Hey folks -
I know I said I was done posting FV content, but as much as I was intending to step away, theorizing about stuff helps order my mind so I am back to posting. My retirement lasted all of a week 😂😂
I want to explore some of the concepts and inspirations of the Fractalverse from Marathon.
For those who don't know, Marathon is a video game series from Bungie (yes, that Bungie)... The series is often regarded as a spiritual predecessor of Bungie's Halo series.
Significantly for us, it is one of Chris' favorite games of all time, and a lot of the content from Marathon is used as inspiration in the Eragon/Fractalverse series.
https://twitter.com/paolini/status/1661742366028623874
Man, I hope the new #Marathon game is good. The original three were a huge, huge influence on me. Some of the best sci-fi writing out there.
One

If it's a game that doesn't use a mouse, like the old Marathon games, then I use 8426 (with 7 &9 for strafing) for movement and left-hand keys like space, command, option, etc. for shooting, swapping weapons, activating, etc.

Two

Hey, big Marathon fan, which is how I found your work. Been listening to your Leela cover a lot while writing.

Three

Marathon series, Halo, Mass Effect, and the Myst series (although those might be counted as fantasy).

Four

Myst (and sequels), the Marathon trilogy, Escape Velocity, Mass Effect 1-3, Halo 1-4, Skyrim, Oblivion, Portal 1&2, and more.

Five

Since no one guessed it, the sketch I posted earlier was from the end-screen of Marathon Infinity, last game in an awesome trilogy.

Six

@TheDragonUniver Ha! I beat the Vidmaster challenges in the old Marathon games, in the Total Carnage setting no less!

Seven!

@ndemordaunt Awesome. Glad to hear it. I've been playing Halo since it was called Marathon. 🙂 Hope you enjoy my future books!

Alright, I think I've proven my point. Let's get started.
First things first, let's talk about the Jjaro:

The Jjaro were an extremely advanced species--or an extremely advanced individual--which vanished from the Milky Way galaxy... The Jjaro possessed high-quality cyborg technology, such as that used to create the S'pht, as well as a star-destroying weapon known as the trih xeem, the ability to move entire planets by warping space around them as was used by the S'pht'Kr, some sort of time manipulation technology, and various ways of dealing with the W'rkncacnter

Sound familiar? Let's take it line by line with a few tangents along the way.

The Jjaro were an extremely advanced species--or an extremely advanced individual--which vanished from the Milky Way galaxy...

Hmm. Extremely advanced species. Who mysteriously Vanished. Check.

The Jjaro possessed high-quality cyborg technology, such as that used to create the S'pht

We'll get into this a bit later, but there is evidence that the Old Ones created/manipulated the Wraunai. Specifically from the Terminology section:

WRANAUI: sentient, space-faring race originating from the planet Pelagius... Some evidence indicates they may have been genetically modified by the Old Ones at some point in their distant past (Appendix III, TSIASOS).

Not a perfect fit, but lines up well enough. This next bit is extremely curious though -

The Jjaro possessed high-quality cyborg technology, such as that used to create the S'pht, as well as a star-destroying weapon known as the trih xeem

A star-destroying weapon. We haven't seen anything like that before... Or have we?
I've speculated on this in one of my previous posts; I think the "star-destroying weapon" is the black ball in this picture, which was some early concept art for TSIASOS.
You see the Black Ball heading for the sun? Check this out -
Compare it to the picture of the Trih Xeem.
Black ball with a trailing cloud, heading right for the sun? It's a perfect match with the concept art.
This is also significant for the World of Eragon, because:
MURTAGH SPOILERS BELOW
The visions from Azlagur all have him "rise" from the ground to "eat the sun"
Which is SUPER significant, because of the implications of the Marathon Infinity backstory:

In Marathon Infinity, a W'rkncacnter is imprisoned in the sun of planet Lh'owon. It is theorized by some that the W'rkncacnter's powerfully chaotic nature may be responsible for the jumps between realities seen in the game. When the Pfhor use a trih xeem device to send the star into early nova, the creature is released, to the horror and destruction of the Pfhor.

We will touch back on the reality jumping in a bit, but for now I want to focus on the "sun imprisonment" theme.
A cosmic-level baddie imprisoned in the sun. THAT is the endgame for Azlagur. Either he is a planetary-level villain, who will "rise" due to the Trih Xeem and Eat the Sun, releasing the equivalent W'rkncacnter, or he IS the equivalent W'rkncacnter, and will rise when the Trih Xeem is released. It all fits in with the concept art above.
And from this, we can deduce the overarching concepts of Angela's storyline.

Q: Will we get Angela lore? I feel like she could have killed Galbatorix and just didn't feel like it.
A: For those who don't know Angela is based on my sister Angela, because she breaks the fourth wall to a degree she has. Not only does she have plot armor, she knows she's in a story and can break the story itself. So, yes, she could have killed Galbatorix, but that would have made for a very bad story. That said, I do have an entire book planned around Angela, and it's very high on my list of books to write because it takes place before some of these other big stories I want to write. And that's also the difficult thing. I have my big storylines, and then I have a couple of one off side books I want to write, and it's just a question of time, energy and effort.

Given her appearance in TSIASOS, we can interpret that Angela is a "cosmic"-level character, who can cross time and space.
So... what's actually going on behind the scenes? We know she's been in/around Nal Gorgoth, and Tronjheim. She's definitely affiliated with the Draumar, and Tenga in some fashion. So... what's the actual story going on?
Let's take a look at the story of Marathon infinity:

Marathon Infinity begins as the Pfhor destroy Lh'owon using a Jjaro-derived doomsday weapon known as the Trih Xeem or "early nova". Unfortunately, the weapon also releases a powerful chaotic being: The W’rkncacnter, which threatens to destroy the entire galaxy. Because of the W’rkncacnter's chaos or by means of some Jjaro tech of his own, the player is transported back and forward in time, finding himself jumping between timelines and fighting for various sides in a desperate attempt to prevent the chaotic being's release.

So the weapon releases a powerful cosmic-level entity, which threatens to destroy the galaxy. And as a result, the "player" jumps around in time, jumping between timelines and fighting for various sides to prevent the being's release.
Sound familiar?
Jumping around in time and between timelines - that's what she's doing with the portals, the non-standard torque gates.
There are a ton of parallels with Angela and time (such as the references to her being a time lord), so for lack of better information, the most informed guess we can make is that she is trying to prevent the rise of Azlagur himself, or the creature freed by the death of the sun from Az "eating" the sun.
For lack of a better answer, Angela IS the player character from Marathon Infinity.
Alrighty, I could make several posts about the above, but for the sake of space and time, let's get back to the original passage.

the ability to move entire planets by warping space around them

Move planets by warping the space around them eh? That sounds familiar:

Then she was soaring through a nebula, and for a moment, she beheld a patch of twisted space. She could see it was twisted by the way it warped the surrounding gas. And from the patch, she felt a warped sensation, a feeling of utter wrongness, and it terrified her, for she knew its meaning. Chaos. Evil. Hunger.

Warping space around a planet. And Chaos... Sure sounds like the W’rkncacnter.
The last piece here also parallels with what we know about the series:

some sort of time manipulation technology,

Time manipulation - We know, based on various clues left throughout the series, that the Old Ones had the ability to manipulate time. Chris indicates as much here:

Right now no matter what way you swing it, we have issues in terms of time.

Correct.

Moving along, let's keep pulling the Jjaro thread together. The paragraph on Technology reads:

Jjaro technology is incredibly advanced and they have made many discoveries about the secrets of the universe. One of their ships, the Manus Celer Dei, was able to survive the closure of the universe, they uplifted the S'pht, defeated the W'rkncacnter, had mastered time control, had a station capable of compressing the mass and energy of a supernova into a black hole millennia beyond reckoning after it was decommissioned and abandoned, and a few of their artefacts were able to create a cyborg who could also survive the closure of the universe and escape it all together.

A station capable of compressing the mass and energy of a supernova into a black hole. And then it was decommissioned and abandoned.
Sound familiar, anyone?
The Great Beacons. That's what they are. The energy of a supernova in the form of a black hole, which were then decommissioned and abandoned.
We know the Great Beacons are no longer functioning. And it sure sounds like the description of a black hole (both in spacetime format, as a "whirlpool", and also visually)

and a few of their artefacts were able to create a cyborg who could also survive the closure of the universe and escape it all together.

Seeker? I'm not sure, but it sure has a lot of durability.
Alright, we're getting up there in word-count so I want to cut this short.
The last piece I want to talk about here are the parallels betwen the Wranaui and S'pht. It's not a perfect match, but there are a lot of overlaps between the two races.
First, the Wranaui:

WRANAUI: sentient, space-faring race originating from the planet Pelagius. Highly complex life cycle, with an equally complicated, hierarchical social structure dominated by Arms and a ruling form. Wranaui are naturally an ocean-based species, but through extensive use of artificial bodies, have adapted themselves to nearly every possible environment. Aggressive and expansionist, they have little regard for individual rights or safety, given their reliance on replacement bodies. Their scent-based language is exceedingly difficult for humans to translate. Even without technological augmentation, Wranaui are biologically immortal; their genetic-base bodies are always able to revert to an immature form in order to renew their flesh and stave off senescence. Some evidence indicates they may have been genetically modified by the Old Ones at some point in their distant past.

So, to summarize:

• Grew up in water
  
• Advanced scientifically due to the discovery of Vanished technology
  
• Complex hierarchical social structures.
  
• Forms & Use of artificial bodies.
  
