<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" > <channel> <title>grind – Comics Unearthed</title> <atom:link href="https://www.comicsunearthed.com/tag/grind/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://www.comicsunearthed.com</link> <description></description> <lastBuildDate>Sat, 08 Oct 2022 05:55:00 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1</generator> <item> <title>Overwatch 2 Player Calculates ‘5 Year’ F2P Grind To Unlock New Hero’s Cosmetics</title> <link>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/overwatch-2-player-calculates-5-year-f2p-grind-to-unlock-new-heros-cosmetics/</link> <comments>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/overwatch-2-player-calculates-5-year-f2p-grind-to-unlock-new-heros-cosmetics/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[comicsunearthed]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sat, 08 Oct 2022 05:55:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Game]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Calculates]]></category> <category><![CDATA[cosmetics]]></category> <category><![CDATA[F2P]]></category> <category><![CDATA[grind]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Heros]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Overwatch]]></category> <category><![CDATA[player]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Unlock]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Year]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.comicsunearthed.com/overwatch-2-player-calculates-5-year-f2p-grind-to-unlock-new-heros-cosmetics/</guid> <description><![CDATA[[ad_1] Image: Blizzard In case you missed it, Overwatch has swapped to a free-to-play model with the release of the second title earlier this week, and that means there are some new microtransactions, like the premium battle pass. In other words, if you want to unlock certain cosmetics or get more out of the game, you might need to fork out real money. It seems the grind has also been pushed to the limits because of this new model. A Reddit user by the name of ‘Chibi Tracer’ on the Overwatch subreddit has done some calculations, and apparently, it would […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> [ad_1]<br /> </p> <div id=""> <figure class="picture"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="lazy" width="900" height="507" src="https://images.nintendolife.com/9f9b67b079b4d/overwatch-2.900x.jpg" alt="Overwatch 2"/><figcaption class="caption"><em class="credit">Image: Blizzard</em></figcaption></figure> <p>In case you missed it, Overwatch has swapped to a free-to-play model with the release of the second title earlier this week, and that means there are some new microtransactions, like the premium battle pass. In other words, if you want to unlock certain cosmetics or get more out of the game, you might need to fork out real money.</p> <p>It seems the grind has also been pushed to the limits because of this new model. A Reddit user by the name of ‘Chibi Tracer’ on the Overwatch subreddit has done some calculations, and apparently, it would take around 5 years or about 15,600 coins to unlock all of the nonseasonal items for the new hero Kiriko.</p> <aside class="object object-oembed"><!-- cache: oembed/https://www.reddit.com/r/Overwatch/comments/xxedge/it_takes_5_years_or_15600_coins_to_buy_all_new/ @ 2022-10-08T04:50:58+01:00 --></p> <blockquote class="reddit-card"><p> It takes 5 years or 15,600 coins to buy all new nonseasonal Kiriko unlocks from<br /> Overwatch </p></blockquote> </aside> <p>As explained in detail by Game Revolution, if you were to play Overwatch 2 entirely for free, it would take you about 260 weeks to earn all of Kiriko’s nonseasonal unlocks – grinding the weekly challenges for the 60 coins reward.</p> <p>And as for real money, you could potentially be paying around $150 USD or more for all of Kiriko’s nonseasonal gear. And that’s just one hero! <em>Ouch!</em> Here are the costs of the in-game coin prices in USD – 500 coins = $4.99, 1000 coins = $9.99, 2,200 coins $19.99, 5700 coins = $49.99 and 11,600 coins $99.99.</p> <p>Although the microtransactions and premium battle pass might not be the best, the team-based gameplay that’s carried across to the second game appears to be quite solid. Read more in our Nintendo Life review:</p> <p>Have you given Overwatch 2 a go yet? <em>Leave a comment down below.</em></p> </div> <p><script type="4ba3b3a6d8e6954eb41bfe06-text/javascript">dgpConsent.can('targeting',function () { !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script','https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js');fbq('init', '2325732614399478'); fbq('track', 'PageView'); });</script><br /> <br />[ad_2]</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/overwatch-2-player-calculates-5-year-f2p-grind-to-unlock-new-heros-cosmetics/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Halo Infinite is boosting XP again to reduce grind</title> <link>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/halo-infinite-is-boosting-xp-again-to-reduce-grind/</link> <comments>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/halo-infinite-is-boosting-xp-again-to-reduce-grind/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[comicsunearthed]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 30 Nov 2021 13:25:02 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Game]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Boosting]]></category> <category><![CDATA[grind]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Halo]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Infinite]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Reduce]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.comicsunearthed.com/halo-infinite-is-boosting-xp-again-to-reduce-grind/</guid> <description><![CDATA[[ad_1] Though Halo Infinite launched in decent shape (our Ed called it “the most stable FPS I’ve played all year”), one bone of contention has been the slow pace to unlocking things on the battle pass. The developers, 343 Industries already boosted progression pace, but evidently that wasn’t enough, and now they’re coming round for another pass at the pass. From today, they’re planning to offer bonus XP for the first six matches you play every day. Halo community manager John Junyszek revealed the next steps on Twitter overnight. He noted that when they made those initial changes, “we promised […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> [ad_1]<br /> </p> <div> <p>Though Halo Infinite launched in decent shape (our Ed called it “the most stable FPS I’ve played all year”), one bone of contention has been the slow pace to unlocking things on the battle pass. The developers, 343 Industries already boosted progression pace, but evidently that wasn’t enough, and now they’re coming round for another pass at the pass. From today, they’re planning to offer bonus XP for the first six matches you play every day.</p> <p><span id="more-51921"></span></p> <p>Halo community manager John Junyszek revealed the next steps <a href="https://twitter.com/Unyshek/status/1465550994150813697">on Twitter</a> overnight. He noted that when they made those initial changes, “we promised that we’d monitor the data and make additional changes if needed. Now, it’s time to follow up on that.”</p> <p>He goes onto explain, “After seeing how XP was earned with those changes, we noticed that players were starting their sessions with slower payouts than we’d like. To address this, we will be increasing the XP payout for the first 6 matches of each day.” So, the bonuses coming into effect today are:</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-dnt="true"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">1st Game = 300XP<br />2nd Game = 200XP<br />3rd Game = 200XP<br />4th Game = 100XP<br />5th Game = 100XP<br />6th Game = 100XP<br />7th+ Game = 50XP</p> <p>We believe this increase will help address those slower initial payouts while also benefiting those of you jumping on each and every day.