It’s finally time for this truly crazy season to come to an end. 46 has been such a journey, starting out with one of the worst pre-merges of all time, a bit of a boring early merge, then suddenly building momentum like crazy and delivering a great 5-episode run. I’ve enjoyed this season, and it’s currently ranked 3rd out of the new-era seasons for me, under 45 and 42. Anyway, time for the final predictions.
🦎5th Place: Maria. 🦎
Through out the new era, a pattern has emerged with its fifth placers: players who, on the island, are big threats, likely to win if they get to the end, and are shown to be solid strategic players, but with edits that are smaller than they should be, given their perceived win equity on the island; players like Lindsey (42) Lauren (44) and Julie (45), Maria fits in that lineup perfectly.
After her blindside of Charlie failed, she’s left with no allies and is the biggest target by far. I think Maria is going to go out unanimously. There is absolutely no reason for anyone to keep her.
🦎4th Place (Fire Making Loser.) : Ben. 🦎
Ben is going to lose to Kenzie in fire. I’ve been predicting this for awhile, and while I’m no longer as certain of this happening as I used to be, to me, it still seems like what the season has been building up to for a while now.
Kenzie and Ben both got fire making content extremely earlier in the season and has colored how I’ve seen their relationship all season; Kenzie will no longer be the comforter but will be the competitor; taking out one of her closest relationships of the season and sending a strong supporter to the jury. I see this has her finally showing off a “killer instinct” or something along those lines. Ben will be the winning vote for Kenzie in an incredibly close final tribal council.
Oops. I’ve spent Ben’s section talking about Kenzie. Ben is a supporting character in the story of Kenzie’s win. And no, I don’t think he’ll break any sort of tie.
🦎3rd Place: Liz.🦎
Liz lands here by default. I’m leaning towards Charlie winning the final immunity challenge, and sending Ben and Kenzie to fire with the main goal of getting Kenzie out. We saw in episode 12 that Liz is horrible at fire, so I think Charlie won’t pick her; also, she’s just an easy person to beat at the end.
I don't think Liz is well liked or respected by the majority Nami jury–who I’m guessing will be bitter at her for whatever reason–and will be seen as a goat. Which I don't think is really fair; Liz has played an okay game, but against Charlie and Kenzie, she won't get a single vote.
Liz has been a great character and is responsible for the most iconic moment of the season. IM PISSED that Liz has been overlooked by the editors. I’m hoping she has a good finale.
🦎Second Place: Charlie.🦎
The strategic figure head of the season, top-ten new-era player, and Swiftie, Charlie, is going to get second place. It’s really hard to have Charlie at second; I’d love to see him win; he truly deserves it; and on any other new-era season, I think he does win, but just not this one.
The only reason I think Charlie doesn’t win is purely from reading the edit.

1. His social game isn’t as prevalent in his edit, which leans way more toward the strategic. When considering Kenzie's edit, that’s really bad, as it gives Kenzie a clear reason why she wins over Charlie—that being her better social game.
   
2. A few weeks ago, Charlie talked about not wanting to be seen as “one of the bad people,” which makes me think that the jury might be bitter.
   
3. After such a visibly dominant winner like Dee, Charlie and Maria’s complete control of the game wasn’t shown off to the extent it could have been.
   
4. Kenzie has one of the strongest edits of the new-era.
   

That being said, I don’t think Charlie’s edit is as bad as people are making it seem; sure, I don’t think it’s as strong as Kenzie’s from a story arc or personal content perspective, but I don’t think we’ve really been shown explicitly why Charlie loses. My main line of thinking is that the jury is going to be bitter, or that Charlie’s final tribal speech doesn’t do his game justice. The final tribal council will be a battle between the strategically dominant Charlie and the social butterfly Kenzie. It’ll be a close vote. this is the highest I’ve ever been on a Charlie win happening. I don’t think it’s impossible as others do, but Kenzie’s edit is just too strong for me to really consider anything else.
🦎The Winner Of Survivor 46: Kenzie.🦎
As predictable as it is, Kenzie seems to be locked in for a win. Kenzie has one of the strongest new-era edits and one of the strongest edits for a woman ever. Kenzie has been consistently visible throughout the entirety of the season. Her pre-merge did an excellent job of setting her up as a strong social player. We were consistently shown her reads on players and situations and her reactions to the game. Come the merge, we got more of the same, which was odd considering Kenzies lack of importance to the merge game over all. She’s been playing, no doubt, but to have as many confessionals as Charlie and more than Maria doesn’t exactly make sense, unless she wins. From the start, Kenzie has been a strong narrator.
We also get a strong view of Kenzie’s relationships. We know how she feels about the majority of the players on the jury. Which strengthens her social player storyline.
We know that: She was close to Hunter, and after Tevin was blindsided, she became his number one. She was extremely close to Tiffany all season. They were arguably the second-strongest duo of the season. She had a developing relationship with Venus, and they were growing close up until her eventual blindside. She was done with Q after his antics and all the drama he brought, but they did have a working relationship with Yanu.
Speaking of Yanu, the majority of the Yanu comeback content was framed from Kenzie's perspective. She got that really strong opening in episode two about staying strong and making it to the end.
Overall, Kenzie is the total package. She’s got the storyline, the narration, the social game, a jury full of friends, the backstory package, a challenge win, an episode dedicated to erasing her negativity (episode 7), she’s never had a zero confessional episode, and most importantly, the edit to back it all up!!!
The reign of the mermaid dragon is here! 🧜🏻‍♀️🐉

• Element79 unveils compelling assay results from its Lucero property, showcasing significant gold and silver grades alongside high concentrations of base metals.
• The data from these assays not only lays the groundwork for resource development but also guides the Company’s 2024 drill program, utilizing comprehensive 3D modeling for precision and efficiency.
• Through strategic meetings with artisanal miners and swift responses to community needs like the Chachas landslide, Element79 underscores its commitment to responsible mining practices and meaningful community integration.