• Genetically modified by the Vanished/Old Ones.
  

Let's compare that with the S'phet:

The S'pht were brought to Lh'owon by the Jjarro and Pthia as servants. The S'pht terraformed the planet from a barren desert into "marsh and sea, rivers and forests." When the Jjaro left Lh'owon after the death of "Pthia," the S'pht were released from their servitude, split into eleven clans, and leadership of the race was given to the S'pht royals.[6]

Genetically modified. Check.

The Pfhor forced them out of their typical forms, (as seen used by the S'pht'Kr) and into the strange garb of the Compilers and the armor of the Cyborgs.

Usage of "Forms". Check

After Pthia's death, Yrro scattered the S'pht across Lh'owon, separated them into eleven clans

Hierarchical society with different clans (Arms). Check.
The main two differences here are the usage of smell as a language, and the grew up in water.
Other than that, there are a TON of parallels.
Well, we're getting up there in word count and I've just started to ponder and fully understand the connections between the two series.
A few other random connections I noticed (I will add as time goes on):
Nmarhl and Narhl)
L'phet and S'pht
Alright, we are getting up there in word count, so I think that's it from me now. There are a lot more Eragon-specific relationships I've left out of here; I'll cover these in another post over on that subreddit.
Curious to see if anyone else has found other connections - Let me know what you think in the comments!

I (25 NB) met my friend (26 NB) at work, we have the same position at work and usually end up paired with each other. We get along great and have a lot of similar interests. I’ve given them rides home from work a lot cause we live near each other, and I thought we’d developed a strong friendship. They’ve worked at the company a little longer than I have, I’ve been working there since August. We’ve only been friends really since Januaryish when I got promoted. Anyways they kept requesting we hang out together outside of work, I didn’t see this as odd because we’ve hung out together outside of work as a friend group, I have many friends at my job and we usually do group outings or parties, so it wasn’t odd to me that they wanted to hang out. The day they wanted to go out, none of my roommates were available to go with. 2 out of 3 of my roommates (25 M, 23 F and 25 M) work at the same business. So I went with them on my own, they seemed ecstatic that it was just the 2 of us. I picked them up and we initially just planned to go to the mall. We walked around, talked, bought stuff and eventually had lunch. They kept staring at me which I found awkward but figured because we’re both autistic that I was uncomfortable with the eye contact or they just happen to make a lot of eye contact. They also keep walking really close to me and “accidentally” bumping my hand. After the mall they still wanted to hang out so we went to the thrift store and had a lot of fun making fun of the silly knick knacks, we both love Fallout New Vegas so they were looking for a jacket that looked like Benny Geckos from the game. After that they still wanted to keep hanging out, at this point I was pretty tired but figured we were having fun. It’s hard for me to say no, and I use a cane for chronic pain so I usually need to take a frequent number of breaks which we hadn’t done yet but they hadn’t picked up that I was tired yet. I was having fun and at this point they did apologize about keeping me out for so long, I said it’s ok because I like long friendship hangout days, which is not a lie, my body just doesn’t enjoy it as much. Next we went to get boba and they bought me a drink, at this point they had paid for none of my stuff, we split the food earlier and I lightheartedly threatened them to not spend money on me. When we were in the boba shop, they once again kept staring and moving their hand towards mine. I deterred this because it made me uncomfortable by talking with my hands which I usually do anyways. They were nice and listened to me infodump to them about tmnt (tmnts my special interest) but still continued their staring. I kept getting in my head that they were just being nice and I was ruining things thinking that they had ulterior motives. I forgot to mention that they have a boyfriend (27 M), but they had offhandingly mentioned that they were poly. We then went to a gaming shop to look at dnd and pathfinder stuff, I had to pee incredibly badly at this point but they ignored my subtle pleas to leave, which understandably was my fault as I said I could hold it at the boba shop. At this point I’m exhausted and in a lot of pain so I suggested we end our hang out after finding a bathroom. They still insisted on hanging out longer so I suggested they come to my apartment cause at this point I’d run out of stuff for us to do. This is where things got a bit uncomfy. My roommates were all home at this point but all left briefly to go pick up food. My roommate who I share a room with requested I don’t bring my friend into our room while she was in there, but gave me the go ahead to show them our room once she and my other roommates left to get their food. I like showing my friends my collections whenever they come over so I saw no inappropriate reason to do the same. I have some Dnd, Fallout and Tmnt stuff I wanted to show them. I did my normal showing off my stuff thing. At some point I walked them over to my desk to show them my figurines, my desk is in a corner by my closet and bed so you can only go up to it from 1 side, I talked for a bit and noticed I was cornered. I have past trauma and hate being cornered, I kept making attempts to hint that I wanted to get out of the corner but they stayed firmly in place, even leaning with their hand on my desk to further block me in which I thought was strange. Eventually I manage to slip by them by saying I wanted to show them my shelf on the opposite side of the room. The shelf is lower and next to my bed so I sit down to point things out. They then ask if they can sit down as well. I say yes and they proceed to sit down directly next to me, our thighs are touching firmly and they lean in on my bed with their arm behind me. I’m once again cornered and panicked now. I have a thing with my thighs where I HATE anyone touching them, it causes a violent reaction, my brain screams at me to bite, punch or claw anyone who touches them, I feel sick and absolutely enraged whenever it happens. I’ve been SAed in the past but even before that I had that reaction, my therapist says it might be a trauma response from childhood that I don’t remember. I didn’t want to hurt them and luckily I have the violent outbursts completely under control so I just stiffened up and internalized the rage while trying to steady my breathing. They obviously know nothing about my trauma because we haven’t been friends for very long. So I continue talking about my 2003 rerelease tmnt figures and let them continue to touch me while trying not to cry. Luckily my roommates return, and I immediately get up and leave my room to greet them. At this point I’m incredibly uncomfortable and wanted them out. But I felt bad if I suddenly kicked them out and I also was their ride. We decided to watch a movie in the living room, I sat in the couch corner and they decided to lay down on the rest of the couch while leaning up near me. One of my roommates picked up on the vibe and decided to join us for the movie, the other two sat at the table where you can still see the tv to eat their food since there was no room on the couch. I decided to crochet during the movie to help ease my nerves. Every once in a while during the movie I could see them staring at me. Once the movie was over I offered to take them home. When I dropped them off they asked if they could hug me, I gave them a nervous sure, when they hugged me they put their nose into the crook of my neck which gave me the ick. I’m not sure if it’s just me but I hate whenever I want a friend or just want to hang out with a friend and they turn it into something more without asking me! I’ve been notoriously “manic pixie dream girled” my entire life and I’m sick of it. If you want to go out with me just make your intentions known and ask me on a date! I wouldn’t have said yes but I think they knew that and felt the need to trick me instead. I’m also incredibly turned off by the fact that their boyfriend just had surgery for appendicitis and is also about to have top surgery this week too and instead of caring for him they’re trying to get into my pants. The whole situation feels icky and I’m so sad cause I thought I found a cool friend. They’re trying to get me to hang out with them again (even though their boyfriend is having top surgery) and I told them I have therapy and college dumpster diving on my days off this week and they’re trying to get me to work around those. I just want some advice, am I in the wrong for feeling weird around them now or should I see how this plays out. I usually stick to dating women and other nonbinary people so they’re technically in the range of people I can potentially be attracted to but idk. I haven’t been interested in dating a lot lately cause I’ve been working through my trauma in therapy for the past year. My roommates also thought the whole situation was strange and uncomfortable. My roommate also asked if she had ever done anything like that to make me uncomfortable (she’s also amab like my friend), I reassured her she had never done that and that I feel very safe with her.

