My old computer is running on fumes, in terms of being able to play the latest games, so this seems like an easy upgrade to make. Already put myself on the list for the 2TB model (no controller).
You are prob right on the lower than expected pre-orders being the reason. I figure they were planning on having her signature card as a solo purchasable in the store later on. I'm still waiting to see some more rogue cards, I feel like they haven't utilized the design space of them taking out shadowstep so far.
I've had very little time to play any games since I've been swamped with schoolwork. I ended up taking poetry classes and they ended up taking a lot of my time, so I don't think I've actually played anything all week.
That said, I got gifted Meccha Chameleon by a really great friend of mine yesterday, and I'm really excited to get together and play.
Continuing on the Path of Exile 2 journey. I did a ton of grinding over the weekend, though a very good chunk of that was build refinement and just trading to boost my gear. I was able to triple my damage so now I feel like a god. I still need to get my fourth ascendancy done so that I can truly get my damage up. That's the next big goal.
I'm expecting that to be my game of the week so let's see where we're at next week :D
Oh I also had a decent Vaal on my ring with that solid 9% roll to All Ele Res. It also bumped the 12% cast speed I had on it up to 13% so quite happy about that. I Vaal'd a dozen Snake Pit rings last night and this was the best result.
I never was a console player so no way Im buying one just for this. But I dont mind waiting a bit more for PC launch, hopefully some bugfixing will have happened by then too. I dont like to play games on launch day since everything is riddled with nasty bugs nowadays so waiting few weeks/months to proper bugfixing seems to be the norm.
With that said, i truly truly hope they wont squander the potential of single-player as they did in GTA5.
I get it, online is the money maker, but cmon. GTA5 has so much to offer, but it was cut short for online mode, and any focus after that (DLC etc) was solely on online too, which was a damn shame.
Buried in this soporific report was the idea that any new (voluntary) code of conduct would only apply to games yet to be developed. So any existing (or in-development) game would be exempt from whatever code they come up with.
And it'll be interesting to see if the EU expects participation from all the companies that sell games to EU consumers, or just from the game makers based in the EU (which is still plenty of them, since many tech companies fly an Irish flag of tax convenience).
My main takeaway is that the commission is telling consumers to use all the rights that they currently have. Press for whatever refund you might be owed, and read the contract to make sure the manufacturer complies.
The Living Plague - Basically the intention is to combo this with your shiny new hp and shuffle 10 plague cards into your opponent's deck. And if this card dies off, then you play memoriam manifest and do it again. Unfortunately, fun as the strat may seem its highly unlikely to work against anything that isnt a control deck because youre most likely gonna be dead as this card does nothing on board, or it kills something and doesnt shuffle anything. Not even sure if you'll want to play this card in a deck that has that new hp, because surely you'd play that in an aggro-midrange deck that doesnt need the plagues to win games.
Disguised Doctor - It might as well be a card that summons a 5/1 for your opponent and shuffle 4 plagues into their deck because in what world would you actually play this on your side? Even against priest youd bet on the 8 damage rather than them not having an answer to a 1 health card.
So now that all but one DK card have been revealed, have to say, its not looking good. Or at least its not gonna make harold decks playable, and probably not gonna supplant unholy DK as the only viable DK deck available. Only thing to hope for is something with sawbones and thats about it.
Kinda hilarious to add extra stuff to a bundle. That has never happened before which means sales must be not where they want them to be.
It could also be a planned test where they want to see the engagement diff when they add a signature card to a bundle to get an idea of who gets interested that maybe wasn't interested in a preorder before. Tough call and sadly we'll never know the real reason since the bean counters don't talk about the magic.
@papa's freezeria Ugh, what a frustrating situation! It's always a bummer when event dates get changed last minute, especially when you've planned around them. I totally get the feeling of trying to squeeze things in before a supposed deadline.