https://preview.redd.it/5hnlwg1a4s1d1.png?width=461&format=png&auto=webp&s=f8600b223fc6950ee19a0f98d5ac45b38d1dcb9d
Element79 (CSE: ELEM) (OTC: ELMGF) (FSE: 7YS0), a prominent player in the mining industry, is redefining the gold and silver market with its robust portfolio and innovative strategies. With its focus primarily on gold and silver, Element79 stands as a beacon in the mining industry, committed to delivering impressive results while adhering to the highest environmental and social standards. This article sheds light on Element79’s journey, its flagship projects, recent developments, and future prospects.
https://preview.redd.it/m2blprfc4s1d1.png?width=977&format=png&auto=webp&s=e53fde92e9d1d7b7eb0b4fb321e2bffa7448e2ca
About Element79
Element79 (CSE: ELEM) (OTC: ELMGF) (FSE: 7YS0), a leading figure in the mining industry, has established itself as a pioneer in responsible mining practices. Its commitment to sustainable development and strategic acquisitions highlight Element79’s dedication to maximizing shareholder value. The company’s impressive portfolio features two flagship projects, the Lucero Property in Peru and the Maverick Springs Project in Nevada, both of which exhibit significant potential for high-grade operations.
Lucero Property: The Goldmine in Peru
Nestled in Arequipa, Peru, the Lucero Property is a high-grade gold and silver mine that stands as one of Element79’s flagship projects. With a rich history and immense potential for future development, Lucero is a testament to Element79’s commitment to mining excellence.
Historically, the Lucero mine boasted impressive grades, with an average of 19.0g/t Au Equivalent (Au Eq) during its five years of production ending in 2005. Recent assays from underground workings in March 2023 have further validated the potential for a significant high-grade future operation. These assays yielded up to 11.7 ounces per ton of gold and 247 ounces per ton of silver, indicating a promising future for high-grade operations.
https://preview.redd.it/u747re4f4s1d1.png?width=977&format=png&auto=webp&s=12363f4c254283d3c152de478b5392314ecf02a5
Additional Assay Results
Element79 Gold Corp. (CSE: ELEM) (OTC: ELMGF) (FSE: 7YS0) unveils additional findings from its recent underground and surface sampling efforts at the Lucero property, the cornerstone of its endeavors.
James Tworek, CEO of Element79, underscores the significance of these results: “This data isn’t just promising; it’s pivotal. It forms the bedrock upon which we build our future at Lucero.”
Out of 97 samples analyzed, 56 returned notable gold grades, with peaks at 8.55 g/t gold and 523 g/t silver, as shown in Table 1. Additionally, high concentrations of base metals were detected, affirming the project’s richness and reinforcing the Company’s confidence in its resource potential.
These assay results serve dual purposes for Element79. Firstly, they lay the groundwork for resource development and future mine planning, marking essential milestones in the project’s evaluation process.
Secondly, this data will steer the Company’s 2024 drill program, informed by comprehensive 3D modeling of geology and historic mine workings. This approach aims for precision and efficiency, utilizing a wealth of data including historical records dating back to 2005, current geochemistry data, underground mapping, and geophysical surveys.
Tworek emphasizes the significance of this data in guiding future exploration efforts: “It delineates areas of economic strength and directs our focus for ore extraction, leveraging both past data and current findings.”
Maverick Springs Project: A Silver Lining in Nevada
Another gem in Element79’s portfolio is the Maverick Springs Project, located in the renowned gold mining district of northeastern Nevada, USA. With its proximity to the prolific Carlin Trend, Maverick Springs presents an exciting opportunity for Element79. The project is a silver-rich sediment/carbonate-hosted deposit, similar to the renowned silver-rich epithermal deposits found in Nevada.
​
https://preview.redd.it/8hl10ylh4s1d1.png?width=977&format=png&auto=webp&s=d7460ff309ebda1bff1616cebcf79058b04078bb
Elevating Community Relations
In its ongoing commitment to community engagement, Element79 (CSE: ELEM) (OTC: ELMGF) (FSE: 7YS0) orchestrated a strategic meeting with artisanal miners from Lomas Doradas. The goal? To cultivate collaborative ties, ensuring mutual support as the Company embarks on exploration efforts on surface land. Seeking exclusive agreements, Element79 aims for a unified approach to mineral extraction and sales, benefitting both parties.
In a bid to solidify this partnership, Element79 proposed draft contracts. These agreements outline a decade-long surface access arrangement for exploration at the Lucero mine site, reciprocated by granting local miners access to defined locations for their operations. Additionally, Element79 pledges to facilitate optimal market pricing for Lomas Doradas’ ore, ensuring a steady revenue stream for both sides.
In March, Element79’s swift response to a landslide in Chachas exemplified its dedication to community assistance. The team provided vital support, aiding in the transfer of stranded community members until roads were cleared.
Embracing local traditions, Element79’s (CSE: ELEM) (OTC: ELMGF) (FSE: 7YS0) community relations team joined in a traditional Water Ceremony alongside local authorities and leaders. This culturally rich event, steeped in Chachas tradition, underscores the Company’s commitment to meaningful engagement and integration.
Throughout the year, Element79’s engagement in social awareness remains steadfast. Site visits and consultations with annex leaders bolster community support for ongoing exploration efforts. The Company advocates for a progressive approach, aligning with sustainable development goals and community interests.
Conclusion
Element79’s (CSE: ELEM) (OTC: ELMGF) (FSE: 7YS0) commitment to responsible mining practices, coupled with its robust portfolio, positions it as a leader in the mining industry. The company’s dedication to sustainable development, strategic acquisitions, and community relations exemplify its commitment to maximizing shareholder value.
As Element79 continues its exploration and development efforts, it remains steadfast in its commitment to responsible and sustainable mining practices. By leveraging its expertise and strategic acquisitions, Element79 is well-positioned to deliver value to its shareholders while contributing to the responsible development of the mining industry.

It’s easy to blame MPJ. I have done some of that myself. He had a poor series and should have been better. That being said, there’s no way we trade him for a player that would be as good. His contract is too expensive. He has a high ceiling and some inconsistency issues, so we’ll see which prevails. There’s no world where he leaves the team, so…
The question is - what can be changed? Our highest priority should be a backup big and someone else to lead the 2nd unit that is not Reggie Jackson.
Do we have any availability to sign/and or trade for any solid bench depth? This is what worries me most as I’m not sure how much wiggle room we’ll have with our finances. I don’t see our assets as very desirable unfortunately. We can’t win with a bench unit led by Big Government, a sophomore, and Holiday.
Outside of that, I hope Malone is able to reflect and adjust to things accordingly. Doubling Ant worked in the first half but then we started getting cooked by KAT who had a defender mismatch every other time down the court. I think at that point you bring Braun in to defend Ant by himself and stop spreading the defense so thin. And of course the lack of rest we all are aware of for Jok. I have nothing but faith in Moach so I’m sure he’ll get it figured out.
What other changes do we need to see?

