a surprising amount of cross over now meet in a bowl as if they are destined to meet with Georgia Tech looking to repay UCF for their gracious gift with a beating like a sock full of coal.
The Gus Bus however plans to keep on driving and continue the Knight’s win streak over the ramblin wreck.
15.DIRECTV Holiday Bowl-#15 Louisville vs USC
Louisville is basically the P5 equivalent to UNLV, a still great season that was shaping up to be magical but their last 2 games left quite the bitter taste in the mouths.
Still, that’s nothing compared to the USC Trojans who had playoff hopes until they ran to the buzzsaw that was their late season schedule which handed them 5 straight beautiful losses.
The Trojans will also be without their star QB as the Cardinals look to get their offense some stretches and confidence after being snuffed out by the Seminoles offense.
14.TaxSlayer Gator Bowl-#22 Clemson vs Kentucky
After a season that started with 4 straight wins over not very good teams and a premature top 25 ranking the Wildcats struggled in conference play before pulling the big upset to stun their top 10 ranked rivals in Louisville.
On the same day Clemson held off any upset wishes as they won a game so ugly Iowa would be proud.
So now either one team will continue their streak of upsetting the ACC or one will get some nice SEC warm up meals before taking on Georgia in the opener next year.
13.TaxAct Texas Bowl-#20 Oklahoma State vs Texas A&M
A nice XII call back and a time when geography mattered a bit more in college football. I expect the pokes to play a bit better in the bowl game then they did in the championship as they should be a bit healed up by then.
Still the Aggies could still pile on the embarrassment for the XII and the Cowboys with yet another dominating performance at the hands of an SEC team from Texas as they will be looking to show off for their new coach Elko.
12.Starco Brands LA Bowl-Boise State vs UCLA
One last bowl game for the Broncos against the PAC 12.
The Bruins will be looking to try to get the PAC12 to at least almost 500 before what was a postseason tradition in the early 2010s comes to an end.
Despite it being in LA though I wouldn't be shocked by a split crowd considering how Bronco fans tend to show up for bowls and the program finally feels like it’s starting to get some of that moment that it hadn't seen in almost a decade.
The Bruins are in a very different spot with many of their fanbase being upset that Kelly is still a coach and being very concerned about their recruiting class and the departure of their star DC, a win here might help ease some of the hometown faithful and their concerns.
11.76 Birmingham Bowl-Duke vs Troy
This season will linger long in the minds of those in Durham as injuries(sorry) derailed a potential magical season into just a good one, and with the departure of Riley and Elko not much as much optimism can be found among the Blue Devils as there was in September this year for the future.
Troy however is feeling great about its program with back-to-back Sun Belt Championships and a chance at beating a power 5 program in front of a crowd that should have more Trojans than a college dorm.
10.Pop-Tarts Bowl-#25 Kansas State vs #18 NC State
Many people are calling this the first bowl game to have an edible mascot but one, anything is edible if you try hard enough and secondly spuddy has been around for years!
This year has been a bit of a disappointment for the kittens from Manhattan, but it has still been a very solid year as they look to repeat with double digit win seasons.
The Wolfpack however are hungry for the rare double digit win season even more after year after year where they have been teased with 9-win seasons in a season where not many had expectations for them at the beginning or even in the middle of the year, they have managed to put together one of the most quiet 9-3 seasons ever as they hope to finally break the double digit win season for Doren.
9.Tony The Tiger Bowl-#16 Notre Dame vs #19 Oregon State
The Irish managed to pull the only team that has seemingly more people transferring than them.
Though the Beavers at least have an excuse as school legend and somebody that seemed like a good fit as a forever coach Jonathan Smith abandoned his alma mater due to the greed and ever-changing landscape of the college football landscape where any pretenses of loyalty have been shattered for everyone except the fans that show up every Saturday.
Many older Oregon State and Notre Dame fans will remember the Fiesta Bowl and to a lesser extent the Insight bowl in the early 2000s where the Beavers took them to the woodshed and then destroyed even the woodshed.
Notre Dame finally has a chance to snap their losing streak to the pesky Beavs from the PNW while OSU hopes to keep their relevance alive in this ever shifting landscape that seems to want to leave them to die and so they will look just forward to just one day and game were they can have hope for the future while also remembering one of their biggest moments in school history by waking up their own echoes by pounding on Notre Dame.
8.Valero Alamo Bowl-#14 Arizona vs #12 Oklahoma
One team exits the XII the other enters and with the departure of the conference's traditional powers, the Wildcats are licking their lips at that void of power and seeing the rest of the conference as Fisch food.
Oklazhoma however want to beat the allegations that they were just a big fish in a lake and with them entering the SC they will now have to contend with the sharks and after their fellow conference jumpers Texas are looking ready for the eastern pastures the Sooners want to show off themselves with a dominating top 15 win as well.
Arizona however will get in their new conference's good graces if they are able to send Oklahoma packing on their wagon to boom and soon in a new conference.
7.Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl-#11 Ole Miss vs #10 Penn State
There are probably no two programs looking more forward to the 12-team playoff and the conference scheduling changes than these ones.
Despite their consistent success and great seasons they have just always been left out of the big dance due to just having the misfortune of being in the two toughest divisions in the sport.
A Battle of the bridesmaids if you will where only one will get to enjoy the taste of peaches and one last taste of NY6 success before likely being consistent fixtures in the playoff's future.
6.Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic-#9 Missouri vs #7 Ohio State
After so many great seasons in the past two decades but just missing out on the big bowls the Tigers from Missouri will finally get their roses or uhm cotton in this case.
The Buckeyes heart broke at the beginning of this year as their kick missed as the clock struck midnight to start 2023 and despite going 11-1 the season was still considered a disappointment by some in buckeye nation to the point that they were calling for their head coach to be fired.
This game could be a tale between who wants to be here and who considers this is a consolation prize.
Missouri has been waiting for this moment after feeling like they have been screwed on a couple of occasions while Ohio State was expecting bigger things and just considers this another day at the office at best.
5.CFP Semifinal Rose Bowl-#4 Alabama vs #1 Michigan
For most of this year Michigan was the most controversial team in the land.
Well that was all until Alabama got placed into the playoffs in a decision that seemingly pissed off everyone not in Gainesville, Tuscaloosa, or Connecticut.
Controversy abounds as the two most hated teams in the nation at the moment play each other for a chance to advance at a championship that many are pissed that they will get a chance to play for, either way a lot of neutrals will be upset at the outcome as every ref decision and call on commentary will be looked at with the most derision.
4.Vrbo Fiesta Bowl-#23 Liberty vs #8 Oregon
Speaking of hated teams, the Flames got in over SMU in what seemed like a gigantic double standard by the committee.
This will be the last ever traditional NY6 bowl before all become playoff games next year and the last in my favorite category of NY6 bowls which was the best in the G5 vs the P5.
And for probably the first time ever it seems many will be rooting against the underdogs(At least on Reddit) as the most controversial college gets the bright lights against the flashiest team for the last couple of decades.
Either Liberty is going to lose which will be funny or Oregon losses and seeing the reaction on Reddit will be entertaining.
3.CFP Semifinal Allstate Sugar Bowl-#3 Texas vs #2 Washington
You know it's weird when Texas is in a semifinal, and it’s considered the semi-final between the lesser hated schools.
The Longhorns get their first shot at the playoffs as the Huskies get their second chance and the last ever chance for the PAC12 to win the whole thing before they go out.
Both schools ironically have a chance to bring a conference their first CFP national championship as both bolt from it.
Two of the most talented teams in the land will square off with elite offenses and clutch defenses as the Huskies host in front of a crowd that should learn Burnt Orange but, in the end, the only color either team will care about is Gold.
2.CFP National Championship-TBD VS TBD
I’ll rank the possible match ups within here.
2D.#4 Alabama vs #3 Texas
I’m not usually a big fan of rematches especially when I didn’t care too much for the first meeting and it’s basically another SEC vs SEC Matchup for the title.
Basically, I’ll be seeing a lot of games between these two in the future and I saw them already play twice in the past two seasons so I can live without seeing another encounter for a bit.
2C.#1 Michigan vs #3 Texas
Speaking of two teams that will be playing each other next year, that game could very well be a rematch of the national championship game.
It will also be a chance for Michigan to get revenge on the state of Texas in the postseason while the Longhorns themselves can just leave those pesky Wolverines with a permanent branding of the Lonestar State on their ass after they kick it.
2B.#4 Alabama vs #2 Washington
This is the only matchup that we don’t have a chance of seeing in the regular season next year.
But that doesn't mean that there isn’t history as Washington’s previous playoff’s dreams got washed away by the tide in the Huskies’ first playoff appearance.
This time though the Huskies would be coming with a Heisman finalist QB and an elite offense that will be ready to score on the tide this time around.
Though the Tide had already beaten a team with the actual Heisman winner, and they won't be scared to beat yet another runner up to raise yet another trophy high as the rest of the nation groans and bemoans just to tune in next year and give Disney another billion.
2A.#1 Michigan vs #2 Washington
A lot of potential future national championship rematches for the Wolverines next year as they could battle their future conference mate for it all.
It will also be a classic game of offense between defense though don’t let that distract you from the fact that both of these are also good on the other side of the ball as well.
I know I took points from Alabama-Texas for basically being a conference championship match but there is just something so fitting to have the national championship be played between two undefeated teams.
1.Capital One Orange Bowl-#5 FSU vs #6 Georgia
I’m not even sure this will be any kind of competitive with all of the Seminoles that are injured or heading to different schools/the NFL.
Still there's so much intrigue with this game! Will FSU even show up? If they somehow beat the reigning two time national champs will they claim one for themselves?
I just have so many conversations and it seems like I’m not the one who is talking more about this game than any of the playoffs.
It’s also a chance for FSU to get some kind of revenge against SEC after the bias of that conference got them kicked out of the playoffs despite going 2-0 against them this year and with a chance to go 3-0 the country will congratulate them and pat them on the back as they hold high the world’s most bittersweet oranges.
Oh, and one more thing FUCK THE PLAYOFF COMMITTEE!
submitted by BaBaBaBanshee to CFB [link] [comments]
Two Blue teams on a blue field is too much blue for me and I say this as someone who exclusively cheers for blue teams. Best bowl mascot though.
41.Famous Toastery Bowl-Old Dominion vs Western Kentucky
BOOOOO! CALL IT THE BAHAMAS BOWL YOU COWARDS!
One team that got to leave the C-USA vs a team that is still probably trying to figure a way out.
40.Camellia Bowl-Arkansa State vs Northern Illinois
Ol’ Butch Jones finally got the red wolves to a bowl after a couple of absolutely dismal seasons he has gotten them back to some form of respectability.
They will take on a NIU squad that went from being really good 2 years ago to awful last year and then to the mediocrity of this season.
This bowl could show us what path the huskies finally tend to stick on for next year and it could show us if this is just the beginning to success in Jonesboro for Jones.
39.Myrtle Beach Bowl-Georgia Southern vs Ohio
#MACtion meets #FunBelt
I know I ranked the Potato Bowl last for their blue field but the teal one just looks so much nicer than the dark blue to me.
Anyway, some stuff about the actual game; The bridesmaids of the MAC and the eagles of Statesboro clash to see if the Sun Belt truly was the best G5 conference this year as a middle of the pack Sun Belt squad takes on the 3rd best in the MAC.
38.Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl-Toledo vs Wyoming
FUCK THE BARSTOOL NETWORK! Oh, this will also be on the CW… Good.
The Rockets are coming off of failing to repeat as MAC champs after losing their rematch to the RedHawks, Wyoming can relate to a somewhat lesser extent as they followed the trend of many MWC contended this year starting off hot with wins over Texas Tech and Fresno State at home but their inability to perform well on the road cost them any chance at holding a conference championship.
These are two teams that really felt they should have won gold at the end of the year and only one of them will get to hold a trophy high (it’s surprisingly not a golden barstool).at the very end.
37.EasyPost Hawaii Bowl-Coastal Carolina vs SJSU
It’s not the worst excuse to be hungover and tired on Christmas.
The beach chickens fly west to the most pristine beaches in the whole country to take on a program that is much more used to playing well past midnight on EST.
These are also another pair of teams that just missed out on playing for a championship.
36.68 Ventures Bowl-EMU vs South Alabama
I know bowls should be neutral sites but when it comes to the smaller games it’s always more interesting when they will have a sizable crowd that is cheering for one team.
35.Quick Lane Bowl-BGSU vs Minnesota
While a 5-7 team playing for a bowl always feels wrong to me. I can't deny that a MAC team getting to playa B1G team at ford field doesn't sound fun especially when BGSU is the team that gave Minnesota of all time and definitely under Fleck’s tenure.
So, Minnesota and Fleck either get a chance at revenge, or the Falcons get to make another statement by beating yet another P5 team this year.
34.ReliaQuest Bowl-#13 LSU vs Wisconsin
The only time I wanted Iowa and LSU to play in a bowl game and you took it from me!
33.Cheez-It Citrus Bowl-#17 Iowa vs #21 Tennessee
Which team deserves to be ranked less? AND I STILL WANTED IOWA VS LSU DAMN IT!
32.Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl-Cal vs Texas Tech
The Golden Bears are finally back to bowling as they take on only the second most disappointing team in Texas this season in and what was probably a punishment for such a mediocre season, they got sent to the shadow realm known as Shreveport.
Sorry Cal that this will be your reward for finally getting back to it though.
31.Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl-Marshall vs UTSA
I have no idea who scooter is and why I should care about their coffee but isn't it weird that this bowl has had three sponsors and two of them have been drink based?
Should be a lot of Roadrunners fans and they hope it will turn out better than their last game in Frisco where they lost by multiple scores to the Aztecs as a ranked team.
30.TransPerfect Music City Bowl-Auburn vs Maryland
Taulia’s last stand as a Terrapin as he looks to turn up the heat against these Freezy War Eagle Tigers from the SEC.
29.Isleta New Mexico Bowl-Fresno State vs NMSU
Jerry Kill is a miracle worker. The aggies have done so many first this season from back-to-back bowl games to destroying an SEC team to going to a conference championship that now they look to avoid doing another first by continuing their shockingly undefeated record in bowls as they get ready for a dog fight with a Fresno State team that started super-hot but has since struggled mightily the past few weeks against not even very good teams.
The Aggie faithful are hoping to cheer on their NMSU team to another win as they fill into their rival's stadium to see the bulldogs go winless against teams from the land of enchantment.
28.Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl-App. State vs Miami(OH)
A conference runner up vs a conference champ as two of the best in the G5 fight it out to take on each other and cancer.
27.R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl-Jacksonville State vs Louisiana
The NCAA tried to stop it, but the cocks were just too game, and they got themselves a bowl game against the Ragin Cajuns in their home away from home. JSU will always remember their first, only this game will tell if it will be one worth remembering or will it be something they’ll try to forget.
26.Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl-Air Force vs James Madison
The other team in the fuck the NCAA gang.
Though the Dukes are still pissed as they still were still robbed from a chance to play for the Sun Belt Championship and maybe even a NY6 bowl.
They will definitely be ready to make a statement against the Falcons as the Air Force might just need all of Lockheed Martin’s catalog because they are the final in the MWC trio of teams that started the season hot but fell off in the second half.
If the Air Force that showed up for the first half of this season shows up, then expect a great G5 classic.
25.AutoZone Liberty Bowl-Iowa State vs Memphis
Memphis gets a taste of some of that sweet XII action that they missed out on during realignment as the sirens blare about the coming cyclone.
I always love me some G5 vs P5 bowl games and the Liberty bowl should be pretty packed for this one so it also should be one of the better bowl environments of the year.
24.Military Bowl-Tulane vs Virginia Tech
After missing out on the postseason last year the Hokies are back to that familiar feeling of playing in the winter.
They will face quite the challenge as with backing from what should be far from a bipartisan crowd (fitting for how close they’ll be to DC) they will take on one the best in all of the American in the Green Wave who will be looking to regroup after a disappointing game in the AAC Championship and missing out on punching their return ticket to the NY6.
23.Wasabi Fenway Bowl-Boston College vs #24 SMU
The Wasabi is spicy, but the weather probably won't be as the Mustangs get their free trial run with an ACC game before joining the conference next year.
This will be a nice litmus test for them as an away team in the conference even if they are disappointed by the double standard from the playoff committee that left them out of the NY6(Man ACC teams both future and present really got screwed by them).
22.SERVPRO First Responder Bowl-Rice vs Texas State
After a decade in the FBS the Bobcats are finally bowling, and they’ll get to play a fellow Texas school in Texas! There might be better teams playing against each other lower on the list but shit like this is why I love bowls and college football.
21.SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl-Northwestern vs Utah
The biggest surprise in the B1G had to be Northwestern as after a whole offseason of drama and controversy many had them picked to finish last in the conference, but David Braun had different plans and in his first season as a head coach managed to right the ship back on course to winning waters and for that a bunch a young adults get the rewards of Sin City.
While this isn't the season Utah had pictured for themselves considering all their injury issues and the fact that they played 11 P5 teams this year, I don't think that have anything to be ashamed of.
Though I suspect that they want to enter the XII with some winning momentum while the wildcats know that they are now on people’s radar and hope to make the most of it and build some momentum to a division less and much tougher B1G next year.
20.RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl-Syracuse vs USF
The Bulls are finally back bowling, and they get reunited with their former Big East conference mate in Syracuse.
As the Orange wait for the Brown era to begin next season, they will just have to hope their interim HC can go 2-0 and avoid the upset against some bulls looking to wreck this like it was made from fine China.
19.Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl-Miami(FL) vs Rutgers
Speaking of Big East reunions.
This will be Rutgers first time going to a bowl game in almost a decade without covid shenanigans and o you know what they did in that bowl game they beat an ACC team by multiple scores something Miami will definitely look to avoid as they hope to against their traditionally poor bowl record for the last 15 years as they have only been victorious once in that time frame.
18.Guaranteed Rate Bowl-Kansas vs UNLV
Speaking of a team that has only won one bowl game in 15 years the Kansas Jayhawks though the sunflower sorrow is less about a poor bowl win loss record and more the fact that they’ve only been to two in that time frame.
Though things are definitely on the up in Lawrence as Lance Leipold looks to get his first bowl win.
Speaking of teams on the up, damn what a season UNLV has had!
I mean they got to go to their first ever conference championship and they have a chance at cracking into double digit wins though to do this they’ll have to stop their 2-game losing streak and pull a P5 upset that’s going to take more than what it took to beat Vanderbilt.
17.Duke’s Mayo Bowl-UNC vs West Virginia
Remember back when the Mountaineers were upset that they didn’t get to the ACC?
Well, I doubt they are upset about it now with talks of uncertainty in the ACC’s future while the XII seems stable despite their two best teams leaving after one embarrassed the entire league in its final season.
These two conferences will be in a desperate race for a distant bronze in the future of college football as we march closer to the greed of a P2 landscape.
Ignore all that existential dread and focus on the existential dread instead of seeing the broadcast inevitably dip shit like Oreos in mayonnaise again.
Oh yeah and these teams have also had very different seasons where one came in with big expectations and managed to trick many into expecting even bigger with their early season play before regressing to just being good instead of great the other came in with almost no expectations and quietly put together a sold season that most people have slept on a win here could get people to finally notice and acknowledge it.
16.Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl-Georgia Tech vs UCF
UCF is the team that finally convinced the AD to terminate the contract of the Collins and ever since then they’ve slowly unlocked their potential and success with Key as the yellow jackets will likely only get better in the future.
So now two teams from bordering states with a surprising amount of cross over now meet in a bowl as if they are destined to meet with Georgia Tech looking to repay UCF for their gracious gift with a beating like a sock full of coal.
The Gus Bus however plans to keep on driving and continue the Knight’s win streak over the ramblin wreck.
15.DIRECTV Holiday Bowl-#15 Louisville vs USC
Louisville is basically the P5 equivalent to UNLV, a still great season that was shaping up to be magical but their last 2 games left quite the bitter taste in the mouths.
Still, that’s nothing compared to the USC Trojans who had playoff hopes until they ran to the buzzsaw that was their late season schedule which handed them 5 straight beautiful losses.
The Trojans will also be without their star QB as the Cardinals look to get their offense some stretches and confidence after being snuffed out by the Seminoles offense.
14.TaxSlayer Gator Bowl-#22 Clemson vs Kentucky
After a season that started with 4 straight wins over not very good teams and a premature top 25 ranking the Wildcats struggled in conference play before pulling the big upset to stun their top 10 ranked rivals in Louisville.
On the same day Clemson held off any upset wishes as they won a game so ugly Iowa would be proud.
So now either one team will continue their streak of upsetting the ACC or one will get some nice SEC warm up meals before taking on Georgia in the opener next year.
13.TaxAct Texas Bowl-#20 Oklahoma State vs Texas A&M
A nice XII call back and a time when geography mattered a bit more in college football. I expect the pokes to play a bit better in the bowl game then they did in the championship as they should be a bit healed up by then.
Still the Aggies could still pile on the embarrassment for the XII and the Cowboys with yet another dominating performance at the hands of an SEC team from Texas as they will be looking to show off for their new coach Elko.
12.Starco Brands LA Bowl-Boise State vs UCLA
One last bowl game for the Broncos against the PAC 12.
The Bruins will be looking to try to get the PAC12 to at least almost 500 before what was a postseason tradition in the early 2010s comes to an end.
Despite it being in LA though I wouldn't be shocked by a split crowd considering how Bronco fans tend to show up for bowls and the program finally feels like it’s starting to get some of that moment that it hadn't seen in almost a decade.
The Bruins are in a very different spot with many of their fanbase being upset that Kelly is still a coach and being very concerned about their recruiting class and the departure of their star DC, a win here might help ease some of the hometown faithful and their concerns.
11.76 Birmingham Bowl-Duke vs Troy
This season will linger long in the minds of those in Durham as injuries(sorry) derailed a potential magical season into just a good one, and with the departure of Riley and Elko not much as much optimism can be found among the Blue Devils as there was in September this year for the future.
Troy however is feeling great about its program with back-to-back Sun Belt Championships and a chance at beating a power 5 program in front of a crowd that should have more Trojans than a college dorm.
10.Pop-Tarts Bowl-#25 Kansas State vs #18 NC State
Many people are calling this the first bowl game to have an edible mascot but one, anything is edible if you try hard enough and secondly spuddy has been around for years!
This year has been a bit of a disappointment for the kittens from Manhattan, but it has still been a very solid year as they look to repeat with double digit win seasons.
The Wolfpack however are hungry for the rare double digit win season even more after year after year where they have been teased with 9-win seasons in a season where not many had expectations for them at the beginning or even in the middle of the year, they have managed to put together one of the most quiet 9-3 seasons ever as they hope to finally break the double digit win season for Doren.
9.Tony The Tiger Bowl-#16 Notre Dame vs #19 Oregon State
The Irish managed to pull the only team that has seemingly more people transferring than them.
Though the Beavers at least have an excuse as school legend and somebody that seemed like a good fit as a forever coach Jonathan Smith abandoned his alma mater due to the greed and ever-changing landscape of the college football landscape where any pretenses of loyalty have been shattered for everyone except the fans that show up every Saturday.
Many older Oregon State and Notre Dame fans will remember the Fiesta Bowl and to a lesser extent the Insight bowl in the early 2000s where the Beavers took them to the woodshed and then destroyed even the woodshed.
Notre Dame finally has a chance to snap their losing streak to the pesky Beavs from the PNW while OSU hopes to keep their relevance alive in this ever shifting landscape that seems to want to leave them to die and so they will look just forward to just one day and game were they can have hope for the future while also remembering one of their biggest moments in school history by waking up their own echoes by pounding on Notre Dame.
8.Valero Alamo Bowl-#14 Arizona vs #12 Oklahoma
One team exits the XII the other enters and with the departure of the conference's traditional powers, the Wildcats are licking their lips at that void of power and seeing the rest of the conference as Fisch food.
Oklazhoma however want to beat the allegations that they were just a big fish in a lake and with them entering the SC they will now have to contend with the sharks and after their fellow conference jumpers Texas are looking ready for the eastern pastures the Sooners want to show off themselves with a dominating top 15 win as well.
Arizona however will get in their new conference's good graces if they are able to send Oklahoma packing on their wagon to boom and soon in a new conference.
7.Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl-#11 Ole Miss vs #10 Penn State
There are probably no two programs looking more forward to the 12-team playoff and the conference scheduling changes than these ones.
Despite their consistent success and great seasons they have just always been left out of the big dance due to just having the misfortune of being in the two toughest divisions in the sport.
A Battle of the bridesmaids if you will where only one will get to enjoy the taste of peaches and one last taste of NY6 success before likely being consistent fixtures in the playoff's future.
6.Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic-#9 Missouri vs #7 Ohio State
After so many great seasons in the past two decades but just missing out on the big bowls the Tigers from Missouri will finally get their roses or uhm cotton in this case.
The Buckeyes heart broke at the beginning of this year as their kick missed as the clock struck midnight to start 2023 and despite going 11-1 the season was still considered a disappointment by some in buckeye nation to the point that they were calling for their head coach to be fired.
This game could be a tale between who wants to be here and who considers this is a consolation prize.
Missouri has been waiting for this moment after feeling like they have been screwed on a couple of occasions while Ohio State was expecting bigger things and just considers this another day at the office at best.
5.CFP Semifinal Rose Bowl-#4 Alabama vs #1 Michigan
For most of this year Michigan was the most controversial team in the land.
Well that was all until Alabama got placed into the playoffs in a decision that seemingly pissed off everyone not in Gainesville, Tuscaloosa, or Connecticut.
Controversy abounds as the two most hated teams in the nation at the moment play each other for a chance to advance at a championship that many are pissed that they will get a chance to play for, either way a lot of neutrals will be upset at the outcome as every ref decision and call on commentary will be looked at with the most derision.
4.Vrbo Fiesta Bowl-#23 Liberty vs #8 Oregon
Speaking of hated teams, the Flames got in over SMU in what seemed like a gigantic double standard by the committee.
This will be the last ever traditional NY6 bowl before all become playoff games next year and the last in my favorite category of NY6 bowls which was the best in the G5 vs the P5.
And for probably the first time ever it seems many will be rooting against the underdogs(At least on Reddit) as the most controversial college gets the bright lights against the flashiest team for the last couple of decades.
Either Liberty is going to lose which will be funny or Oregon losses and seeing the reaction on Reddit will be entertaining.
3.CFP Semifinal Allstate Sugar Bowl-#3 Texas vs #2 Washington
You know it's weird when Texas is in a semifinal, and it’s considered the semi-final between the lesser hated schools.
The Longhorns get their first shot at the playoffs as the Huskies get their second chance and the last ever chance for the PAC12 to win the whole thing before they go out.
Both schools ironically have a chance to bring a conference their first CFP national championship as both bolt from it.
Two of the most talented teams in the land will square off with elite offenses and clutch defenses as the Huskies host in front of a crowd that should learn Burnt Orange but, in the end, the only color either team will care about is Gold.
2.CFP National Championship-TBD VS TBD
I’ll rank the possible match ups within here.
2D.#4 Alabama vs #3 Texas
I’m not usually a big fan of rematches especially when I didn’t care too much for the first meeting and it’s basically another SEC vs SEC Matchup for the title.
Basically, I’ll be seeing a lot of games between these two in the future and I saw them already play twice in the past two seasons so I can live without seeing another encounter for a bit.
2C.#1 Michigan vs #3 Texas
Speaking of two teams that will be playing each other next year, that game could very well be a rematch of the national championship game.
It will also be a chance for Michigan to get revenge on the state of Texas in the postseason while the Longhorns themselves can just leave those pesky Wolverines with a permanent branding of the Lonestar State on their ass after they kick it.
2B.#4 Alabama vs #2 Washington
This is the only matchup that we don’t have a chance of seeing in the regular season next year.
But that doesn't mean that there isn’t history as Washington’s previous playoff’s dreams got washed away by the tide in the Huskies’ first playoff appearance.
This time though the Huskies would be coming with a Heisman finalist QB and an elite offense that will be ready to score on the tide this time around.
Though the Tide had already beaten a team with the actual Heisman winner, and they won't be scared to beat yet another runner up to raise yet another trophy high as the rest of the nation groans and bemoans just to tune in next year and give Disney another billion.
2A.#1 Michigan vs #2 Washington
A lot of potential future national championship rematches for the Wolverines next year as they could battle their future conference mate for it all.
It will also be a classic game of offense between defense though don’t let that distract you from the fact that both of these are also good on the other side of the ball as well.
I know I took points from Alabama-Texas for basically being a conference championship match but there is just something so fitting to have the national championship be played between two undefeated teams.
1.Capital One Orange Bowl-#5 FSU vs #6 Georgia
I’m not even sure this will be any kind of competitive with all of the Seminoles that are injured or heading to different schools/the NFL.
Still there's so much intrigue with this game! Will FSU even show up? If they somehow beat the reigning two time national champs will they claim one for themselves?
I just have so many conversations and it seems like I’m not the one who is talking more about this game than any of the playoffs.
It’s also a chance for FSU to get some kind of revenge against SEC after the bias of that conference got them kicked out of the playoffs despite going 2-0 against them this year and with a chance to go 3-0 the country will congratulate them and pat them on the back as they hold high the world’s most bittersweet oranges.
Oh, and one more thing FUCK THE PLAYOFF COMMITTEE!
2023.12.13 17:12 CephalonAhmes Update 35: Whispers in the Walls
Source
71619183f29041bae5d62979ec39f2ee.jpg
UPDATE 35: WHISPERS IN THE WALLS
The mysteries left behind by the brilliant Albrecht Entrati and the unknowable Man in the Wall have begun to unravel. Welcome to Whispers in the Walls: the next major chapter of Warframe’s sprawling cinematic story!
New or rejoining? Welcome all!
If you are NEW to Warframe, you have joined at an exciting point in the game’s story and development! To prepare for the journey ahead of you to reach the Whispers in the Walls content, read our New Player Guide.
If you are RETURNING to Warframe, welcome back! Get caught up on the latest content with our Returning Player Guide.
SPOILER WARNING: If you are in need of a refresher on the Warframe story so far, you can take a peek into the [REDACTED] files found on a particular machine located in the new Sanctum Anatomica hub on Deimos after you have completed the Whispers in the Walls Quest.
Whispers in the Walls is a Mainline Update! Meaning that everything the team has been working on since the launch of Abyss of Dagath is in this update (with the obvious exception of content that is not ready to be released). It is very likely, as it is with all Mainline updates, that things slip through the cracks so we will be watching for bug reports and feedback in the Dedicated Whispers in the Walls Subforums to address in follow-up Hotfixes.
If any of the terms above are new to you, visit “The Warframe Lexicon for Updates” to learn more about Warframe’s development cycle.
Update Download Sizes:
TABLE OF CONTENTS: There is so much to explore in Update 35: Whispers in the Walls! We highly encourage you to read the patch notes in full to learn all you can about the Whispers in the Walls update! But if you are looking for a specific topic, simply CTRL+F the following keywords to jump to its dedicated section:
TIME-LIMITED IN-GAME ALERTS: EARN SEVAGOTH & EPITAPH!
Sign in starting December 13th @ 3 PM ET until December 20th @ 3 PM ET to play the following alerts and earn the Blueprints and Components for the Sevagoth Warframe, as well as his signature Epitaph Secondary Weapon and Glyph.
CROSS PLATFORM SAVE ROLLOUT (BEGINS DEC 14TH)
STARTING DECEMBER 14TH , we will begin the rollout of Cross Platform Save across all available Platforms!
Cross Platform Save is an upcoming optional feature that allows you to Merge or Link your accounts to unify Warframe progress across all platforms. This allows you to use a single Warframe account across any Linked or Merged platforms (with some restrictions outlined in this FAQ).
To ensure success and stability during the launch of this highly requested feature, Cross Platform Save will be made available in staggered phases.
You can check if your Account is included in the latest phase and is ready for Cross Platform Save by going to theAccount Managementpage on www.warframe.com.
If you do not qualify for the active phase, please wait for our announcement that the next phase is live before checking again. We appreciate your patience while we roll out these features — our intention is to have Cross Platform Save in everyone’s hands in 2023.
We are excited to reach this milestone in Warframe with the arrival of Cross Platform Save allowing Tenno to access their account on any Platform they choose. We will of course monitor and respond to any issues during the rollout phases. If you would like to report an issue or share feedback, please use our dedicated Cross Platform Save sub-forums.
For errors encountered during Cross Platform Save account setup, please contact Warframe Support www.support.warframe.com.
Thank you for your cooperation and feedback while we ensure the landmark new feature is working for all Tenno!
For all the details on the Cross Platform Save rollout, including an extended FAQ, please visit:
https://forums.warframe.com/topic/1374265-cross-platform-save-rollout-information/?do=embed
CROSS PLATFORM TRADING & GIFTING
Tenno can now trade with players on different platforms (depending on those players’ Cross Platform settings). Trading will function the same as gifting, except for trading Platinum between Nintendo Switch and other platforms, which is not available.
To trade with friends or fellow Tenno across platforms, make sure you are using a Cross Platform Save Account (or PC account*) and have Cross Platform Play enabled via your in-game settings. TennoGuard 2FA is required to trade in-game items with fellow Tenno in Warframe, which can be enabled via the Account Management page.
*PC accounts can automatically trade with players on other platforms — provided that both players still have Cross Platform Play enabled in their settings and that any non-PC player trading with them has a Cross Platform Save Account (more information on this in the link below).
For all for the details on Cross Platform Trading & Gifting, please visit:
https://forums.warframe.com/topic/1374265-cross-platform-save-rollout-information/?do=embed
9be159390240c60f8751b4466cab06f_1600x900
NEW CINEMATIC QUEST: WHISPERS IN THE WALLS
Deep within the Necralisk, a dormant precept known as The Kalymos Sequence has been activated. You must return to Deimos and investigate Albrecht’s hidden, subterranean Laboratories for any clues he may have left behind.
Whatever he was working on, you will quickly discover that his Laboratories are the source of many unknowns…
The Whispers in the Walls Quest acts as an introduction into Warframe’s next major chapter. As with all research, discoveries often lead to more questions…
Note to Content Creators: Content creators are able to broadcast and/or publish VODs of their Whispers in the Walls Quest experience without DMCA concerns. This does not include edited video content outside of the context of your gameplay stream which includes licensed music from the Quest.
Quest Prerequisites You must have the following Quests completed to access the Whispers in the Walls Quest:
Quest Rewards
COMING SOON - OPERATION: GARGOYLE’S CRY (BEGINS DEC 18TH!)
The Murmur encroaches on our systems, Tenno. The Whispers beyond the Wall are a new threat; we must ensure they stay confined to Albrecht’s Laboratories
Operation: Gargoyle’s Cry is a time-limited event, launching on December 18th @ 11 AM ET on all platforms!
REQUIREMENTS AND HOW TO PREPARE
1. Complete the Whispers in the Walls Quest
If you are new to Warframe and have not completed the Heart of Deimos and The New War Quests to be able to play the Whispers in the Walls Quest, we have made it much easier in this update to catch up! More information on that in the New Player Path Improvements section below.
2. Be a part of a Clan and own a Clan Key
If you aren’t already in a Clan, you can either join or create one!
How to Join a Clan:
3. Ensure a Clan Member has the Architect or Dojo Decorator Role
Placing a Decoration in your Clan Dojo is a key component to participating in the Operation. In order to do so, you’ll need an active Clan member with the Architect or Dojo Decorator Role! A Clan’s Founding Warlord, Warlord, General, Officer, and Sage all have this role by default.
e0210311aee21adb3777b727e6986244.jpg
NEW TILESET: ALBRECHT’S LABORATORIES
Impressive though they may appear, the Laboratories are not without dangers of their own. You’ll find the gilded alcoves patrolled by abandoned Necramechs faithfully defending their departed master’s secretive research.
These majestic halls constitute a brand-new Warframe tileset, expanding outwards directly from the tunnels beneath the Necralisk. Gilded rooms filled with instruments are not all that can be found below… A haunting but familiar presence also lingers within the labyrinth. Weaved in with Albrecht’s place of research are vast bleak spaces where an unending storm rages on, a clear demonstration of The Man in the Walls’ influence.
64182be6d3d2d4976a4b5bfdc20b375d.jpg
NEW ENEMY FACTION: THE MURMUR Known by many names, The Murmur are the hands (and feet, and eyes, and... you get the idea) of The Indifference. They are attempting to break through Albrecht’s Laboratories into the Origin System - something Tenno will need to stop at all costs.
3094143fc5b93b111a3e4288c01e52c5.jpg
*The image above shows The Anatomizer in the foreground and The Hollow Vein in the background.
The Fragmented On the rare occasions when Murmur fragments assemble themselves into a whole, the result is a monstrous and potent entity. It may manifest in three different forms, the Suzerain, Zelator and Anchorite, with a fourth form, The Fragmented One , being the most formidable of all. Together, as heralds of the Indifference, they tether down the Strands of Khra which their bizarre master must travel. To learn more about where and how you will encounter The Fragmented, read the Assassination: The Fragmented section.
The Severed Warden Brutally cut from the Indifference in order to protect the greater whole, its three hands bestow the Void’s twisted blessing upon its allies, so long as they remain attached.
The Anatomizer A vortex of clinical destruction, it hurls explosive charges, intent upon dismembering opponents as it was itself dismembered.
The Hollow Vein Albrecht Entrati was unsure whether this awkward composite was the result of the Indifference’s incomplete understanding of human anatomy, or an attempt at creative rearrangement thereof.
Shuffling Fragment In its calcified chaos, the Indifference is disjointed even from itself.
Lumbering Fragment These sundered limbs have only partly fused. Lumbering, mindless horror is the result.
Hurling Fragment Clings to the cliffs and walls, hurling masonry on anything unfortunate enough to be traveling below.
Rupturing Fragment This lumbering fragment, unconcerned with self-preservation, is liable to rupture violently when in proximity to its target.
2ca8b5de83c3042a223325f30490b4fb.jpg
*The image above shows the Rogue Arcocanid.
ROGUE NECRAMECH ENEMIES Originally designed to defend Albrecht’s Laboratories from outsiders, these Necramechs have gone rogue and will attempt to destroy any interlopers who cross their path.
Rogue Culverin An experimental Necramech, optimized for ranged combat, built for Albrecht Entrati by his son-in-law. It now fights alongside the very Murmur foes it was meant to repel.
Rogue Arcocanid An experimental melee Necramech, a variant on the Tombjockey class, built for Albrecht Entrati by his son-in-law. It now fights alongside the very Murmur foes it was meant to repel.
Rogue Voidrig A robust, if primitive, war-engine initially developed by Albrecht Entrati’s son-in-law to fight in the Old War and now repurposed as a laboratory guardian. Confused as to who its true master is, it now sides with the Murmur, contradicting its original precepts.
TILESET GAMEPLAY FEATURES The Laboratories are brimming with instruments and research technologies that can be used to your advantage!
Summon Personal Necramech Colorless antiques pepper the Laboratories and contain archaic hacking technology. Convince the system to let you in by matching the corresponding icons to the sequence.
9c5361bfde08d8e0b9ca2b5f37797489.jpg
Inserting the incorrect sequence (red icons) will increase corruption levels, which risks failing the hacking attempt. Correctly matching the sequence will reward you by delivering your personal Necramech and your Squad’s to nearby dispensers. Once a terminal has been used, it is disabled for the rest of the mission and the ability to summon a Necramech is put on cooldown. Seek out new terminals once the cooldown has expired to once again dispatch your Necramech!
Vitriol Phials As one might expect, the Laboratories contain a multitude of health and safety hazards beyond the enemies that patrol the halls. Most notable being the Vitriol Phials - destroying them releases their Corrosive contents which can aid against foes but watch your step! Vitriol does not distinguish friend and foe.
Lohk Surges Lohk Surges are inescapable reminders that the Void has leaked into the Laboratories… Interact with them to provide you and your squad a buff. Be wary that doing so will spawn a foe!
TILESET COLLECTIBLES There is much to discover in the Laboratories. If you can brave the dangers within, your searches within its long and winding corridors will prove fruitful.
Codex Fragments: Albrecht’s Notes Much has unfolded within the confines of Albrecht’s Laboratories and he made sure to document the events of his research in great detail. These notes are bound tightly within his Grimoire, which can materialize in the Laboratories, but be forewarned… unbinding it and looking into Albrecht’s lost notes summons something that cannot be easily banished. If you are successful in eliminating it, a note from Albrecht’s Grimoire may be left behind in its stead.
Voca Physical manifestations of Voidtongue cries, moans, and whispers. There are three kinds of Voca: Shrill Voca, Bellow Voca, andEcho Voca.
2569fac24cc5db809da4b0bfb0387055.jpg
They are sought after by the Cavia and are used in the following ways:
NEW RESOURCES The following resources can be found by exploring Albrecht’s Laboratories, killing enemies within them, and completing the new Deimos missions.
Entrati Obols During the Orokin era, these obols were a commonly recognized mark of the Entrati family. Some Archimedeans even used them as good luck talismans.
Necracoil This experimental array transmutes Void energy into high voltages with low currents.
Stela This Void-touched stone contains an ominous essence. Stela is specifically used in Coalescent Fusion - read the Archon Shard Expansion: Coalescent Fusion section to learn more!
Look out for a unique resource cache and destroy it to wrest the Stela from its grip. Stela can also be obtained by collecting Vosphene Glyphs in Mirror Defense on Munio, Deimos, completing Sanctum Anatomica Bounties, and defeating enemies in Albrecht’s Laboratories.
DEIMOS EXPANSION: NEW NODES & MISSION TYPES
Completing the Whispers in the Walls Quest unveils five new nodes on Deimos to continue your excursions throughout Albrecht’s Laboratories. One of these new nodes feature a brand new mission type called Alchemy and four feature existing mission types (Assassination, Mirror Defense, Survival, and Exterminate) with an Entrati twist. All of these nodes are also available on The Steel Path!
There is also a special weekly mission type called Netracell that is exclusively accessed in the Sanctum Anatomica hub on Deimos. Read on to learn more!
NETRACELLS (WEEKLY)
The Netracells are secured by hazardous Keyglyphs found only in the Anchorhold. They contain highly sought after valuables and can only be opened by using the correct Keyglyph. The Keyglyphs were designed by Albrecht Entrati to open his secretive Netracells. Each one imposes a heavy burden on its carrier. An added security measure to give the lab’s defenses an advantage, should a Keyglyph fall into unknown hands.
67ad7395ecc7639d364b9a7b6781cd4a.jpg
*Image above shows the Anchorhold.
Note On Difficulty: This game mode is intended to be very challenging, and specifically tuned for full squads. Be sure to prepare accordingly! The following restrictions apply to all Netracell missions:
A maximum of 5 Netracells can be found and unlocked per week for rewards (resets every Sunday at 0:00 UTC). Y ou can still play the mission after you have completed the weekly allowance, you just won’t receive any rewards for doing so until the next weekly reset.
How To Play: Upon entering the Anchorhold you and your squad will be required to select and carry the four randomized Keyglyphs presented. Each impose their own debilitating burden onto their bearer.
644916011130e383419c9060b7fc77e4.jpg
There is no limit to how many Keyglyphs one person can shoulder - coordinate with your squad who will carry which type (and how many) before beginning the search.
Exit the Anchorhold by hacking the terminal located at the bottom of the stairs and begin your search for the Netracell. Terminals are located and marked on the map to help narrow down the search radius, should you require aid. Upon finding the Netracell, the security level needs to be reduced by eliminating the enemy threat before gaining access to open it up. After successfully doing so, the player with the required Keyglyph will need to interact with the console to unlock its doors.
