I did a poor job of telling people what I changed last time because I was out the door, and while I find the update interesting I was curious if anyone was actually using it.
Or even knew what it did.
Then I remembered that the documentation was out of date.. so probably not.
Anyway, I updated the documentation for Theatre today. I also added it to the extension itself as a quick reference. So most of the things I'll reference here - are there.
This is really just around the Speech Bubble portion of things, as the Dialogue part was covered in the extensions initial release.
To be brief, when you use a speech bubble to display text - it draws it out at the character.
(A screencap from the help docs)
Normally you wouldn't see your OWN speech bubbles, but the 'View on Send' toggle will show it to you in case you're curious on how things look. Or if you want to just make sure it's working.
The main difference with speech bubbles is that they are DISTANCE based. On the extension itself, you can set the range how far away someone can be to hear the message. To heasee the message, a player needs to have ownership of a token within range.
So for a 'Whisper' with a range of 1..
so quiet..
In this instance, I sent a whisper then closed the message. Then I moved the token closer in the other window and sent it again - and he saw it!
What about other volumes? Like yelling?
SO LOUD.
In this instance, I have the 'Yell' range set at 20. (This is all calculated in grid squares/units). And you can see that my little ogre man can heasee that message all the way from his gardening square.
There are three range volumes.

• Whisper (Lower-cased and blue bordered.)
• Talk (White bordered.)
• Yell (Upper-cased and red bordered.)

The messages stay on the screen until you close them by clicking the X on them. They'll also be replaced if someone sends another message. (So if they're yapping fast, read fast. Or tell them to slow down. It's in character so it works. Trust me.)
Lastly, bubbles (on the player-end) stay where they were created. So you know where that sound was made, and they aren't dragging around their whispers with them.
Like a monster.
The extension itself was opened up to player-use last time, also. I got a lot of requests for that. So anyone can use it, not just the GM. (Though setting the volume-ranges is GM-only, it's a set-it-once and it's like that for everyone kind of deal.)
So hopefully someone finds this fun. I thought it was a neat side-step from a general chat-app by adding a lot of roleplay flavor to it. You could still be chatting in Discord, but have your character slide up to someone and send a whisper only they can see.
The GM can see -everything- though. Because players are monsters and can't be trusted.

Hey sisters!
I have been through the ringer in the last month/month and a half. I typically have a 32 to 36 day cycle and I ovulate on either Day 19-22. I check this information with Ovulation Strips. Ovulation is by far the absolute worst of my cycle, from Day 9-16 I am Dizzy, So dizzy, this time around that walking was difficult. Nauseous, Crampy and bloated beyond belief, some times I gain 10 lbs during this window. I have heart palps that wake me up clean out of dead sleep and I feel disoriented on the wake up. This has been happening for 7 years now. Ive had my uterus checked, was in tip top shape. I do however suspect endo because the insane cramps I have leading up to my period and during. Days 16-Ovulation I am completely exhausted and I get cluster migraine along with brain fog. My cheeks start to flush unless I take a Claritin, pepcid AC AND Lansoprazole - This only curbs the cramping, gas and stomach pain slightly. After ovulation, I have 4 days of clarity and awareness....then bag the Luteal Phase hits and My Boobs start to expand and hurt so bad, causing my left shoulder to throb. Leading up to my period of I the standard PMDD symptoms (some months, I have every single one on the list) I find it very difficult to maintain a life. I started this new supplement today PMS Essentials by Pure Encapsulations, I took one pill - I want to know if this would put me on the right track, given my symptoms mentioned and if there is anything else I should add to the mix. Im not looking for a cure (because it doesnt exist yet) I am looking for relief, any suggestions and Any advice will help! Thank you, kindly!
https://preview.redd.it/2zsd8ptjw90d1.jpg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f183fdb69323f71360a4de4d258e5f709255916d

Been using Frida OPK’s for the last month and feel like I have never gotten a solid positive. Just started using E@H to compare and just about every single one of them is this dark. According to my Premom, my fertile window is in 2 days, ovulation in 7 days. Have y’all used either and had similar experiences? Pretty please chime in!! Thanks :)