Introduction After discussing the essentials of equipping your heroes and forming a formidable team, it's time to dive into the intricacies of their abilities. We've covered the importance of gear, class choices, and team synergy. Now, let's explore the specifics of hero skills, focusing primarily on PvP strategies.
Lance In our previous guides, we emphasized Lance's role as a stalwart defender, dedicated to shielding his allies from harm. Accordingly, our ability recommendations align with this principle. For his occupation, we lean towards Paladin or Lancer, as Dragoon offers an Attack bonus that contradicts Lance's tanking role. Despite this, the Exclusive ability rule leads us to choose Paladin. Without further ado, here are the top ability picks for Lance:
Ability 1: Guardian Aura Ability 2: Blessed Ability 3: High and MightyThe highlighted build guarantees a reduction in the opposing team's Speed and Damage, while simultaneously granting a protective shield for Lance's entire team.
Sword Sword is primarily focused on dealing damage and, thanks to his innate toughness, defensive abilities aren't necessary as he can already withstand a significant amount of damage. As for his occupation, the clear choice among the options is Berserker. Therefore, considering both his occupation and the Exclusive ability it offers, we recommend the following build:
Ability 1: Blood Rage Ability 2: Bloodthirsty Storm Ability 3: Survival Instinct.
With the above selections, our Sword will deliver even more devastating blows, and in the event he is defeated, Survival Instinct provides a second chance to rejoin the battle. However, for those inclined toward a purely offensive approach, Sword Mastery can be chosen as a replacement ability.
Bow Deciding on the optimal build for Bow is perhaps the most challenging task. This hero's versatility offers numerous viable approaches, yet each choice can potentially be both right and wrong. However, adhering to our strategy of aligning with the preferences of top players, we'll continue along that path. While all three occupations hold potential when paired with the appropriate team composition, our selection here is Hunter, complemented by the following abilities:
Ability 1: Poison Tips Ability 2: Venom Rain Ability 3: Latent Talent
The selections outlined above are poised to saturate adversaries with a substantial number of poison stacks throughout the battle, significantly enhancing our Hero's critical capabilities. As mentioned, the array of choices remains vast, offering alternatives like incorporating Blood Bath instead of Latent Talent to transform Bow into an AoE hitter or prioritizing heavy single-target hits by replacing Venom Strikes with Falcon Pierce. With endless possibilities, the choice ultimately hinges on your strategic approach and the composition of your opposition.
Dagger Selecting abilities for Dagger proved to be a challenging task, not due to any lack of potent options in his arsenal, but rather because only a handful of top-tier players opt for him. Despite our fervent support for this Hero and our desire to see him receive the buffs and recognition he merits, we must adhere to the current landscape. Therefore, we've opted for Pirate as our occupation, accompanied by the following abilities:
Ability 1: Staggering Blow Ability 2: Lifesteal Ability 3: Shuriken Strikes
The selections above promise devastating blows against our adversaries, albeit with inherent risks. Each of the chosen abilities focuses solely on a single target, and aside from Shuriken Strikes, the other two cannot reach the back row Heroes, who are typically the most vulnerable. This limitation stems from Dagger's inherent design, an aspect we hope to see evolve in the future. Nevertheless, if you can ensure his survival in the initial rounds, victory is likely to be yours, as he'll have ample opportunity to unleash devastating damage upon your opponents.
Staff Once again, our beloved spellcaster seems to have experienced a slight decline in usage among top-tier teams following the latest updates. However, it remains a significant threat that frequently appears in high-ranking lineups. The choice of occupation is straightforward, with Pyromancer standing out as the obvious selection. The core abilities remain standard, with only minor deviations:
Ability 1: Fire Whirl Ability 2: Pyroblast Ability 3: Thunder Storm
The selections above guarantee a formidable damage dealer adept at both single-target and AoE battles. However, there are alternative abilities worth considering. Ice Prison offers moderate damage and a chance to freeze opponents, while Arcane Blast provides even higher single-target damage. If opting for one of these alternatives, Pyroblast can be swapped out—although this is only advisable if you do not possess or utilize the Legendary weapon "Inferno Abyss," which enables Pyroblast to be used without casting.
Wand Finally, we come to our indispensable guardian angel, a staple on every Arena team, offering us a clearer view of the top-tier meta. The occupation choice is unequivocally the Priest, dictated by the Exclusive ability rules. Regarding abilities, there's a set core with a few alternative options worth considering:
Ability 1: Volva’s Blessing Ability 2: Condemn Ability 3: Resurrection
The first two abilities are ubiquitous among every Wand Hero we've encountered, making them indispensable choices. Resurrection stands out as the signature ability of the Wand, favored by most players due to its pivotal role in battle outcomes. However, there's an alternative worth considering: Uplifting Spirit. This ability focuses on enhancing the accuracy and evasion of the entire team, offering a different strategic advantage.

Conclusion In conclusion, crafting this guide has been a truly enjoyable journey. We've delved into numerous strategies and approaches employed by the best players, and now we're excited to share them with you. However, the beauty of Hero of Taslinia lies in its flexibility—following our recommendations doesn't guarantee you'll reign supreme. The game offers countless ways to counter various strategies, which is why we refrained from recommending specific talent bonuses for abilities. It's up to each player to devise their own strategy based on their team's strengths and weaknesses, as well as personal preferences. With hundreds of potential combinations and strategies to explore, the possibilities are endless. Whether you're optimizing for competitive play, experimenting with extreme builds, or simply seeking to have fun, remember that there are no limits in this exhilarating battle experience!


Foxy

TL;DR, We are witnessing the formation of a content mediocrity curve that occurs when many options are forced to exist around the same level of power. The system needs to be more integrated with other features so that weapons can be balanced without adjusting their direct level of power. A good way to do this would be tying weapon power to cooldown rate.
 
Horizontal balancing is a good philosophy when aiming for wide array of viable options, but runs into issues when having too few balancing levers. Too many options are forced to exist around the same level of power, as all primary weapons are directly competing for the same spot and role with no external cost or benefit to other systems.
The way Mass Effect 3 approached this issue was with weapon weight. Stronger weapons tended to weigh more and increased your cooldown times. Weaker weapons tended to weigh less, decreasing cooldowns. Helldivers 2 could benefit greatly with an implementation of a similar system. Bringing more powerful, complex weapons eats into your mission budget, making it take longer to get approval for each stratagem use. Bringing weaker options, or even opting to bring two cheap, surplus sidearms, would make stratagem approval faster, reducing your cooldowns.
 
How this could function:

(Note: values shown are for example purposes only. Proper balancing is to be left to the certified balance experts)

 

• Players can equip any two weapons in their primary and secondary slots.
   
  
• Each weapon has a "budget allocation" value.
   
  
• Sidearms no longer have their own slot, but all have a budget allocation of 0 to 10.
   
  
• Base cooldowns are applied at a budget allocation of 100.
   
  
• Every 10 points under 100 increases the rate of stratagem regeneration by 20%. At 0, this would give the Railcannon Strike a cooldown of 70 seconds, down from 210.
   
  
• Every 10 points over 100 decreases the rate of stratagem regeneration by 5%. At 200, the Railcannon Strike would have a cooldown of 420 seconds, up from 210.
   
  

Example budget allocation values:

(examples are multiples of 10 for the purpose of simplicity, actual numbers could have any value)

• 0: Peacemaker
  
• 10: Grenade Pistol
  
• 20: Scythe
  
• 30: Breaker Spray and Pray
  
• 40: Liberator
  
• 50: Sickle
  
• 60: Breaker
  
• 70: Pre-nerf Slugger
  
• 80: Dominator
  
• 90: Scorcher
  
• 100: Pre-nerf Eruptor
   
  

A system like this would greatly increase the room for balancing guns. An overperforming weapon wouldn't need to have its direct power nerfed, as it could be indirectly nerfed by increasing its budget cost. Likewise, an underperforming weapon like the Scythe wouldn't need to be buffed, possibly causing powercreep and stepping on the toes of other weapon, when it could instead be a cheap backup weapon for when you want a little more oomph than what a sidearm offers. This would also offer people the option to intentionally take weak weapons in exchange for a greatly increased rate of stratagem availability.
 
Addressing possible issues:

Wouldn't this be a significant buff to player power?

Yes. That's naturally going to occur when making a more complex system. The solution would be to adjust the difficulty around this. Ultimately the goal should be for a balanced game with more interesting loadout decisions.

Couldn't one player just bring good weapons for other players who bring pistols, intentionally respawning multiple piles of weapons?

Sure, but that costs lives and something similar already exists with support weapons and backpacks. There are other ways around this as well, such as making it so you can only carry spare ammo for weapons you bring. Sure, you could pick someone's Eruptor up off the ground, but you'd only have what's left in the magazine to shoot.
 
Helldivers 2 is an amazing game that is going to be choked out by the deluge of mediocre content we will get unless something changes. There's room in the design space for overpowered primary weapons that carry appropriate costs for running them. Arrowhead needs to see this iceberg they are slowly approaching and shift course.

The idea of making and publishing my own game sounds amazing and I’m willing to work hard to learn the skills to do so as a hobbyist but I just don’t know how developers handle the criticism.
By criticism I’m not talking about the music, gameplay or artstyle of the game. I’m moreso talking about how people say that your game doesn’t represent minority groups, or it doesn’t include hundreds (and no, I’m not saying that to mock enby people, I am just saying that because there is hundreds of genders and neopronouns, ways to identify, etc) of gender options in a character creation screen, etc.
Even someone as well liked as Eric Barone with Stardew Valley received criticism that there wasn’t enough gender options in his game and now there’s a whole petition to change it here: https://www.change.org/p/pronoun-options-for-trans-and-non-binary-players-in-stardew-valley#
It feels as though the only way I can succeed in creating a little game with next to no backlash is to make a puzzle game like wordle, otherwise I feel like there’s no chance for success or creativity in creating games without hurting people’s feelings.
Anybody have thoughts or input on the possibility of overcoming this? Looking for genuine perspectives as this is something that legitimately scares me and holds me back from creating/developing games. Thank you.