Collect your hard earned rewards in the Netracell and make your way to Extraction.
Rewards Notable rewards for opening a Netracell include:
ALCHEMY (ENDLESS)
Alchemic devices in Albrecht’s Laboratories known as Crucibles allow elemental powers to be wielded and fused into complex forces. The Cavia are is requesting your assistance to ensure they remain operative for a greater goal.
23d8449b95b46daed0ba17d7896288e7.jpg
How To Access: Select the Cambire node (normal and Steel Path) on Deimos from the Star Chart or from the Laboratory Navigation in the Sanctum Anatomica.
How To Play: Crucibles within the Laboratories are capable of mixing complex elements, provided you can supply the elemental forces required. Killed enemies drop Amphors full of Heat, Cold, Toxin, or Electricity. Throw Amphors into the Crucibles to mix the requested complex element to 100%. They can also be lobbed at enemies as concentrated elemental grenades!
Once you have filled it with the required elements, the Crucible will begin its mixing process and a random Crucible Overflow buff will be applied to the squad for the duration of the mix. Ensure the stability of this high powered mixing process by breaking distressed pipes to drop the pressure if it gets too high.
Rewards Notable rewards for successfully completing a Crucible include:
ASSASSINATION: THE FRAGMENTED
Ready to go toe-to-toe with something that almost certainly has way more toes than you do? Seek out and destroy The Fragmented, a nightmarish assembly of Murmur fragments.
cd7a6e75ad1b2768c76fd423051d4a22.jpg
How To Access: Select the Effervo node (default and Steel Path) on Deimos from the Star Chart or from the Laboratory Navigation in the Sanctum Anatomica.
How To Play: Seek out an Atropos Probe and inject its serum into a Vitreum to begin scanning. Defend the Vitreum while it scans for Murmur’s Eyes. Prevent the scan from being interrupted by keeping the search radius around the Vitreum clear of enemies. Once Murmur’s Eyes have been exposed, they will become visible to you for a limited amount of time. Collect them quickly before they fade from view.
Atropos Probes power the Vitreums for a limited amount of time, so once it has been depleted, new Probes and Vitreums must be found to continue the process. Collecting the required amount of Murmur’s Eyes will pinpoint The Fragmented’s location. Upon arrival, you will face off against one of the three variants (Suzerain, Zelator, or Anchorite). Dispatching it will reward you!
Rewards Notable rewards for successfully defeating The Fragmented include:
MIRROR DEFENSE (ENDLESS)
The Murmur is staging an attack against Albrecht’s Laboratories! They have pinpointed the Laboratories best defenses against them and it is up to you to protect against the onslaught.
How To Access: Select the Munio node (default and Steel Path) on Deimos from the Star Chart or from the Laboratory Navigation in the Sanctum Anatomica.
How To Play: Protect the Vitreum and the Auricle as the enemies alternate their attacks between the two. A rotation is complete once both have been defended.
Vosphene Glyphs are the key to triggering the Laboratories’ automated security system. Gathering the required amount will bolster the active defense target by surrounding it with offensive turrets. Doing so will also reward 3x Stela (5x on Steel Path).
Rewards Notable rewards for completing a round of Mirror Defense include:
SURVIVAL (ENDLESS)
The Murmur is not backing down, so it’s time to whittle down their numbers.
How To Access: Select the Persto node (default and Steel Path) on Deimos from the Star Chart or from the Laboratory Navigation in the Sanctum Anatomica.
How To Play: Your classic Survival mission! Head into Albrecht’s Laboratories and see how long you can hold out against the Murmur and the Rogue Necramechs waiting within.
Rewards Notable rewards for completing a round of Survival include:
EXTERMINATE
A section of Albrecht’s Laboratories needs to be cleared out.
How To Access: Select the Nex node (default and Steel Path) on Deimos from the Star Chart or from the Laboratory Navigation in the Sanctum Anatomica.
How To Play: Your classic Exterminate mission! Eliminate all of The Murmur and Entrati enemies to reduce the danger in this area.
NEW SYNDICATE: CAVIA
Upon completion of the Whispers in the Walls Quest, you have access to Cavia , a new Syndicate located in the Sanctum Anatomica on Deimos.
7e9ec20adb86b3e63bdb9aa6ed71c23a.jpg
Build rapport with Cavia members and work your way up from the Assistant Rank.
To avoid spoilers from The Whispers in the Walls Quest, the names of each member has been redacted in the sections below.
Wares & Shiny Treasures Vendor A peculiar Vendor is nested atop one of the platforms in the Sanctum Anatomica, and offers the following items that can be acquired using Standing:
Arcane Dissolution & Voca Vendor Located next to terminals in the Sanctum Anatomica, a key member of the Cavia stands as your access point to Arcane Dissolution (read the dedicated Arcane Dissolution section to learn more), exchanging Voca for Cavia Standing and resources for Voca.
Bounty Giver Contained and sodden, this grandiloquent Cavia member hands out Bounty assignments and is your contact to increase your Cavia Rank.
Netracell Guide Only this Cavia member knows how to enter the Anchorhold to find the Netracells located throughout Albretch’s Laboratories. Learn more about the new Netracell mission type in the Deimos Expansion: New Nodes and Mission Types section above.
ALBRECHT’S LABORATORIES BOUNTIES
All of the new Deimos nodes and mission types are available as Bounties! Accessible from the Bounty giver in the Sanctum Anatomica hub on Deimos, these Bounties offer a variety of enemy levels to really test your expertise in navigating and conquering the Laboratories.
In addition to playing the standard mission, you must also complete a special objective (for example: Eliminate 2 Rogue Voidrigs) in order to extract and complete the Bounty.
Successfully completing a Bounty will reward you with Standing towards the new Cavia Syndicate , as well as several other potential rewards:
NEW WARFRAME: QORVEX
Albrecht Entrati designed Qorvex to protect a Chosen Operator from the unique hazards of his lab. A Crucible Core gives Qorvex high survivability as he provides crowd control.
How to Acquire Qorvex: Qorvex’s Blueprint and Component Blueprints are rewarded from Cavia Bounties. They can also be acquired from the Wares & Shiny Treasures Vendor in the Sanctum Anatomica for Standing. The Qorvex Collection can also be purchased from the in-game Market for Platinum.
Passive: Core Exposure Weapons wielded by Qorvex have an additional +3 Punch Through.
Chyrinka Pillar* Summon a Chyrinka Pillar that slows enemies. It pulses Radiation Damage with a guaranteed Status Effect.
*This is Qorvex’s Helminth and Railjack ability.
Containment Wall Contain the threat. Qorvex summons walls that slam together, damaging all enemies caught between them and inflicting Radiation Status.
Disometric Guard Guard yourself and nearby allies against Status Effects. Each time Qorvex kills or assists in killing an enemy affected by Radiation Status, the number of Status Effects Disometric Guard can prevent increases.
Crucible Blast Release a beam from Qorvex's Crucible Core. Each enemy struck suffers Radiation Damage with a guaranteed Status Effect. Enemies that were already affected by Radiation Status explode in a chain reaction.
Maximum Loadout Slot Increase: With the release of Qorvex and the Initiate Power Pack (due to the inclusion of fully built Warframes), the maximum number of purchasable Loadout Slots has been increased from 22 to 24.
ce69e3d64c08b90c6421e4c43ac83475.jpg
NEW ARCHGUN: MANDONEL
Mandonel fires Radiation Damage projectiles. Partially charged shots release a spread and fully charged shots release a beam that dissolves into a radiation field. Projectiles that pass through the field are empowered.
Mandonel's beams charge Qorvex's Chyrinka Pillars. Fully charged shots dissolve into a radiation field. Projectiles that pass through the field gain 2x Damage, 2x Status Chance, +10% Critical Chance, +50% Critical Damage, +2 Bounce, +1m Punch Through, and increased Projectile Speed.
How to Acquire Mandonel: Its Blueprint is rewarded in the Cavia Bounties and its Components are found in the drop tables for the new Endless Mission Nodes on Deimos (Persto, Munio, and Cambire). It can also be purchased fully built via the in-game Market for Platinum (also comes pre-equipped with a Gravimag!).
a4d8252eb62b7593575241de6ab61618.png
QORVEX COLLECTION
Summon a guardian with the strength to face Albrecht’s Laboratories. This collection includes the Qorvex Warframe, Qorvex Raxpart Helmet, Portcull Syandana, and Mandonel Archgun (comes pre-equipped with a Gravimag).
Qorvex Raxpart Helmet Resist the siege.
How to acquire Qorvex’ Raxpart Helmet: It is available for purchase in the in-game Market. As with all newly released Alt Helmets, its Blueprint will be added to the Nightwave Cred Store in the future.
Portcull Syandana Qorvex’s signature Syandana looks like stone but remains as light as it is stylish.
Available for purchase in the in-game Market! All of the above items can also be purchased separately.
NEW MELEE: EKHEIN
Wield the timeless power of this mighty hammer. Heavy Attacks performed with Ekhein temporarily increase its Damage and Attack Speed (Trait name: Heavy Insight).
How to Acquire Ekhein: Ekhein’s Blueprint is acquired from the Wares & Shiny Treasures Vendor in the Sanctum Anatomica.
0bec839fc0209f9e2f56e0cde0de1f4e.jpg
NEW SECONDARY WEAPON TYPE: TOME
The Grimoire is the first of this new weapon type!
Claim the power of Albrecht Entrati’s knowledge. Its alternate attack releases a voltaic orb with guaranteed Electricity Status.
How To Acquire The Grimoire: Complete the Whispers In The Walls Quest. Its Blueprint can also be acquired from the Wares & Shiny Treasures Vendor in the Sanctum Anatomica.
TOME SKINS Judge a book by its cover, Tenno. The following skins are available in the in-game Market for Tome weapons!
4c7c2d1a2eaf3cd48cdd333d4447b624.jpg
Vitreum Tome Skin Set watchful eyes upon the battle.
b13071144be990dc495653bf19221710.jpg
Necratech Tome Skin Give your tome a high-tech appearance.
TOME MODS Power the Grimoire with Tome Mods that enhance Warframe Abilities and reward strategic combat.
There are two types of Tome Mods: Canticle and Invocation. Only 1 of each type can be equipped onto Tome weapons. Canticle Tome Mods are eligible for the Exilus Slot.
The stats below are shown at Max Rank.
7f43d48d47a60c8ae7ec13c02b2aac19.jpg
Ris Invocation Alternate Fire increases Ability Duration by 4% for 20s for each enemy hit. Stacks up to 15 times.
Xata Invocation Alternate Fire grants 1 Energy Regen/s for 20s for each enemy hit. Stacks up to 10 times.
Vome Invocation Alternate Fire increases Ability Strength by 4% for 20s for each enemy hit. Stacks up to 15 times.
Netra Invocation Alternate Fire increases Ability Efficiency by 4% for 20s for each enemy hit. Stacks up to 15 times.
Fass Canticle Killing enemies grants Allies in Affinity Range 40% Shield Recharge Rate and -28% Shield Recharge Delay for 15s.
Khra Canticle Enemies have a 12% chance to drop a Universal Orb on death.
submitted by CephalonAhmes to Warframe [link] [comments]
71619183f29041bae5d62979ec39f2ee.jpg
UPDATE 35: WHISPERS IN THE WALLS
The mysteries left behind by the brilliant Albrecht Entrati and the unknowable Man in the Wall have begun to unravel. Welcome to Whispers in the Walls: the next major chapter of Warframe’s sprawling cinematic story!
New or rejoining? Welcome all!
If you are NEW to Warframe, you have joined at an exciting point in the game’s story and development! To prepare for the journey ahead of you to reach the Whispers in the Walls content, read our New Player Guide.
If you are RETURNING to Warframe, welcome back! Get caught up on the latest content with our Returning Player Guide.
SPOILER WARNING: If you are in need of a refresher on the Warframe story so far, you can take a peek into the [REDACTED] files found on a particular machine located in the new Sanctum Anatomica hub on Deimos after you have completed the Whispers in the Walls Quest.
Whispers in the Walls is a Mainline Update! Meaning that everything the team has been working on since the launch of Abyss of Dagath is in this update (with the obvious exception of content that is not ready to be released). It is very likely, as it is with all Mainline updates, that things slip through the cracks so we will be watching for bug reports and feedback in the Dedicated Whispers in the Walls Subforums to address in follow-up Hotfixes.
If any of the terms above are new to you, visit “The Warframe Lexicon for Updates” to learn more about Warframe’s development cycle.
Update Download Sizes:
- DirectX 11: 2.82 GB
- DirectX 12: 4.18 GB
- The larger download size is due to all new optimized DirectX 12 shaders.
- Time-Limited In-Game Alerts: Earn Sevagoth & Epitaph!
- Cross Platform Save Rollout (Begins Dec 14th)
- Cross Platform Trading & Gifting
- New Cinematic Quest: Whispers In The Walls
- Coming Soon - Operation: Gargoyle’s Cry (Begins Dec 18th!)
- New Tileset: Albrecht’s Laboratories
- Deimos Expansion: New Nodes & Mission Types
- New Syndicate: Cavia
- Albrecht’s Laboratories Bounties
- New Warframe: Qorvex
- New Archgun: Mandonel
- Qorvex Collection
- New Melee: Ekhein
- New Secondary Weapon Type: Tome
- New Mods
- New Deluxe Collection: Sevagoth Glaukus
- Archon Shard Expansion: Coalescent Fusion
- Arcane Dissolution
- New Heavy Attack System: Tennokai
- New Player Path Improvements
- Archgun Deployer: Heavy Weapon Changes
- New In-Game Market Items & Bundles
- Enhanced Graphics Renderer On PC
- Additions, Changes, Optimizations, Top Fixes, And General Fixes
TIME-LIMITED IN-GAME ALERTS: EARN SEVAGOTH & EPITAPH!
Sign in starting December 13th @ 3 PM ET until December 20th @ 3 PM ET to play the following alerts and earn the Blueprints and Components for the Sevagoth Warframe, as well as his signature Epitaph Secondary Weapon and Glyph.
- Alert 1 Rewards: Sevagoth Blueprint and Epitaph Blueprint
- Alert 2 Rewards: Sevagoth Systems and Epitaph Receiver
- Alert 3 Rewards: Sevagoth Chassis and Epitaph Barrel
- Alert 4 Rewards: Sevagoth Neuroptics and Sevagoth In-Action Glyph
CROSS PLATFORM SAVE ROLLOUT (BEGINS DEC 14TH)
STARTING DECEMBER 14TH , we will begin the rollout of Cross Platform Save across all available Platforms!
Cross Platform Save is an upcoming optional feature that allows you to Merge or Link your accounts to unify Warframe progress across all platforms. This allows you to use a single Warframe account across any Linked or Merged platforms (with some restrictions outlined in this FAQ).
To ensure success and stability during the launch of this highly requested feature, Cross Platform Save will be made available in staggered phases.
You can check if your Account is included in the latest phase and is ready for Cross Platform Save by going to theAccount Managementpage on www.warframe.com.
If you do not qualify for the active phase, please wait for our announcement that the next phase is live before checking again. We appreciate your patience while we roll out these features — our intention is to have Cross Platform Save in everyone’s hands in 2023.
We are excited to reach this milestone in Warframe with the arrival of Cross Platform Save allowing Tenno to access their account on any Platform they choose. We will of course monitor and respond to any issues during the rollout phases. If you would like to report an issue or share feedback, please use our dedicated Cross Platform Save sub-forums.
For errors encountered during Cross Platform Save account setup, please contact Warframe Support www.support.warframe.com.
Thank you for your cooperation and feedback while we ensure the landmark new feature is working for all Tenno!
For all the details on the Cross Platform Save rollout, including an extended FAQ, please visit:
https://forums.warframe.com/topic/1374265-cross-platform-save-rollout-information/?do=embed
CROSS PLATFORM TRADING & GIFTING
Tenno can now trade with players on different platforms (depending on those players’ Cross Platform settings). Trading will function the same as gifting, except for trading Platinum between Nintendo Switch and other platforms, which is not available.
To trade with friends or fellow Tenno across platforms, make sure you are using a Cross Platform Save Account (or PC account*) and have Cross Platform Play enabled via your in-game settings. TennoGuard 2FA is required to trade in-game items with fellow Tenno in Warframe, which can be enabled via the Account Management page.
*PC accounts can automatically trade with players on other platforms — provided that both players still have Cross Platform Play enabled in their settings and that any non-PC player trading with them has a Cross Platform Save Account (more information on this in the link below).
For all for the details on Cross Platform Trading & Gifting, please visit:
https://forums.warframe.com/topic/1374265-cross-platform-save-rollout-information/?do=embed
9be159390240c60f8751b4466cab06f_1600x900
NEW CINEMATIC QUEST: WHISPERS IN THE WALLS
Deep within the Necralisk, a dormant precept known as The Kalymos Sequence has been activated. You must return to Deimos and investigate Albrecht’s hidden, subterranean Laboratories for any clues he may have left behind.
Whatever he was working on, you will quickly discover that his Laboratories are the source of many unknowns…
The Whispers in the Walls Quest acts as an introduction into Warframe’s next major chapter. As with all research, discoveries often lead to more questions…
Note to Content Creators: Content creators are able to broadcast and/or publish VODs of their Whispers in the Walls Quest experience without DMCA concerns. This does not include edited video content outside of the context of your gameplay stream which includes licensed music from the Quest.
Quest Prerequisites You must have the following Quests completed to access the Whispers in the Walls Quest:
- Heart of Deimos
- The New War
Quest Rewards
- Blueprint for the New Warframe Qorvex
- New Secondary Weapon: Grimoire
- Max Ranked and includes a Weapon Slot and pre-installed Orokin Catalyst.
- Melee Upgrade Segment(more information in the New Heavy Melee Attack System: Tennokai section)
- Mentor’s Legacy Mod (more information in the New Heavy Melee Attack System: Tennokai section)
- Melee Arcane Adapter(more information in the New Heavy Melee Attack System: Tennokai section)
- Access to the Cavia Syndicate in the new Sanctum Anatomica hub on Deimos
- Access to new Deimos nodes and mission types
COMING SOON - OPERATION: GARGOYLE’S CRY (BEGINS DEC 18TH!)
The Murmur encroaches on our systems, Tenno. The Whispers beyond the Wall are a new threat; we must ensure they stay confined to Albrecht’s Laboratories
Operation: Gargoyle’s Cry is a time-limited event, launching on December 18th @ 11 AM ET on all platforms!
REQUIREMENTS AND HOW TO PREPARE
1. Complete the Whispers in the Walls Quest
If you are new to Warframe and have not completed the Heart of Deimos and The New War Quests to be able to play the Whispers in the Walls Quest, we have made it much easier in this update to catch up! More information on that in the New Player Path Improvements section below.
2. Be a part of a Clan and own a Clan Key
If you aren’t already in a Clan, you can either join or create one!
How to Join a Clan:
- You can either search for a Clan OR a friend can send an invite to join theirs. To search for a Clan, follow these steps:
- Pause Menu > Communication > Clan > Select the “Search for a Clan” option.
- From there you can choose from the available options (Tier, language, activity level, etc.) to search for your ideal Clan.
- Select the Clan that appeals most to you to send in a request to join, from there the Clan can accept your request if you also meet their requirements.
- Pause Menu > Communication > Clan > Select the “Form a Clan” option.
- Enter the name of your Clan
- Congrats you are now the Founding Warlord of your very own Clan!
3. Ensure a Clan Member has the Architect or Dojo Decorator Role
Placing a Decoration in your Clan Dojo is a key component to participating in the Operation. In order to do so, you’ll need an active Clan member with the Architect or Dojo Decorator Role! A Clan’s Founding Warlord, Warlord, General, Officer, and Sage all have this role by default.
e0210311aee21adb3777b727e6986244.jpg
NEW TILESET: ALBRECHT’S LABORATORIES
Impressive though they may appear, the Laboratories are not without dangers of their own. You’ll find the gilded alcoves patrolled by abandoned Necramechs faithfully defending their departed master’s secretive research.
These majestic halls constitute a brand-new Warframe tileset, expanding outwards directly from the tunnels beneath the Necralisk. Gilded rooms filled with instruments are not all that can be found below… A haunting but familiar presence also lingers within the labyrinth. Weaved in with Albrecht’s place of research are vast bleak spaces where an unending storm rages on, a clear demonstration of The Man in the Walls’ influence.
64182be6d3d2d4976a4b5bfdc20b375d.jpg
NEW ENEMY FACTION: THE MURMUR Known by many names, The Murmur are the hands (and feet, and eyes, and... you get the idea) of The Indifference. They are attempting to break through Albrecht’s Laboratories into the Origin System - something Tenno will need to stop at all costs.
3094143fc5b93b111a3e4288c01e52c5.jpg
*The image above shows The Anatomizer in the foreground and The Hollow Vein in the background.
The Fragmented On the rare occasions when Murmur fragments assemble themselves into a whole, the result is a monstrous and potent entity. It may manifest in three different forms, the Suzerain, Zelator and Anchorite, with a fourth form, The Fragmented One , being the most formidable of all. Together, as heralds of the Indifference, they tether down the Strands of Khra which their bizarre master must travel. To learn more about where and how you will encounter The Fragmented, read the Assassination: The Fragmented section.
The Severed Warden Brutally cut from the Indifference in order to protect the greater whole, its three hands bestow the Void’s twisted blessing upon its allies, so long as they remain attached.
The Anatomizer A vortex of clinical destruction, it hurls explosive charges, intent upon dismembering opponents as it was itself dismembered.
The Hollow Vein Albrecht Entrati was unsure whether this awkward composite was the result of the Indifference’s incomplete understanding of human anatomy, or an attempt at creative rearrangement thereof.
Shuffling Fragment In its calcified chaos, the Indifference is disjointed even from itself.
Lumbering Fragment These sundered limbs have only partly fused. Lumbering, mindless horror is the result.
Hurling Fragment Clings to the cliffs and walls, hurling masonry on anything unfortunate enough to be traveling below.
Rupturing Fragment This lumbering fragment, unconcerned with self-preservation, is liable to rupture violently when in proximity to its target.
2ca8b5de83c3042a223325f30490b4fb.jpg
*The image above shows the Rogue Arcocanid.
ROGUE NECRAMECH ENEMIES Originally designed to defend Albrecht’s Laboratories from outsiders, these Necramechs have gone rogue and will attempt to destroy any interlopers who cross their path.
Rogue Culverin An experimental Necramech, optimized for ranged combat, built for Albrecht Entrati by his son-in-law. It now fights alongside the very Murmur foes it was meant to repel.
Rogue Arcocanid An experimental melee Necramech, a variant on the Tombjockey class, built for Albrecht Entrati by his son-in-law. It now fights alongside the very Murmur foes it was meant to repel.
Rogue Voidrig A robust, if primitive, war-engine initially developed by Albrecht Entrati’s son-in-law to fight in the Old War and now repurposed as a laboratory guardian. Confused as to who its true master is, it now sides with the Murmur, contradicting its original precepts.
TILESET GAMEPLAY FEATURES The Laboratories are brimming with instruments and research technologies that can be used to your advantage!
Summon Personal Necramech Colorless antiques pepper the Laboratories and contain archaic hacking technology. Convince the system to let you in by matching the corresponding icons to the sequence.
9c5361bfde08d8e0b9ca2b5f37797489.jpg
Inserting the incorrect sequence (red icons) will increase corruption levels, which risks failing the hacking attempt. Correctly matching the sequence will reward you by delivering your personal Necramech and your Squad’s to nearby dispensers. Once a terminal has been used, it is disabled for the rest of the mission and the ability to summon a Necramech is put on cooldown. Seek out new terminals once the cooldown has expired to once again dispatch your Necramech!
Vitriol Phials As one might expect, the Laboratories contain a multitude of health and safety hazards beyond the enemies that patrol the halls. Most notable being the Vitriol Phials - destroying them releases their Corrosive contents which can aid against foes but watch your step! Vitriol does not distinguish friend and foe.
Lohk Surges Lohk Surges are inescapable reminders that the Void has leaked into the Laboratories… Interact with them to provide you and your squad a buff. Be wary that doing so will spawn a foe!
TILESET COLLECTIBLES There is much to discover in the Laboratories. If you can brave the dangers within, your searches within its long and winding corridors will prove fruitful.
Codex Fragments: Albrecht’s Notes Much has unfolded within the confines of Albrecht’s Laboratories and he made sure to document the events of his research in great detail. These notes are bound tightly within his Grimoire, which can materialize in the Laboratories, but be forewarned… unbinding it and looking into Albrecht’s lost notes summons something that cannot be easily banished. If you are successful in eliminating it, a note from Albrecht’s Grimoire may be left behind in its stead.
Voca Physical manifestations of Voidtongue cries, moans, and whispers. There are three kinds of Voca: Shrill Voca, Bellow Voca, andEcho Voca.
2569fac24cc5db809da4b0bfb0387055.jpg
They are sought after by the Cavia and are used in the following ways:
- Turn in for Cavia Standing in the Sanctum Anatomica hub on Deimos
- Exchange for Wares in the the Sanctum Anatomica hub on Deimos
- Used to craft Qorvex, Ekhein, and more
NEW RESOURCES The following resources can be found by exploring Albrecht’s Laboratories, killing enemies within them, and completing the new Deimos missions.
Entrati Obols During the Orokin era, these obols were a commonly recognized mark of the Entrati family. Some Archimedeans even used them as good luck talismans.
Necracoil This experimental array transmutes Void energy into high voltages with low currents.
Stela This Void-touched stone contains an ominous essence. Stela is specifically used in Coalescent Fusion - read the Archon Shard Expansion: Coalescent Fusion section to learn more!
Look out for a unique resource cache and destroy it to wrest the Stela from its grip. Stela can also be obtained by collecting Vosphene Glyphs in Mirror Defense on Munio, Deimos, completing Sanctum Anatomica Bounties, and defeating enemies in Albrecht’s Laboratories.
DEIMOS EXPANSION: NEW NODES & MISSION TYPES
Completing the Whispers in the Walls Quest unveils five new nodes on Deimos to continue your excursions throughout Albrecht’s Laboratories. One of these new nodes feature a brand new mission type called Alchemy and four feature existing mission types (Assassination, Mirror Defense, Survival, and Exterminate) with an Entrati twist. All of these nodes are also available on The Steel Path!
There is also a special weekly mission type called Netracell that is exclusively accessed in the Sanctum Anatomica hub on Deimos. Read on to learn more!
NETRACELLS (WEEKLY)
The Netracells are secured by hazardous Keyglyphs found only in the Anchorhold. They contain highly sought after valuables and can only be opened by using the correct Keyglyph. The Keyglyphs were designed by Albrecht Entrati to open his secretive Netracells. Each one imposes a heavy burden on its carrier. An added security measure to give the lab’s defenses an advantage, should a Keyglyph fall into unknown hands.
67ad7395ecc7639d364b9a7b6781cd4a.jpg
*Image above shows the Anchorhold.
Note On Difficulty: This game mode is intended to be very challenging, and specifically tuned for full squads. Be sure to prepare accordingly! The following restrictions apply to all Netracell missions:
- Empowered Enemies: Enemy Health and Shields increased by 100% and an additional 50% for each squad member, stacking to a maximum of 300%. There is also an increased chance of Eximus.
- Respawns: No self revive, Last Gasp penalty (activating Lasp Gasp reduces the timer by 2 seconds), and the bleedout timer shortens after each revive (to a minimum of 5 seconds).
- Consumables: Summons are disabled for the entire duration of the mission and each type of Restore (all sizes) has a 3 minute cooldown timer applied.
A maximum of 5 Netracells can be found and unlocked per week for rewards (resets every Sunday at 0:00 UTC). Y ou can still play the mission after you have completed the weekly allowance, you just won’t receive any rewards for doing so until the next weekly reset.
How To Play: Upon entering the Anchorhold you and your squad will be required to select and carry the four randomized Keyglyphs presented. Each impose their own debilitating burden onto their bearer.
644916011130e383419c9060b7fc77e4.jpg
There is no limit to how many Keyglyphs one person can shoulder - coordinate with your squad who will carry which type (and how many) before beginning the search.
Exit the Anchorhold by hacking the terminal located at the bottom of the stairs and begin your search for the Netracell. Terminals are located and marked on the map to help narrow down the search radius, should you require aid. Upon finding the Netracell, the security level needs to be reduced by eliminating the enemy threat before gaining access to open it up. After successfully doing so, the player with the required Keyglyph will need to interact with the console to unlock its doors.
Collect your hard earned rewards in the Netracell and make your way to Extraction.
Rewards Notable rewards for opening a Netracell include:
- Melee Arcanes (more information in the New Melee Arcanes section)
- Melee Arcane Adapter (more information in the Melee Upgrade Segment section)
- Archon Shards (base and Tauforged)
- Note: Only Crimson, Azure, and Amber Shards are rewarded from Netracells. The new Archon Shard types (Violet, Topaz, and Emerald) created via Coalescent Fusion can only be obtained via the Fusion process at Helminth (learn more in the Archon Shard Expansion: Coalescent Fusion section)
- Guaranteed: Entrati Lanthorn
ALCHEMY (ENDLESS)
Alchemic devices in Albrecht’s Laboratories known as Crucibles allow elemental powers to be wielded and fused into complex forces. The Cavia are is requesting your assistance to ensure they remain operative for a greater goal.
23d8449b95b46daed0ba17d7896288e7.jpg
How To Access: Select the Cambire node (normal and Steel Path) on Deimos from the Star Chart or from the Laboratory Navigation in the Sanctum Anatomica.
How To Play: Crucibles within the Laboratories are capable of mixing complex elements, provided you can supply the elemental forces required. Killed enemies drop Amphors full of Heat, Cold, Toxin, or Electricity. Throw Amphors into the Crucibles to mix the requested complex element to 100%. They can also be lobbed at enemies as concentrated elemental grenades!
Once you have filled it with the required elements, the Crucible will begin its mixing process and a random Crucible Overflow buff will be applied to the squad for the duration of the mix. Ensure the stability of this high powered mixing process by breaking distressed pipes to drop the pressure if it gets too high.
Rewards Notable rewards for successfully completing a Crucible include:
- New Tennokai Mods (more information in the New Heavy Attack System: Tennokai section)
- Mandonel Components
ASSASSINATION: THE FRAGMENTED
Ready to go toe-to-toe with something that almost certainly has way more toes than you do? Seek out and destroy The Fragmented, a nightmarish assembly of Murmur fragments.
cd7a6e75ad1b2768c76fd423051d4a22.jpg
How To Access: Select the Effervo node (default and Steel Path) on Deimos from the Star Chart or from the Laboratory Navigation in the Sanctum Anatomica.
How To Play: Seek out an Atropos Probe and inject its serum into a Vitreum to begin scanning. Defend the Vitreum while it scans for Murmur’s Eyes. Prevent the scan from being interrupted by keeping the search radius around the Vitreum clear of enemies. Once Murmur’s Eyes have been exposed, they will become visible to you for a limited amount of time. Collect them quickly before they fade from view.
Atropos Probes power the Vitreums for a limited amount of time, so once it has been depleted, new Probes and Vitreums must be found to continue the process. Collecting the required amount of Murmur’s Eyes will pinpoint The Fragmented’s location. Upon arrival, you will face off against one of the three variants (Suzerain, Zelator, or Anchorite). Dispatching it will reward you!
Rewards Notable rewards for successfully defeating The Fragmented include:
- New Mods (more information in the New Mods section below):
- Ready Steel
- Shivering Contagion
- Precision Intensify
- Energy Nexus
- New Melee Arcanes (more information in the New Melee Arcanes section below):
- Melee Fortification
- Melee Retaliation
- Melee Exposure
- Melee Animosity
- Melee Influence
- Melee Vortex
- Guaranteed: Stela
MIRROR DEFENSE (ENDLESS)
The Murmur is staging an attack against Albrecht’s Laboratories! They have pinpointed the Laboratories best defenses against them and it is up to you to protect against the onslaught.
How To Access: Select the Munio node (default and Steel Path) on Deimos from the Star Chart or from the Laboratory Navigation in the Sanctum Anatomica.
How To Play: Protect the Vitreum and the Auricle as the enemies alternate their attacks between the two. A rotation is complete once both have been defended.
Vosphene Glyphs are the key to triggering the Laboratories’ automated security system. Gathering the required amount will bolster the active defense target by surrounding it with offensive turrets. Doing so will also reward 3x Stela (5x on Steel Path).
Rewards Notable rewards for completing a round of Mirror Defense include:
- New Tome Mods (more on information on these in the New Secondary Weapon Type: Tome section)
- Mandonel Components
SURVIVAL (ENDLESS)
The Murmur is not backing down, so it’s time to whittle down their numbers.
How To Access: Select the Persto node (default and Steel Path) on Deimos from the Star Chart or from the Laboratory Navigation in the Sanctum Anatomica.
How To Play: Your classic Survival mission! Head into Albrecht’s Laboratories and see how long you can hold out against the Murmur and the Rogue Necramechs waiting within.
Rewards Notable rewards for completing a round of Survival include:
- Mandonel Components
EXTERMINATE
A section of Albrecht’s Laboratories needs to be cleared out.
How To Access: Select the Nex node (default and Steel Path) on Deimos from the Star Chart or from the Laboratory Navigation in the Sanctum Anatomica.
How To Play: Your classic Exterminate mission! Eliminate all of The Murmur and Entrati enemies to reduce the danger in this area.
NEW SYNDICATE: CAVIA
Upon completion of the Whispers in the Walls Quest, you have access to Cavia , a new Syndicate located in the Sanctum Anatomica on Deimos.
7e9ec20adb86b3e63bdb9aa6ed71c23a.jpg
Build rapport with Cavia members and work your way up from the Assistant Rank.
To avoid spoilers from The Whispers in the Walls Quest, the names of each member has been redacted in the sections below.
Wares & Shiny Treasures Vendor A peculiar Vendor is nested atop one of the platforms in the Sanctum Anatomica, and offers the following items that can be acquired using Standing:
- Qorvex Blueprint and Component Blueprints
- Ekhein Blueprint
- Grimoire Blueprint
- Helminth Coalescent Segment Blueprint
- Melee Arcane Adapter (more information in the Melee Arcanes section)
- Melee Arcanes (more information in the Melee Arcanes section)
- Melee Influence
- Melee Retaliation
- Melee Exposure
- Melee Animosity
- Melee Fortification
- Melee Vortex
- 5x Cavia Syndicate Sigils
- 5x Albrecht’s Laboratories Captura Scenes
- Albrecht’s Archive Scene
- Albrecht’s Bureau Scene
- Fragmented Gorge Scene
- Fabrica Anatomica Scene
- Sanctum Anatomica Scene
- Necramech Mods - All of the Necramech Mods are now available between Necraloid and this new Vendor!
- Necramech Redirection
- Necramech Steel Fiber
- Necramech Thrusters
- Necramech Continuity
- Necramech Slipstream
- Necramech Reach
- Necramech Blitz
- Necramech Seismic Wave
- Necramech Streamline
- Necramech Stretch
- Necramech Fury
- Necramech Hydraulics
- Necramech Augur
- Neramech Enemy Sense
- Necramech Rage
- Necramech Repair
- Necramech Aviator
- Necramech Deflection
Arcane Dissolution & Voca Vendor Located next to terminals in the Sanctum Anatomica, a key member of the Cavia stands as your access point to Arcane Dissolution (read the dedicated Arcane Dissolution section to learn more), exchanging Voca for Cavia Standing and resources for Voca.
Bounty Giver Contained and sodden, this grandiloquent Cavia member hands out Bounty assignments and is your contact to increase your Cavia Rank.
Netracell Guide Only this Cavia member knows how to enter the Anchorhold to find the Netracells located throughout Albretch’s Laboratories. Learn more about the new Netracell mission type in the Deimos Expansion: New Nodes and Mission Types section above.
ALBRECHT’S LABORATORIES BOUNTIES
All of the new Deimos nodes and mission types are available as Bounties! Accessible from the Bounty giver in the Sanctum Anatomica hub on Deimos, these Bounties offer a variety of enemy levels to really test your expertise in navigating and conquering the Laboratories.
In addition to playing the standard mission, you must also complete a special objective (for example: Eliminate 2 Rogue Voidrigs) in order to extract and complete the Bounty.
Successfully completing a Bounty will reward you with Standing towards the new Cavia Syndicate , as well as several other potential rewards:
- Qorvex Blueprints (New Warframe)
- Mandonel Blueprint (New Archgun)
- Voca (All variants: Shrill, Bellow, and Echo)
- New Resources
- Necracoil
- Stela
- Entrati Obols
- Credits, Endo, Focus Lenses, Aya, and Ayatan Amber Stars.
NEW WARFRAME: QORVEX
Albrecht Entrati designed Qorvex to protect a Chosen Operator from the unique hazards of his lab. A Crucible Core gives Qorvex high survivability as he provides crowd control.
How to Acquire Qorvex: Qorvex’s Blueprint and Component Blueprints are rewarded from Cavia Bounties. They can also be acquired from the Wares & Shiny Treasures Vendor in the Sanctum Anatomica for Standing. The Qorvex Collection can also be purchased from the in-game Market for Platinum.
Passive: Core Exposure Weapons wielded by Qorvex have an additional +3 Punch Through.
Chyrinka Pillar* Summon a Chyrinka Pillar that slows enemies. It pulses Radiation Damage with a guaranteed Status Effect.
*This is Qorvex’s Helminth and Railjack ability.
Containment Wall Contain the threat. Qorvex summons walls that slam together, damaging all enemies caught between them and inflicting Radiation Status.
Disometric Guard Guard yourself and nearby allies against Status Effects. Each time Qorvex kills or assists in killing an enemy affected by Radiation Status, the number of Status Effects Disometric Guard can prevent increases.
Crucible Blast Release a beam from Qorvex's Crucible Core. Each enemy struck suffers Radiation Damage with a guaranteed Status Effect. Enemies that were already affected by Radiation Status explode in a chain reaction.
Maximum Loadout Slot Increase: With the release of Qorvex and the Initiate Power Pack (due to the inclusion of fully built Warframes), the maximum number of purchasable Loadout Slots has been increased from 22 to 24.
ce69e3d64c08b90c6421e4c43ac83475.jpg
NEW ARCHGUN: MANDONEL
Mandonel fires Radiation Damage projectiles. Partially charged shots release a spread and fully charged shots release a beam that dissolves into a radiation field. Projectiles that pass through the field are empowered.
Mandonel's beams charge Qorvex's Chyrinka Pillars. Fully charged shots dissolve into a radiation field. Projectiles that pass through the field gain 2x Damage, 2x Status Chance, +10% Critical Chance, +50% Critical Damage, +2 Bounce, +1m Punch Through, and increased Projectile Speed.
How to Acquire Mandonel: Its Blueprint is rewarded in the Cavia Bounties and its Components are found in the drop tables for the new Endless Mission Nodes on Deimos (Persto, Munio, and Cambire). It can also be purchased fully built via the in-game Market for Platinum (also comes pre-equipped with a Gravimag!).
a4d8252eb62b7593575241de6ab61618.png
QORVEX COLLECTION
Summon a guardian with the strength to face Albrecht’s Laboratories. This collection includes the Qorvex Warframe, Qorvex Raxpart Helmet, Portcull Syandana, and Mandonel Archgun (comes pre-equipped with a Gravimag).
Qorvex Raxpart Helmet Resist the siege.
How to acquire Qorvex’ Raxpart Helmet: It is available for purchase in the in-game Market. As with all newly released Alt Helmets, its Blueprint will be added to the Nightwave Cred Store in the future.
Portcull Syandana Qorvex’s signature Syandana looks like stone but remains as light as it is stylish.
Available for purchase in the in-game Market! All of the above items can also be purchased separately.
NEW MELEE: EKHEIN
Wield the timeless power of this mighty hammer. Heavy Attacks performed with Ekhein temporarily increase its Damage and Attack Speed (Trait name: Heavy Insight).
How to Acquire Ekhein: Ekhein’s Blueprint is acquired from the Wares & Shiny Treasures Vendor in the Sanctum Anatomica.
0bec839fc0209f9e2f56e0cde0de1f4e.jpg
NEW SECONDARY WEAPON TYPE: TOME
The Grimoire is the first of this new weapon type!
Claim the power of Albrecht Entrati’s knowledge. Its alternate attack releases a voltaic orb with guaranteed Electricity Status.
How To Acquire The Grimoire: Complete the Whispers In The Walls Quest. Its Blueprint can also be acquired from the Wares & Shiny Treasures Vendor in the Sanctum Anatomica.
TOME SKINS Judge a book by its cover, Tenno. The following skins are available in the in-game Market for Tome weapons!
4c7c2d1a2eaf3cd48cdd333d4447b624.jpg
Vitreum Tome Skin Set watchful eyes upon the battle.
b13071144be990dc495653bf19221710.jpg
Necratech Tome Skin Give your tome a high-tech appearance.
TOME MODS Power the Grimoire with Tome Mods that enhance Warframe Abilities and reward strategic combat.
There are two types of Tome Mods: Canticle and Invocation. Only 1 of each type can be equipped onto Tome weapons. Canticle Tome Mods are eligible for the Exilus Slot.
The stats below are shown at Max Rank.
7f43d48d47a60c8ae7ec13c02b2aac19.jpg
Ris Invocation Alternate Fire increases Ability Duration by 4% for 20s for each enemy hit. Stacks up to 15 times.
Xata Invocation Alternate Fire grants 1 Energy Regen/s for 20s for each enemy hit. Stacks up to 10 times.
Vome Invocation Alternate Fire increases Ability Strength by 4% for 20s for each enemy hit. Stacks up to 15 times.
Netra Invocation Alternate Fire increases Ability Efficiency by 4% for 20s for each enemy hit. Stacks up to 15 times.
Fass Canticle Killing enemies grants Allies in Affinity Range 40% Shield Recharge Rate and -28% Shield Recharge Delay for 15s.
Khra Canticle Enemies have a 12% chance to drop a Universal Orb on death.
2023.11.18 05:19 AnorhiDemarche 100k PARTY (and reddit guide)
We have finally reached 100k subscribers! WOOOOO! Welcome to the fun super cool party thread. Please feel free to have fun and chat! Tell us what you’re drinking to celebrate with us (I’m having a choccy milk)
We recognise that many of you are new to reddit and this is your first subreddit so, because i’m really bloody fun at parties, we’d like to take some time to explain how reddit works. (people who don’t care can skip straight down to the party area)
General info Reddit is less like social media you may be familiar with and more like forums, if you’re familiar with those. Rather than having your own page where you post whatever you like and use tags, one posts to different communities called subreddits. Each of these subreddits have their own rules and culture, but some things are consistent or standard like the site wide rules and reddiquette These may be very different from what our newer users are used to as reddit is historically more of a discourse site, with many popular subreddits focused on having positive and interesting discussions. This is less true these days, but certain aspects of this culture remain strong.