</p> <p>— John Junyszek (@Unyshek) <a href="https://twitter.com/Unyshek/status/1465550997476966400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2021</a></p></blockquote> <p> <span class="embed_placeholder" data-type="targeting" style="display: none;"><br /> <span class="message">To see this content please enable targeting cookies.</span><br /> <button class="ot-sdk-show-settings" id="ot-sdk-btn">Manage cookie settings</button><br /> </span></p> <p>He <a href="https://twitter.com/Unyshek/status/1465550998819074049">added</a> that they are “committed” to “even larger changes”, but “those will take time.”</p> <p>Junyszek also addressed another common complaint, cheaters. With cheating easier and more common on PC, some Xbox folks want the option to opt out of cross-platform matchmaking.</p> <p>“Unfortunately, cheating is a natural part of supporting a F2P PC game and it’s one we anticipated,” he <a href="https://twitter.com/Unyshek/status/1465509016767852544">said</a> last night. “It’ll never go away entirely, but we’re prepared and committed to releasing consistent improvements to our game’s systems and taking action on bad actors.”</p> <p>He later <a href="https://twitter.com/Unyshek/status/1465516564367613952">clarified</a> that <br /> “the wording of ‘improvements to game’s systems’ includes not only our anti-cheat, but the rest of the game as well.” He explained, “It’s worded this way because we don’t take a “single feature” approach, but a game-wide approach to anti-cheat.”</p> <p>He doesn’t detail any firm plans but, y’know, obvs it’s something they’re aware of. The arms race between cheat and anti-cheat is endless.</p> </p></div> <p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><script> function appendFacebookPixels() { if (window.facebookPixelsDone) return; !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)}; if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script', 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js');</p> <p> fbq('init', '700623604017080');</p> <p> fbq('track', 'PageView'); window.facebookPixelsDone = true;</p> <p> window.dispatchEvent(new Event('BrockmanFacebookPixelsEnabled')); }</p> <p> window.addEventListener('BrockmanTargetingCookiesAllowed', appendFacebookPixels); </script><br /> <br />[ad_2]</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/halo-infinite-is-boosting-xp-again-to-reduce-grind/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Babylon’s Fall combines crispy combat with the Destiny power grind</title> <link>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/babylons-fall-combines-crispy-combat-with-the-destiny-power-grind/</link> <comments>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/babylons-fall-combines-crispy-combat-with-the-destiny-power-grind/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[comicsunearthed]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 25 Nov 2021 17:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Game]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Babylons]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Combat]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Combines]]></category> <category><![CDATA[crispy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Destiny]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Fall]]></category> <category><![CDATA[grind]]></category> <category><![CDATA[power]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.comicsunearthed.com/babylons-fall-combines-crispy-combat-with-the-destiny-power-grind/</guid> <description><![CDATA[[ad_1] Katharine and I went hands-on with Babylon’s Fall last week, that online action RPG by PlatinumGames which falls in and out of memory as the years tick by. Still, when an invitation to the third phase of its ongoing closed beta test arrived, I couldn’t help but get excited. These are the folks behind NieR: Automata and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, after all, and now they’re making a live-service, co-op slasher. Sign. Me. Up. As it stands, the closed beta only showed a very small, very early build of the game, but we’ve got some thoughts. Combat, exploration, and […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> [ad_1]<br /> </p> <div> <p>Katharine and I went hands-on with Babylon’s Fall last week, that online action RPG by PlatinumGames which falls in and out of memory as the years tick by. Still, when an invitation to the third phase of its ongoing closed beta test arrived, I couldn’t help but get excited. These are the folks behind NieR: Automata and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, after all, and now they’re making a live-service, co-op slasher. Sign. Me. Up.</p> <p>As it stands, the closed beta only showed a very small, very early build of the game, but we’ve got some thoughts. Combat, exploration, and co-op were all on offer here, and there’s a fair amount to unpack. Look beyond the early build jank and there’s definitely potential.</p> <p><span id="more-50806"></span></p> <p>You may not be well acquainted with Babylon’s Fall, so here’s the lowdown. Set in a fantasy world with an oil-painting aesthetic, this is NieR: Automata meets Destiny. You play as a warrior known as a Sentinel tasked with overcoming the Tower Of Babylon. There’s lots of hacking, lots of slashing, and copious amounts of looting. Not forgetting your Gideon Coffin, which is a funny name for what’s essentially two floating weapons on your back. More on this in a sec.</p> <p>In this build, we were able to create a character out of three races: Huysian, Agavian, and Geleilion. Right now, there’s not much to differentiate them beyond their starting weapon type. I opted for the sword-based Huysian because they looked like a Dishonored NPC at a masquerade ball; snooty but elegant. Katharine went for the forest-dwelling archer Geleilion, mostly because their bird-like feather costume looked a lot more exciting than the boring grey armour of the hammer Agavian man, but in the end we needn’t have worried about their looks, as both our characters ended up wearing the same starter armour. </p> <p>The Geleilion did have one extra trick up their fake feathery sleeves, though, and that was two Gideon Coffin abilities rather than one. My refined-boy had “Soul Vault”, which would’ve allowed me to fling myself in the direction of a tethered enemy had they been unlockable in this build, while Katharine had “Soul Snatch” (which would have let her absorb HP from tethered enemies) and “Soul Corrupt” (an ability that channels dark energy into souls of tethered foes to weaken them over time).</p> <figure> <img decoding="async" alt="A woman stands in a medieval marketplace next to a merchant named Pymaglion and his floating robot pal in Babylon's Fall" class="content_image" height="388" loading="lazy" src="https://assets2.rockpapershotgun.com/babylons-fall-hub-robo-pal.jpg/BROK/resize/690%3E/format/jpg/quality/80/babylons-fall-hub-robo-pal.jpg" srcset="https://assets2.rockpapershotgun.com/babylons-fall-hub-robo-pal.jpg/BROK/resize/690%3E/format/jpg/quality/80/babylons-fall-hub-robo-pal.jpg 1x, https://assets2.rockpapershotgun.com/babylons-fall-hub-robo-pal.jpg/BROK/resize/1380%3E/format/jpg/quality/80/babylons-fall-hub-robo-pal.jpg 2x" width="690"/><figcaption>One of the vendors has this fun little robo-boy companion that floats around with its wiggly arms. We were both fans.</figcaption></figure> <p>Once we’d picked our Sentinels, we were popped in a hub space, akin to something like Destiny’s Tower where you can see fellow players running about. It’s here where you’ll trade with NPCs and take on missions from the Quest boards. A blacksmith clanks his hammer and some guards block towering gates. There’s a sense you’ll eventually be able to alter gear and upgrade your Gideon Coffins here, as well as venture out into other parts of the town in some way, but again, we’ll have to wait and see how that develops in a future test.