Hello redditors of antiMLM,
Just this week, I received an email from a relation advertising FOREVER—not to be confused with Forever Living. Searching through this sub, I found a few short references over the last years with little detail. In one, a commentor described FOREVER stating "as mlms go, it seems ethical." Every red light went off while I looked into these “FOREVER Ambassadors.” I then began a search, with much of the ultimate work done by my spouse. It took longer than seemed acceptable to identify this MLM for people who glanced over the internet. FOREVER is not listed on any of the MLM databases I could find from this sub or elsewhere. Based on the mandatory “FOREVER Ambassador Community” on Facebook, now 8 years old, at least 2,500 people have gotten into their clutches at some point (I haven’t linked because I think it might be against the sub rules).
Thus, for the benefit and enjoyment of the people, here are references for the community to identify a yet-another-multi-level-marketing scheme. I am a sarcastic person, so be forewarned. All sources were publicly available and required no logins or access.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(1) Background of the FOREVER business model
(2) The FOREVER Ambassador program
(3) Costs of serving as an Ambassador
(4) Compensation advertised for Ambassadors
(4a) Income in cash from personal sales
(4b) The downline system used by FOREVER
(4c) Non-monetary-achievement compensation
(5) FOREVER Ambassador Business Training
(6) Conclusion down to brass tax on FOREVER
STUDY OF FOREVER
(1) Background of the FOREVER business model
FOREVER is an online service that advertises it can be a “permanent digital home that lasts for many generations.”[1] This is to be accomplished via a so-called “FOREVER Guarantee Fund” that invests to pay for digital storage for over 100 years.[1] Their website promises me that “permanent” is “not a buzzword”—I think that’s the Platonian ideal of a buzzword.[1] Regardless, this is not a quality review post.
(2) The FOREVER Ambassador program
The sellers used by FOREVER are called “FOREVER Ambassadors.”[2] As advertised, it looks like a classic MLM pitch. You can “earn up to 35%” commission” while having “the freedom to work from home, and the flexibility to make money on your own schedule.”[2] FOREVER lists various opportunities, such as “trainings” and the ability to “learn and grow with friends,” as well as “make life-long friends.”[2] As part of the “Meet our Team” webpage for corporate FOREVER, there are multiple “Executive Ambassadors” listed.[3] There is no barrier to entry on experience required to become an Ambassador.[4] I observed that, throughout the internet and on the FOREVER website, the vast majority of Ambassadors are women—as you know, many MLMs target women and moms.
(3) Costs of serving as an Ambassador
FOREVER has, at minimum, an “Annual Ambassador Fee” that is the primary cost to entry of the program.[2] For $179 a year, one would receive “back office tools,” various marketing materials, and “countless opportunities”—maybe money, but more on that soon.[2] There is a link to an Ambassador’s own selling website.[5, at 22] This Ambassador fee “is subject to change over time.”[5, at 25] There is also a FOREVER Merchandise store where Ambassadors can get their supplies.[6] These include a 40-pack set of catalogs for $44.99 and a $144.99 tablecloth for potential customers during in-person events.[6]
For Ambassadors, FOREVER advertises there are “free training events.”[5, at 25] Each year, for $399 in 2024, Ambassadors can attend the 3-day “FOREVER Live” event.[7] It is in the destination getaway of… next to their headquarters in Pittsburgh, PA (I’m sorry Pittsburgh, you’re a beautiful city).[5, at 24] It is also possible to pay for a “p2P Virtual Party” and “p2P Live Events,” but is unclear what those mean.[5, at 5] Various “ranks” of Ambassadors receive a “monthly stipend” starting at $25 a month after $15,000 total in personal plus team sales a year.[5, at 9]
(4) Compensation advertised for Ambassadors
(4a) Income in cash from personal sales
FOREVER pays its Ambassadors based on a “cash sales” versus “full sales” system.[5, at 5] The too-long-didn’t-read summary is that some products are paid less commission than others because of “margin” of different products.[5, at 5–6] Critically, the Personal Commission Rate is where our story kicks into gear. At the bottom, an Ambassador who sells less than $2,000 a year in sales receives the windfall of a 15% commission.[5, at 7] The number rises to 34% once sales are $90,000 or greater in one year (I don’t know where the 35% from earlier went).[5, at 7] However, to earn the 20% commission or more once one passes the $2,000 sales amount requires completion of the “FOREVER Ambassador Business (FAB) Training.”[5, at 7] I read it, more on that later.
You might ask, “Is there a sales quota for FOREVER® Ambassadors?” FOREVER says “no.”[8] However, the less one does the less FOREVER pays Ambassadors for what they do (this chart is older than the Compensation Guide cited).[8]
(4b) The downline system used by FOREVER
Of course, while it took forever to reach here, we come to the “downline” process—FOREVER’s words, not mine.[5, at 9] FOREVER immediately identified that new Ambassadors “choose another Ambassador to mentor you as you grow your business” (I do not know if this means an upline).[2] Nevertheless, “Team Sales” are compensated by FOREVER down to the 5th Line.[5, at 9] If an Ambassador does not build a team, then they do not earn Team Commissionable Cash Sales Commissions.[5, at 9] FOREVER states that getting new Ambassadors “to sign up under your name” is how you help “further your business.”[9]
However, even if an Ambassador builds a team, they receive a very restricted downline compensation if they do not make a minimum of personal sales.[5, at 9] For future reference, an “Associate Ambassador,” the bottom, makes less than $2,000 and earns no downline sales.[5, at 9] An “Ambassador,” second to last, is the first rank with a downline commission (4% for 1st Line), requiring $2,000/personal a year.[5, at 9] To reach “Senior Ambassador,” third to last, and above, a FOREVER Ambassador must start earning exponentially greater amounts of personal plus team sales to rise in the “ranks.”[5, at 9] A Senior Ambassador requires $8,000/personal but $15,000/gross, and is the first to get 2nd Line commission (4% for 1st Line and 2% for 2nd Line).[5, at 9] It is unclear to me if “new members” must be recruited “each month” to rankup—the website says so, but I see it nowhere in the Compensation Guide.[8]
At the top of hierarchy, there become two “Executive Ambassadors.”[5, at 9–10] These ranks start at $28,000/personal and $250,000/gross a year.[5, at 9] As well, one must have at least three “Team Leaders” in their 1st Line.[5, at 10] Team Leaders refers to Ambassadors who have themselves reached the rank of “Associate Lead Ambassador” ($12,000/personal and $30,000/gross).[5, at 9] FOREVER advertises that the Executive ranks are for—and I am not making this up—those Ambassadors who are “grooming FOREVER Leaders on your team below you.”[5, at 10] Irony is dead folks.
(4c) Non-monetary-achievement compensation
Because being paid to work is overrated, FOREVER will also provide “Additional Benefits” to its various ranks. As an Associate Ambassador, you can join the aforementioned Facebook Group and hear the CEO talk on a monthly phone call.[5, at 11] Regular Ambassadors also get a certificate to put on their wall.[5, at 11] Senior Ambassadors get a standing ovation at FOREVER Live!—you can even be ovated on stage as an Associate Lead Ambassador (I would pay $179 a year to not).[5, at 13–14] My observation is that a lot of ranks mostly provide additional types of standing ovations at FOREVER Live! and reserved seats for dinners there.
But then you can reach the pinnacle of Everest (that much like the real one, other people just carry you up there): the Million Dollar Club.[5, at 20] For making $1 million in personal and team sales in a year, one will earn a single $10,000 dollar bonus.[5, at 20] If you are then a “top-performing Ambassador,” one can be taken on the “Achievement Gathering,” to Jamaica in 2024, to mill around with other top-performing Ambassadors—and the corporate staff.[5, at 24] There is no mention how many people earn it or how much must be earned.[5, at 24]
(5) FOREVER Ambassador Business Training
I mentioned earlier that Ambassadors must complete a “FAB” training to receive more than 15% in commissions.[5, at 7] To hit this post home, I wanted to identify some highlights. The FAB training has 5 Steps to reach regular Ambassador status.[10, at 4] These Steps include such activities as “Meet with your Upline” (Step 1), “Connect with your Upline” (Step 2), “Meet with your Upline” (Step 3), “Meet with your Upline” (Step 4), and “Meet with your Upline” (Step 5).[10, at 7, 10, 12, 14, 16] You also have to join the FOREVER Facebook group and any created by your Team (just “ask your Upline” to find it).[10, at 6–7] There’s a task in Step 2 to create an introductory “Share List,” with five lines each for “Friends,” “Teachers,” and your own “Parents/Grandparents.”[10, at 7–9] For an unclear number of hours, you must attend multiple weekly and monthly “training opportunities” and “calls.”[10, at 6–7, 10] And one last item, to rank up in FOREVER, you must register for an upcoming event.[10, at 12] As of writing, the only one listed on the linked webpage is the $399 FOREVER Live! conference.[11]
(6) Conclusion down to brass tax on FOREVER
I was unable to find an Income Disclosure Statement for FOREVER. However, basic math tells us that an Associate Ambassador, the bottom, can only earn up to $300 a year.[5, at 11] To reach regular Ambassador, which includes signing up and beginning all the time sinks listed above, the maximum personal commission is $1,200, in addition to whatever downline (however big those are on average).[5, at 11] Without a downline, even the top-bracket personal sellers are the only ones to earn more than $30,000 a year.[5, at 7] The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis estimates that the Real Median Personal Income in the United States for 2022 was $40,480.[12]
There is one way to make it with FOREVER: to build a downline. It’s a multi-level-marketing scheme, and no one should join it. Unless of course, you want to join my downline—I promise you'll be rich just like me.
LIST OF REFERENCES
[1] “Our Story,” FOREVER.com (accessed May 18, 2024), https://www.forever.com/our-story
[2] “Become a FOREVER Ambassador,” FOREVER.com (accessed May 18, 2024), https://www.forever.com/opportunity
[3] “Meet Our Team,” FOREVER.com (accessed May 18, 2024), https://www.forever.com/our-story/team
[4] “What is required of me as a FOREVER Ambassador?,” FOREVER.com Support (accessed May 18, 2024 [updated “2 years ago”]), https://support.forever.com/hc/en-us/articles/215823437-What-is-required-of-me-as-a-FOREVER-Ambassador
[5] Ambassador Compensation Guide, FOREVER (Jan. 31, 2024), https://www.forever.com/app/users/forevealbums/ambassador-kit/f3ii4wzeewd0nfwg4nb40kyw1/files/1043b0c6-de01-4aff-a1e3-83db7e6b1b17
[6] “FOREVER Merchandise,” FOREVER.com Ambassador Training (accessed May 18, 2024), https://www.training.forever.com/store
[7] “FOREVER Live! 2024,” FOREVER.com (accessed May 18, 2024), https://www.forever.com/events/forever-live-2024
[8] “Is there a sales quota for FOREVER® Ambassadors?,” FOREVER.com Support (accessed May 18, 2024 [updated “2 years ago”]), https://support.forever.com/hc/en-us/articles/215142548-Is-there-a-sales-quota-for-FOREVER-Ambassadors
[9] “Downline,” FOREVER.com Support (accessed May 18, 2024 [updated “2 years ago”]), https://support.forever.com/hc/en-us/articles/221072448-Downline
[10] FOREVER Ambassador Business Training, FOREVER (May 14, 2024), https://www.forever.com/app/users/ambassador-training/albums/02-forever-ambassador-business-training-booklet/qcg622q43zy6835w9ojq3wkw/files/f0bd2387-bb14-43a2-a46d-344a91470147
[11] “Events,” FOREVER.com (accessed May 18, 2024), https://www.forever.com/events
[12] “Real Median Personal Income in the United States,” Federal Reserve of St. Louis (accessed May 18, 2024), https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N
EDIT: A few formatting errors and other minor corrections.