Posting and commenting Because Reddit is posting in communities, not on personal pages, everything said on reddit is said in a public forum and is subjected to scrutiny and reply. If you are not prepared for this, you should not post. It is generally considered poor form to post to a public forum and expect an echo chamber or to get defensive when people disagree. Wait until you’re in a better place mentally. Ideally, these replies should be within the rules. Direct messages and chat must also follow the rules, and, while private, can be screenshot and submitted to the mods via the dot menu on the sub main page. (Admin tend to have a pretty high bar for what’s too far compared to the mods of this sub, so while you can report to them you might find reporting to us as well to be a good option.) When responding to multiples of someone’s comments or commenting multiple times to a post, do keep in mind that this can come across as aggressive even if you don’t mean it to. This can also be the case if you’re responding a single point to many comments across a thread even if the users you say it to are different people. When you would like to end a conversation, either sign off (“I‘ll stop here because I think we’re talking in circles.”) or simply stop replying. If you keep replying, the other person is likely to do the same. It’s ok to let your argument stand on its own merits, getting the last word in is not a “win”. You are not required to reply to anyone in particular. Comments which are overly rude, seem to be unrelated, or you just don’t have anything to add to can go without any response. Voting and moving on is considered plenty. Though do keep in mind that sometimes what we don’t say speaks just as loud as what we do say. If someone sends you a private message or otherwise wants to take the conversation off the sub, you are not obligated to respond and again can report it to us directly if it's abusive. Remember yourself- take care of your mental health and physically step away from reddit when you need to.
Post and comment history on Reddit is largely public, and actually quite easy to look through. It is generally considered poor form to look through a user’s post history for dirt to “win” a discussion. It’s fine to look through to see if they’re worth discussing with or to get more context (like if they mention an argument they recently had), but if one is having a debate about who the best OG is, the fact that your opponent ages and drinks their own piss for health benefits is probably not particularly relevant. A little confronting, perhaps, but not really something to draw attention to. (It may be if you were having a discussion on health instead)
Reporting Sometimes while interacting we’ll come across things we think just shouldn’t be there. Overly rude or insulting, disturbing, or just kind of… wrong. At these times we can report to the Mods of the sub and/or to Reddit. Reddit itself tends to have very lacks enforcement of the rules, leaving it mostly to the mods and community unless it’s really bad. Like “you might get banned from reddit if you keep that up” bad. To report to the mods, select “breaks subreddit rules” and go from there. One can do custom responses but they tend to cut off quickly without telling you so if it's more than a sentence probably use the message the mods button (dot menu from sub main page) to ensure we understand your reasons clearly. It’s important that all reports be accurate, made in good faith, and not frivolous. You can Remember this by the handy acronym, AGFNF. Accuracy mods are volunteers and don’t always have the time to carefully investigate a post or comment for any rule breaking. If you report a post as “child pornography” and the post does not contain child pornography, the mod may well think there’s nothing wrong. If you instead report it accurately the mod will know what to look for. Good Faith. We often get called into arguments with the reporter thinking we’re going to crush their opponents now or called to unpopular opinions where the user is engaging well.This is a waste of time. Not Frivolous. We often get reports, particularly during maddie/Chloe discussions, where users will report not liking one of the girls, critiquing technique, or saying someone else was better as Direct attack, overly aggressive, or hate speech. Such reports should be reserved only for someone being really quite rude.
Again, please remember that we do not always remove rule breaking posts if we think there community has it covered pretty well. (As an example we use to do this a lot with "brat" posts until a few months ago when posts being made about one of the girls in particular started getting a lot of agreement instead of polite correction.) It's up to mod discretion.
Content removal and bans Sometimes, we ARE the thing that needs to be removed. Removed posts and comments will still show for the person who posted them, and will still be on their profile unless they delete it. Removed posts will not be listed on the subreddit but can still be replied to unless the comments are locked. Removal does not always receive a removal reason or notification, or may receive a generic “check the rules'' message. This means no warning has been given. If a warning has been given please do abide by that warning. A banned user will always get a message. It may not always have a user-visible ban reason and the comment/post it links to may not be the one which the ban actually stems from, just the one we clicked on you to ban you from (eg if you’ve been having a few arguments the mods may be reading through, it can easily happen like this.) Some bans are temporary, in which case simply wait it out and do not repeat the behavior, and some are permanent. Banned users can see the content of the sub, but cannot interact. Anything posted from alt accounts is typically caught in the ban filter automatically. So if you’ve used an alt to bully a user, your main may be penalised also. If you believe a mod action to be in error or would like further explanation, please message the mods through your ban message or by the dot menu on the sub main page. Please do not message or usertag individual mods as they may not be the one who did the action. People often tag or message me because I mod on old desktop and don’t have the anonymity reason posting doohicky so I’m like, the only mod as far as they know but there are like 4-5 other active mods here who all work hard and I'm not even the most active one. It really does help you get help faster to use the shiny button. Generally, one should only ask about their own ban or post removal. We’re usually happy to explain if it’s a simple explanation of the rules, but other times it may be more complicated/personal to that user and we may think it better not to make them the target of rumors/gossip. If someone asks about other people’s stuff a lot we may think of them as nosey rather than genuinely looking for clarification and stop responding. (hasn’t happened here, thankfully, but back in my Gaia (a forum where you had an avatar you could dress up with money earned by posting and such) days there as this one user of a guild I was in who would question every single thing they saw- they kept a list of infractions and tried to blackmail users close to banning by harassing them until they blew up, taking a screenshot, and saying they’d send it to us if they didn’t send some expensive item they had.) If messaging the mods, please avoid rule breaking while doing so or accusing the mods of bias towards a particular dancer or mum. We’ve been accused of staning and having parasocial relationships with just about every one of them, the truth is we stan Chair Mockbentwood. Any anti Chair posts will be removed and the user banned for all eternity. It’s also really not great when a 24 hour “cool off” ban for fighting with another user turns into a permaban for threatening the mods. We’d rather you just actually go cool off and come back ready to be the user we know and love.
*General posting tips: *
submitted by AnorhiDemarche to dancemoms [link] [comments]
We recognise that many of you are new to reddit and this is your first subreddit so, because i’m really bloody fun at parties, we’d like to take some time to explain how reddit works. (people who don’t care can skip straight down to the party area)
General info Reddit is less like social media you may be familiar with and more like forums, if you’re familiar with those. Rather than having your own page where you post whatever you like and use tags, one posts to different communities called subreddits. Each of these subreddits have their own rules and culture, but some things are consistent or standard like the site wide rules and reddiquette These may be very different from what our newer users are used to as reddit is historically more of a discourse site, with many popular subreddits focused on having positive and interesting discussions. This is less true these days, but certain aspects of this culture remain strong.
- The upvote button is contribute/does not contribute, not agree/disagree. Ideally unless the comment is rule breaking one should upvote all those they respond to and all those who respond to them. An opinion being “wrong” should not be downvoted unless it’s dangerous, (saying it’s fine to only change cat litter once a week) or was stated rudely. Votes are also generally not considered a measure of who won an argument unless specifically stated to by the sub/post rules.
- check if something has already been posted before posting. This subreddit specifically gets an average of 25 posts per day, so frequently posted topics, images, videos, ect become annoying quickly. Could your post be a comment in another thread instead?
- Add an edit reason when editing a post to keep things clear, particularly in conversation has branched off. Reddit will mark when a post is edited, but not if it’s done within five minutes so an edit reason is particularly important if doing a “ninja edit” which is not just a typo.
- Avoid insulting people you disagree with. Discussions and debates can get very heated/passionate without attacking others. It’s actually really fun and you should try it!
- Avoid discussion of upvotes and downvotes, re/common posts, and particular to this sub: Mentions of stans, parasocial relationships, and “being Abby” to discredit other users.
- View tone as neutral as much as possible. Text is a difficult medium through which to indicate tone and that’s without age (reddit tends to run older), language barriers, cultural differences, and neurodivergence involved. Giving the benefit of the doubt is often the most productive way of going about things.
- A post or comment which breaks the rules may not always be removed if it seems there’s sufficient opportunity for education by the community.
- Subreddits evolve. If something is allowed a year ago, the sub standards may have changed. This is very very true on /Dancemoms as there has been a large influx of people, more than half of you within the past couple months, so to maintain the sub culture we’ve become stricter on post quality/topics
- Above all, remember the human.
Posting and commenting Because Reddit is posting in communities, not on personal pages, everything said on reddit is said in a public forum and is subjected to scrutiny and reply. If you are not prepared for this, you should not post. It is generally considered poor form to post to a public forum and expect an echo chamber or to get defensive when people disagree. Wait until you’re in a better place mentally. Ideally, these replies should be within the rules. Direct messages and chat must also follow the rules, and, while private, can be screenshot and submitted to the mods via the dot menu on the sub main page. (Admin tend to have a pretty high bar for what’s too far compared to the mods of this sub, so while you can report to them you might find reporting to us as well to be a good option.) When responding to multiples of someone’s comments or commenting multiple times to a post, do keep in mind that this can come across as aggressive even if you don’t mean it to. This can also be the case if you’re responding a single point to many comments across a thread even if the users you say it to are different people. When you would like to end a conversation, either sign off (“I‘ll stop here because I think we’re talking in circles.”) or simply stop replying. If you keep replying, the other person is likely to do the same. It’s ok to let your argument stand on its own merits, getting the last word in is not a “win”. You are not required to reply to anyone in particular. Comments which are overly rude, seem to be unrelated, or you just don’t have anything to add to can go without any response. Voting and moving on is considered plenty. Though do keep in mind that sometimes what we don’t say speaks just as loud as what we do say. If someone sends you a private message or otherwise wants to take the conversation off the sub, you are not obligated to respond and again can report it to us directly if it's abusive. Remember yourself- take care of your mental health and physically step away from reddit when you need to.
Post and comment history on Reddit is largely public, and actually quite easy to look through. It is generally considered poor form to look through a user’s post history for dirt to “win” a discussion. It’s fine to look through to see if they’re worth discussing with or to get more context (like if they mention an argument they recently had), but if one is having a debate about who the best OG is, the fact that your opponent ages and drinks their own piss for health benefits is probably not particularly relevant. A little confronting, perhaps, but not really something to draw attention to. (It may be if you were having a discussion on health instead)
Reporting Sometimes while interacting we’ll come across things we think just shouldn’t be there. Overly rude or insulting, disturbing, or just kind of… wrong. At these times we can report to the Mods of the sub and/or to Reddit. Reddit itself tends to have very lacks enforcement of the rules, leaving it mostly to the mods and community unless it’s really bad. Like “you might get banned from reddit if you keep that up” bad. To report to the mods, select “breaks subreddit rules” and go from there. One can do custom responses but they tend to cut off quickly without telling you so if it's more than a sentence probably use the message the mods button (dot menu from sub main page) to ensure we understand your reasons clearly. It’s important that all reports be accurate, made in good faith, and not frivolous. You can Remember this by the handy acronym, AGFNF. Accuracy mods are volunteers and don’t always have the time to carefully investigate a post or comment for any rule breaking. If you report a post as “child pornography” and the post does not contain child pornography, the mod may well think there’s nothing wrong. If you instead report it accurately the mod will know what to look for. Good Faith. We often get called into arguments with the reporter thinking we’re going to crush their opponents now or called to unpopular opinions where the user is engaging well.This is a waste of time. Not Frivolous. We often get reports, particularly during maddie/Chloe discussions, where users will report not liking one of the girls, critiquing technique, or saying someone else was better as Direct attack, overly aggressive, or hate speech. Such reports should be reserved only for someone being really quite rude.
Again, please remember that we do not always remove rule breaking posts if we think there community has it covered pretty well. (As an example we use to do this a lot with "brat" posts until a few months ago when posts being made about one of the girls in particular started getting a lot of agreement instead of polite correction.) It's up to mod discretion.
Content removal and bans Sometimes, we ARE the thing that needs to be removed. Removed posts and comments will still show for the person who posted them, and will still be on their profile unless they delete it. Removed posts will not be listed on the subreddit but can still be replied to unless the comments are locked. Removal does not always receive a removal reason or notification, or may receive a generic “check the rules'' message. This means no warning has been given. If a warning has been given please do abide by that warning. A banned user will always get a message. It may not always have a user-visible ban reason and the comment/post it links to may not be the one which the ban actually stems from, just the one we clicked on you to ban you from (eg if you’ve been having a few arguments the mods may be reading through, it can easily happen like this.) Some bans are temporary, in which case simply wait it out and do not repeat the behavior, and some are permanent. Banned users can see the content of the sub, but cannot interact. Anything posted from alt accounts is typically caught in the ban filter automatically. So if you’ve used an alt to bully a user, your main may be penalised also. If you believe a mod action to be in error or would like further explanation, please message the mods through your ban message or by the dot menu on the sub main page. Please do not message or usertag individual mods as they may not be the one who did the action. People often tag or message me because I mod on old desktop and don’t have the anonymity reason posting doohicky so I’m like, the only mod as far as they know but there are like 4-5 other active mods here who all work hard and I'm not even the most active one. It really does help you get help faster to use the shiny button. Generally, one should only ask about their own ban or post removal. We’re usually happy to explain if it’s a simple explanation of the rules, but other times it may be more complicated/personal to that user and we may think it better not to make them the target of rumors/gossip. If someone asks about other people’s stuff a lot we may think of them as nosey rather than genuinely looking for clarification and stop responding. (hasn’t happened here, thankfully, but back in my Gaia (a forum where you had an avatar you could dress up with money earned by posting and such) days there as this one user of a guild I was in who would question every single thing they saw- they kept a list of infractions and tried to blackmail users close to banning by harassing them until they blew up, taking a screenshot, and saying they’d send it to us if they didn’t send some expensive item they had.) If messaging the mods, please avoid rule breaking while doing so or accusing the mods of bias towards a particular dancer or mum. We’ve been accused of staning and having parasocial relationships with just about every one of them, the truth is we stan Chair Mockbentwood. Any anti Chair posts will be removed and the user banned for all eternity. It’s also really not great when a 24 hour “cool off” ban for fighting with another user turns into a permaban for threatening the mods. We’d rather you just actually go cool off and come back ready to be the user we know and love.
*General posting tips: *
- Reddit will often not let you combine post types. You can upload an image to a third party site like imgur (initially built for reddit, don't hit the "post to community" button unless you specifically want to share it with all of imgur rather than just those with the link) and link it in the comments if you’d like to share images in comments. There are many other such sites, just use whatever you're comfortable with. We don't do direct uploads here as a safety thing.
- If you’re not on mobile it’s two spaces then enter to make a line break. Mobile does it automatically
- Want emphasis? Reddit uses a modified version of markdown bold, italics, both, Get more tiny as you type,
strike, add spoilers and many more! - For url it’s [text here](link here)
- Sometimes reddit double or triple posts comments. If you see ‘em it’s polite to alert the poster.
2023.10.27 13:57 Liberty-Prime76 Letter of Marque 51 - A NoP Fanfic
As always, thank you to u/SpacePaladin15 for the wonderful universe that is NoP! Thank you to u/cruisingNWfor proof reading and helping me make this chapter as good as it can be, you're the man! Honestly LoM wouldn't have gone very far without him! If you haven't you should absolutely go read Foundations of Humanity! It's very good!
Also thank you to u/brotanics! For this wonderful fanart of Taisa. And this one! She's so cute I'm gonna die
And thank you to u/Jimdandy117! For this adorable fanart of Chris and Renkel! Dear god help he's adorable I love him so much
Thank you u/SlimyRage, or AsciiSquid on Discord, for makin'Vengineer Taisa Gamin'. She's absolutely adorable, I love her lil' workers apron. She looks so excited to get to work!
Thank you u/Braquen! For this astounding Pixel Art of Taisa after a few range day dates with Chris! Her little hat and gunbelt are absolutely astounding!
First Prev. Next
---
Memory Transcription Subject: Christopher A. Dewey, Human Merchant Ship Captain, Venlil-Human Exchange Participant
Date [Standardized Human Time]: September 18th, 2136
The soft bed shifted beneath me, stirring me from my sleep and I awoke to Taisa’s gently swaying tail tapping my arm as she licked my cheek with a happy mewl. “Good waking, Heartwood. You ready for another paw?”
I reached out, pulling her into a tight hug before letting go to stretch out my arms and shoulders. “Aside from gettin’ myself all put together, I’m as ready as I figure I’ll be. That Festival of y’alls is really somethin’! I figure Annabelle’d love to get a chance to come to the next one. If’n the town’ll abide another ‘terrifying predator’ in their midst.”Her tail flitted about happily behind her as she sat at the edge of the bed, tapping against my face every now and then while an amused beep slipped from her snout. “Oh I’m sure another harvest or two of you playing music, saving kids from rivers and just being you should till a good field!”
I smiled, running my fingers through her wool and coaxed that adorable rumbling purr from deep in her throat, before sitting up and rubbing my eyes. “Well, we’ll just have to hope it will be. Now let's go get some breakfast; you got anything you wanna get done today?”
Her tail kinked in thought, but I could pick up the anticipation that ran through it as she hopped down from the bed, “I’d like to go see Parnel before we go over to the festival. Got a message from him that the spare hull is up in orbit and we can go give it a harvest pass before finalizing the deal.” She walked tall and confident from the room, casting an eye over her shoulder to invite me to follow her. “Hopefully the parts are alright, I’d hate to pull those thrusters and then have to overhaul them anyhow.”
I nodded, swinging myself out from my bed and throwing on the first shirt I grabbed from the armoire. “Be a shame. Can’t imagine how much that’d cost.”
“Less than you’d think, more than we can currently afford.” She called back through the door she left ajar.
The sound of popping oil and the delicious scent of Ma’s spice blend drifted in the air, making a welcome start to the morning. The sight of Taikel hard at work in the kitchen greeted me as I stepped in, ducking under one of the lower beams. He turned from the counter, a bowl of familiar, cubed vegetables in paw before dumping them into the pot with a plume of steam and cacophony of sizzling that made my mouth water at the thought of a good morning’s meal.
“Good waking you two! Sleep well?” He chirped, flapping his ears in greeting as his attention hung on us for a moment longer than usual before returning back to the vocal pot in front of him.
Taisa took a shallow breath, tasting the air as her tail sped up and her meandering transformed to nearly bolting to her stool at the island. “By the Shining Star, Papa, that tastes delicious!”
“That seasoning of your Mother’s is certainly something, Chris. She batches that stuff up and sells it here, I’d bet there’d be a can in every burrow from here to the Capitol!” He whistled, grabbing a heavy wooden spoon and stirring at the vegetables.
I lit up at the image of Ma’s beaming smile at the thought of her spice blend being at an alien’s table, “I’ll let ‘er know! I’m sure she’ll be mighty happy to hear it! What all’re ya tossin’ in there?” I asked, craning my neck to try and get a look down into the pot on the burner.
“Well, I’m not entirely sure if I’m honest. But from the list your mom sent along I’m pretty sure it’s two carrots, two potatoes, a garlic, a paw-full of the okra and one of those orange peppers. Then I dumped one ‘tablespoon’ of that seasoning on it with one of the measuring spoons your mother sent along. I did try my best to cook them according to the instructions she sent along, but well… I guess we’ll see if I got them right!” His voice was cautious but confident as his tail swished about behind him with excitement while he speared a chunk of pepper and popped it in his mouth, letting out a happy huff after he swallowed.
I thought over the concoction. It was a wide spread, and certainly going to be fairly garlicky… and could probably do with something extra, but I could see it working out well enough; especially pan seared up in some Firefruit oil! I’d have to bring a jug of that home for Ma’ next we went back. “Yea that looks right. Sounds good! Can’t wait to try whatever you’ve done with it all!”
“Well,” He started, plucking his wooden spoon off the counter before reaching into the pot to fill our bowls waiting beside the popping meal. “you won’t have to wait much longer!”
Our pair of steaming bowls slid across the counter, coming to a stop in front of Taisa and I and the smell of familiar vegetables and spices from home touched my nose, setting my stomach rumbling as I speared a healthy bite of Okra, Pepper and Potatoes to savor the whirlwind of flavor I knew waited for me. The blend of savory, sweet and spiced flavors of home mixed with the now expected bite of Firefruit to delightfully warm my tongue!
“Damn good work, Taikel. Tastes like home!” I smiled, skewering another chunk of the meal as Taisa finished chewing her first bite.
“Stars, Papa, that’s delicious!” She emphatically agreed, her tail whipping about enthusiastically behind her as she popped another chunk in her mouth.
“Well I’m happy to hear I’ve done Earth’s flora justice!” He responded, his ears high with happiness as he dug into his own bowl.
The soft ker-thunk of Rensa’s prosthetic on the wooden stairs above marked her approach almost as much as the happy morning beeps and whistles of Renkel following closely behind. “Mama, Mama! Are we going back to the festival?”
“Later this paw, Rekan. For now, though, you’ve got a meal to eat and the last of school prep to finish. Wouldn’t wanna make Papa’s hard work go to waste now would we?” She challenged as they reached the bottom of the stairs, Renkel furtively shaking his head ‘no’ before bounding over to Taisa, wrapping her in a hug while waving an ecstatic >Hello< to me with his tail.
“Day warms you, Taisa, Chris.” Rensa whistled as she strode past us to Taikel, gently pulling him into a hug and nuzzling up into his neck before peering down into the pot in front of them. “Something tastes delicious.”
“You don’t want your stringfruit?” Taikel asked, sudden interest in his eyes as he looked at the already prepared dish.
“Oh I didn’t say that. But I’d certainly love to try a little bit of this! I won’t lie, I am very curious about these ‘Predator’ vegetables.” Rensa responded, mirth in her voice as she shot me an amused look, her tail whipping about with interest while she speared a chunk of potato and took an enthusiastic bite. “Stars that’s good!”
Taisa nodded at my side, her tail wagging out a rapid >delicious< as Renkel skewered the first of his own steaming meal and popped it into his mouth. The warmth of the fine meal filled my stomach as I finished mine before I pushed away from the island and ruffled Renkel’s wool, heading off to go get my clothes for the day. The house felt positively alive with the happy sounds of Taisa and her family sharing in Ma’s produce; whistles, beeps, chirps, giggles and mewls filling the air as I stepped out of my room with fresh clothes in tow, gently closing the door behind me.
As I turned the corner I found them still at the island, one of Ma’s dishes open on the counter and surrounded by happy tails and eased ears as they picked spoonfuls of Red Beans and Rice from the tray. Renkel whipped around, his deep brown wool filled with sauce as he threw his paws in the air with an ecstatic exclamation. “Chris! Your Mama makes real good food!”
I couldn’t help but laugh, looking down at the bundle of energy bouncing on his paws as he stared up at me. “That she does lil’ man, that she does; that one is actually one of my favorites! Though, ya might wanna’ try an’ keep it out of your wool.”
His eyes went wide and his tail flicked about behind him as he started to open his mouth, stopped by the quick but soft paw of Rensa grabbing the side of his face. “Renkel! You’re a mess! Stars, you're going to need a full bath before we go into town.”
The pup threw his paws in the air again with a loud, whistling exclamation. “I don’t wan’a bath! I want more Human food!”
“We can have more for last-meal, but right now you’re going upstairs and getting cleaned up.” She said sternly, her tone not all that different from Ma’s whenever Pa’n I’d come back in, us and one of the dogs all covered head to toe and nose to tail in mud. Renkel let out a soft whine, dropping his arms with a dejected groan as he trudged up the stairs and out of view.
“Guess it don’t matter the species nor the world, kids’ll be kids.” I laughed, turning to head off to the shower myself as I heard the thunk of Rensa following after him up the stairs, a muted ‘Don’t touch the walls Renkel, c’mon!’ echoing down behind them. .
The warm water flowing from the shower head above the tub was a welcome respite against the cool morning air that hung in the Warren, driving the chill from my skin as I basked in the wonderful rolling warmth. After a few minutes of scrubbing, shampooing, trimming, combing and washing away the last vestiges of sleep I felt like a new man, ready to take on the day. I took a deep breath as the hiss of the water died away and the hum of the overhead fan rolled to life. The taste of humid, floral scented air danced in my throat as I pulled the curtain aside and set to tending my teeth and getting dressed.
The chill air and soft crackling pop of a healthy fire in the hearth welcomed me back into the living room. Taisa sat on the couch, gently pulling a brush through her wool as she chatted with Taikel about our plans for the day. Her ears perked up before she turned her head to look at me, a happy look dancing in her eyes as she locked one of those amber pools on my face.
“You ready to go, big guy?” She whistled, popping up from the couch to grab her pouch from the hangar near the door.
“Yup, ready when you are!” I replied, shuffling my coat up over my shoulders. “Need anything Taikel; or you all good? We can bring it to that stand of yours If’n ya want!”
Taikel flicked his ears ‘no’ as his tail signed a quick >Thank you<. “All set! Although, I might be adding some of this ‘garlic’ into my food this paw! I bet it’d be a hit!”
“Now that’s what we like to hear! Doin’ Ma’ proud!” I chuckled as I followed Taisa to the door, waving goodbye to Taikel before the door clicked shut behind me.
The drive to Parnel’s yard was quiet as I stared up at the star filled sky; as odd as it was to see the stars in the middle of the morning it didn’t change how beautiful it all was. The only time I’d seen stars any clearer was running dark in the middle of the pacific, and even then this was different.
Massive tracts of Nebulae stretched across the sky amongst new, captivating constellations that I could imagine the Venlil of old navigating across the plains by looking for safety in the night. The dim, yellow lights of the town hardly touched the sky, even driving down its streets the stars above were still staggeringly bright. Small herds plodded along amongst the buildings, chatting and getting together before heading off to the basin side to celebrate at the festival. A thought struck me, a question I hadn’t really considered before when she’d first told me about the festival.
“Hey, Tai?” I asked as she eased onto the brakes before turning up and into one of the handful of parking spots at Parnel’s. She flicked her ears in return, letting out a small hum to prompt me to continue.
“How’d this festival start?” I asked as I popped the door open, letting a gentle cold breeze work its way into the cab.
She perked up, her tail swaying happily behind her as she dropped down to the soft asphalt beneath the truck. “It’s been going for a long time! Before the Federation even, from what we can tell! Night would come and farmers couldn’t really work in the dark so they’d just end up at home, alone and bored waiting for The Mourning. Sometimes they’d just go to a friend's house or a tavern in town but eventually that all blossomed into something more. We already had The Mourning in the middle of Night and the time around it turned into a common gathering place, people would light bonfires at the water's edge, some of the vendors in town would come out and sell food so it just… grew.”
She finished as the welcome whistle over the door sounded, calling out into the space around us. Parnel stepped out from the back, his tail happily wagging behind him as he looked us over.
“Why if it isn’t my favorite credit harv- I mean customers! I hope Night’s treatin’ you two well, I’ve got a Nav-beacon tracker and a code pad here waitin’ for you.” He called, setting a pad and a small key fob on the counter in front of him.
“Good Mornin’ Parnel! Thanks for workin’ this all out for us.” I called back as we approached, Taisa reaching up to snag the fob and pad before slipping them into her tail pouch.
“Where do you want them when we’re done looking her over?” Taisa whistled, leaning on the counter to look up at him.
“Just drop ‘em in the key box. Should be just fine for a paw or two there.” Parnel responded, passively squaring a stack of papers on the counter with his claw.
“Your daughter out today?” I asked, receiving a quick flicked ‘yes’ from his ears as Taisa’s shoulders dropped.
“Oh she and her friends are off at the festival, I’m only in this paw to make sure you two get a chance to look at that HC before I go myself!” He beeped,
Taisa let out an indignant whistling sigh, wavering up and down as her tail tensed. “Good to hear she’s having fun.”
Parnel’s eyes softened, his ears falling gently with concern as he leaned on the counter. “I do wish you two could just burn that rot. I miss having the both of you rooting around in the yard.”
“She knows what she did, I can’t help it any if she doesn’t want to make amends.” Taisa huffed, her tail snaking its way up to her paws before she slowly kneaded at the soft brown wool, her ears dipping a little in what I thought was regret.
“You know how I feel on it, lil’ tinkerer. I’ve tried my best with the both of you, there’s no need to have the conversation again.” Parnel comforted, his voice soft as he wrung his paws for a moment.
I leaned down a little, resting my hand on her shoulder, startling her from her worrying with a soft mewl. “You wanna get headed up to the ship? Part pickin’ might help getcha feelin’ a lil’ better.”
She nodded, her tail signaling an emphatic >Yes< with a small flourish as she spoke, a note of hope in her rising voice. “I… I think that’d help. Parnel, did you want to come with us?”
Parnel signaled a quick >No< with his tail, standing up straight with a small grunt. “I trust ya, Taisa, just don’t go breaking anything else on her. And stay out of the sealed spaces; looks like someone left the window open on their spaceship, and I’d hate to lose my ‘credit fields’.”
I gave a small laugh, gently working my fingers through the wool on Taisa’s shoulder while her tail started to sway with amusement again at my side as she spoke. “Oh I’m sure that’s the only reason.”
Parnel let out a chuffing laugh, his ears high and happy as he slapped a paw on the counter. “What?! A man’s gotta look after some amount of profits! Nearly cost me a whole field to forage that deal for you two!”
“And that’s why you’re the best, Parnel! We’ll let you know what we think when we get back!” She called back, mischief curling her tail as she patted the side of her pouch.
Parnel’s tail swayed slowly behind him, his ears swiveling in thought for a moment before he answered. “Don’t forget to give me a call or send a message of what you think, I’d really prefer to save the credits on deorbiting it if there’s no need. Already taking a big risk getting this thing in the first place, don’t need the cost nor the worry of dropping it in someone’s burrow added on as well.”
“You’ll know what we think soon as we think it, I promise. Besides, Yumor hasn’t failed you yet, has he?” Taisa giggled before prodding my side to get me moving again as Parnel threw his paws in the air, grumbling about Yumor stiffing him on some deal with a Voidmaster.
The door thunked shut behind us, cutting Parnel off as Taisa padded over to the driverside door of the truck and climbed inside before turning the key. I slid into my seat, reaching over to place a hand on her leg to get her attention. She turned a little, looking up at me with one of those big gleaming eyes as the tip of her tail twitched in the footwell behind her. “You alright, wool ball?”
She nodded, taking a shallow, shuddering breath and shaking her ears. “Yep, just… just a lot of mistakes on both our parts. What’s sheared is gone; I don’t think there’s really any reseeding that field anymore.”
“What happened?”
She sighed, putting the truck in gear and driving towards the port while she explained. “We had a fight, big one, when we were like [[15 Solar Years]] old or so, a fight over a boy - of all things - that neither of us even care about anymore. Both of us said some… not great things to each other, the kind of things you really can’t take back. In the end he ended up with her for a few herds of paws, she left me behind and I… well I ended up herdless.”
My heart fell with her ears as I listened, realizing what she meant. “Well, you’ve got your herd now. And I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. And I think you’d be hard pressed to find something Alvi wouldn’t jump in on either!”
She perked up a little, her tail slipping free of the seat to wag in the footwell behind her. “Y-yea, you’re right. I wonder if she’d want to help with the thruster? Would still need a set of trained paws but it’d certainly make her harvest, that’s for sure.”
“Never know unless ya ask. Worst she can say is she’s busy.” I smiled, lifting my visor to lean over and plant a kiss behind her ear.
“Hey! I am driving, mister!” She laughed, the worry in her ears fully gone as she prodded me in the side with a claw.
“Well it worked, didn’t it?” I asked as she swung the truck up and into the port, rolling into the parking spot next to Polani.
She raised her paws in defeat, her ears waving with concession as she spoke. “Alright, alright you win. Now, how about we go look at this ship?”
I swung the door open, stepping down to the ground as I slipped my visor on. “Sounds like a plan to me, Darlin’.”
A bloom had spread across her snout and ears as she bounded around the front of the truck, her tail flailing about behind her as she caught up to me with her paws pressed to the sides of her snout. The ramp fell with the now familiar hiss of her hydraulics, the edge clunking against the ground before we walked inside. We ran through our preflight checks, making sure fluids were topped off, thrusters spooled up correctly and cooling systems ready and raring to go.
I looked over from my seat, raising a questioning eyebrow at Taisa as the whine of the thrusters built to a dull roar.
>Ready<
I pinged the tower, requesting take off with a route and interception target and received an immediate return. Polani lept up into the pitch black Night, climbing off towards her brilliant namesake as the thrusters eagerly crackled and roared, chewing through the sky. The roar of the thrusters fell away to the soft thrum of the ion engines getting to work. The light of the sun flashed in my eyes, blinding for a moment before being smacked away by the viewscreen’s autodarkening, a blessed relief even after so short a time before a thought finally struck me.
Did I… Did I just read that tail signal without thinking about it?
I felt my attention drift to Taisa, hanging on her for a moment, watching - listening - to her tail and ears as I thought about the last couple months. So many moments, so many thoughts and feelings between us, and I saw them all in front of me. I saw the way she turned her ears, searching for an answer to a thought, and the way her tail batted the thought away, answering her own question before moving to another. I saw her wool flare and flat, with her breath and with her worry, seeing suboptimal readings before expertly resolving them from her station that her paws flew over like my hands over buzzing strings. I wondered if she saw the music in what she did. I wondered if she heard the music in herself, so loud her every thread of wool and fiber of sinew danced her mind across my sight.
My pad on the console pinged, the chime informing me that one of my proverbial hooks snagged something; I’d put feelers out for any of my old contacts, see if any of them had anything that needed moving. I set Polani on autopilot, easing her on course to intercept the target ship as I reached down to grab my pad. Taisa let out a curious beep, her ears swiveling to focus on me as I read the message.
Christopher,
I’ve got an order of mixed goods in holding at the town of Shining Waterfall that I need hauled to port in Tokyo, tomorrow if possible. I’m hoping the short notice isn’t too big of a deterrent. Willing to run the rate you sent out originally but understand if concessions are in order for a rush job. If it helps any I have something already cleared for the return run if you can manage it.
Thank you,
Akemi
I felt a smile track across my face as I messaged Akemi back that we’d take the cargo, before shooting a glance over to Tai in her engineering seat. “Well, looks like we got a job for tomorrow!”
---
First Prev. Next
submitted by Liberty-Prime76 to NatureofPredators [link] [comments]
Also thank you to u/brotanics! For this wonderful fanart of Taisa. And this one! She's so cute I'm gonna die
And thank you to u/Jimdandy117! For this adorable fanart of Chris and Renkel! Dear god help he's adorable I love him so much
Thank you u/SlimyRage, or AsciiSquid on Discord, for makin'
Thank you u/Braquen! For this astounding Pixel Art of Taisa after a few range day dates with Chris! Her little hat and gunbelt are absolutely astounding!
First Prev. Next
---
Memory Transcription Subject: Christopher A. Dewey, Human Merchant Ship Captain, Venlil-Human Exchange Participant
Date [Standardized Human Time]: September 18th, 2136
The soft bed shifted beneath me, stirring me from my sleep and I awoke to Taisa’s gently swaying tail tapping my arm as she licked my cheek with a happy mewl. “Good waking, Heartwood. You ready for another paw?”
I reached out, pulling her into a tight hug before letting go to stretch out my arms and shoulders. “Aside from gettin’ myself all put together, I’m as ready as I figure I’ll be. That Festival of y’alls is really somethin’! I figure Annabelle’d love to get a chance to come to the next one. If’n the town’ll abide another ‘terrifying predator’ in their midst.”Her tail flitted about happily behind her as she sat at the edge of the bed, tapping against my face every now and then while an amused beep slipped from her snout. “Oh I’m sure another harvest or two of you playing music, saving kids from rivers and just being you should till a good field!”
I smiled, running my fingers through her wool and coaxed that adorable rumbling purr from deep in her throat, before sitting up and rubbing my eyes. “Well, we’ll just have to hope it will be. Now let's go get some breakfast; you got anything you wanna get done today?”
Her tail kinked in thought, but I could pick up the anticipation that ran through it as she hopped down from the bed, “I’d like to go see Parnel before we go over to the festival. Got a message from him that the spare hull is up in orbit and we can go give it a harvest pass before finalizing the deal.” She walked tall and confident from the room, casting an eye over her shoulder to invite me to follow her. “Hopefully the parts are alright, I’d hate to pull those thrusters and then have to overhaul them anyhow.”
I nodded, swinging myself out from my bed and throwing on the first shirt I grabbed from the armoire. “Be a shame. Can’t imagine how much that’d cost.”
“Less than you’d think, more than we can currently afford.” She called back through the door she left ajar.
The sound of popping oil and the delicious scent of Ma’s spice blend drifted in the air, making a welcome start to the morning. The sight of Taikel hard at work in the kitchen greeted me as I stepped in, ducking under one of the lower beams. He turned from the counter, a bowl of familiar, cubed vegetables in paw before dumping them into the pot with a plume of steam and cacophony of sizzling that made my mouth water at the thought of a good morning’s meal.
“Good waking you two! Sleep well?” He chirped, flapping his ears in greeting as his attention hung on us for a moment longer than usual before returning back to the vocal pot in front of him.
Taisa took a shallow breath, tasting the air as her tail sped up and her meandering transformed to nearly bolting to her stool at the island. “By the Shining Star, Papa, that tastes delicious!”
“That seasoning of your Mother’s is certainly something, Chris. She batches that stuff up and sells it here, I’d bet there’d be a can in every burrow from here to the Capitol!” He whistled, grabbing a heavy wooden spoon and stirring at the vegetables.
I lit up at the image of Ma’s beaming smile at the thought of her spice blend being at an alien’s table, “I’ll let ‘er know! I’m sure she’ll be mighty happy to hear it! What all’re ya tossin’ in there?” I asked, craning my neck to try and get a look down into the pot on the burner.
“Well, I’m not entirely sure if I’m honest. But from the list your mom sent along I’m pretty sure it’s two carrots, two potatoes, a garlic, a paw-full of the okra and one of those orange peppers. Then I dumped one ‘tablespoon’ of that seasoning on it with one of the measuring spoons your mother sent along. I did try my best to cook them according to the instructions she sent along, but well… I guess we’ll see if I got them right!” His voice was cautious but confident as his tail swished about behind him with excitement while he speared a chunk of pepper and popped it in his mouth, letting out a happy huff after he swallowed.
I thought over the concoction. It was a wide spread, and certainly going to be fairly garlicky… and could probably do with something extra, but I could see it working out well enough; especially pan seared up in some Firefruit oil! I’d have to bring a jug of that home for Ma’ next we went back. “Yea that looks right. Sounds good! Can’t wait to try whatever you’ve done with it all!”
“Well,” He started, plucking his wooden spoon off the counter before reaching into the pot to fill our bowls waiting beside the popping meal. “you won’t have to wait much longer!”
Our pair of steaming bowls slid across the counter, coming to a stop in front of Taisa and I and the smell of familiar vegetables and spices from home touched my nose, setting my stomach rumbling as I speared a healthy bite of Okra, Pepper and Potatoes to savor the whirlwind of flavor I knew waited for me. The blend of savory, sweet and spiced flavors of home mixed with the now expected bite of Firefruit to delightfully warm my tongue!
“Damn good work, Taikel. Tastes like home!” I smiled, skewering another chunk of the meal as Taisa finished chewing her first bite.
“Stars, Papa, that’s delicious!” She emphatically agreed, her tail whipping about enthusiastically behind her as she popped another chunk in her mouth.
“Well I’m happy to hear I’ve done Earth’s flora justice!” He responded, his ears high with happiness as he dug into his own bowl.
The soft ker-thunk of Rensa’s prosthetic on the wooden stairs above marked her approach almost as much as the happy morning beeps and whistles of Renkel following closely behind. “Mama, Mama! Are we going back to the festival?”
“Later this paw, Rekan. For now, though, you’ve got a meal to eat and the last of school prep to finish. Wouldn’t wanna make Papa’s hard work go to waste now would we?” She challenged as they reached the bottom of the stairs, Renkel furtively shaking his head ‘no’ before bounding over to Taisa, wrapping her in a hug while waving an ecstatic >Hello< to me with his tail.
“Day warms you, Taisa, Chris.” Rensa whistled as she strode past us to Taikel, gently pulling him into a hug and nuzzling up into his neck before peering down into the pot in front of them. “Something tastes delicious.”
“You don’t want your stringfruit?” Taikel asked, sudden interest in his eyes as he looked at the already prepared dish.
“Oh I didn’t say that. But I’d certainly love to try a little bit of this! I won’t lie, I am very curious about these ‘Predator’ vegetables.” Rensa responded, mirth in her voice as she shot me an amused look, her tail whipping about with interest while she speared a chunk of potato and took an enthusiastic bite. “Stars that’s good!”
Taisa nodded at my side, her tail wagging out a rapid >delicious< as Renkel skewered the first of his own steaming meal and popped it into his mouth. The warmth of the fine meal filled my stomach as I finished mine before I pushed away from the island and ruffled Renkel’s wool, heading off to go get my clothes for the day. The house felt positively alive with the happy sounds of Taisa and her family sharing in Ma’s produce; whistles, beeps, chirps, giggles and mewls filling the air as I stepped out of my room with fresh clothes in tow, gently closing the door behind me.
As I turned the corner I found them still at the island, one of Ma’s dishes open on the counter and surrounded by happy tails and eased ears as they picked spoonfuls of Red Beans and Rice from the tray. Renkel whipped around, his deep brown wool filled with sauce as he threw his paws in the air with an ecstatic exclamation. “Chris! Your Mama makes real good food!”
I couldn’t help but laugh, looking down at the bundle of energy bouncing on his paws as he stared up at me. “That she does lil’ man, that she does; that one is actually one of my favorites! Though, ya might wanna’ try an’ keep it out of your wool.”
His eyes went wide and his tail flicked about behind him as he started to open his mouth, stopped by the quick but soft paw of Rensa grabbing the side of his face. “Renkel! You’re a mess! Stars, you're going to need a full bath before we go into town.”
The pup threw his paws in the air again with a loud, whistling exclamation. “I don’t wan’a bath! I want more Human food!”
“We can have more for last-meal, but right now you’re going upstairs and getting cleaned up.” She said sternly, her tone not all that different from Ma’s whenever Pa’n I’d come back in, us and one of the dogs all covered head to toe and nose to tail in mud. Renkel let out a soft whine, dropping his arms with a dejected groan as he trudged up the stairs and out of view.
“Guess it don’t matter the species nor the world, kids’ll be kids.” I laughed, turning to head off to the shower myself as I heard the thunk of Rensa following after him up the stairs, a muted ‘Don’t touch the walls Renkel, c’mon!’ echoing down behind them. .
The warm water flowing from the shower head above the tub was a welcome respite against the cool morning air that hung in the Warren, driving the chill from my skin as I basked in the wonderful rolling warmth. After a few minutes of scrubbing, shampooing, trimming, combing and washing away the last vestiges of sleep I felt like a new man, ready to take on the day. I took a deep breath as the hiss of the water died away and the hum of the overhead fan rolled to life. The taste of humid, floral scented air danced in my throat as I pulled the curtain aside and set to tending my teeth and getting dressed.
The chill air and soft crackling pop of a healthy fire in the hearth welcomed me back into the living room. Taisa sat on the couch, gently pulling a brush through her wool as she chatted with Taikel about our plans for the day. Her ears perked up before she turned her head to look at me, a happy look dancing in her eyes as she locked one of those amber pools on my face.
“You ready to go, big guy?” She whistled, popping up from the couch to grab her pouch from the hangar near the door.
“Yup, ready when you are!” I replied, shuffling my coat up over my shoulders. “Need anything Taikel; or you all good? We can bring it to that stand of yours If’n ya want!”
Taikel flicked his ears ‘no’ as his tail signed a quick >Thank you<. “All set! Although, I might be adding some of this ‘garlic’ into my food this paw! I bet it’d be a hit!”
“Now that’s what we like to hear! Doin’ Ma’ proud!” I chuckled as I followed Taisa to the door, waving goodbye to Taikel before the door clicked shut behind me.
The drive to Parnel’s yard was quiet as I stared up at the star filled sky; as odd as it was to see the stars in the middle of the morning it didn’t change how beautiful it all was. The only time I’d seen stars any clearer was running dark in the middle of the pacific, and even then this was different.