Perfect Cherry Blossom. This game is where Touhou starts feeling like, well, Touhou. While EoSD introduced the new setting of Gensokyo to the Touhou series, PCB is where the series starts defining it's world and it's lore. Having said that, how do the characters in this game stack up? Well that's what we're going to discuss today.
Just a quick note. We'll also include Suika in this discussion. Even though Immaterial and Missing Power canonically takes place after Imperishable Night, the former is labeled as the 7.5th game in the series, as in, it's supposed to be a follow up to PCB. So I think it's fair game.
So without further ado...
Perfect Cherry Blossom Cast (from left to right): Lunasa Prismriver, Merlin Prismriver, Lyrica Prismriver, Yuyuko Saigyouji, Youmu Konpaku, Lily White, Suika Ibuki, Chen, Yukari Yakumo, Ran Yakumo, Letty Whiterock, Alice Margatroid (Art by Dairi)
Letty Whiterock (What Winter Left Behind)
A Yuki-onna who serves as this game's first boss. Letty is only seen during the winter; as spring arrives, Letty goes into hibernation. She's very cold towards humans, and is known to freeze any she comes across.
My Thoughts: There isn't really much for me to say about my feelings towards Letty. She's a Yuki-onna who hangs out during the winter, and leaves during the following seasons. She's commonly depicted to be a guardian towards Cirno, despite canonically not liking being grouped with the ice fairy. Of course, I like to imagine that Letty is fine with Cirno and fine with being with her; It's just that she doesn't like being compared to Cirno, considering how weak fairies usually are in Touhou. Other than that, there's not much for me to say about Letty. You'll only get the chance to run into her at the beginning and end of each year, and that's about it.
Fun Fact: Letty's name is actually a reference to Lettie Blacklock, a character from one of Agatha Christie's book: A Murder is Announced.
Chen (Black Cat of Bad Omens)
Chen is a nekomata youkai and the shikigami of Ran Yakumo. As Ran is also Yukari's shikigami, that means Chen is also subservient to Yukari as well. Chen is also very close friends with Rin Kaenbyou. The two are known to play often, and Chen even picked up the habit to offering corpses to Ran from Orin, much to the former's chagrin
My Thoughts: I don't take as much of an interest in her as I do Ran or Yukari, but I still think Chen is an alright character. Thinking about it, I think Chen's song has the shortest loop of any stage boss theme in the series. It probably doesn't even take a minute to loop... Of course, having said that, while I am fine with Chen, I want to say that I really can't stand that one Chen joke. Y'know the one. The one where someone (usually Ran) yells Chen's name often accompanied by a nosebleed. It just get's very irritating, y'know? But putting that aside, like I said, Chen is an alright character to me.
Alice Margatroid (Seven-Colored Puppeteer)
A doll-controlling-magician who lives in the Forest of Magic. While aloof and self-confident, she's not above showing kindness towards others, as she's willing to let lost humans lodge at home for the night, and is willing (albeit reluctant) to help her neighbor and rival, Marisa Kirisame.
My Thoughts: You might have noticed that I've been holding off on talking about her and Yuuka in the PC-98 discusion post. That's because I wanted to save them for each of their respective Windows debuts. Having said that, here's my view on Alice.
As you may know, I'm not too crazy about Marisa or Patchouli. But out of the witch trio, I'd say I like Alice the most. Mostly for her personality. She's aloof, self-confident, and not afraid to speak her mind or battle someone if the challenge presents itself. But she's also timid, choosing to hold back out fear of what could happen if she were to lose while going all out. Above all, she's kind, and not afraid to helps others, especially if they're human. Don't get me wrong, she's no saint, but still, she's probably one of the kindest people you'll run into Gensokyo. Like with her fellow stage 3 boss, Meiling, it's honestly a crying shame that people misinterpret her in fan works, by either making her a Tsundere or even a Yandere for Marisa when Alice is so much more complex than that. Plus, some of Alice's more unpleasant traits usually surface when she's interacting with Marisa anyway. I'm not saying that they don't have some level of respect for each other. Canon has shown plenty of instances where they do. But still, you can't deny that Marisa usually brings out the worst in Alice.
Lily White (Fairy Herald of Spring)
The Mid Boss of Stage 4. Lily White is a fairy who heralds the coming of Spring. She's know to spray danmaku as she announces Spring's arrival, but it's more out of excitement than aggression. Lily is one of the friendliest characters in the Touhou series as well as one of the youkai who is the least hostile towards humans.
My Thoughts: I got nothing. Her sole purpose is announcing the arrival of the vernal equinox and that's it. Also, Spring is somehow the best and worst season at the same time. The scenery in Springtime is absolutely gorgeous, especially in certain regions of the world. Plus the temperature in Spring usually just right. Not too hot like in the Summer, and not too cold like in the Winter. Now why is it also the worst? One word. Allergies. Having to deal with pollen in the air is the WORST. But now I'm just rambling on about Spring instead of Lily.
Bottom of the line? Lily's not so noteworthy in my opinion. Also Lily Black is literally just Lily White but she's cosplaying as the Yama. Sooooo, yeah. Next.
The Prismriver Sisters (Three Poltergeist Sisters)
This trio of poltergeist sisters are skilled musicians who are popular among youkai. These poltergeist were created by Layla Prismriver, who based them off her late older sisters after their father, Count Prismriver, died in an accident. Even after the 4 sisters died, the poltergeists take refuge in their ancestral home to this day as they continue to hone their music skills.
The sister in black is Lunasa. She's the oldest of the sisters and plays the violin. She's very calm and reserved, but also quite melancholic and pessimistic, due to her honest personality being taken advantage of in the past. The sister in white is Merlin. She's the middle sister and plays the trumpet. Merlin is very upbeat; she's never seen depressed. However, she does have a habit of becoming obsessed with anything she's interested in, to the point where it becomes a mania for her. The sister in red is Lyrica. She's the youngest of the sisters and plays the keyboard. Lyrica is very clever, but also very lazy. She prefers to try and get her to fight for her while she sits on the sidelines and snarks.
My Thoughts: As a whole, I kinda like the idea of the Prismrivers. Three siblings who perform music together. Plus, personality-wise, they're pretty distinct from each other. I have heard some theories that in-universe, they're responsible for most of the songs you hear in Touhou Project. It's honestly quite an interesting explanation. The three are pretty close in my opinion, but if you were to ask how I'd rank them... I think I would say Lunasa, Lyrica, and finally Merlin. They're still all pretty good, even if none of them are one of my all time favorites of this game.
Youmu Konpaku (Half-Human Half-Phantom Gardener)
Youmu lives at Hakugyokurou, the shrine that oversees the Netherworld, and serves as Yuyuko's right-hand-woman, being a gardener, and swordplay instructor. Her two blades, Roukanken and Hakuroken, are said to be able to cut through almost anything as well as confusion, respectively. Youmu is straightforward, diligent, and loyal to her mistress, but said straightforwardness makes her easy to be manipulated by those around her, especially Yuyuko.
My Thoughts: For a while, Youmu was my favorite character from PCB. If you don't count Reisen, then she's certainly my favorite out of the main human protagonists. And I still do like Youmu a lot! She's cute, she's cool, and she's also a bit of a dork who ironically is afraid of ghosts. The whole "cool" factor for Youmu might be played up a bit in fanon, but I personally don't find it a big deal. Plus it's usually not at the expense of any other particular characters in the series (*cough cough* Sakuya). Also, there is this one Touhou fan game (Koumajou Densetsu II: Stranger's Requiem) where she's voiced by Ryō Hirohashi, who, as you may know, is the current Japanese voice actress for Sonic the Hedgehog's Miles "Tails" Prower. What does this sorta minor fact about one fangame have to do with me liking Youmu? I don't know, but being a Sonic fan who also likes the fluffy little two-tailed furball, that fact just kind of appeals to me.
Bottom-Line? I like Youmu. She's one of my favorite characters in the series, and for a while, I actually preferred her over her mistress, Yuyuko.
Yuyuko Saigyouji (Ghost Girl in the Netherworld Tower)
Yuyuko is the Ghost Princess of the Netherworld and an old friend of Yukari Yakumo. During her lifetime, Yuyuko possessed the power to control the spirits of the dead, however it eventually grew into the power to kill others with just a thought. Yuyuko was so terrified by this that she committed suicide. Despite her tragic past, Yuyuko is very cheerful, playful, and friendly, for a ghost. She's also a notorious glutton, and likes messing with her servant, Youmu. Though it's clearly all just in good fun. Despite her gluttonous and seemingly airheaded nature, however, Yuyuko is also capable of being extremely knowledgable and cunning. Possibly even more so than Yukari herself...
My Thoughts: As I said, for a while, I did prefer Youmu over Yuyuko. But after a while, I think I actually prefer Yuyuko over Youmu now. They're both in my Top 10, don't get wrong. It's just that I think Yuyuko actually has more going for her in my opinion. Let me put it in this way.
Yuyuko is the Epitome of Beauty. She has a beautiful design, a beautiful personality, beautifully graceful fighting style (see fighting game sprites), her song, Border of Life, is beautiful, and Yuyuko has one of the most beautifully tragic backstories in the series.
I didn't really think too much of her before, but after thinking about it some more, I feel like Yuyuko could actually be one of my favorites in the series. Right up their with the likes of Meiling, Utsuho, and Reisen (more on the latter two later). It's just a shame that like with many of the characters in the series, Yuyuko suffers with the problem of flanderization. In her case it's focusing on her gluttonous trait. It can be funny at times, but still, there's more to Yuyuko than just eating anything and everything.
Ran Yakumo (Shikigami of the Gap Youkai)
Master of Chen and the Shikigami and Righthand Woman of Yukari Yakumo. Ran is a former resident of the Animal Realm and an associate of the notorious Yuuma Toutetsu before the latter become the leader of the Gouyoku Alliance. However, Ran started to become disgusted with the realm's beastly ideology and left for Gensokyo. Eventually Yukari found her, and the gap youkai made Ran her shikigami. Being a kitsune (or a shikigami possessing the body of a kitsune) that possesses a full set of nine tails, Ran is a very wise, old, and powerful youkai. She's powerful enough to have a shikigami of her own, Chen.
My Thoughts: I didn't think too much about Ran before. I liked her design, but that was mostly due to me liking the aforementioned Tails from the Sonic Series who, as you may or may not know, is actually based off of the legendary kitsune. (I still like to joke about Ran being Tails' long lost ancestomother. Lol.) However, some time after UDoALG came out and expanded on her backstory, I think I've grown to like Ran much more. I think her history is Yuuma is interesting because of the possible scenarios you can make with them. What kind of scenarios? One word. ANGST. That might be a bit of an exaggeration, and I am sure that the two are still pretty close friends (at least I've read that Yuuma still treats her as such), but still whether you view them as former friends or even exes, the fact that they've gone in drastically different directions in life coupled with the fact that Yuuma is unrepentantly evil and (along with her rivals, Yachie and Saki) intends to conquer Gensokyo for herself which Yukari and Ran would not approve of, I can imagine it could cause a rift in the two's friendship. I just think it's interesting to explore the concept of how their circumstances could impact their relationship.
As for Ran's theme, Necrofantasy. It pretty good, even if I prefer the theme most associate her with Charming Domination ~ Who Done It? (I personally associate with the Yakumo family as a whole), as well as Yukari's theme Necrofantasia (which is a remix of Necrofantasy). In the former's case, It has this sort of climatic feel to it; As if you're in the final stretch before facing off against Yukari, with just both of her shikigami's (or at least Ran) standing in your way. It's one of if not one of my favorite stage themes in all of Touhou, especially the PCB Version.
Overall, Ran might be one my favorite characters from PCB, besides Yuyuko and Youmu.
Yukari Yakumo (Youkai of Boundaries)
A legendary youkai sage who serves as Ran and Chen's master and is able to manipulate boundaries. Her gaps allow her to travel almost anywhere, including the Outside World! Yukari is rather whimsical and lazy; She spends most of her time asleep, and in her waking hours, she likes to mess around with those around her. Despite this, Yukari is an extremely powerful youkai and is also very cunning. Because of how well informed she is, Yukari is a master planner, and is able to manipulate events and the people around her to get what she wants. Because of her unpredictable personality, many humans and youkai alike tend to avoid Yukari. Nobody knows what she will do next...
My Thoughts: Yukari. Yukari, Yukari, Yukari... My feelings toward Yukari are... mixed to say the least. What do I mean by that? She somehow manages to be incredible (in terms of power), attractive, annoying, insufferable, and scary all at the same time. I'm not going to bother explaining that second thing, so let's talk everything else.
I say she's incredible because she just goes to how powerful Touhou characters can get. Yukari isn't the MOST POWERFUL character ever to exist in fiction, or even the most powerful Touhou character, but she still comes very close to it. She's able to manipulate boundaries and borders. Do you know what that means? In a nutshell, it basically mean she can practically do whatever to heck she feels like. She's more or less a reality-warper. In a series where two vampire kids can manipulate fate and destroy absolutely anything, respectively, a ghost princess who can control death itself, a fairy tale princess who can manipulate eternity and the instantaneous, and a pet hell raven who make miniature stars, Yukari's ability is still pretty terrifying. I'm not saying all of Touhou's characters are nigh-unstoppable gods who can destroy anyone in a fight to the death, but still, and I say this as someone who watches Death Battle and has seen what kind of crazy stuff that characters it's featured can do, Yukari is the epitome of a cast whose more powerful characters are even capable of destroying most of Marvel, Dragon Ball, and even DC Comics casts, when they're at their fullest potential. Now how they'd fare against toons is another story entirely, but my point still stands.
Why do I say Yukari is annoying and insufferable? Well, let's just say she's not exactly the best person to be around... She's lazy, she's a prankster, and when she isn't one of those two things, she most likely has an ulterior motive in mind for taking an interest in you; like you being a part of her plan or something. She's unpredictable, but I'd say that's the whole point of her character. She can easily alternate being the ultimate good in a situation and the ultimate evil in another. Of course, I will give her credit. Everything she does is for the good of Gensokyo and for maintaining it's balance. So... yeah. As reiterate my ultimate good and evil point, she's not this justice-upholding hero, but she's not some cold and heartless villain either. She's could afford to treat Ran better though... And to stop being so sensitive about her age, at least in fanon.
Above all though, when you think about it Yukari is actually pretty... terrifying. As I said, she's one of the most powerful characters in Touhou, and maybe even all of fiction. And even if she isn't the latter, she's smart and cunning enough to outwit beings who are stronger than her... she's also aware of everything that goes on in Gensokyo, and while I imagine it's not easy to do because of how carefree she usually is, crossing her is basically a death sentence, so you have to watch yourself if you happen to cross paths with her even if she starts to get on your nerves. As if that wasn't scary enough, thanks to her gaps, Yukari can go almost anywhere, including the Outside World. Of course, she's just a fictional character, so there's no way she could actually show up in the real world, but still, the idea that Yukari could very well show up where you live at literally anytime, is terrifying. Especially if you take one of ZUN's comments about her separating Gensokyo from the real world at face value.
So what does all of THIS say about how I feel about Yukari? She's kinda weird. Her boss theme is pretty cool though.
Suika Ibuki (Tiny Night Parade a Hundred Demons)
Another old friend of Yukari's who has the ability to manipulate density. Suika is your typical oni. She has a love for drinking, partying, and fighting. She also possess the strength of an oni, being able to single handedly throw large boulders, and hates cowardice and dishonesty, even though she's slightly less honest than most oni. Suika herself is a happy-go-lucky fellow and can act as childish as she looks at times. However she's also very observant and can be rather critical of others at times.
My Thoughts: I'll make this shorter. Between her, Yuugi, and Kasen, I say I prefer Suika the least. She's not a character I dislike, she's just not one I hold much interest in. I do like her theme from SWR, Broken Moon though. It's pretty groovy.
Overall: I think PCB's cast is a step up from EoSD's. I don't really care too much for Letty or Lily, and Chen and IaMP debut, Suika, are just alright to me, but everyone else is a pretty interesting in their own right. Alice, The Prismrivers, Youmu, Yuyuko, Ran, and yes, even Yukari, have at least something about them that makes them pretty interesting to me, even if they're not a favorite of mine. I think overall, the PCB cast has this "je ne sais quoi" about them that I find very interesting. This game is where setting-wise, Touhou starts becoming more like "Touhou" as we know it, and I think these characters (at least most of them) really drive home that point.