TLDR; I conducted a lot of tests based on community feedback after my first batch of test results (and recommendations) were perceived as controversial. I ran additional simulations and used chi square analysis to see if any equipment stood out.

• The polearm was observed to be the best except in very niche circumstances, where it still does well in general
• Assassin's Rags appears to be the best general armor in the game for melee
• Heavy Armor consistently loses to White Plate & Assassin's Rags
• In field battles you're probably better off not using ranged weapons at all
• For top tier characters KLR limbs remove the need to prioritize a shirt with high coverage; reducing damage to the chest & stomach may be more important even if limbs are less unprotected
• Crossbows don't appear to do very well in field battles

Introduction
Assertions about the best equipment in Kenshi are innumerable, but few of them are driven by data. A previous post based on repeated combat simulations and statistical analysis indicated that the Polearm outperformed other community favorites, sometimes by a remarkable margin.
Additionally, the recommendation to use crab armor was challenged and members pointed that other armor types not included in that round of tests would do better.
Other criticism of that group of tests included:

• The tests were only done with level 100 characters which doesn't reflect practical squad composition for normal players
• Very few enemies in Kenshi actually use heavy armor, let alone masterwork armor and it would make more sense to do weapon tests against more representative armor sets
• White Plate and Assassin's rags weren't considered and believed to outperform heavy armor
• The Shek were deemed the most effective race, but it wasn't clear if this was due to a bug in Forgotten Construction Construction set
• Sabres weren't considered at all, in particular for indoor combat
• Robotic limbs were not tested when determining the recommended equipment loadout or how that would affect how a character should be armored