Massive tracts of Nebulae stretched across the sky amongst new, captivating constellations that I could imagine the Venlil of old navigating across the plains by looking for safety in the night. The dim, yellow lights of the town hardly touched the sky, even driving down its streets the stars above were still staggeringly bright. Small herds plodded along amongst the buildings, chatting and getting together before heading off to the basin side to celebrate at the festival. A thought struck me, a question I hadn’t really considered before when she’d first told me about the festival.
“Hey, Tai?” I asked as she eased onto the brakes before turning up and into one of the handful of parking spots at Parnel’s. She flicked her ears in return, letting out a small hum to prompt me to continue.
“How’d this festival start?” I asked as I popped the door open, letting a gentle cold breeze work its way into the cab.
She perked up, her tail swaying happily behind her as she dropped down to the soft asphalt beneath the truck. “It’s been going for a long time! Before the Federation even, from what we can tell! Night would come and farmers couldn’t really work in the dark so they’d just end up at home, alone and bored waiting for The Mourning. Sometimes they’d just go to a friend's house or a tavern in town but eventually that all blossomed into something more. We already had The Mourning in the middle of Night and the time around it turned into a common gathering place, people would light bonfires at the water's edge, some of the vendors in town would come out and sell food so it just… grew.”
She finished as the welcome whistle over the door sounded, calling out into the space around us. Parnel stepped out from the back, his tail happily wagging behind him as he looked us over.
“Why if it isn’t my favorite credit harv- I mean customers! I hope Night’s treatin’ you two well, I’ve got a Nav-beacon tracker and a code pad here waitin’ for you.” He called, setting a pad and a small key fob on the counter in front of him.
“Good Mornin’ Parnel! Thanks for workin’ this all out for us.” I called back as we approached, Taisa reaching up to snag the fob and pad before slipping them into her tail pouch.
“Where do you want them when we’re done looking her over?” Taisa whistled, leaning on the counter to look up at him.
“Just drop ‘em in the key box. Should be just fine for a paw or two there.” Parnel responded, passively squaring a stack of papers on the counter with his claw.
“Your daughter out today?” I asked, receiving a quick flicked ‘yes’ from his ears as Taisa’s shoulders dropped.
“Oh she and her friends are off at the festival, I’m only in this paw to make sure you two get a chance to look at that HC before I go myself!” He beeped,
Taisa let out an indignant whistling sigh, wavering up and down as her tail tensed. “Good to hear she’s having fun.”
Parnel’s eyes softened, his ears falling gently with concern as he leaned on the counter. “I do wish you two could just burn that rot. I miss having the both of you rooting around in the yard.”
“She knows what she did, I can’t help it any if she doesn’t want to make amends.” Taisa huffed, her tail snaking its way up to her paws before she slowly kneaded at the soft brown wool, her ears dipping a little in what I thought was regret.
“You know how I feel on it, lil’ tinkerer. I’ve tried my best with the both of you, there’s no need to have the conversation again.” Parnel comforted, his voice soft as he wrung his paws for a moment.
I leaned down a little, resting my hand on her shoulder, startling her from her worrying with a soft mewl. “You wanna get headed up to the ship? Part pickin’ might help getcha feelin’ a lil’ better.”
She nodded, her tail signaling an emphatic >Yes< with a small flourish as she spoke, a note of hope in her rising voice. “I… I think that’d help. Parnel, did you want to come with us?”
Parnel signaled a quick >No< with his tail, standing up straight with a small grunt. “I trust ya, Taisa, just don’t go breaking anything else on her. And stay out of the sealed spaces; looks like someone left the window open on their spaceship, and I’d hate to lose my ‘credit fields’.”
I gave a small laugh, gently working my fingers through the wool on Taisa’s shoulder while her tail started to sway with amusement again at my side as she spoke. “Oh I’m sure that’s the only reason.”
Parnel let out a chuffing laugh, his ears high and happy as he slapped a paw on the counter. “What?! A man’s gotta look after some amount of profits! Nearly cost me a whole field to forage that deal for you two!”
“And that’s why you’re the best, Parnel! We’ll let you know what we think when we get back!” She called back, mischief curling her tail as she patted the side of her pouch.
Parnel’s tail swayed slowly behind him, his ears swiveling in thought for a moment before he answered. “Don’t forget to give me a call or send a message of what you think, I’d really prefer to save the credits on deorbiting it if there’s no need. Already taking a big risk getting this thing in the first place, don’t need the cost nor the worry of dropping it in someone’s burrow added on as well.”
“You’ll know what we think soon as we think it, I promise. Besides, Yumor hasn’t failed you yet, has he?” Taisa giggled before prodding my side to get me moving again as Parnel threw his paws in the air, grumbling about Yumor stiffing him on some deal with a Voidmaster.
The door thunked shut behind us, cutting Parnel off as Taisa padded over to the driverside door of the truck and climbed inside before turning the key. I slid into my seat, reaching over to place a hand on her leg to get her attention. She turned a little, looking up at me with one of those big gleaming eyes as the tip of her tail twitched in the footwell behind her. “You alright, wool ball?”
She nodded, taking a shallow, shuddering breath and shaking her ears. “Yep, just… just a lot of mistakes on both our parts. What’s sheared is gone; I don’t think there’s really any reseeding that field anymore.”
“What happened?”
She sighed, putting the truck in gear and driving towards the port while she explained. “We had a fight, big one, when we were like [[15 Solar Years]] old or so, a fight over a boy - of all things - that neither of us even care about anymore. Both of us said some… not great things to each other, the kind of things you really can’t take back. In the end he ended up with her for a few herds of paws, she left me behind and I… well I ended up herdless.”
My heart fell with her ears as I listened, realizing what she meant. “Well, you’ve got your herd now. And I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. And I think you’d be hard pressed to find something Alvi wouldn’t jump in on either!”
She perked up a little, her tail slipping free of the seat to wag in the footwell behind her. “Y-yea, you’re right. I wonder if she’d want to help with the thruster? Would still need a set of trained paws but it’d certainly make her harvest, that’s for sure.”
“Never know unless ya ask. Worst she can say is she’s busy.” I smiled, lifting my visor to lean over and plant a kiss behind her ear.
“Hey! I am driving, mister!” She laughed, the worry in her ears fully gone as she prodded me in the side with a claw.
“Well it worked, didn’t it?” I asked as she swung the truck up and into the port, rolling into the parking spot next to Polani.
She raised her paws in defeat, her ears waving with concession as she spoke. “Alright, alright you win. Now, how about we go look at this ship?”
I swung the door open, stepping down to the ground as I slipped my visor on. “Sounds like a plan to me, Darlin’.”
A bloom had spread across her snout and ears as she bounded around the front of the truck, her tail flailing about behind her as she caught up to me with her paws pressed to the sides of her snout. The ramp fell with the now familiar hiss of her hydraulics, the edge clunking against the ground before we walked inside. We ran through our preflight checks, making sure fluids were topped off, thrusters spooled up correctly and cooling systems ready and raring to go.
I looked over from my seat, raising a questioning eyebrow at Taisa as the whine of the thrusters built to a dull roar.
>Ready<
I pinged the tower, requesting take off with a route and interception target and received an immediate return. Polani lept up into the pitch black Night, climbing off towards her brilliant namesake as the thrusters eagerly crackled and roared, chewing through the sky. The roar of the thrusters fell away to the soft thrum of the ion engines getting to work. The light of the sun flashed in my eyes, blinding for a moment before being smacked away by the viewscreen’s autodarkening, a blessed relief even after so short a time before a thought finally struck me.
Did I… Did I just read that tail signal without thinking about it?
I felt my attention drift to Taisa, hanging on her for a moment, watching - listening - to her tail and ears as I thought about the last couple months. So many moments, so many thoughts and feelings between us, and I saw them all in front of me. I saw the way she turned her ears, searching for an answer to a thought, and the way her tail batted the thought away, answering her own question before moving to another. I saw her wool flare and flat, with her breath and with her worry, seeing suboptimal readings before expertly resolving them from her station that her paws flew over like my hands over buzzing strings. I wondered if she saw the music in what she did. I wondered if she heard the music in herself, so loud her every thread of wool and fiber of sinew danced her mind across my sight.
My pad on the console pinged, the chime informing me that one of my proverbial hooks snagged something; I’d put feelers out for any of my old contacts, see if any of them had anything that needed moving. I set Polani on autopilot, easing her on course to intercept the target ship as I reached down to grab my pad. Taisa let out a curious beep, her ears swiveling to focus on me as I read the message.
Christopher,
I’ve got an order of mixed goods in holding at the town of Shining Waterfall that I need hauled to port in Tokyo, tomorrow if possible. I’m hoping the short notice isn’t too big of a deterrent. Willing to run the rate you sent out originally but understand if concessions are in order for a rush job. If it helps any I have something already cleared for the return run if you can manage it.
Thank you,
Akemi
I felt a smile track across my face as I messaged Akemi back that we’d take the cargo, before shooting a glance over to Tai in her engineering seat. “Well, looks like we got a job for tomorrow!”
---
First Prev. Next
2023.10.03 14:32 HopeOfAkira [Figure Skating] The Hypnotist Conspiracy: a tale of vicious rivalry, psychological warfare, sport's own Rasputin, and why an Olympic champion and his coach sincerely believe they were sabotaged by dark magic
One of the most amazing quirks of figure skating history is how a generation-defining rivalry featuring genuine accusations of witchcraft at the Winter Olympics didn't even come close to earning top billing that year."It's a huge fight at every event. And it's not just us. Our coaches, Tatiana Tarasova and Alexei Mishin, fight against each other, too, using us as weapons." - Alexei Yagudin1
Because this was 2002: the year where The French Judge and the pairs event scandal dominated the airwaves, day after day. The year where Michelle Kwan lost Olympic gold to an American teammate for the second time in a row. It was the year where figure skating decided to showcase its credentials as the most chaotic Olympic sport of them all.
It's fitting that this particular story occurred in Salt Lake City, since the losers are still salty about it to this day. Nobody here is a truly reliable narrator, but we can assemble a beautiful kaleidoscope of madness if we piece all the different fragments of the story together. The man in the blue suit is called the Black Magician, and he's at the core of a legendary figure skating conspiracy theory.
(A short content warning before we begin: there are brief references to abuse in this writeup, with those specific sections marked in advance.)
Magic Formula
The sport:
Figure skating might be the most famous sport at the Winter Olympics, despite the diabolical complexity behind it. It might also be the most dramatic, with storylines often ripped right from a soap opera.This particular tale focuses on singles skating, perhaps the 'default' version of the sport in the minds of people who don't really follow it. To answer the immortal question, it's what Brian Boitano did to win his Olympic title (although he wasn't wearing a blindfold at the time). Katarina Witt, Michelle Kwan, Yuzuru Hanyu - if you think of them, you're thinking of singles skating.
Split into men's and women's events, the discipline requires athletes to blend iconic jumps - you may have heard of the triple axel, or the triple Lutz - with difficult bladework, complex spins and artistic choreography, all done in eye-catching costumes to accompanying music. When it's done right, it takes your breath away at how the athletes can make everything look so simple, and surpass the boundaries of sport to create moments of pure transcendence.
In 2002, the sport was scored on the famed 6.0 system - a comparative ranking system where you needed a majority of the nine judges on each panel to give you the highest overall marks to win gold. Competitions in singles skating were divided into two segments: a two-and-a-half-minute "short program" (SP), and a four-minute "free skate" (FS), or "long program".
The characters:
Our tale centres itself around two camps - both alike in indignity, in fair Salt Lake City, where we lay our scene.In the red corner, working out of Saint Petersburg, Russia, we had:
- Evgeni Plushenko, the 2001 world champion. Considered one of the greatest jumpers the sport has ever seen, with one of its dodgiest haircuts. Often had some questionable choreography and stylistic choices for his programs, though he did have his own distinct personality on the ice. His gala program to “Sex Bomb” at 2001 Worlds involved a striptease, a nude muscle suit, and a golden speedo. I wish I made that sentence up.
- Alexei Mishin, the coach of the 1994 Olympic champion in men’s singles. Based out of Russia at the time. Known as “the Professor” by many in skating, both due to his massive technical knowledge and his position as an actual university lecturer. Renowned for his expertise on skating biomechanics and jumping technique, and for a generally stoic, droll attitude. Was once blacklisted by the KGB in the mid-1970s for assorted reasons.
- Alexei Yagudin, the 1998, 1999 and 2000 world champion. Originally seen as merely a skater with big jumps, but went through a metamorphosis over the four-year leadup to Salt Lake City to become a nuanced artist, too. Also prone to some rather dismal exhibition gala decisions, such as a 1997 performance to African music in this dubious costume. Once rumoured to have had a fling with the openly-gay American skater Rudy Galindo (ask Galindo himself), the Chicago Tribune reported he was kicked off of Tom Collins’ Champions on Ice tour in 1999 for drunkenness and bad behaviour.
- Tatiana Tarasova, coach of the 1998 Olympic champion in men’s singles. First a coach of champion pairs skaters and ice dancers in the USSR, before moving to America for better training conditions in the mid-1990s, and successfully working with singles’ skaters too. An interesting figure known for her dramatic proclamations, her eye-catching number of fur coats, and her equally eye-catching choreography.
- Rudolf Zagainov, a notorious, controversial sports psychologist known for his work in the Soviet Union. Over several decades, he associated with athletes in an eclectic array of sports, ranging from track-and-field and cycling to chess and figure skating.
Destined Rivals
"You must be an artist, too. I still think Plushenko doesn't know what he's doing. Mishin says, 'Do this with your arms,' so he does it. But he doesn't feel the music." - Alexei Yagudin2
(Content warning: abuse)“I know Yagudin well, and he wants to be the center of attention even when he loses." – Evgeni Plushenko3
The general outline of the story is the one that NBC gave us in their melodramatic Olympic fluff pieces (like this one): Yagudin and Plushenko used to be training partners at Mishin's Yubileiny rink in Russia, until Yagudin left Mishin after the Nagano Olympic season to train with Tatiana Tarasova in the United States. Yagudin couldn't forgive Mishin for favouring Plushenko, and Mishin would famously say that coaching the two was like trying to balance the affections of two wives at the same time. Yagudin and Plushenko would dominate the Salt Lake City Olympic cycle - Yagudin winning the 1999 and 2000 world titles, Plushenko winning the 2001 world title - and entered the 2002 Olympics as the two main contenders for gold.
What's not mentioned so much is that Yagudin would have had every right to despise Mishin. Any of Mishin's skaters would probably have every right to despise him. By all accounts, the training environment he oversaw was horrifically toxic for all involved. Mishin himself told Sport-Express about breaking a young Plushenko's finger in a fit of rage after catching the child playing with a ball while they were in Italy. Yagudin and Plushenko have both mentioned vicious, institutionalised, long-term hazing rituals, where older skaters were encouraged to torment the younger ones; in 2021 a former Yubileiny staff member spoke to fontanka.ru, recalling colleagues telling her that the young Yagudin was being "educated" by his rinkmates when the boy's screams echoed through the building. The dreadful atmosphere continues to this day, since 2022 Olympic pairs skater Alexander Galliamov reportedly received a detached retina from his training mates during his time training with Mishin.
Even putting aside the poisonous internal climate Mishin actively fostered at his rink, there was some real merit to Yagudin's accusations of coaching favouritism. In a Chicago Tribune article, a Yubileiny skater once recalled Tatiana Mishina (Mishin’s wife and coaching partner) saying that the newly-arrived Plushenko had "more ability than Yagudin". A 2001 New York Daily News article said that Mishin was telling people how Plushenko "would become the true star" as early as 1997, while Yagudin was still training with him. Mishin would later abandon the distraught Yagudin in the kiss-and-cry area after the 1998 Olympic free skate, disgusted with his student’s poor performance.
Following Yagudin's departure for Tarasova, Mishin would attempt to explain that moment in a late-1998 interview with Elena Vaitsekhovskaya, showcasing his typical levels of grace.
"Alexei was very well prepared. But after one of the practices, he took a shower and sat in the stands right under the ventilation pipe without buttoning up. As I found out later, Artur Dmitriev came to him first and advised him to move so he wouldn't get a cold. Then the same thing was said by Andrei Bushkov. Then Ekaterina Gordeeva, who was just passing by. Yagudin listened to no one. And on the eve of the start he had a temperature of 39.5. I was frightfully offended at that. I think that anyone can get sick or get injured, but I will never understand that anyone can be so stupid as to knowingly fail at the competition for the sake of which all this crazy work is being done. It's very hard to forgive."Yagudin, for his part, categorically denied all of this. But it's interesting that Mishin praised the lack of mutual mudslinging directly after calling Yagudin "stupid" for supposedly choosing to sabotage his own Olympics on purpose.
Is that why your relationship has fractured? Or was Yagudin broken by internal competition?
"I've always been aware of the fact that it's very difficult to withstand the work in my group. And that someone could break. That, alas, is life. But I'm glad we parted with Yagudin without any fights or mudslinging. After all, I made him the world champion and he made me the coach of the champion."
Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR) president Valentin Piseev threatened that Yagudin would never win anything if he left Russia to train with Tarasova in the US; Russian Nationals became the only major competition Yagudin would never win, and both he and Tarasova were fully aware of their comparative pariah status in the eyes of Piseev and the federation. Swathes of the FFKKR and Russian media viewed Yagudin as a traitor for leaving to train in America, and his mother told Moskovskij Komsomolets in 2002 that “cheering for Yagudin was considered bad form” in Russia. On the eve of Salt Lake City, Yagudin would tell ESPN that the federation's dislike of him was "pretty sad".
Tarasova and Mishin were predictably at one another's throats, due to that and other reasons. Mishin was rather contemptuous of Tarasova and everything she represented: Vaitsekhovskaya wrote (in her memoir Tears On Ice) that even after Ilya Kulik won the 1998 Olympic gold medal under Tarasova's tutelage, Mishin didn't see Tarasova as a "serious opponent" in men's skating until the turn of the millennium. Whereas Tarasova was primarily known for her work as a coach and choreographer for ice dancers, and once walked away from Olympic competition altogether in the late-1980s to lead a touring ice ballet, Mishin told Vaitsekhovskaya that the idea of bringing "music to life on the ice" was the childish prattling of coaches who weren't thinking about the "one goal in sport - to win".
Naturally, all of this provided the fuel for a vicious rivalry. Vaitsekhovskaya recalled Mishin making disparaging remarks in the 1999-2000 season about how Yagudin’s programs disguised poor technique with ostentatious artistry, and he only upped the intensity of his scorn as the Olympics approached. In 2001, Plushenko told the Chicago Tribune that he learned nothing from Yagudin while they were training together, and Yagudin compared the situation between them to that of Michelle Kwan and Tara Lipinski four years earlier.
And then the hypnotist arrived.
The Black Magician
Yagudin actually contemplated walking away from figure skating in the lead-up to the Olympics, after losing the world title to Plushenko in April 2001, and having a calamitous performance at September’s Goodwill Games. Tarasova talked him out of it, and decided that her star pupil needed a sports psychologist to make sure he was in the right frame of mind to achieve his Olympic dream.Enter Rudolf Maximovich Zagainov, psychologist to the stars.
Or, as many people in the Russian sporting world dubbed him, the Black Magician.
Zagainov’s grasp of the concept of professional ethics was nonexistent. He would help his clients, and then publish tell-all books detailing exactly what he did and what his clients needed. Vaitsekhovskaya called his personality “odious”, and she was far from alone in thinking so. His former client Sergei Bubka – who broke with him in acrimonious fashion – said Zagainov demanded every client adhere to three guiding principles:
1) You must hate your opponent; never give him a hand when you meet him.In the eyes of many, what turned Zagainov from an ordinary sports psychologist into a diabolical figure of Rasputinian malevolence was his reputation, and the stories of witchcraft that trailed in his wake. After Zagainov began publicly working with Yagudin, Plushenko recalled in his memoir Another Show that he received concerned letters from people, and that his mother was warned about the prospect of him being hexed by the psychologist’s magical powers. According to Vaitsekhovskaya, Zagainov's reputation derived from his involvement in the Soviet chess scene, where he became known as “the magician who hypnotised Anatoly Karpov” during his world title matches.4 At various points, he reportedly worked with top Soviet grandmasters Karpov, Viktor Korchnoi, Boris Spassky and Garry Kasparov, where he'd take the secrets of his past clients to his new employer for the right price.
2) One should strive for wealth, because wealth is power.
3) Go to the goal by any means, without regard to morality.
Crucially, Plushenko’s coach actually believed that Zagainov had genuine magical powers. Mishin discussed why he thought so in his 2021 memoir The Secrets of the Ice:
"One incident allowed me to believe in Zagainov's extraordinary abilities. Many years ago, at a training camp in Leselidze, my eldest son Andrei suddenly developed a fever of 40°C. We did not know what to do. Rudolf Maximovich, who was at the training camp at that time, found out about it and volunteered to help. He sat down over Andrei and began to say something or make some gestures with his hands. As a result, the child's temperature dropped to normal in half an hour.”Despite his own private beliefs about Zagainov's magical powers, Mishin was still publicly disdainful about Yagudin hiring him. Nevasport recalled how Mishin, as Salt Lake City approached, said that athletes who needed a psychologist were weak and didn't belong in elite sport.
By November 2001’s Cup of Russia, rumours were already swirling about how Zagainov’s appointment may have been a deliberate ploy by Tarasova to destabilise Yagudin’s greatest opposition. In a contemporary article, journalist Anna Raikova said that a possible explanation for Plushenko’s subpar long program performance may have been Zagainov trying “his charms” on Plushenko.
When asked about the Black Magician’s presence, Tarasova was more circumspect. She told Vaitsekhovskaya that she just needed someone who could enter the men’s locker room and be with Yagudin before competitions, and dismissively waved away the rumours without a care in the world:
“Let them talk.”
Black Magic Ritual
Salt Lake City 2002 arrived, and it was considered a foregone conclusion that Russia’s two leading men would be the only real contenders for the gold medal.Skating to a medley of four different Michael Jackson songs within two minutes and forty seconds – “Earth Song”, “Childhood”, “Billie Jean” and “They Don’t Care About Us” – the most consistent jumper in the world promptly botched his first jump, crashing to the floor. Or crashing to Earth.
Plushenko gave a dramatic retelling of the moment in his memoir.
"I fell on a quadruple jump, which I know as well as the Lord's Prayer. It seems to me: you can wake me up in the middle of the night and I'll jump it without a single mistake.The judges ultimately placed Plushenko in fourth after the short program, with several field-leading 5.9 marks for presentation, which some felt was excessively generous. American coach Frank Carroll snidely asked the Chicago Tribune whether it meant you could now get a 6.0 by simply standing up.
Everything went great in training. And suddenly... going out for a quadruple jump, I saw Zagainov's silhouette. He was right across from me. I caught his heavy gaze.
I pushed off very well and flew out smoothly. But then something inexplicable happened.
It was as if someone ordered me: "Open up! Go to the landing!" And I obeyed, although it was still early. I still can't figure out where this signal came from, how it reached my brain.
After the Olympics, I replayed the video many times, my fall from the quadruple jump. In fact, I was in great shape at that moment. And I have never had such falls in my life. In any case, I couldn't turn around the wrong way. And I still have the feeling that I was dragged along by an incomprehensible force.”
Plushenko would recover to finish in the silver medal position - fitting, given his shiny silver short program bodysuit - but Yagudin took the gold, with clean, difficult, well-executed, artistic performances to "Winter" in the short program and The Man In The Iron Mask in the long program. Zagainov sat with his client and Tarasova in the kiss-and-cry area, in place of choreographer Nikolai Morozov due to the official limit of two companions per performer. According to Tarasova, Zagainov had blackmailed her into allowing this, threatening to abandon Yagudin on the eve of the competition altogether if she didn't allow him to be present by the skater at all times.
It was this sort of behaviour that led to Tarasova's growing unease about Zagainov's methods: reportedly, she felt her job was to ensure that Yagudin was strong enough to always be in the right frame of mind for competition, while Zagainov wanted Yagudin to rely completely upon him.
Yagudin definitely embodied Zagainov's first maxim after the competition was over.
Bond Between Teacher And Student
It’s standard procedure for an Olympic event to be followed by a press conference, where the medalists answer questions. Usually, these are pretty low-key affairs – but usually, the media aren’t covering figure skating. So in a recipe for pure, undiluted chaos, the 2002 Olympics decided that this conference would be attended by each of the medalists and their respective coaches.Predictably, it degenerated into a Russian farce from the moment it got underway. Throughout the whole press conference, ESPN noted bronze medalist Tim Goebel exchanging baffled looks with his coach Carroll, perhaps wondering if they'd both stumbled into a Chekhov play.
Yagudin had an axe to grind, after the years of pain, mudslinging and general scorn that his former coach had sent his way. He spoke at length to the world’s media about unnamed figures who didn’t believe in him, and how much he felt he’d improved as a skater since leaving Mishin – who he refused to mention by name – for Tarasova.
Mishin tried claiming a slice of the credit for Yagudin's triumph, saying that the audience could judge how much of the medal was owed to him and how much was owed to Tarasova, and that he was proud to have "two of my skaters" on the podium. Yagudin instantly shut that down, cutting in to say the medal belonged entirely to himself and Tarasova.
When asked about his emotions after the free program, Yagudin was less than conciliatory, as quoted in ESPN:
"I was like in a good dream. I just remembered how many hard times and happy times I had for four years. And how much crap was thrown in my face about how I am not such a good skater. I was keeping that within myself until I won. It was really hard, but that's what was in my life for four years. And I am so lucky to have such a good coach who changed me."And asked by a Russian reporter for Express Gazeta whether he could forgive and forget, and make up with Plushenko and Mishin, Yagudin simply said “probably not, because my coach is Tatiana now.” That reporter wrote of later being accosted by Zagainov, who asked him “How much did Mishin pay you for this question?”
The Russian Olympic Committee planned to hold a celebration afterwards, to honour their new medalists and the coaches who worked with them. Supposedly, Yagudin made his excuses and didn’t show up. His actions were understandable, for Tarasova told Vaitsekhovskaya that Yagudin's triumph was considered an embarrassment for the FFKKR, and that foreigners literally asked her why the Russians would have preferred a non-Russian to win if it meant Yagudin didn't.
According to Zagainov (talking to Express Gazeta), a toast was made in honour of the triumphant Tarasova, who had celebrated her 55th birthday that week. Everyone up to and including Piseev stood, with the exception of Mishin – who gestured for Plushenko to remain seated too, as the entire room applauded Tarasova’s success. Zagainov and Mishin allegedly almost came to blows afterward, between what the psychologist saw as Mishin’s disrespect, and what the coach saw as Zagainov’s responsibility for Plushenko not winning gold.
Magical Dimension
The reason for Mishin’s rage can actually be seen in the Olympic broadcast: the unexpected presence of Zagainov rinkside, during Plushenko’s short program.According to Yagudin, quoted in a 2020 Sport24 article, there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for this:
“Mishin claimed that in the short program Zagainov hypnotised Plushenko to make Zhenya fall on the quadruple jump. This is complete nonsense! Here's what happened. After my skate in the second warm-up, we were backstage. And when Zhenya was called onto the ice, we didn't know where to run to watch the performance of our main competitor.According to Mishin, Zagainov’s presence was evidence of a diabolical plot by the perfidious psychologist to undermine Plushenko. Express Gazeta reported that Mishin complained to FFKKR president Piseev after the short program, who later spoke with Zagainov at length and at volume; Zagainov was subsequently absent from the rinkside during Plushenko’s free program. In a 2002 interview with Sport-Express, Tarasova mentioned that both Plushenko and Mishin were saying "they were influenced by the psychologist Zagainov".
We didn't have time to get up to the grandstands. So Tarasova ran in one direction to find the television, and Zagainov ran in the other and jumped out beside the rink, where the ice resurfacers came out during the break. He just happened to be in that spot. You know, accidentally!
Nevertheless, Zhenya and his entourage now had a logical reason to blame someone else for their troubles. What can I say? For God's sake, say what you want, if you really believe it and it makes you feel better."
In Mishin's own memoir two decades later, he still maintained that Zagainov was to blame for Plushenko’s defeat, in a very “I could say it, but…” fashion.
"I can't say with certainty that Plushenko's mistake, completely uncharacteristic of him, occurred because of the hypnotic influence of this man. But the episode, in which Zagainov stood behind Evgeni when he stepped onto the ice and continued to stand in that position for the entire program, raises questions. It is telling that his charge Alexei Yagudin had already performed and there was no reason for him to stay near the rink.In a way, Plushenko was probably fortunate that such a convenient scapegoat existed for his failure to win gold. Based on how Mishin handled Yagudin's Olympic errors in 1998, the coach might have otherwise told the press that Plushenko was an imbecile who chose to screw up on purpose.
Only God may know what exactly happened then. Either the young psyche failed, or it was the pernicious influence of Zagainov, but Evgeni made a mistake, which was uncharacteristic for him. Never before had Plushenko performed a quadruple toe loop in such a way - as well as afterwards, by the way. I can only say one thing: being in the flight, at a good, confident push, for some reason he changed his mind to continue spinning, regrouped and fell face-first.”
Per Sport24, Yagudin thought that Mishin's whining about Zagainov's malignant presence was the sign of a hypocritical sore loser who couldn't handle his own tricks being turned against him.
"In fact, I can also tell you something about the evil spells with which my former coach tried to entangle me. This was the case, for example, at the 2000 European Championships in Vienna, which I lost to Zhenya via the vote of the Russian judge. After warming up, Zhenya skated first, and after a certain period of time - me. When I went into the locker room to not hear the noise of the stands and to get away from it all, I saw Mishin there. He, too, came into the locker room, sat across from me and, staring uninterruptedly into my eyes, moved his lips like a shaman. Every time I did a quadruple jump at all the competitions where Plushenko took part, Mishin stood by the boards. It was only at the Olympics that I noticed Mishin in his usual place and smiled at him."As for the psychologist himself, he was even less charitable.
Thousand Knives
In April 2002, Zagainov publicly flayed Mishin in a merciless interview with Express Gazeta, giving what can only be described as a gloating monologue.“But I never got tired of repeating that Plushenko is not a machine, and as soon as he starts to fall, he will break at once. Knowing perfectly well that psychologically Mishin is not able to support his athlete in a difficult situation, because he belongs to the category of cowardly coaches.”In comparison, Tarasova's own public comments on the affair were tame.
Apparently, you are not too ‘gentle’ towards Alexei Mishin.
“On the contrary, I am extremely grateful to him. It was his amazing illiteracy that helped me set Yagudin up for victory. Professor Mishin's main mistake was that he frightened Plushenko... with me. When Alexei Nikolaevich found out that Tarasova turned to me, he said literally the following in one of his interviews: ‘We know the psychologist Zagainov from the Karpov-Kasparov matches, during which he was removed from the hall for hypnotizing his ward's opponent...’ When I read that, I laughed for a long time. And I told Lesha [Yagudin] that we have almost no reason to worry now. In my opinion, Mishin should have either not answered such a question at all, or turned everything into a joke.
I'm pretty sure, by the way, that it's time for Mishin to finish his coaching career. Today he's more of a businessman than an expert in figure skating. I saw his pupil at four tournaments this year, and not once was Plushenko at the peak of his form. And that is the art of coaching.
I don't see any particular results in the 30 years he has been in charge of Leningrad figure skating. What did a man who always had his own ice, a [university] department, and who has the most talented skaters from all over the country sent to him every year, manage to achieve? Raised the Olympic champion Urmanov, who only won because all his opponents fell? Raised the insanely gifted Evgeni Plushenko, who became world champion but won nothing in his Olympic season? Reached the point where Yagudin left him?”
And she didn't even hold back. When interviewed by Vaitsekhovskaya, Tarasova suggested several decidedly non-supernatural factors were responsible for Plushenko losing to Yagudin, including:
- Mishin's deliberate efforts to throw petrol on the Plushenko/Yagudin rivalry, culminating in daily interviews about Yagudin's flawed skating, which Tarasova felt were indicative of a "coaching psychosis" that Plushenko found "impossible to withstand".
- Poor Olympic season preparation from Mishin's team, as exemplified in the saga of Plushenko's long programs. The initial one - set to a medley featuring "El Tango de Roxanne" from Moulin Rouge! - was prepared "too late", before they went back to the drawing board and designed a new program to Carmen for Salt Lake City.5
- Mishin's myopic focus on intimidating the opposition through Plushenko's jumping superiority and rumoured quadruple Lutz jump, while ignoring what Tarasova observed to be consistent technical flaws in his jumping. Plushenko didn't perform the quadruple Lutz in either Olympic program.
"In principle, it's not for me to discuss their work. I always respect other people's work. But I don't like it when they blaspheme mine. Each of us does what we can do. We did better. But they tried too. Although it was a complete defeat. Plushenko did not go to the European or World Championships. And as far as I know, he will go to Collins' tour where he will perform 90 times. And it is unlikely that he will refer to injuries."Amazingly, it's still - by far - the most level-headed perspective among the three non-skaters, even with her calling Plushenko's season a total failure from start to finish.
Dark Magic Curtain
(Content warning: abuse)Yagudin won the season-ending World Championships in Plushenko's absence, but it was the last competition he'd ever win. Chronic hip problems led to his retirement several months later. His reputation would be shattered among skating fans in the social media age, when he made some viciously bigoted public remarks about openly-queer skaters. One of his targets - America's Jason Brown - idolised Yagudin so much growing up that he once competed in an homage to Yagudin's "Winter" costume.
2002 was the last time Tarasova would coach an Olympic champion, and she gradually faded away from competitive relevance over time. The years have definitely loosened her tongue, and now she's skating's equivalent of the one loud-mouthed grandmother you have at every family gathering, interjecting her opinion on everything whether you want to hear it or not. This year alone, she's busied herself with speculation about the romantic status of a teenage girl and whether ice dancer Tessa Virtue wants to murder people.
Plushenko would remain with Mishin for his entire career, going on to win Olympic gold in 2006, and silver in 2010 (not "platinum"). According to Vaitsekhovskaya, Zagainov tried offering his services to Plushenko and Mishin in the lead-up to the 2006 Games, despite having called Mishin a hack and Plushenko a failure - he was turned down, and Plushenko took gold without the psychologist's assistance. He'd ultimately retire after the 2014 Olympics, and now works as a coach at the modestly-named "Angels of Plushenko" academy. His wife, Yana Rudkovskaya, has deep connections in the Russian underworld, making him a cross between a trophy husband and a mob wife; they're also hideously abusive parents to their son.
In 2007, Zagainov's reputation went up in smoke after a horrific scandal involving the death of one of his patients - 24-year-old cyclist Yulia Aroustamova - who was also the 67-year-old Zagainov's live-in domestic partner at the time. Vaitsekhovskaya said that it wasn't the first time Zagainov had preyed on one of his clients, mentioning a patient who lived with him in a civil marriage back in the mid-1980s. He would die in 2014, largely forgotten and unmourned.
Mishin is still relevant in Russian skating, despite being well into his eighties, and coaches the most recent Russian national men's champion. Fittingly, that skater's name is also Evgeni.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Endnotes
1: From a February 2002 ESPN article.2: From a February 2002 Sports Illustrated article.
3: From a February 2002 ESPN article.
4: Zagainov was not the infamous hypnotist among Karpov’s delegation during the 1978 World Chess Championship in Baguio, however; that was Vladimir Zukhar. Hypnotism was clearly in fashion back then. Korchnoi's chosen defence against such threats was a pair of mirrored glasses, which would have been somewhat impractical in figure skating.
5: Tarasova doesn't explicitly mention this, but for context, Plushenko's Moulin Rouge! program got an abysmal reception when it was unveiled. Scrapping a planned Olympic program entirely and making a new one is always a decision of last resort, because it takes valuable time for athletes to train and become comfortable with performing it. Carmen was very much a "break glass in case of emergency" concept, with Mishin picking the safest of safe ideas for the Olympics after his first plan failed. Ironically, Yagudin (speaking to Vaitsekhovskaya in 2000) practically predicted this when he said it was inevitable that Mishin's skaters would perform to Carmen at some point; his own program to Bizet's opera was in the 1996-97 season.
2023.09.19 04:40 McWaylon Bobby Petrino: A legacy of failure, crashes, and cowardice.
IT"S BOBBY TIME!!!!
In the history of the NFL there are your great coaches who echo across time. You have your all-time iconic greats like Vince Lomardi, Don Schula, Bill Walsh, Mike Ditka (Bears), John Madden, Bill Parcells, Tom Landry, Bill Belichick, and Chuck Noll. You have your favorites who never got to icon status: Hank Stram, Jerry Glanville, Sean Payton, Marty Schottenheimer, Joe Gibbs, John Gruden, Mark Levy, and Bud Grant.
Then you have them, the worst of the worst, names that uttered even now brings up bad memories, drunken vitriol, and food thrown in your direction, the worst head coaches of all time. The list is numerous and as infamous as it gets, who can’t forget some of these bastions of the hall of shame. You have the more well-known fools like Rod Rust, Hue Jackson (Mr. 0-16), Rich Kotite, Steve Spurrier, Mike Ditka (Saints), Bill Peterson (the exploding Bomb of Houston), Rod Marinelli (the other Mr. 0-16), Lane Kiffin, Nick Sabin, every Tampa Bay coach after John McKay until Gruden,Dick Nolan, Urban Meyer, Lou Holtz, and Chip Kelly. (I could have listed like 30 others) A common theme of failure is that these coaches tend to have a college background before coming to the big leagues: for everyone who wins the big one like Pete Carroll and Barry Switzer, you get a litany of failures. Even college greats fail on the NFL stage (just look at the list above) before either going back to college (like Sabin) or disappearing into the vapors never to be seen again (Bob Gipson, the “mastermind” of the Miracle at the Meadowlands).
In all this, you can make an argument for at least 50 names as to who’s the worst of all including many I just listed, but there’s one I haven’t mentioned yet. A name that makes fans burn with anger, and the NFL spit in disgust. That man is Bobby Petrino, a name laced with words like self-serving, backstabbing, coward, scum****, morally repugnant, and piece of ****. You may call him many names, but I call him the worst NFL head coach of all time.
Early years:
Bobby starts small coaching QBs at Carroll and Weber State. Then moves on to stints at AZ State, Idaho, and becomes Offensive Coordinator at Utah State, Nevada, before his first of a couple of stints at Louisville where his destiny with deceit begins. The only real QB of note he works with is future NFL journeyman Jake Plummer. Bobby then bounces up to the NFL doing a 3-year bit as OC for the Jaguars. This would be the high point of his NFL career. Then in 2002 he goes to college to be OC and head stooge for the bastion of common sense and respectability that is Auburn’s Head Coach and future senator Tommy Tuberville, who himself is as beloved as a genital wart everywhere except in Alabama. Turns out Petrino took off for Auburn without telling the Jags or coach Tom Coughlin, a harbinger of things to come.
The Head Coach Years:
Ol Bob finally gets a shot at the top of the coaching table by becoming the HC at Louisville. In yet another foreshadow he secretly tried to take over Auburn's head coaching gig in a meeting with boosters after signing with Louisville but backs off and pleads "inexperience" when the story breaks. Even Tuberville didnt know about Bobby trying to steal his job out from under him. (Thanks to Z3r0c00lio for the auburn debacle info) In 2003 the Cardinals were still seen as just a basketball school lounging in the CUSA, but Bobby takes them to 9-4 only to fall to Miami (the Redhawks not the hurricanes) in the GMAC Bowl. In 2004, the cards go 11-1 and Bobby’s boys beat the upstart undefeated Boise State in the Liberty Bowl. In 2005 Louisville heads east to join the Big East, they go 9-3 but fall to Virginia Tech in the Liberty Bowl. In 2006 Bobby hits his peak going 11-1 and beating a good Wake Forest team to take the Orange Bowl. Petrino is rewarded with a 10 year 25-million-dollar extension, but he has other plans.
2007: Just 6 months into his new deal with Louisville, Bobby gets the call he has wanted forever. The Falcons and Arthur Blank, their Gomez Adams wannabe owner, demand his services in making Michael Vick the complete QB package. Petrino is signed to a 5-year deal worth 25 million. The Cardinals are enraged but Petrino had snuck in a 1 million buyout clause to get out of his previous contract. Karma quickly comes for Bobby even before the season kicks off. Vick is busted for dog fighting and is going to jail. Also, the Falcons in yet another example of their idiocy as a franchise had already traded their backup Matt Schaub to Houston before the Vick bomb was detonated on them. The season is ****ed from the get-go, Bobby succeeds in going 3-10 (the Falcons finish at 4-11), and hates losing so bad he wants out again. After getting their asses kicked at home by the New Orleans Saints, the next day Bobby Petrino is gone, everything cleared out and nothing is left but some notes on players lockers announcing he resigns as HC effective immediately. Atlanta is shocked, just a day earlier Bobby promised Blank that he was staying. Reportedly he had already made plans to walk away and go to Arkansas. Since Blank refused the Hogs offer to negotiate and Arkansas wanting him now even before the NFL season ended, Bobby resigns to take over the Razorbacks. Turns out Jerry Jones was an Arkansas alum and tried to get Blank to let Bobby go to Arkansas as well. To add one last bit of salt in the wound, Petrino shows up to a Razorback press conference and does the Hog Call just days after leaving the Falcons to wither and die. Petrino is subsequently blacklisted from the NFL and never allowed to return. Bobby also made his players feel like nothing since he apparently had no interest in helping the Falcons players and didn’t care if they played well or not. What’s foolish is that Bobby may have thrived if he stayed since the Falcons would draft Matt Ryan the following season and go on to do respectfully. Despite the media hounding him and Arkansas for their deceit, they don’t care its SEC Football baby. At least Urban Meyer and Hue Jackson took their firings like men instead of hightailing the first chance a new job came around. Arkansas and other schools would learn the price of dealing with Petrino.
Whew that was bad, that was an all-time disaster at Atlanta, certainly it couldnt get worse for Bobby right?!?
The Arkansas days (WAIT THERES MORE? Oh we’ve just started):
2008: Bobby gets a 3 million dollar a year deal for 7 years. The Hogs go 5-7 in year one and no bowl.
2009: The Razorbacks go 8-5 but they beat East Carolina in the Liberty Bowl.
2010: Bobby leads Arkansas to their best record year at 10-3 only to be beaten by Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl.
2011: Bobby gets the hogs back to 11-2 including a Cotton Bowl victory over Kansas State. The skys the limit no can go wrong now right…?
*Insert meme music, eh let’s go Super Mario World map theme the first one when the game starts*
2012: In April, Bobby gets into a major motorcycle crash and gets thrashed pretty good. It turns out though, he wasn’t alone but with a student athletic coordinator named Jessica Dornell. Bobby says he was the only one on board but when the cops say that isn’t true, Petrino fesses up to having an affair with Dornell. Jeff Long the athletic director (and another noted piece of ****person) who got Petrino to Arkansas is humiliated and suspends Bobby pending an investigation. Petrino in the picture that will describe his legacy forever, comes out of the hospital looking like Freddie Krueger after he got face-****ed by a cinderblock, is confronted immediately by the media about the other passenger. Bobby is fired less than a week later. Turns out the affair was well known in the football program, with Dornell getting expensive gifts from Bobby and he got her hired without the school knowing of the affair. Bobby spends the summer doing media interviews as well as apologizing to players.
2013: The only college that will take Petrino is Western Kentucky out of the Sun Belt. Bobby is forced to take the base salary and takes them to an 8-4 record but no bowl invite most likely due to Petrino himself. The college wisely learns from other college’s mistakes and says if he breaks his contract, he must pay over a million back for six months after he leaves. Meaning WKU pulled a successful pro-gamer move and got Petrino to pay THEM to let him coach. Brilliant big brain move there I’d say.