It seems the common consensus is that damage wise unarmed martial builds will always trail behind martial builds that use weapons, and class feature wise and feat wise this seems true, but something has recently grabbed my attention
Wotc have seemingly tried to buff unarmed builds a few times, and they're not very coordinated about it. So they've released 3 magic items: insignia of the claw, eldritch claw tatoo, and wraps of unarmed prowess
Now +1-3 weapons do not stack in dnd 5e. Neither do +1-3 shields. However, in this case, you're gaining a boost to attack and damage rolls through trinkets, not weapons.
Trinkets that increase ac stack on top of plus whatever shields, and as far as I know there's no other trinkets that boost attack and damage rolls
So RAW, unarmed builds are the only builds that can get what is functionally a + 5 weapon. Which is completely broken in 5e because of both bounded accuracy, but also a guaranteed +5 damage is pretty strong in general
Take Monk for example, usually Monk is supposed to make up for lack of damage per hit by number of hits. And even then, the damage won't be that big. But with plus 5 to unarmed attacks, not only do they probably hit all of their attacks, but that's a guaranteed 5 extra damage in addition to their dex modifier
Even unarmed fighter also becomes much stronger this way. The problem with unarmed fighting style was always the lack of magical damage, but the items make the damage magical. So as far as I can tell, the damage of unarmed fighter becomes competitive with the highest dpr fighters no? (Despite the fact that so many features that boost damage specify weapon attacks)
Am I missing something here? How is this not completely broken
Also for any monk players out there, if you can, get a belt of giant strength if it puts your strength past 20. Just because you can use dex for attacks doesn't mean you should lmao. A belt of storm giant strength gives you a + 9 for attack and damage rolls instead of the max +5 if you're using dex

Hi. I am at 2500 mmr with a homebrewed SY deck. I am normally just pushing to pro rank most seasons and then chilling, but this season I want to see how far I can get.
You need to push with multiple factions to get to the top as far as I know, how is the score added? It used to be the highest score in your four best factions just added up and the highest players had like 10k score, but nowadays the best players are at 7k, did they change it to 3 factions or is the score for the leaderboards calculated in another way?
How many rounds would I have to play with each faction? How much does it matter if I lose rounds? How "difficult" is it to get into the top 500 or top 200 respectively?
Last but not least, I need deck suggestions for factions other than SY. I have enough resources to craft anything. It just has to be viable.

The Fullmer County Records Department poated announcement that this year has had the highest number of quadruplets they have ever seen, with 8 lucky couples bringing home 4 babies each. Help them out by creating a list of names using the criteria below.

1. Addison and Melanie Wexner were only joking a little when they told their son Oliver he could give their new baby a cars name. The humour then faded when he not only held them to it (in a guilting way only a 6 year old can) but when they found out theyd need 4 child-appropriate car names. While their three sons and daughter all have names in the top 100 most popular names, they can thank their big brother for their unique middle names.
   
2. Mercedes Johnson lost her late husband, Jimmy, in a car accident but she gained four new babies to always keep his memory alive. She game her two daughters middle names that rhyme with her stepdaughter's Brynn and two sons middle names that rhyme with her stepson, John's name. All four of her children also have first names that start with J.
   
3. What happens when you add four baby boys to a math teacher and English teachers lives? For Eric and Damien Hodges, it equaled four of the cutest authomathematician namesakes youve ever met.
   
4. Greg Waldvogel figured agreeing to his wife naming their next child after someone from her favourite TV show so long as he couls name their first-born after his favourite football player, Tom Brady, despite her being a daughter. His wife, Rebecka, has never liked little Tommie's name but seems to have gotten the last laugh since her ultrasound showed that she not only gets to name their son after the queens on Rupaul's Drag Race, but she gets to name all four boys after the queens. Though Greg must admit, he is impressed that she managed to make their names work the way she did.
   
5. Linguaphiles Jodi and Trey Sutherland were thrilled to find out they would be adding four new little girls to their household. Lovers of all things language, particularly archaic ones, the pair agreed when they had their first baby, Ire Eustolia, to give all their children beautiful yet rare names so they could share some of the love for names that history buried. Through their four daughters, who all have names from ancient times like their big sister, we think theyve continued to achieve their mission.
   
6. Chase Lipiec was a little annoyed to admit that a political debate between his father and fiance, Rhea James, led to the names of their children. After becoming fed up with her father-in-law's blatant disregard for gender neutrality, she decided she not only was not going to have a gender reveal as her in-laws wanted but that all four babies would have gender neutral first and middle names. Sure enough, it wasnt until three weeks after their birth that it was revealed to the elder Lipiecs that they had three new granddaughters and a new grandson.
   
7. Lovers of old school rap and R&B music, Chelsea and David Barnes decided to name their all of their kids after the singers from their wedding playlist. Though the 2012 playlist is a little dated by music standards, their daughter Aaliyah Sadé will be sharing the name compliments with her two brothers and two sisters.
   
8. Hanleigh and Giordano Anastasi are avid travellers who are taking the next step in life by becoming parents. Though they didnt know the step would be so big and leave them scrambling to find enough names for their new litter, they still want to do the naming tradition of colour, American county, and a Sicilian name [a requirement of Gio's grandmother] that they had planned when they first started trying to create a family, even if the order gets switched around. Luckily, the full long names fit all four girls well, and there are plenty of nicknames to go around as well!
   