1. Yuyuko Saigyouji
2. Ran Yakumo
3. Youmu Konpaku
4. Yukari Yakumo
5. Prismriver Sisters
6. Chen
7. Suika Ibuki
8. Letty Whiterock
9. Lily White

So those are my thoughts on the Perfect Cherry Blossom cast. Let me know what your thoughts are.
Up next will be the cast for Imperishable Night.

I'm testing 25 dwellers at a time, all sent out roughly at the same time (within a 20 minute window), max level, max health and max on all SPECIAL's.
I'm testing based on things discussed here https://github.com/therabidsquirel/The-Fallout-Shelter-FAQ/issues/7 and here https://www.reddit.com/falloutsheltecomments/1akwgo4/discussion_comprehensive_wasteland_outfit_testing/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
This run they all had NCR ranger outfit, which shouldn't be ideal per either post, but other than E7 outfits it's the only one I really had a lot of. For weapons it's mostly Vengeance with a few MIRV's and then pets mostly +4 damage pets with a few +6 damage pets. From the FAQ testing there's some evidence that there's potential to use less damage weapons.
Most all of them started their return at around 3 days and 6 hours, one started at around 3 days and 1 hour and she was the winner with 8 legendary junk. Though since per the FAQ testing it shows it doesn't look at the individual dweller but at all of them as a whole so the average was 3.56 for the group. Like the one returned with 8 while another returned with 0.
I'll repeat this run again, when they return, just due to lack of other outfits. With the end goal to test various outfits, not necessarily the same exact ones, but more about the overall SPECIAL's and then possibly weaker weapons in the future. Per the FAQ testing INT and P appear to be the least useful and I would probably be better off having those SPECIAL's not trained at all., but too late :)
Any suggestions on outfits to test or a combination of outfits that would make a decent overall boost of SECAL? I think one of the runs will be 5 each of SECAL+7 outfits. S7 on all will be pretty soon since I have quite a few of those but crafters are always using them.
Here's the data from this first run.
https://preview.redd.it/mtudnrasr90d1.png?width=1090&format=png&auto=webp&s=11e9746cc102178bb3f6e4a5033dc2e00d962cba

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Bowazon
• Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/bowazon_

Season 4 Heartseeker Planner Links

• Standard build: https://maxroll.gg/d4/plannenn1lp0wi#1
• High-end Pit build: https://maxroll.gg/d4/plannenn1lp0wi#2

Note: This guide and the build links above may be updated from time to time. Look out for these updates in the original guide document here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pVRhEVZa0qPrg_03Tq_k98eMrmD7s8DK4kELn_Pfhi4/edit?usp=sharing

How it works

Heartseeker is one of the Rogue’s ranged basic attacks that has a reliable chance of hitting its targets.
Although Heartseeker is reliable in that respect, its damage potential was very limited throughout Diablo 4 history due to its lower base damage compared to core skills and combo points and because it had no way of delivering imbuement effects, inflicting area of effect (AoE) damage or taking advantage of the huge damage bonus from precision.
While basic skills still can’t be imbued and precision doesn’t work with basic skills, Heartseeker’s main obstacles have been solved:

• Basic skill’s lack of damage has been solved by using Moonrise and Adaptability aspects (on a 2-hander and amulet) which together boost basic attack damage by 5.6x as well as providing attack speed and movement speed benefits
• Victimise will be a very strong key passive going into season 4. Not only will Victimise provide a decent damage boost for Heartseeker that can’t otherwise benefit from Precision, Victimise makes the Heartseeker build viable by giving the build AoE damage
• As of season 4, you can now get Heartseeker ranks from your pants slot (up to +8)

Victimise is a key passive that works off lucky hit, which basic attacks like Heartseeker - together with Primary Heart Seeker which allows Heartseeker to ricochet and hit twice - can proc very often because of its 50% lucky hit chance and because of Heartseeker’s fast attack speed.
Also, because Heartseeker tracks targets, this can be used safely and reliably to deal damage to enemies from afar. As enemies then agro towards you from a distance and converge closer and closer together as they approach you, this allows your AoE explosions to deal more damage the more tightly packed enemies become.
Pros

• Good consistent damage that doesn’t need an elaborate attack rotation to do reliable damage
• Easy to play by spamming a single attack without worrying about conditional damage combinations and energy usage
• Safely fight from a distance, taking the heat off you and reduces the chances of long drawn out fights from needing to dodge around
• No resource issues so no need to build around energy sustainability in your build, saving skill points, aspect slots, affix slots on gear and less reliant on Inner Sight

Cons

• Crowd control effects (CC) are not the easiest to apply with attacks since Heartseeker only hits 1 or 2 targets per cast
• Damage takes a little time to ramp up - Heartseeker, Moonrise, Exploit Weakness, Chip all have buffs or debuffs that ramp up based on how many times you hit targets. This takes about 3-4 seconds for all damage bonuses to be fully online
• Not a build that you can start levelling with from a brand new character until you collect the key ingredients
• Despite having AoE in the build, builds like Penetrating shot and Scoundrel’s Kiss Rapid fire are still unmet when it comes to AoE potential

Victimise Double Dipping
Victimise has interactions with your original attacks that result in your damage output being affected by double dipping. This means that certain buffs and debuffs boost your damage twice, usually in 2 different stages of your full damage calculation.
Victimise bases its damage based on a percentage of damage that your Heartseeker hits do. For example, if Heartseeker does 10,000 damage and Victimise does 300% of your original (Heartseeker) damage, then Victimise explosions will do 30,000 damage.
If then your Heartseeker damage is increased by buffs and debuffs that result in Heartseeker doing more damage against its targets, then this will increase the base damage of Victimise. For example, if the Control glyph + Exploit Weakness debuffs increase Heartseeker’s damage by 50%, then Heartseeker will now do 15,000 damage, and Victimise is expected to do 45,000 damage (because Victimise does 300% of your Heartseeker damage).
However in this case, when Heartseeker results in a Victimise explosion and hits the same targets that are affected by the Control glyph + Exploit Weakness debuffs, then Victimise itself also gains the benefits from these debuffs, and its final damage will increase from 45,000 damage to 67,500 damage, or in other words 30,000 x 1.5 x 1.5 = 67,500 damage.
Known interactions that double dip with Victimise:

• Caltrops - as long as the target is standing in Caltrops while hit with Heartseeker and Victimise
• Exploit - as long as the target is health or injured when hit with Heartseeker and Victimise
• Subverting Poison Trap - as long as the target is standing in Poison Trap, but not applicable to us since we don’t deal poison damage
• Control glyph - as long as the target is CC’ed when hit with Heartseeker and Victimise
• Pride glyph - as long as the target is health when hit with Heartseeker and Victimise
• Chip glyph - as long as the target is hit 10 times with physical attacks prior to when hit with Heartseeker and Victimise for maximum effect
• Canny glyph - as long as the target is hit 10 times with non-physical attacks prior to when hit, but not applicable to us since we don’t deal non-physical damage
• Deadly Ambush - as long as the target is standing in any of our traps (Caltrops) while hit with Heartseeker and Victimise
• Exploit Weakness - as long as the target is hit 25 times while vulnerable prior to when hit with Heartseeker and Victimise for maximum effect