2014: What? Louisville wants you back. Bobby ****ed you before, the Falcons, Arkansas and his own family and you still want him back. Tom Zurich, the AD of Louisville, is unsure about this due to most of Bobby’s former players being flameouts and getting kicked out of school mostly due to rampant drug issues. Yet they want him back, so this perverse marriage is made reality once again. You go 9-4 but get stomped by Georgia in the Belk Bowl.
2015: Bobby goes 8-5 thanks to his new QB…wait no way Lamar Jackson, well does that explain their success. The cardinals won the Music City Bowl against A&M too.
2016: 9-4 again and Petrino and Jackson win the ACC, their prize is getting Magikarped by LSU in the Citrus Bowl.
2017: 8-5 again and Petrino and company loses the Taxslayer Bowl to Mississippi State (they didn’t have a starting QB and Dan Mullen already jetted to Florida and you still lose). Other things are brewing in Cardinal land but more on that next year.
2018: The wheels on the Jackson/Petrino/Cardinal bus goes off the cliff when Lamar sees that Madden money and declares for the draft and becomes a superstar. The Cardinals completely fall apart at 2-10 including going 0-7 in ACC play, Bobby is fired yet again before the season is over. As bad as Petrino is here, Louisville has completely cratered as well. This was the year the Basketball team got lit up by the NCAA for many years of shady stuff under Rick Pitino. Pitino and AD Zurich were ****canned as well in 2017. Reports came out that the team quit on Petrino after he blew a gasket after losing to Florida State.
2020-22: Bobby’s last stop is at D1 Missouri State, his record is ok but they never get out of the first round of the NCAA D1 tournament.
2023: Where oh where is Bobby now? OC at Texas A&M, well that would explain a lot of issues that program is currently having. UPDATE: Texas A&M is not having the best year and Jimbo Fisher is a huge money payout away from being terminated. They may hang on to him but if they do get rid of him next year...NO A&M YOU WOULDN'T. NOT HIM, DON'T GIVE HIM THE JOB. "Please welcome Bobby Petrino as the new Aggies coach, the horror...the horror."
UPDATE PART DEUX: So Bobby is hired again thankfully as an OC, even A&M isnt stupid enough to hire you as HC. So what school are you headed to Bobby, certainly somethin...NO NO ****ing WAY Arkansas is wanting you back? The bull**** is real, you really are the cockroach of coaches, what kind of Stockholm Syndrome mind control do you have on teams you **** over? Arkansas have you lost your ****ing minds? Are you trying to kill your program, what do you want to go back to the Big 12? You know how this will end. Pain and suffering, granted that's all you had as of now but there's no need for the nuclear option.
While Petrino was a decent college coach at best, his two debacles at Louisville and another lolcow performance at Arkansas make him a pariah. As for his NFL career you could say he’s the worst of all time because every other Arbok and Weezing level head coach at least had the guts to get fired instead of fleeing like a thief in the night. For screwing over his schools, teams, and even his family just to get ahead, Petrino deserves the distinguished LOLcow of all time when it comes to head coaches in two different football levels.
submitted by McWaylon to UrinatingTree [link] [comments]
In the history of the NFL there are your great coaches who echo across time. You have your all-time iconic greats like Vince Lomardi, Don Schula, Bill Walsh, Mike Ditka (Bears), John Madden, Bill Parcells, Tom Landry, Bill Belichick, and Chuck Noll. You have your favorites who never got to icon status: Hank Stram, Jerry Glanville, Sean Payton, Marty Schottenheimer, Joe Gibbs, John Gruden, Mark Levy, and Bud Grant.
Then you have them, the worst of the worst, names that uttered even now brings up bad memories, drunken vitriol, and food thrown in your direction, the worst head coaches of all time. The list is numerous and as infamous as it gets, who can’t forget some of these bastions of the hall of shame. You have the more well-known fools like Rod Rust, Hue Jackson (Mr. 0-16), Rich Kotite, Steve Spurrier, Mike Ditka (Saints), Bill Peterson (the exploding Bomb of Houston), Rod Marinelli (the other Mr. 0-16), Lane Kiffin, Nick Sabin, every Tampa Bay coach after John McKay until Gruden,Dick Nolan, Urban Meyer, Lou Holtz, and Chip Kelly. (I could have listed like 30 others) A common theme of failure is that these coaches tend to have a college background before coming to the big leagues: for everyone who wins the big one like Pete Carroll and Barry Switzer, you get a litany of failures. Even college greats fail on the NFL stage (just look at the list above) before either going back to college (like Sabin) or disappearing into the vapors never to be seen again (Bob Gipson, the “mastermind” of the Miracle at the Meadowlands).
In all this, you can make an argument for at least 50 names as to who’s the worst of all including many I just listed, but there’s one I haven’t mentioned yet. A name that makes fans burn with anger, and the NFL spit in disgust. That man is Bobby Petrino, a name laced with words like self-serving, backstabbing, coward, scum****, morally repugnant, and piece of ****. You may call him many names, but I call him the worst NFL head coach of all time.
Early years:
Bobby starts small coaching QBs at Carroll and Weber State. Then moves on to stints at AZ State, Idaho, and becomes Offensive Coordinator at Utah State, Nevada, before his first of a couple of stints at Louisville where his destiny with deceit begins. The only real QB of note he works with is future NFL journeyman Jake Plummer. Bobby then bounces up to the NFL doing a 3-year bit as OC for the Jaguars. This would be the high point of his NFL career. Then in 2002 he goes to college to be OC and head stooge for the bastion of common sense and respectability that is Auburn’s Head Coach and future senator Tommy Tuberville, who himself is as beloved as a genital wart everywhere except in Alabama. Turns out Petrino took off for Auburn without telling the Jags or coach Tom Coughlin, a harbinger of things to come.
The Head Coach Years:
Ol Bob finally gets a shot at the top of the coaching table by becoming the HC at Louisville. In yet another foreshadow he secretly tried to take over Auburn's head coaching gig in a meeting with boosters after signing with Louisville but backs off and pleads "inexperience" when the story breaks. Even Tuberville didnt know about Bobby trying to steal his job out from under him. (Thanks to Z3r0c00lio for the auburn debacle info) In 2003 the Cardinals were still seen as just a basketball school lounging in the CUSA, but Bobby takes them to 9-4 only to fall to Miami (the Redhawks not the hurricanes) in the GMAC Bowl. In 2004, the cards go 11-1 and Bobby’s boys beat the upstart undefeated Boise State in the Liberty Bowl. In 2005 Louisville heads east to join the Big East, they go 9-3 but fall to Virginia Tech in the Liberty Bowl. In 2006 Bobby hits his peak going 11-1 and beating a good Wake Forest team to take the Orange Bowl. Petrino is rewarded with a 10 year 25-million-dollar extension, but he has other plans.
2007: Just 6 months into his new deal with Louisville, Bobby gets the call he has wanted forever. The Falcons and Arthur Blank, their Gomez Adams wannabe owner, demand his services in making Michael Vick the complete QB package. Petrino is signed to a 5-year deal worth 25 million. The Cardinals are enraged but Petrino had snuck in a 1 million buyout clause to get out of his previous contract. Karma quickly comes for Bobby even before the season kicks off. Vick is busted for dog fighting and is going to jail. Also, the Falcons in yet another example of their idiocy as a franchise had already traded their backup Matt Schaub to Houston before the Vick bomb was detonated on them. The season is ****ed from the get-go, Bobby succeeds in going 3-10 (the Falcons finish at 4-11), and hates losing so bad he wants out again. After getting their asses kicked at home by the New Orleans Saints, the next day Bobby Petrino is gone, everything cleared out and nothing is left but some notes on players lockers announcing he resigns as HC effective immediately. Atlanta is shocked, just a day earlier Bobby promised Blank that he was staying. Reportedly he had already made plans to walk away and go to Arkansas. Since Blank refused the Hogs offer to negotiate and Arkansas wanting him now even before the NFL season ended, Bobby resigns to take over the Razorbacks. Turns out Jerry Jones was an Arkansas alum and tried to get Blank to let Bobby go to Arkansas as well. To add one last bit of salt in the wound, Petrino shows up to a Razorback press conference and does the Hog Call just days after leaving the Falcons to wither and die. Petrino is subsequently blacklisted from the NFL and never allowed to return. Bobby also made his players feel like nothing since he apparently had no interest in helping the Falcons players and didn’t care if they played well or not. What’s foolish is that Bobby may have thrived if he stayed since the Falcons would draft Matt Ryan the following season and go on to do respectfully. Despite the media hounding him and Arkansas for their deceit, they don’t care its SEC Football baby. At least Urban Meyer and Hue Jackson took their firings like men instead of hightailing the first chance a new job came around. Arkansas and other schools would learn the price of dealing with Petrino.
Whew that was bad, that was an all-time disaster at Atlanta, certainly it couldnt get worse for Bobby right?!?
The Arkansas days (WAIT THERES MORE? Oh we’ve just started):
2008: Bobby gets a 3 million dollar a year deal for 7 years. The Hogs go 5-7 in year one and no bowl.
2009: The Razorbacks go 8-5 but they beat East Carolina in the Liberty Bowl.
2010: Bobby leads Arkansas to their best record year at 10-3 only to be beaten by Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl.
2011: Bobby gets the hogs back to 11-2 including a Cotton Bowl victory over Kansas State. The skys the limit no can go wrong now right…?
*Insert meme music, eh let’s go Super Mario World map theme the first one when the game starts*
2012: In April, Bobby gets into a major motorcycle crash and gets thrashed pretty good. It turns out though, he wasn’t alone but with a student athletic coordinator named Jessica Dornell. Bobby says he was the only one on board but when the cops say that isn’t true, Petrino fesses up to having an affair with Dornell. Jeff Long the athletic director (and another noted piece of ****person) who got Petrino to Arkansas is humiliated and suspends Bobby pending an investigation. Petrino in the picture that will describe his legacy forever, comes out of the hospital looking like Freddie Krueger after he got face-****ed by a cinderblock, is confronted immediately by the media about the other passenger. Bobby is fired less than a week later. Turns out the affair was well known in the football program, with Dornell getting expensive gifts from Bobby and he got her hired without the school knowing of the affair. Bobby spends the summer doing media interviews as well as apologizing to players.
2013: The only college that will take Petrino is Western Kentucky out of the Sun Belt. Bobby is forced to take the base salary and takes them to an 8-4 record but no bowl invite most likely due to Petrino himself. The college wisely learns from other college’s mistakes and says if he breaks his contract, he must pay over a million back for six months after he leaves. Meaning WKU pulled a successful pro-gamer move and got Petrino to pay THEM to let him coach. Brilliant big brain move there I’d say.
2014: What? Louisville wants you back. Bobby ****ed you before, the Falcons, Arkansas and his own family and you still want him back. Tom Zurich, the AD of Louisville, is unsure about this due to most of Bobby’s former players being flameouts and getting kicked out of school mostly due to rampant drug issues. Yet they want him back, so this perverse marriage is made reality once again. You go 9-4 but get stomped by Georgia in the Belk Bowl.
2015: Bobby goes 8-5 thanks to his new QB…wait no way Lamar Jackson, well does that explain their success. The cardinals won the Music City Bowl against A&M too.
2016: 9-4 again and Petrino and Jackson win the ACC, their prize is getting Magikarped by LSU in the Citrus Bowl.
2017: 8-5 again and Petrino and company loses the Taxslayer Bowl to Mississippi State (they didn’t have a starting QB and Dan Mullen already jetted to Florida and you still lose). Other things are brewing in Cardinal land but more on that next year.
2018: The wheels on the Jackson/Petrino/Cardinal bus goes off the cliff when Lamar sees that Madden money and declares for the draft and becomes a superstar. The Cardinals completely fall apart at 2-10 including going 0-7 in ACC play, Bobby is fired yet again before the season is over. As bad as Petrino is here, Louisville has completely cratered as well. This was the year the Basketball team got lit up by the NCAA for many years of shady stuff under Rick Pitino. Pitino and AD Zurich were ****canned as well in 2017. Reports came out that the team quit on Petrino after he blew a gasket after losing to Florida State.
2020-22: Bobby’s last stop is at D1 Missouri State, his record is ok but they never get out of the first round of the NCAA D1 tournament.
2023: Where oh where is Bobby now? OC at Texas A&M, well that would explain a lot of issues that program is currently having. UPDATE: Texas A&M is not having the best year and Jimbo Fisher is a huge money payout away from being terminated. They may hang on to him but if they do get rid of him next year...NO A&M YOU WOULDN'T. NOT HIM, DON'T GIVE HIM THE JOB. "Please welcome Bobby Petrino as the new Aggies coach, the horror...the horror."
UPDATE PART DEUX: So Bobby is hired again thankfully as an OC, even A&M isnt stupid enough to hire you as HC. So what school are you headed to Bobby, certainly somethin...NO NO ****ing WAY Arkansas is wanting you back? The bull**** is real, you really are the cockroach of coaches, what kind of Stockholm Syndrome mind control do you have on teams you **** over? Arkansas have you lost your ****ing minds? Are you trying to kill your program, what do you want to go back to the Big 12? You know how this will end. Pain and suffering, granted that's all you had as of now but there's no need for the nuclear option.
While Petrino was a decent college coach at best, his two debacles at Louisville and another lolcow performance at Arkansas make him a pariah. As for his NFL career you could say he’s the worst of all time because every other Arbok and Weezing level head coach at least had the guts to get fired instead of fleeing like a thief in the night. For screwing over his schools, teams, and even his family just to get ahead, Petrino deserves the distinguished LOLcow of all time when it comes to head coaches in two different football levels.
2023.07.22 06:34 FiauraTanks Here, There Be Dragons - Chapter 1A - Fox and Owl Commit Archeology
Next
This is the first of a 24 chapter novel I am working on. We are working on the public release version sans the artist pictures for everyone to access. This Novel is based upon the HC SVNT Dracones setting and written with full permission of the creator: Messi
Temporary Copyright Number of US Copyright Office: 1-12455343752
This Chapter has been split into A & B due to Reddit Character Limit of 40K
Without Further to do, I present: Here, There Be Dragons
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Novel Trailer
The ship’s hull groaned in strain as its thrusters slowly brought the craft to a halt. Hoary was used to it by now, stretching as the two meter tall bird adjusted her stance upon her perch in her quarters. This ship had been specially outfitted for her to be comfortable in with an right-angled bed that allowed her to be cushioned while sleeping upright which was much more natural to her owl-self than simply laying down. She and the crew were riding from Mars to the outer belt, but first they had to head across the inner planets of Sol to the opposite side of the asteroid belt. She looked down at her wings while the crown on her head lit up with a pale gold as the book it held before her face turned the page for her with a delicate force of a gentle nearly invisible hand from the push-frame crown for precision movement where her body failed her.
Her cabin was mostly bare. A single suitcase acted as a wardrobe that contained extra lab coats as an armored space suit hung on the wall for her personal use. On her desk sat a field medic kit and her sample-collecting tools. The bed, desk, and shelf were each built into the walls, but the rest of the room was sparse and unusually large for a lateral vector. She examined her mostly animalistic body and then looked around the room. “I wonder if a Taur was in here at some point, or a particularly large person,” Hoary thought to herself.
Her room door chimed before she could get much further into the analysis of her room or read the book before her for another of countless times, ‘Interview with a Vampire’. She closed the incredibly rare hard-back volume with her left talon while pressing a button on the desk with a thought put through her push-frame crown. “Yes?”
Her voice was rather low pitched for an avian creature, at least compared to those of her genus. It still had the usual airy ring to it, just sounding a little more gruff that one might expect. “Hello, Hoary. It is Jefferson, from the company.”
Rolling her eyes in response, Hoary used her push-frame to activate the door switch to open the room for Jefferson. The hydraulics slid the door open almost silently, save for the change in air pressure between the rooms. The heavy cloven footsteps echoed across the ground as a rather fat looking horned male goat stepped into the room.
Hoary had met Jefferson quite a few times at this point, since he had negotiated her contract as well as convinced her this asteroid was worth going to. “We’re nearing the location, are you sure you wish to commit to this?”
Hoary turned to him, well less turned to him and more turned her head. The one advantage she had truly noticed about being an owl in all her years; her head could face any direction without needing to turn any other part of her. Jefferson took a stutter-step back, unnerved by the scientist, and let out a very unprofessional bleating noise. Hoary did her best to smile, as if amused by how she always snuck on others. The best one could do with a beak instead of lips.
“Right, sorry miss… do you have a last name?”
Hoary blinked at him several times and then let out a tired sigh, as if she had answered this question far too many times. “No, but I do accept Hoary, Professor Hoary, or Doctor Hoary if that assists you.” Hoary rolled her darker brown shoulders while working down her feathered wings as she picked out something that had been annoying her. The coloration of a barn owl was more prominent for the moment on her feathers. “I possess no last name, my creator ensured I could never take one either. How can I help you, Representative Jefferson?”
Hoary clacked her sharpened talons on the wooden bird perch. It wasn’t really wooden, just the approximation of wood that the 3D printers could make. How she longed to feel an actual piece of refined material again though, something that the humans would have made when they existed.
“Well, I just need these forms finalized for our contract to be ironclad; before we can allow you into the archeolog—” Jefferson was interrupted by a squawk as Hoary got his attention, his more subdued voice silenced by the loud shriek that all the avialae breeds could make. “Y-y-y…yes, Hoary?”
“It is a former human research base from pre-vector days that was run by JAXA. A country from pre-unification times called Japan ran the agency as a government organization in the times before we were run by corporations. Can we please refer to it with a bit more reverence than ‘the archeology site’?” Hoary adjusted her coat with a talon, having to turn her leg to properly move the clothing around. She retrieved something that many vectors would gawk at: a spiral ringed paper notebook. Long since the fall of human civilization, it still proved to be the best way to take field notes without needing to worry about the availability of electricity.
The same technique was used for thousands of years to record field notes and, to Hoary, a reminder of so many notes lost to time and neglect by others not fully understanding what may be within the contents of such books. “When we get to the site, you will have a security detail of three IRPF officers in case the automatic defense systems come back online. Further, you will be meeting the archeologist who will be assisting you.”
Hoary nodded; she had read this briefing before, yet corporate suits always go over their black and white text as if the contractor never read it. “We have been able to determine that this was some sort of pre-vector biology lab built for an unknown purpose. Your objective will be to…” Jefferson stopped for a moment in thought, as if running through a document in his head.” “...determine the experiments they were conducting.”
Hoary rolled her eyes, having finally had enough of being talked down to by the yes-man of a corporate representative. “I read the full report and briefing of everything since the asteroid site was discovered. I have done my homework, Mr. Jefferson. Can we please get to the point of this meeting? I realize I unnerve you, as I do with most of our kind.” Hoary paused, soaking in the feeling of finally acknowledging the elephant in the room. Owls, after all, were the boogiemen, slenderman, or skinwalkers of their universe now. Yet occasionally someone would create a blip, a custom tailored vector, using an owl as the basis.
Jefferson tensed up at first, but as Hoary spoke, she also dropped the strange mannerisms and turneds her body and head, shifting from her unnatural stance to one more average, facing forward. She began using her wings to speak as well as her words, all in an effort to calm Jefferson down. Hoary had been well practiced in systems of socializing, both in her natural avian way as well as more average mannerisms that were considered socially acceptable.
It was time to allow Jefferson to relax so they could stop beating around the bush of pretext and avoiding the social faux pas that was Hoary’s existence. “Very well, do you have any questions before I must go and attend another negotiation?” he asked.
Hoary shook her head, “No, I imagine my escorting police unit can answer anything that comes up or get a message to you; yes?”
Jefferson nodded and, with a slight wince, he banged his goat-horns against the shelf that contained several books, causing two to shift and thud against each other before resting at the opposite angle they had been before. “Apologies and good luck, Doctor Hoary.” Jefferson left in a hurry now, just glad to be away from the creature he had been instructed to carefully work with. Hoary, for her part, began to pack up her belongings and run her starlight-class spacesuit through its various diagnostics.
She decided to remove her current clothing and place on the undersuit for the armor. While this was unnecessary, it would make the armor more comfortable. She preferred to make sure every facet of her armor was examined before trusting it to keep the vacuum—or whatever biological nightmare they might meet inside the ancient human base—out.
Hoary took a moment to look in the mirror, checking her feathers and ensuring they were in order. Her implants would cause the colorations to swirl and swell if she tapped into the powers they offered, but for now she wanted to check that each part of her was properly groomed before getting into a space suit for what could be days.
Her lighter, sandy brown crown and the back of her neck and head contrasted against the eggshell white face and frontal neck fluff, dotted with echoes of salt and pepper spots all the way down to her groin and out to her wings. She spread her wings and began checking the feathers, moving one battleship gray feather that was out of place, shifting it among the charcoal shoulders and preening it in the process. She checked the honey colored lower section of her wings and finally her pearl and beige wingtips, examining every single part of her body. Any feather out of place or anything misaligned in her plumage would bug, irritate, or itch at some point. Days of itching might drive one a bit batty.
“There you are!” She nearly exclaimed when she saw the spot that had poked at her throughout the day. It was some sort of space vermin, a relic of evolution that refused to die; a single Siphonaptera. Hoary plucked the flea from her feathers and did what her instinct told her to do; swallowed it down. “Now that annoyance is resolved. I suppose I should suit up.”
Hoary turned around and began to wiggle, wobble, and squeeze herself into the inner-skin suit, covering her from wingtip to talon. The only breaks in the undersuit’s protection were the holes for her actual claws, beak, eyes, and the pushframe, which flared to life to help her put the suit on. With that, she stepped into the armored shell and the AI of the suit took over, moving the joints, plating, and thrusters into place to cover her from head to toe in space worthy plating.
It was always creepy to her just how quietly the vector armor slid into place. Yet soon she was clad in a mix of pearl-white and honey yellow-brown armor. Three black plates showed her name in white text: one on the back just below the neckline, one on the front where a humanoid vector’s upper left pectoral muscle would be, and one on the forehead of her helmet. She began her journey through the ship towards the shuttle that would take her to a long last place of majesty and prestige, a place where their forefathers and forebears walked. A kind of holy temple long abandoned; of the gods that created them, a place of humanity.
*****
The hotel room smelled of floral scents and streamy water. The humidity had not yet alleviated from it’s occupant’s recent shower. The velvet soft carpet, sweet pink silk drapes, and ornate furniture were things that Cosette was not used to. She preferred the field work and heavy survival tents of a dig but one could not live there all the time. Cosette had learned well that a stay in an expensive hotel with old world style and furniture could really reinvigorate the drive for science.
Cosette Orashen admired her tails while she stroked each of the nine of them for the one-hundredth time with a brush. She had to make sure everything was in its place and properly cared for; she couldn’t bear to have the visage she bore marred by any imperfection. It was so often the best tool for getting herself into places to collect antiquities and artifacts. She was a long way from her office, departing from Mars nearly thirty days ago in a rough and rugged shuttle. A clean shuttle, of course, and well maintained, but you could see the age in the paint and how the walls had a few hints of cracks and wear in them. The bed creaked, and the ship groaned when the main engine fired for a bit.
She admired her canine features, running her hands through her fur, the remnants of pawpads peeking through the fuzz on the tips of her fingers. Her ear flicked towards the vent nearby for a moment as it cut on to maintain temperature in the room; a warm breeze of heated air swaying her long whiskers and cheek fur, while making the short hair on her head stand on end for a moment.
She wore a simple midriff-exposing blouse and a skirt with a classy slit up the side, both of them made of 3D printed leather in clean, natural brown colors. Her boots were made from similar faux-leather, a deep walnut that contrasted with her clothes nicely. As a bit of extra flare, she wore a ruby red, leather-like long overcoat with a high collar. The coat hung heavy on her shoulders, not quite as flexible as the rest of the faux-leather she wore. There was good reason for that: the ruby red overcoat was lined with armor to protect her from knives or gunfire. Her white fur contrasted well over the various leathers, and her red-patterned fur markings added a hint of the dramatic and theatric to her appearance. Her red markings outlined her eyes, contrasting with the yellow of her eyes and the red of her irises, as well as hitting the tips of her ears, and speckling her head with concentric dots that formed beautiful patterns. While her tails remained pure white for just a moment, she turned on her bioluminescent fur at a simple thought and examined all the patterns of her tails’ various hieroglyphic-like markings to make sure they worked to illuminate the room in a dim pink light. It was a detail she enjoyed surprising others with.
Finishing her examination, she smirked to herself. “Perfect!” She muttered to no one as she grabbed her sealed pack and rebreather. She had a brief moment of panic, remembering the grisly decompression safety videos, before confidence reasserted itself when her PADD, Personal Access Direct Device. She started to think how such things had evolved from cell phones and tablets to what she held in her hand now. It started showing her biometric data and implant status to her. She could survive the vacuum of space for up to forty-five minutes without air because of those implants, and with the rebreather recycling her own breath, she could in theory float in the void until the filters completely corroded over.
The transcendent implant flared in preparation: with careful use of it, she could create small fields to act as leverage points to push off. It was a useful means of maneuvering in zero-gravity environments. A knock on the heavy faux-wooden door interrupted any further diagnostics on her implants, so she turned, removing a small white sensor from behind her ear. Cosette pushed away the mild irritation of the sound. The faux-wood never sounded like the real thing and she could certainly tell the difference. She wondered if the client could too. “Oh, yes, do come in.” She put on her best showmanship voice to ensure that whoever was coming in would be absolutely at ease.
The door opened to a short stocky goat creature walking upon two legs in one of those generic business suits. The kind of suit you would expect was a uniform to move the next suit in his place at a moment’s notice. “Professor Orashen, it’s Jefferson, here to do final checks and go over the contract with you.” The nervous goat felt a sense of relief as he gazed upon Cosette’s rather fetching attire and supremely groomed appearance.
Cosette for her part knew that, like every corporate suit, he would want to go over the fine details, and she was more than content to let him ramble on all he liked. After all, they were paying for her time, and the longer it took to get to the site the more she would ask for. “Well then, go on, show me exactly what you are expecting.” Cosette replied as she motioned him in to sit at the desk that resembled something a head of state would have used in the ancient days of human industrial revolution.
This sort of showmanship was simply her way to doing business and the price of it. Jefferson transferred a bunch of documents over to Cosette’s personal PADD. He sat at the desk and admired it as if one would admire the real thing. Typical of a suit to not know the difference in a replica made from a 3D print and something truly hand crafted.
Cosette turned her attention back to her PADD. The top document was her contract, after that was a standard non-disclosure, promises for future employment, budget restrictions and action restrictions for the archeology site, declarations of ownership and crediting protocols, and so on; document after document of corporate ass-covering and over-clarification.
Cosette was unphased by any of this as she read them while Mr. Jefferson spoke, “So you see, Professor Orashen, we will be providing everything you need as well as the promise of all discoveries you make being attributed to you. We are even giving you the first choice for future research that may come from the dig.” He spoke with sweeping motions, generally trying to make sure Orashen felt completely in control. It was an act, and one she knew well. She paused as she came to one of the documents, noticing something.
“Myself and this ‘Hoary’, a biologist you are sending as well?” Her question was phrased in such a way that it sounded like she had caught Mr. Jefferson’s hand in the cookie jar.
Mr. Jefferson adjusted his tie and took a breath to brace himself. “Yes, she was closer and much easier to get onto site. I hope you two can work together amicably.”
Cosette tisked her lips several times and skipped over the other documents to the dossier on Hoary she had been provided. It was thin, much thinner than she thought it should be. She opened it to see a picture of Hoary at the top left and the information on the biologist displayed over the course of several pages. She took a moment to look at Mr. Jefferson, who adjusted his tie nervously; as if worried the fox before him would decide to cancel her contract and walk away.
“An Owl Blip, with no known homeworld. An impressive four degrees in genetics and biology, specialized in theoretical biological understanding and medicine? Why would you bring someone like that to an archeology site?” Cosette spoke as if she knew exactly the answer to every question and just wanted to sweat it out of the corporate suit. She so very much enjoyed these moments; the moments when someone who should have power over her was made to squirm between her seductive voice and cutting wit.
“Well yes, Hoary is what she is; we cannot help the circumstances of one’s breeding after all. But she is by far the best biologist available, and even then, we would be hard pressed to acquire a new one on short notice. Is this going to be a problem?” He looked up at Cosette with a flushed face and she could smell his sweat.
Cosette mentally activated an implant of hers, a pheromone emitter to help make Mr. Jefferson calmer and more at ease. She made a show of thinking it over, leaning back in her seat, shifting her legs to be crossed, placing a single finger at her chin and tapping it a few times while putting her pad out of sight against her thigh. All of this was a show to buy time for the implant. “Well, no. It won’t be a problem at all, my dear.” She waited just long enough for those newly emitted pheromones to take hold of Mr. Jefferson. “But I am more curious about why you would choose a biologist as opposed to another archaeological specialist?”
Jefferson let out a sigh as he felt a rush of unexpected relief. Cosette’s smile broadened just a bit, going from seductive to satisfied; she knew he was putty in her hands, now. He spoke more easily, the pheromones doing their job wonderfully. “Well you see, Professor Orashen, the facility we have discovered is believed to be a genetics laboratory of some sort, run by a long extinct organization called the JAXA in collaboration with NASA. We’re not sure what its purpose was seeing as you and Hoary will be the first scientists to step inside.”
“And our security escorts as well?”
The goat gulped and nodded, “Yes of course, three IRPF officers will be present in full combat marine gear, just in case there are pre-existing automated defenses that are still functional, or for other unforeseen circumstances. Pirates, grave robbers, or the like.”
“Oh?” Cosette’s eyes lit up and she took a second to look uncomposed, just to really ham it up for the corporate representative. “You have reason to believe pirates or someone else have an interest in the site?” Cosette fluttered her eyes and placed a hand against her breast while leaning back to feign worry and concern.
“No, no, of course not. We have no reason to believe that, but you can never know what might possibly be hiding out here in the belt.” Mr. Jefferson leaned forward, his fingers steeped together as he tried to really hammer home his own concern for Cosette as she was briefed. He wanted her on his side, after all, should they end up in court over something unexpected occurring. “As you can see from the files, everything is in order and taken care of, even your fee.”
Cosette noticed the rather large fee she was being offered and the bonus for finding something of value–and an even larger bonus if she found anything that could be considered revolutionary. Cosette could happily work on these terms, assuming this Hoary individual was not insane, crazy, suicidal, or just plain mad, like many of the scientists she had worked alongside previously. “Mr. Jefferson, I think this will do just fine. I’ll happily have all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed before my shuttle disembarks and meets the security detail on the surface. Why don’t you go get something to munch on or take a moment in one of the showers to relax? I’ve run you through enough of the ringer.”
Cosette took a moment to reach forward and pat Mr. Jefferson on the knee, almost like a mother or lover comforting someone after a long and heavy day. She stood and made a show of her tails caressing his chin to keep him enticed with her for just a few more moments. Nothing like using a little bit of one’s sexuality to help them remember who was in charge. She slung her pack on her shoulder, pulling out her PADD to begin filling out forms as she stood up.
Cosette tried a quick thank you but instead had to stay for the usual corporate platitudes for several minutes. Finally she was able to excuse herself and walked towards the shuttle. She was right, the forms would be filled out, before she even got to the shuttle.
*****
“Ma’am, you sure you don’t want a space suit before we decompress? I mean, isn’t that usually lethal?” The heavily armored soldier in a helmet with two points for ears asked. They were either canidiae or felinade, but with the darkened visor and tail being hidden by large bulky armor around it, it was impossible to tell. The humanoid vector was armed with a high powered carbine in addition to the thick riot armor plating, all of which was covered in blue and white with IRPF, Inner Ring Police Force, logos and unit numbers on it.
The nametag read, “Cpl. K. Ingot” across it in white letters. They stood next to Cosette in the orbital lander, both inside of the airlock waiting for the automated drone to complete its approach and let them onto the asteroid they were going to be working with. There was no window to look out of, nor anywhere to really sit. Just some handles on the ceiling to hold onto during the short descent.
“No, Corporal. I will be perfectly fine, my implants will take care of me.” Cosette mentioned through the radio inside her rebreather. The ship rumbled and shook as it approached the surface and retro thrusters eased the landing. Within a few moments, they felt a thud and the feeling of artificial gravity turning off as the asteroid’s much lighter gravity took over.
It was always strange to feel the difference initially, like diving into water so thin it could be air. Yet you would still sink, just not quite as fast. You certainly found it easier to move, as if your own arms and legs no longer offered as much resistance to shifting, so long as you had something to push off of. With a deep exhale of the ventilation system, the room depressurized over the course of the next two minutes.
One often believes there is no sound in space, but this is untrue. There is simply no sound where it lacks air to travel through as a medium. You hear your heart, you feel each footstep and how it vibrates with a muffled thump in your eardrums. You hear your lungs inflating and deflating as you breathe. The resistance of your body to movement is amplified with noise as your ears strain themselves to hear something within the vacuum.
The feeling is incredible, and for Cosette there was an added layer to this. Unlike most creatures in the vacuum who wear suits, Cosette’s cybernetic implants allowed her to operate in this environment perfectly fine. Her body held together from expanding or losing cohesion from the lack of pressure, all while her body heat protected from the absolute zero temperature. It was somehow more magnificent this way compared to when she wore a suit before receiving those implants.
“Radio check, can you hear me, ma’am?” Cosette ignored the corporal as she took in the feelings and sights around her. The sensation of being in the void for her was never the exact same and never something not wondrous to behold. Her tails fluttered in the vacuum noiselessly to all but her. She relaxes into the sense of oblivion. Space really wanted to kill you and she could feel her implants working tirelessly to keep oxygen, water, and prevent cell death all over her. It was a strange warming sensation, not unlike being wrapped in a blanket but not when you were tired, more as if you were doing it for warmth. She marveled at how it felt, slowly pulling in and out of her rebreather, the filters cycling the CO2 she exhaled back into O2. The air was stale but serviceable, she would however have liked something that felt more alive when she took in a breath.
“Professor Orashen.” The officer started to reach towards her, afraid the depressurization process had killed her instead of her implants working right; it was extremely rare for such a failure to happen, but there had been reports of it occurring at least once.
Cosette held up a hand and turned to him, speaking with a muffled voice into her rebreather mic, “I can hear you just fine. I am simply enjoying the moment. Perhaps if you would relax, my dear, you could enjoy it as well.” She spoke the second comment while making a show of swaying her hips, tails, and rear for the officer to follow as they walked towards a clearly artificial doorway in the distance.
A temporary instant airlock had been deployed over it, but it was transparent enough through the white colored plastics to see a titanium steel door on the other side. It was a pair of double doors designed as a reinforced airlock of days long in the distant past. Proud symbols for NASA and JAXA appeared upon it, though they could not make out the smaller writing around the two dark blue circles with rocket-ship symbology on them, and white letter writing along with several other smaller artistic works that—in the vacuum of space—did not really fade or wear away.
The space walk was going to be short, barely fifty meters. But it was fifty meters of an experience one could only have within the void.
To Orashen there was no pocket of air around her ears to transfer these sounds, they were vibrations in her ears, every moment and motion, save for the small air pocket around her earbuds that provided comms locally. Her red and amber ears pressed against the void, nanites in her blood providing them protection from the decompression. Her fur felt frozen in time against the vacuum. The trooper next to her kicked up dust with his armored boots while she barely made puffs of dust as they walked.
“That is freaky. How can you walk in the void like that?” Ingot looked over to Cosette, who could sense him looking lower to check out her rear. How strange it must have looked for muscles to not immediately reset to gravity’s whim but rather move almost like a marionette.
Cosette snickered just loud enough for the intercom in her rebreather to pick it up. “Officer, eyes up. Honestly, it took six months of implants, nanites, and training with them to be able to walk in space without a suit.” Cosette fluttered her tails in the void as they approached the entrance and her boots let out a light clang against the metal they now walked on; a sound she could only hear just as Ingot could hear his footsteps.
“We had to use a crowbar to open it before, stand back.” Ingot started to step forward and Cosette pressed her hand to his armored chest, pushing him back.
“No, read here.” She pointed at some text next to a couple of buttons. “I assume you haven’t had someone here that could read this?” What her finger was pointing at were the seemingly hieroglyphic language next to each of the buttons and a keypad with several labels on it.
“Well, no, we lost two from the initial team because of automated turrets.” Ingot’s inhale echoed over the comm, as if remembering someone he liked before that event took them. “We didn’t want to just press buttons for fear more turrets or defenses would be activated.”
Cosette grinned at him excitedly and pointed at a switch, ‘力’, “This says power,” She traced her finger up to a panel label above the keypad tapping it. ‘ドア’ This says door, I would say it is safe to assume these are the door controls.”
“So what you’re saying is, if you press those controls, the door will open by itself?” Ingot asked, debating for a moment as he turned to look back behind them at the rest of the security escort.
“Well, not by itself–it will likely need to cycle the air first. Shouldn’t take more than perhaps… two minutes on these ancient human outposts?” Cosette was unsure as to what the security guard was hoping to find out, though he quickly answered her pondering.
“Hey!” The guard called over to the escort. “I bet you 50 credits that this door opens by itself in two minutes!” Turning back, Orashen heard their private channel light up with his voice, “Punch it.”
Ingot took a step back and readied his weapon. “Alright, well you are the exp—” Cosette pressed the button before he finished speaking and he suddenly snapped his rifle up as lights along the door turned on. The keypad lit up and they felt a hum through their feet as power returned to the old door.
“See, perfectly—” Cosette didn’t get to finish her sentence as another voice came over the intercom.
The voice was lower pitched but still female in origin, while having the airy quality of the avialae vector subtype to it. “Who in the void cut on the damn lights and power? This organism cannot survive with the scrubbers online!” Whoever was on the intercom was clearly upset and irate. This in addition to the normally prideful or irritated sound to an avialae voice escalated the hairs on the necks of the security detail.
Cosette took a moment and spoke back calmly and smoothly, “Whoever you are, please calm down. Shouting will get us nowhere.”
Ingot grunted onto the comms and tapped his head, indicating for Cosette to switch frequencies. She mentally kicked her implants to change her frequency, “Hey, Professor Orashen, that would be Hoary, your biologist. Perhaps we should at least placate her until we are able to see each other face to face?” Ingot sounded rather nervous, as if he had encountered Hoary before and it was not exactly pleasant.
Hoary, for her part, had been studying the stale air that the organism consumed and took over an ancient human corpse for sustenance. Something, she assumed, was frozen and native to the asteroid or perhaps brought here to experiment on. After having barely an hour to study it, suddenly the lights of the facility cut on, giving her quite the harsh and blinding treatment.
Her starlight medium-armored spacesuit’s night vision overloaded her for a moment as the facility powered up. She let out a shriek when her natural night vision and the suit’s amplification overloaded her eyes. Now she was screaming at whoever was at the door, upset by the situation.
By the time her eyes cleared and she could cut off the night vision with a thought, the specimen before her; a mass of various forms of mold texture and bacterial growth, had deflated and ceased its respiration and blood flow function. It was rapidly dying from exposure to the light and the air recyclers were filtering out whatever had spurred its growth in the air.
She had been studying a mass of green-blue moss-like substance that she believed was a megabacteria which had thrived in the high CO2 environment, but now the scrubbers were running at full power, and within moments the air was too full of oxygen for the entity to exist. What had once grown from a human corpse, even eating the bones, deflated into a mass of bio-residue that bled bright blue blood and fluids all over the tiled ceramic floor. Hoary took a few steps back and sealed the room as she was berating someone over the comms.
“Well, which one of you turned on the power without asking?” Hoary was in no mood now, realizing her living specimen to study was now dead. The corpse would be useful later in an autopsy room, assuming it stayed together enough to at least collect a proper DNA sample. She was flustered if anything; a chance to study a true macro bacterial organism and now it was ruined with the introduction of atmosphere. It was like having a truly wonderful artifact of an unknown age suddenly destroyed by someone sneezing on it.
“Hello, darling, I assume the irate one is Hoary? I apologize for your experiment, but I can read the language and find the controls to turn the systems on, so we wouldn’t have to use crowbars to cycle the airlocks.” As she was speaking there was a rush of air and the sound of doors groaning and grinding open. Without atmosphere rust had not properly set in, but the metal was still ancient and needed some basic maintenance as the inner doors opened and everyone present heard a tone from their suit. The beep acknowledged the air was breathable.
Cosette approached the other two officers in their IRPF blue armors and tinted their face shields down. Shorter than them by a full head, in a Starlight Deep Space armored suit, was an avialae of some sort but her face wasn’t tinted. Cosette’s skin shivered with goosebumps at the sight of her new research partner but she had agreed to this.
Some primal instinct encoded in her DNA still told her that owls were something to be terrified of: They meant death. Cosette set that aside, though she felt their escorts would still be on high alert and tension; so much the better to ensure their survival. She felt the rush stepping into the airlock as an atmosphere returned to her fur and clothes, no longer frozen in the vacuum. She took a few steps forward and looked down at the meter and a half-ish tall owl, offering a hand down towards her.
submitted by FiauraTanks to HFY [link] [comments]
This is the first of a 24 chapter novel I am working on. We are working on the public release version sans the artist pictures for everyone to access. This Novel is based upon the HC SVNT Dracones setting and written with full permission of the creator: Messi
Temporary Copyright Number of US Copyright Office: 1-12455343752
This Chapter has been split into A & B due to Reddit Character Limit of 40K
Without Further to do, I present: Here, There Be Dragons
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Novel Trailer
The ship’s hull groaned in strain as its thrusters slowly brought the craft to a halt. Hoary was used to it by now, stretching as the two meter tall bird adjusted her stance upon her perch in her quarters. This ship had been specially outfitted for her to be comfortable in with an right-angled bed that allowed her to be cushioned while sleeping upright which was much more natural to her owl-self than simply laying down. She and the crew were riding from Mars to the outer belt, but first they had to head across the inner planets of Sol to the opposite side of the asteroid belt. She looked down at her wings while the crown on her head lit up with a pale gold as the book it held before her face turned the page for her with a delicate force of a gentle nearly invisible hand from the push-frame crown for precision movement where her body failed her.
Her cabin was mostly bare. A single suitcase acted as a wardrobe that contained extra lab coats as an armored space suit hung on the wall for her personal use. On her desk sat a field medic kit and her sample-collecting tools. The bed, desk, and shelf were each built into the walls, but the rest of the room was sparse and unusually large for a lateral vector. She examined her mostly animalistic body and then looked around the room. “I wonder if a Taur was in here at some point, or a particularly large person,” Hoary thought to herself.
Her room door chimed before she could get much further into the analysis of her room or read the book before her for another of countless times, ‘Interview with a Vampire’. She closed the incredibly rare hard-back volume with her left talon while pressing a button on the desk with a thought put through her push-frame crown. “Yes?”
Her voice was rather low pitched for an avian creature, at least compared to those of her genus. It still had the usual airy ring to it, just sounding a little more gruff that one might expect. “Hello, Hoary. It is Jefferson, from the company.”
Rolling her eyes in response, Hoary used her push-frame to activate the door switch to open the room for Jefferson. The hydraulics slid the door open almost silently, save for the change in air pressure between the rooms. The heavy cloven footsteps echoed across the ground as a rather fat looking horned male goat stepped into the room.
Hoary had met Jefferson quite a few times at this point, since he had negotiated her contract as well as convinced her this asteroid was worth going to. “We’re nearing the location, are you sure you wish to commit to this?”
