Very interesting typo - it looks like a real, Rihaku signature, Obscure Word, probably to do with talking to demons. But apparently it's just a typo.
As for vote. Brotherly Discussion is obvious - if blowing the building to keep Vergil from eating the orphans is valid, then shooting the orphans to keep them from being eaten is probably also valid? I'm not entirely clear on Dante's goals here.
Hunting Piglets sounds cool. Unfortunately, the phrasing implies that picking it takes All The Remaining Time, which going off and grabbing heavy ordnance and a pizza might not? It's not entirely clear to me.
Anyway, I want recursive omake benefits. So have a character profile!
Galatea, Human Devil Golem A possessed statue created by secret government research. Fights with the aid of cybernetics.
Appearance: White marble woman with red-filled spiderweb cracks. Short curly hair. Black tactical armor. Arms inspired by three rifles each - the brown stocks radiate from her elbows, and the muzzles extend from between her knuckles. Buzzsaw skates.
Characterization: "In one sense, using my guns in melee is unnecessary. I am more than skilled enough with other tactics. But in a more important sense, I must do this, for it is the moments between checkmate and triggerpull, the instantintimate eternity, after the opponent's defenses have been battered aside and they at last have no recourse - it is these moments I live for, I serve for, and that I will someday die still seeking."
Drops: Something to do with Royal Guard Style.
Author's Note: I have never played a Devil May Cry game. (The characterization was inspired by a weird acanonical image I had of a Pyrrha Nikos fight, twirl-fighting with her riflesword until the barrel ends up under one of the Beowolves' chin and the camera/soundtrack observes a momentary pause before she pulls the trigger. Alas, I presently lack the animation skills, and it also kind of needs more fight as context to give it proper impact.)
since nobody offered to help out with the sound for the animation I'm working on, I'm going to post about it a second time just in case there is someone who would've, but they didn't see it. (I know that if I'd missed a few days of thread, I probably wouldn't read through everything I'd missed entirely.).
I'm working on an animation in about the same style as the generic sword training one I did (except several times longer) and I'd like to add sound to it, but I don't have any experience doing so.
I've finished substantially more then the first 8 seconds of visuals but that's not uploaded yet. The first 8ish seconds are:
Edit: Here, have another random part of the video I've finished. this part was chosen because hunger is the only person in it, which means it works as a standalone animation of him creating a barrier of Edeldross without needing any context.
Edit2: this part of the animation has been altered in the final version(which is not yet done) on the advice of someone else (I forget who), on the grounds that edeldross wouldn't have such an angular shape, which I agreed is likely the case.
We never pursued them (when they were 5 picks) so we never saw what rewards they had (specifically what certain strategies rewarded us ie Hold the Line vs Call Up).
Aren't heroic upgrades related to the Oriflamme? At least, I'd been assuming they were, I'm not sure if it's stated or true come to think of it... but if they Are an effect of that(which makes sense. first fight post Oriflamme? Heroic upgrade. Oriflamme origin? Seraph of heroism. other effects of the same decision? seraph-of-heroism points.), then we've had no fights which could prove or disprove the 'heroic upgrades for Every fight!1!' hypothesis so far : P
Crimson Flare's upgrade bestows upon Hunger the equivalent of millennia of practice utilizing the ring and its blood manipulation functionality. Every secret and twist and function laid bare.
We currently do not have any domains of control outside of Blood. War and Passion are, however, just a single pick and a couple of Arete away.
I believe that while there wouldn't be a ton of overlap, even a few percentage points of shared function, form, methodology, or anything similar between how manipulating the Ring with Blood and how you would do so with War or Passion would create an interesting synergy.
While we may have our eyes on Ruling Ring eventually, and may want to pick up these domains even minus that eventually for their low cost, it would turn a 1 pick 2 Arete purchase into something that tiny to our build into a Ring of Power domain where we might not have Crimson Flare's rank boost, but we would have decades if not centuries of applicable training that would be otherwise impossible to get with Apocryphal hanging over us.
There are enemies without Blood, but I'm willing to bet there are much fewer enemies whom War or Passion doesn't effect. 1 pick and 2 Arete is almost a rounding error for how much value a new vector of attack Hunger would have more practice with than he has been alive total would be.