Smuggled Shovel, Arcane Tripwire & Beast Tripwire - Good cards that dont need rat catcher to see play. The devs made it sound like it'll all work together but these are just good individual cards that has little to no synergy with one another. It really doesnt matter if you doubled the amount of cast when drawn cards in your deck, it matters that theyre actually there to begin with. And its not like hunter cant draw cards, ever since tame pet and confront the tolvir got printed, unintentionally turning hunter into rogue.
Blackmarket Oversear, and other deathrattle cards - Its just weird to design a card that synergizes with deathrattles but then make the condition 'play' instead of summon, thereby rendering all but guard dog viable as a synergy card. I personally cant see any hunter deck that isnt face or companion hunter existing currently so the only card out of these bunch I expect to see play is guard dog and underbelly sewer, for unironically being good cards.
Vigilant Sentry - The only good card that might convince you to play racist paladin. Not much else to comment on, its just putting stats on board before you play flight maneuvers on 4.
Judgement - There is some crazy things you can do with a card like this. Like playing egg paladin and then turning your entire board into 20/20s. But its cost is just way too high to start dreaming, not to mention that paladin simply dont need gimmicks like these as long as nozdormu and flight maneuvers remains viable.
Sawbones - A really dangerous card that can make or break an entire deck. I cant exactly think of how, but theres no chance this doesnt get abused one way or another.
Paladin looks to have received some decent cards but I reiterate my opinion on the previous legendary revealed, theres just no chance youre not building decks around nozdormu and flight maneuvers, making it difficult to like cards like judgement or truth seeker. At least paladin will still be around next expansion.
Hunter cards on the other hand are just insane, and given how far theyve done this expansion, Im not sure its wise for team5 to stack hunter with not only powerful but also interesting cards.
DK well, need some buffs because aside from unholy I cant see much else existing. It really needs a good board clear option, or at least a card in the midgame that will save it from dying.
Once again, Team 5 completely forgets about the existence of the Frost Rune.
The whole Rune system is just really infuriating to me, but then they can't even be bothered to half-ass the juggling act of having all of them get anything. And every single time, it's Frost that gets the short end of the stick.
So I'd totally love a true VR GTA. I've modded 5 in the past to make this happen and it was pretty cool, that was shortly after I got my OG Oculus CV1 though so things were super jank, I'm sure the experience is better today.
For me though, GTA is just such a great game to boot up, drive around, shoot some people, rob some stores, and hop off. GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas gave me thousands of hours of play back on the PS2 in a game that was a hundredth of what GTA5 has (if you include online).
I remember when I found out about Crazy Bob's Cops and Robbers, a server and mod for San Andreas on PC years later. That was a ton of fun to play with people yet it was relatively basic.
5 gave me exactly what I wanted though out of the series. An expansive map with plenty of options of vehicles to just cruise around in and cause destruction whether that was from the land or the skies (lol boats who cares). The story version of the game, not as fun to mess around in since its so limited compared to the stuff available in online. Having a bunch of police chasing you down, being surrounded and getting yourself out of situations you really have no business getting out of, it's a ton of fun. GTA is perhaps the ultimate arcade game.
I expect 6 will build upon this and be even more insane because we're talking about an insane number of years since the previous release. Graphically, the game looks so much more incredible and I expect the world will feel even more lively since the power is there to make it happen.
(Hot take, incoming) Meanwhile, I'm just lukewarm towards the game. Like, what else is there to do in the genre for GTA. I don't doubt the game will be good, and there's nothing wrong for a game to be more of the same, but what is this going to have over, say, Saints Row 4? Only thing that would hype me up would be a PSVR2 mode.
Oh man. That is a thing of beauty! Just five more months to go until I'm forced to break out the ol' Series X. Still not happy about no launch at PC but Rockstar needs to double dip on us of course because you know that I'm gonna buy the game a second time once the PC drop happens.