https://imgur.com/a/Iws41Ye Edit: I have realized I named it "Communist Technology/Artifacts" instead of “Chinese Technology/Artifacts”, please pretend that I didn't do that <3
Am I missing anything? I've tried to get everything but I'm wondering if anyone's aware of something I missed. Also before I start getting comments about something being out of place I'll explain why I put what where for.
The People's Power Armor -I'm aware the canonicity of the Communist Power Armor is dubious at best but its 1, discussed in the fallout bible, something Bethesda pulls from a lot. And 2, has a skin in fallout 76 THAT IS USED in the game by a chinese commissar.
Different Shades of Red -All of the things made by Americans on the list is just to show how Chinese technology takes from/inspires things from America, while writing this I have realized that I didn't take into account that some of the guns like the Mauser WERENT made in America so lets just pretend that the things that have an old glory red tint in their titles is foreign tech, not just American.
Warmachine -I put the warmachine and the chimera down despite them being most likely fabricated by America because they are still technically linked with the Chinese via America claiming they exist, now I'm 99% sure the chimera is Chinese propaganda and I'm pretty sure that the warmachine is a mix of depictions of the Chinese power armor and the Liberty Prime they were making this propaganda piece to drum up support for, its most likely fake.
Chinese Army Training Manual -I added the Chinese Army Training manual and the army uniforms because while they might not be technology they still give us insight of the innerworkings of China in the Fallout universe.
Hei Gui Stealth Suit MK I -I put two separate versions of the Hei Gui Stealth suit because I'm PRETTY sure that the stealth suits in Fallout New Vegas are old models, not just damaged suits (despite their terrible conditions they are stored in.) It would make sense if these suits were used to make the Stealth Suit series in the Big MT while the stealth boy suits actually have the invisibility tech that the most likely newer suits had.
Shanghai Type 37 -Now the elephant in the room, I know I put the 9mm SMG as Chinese made but the circumstantial evidence of Chinese probably infiltrating hoover damn, due to the aforementioned stealth suits. And there being stuff like the Chinese pistols and Chinese Assault Rifles in fallout 3 setting a president for Chinese weapons being common place. As well as the 9mm SMGs being chambered in 9mm instead of .45 like in fallout 2 leads me to believe that they are indeed a knockoff like the Chinese Pistol and Assault Rifle are. There's a really good reddit page about this in falloutlore that I'll link if anyone asks for that goes deeper into this but the Type 37 is a real Chinese knockoff of the grease gun chambered in 9mm so it would make sense for them to be the same fitting with the theme of copycat Chinese arms being commonplace in Fallout's America. Now why did I add "Shanghai" to the beginning of it? Well it was (I think) first created in Shanghai and since the Type 17 already has it's province where it was made at the beginning of it I though I might as well add the city where this one was made because I'm pretty sure Shanghai is in no province? I'm incredibly unelicited on this, which is one of the reasons I'm making this entire book long reddit post in the first place so please correct me if I'm wrong. So yeah that's why I did that.
This has been incredibly rambly and I'm sure I could've cut some stuff out but I'm not going to, this is meant to be a discussion to tell me what I should add and improve with this chart so it can be better. I'm thinking of making my own idea of what a Chinese Fallout game would look like which is the entire reason I'm doing this, I want a neat little chart of all the Chinese stuff we see in the games. This was so fun I might even do this for just Fallout companies in general! Thank you for your heavenly perseverance friend <3

Ok, wow….so the game’s two year anniversary came & went today, and Saber did not acknowledge the anniversary in ANY capacity, not even a tweet.
Now I’ll be honest here: Even though I’ve been championing for this game to make a comeback, I was not expecting them to drop some huge ass update for the anniversary that brought new content and/or skins into the game. I’m not on THAT MUCH copium. At most I would have expected a bug fix patch to drop, since we know from recent SteamDB updates and Tim Willits directly that one was in the works, and even then I was only really HALF-expecting that to drop on the anniversary. So I’m not upset about THAT…..but come on Saber, I know you ceased production on content for the game, and I know your focus is on other projects right now, but you can’t even be bothered to do the BARE MINIMUM & put out a simple tweet? A lot of people gave Saber shit last year for how they acknowledged the one-year anniversary of the game with nothing more than a single tweet, but at least they ACKNOWLEDGED the anniversary, which is more than what they did this year, which is…..literally nothing at all! And that’s quite disappointing for me, because before this I couldn’t imagine they would care less enough about their own game & would shit on it that much to the point they wouldn’t even acknowledge the anniversary, and tbh, this severely diminishes any hope that I had for the possibility of #ReviveEvilDeadTheGame coming to fruition. Because if they even had a desire to PRETEND that they care about the game, they would have acknowledged the anniversary, even if it’s just in a very small way like a tweet or something. Idk man, to me this is not a good look for them & doesn’t spell any kind of positive outlook for the game going forward.

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Introduction

Hello and welcome to another Minion guide! We have seen some very big changes to our boney boys and I wanted to try and help Necromancers new and old have a deeper understanding moving into Season 4. As a forewarning, I would like to state that I am not an absolute authority on all things Minions nor do I know beyond a reasonable doubt that anything posted in this guide is 100% accurate. However, I will try to be as concise and forthcoming as possible with reliable sources and materials.

Minion Changes

• Skirmisher Upgrade 2: No cooldown on the empowered critical strike or damage.
  • Still not worth using over Reapers.
• Reaper Upgrade 1: Special attacks now reduce an active cooldown by 3 seconds.
• Defenders Upgrade 1: Every 6 seconds your Skeletal Defenders taunt nearby enemies.
  • This made thorns warriors viable!
• Defenders Upgrade 2: Now reduce damage by 99%
  • There isn't really a use case for this unless pits is smoking our army and it shouldn't be.
• Shadow Mages: Attacks now Pierce!
  • Something I have wanted for a long time.
• Shadow Mage Upgrade 1: 3%[x] Universal damage multiplier for every Shadow Mage active.
  • Up to 18%[x] with all 6 total Shadow Mages.
• Shadow Mage Upgrade 2: Now fires on every 3rd attack instead of 4th.
  • Amazing dps increase for a mage focused build.
• Bone Mage Upgrade 1: Bone Mages now cast Bone Splinters or Bone Spear every 6th time they attack.
  • Coupled with extra attack temper and extra projectiles tempers this isn't a bad option and opens up some interesting build paths.
  • Abilities cast by your Bone Mages act as if they were cast by the player.
  • Can trigger Lucky Hit Chance, Deathless Visage, Overpower, etc.
• Blood Golem Upgrade 1: 15% Damage Reduction > 30% Damage Reduction.
  • A massive singular source of DR in a now DR limited world.
• Bone Golem Upgrade 1: Now spawns 5 corpses when using the active.
  • Great synergy for builds that need to activate Flesh Eater.
• Bone Golem Upgrade 2: Every 3 seconds upon taking damage your Bone Golem deals 123.2% x [Weapon Damage] and applies vulnerable to surrounding enemies for 4 seconds.
  • Great if you are vulnerable starved as a thorns necromancer. Not much purpose or use outside of this as Iron Golem is better.
• Iron Golem Upgrade 1: Casts a shockwave dealing 154% x [Weapon Damage] after every 2 attacks.
  • The best Golem choice unless the Blood Golem multiplier is needed to one shot bosses after potential nerfs.
• Iron Golem Upgrade 2: Pulled enemies are now also vulnerable.

Minion Skill Damage

Skeletal Warrior

• Skirmisher: 18.2% "30%[x]"
• Defender: 18.2%
• Reaper: 50.4%
• Warrior Count: 5 - 8

Skeletal Mage

• Shadow: 51.6%
• Cold: 51.6%
• Bone: 78%
• Mage Count: 3 - 6

Golem

• Bone: 76.7% (Passive 123.2%)
• Blood: 76.7% (Active: 140%)
• Iron: 76.7% (Active: 200%) [Upgrade 1: 154%]
• Golem Count: 1

Attack Speed

Cap 1

• Andariel's Visage: 15%[+]
• Aspect of Moonrise: 4-20%[+]
• Assault Elixir: 4-20%[+]
• Artillery Shrine: 100%[+]
• Cult Leader "Puppeteer + Magic Nodes": 10%[+]
• Paragon: 5%[+] "Flesh Eater - Culler"
• Attack Speed (Gear): 11-81%[+] "Lowest to Highest roll from one item"
• Minion Attack Speed (Gear): 20%[+] "Possibly Higher with Greater Affix"
• Kalan's Edict: 3%[+] "Per active minion up to 45%[+]"
• Hulking Monstrosity Paragon: 25%[+]
• Bone Golem Sacrifice: 10%[+]

Cap 2

• Rapid Aspect: 15-30%[+] "Basic Only - Does not help minions."
• Aspect of Rathma's Chosen: 50-100%[+]
• Aspect of Frenzied Dead: 30-45%[+]
• Enhanced Reap: 30%[+]
• Accelerating Aspect: 10-25%[+]

Caps Explained
Attack speed has two seperate caps as of testing in season 3. Cap 1 can go up to 100% and Cap 2 can go up to 100%. This means a player can reach a technical total attack speed limit of 200% hard cap. While we do not as of yet know the attacks per second break points from attack speed we are working to decipher its mysteries. Involving minions, what does this mean for you? Cult Leader is supposed to cap at 100% attack speed or a damage bonus of 150%[x]. During the PTR this was bugged and surpassing the cap allowed for additional damage gains. It is "as of yet" unknown if this will be fixed moving into the start of Season 4. If you are only looking to reach the max damage potential of Cult Leader, stop at 100% from either Cap or a mixture of them both. If you are trying to increase your attacks per second, take each cap to 100% for a total of 200%.

Stat Inheritance

This one is rather easy now. Minions receive 100% of the Necromancers stats! Gone are the bygone days of calculating 30% of a given stat!

Lucky Hit Chance

Minions have no Lucky Hit Chance. Any effect that they do trigger that says it is a Lucky Hit is in fact an "bug?" interaction of that skill or ability procing off of direct damage.

Aspects

Almost all Aspects on gear are working as intended with the exception of a select few. I will try to get confirmation about these and update as new information is available.

• Aspect of the Damned: Not working as of Season 3 / PTR. "Possibly fixed at season start."
• Conceited Aspect: Not working as of Season 3 / PTR. "Probably Intended, Minions don't get barriers"
• Aspect of Grasping Veins: Critical Chance working, Critical Strike Damage not working. "Possibly fixed at season start."
• Edgemaster's Aspect: Not working as of Season 3 / PTR. "Probably Intended"

Skills / Paragon / Glyphs

Some skills, paragon, and glyphs are less useful now that our Minions gain 100% of our stats. Season 4 testing is required to determine base values for Armor, Resistance, and Base Life values of each minion type. So far it is only known that each minion has its own separate base life value. "Tested by Seetod and Bactyrael hitting each other's minions for a long time." With this in mind, you may or may not need the added bonuses from the following. (See Bone Golem Note Thorns Users!)