Now that the sun has set on another season it’s time to reflect on our performance throughout and look forward to how next season could go.
TLDR; Much improved season but game management has cost us throughout. Continued strong recruitment for next season especially at Manager position.
Let’s begin with the raw stats.
We finished 10th for the second successive season but amassed our highest points total of 18 in the WSL alongside our best goal scoring season with 26 goals for and our best defensive season conceding 45 goals against. An improvement of 11 more goals scored and 3 fewer goals conceded than last season.
We finished third in our Continental Cup group losing only one game to Manchester United which ultimately cost us progression to the knockouts.
Furthermore, we reached the FA Cup semi final for the first time in our history, dominating lower league teams along the way.
Our top 5 goal scorers (in all competitions):
Rantala - 10
Cayman - 7
Petermann - 6
Tierney - 4
O’Brien/Whelan/Rose - 3
Top 5 assist providers (in all competitions):
Rantala - 7
Momiki - 5
Petermann - 4
Tierney - 4
Takarada - 3
End of season awards winners:
Player of the Season - Rantala
Players player - Rantala
Goal of the Season - Goodwin vs Liverpool
Academy Player of the Season - Kiera Bell
Congratulations to all. Now on to the review proper.
We start with the positives. Recruitment has been great this year. The additions of Petermann, Rantala and Cayman have increased our goal scoring output and the acquisitions of Lietzig, Kop, Thibaud, Rose, Momiki and Takarada has added greater depth and quality to our squad and made us a more competitive team throughout the season.
We very rarely sat in against teams, aimed to play out from the back and press opposition back lines which served us well and earned plaudits from around the league especially early on in the campaign.
Additionally we have a very solid tandem of goalkeepers in Leitzig and Kop that have shown they can be rotated in for each other and not effect the confidence of the team in front of them which is a great bonus.
Finally, we continue to see success in our youth academy with them winning the double of the PGA Plate and County Cup as well as academy players continuing to get minutes in the senior team.
Now, unfortunately, the negatives.
Elephant in the room is the managerial situation. After Kirk’s dismissal for unprofessional conduct and Foster stepping down as interim manager with the conclusion of the season we are now searching for our fourth manager in three seasons in the WSL.
Something is very clearly not right behind the scenes when our last 2 male managers have crossed professional boundaries with players and our last permanent female manager was unceremoniously dismissed hours after a giving a pre match press conference. Questions have to be asked about how our next manager is going to be recruited, monitored and assessed by the higher ups. This inconsistency has been reflected in our on pitch performances and the players must be commended for how they have handled the off pitch turmoil.
To be optimistic, whomever the next manager shall be they need to keep pushing the progressive, attacking football we have developed under Kirk whilst making us a less porous side defensively and able to manage games better and see them out especially when we have the lead.
Which very neatly leads me to our biggest downside this campaign, our game management.
All of our 4 league victories this season came against two teams (Bristol City and Everton) half of those came in the opening two games of the season (where we were briefly top of the league 🙌🏻) and the other 2 came in three games at the end of January/beginning of February. That is a long time to go without success without it effecting not only our league standing but the morale of the team.
It has been a reverse of our previous seasons where instead of seeing us floundering at the bottom to pop up at the end of the season we have watched us have an electric start only to slowly but surely watch our league position erode away.
The story of our season was giving up leads and losing points from winning positions happening 7 times in the league. The most defining examples is being 2-0 up at halftime at home to Arsenal, being the better side only to be decimated in the second half and lose 6-2. Drawing 1-1 in stoppage time to a 10 player West Ham and both games against Brighton. First surrendering a two goal advantage in the final 10 minutes of the away fixture to draw the game and then taking the lead at home to only go 2-1 down, fight back to level the tie but lose to another goal conceded in the last 5 minutes.
Of those 7 leads and potential 21 points lost, if we win against West Ham and Brighton, that’s 9 points in our favour and we would be celebrating a much stronger finish to our season.
With regards to looking forward to next season I do feel we have very strong foundations to build upon and become even more competitive not only in the league but have strong cup runs as proven by our results in a tough Conti Cup group and our semi final appearance in the FA Cup.
As for personnel we have a squad full of internationals with at least half a season of chemistry with each other, excellent training facilities and the privilege of playing at the King Power for home league games.
Obviously we need a quality manager to lead us. I would have jumped at the chance to take on Carla Ward but she is taking time out to spend time with her family. Aside from her I am not so well versed in the women’s managerial landscape to make an educated suggestion. Maybe Melissa Phillips, formerly of Brighton who seemed to have good respect from her players and a decent track record with London City Lionesses and Brighton.
For players I would like to see another striker brought in. When Petermann isn’t available we lack a focal point up top and Siemsen hasn’t been relied upon much when fit.
Cover at full back would be a priority as well. Bott is outstanding and we can always rely on the experience of Cayman but depth is definitely an issue. Ale did a decent job towards the tail end of the season but is only on loan and Nevin has seemingly dropped down the pecking order.
Further depth in the middle with the departure of Whelan and a younger, more modern centre half (think Plumptre) to complement the guile and physicality that we have in place.
A third experienced keeper wouldn’t go amiss to cover for injury to Kop or Leitzig.
I’m genuinely excited to see how he play with a fully fit complement of wingers next year as that is where we are stacked with promise: Rantala, Rose, Cain, Goodwin, O’Brien and Momiki (on occasion) offer a truly dangerous outlet for us and pose any defender a headache.
One final note. Thank you to Whelan for her services as our club Captain for the last two seasons. She has lead by example, never kicked up a fuss not being a starter this season and always given 100% on the pitch. May she enjoy her retirement from football.
Feel free to add your own thoughts and opinions and we look forward to improving further in the off season.
COYF 🦊

I have done all 150 of the crafting upgrades, I did not get any good useable blues. I opened 150 77x5s, got nothing. 200 PP's, got nothing. I have completed the seasons highest level, got nothing from the fodder packs. I completed all fut champs OBJs, got nothing. I opened two 650k packs with coins, got nothing. I made 60 premium league upgrade packs, got nothing.
I'm an elite div player and feel unmotivated as I'm not getting rewarded for playing and being at the top of my game.
EA hate me
Edit: i mean anything worth over 200k in value. ea should be giving back to those who put the grind in.

Any elite players who fancy a friendly?
Im div 5 currently, highest div 4… i would just like to know what it feels like to play against someone who is elite… if you have time of course.