R4T-C4TCH3R - Its definitely playable in the current iteration of nohand and companion hunter. In the former, this card will make it easier to get damaging spells, which is useful in topdeck mode. And in the latter, the deck can already draw like the wind as it is currently anyway, so theres no drawback to having more spells, given that companion hunter can overreach at times, especially in mirrors.
Inspector Murloc Holmes - Its a fun card. You dont ever play such a card in your deck unless youre coin rogue, or theres an empty slot you dont care about. Basically its a card for mind games, and at best will cause your opponent to play suboptimally, not that they need to necessarily care either way. Not to mention that 3 coins means youre likely to overdraw should your opponent take the bait, so its not even guaranteed to not screw you over.
I'm not entirely surprised by the "decision" though I am curious what code of conduct ends up being created. It being a voluntary acceptance on behalf of developers, I just can't see it being very strong at the end of the day to encourage many to accept it. It's virtue signaling at its finest!
I'm going back to the stone age to play with my hoop and stick. No DLC or always online connections required for that!
I really hope class number 12 is something that starts with an M. At the very least, I really think the existing WoW classes should be covered before Hearthstone starts inventing their own.
King of the Underbelly - Definitely one of the strongest rulebreakers yet. Its one of those rare cards that is both powerful and interesting to build decks with because essentially it allows hunter to draft cards from other classes. Theres just no reason to believe this card wouldnt see play, and it might be the one card that keeps hunters interesting, assuming of course that nohand hunter and companion hunter are kept in check.
The Skeleton Key - Its definitely playable. As to whether or not its a good card is something else entirely. Its basically sands of time, except you get to choose between dying faster and getting a reroll.
Contraband Wands - Its a card for burn mage and the much maligned combo mage. Might see some play though mage itself might not
Mystic Misdirection - All we need now is something like Orion to come back to standard so this card can exert maximum toxicity, as does most mage secrets
Staff of Trickery, and other druid cards - No, this archetype will simply never work. Its yet anther iteration of hp druid which either never works, or never becomes the centerpiece of the deck. Why? Because its too reliant on the clunky-ness of drawing specific cards or worse still, actually tapping hp. That said, there are good individual cards here. Secret Ingredient and spiderling will easily support any aggro archetype, and theres always the rulebreaker yet to be unveiled that can support this mess. We shall see.
Edit: Just saw the latest braindead cheese with skeleton key. Since the 5 damage is dealt to you, you can actually activate spellweavers brilliance and get two 6/6s on turn 1 with this card. Not to mention molten giants in wild. Its gonna get nerfed within a week lol
Since none of the paladin cards have been unveiled, including the rule breaker, we can assume that theres something that will either bring back racist pally or there are cards that cheapens paladin cards. This card on its own is simply not worth it in a class that plays on tempo and generally want games to end early.
The Steam Machine Launches on June 25th via Randomized List, Priced Above 1000 USD
My old computer is running on fumes, in terms of being able to play the latest games, so this seems like an easy upgrade to make. Already put myself on the list for the 2TB model (no controller).
New Hotfix: Escape From Violet Hold Preorder Bundle Updated - Now Includes Signature Copy of Vanessa
You are prob right on the lower than expected pre-orders being the reason. I figure they were planning on having her signature card as a solo purchasable in the store later on. I'm still waiting to see some more rogue cards, I feel like they haven't utilized the design space of them taking out shadowstep so far.
What Are You Playing? Jovial June 2026
I've had very little time to play any games since I've been swamped with schoolwork. I ended up taking poetry classes and they ended up taking a lot of my time, so I don't think I've actually played anything all week.
That said, I got gifted Meccha Chameleon by a really great friend of mine yesterday, and I'm really excited to get together and play.
What Are You Playing? Jovial June 2026
Continuing on the Path of Exile 2 journey. I did a ton of grinding over the weekend, though a very good chunk of that was build refinement and just trading to boost my gear. I was able to triple my damage so now I feel like a god. I still need to get my fourth ascendancy done so that I can truly get my damage up. That's the next big goal.