• Skill - Death's Defense: 4-12%[+] Armor and 8-24%[+] All Resistance to Minions. "With the new Armor cap of 9230 and resistances usually being over capped, this seems worthless for us now." (See Bone Golem Note!)
• Glyph - Mage: 35%[+] All Resistance to Minions. "184%[+] Mage damage is worth it in some contexts over another multiplier."
• Glyph - Warrior: 30%[+] Armor to Minions. "Basically never worth taking in any context" (See Bone Golem Note!)
• Paragon Nodes- Minion Armor: Requires testing but it is assumed Minions will receive the new cap of 9230 and no long need these paragon nodes. (See Bone Golem Note!)
• Paragon Nodes - Minion All Resistance: Requires testing but it is assumed Minions will receive our Resistances at 100% value and as such be capped.

Damage, Attack Speed, Maximum Life, and Damage Reduction all seem like worthwhile investments and will most likely be required to push into higher levels of the Pit. A lot of this section is unknown territory and in an attempt to not steer you down the wrong path, I would suggest testing your own mileage from these investments. I will do my best to update this segment as new information becomes available.

Suggestions / Notes / Opinions

• Bone "Thorns from Armor" Golem: Armor increases from Death's Defense, Paragon, and Glyphs, (with the Exception of Total Armor%[+] while golem is active from Hulking Monstrosity) all seem to increase the Armor and in effect thorns that the bone golem receives. Further testing is required when Season 4 launches to confirm this.
• Minions Inherit Thorns: Whether we are taking the generic, warriors, mages, or golem temper from the Thorns Army temper manual. It is assumed but not yet confirmed that this is an additive bucket that increases the total thorns from the player to Minion/s. I did not get the manual during the PTR to test so I will update this section if needed when S4 begins. Thorns the Golem gains from Armor should be separate from the value this bonus gives.
• Kalan's Edict: As you can see from the Attack Speed segment, It is almost never in our best interest to take this Keystone. Blighted Aspect along with Gloom, Terror, Shadowblight, and Apothic Aspect are all net damage boons to almost every Minion build. I personally believe it should be changed to provide unique functionality such as a Mendeln type effect or act as an actual keystone instead of a stat stick. My Suggestion "easy solution" to the developers would be to make this give 7%[+] Attack Speed per active minion for a total of 105%[+] at 15 minions which is the most we are able to have out at one time. This would allow us to ignore attack speed rolls on gear and max out Cap 1 at 100% from our army.
• Aspect of Frenzied Dead: Great aspect, super nice being able to buff up Cap 2. Please make it 50%[+] instead of 45%[+]. You have made it so we can't reach the 100% cap 2 breakpoint by 10% while using a two hander and stop us from reaching 100% by putting this aspect on an amulet for 70%[+] and Enhanced Reap for the remaining 30%[+]. Overall this is really a quality of life change I would like to see addressed. Outside of this we are required to fill that remaining 2-10%[+] with Accelerating Aspect or Rathma's Chosen. Which is a serious over investment in stats.
• Unyielding Commander's Aspect: It is getting harder and harder to justify taking AotD or this aspect. Minions are incredibly resilient with 100% of our stats and there are plenty of instances where bone storm provides more value. I think it isn't as much a fault with this Aspect as with Army of the Dead being the worst ultimate for our class and one of the worst in the game.
• Skirmishers: They don't really have a place in a build path for us as of right now. Perhaps a crit variant will come along that competes with reapers far superior skill damage and utility? They are currently good to stack Kalan's or would be good in a Shadowblight Minion hybrid build if reapers didn't trigger more procs with their AOE and special attacks. My suggestion to the developers is to simply increase their base skill damage to either be equal to Reapers at 50% or greater than this. They should also have access to Area of Effect damage. Minions can not focus fire a target, so it feels redundant to willing choose a single target only variation when AoE choices exist.
• Bone Mages: The novelty of them killing themselves has been lost on me after a beta and 3 seasons. And because Bone Spear / Splinters deals substantially less damage than Shadow Mages, they are an inferior option. We will have to see how the meta evolves over time. Currently I wish they would remove the Emo factor.
• Ring of Mendeln: There just isn't a feasible way to scale this super well. With mages and even warriors able to hit higher numbers, it will take a serious nerf to bring this back up as a viable option.
• Deathspeaker's Pendant: Blood in general is in a bad place this season. I probably wouldn't use this but it is one of our most creative uniques. Haven't seen the damage potential but I think other amulet options or stats on an amulet will replace the want to run this. I think this should be turned into a unique focus so that it can pair well with running doombringer. And we won't be fighting between banished lord's and this.
• Mage Glyph: The Mage Glyph is now not worth taking over any other multiplier with additive damage attached such as the Amplify or Control Glyph. Previously it was one of the only ways to get additive damage for our mages at 100% value besides vulnerable damage. Now that we have 100% scaling, it is an inferior option. Once again I suggest taking the Amplify or Control Glyph for Additive Damage%[+] and a 10%[x] multiplier over this glyph. I would also like to note that minions are now resistance capped at the same time we are, we do not need the 35%[+] Minion All Resistance from the Glyph. My suggestion to the development team would be to change the bonus to a multiplier such as was done with the Golem Glyph.
• Warrior Glyph: Just like the Mage Glyph the Warrior Glyph is in the same boat of providing too little stats for too little pay off in comparison to the Essence or Exploit glyph. And just as before we no longer need the 30%[+] Minion Armor. My suggestion to the development team would be to change the bonus to a multiplier such as was done with the Golem Glyph.

Builds

Minion Leveling (1 - 100) - Seetod

• https://maxroll.gg/d4/plannema6ms0xb#1

Shadow Summoner (Endgame) - Seetod

• https://maxroll.gg/d4/plannet46pg0wv#5

Thorn Golem (Endgame) - Bactyrael

• https://maxroll.gg/d4/planne89930wc4#1
• After each Taunt, use Corpse Tendril and Corpse Explosion to enable multipliers.

Credits / Special Thanks

• GMS Seetod: Skill Damage, Aspects, Attack Speed Caps, Bug Finding, Putting up with me.
• GMS Team: A group of awesome players who are helping make Diablo 4 as great of an ARPG as we want it to become!
• MacroBioBoi: Shout out to our Boi for all of his hard work and communication with the development team. A lot of what we do would mean nothing without a voice and awareness. Thank you!
• Sanctuary Discord: A lot of awesome people who challenge us to find and improve our metrics of testing and approach issues from a new light.
• Bactyrael: Hey that's me! Thank you for reading this far.

Conclusion

If you would like to have your build added to the Builds section or have a specific build you want to see, please DM me. If you have any questions regarding Minions, I will try to do my best to address it. Happy hunting and good luck in Season 4!

I'm not worried about the capability. It will be game changing once we run through a free not generations and see what we want to actually do with it.
The problem is that it's the anti-software. The most amazing benefit of software over the last 40 years has been how cheap it is to get started. With LLMs, today, you need billions to build your own. Only a few companies will be able to afford this.
There are two paths. First one isn't that scary, AI models become "OSs". That is fine. The other path is they become walled gardens where companies make it hard to become seriously profitable.
It's the new wild West of anti competitive behavior.