Hoary turned to him, well less turned to him and more turned her head. The one advantage she had truly noticed about being an owl in all her years; her head could face any direction without needing to turn any other part of her. Jefferson took a stutter-step back, unnerved by the scientist, and let out a very unprofessional bleating noise. Hoary did her best to smile, as if amused by how she always snuck on others. The best one could do with a beak instead of lips.
“Right, sorry miss… do you have a last name?”
Hoary blinked at him several times and then let out a tired sigh, as if she had answered this question far too many times. “No, but I do accept Hoary, Professor Hoary, or Doctor Hoary if that assists you.” Hoary rolled her darker brown shoulders while working down her feathered wings as she picked out something that had been annoying her. The coloration of a barn owl was more prominent for the moment on her feathers. “I possess no last name, my creator ensured I could never take one either. How can I help you, Representative Jefferson?”
Hoary clacked her sharpened talons on the wooden bird perch. It wasn’t really wooden, just the approximation of wood that the 3D printers could make. How she longed to feel an actual piece of refined material again though, something that the humans would have made when they existed.
“Well, I just need these forms finalized for our contract to be ironclad; before we can allow you into the archeolog—” Jefferson was interrupted by a squawk as Hoary got his attention, his more subdued voice silenced by the loud shriek that all the avialae breeds could make. “Y-y-y…yes, Hoary?”
“It is a former human research base from pre-vector days that was run by JAXA. A country from pre-unification times called Japan ran the agency as a government organization in the times before we were run by corporations. Can we please refer to it with a bit more reverence than ‘the archeology site’?” Hoary adjusted her coat with a talon, having to turn her leg to properly move the clothing around. She retrieved something that many vectors would gawk at: a spiral ringed paper notebook. Long since the fall of human civilization, it still proved to be the best way to take field notes without needing to worry about the availability of electricity.
The same technique was used for thousands of years to record field notes and, to Hoary, a reminder of so many notes lost to time and neglect by others not fully understanding what may be within the contents of such books. “When we get to the site, you will have a security detail of three IRPF officers in case the automatic defense systems come back online. Further, you will be meeting the archeologist who will be assisting you.”
Hoary nodded; she had read this briefing before, yet corporate suits always go over their black and white text as if the contractor never read it. “We have been able to determine that this was some sort of pre-vector biology lab built for an unknown purpose. Your objective will be to…” Jefferson stopped for a moment in thought, as if running through a document in his head.” “...determine the experiments they were conducting.”
Hoary rolled her eyes, having finally had enough of being talked down to by the yes-man of a corporate representative. “I read the full report and briefing of everything since the asteroid site was discovered. I have done my homework, Mr. Jefferson. Can we please get to the point of this meeting? I realize I unnerve you, as I do with most of our kind.” Hoary paused, soaking in the feeling of finally acknowledging the elephant in the room. Owls, after all, were the boogiemen, slenderman, or skinwalkers of their universe now. Yet occasionally someone would create a blip, a custom tailored vector, using an owl as the basis.
Jefferson tensed up at first, but as Hoary spoke, she also dropped the strange mannerisms and turneds her body and head, shifting from her unnatural stance to one more average, facing forward. She began using her wings to speak as well as her words, all in an effort to calm Jefferson down. Hoary had been well practiced in systems of socializing, both in her natural avian way as well as more average mannerisms that were considered socially acceptable.
It was time to allow Jefferson to relax so they could stop beating around the bush of pretext and avoiding the social faux pas that was Hoary’s existence. “Very well, do you have any questions before I must go and attend another negotiation?” he asked.
Hoary shook her head, “No, I imagine my escorting police unit can answer anything that comes up or get a message to you; yes?”
Jefferson nodded and, with a slight wince, he banged his goat-horns against the shelf that contained several books, causing two to shift and thud against each other before resting at the opposite angle they had been before. “Apologies and good luck, Doctor Hoary.” Jefferson left in a hurry now, just glad to be away from the creature he had been instructed to carefully work with. Hoary, for her part, began to pack up her belongings and run her starlight-class spacesuit through its various diagnostics.
She decided to remove her current clothing and place on the undersuit for the armor. While this was unnecessary, it would make the armor more comfortable. She preferred to make sure every facet of her armor was examined before trusting it to keep the vacuum—or whatever biological nightmare they might meet inside the ancient human base—out.
Hoary took a moment to look in the mirror, checking her feathers and ensuring they were in order. Her implants would cause the colorations to swirl and swell if she tapped into the powers they offered, but for now she wanted to check that each part of her was properly groomed before getting into a space suit for what could be days.
Her lighter, sandy brown crown and the back of her neck and head contrasted against the eggshell white face and frontal neck fluff, dotted with echoes of salt and pepper spots all the way down to her groin and out to her wings. She spread her wings and began checking the feathers, moving one battleship gray feather that was out of place, shifting it among the charcoal shoulders and preening it in the process. She checked the honey colored lower section of her wings and finally her pearl and beige wingtips, examining every single part of her body. Any feather out of place or anything misaligned in her plumage would bug, irritate, or itch at some point. Days of itching might drive one a bit batty.
“There you are!” She nearly exclaimed when she saw the spot that had poked at her throughout the day. It was some sort of space vermin, a relic of evolution that refused to die; a single Siphonaptera. Hoary plucked the flea from her feathers and did what her instinct told her to do; swallowed it down. “Now that annoyance is resolved. I suppose I should suit up.”
Hoary turned around and began to wiggle, wobble, and squeeze herself into the inner-skin suit, covering her from wingtip to talon. The only breaks in the undersuit’s protection were the holes for her actual claws, beak, eyes, and the pushframe, which flared to life to help her put the suit on. With that, she stepped into the armored shell and the AI of the suit took over, moving the joints, plating, and thrusters into place to cover her from head to toe in space worthy plating.
It was always creepy to her just how quietly the vector armor slid into place. Yet soon she was clad in a mix of pearl-white and honey yellow-brown armor. Three black plates showed her name in white text: one on the back just below the neckline, one on the front where a humanoid vector’s upper left pectoral muscle would be, and one on the forehead of her helmet. She began her journey through the ship towards the shuttle that would take her to a long last place of majesty and prestige, a place where their forefathers and forebears walked. A kind of holy temple long abandoned; of the gods that created them, a place of humanity.
*****
The hotel room smelled of floral scents and streamy water. The humidity had not yet alleviated from it’s occupant’s recent shower. The velvet soft carpet, sweet pink silk drapes, and ornate furniture were things that Cosette was not used to. She preferred the field work and heavy survival tents of a dig but one could not live there all the time. Cosette had learned well that a stay in an expensive hotel with old world style and furniture could really reinvigorate the drive for science.
Cosette Orashen admired her tails while she stroked each of the nine of them for the one-hundredth time with a brush. She had to make sure everything was in its place and properly cared for; she couldn’t bear to have the visage she bore marred by any imperfection. It was so often the best tool for getting herself into places to collect antiquities and artifacts. She was a long way from her office, departing from Mars nearly thirty days ago in a rough and rugged shuttle. A clean shuttle, of course, and well maintained, but you could see the age in the paint and how the walls had a few hints of cracks and wear in them. The bed creaked, and the ship groaned when the main engine fired for a bit.
She admired her canine features, running her hands through her fur, the remnants of pawpads peeking through the fuzz on the tips of her fingers. Her ear flicked towards the vent nearby for a moment as it cut on to maintain temperature in the room; a warm breeze of heated air swaying her long whiskers and cheek fur, while making the short hair on her head stand on end for a moment.
She wore a simple midriff-exposing blouse and a skirt with a classy slit up the side, both of them made of 3D printed leather in clean, natural brown colors. Her boots were made from similar faux-leather, a deep walnut that contrasted with her clothes nicely. As a bit of extra flare, she wore a ruby red, leather-like long overcoat with a high collar. The coat hung heavy on her shoulders, not quite as flexible as the rest of the faux-leather she wore. There was good reason for that: the ruby red overcoat was lined with armor to protect her from knives or gunfire. Her white fur contrasted well over the various leathers, and her red-patterned fur markings added a hint of the dramatic and theatric to her appearance. Her red markings outlined her eyes, contrasting with the yellow of her eyes and the red of her irises, as well as hitting the tips of her ears, and speckling her head with concentric dots that formed beautiful patterns. While her tails remained pure white for just a moment, she turned on her bioluminescent fur at a simple thought and examined all the patterns of her tails’ various hieroglyphic-like markings to make sure they worked to illuminate the room in a dim pink light. It was a detail she enjoyed surprising others with.
Finishing her examination, she smirked to herself. “Perfect!” She muttered to no one as she grabbed her sealed pack and rebreather. She had a brief moment of panic, remembering the grisly decompression safety videos, before confidence reasserted itself when her PADD, Personal Access Direct Device. She started to think how such things had evolved from cell phones and tablets to what she held in her hand now. It started showing her biometric data and implant status to her. She could survive the vacuum of space for up to forty-five minutes without air because of those implants, and with the rebreather recycling her own breath, she could in theory float in the void until the filters completely corroded over.
The transcendent implant flared in preparation: with careful use of it, she could create small fields to act as leverage points to push off. It was a useful means of maneuvering in zero-gravity environments. A knock on the heavy faux-wooden door interrupted any further diagnostics on her implants, so she turned, removing a small white sensor from behind her ear. Cosette pushed away the mild irritation of the sound. The faux-wood never sounded like the real thing and she could certainly tell the difference. She wondered if the client could too. “Oh, yes, do come in.” She put on her best showmanship voice to ensure that whoever was coming in would be absolutely at ease.
The door opened to a short stocky goat creature walking upon two legs in one of those generic business suits. The kind of suit you would expect was a uniform to move the next suit in his place at a moment’s notice. “Professor Orashen, it’s Jefferson, here to do final checks and go over the contract with you.” The nervous goat felt a sense of relief as he gazed upon Cosette’s rather fetching attire and supremely groomed appearance.
Cosette for her part knew that, like every corporate suit, he would want to go over the fine details, and she was more than content to let him ramble on all he liked. After all, they were paying for her time, and the longer it took to get to the site the more she would ask for. “Well then, go on, show me exactly what you are expecting.” Cosette replied as she motioned him in to sit at the desk that resembled something a head of state would have used in the ancient days of human industrial revolution.
This sort of showmanship was simply her way to doing business and the price of it. Jefferson transferred a bunch of documents over to Cosette’s personal PADD. He sat at the desk and admired it as if one would admire the real thing. Typical of a suit to not know the difference in a replica made from a 3D print and something truly hand crafted.
Cosette turned her attention back to her PADD. The top document was her contract, after that was a standard non-disclosure, promises for future employment, budget restrictions and action restrictions for the archeology site, declarations of ownership and crediting protocols, and so on; document after document of corporate ass-covering and over-clarification.
Cosette was unphased by any of this as she read them while Mr. Jefferson spoke, “So you see, Professor Orashen, we will be providing everything you need as well as the promise of all discoveries you make being attributed to you. We are even giving you the first choice for future research that may come from the dig.” He spoke with sweeping motions, generally trying to make sure Orashen felt completely in control. It was an act, and one she knew well. She paused as she came to one of the documents, noticing something.
“Myself and this ‘Hoary’, a biologist you are sending as well?” Her question was phrased in such a way that it sounded like she had caught Mr. Jefferson’s hand in the cookie jar.
Mr. Jefferson adjusted his tie and took a breath to brace himself. “Yes, she was closer and much easier to get onto site. I hope you two can work together amicably.”
Cosette tisked her lips several times and skipped over the other documents to the dossier on Hoary she had been provided. It was thin, much thinner than she thought it should be. She opened it to see a picture of Hoary at the top left and the information on the biologist displayed over the course of several pages. She took a moment to look at Mr. Jefferson, who adjusted his tie nervously; as if worried the fox before him would decide to cancel her contract and walk away.
“An Owl Blip, with no known homeworld. An impressive four degrees in genetics and biology, specialized in theoretical biological understanding and medicine? Why would you bring someone like that to an archeology site?” Cosette spoke as if she knew exactly the answer to every question and just wanted to sweat it out of the corporate suit. She so very much enjoyed these moments; the moments when someone who should have power over her was made to squirm between her seductive voice and cutting wit.
“Well yes, Hoary is what she is; we cannot help the circumstances of one’s breeding after all. But she is by far the best biologist available, and even then, we would be hard pressed to acquire a new one on short notice. Is this going to be a problem?” He looked up at Cosette with a flushed face and she could smell his sweat.
Cosette mentally activated an implant of hers, a pheromone emitter to help make Mr. Jefferson calmer and more at ease. She made a show of thinking it over, leaning back in her seat, shifting her legs to be crossed, placing a single finger at her chin and tapping it a few times while putting her pad out of sight against her thigh. All of this was a show to buy time for the implant. “Well, no. It won’t be a problem at all, my dear.” She waited just long enough for those newly emitted pheromones to take hold of Mr. Jefferson. “But I am more curious about why you would choose a biologist as opposed to another archaeological specialist?”
Jefferson let out a sigh as he felt a rush of unexpected relief. Cosette’s smile broadened just a bit, going from seductive to satisfied; she knew he was putty in her hands, now. He spoke more easily, the pheromones doing their job wonderfully. “Well you see, Professor Orashen, the facility we have discovered is believed to be a genetics laboratory of some sort, run by a long extinct organization called the JAXA in collaboration with NASA. We’re not sure what its purpose was seeing as you and Hoary will be the first scientists to step inside.”
“And our security escorts as well?”
The goat gulped and nodded, “Yes of course, three IRPF officers will be present in full combat marine gear, just in case there are pre-existing automated defenses that are still functional, or for other unforeseen circumstances. Pirates, grave robbers, or the like.”
“Oh?” Cosette’s eyes lit up and she took a second to look uncomposed, just to really ham it up for the corporate representative. “You have reason to believe pirates or someone else have an interest in the site?” Cosette fluttered her eyes and placed a hand against her breast while leaning back to feign worry and concern.
“No, no, of course not. We have no reason to believe that, but you can never know what might possibly be hiding out here in the belt.” Mr. Jefferson leaned forward, his fingers steeped together as he tried to really hammer home his own concern for Cosette as she was briefed. He wanted her on his side, after all, should they end up in court over something unexpected occurring. “As you can see from the files, everything is in order and taken care of, even your fee.”
Cosette noticed the rather large fee she was being offered and the bonus for finding something of value–and an even larger bonus if she found anything that could be considered revolutionary. Cosette could happily work on these terms, assuming this Hoary individual was not insane, crazy, suicidal, or just plain mad, like many of the scientists she had worked alongside previously. “Mr. Jefferson, I think this will do just fine. I’ll happily have all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed before my shuttle disembarks and meets the security detail on the surface. Why don’t you go get something to munch on or take a moment in one of the showers to relax? I’ve run you through enough of the ringer.”
Cosette took a moment to reach forward and pat Mr. Jefferson on the knee, almost like a mother or lover comforting someone after a long and heavy day. She stood and made a show of her tails caressing his chin to keep him enticed with her for just a few more moments. Nothing like using a little bit of one’s sexuality to help them remember who was in charge. She slung her pack on her shoulder, pulling out her PADD to begin filling out forms as she stood up.
Cosette tried a quick thank you but instead had to stay for the usual corporate platitudes for several minutes. Finally she was able to excuse herself and walked towards the shuttle. She was right, the forms would be filled out, before she even got to the shuttle.
*****
“Ma’am, you sure you don’t want a space suit before we decompress? I mean, isn’t that usually lethal?” The heavily armored soldier in a helmet with two points for ears asked. They were either canidiae or felinade, but with the darkened visor and tail being hidden by large bulky armor around it, it was impossible to tell. The humanoid vector was armed with a high powered carbine in addition to the thick riot armor plating, all of which was covered in blue and white with IRPF, Inner Ring Police Force, logos and unit numbers on it.
The nametag read, “Cpl. K. Ingot” across it in white letters. They stood next to Cosette in the orbital lander, both inside of the airlock waiting for the automated drone to complete its approach and let them onto the asteroid they were going to be working with. There was no window to look out of, nor anywhere to really sit. Just some handles on the ceiling to hold onto during the short descent.
“No, Corporal. I will be perfectly fine, my implants will take care of me.” Cosette mentioned through the radio inside her rebreather. The ship rumbled and shook as it approached the surface and retro thrusters eased the landing. Within a few moments, they felt a thud and the feeling of artificial gravity turning off as the asteroid’s much lighter gravity took over.
It was always strange to feel the difference initially, like diving into water so thin it could be air. Yet you would still sink, just not quite as fast. You certainly found it easier to move, as if your own arms and legs no longer offered as much resistance to shifting, so long as you had something to push off of. With a deep exhale of the ventilation system, the room depressurized over the course of the next two minutes.
One often believes there is no sound in space, but this is untrue. There is simply no sound where it lacks air to travel through as a medium. You hear your heart, you feel each footstep and how it vibrates with a muffled thump in your eardrums. You hear your lungs inflating and deflating as you breathe. The resistance of your body to movement is amplified with noise as your ears strain themselves to hear something within the vacuum.
The feeling is incredible, and for Cosette there was an added layer to this. Unlike most creatures in the vacuum who wear suits, Cosette’s cybernetic implants allowed her to operate in this environment perfectly fine. Her body held together from expanding or losing cohesion from the lack of pressure, all while her body heat protected from the absolute zero temperature. It was somehow more magnificent this way compared to when she wore a suit before receiving those implants.
“Radio check, can you hear me, ma’am?” Cosette ignored the corporal as she took in the feelings and sights around her. The sensation of being in the void for her was never the exact same and never something not wondrous to behold. Her tails fluttered in the vacuum noiselessly to all but her. She relaxes into the sense of oblivion. Space really wanted to kill you and she could feel her implants working tirelessly to keep oxygen, water, and prevent cell death all over her. It was a strange warming sensation, not unlike being wrapped in a blanket but not when you were tired, more as if you were doing it for warmth. She marveled at how it felt, slowly pulling in and out of her rebreather, the filters cycling the CO2 she exhaled back into O2. The air was stale but serviceable, she would however have liked something that felt more alive when she took in a breath.
“Professor Orashen.” The officer started to reach towards her, afraid the depressurization process had killed her instead of her implants working right; it was extremely rare for such a failure to happen, but there had been reports of it occurring at least once.
Cosette held up a hand and turned to him, speaking with a muffled voice into her rebreather mic, “I can hear you just fine. I am simply enjoying the moment. Perhaps if you would relax, my dear, you could enjoy it as well.” She spoke the second comment while making a show of swaying her hips, tails, and rear for the officer to follow as they walked towards a clearly artificial doorway in the distance.
A temporary instant airlock had been deployed over it, but it was transparent enough through the white colored plastics to see a titanium steel door on the other side. It was a pair of double doors designed as a reinforced airlock of days long in the distant past. Proud symbols for NASA and JAXA appeared upon it, though they could not make out the smaller writing around the two dark blue circles with rocket-ship symbology on them, and white letter writing along with several other smaller artistic works that—in the vacuum of space—did not really fade or wear away.
The space walk was going to be short, barely fifty meters. But it was fifty meters of an experience one could only have within the void.
To Orashen there was no pocket of air around her ears to transfer these sounds, they were vibrations in her ears, every moment and motion, save for the small air pocket around her earbuds that provided comms locally. Her red and amber ears pressed against the void, nanites in her blood providing them protection from the decompression. Her fur felt frozen in time against the vacuum. The trooper next to her kicked up dust with his armored boots while she barely made puffs of dust as they walked.
“That is freaky. How can you walk in the void like that?” Ingot looked over to Cosette, who could sense him looking lower to check out her rear. How strange it must have looked for muscles to not immediately reset to gravity’s whim but rather move almost like a marionette.
Cosette snickered just loud enough for the intercom in her rebreather to pick it up. “Officer, eyes up. Honestly, it took six months of implants, nanites, and training with them to be able to walk in space without a suit.” Cosette fluttered her tails in the void as they approached the entrance and her boots let out a light clang against the metal they now walked on; a sound she could only hear just as Ingot could hear his footsteps.
“We had to use a crowbar to open it before, stand back.” Ingot started to step forward and Cosette pressed her hand to his armored chest, pushing him back.
“No, read here.” She pointed at some text next to a couple of buttons. “I assume you haven’t had someone here that could read this?” What her finger was pointing at were the seemingly hieroglyphic language next to each of the buttons and a keypad with several labels on it.
“Well, no, we lost two from the initial team because of automated turrets.” Ingot’s inhale echoed over the comm, as if remembering someone he liked before that event took them. “We didn’t want to just press buttons for fear more turrets or defenses would be activated.”
Cosette grinned at him excitedly and pointed at a switch, ‘力’, “This says power,” She traced her finger up to a panel label above the keypad tapping it. ‘ドア’ This says door, I would say it is safe to assume these are the door controls.”
“So what you’re saying is, if you press those controls, the door will open by itself?” Ingot asked, debating for a moment as he turned to look back behind them at the rest of the security escort.
“Well, not by itself–it will likely need to cycle the air first. Shouldn’t take more than perhaps… two minutes on these ancient human outposts?” Cosette was unsure as to what the security guard was hoping to find out, though he quickly answered her pondering.
“Hey!” The guard called over to the escort. “I bet you 50 credits that this door opens by itself in two minutes!” Turning back, Orashen heard their private channel light up with his voice, “Punch it.”
Ingot took a step back and readied his weapon. “Alright, well you are the exp—” Cosette pressed the button before he finished speaking and he suddenly snapped his rifle up as lights along the door turned on. The keypad lit up and they felt a hum through their feet as power returned to the old door.
“See, perfectly—” Cosette didn’t get to finish her sentence as another voice came over the intercom.
The voice was lower pitched but still female in origin, while having the airy quality of the avialae vector subtype to it. “Who in the void cut on the damn lights and power? This organism cannot survive with the scrubbers online!” Whoever was on the intercom was clearly upset and irate. This in addition to the normally prideful or irritated sound to an avialae voice escalated the hairs on the necks of the security detail.
Cosette took a moment and spoke back calmly and smoothly, “Whoever you are, please calm down. Shouting will get us nowhere.”
Ingot grunted onto the comms and tapped his head, indicating for Cosette to switch frequencies. She mentally kicked her implants to change her frequency, “Hey, Professor Orashen, that would be Hoary, your biologist. Perhaps we should at least placate her until we are able to see each other face to face?” Ingot sounded rather nervous, as if he had encountered Hoary before and it was not exactly pleasant.
Hoary, for her part, had been studying the stale air that the organism consumed and took over an ancient human corpse for sustenance. Something, she assumed, was frozen and native to the asteroid or perhaps brought here to experiment on. After having barely an hour to study it, suddenly the lights of the facility cut on, giving her quite the harsh and blinding treatment.
Her starlight medium-armored spacesuit’s night vision overloaded her for a moment as the facility powered up. She let out a shriek when her natural night vision and the suit’s amplification overloaded her eyes. Now she was screaming at whoever was at the door, upset by the situation.
By the time her eyes cleared and she could cut off the night vision with a thought, the specimen before her; a mass of various forms of mold texture and bacterial growth, had deflated and ceased its respiration and blood flow function. It was rapidly dying from exposure to the light and the air recyclers were filtering out whatever had spurred its growth in the air.
She had been studying a mass of green-blue moss-like substance that she believed was a megabacteria which had thrived in the high CO2 environment, but now the scrubbers were running at full power, and within moments the air was too full of oxygen for the entity to exist. What had once grown from a human corpse, even eating the bones, deflated into a mass of bio-residue that bled bright blue blood and fluids all over the tiled ceramic floor. Hoary took a few steps back and sealed the room as she was berating someone over the comms.
“Well, which one of you turned on the power without asking?” Hoary was in no mood now, realizing her living specimen to study was now dead. The corpse would be useful later in an autopsy room, assuming it stayed together enough to at least collect a proper DNA sample. She was flustered if anything; a chance to study a true macro bacterial organism and now it was ruined with the introduction of atmosphere. It was like having a truly wonderful artifact of an unknown age suddenly destroyed by someone sneezing on it.
“Hello, darling, I assume the irate one is Hoary? I apologize for your experiment, but I can read the language and find the controls to turn the systems on, so we wouldn’t have to use crowbars to cycle the airlocks.” As she was speaking there was a rush of air and the sound of doors groaning and grinding open. Without atmosphere rust had not properly set in, but the metal was still ancient and needed some basic maintenance as the inner doors opened and everyone present heard a tone from their suit. The beep acknowledged the air was breathable.
Cosette approached the other two officers in their IRPF blue armors and tinted their face shields down. Shorter than them by a full head, in a Starlight Deep Space armored suit, was an avialae of some sort but her face wasn’t tinted. Cosette’s skin shivered with goosebumps at the sight of her new research partner but she had agreed to this.
Some primal instinct encoded in her DNA still told her that owls were something to be terrified of: They meant death. Cosette set that aside, though she felt their escorts would still be on high alert and tension; so much the better to ensure their survival. She felt the rush stepping into the airlock as an atmosphere returned to her fur and clothes, no longer frozen in the vacuum. She took a few steps forward and looked down at the meter and a half-ish tall owl, offering a hand down towards her.
2023.07.19 19:24 Orwellisright [Mega Thread] - North East - Manipur Tribal Conflict
There is an ethnic conflict going in Manipur , its not some binary to take sides. So please be civil in your discussions
Any other self post related to this topic will be removed, link posts of articles maybe allowedHistory of Kukis, Naga and Meitis conflicts
Oct 15, 1993 , Kuki-Naga conflict: Recent massacres in Manipur take state virtually to brink of civil war
From January to September this year, 400 people were killed, 200 injured, 1,200 houses burnt down and 3,500 people rendered refugees.The recent bloodletting has seen men, women and children being chopped to pieces as they go about their daily lives, and the state succumbing to such fierce insurgency that it seems intent on becoming the site of what might be one of the bloodiest civil wars in Independent India.
https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/special-report/story/19931015-kuki-naga-conflict-recent-massacres-in-manipur-take-state-virtually-to-brink-of-civil-war-811658-1993-10-14
Jul 28, 1997, Manipur once again on the brink as smaller tribes are drawn into the Kuki-Naga conflict
That is why it is not easy to accept their suddenly reverting to the language of violence: nearly 100 people killed, 300 houses burnt down and 10,000 rendered homeless in Churachandpur district in less than a month.Manipur is demographically a complex state, dominated by the majority Hindu Meiteis. The Nagas, concentrated mainly in the northern hills, constitute 15 per cent of the population and the Kukis comprise an equal number, most of them Thadou-speaking.
Nomadic in nature, the Kukis have spread all over the state but live in large numbers along the border with Myanmar
https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/nation/story/19970728-manipur-once-again-on-the-brink-as-smaller-tribes-are-drawn-into-the-kuki-naga-conflict-830419-1997-07-27
Kuki–Paite ethnic clash of 1997–1998
The Thadou–Paite ethnic clash of 1997–1998 was a deadly conflict between the two communities in Churachandpur district in Manipur, India,The causes of the conflict were ethnic tensions and armed terrorism . It started in June 1997 when insurgents executed nine Paite villagers.
Over 352 people died, thousands of homes were destroyed and over 13,000 people were displaced. The Government of India sent in the Indian Army to attempt to stop the violence. The conflict ended in September 1998 with a peace agreement between the two communities.
On 29 September 1998, to make amends for the Saikul massacre and to end the conflict, the Kuki Inpi invited the Zomi Council to a feast. A bull was slaughtered for the occasion and both groups shared the meal. The next day, the Zomi Council reciprocated by inviting the Kukis to a feast. Hence, the conflict ended.Over 50 villages were destroyed and some 13000 people were displaced."According to official records kept by the Government of Manipur, the communal violence killed 352 persons, injured 136 and destroyed 4,670 houses.
The majority moved to areas surrounding the district capital of Churachandpur and Mizoram, where they were housed in makeshift refugee centres in schools, hospitals and various other buildings.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuki%E2%80%93Paite_ethnic_clash_of_1997%E2%80%931998
International Backings, Trainings in Bangladesh by ISI , Bangladesh Rifles
The NSCN(M) is the most potent of the insurgent groups in Manipur according to an army intelligence officer. The latest intelligence reports on the militant group are certainly alarming.It is 1,000-strong and has about 600 sophisticated weapons such as AK-47 and AK-56 guns, G-3 and M-16 rifles, rocket launchers, radio sets and mines bought from the arms bazaars in Myanmar, Thailand and Bangladesh.
About 20 km from Cox's Bazaar in Bangladesh, the NSCN(M) has a training camp in Tarishdeba where the militants are trained by the Bangladesh Rifles and Pakistan's ISI, say intelligence reports.
In India the NSCN(M) has linked up with the Bodo Security Force and the ULFA in Assam and the ATTF in Tripura. By joining the Unrepresented National and People's Organisation, a pressure group of organisations demanding independence which is based in The Hague in the Netherlands, the NSCN(M) has made a mark on the international scene.
Its leader, Issac Chisisw, addressed the UN meeting on indigenous people in Geneva last July which won it international recognition, something the NSCN(M) has been striving for.
Manipur Tamil community
Tamils from Burma came back to India when General Ne Win nationalized banks, shops, and factories. Some of them found life in refugee camps in Tamil Nadu very hard, so they decided to return to Burma through land. They were stopped by Burmese immigration at the border town of Moreh and settled there as a resultAround 1992, there were clashes between the Tamil and Kuki communities due to attempts by Kuki militants to impose heavy taxes on Tamil businesses
Very recently, the Tamil community has been involved in a legal battle to prevent the Manipur government from giving up land occupied by Sri Angala Parameshwari Sri Muneeswarar temple to Myanmar. One of the gates of this temple is in Burmese territory
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manipur_Tamil_community
News of Protest started around May 3 , 2023
Thousands who took part in the Tribal Solidarity March in Churachandpur Echoes "We shall overcome; we shall overcome, Someday".The peaceful rally in protest against dominant Meitei/Meetei ST Demand and the arbitrary & Illegal notification of RF/PF/WLS & WLs ended peacefully.
https://twitter.com/HaokipDj/status/1653693757446033409
The angry drug lords are now striking back through the Kuki militants who they support with funds and arms.In the long run, a separate Kuki state where they wield enormous influence is the ultimate objective of the Kuki drug lords
https://twitter.com/SwarajyaMag/status/166642113388387123
Why is the Govt not doing much ?
But I agree the govt has been soft on the instigators, there is already regiment , Assam rifles who know the area , the logistics etc , the issue I think is the willingness from centre to go full hardcoreI believe the govt is afraid of being painted as fascists going after the christian and the tribes, many media houses will get the articles out of drafts in minutes
Myanmar Angle
We would also strike some deal with the Mynamar Junta I dont think they are going away so easily, if we dont do anything faster, there will always be the monkey balancing they will do with the Chinese, infiltration will start increasing across the NE and the old wounds will be reopenedDemography
The Meiteis, who make up about 60% of the population, currently reside in only 10% of the land area in Manipur, while the remaining regions, consisting of hill districts, belong to the tribal communities, mainly the Kukis and Nagas. However, the conflicts in Manipur reveal deeper divides beyond ethnic tensions. These include divisions between the valley and the hills, shifting and settled agriculture, state and non-state entities, and the perceived dichotomy between "civilized" and "anarchist" societies.It's a combination of ethnicity + religion + economic benefits in the form of land.
HC decision to Grant Meitis ST Status
The whole issue escalated when the HC granted ST status to Meitis , neither Meitis will give up on this nor Kukis will accept itKukis advantage of owning forest land and everything else that comes with the status is gone
There is large demographic change in hill area, mostly from migration from Mynamar, but Kukis wont accept this as well
Lot of militancy crossing over from Chin province as well
Lets see where all this going to lead, hope peace prevails soon
Good Sources / Reads
- Manipur: Army Conducts Flag Marches After Tribal Rally Against ST Quota To Meitei Community Turns Violent
- Centre takes over Manipur’s security after fresh violence, shoot-at-sight order for ‘extreme cases’
- Just In Article 355 promulgated in #Manipur, meaning the Centre has taken charge of security. Imphal-Churachandpur road has been secured by security personnel.
- China's outreach to Myanmar rebels may spur NE insurgents
- China ‘exploited’ insecurity among tribal communities on India-Myanmar border: research paper
- Clashes Again In Manipur: Army, Paramilitary Forces Rush To Contain Violence; Curfew Called After Arson Reports
- 40 Insurgents Shot Dead In Manipur, Says Chief Minister; Encounters On
- Manipur: After Shah meet, Meira Paibis urge Governor for NRC
- Revealed: How Kuki Drug Lords Are Holding Peace To Ransom In Manipur
- Manipur Faces Civil War-Like Situation; Decisive Action Needed
- International Hand Behind Manipur Violence? State CM Biren Singh Hints At Alarming Possibility
- Revocation of AFSPA, role of China and Myanmar, narco-terrorism and more: Colonel Hunny Bakshi sheds light on the reasons behind the Manipur conflict
- ‘If you don’t take off your clothes, we will kill you’: Kuki women paraded naked in Manipur
2023.07.13 19:01 DTG_Bot This Week In Destiny 07/13/2023
Source: https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/Article/7_13_23_twid
Happy TWIDsday, Guardians! This week in Destiny we have a save-the-date, a mid-Season preview with some Crucible info, the winner of our Witherhoard community vote, and more! Let’s get started with what we talked about last week and then get into the new stuff.
Last week we had:
The Bungie Day Giving Festival enters week two and the Bungie Foundation has some exciting things in store. But first, we are making the last call on emblem submissions for the Bungie Day Giving Festival emblem competition. Submissions are due by 12 AM PT tonight, July 13. Full details on the contest can be seen here and don’t forget to tag your art with #Emblematic.
Now on to the goodies. Prize week kicks off today and the first item up for grabs is a signed Lightfall Collector’s Edition. Any donation (minimum $1 USD) received from 7/13 10 AM PT until 7/14 09:59 AM PT will receive an entry* to win today’s prize. Each day we will have a new prize to earn, and you can see the full schedule below.
Image Linkimgur
Don’t forget that each day you enter, you will receive an additional entry into the grand prize drawing. Meaning, you can earn a maximum of seven entries for the grand prize: a signed Lightfall Collector’s Edition, a signed The Final Shape Collector’s Edition, a copy of The Final Shape Deluxe Edition, and a PlayStation game code bundle.
*Full rules for contest entries can be viewed here. Maximum one entry per day, per prize. Only residents of US and Canada (ex-Quebec) eligible for prizing).
Hi Crucible Fans,
Following on from our Lightfall Crucible blog a few months ago, we have a few updates around Season 21 mid-Season!
Back when we launched Season of the Deep, we made a couple of tuning changes to the Crucible that missed the patch notes. Many of you have called out the respawning changes (we have some additional changes coming soon), but the second change has gone mostly uncommented upon so we wanted to let you know what has changed.
With a goal of helping players get back into the action quicker on some of the larger maps and reduce the "I usually spawn in the backfield" feeling in Clash-style modes, we reduced the importance of friendly objectives and enemy sightlines, and increased the importance of friendly players. Ideally players would spawn near other friendly players, but safely. In testing, this seemed to work well on a variety of maps, but it’s hard to replicate the chaos of real 6v6 matches and, as many players noticed, we turned the influence of enemy player sightlines down too far. This causes a number of problems that many players reported (you can often spawn in the middle of a firefight, and spawn trapping is easier on many maps). This also led to a sharp increase in the number of matches ending in a Mercy.
In the first hotfix after the mid-Season patch (coming next week), we are going to be increasing the influence of enemy player sightlines and proximity back to where it was before. Ideally, we keep some of the benefits, like spawning nearer to active engagements without the downsides of spawning in in the middle of a fight! We will keep an eye on feedback and analytics over the coming weeks and continue to adjust as needed.
Thus, in Season 21, Competitive 3v3 match making rating (MMR) is calculated based on both rank and skill, with the goal being to improve the ladder-climbing experience while maintaining competitive integrity and match fairness. So, if you are near your target skill, you will match at your rank rather than skill. We limit how far above or below your target skill you match, so if your skill marks you as an Ascendant player, for example, you will never be considered below Adept, no matter what your current rank is. The same goes for if you are above your target skill— you will never be considered more than one major rank above your target skill.
A few changes are we considering for a future season:
We are fixing the bugs we found and are doing another round of intense testing on it but are hoping to redeploy it in a future season.
That's all for now but stay tuned in the coming weeks. We have some exciting reveals coming before Season 22.
[drum roll]
Image Linkimgur
Thank you for voting! Make sure you sound off on socials if you want us to keep doing things like this and what weapons you want to see ornaments for.
We also want to give a shout out to Nine Rivens for doing such an incredible job on all of these concepts. Make sure you are following her over on Twitter and check out the rest of their work! For an added treat, tune in on Friday for a special edition Community Focus with the artist herself.
If you are one of the Guardians running around with your Wicked Implement glued to your side, we have some information for you regarding the catalyst. When designing catalysts, our teams aren’t there to create something you need to get, but something to entice you to let your weapon achieve its full potential. So, with that, here is some more info from the Weapons team themselves.
The main thing we wanted to facilitate is getting you into a rhythm with your precision hits. Refilling the magazine when collecting a shard accomplishes that, letting you continue aiming down sights to chain precision damage, but adding mag overflow with the catalyst lets you extend that even further, especially when picking off red bars in between damaging stronger targets and collecting the shards when they return to you.
Being able to potentially slow targets with a Primary weapon in the PvP neutral game is already kind of spicy, which is why we tuned the perk so a single target would either be dead or close to it by the time you start slowing them. (If you switch targets when outnumbered, however...) The perk works with any Stasis shard though, so if you're running a Stasis subclass you'll rarely have to reload.
We also heard feedback on the base weapon and have a few buffs on the way! Among other things, we were cautious with the timing window for Creeping Attrition, but we’re looking at adjusting that in the future. Keep an eye out for that!
Is this your first Solstice? Every year we get together and celebrate our achievements, what civilization will become, and how we will get there. After chatting with our favorite grandma, Eva Levante, you will head on over to the EAZ (European Aerial Zone) and fight against waves of enemies to earn rewards and Silver Leaves. There is more to it, but that’s the TL;DR. Get ready to get out there, Guardians!
Before the event starts, we want to give you a quick refresher on the basics of how armor upgrading works in Solstice and tell you a bit about some upcoming changes to Solstice and some new buffs we created.
Last year, we streamlined the armor upgrade process for all classes. This year, we worked on the enemy density and overall difficulty of the Bonfire Bash. You will find out that you must work a little harder to light the bonfire. Also, we are implementing two new buffs to mix it up even further.
Upgrading your Solstice armor requires finding and spending Silver Leaves, Silver Ash, and Kindling. Here’s how to get them:
Silver Leaves
The new Solstice armor sets feature both free and paid glows like previous years. And just like last year, fully upgrading a piece of armor with kindling will cause it to glow.
And without further ado, here is the new Solstice armor:
Image Linkimgur
Image Linkimgur
Image Linkimgur
Oh, and here is a little preview of the first ever Strand Rocket Launcher that will be earnable during Solstice:
Image Linkimgur
Alpha Derby:
Image Linkimgur
There is no terrible poem writing from me this week, but the Player Support team is back and ready to share the bugs and known issues we’re aware of.
Known Issues List Help Forums Bungie Help Twitter
Additionally, pre-order and Collector's Edition-specific emblems will be restricted to use on the platform that owns those licenses. If you acquired one of these emblems on one platform but are now playing on another platform, you must play on the original platform to use these emblems.
Players who have emblems unlocked on their Bungie.net accounts and platforms are unaffected by this change.
Movie of the Week: The Bray Sisters
Art of the Week: They Desire structure.
Bonus Art of the Week: At least it’s a carp.
Alright Guardians, that’s it for this week’s TWID. Well, almost, two more things.
One, we want to remind you that this is the last week Hung Jury is in rotation in the Nightfalls. Dead Orbit sure did know what they were doing when they made this weapon, so make sure you go snag one!
Image Linkimgur
And second, it’s getting closer, the Destiny 2 Showcase will be here before you know it. Be sure to tune in to our Twitch or YouTube channel on August 22 at 9 AM PT.
Okay, now that is all we have for this week. We’re five Tuesdays away from Season 22, so plenty of time to wrap up any titles, Triumphs, or shenanigans you want to finish before the next Season. Make sure you’re taking care of yourselves and we will see you next week pals.
Stay Crafty,
Sam
submitted by DTG_Bot to DestinyTheGame [link] [comments]
Last week we had:
- Bungie Day info.
- We shared an important cutscene.
- Mid-Season weapon tuning preview.
- Final Iron Banner reminder.
- New Exotic fish pins.
- Witherhoard ornament voting.
- Bungie Day Giving Festival Information.
- Mid-Season preview, now with Crucible updates.
- Witherhoard ornament winner.
- Season 21 Exotic catalyst info.
- Solstice starts next week.
- Fishing derby winners.
- Player Support Report.
- Art of the Week and Movie of the Week winners.
- Showcase save the date and Hung Jury reminders.
Bungie Day Giving Festival – Prize Week + Last Call for Emblems
Image LinkimgurThe Bungie Day Giving Festival enters week two and the Bungie Foundation has some exciting things in store. But first, we are making the last call on emblem submissions for the Bungie Day Giving Festival emblem competition. Submissions are due by 12 AM PT tonight, July 13. Full details on the contest can be seen here and don’t forget to tag your art with #Emblematic.
Now on to the goodies. Prize week kicks off today and the first item up for grabs is a signed Lightfall Collector’s Edition. Any donation (minimum $1 USD) received from 7/13 10 AM PT until 7/14 09:59 AM PT will receive an entry* to win today’s prize. Each day we will have a new prize to earn, and you can see the full schedule below.
| July 13 | Signed Lightfall Collector's Edition |
|---|---|
| July 14 | Destiny Plush Bundle |
| July 15 | Drifter Collectible Bundle |
| July 16 | Lord Shaxx Statue |
| July 17 | Variks Statue |
| July 18 | Witch Queen Statue |
| July 19 | Sony PlayStation Game Code Bundle |
Don’t forget that each day you enter, you will receive an additional entry into the grand prize drawing. Meaning, you can earn a maximum of seven entries for the grand prize: a signed Lightfall Collector’s Edition, a signed The Final Shape Collector’s Edition, a copy of The Final Shape Deluxe Edition, and a PlayStation game code bundle.
*Full rules for contest entries can be viewed here. Maximum one entry per day, per prize. Only residents of US and Canada (ex-Quebec) eligible for prizing).
Mid-Season Crucible Update
It’s not quite time for the mid-Season Update, that’s coming 7/18, but today we have two patch notes we managed to sneak away with.- Fixed a few out of bounds spots in various maps.
- Whisper of Chains
- Reduced damage reduction in PvP from 15% to 5%.
Hi Crucible Fans,
Following on from our Lightfall Crucible blog a few months ago, we have a few updates around Season 21 mid-Season!
Back when we launched Season of the Deep, we made a couple of tuning changes to the Crucible that missed the patch notes. Many of you have called out the respawning changes (we have some additional changes coming soon), but the second change has gone mostly uncommented upon so we wanted to let you know what has changed.
Respawning Changes
We made a number of adjustments to Control and Clash respawn logic. All Crucible respawn points are evaluated on a number of factors: proximity and sightline to enemy players and owned objectives, as well as proximity to friendly players and owned objectives. Previously in Control (and many other objective-based modes) it very strongly weighted friendly objectives (good) and enemy sightlines/proximity (bad).With a goal of helping players get back into the action quicker on some of the larger maps and reduce the "I usually spawn in the backfield" feeling in Clash-style modes, we reduced the importance of friendly objectives and enemy sightlines, and increased the importance of friendly players. Ideally players would spawn near other friendly players, but safely. In testing, this seemed to work well on a variety of maps, but it’s hard to replicate the chaos of real 6v6 matches and, as many players noticed, we turned the influence of enemy player sightlines down too far. This causes a number of problems that many players reported (you can often spawn in the middle of a firefight, and spawn trapping is easier on many maps). This also led to a sharp increase in the number of matches ending in a Mercy.