I'm expecting that to be my game of the week so let's see where we're at next week :D
Oh I also had a decent Vaal on my ring with that solid 9% roll to All Ele Res. It also bumped the 12% cast speed I had on it up to 13% so quite happy about that. I Vaal'd a dozen Snake Pit rings last night and this was the best result.
Grand Theft Auto VI Cover Art Revealed, Pre-Orders Begin June 25th
I never was a console player so no way Im buying one just for this. But I dont mind waiting a bit more for PC launch, hopefully some bugfixing will have happened by then too. I dont like to play games on launch day since everything is riddled with nasty bugs nowadays so waiting few weeks/months to proper bugfixing seems to be the norm.
With that said, i truly truly hope they wont squander the potential of single-player as they did in GTA5.
I get it, online is the money maker, but cmon. GTA5 has so much to offer, but it was cut short for online mode, and any focus after that (DLC etc) was solely on online too, which was a damn shame.
The European Commission Answers to the Stop Killing Games Movement
Buried in this soporific report was the idea that any new (voluntary) code of conduct would only apply to games yet to be developed. So any existing (or in-development) game would be exempt from whatever code they come up with.
And it'll be interesting to see if the EU expects participation from all the companies that sell games to EU consumers, or just from the game makers based in the EU (which is still plenty of them, since many tech companies fly an Irish flag of tax convenience).
My main takeaway is that the commission is telling consumers to use all the rights that they currently have. Press for whatever refund you might be owed, and read the contract to make sure the manufacturer complies.
Escape from Violet Hold Card Reveals - Day 13 [Finished]
The Living Plague - Basically the intention is to combo this with your shiny new hp and shuffle 10 plague cards into your opponent's deck. And if this card dies off, then you play memoriam manifest and do it again. Unfortunately, fun as the strat may seem its highly unlikely to work against anything that isnt a control deck because youre most likely gonna be dead as this card does nothing on board, or it kills something and doesnt shuffle anything. Not even sure if you'll want to play this card in a deck that has that new hp, because surely you'd play that in an aggro-midrange deck that doesnt need the plagues to win games.
Disguised Doctor - It might as well be a card that summons a 5/1 for your opponent and shuffle 4 plagues into their deck because in what world would you actually play this on your side? Even against priest youd bet on the 8 damage rather than them not having an answer to a 1 health card.
So now that all but one DK card have been revealed, have to say, its not looking good. Or at least its not gonna make harold decks playable, and probably not gonna supplant unholy DK as the only viable DK deck available. Only thing to hope for is something with sawbones and thats about it.
Escape from Violet Hold Card Reveals - Day 13 [Finished]
I don't think you'd ever play Disguised Doctor on your own side unless you got one with a Dark Gift.
Escape from Violet Hold Card Reveals - Day 13 [Finished]
New Hotfix: Escape From Violet Hold Preorder Bundle Updated - Now Includes Signature Copy of Vanessa
Kinda hilarious to add extra stuff to a bundle. That has never happened before which means sales must be not where they want them to be.
It could also be a planned test where they want to see the engagement diff when they add a signature card to a bundle to get an idea of who gets interested that maybe wasn't interested in a preorder before. Tough call and sadly we'll never know the real reason since the bean counters don't talk about the magic.
[Updated] Special Limited-Time Rattlegore Event for Hearthstone Mercenaries Has Ended Earlier Than Previously Announced, Solution Being Worked On
@papa's freezeria Ugh, what a frustrating situation! It's always a bummer when event dates get changed last minute, especially when you've planned around them. I totally get the feeling of trying to squeeze things in before a supposed deadline.
Escape from Violet Hold Card Reveals - Day 12 [Finished]
Smuggled Shovel, Arcane Tripwire & Beast Tripwire - Good cards that dont need rat catcher to see play. The devs made it sound like it'll all work together but these are just good individual cards that has little to no synergy with one another. It really doesnt matter if you doubled the amount of cast when drawn cards in your deck, it matters that theyre actually there to begin with. And its not like hunter cant draw cards, ever since tame pet and confront the tolvir got printed, unintentionally turning hunter into rogue.