Younger hooper here, i am 175cm, 47 kg, im pretty fast and explosive with a 37 inch vert but very injury prone. I play the 1-2 position, mostly use change of pace, using a crossover or a pushcross to explode pass the defender and/or pull up into the midrange jumper.
I use my own insole(pic 3 n 4), something I recommend everyone to do, and recently got a full length carbon fiber insole.
What i want in a shoe that is low to the ground, has stability, is snug, wont slip out, good cushioning, and comfortable.
My favourite shoes all time are spo1+, kyrie 7, freak4 and kyrie infinity.
Poron Insole review: (US9.5) TTS Usage: 100+ hours (casually and on court) Tech: Poron on forefoot and heel, gel from heel to midfoot. Performance: Insole fits in all my shoes, provides better step in comfort, no arch support. The insole itself has good impact protection, but putting it in the shoe itself is hard because of the gel sticking to the inside of the shoe. Will try same shoe but with tpu plastic from heel to midfoot.
Result: A-
Carbon fiber insoles review:(US9.5) TTS Usage: 5 hours+ (casually) Tech: full length carbon fiber from heel to toe, poron in the heel. Bouncy rubber holds the carbon fiber in place, memory foam on top. Performance: Not much to say currently, will bring this on court soon but currently i am trying to break them in. Currently very comfortable, very bouncy but forefoot will hurt when you land, still has heel compression.
Result: N/A
When you buy the insole you get the size of the bigger size, ie eu43 has 44, eu 45 has 46
Doom GT Cut:(US9.5) TTS Usage: 10+ hours on outdoor and rubberized courts, not tried on wooden floors. Tech: React midsole with full length zoom stroble and thick zoom unit in the heel. Performance: This shoe is wow! Honestly I expected way less because of the reviews. The traction is incredible, never slipped out. Cushion is amazing! I had to replace the zoom strobel however because it deflated over time, within my second session(low rim dunk training). I would watch out for durability but these never caused any knee pain which is a plus in my book. The react midsole bottomed out quicky and molded to my footshape, no clue if retail does this. Lockdown is good, the tpu piece at the side helped with lateral movements. I never felts unstable in these. Pretty low to the ground. Comfort is another strong point, I would wear these casually.
Result: A
LeBron Next Gen EP:(US9.5) TTS/0.5 Usage: 20+ hours(outdoors, rubberized and wooden court) Tech: Phylon midsole with Zoom in the forefoot and heel. I loved this shoe because of its colour, but I feel that this is kind of a letdown but definitely a great shoe for outdoor hoopers. Traction is great outdoors and on rubberized courts but it slid out on wooden courts when i was doing crossovers and defending, which as a small and light guard is a huge no no. Cushion is the best part of the shoe, the zoom turbo in the forefoot is great underfoot, heel zoom unit feels great for comfort and impact protection. Definitely amazing for guards playing outdoors. Lockdown isn’t that good from side to side because of the materials making the side of your feet slightly over the base, making it feel like your hanging slightly and feels unstable. I want to say that the quality of the materials isn’t the best, and sometimes how the upper contains my foot makes the shoe feel bottom heavy and sluggish.
Result: B+
Son Of Flash: (US9.5)TTS Usage: 60+ hours all on outdoor court Tech: Two boom pods in heel and forefoot caged in cloud foam. Performance: This shoe is everything its meant for, definitely an outdoor beast. The traction is wearing away at hot spots already but for me to always reach for them before going out speaks for its performance. Traction sticks on concrete, no matter how dusty or rough, it never slipped out. Cushion is plush in the heel and reactive in the forefoot. You dont feel the boom underfoot but it does its job. Lockdown is great, it feels like a kyrie in terms of how it plays but one issue i have is that this is the only shoe ive sprained my ankle very badly in. I dont blame the shoe because my landing mechanics that day were slightly off because one defender kept going in my landing space but after the sprain i could never go 100% in them. This is another shoe i would rock casually, very comfortable and plays well outdoors.
Result: A+
All city 11:(US9) TTS Usage: 20+ hours(outdoors and rubberized courts) Tech: full length caged boom Performance: One thing i regret is not using them more, and getting my true size, this is the most kyrie feeling shoe after i trashed my kyrie 7 and infinity but i didnt like the fit being 0.5 size down. Traction is the same as the son of flash as it’s amazing on outdoors and rubberized courts. Cushion isnt very plush underfoot but its low to the ground and responsive, impact protection does makes me sluggish after more then 2 hours and makes me sore the next day, but great for outdoor players.
Result: A
Why Not 0.3 SE:(US9.5) go down 0.5 Usage: 10+ hours Tech: forefoot zoom turbo and phylon midsole Performance: This is one of the worse shoes I’ve tried. They are pretty stable and make me play fast but you need to have perfect body control to always land on your forefoot because the phylon at the back doesn’t absorb shit and you FEEL it in your knees when you land. Traction is decent outdoors but I wouldn’t use it outdoors, only rubberised courts and indoor, maybe light pickup to have fun, definitely not 4v4 half court or 5v5 full court. Fit is my favourite part of the shoe, wide foot friendly and super comfortable, materials are good too.
C+
WKB kobe 6(US9.5) TTS Usage:100+ hours on rubberized, outdoors and wooden courts. Tech: Zoom turbo in the forefoot and zoom unit in the heel, cushlon midsole Performance: These are my second favourite shoe, definitely will get more pairs once these completely die out. Traction is insane, no squeak but sticks and doesn’t collect dust. Cushion is very good also, I never felt sore after the game ever, it doesn’t help your bounce because it’s more like subtle in how it works. Lockdown and support is good, lateral support is excellent, but materials are stiff and doesn’t feel like retail. Anyone who gets this shoe I’d recommend wearing them around the house and double socking. This shit heats up, and break in time breaks your feet before the shoe breaks in.
Result: A+
Giannis Immortality: (US9) go TTS Usage:50+ hours Tech: phylon midsole Performance: lasted well before the cushion bottomed out, will probably get an insole for all my shoes that have no cushion so I can play in them. Traction is the best part of the shoe, sticks on wood, outdoors, rubberized, better then some of my retails, herringbone works guys. Cushion is decent but hurts my knees, don’t really recommend for anyone above 50 kg without a rotation. Materials is where it sucks, the upper tore in where my foot needs support the most and now I can feel it sometimes slightly tearing the more I play.
Result: D
DF kobe 5: Usage: 10+ hours on outdoor court. Tech: ??? All foam Performance: this is the worse shoe I own. Traction sucked even after cleaning but getting better slightly, cushion was okay for maybe 5 hours on court before it bottomed out, maybe an insole can fix it.
Result: F
Have not tried on Kai 1 or pg 6 but lemme just say Kai 1 is my favourite fitting shoe now, both are extremely comfortable, Kai 1 might be my new game day shoe
Ask any questions!

I think a lot of people reading these posts are asking "can I do this"?
Most of us aren't tech founders. We aren't influencers. We aren't making $1,000,000. We don't own 100 person companies. Many of us are average joes-maybe we are a grinding semi successful small business owner, a decent sales person, a doctor, lawyer, etc. We aren't running a hedge fund. We didn't buy 1,000 bitcoin for $1. How do we succeed? Well, I present the 15 reasons on what I have seen why people don't get to fire.

1. Ego. You start living like not only your pay is certain but that it will keep increase. Know people making $40k a month and instead of buying assets, they lease expensive shit.
   
2. Lifestyle/ego: Big house, big remodels. See #1. Add expensive car.
   
3. Not starting your own business, and this especially if you aren't investing. You can never get out if you don't own your own biz and/or don't invest.
   
4. Looking for inspiration from your friends who have no interest in it. Find other people who inspire you. Doesn't mean to lose your friends.
   
5. Understand why you want to fire-for most of us, it's to exit the game. What was fun at 29 is not fun at 39.
   
6. Don't blow up. I know many people who restarted during the housing blow up that simply did not need to. See #1. Too much leverage.
   
7. Not making enough money. Strive to make more money especially when you are 18-30. Too many wait.
   
8. When you get a big exit (selling a business, investment property, big bonus), take the money and create an income stream.
   
9. Not comfortable with risk. Know tons of dudes making great livings but never bought a house, stocks, crypto, etc-and more importantly stayed in cash.
   
10. You don't let your investments take time. 6 months is not enough time for most investments. 10 years in.
    
11. Vegas. Know many men destroyed by gambling.
    
12. I'll invest/do it tomorrow.
    
13. No plan. For example: let's say you want to get to 7,000 a month in income. You want to get to $2,000,000 in real estate. Then you realize "oh fuck I can save $20,000 a year. It will take me 100 years". Writing it down gets your ass in gear.
    
14. Thinking your house is an investment. Big house-though I talked about lifestyle inflation, this is the big killer. Know lots of peeps making 20k in cali-after taxes 14k, house takes half.
    
15. Be afraid of moving. Many people afraid to move states or countries. Trying to compete in markets they can't compete in. See leverage.
    

Hey!
So, with the upcoming remake, I've been wanting to host a DnD campaign set in the Paper Mario world with a custom plot and possibly custom battle system...but I'm quickly realizing that making your own tabletop game is kinda challenging (no dip Sherlock, but-)
I've been looking for a good Paper Mario Tabletop game for a bit, but haven't found anything good. While I don't mind writing my own system, that'd take a long while and I'd like to start this before the remake comes out. So, this is why I come to Reddit.
Does anyone have any good Paper Mario Tabletop systems/games that they'd be willing to share with me so I can host my own?

IMPORTANT: If you're interested, please dm me your discord. Reddit has incorrectly flagged my account for spam as I replied to tens of applications by message with the same reply informing them selection was done on my last LFG post. Hello,
I've started a campaign (DM) set in Exandria (starting in an OC island to set the tone) with a great vibing party in which I see promise. Sadly, two (great :/) players had to leave due to work schedule conflicts, and we're looking to fill in their spot.The game happens every Wednesday (usually at 8pm GMT, but we're looking to make that one to two hours early if it works for everyone, as we were starting that late to accomodate one of the leaving players who was in EST).
Ideally, I would love to find a duo of players who already know each other to ensure A) we can work a way that your characters can join in the adventure as an established duo rather than separately, B) so that there's a balance in the party and your characters have weight in its decision-making sooner rather than later (individual new voices can easily go unheard in an established group).
The campaign aims to be roleplay-oriented, so I'm preferrably looking for comfortable and experienced players (forever DMs this is your opportunity to play) who are seeking a chill party of players interested in building a formidable story over a LONG campaign (aiming for level 20 eventually) set in a loved world BUT with a unique and original twist. As long as you're respectful, willing to RP, and committed, you will be welcomed with open arms.
We are currently at level 3, still in the first phases of that OC island, so you wouldn't be missing much, and I'm willing to take the time this Tuesday to fully brief you and help you create your characters.
Note: We are playing on Fantasy Grounds, for which I own a GM license, so you won't need to spend anything. Note2: I would preferrably like to handle this quickly and get the new player(s) up and running by this Wednesday.