In the first hotfix after the mid-Season patch (coming next week), we are going to be increasing the influence of enemy player sightlines and proximity back to where it was before. Ideally, we keep some of the benefits, like spawning nearer to active engagements without the downsides of spawning in in the middle of a fight! We will keep an eye on feedback and analytics over the coming weeks and continue to adjust as needed.
Competitive Division Matchmaking
The other major change we implemented in Season of the Deep was an adjustment to how we placed players in Competitive Division matches. Previously (as discussed in the blog post here), we matched players purely based on their skill, and throttled the amount of division points won or lost based on the how far above or below your skill is from your "target skill". While pure skill-based matchmaking may produce the fairest matches for players, it also diminishes the experience of climbing the ranked ladder. A player who only just completed their placement series shouldn't immediately face off against the highest (or lowest) ranked players, regardless of their skill.Thus, in Season 21, Competitive 3v3 match making rating (MMR) is calculated based on both rank and skill, with the goal being to improve the ladder-climbing experience while maintaining competitive integrity and match fairness. So, if you are near your target skill, you will match at your rank rather than skill. We limit how far above or below your target skill you match, so if your skill marks you as an Ascendant player, for example, you will never be considered below Adept, no matter what your current rank is. The same goes for if you are above your target skill— you will never be considered more than one major rank above your target skill.
A few changes are we considering for a future season:
- Adjusting the rank → skill limiting so that it doesn't limit at all if you are above your target skill.
- Loosening up on the division points throttling we do if you are too far above/below your target skill.
Dynamic Skill Ranges
Finally, we have a quick update on a feature we discussed in a TWAB a while back: Dynamic Skill Ranges. This is a feature designed to equalize matchmaking pools during low population times, or in low population skill brackets. We built this feature back in Season 19, but there were some issues preventing us from turning it on and getting good data. We finally found a window to turn it on at the start of Iron Banner a few weeks ago... and promptly broke all matchmaking, so we immediately turned it back off.We are fixing the bugs we found and are doing another round of intense testing on it but are hoping to redeploy it in a future season.
That's all for now but stay tuned in the coming weeks. We have some exciting reveals coming before Season 22.
Witherhoard Winner
It’s time! Time to share the winner of the community voted ornament for Witherhoard.[drum roll]
Image Linkimgur
Thank you for voting! Make sure you sound off on socials if you want us to keep doing things like this and what weapons you want to see ornaments for.
We also want to give a shout out to Nine Rivens for doing such an incredible job on all of these concepts. Make sure you are following her over on Twitter and check out the rest of their work! For an added treat, tune in on Friday for a special edition Community Focus with the artist herself.
Hadopelagic Tribute
Image LinkimgurIf you are one of the Guardians running around with your Wicked Implement glued to your side, we have some information for you regarding the catalyst. When designing catalysts, our teams aren’t there to create something you need to get, but something to entice you to let your weapon achieve its full potential. So, with that, here is some more info from the Weapons team themselves.
The main thing we wanted to facilitate is getting you into a rhythm with your precision hits. Refilling the magazine when collecting a shard accomplishes that, letting you continue aiming down sights to chain precision damage, but adding mag overflow with the catalyst lets you extend that even further, especially when picking off red bars in between damaging stronger targets and collecting the shards when they return to you.
Being able to potentially slow targets with a Primary weapon in the PvP neutral game is already kind of spicy, which is why we tuned the perk so a single target would either be dead or close to it by the time you start slowing them. (If you switch targets when outnumbered, however...) The perk works with any Stasis shard though, so if you're running a Stasis subclass you'll rarely have to reload.
We also heard feedback on the base weapon and have a few buffs on the way! Among other things, we were cautious with the timing window for Creeping Attrition, but we’re looking at adjusting that in the future. Keep an eye out for that!
Solstice starts next week
Next week we have Solstice coming back! Team up with others, gather those Silver Leaves, and celebrate with sweet Eva Levante! It is a party after all.Is this your first Solstice? Every year we get together and celebrate our achievements, what civilization will become, and how we will get there. After chatting with our favorite grandma, Eva Levante, you will head on over to the EAZ (European Aerial Zone) and fight against waves of enemies to earn rewards and Silver Leaves. There is more to it, but that’s the TL;DR. Get ready to get out there, Guardians!
Before the event starts, we want to give you a quick refresher on the basics of how armor upgrading works in Solstice and tell you a bit about some upcoming changes to Solstice and some new buffs we created.
Last year, we streamlined the armor upgrade process for all classes. This year, we worked on the enemy density and overall difficulty of the Bonfire Bash. You will find out that you must work a little harder to light the bonfire. Also, we are implementing two new buffs to mix it up even further.
- Firebound:
- This buff is only available in Bonfire Bash
- When close to a fireteam member, gain increased Recovery and Super regeneration.
- This buff is only available in Bonfire Bash
- Flare:
- This buff is available in Bonfire Bash and Vanguard Ops Playlist
- Rapidly defeat combatants to unleash waves of paracausal fire around you, dealing damage to nearby combatants.
- This buff is available in Bonfire Bash and Vanguard Ops Playlist
Upgrading your Solstice armor requires finding and spending Silver Leaves, Silver Ash, and Kindling. Here’s how to get them:
Silver Leaves
- Earn Silver Leaves by completing activities throughout the game.
- Transform Silver Leaves into Silver Ash by completing the Bonfire Bash activity.
- Spend Silver Ash to reroll armor stats from the armor mod screen.
- Earn Kindling by completing Solstice Event Challenges
- Spend Kindling to upgrade your armor stat roll potential, each piece of armor can be upgraded three times (three tiers).
The new Solstice armor sets feature both free and paid glows like previous years. And just like last year, fully upgrading a piece of armor with kindling will cause it to glow.
And without further ado, here is the new Solstice armor:
Image Linkimgur
Image Linkimgur
Image Linkimgur
Oh, and here is a little preview of the first ever Strand Rocket Launcher that will be earnable during Solstice:
Image Linkimgur
Fishing Tournament Results
We sent you out with the task of catching fish, and we are pretty sure you caught all of them. We are so excited to announce the results of the Bungie Day fishing tournament. Our top fisher overall was Arladouc with the top score of 660 points! Special shout out to Mafia who not only one the Delta Derby, but also caught the most Exotic fish overall with 10. There are also 11 players who can tell big fish stories now that they’ve caught the maximum-sized fishys at a chunky 80Kg. Here are the full results!Alpha Derby:
- Sniff – 550
- Yumoe – 538
- Selveten - 536
- 冰雪奇猿 - 551
- まれほー537
- Agura-531
- Winter - 518
- Eden of Chaos - 477
- Mafia - 658
- Genma - 560
- Andy! - 531
- Arladouc - 660
- Kind - 624
- Electrobrains - 580
Player Support Report
Rock ship best ship.Image Linkimgur
There is no terrible poem writing from me this week, but the Player Support team is back and ready to share the bugs and known issues we’re aware of.
Known Issues List Help Forums Bungie Help Twitter
EMBLEM OWNERSHIP REMINDER
Starting with the launch of Season of the Deep, emblem ownership values were updated. For security purposes, players who have emblems on their account that do not appear in their Collections (Collections-Flair-Emblems-General) will no longer be able to equip these emblems, and players will no longer be able to see these emblems if they are still equipped. Those who are affected by this change will need to reacquire these emblems through proper means by unlocking them in their Bungie.net profiles or on their platform if they wish to continue using them.Additionally, pre-order and Collector's Edition-specific emblems will be restricted to use on the platform that owns those licenses. If you acquired one of these emblems on one platform but are now playing on another platform, you must play on the original platform to use these emblems.
Players who have emblems unlocked on their Bungie.net accounts and platforms are unaffected by this change.
KNOWN ISSUES
While we continue investigating various known issues, here is a list of the latest issues that were reported to us in our #Help forum:- Due to an issue, we have temporarily disabled the Utility Kickstart armor mod.
- The Child of the Old Gods Aspect is not providing ability energy or health as expected.
- Defeating Unstoppable Champions too quickly during the intro to the PsiOps Battleground: Moon Nightfall can result in missing revive tokens as well as players earning a lower than expected reward tier.
- Altar of Reflections memories may not appear centered when viewed.
- Some players are unable to acquire new Trials of Osiris rewards.
The Bray Sisters and a Kinderguardian walk into the Tower
Bruno: Cool sisters trying to reconnect while saving the world? Yep. Mean grandpa that hates everyone and that is hated by everyone? Sí. Badass godlike war machine stepbrother that speaks with a thick accent? да. This would certainly be an amazing anime.Movie of the Week: The Bray Sisters
🚨NEW ART🚨 Destiny 2 Anime Ending - "Sisters".@Bungie @DestinyTheGame#Destiny2 #Destiny2Art #Destinythegame #seasonofthedeep #destiny2MOTW #destiny2AOTW #Destiny2lightfall #CLIPSTUDIO #aftereffects #premirepro pic.twitter.com/lJ5lB3yOy5Bonus Movie of the Week: A Real Kinderguardian
— Patrick Garcia 🖖🎨📷 (@patgarci) July 3, 2023
Carp Desire Structure
Sam: Sometimes the Witness brings you knowledge you’ve been craving. Sometimes all you catch are carp. It’s called balance.Art of the Week: They Desire structure.
Bonus Art of the Week: At least it’s a carp.
"They desired meaning. Structure. A "Winnower"...to shape the garden..."#Destiny2 #Destiny2Art #Destiny2AOTW pic.twitter.com/XmFnPekPcL
— knightlight (@knightscendant) July 8, 2023
Some days luck just isn't on your side, but I've come to love my aquarium full of carp.#Destiny2Art #Destiny2AOTW pic.twitter.com/8breXxVi6R
— ANIVI🍃🍂 (@anivi_art) July 3, 2023
One, we want to remind you that this is the last week Hung Jury is in rotation in the Nightfalls. Dead Orbit sure did know what they were doing when they made this weapon, so make sure you go snag one!
Image Linkimgur
And second, it’s getting closer, the Destiny 2 Showcase will be here before you know it. Be sure to tune in to our Twitch or YouTube channel on August 22 at 9 AM PT.
Okay, now that is all we have for this week. We’re five Tuesdays away from Season 22, so plenty of time to wrap up any titles, Triumphs, or shenanigans you want to finish before the next Season. Make sure you’re taking care of yourselves and we will see you next week pals.
Stay Crafty,
Sam
2023.06.09 18:08 SouthernResolution IndianSkincareAddicts, Reddit API Changes, and Why Subreddits are Going Dark
IndianSkincareAddicts will be joining the blackout on June 12-14, 2023, in solidarity with 3500+ subreddits.
We are protesting the hostile treatment of third-party app developers, API changes, and lack of inclusivity for** blind **and other visually impaired users/communities who will end up kicked off this platform.
For a brief overview, explainlikeimfive does a great job of simplifying what API is and why this change is so troubling. You can also refer to this infographic for a visual snapshot of the situation.
The issues here are multifaceted and complex, and their impact is hard-hitting. We’ve tried to break these down to help you understand why the ISCA mod team is gravely concerned.
Different members of the mod team at blind have pointed out unfriendly, noninclusive features on Reddit app and website over the years. These are yet to be addressed. A few challenges the community faces with the native Reddit interface are highlighted in brief, from this modcoord post, “Reddit to the Visually Impaired: "You no longer have a voice on this site."
"Non commercial app" doesn't seem to apply to any of the commonly used third-party screen reader apps, which run ads to mitigate costs. Until this is clearly defined by Reddit, the ISCA mod team remains unconvinced Reddit is giving due importance to visually impaired users.
TLDR - Basic accessibility issues on Reddit’s app/website have not been addressed. Restricting third-party apps without first implementing alternatives effectively deplatforms blind and visually impaired users in 20 days.
Even if you're not a mobile user and don't use any of those apps, this is a step toward killing other ways of customizing Reddit, such as Reddit Enhancement Suite or the use of the old.reddit.com desktop interface. Experiments on mobile browser have been conducted recently, so it’s entirely possible.
The pricing third-party apps are being charged is atrocious. Apollo app was given a figure of $12,000 for 50 million API calls. It would cost 1.7 million dollars per month or 20 million dollars per year. For context, the developer disclosed he pays Imgur, which is similar to Reddit in user base and media $166 for the same 50 million API calls.
The developer of Narwhal is also looking at a $1-2 million dollar per month price tag, and Reddit is Fun would be charged in the same ballpark as well.
While companies are allowed to charge for API access to their server, the expectation is for good faith practices and fair market value. Reddit’s valuation is significantly more than that.
As for good faith practices, app developers - who have been around for 10 years and whose superior app experience helped grow Reddit's user base - were only given 30 days notice. Third-party apps are no longer allowed to run ads, and 30 days is not enough time to change their subscription model to offset costs, communicate with their users and ensure a smooth transition.
Yesterday, Apollo, Reddit is Fun and Sync announced they’re shutting down on June 30, in response to API changes.
We STRONGLY RECOMMEND you see for yourself how Reddit’s recent decisions and actions have made it impossible for Apollo to continue.
The Apollo dev sheds light on how the “situation with Reddit deteriorated beyond recovery” and shares call transcripts and recordings which expose character assassination attempts made by Reddit.
Reddit is Fun’s developer shared that his experience with Reddit echoes the Apollo dev’s in terms of unwillingness to negotiate reasonable terms.
TLDR - Third-party apps are no longer allowed to run ads to offset costs, and have no choice but to shut down in the face of exorbitant and predatory pricing. Which seems to be the intention.
Most of you are familiar with the alphabetical order bot, haiku bot, Shakespeare bot, Wikipedia bot and Remindme! Bot, which was temporarily down last month due to sudden premature revocation of Pushshift access before the communicated timeline.
Most bots you see on Reddit are not developed by Reddit, but by independent users in the community who maintain and fund them themselves. The astronomically high pricing model in addition to the loss of data access means some of these bots and tools cannot perform their functions the way they’re intended to, and are no longer viable to maintain. Some bots will go down permanently.
Pushshift’s large data access capabilities also drove the “Search the Sub” tab linked in the sidebar. We enjoyed advanced features like filtering by user. That is now defunct. We are left with only Reddit's shoddy native search engine.
The irritation you’re feeling with the loss of proper search function mirrors the frustration and impotence of many moderators, who are left with rudimentary tools in native Reddit.
Standard moderation practices to verify account authenticity and cross-check for illegal/predatory activity are hampered, and it looks like it will take months at the minimum before adequate replacements are provided.
Consequence: Communities become more vulnerable. To everything.
NSFW subs bear the brunt of this, as third-party tools are integral to performing safety checks to ensure illegal, abuse-glorifying, nonconsensual intimate content is not allowed. Third-party safety bots refer to user post history and perform cross subreddit safety checks, to ensure an individual who constantly posts explicit sexual content isn’t also trying to interact in a safe space meant for teenagers.
TLDR - Some of your favorite functions have already started going offline. Third-party moderation tools being priced out puts tremendous strain on moderation and poses safety risks to the community.
Recent events in this subreddit have shown members firsthand what limited moderation and free-for-all looks like. Reminder that lasted for a single week, and the mod team remained active to remove the worst offending content.
That free for all week is what all subs will look like without proper moderation resources.
We will all be in spam-laden, scorched earth. Many subs will remain shut down indefinitely, unless a reasonable compromise is achieved.
Depending on our availability, we spend up to multiple hours per day on the sub, and that demand on our time will go up significantly if we don't have the usual automated tools we rely on to keep this community safe and running smoothly.
The official Reddit app severely limits the number and nature of mod functions that can be performed. Previously, whichever mod had spare time was able to sort out and clear pending tasks in short spurts. Now, it may be whoever has the solid chunk of time required to get on a desktop between their full-time job and other IRL responsibilities.
Moderator response time will unfortunately slow down. We will rely heavily on user reports to alert us to rulebreaking comments, bad/reckless advice, hateful/rude/inappropriate behaviors as well as any spam you may encounter. Modmail remains open for any concerns/requests for help you have.
Our focus remains as it always has, on the welfare and betterment of this community. While at the moment we are not visibly commenting as much as you're used to, we are actively tracking news and planning for all eventualities.
Including migrating to a different forum, if it comes to that. We would love to hear suggestions on how we can go forward. But be warned people have allegedly gotten perma banned / shadowbanned by admins for mentions of certain reddit alternatives.
One notable point is communication concerns with Reddit management, who historically have not provided moderators - who are unpaid volunteers- with sufficient support. AskHistorians has mapped out a timeline of key events, which we are reproducing below:
A significant deviation from the current course is needed to keep all subreddits, including this one, functioning.
Talks between management, developers and moderators are ongoing, updates from admin are expected in the coming days, and an AMA with the CEO will happen later today.
But since Reddit Admin and the CEO have stooped down to mud-slinging and outright lying and focusing on strawman arguments to obfuscate the issue, we don’t have much hope talks alone will be effective.
We have no choice but to join forces in collective, impactful action.
From June 12-14, the sub will be private. You will not be able to view the sub or post/comment for at least 48 hours. We will assess any developments and statements made during that time, and take a call on whether our community's needs have been adequately met.
Should things reach the 14th with no sign of Reddit choosing to fix what they've broken and the trust they’ve eroded, further action may be required.
The mod team is in internal agreement to stand in solidarity with blind and other subs for longer than 48 hours if the situation calls for it.
Community opinion matters. Please comment and tell us your thoughts. What should be done after 48 hours?
What can you do?
- The IndianSkincareAddicts Mod Team
submitted by SouthernResolution to IndianSkincareAddicts [link] [comments]
We are protesting the hostile treatment of third-party app developers, API changes, and lack of inclusivity for** blind **and other visually impaired users/communities who will end up kicked off this platform.
Background
New sitewide policies come into effect on July 1, 2023. At face value, you may not think you as an average user are affected. We assure you you are. Greatly.For a brief overview, explainlikeimfive does a great job of simplifying what API is and why this change is so troubling. You can also refer to this infographic for a visual snapshot of the situation.
The issues here are multifaceted and complex, and their impact is hard-hitting. We’ve tried to break these down to help you understand why the ISCA mod team is gravely concerned.
Lack of accessibility features for blind and the visually impaired community
While most of us reading this post have the luxury of choice to continue participating on this platform come July 1, visually impaired members and communities like blind do not. There have always been basic accessibility issues on Reddit browsers. Third-party apps are currently their only method of accessing Reddit, which is otherwise nearly unusable.Different members of the mod team at blind have pointed out unfriendly, noninclusive features on Reddit app and website over the years. These are yet to be addressed. A few challenges the community faces with the native Reddit interface are highlighted in brief, from this modcoord post, “Reddit to the Visually Impaired: "You no longer have a voice on this site."
On Android, the official Reddit mobile app is reasonably usable with the Android screen reader, but the experience on iOS is a completely different story. There are missing elements, broken navigation, nonsensical labels, and more problems that plague those who just want to interact with the site. If you decide to become a moderator the problems are compounded even more.4 days after blind’s mod post announcing API changes will shut their subreddit out, Reddit issued a statement that they have “connected with select developers of non-commercial apps that address accessibility needs and offered them exemptions from our large-scale pricing terms.” Both blind moderators and the developers of the screen reader apps mentioned by name, verified they have not been contacted by Reddit in any way.
Third-party apps, like Dystopia for Reddit and Apollo, have addressed this niche left so underserved for so many years because Reddit won't. It took literal years of tickets and complaints to get New Reddit to be accessible, and now the door has been shut in our collective faces. As things currently stand, this change doesn't just take away our clients; it takes away our voice.
"Non commercial app" doesn't seem to apply to any of the commonly used third-party screen reader apps, which run ads to mitigate costs. Until this is clearly defined by Reddit, the ISCA mod team remains unconvinced Reddit is giving due importance to visually impaired users.
TLDR - Basic accessibility issues on Reddit’s app/website have not been addressed. Restricting third-party apps without first implementing alternatives effectively deplatforms blind and visually impaired users in 20 days.
API Pricing and Hostile Treatment of Third-Party Apps
On May 31, 2023, Reddit announced they were raising the price to make calls to their API from being free to a level that will kill every third party app on Reddit, from Apollo to Reddit is Fun to Narwhal to BaconReader.Even if you're not a mobile user and don't use any of those apps, this is a step toward killing other ways of customizing Reddit, such as Reddit Enhancement Suite or the use of the old.reddit.com desktop interface. Experiments on mobile browser have been conducted recently, so it’s entirely possible.
The pricing third-party apps are being charged is atrocious. Apollo app was given a figure of $12,000 for 50 million API calls. It would cost 1.7 million dollars per month or 20 million dollars per year. For context, the developer disclosed he pays Imgur, which is similar to Reddit in user base and media $166 for the same 50 million API calls.
The developer of Narwhal is also looking at a $1-2 million dollar per month price tag, and Reddit is Fun would be charged in the same ballpark as well.
While companies are allowed to charge for API access to their server, the expectation is for good faith practices and fair market value. Reddit’s valuation is significantly more than that.
As for good faith practices, app developers - who have been around for 10 years and whose superior app experience helped grow Reddit's user base - were only given 30 days notice. Third-party apps are no longer allowed to run ads, and 30 days is not enough time to change their subscription model to offset costs, communicate with their users and ensure a smooth transition.
Yesterday, Apollo, Reddit is Fun and Sync announced they’re shutting down on June 30, in response to API changes.
We STRONGLY RECOMMEND you see for yourself how Reddit’s recent decisions and actions have made it impossible for Apollo to continue.
The Apollo dev sheds light on how the “situation with Reddit deteriorated beyond recovery” and shares call transcripts and recordings which expose character assassination attempts made by Reddit.
Reddit is Fun’s developer shared that his experience with Reddit echoes the Apollo dev’s in terms of unwillingness to negotiate reasonable terms.
TLDR - Third-party apps are no longer allowed to run ads to offset costs, and have no choice but to shut down in the face of exorbitant and predatory pricing. Which seems to be the intention.
Moderation Tools/Bots and NSFW API Access
In addition to outrageous pricing, changes to Reddit API policy include restricted access. This affects third-party apps, bots and moderation tools.Most of you are familiar with the alphabetical order bot, haiku bot, Shakespeare bot, Wikipedia bot and Remindme! Bot, which was temporarily down last month due to sudden premature revocation of Pushshift access before the communicated timeline.
Most bots you see on Reddit are not developed by Reddit, but by independent users in the community who maintain and fund them themselves. The astronomically high pricing model in addition to the loss of data access means some of these bots and tools cannot perform their functions the way they’re intended to, and are no longer viable to maintain. Some bots will go down permanently.
Pushshift’s large data access capabilities also drove the “Search the Sub” tab linked in the sidebar. We enjoyed advanced features like filtering by user. That is now defunct. We are left with only Reddit's shoddy native search engine.
The irritation you’re feeling with the loss of proper search function mirrors the frustration and impotence of many moderators, who are left with rudimentary tools in native Reddit.
Standard moderation practices to verify account authenticity and cross-check for illegal/predatory activity are hampered, and it looks like it will take months at the minimum before adequate replacements are provided.
Consequence: Communities become more vulnerable. To everything.
NSFW subs bear the brunt of this, as third-party tools are integral to performing safety checks to ensure illegal, abuse-glorifying, nonconsensual intimate content is not allowed. Third-party safety bots refer to user post history and perform cross subreddit safety checks, to ensure an individual who constantly posts explicit sexual content isn’t also trying to interact in a safe space meant for teenagers.
TLDR - Some of your favorite functions have already started going offline. Third-party moderation tools being priced out puts tremendous strain on moderation and poses safety risks to the community.
Recent events in this subreddit have shown members firsthand what limited moderation and free-for-all looks like. Reminder that lasted for a single week, and the mod team remained active to remove the worst offending content.
That free for all week is what all subs will look like without proper moderation resources.
We will all be in spam-laden, scorched earth. Many subs will remain shut down indefinitely, unless a reasonable compromise is achieved.
The direct impact on IndianSkincareAddicts
Is still unknown. We are assessing the exact extent as news unfolds, but there is no doubt modding will go from a labor of love to a heavy emphasis on labor.Depending on our availability, we spend up to multiple hours per day on the sub, and that demand on our time will go up significantly if we don't have the usual automated tools we rely on to keep this community safe and running smoothly.
The official Reddit app severely limits the number and nature of mod functions that can be performed. Previously, whichever mod had spare time was able to sort out and clear pending tasks in short spurts. Now, it may be whoever has the solid chunk of time required to get on a desktop between their full-time job and other IRL responsibilities.
Moderator response time will unfortunately slow down. We will rely heavily on user reports to alert us to rulebreaking comments, bad/reckless advice, hateful/rude/inappropriate behaviors as well as any spam you may encounter. Modmail remains open for any concerns/requests for help you have.
Our focus remains as it always has, on the welfare and betterment of this community. While at the moment we are not visibly commenting as much as you're used to, we are actively tracking news and planning for all eventualities.
Including migrating to a different forum, if it comes to that. We would love to hear suggestions on how we can go forward. But be warned people have allegedly gotten perma banned / shadowbanned by admins for mentions of certain reddit alternatives.
Open Letter and Communication Concerns with Reddit
The broader moderator community has crafted this open letter which we support.One notable point is communication concerns with Reddit management, who historically have not provided moderators - who are unpaid volunteers- with sufficient support. AskHistorians has mapped out a timeline of key events, which we are reproducing below:
Admins have promised minimal disruption; however, over the years they’ve made a number of promises to support moderators that they did not, or could not follow up on, and at times even reneged on:Reddit's policy changes hits too many moderation resources for the free labor-giving moderator community to have faith that suitable alternatives will be provided in time to replace the ones stripped away, or a reasonable level of functionality restored.
In 2015, in response to widespread protests on the sub, the admins promised they would build tools and improve communication with mods.
In 2019, the admins promised that chat would always be an opt-in feature. However, a year later an unmoderated chat feature was made a default feature on most subs
In 2020, in response to moderators protesting racism on Reddit, admin promised to support mods in combating hate
In 2021, again, in response to protests, Reddit’s admin promised a feature to report malicious interference by subreddits promoting Covid denial.
Reddit’s admin has certainly made progress. In 2020 they updated the content policy to ban hate and in 2021 they banned and quarantined communities promoting covid denial. But while the company has updated their policies, they have not sufficiently invested in moderation support.
Reddit admins have had 8 years to build a stronger infrastructure to support moderators but have not.
Sitewide Subreddit Blackouts
We hope the above explanation gives insight into why moderators across Reddit find the new changes alarming. As we all saw from free-for-all week, the efforts of moderators are directly related to the quality of subreddits. Whether or not you personally use a third-party app for your browsing, your experience on this platform is guaranteed to be negatively affected.A significant deviation from the current course is needed to keep all subreddits, including this one, functioning.
Talks between management, developers and moderators are ongoing, updates from admin are expected in the coming days, and an AMA with the CEO will happen later today.
But since Reddit Admin and the CEO have stooped down to mud-slinging and outright lying and focusing on strawman arguments to obfuscate the issue, we don’t have much hope talks alone will be effective.
We have no choice but to join forces in collective, impactful action.
IndianSkincareAddicts will join the protest and go dark on June 12, 2023
We understand this poses an inconvenience, and for that, we apologize. We feel this short term disruption is crucial for long term health of the community.From June 12-14, the sub will be private. You will not be able to view the sub or post/comment for at least 48 hours. We will assess any developments and statements made during that time, and take a call on whether our community's needs have been adequately met.
Should things reach the 14th with no sign of Reddit choosing to fix what they've broken and the trust they’ve eroded, further action may be required.
The mod team is in internal agreement to stand in solidarity with blind and other subs for longer than 48 hours if the situation calls for it.
Community opinion matters. Please comment and tell us your thoughts. What should be done after 48 hours?
What can you do?
- Complain. Message the mods of reddit.com, who are the admins of the site: message reddit: submit a support request: comment in relevant threads on reddit, such as this one, leave a negative review on their official iOS or Android app- and sign your username in support to this post.
- Stay off Reddit entirely on June 12th through the 13th- Fewer users online means less opportunities to monetize. Go outside, use another platform, do something else fun. Tell your friends to do the same.
- Be cool. Don’t be rude. As upsetting this may be, threats, profanity and vandalism will be worse than useless in getting people on our side. Please make every effort to be as restrained, polite, reasonable and law-abiding as possible. This includes not harassing moderators of subreddits who have chosen not to take part.
- The IndianSkincareAddicts Mod Team
2023.04.23 09:52 LleuLlawR KR Talent Power Rankings and Team Review
 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgS11zhwuWY&t=6569 submitted by LleuLlawR to Competitiveoverwatch [link] [comments] Power Ranking and Team Review by KR broadcast talent (YBT, Simjisoo, Changsik, Strings, Akaros) https://preview.redd.it/dk6w2sy3alva1.png?width=893&format=png&auto=webp&s=a6b6aab05b7c2353aca71dbb52aecd238eabf4c9 https://preview.redd.it/rpd5l5ugalva1.png?width=897&format=png&auto=webp&s=07e7b3b9a8b77091dc2b24beac67952da22e51aa Atlanta Reign: Will win OWL if you only look at the dps and support
|
2023.02.19 18:44 MrArmageddonTTV Best Void Warlock PvP Build - A Comprehensive Guide to VoidLock! (+video inside)
Hello Guardians,
I've noticed a lot more top players opting to play Void Warlock, even in competitive settings.
Wallah released a video about it, and after seeing u/PrimaryGirl_TTV hit Ascendant in solo queue on Voidlock with HC/Shotty only, I decided it was a good time to make this video.
Video here: https://youtu.be/7dgSfZTa-os
Of course, if you prefer to read, I'll summarize everything below!
---
1. Child of the Old Gods
2. Feed the Void
3. And Chaos Accelerant.
For this build, I recommend using Child of the Old Gods and Feed the Void.
After casting a rift, Child of the Old Gods summons a Void Soul that will track towards enemies you damage and tether them. Tethered enemies are slowed, much like with Stasis, and weakened so they take additional damage.
Using Empowered Rifts will cause Void Soul damage to restore HP. Where as healing Rifts cause the Void Soul to restore grenade and melee energy instead. Generally, I recommend using healing rifts, as they provide more utility that Empowering Rift in the vast majority of PvP situations.
Child of the Old Gods is a must-equip, as Void Souls provide an outrageous amount of utility, even more so now that a lot of PvP is based on crowed control, area control and objective control.
When Void 3.0 came out, everyone was so focused on the admittedly very strong Hunter and Titan kits, that it seemed like a lot of people kinda slept on the old Void Warlock.
If anything, it’s only been relatively recently that many top PvP players have started to realise just how effective the Void Warlock kit really is.
See, Void Souls have extremely aggressive tracking, meaning you don’t have to aim them, and a gigantic radius of effect. They damage opponents, preventing Rezes or heavy pick ups, while also slowing and weakening them for as long as the Void Soul is alive - and let me tell you, that thing is tanky.
Alright, the second aspect I recommended is Feed the Void. Feed the Void means that Void ability kills grant Devour. In other words, every time you kill someone with an ability, you instantly get full health back - this also includes Super kills. Once you get that kill, you also have Devour which means that for a period of time, ANY kill you get whether it’s by ability OR weapon, will also grant you full health.
This aspect is beyond useful because it’s always working passively in the background. You don’t have to think about it. You can just play the game and reap an incredible bonus. Every time you kill someone with an ability like a grenade, melee, void soul, or super, you get full health back and can get straight back into the fight. Feed the Voice allows you to go on incredible killing sprees as you kill opponent after opponent while getting your health back instantaneously.
It’s also incredibly clutch in multiple opponent situations like 2v1s because if you kill one person with an ability, you can insta-challenge the next guy without waiting for your usual health regeneration.
Now you may be asking, why not Chaos Accelerant - doesn’t that allow me to charge and buff my grenades? Well, yes. Except that the act of charging grenades is kinda awkward and frequently gets people killed. Plus, the single most effective grenade in the Void Kit isn’t actually one that benefits from Chaos Accelerant.
So while there’s nothing wrong with using Chaos Accelerant, my recommendation is Feed the Void as it gives you an extra fragment slot while also providing a very juicy perk that pretty much just runs passively in the background.
—
See here’s the thing. When people first tried this melee, they were a little underwhelmed. The description reads:
Launch an unstable ball of Void energy that detonates when it nears a target, pushing them away from the blast and making them volatile.
So you fire this little ball which does LESS damage than a regular melee. So what?
But here’s the thing. This is seriously one of the most effective melees in the game and people are only realising now. See, not everything is about DAMAGE. Who cares about damage if the utility can just get you a free kill instead?
Pocket Singularity damages your opponents, makes them volatile thus creating the chance of collateral kills - and most importantly it BREAKS your opponent’s movement and hurtles them into the air.
See here’s the thing about PvP and especially higher level PvP, when your opponent challenges you they have an expectation of where they will be and where you will be in the next moment of time. PvP players are constantly making best guess approximations of what is going to happen next.
And that’s precisely why the Pocket Singularity is SO good. It completely breaks what your opponent thinks is going to happen. He thinks he’s going to jump at you and shotgun? The singularity hits him and suddenly he’s flying off into the distance as you calmly eliminate him with your primary.
Opponent slides in thinking he’ll shotgun and shoulder charge you? He’s throw in the air, melee whiffing at nothing, as you shotgun him like a duck in hunting season.
As a great man once said, Pocket Singularity is very much your own personal Pocket Sand.
—
Let me make this easy for you. 99% of the time in PvP, you’re better served with Healing Rift. Unless you have a specific niche use case that requires an Empowering Rift, trust me, just go with Healing Rift.
—
So firstly, if you don’t know what to use, just run Burst Glide.
If you just want a simple jump that works well in PvP that literally 99.9% of top players use, then just equip Burst Glide.
But if you’re interested in running something a little more… niche - shall we say? Then you can also try using Blink.
Listen, Blink has quite the learning curve. You basically do your normal little jump and then the next jump will blink you in the direction that your momentum is heading.
OK it’s actually quite hard to explain. But try equipping it and running around the Cosmodrome for a little bit and you’ll get the drift. Blink is hard to use in PvP but those who master it? They are honestly a truly scary specimen.
Blink when paired with a certain exotic also offers the fastest movement in the game bar none, but I’ll get into that later.
For now all you need to know is use Burst Glide - and know that Blink is there if you ever decide you want a high skill/high effort option.
—
Right now, the best Void grenade in the game is the Spike Grenade. This thing is absolutely monstrous. It has a gigantic radius of effect and outputs insane amounts of damage in a very short space of time.
And while, yes, you do have to learn how to angle it properly. Sometimes learning which angles are good is a pretty valuable skillset in life.
Trust me, even though there’s a small learning curve, it’s well worth mastering the Spike Grenade.
Otherwise, the next best grenade and the easiest Void grenade is the Vortex Grenade. Point at somewhere, throw the grenade, and now nobody can go there. Easy! It’s great for area denial on Rezes, zones and heavy ammo, so it also has a lot of utility.
And that’s also one of the reasons why I don’t recommend Chaos Accelerant. Spike Nades receive no buffs from the Chaos Accelerant aspect.
—
First things first, don’t use Nova Warp. It’s terrible in PvP compared to the utility of the Nova Bomb right now.
Now there’s a lot of debate about which Nova Bomb is better, and there is no “right” answer. Both flavours of Nova Bomb have their own pros and cons, so let me make it simple for you.
If you want a slow Nova bomb with tracking, then go with Nova Bomb: Cataclysm.
If you want a fast Nova bomb with ZERO tracking, then go with Nova Bomb: Vortex.
I personally prefer to use Slow-va Bomb because when I use Nova I use it in relatively close quarters where the speed of the Nova Bomb doesn’t matter. I find the tracking to be fairly effective in terms of making sure I don’t whiff the super - plus sometimes the Slow-va bomb will literally chase someone off a capture point even if it doesn’t outright kill them.
But it’s horses for courses, try both Novas out and see which one you prefer. At the end of the day, it’s a simple equation, you throw it, it goes boom and kills everybody nearby including yourself sometimes.
—
Echo of Leeching is mandatory. Not only does it give you +10 Resilience, it also starts health generation for you and nearby allies after a melee kill. This is unbelievably useful and comes into play constantly in PvP. Make sure to equip it.
Echo of Remnants buffs you grenades making your Void Spikes and Vortex grenades last longer. This is amazing for area denial and crowd control, so make sure to equip it.
Echo of Dilation gives you enhanced radar while crouching, faster crouch walk speed, and also +10 to Mobility and Intellect. This fragments offers incredibly bang for buck and I highly recommend it.
Lastly, Echo of Expulsion means that void final abilities cause targets to explode. In other words, if you kill someone with any ability, there’s a good change they’ll explode and kill everyone around them. Highly recommended as you’ll net a surprising number of collateral kills from this.
—
Firstly, Ophidian Aspects. This is by far the most used Warlock exotic, and for good reason. +30 to all weapon handling and reload speed. Extended melee range, so you can punch like a Titan with knockout. And to make things even crazier plus 10 to aerial effectiveness (at least at the time this video was made).
Ophidians are absolutely juiced. They give you an outrageous amount of utility with literally no activation trigger. You just play the game but on steroids. If you don’t know what to equip or you want an easy choice, then use Ophidian Aspects - you won’t regret it.
Next up, Transversive Steps. T-Step give you increased sprint speed and slide distance. They’re the speed boots for Warlocks, like Stompees for Hunter or Dunemarchers for Titan. T-Steps also reloads your weapon after you’ve been sprint for about 1.5 seconds, which supports a fast and aggressive style of play.
If you like being constantly on the move while playing fast and loose, then I strongly recommend using T-Steps.
Lastly, the slept-on hipster exotic, Astrocyte Verse.
Astrocyte Verse only really works when you’re running the Blink jump. What it does is increase the distance of your blink, lowers the cooldown of blink, readies your weapons faster when coming out of blink while also granting +30 airborne effectiveness.
In practice, Astrocyte Verse allows you to traverse the map faster than any other subclass or character in the game. It’s been testing multiple times, you’re literally faster than a Dawnblade.
So if fast rotations are your thing or you just love breaking ankles, and you love the challenge of mastering an incredibly unorthodox but rewarding playstyle, then Astrocyte Blink might be for you.
---
OK guys, hope that helps!
As usual, I'll see you all in the Crucible
Mr Armageddon
submitted by MrArmageddonTTV to LowSodiumDestiny [link] [comments]
I've noticed a lot more top players opting to play Void Warlock, even in competitive settings.
Wallah released a video about it, and after seeing u/PrimaryGirl_TTV hit Ascendant in solo queue on Voidlock with HC/Shotty only, I decided it was a good time to make this video.
Video here: https://youtu.be/7dgSfZTa-os
Of course, if you prefer to read, I'll summarize everything below!
---
ASPECTS
Voidwalkers can select two out of three total aspects:1. Child of the Old Gods
2. Feed the Void
3. And Chaos Accelerant.
For this build, I recommend using Child of the Old Gods and Feed the Void.
After casting a rift, Child of the Old Gods summons a Void Soul that will track towards enemies you damage and tether them. Tethered enemies are slowed, much like with Stasis, and weakened so they take additional damage.
Using Empowered Rifts will cause Void Soul damage to restore HP. Where as healing Rifts cause the Void Soul to restore grenade and melee energy instead. Generally, I recommend using healing rifts, as they provide more utility that Empowering Rift in the vast majority of PvP situations.
Child of the Old Gods is a must-equip, as Void Souls provide an outrageous amount of utility, even more so now that a lot of PvP is based on crowed control, area control and objective control.
When Void 3.0 came out, everyone was so focused on the admittedly very strong Hunter and Titan kits, that it seemed like a lot of people kinda slept on the old Void Warlock.
If anything, it’s only been relatively recently that many top PvP players have started to realise just how effective the Void Warlock kit really is.
See, Void Souls have extremely aggressive tracking, meaning you don’t have to aim them, and a gigantic radius of effect. They damage opponents, preventing Rezes or heavy pick ups, while also slowing and weakening them for as long as the Void Soul is alive - and let me tell you, that thing is tanky.
Alright, the second aspect I recommended is Feed the Void. Feed the Void means that Void ability kills grant Devour. In other words, every time you kill someone with an ability, you instantly get full health back - this also includes Super kills. Once you get that kill, you also have Devour which means that for a period of time, ANY kill you get whether it’s by ability OR weapon, will also grant you full health.
This aspect is beyond useful because it’s always working passively in the background. You don’t have to think about it. You can just play the game and reap an incredible bonus. Every time you kill someone with an ability like a grenade, melee, void soul, or super, you get full health back and can get straight back into the fight. Feed the Voice allows you to go on incredible killing sprees as you kill opponent after opponent while getting your health back instantaneously.
It’s also incredibly clutch in multiple opponent situations like 2v1s because if you kill one person with an ability, you can insta-challenge the next guy without waiting for your usual health regeneration.
Now you may be asking, why not Chaos Accelerant - doesn’t that allow me to charge and buff my grenades? Well, yes. Except that the act of charging grenades is kinda awkward and frequently gets people killed. Plus, the single most effective grenade in the Void Kit isn’t actually one that benefits from Chaos Accelerant.
So while there’s nothing wrong with using Chaos Accelerant, my recommendation is Feed the Void as it gives you an extra fragment slot while also providing a very juicy perk that pretty much just runs passively in the background.
—
MELEE
Now in terms of melees, Void Warlocks only have one melee ability they can select: Pocket Singularity. But boy is this one a doozy!See here’s the thing. When people first tried this melee, they were a little underwhelmed. The description reads:
Launch an unstable ball of Void energy that detonates when it nears a target, pushing them away from the blast and making them volatile.
So you fire this little ball which does LESS damage than a regular melee. So what?
But here’s the thing. This is seriously one of the most effective melees in the game and people are only realising now. See, not everything is about DAMAGE. Who cares about damage if the utility can just get you a free kill instead?
Pocket Singularity damages your opponents, makes them volatile thus creating the chance of collateral kills - and most importantly it BREAKS your opponent’s movement and hurtles them into the air.
See here’s the thing about PvP and especially higher level PvP, when your opponent challenges you they have an expectation of where they will be and where you will be in the next moment of time. PvP players are constantly making best guess approximations of what is going to happen next.
And that’s precisely why the Pocket Singularity is SO good. It completely breaks what your opponent thinks is going to happen. He thinks he’s going to jump at you and shotgun? The singularity hits him and suddenly he’s flying off into the distance as you calmly eliminate him with your primary.
Opponent slides in thinking he’ll shotgun and shoulder charge you? He’s throw in the air, melee whiffing at nothing, as you shotgun him like a duck in hunting season.
As a great man once said, Pocket Singularity is very much your own personal Pocket Sand.
—
CLASS ABILITY
As for class ability, Warlocks can choose between Empowering Rift and Healing Rift.Let me make this easy for you. 99% of the time in PvP, you’re better served with Healing Rift. Unless you have a specific niche use case that requires an Empowering Rift, trust me, just go with Healing Rift.
—
JUMP
OK, now when it comes to Jumps, I normally don’t mention them much because either the answer is extremely obvious or it’s a matter of preference.So firstly, if you don’t know what to use, just run Burst Glide.
If you just want a simple jump that works well in PvP that literally 99.9% of top players use, then just equip Burst Glide.
But if you’re interested in running something a little more… niche - shall we say? Then you can also try using Blink.