</p> <p>In this phase of the beta, we got to sample one type of quest from the “Civic Cloister” section of the Tower Of Babylon, which whisked us away into a baroque-style dungeon split into multiple “chapters” – effectively increasingly difficult arenas filled with waves of enemies. Your job? Slash lots of goblins with shields and lanky archers and podgy fire-bombers to advance. Often, there would be a big boss at the end. Sometimes these would just be bigger versions of monsters we’d seen before, but others, such as the hammer-swinging “Igigi Warlord” were more bespoke. The latter entered an enraged state every so often, and we’d have to drain a separate stagger bar to stun him before we could go back to whaling on his health. </p> <p>As expected, fights had that crispy Platinum feel – only here you can wield up to four weapons of your choice at a time. You’ve got one for light attacks and one for heavy attacks, both of which can be mixed and matched. Bow, staff, hammer, sword. Whatever takes your fancy. These are then coupled with your two Gideon Arms on the left and right triggers of your gamepad (keyboard controls weren’t supported in this build), which let you wear a pair of weapons as these magic, floaty appendages strapped to your back. The result is combat that’s a give and take relationship. Strike enemies with your basic light and heavy combos to feed your “Spirit” meter, which in turn lets you dodge and use your Gideon Arms to deal even <em>more</em> damage.</p> <figure class="right"> <img decoding="async" alt="Warriors fight a large orc in Babylon's Fall" class="content_image" height="388" loading="lazy" src="https://assets2.rockpapershotgun.com/babylons-fall-igigi-warlord.jpg/BROK/resize/690%3E/format/jpg/quality/80/babylons-fall-igigi-warlord.jpg" srcset="https://assets2.rockpapershotgun.com/babylons-fall-igigi-warlord.jpg/BROK/resize/690%3E/format/jpg/quality/80/babylons-fall-igigi-warlord.jpg 1x, https://assets2.rockpapershotgun.com/babylons-fall-igigi-warlord.jpg/BROK/resize/1380%3E/format/jpg/quality/80/babylons-fall-igigi-warlord.jpg 2x" width="690"/><figcaption>Lock onto targets and it’ll produce this diamond symbol. Sometimes a little red indicator will appear on its left side, sometimes on the right, sometimes on both. For the life of the me, I couldn’t figure out how it worked.</figcaption></figure> <p>Combat is fast and fluid, and with four weapons in tow, combos look super cool. With melee weapons, it’s the sort of combat that feels crunchy and stylish. Button combos aren’t particularly complicated – if you’ve played a Platinum game before, Babylon’s Fall uses that familiar mix of following up light attacks with strong ones, and then whacking a fancy Gideon Arm finisher on the end. It’s nowhere near as intricate as Devil May Cry 5, say (try as we might, there was no effective way to launch enemies skyward, for example) but it’s definitely a step up from the automated throes of Final Fantasy XV. </p> <p>Opt for a ranged weapon, though, and it’s a different story. I found the magic staff cumbersome and dull, with a reliance on repetitive orb-slings and not much else to draw upon. Katharine didn’t have many positive things to say about the bow, either – especially when her first mission lumped her with four of the poxy things. They’re a decent choice when mixed with swords and hammers, but on their own they devolve into a lot of tedious backpedaling while slinging equally repetitive arrows into oncoming monster skulls. </p> <p>But hey, the Gideon Arms are fun. Activate these and depending on what you’ve got equipped, you’ll see a spectral sword slash your enemies or a staff unleash an enormous magic missile. The hammer proved to be deeply satisfying, as holding down the trigger let me wind up massive blow that could knock multiple foes to the ground and leave them vulnerable to attack.</p> <figure> <img decoding="async" alt="A warrior stands on a stone bridge in Babylon's Fall" class="content_image" height="388" loading="lazy" src="https://assets2.rockpapershotgun.com/babylons-fall-street.jpg/BROK/resize/690%3E/format/jpg/quality/80/babylons-fall-street.jpg" srcset="https://assets2.rockpapershotgun.com/babylons-fall-street.jpg/BROK/resize/690%3E/format/jpg/quality/80/babylons-fall-street.jpg 1x, https://assets2.rockpapershotgun.com/babylons-fall-street.jpg/BROK/resize/1380%3E/format/jpg/quality/80/babylons-fall-street.jpg 2x" width="690"/><figcaption>Babylon’s Fall has some excellent vistas. Look closely and you’ll see brush strokes, as if the sky’s been painted on canvas. In-between fights, it really does make you stop and sink the views in.</figcaption></figure> <p>I wouldn’t say there was much strategy involved in these fights, though. No matter how I sliced and diced, so long as I kept doing so I’d pull through. And what awaited me? More of the same, just harder. You see, Babylon’s Fall does the Destiny thing where you’ve got a character level and a power level. The former is determined by the EXP you earn in battle, while the latter goes up or down dependent on the gear you’ve got equipped. Tougher encounters in the Civic Cloister require higher power levels, so you need to grind these out by completing lower ranked quests.</p> <p>Thankfully loot drops seemed pretty generous in our time with Babylon’s Fall. Complete Chapters and you’d earn Relics of different rarities. At the end of each quest, you’d crack them open, earn sweet gear and in turn become more powerful. Much like the combat, armour sets and weapons also looked very snazzy, indeed. There’s a fair amount of stats to absorb too, like boosts to Spirit regeneration, health, and so on. I’d imagine that these will play a bigger role in the full game, where team composition may matter more.</p> <p>While it was a slim taster of what’s to come, Babylon’s Fall shows signs of promise. Questions remain around progression and whether there will be plentiful ways to grind out those levels, aside from clambering up the Civic Cloister repeatedly. And of course, how they’ll handle endgame stuff when folks have hit the level cap. But overall, I’d say we had a fairly good time. A tentative thumbs up from us, then, and fingers crossed the devs successfully spin this crunchy combat core into a moreish dungeon crawler.</p> </p></div> <p><script> function appendFacebookPixels() { if (window.facebookPixelsDone) return; !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)}; if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script', 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js');</p> <p> fbq('init', '700623604017080');</p> <p> fbq('track', 'PageView'); window.facebookPixelsDone = true;</p> <p> window.dispatchEvent(new Event('BrockmanFacebookPixelsEnabled')); }</p> <p> window.addEventListener('BrockmanTargetingCookiesAllowed', appendFacebookPixels); </script><br /> <br />[ad_2]</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/babylons-fall-combines-crispy-combat-with-the-destiny-power-grind/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Halo Infinite developers looking into battle pass grind</title> <link>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/halo-infinite-developers-looking-into-battle-pass-grind/</link> <comments>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/halo-infinite-developers-looking-into-battle-pass-grind/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[comicsunearthed]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 17 Nov 2021 15:08:51 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Game]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Battle]]></category> <category><![CDATA[developers]]></category> <category><![CDATA[grind]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Halo]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Infinite]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Pass]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.comicsunearthed.com/halo-infinite-developers-looking-into-battle-pass-grind/</guid> <description><![CDATA[[ad_1] Developers 343 Industries surprise-launched Halo Infinite’s multiplayer this week on Xbox’s 20th birthday, and so far it seems that folks are finding it fairly fun to play. But a lot of players have one major grievance: the battle pass is a massive grind. Complaints about challenges that award very little XP are all over the game’s