2296, The scene is set in a post apocalyptic Mojave desert, 15 years after a joint effort of the New California Republic, the Rangers, and the mysterious benefactor of the New Vegas Strip, Mr. House pushed back an attempted invasion of the Mojave and a final battle was waved for control of the hydroelectric powerhouse, Hoover Damm.
In the aftermath, Mr. House was removed from power discreetly, due to the actions of a wasteland wanderer on a mission for revenge, known only as the Courier. Mr. House's iconic Lucky 38 casino opened its doors, for the first time, offering a single floor casino and bar, it's upstairs remained an exclusive and mysterious meeting place for the New Vegas Strip's elite. The Lucky 38 represented one of the cleanest, most secure facilities, protected, like the rest of the strip, by the Securitron Mk 2, predominantly. Their presence ensured visitors on the Strip behaved themselves, though the other casinos maintained their own security and 'house rules' internally.
The Strip defined and maintained its status as an independent entity, determining through the Courier's observations that the NCR was stretching it's military might too thin, and couldn't realistically manage over the Strip and Mojave, so a new deal was struck, similar to the prior, but with The Strip extending it's Securitron security to enforce the immediately surrounding communities and a few outlying satelites. Trade to the surrounding areas increased, the Mojave benefitting from the prewar tech, pre-programmed security forces. The drug addicted fiends and other Raider groups would never be any match for their advanced weaponry, and ultimately were cleared out of existence.
The King's continued to watch over Freeside, making alliances with the Follower's of the Apocalypse... their desire to service the needs of the belittled, disadvantaged and destitute lined up, and this is where Mr. Wolf found his place in the story... the Courier and a Follower's doctor found love in the wasteland.... and raised a child together under a Ranger's flag... 23 years later? This is New Vegas...
A handsome man in a leather jacket sat in a dusty leather booth watching one of the girls dance on a pole, shaking her ass as bottle caps clinked on the stage in front of her. It was a swanky post apocalyptic casino strip club. A man in a leather jacket stood nearby, his hands crossed in front of his chest, "Kings" embroidered across the back in silver letters. A waitress approached him carrying a glass of some amber colored liquor, and sat it down at the half moon table. She lingered a moment in her lacey body suit, following his gaze up to the girl rubbing her tits in some older cowboys face.
"You don't get jealous seeing her like that, Mr. Wolf." The girl bit her lip and met his eyes as he picked up his glass and swirled it before giving it a smell and taking a slow swig. He tilted his head looking her over. She couldn't possibly be older then 19. Tight, perky little thing.
Mr. Wolf smirked and shook his head. "I like her... nice and wet when she comes to my bed."
The girl blushed and bit her lip. "So you like to watch?" She surmised.
"I don't mind, but why do you ask?" Wolf had these intense eyes that shot arrows into your very soul. It made her incredibly nervous... but she found it deeply exciting at the same time.
"Well... I'm living in 206 now... maybe... you might stop by sometime and I could dance for you? I know I don't have her body but... if you wanted something that was a little fresher... something... just yours?" She figeted her fingers against the table.
Jason looked her over once more and smirked.
"Two-Oh-six, huh?" He tilted his head, considering.
She nodded.
"Leave your cum soaked panties on my doorknob one of these nights if you really need it and maybe I'll come see if you got the moves." His Texan accent was subdued, but enthrallingly charming with his confident, somewhat bored with reality overtones.
"M-my panties?" She stammered turning bright red. "On your doorknob?" Alexa couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"If you're gunna shoot your shot with a dom... with an alpha... you need to be willing to submit. If you can't do that... I'm not interested." Wolf shrugged, completely unphased.
"But what about... what if..." Alexa glanced at Laura, the clubs most iconic stripper in the club, perhaps even the whole Strip.
She was taking some NCR soldier to the VIP lounge for a private dance.
Alexa had been bold enough to offer herself but now she was feeling nervous. If Laura wanted her out, she could lose her job... her home.
"Oh she won't mind... if anything she'll want to watch." Wolf shook his head, sensing her anxiety.
"Assuming of course... she likes the way you smell... she's funny like that." Wolf let the conversation end and Alexa nervously retreated.
Wolf sat drinking by himself, but got bored.
"Jakey, go get yourself a drink and sit down, I'm bored." Wolf called to his body guard.
Jacob looked over and nodded, giving the lounge one last look around before approaching the bar and getting himself a mug of beer, from the tuxedo shirt and boytie bartender Gerald, and returning to the table.
"What's on your mind boss?" Jacob had his hair slicked back in the usual King's gang hairstyle.
"Heard any rumors lately?" Wold looked at him, taking a drag from his cigarette and flicking the pack over to him.
"Honestly, boss, aside from the occasional drunkard or fiend rolling through freeside, nothing out of the ordinary... well, except... a way's out.. the crazy lady... Gloria was swearing up and down she found a headless metal suit of armor.. said the Enclave would burn down New Vegas. God's wraith and all that, you know how she gets."
"Enclave?" Jason's attention was piqued.
"Yeah, I don't know, she was probably just in withdrawal from the Jet... said she found it in the hollowed out shell of the Super Duper, out by the old highway." Jacob shrugged and drank from his beer and pulled a cigarette from the pack.
Wolf finished the last drag of his own cigarette. "Has anyone validated her claims?"
"Well... no... but... I mean... you've met her, she sees things that aren't there, all the time." Jacob shrugged and lit a cigarette.
Jason squinted, considering the resident crazy ladies most recent half coherent ramblings.
"That's an oddly specific hallucination though....take a group of guys out there tonight... humor me, and make sure she's not right." Wolf lifted his glass.
"Sir?" Jacob raised an eyebrow, thinking surely this could wait until tomorrow.
"Hypothetically" Wolf pondered aloud, "If there was... for some reason, there in-fact was... a pre-war, piece of military tech out there....a T-45, let's say, or T-60, best case scenario? We want it. Even if it's not at 100% capacity? It's fusion core alone... could change up the game for Freeside, something like that could make our tiny little city independent. We wouldn't have to be reliant on the scraps of New Vegas, and forget about the Hoover Dam completely."
Jacob caught Mr. Wolf's drift.. a fusion core could mean producing its own, radiation-free water, it's own electricity.. not just a little, a lot. Powering long dead machines, not to mention the agricultural benefits... producing healthier, higher yield tobacco... expanding their income ten fold.
Jacob suddenly felt like he understood Mr. Wolf's vision for the future.
"I should... go and deploy the King's to investigate." Jacob concluded.
"I think that would be for the best, I can take care of myself here." Wolf waved Jacob off.
Jacob downed his beer and excused himself.
Wolf drank the rest of his whiskey, extinguishing his cigarette.
Laura, the dancer came up to the table, and Wolf motioned to the blushing new waitress for a round, who felt a twinge of jealousy seeing her crush with the most popular stage act in town. She bit her tongue though, bringing over two more heavy pours of whiskey.
Laura eyed the girl as she came and went.
"She likes you." Laura concluded as the waitress walked away.
"Yeah.. I think she does." Mr. Wolf shrugged, flicking her a cigarette.
"The NCR boy liked me." She giggled wiping a little bit of cum from her lips and used half her shot like mouthwash.
"Get anything out of him.. other then.. his seed?" Wolf sighed.
"Of course," She grinned mischievously, "Apparently there's been trouble out West with the Brotherhood. They had some type of skirmish? Apparently NCR lost? NCR was apparently holding some old world tech, I don't know, but apparently it lit up the west coast power grid, like... in it's entirely?" Laura tilted her head to look at him.
"The entire western power grid was lit up by a single piece of tech??" Wolf shook his head at the topless girl beside him.
"Yeah, I had to make him cum twice for more details, but apparently it's the size of a grain of rice, with quote, unlimited energy potential." Laura relayed the information. It seemed more important then a suit of power armor or its fusion core.
"Who else knows about this?" Wolf demanded with his eyebrows squinted against his eyes.
"Anyone with a functional light bulb for... like... three hundred miles?" Laura guessed with a shrug.
"You said... it was the Brotherhood that took the win on the skirmish?" Wolf clarified some details.
"Yeah... rumor has it they have a new up and coming knight that's making waves." Laura shrugged.
"Stay on the rumors... I need details." Mr. Wolf nodded at her, drank his whiskey and stood up, downing his drink.
An energy source that powerful would have a big effect on the balance of power in the Mojave. It could mean a resurrection of the New California Republic to it's former glory and then some, and potentially... might mean a renewed effort to reclaim the western part of the former United States, in time.

With what happened with the Red picks for Ligue 1 and the NickRtfm siutation I have been thinking of all the things that need to change in this game. This game is infuriating. The amount of things that need to change in this game is actually astronomical. I'm gonna do my best to lay out all the problems I see and some solutions even if they are not be perfect.
1.SERVERS
For a company that boasts about making 1.5 billion in revenue the servers are actually terrible. The amount of DCs I have had while playing champs or rivals is unbelievable. Fix your servers. Understand that at content time the player base count will increase dramatically and account for that.
2.People quitting 0-0, 1-1 etc
Why are you not awarded a win when someone quits at the start of the game makes no sense to me. Especially when it's halfway through a game and they are doing it just to spite the other player. I've heard that they might not do this due to multiple reasons. If this is the case then only add it to CHAMPS at least
3.Corner glitches
The fact I have to 2nd man press and bring my player up short every time so that Roberto Carlos or whoever else has playstyle + whipped cross doesn't cross a ball in and some 6ft CB with aerial+ is dunking on my 5ft RB/LB is crazyyy. If it's not this it's another powershot corner BS tactic. Sort this AI out and do something to stop this OP tactic. Its too consistent and abused.

1. Menus

Why is it I press R1 or L1 too quick the game freaks out and I have to restart it. Who coded this game where it is guaranteed to happen every day. I will have to restart my game every day multiple times.

1. Pack weight

This has to be the scumiest ones of all. When EA put 100% guarantee on getting a TOTS or whatever promo. Why is it always the same 5 players worth 50k or less. I'd like to see the real chance of you packing the million + players. I honestly think that it's based on how much they are worth on the market exactly why you never see extinct players like CR7 or Mbappe. I'd rather see 0.000001% chance of packing Mbappe then see 100% guaranteed. Its too predatory that these packs are worth the price of full fledged games.