Blackmarket Oversear, and other deathrattle cards - Its just weird to design a card that synergizes with deathrattles but then make the condition 'play' instead of summon, thereby rendering all but guard dog viable as a synergy card. I personally cant see any hunter deck that isnt face or companion hunter existing currently so the only card out of these bunch I expect to see play is guard dog and underbelly sewer, for unironically being good cards.
Vigilant Sentry - The only good card that might convince you to play racist paladin. Not much else to comment on, its just putting stats on board before you play flight maneuvers on 4.
Judgement - There is some crazy things you can do with a card like this. Like playing egg paladin and then turning your entire board into 20/20s. But its cost is just way too high to start dreaming, not to mention that paladin simply dont need gimmicks like these as long as nozdormu and flight maneuvers remains viable.
Sawbones - A really dangerous card that can make or break an entire deck. I cant exactly think of how, but theres no chance this doesnt get abused one way or another.
Paladin looks to have received some decent cards but I reiterate my opinion on the previous legendary revealed, theres just no chance youre not building decks around nozdormu and flight maneuvers, making it difficult to like cards like judgement or truth seeker. At least paladin will still be around next expansion.
Hunter cards on the other hand are just insane, and given how far theyve done this expansion, Im not sure its wise for team5 to stack hunter with not only powerful but also interesting cards.
DK well, need some buffs because aside from unholy I cant see much else existing. It really needs a good board clear option, or at least a card in the midgame that will save it from dying.
Escape from Violet Hold Card Reveals - Day 12 [Finished]
Once again, Team 5 completely forgets about the existence of the Frost Rune.
The whole Rune system is just really infuriating to me, but then they can't even be bothered to half-ass the juggling act of having all of them get anything. And every single time, it's Frost that gets the short end of the stick.
Grand Theft Auto VI Cover Art Revealed, Pre-Orders Begin June 25th
So I'd totally love a true VR GTA. I've modded 5 in the past to make this happen and it was pretty cool, that was shortly after I got my OG Oculus CV1 though so things were super jank, I'm sure the experience is better today.
For me though, GTA is just such a great game to boot up, drive around, shoot some people, rob some stores, and hop off. GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas gave me thousands of hours of play back on the PS2 in a game that was a hundredth of what GTA5 has (if you include online).
I remember when I found out about Crazy Bob's Cops and Robbers, a server and mod for San Andreas on PC years later. That was a ton of fun to play with people yet it was relatively basic.
5 gave me exactly what I wanted though out of the series. An expansive map with plenty of options of vehicles to just cruise around in and cause destruction whether that was from the land or the skies (lol boats who cares). The story version of the game, not as fun to mess around in since its so limited compared to the stuff available in online. Having a bunch of police chasing you down, being surrounded and getting yourself out of situations you really have no business getting out of, it's a ton of fun. GTA is perhaps the ultimate arcade game.
I expect 6 will build upon this and be even more insane because we're talking about an insane number of years since the previous release. Graphically, the game looks so much more incredible and I expect the world will feel even more lively since the power is there to make it happen.
Grand Theft Auto VI Cover Art Revealed, Pre-Orders Begin June 25th
(Hot take, incoming) Meanwhile, I'm just lukewarm towards the game. Like, what else is there to do in the genre for GTA. I don't doubt the game will be good, and there's nothing wrong for a game to be more of the same, but what is this going to have over, say, Saints Row 4? Only thing that would hype me up would be a PSVR2 mode.
Grand Theft Auto VI Cover Art Revealed, Pre-Orders Begin June 25th
GTA cover art looking beautiful as always.