These points were explored in additional testing. Also considered was how squads that were partially composed of crossbows and melee troops performed against pure melee squads.
Materials and Methods
The Forgotten Construction Set (FCS) is the defacto modding tool for Kenshi. Two squads were created and made to compete against each other many times to see if they differed in any significant way. Squads competed until all the members of one squad were knocked out, at which point the winner and loser were recorded. Fischer's Exact Test was then used to see if the results were significant.
Squads
Squads were composed entirely of Greenlander humans (except when explicitly testing other races). The rational for this was Greenlanders have no combat buffs or debuffs and that this would avoid potentially problematic discrepancies in stats that could be attributed to either a defect in FCS or stats so high that they would be utterly impractical to attain.
The stats of each member of the squad were identical in all simulations, with tests being done on squads all at either level 100 or level 50 depending on the test.
When robotic limbs were being considered all members had masterwork KLR arms and legs.
One squad was created as a starter squad which placed all members directly under the players control. The other squad was created in a modded town on the unamed island named "Chi Town", which was composed of a single building. In each new game, the squad in Chi Town would spawn in its building and begin patrolling the area.
Chi Town was set as a hostile faction to the player controlled squad. On a new game the player controlled squad would spawn in Chi Town adjacent to the hostile squad. Despite having hostile faction relations, Chi Town never initiated combat against the player controlled squad, allowing the player squad to have its members positioned in a variety of ways to ensure an even match up. Combat was then initiated by the player after setup.
Squad Size
To avoid a known problem with the AI in which knocked out members would revive mid combat and begin patrolling the town rather than continue fighting, the squad size was limited to 5 on each side for melee tests.
A squad size of 10 was used for each size when crossbows were being tested.
Initiating Combat
Squads were either loaded by a new game or quick load. After this members of the player controlled squad were positioned in such a way that when combat was initiated all opposing squad members would participate in combat at about the same time.
During combat soldiers were knocked unconscious, but frequently regained consciousness mid combat and rejoined the fight. Combat continued until all members of one squad were knocked unconscious.
When testing indoor combat the members of the opposing squad were spawned in a stationhouse. The player controlled squad then entered the building and initiated combat. If at any time battle caused a member to navigate outside the building the test was discarded and a new iteration conducted.
When testing combined arms a purely melee group was compared against a squad with both crossbows and melee members. The purely melee squad was positioned at maximum distance before initiating attack. This enabled the opposing crossbows to fire off multiple volleys in an attempt to give them maximum utility.
Each squad had 10 members. In the case of the combined arms group 5 had melee weapons and 5 had crossbows.
The crossbows used in the experiments were the Eagle's Cross and Junkbow. The rational for this is that the Eagle's Cross has a very high Damage Per Second when used by a level 100 user. However the humble Junkbow was also considered as some assert that it is superior, despite it's comparably weak damage.
When a player is hit by a crossbow bolt they stagger regardless of the amount of damage. Some postulate that the faster rate of fire with the Junkbow causes opponents to stagger enough that a comparatively smaller group of melee fighters can land more attacks. In other words the expectation is that the weak Junkbow would cause victory by stun-locking opponents.
Regular Soldier Testing
When testing combatants at level 50 mid level quality was used for weapons and armor (Catun No. 3). Additionally the armor set used was the standard kit used by Holy Nation Paladins.
It was speculated that more common, representative armor like this might yield different results for weapon testing. In particular, the abysmal performance of the falling sun in previous testing was attributed to it being used against very heavy armor which would prevent it from severing limbs.
Given that Kenshi's combat mechanics focus more on disabling an opponent, the ability to cause amputation may be more important than being able to do more damage. The Holy Nation kit was arbitrarily selected among the 3 major factions, but deemed suitable because the coverage of the Holy Chest plate is low enough to allow for testing amputation while still being high enough to represent what a player would likely encounter during a base raid.
Fischer's Exact Test
Chi-Squared analysis was done using an online calculator located here using a simple 2x2 contingency table. For all tests the default parameters of a two sided tail, 1:1 odds and a 95% confidence interval were used.
Version
Tests were performed on Kenshi 1.0.68

Animal Care Compliance

No bonedogs were harmed over the course of this research.

Data

Elite Soldier Tests
The following equipment was used in each test unless explicitly stated otherwise:

Factor Type	Factor Used
Helmet	Crab Helmet
Pants	Samurai Legplates
Shirt	Dark Leather Shirt
Footwear	Wooden Sandals
Robotic Limbs	Masterwork KLR arms & legs
Weapon	Polearm
Level	100
Race	Greenlander

Test	Group 1 Loadout	Group 2 Loadout	Group 1 Win:Loss Ratio
Crab Armor - Dark Leather shirt vs Chainmail	Dark Leather Shirt	Blackened Chainmail	24:6
Crab Armor vs Samurai Plate w/ Polearms	Crab	Samurai	9:21
Crab Armor vs Samurai Plate w/ Nodachi	Crab + Nodachi	Samurai + Nodachi	3:13
Crab vs White Plate Jacket	Crab	White Plate Jacket	0:30
Crab vs White Plate w/ Nodachi	Crab + Nodachi	White Plate + Nodachi	9:21
Crab vs Assassin's rags	Crab + Blackened Chainmail	Assassin's Rags + Dark Leather Shirt	3:27
White Plate Jacket vs Assassin's rags	White Plate	Assassin's Rags	7:23
White Plate Jacket vs Samurai	White Plate	Samurai	27:3
White Plate Jacket shirtless vs shirt	White Plate [no shirt]	White Plate [Dark Leather Shirt]	14:16
White Plate Armor, Skeleton vs Human	White Plate Skeleton	White Plate Human	25:5

Combined Arms Tests
The following equipment was used in each test unless explicitly stated otherwise:

Factor Type	Factor Used
Helmet	Crab Helmet
Pants	Samurai Legplates
Armor	Assassin's Rags
Shirt	Dark Leather Shirt
Footwear	Wooden Sandals
Robotic Limbs	Masterwork KLR arms & legs
Weapon	Polearm
Level	100
Race	Greenlander

Crossbows used a longsword as a sidearm in all cases.