1. Draft

What a boring game mode. The same thing for the past 8 years. What's the point going 4-0 if the best of my rewards are gonna be an 83 rated fodder player 90 % of the time. Make it more then 4 games. Make the rewards better. Incentivize players to actually wanna play this gamemode instead of ignoring this mode and just copy and pasting it every year.

1. Rivals

I don't mind this gamemode with the recent change to rewards but the disparity in skill level with elite division makes no sense. I have played actual demons in div 3 and I have played some bots who seem like it's their first time playing in Elite Div. It doesn't matter what div you are in because it's gonna be win some lose some which is fine but I would hope it would be more consistent. I love the skill rating in Elite division but why is this limited to just Elite. Add it to all divisions. If I lose to someone better then me then I'm gonna be less inclined to say its DDA or luck.
7.5 Milestones rewards
How lazy can EA be. Honestly it's actually bewildering that they think it's acceptable to give us a tifo to get us to play games. What happened to rewarding people for playing their game instead of giving us 99% of the player base wont touch.

1. Tifos/Season rewards

I DONT CARE ABOUT TIFOS. SPEND LESS TIME PAYING ARTISTS AND SPEND THAT ON YOUR GAME! How hard is it to put 500 fifa points in the rewards tab. Every other game with a battle pass system can give it out im pretty sure it won't hurt your pockets EA. And the levels of packs that are in season pass are abysmal. All this grind for every 10 levels to get something of value. Surely you can boost these packs this far into the game cycle. Not like I'm gonna pack anything of value with how shocking pack weight is anyway...

1. ICON SBCS ROULETTE.

I don't need to pack another Winter wildcard icon worth nothing that I'd rather put into the exchange then play 1 second with in any game mode... I get that they don't want everyone running around with TOTY Ronaldo but at least make it worthwhile with limiting the bad player pool.

1. FC PRO

It's actually disgusting how much EA forcefeed this dead eSports down our throats just so they have people watching them so their advertisements are happy they have someone watching. If they didn't put packs in to get people to watch I'm sure half or even more would dissappear. Make the gameplay more enjoyable and people would happily watch.

1. SBC grind/Quality of Life

This is how I know EA just don't care or are too lazy to add any quality of life improvements. I have to give props to paleta the guy who made paletools. It basically has everything needed that EA should have added. And if he can do it on his own then why can't EA. In Madden AN EA GAME BTW you can filter through ratings. Why can't we do that in this game? JUST ASK THEM HOW THEY DID IT. I know it's probably different dev teams but they aren't gonna lose any money if you ask and if its a matter of coding it from the beginning then maybe it needs a revamp instead of a copy/paste.
-Duplicates. Add a button that let's me automatically put duplicates into an SBC. Searching through this dysfunctional menu to add a player is so tedious.
-Add a settings menu to see when you complete an objective in game. You have it visible when you play moments. Surely you can add a feature to turn this on and off during a game. Makes objectives so much easier. There are probably other quality of life improvements I am missing but I'm sure people in the comments can add a few.
This is from a fc24 player that is just tired of not having a good product of a game. To charge 70-100 pounds or dollars just to buy this game is a massive slap in the face. I haven't given many solutions to these problems but I know there are many so something can definitely be done. If you guys wants any change then boycott buying fc points. Hurt them where they will feel it the mosts. Their pockets. Then maybe some change will happen.

With what happened with the Red picks for Ligue 1 and the NickRtfm siutation I have been thinking of all the things that need to change in this game. This game is infuriating. The amount of things that need to change in this game is actually astronomical. I'm gonna do my best to lay out all the problems I see and some solutions even if they are not be perfect.
1.SERVERS
For a company that boasts about making 1.5 billion in revenue the servers are actually terrible. The amount of DCs I have had while playing champs or rivals is unbelievable. Fix your servers. Understand that at content time the player base count will increase dramatically and account for that.
2.People quitting 0-0, 1-1 etc
Why are you not awarded a win when someone quits at the start of the game makes no sense to me. Especially when it's halfway through a game and they are doing it just to spite the other player. I've heard that they might not do this due to multiple reasons. If this is the case then only add it to CHAMPS at least
3.Corner glitches
The fact I have to 2nd man press and bring my player up short every time so that Roberto Carlos or whoever else has playstyle + whipped cross doesn't cross a ball in and some 6ft CB with aerial+ is dunking on my 5ft RB/LB is crazyyy. If it's not this it's another powershot corner BS tactic. Sort this AI out and do something to stop this OP tactic. Its too consistent and abused.

1. Menus

Why is it I press R1 or L1 too quick the game freaks out and I have to restart it. Who coded this game where it is guaranteed to happen every day. I will have to restart my game every day multiple times.

1. Pack weight

This has to be the scumiest ones of all. When EA put 100% guarantee on getting a TOTS or whatever promo. Why is it always the same 5 players worth 50k or less. I'd like to see the real chance of you packing the million + players. I honestly think that it's based on how much they are worth on the market exactly why you never see extinct players like CR7 or Mbappe. I'd rather see 0.000001% chance of packing Mbappe then see 100% guaranteed. Its too predatory that these packs are worth the price of full fledged games.

1. Draft

What a boring game mode. The same thing for the past 8 years. What's the point going 4-0 if the best of my rewards are gonna be an 83 rated fodder player 90 % of the time. Make it more then 4 games. Make the rewards better. Incentivize players to actually wanna play this gamemode instead of ignoring this mode and just copy and pasting it every year.

1. Rivals

I don't mind this gamemode with the recent change to rewards but the disparity in skill level with elite division makes no sense. I have played actual demons in div 3 and I have played some bots who seem like it's their first time playing in Elite Div. It doesn't matter what div you are in because it's gonna be win some lose some which is fine but I would hope it would be more consistent. I love the skill rating in Elite division but why is this limited to just Elite. Add it to all divisions. If I lose to someone better then me then I'm gonna be less inclined to say its DDA or luck.
7.5 Milestones rewards
How lazy can EA be. Honestly it's actually bewildering that they think it's acceptable to give us a tifo to get us to play games. What happened to rewarding people for playing their game instead of giving us 99% of the player base wont touch.

1. Tifos/Season rewards

I DONT CARE ABOUT TIFOS. SPEND LESS TIME PAYING ARTISTS AND SPEND THAT ON YOUR GAME! How hard is it to put 500 fifa points in the rewards tab. Every other game with a battle pass system can give it out im pretty sure it won't hurt your pockets EA. And the levels of packs that are in season pass are abysmal. All this grind for every 10 levels to get something of value. Surely you can boost these packs this far into the game cycle. Not like I'm gonna pack anything of value with how shocking pack weight is anyway...

1. ICON SBCS ROULETTE.

I don't need to pack another Winter wildcard icon worth nothing that I'd rather put into the exchange then play 1 second with in any game mode... I get that they don't want everyone running around with TOTY Ronaldo but at least make it worthwhile with limiting the bad player pool.

1. FC PRO

It's actually disgusting how much EA forcefeed this dead eSports down our throats just so they have people watching them so their advertisements are happy they have someone watching. If they didn't put packs in to get people to watch I'm sure half or even more would dissappear. Make the gameplay more enjoyable and people would happily watch.

1. SBC grind/Quality of Life

This is how I know EA just don't care or are too lazy to add any quality of life improvements. I have to give props to paleta the guy who made paletools. It basically has everything needed that EA should have added. And if he can do it on his own then why can't EA. In Madden AN EA GAME BTW you can filter through ratings. Why can't we do that in this game? JUST ASK THEM HOW THEY DID IT. I know it's probably different dev teams but they aren't gonna lose any money if you ask and if its a matter of coding it from the beginning then maybe it needs a revamp instead of a copy/paste.
-Duplicates. Add a button that let's me automatically put duplicates into an SBC. Searching through this dysfunctional menu to add a player is so tedious.
-Add a settings menu to see when you complete an objective in game. You have it visible when you play moments. Surely you can add a feature to turn this on and off during a game. Makes objectives so much easier. There are probably other quality of life improvements I am missing but I'm sure people in the comments can add a few.
This is from a fc24 player that is just tired of not having a good product of a game. To charge 70-100 pounds or dollars just to buy this game is a massive slap in the face. I haven't given many solutions to these problems but I know there are many so something can definitely be done. If you guys wants any change then boycott buying fc points. Hurt them where they will feel it the mosts. Their pockets. Then maybe some change will happen.

I don't understand what everyone is crying about. Yes, in solo mode there are sweaty players, but there are also regular players and real beginners. My stats are about 1500 hours in 4 years, 12,000 kills and 1.8 kd, I consistently take platinum. (am i a above avg player, avg player nowadays idk) I skipped some seasons (15, 17, 18). I on avg play 1-2h a day in evening. I can’t imagine how you play, that you are constantly being killed by the best players in the world (according to reddotors here). My advice is to choose the better and safier place to land, think with your head when pushing buildings. In fact, it seemed to me that these are basic principles that people with 500+ hours in the game should understand.
The main point of my entire post is that if you are frustrated after another 0/2 game in solo, you went to reddit to read what people are saying about season 21, read this post, and realized that by playing in a team you are also letting other people down by making wrong micro decisions in fights, and that you, dear player, need to train if you want to play in ranks higher than you are playing now.
Solo opens my eyes to my own mistakes, hastefulnes, wrong decisions, etc.
In short, stop crying and either shut up or up your game.