subreddit. Fortunately, the devs have seen this feedback, and are already looking into the slow progression. To level up Infinite’s battle pass, you need to complete daily and weekly challenges to earn XP. Unfortunately, it sounds like you don’t get […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> [ad_1]<br /> </p> <div> <p> <br /> Developers 343 Industries surprise-launched Halo Infinite’s multiplayer this week on Xbox’s 20th birthday, and so far it seems that folks are finding it fairly fun to play. But a lot of players have one major grievance: the battle pass is a massive grind. Complaints about challenges that award very little XP are all over the game’s subreddit. Fortunately, the devs have seen this feedback, and are already looking into the slow progression. </p> <p><span id="more-48785"></span></p> <p> <br /> To level up Infinite’s battle pass, you need to complete daily and weekly challenges to earn XP. Unfortunately, it sounds like you don’t get much XP at all for doing these, and to make matters worse, you don’t even get XP from simply completing games (which is an odd omission, almost every other shooter I can think of gives you an amount of post-match XP depending on your performance). </p> <p> <br /> Our own Ed Thorn has been playing this week, and I was curious how far up the battle pass he’d managed to get. Reader, it is not far. Ed tells me: </p> <blockquote> <p> <br /> “Nearly four hours of big team battling last night got me to – drum roll please – level 3 of Halo Infinite’s battle pass. And the challenges I’ve got to complete are mind-numbing. Get a kill with this weapon, then three with <em>this</em> one. What does all this effort amount to? Maybe one level, if you’re lucky. I will be an 80 year old living inside an Eden Project on Mars by the time I hit level 100.” </p> </blockquote> <p> <br /> A whole thread on the Halo Infinite subreddit is dedicated to battle pass progression feedback. Some players say they’ve had to play upwards of 12 hours just to reach level 5, and others have concerns that this system encourages an “unhealthy playstyle”, where players are just trying to complete challenges, rather than properly play the objective. </p> <p> <br /> It’s worth noting that Halo Infinite is still in beta right now though, with its full release still set for December 8th. So, there’s still plenty of time for changes to be made. The developers have seen the feedback about the battle pass too, so hopefully tweaks are on the way. </p> <p> <br /> “FYI the team is looking at Battle Pass progression and gathering data from yesterday’s sessions and we’ll share updates as we have them,” <a href="https://twitter.com/ske7ch/status/1460680004090548226">community director Brian Jarrard tweeted yesterday</a>. “Please continue to share feedback and raise flags as you see them.” </p> </p></div> <p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><script> function appendFacebookPixels() { if (window.facebookPixelsDone) return; !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)}; if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script', 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js');</p> <p> fbq('init', '700623604017080');</p> <p> fbq('track', 'PageView'); window.facebookPixelsDone = true;</p> <p> window.dispatchEvent(new Event('BrockmanFacebookPixelsEnabled')); }</p> <p> window.addEventListener('BrockmanTargetingCookiesAllowed', appendFacebookPixels); </script><br /> <br />[ad_2]</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/halo-infinite-developers-looking-into-battle-pass-grind/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Genshin Impact’s Endgame RNG Grind Is Brutal But Irresistible</title> <link>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/genshin-impacts-endgame-rng-grind-is-brutal-but-irresistible/</link> <comments>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/genshin-impacts-endgame-rng-grind-is-brutal-but-irresistible/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[comicsunearthed]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 05 Nov 2021 15:45:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Game]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Brutal]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Endgame]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Genshin]]></category> <category><![CDATA[grind]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Impacts]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Irresistible]]></category> <category><![CDATA[RNG]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.comicsunearthed.com/genshin-impacts-endgame-rng-grind-is-brutal-but-irresistible/</guid> <description><![CDATA[[ad_1] Image: miHoYo Genshin Impact gets a lot of rightful public flak for its gambling mechanics, but only endgame players know about the luck-based grind of rolling for the best character equipment. While these “artifacts” don’t cost any real money, their luck-based randomization almost makes me wish that they did. Almost. This endgame equipment RNG is a key reason why building the strongest characters in Genshin Impact is a process that can take several months. While Genshin players can gain stat boosts upon level-up like in most RPGs, the vast majority of their stats actually come from the equipment (“artifacts”) […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> [ad_1]<br /> </p> <div> <figure class="sc-1eow4w5-1 dhDQnh align--bleed js_lazy-image js_marquee-assetfigure" data-id="8eddf3df6f13419ddb4cc05d188497d5" data-recommend-id="image://8eddf3df6f13419ddb4cc05d188497d5" data-format="jpg" data-width="1280" data-height="720" data-lightbox="true" data-alt="A hillichurl holding a pyro slime, surrounded by two fire abyss mages." data-recommended="false" contenteditable="false" draggable="false"> <div class="sc-1eow4w5-2 loxZOX img-wrapper" contenteditable="false" style="max-width:1280px" data-alt="A hillichurl holding a pyro slime, surrounded by two fire abyss mages." data-syndicationrights="true" data-imagerights="fair-use" data-hidecredit="false"><span class="sc-1eow4w5-0 dnhHtZ js_lightbox-wrapper"></p> <div style="padding-bottom:56.3%" class="sc-1eow4w5-3 lktKQM image-hydration-wrapper"> <div><img alt="A hillichurl holding a pyro slime, surrounded by two fire abyss mages." srcset="https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_center,h_80,pg_1,q_80,w_80/8eddf3df6f13419ddb4cc05d188497d5.jpg 80w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_140/8eddf3df6f13419ddb4cc05d188497d5.jpg 140w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_265/8eddf3df6f13419ddb4cc05d188497d5.jpg 265w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_340/8eddf3df6f13419ddb4cc05d188497d5.jpg 340w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_490/8eddf3df6f13419ddb4cc05d188497d5.jpg 490w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_645/8eddf3df6f13419ddb4cc05d188497d5.jpg 645w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_740/8eddf3df6f13419ddb4cc05d188497d5.jpg 740w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_965/8eddf3df6f13419ddb4cc05d188497d5.jpg 965w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_1165/8eddf3df6f13419ddb4cc05d188497d5.jpg 1165w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_1315/8eddf3df6f13419ddb4cc05d188497d5.jpg 1315w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_1465/8eddf3df6f13419ddb4cc05d188497d5.jpg 1465w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_1600/8eddf3df6f13419ddb4cc05d188497d5.jpg 1600w" sizes=" 				(max-width: 25em) calc(100vw - 32px), 				(max-width: 37.31em) calc(100vw - 32px), 				(min-width: 37.37em) and (max-width: 49.94em) calc(100vw - 32px), 				(min-width: 50em) and (max-width: 63.69em) 800px, 				(min-width: 63.75em) and (max-width: 85.19em) calc(66.5vw - 32px), 				800px 			" draggable="auto" data-chomp-id="8eddf3df6f13419ddb4cc05d188497d5" data-format="jpg" data-alt="A hillichurl holding a pyro slime, surrounded by two fire abyss mages." data-anim-src=""/></div> </div> <p></span></p> <p><figcaption class="sc-7s1ndr-0 ikKPtM no-caption">Image<!-- -->: <!