Test	Group 1 Loadout	Group 2 Loadout	Group 1 Win:Loss Ratio
Polearms vs Polearms + Eagle's Cross	Polearms	Polearm + Eagle's Cross	17:3
Polearms vs Polearms + Junkbow	Polearms	Polearm + Junkbow	20:0

Regular Soldier (L50) Tests
The following equipment was used in each test unless explicitly stated otherwise:

Factor Type	Factor Used
Helmet	Bucket Zukin
Pants	Stout Hessian Uniform
Armor	Holy Chest Plate
Shirt	Cloth Shirt
Footwear	Plated Longboots
Robotic Limbs	None
Weapon	Polearm
Level	50
Race	Greenlander

Test	Group 1 Loadout	Group 2 Loadout	Group 1 Win:Loss Ratio
Polearm vs Falling Sun	Polearms	Falling Sun	26:4
Indoors 5v5- Polearm vs Desert Sabers	Polearms	Desert Sabers	13:17
Indoors 1v1- Polearm vs Desert Sabers	Polearm	Desert Saber	10:20

Results

All heavy armor tested lost substantially to both White Plate & Assassin's Rags. The polearm continued to outperform the falling sun. Desert Sabres either matched the Polearm in performance or outperformed it when micromanaging.
Additionally, the dark leather shirt outperformed blackened chainmail. This bolsters claims that when robotic limbs are used that limb coverage is less important than total damage reduced to the torso and stomach.
The Assassin's Rags were undefeated in any category. It seems that the stat malus of heavy armor is indeed quite significant and likely responsible for consistent losses. But even when put against medium White Plate armor which has very little stat malus the Assassin's Rags continue to dominate; this is likely due to the bonuses to dexterity, combat speed and melee attack that they provide.
When pitted against identically sized squads, combined arm crossbows squads were utterly defeated by monolithic squads armed with Polearms.
Level 100 Tests

Test	P-Value	Statistically Significant?	Better Equipment
Crab Armor - Dark Leather shirt vs Chainmail	0.0000114	Yes	Dark Leather Shirt

Level 50 Tests

Test	P-Value	Statistically Significant?	Better Equipment
Polearm vs Falling Sun	< 0.0001	Yes	Polearm
Indoors- 5v5 Polearm vs Desert Sabres	0.4389	No	Neither
Indoors- 1v1 Polearm vs Desert Sabres	0.0194	Yes	Desert Sabre

Combined Arms Tests

Test	P-Value	Statistically Significant?	Better Equipment
Polearms vs Polearms + Eagle's Cross	< 0.0001	Yes	Pure Polearm Squad
Polearms vs Polearms + Junkbow	N/A	Yes	Pure Polearm Squad

Discussion

Kenshi has a wide variety of equipment and a great deal of complex calculations behind it. Despite that, there exist god-tier equipment that appears to provide little choice or strategy for a player looking to outfit a squad to be competitive.
Using robotic limbs changed the ideal composition for armor. Previous testing with crab armor indicated that Blackened Chain Mail had an edge over the Leather Turtleneck. This was attributed to crab armor only providing 90% coverage which meant that stronger protection for the arms could change the tide of lengthy battles; A disabled arm was an extreme liability.
However the massive HP boost provided by KLR arms seems to be significant enough that additional coverage at the cost of dexterity penalties is a bigger hindrance than help. After HP becomes substantially greater than the heath of the stomach or torso it makes more sense to forgo that protection if it means you can hit faster.
Players are unlikely in the early game to outfit their squad with masterwork KLR arms. During this phase one could speculate over whether to use chainmail or a leather turtleneck over the dark leather shirt. Previous testing indicated that chainmail was better for crab armor users fighting other crab armor users with leather turtlenecks, but that experimentation never considered light or medium armor which was shown here to be more effective regardless.
This challenges the wisdom of using chain armor at all. The use of a shirt can be forgone entirely if the player chooses to use White Plate Jackets. This armor provides 100% coverage for the torso, stomach and arms making a shirt redundant. Given White Plate Jackets outperformed Crab and Samurai armor and is more accessible and affordable it is difficult to justify the decision to use heavy armor at all, let alone chainmail in combination with it. This refutes the conclusion to use Crab armor in previous testing.
Given the outsized impact Assassin's Rags had (presumably due to the status boons) it is probably inadvisable to use chainmail and its debuffs alongside it. The Assassin's Rags provide relatively poor coverage, so a shirt of some kind is likely useful. What the ideal shirt for an Assassin's Rags user without KLR arms would be is unanswered in this study.
The Assassin's Rags provided adequate protection when dealing with ranged opponents. One plausible weakness would be the scant protection they provide against harpoons, which was not tested. Even if they are unparalleled in melee further research should be done to see if a single shot from a harpoon could kill a character using them. If that turns out to be the case then White Plate Jackets would apparently be preferable to any heavy armor.
White Plate Jackets outperformed both Crab and Samurai armor when using Nodachis which deal purely cut damage and have a penalty against armor. This is perplexing because heavy armor appears to have been intended to be the best choice for mitigating cut damage, but the stat malus associated with it causes light armor to be a better choice (at least against the weapons tested in this study).
The Falling Sun continued to yield mediocre results compared to the Polearm. Oddly, the Falling Sun was noticed to cause amputation semi-regularly in the tests against Polearms. Despite this knocking out the Polearm user, the remaining Polearms managed to win most fights anyway and bandage their crippled comrade post victory. While limb loss after battle is fairly devastating, this has limited utility from the players perspective; there isn't a strong need to amputate an enemies limbs because it doesn't matter how you disable your opponent as long as they are disabled. It probably makes more sense to just use the Polearm because it wins way more often.
The Polearm appears unbeatable with very few exceptions. Previous testing indicated the only weapon observed to outperform the Polearm was the Paladin's Cross and that was contingent on using it against skeletons. This research indicates that the Desert Sabre can be more effective than the Polearm indoors, but only if the Sabre user is not subject to the Polearms area of effect damage; i.e., the Sabre has to fight the Polearm one on one which requires micromanagement.
A particular surprise was how the Polearm performed by level 50 users indoors against Desert Sabre users in squads. Here Polearms have a very strong malus and the Sabers have a strong boon. Despite this there wasn't a statistically significant difference between them.
The Polearm did lose against Sabres frequently when forced to fight one on one indoors. From the players perspective this means that defending indoors with Sabres is a viable strategy early to mid game, although attacking grouped NPC Sabres indoors with Polearms is also surprisingly viable.
Enemies that use polearms are typically the most high level squads in the game (e.g., the skeletal legion and southern hive). But these late game squads almost exclusively use polearms themselves. This means a player's late game Polearm squad would not have any disadvantage indoors as both squads would have the same penalty. Furthermore, by the time a player is encountering late game squads like this they've likely leveled up enough to avoid the need to micromanage regardless.
Whether such a niche use case justifies sinking experience into building up the Sabre skill when they could be leveling up the Polearm is a matter for players to decide. It's difficult to pronounce Sabre's categorically superior, particularly when they appear to break even with Polearms when forced to fight in groups indoors.
Crossbows/Polearm hybrid squads turned out to be unviable against pure Polearm squads. Every crossbow simulation ended with unfavorable results when the competing squad invested in a Polearm instead. Crossbows probably would perform better during sieges where they had a benefit of a wall, but a turret would likely be a better option at that point. The Junkbows ability to stunlock evenly sized forces was insufficient. This strategy is probably only viable when many weak characters are fighting a single strong character, assuming it works at all.
The lack of some rock-paper-scissors mechanics in Kenshi limits how the player can think strategically about squad composition. Modding could plausibly create more interesting, balanced relationships between equipment. For example, increasing the damage of weapons like Katanas while simultaneously increasing the penalty against heavy armor could make them a viable alternative to Polearms in many common situations.
The interplay of armor penetration and raw damage could create a better defined role for light, medium and heavy builds. Additionally, crossbows might be enhanced to have a viable role in the field as they do not appear to excel there or behind allied walls where they could use a turret instead.
Overall if a players goal is to outfit a squad for the highest combat potential, the data indicates the choice is mostly linear- outfit the entire squad the same way, preferring Assassin's Rags or White Plate Jackets along with a Polearm or Paladin's Cross (both weapons can be available via a backpack).
As far as choice of character goes, Skeletons were shown to significantly outperform humans despite having no head protection. No comparison was done between the Shek and Skeletons as it currently unsettled whether a Shek can actually achieve a strength of 120 in vanilla Kenshi or if that is a bug in FCS. Regardless, in Vanilla Kenshi it is impractical to obtain very many skeletons at all without modding. The higher health pool of the Shek would likely make them the most accessible, competitive recruits when trying to build a strong military squad. If creating a squad of 30 soldiers it would be unsurprising if the majority of them needed to be Shek.