[12:35 AM] R': how shall we do the Realm of Evening update
[12:35 AM] R': here's 21 to 42 picks, go ahead and allocate them 🙂
[12:35 AM] R': [X] 42 Echoes of the Forebear
@TooSlow I owe you a retraction - I insisted that Pillars wouldn't give us 42 picks because that's roughly 1/3 again our current pick budget.
However, that # of picks seems to be at least within the bounds of possibility. Note that most of the Pillars fights will be worth 1-2 picks at max:
Discord on Thursday Morning said:
[4:36 AM] R': this is assuming Hunger is just doing easy Pillars runs
[4:36 AM] R': for 1- and at most 2-pick fights
[4:37 AM] R': so he never gets any 3+ pick Advancements
[4:37 AM] R': which I think is your guys' plan
[4:37 AM] R': getting a 3 pick fight inside is just as risky as outside
[4:37 AM] R': all factors considered
[4:37 AM] R': so you can't do 3 picks very often
[4:38 AM] R': especially if you have no re-rolls
So far, it seems like the majority of our advancements cost two or more picks, but I haven't gone through past updates to verify. Assuming this is true, our visit to the RoE is going to highlight the jump in efficiency between a 1-pick and 2-pick advancement, as well as the gulf in power between a 2-pick and a 3-pick advancement.
Build 1: Echo Spam:
The Echo of the Forebear is a pretty good advancement for 1-pick: we actually get a lot of value from it. So set a standard that any build has to do at least as good as "put all our picks into Echoes." For this proc, that would be [] 42 Echoes.
42 Echoes would be a considerable STATS package. But I'm hesitant to argue that it adds +1/3 again to our overall combat power. Consider the Power of Ruin with KoW:
STR:
[39 (Current) + 16 (Quickening) + 10 (Myth and Legend: Might)] x2.1 modifier
+ [12 (Current WILL) + 10 (Myth and Legend: Might)] x1.6 modifier =
((39+16+10)*2.1+(12+10)*1.6)
Effective STR: 171.7
Power of Ruin: 2961 = (STR x 17.25)
Effective STR: 259.9
Power of Ruin: 4483 = (STR x 17.25)
If you'll forgive the gory formatting, the punchline here is that dumping 42 picks into Echoes of the Forebear results in STR & Power of Ruin scores that are about 50% higher than right now. Obviously trading picks for +Mental Stability will eat into that percentage
Build 2: Anything Else
There are some things that I want, even if it means getting fewer echoes. Here are just a few off the top of my head:
Hunger relaxes, literally at all, and hopefully gets +Mental Stability
Hunger finds a Huntress' Moon target so he doesn't decimate the Realm of Evening
Hunger studies Praxis techniques
there seems to be evidence that we won't be allowed to train Praxis in RoE?
to be determined.
Hunger designs a Grace, with or without Gisena's help
Graces seem to be one of the only avenues for attack speed, something even the Praxis doesn't offer!
Hunger generates consumable items with permanent (utility?) effects
Carrots that give Perfect night vision
Berries that make Hunger grow wings & unlock flight
etc
Practice manipulating the Realm of Evening to get more specialized results out of it
Conversation with Letrizia or Adorie about politics in the Human / Voyaging Realm
Conversation with teenagers RE: the dangers of Heroism and why they should not try to follow his example
Conversation with Gisena: Any non-banter topic
Aobaru training montage for Chains of Fate enemy
Signs Research training montage
Bloodline Research training montage
What can we learn from investigating Adorie's new EFB?
Build 3: Piecemeal Advancements:
Ruling Ring is good, even considering the danger of a Ring War. That's how good it is.
Before we do the Huntress Moon target, we might be able to grab Fisher King.
We have 10 Rank right now so we could theoretically load in 5 separate stances. Currently only two are active.
Plot Direction:
Now that Hunger has some time to breathe (& enjoy 2/3 mitigation for all his curses) it is a good time to make some long-term plans about conquering the Human Sphere. What information does he need to succeed? Does he want to reveal himself to the galaxy already? What kind of support can he get out of Adorie & the VR?
What about the Chains enemy - can Gisena find them for us? When we come out of the Realm of Evening we will have 3 more weeks of grinding than them. That might be a good opportunity to attack!