-- -->miHoYo</figcaption></p> </div> <p><span data-id="8eddf3df6f13419ddb4cc05d188497d5" data-recommend-id="image://8eddf3df6f13419ddb4cc05d188497d5" data-format="jpg" data-width="1280" data-height="720" data-lightbox="true" data-alt="A hillichurl holding a pyro slime, surrounded by two fire abyss mages." data-recommended="false" class="js_recommend"/></figure> <p class="sc-77igqf-0 bOfvBY"><em>Genshin Impact </em>gets <span>a lot</span> of rightful public flak for its gambling mechanics, but only endgame players know about the luck-based grind of rolling for the best character equipment. While these “artifacts” don’t cost any real money, their luck-based randomization almost makes me wish that they did. Almost. This endgame equipment RNG is a key reason why building the strongest characters in <em>Genshin Impact </em>is a process that can take several months.</p> <p class="sc-77igqf-0 bOfvBY">While <em>Genshin</em> players can gain stat boosts upon level-up like in most RPGs, the vast majority of their stats actually come from the equipment (“artifacts”) they wear. There are five artifact slots for each character: flower, plume, hourglass, goblet, and circlet. Most of them have a randomized main stat and up to four random substats. If you don multiple items from the same set, additional beneficial effects kick in. As a result, two instances of the same character can play very differently depending on which artifacts they have equipped<!-- -->.</p> <p class="sc-77igqf-0 bOfvBY">At first this might seem like a fun system to experiment with, but it’s a huge pain for players who enjoy optimizing maximum damage numbers. See, many characters have abilities that scale off a specific stat. Zhongli and Noelle both have the ability to create shields, but Zhongli’s shield bonus scales off of his maximum health, while Noelle’s scales off of her defense. So even characters with similar abilities want gear that boosts a specific stat, rather than just <em>any </em>stat. </p> <figure class="sc-1eow4w5-1 dhDQnh align--bleed js_lazy-image js_marquee-assetfigure" data-id="eea595f07d6605645bb44a4bb99cfc88" data-recommend-id="image://eea595f07d6605645bb44a4bb99cfc88" data-format="jpg" data-width="1280" data-height="720" data-lightbox="true" data-alt="Zhongli's status page with all of his artifact pieces." data-recommended="false" contenteditable="false" draggable="false"> <div class="sc-1eow4w5-2 loxZOX img-wrapper" contenteditable="false" style="max-width:1280px" data-alt="Zhongli's status page with all of his artifact pieces." data-syndicationrights="true" data-imagerights="fair-use" data-hidecredit="false"><span class="sc-1eow4w5-0 dnhHtZ js_lightbox-wrapper"></p> <div style="padding-bottom:56.3%" class="sc-1eow4w5-3 lktKQM image-hydration-wrapper"> <div><img alt="Zhongli's status page with all of his artifact pieces." srcset="https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_center,h_80,pg_1,q_80,w_80/eea595f07d6605645bb44a4bb99cfc88.jpg 80w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_140/eea595f07d6605645bb44a4bb99cfc88.jpg 140w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_265/eea595f07d6605645bb44a4bb99cfc88.jpg 265w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_340/eea595f07d6605645bb44a4bb99cfc88.jpg 340w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_490/eea595f07d6605645bb44a4bb99cfc88.jpg 490w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_645/eea595f07d6605645bb44a4bb99cfc88.jpg 645w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_740/eea595f07d6605645bb44a4bb99cfc88.jpg 740w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_965/eea595f07d6605645bb44a4bb99cfc88.jpg 965w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_1165/eea595f07d6605645bb44a4bb99cfc88.jpg 1165w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_1315/eea595f07d6605645bb44a4bb99cfc88.jpg 1315w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_1465/eea595f07d6605645bb44a4bb99cfc88.jpg 1465w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_1600/eea595f07d6605645bb44a4bb99cfc88.jpg 1600w" sizes=" 				(max-width: 25em) calc(100vw - 32px), 				(max-width: 37.31em) calc(100vw - 32px), 				(min-width: 37.37em) and (max-width: 49.94em) calc(100vw - 32px), 				(min-width: 50em) and (max-width: 63.69em) 800px, 				(min-width: 63.75em) and (max-width: 85.19em) calc(66.5vw - 32px), 				800px 			" draggable="auto" data-chomp-id="eea595f07d6605645bb44a4bb99cfc88" data-format="jpg" data-alt="Zhongli's status page with all of his artifact pieces." data-anim-src=""/></div> </div> <p></span></p> <p><figcaption class="sc-7s1ndr-0 ikKPtM no-caption">Screenshot<!-- -->: <!-- -->miHoYo / Kotaku</figcaption></p> </div> <p><span data-id="eea595f07d6605645bb44a4bb99cfc88" data-recommend-id="image://eea595f07d6605645bb44a4bb99cfc88" data-format="jpg" data-width="1280" data-height="720" data-lightbox="true" data-alt="Zhongli's status page with all of his artifact pieces." data-recommended="false" class="js_recommend"/></figure> <p class="sc-77igqf-0 bOfvBY">The best artifacts can be found in dungeons called “domains,” and it costs resin (energy points) to collect rewards after a domain challenge. If you get an artifact that doesn’t fit the character that you’re trying to build, then you have to fight a room filled with enemies for another shot at spending your resin. Each domain has pieces from two different artifact sets. Some sets are damage focused, some are defense focused, and others are energy focused. This means that you’re also rolling the dice on whether or not you get the correct piece from a pool of ten potential pieces. That’s before you even dig into their stat breakdown. I’ve spent a month just trying to get a solid set of decent artifacts for Zhongli. I’m not even aiming for optimal gear, and still, a solid set of five has eluded me. At this rate, I think it’s going to take another year for me to build him half-decently.</p> <div class="bxm4mm-19 fIUNXF"> <div class="sc-1atgi65-0 sc-1atgi65-1 bdNdA-D js_commerce-inset-permalink" data-inset-url="https://theinventory.com/black-friday-deals-sales-1847909905" data-inset-category="CommerceInsetMobile"> <p>G/O Media may get a commission</p> </div> </div> <p class="sc-77igqf-0 bOfvBY">Am I going to spend another year fruitlessly trying to build the ultimate ultbot? You bet I am. Unlike the pitiful rates of rolling gacha, artifact domains lure me into thinking that I have a reasonable chance of improving the performance of my favorite characters. It doesn’t cost me money to challenge domains, as resin regenerates every day. So even though I know that the RNG is completely bullshit, there’s always the nagging voice in the back of my head, saying “my favorite character deserves to nuke every enemy in one blow.” Damn right he does. And thus I resign myself to the artifact mines.</p> <p class="sc-77igqf-0 bOfvBY">Randomizing rewards—standard, of course, in games from <em>Diablo </em>to <em>Destiny</em>—isn’t unique to <em>Genshin </em>among gacha games, either. <em>Arknights </em>is another gacha game that also randomizes reward drops, but there’s not an optimization meta in that game. <em>Arknights</em> also allows you to trade upgrade drops. While <em>Genshin</em> allows you to trade <em>some </em>of the artifacts, some of the best artifacts in the game can only be obtained through farming domains. There’s no shortcut to greatness, or a six-figure damage number.