Experienced GM with flying testimonials from my current players, and we're looking for a few more. Since 2020, I've dedicated a chunk of my life to constantly expanding a dark fantasy epic that has 7+ years worth of quality, not quantity content. I want to take you and your character to the highest highs of fantasy! In this setting, I explore themes of the human condition with careful and masterful storytelling: There is a place in it for everybody.
A homebrew inspired by Tolkien, Lovecraft, KOTOR, Dragon Age, Baldurs Gate, The Stormlight Archives, and the old-school-fantasy aesthetic, this is what all my players have:

• Quality, handcrafted stories made to respond to your character and make them part of a living, breathing lore
  
• A passionate nerd dedicating his life to YOUR fun
  
• A Steam RPG Game Series planned in the future
  
• A Fantasy Book Series planned in the future
  
• 65/35 RP/Combat mix with INTUITIVE and FUN combat
  
• An easy to learn, hard to master class system that is carefully planned
  
• Limitless character customization/multiclassing possibilities (like Skyrim WITHOUT harming the idea of roleplaying archetypes)
  
• A cinematically engaging "Social Combat" system
  
• A zero-tedium combat system (with asynchronous combat coming this June 2024)
  
• An unobtrusive Fictional RP Balancing System AI system that encourages good RP etiquette
  
• Unlimited AI art for Character Creation
  

I run two types of games:
A. Text Based is $10 a month via subscription and is play by post.
or
B. Voice Based is $60 a month via subscription and is every Saturday at 6PM CST.
Both games give you the full, immersive experience of the world in their own ways, but obviously voice based gives you that speed and dynamism. Join us now while I'm still taking players!
Message me on Discord:
barderer

Started this season with a sorc and honestly had a blast. Made Incinerate and pushed it as high as I could self made, cleared pit 60. Changed to FOrb and clear speed increased tremendously but I had the same problem:
Lack of Single Targed damage.
Pit bosses take 5+ minutes from tier 65 upwards, sometimes even 10min depending on the combination of skills, and that's combined with playing perfect. Lilith is impossible, I literally mastered her fight to the point of dodging all waves and skulls but it doesn't matter, it would take 15min for the first phase alone.
Is it something I build wrong? How are you guys fairing with sorc this season?

Introduction

Hello fellow Helldivers. My name is Elliot, alias TeGoRE, a player with 155 hours on the game and plenty of experience gathered from 3rd party sources, especially Reddit and YouTube. I primarily play on difficulty 7, so this post will be biased specifically towards that difficulty.
As you all may know by this point, a lot of people are upset with the Automaton faction, its issues, balancing, bugs, etc. In this post I will be attempting to bring awareness to specific issues rather than asking for vague and general "fixes" the faction would need. I will also be referencing the other faction currently present in the game, the Terminids, as a point of comparison throughout the post.

"Fun factor" analysis; Loadout restrictions

I'll begin with what I believe will be the major point of discussion here. The automatons are just not fun. I understand this is a critical take, but please read before jumping straight to comments.
Let's compare the "fun" factor of Terminids to Automatons here. The Terminids allow you to run pretty much any loadout, while still letting you have impact on the game. You can run pure fodder clear loadouts with light penetration primaries and support tools and contribute to the mission that way, allowing your teammates to clear the heavies with ease. You can also run pure heavy clear with big bulky primaries and anti-tank tools, still contributing to the mission by destroying any charger and bile titan that comes into sight hence allowing your teammates to shoot the other fodder present without being spat on by a 400 ton oversized shrimp or being charged at by a walking rock. With both loadout cases you can also bring stratagems or change out your primaries and other tools (secondary and grenade specifically) that will allow you to have at least some impact on the heavies or lights, respectfully.
The Automatons don't allow for such loadout variety, and considering all the nerf barrages we've been receiving it's obvious that loadout choices are quite restrictive when it comes to fighting automatons. When was the last time you ran flamethrower against the Automatons? Any of the guard dogs? Any other sentry besides autocannon, EMS mortar or maybe the rocket sentry? Gas or airburst strikes? Light penetration or non-precision primaries? You get my point.
The faction requires a playstyle too specific for the casual player. You need to equip high precision weaponry (AMR, Counter sniper, Dominator, etc.) or medium penetration weaponry (Liberator penetrator, Counter sniper, Autocannon, etc) alongside way too many anti-tank tools. Sure, you can bring fodder clear, but the only realistic fodder is the regular troopers or the strider unit. Maybe berserkers. Only reliable (not saying it's the only viable one might I add) fodder clearer would be the grenade launcher, maybe the arc thrower. Furthermore, once on the actual battlefield, you can't necessarily play aggressive. Jump into a pile of bots and you'll be jumping back out limb-by-limb. You have to stay in cover, picking enemies one by one, slowly advancing forward. Then get all your progress denied by a bot drop :^)
We can then conclude that one of the contributing factors to why the Automatons aren't fun is the fact that it's too restricting and too sluggish. Let's look deeper, and analyse why your loadout and playstyle get so restricted;

Enemy analysis, its' contribution to the fun factor

The enemy types of the faction just do not let you vary your loadout enough.
Devastators specifically are the biggest issue. The regular devastator is well-thought out, a heavier bulkier unit with obvious weakspots and not too much firepower which could be compared to the hive guard in terms of mechanics. However, for the heavy devastator and rocket devastator, these are built to just bullshit you into dying. And good luck killing them if you have a light-pen weapon or generally don't have a longer-ranged or high-precision tool, as their primary body (excluding the abdomen) has enough HP to take three full counter sniper magazines (I do not know how a rocket devastator managed to do that, but it did) and just shrug it off. I don't think I need to talk about heavy devastators, they've been brought up enough... I will just briefly skim over it. They're too accurate. "Suppressive fire" does nothing to them. Their 70%-body-covering shield can eat anti-tank projectiles no problem. Sometimes a pack of devastators can be more devastating (badumtss) than a pack of hulks, depending on what devastators they are. If the "heavy" unit of a faction gets outperformed by common enemies, it's an obvious issue.
Another obnoxious enemy type is the berserker. As the name implies, they're a rage-crazed bot with only one directive: charge at you and kill you, no regard for its personal being. Which would be fine if they didn't have the health pool of a damn tank. One unit alone can eat an anti-tank projectile. And they typically spawns in packs of 4. Their weakspots don't even count as weakspots from what I can personally tell, shooting them in the head or the abdomen does about the same damage as just plain out shooting them. They're hard to kill at their core, and if they're backed up by support fire from the other enemy types behind them, you're pretty much helpless.
The rest of the enemy units are fine, in my opinion. They're well thought-out, with obvious counter-measure mechanics.
Hulks can be compared to Chargers. Heavy, tanky units at first, but mechanic rich enough to be an easy take-down once you figure out what you're doing. They have a giant heatsink which is where you have to shoot at regularly to take them out reliably. Not a weakspot might I add, just a point which you can shoot. Think Charger's butt. If you're a space cowboy shooting their tiny faceplate with anti-tank, or even medium penetration tools, can kill them as well. Lastly, just pumping them full of anti-tank projectiles (typically 2 rockets from any of the support weapons) will take them out just fine. There's other cool tricks you could pull off, such as throwing impact grenades between their feet, making them land behind the hulk, which would then take it out in 2 impact grenades if done right. Thermite grenades also deal a lot of damage to their legs, which can take them out too. Lastly, their arms can just be plain out shot off with the right tools. In conclusion, they are threatening at first, but once you use your brain to figure out its weakness, you're going to shrug them off.
Factory Striders are the Bile Titans of the Automatons. They are a bit less obvious but can still be handled decently well by a complete newbie. 2 miniguns on the front, shoot them off with medium penetration for easier kiting. Rocket the top cannon off for further success. Their big exposed abdomen is the obvious weakspot anyone can figure out. Shoot it enough and it'll die. For the more experienced, the front panel eye alongside the opening vents can also be points of advantage. Oh also can we talk about how they're a giant walking factory? Just bomb that bitch! 500kg, orbital precision strike, a regular airstrike, etc. It's a giant target just BEGGING you to throw stratagems at it.
Striders are simple as well. Big impenetrable front plate, completely exposed sides and back. A baby could do it!
Troopers are just fodder. Shoot 'em, they fall over.