Grand Theft Auto VI Cover Art Revealed, Pre-Orders Begin June 25th
Oh man. That is a thing of beauty! Just five more months to go until I'm forced to break out the ol' Series X. Still not happy about no launch at PC but Rockstar needs to double dip on us of course because you know that I'm gonna buy the game a second time once the PC drop happens.
Let's gooooo!
Escape from Violet Hold Card Reveals - Day 11 [Finished]
R4T-C4TCH3R - Its definitely playable in the current iteration of nohand and companion hunter. In the former, this card will make it easier to get damaging spells, which is useful in topdeck mode. And in the latter, the deck can already draw like the wind as it is currently anyway, so theres no drawback to having more spells, given that companion hunter can overreach at times, especially in mirrors.
Inspector Murloc Holmes - Its a fun card. You dont ever play such a card in your deck unless youre coin rogue, or theres an empty slot you dont care about. Basically its a card for mind games, and at best will cause your opponent to play suboptimally, not that they need to necessarily care either way. Not to mention that 3 coins means youre likely to overdraw should your opponent take the bait, so its not even guaranteed to not screw you over.
The European Commission Answers to the Stop Killing Games Movement
Hoop and stick party, everyone is invited!
Escape from Violet Hold Card Reveals - Day 10 [Finished]
Minvoker?
The European Commission Answers to the Stop Killing Games Movement
Can I come with you? I'd love to go back to the day when you bought a thing for entertainment and then it was yours to keep.
The European Commission Answers to the Stop Killing Games Movement
I'm not entirely surprised by the "decision" though I am curious what code of conduct ends up being created. It being a voluntary acceptance on behalf of developers, I just can't see it being very strong at the end of the day to encourage many to accept it. It's virtue signaling at its finest!
I'm going back to the stone age to play with my hoop and stick. No DLC or always online connections required for that!
Escape from Violet Hold Card Reveals - Day 10 [Finished]
I really hope class number 12 is something that starts with an M. At the very least, I really think the existing WoW classes should be covered before Hearthstone starts inventing their own.
Escape from Violet Hold Card Reveals - Day 10 [Finished]
King of the Underbelly - Definitely one of the strongest rulebreakers yet. Its one of those rare cards that is both powerful and interesting to build decks with because essentially it allows hunter to draft cards from other classes. Theres just no reason to believe this card wouldnt see play, and it might be the one card that keeps hunters interesting, assuming of course that nohand hunter and companion hunter are kept in check.
The Skeleton Key - Its definitely playable. As to whether or not its a good card is something else entirely. Its basically sands of time, except you get to choose between dying faster and getting a reroll.
Contraband Wands - Its a card for burn mage and the much maligned combo mage. Might see some play though mage itself might not
Mystic Misdirection - All we need now is something like Orion to come back to standard so this card can exert maximum toxicity, as does most mage secrets
Staff of Trickery, and other druid cards - No, this archetype will simply never work. Its yet anther iteration of hp druid which either never works, or never becomes the centerpiece of the deck. Why? Because its too reliant on the clunky-ness of drawing specific cards or worse still, actually tapping hp. That said, there are good individual cards here. Secret Ingredient and spiderling will easily support any aggro archetype, and theres always the rulebreaker yet to be unveiled that can support this mess. We shall see.
Edit: Just saw the latest braindead cheese with skeleton key. Since the 5 damage is dealt to you, you can actually activate spellweavers brilliance and get two 6/6s on turn 1 with this card. Not to mention molten giants in wild. Its gonna get nerfed within a week lol
Escape from Violet Hold Card Reveals - Day 9 [Finished]
Only way for this card to actually see play;
Paladin actually plays the long game
Control-value pally is actually a thing
There are cards that cheapens paladin cards
Nozdormu and flight maneuvers gets nerfed
Since none of the paladin cards have been unveiled, including the rule breaker, we can assume that theres something that will either bring back racist pally or there are cards that cheapens paladin cards. This card on its own is simply not worth it in a class that plays on tempo and generally want games to end early.