</p> <p class="sc-77igqf-0 bOfvBY">No matter how powerful my murder children become, I always feel the pull to make them a tiny bit better still, day by day. The optimization meta becomes another gameplay layer of trying to “raise” my characters—a fact that <em>Genshin</em> seems to be aware of, since it features child characters who have captured the protective instincts of the fandom. With the game’s focus on incremental improvement, there’s not much difference between trying to optimize your <em>Genshin</em> fighters and playing a gardening game, or raising cats in the mobile game <em>Neko Atsume</em>. Since I can use non-optimal artifacts as experience material on better artifacts, I’m seeing constant improvements every day. So no matter how disappointing my results are, I don’t feel rushed to acquire the most powerful character right this second. As the game <span>likes to remind me</span>, it’s not about the destination. It’s about the many, many frustrating journeys along the way. I’m still going to complain every time the game gives me a piece from the “Maiden Beloved” set, though. </p> </div> <p>[ad_2]</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/genshin-impacts-endgame-rng-grind-is-brutal-but-irresistible/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Alchemy Stars’ Bad AI Won’t Spare You The Gacha Grind</title> <link>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/alchemy-stars-bad-ai-wont-spare-you-the-gacha-grind/</link> <comments>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/alchemy-stars-bad-ai-wont-spare-you-the-gacha-grind/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[comicsunearthed]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 08 Oct 2021 19:35:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Game]]></category> <category><![CDATA[alchemy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[bad]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Gacha]]></category> <category><![CDATA[grind]]></category> <category><![CDATA[spare]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Stars]]></category> <category><![CDATA[wont]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.comicsunearthed.com/alchemy-stars-bad-ai-wont-spare-you-the-gacha-grind/</guid> <description><![CDATA[[ad_1] Image: Tourdog Studio Alchemy Stars is certainly an interesting take on an RPG, combining puzzles with turn-based combat. Which is why it’s so frustrating that its autoplay AI isn’t smarter than a fifth grader. Alchemy Stars is a mobile gacha game that launched globally on June 17, and last month crossed 10 million downloads. It boasts gorgeous anime art, a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack, and genuinely challenging, turn-based gameplay that forces players to think on their feet. Being a gacha game, it also suffers one of the genre’s typical limitations: a debilitating resource grind. Many gacha games are notoriously grindy […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> [ad_1]<br /> </p> <div> <figure class="sc-1eow4w5-1 dhDQnh align--bleed js_lazy-image js_marquee-assetfigure" data-id="b04f13b0ed7afcbd7799a09751472e30" data-recommend-id="image://b04f13b0ed7afcbd7799a09751472e30" data-format="jpg" data-width="1280" data-height="720" data-lightbox="true" data-alt="Illustration of an archer, lancer, and mage standing in front of a castle." data-recommended="false" contenteditable="false" draggable="false"> <div class="sc-1eow4w5-2 loxZOX img-wrapper" contenteditable="false" style="max-width:1280px" data-alt="Illustration of an archer, lancer, and mage standing in front of a castle." data-syndicationrights="true" data-imagerights="other-license" data-hidecredit="false"><span class="sc-1eow4w5-0 dnhHtZ js_lightbox-wrapper"></p> <div style="padding-bottom:56.3%" class="sc-1eow4w5-3 lktKQM image-hydration-wrapper"> <div><img alt="Illustration of an archer, lancer, and mage standing in front of a castle." srcset="https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_center,h_80,pg_1,q_80,w_80/b04f13b0ed7afcbd7799a09751472e30.jpg 80w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_140/b04f13b0ed7afcbd7799a09751472e30.jpg 140w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_265/b04f13b0ed7afcbd7799a09751472e30.jpg 265w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_340/b04f13b0ed7afcbd7799a09751472e30.jpg 340w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_490/b04f13b0ed7afcbd7799a09751472e30.jpg 490w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_645/b04f13b0ed7afcbd7799a09751472e30.jpg 645w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_740/b04f13b0ed7afcbd7799a09751472e30.jpg 740w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_965/b04f13b0ed7afcbd7799a09751472e30.jpg 965w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_1165/b04f13b0ed7afcbd7799a09751472e30.jpg 1165w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_1315/b04f13b0ed7afcbd7799a09751472e30.jpg 1315w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_1465/b04f13b0ed7afcbd7799a09751472e30.jpg 1465w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_1600/b04f13b0ed7afcbd7799a09751472e30.jpg 1600w" sizes=" 				(max-width: 25em) calc(100vw - 32px), 				(max-width: 37.31em) calc(100vw - 32px), 				(min-width: 37.37em) and (max-width: 49.94em) calc(100vw - 32px), 				(min-width: 50em) and (max-width: 63.69em) 800px, 				(min-width: 63.75em) and (max-width: 85.19em) calc(66.5vw - 32px), 				800px 			" draggable="auto" data-chomp-id="b04f13b0ed7afcbd7799a09751472e30" data-format="jpg" data-alt="Illustration of an archer, lancer, and mage standing in front of a castle." data-anim-src=""/></div> </div> <p></span></p> <p><figcaption class="sc-7s1ndr-0 ikKPtM no-caption">Image<!-- -->: <!-- -->Tourdog Studio</figcaption></p> </div> <p><span data-id="b04f13b0ed7afcbd7799a09751472e30" data-recommend-id="image://b04f13b0ed7afcbd7799a09751472e30" data-format="jpg" data-width="1280" data-height="720" data-lightbox="true" data-alt="Illustration of an archer, lancer, and mage standing in front of a castle." data-recommended="false" class="js_recommend"/></figure> <p class="sc-77igqf-0 bOfvBY"><em>Alchemy Stars </em>is certainly an interesting take on an RPG, combining puzzles with turn-based combat. Which is why it’s so frustrating that its autoplay AI isn’t smarter than a fifth grader.</p> <p class="sc-77igqf-0 bOfvBY"><em>Alchemy Stars</em> is a mobile <span>gacha</span> <!-- -->game that launched globally on June 17, and last month crossed <span>10 million downloads</span>. It boasts gorgeous anime art, a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack, and genuinely challenging, turn-based gameplay that forces players to think on their feet. Being a gacha game, it also suffers one of the genre’s typical limitations: a debilitating resource grind. </p> <p class="sc-77igqf-0 bOfvBY">Many gacha games are notoriously <span>grindy by design</span>. Some lower-powered gacha characters who possess unique wave-clearing traits have just as much value (if not more, depending on who you ask) as rare boss killers because the vast majority of a gacha game consists of farming for resourc<!-- -->es. New challenging content is only new once; the grind for currency and rank-up materials is forever. After you clear enough battles to level up one character, there’s always another new roster addition to upgrade. I’ve noticed that a lot of gacha players burn out after several weeks or months of grinding resources for their characters. </p> <p class="sc-77igqf-0 bOfvBY">Some games have tried to retain players by allowing them to skip battles entirely. <em>Dragalia Lost</em> has “Skip Tickets” that allow players to collect the rewards without playing or watching the level. <span><em>Arknights</em></span><em> </em>replays levels by using the save data from the player’s manual clear. But <em>Alchemy Stars</em>, bless its heart, replays previously-cleared battles using its hilariously incompetent AI. And by god, it hurts.