Issue with dropships

If you played at least a few hours on the automaton front, you may know that the dropships can be shot down. However, when was the last time you saw that actually do anything?
The explosion deals too little damage, only sometimes killing the trooper units it's carrying. The body of the dropship itself seems to do no impact damage on the automatons, but loves to damage the shit out of you. The automatons also don't seem to care when they fall down 50 feet. Especially dropships with tanks. Shoot them down at the highest point of their drop, tank flies down at crazy velocity, lands with literally 0 damage to itself, then the dropships smacks on top of the tank doing fuck-all to it.
Oh and you can't forget the fact that the debris is solid cover FOR THE BOTS. You can't shoot through it. They can. They can also walk through it, you can't. ??????????

Issues with Automaton-specific side objectives

I will only bring up the ones that have actual issues behind them. If it isn't brought up here, then I personally believe it is fine.

• SEAF SAM Site

Barely does it's job. Shoots down one dropship per reinforcement, and as we learned earlier shooting the dropships down doesn't even do anything to begin with. Often times the rockets hit terrain as well. Completely pointless side-objective.

• Stratagem Jammer

Add some sort of indication to the spectating players when the person they're spectating is inside a jammer field, and therefore cannot reinforce them. Too many posts about too many people getting kicked for not reinforcing when they literally cannot.

• Mortar emplacement

WARNING YOU ARE IN RANGE OF ENEMY ARTILLERY WARNING YOU ARE IN RANGE OF ENEMY ARTILLERY WARNING YOU ARE IN RANGE OF ENEMY ARTILLERY WARNING YOU ARE IN RANGE OF ENEMY ARTILLERY oh my god SHUT UP!!!!

Bugs (not the Terminid kind)

The faction is riddled with way too many bugs, which just suck the fun out of it. Bots shooting through obviously solid cover, bots seeing you from across the map / through cover and then calling reinforcements, their seemingly 50/50 resistance to explosive damage, then other misc bugs not worth addressing.
This obviously drives people away. A terminid can't shoot me through a rock, I'd prefer fighting that terminid.

Conclusion of analysis; Solutions, final thoughts

The Automaton faction enemies & its mechanics at its core are fine, most enemies making complete sense. Most mechanics, while rich in function, are not very obvious. To play the faction well you need to invest some time into learning how it works. This deters the casual player back to the terminid front, which is a bit more brainless, requiring you just "hurr durr shoot bugs". Here's some solutions to consider:
Rework the devastator enemy type, specifically its specialists types:

• The rocket devastators shouldn't be able to spam their rockets as much as they do. I'd much prefer a larger barrage with a longer cooldown.
• Heavy devastators shouldn't be pin-point accurate if you're not moving / moving slowly. They do spread their shots out if you're moving, but it doesn't contribute all that much, you will still most likely take at least some hits. They're carrying a machine gun and shooting it from their hip with seemingly 0 precision. How is it that accurate?

The spawn rates of the specialist types could be reworked instead, allowing space for the default devastator instead rather than constantly spewing the specialist types. When was the last time you saw a dropship bring just normal devastators?
Please please please do something about berserkers. Lower their health pool. Maybe make the weakspots actually do something. Perhaps make them spawn less frequently if they're in the major enemy pool. Or, instead of that, make the packs smaller. They're a major ammo sink currently and by the time you're done killing them all the other enemies are already in your face.
Dropship crashes should actually do something. If I use up my support weapon's ammo to shoot down a dropship, I would want it to actually contribute to me destroying the bots, not just create a flashy explosion and extra 1-way cover for the bots.
SEAF SAM Site needs a rework of sorts. Make it always spawn on higher terrain, maybe buff its firerate (see actual SAM sites for reference), or keep the firerate as is if dropship crashes actually start doing something, instead improving its turn speed and lock-on speed. Primary issue is terrain though.
"oh yeah this spot is PERFECT for a SAM site!" said the seaf engineer after ordering it be built in a trench enclosed by cliffs from all 4 sides "what the hell is this" said the helldiver when stumbling upon it
Realistically speaking, the only people who perform well when fighting against Automatons are those who have tens of hours of experience on their belt alongside a team with similar skill level, using proper "meta" (god forbid) loadouts to properly counter the bot menace. The casual solo-queue player just crumbles.

Conclusion & Goodbyes

I may have missed some things, but I tried to grab everything problematic about the faction to the best of my ability. I will most likely not edit the post due to it already being gigantic. However any comments adding onto the post are obviously appreciated. :)
If you're here to find a tl;dr, don't bother. No way in hell I'm summarizing 11.5k+ worth of characters. Just read the analysis conclusion.
If you're here after reading everything above, thank you. I hope this was a fun read and brought attention to why you might not be having as much fun on automatons, maybe made you realize what needs to be done in order to counter the currently sluggish faction. I just hope I helped in some way.
If you're a developer, thank you for creating an amazing game. I've been in love with Helldivers 2 since the very start (upon finding it reaching sky-high popularity), enjoying every hour of gameplay. But just like with any game, it has its flaws, and I hope these are properly addressed. The community has been asking for changes, and I hope my post brought awareness to it.
Buh-bye!!!