There is still the question if we have control over what is offered. KSA is 1 pick, PW is 2 pick, Slice Fate is 1 pick. The various Ring components are 1 pick.
Pitiless Maw is 1 pick as well. Linear Halo is 2 picks I think. Evening Gown is 2 picks and offers 30% ATTACK SPEED!
42 Echoes is a bit of a basic bitch option, even if it is strong.
Also GIB PRAXIS in Pillars.
Edit: If we manage to get 18 Arete in pillars and buy RR, we would be able to get 38 Picks worth of ++Progression.
[ ] The Ring of Power - Pitiless Maw (7 Arete) - A Conjunctional Advancement that requires the Forebear's Blade. How can hunger perish from this world? So long as there is one hungering thing, it will emerge again and again to feast upon this realm of mere phenomena. Passively restore health equal to 100% of the damage you deal in melee combat, and triples the Power of Ruin associated with melee strikes.
How does this work with Kow? ADS normally is 5x and multiplied by 3.5 by KoW. If ADS becomes 8x Ruin as base this should mean 28x Power of ruin after calculation. KoW 250% should apply to all damage sources after all.
I said when voting for Hunger taking risks and pushing himself, that I was doing so with the intent of Hunger recuperating in the Realm of Evening. Therefore, I will be doing so, every other consideration will be secondary for me.
That focus would seem to imply voting for Social-links, but I'll have to see what options Hunger ends up getting.
Opalescence, Iridescence, Pearlescence, Dominion: War, Dominion: Passion. (Maybe Pre-Eminence, if we can afford it.) Exalted Spirit.
Get all those 1-pick foundation-building basics.
The ones that, essentially, are at the start of the 'skill specialization tree' and which we never get anymore since the early start of the thread because "+1 To-Hit, +1 Damage" is boring, but which form the base of the building and build up to and unlock stronger stuff. Get all the boring weak pre-requisites out of the way. Look, Opalescence and Iridescence might feel underwhelming, but they open the door to Pearlescence; and that one was said to be incredibly good with our Opalescent Tower EFB. And all our huge amounts of Charisma and Protection.
Woe unto they who would stand against the bearer of Evening, for all the stars in heaven are their enemies, and the moon above as well.
That a frog in a well should leap at the moon, means only that they will never reach it.
+++Protection, and the protection granted by the Evening Sky now automatically scales to its wearer's power; effectively, the wearer is granted an additional Experience modifier whose output is automatically applied to the Evening Sky.
============================
And we've been missing out on 2 out of 3 of the domains of our Ring Hunger, and parts which need to be built up to Ruling Ring anyway. Let's finally get it. Hunger can finally start applying his Ring of Power to do War and Passion type stuff. (And maybe having "War" will mean potential future Conjunctional effects between the Ring and the Blade, because of Once and Future's war Rank boosting!)
Then, pick up those 2-pick picks that do the same (unlocking stuff). Or which do cool stuff.
Pick up Honing. Pick up Iridescence.
Pick up Hunger - Feast of Life. Pick up Pitiless Maw. Maybe upgrade A Hunger Sated, to either Quelling or Conclusion, if that's still viable. Maybe we'd need to fish up a Decimator's Affliction target first (we'll need to do that anyway, as we have 14 days remaining on it, so) and spend Arete after quelling Decimator's, but.
A Hunger Sated - Temporary condition that causes the Decimator's Affliction to abate completely for a time. You may upgrade it with Arete. By default: Reduces progress from Hunger by 10% for a month. During that month the Decimator's Affliction slumbers.
[ ] 2 Arete: Quelling - Instead halves the drain rate of the Decimator's Affliction for six months. Additional unknown effect. [ ] 7 Arete: Conclusion - Reduces progress by 25% instead, but lasts 2 years. It is easier for the hero to find some measure of peace with regards to the losses suffered at the Tyrant's hands, and is less likely to be emotionally compromised by events that remind him of such. Gives you the moral high ground and the ability to travel to lands barren of life, like outer space. Additional unknown effect.
-- 2 Arete Options --
[ ] Evening Sky - Shine Bright - 2 Arete. The wearer can slowly (over the course of several minutes) heal most forms of wound, illness and disease in others. Sustainable in moderation, draining if overused. Creates noticeable illumination, useful in dungeons but can attract attention. Does not work on the wearer. Greater Charisma modestly improves healing efficacy, speed, stamina cost.