I recently played in a game (that I paid for through an organization in my city) where I feel like the DM was being tough, for the sake of being tough and his rep around that, rather than focusing on balancing, and if the group is having fun.
There were many things he did throughout the game that bothered me, but a few stand out.
The major one was giving the enemy Legendary Actions. We play at a mixed table, where the players are levels 1-4. In this case we have two level 2's, two level 3's, and one level 4 (me). Everyone rolls hit die before the game to increase their max HP as if they were level 4, but their character abilities all stay the same. They can also do an ASI increase, but no feat.
So, with that info, do you think having an enemy with Legendary Actions, as well as having a permanent aura around him, where at the start of your turn, you have 2D6 fire damage on a failed dex save (half on a success) is fair?
He also set traps in the cave beforehand, where a bunch of us were nerfed (half speed, total HP reduced). Our level 2 monk only had 13 max HP. He can't do shit unless he gets close, and if he does that, he's probably gonna go unconscious. He barely got any turns.
When I talked to him after the game, and told him I thought it was unbalanced, he was very cocky, saying that "I run hard combats! Legendary Actions at a level 4 table is common! Another DM here does it all the time."
He also almost killed me, just because I tried to call over a small fae creature to come talk, and lure it with food. I got 4 attacks on me (all crazy high bonuses, rolling into the 20's), and did enough damage that I went unconscious and auto-failed a save. The only info we had on these guys was that they were zipping around people walking in the street, and no one was concerned. So there was no warning here.
So tell me, was this a shit DM, or am I just not up for "tough encounters"? Cause I love battles, and have played tough ones before. But those all relied on us working as a team, and problem solving. This guy's only strategy was to hit more, and hit harder. Which I don't think is the right answer for level 4.

As a counterpart to a post I saw earlier today about play-in/fringe teams that are expected to take a leap forwards next season, which teams are expected to fall in the standings next year, either due to significant personnel changes, over reliance on aging talent, or more competition in their conference/division.
I’ll split my own thoughts between the two divisions and give my predictions for placements for some teams, but they’re obviously just projections so don’t get mad if your team ends up being on the list.
—————————

Eastern Conference

Chicago Bulls
The Bulls don’t look like they’re doing anything major this offseason, other than trying to move Zach Lavine, and with his contract being what it is, I don’t expect him to be the type of asset that teams will be paying much of a premium for.
The Bulls would do well to commit to the tank in preparation for a pretty good looking 2025 draft class, but I’d only expect them to be slightly worse given that the front office (inexplicably) doesn’t seem keen to totally blow up their roster.
Prediction: 11th in the East.
Atlanta Hawks
I actually can see the Hawks committing to a bigger rebuild seeing as they’ve jumped to grab the #1 pick in this year’s draft.
Jalen Johnson is an interesting young player and it seems like it might be time to sell on players like Clint Capela (who has had a lacklustre couple of seasons) and Bogdan Bogdanovic (who is on the older side, but should have very good value for competitors due to his fantastic production this season).
They will also almost definitely move on from one of their star duo, and if it’s Trae Young that’s moved, they’ll likely be going into the 2024/25 season with a hoard of future picks and a significantly different roster.
Prediction: 12th in the East.
Miami Heat
Miami is an odd case because they have dealt with a fair amount of injury trouble this season, and you can never really count out a team coached by Spo.
That said, Jimmy Butler isn’t getting any younger (if he is resigned by the Heat in the first place), and Duncan Robinson and Terry Rozier are entering their 30s too. I don’t expect Miami to be much worse than they were this year, but if their key players miss time like they did this season, they might slip into the lower play-in bracket as the younger teams in the East improve.
Prediction: 9th/10th place in the East.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavs is less of a case of them being much worse, but I simply trust the teams around them (Pacers, Magic, 76ers, Knicks) to progress more than them next year.
Another uncertainty is the roster, which is about to be significantly retooled following the recent 2nd round exit. If Mitchell resigns, then it’s likely Garland will be moved. Allen may also be traded soon as the Cavs move on from their twin towers experiment.
Even if the Cavs do shift their young talent for win now pieces, the new team will need time to gel, and with the rest of the east getting better, I think the Cavs could be fighting to avoid the play-in next season.
Prediction: 5th-7th place in the East.
Bonus Prediction if Mitchell does not re-sign: 8th-10th place in the East, as they lean more into player development for Garland/Mobley.
—————————