According to a report by Fortune Business Insights titled "Agriculture Drone Market Size, 2024-2030," the global agriculture drone market was valued at USD 4.17 billion in 2022. The market is projected to grow from USD 4.98 billion in 2023 to USD 18.22 billion by 2030, reflecting a robust compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.3% during the forecast period.
Agriculture drones, which are Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) specifically designed for farming and agricultural applications, are equipped with advanced imaging technologies and sensors. These include LiDAR, cameras, and multispectral sensors, which enable the drones to gather critical data on soil conditions, crop health, and other factors that influence agricultural production. This data collection facilitates better decision-making and precision in farming practices, thereby enhancing productivity and efficiency in the agricultural sector.
~List of Key Players Mentioned in the Report:~

• Drone Deploy (U.S.)
• DJI (China)
• Precision Hawk Inc (U.S.)
• AeroVironment Inc. (U.S.)
• Trimble Navigation Ltd. (U.S.)
• 3D Robotics (U.S.)
• Ag Eagle (U.S.)
• Parrot Drone (France)
• Sintera LLC (U.S.)
• Delair Tech SAS (France)

~Browse In-depth Summary of This Research Insight:~
https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/agriculture-drones-market-102589
~Segments:~
Rotary Drone Segment to Dominate Due to Improved Structural Benefits
Based on type, the market is split into fixed wing, rotary wing, and hybrid. Among these, the rotary wing segment captured the largest agriculture drone market share in 2022. Rotary wing drones are available in a variety of designs and sizes. The enhanced structural benefits of the segment are aiding growth of this segment.
Hardware Segment to Lead Stoked by the Improved Ability to Collect and Process Data
As per component, the agriculture drone market is bifurcated into hardware and software. The hardware segment held majority of the global market share in 2022 owing to the improved capability of hardware components to collect and process the data and enable farmers to make informed decisions.
Frames Segment to Hold Major Share Due to Surging Demand for Robust Frame Structures
According to hardware, the market is divided into frames, control systems, propulsion systems, navigation systems, payload, avionics and others. Among these, the frame segment captured a significant market share in 2022 backed by the rising need for robust frames to support the drone’s hardware components, Moreover, industry leaders are focused on producing non-breakable frames, further aiding segment growth.
Imaging Software Segment to Capture Largest Share Due to its Ability to Help in Quick Problem Solving
The market by software is arrayed into imaging software, data management software, data analytics software, and others. Imaging software segment held the largest market share in 2022 as it enables the operator to detect and respond to the potential problems early, thus decreasing the risk of crop loss and improving yields.
Field Mapping & Monitoring Segment to Lead Due to Availability of Better Equipment
By application, the market is segregated into field mapping & monitoring, crop spraying, crop scouting, variable rate application, livestock monitoring, and others. The field mapping & monitoring segment dominated the market in 2022 owing to the availability of better high-tech camera equipment to monitor crops.
Geographically, the agriculture drone market is segregated North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World.
~Drivers and Restraints: Agriculture Drone Market~

Governments around the world are actively promoting the adoption of agriculture drones through a variety of policies and initiatives. These measures include:
Research and Development (R&D) Grants:
Governments are providing financial support to foster innovation in agriculture drone technology. For instance, in April 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture received a USD 1 million grant aimed at advancing digital agriculture technologies.
Tax Incentives and Subsidies:
To reduce the financial burden on farmers, several governments are offering tax incentives and subsidies for the purchase and use of agriculture drones. This financial assistance makes it more feasible for farmers to integrate UAVs into their operations.
Regulatory Frameworks:
Clear and supportive regulatory frameworks are being established to ensure the safe and effective use of drones in agriculture. These regulations help standardize drone operations, addressing safety and privacy concerns while promoting broader adoption.
Training and Education:
Governments are also investing in training programs to educate farmers on the benefits and usage of agriculture drones. These programs aim to equip farmers with the necessary skills to utilize drone technology effectively.
By providing regulatory and financial support, governments are making UAVs more accessible to farmers and ensuring their safe and responsible use. This concerted effort is expected to drive significant growth in the agriculture drone market.
~Restraints~
Challenges of Data Overload and Inaccuracies
While the adoption of agriculture drones offers numerous benefits, several challenges need to be addressed:
Data Overload:
The advanced sensors and imaging technologies on drones generate large volumes of data. Managing and analyzing this data can be overwhelming for farmers, especially those who lack the necessary technical expertise or resources.
Inaccuracies in Collected Data:
Data accuracy is crucial for effective decision-making in precision agriculture. However, inaccuracies can arise due to hardware or software malfunctions, environmental factors, or improper calibration of sensors. These inaccuracies can lead to incorrect assessments and potentially harm crop management practices.
Addressing these challenges requires ongoing advancements in drone technology and data analytics tools, as well as comprehensive training for farmers to interpret and utilize the data effectively.
~Regional Insights:~
Europe to Hold Largest Share Backed by Strong Research and Development Facilities
Europe captured a significant global market share in 2022 owing to the surging demand for the drones, rising funding, and strong research and development capabilities of the region. Moreover, the growing number of startups such as Gamaya, Delair, Accelerated Dynamics, and others will further aid regional market expansion.
Meanwhile, Asia Pacific is projected to record the highest growth rate in the forecast timeframe due to presence of large agricultural countries such as India, Indonesia, China, and others. The rising demand for UAVs from these countries and growing focus of market players on developing advanced products will further facilitate regional market expansion.
~Competitive Landscape:~
Innovative Product Launches by Leading Companies to Drive Market Expansion
Industry leaders usually make tactical moves such as collaborations, partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, and product launches to hold a dominant share in the global market. For example, in November 2021, XAG announced its plans to launch its P40 and V40 agricultural drones worldwide, thus bringing digital agriculture to rural areas with geriatric populations and poor infrastructure. The XAG V40 and P40 are fully autonomous drones capable of mapping, spraying, and farm broadcasting.
~Key Industry Development: Agriculture Drone Market Size~
March 2023 – Avikus and Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, a subsidiary of Hyundai, entered into an agreement to carry out an experiment on fuel efficiency by implementing self-governing navigation systems. The venture incorporates five firms, Pan Ocean, POS SM, Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Avikus, and Korean Register of Shipping.