</p> <aside class="slideshow-inset js_slideshow align--bleed"> <div> <div class="sc-81stkc-17 dJqpbS kinja-slideshow" data-slides="[{"type":"Image","id":"29d84fb82291a4259f39076873bf863a","format":"jpg","width":2182,"height":1080,"alignment":"Bleed","lightbox":true,"caption":[{"type":"Text","value":"Multiple characters in the party run across the red tiles on a battlefield to execute their attacks.","styles":[]}],"attribution":[{"label":"Screenshot","credit":[{"type":"Text","value":"Tourdog Studio","styles":[]}],"source":[{"type":"Text","value":"Fair Use","styles":[]}]}],"syndicationRights":true,"imageRights":"fair-use","altText":null,"editorNotes":null,"hideCredit":false},{"type":"Image","id":"cfd9c36617e0e2148cbb3f5e6ecba338","format":"jpg","width":2176,"height":1080,"alignment":"Bleed","lightbox":true,"caption":[{"type":"Text","value":"An ","styles":[]},{"type":"Text","value":"Alchemy Stars","styles":["Italic"]},{"type":"Text","value":" character uses a special ability that only activates at the end of a long chain.","styles":[]}],"attribution":[{"label":"Screenshot","credit":[{"type":"Text","value":"Tourdog Studio","styles":[]}],"source":[{"type":"Text","value":"Fair Use","styles":[]}]}],"syndicationRights":true,"imageRights":"fair-use","altText":null,"editorNotes":null,"hideCredit":false}]" data-aspect="Wide"> <div class="sc-81stkc-13 dqppYz"> <div class="react-swipe-container sc-81stkc-16 kkfFrW"> <div style="overflow:hidden;display:flex;height:100%;width:100%"> <div class="sc-7y2kxp-7 dJFecv"> <div class="sc-7y2kxp-6 hQlVfi"> <p><figcaption class="sc-7y2kxp-0 ijPDle">Multiple characters in the party run across the red tiles on a battlefield to execute their attacks.</figcaption><figcaption class="sc-7y2kxp-0 ijPDle">Screenshot<!-- -->: <!-- -->Tourdog Studio</figcaption></p> </div> </div> <div class="sc-7y2kxp-7 dJFecv"> <div class="sc-7y2kxp-6 hQlVfi"> <p><figcaption class="sc-7y2kxp-0 ijPDle">An <em>Alchemy Stars</em> character uses a special ability that only activates at the end of a long chain.</figcaption><figcaption class="sc-7y2kxp-0 ijPDle">Screenshot<!-- -->: <!-- -->Tourdog Studio</figcaption></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p><button disabled="" class="j48i5d-2 eFSAeb sc-81stkc-14 dDBVOb"/><button class="j48i5d-2 bBeJfj sc-81stkc-15 loypaG"/></div> </div> </aside> <div class="bxm4mm-19 fIUNXF"> <div class="sc-1atgi65-0 sc-1atgi65-1 bdNdA-D js_commerce-inset-permalink" data-inset-url="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=20387&awinaffid=565391&clickref=IV-&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eneba.com%2Fus%2Fxbox-xbox-game-pass-ultimate-3-month-membership-xbox-one-windows-10-xbox-live-key-global%2Fgames-key-shop" data-inset-category="CommerceInsetMobile"> <p>G/O Media may get a commission</p> </div> </div> <p class="sc-77igqf-0 bOfvBY">The game has you defeat monsters by connecting same-colored tiles on a board. If a player links up a certain number of tiles, then the characters in the party may perform a special area-of-effect attack. Higher tile counts confer better multipliers, but there are situations where being closer to the enemies is more important than combo count. </p> <p class="sc-77igqf-0 bOfvBY">Unfortunately, the AI didn’t quite get the memo. When I put<em> Alchemy Stars</em> on autoplay, I have to flip my phone face down. It’s too painful to watch the game land a perfect combo…so far away from the enemies that none of the ensuing AoE attacks hit. Alternatively, the game wouldn’t connect all the possible tiles, even if they were very obviously adjacent to one another. And nothing is worse than having the AI use up my characters’ special abilities to change the colors of tiles that wouldn’t benefit the combo. </p> <p class="sc-77igqf-0 bOfvBY">It’s funny when live humans are bad at a game. They’ll improve over time. But it’s excruciating when the AI never gets better, and is taking far more turns to clear levels than I would at my worst. And unlike competing strategic gacha game <em>Arknights</em>, <em>Alchemy Stars</em>’s locks me out of overriding the computer whenever the battle gets tricky. Worse, I can’t close out of a battle early to do something else. As soon as I set the battle to auto, my game is tied up by an AI playing matches badly.</p> <p class="sc-77igqf-0 bOfvBY">Also, in games like this, watching the computer play the game is often part of the spectacle. Just like how viewers might engage in a video game through watching their favorite streamer, I find entertainment value in watching a formidable computer player fight through automated matches. I also want to see how a computer might defeat bosses so that I can come up with new solutions for similar content. <em>Alchemy Stars</em> doesn’t quite deliver on any of these aspects. I expected automated battles to be soothing. Instead, I find myself grinding the game manually so that I can at least experience the serotonin of watching beautiful combo executions. </p> <p class="sc-77igqf-0 bOfvBY">I’ve played enough PvP in strategy games to realize that skilled humans are a lot smarter than machines. But I’m not asking for this game to be a world-class strategist. I just want an AI that can actually do its thing without making me die from cringing. </p> <p class="sc-77igqf-0 bOfvBY"> </p> </div> <p>[ad_2]</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/alchemy-stars-bad-ai-wont-spare-you-the-gacha-grind/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Learn to Code: Is Hollywood About to Grind to a Halt?</title> <link>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/learn-to-code-is-hollywood-about-to-grind-to-a-halt/</link> <comments>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/learn-to-code-is-hollywood-about-to-grind-to-a-halt/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[comicsunearthed]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 05 Oct 2021 23:10:55 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Comics News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[code]]></category> <category><![CDATA[grind]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Halt]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Hollywood]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Learn]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.comicsunearthed.com/learn-to-code-is-hollywood-about-to-grind-to-a-halt/</guid> <description><![CDATA[[ad_1] Twitter Facebook Tumblr Email Following many weeks of contentious meetings and tough negotiations, Hollywood union workers have decisively decided to authorize an industry-wide strike, which will halt film and television production. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, or IATSE, announced over the weekend that 90 percent of 60,000 eligible voters voted in favor of strike authorization, with more than 98 percent in favor. In total, the union represents 150,000 crew workers in the United States and Canada. According to CNBC, this is the first time the union has authorized a strike in its 128-year history. […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> [ad_1]<br /> </p> <div> <p> <button class="simplesocial-twt-share" data-href="https://twitter.com/share?text=Learn+to+Code%3A+Is+Hollywood+About+to+Grind+to+a+Halt%3F&url=https://bleedingfool.com/news/learn-to-code-is-hollywood-about-to-grind-to-a-halt/&via=bleedingfool" rel="nofollow" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Twitter</span> </button> <button class="simplesocial-fb-share" target="_blank" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://bleedingfool.com/news/learn-to-code-is-hollywood-about-to-grind-to-a-halt/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Facebook </span> </button> <button class="simplesocial-tumblr-share" data-href="http://tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool?canonicalUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fbleedingfool.com%2Fnews%2Flearn-to-code-is-hollywood-about-to-grind-to-a-halt%2F" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Tumblr</span> </button> <button onclick="javascript:window.location.href = this.dataset.href;return false;" class="simplesocial-email-share" data-href="mailto:?subject=Learn+to+Code%3A+Is+Hollywood+About+to+Grind+to+a+Halt%3F&body=https://bleedingfool.com/news/learn-to-code-is-hollywood-about-to-grind-to-a-halt/"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Email</span></button></p> <p><img decoding="async" class="lazy lazy-hidden aligncenter size-full wp-image-59883" data-lazy-type="image" src="https://www.comicsunearthed.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/HOLLYWOOD-WORKERS-READY-TO-STRIKE.jpg" alt="" width="740" height="416" /></p> <p><noscript><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-59883" src="https://www.comicsunearthed.