Western Conference

Los Angeles Clippers
This season seemed like an ‘end of the road’ kind of season for the Clippers, who looked like world beaters before the familiar story of injuries and postseason struggles cut short their season.
The Clippers core is largely made up of aging, injury prone stars, one of whom, Paul George, is not under contract yet, and the other, Kawhi Leonard, hasn’t been able to string together a healthy season + postseason in almost 5 years.
I’m sure Ballmer will want to remain somewhat competitive to fill up the swanky new Intuit Dome, but with Memphis re-entering the Arena next season, and the Rockets young core taking a step forward, a team lead by Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and maybe Paul George, all of whom are entering the twilight of their careers, could be wrestling with the play-in.
Prediction: 6th-8th in the West.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors had a hell of a run, but now more than ever it seems like it’s time to look the future.
Another team reliant on an aging star core, the Warriors 3 cornerstone players have all shown signs of slowing down (relative to their own standards). Klay Thompson looks significantly slower on defense and has been a much more streaky shooter this season than in any other season of his career. Draymond Green still has a fantastic basketball mind, but age and on court antics remain an issue.
Even Steph Curry had a poor shooting stretch towards the end of the season, and while he will likely still make an All-NBA team this year, this year maybe be one of the last for the all-time great.
Brandon Podziemski, Trayce-Jackson David, Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga (who has shown fringe all-star level potential in very short spurts) are interesting young players, but I don’t expect them to be able or ready to lead the Warriors out of the gauntlet that the West is turning into.
Prediction: 11th/12th in the West
Phoenix Suns
Another team, another case of aging stars.
The Suns showed a late resurgence towards the end of this regular season, but fell short in their first round matchup with the Timberwolves.
Team ownership has echoed a wish to retool and run it back rather than make any big moves this offseason, but the Suns do face some glaring roster construction issues.
The Suns lack a dedicated point guard and lack size, doubly so with Jusuf Nurkic’s future with the team looking uncertain. New Coach Bud has echoed a wish to try and obtain a point guard this offseason, but it may be tough to acquire a quality option with the Suns current cap issues.
Regardless, the Suns three stars will have to learn to play off one another better, and with Beal and KD both being on the older side and having had past injury issues, Phoenix will have to fight hard to beat back younger teams vying for good play-in seeding.
Prediction: 8/9th in the West.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers are the most unpredictable team in this list for me, mostly because GM Rob Pelinka constantly reminding us of the Lakers three tradeable first round picks this summer, and that he won’t be afraid to use them should a star become available (cough cough… Donovan Mitchell, cough… Trae Young).
With all that said, my current predictions are that Mitchell will resign, and that another team will be able to put together a better offer for Trae than Austin Reaves + salary filler + the aforementioned 3 picks.
In that case, there are three questions hanging over the Lakers performance next season:

1. How many games will Anthony Davis play?

AD missed very few games this season and played fantastically, but his health will always be something that will be closely monitored.

1. How long will LeBron still be LeBron?

How much can we expect from old man James, now entering his 22nd NBA season.

1. Which (if any) of the role players will step up?

Austin Reaves and DiAngelo Russell (postseason woes aside) played relatively well through the regular season. With DLo likely to test free agency this offseason, someone else may need to step up.
Prediction: 9th-11th in the West.
—————————
Interested in seeing others picks and justifications, as well as thoughts on the predictions above.

Note: I'm not replacing anyone.
While out for a coffee, my sister posed the most important question of all; ''If you could be a part of any fictional world, which one would it be?'' Without any thought, I immediately said the Harry PotteHogwarts Legacy universe. As a result, I've now been left with the itch that I just need to scratch. Thus, I've come to you- or Reddit rather, in search of someone who's sharing the same passion and enthusiasm about roleplaying in such a world/setting.
But first things first, some things about me;
My name is Vyra, and I've been roleplaying for over 8 years. I'm 21 years of age and my role-play style varies from lit to novella, 3rd person. I like to return in the same fashion that I receive.
Some 'requirements' if you will;
• Be over the age of 18. I'm not one to shy away from more mature topics along with depictions of those topics in a more graphic/gory manner, and I expect the same. Along with a basic level of human decency and common sense from my rp partner.
• The rp will happen over Discord. This will be am OC x OC roleplay, with me doubling as side characters (such as faculty members, other students, the bad guys) to get the roleplay going.
• Communication. I work every single day, so this is my only outlet at the moment. Life gets busy, I get it, but I do ask that you do not reach out about this if you're gonna get cold feet mid roleplay. I wanna do this long term with someone who's willing to commit and be open to communication.
• Have the same style of roleplay. As in, past tense, 3rd person. I'm not expecting a novel, but I'd like a bare minimum of nicely fledged paragraphs.
• I would like to have a a romance subplot between the characters, especially if there's an interesting dynamic. I'm comfortable with MxF pairings, with me roleplaying as the F.
That's about it I think.
If you're interested send me a small introduction pm along with a rp sample to see if our roleplay styles would be compatible.
One more thing is, I kind of have a plot in mind, but it is not fully fledged out. I do have some ideas that I'd like to bring to the table. Usually I like to look at the other person's OC first and then come up with something. If you have any ideas (which would be awesome if you did) or any plots, do include them!
Safe spell casting,
-Vyra