Credits to Ava on Sanctuary Diablo 4 Discord server for testing this out.
To put things into perspective, while playing in the PTR, I noticed my Barrage hits that were doing 1.1 million damage were procing Victimise explosions that were doing almost 12 million damage.
With Heartseeker, our damage per hit with Heartseeker and Victimise explosions will do much more damage, and Victimise explosions will occur more often.
https://preview.redd.it/bjskc65ro90d1.png?width=756&format=png&auto=webp&s=5d30f050350d11604ee1a341efc7aee86d75a4ab

The Build

Skills

• Heartseeker - The main “core” skill for this build. Get Primary Heartseeker for ricochet Heartseeker arrows that deal 75% of the original damage. These arrows can loop back around and hit the same target twice, as long as it doesn’t hit a wall or obstacle
• Dash - For general mobility and disengagement. Get Enhanced Dash for 15% critical strike damage for bosses or tightly packed enemies
• Shadow Step - For general mobility and a CC break. Get Enhanced Shadow Step for 8% critical strike chance mainly for bosses, and Disciplined Shadow Step to help refresh Shadow Step’s cooldown. Alternatively you can get Methodical Shadow Step for better stagger application, but using Shadow Step in this way risks being caught in CC and potentially dying
• Concealment - For general mobility, disengagement, and a CC break. Get Subverting Concealment for applying vulnerable while in the levelling stages
• Smoke Grenade - For disabling groups by dazing them, disabling suppressor barriers and for activating both Cheap Shot, Control and Concussive Strikes. Get Enhanced Smoke Grenade for an extra 25% damage bonus versus groups of enemies (this doesn’t work on bosses). Get Countering Smoke Grenade for quickly refreshing Smoke Grenade’s cooldown vs groups of enemies (this doesn’t work on bosses). Alternatively, get Subverting Smoke Grenade to increase the stagger effectiveness of Smoke Grenade on bosses
• Caltrops - Apply slow in an area. Get Enhanced Caltrops for up to 45% extra damage bonus (depending on how long enemies stay in Caltrops), and get Disciplined Caltrops for 10% critical strike chance vs enemies standing in Caltrops

Specialisation
Inner Sight, purely for the 25% critical strike chance bonus once every few moments.
Passive Effects

• Weapon Mastery - If using a bow, gives you more damage vs vulnerable enemies, if using a crossbow, gives 15% critical strike damage
• Exploit - Increases damage to healthy and injured enemies. This passive also double dips with Victimise
• Malice - Increases damage to vulnerable enemies. What’s less commonly known is Malice also increases the base damage of Victimise
• Frigid Finesse - Increases damage to chilled and frozen enemies. This build freezes enemies and staggers bosses so this passive is quite powerful
• Sturdy - Reduces damage taken from close enemies
• Siphoning Strikes - Healing when you critically strike close enemies. Although we can fight at a distance, we can still fight up close and get some healing while doing so
• Stutter Step - Increases movement speed temporarily while we critically strike. Useful during fights for mobility
• Trick Attacks - Knocks down enemies for a short period when you critical strike them while they are dazed
• Concussive - When you knock down an enemy, gain up to 12% critical strike chance. This should work during the first few seconds of a boss getting staggered also (but to be confirmed)
• Agile - Increases your dodge chance after using a cooldown (in this case: Dash, Shadow Step, Concealment, Smoke Grenade, Caltrops)
• Haste - Increases movement speed. This passive does improve attack speed when below 50% energy, but this never happens
• Trap Mastery - Gain 12% critical strike chance when your Death Trap activates (for the High-end Pit variant only)
• Dark Shroud - Reduces damage taken from enemies. Although this is an active skill, we gain Dark Shroud shadows passively through Umbrous aspect, making this a more passive effect

What we don’t pick up

• Impetus - Doesn't work with basic skills. Given that we attack very fast, this passive won’t be useful anyway
• Imbuements - Basic skills aren't imbueable
• Precision Imbuement - Basic skills aren't imbueable
• Shadow Crash - This build doesn’t deal shadow damage
• Consuming Shadows - This build doesn’t deal shadow damage or need energy recovery
• Deadly Venom - This build doesn’t deal poisoning damage
• Debilitating Toxins - This build doesn’t poison enemies
• Alchemical Advantage - This build doesn’t poison enemies
• Chilling Weight - This build doesn’t chill enemies, only (instantly) freezes enemies
• Innervation - This build doesn’t consume energy so not needed
• Second Wind - This build doesn’t consume energy so no benefit
• Alchemist's Fortune - This build does not used any non-physical attacks
• Rugged - We have high mobility with this build and we can heal our way through damage over time effects that stick on us
• Reactive Defense - We have Shadow Step to quickly get us out of CC effects
• Mending Obscurities - We can use potions while in concealment
• Aftermath - This build doesn’t consume energy so not needed
• Shadow Clone - Not only is Shadow Clone severely undertuned to do very little damage (after accounting for all of your aspects and paragon), Shadow Clone doesn’t proc Victimise which is there most of our damage comes from

Aspects

• Moonrise - Increases attack speed, increases movement speed and significantly increases damage when 5 stacks of Moonrise are accumulated. Use in your 2-hander weapon for higher damage bonus
• Adaptability - Significantly increases damage when at or above 50% energy. Because we’re always at 100% energy, this is an unconditional damage bonus for Heartseeker. Use in your amulet slot
• Crowded Sage - Increases dodge chance and heals you whenever you dodge. Use in one of your defensive slots. Alternatively, use Assimilation aspect for Fortify accumulation instead of the healing effect
• Umbrous - Gain Dark Shroud shadows when you critically strike enemies with Heartseeker. Use in one of your defensive slots
• Edgemaster's - Increase damage by up to 20% based on your available energy levels. Because we’re always at 100% energy, this is an unconditional damage bonus. Use in one of your offensive slots
• Elements - Increases damage to a set of 3 damage types for 7 seconds at a time. This is basically a 30% damage increase that is active for 7 seconds, inactive for 7 seconds, etc. Use in one of your offensive slots
• Retribution - Increase damage against stunned or knocked-down enemies (and staggered bosses). Use in one of your offensive slots
• Rapid - Increases attack speed for Heartseeker. Use in one of your offensive slots
• Frostbitten - Increases critical strike damage against frozen or stunned enemies and when hitting enemies with smoke grenades, instantly freezes them. Use in either your boots or chest slots
• Concussive Strikes - Dazes enemies and increases damage against dazed enemies. Use in either your boots or chest slots
• Inner Calm - Increased damage, with the bonus tripled after standing still for 3 seconds. Useful against staggered bosses or when feeling safe against dazed groups. Use in one of your offensive slots

Note: We are not using any unique items for this build. Paingorger’s Gauntlets seem like a very good unique item to use for this build, but unfortunately its final damage output from testing by other people has been underwhelming. To be tested once season 4 launches however.
Paragon

• Exploit Weakness - Ramps up your damage against enemies (per target) the more that you hit them while they are vulnerable. Double dips with Victimise
• Cheap Shot - Increase your damage while there are 1 or more enemies nearby that are CC’ed, up to a 25% damage bonus for 5 or more enemies
• Deadly Ambush - Increase your damage against enemies that are affected by your traps (Caltrops in this case). Double dips with Victimise
• Control glyph on starter board - Increases your damage against CC’ed enemies. The glyph core bonus double dips with Victimise
• Chip glyph on Cheap Shot - Ramps up your damage against enemies (per target) the more that you hit them with any of your (physical) attacks. The glyph core bonus double dips with Victimise
• Pride glyph on Leyrana's Instinct - Increases your physical damage against healthy enemies. Using this glyph on Leyrana’s Instinct also allows us to max out our resistances. Double dips with Victimise
• Exploit glyph on Deadly Ambush - Increases your vulnerable damage (important for Victimise) and makes enemies hit by your attacks vulnerable (once every 20 seconds). Deadly Ambush board is used for Exploit for the high number of strength nodes around the glyph
• Combat glyph on Exploit Weakness - Increases your critical strike damage. Exploit Weakness board is used for Combat for the high number of intelligence nodes around the glyph
• Ranger glyph on Tricks of the Trade - Reduces your damage taken while you are holding onto a bow or crossbow (ie, after casting Heartseeker)
• Diminish glyph on No Witnesses - This glyph is used just to boost the surrounding rare +life node. We don’t care about the glyph core bonus for now as it's awfully niche (from physical attacks from vulnerable enemies)

Note: We should end up with 7 paragon boards in total.