Listen, Blink has quite the learning curve. You basically do your normal little jump and then the next jump will blink you in the direction that your momentum is heading.
OK it’s actually quite hard to explain. But try equipping it and running around the Cosmodrome for a little bit and you’ll get the drift. Blink is hard to use in PvP but those who master it? They are honestly a truly scary specimen.
Blink when paired with a certain exotic also offers the fastest movement in the game bar none, but I’ll get into that later.
For now all you need to know is use Burst Glide - and know that Blink is there if you ever decide you want a high skill/high effort option.
—
GRENADE
OK in terms of grenades, I’m just going to take a stand and say it.Right now, the best Void grenade in the game is the Spike Grenade. This thing is absolutely monstrous. It has a gigantic radius of effect and outputs insane amounts of damage in a very short space of time.
And while, yes, you do have to learn how to angle it properly. Sometimes learning which angles are good is a pretty valuable skillset in life.
Trust me, even though there’s a small learning curve, it’s well worth mastering the Spike Grenade.
Otherwise, the next best grenade and the easiest Void grenade is the Vortex Grenade. Point at somewhere, throw the grenade, and now nobody can go there. Easy! It’s great for area denial on Rezes, zones and heavy ammo, so it also has a lot of utility.
And that’s also one of the reasons why I don’t recommend Chaos Accelerant. Spike Nades receive no buffs from the Chaos Accelerant aspect.
—
SUPER
In terms of Supers, Voidlocks can choose between two flavours of Nova Bomb (also known as the slow Nova and the fast Nova), as well as Nova Warp, the roaming super.First things first, don’t use Nova Warp. It’s terrible in PvP compared to the utility of the Nova Bomb right now.
Now there’s a lot of debate about which Nova Bomb is better, and there is no “right” answer. Both flavours of Nova Bomb have their own pros and cons, so let me make it simple for you.
If you want a slow Nova bomb with tracking, then go with Nova Bomb: Cataclysm.
If you want a fast Nova bomb with ZERO tracking, then go with Nova Bomb: Vortex.
I personally prefer to use Slow-va Bomb because when I use Nova I use it in relatively close quarters where the speed of the Nova Bomb doesn’t matter. I find the tracking to be fairly effective in terms of making sure I don’t whiff the super - plus sometimes the Slow-va bomb will literally chase someone off a capture point even if it doesn’t outright kill them.
But it’s horses for courses, try both Novas out and see which one you prefer. At the end of the day, it’s a simple equation, you throw it, it goes boom and kills everybody nearby including yourself sometimes.
—
FRAGMENTS
When it comes to fragments, if you’re running Child of the Old God and Feed the Voice, you will have 4 slots available. So here’s what I recommend.Echo of Leeching is mandatory. Not only does it give you +10 Resilience, it also starts health generation for you and nearby allies after a melee kill. This is unbelievably useful and comes into play constantly in PvP. Make sure to equip it.
Echo of Remnants buffs you grenades making your Void Spikes and Vortex grenades last longer. This is amazing for area denial and crowd control, so make sure to equip it.
Echo of Dilation gives you enhanced radar while crouching, faster crouch walk speed, and also +10 to Mobility and Intellect. This fragments offers incredibly bang for buck and I highly recommend it.
Lastly, Echo of Expulsion means that void final abilities cause targets to explode. In other words, if you kill someone with any ability, there’s a good change they’ll explode and kill everyone around them. Highly recommended as you’ll net a surprising number of collateral kills from this.
—
EXOTICS
Alright in terms of what Exotic Armor you want to use for this build, I’m going to give you two very safe meta options and one slightly off the wall recommendation.Firstly, Ophidian Aspects. This is by far the most used Warlock exotic, and for good reason. +30 to all weapon handling and reload speed. Extended melee range, so you can punch like a Titan with knockout. And to make things even crazier plus 10 to aerial effectiveness (at least at the time this video was made).
Ophidians are absolutely juiced. They give you an outrageous amount of utility with literally no activation trigger. You just play the game but on steroids. If you don’t know what to equip or you want an easy choice, then use Ophidian Aspects - you won’t regret it.
Next up, Transversive Steps. T-Step give you increased sprint speed and slide distance. They’re the speed boots for Warlocks, like Stompees for Hunter or Dunemarchers for Titan. T-Steps also reloads your weapon after you’ve been sprint for about 1.5 seconds, which supports a fast and aggressive style of play.
If you like being constantly on the move while playing fast and loose, then I strongly recommend using T-Steps.
Lastly, the slept-on hipster exotic, Astrocyte Verse.
Astrocyte Verse only really works when you’re running the Blink jump. What it does is increase the distance of your blink, lowers the cooldown of blink, readies your weapons faster when coming out of blink while also granting +30 airborne effectiveness.
In practice, Astrocyte Verse allows you to traverse the map faster than any other subclass or character in the game. It’s been testing multiple times, you’re literally faster than a Dawnblade.
So if fast rotations are your thing or you just love breaking ankles, and you love the challenge of mastering an incredibly unorthodox but rewarding playstyle, then Astrocyte Blink might be for you.
---
OK guys, hope that helps!
As usual, I'll see you all in the Crucible
Mr Armageddon
2023.02.19 18:44 MrArmageddonTTV Best Void Warlock PvP Build - A Comprehensive Guide to VoidLock! (+video inside)
Hello Guardians,
I've noticed a lot more top players opting to play Void Warlock, even in competitive settings.
Wallah released a video about it, and after seeing u/PrimaryGirl_TTV hit Ascendant in solo queue on Voidlock with HC/Shotty only, I decided it was a good time to make this video.
Video here: https://youtu.be/7dgSfZTa-os
Of course, if you prefer to read, I'll summarize everything below!
---
1. Child of the Old Gods
2. Feed the Void
3. And Chaos Accelerant.
For this build, I recommend using Child of the Old Gods and Feed the Void.
After casting a rift, Child of the Old Gods summons a Void Soul that will track towards enemies you damage and tether them. Tethered enemies are slowed, much like with Stasis, and weakened so they take additional damage.
Using Empowered Rifts will cause Void Soul damage to restore HP. Where as healing Rifts cause the Void Soul to restore grenade and melee energy instead. Generally, I recommend using healing rifts, as they provide more utility that Empowering Rift in the vast majority of PvP situations.
Child of the Old Gods is a must-equip, as Void Souls provide an outrageous amount of utility, even more so now that a lot of PvP is based on crowed control, area control and objective control.
When Void 3.0 came out, everyone was so focused on the admittedly very strong Hunter and Titan kits, that it seemed like a lot of people kinda slept on the old Void Warlock.
If anything, it’s only been relatively recently that many top PvP players have started to realise just how effective the Void Warlock kit really is.
See, Void Souls have extremely aggressive tracking, meaning you don’t have to aim them, and a gigantic radius of effect. They damage opponents, preventing Rezes or heavy pick ups, while also slowing and weakening them for as long as the Void Soul is alive - and let me tell you, that thing is tanky.
Alright, the second aspect I recommended is Feed the Void. Feed the Void means that Void ability kills grant Devour. In other words, every time you kill someone with an ability, you instantly get full health back - this also includes Super kills. Once you get that kill, you also have Devour which means that for a period of time, ANY kill you get whether it’s by ability OR weapon, will also grant you full health.
This aspect is beyond useful because it’s always working passively in the background. You don’t have to think about it. You can just play the game and reap an incredible bonus. Every time you kill someone with an ability like a grenade, melee, void soul, or super, you get full health back and can get straight back into the fight. Feed the Voice allows you to go on incredible killing sprees as you kill opponent after opponent while getting your health back instantaneously.
It’s also incredibly clutch in multiple opponent situations like 2v1s because if you kill one person with an ability, you can insta-challenge the next guy without waiting for your usual health regeneration.
Now you may be asking, why not Chaos Accelerant - doesn’t that allow me to charge and buff my grenades? Well, yes. Except that the act of charging grenades is kinda awkward and frequently gets people killed. Plus, the single most effective grenade in the Void Kit isn’t actually one that benefits from Chaos Accelerant.
So while there’s nothing wrong with using Chaos Accelerant, my recommendation is Feed the Void as it gives you an extra fragment slot while also providing a very juicy perk that pretty much just runs passively in the background.
—
See here’s the thing. When people first tried this melee, they were a little underwhelmed. The description reads:
Launch an unstable ball of Void energy that detonates when it nears a target, pushing them away from the blast and making them volatile.
So you fire this little ball which does LESS damage than a regular melee. So what?
But here’s the thing. This is seriously one of the most effective melees in the game and people are only realising now. See, not everything is about DAMAGE. Who cares about damage if the utility can just get you a free kill instead?
Pocket Singularity damages your opponents, makes them volatile thus creating the chance of collateral kills - and most importantly it BREAKS your opponent’s movement and hurtles them into the air.
See here’s the thing about PvP and especially higher level PvP, when your opponent challenges you they have an expectation of where they will be and where you will be in the next moment of time. PvP players are constantly making best guess approximations of what is going to happen next.
And that’s precisely why the Pocket Singularity is SO good. It completely breaks what your opponent thinks is going to happen. He thinks he’s going to jump at you and shotgun? The singularity hits him and suddenly he’s flying off into the distance as you calmly eliminate him with your primary.
Opponent slides in thinking he’ll shotgun and shoulder charge you? He’s throw in the air, melee whiffing at nothing, as you shotgun him like a duck in hunting season.
As a great man once said, Pocket Singularity is very much your own personal Pocket Sand.
—
Let me make this easy for you. 99% of the time in PvP, you’re better served with Healing Rift. Unless you have a specific niche use case that requires an Empowering Rift, trust me, just go with Healing Rift.
—
So firstly, if you don’t know what to use, just run Burst Glide.
If you just want a simple jump that works well in PvP that literally 99.9% of top players use, then just equip Burst Glide.
But if you’re interested in running something a little more… niche - shall we say? Then you can also try using Blink.
Listen, Blink has quite the learning curve. You basically do your normal little jump and then the next jump will blink you in the direction that your momentum is heading.
OK it’s actually quite hard to explain. But try equipping it and running around the Cosmodrome for a little bit and you’ll get the drift. Blink is hard to use in PvP but those who master it? They are honestly a truly scary specimen.
Blink when paired with a certain exotic also offers the fastest movement in the game bar none, but I’ll get into that later.
For now all you need to know is use Burst Glide - and know that Blink is there if you ever decide you want a high skill/high effort option.
—
Right now, the best Void grenade in the game is the Spike Grenade. This thing is absolutely monstrous. It has a gigantic radius of effect and outputs insane amounts of damage in a very short space of time.
And while, yes, you do have to learn how to angle it properly. Sometimes learning which angles are good is a pretty valuable skillset in life.
Trust me, even though there’s a small learning curve, it’s well worth mastering the Spike Grenade.
Otherwise, the next best grenade and the easiest Void grenade is the Vortex Grenade. Point at somewhere, throw the grenade, and now nobody can go there. Easy! It’s great for area denial on Rezes, zones and heavy ammo, so it also has a lot of utility.
And that’s also one of the reasons why I don’t recommend Chaos Accelerant. Spike Nades receive no buffs from the Chaos Accelerant aspect.
—
First things first, don’t use Nova Warp. It’s terrible in PvP compared to the utility of the Nova Bomb right now.
Now there’s a lot of debate about which Nova Bomb is better, and there is no “right” answer. Both flavours of Nova Bomb have their own pros and cons, so let me make it simple for you.
If you want a slow Nova bomb with tracking, then go with Nova Bomb: Cataclysm.
If you want a fast Nova bomb with ZERO tracking, then go with Nova Bomb: Vortex.
I personally prefer to use Slow-va Bomb because when I use Nova I use it in relatively close quarters where the speed of the Nova Bomb doesn’t matter. I find the tracking to be fairly effective in terms of making sure I don’t whiff the super - plus sometimes the Slow-va bomb will literally chase someone off a capture point even if it doesn’t outright kill them.
But it’s horses for courses, try both Novas out and see which one you prefer. At the end of the day, it’s a simple equation, you throw it, it goes boom and kills everybody nearby including yourself sometimes.
—
Echo of Leeching is mandatory. Not only does it give you +10 Resilience, it also starts health generation for you and nearby allies after a melee kill. This is unbelievably useful and comes into play constantly in PvP. Make sure to equip it.
Echo of Remnants buffs you grenades making your Void Spikes and Vortex grenades last longer. This is amazing for area denial and crowd control, so make sure to equip it.
Echo of Dilation gives you enhanced radar while crouching, faster crouch walk speed, and also +10 to Mobility and Intellect. This fragments offers incredibly bang for buck and I highly recommend it.
Lastly, Echo of Expulsion means that void final abilities cause targets to explode. In other words, if you kill someone with any ability, there’s a good change they’ll explode and kill everyone around them. Highly recommended as you’ll net a surprising number of collateral kills from this.
—
Firstly, Ophidian Aspects. This is by far the most used Warlock exotic, and for good reason. +30 to all weapon handling and reload speed. Extended melee range, so you can punch like a Titan with knockout. And to make things even crazier plus 10 to aerial effectiveness (at least at the time this video was made).
Ophidians are absolutely juiced. They give you an outrageous amount of utility with literally no activation trigger. You just play the game but on steroids. If you don’t know what to equip or you want an easy choice, then use Ophidian Aspects - you won’t regret it.
Next up, Transversive Steps. T-Step give you increased sprint speed and slide distance. They’re the speed boots for Warlocks, like Stompees for Hunter or Dunemarchers for Titan. T-Steps also reloads your weapon after you’ve been sprint for about 1.5 seconds, which supports a fast and aggressive style of play.
If you like being constantly on the move while playing fast and loose, then I strongly recommend using T-Steps.
Lastly, the slept-on hipster exotic, Astrocyte Verse.
Astrocyte Verse only really works when you’re running the Blink jump. What it does is increase the distance of your blink, lowers the cooldown of blink, readies your weapons faster when coming out of blink while also granting +30 airborne effectiveness.
In practice, Astrocyte Verse allows you to traverse the map faster than any other subclass or character in the game. It’s been testing multiple times, you’re literally faster than a Dawnblade.
So if fast rotations are your thing or you just love breaking ankles, and you love the challenge of mastering an incredibly unorthodox but rewarding playstyle, then Astrocyte Blink might be for you.
---
OK guys, hope that helps!
As usual, I'll see you all in the Crucible
Mr Armageddon
submitted by MrArmageddonTTV to CrucibleSherpa [link] [comments]
I've noticed a lot more top players opting to play Void Warlock, even in competitive settings.
Wallah released a video about it, and after seeing u/PrimaryGirl_TTV hit Ascendant in solo queue on Voidlock with HC/Shotty only, I decided it was a good time to make this video.
Video here: https://youtu.be/7dgSfZTa-os
Of course, if you prefer to read, I'll summarize everything below!
---
ASPECTS
Voidwalkers can select two out of three total aspects:1. Child of the Old Gods
2. Feed the Void
3. And Chaos Accelerant.
For this build, I recommend using Child of the Old Gods and Feed the Void.
After casting a rift, Child of the Old Gods summons a Void Soul that will track towards enemies you damage and tether them. Tethered enemies are slowed, much like with Stasis, and weakened so they take additional damage.
Using Empowered Rifts will cause Void Soul damage to restore HP. Where as healing Rifts cause the Void Soul to restore grenade and melee energy instead. Generally, I recommend using healing rifts, as they provide more utility that Empowering Rift in the vast majority of PvP situations.
Child of the Old Gods is a must-equip, as Void Souls provide an outrageous amount of utility, even more so now that a lot of PvP is based on crowed control, area control and objective control.
When Void 3.0 came out, everyone was so focused on the admittedly very strong Hunter and Titan kits, that it seemed like a lot of people kinda slept on the old Void Warlock.
If anything, it’s only been relatively recently that many top PvP players have started to realise just how effective the Void Warlock kit really is.
See, Void Souls have extremely aggressive tracking, meaning you don’t have to aim them, and a gigantic radius of effect. They damage opponents, preventing Rezes or heavy pick ups, while also slowing and weakening them for as long as the Void Soul is alive - and let me tell you, that thing is tanky.
Alright, the second aspect I recommended is Feed the Void. Feed the Void means that Void ability kills grant Devour. In other words, every time you kill someone with an ability, you instantly get full health back - this also includes Super kills. Once you get that kill, you also have Devour which means that for a period of time, ANY kill you get whether it’s by ability OR weapon, will also grant you full health.
This aspect is beyond useful because it’s always working passively in the background. You don’t have to think about it. You can just play the game and reap an incredible bonus. Every time you kill someone with an ability like a grenade, melee, void soul, or super, you get full health back and can get straight back into the fight. Feed the Voice allows you to go on incredible killing sprees as you kill opponent after opponent while getting your health back instantaneously.
It’s also incredibly clutch in multiple opponent situations like 2v1s because if you kill one person with an ability, you can insta-challenge the next guy without waiting for your usual health regeneration.
Now you may be asking, why not Chaos Accelerant - doesn’t that allow me to charge and buff my grenades? Well, yes. Except that the act of charging grenades is kinda awkward and frequently gets people killed. Plus, the single most effective grenade in the Void Kit isn’t actually one that benefits from Chaos Accelerant.
So while there’s nothing wrong with using Chaos Accelerant, my recommendation is Feed the Void as it gives you an extra fragment slot while also providing a very juicy perk that pretty much just runs passively in the background.
—
MELEE
Now in terms of melees, Void Warlocks only have one melee ability they can select: Pocket Singularity. But boy is this one a doozy!See here’s the thing. When people first tried this melee, they were a little underwhelmed. The description reads:
Launch an unstable ball of Void energy that detonates when it nears a target, pushing them away from the blast and making them volatile.
So you fire this little ball which does LESS damage than a regular melee. So what?
But here’s the thing. This is seriously one of the most effective melees in the game and people are only realising now. See, not everything is about DAMAGE. Who cares about damage if the utility can just get you a free kill instead?
Pocket Singularity damages your opponents, makes them volatile thus creating the chance of collateral kills - and most importantly it BREAKS your opponent’s movement and hurtles them into the air.
See here’s the thing about PvP and especially higher level PvP, when your opponent challenges you they have an expectation of where they will be and where you will be in the next moment of time. PvP players are constantly making best guess approximations of what is going to happen next.
And that’s precisely why the Pocket Singularity is SO good. It completely breaks what your opponent thinks is going to happen. He thinks he’s going to jump at you and shotgun? The singularity hits him and suddenly he’s flying off into the distance as you calmly eliminate him with your primary.
Opponent slides in thinking he’ll shotgun and shoulder charge you? He’s throw in the air, melee whiffing at nothing, as you shotgun him like a duck in hunting season.
As a great man once said, Pocket Singularity is very much your own personal Pocket Sand.
—
CLASS ABILITY
As for class ability, Warlocks can choose between Empowering Rift and Healing Rift.Let me make this easy for you. 99% of the time in PvP, you’re better served with Healing Rift. Unless you have a specific niche use case that requires an Empowering Rift, trust me, just go with Healing Rift.
—
JUMP
OK, now when it comes to Jumps, I normally don’t mention them much because either the answer is extremely obvious or it’s a matter of preference.So firstly, if you don’t know what to use, just run Burst Glide.
If you just want a simple jump that works well in PvP that literally 99.9% of top players use, then just equip Burst Glide.
But if you’re interested in running something a little more… niche - shall we say? Then you can also try using Blink.
Listen, Blink has quite the learning curve. You basically do your normal little jump and then the next jump will blink you in the direction that your momentum is heading.
OK it’s actually quite hard to explain. But try equipping it and running around the Cosmodrome for a little bit and you’ll get the drift. Blink is hard to use in PvP but those who master it? They are honestly a truly scary specimen.
Blink when paired with a certain exotic also offers the fastest movement in the game bar none, but I’ll get into that later.
For now all you need to know is use Burst Glide - and know that Blink is there if you ever decide you want a high skill/high effort option.
—
GRENADE
OK in terms of grenades, I’m just going to take a stand and say it.Right now, the best Void grenade in the game is the Spike Grenade. This thing is absolutely monstrous. It has a gigantic radius of effect and outputs insane amounts of damage in a very short space of time.
And while, yes, you do have to learn how to angle it properly. Sometimes learning which angles are good is a pretty valuable skillset in life.
Trust me, even though there’s a small learning curve, it’s well worth mastering the Spike Grenade.
Otherwise, the next best grenade and the easiest Void grenade is the Vortex Grenade. Point at somewhere, throw the grenade, and now nobody can go there. Easy! It’s great for area denial on Rezes, zones and heavy ammo, so it also has a lot of utility.
And that’s also one of the reasons why I don’t recommend Chaos Accelerant. Spike Nades receive no buffs from the Chaos Accelerant aspect.
—
SUPER
In terms of Supers, Voidlocks can choose between two flavours of Nova Bomb (also known as the slow Nova and the fast Nova), as well as Nova Warp, the roaming super.First things first, don’t use Nova Warp. It’s terrible in PvP compared to the utility of the Nova Bomb right now.
Now there’s a lot of debate about which Nova Bomb is better, and there is no “right” answer. Both flavours of Nova Bomb have their own pros and cons, so let me make it simple for you.
If you want a slow Nova bomb with tracking, then go with Nova Bomb: Cataclysm.
If you want a fast Nova bomb with ZERO tracking, then go with Nova Bomb: Vortex.
I personally prefer to use Slow-va Bomb because when I use Nova I use it in relatively close quarters where the speed of the Nova Bomb doesn’t matter. I find the tracking to be fairly effective in terms of making sure I don’t whiff the super - plus sometimes the Slow-va bomb will literally chase someone off a capture point even if it doesn’t outright kill them.
But it’s horses for courses, try both Novas out and see which one you prefer. At the end of the day, it’s a simple equation, you throw it, it goes boom and kills everybody nearby including yourself sometimes.
—
FRAGMENTS
When it comes to fragments, if you’re running Child of the Old God and Feed the Voice, you will have 4 slots available. So here’s what I recommend.Echo of Leeching is mandatory. Not only does it give you +10 Resilience, it also starts health generation for you and nearby allies after a melee kill. This is unbelievably useful and comes into play constantly in PvP. Make sure to equip it.
Echo of Remnants buffs you grenades making your Void Spikes and Vortex grenades last longer. This is amazing for area denial and crowd control, so make sure to equip it.
Echo of Dilation gives you enhanced radar while crouching, faster crouch walk speed, and also +10 to Mobility and Intellect. This fragments offers incredibly bang for buck and I highly recommend it.
Lastly, Echo of Expulsion means that void final abilities cause targets to explode. In other words, if you kill someone with any ability, there’s a good change they’ll explode and kill everyone around them. Highly recommended as you’ll net a surprising number of collateral kills from this.
—
EXOTICS
Alright in terms of what Exotic Armor you want to use for this build, I’m going to give you two very safe meta options and one slightly off the wall recommendation.Firstly, Ophidian Aspects. This is by far the most used Warlock exotic, and for good reason. +30 to all weapon handling and reload speed. Extended melee range, so you can punch like a Titan with knockout. And to make things even crazier plus 10 to aerial effectiveness (at least at the time this video was made).
Ophidians are absolutely juiced. They give you an outrageous amount of utility with literally no activation trigger. You just play the game but on steroids. If you don’t know what to equip or you want an easy choice, then use Ophidian Aspects - you won’t regret it.
Next up, Transversive Steps. T-Step give you increased sprint speed and slide distance. They’re the speed boots for Warlocks, like Stompees for Hunter or Dunemarchers for Titan. T-Steps also reloads your weapon after you’ve been sprint for about 1.5 seconds, which supports a fast and aggressive style of play.
If you like being constantly on the move while playing fast and loose, then I strongly recommend using T-Steps.
Lastly, the slept-on hipster exotic, Astrocyte Verse.
Astrocyte Verse only really works when you’re running the Blink jump. What it does is increase the distance of your blink, lowers the cooldown of blink, readies your weapons faster when coming out of blink while also granting +30 airborne effectiveness.
In practice, Astrocyte Verse allows you to traverse the map faster than any other subclass or character in the game. It’s been testing multiple times, you’re literally faster than a Dawnblade.
So if fast rotations are your thing or you just love breaking ankles, and you love the challenge of mastering an incredibly unorthodox but rewarding playstyle, then Astrocyte Blink might be for you.
---
OK guys, hope that helps!
As usual, I'll see you all in the Crucible
Mr Armageddon
2023.02.19 18:43 MrArmageddonTTV Best Void Warlock PvP Build - A Comprehensive Guide to VoidLock! (+video inside)
Hello Guardians,
I've noticed a lot more top players opting to play Void Warlock, even in competitive settings.
Wallah released a video about it, and after seeing u/PrimaryGirl_TTV hit Ascendant in solo queue on Voidlock with HC/Shotty only, I decided it was a good time to make this video.
Video here: https://youtu.be/7dgSfZTa-os
Of course, if you prefer to read, I'll summarize everything below!
---
1. Child of the Old Gods
2. Feed the Void
3. And Chaos Accelerant.
For this build, I recommend using Child of the Old Gods and Feed the Void.
After casting a rift, Child of the Old Gods summons a Void Soul that will track towards enemies you damage and tether them. Tethered enemies are slowed, much like with Stasis, and weakened so they take additional damage.
Using Empowered Rifts will cause Void Soul damage to restore HP. Where as healing Rifts cause the Void Soul to restore grenade and melee energy instead. Generally, I recommend using healing rifts, as they provide more utility that Empowering Rift in the vast majority of PvP situations.
Child of the Old Gods is a must-equip, as Void Souls provide an outrageous amount of utility, even more so now that a lot of PvP is based on crowed control, area control and objective control.
When Void 3.0 came out, everyone was so focused on the admittedly very strong Hunter and Titan kits, that it seemed like a lot of people kinda slept on the old Void Warlock.
If anything, it’s only been relatively recently that many top PvP players have started to realise just how effective the Void Warlock kit really is.
See, Void Souls have extremely aggressive tracking, meaning you don’t have to aim them, and a gigantic radius of effect. They damage opponents, preventing Rezes or heavy pick ups, while also slowing and weakening them for as long as the Void Soul is alive - and let me tell you, that thing is tanky.
Alright, the second aspect I recommended is Feed the Void. Feed the Void means that Void ability kills grant Devour. In other words, every time you kill someone with an ability, you instantly get full health back - this also includes Super kills. Once you get that kill, you also have Devour which means that for a period of time, ANY kill you get whether it’s by ability OR weapon, will also grant you full health.
This aspect is beyond useful because it’s always working passively in the background. You don’t have to think about it. You can just play the game and reap an incredible bonus. Every time you kill someone with an ability like a grenade, melee, void soul, or super, you get full health back and can get straight back into the fight. Feed the Voice allows you to go on incredible killing sprees as you kill opponent after opponent while getting your health back instantaneously.
It’s also incredibly clutch in multiple opponent situations like 2v1s because if you kill one person with an ability, you can insta-challenge the next guy without waiting for your usual health regeneration.
Now you may be asking, why not Chaos Accelerant - doesn’t that allow me to charge and buff my grenades? Well, yes. Except that the act of charging grenades is kinda awkward and frequently gets people killed. Plus, the single most effective grenade in the Void Kit isn’t actually one that benefits from Chaos Accelerant.
So while there’s nothing wrong with using Chaos Accelerant, my recommendation is Feed the Void as it gives you an extra fragment slot while also providing a very juicy perk that pretty much just runs passively in the background.
—
See here’s the thing. When people first tried this melee, they were a little underwhelmed. The description reads:
Launch an unstable ball of Void energy that detonates when it nears a target, pushing them away from the blast and making them volatile.
So you fire this little ball which does LESS damage than a regular melee. So what?
But here’s the thing. This is seriously one of the most effective melees in the game and people are only realising now. See, not everything is about DAMAGE. Who cares about damage if the utility can just get you a free kill instead?
Pocket Singularity damages your opponents, makes them volatile thus creating the chance of collateral kills - and most importantly it BREAKS your opponent’s movement and hurtles them into the air.
See here’s the thing about PvP and especially higher level PvP, when your opponent challenges you they have an expectation of where they will be and where you will be in the next moment of time. PvP players are constantly making best guess approximations of what is going to happen next.
And that’s precisely why the Pocket Singularity is SO good. It completely breaks what your opponent thinks is going to happen. He thinks he’s going to jump at you and shotgun? The singularity hits him and suddenly he’s flying off into the distance as you calmly eliminate him with your primary.
Opponent slides in thinking he’ll shotgun and shoulder charge you? He’s throw in the air, melee whiffing at nothing, as you shotgun him like a duck in hunting season.
As a great man once said, Pocket Singularity is very much your own personal Pocket Sand.
—
Let me make this easy for you. 99% of the time in PvP, you’re better served with Healing Rift. Unless you have a specific niche use case that requires an Empowering Rift, trust me, just go with Healing Rift.
—
So firstly, if you don’t know what to use, just run Burst Glide.
If you just want a simple jump that works well in PvP that literally 99.9% of top players use, then just equip Burst Glide.
But if you’re interested in running something a little more… niche - shall we say? Then you can also try using Blink.
Listen, Blink has quite the learning curve. You basically do your normal little jump and then the next jump will blink you in the direction that your momentum is heading.
OK it’s actually quite hard to explain. But try equipping it and running around the Cosmodrome for a little bit and you’ll get the drift. Blink is hard to use in PvP but those who master it? They are honestly a truly scary specimen.
Blink when paired with a certain exotic also offers the fastest movement in the game bar none, but I’ll get into that later.
For now all you need to know is use Burst Glide - and know that Blink is there if you ever decide you want a high skill/high effort option.
—
Right now, the best Void grenade in the game is the Spike Grenade. This thing is absolutely monstrous. It has a gigantic radius of effect and outputs insane amounts of damage in a very short space of time.
And while, yes, you do have to learn how to angle it properly. Sometimes learning which angles are good is a pretty valuable skillset in life.
Trust me, even though there’s a small learning curve, it’s well worth mastering the Spike Grenade.
Otherwise, the next best grenade and the easiest Void grenade is the Vortex Grenade. Point at somewhere, throw the grenade, and now nobody can go there. Easy! It’s great for area denial on Rezes, zones and heavy ammo, so it also has a lot of utility.
And that’s also one of the reasons why I don’t recommend Chaos Accelerant. Spike Nades receive no buffs from the Chaos Accelerant aspect.
—
First things first, don’t use Nova Warp. It’s terrible in PvP compared to the utility of the Nova Bomb right now.
Now there’s a lot of debate about which Nova Bomb is better, and there is no “right” answer. Both flavours of Nova Bomb have their own pros and cons, so let me make it simple for you.
If you want a slow Nova bomb with tracking, then go with Nova Bomb: Cataclysm.
If you want a fast Nova bomb with ZERO tracking, then go with Nova Bomb: Vortex.
I personally prefer to use Slow-va Bomb because when I use Nova I use it in relatively close quarters where the speed of the Nova Bomb doesn’t matter. I find the tracking to be fairly effective in terms of making sure I don’t whiff the super - plus sometimes the Slow-va bomb will literally chase someone off a capture point even if it doesn’t outright kill them.
But it’s horses for courses, try both Novas out and see which one you prefer. At the end of the day, it’s a simple equation, you throw it, it goes boom and kills everybody nearby including yourself sometimes.
—
Echo of Leeching is mandatory. Not only does it give you +10 Resilience, it also starts health generation for you and nearby allies after a melee kill. This is unbelievably useful and comes into play constantly in PvP. Make sure to equip it.
Echo of Remnants buffs you grenades making your Void Spikes and Vortex grenades last longer. This is amazing for area denial and crowd control, so make sure to equip it.
Echo of Dilation gives you enhanced radar while crouching, faster crouch walk speed, and also +10 to Mobility and Intellect. This fragments offers incredibly bang for buck and I highly recommend it.
Lastly, Echo of Expulsion means that void final abilities cause targets to explode. In other words, if you kill someone with any ability, there’s a good change they’ll explode and kill everyone around them. Highly recommended as you’ll net a surprising number of collateral kills from this.
—
Firstly, Ophidian Aspects. This is by far the most used Warlock exotic, and for good reason. +30 to all weapon handling and reload speed. Extended melee range, so you can punch like a Titan with knockout. And to make things even crazier plus 10 to aerial effectiveness (at least at the time this video was made).
Ophidians are absolutely juiced. They give you an outrageous amount of utility with literally no activation trigger. You just play the game but on steroids. If you don’t know what to equip or you want an easy choice, then use Ophidian Aspects - you won’t regret it.
Next up, Transversive Steps. T-Step give you increased sprint speed and slide distance. They’re the speed boots for Warlocks, like Stompees for Hunter or Dunemarchers for Titan. T-Steps also reloads your weapon after you’ve been sprint for about 1.5 seconds, which supports a fast and aggressive style of play.
If you like being constantly on the move while playing fast and loose, then I strongly recommend using T-Steps.
Lastly, the slept-on hipster exotic, Astrocyte Verse.
Astrocyte Verse only really works when you’re running the Blink jump. What it does is increase the distance of your blink, lowers the cooldown of blink, readies your weapons faster when coming out of blink while also granting +30 airborne effectiveness.
In practice, Astrocyte Verse allows you to traverse the map faster than any other subclass or character in the game. It’s been testing multiple times, you’re literally faster than a Dawnblade.
So if fast rotations are your thing or you just love breaking ankles, and you love the challenge of mastering an incredibly unorthodox but rewarding playstyle, then Astrocyte Blink might be for you.
---
OK guys, hope that helps!
As usual, I'll see you all in the Crucible
Mr Armageddon
submitted by MrArmageddonTTV to CrucibleGuidebook [link] [comments]
I've noticed a lot more top players opting to play Void Warlock, even in competitive settings.
Wallah released a video about it, and after seeing u/PrimaryGirl_TTV hit Ascendant in solo queue on Voidlock with HC/Shotty only, I decided it was a good time to make this video.
Video here: https://youtu.be/7dgSfZTa-os
Of course, if you prefer to read, I'll summarize everything below!
---
ASPECTS
Voidwalkers can select two out of three total aspects:1. Child of the Old Gods
2. Feed the Void
3. And Chaos Accelerant.
For this build, I recommend using Child of the Old Gods and Feed the Void.
After casting a rift, Child of the Old Gods summons a Void Soul that will track towards enemies you damage and tether them. Tethered enemies are slowed, much like with Stasis, and weakened so they take additional damage.
Using Empowered Rifts will cause Void Soul damage to restore HP. Where as healing Rifts cause the Void Soul to restore grenade and melee energy instead. Generally, I recommend using healing rifts, as they provide more utility that Empowering Rift in the vast majority of PvP situations.
Child of the Old Gods is a must-equip, as Void Souls provide an outrageous amount of utility, even more so now that a lot of PvP is based on crowed control, area control and objective control.
When Void 3.0 came out, everyone was so focused on the admittedly very strong Hunter and Titan kits, that it seemed like a lot of people kinda slept on the old Void Warlock.
If anything, it’s only been relatively recently that many top PvP players have started to realise just how effective the Void Warlock kit really is.
See, Void Souls have extremely aggressive tracking, meaning you don’t have to aim them, and a gigantic radius of effect. They damage opponents, preventing Rezes or heavy pick ups, while also slowing and weakening them for as long as the Void Soul is alive - and let me tell you, that thing is tanky.
Alright, the second aspect I recommended is Feed the Void. Feed the Void means that Void ability kills grant Devour. In other words, every time you kill someone with an ability, you instantly get full health back - this also includes Super kills. Once you get that kill, you also have Devour which means that for a period of time, ANY kill you get whether it’s by ability OR weapon, will also grant you full health.
This aspect is beyond useful because it’s always working passively in the background. You don’t have to think about it. You can just play the game and reap an incredible bonus. Every time you kill someone with an ability like a grenade, melee, void soul, or super, you get full health back and can get straight back into the fight. Feed the Voice allows you to go on incredible killing sprees as you kill opponent after opponent while getting your health back instantaneously.
It’s also incredibly clutch in multiple opponent situations like 2v1s because if you kill one person with an ability, you can insta-challenge the next guy without waiting for your usual health regeneration.
Now you may be asking, why not Chaos Accelerant - doesn’t that allow me to charge and buff my grenades? Well, yes. Except that the act of charging grenades is kinda awkward and frequently gets people killed. Plus, the single most effective grenade in the Void Kit isn’t actually one that benefits from Chaos Accelerant.
So while there’s nothing wrong with using Chaos Accelerant, my recommendation is Feed the Void as it gives you an extra fragment slot while also providing a very juicy perk that pretty much just runs passively in the background.
—
MELEE
Now in terms of melees, Void Warlocks only have one melee ability they can select: Pocket Singularity. But boy is this one a doozy!See here’s the thing. When people first tried this melee, they were a little underwhelmed. The description reads:
Launch an unstable ball of Void energy that detonates when it nears a target, pushing them away from the blast and making them volatile.
So you fire this little ball which does LESS damage than a regular melee. So what?
But here’s the thing. This is seriously one of the most effective melees in the game and people are only realising now. See, not everything is about DAMAGE. Who cares about damage if the utility can just get you a free kill instead?
Pocket Singularity damages your opponents, makes them volatile thus creating the chance of collateral kills - and most importantly it BREAKS your opponent’s movement and hurtles them into the air.
See here’s the thing about PvP and especially higher level PvP, when your opponent challenges you they have an expectation of where they will be and where you will be in the next moment of time. PvP players are constantly making best guess approximations of what is going to happen next.
And that’s precisely why the Pocket Singularity is SO good. It completely breaks what your opponent thinks is going to happen. He thinks he’s going to jump at you and shotgun? The singularity hits him and suddenly he’s flying off into the distance as you calmly eliminate him with your primary.
Opponent slides in thinking he’ll shotgun and shoulder charge you? He’s throw in the air, melee whiffing at nothing, as you shotgun him like a duck in hunting season.
As a great man once said, Pocket Singularity is very much your own personal Pocket Sand.
—
CLASS ABILITY
As for class ability, Warlocks can choose between Empowering Rift and Healing Rift.Let me make this easy for you. 99% of the time in PvP, you’re better served with Healing Rift. Unless you have a specific niche use case that requires an Empowering Rift, trust me, just go with Healing Rift.
—
JUMP
OK, now when it comes to Jumps, I normally don’t mention them much because either the answer is extremely obvious or it’s a matter of preference.So firstly, if you don’t know what to use, just run Burst Glide.
If you just want a simple jump that works well in PvP that literally 99.9% of top players use, then just equip Burst Glide.
But if you’re interested in running something a little more… niche - shall we say? Then you can also try using Blink.
Listen, Blink has quite the learning curve. You basically do your normal little jump and then the next jump will blink you in the direction that your momentum is heading.
OK it’s actually quite hard to explain. But try equipping it and running around the Cosmodrome for a little bit and you’ll get the drift. Blink is hard to use in PvP but those who master it? They are honestly a truly scary specimen.
Blink when paired with a certain exotic also offers the fastest movement in the game bar none, but I’ll get into that later.
For now all you need to know is use Burst Glide - and know that Blink is there if you ever decide you want a high skill/high effort option.
—
GRENADE
OK in terms of grenades, I’m just going to take a stand and say it.Right now, the best Void grenade in the game is the Spike Grenade. This thing is absolutely monstrous. It has a gigantic radius of effect and outputs insane amounts of damage in a very short space of time.
And while, yes, you do have to learn how to angle it properly. Sometimes learning which angles are good is a pretty valuable skillset in life.
Trust me, even though there’s a small learning curve, it’s well worth mastering the Spike Grenade.
Otherwise, the next best grenade and the easiest Void grenade is the Vortex Grenade. Point at somewhere, throw the grenade, and now nobody can go there. Easy! It’s great for area denial on Rezes, zones and heavy ammo, so it also has a lot of utility.
And that’s also one of the reasons why I don’t recommend Chaos Accelerant. Spike Nades receive no buffs from the Chaos Accelerant aspect.
—
SUPER
In terms of Supers, Voidlocks can choose between two flavours of Nova Bomb (also known as the slow Nova and the fast Nova), as well as Nova Warp, the roaming super.First things first, don’t use Nova Warp. It’s terrible in PvP compared to the utility of the Nova Bomb right now.
Now there’s a lot of debate about which Nova Bomb is better, and there is no “right” answer. Both flavours of Nova Bomb have their own pros and cons, so let me make it simple for you.
If you want a slow Nova bomb with tracking, then go with Nova Bomb: Cataclysm.
If you want a fast Nova bomb with ZERO tracking, then go with Nova Bomb: Vortex.
I personally prefer to use Slow-va Bomb because when I use Nova I use it in relatively close quarters where the speed of the Nova Bomb doesn’t matter. I find the tracking to be fairly effective in terms of making sure I don’t whiff the super - plus sometimes the Slow-va bomb will literally chase someone off a capture point even if it doesn’t outright kill them.
But it’s horses for courses, try both Novas out and see which one you prefer. At the end of the day, it’s a simple equation, you throw it, it goes boom and kills everybody nearby including yourself sometimes.
—
FRAGMENTS
When it comes to fragments, if you’re running Child of the Old God and Feed the Voice, you will have 4 slots available. So here’s what I recommend.Echo of Leeching is mandatory. Not only does it give you +10 Resilience, it also starts health generation for you and nearby allies after a melee kill. This is unbelievably useful and comes into play constantly in PvP. Make sure to equip it.
Echo of Remnants buffs you grenades making your Void Spikes and Vortex grenades last longer. This is amazing for area denial and crowd control, so make sure to equip it.
Echo of Dilation gives you enhanced radar while crouching, faster crouch walk speed, and also +10 to Mobility and Intellect. This fragments offers incredibly bang for buck and I highly recommend it.
Lastly, Echo of Expulsion means that void final abilities cause targets to explode. In other words, if you kill someone with any ability, there’s a good change they’ll explode and kill everyone around them. Highly recommended as you’ll net a surprising number of collateral kills from this.
—
EXOTICS
Alright in terms of what Exotic Armor you want to use for this build, I’m going to give you two very safe meta options and one slightly off the wall recommendation.Firstly, Ophidian Aspects. This is by far the most used Warlock exotic, and for good reason. +30 to all weapon handling and reload speed. Extended melee range, so you can punch like a Titan with knockout. And to make things even crazier plus 10 to aerial effectiveness (at least at the time this video was made).
Ophidians are absolutely juiced. They give you an outrageous amount of utility with literally no activation trigger. You just play the game but on steroids. If you don’t know what to equip or you want an easy choice, then use Ophidian Aspects - you won’t regret it.
Next up, Transversive Steps. T-Step give you increased sprint speed and slide distance. They’re the speed boots for Warlocks, like Stompees for Hunter or Dunemarchers for Titan. T-Steps also reloads your weapon after you’ve been sprint for about 1.5 seconds, which supports a fast and aggressive style of play.
If you like being constantly on the move while playing fast and loose, then I strongly recommend using T-Steps.
Lastly, the slept-on hipster exotic, Astrocyte Verse.
Astrocyte Verse only really works when you’re running the Blink jump. What it does is increase the distance of your blink, lowers the cooldown of blink, readies your weapons faster when coming out of blink while also granting +30 airborne effectiveness.
In practice, Astrocyte Verse allows you to traverse the map faster than any other subclass or character in the game. It’s been testing multiple times, you’re literally faster than a Dawnblade.
So if fast rotations are your thing or you just love breaking ankles, and you love the challenge of mastering an incredibly unorthodox but rewarding playstyle, then Astrocyte Blink might be for you.
---
OK guys, hope that helps!
As usual, I'll see you all in the Crucible
Mr Armageddon