I’m enjoying this game for what it’s worth and I know that it’s not even officially out yet, but I hope that before the official release they can add these things to the game. I don’t know if the devs are reading this sub, but I’m sure at least one of them does lol!
Different looking gear: This is definitely one of the main complaints in the game and they should really address this. Legendary weapons and gear should look like their in-game counterparts if they have any like in Fallout Shelter. I mean Cicero is wearing a mail, he should be wearing his jester costume. Tiber Septim should be wearing his gold armor, and so on. It just helps differentiate it from other items and also make them look more “Legendary”. They don’t even need to make their 3D model look similar to the source material, just their gear is fine, but at least give them the right skin tone and hairstyle.
As for the other gear with just special effects but are not from the other ES games, literally just add particle effects on them like a sword with a fire bonus should be on fire, an axe with a frost bonus should be icy, a dagger with a lifesteal effect should be dripping in blood, and so on. It makes it more obvious that the item has an enchantment. I swear people would love this game more if you add that.
Return the “Wasteland Expedition” feature(forgot what it’s called) that Fallout Shelter had: You know, just drop a unit or a party in a carriage placed maybe at the entrance of the castle or something and let them explore the world where they will get items, gold, and so on, without your intervention, and the longer they explore, the more items they get, then give it a cap that when they die, they automatically go back home instead so they don’t go exploring forever.
Maybe add a small animation where they are doing stuff like running, fighting enemies, eating, and so on to make it more interesting while they are just exploring and have dialog options here and there so you have to check them for then to move forward. Then have some checkpoints so you can continue travelling the said route and discovering new areas and dialog options to get better items.
They can connect this with exploring new locations for the game to have a more coherent story and questlines. Tbh exploring locations is what makes Fallout Shelter fun and interesting, I really hope that they return that feature someday. Imagine exploring towns and castles where you can go inside rooms, look for items and talk to other NPC’s, then at some point you get to fight enemies or while running around town you fight bandits and stuff, then the game switches to the normal combat screen. Man that would really elevate Castles to a more fully fleshed out game. Like imagine going to Whiterun or Cyrodiil, man that would be amazing 🤩
Imagine having a Thieves’ Guild Questline or a Dragonborn quest where in the end one of your units becomes a dragonborn with special gear and stuff like that. And they can make it seasonal since units die of old age anyways, so like this month you can get a dragonborn unit with a unique trait if you complete the quest, then next month you can get a thieves guild unit and so on. And these traits cannot be inherited so the only way to get them is by doing the quests. One can only dream 🙏
More decorations that the subjects can interact with: I only have a low level castle right now so I don’t have all the decorations, but I notice units can interact with the fountain and have a ruling that say the fountain is being filled with gold coins and such. I don’t know if there are other decorations like this in higher levels, but I hope they add more of them. Like maybe someone reads the red book and suddenly they get an enduring trait since the description says it contains the “Secret to Enduring Health”, or they read the green book and they become 5 years younger, someone hangs around the purple tree too much and they become temporarily haunted, that would be really nice to see.
Oh and animation-wise too they definitely should add more interactions. I’ve only noticed two decorations that the NPC’s interact with, the fountain and the purple tree. Adults steal coins from the fountain, and kids play ring-around-a-rosie around the tree. It’s cute when they do that, just small details that add more life to the game. Oh and they sometimes taste the soup in the kitchen and check out their clothes in the sewing table, which is funny. I hope they add more of these to the other workstations, like they can test a weapon in the blacksmith, scribble over the battle plans in the war room, steal a sweet roll at the buffet, and so on.
Hard mode quests: Quests where if your units die, you lose your units permanently, but the rewards are better. They can implement this at the gauntlet for more seasoned players to try.
Bookshelf should have books that players can read: I bought the Lusty Argonian 1 and 2 for some gold, I should at least be able to read them, right? Isn’t that why we even choose what book to buy in the first place?
Music Stage should let us choose what background music to play: The music plays on a loop but it changes, at least give us an option to choose what we want to hear and maybe get new music to play from the shop. And definitely should add a musician/bard trait or something where if they play music at the music stage, they increase happiness for other NPC’s. To make it balanced, they can only increase the happiness to the lowest green level and will only affect their family and friends, I guess that would be reasonable without being too gamebreaking.
Allow us to destroy items to get back their raw materials: Not really necessary but it would be a nice feature to have. I’d be okay with destroying items to get half or 1/3 of the resources used to make them, at least my useless items will have some other use except for selling them.
Have an alchemy/wizard table that produces potions/scrolls: 1 potion per day is good enough. In the same vein, having a wizard table that produces scrolls is nice too, maybe not just resurrection scrolls, but temporary buffs that work only for the current battle is good too.
Have a leveling system for the units: Like someone using their workstation for 5 years should at least get a +1 bonus productivity in their job, up to a maximum of +5, with rarer units getting more, like gold units can get up to +9, purple +8, blue +7, green but with 2 traits +6, while fighters should get more proficient with their weapons the more they fight. A 10% increase for having weapon proficiency isn’t so overpowered anyway but is nice to have. Maybe each weapon should have a specific unit that they need to kill, and when they accomplish it they unlock the proficiency? Like “kill 100 goblins to get 10% more damage with this weapon”? I dunno, but it’s a nice thing to have and adds something more to do in the game with a tangible reward.
That’s all I have for now, hope you guys like my ideas and definitely your comments will be much appreciated! If you have ideas of your own you can share them below 😊

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(Posting this on behalf of a friend without reddit (ftr I'm also autistic). Feel free to PM me and I'll put you in touch!)
About them:

• Autistic, NB, 28yo, doing a PhD in the UK
• They have EDS, so their energy levels are often low
• Special interests: Railways, Knitting (or any fibrecraft), Will happily tell you the details of their PhD (plant sciences)
• Favourite TV shows: Shetland, Medical Documentaries, Forensics Documentaries, Queer Eye, Great British Sewing Bee, Great British Bake Off (especially earlier seasons)
• They love Harry Potter but are boycotting JKR.
• They love Routine, Explicitness, and Order (deliberately capitalised).
• They LOVE cats (a cat that’s quiet, extremely predictable, and sits next to you? *chefs kiss*).
• Their sense of humour is very punny. They find faces scary, and don’t tend to like direct eye-contact. They think Halloween costumes and fancy dress are scary, and call all such costumes “disguises”.
• They’re passionate about disability access and are an ambulatory wheelchair user.
• They are honest and direct, caring, funny, really smart, logical, and often very sad. But they never want or ask for anything more than just company in those sad moments.

About you:

• Are direct and want friends who are direct.
• Are over 18.
• Are interested in meeting either online, or if in person, in the UK.

(Posting this on behalf of a friend without reddit. Feel free to PM me and I'll put you in touch!)
About them:

• Autism, NB, 28yo, doing a PhD in the UK
• They have EDS, so their energy levels are often low
• Special interests: Railways, Knitting (or any fibrecraft), Will happily tell you the details of their PhD (plant sciences)
• Favourite TV shows: Shetland, Medical Documentaries, Forensics Documentaries, Queer Eye, Great British Sewing Bee, Great British Bake Off (especially earlier seasons)
• They love Harry Potter but are boycotting JKR.
• They love Routine, Explicitness, and Order (deliberately capitalised).
• They LOVE cats (a cat that’s quiet, extremely predictable, and sits next to you? *chefs kiss*).
• Their sense of humour is very punny. They find faces scary, and don’t tend to like direct eye-contact. They think Halloween costumes and fancy dress are scary, and call all such costumes “disguises”.
• They’re passionate about disability access and are an ambulatory wheelchair user.
• They are honest and direct, caring, funny, really smart, logical, and often very sad. But they never want or ask for anything more than just company in those sad moments.

About you:

• Are direct and want friends who are direct.
• Are over 18.
• Are interested in meeting either online, or if in person, in the UK.