Stats/Gear Priorities

Summary

• Vulnerable damage - stacked as high as possible for higher additive damage and for scaling Victimise’s base damage. Aim for 900+% vulnerable damage from gear and paragon
• Other additive damage bonuses - to further increase your overall damage output. Get 650+% of this from Marksman critical strike damage tempers and other smaller ones from gear and paragon
• Attack speed - to cast Heartseeker quicker. Aim for 85+% from gear and 30% from Rapid aspect
• Chance to cast Heartseeker twice - scales up your damage output as you’re casting more Heartseekers per attack. Aim for 95+% from 2 tempers on weapons
• Heartseeker - is used as the main skill for delivering damage and Victimise procs. Aim for 11+ ranks in total between your native skill points and your pants
• Lucky hit chance - to proc Victimise and other effects (CC, Umbrous, vulnerable) more often. Aim for 50+% from gear. You can use an elixir to boost this up further
• Critical strike chance - to increase how often you critically strike and gain a damage bonus from Weapon Mastery, Frostbitten, Deadly Ambush and your critical strike damage additive and core bonuses. Aim for 80+% from intelligence, gear and paragon, including Marksman critical strike chance bonuses
• Dexterity - to increase your baseline damage and increase your dodge chance. Aim for 1500+ from gear and paragon
• Life - is needed for survival. Aim for 40,000+ in total
• Dark Shroud - is needed for your main source of heavy damage reduction. Aim for 12+ ranks in total between your native skill points and your chest piece
• Dodge - reduces the chance of direct attacks damaging you, which also protects your Dark Shroud shadow stacks. Aim for 50-70% from dexterity, gear and the Agile passive
• Armour cap - 9,230 for 85% damage reduction from physical attacks
• Resistances - 70% to all resistances
• Crowd control effects - to disable enemies and build up stagger on bosses. Get 4-5 affixes that apply CC effects on enemies, including Concussive Strikes. After that, get crowd control duration
• Movement speed - to improve mobility in combat and general mobility. Get 70+% from gear and skills, including from Moonrise

Item Pieces

• Weapons - for vulnerable damage, attack speed, dexterity. Tempering: marksman critical strike damage, chance to cast Heartseeker twice (on your 2-hander + one of your swords), caltrops duration (on one of your swords)
  • Vulnerable damage - High priority stat to help stack Victimise damage
  • Attack speed - Enough to get 100% attack speed from weapons alone
  • Chance to cast twice - To ensure 100% chance to cast Heartseeker twice per cast to multiply effective damage output by 2
  • Caltrops - Caltrops duration is preferred over Caltrops size since the extra duration will work at the highest damage bonus benefit and will extend the benefit before needing to move (break our Inner Calm bonus) to reapply Caltrops
  • Marksman critical strike damage - Some extra additive damage
• Rings - for vulnerable damage, life, lucky hit chance (on one of your rings), lucky hit chance to apply vulnerable (on one of your rings). Tempering: marksman critical strike damage, agility cooldown reduction
  • Vulnerable damage - High priority stat to help stack Victimise damage
  • Life - Needed for survival
  • Lucky hit chance to apply vulnerable - An important stat that helps apply and maintain vulnerable on enemies
  • Lucky hit chance - Stacking lucky hit chance is important to increase Victimise proc rate and for applying CC more often
  • Agility skill cooldown reduction - This helps mobility by increasing the uptime on mobility skills that get you from point A to B faster
  • Marksman critical strike damage - Some extra additive damage
• Amulet - for Exploit, Malice, Frigid Finesse. If you can’t get a 3x passive amulet, you can also aim for lucky hit chance. Tempering: marksman critical strike chance, dodge chance
  • Exploit - Important for the double dip effect for Victimise
  • Malice - Important for increasing damage versus vulnerable enemies and increasing the base damage of Victimise
  • Frigid Finesse - Increases the damage of enemies frozen by attacks and for increasing damage during boss stagger window
  • Marksman critical strike chance - Helps the build reach very high levels of critical strike chance
  • Dodge chance - Needed for survival
• Helm - for life, armour, lucky hit chance. Tempering: dodge chance, lucky hit chance to X (see below “CC effects”)
  • Life - Needed for survival
  • Lucky hit chance - Stacking lucky hit chance is important to increase Victimise proc rate and for applying CC more often
  • Armour - 2 armour rolls across all gear is needed to reach the armour cap. Juggernaut’s can be used instead, but having 2 armour rolls frees up an aspect slot
  • Dodge chance - Needed for survival
  • Lucky hit chance to X - Needed for applying CC effects against enemies
• Chest - for Dark Shroud ranks (important), life, armour. Tempering: single resistance (see below “Resistances”), lucky hit chance to X (see below “CC effects”)
  • Dark Shroud ranks - Important for survival, going from 11 ranks to 15 ranks of Dark Shroud is a 25% effective damage reduction bonus
  • Life - Needed for survival
  • Armour - 2 armour rolls across all gear is needed to reach the armour cap. Juggernaut’s can be used instead, but having 2 armour rolls frees up an aspect slot
  • Single resistance - Needed to complete capping resistances across all elements
  • Lucky hit chance to X - Needed for applying CC effects against enemies
• Gloves - for vulnerable damage, critical strike chance, lucky hit chance. Tempering: marksman critical strike chance, lucky hit chance to X (see below “CC effects”)
  • Vulnerable damage - High priority stat to help stack Victimise damage
  • Critical strike chance - Improves overall damage output and Umrbous aspect proc rate
  • Lucky hit chance - Stacking lucky hit chance is important to increase Victimise proc rate and for applying CC more often
  • Marksman critical strike damage - Some extra additive damage
  • Lucky hit chance to X - Needed for applying CC effects against enemies
• Pants - for Heartseeker ranks (important), life, dodge chance. Tempering: dodge chance, lucky hit chance to X (see below “CC effects”)
  • Heartseeker ranks - Important for stacking Heartseeker damage
  • Life - Needed for survival
  • Dodge chance - Needed for survival (stacked twice from item stats and tempering affix)
  • Lucky hit chance to X - Needed for applying CC effects against enemies
• Boots - for movement speed, dexterity, life. Tempering: movement speed, crowd control duration (see below “CC effects”)
  • Movement speed - Important for general mobility and to speed up gameplay and avoidability of dangerous attacks (stacked twice from item stats and tempering affix)
  • Dexterity - For adding in extra damage and dodge chance
  • Life - Needed for survival
  • Crowd control duration - Linearly scale up the amount of stagger that can be delivered on the boss

CC effects
We want to have as many CC applying effects from our tempering mods as possible across Boots, Pants, Gloves, Chest and Head gear pieces. The possible CC applying effects available from tempering are:

• Lucky Hit: Up to a +[21.0 - 30.0]% Chance to Slow for 2 Seconds
• Lucky Hit: Up to a +[13.5 - 22.5]% Chance to Immobilize for 2 Seconds
• Lucky Hit: Up to a +[13.0 - 17.5]% Chance to Stun for 2 Seconds
• Lucky Hit: Up to a +[13.0 - 17.5]% Chance to Freeze for 2 Seconds
• Lucky Hit: Up to a +[13.0 - 17.5]% Chance to Daze for 2 Seconds

Some guiding principles on how I’ve chosen which effects we want to have across Boots, Pants, Gloves, Chest and Head gear pieces are written below:

• We want to have one of each type of effect across our gear set to diversify our stagger application. It’s important to have this diversification because applying the same type of stagger effect twice or more times in quick succession reduces the effectiveness of that type of stagger effect (for how long is not currently known)
• In our build, we already have daze from Smoke Grenade and Concussive Strikes, and we already have slow from Caltrops, so we will need to pick up:
  • 1x Freezing effect
  • 1x Stun effect
  • 1x Immobilise effect
• 4th CC effect: You can either pick up another 1x Freezing effect to freeze enemies more often and trigger Frigid Finesse and Frostbitten bonuses more often, or pick up 1x Slow effect for better stagger diversification and damage reduction from slowed enemies from the Cheap Shot board
• We also pick up 1x crowd control duration rather than getting a 5th CC effect on our last piece to help boost the effectiveness of each of the following and to reduce the chance of diminishing stagger effect (by applying too many individual CC effects):
  • All tempering lucky hit chance to CC effects
  • Concussive strikes
  • Smoke Grenade
• We should end up with 4x lucky hit CC effects and 1x crowd control duration across Boots, Pants, Gloves, Chest and Head gear pieces
• The above needs more testing, but that’s the current idea

Read more information about how stagger works here https://discord.com/channels/989899054815281243/1239196457488355328/1239196457488355328
Bow vs Crossbow
As a basic principle, bows shoot 22% faster and crossbows deal 22% more damage. However, some nuanced stuff should be noted:

• Crossbows come with vulnerable damage, which boosts your Victimise base damage. However, this damage increase from vulnerable damage in the scheme of things is not major. This damage increase is pretty much unconditional however
• Bows have extra damage to distant enemies, which can be nice sometimes but it can be hard to keep your distance from enemies at times especially if you’re trying to optimise damage your output with Dash and Caltrops, which require you to get close
• Bows shoot faster and can apply CC effects quicker this way. This in theory staggers bosses quicker. However, bows have been found to not quite shoot 22% faster than crossbows in some circumstances, and applying CC effects quickly have some diminishing returns even if true.
• Furthermore, you can apply stagger on bosses using cooldowns such as Shadow Step and Smoke Grenade which aren’t affected by how much faster you can shoot with a bow
• Crossbows also gain us a higher Weapon Mastery passive bonus than what bows can do, though only by 3% at rank 3 of Weapon Mastery. Although Weapon Mastery with a bow increases your damage to vulnerable enemies, it does not contribute to your Victimise base damage in the same way that the Malice passive does
• Bows look cooler because of transmogs and because you’re shooting faster

While for this build there is no clear winner between using a bow or crossbow, it will ultimately be decided for you based on what you find or trade for out in the field and how lucky you get with your tempering rolls.
Swords vs Daggers
We use Heartseeker for our “core” attacks, so we will only rely on our swords or daggers for their damage bonuses.
Swords come with extra critical strike damage and daggers come with extra damage versus close enemies. Given that we will have a high amount of critical strike chance with this build and we may be fighting from afar quite often, going with swords is more ideal for this build.
Survivability
For survivability, there are a few things that will help us here.