I'm growing increasingly tired of losing CQC 1v1s in solos to masters/pred level players abusing aim assist. It's just painfully obvious it was AA even before I see them stand still looting and moving around the map like a bot. It's just not possible to keep up with. I practice a ton in R5 and end with a positive K/D most times when I turn on input-based matchmaking, but like a 0.5 k/d when I allow any input. I want to play against MnK players, I don't care if it's against ItzTimmy or Faide, I don't mind losing to actual mechanical skill.
Which region has the highest number of MnK players so it's actually a skill vs skill game?

There was a recent post https://www.reddit.com/10s/comments/1cwrvum/can_someone_explain_why_coaches_pretend_slices/ where many comments to the question on the topic line was that coaches don't teach the backhand slice early on because slicing is so easy that people will never bother learning a topspin backhand if they are taught the slice first.
For starters, tennis is a game where you're supposed to win. If there was a stroke that's both easier to pull off and more difficult to beat, but the coach refused to teach me that, I'd fire the coach on the spot. But if there is one, it's going to be the two-handed topspin backhand, not slice. Scope definition: neutral baseline rally; not talking about drop shots or volleys.
Point 1: Slicing isn't easier. Sure, a weak slice hit with an open face is easy to get across - arguably it is easier than hitting a topspin backhand. But it's also suicide - it's slow, it's high, it's short, so even with the worst footwork in the world your opponent can attack it and probably win the point easily. This was the one thing from which I was able to win points against casual players who had played for years when I was like 2 months into tennis.
There are all sorts of slices between that and a properly knifed slice that lands deep and stays low after the bounce. But, slice is the opposite of topspin - instead of air pushing it down thanks to the spin, it floats. And net clearance is narrower. The margin for error is much smaller than with topspin, or even with a completely flat stroke. While a good slice is hard to attack, you are not the only one who will have more time because of the slower ball. Which brings us to...
Point 2: Slicing isn't "better". It's a good defensive option, not allowing your opponent to hit with much power since they can't use the pace of your shot. Ruusuvuori is one of the best ball strikers on tour, and has been destroyed with the slice several times (Dimitrov did this, I think three times over a short period last spring/summer, and so did Griekspoor at Rotterdam this year). His game is based on excellent rallying, he gets to the ball often and hits an immensely heavy ball incredibly cleanly (he's had a difficult year with illness and such, but yesterday his stats vs. Giron were 21 winners and just 3 UE in a 63 63 win). But deep, low slices were a problem because he wasn't able to rally with that kind of power. So, you can frustrate your opponent, make them do mistakes.
But the response to a slice is often another slice. Slices rarely settle anything (apart from drop shots or volleys which, again, we're not discussing), so there is a very low limit to what you can do with a slice. Either you're going into a slicefest where you both just float balls in until someone makes a mistake and the other pounces on it. Which is to say, if you want to slice your way to victory, you had better had a damn good slice AND the ability to turn a slightly mistaken slice into attack with e.g. inside-out forehand. And you need to be able to chase the ball if the opponent decides to change directions without that much power.
It might be worth saying that I love slice. I love groundstroke slice, I love slice serve, I love volleys and drop shots. I even posted a question at some point, asking whether you need a topspin backhand for anything. The answer is, no your don't - it will limit your game if you don't have one, but people have reached the highest level of the game while limiting their backhand game almost exclusively to a slice (such as Steve Johnson, career high of ATP-21).
The idea that people would stick with just a slice because "it's ok" makes no sense at all. I mean, sure, there are casual players who do that with every type of a stroke - waiter's tray serve is easy for them, so they only use that? Yes, those people exist. But it's not something a coach can magically change. If it's ok for them to have a weak serve, or limiting their options with a backhand to the slice, so what? If, on the other hand, they want to learn to become better players, they most likely won't limit themselves to a slice even if it's easier during the first few months of their tennis career.

I played through Walk in the Unlight and Challenge mode both one time, and I thought I'd share my thoughts!
Story (Walk in the Unlight)- a thoughtful and moving story that expanded on the lore and revisited past campaigns, albeit with only a handful of player choices available (mostly centering around one romance). With most of the random events from other campaigns absent, this lack of choices in the main story felt more apparent-- but it was still a great story.
Writing (Walk in the Unlight) - Wildermyth writing at its peak, with the same quirky, speak-in-riddles tone that veteran players will be familiar with. I personally enjoy Wildermyth writing and dialogue, but if you didn't enjoy the writing in other campaigns you may want to skip Walk in the Unlight. There are also some very, very long comic interludes (if you thought Shy and The Shadow was long, you're in for a shock).
Gameplay - Tons of new bosses, enemies, and unique battles. The gold lock (which prevents doing more than a certain amount of damage in one turn to bosses; no more just dealing 40 damage on the first round and ending the fight) and the time-sensitive rewards (do I have time to kill all the enemies before I grab that chest of augments?) add an additional challenge that I appreciated.
I especially love how easy it is to pick up extra abilities, pets, and themes/transformations in this game mode. I tried to make my mystic a god by giving as many extra abilities as possible to him. There is a lot to try out here with different builds and power fantasies that isn't possible in the base game.
I did challenge mode with greenhorns and really enjoyed it, even though it was extremely easy starting at zero peril (for comparison, my preferred difficulty level in the base game is tragic hero carved in stone, but I've completed all the campaigns except Bones of Summer on Walking Lunch). I'm glad that additional levels of peril are rewarded for finishing with no maiming/death, because otherwise I wouldn't have the patience to slog through repeated challenge runs trying to reach a reasonable level of difficulty. I also like the Ode system. As a whole, I'm very interested to see how high the peril levels go and how hard it can get.
Some other notes:
I was able to get skeletal but avoid a full transformation, meaning my vigorflow mystic had the dagger in one hand and a crossbow in the other. Not sure if that's an exploit, but I loved it!
It does feel like something is missing when the characters don't age (or at least not noticeably so) in this game mode. The way both stats and appearance change as characters get older is one of my favorite things about the base game.
After finishing challenge mode, I loved the screen where I got to see character stats (total damage dealt, total armor shredded, highest single attack damage, number of enemies killed, etc). That was a fun addition that I would love to see added to the classic campaigns.
As a whole, it was more than worth the $10 I spent on it. Walk in the Unlight by itself was worth $10, and with a whole new roguelike game mode on top of that this was an awesome DLC.