Pictures
If you see anything you like or have questions let me know. PLEASE ask for more details and pics, especially for higher priced or rarer items!
If shipped, will give a basic quote on shipping (min. $4) EVERYTHING will be insured. Prices based on pricecharting. May take offers on certain items or for bundles.
/
-SWITCH CONSOLES + ACCESSORIES
2x Switch carrying case = 4ea.
Big switch set carrying case + usb adapters = 15
Switch charger = 12
3x standard dock + hdmi = 25ea. (or 35 with charger)
* V1 unpatched switch tablet only = 150
/
-SWITCH CONTROLLERS + ACCESSORIES
2x 3rd party joycon grip (not pictured) = 4ea.
Red blue scuffed/drifting joycon pair + free grip = 32
Gray joycon pair + free grip = 40
/
-SWITCH GAMES
Warioware get it together [CIB] = 24
Kirby star allies [CIB] = 30
Luigis mansion 3 [CIB] = 33
Metal gear solid master collection vol.1 [CIB] = 35
Mario vs donkey kong [SEALED] = 40
Pokemon mystery dungeon rescue team dx [CIB] = 40
Hogwarts legacy [SEALED] = 45
Mlb the show 24 [SEALED] = 45
/
-AMIIBO
Emmi [Metroid] [Loose] = 3
Luigi [Smash] [Loose] = 9
Inkling boy blue [Splatoon] [Loose] = 10
Inkling girl orange [Splatoon] [Loose] = 11
Inkling squid green [Splatoon] [Loose] = 14
Mario [Mario] [Loose] = 14
Link archer [Zelda] [Loose/detached bow] = 15
Link tears of the kingdom [Zelda] [NIB] = 17
Guardian [Zelda] [Loose] = 20
Dark turbo charge donkey kong [Skylanders] [Loose] = 29
Link twilight princess [Zelda] [NIB] = 30
/
-N64
Midway's greatest arcade hits vol 1 [Loose] = 10
Army men air combat [Loose] = 13
Wave race [Loose] = 14
Space invaders [Loose] = 15
007 Goldeneye [Loose] = 23
Pokemon stadium [Loose] = 26
Charlie blasts [Loose] = 30
Mario kart 64 player's choice [Loose] = 47
* Nintendo 64 system + controllers + cords + jumper pak = 80
/
-DS
Steel diver [Cib] = 4
Asphalt 3D [Loose] = 4
Lego avengers [Game/case] = 4
Lego batman 2 [Cib] = 4
Star wars clone wars jedi alliance [Loose] = 4
Lego the force awakens [Game/case] = 4
Frozen olafs quest [Loose] = 4
Indiana jones and the staff of kings [Loose] = 4
2x Lego star wars complete saga [Loose] = 5ea.
Call of duty world at war [Loose] = 6
Lego harry potter years 1-4 [Loose] = 6
Madden football [Loose] = 8
Mario vs donkey kong miniland mayhem [Loose= 8
Madden football [Game/case] = 9
Worms open warfare [CIB] = 9
Mario maker 3ds [Game/case] = 9
Epic mickey power of illusion [Loose] = 9
Mario party island tour [Loose] = 10
Pacman party 3d [Loose] = 10
Orcs and elves [Loose] = 11
Smash bros 3ds [CIB] = 11
Sonic classic collection (no label) [Loose] = 11
Sonic generations [Loose] = 11
Mario 3d land [Loose] = 12
Mario kart ds (no label) [Loose] = 13
Mario hoops 3 on 3 [Loose] = 15
New super mario bros [Loose] = 15
Mario party ds [Loose] = 15
Pokemon sun [Loose] = 15
Zelda link between worlds [Loose] = 17
Zelda ocarina of time 3d [Loose] = 17
Winx club quest for the codex [Loose] = 18
Mario sonic rio 2016 [Game/case] = 18
Mario 64 ds [Loose] = 19
Pokemon x [Loose] = 27
* Black ds lite (no charger) = 38
* Orange dsi (no charger or stylus) = 75
* Aqua blue and black 3ds (no stylus, no thumbpad cover) = 100
* Galaxy new 3ds xl + case + charger = 210

Not really sure what I’m doing here, but here we go!
Id love to start off just chatting a joking around to see if a spark comes to be. Banter is very big for me. I'm definitely going to start off bit awkward but I imagine that's pretty universal. I'm really big on communication and building a relationship brick by brick.
I love quality time spent together, whether it be our adventuring or simply laying on the couch snuggling during the cold. I want someone I can share my nerdy habits with, and can share their own with as much passion.
A little about me:
I'm a 20M from Florida, I'm a Junior in Uni and follow a pretty active life style, going out travelling and "adventuring " of sorts a lot of weekends.
I’m 6’1, 210, with fluffy dirty blond hair . I’m in pretty good shape from constant gym going and living an active life style.
While I definitely love the outside, I love to nerd out on stuff, whether it be video games or Harry Potter. I love cute little dates, whether it be mini golf or simply a fun movie night.
My love language is very much physical touch and I will very openly show my affection for you when I’m feeling it.
Will send photo of me if you want one.
I know this was a little all over the place, but here goes nothing!

I spent a lot of time reading about how to enter USJ/express passes and Super Mario World so thought I would provide an updated guide here.
About us, party of four, no particular interest in SMW or Harry Potter, but still love going to theme parks. English speaking tourists.

1. Bought tickets using Klook as USJ website didn’t accept our cards.
   
2. No express passes were available as seemed to be all sold out (We were glad we didn't buy the anyway).
   
3. Went during Golden week so was expecting to find massive crowds.
   

Arrived at the park at 7.30am. Already large lines there, but the staff managed the crowds well. In terms of bag check it is a very light touch.
Once each person in your party has scanned into the gates you can choose a timed entry pass for SMW. Having walked through the gates right at 8am, we selected 8.20 as the walk in time (earliest time available)
Walking straight over to SMW and lined up for the Mario cart ride, waited around 45 mins (though app said 60 minute wait).
As mentioned by many others, since SMW is the popular area, you need a timed entry so they can stagger the entries. You can book these via the USJ app as soon as you have scanned through the gates.
It's as simple as that for getting into SMW!
The next part of this will be around my review of the rides in no particular order
1 Koopla's Challenge - Consistently the longest queueing line at USJ, going first thing in the morning, we only had to wait 45 mins but expect wait times of up to 2 hours. I didn't find the ride itself that interesting really - I would classify it as a Interactive VR coaster, but the scenery within the queuing space is amazing. Would've liked to have ridden again, but didn't as the queue times were long. To be frank, i found the ride a little underwhelming considering all the hype.
2 Demon Slayer - Second longest line in park - A Great VR Rollercoaster. Went on it twice. I don't watch the series but could work out what was going on.
3 Flying Dinosaur - Thrilling and with short wait times. This is the most intense rollercoasters in the park, I probably rode it about 3 times (no more due to it's intensity). I feel like the intensity turns some people off which is why the wait times are quick.
4 Flight of the Hippogriff - Kids Rollercoaster, will have fairly long wait times as the train has small capacity - rode on it once
5 Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey - VR Roller Coaster - I found this one extremly impressive in terms of visual effects, the queue line sceneary was also amazing. I like HP a little as well so that helps. Queues move quickly on this one but still expect a short to medium wait (has english subs).
6 Jaws - Short Queue times - more of a live show then a rollercoaster. Did it once and enjoyed it.
7 Hollywood Dream - Probably my favourite roller coaster - less intense then Flying Dinosaur. The line moves quickly as their are 3 trains. Rode on it 3 times.
8 Hollywood Dream Backdrop - Similar to HD - but slower line as only 1 train. Very Enjoyable.
9 Minion Mayhem - Simulator Ride pretty fun, - rode on it twice (has english subs)
10 Waterworld - very good show, saw it twice (note that the actors are Japanese speaking)
Other Items of note
- Many of the shows are in Japanese / have no english subtitles, but there is still enough to see being english speaking only.
- Golden Week has extended opening hours which gave us all the time to see the attractions we wanted. Even then based on the crowds, I think a standard opening hours would be enough.
- Looking back, I would've liked to see some more of the interactive shows such as the Dinosaur and Magical Creatures Meet and Greet but apart from that, I did everything I wanted to.
- Bought Butterbeer, worth it for the experience
- Based on my experiance, Express pass is not necessary