• Dark Shroud with Umbrous aspect - Dark Shroud with up to 15 ranks gives up to 68% damage reduction when 5 shadows are active. Umbrous aspect allows you to gain shadows when you hit enemies with Heartseeker. Since you lose shadows every time you take direct damage, being able to get them back quickly is important
• Dodge - Dodge allows you to avoid taking damage from hits altogether. Apart from the obvious benefit of avoiding damage, not taking damage also helps preserve your Dark Shroud shadows. Beware however that dodge doesn’t reduce the damage you take when you do take damage, and dodge doesn’t avoid certain ground effects or damage from damage over time sources, so don’t rely on dodge too much. Somewhere between 50% to 70% dodge should be enough without stretching you too much
• Life - The more life you have, the more punishment you can take. Try and aim for around 40,000 life or a little bit more to ensure you can take most hits without dying
• Damage reduction - Pick up damage reduction where you can. The following paragon nodes should be secured to help you survive:
  • Damage reduction from vulnerable enemies on Exploit Weakness
  • Damage reduction from elite enemies on Cheap Shot
  • Damage reduction from trapped enemies on Deadly Ambush
  • Ranger glyph
  • Damage reduction from slowed enemies on Cheap Shot if you have 1x Slow effect from tempering. Note that this form of damage reduction is less important since it doesn’t work on bosses
• Resistances - Resistances can be maxed out without any gear rolling resistance affixes by
  • Tempering Fire, Lightning, Poison or Shadow resistance on the Chest piece
  • Getting the Leyrana’s board with a maxed out Pride glyph
  • Getting the cold resistance cluster of nodes from on Exploit Weakness (30 out of 35% worth)
  • Making sure that your rings natively roll cold resistance on them on their inherent affix. If you can only get 1 ideal ring with cold resistance on it, then pick up the remaining 5% cold resistance node on Exploit Weakness as well to top up your cold resistance
• Crowded Sage vs Assimilation - Both aspects have 8% extra dodge on them. Crowded Sage will be better against lots of smaller attacks, where as Assimilation will be better for less frequent but harder hitting attacks, so take your pick
• More defensive - If necessary, swap Elements aspect for Might aspect or Assimilation/Crowded Sage aspect (requires some aspect shuffling) to further improve survivability. You can also gain the full glyph bonus on No Witnesses by swapping to Diminish (damage reduction) and adding more surrounding strength nodes

Levelling

At the start of your levelling journey, you should follow any other levelling guide out there that uses Rapid Fire, Barrage or Penetrating Shot and use combo points. Once you reach the key passives at the bottom of your skill tree, you should use Precision for the foreseeable future.
There are a few key ingredients that you should get before switching over to using Heartseeker and Victimise:
Heartseeker:

• Mid to high roll Moonrise aspect, ready to put on your ranged weapon slot
• Mid to high roll Adaptability aspect, ready to put on an amulet slot
• Rapid aspect, ready to put on any offensive slot
• Victimise (see below) since Precision doesn’t work with Heartseeker
• Ideal: Ranks to Heartseeker on pants, chance to cast Heartseeker twice, etc

Victimise:

• Either Accursed Touch aspect or Lucky hit chance to make targets vulnerable on one of your rings. Note that you will drop Accursed Touch long term but it can be handy to use while levelling
• Exploit glyph
• Some lucky hit chance affixes (20+). Gloves are the best spot to get this early
• High amount of vulnerable damage bonuses (200+)
• Ideal: At least 2 double dipping interactions from your paragon

High-end Pit

In high-end Pit content, even trash enemies will take a little while to kill. This will force you to use your Caltrops, Smoke Grenade and other tools more often to maintain an efficient clear speed. With this in mind, see the notes below on the changes to make from the standard build.

• Swap Concealment for Death Trap + Prime Death Trap, Death Trap will be used to tightly group enemies together and to activate Trap Mastery
• Swap Stutter Step for Trap Mastery, since we will not be speed farming but trying to maximise damage output when we activate Death Trap
• Swap Inner Sight for Preparation, while we can’t lower Death Trap’s cooldown with Preparation, we will use it to lower other cooldowns with Death Trap. Given that Inner Sight will likely perform badly in higher levels of Pit, this swap becomes sensible
• Swap Agility cooldown reduction for Trap cooldown reduction to help maximise the uptime for Death Trap
• Swap Combat glyph for Ambush glyph, Combat glyph makes sense in a more agile build, but we will become more heavily reliant on Caltrops and Death Trap for damage output, so Ambush will give us a small damage boost over Combat
• If necessary, swap Elements aspect for Hectic aspect (requires some aspect shuffling) to further improve the cooldown refresh for Death Trap

Boss Attack Rotation

• Spam Heartseeker to ramp up all of your damage modifiers - Heartseeker, Moonrise, Exploit Weakness, Chip - and to apply constant CC effects on the boss until they are close to being staggered. Save your Smoke Grenade for now
• Once staggered, quickly Shadow Step them, throw down Caltrops and Dash through them
• Spam Heartseeker into them while standing still
• Once the boss comes out of stagger, throw your Smoke Grenade then spam Heartseeker to apply constant CC effects on the boss until they are close to being staggered again
• Once staggered, quickly Shadow Step them, throw down Caltrops and Dash through them
• Spam Heartseeker into them while standing still
• Repeat this process until the boss is dead

Situational Skill Usage

• Use Dash or Concealment to disengage when you feel in danger. Remember to not disengage for too long otherwise you will lose your ramp up damage modifiers - Heartseeker, Moonrise, Exploit Weakness, Chip
• Use Shadow Step when you get CC’ed, making sure that it’s safe to do so first
• Use Caltrops but sparingly (at the start of stagger window) since Caltrops takes time to cast when you want to be shooting with Heartseeker instead to apply CC and keep damage modifiers online. This will also help ensure that you have Caltrops ready during the stagger window
• Use Death Trap to refresh cooldowns, preferably on the boss to also activate Trap Mastery and brief moments of Deadly Ambush, Ambush, etc
• Use Smoke Grenade when it comes off cooldown but avoid using it during the stagger window

https://preview.redd.it/pn92c4k2a90d1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bee7add8956a94eadf8894925b094cdd66c0d2b3
Howdy folks,
I built my mostly-Corsair PC back in 2019 and it's been a champ up until last night, when I tried to increase the RAM from 32GB to 64GB and was met with BSOD after BSOD after BSOD. Everything returns to normal when I remove the new RAM.
System specs:

• Ryzen 7 2700X (not overclocked) on a GigaByte B450 Aorus PRO WiFI running Win 10 Pro
• 2x16GB (32GB) Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4 3200MHz RAM in slots A2 & B2
• Corsair RM750X, GigaByte GeForce RTX2060 Super
• Inland Premium 1TB NVME M.2 SSD, Corsair K70 Mk. 2 & M65
• Corsair 220T RGB -- recently replaced Corsair Commander Pro, Lighting Node CORE and six SP120s with Corsair ICUE Link System Hub and six RX120s... works wonderfully

Yesterday I bought another 32GB of what I think is the exact same RAM (see box photos above; original on the left for $195 and new on the right for $80 currently at Best Buy).
I'm pretty sure I had the new sticks properly seated in slots A1 and B1 as I heard them click into place with the plastic holders snapping shut. ICUE picked them up on the reboot and lit them up. Windows reported 64GB of RAM. And then I started getting a series of continuous BSOD crashes, to wit:

• CRITICAL PROCESS DIED (this one occured several times)
• UNEXPECTED KERNAL MODE TRAP
• KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED (win32kfull.sys)
• SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED (Netwtw04.sys)
• SYSTEM SERVICE EXCEPTION
• IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL
• SYSTEM SERVICE EXCEPTION (Npfs.SYS)
• KERNAL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE
• KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED (amdppm.sys)
• PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA

From the Command Prompt, I ran sfc / scannow along with DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth with no errors reported. I ran the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool which made two passes without detecting any issues.
When I remove the new RAM, the BSOD problems all go away and it's back to smooth sailing with Corsair.
I took the original RAM out of A2 & B2 and put the new RAM in its place and it seemed to run fine, but I didn't leave it in for very long.
The ver. numbers are different between the two sets. The original is 3.44 and the new is 5.32.
The SKU on the original box is CMW32GX4M2Z3200C16 and on the new box it's 4M2E instead of 4M2Z.
I suppose I should just return the new RAM and try to sell the old and then just upgrade the whole thing to 3600MHz with all four sticks of the same version number, but I thought I'd check with you folks first to see if I'm doing anything wrong. Thanks in advance!

I've got some windows that don't like to open and close in my house and I've recently learned what a window coil balance is. One window in my house has one that is completely shattered... is there any way to tell what a direct replacement would be or where to get new ones?
First picture is of one that appears to be in good condition... 2nd picture is the shattered one with some numbering on the coils. It looks like one says ' '#5.0 35" P', the other says '#6.0 35" P' trying to google and im seeing there's different lbs... 7, 8, 10lb. Coils... not sure if there's a size/fit difference. Any help is appreciated!
Also my working windows don't open/close smoothly, any tips for helping the windows glide a little better are also appreciated. Thanks!