Unlocks a path of findross related research.
===============
(If this is even relevant at this point. It might be hilariously obsoleted by having Silver of Evening now.)
But, I'm pretty hype about the possibility of picking up another old thing...
Pick up Gardener's Hallow.
============================ [ ] The Ring of Power - Gardener's Hallow (7 Arete, 2 picks) - Unto this land, I give my blood.
By infusing vegetation or livestock with his blood, the wielder may impart upon it supernatural properties. These range from the basic (consuming this fruit grants you an Echo of the Forebear) to the incredible (consuming this cow awakens your full Astral Rank from your Defensive Rank and remove the Defensive Rank penalty) to the spectacular (consuming this fish ignites a meta-singularity of findross within you; should you survive then you may theoretically wield the True Quintessence). Similar effects don't stack.
All efforts beyond the basic take considerable amounts of time, effort, and unique resources to cultivate. These can be lessened via the other advancements of the Ring of Blood, especially its Chief Dominion and pre-requisites.
============================
Perhaps being in the Realm of Evening we can especially get it because again; because we're in a place of plenty, and so we can pick it up. And then, that means we can do more stuff both inside AND outside the Realm of Evening. It'll help both with Realm of Evening "How do we get more special things and infrastructure in here?" and "How do we benefit our people's in our territories?" both.
Furthermore, the possibility of Ring of Hunger + Evening Sky conjunctional effects. This, when we have such a high blood-casting rank? And when we are thinking about getting Ruling Ring sometime in the future-ish, with it's ++Progression?
If we can get Conjunctional: Ring of Power + Evening Sky effects that are all about infrastructure-growing, that would be amazing for the Realm of Evening stuff and for getting picks and for getting boosts and potions from the Realm of Evening. And then, we can do stuff in our territories outside, too. Giving people awesome stuff. Turning the Font of Myth into an irrigation system for Ring of Power-granted Gardener's Hallow. ((Turn Nilfel into a breadbasket province! Growing all the tradegoods and Myth-tier Food Buffs! ... Okay no, probably not this, not when we have Realm of Evening instead, but still. It's an amusing thought. Turning Nilfel from a country of warmongers, to a country of stewards of the Fonts of Myth and such. Heh.))
Make Hunger enjoy fishing even more. "to the spectacular (consuming this fish ignites a meta-singularity of findross within you; should you survive then you may theoretically wield the True Quintessence)." I mean, that sounds good. Hunger can fish up an awesome fish, and then infuse it with power, and then eat it and it'll be super super special tasting and awesome.
What's not to love? Great relaxation, in the form of doing what he loves -- fishing -- and then great power, from Gardener's Hallow to cook and prepare the fish.
Issue with many of 7 Arete Advancements is that, well, they cost Arete. So while Gardener and Pearlescence and so on have cool effects and synergies, they also directly contend with other stuff that costs picks - right now the Fisher King. And we'd rather have Fisher King.
As for 2ap Advancements, there is a dual issues of there being too many of them(and I don't think that burning 10 arete for the is worth it) and that we don't really lack for stuff. Echoes might be boring, but that +1 agi per pick is perfectly reasonable and we get to conserve our Arete for FK/SitS etc too.
RR might be a thing, though. We'd have to forgo FK(again), but getting 17~38 Echoes boosted by Progression++ would be pretty great value, plus we get better Pressure to go together with our Rank 10.
Pearlessence, in particular, feels overpriced. We'd pay 9 Arete (and three picks!) for scaling PROT despite just getting wrecked while under the effects of infinite PROT. The major benefit of this line is that Undying Vanguard extends our defensive parameters to our allies.
However, among our companions Aobaru is the one who most needs this added boost, but he is the least loyal and will receive the smallest effect from UV
As for the Ring, if you wanted to do more Ringcasting then it seems like we should have bought Crimson Flare. (🧂) The dominions do not stack with OaF as far as I know, so those picks are basically being put on layaway until we get RR. We currently have picks & Arete "on layaway" for Fisher King, doing nothing until we complete that advancement. I don't think I can justify voting for any similar long-term investments