⚠️ Attention all traders and holders of Chinese stocks: You should read this if you don’t know what a VIE is. Sure, most of you will be repelled by the great wall of text here (so many words!), but you might want to keep this post nearby.
Hello. You are aware that Wall Street’s bustling bazaar hosts a veritable Forbidden City of Chinese companies draped in ticker tape rather than silk. Today, I will provide background and data on all allowed Chinese companies listed on three of the largest U.S. stock exchanges: New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Nasdaq, and NYSE American.
I should note that a bustling troupe of 26 national securities exchanges are registered with the SEC in the United States. Most are owned by the Nasdaq, NYSE, or the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE).
Nonetheless, based on data from the World Federation of Exchanges as of August 2023, the NYSE and Nasdaq were the top two exchanges behemoths of the global financial stage, accounting for 42.4% of the total $110.2 trillion in valuation traded across 80 major global exchanges.
🖼️ I had a photo of Wall Street to add here, but I'm only allowed to include one attachment.
2022 vs. 2023
According to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, as of January 8, 2024, there were 265 Chinese companies listed on the three U.S. exchanges, with a total market capitalization of $848 billion. That valuation is down from a year prior—January 9, 2023—when a slightly lower 252 Chinese companies were tracked, but they represented a total market capitalization of $1.03 trillion.
Since January 2023, 24 Chinese companies have entered the spotlight of the three U.S. exchanges, raising $656 million in combined initial public offerings (IPOs). On the other hand, eleven Chinese companies have folded their tents and delisted.
China Securities Regulatory Commission
The American stock exchanges witnessed a springtime bloom of Chinese IPOs in the first quarter of 2023. However, this listing activity came to an abrupt halt as the clock struck March 31, 2023.
Why? The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) implemented a revised approval process for companies going public overseas.
I won’t get into the details, but China has rules to cap foreign investment and ownership in sectors deemed strategic, such as technology. In the past, those regulations have driven several Chinese firms to the legal gymnastics of a Variable Interest Entity (VIE) structure—a clever contrivance that allowed them to leapfrog domestic constraints.
However, under the revised review mechanism, every company, regardless of its corporate ownership structure, must now bow before the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to register its intent to list overseas.
🖼️ I had a photo of the CSRC building to add here, but I'm only allowed to include one attachment.
The gatekeeper
Therefore, although the CSRC touted this regulation as a necessary measure for enforcing regulatory compliance and preventing fraud (which is true), it also helps regulators act as gatekeepers poised to block any proposed listing they deem poses a risk to their national security or jeopardizes China's national interests.
This process is wide-ranging. For instance, it includes an evaluation of the company’s safeguards against disclosing what the Chinese Communist Party considers potential state secrets. But we’re not talking about top-secret black-ops projects meant to be hidden from international oversight committees. No… any company that collects personal information on more than one million users requires stern data security review mechanisms for its cross-border data flows.
For perspective, TikTok has over 150 million users in the U.S. alone and is not subject to the same scrutiny from the Western nations.
Currently, the CSRC approval process is reportedly taking upward of six months.
Audit inspections and investigations in China
You’re probably unaware of the HFCAA, so let’s start there.
The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act of 2020 (HFCAA) is a law that requires companies publicly listed on stock exchanges in the U.S. to disclose to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) information on foreign jurisdictions that prevent the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) from conducting inspections.
That law laid down a stern ultimatum: If Chinese authorities kept obstructing the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) from inspecting audit firms in China or Hong Kong for three consecutive years, the companies audited by these entities would face a ban from the bustling arenas of the U.S. exchanges.
Basically, either China allowed the PCAOB to inspect the audit firms, or the companies had to change to another auditing firm within three years.
Then, as 2022 waned to its final days (literally, on December 29), President Joe Biden signed a Consolidated Appropriations Act, which contained a provision that will tighten the noose, shortening future timelines from three consecutive years to only two.
Once they looked under the rock
Finally allowed to conduct full investigations of audit firms in mainland China and Hong Kong after over a decade of obstruction, the PCAOB announced the findings of its first round of inspections in May 2023, identifying deficiencies in seven of eight audits conducted by the auditing firms KPMG Huazhen and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Hong Kong. Audits of Chinese Companies Are Highly Deficient, U.S. Regulator Says
On November 30, 2023, the PCAOB announced fines against three audit firms in China, totaling $7.9 million for misconduct. For perspective, that number included the second and third-largest fines ever doled out by the PCAOB.
Why were the fines so bad?
Those sneaky Chinese accountants
Imagine a gaggle of accountants in the far reaches of PwC China and Hong Kong applying for a U.S. auditing curriculum. But alas, these foreign accountants find the U.S. auditing training tests a trifle tedious, so someone came up with the answers and decided to pass them around like a secret note in a schoolroom.
From 2018 to 2020, over 1,000 of these busy bees completed their U.S. auditing online exams by copying the answers from two unauthorized apps with a fervor that would make a gossip columnist blush.
When confronted with the evidence, PwC China and PwC Hong Kong response: 🤷‍♂️
And let me remind you, this happened late last year. Both firms are expected to provide reasonable assurance that their personnel will act with integrity in connection with internal training and to report their compliance to the PCAOB within 150 days—April 2024.
🖼️ I was planning on using an AI-generated image of Chinese accountants cheating, but I'm only allowed to include one attachment.
State-owned enterprises
According to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, this graph represents the total market capitalization of Chinese companies listed in the three U.S. exchanges.
Market Capitalization of Listed Chinese Companies
The number of listed companies has stayed at around 260. However, all Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have delisted themselves from U.S. exchanges, most of them soon after the PCAOB announced it had secured complete access to Chinese auditors’ records.
Variable Interest Entities (VIEs)
Most traders—and that means you—are unaware that 166 Chinese companies currently listed on the three major U.S. exchanges use a VIE structure.
As of January 8, 2024, these companies have a market capitalization of $772 billion. For perspective, that represents 91% of the total market capitalization of all the Chinese firms listed on the three major U.S. exchanges.
What the hell is a VIE?
It is a complex corporate structure that grants shareholders contractual claims to control via an offshore shell company without transferring actual ownership in the company.
A Variable Interest Entity (VIE) is a bit like a riverboat casino’s cleverest trick, allowing a company to sell its chips on a foreign table without ever letting the players hold the cards directly.
A VIE is a structure used primarily by companies that wish to partake in the financial streams of another country (the U.S. exchanges) without breaking local laws (Chinese laws) that prevent full ownership.
Remember, Chinese companies structured themselves as VIEs to circumvent China’s restrictions—not U.S. restrictions—on foreign ownership in industries the CCP deems sensitive.
Therefore, when you hold stock in one of these Chinese companies, you’re not officially holding any actual ownership in the company. Because if you did, then that company could be breaking Chinese restrictive caps on foreign investment and ownership.
That’s why they set up a façade, or a legal entity, that controls the business on paper, but the true power and profits are funneled back to the company pulling the strings.
Granted, it’s not as shaky as asking a random stranger to hold your shares, but it is crafty, and you should be aware of the risks.
Wait. What are the risks?
You need to understand that there’s a shadow of potential risk looming. Potential. Now, don't mistake me for the town crier of doom; I'm not proclaiming that the sky is falling on these shares. Nor am I declaring that disaster is certain for Chinese stocks.
What I am pointing out, however, is the presence of a risk—a subtle beast that might just catch you off guard if you remain unaware.
And let’s face it: Most of you are completely oblivious to these issues.
There are two sides here: 🇺🇸 & 🇨🇳
🇺🇸
Since July 2021, the SEC has imposed additional disclosure requirements for Chinese companies using a VIE to sell shares in the U.S. These requirements include greater transparency about the relationship between the VIE and its Chinese operating companies.
In summary, the SEC aims to push VIEs toward the company behind them to offer more clarity on U.S. investor ownership in the Chinese operating company.
🇨🇳
On the other side, Chinese companies that list overseas using a VIE were not required to register their listings with the CSRC, as the VIE is not considered a Chinese company under China’s law. This is the reason VIEs were used in the first place.
However, as I mentioned earlier, after March 31, 2023, the CSRC established requirements for all new Chinese companies to register and receive permission before going public overseas—even those planning to use VIE structures. That’s why there was a boom of Chinese IPOs before that deadline.
Granted, on September 14, 2023, a Chinese auto insurance platform became the first company that received the elusive blessing of the CSRC to list, and it did so using a VIE arrangement, breaking the long, dry spell that had plagued Chinese IPOs when she listed on the Nasdaq four days later.
However, even though VIEs received some sort of recognition from the CSRC, the VIE corporate structures still hold dubious legal status under China’s laws. Remember, VIEs purpose is to avoid being considered a Chinese company under China’s laws.
So… do you see the potential risk here?
Umm… No, I don’t get it.
Think about it. Either country could potentially increase regulations for VIEs, but if the SEC forces them to be more transparent, the VIE would not be able to circumvent China’s restrictions. That’s one risk.
Also, at some point, China’s CSRC might question whether it’s appropriate to recognize a corporate structure that was created to circumvent its laws.
Which leads me to this: What’s keeping the CCP from deciding to start reigning in those VIEs?
The answer is simple: They’re not in a hurry to do so because if misfortune should befall, it’ll be the foreign investors who’ll see their assets deflated like a punctured balloon.
🖼️ I would've added a nice image or two by now, to balance all the text and make this more appealing, but I'm only allowed to include one attachment.
If a VIE-listed company goes private at a lower valuation, businesses fail, or there’s a valuation discrepancy, the enforceability of a VIE’s contractual arrangements is unproven in Chinese courts. With VIE-listed companies, foreign investors’ recourse in the Chinese legal system is as elusive as a catfish’s whisper.
Yeah, but that’s unlikely…
Sure. Of course, I’m not saying every Chinese stock will have these issues. But it can happen. And it has happened.
The unlucky case of Luckin Coffee
Due to the lack of compliance with international audit inspections, Chinese corporate financial statements’ reliability for valuation and investment is not assured.
Such is the case of Luckin Coffee. In a bold bid to capture Wall Street’s hearts and wallets, Luckin Coffee showed up dressed in finery, flaunting alluring figures of revenue, operations, and bustling customer traffic.
At her grand debut, the stock sashayed onto the Nasdaq at $17, swirling up a storm of interested buyers to the tune of $561 million in capital.
For a fleeting moment, Luckin shimmered like a star over the financial firmament, boasting a market capitalization that soared to a heady $12 billion, with shares peaking just over $50.
Ah, but as the adage goes, ‘Truth will out.’ And out it came—the revelation of those embroidered numbers caused the company's stock to plummet like a stone tossed from a bridge, leaving a wake of investor losses and culminating in a disgraceful delisting from Nasdaq 13 months after her debut. Luckin Coffee Drops Nasdaq Appeal; Shares to Be Delisted
🖼️ I would've added an AI-generated image of a cup of Luckin Coffee jumping from a bridge, but I'm only allowed to include one attachment.
Well… but that won’t happen to me…
Uh-huh. On April 2, 2020, after announcing that employees—including its chief operating officer—falsified 2.2 billion yuan (about $310 million) in sales throughout 2019, Luckin's shares nosedived -80%.
This is from one of you unluckin bastards: I've lost 240k on Luckin Coffee, all my life savings. Now I'm broke af.
I’m sure many of you might reckon yourselves immune to a similar debacle since you think you’re smart enough to use stops to escape any runaway losses. It's time to wake up and smell the Luckin coffee. Chinese news catalysts often strike like lightning at night, and the stops you set under the sun cannot shield you from storms that explode in the moonlight. Dumbass.
Chinese regulators can be mercurial
Even though the PCAOB is currently able to perform its oversight responsibilities, concerns remain around the possibility that Chinese regulators might backtrack, potentially clamping down once again on the PCAOB's ability to access audit firms and personnel across mainland China and Hong Kong.
If that happens, the PCAOB can quickly declare a negative determination. HOWEVER, this action would only start the countdown under the HFCAA, giving U.S.-listed Chinese companies a window of TWO years to secure services from an auditor in a compliant jurisdiction or face a trading ban. That’s it.
Of course, within that time, Chinese regulators could agree once again to allow access to the PCAOB, thus resetting the two-year countdown without significant consequences.
What lurks in the shadows
Although the risk of PCAOB non-compliance looms over these financial engagements, it is the ghost of potentially misconstrued—or, let's say, creatively presented—earnings reports coming to light that should scare you most. Or, on the flip side, present the biggest opportunity.
I believe it is possible that there are several ghosts out there—ghastly financial figures dressed up a tad too finely—lingering in the shadows, unchecked and unchallenged. If they’re found and unveiled under the harsh spotlight of scrutiny, the fallout would be immediate and severe, leaving investors scrambling.
And if that happens, it’s not about diamond-holding through the plunge since the company might opt (or be forced) to delist from the U.S. exchanges.
🖼️ I would've added an AI-generated image of an attractive young Chinese ghost woman, implying both the allure of Chinese stocks, but also the risk of getting closer. However, I'm only allowed to include one attachment.
You need to understand a crucial concept. Many traders believe that if a company messes up, plunges, and gets delisted, it means the company is basically over—dead. But that’s not the case here. A delisting does not equal death.
I mean, Luckin Coffee is still out there, alive and kicking.

16,218 stores and counting, covering 240+ cities across China.

You would think that a company like that would not be able to cheat on its balance sheet. Yeah, just like you would think PwC China would notice 1,000 accountants cheated their way through the U.S. auditing curriculum.
🖼️ I would've added an AI-generated image of a Chinese accountant dabbing like a boss for getting his cheated accounting diploma, but I'm only allowed to include one attachment.
So… is it too far-fetched to believe more ghosts might come to light, now that the PCAOB can supervise the numbers?
I mentioned a flip side since you could specialize in tracking everything the PCAOB does. If you can get a whiff about increased auditing on a certain company, you might decide to play a short position in anticipation of a potential ghost coming to light. Be warned, though, that it’s not as if they tweet out which companies they’re auditing.
If I were to do it, I would research and join whatever digital saloon young Chinese ledger-keepers convene in. Perhaps I’d stumble upon a post by SumYungGuy or another pleading for advice on how to parley with the PCAOB Laowai making a fuss over his figures. The poor lad's in a pickle, you see, since he cheated the exam and doesn’t know squat.
Methodology
For the purposes of this table, a company is considered Chinese if:

1. It has been identified as being from the PRC (the People's Republic of China) by the relevant stock exchange;
2. It lists a PRC address as its principal executive office in filings with the SEC; or
3. It has a majority of operations in the PRC, including a company structured offshore but whose value is ultimately tied through a relationship in the PRC.

⚠️ Some Chinese companies that use offshore corporate entities hide or do not identify their primary Chinese corporate domicile in their listing information. This complicates tracing, making it difficult to guarantee that this list captures all Chinese companies registered offshore.
I should also point out that this list does not include companies domiciled exclusively in Hong Kong or Macau.
⚠️ Remember, this list only considers Chinese companies listed on three of the largest U.S. stock exchanges: New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Nasdaq, and NYSE American.
Oh, and btw, this isn’t a list I came up with. This info was compiled by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. It’s their methodology and list.
Since the majority is a VIE, I’ve marked the ones that are not registered as a VIE with an asterisk (*). This is determined using the most recent annual report filed with the SEC. A company is judged to have a VIE if:

1. It explicitly describes using a VIE to conduct all or part of its business operations in China, or
2. It describes a subsidiary in which it has no direct equity interest but relies on contractual arrangements to exercise control and receive economic benefits from its operations in China.

⚠️ For companies that have been listed for less than a year, information contained in the company’s most recently updated investment prospectus, as filed with the SEC, is used instead.
Chinese companies listed on U.S. exchanges
Companies are arranged by the size of their current market capitalization. All companies utilize a VIE corporate structure, except those marked with an asterisk (*).
BABA Alibaba Group Holding Limited PDD Pinduoduo Inc. NTES NetEase, Inc. JD JD.com, Inc. BIDU Baidu, Inc TCOM Trip.com International, Ltd. TME Tencent Music Entertainment Group LI Li Auto BEKE KE Holdings BGNE BeiGene * ZTO ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. YUMC Yum China Holdings Inc. EDU New Oriental Education & Technology Group, Inc. HTHT H World Group Limited * NIO NIO Inc. YMM Full Truck Alliance Co. Ltd VIPS Vipshop Holdings Limited TAL TAL Education Group LEGN Legend Biotech * MNSO Miniso * BZ Kanzhun Limited XPEV Xpeng BILI Bilibili Inc. IQ iQIYI, Inc. HCM HUTCHMED (China) Limited * ATHM Autohome Inc. QFIN Qifu Technology RLX RLX Technology LU Lufax ATAT Atour Lifestyle Holdings * WB Weibo Corporation ZLAB Zai Lab Limited * ZKH ZKH Group Ltd * YY JOYY Inc. GOTU Gaotu Techedu, Inc. MSC Studio City International Holdings Limited * GCT GigaCloud Technology Inc GDS GDS Holdings Limited ACMR ACM Research, Inc. * HOLI Hollysys Automation Technologies, Ltd. * FINV FinVolution Group JKS JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. * DQ Daqo New Energy Corp. * MOMO Hello Group Inc. CSIQ Canadian Solar Inc. * EH Ehang TUYA Tuya Inc. NOAH Noah Holdings Ltd. HUYA HUYA Inc. KC Kingsoft Cloud YALA Yalla *
These are only 51 of the 261 Chinese companies currently listed on the major U.S. exchanges to comply with rule three. I kept the market cap minimum at $750M to allow for some wiggle room.
I mentioned earlier that the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission had 265 tickers, but that was on January 8, 2024. Since then, three companies have been acquired, and the other one has voluntarily delisted.
As you can confirm, the vast majority is structured as a VIE.
I was going to include charts to illustrate how several Chinese stocks—aside from the ones with the biggest market caps—tend to display sudden rallies, followed by after-hours reversals. It is important to recognize them, whether you want to capitalize on them, or avoid them entirely. But I can't add any more attachments, so...
Besides, it's unlikely that many of you have even read this far without images.
Have a good day.