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/1633475586_832_HOLLYWOOD-WORKERS-READY-TO-STRIKE.jpg" alt="" width="740" height="416" /></noscript></p> <p> </p> <p>Following many weeks of contentious meetings and tough negotiations, Hollywood union workers have decisively decided to authorize an industry-wide strike, which will halt film and television production.</p> <p> </p> <p>The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, or IATSE, announced over the weekend that 90 percent of 60,000 eligible voters voted in favor of strike authorization, with more than 98 percent in favor. In total, the union represents 150,000 crew workers in the United States and Canada. According to CNBC, this is the first time the union has authorized a strike in its 128-year history.</p> <p> </p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees said 90% of eligible voters cast ballots over the weekend, with more than 98% in support of strike authorization.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">“The members have spoken loud and clear,” Matthew Loeb, president of IATSE, said in a statement Monday. “This vote is about the quality of life as well as the health and safety of those who work in the film and television industry. Our people have basic human needs like time for meal breaks, adequate sleep, and a weekend. For those at the bottom of the pay scale, they deserve nothing less than a living wage.<strong>″</strong></p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">The vote comes after months of failed negotiations between the union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents major film and television production companies.</p> <p> </p> <p>These demands follow one of the industry’s most turbulent periods, when productions battled a global pandemic to guarantee studios had content to provide to customers. In addition, the epidemic has permanently altered the production ecology. Consumers have been locked at home for the past 18 months, watching TV programs and movies.</p> <p> </p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="lazy lazy-hidden aligncenter size-full wp-image-52731" data-lazy-type="image" src="https://www.comicsunearthed.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hollywood-burning.jpg" alt="" width="594" height="289" /></p> <p><noscript><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52731" src="https://www.comicsunearthed.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/1633475586_850_hollywood-burning.jpg" alt="" width="594" height="289" /></noscript></p> <p> </p> <p>This increase in viewership has resulted in enormous increases in subscriptions and subscription prices for streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, and Amazon Prime Video. It has also prompted these platforms to seek for additional material and increase their production volume. IATSE members have been asked to work longer hours as the number of projects has increased, but compensation has not kept pace, according to the union. The IATSE has also revealed that producers like Netflix, Amazon, Warner Bros. and Walt Disney refused to respond to its latest proposals after the union’s contract expired earlier this month.</p> <p> </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font" style="padding-left: 40px;">‘This failure to continue negotiating can only be interpreted one way,’ the IATSE said in a statement Monday. ‘They simply will not address the core issues we have repeatedly advocated for from the beginning. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font" style="padding-left: 40px;">‘As a result, we will now proceed with a nationwide strike authorization vote to demonstrate our commitment to achieving the change that is long overdue in this industry,’ the statement declared. </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The contract affects more than 43,000 of workers in the film and entertainment industry, working in live theater, motion picture and television production, trade shows and exhibitions, television broadcasting, and concerts – as well as the equipment and construction shops that support those industries.</p> <p> </p> <p>According to the Daily Mail, the AMPTP has been addressing the union’s demands, to no avail:</p> <p> </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font" style="padding-left: 40px;">In a statement, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said it had ‘listened and addressed’ many of the union’s demands, including increasing minimum pay rates for certain types of new-media productions and footing the bill for a nearly $400-million pension and health-plan deficit.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font" style="padding-left: 40px;">‘When we began negotiations with the IATSE months ago, we discussed the economic realities and the challenges facing the entertainment industry as we work to recover from the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic,’ the organization said. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font" style="padding-left: 40px;">‘In choosing to leave the bargaining table to seek a strike authorization vote, the IATSE leadership walked away from a generous comprehensive package.’</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font" style="padding-left: 40px;">If the union does elect to have a vote for a strike, and that vote is indeed successful, a widespread walkout by IATSE members will not necessary follow – but it does gives union leaders more wiggle-room in talks with studios, as they would then have the legal ability to cease work on productions at a crucial time.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"> </p> <p>This feels like little more than a last ditch attempt to get more blood from an already hemorrhaging industry. And yet I expect this will go to the very end, with the union eventually caving because Hollywood doesn’t have any extra money. Hollywood seems willfully bling to the real issue affecting the market. It isn’t pay scales or the cost of production. It’s that most of the films and projects they put out these days are garbage or woke or both. Add to that the fact that most of the producers and stars hate the audience anyway, their gross fealty to China, and box office sales are way, WAY down. Hollywood is on a trajectory of failure of their own making.</p> <p> </p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="lazy lazy-hidden aligncenter size-full wp-image-59882" data-lazy-type="image" src="https://www.comicsunearthed.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/enhanced-8284-1392052227-9.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" /></p> <p><noscript><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-59882" src="https://www.comicsunearthed.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/1633475586_741_enhanced-8284-1392052227-9.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" /></noscript></p> <p> </p> <p>Maybe life without Hollywood for a little while would be better for all of us. Meanwhile, here is some advice for anyone out of a job when the strike takes place: learn to code.</p> <p> </p> <p> <button class="simplesocial-twt-share" data-href="https://twitter.com/share?text=Learn+to+Code%3A+Is+Hollywood+About+to+Grind+to+a+Halt%3F&url=https://bleedingfool.com/news/learn-to-code-is-hollywood-about-to-grind-to-a-halt/&via=bleedingfool" rel="nofollow" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Twitter</span> </button> <button class="simplesocial-fb-share" target="_blank" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://bleedingfool.com/news/learn-to-code-is-hollywood-about-to-grind-to-a-halt/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Facebook </span> </button> <button class="simplesocial-tumblr-share" data-href="http://tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool?canonicalUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fbleedingfool.com%2Fnews%2Flearn-to-code-is-hollywood-about-to-grind-to-a-halt%2F" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Tumblr</span> </button> <button onclick="javascript:window.location.href = this.dataset.href;return false;" class="simplesocial-email-share" data-href="mailto:?subject=Learn+to+Code%3A+Is+Hollywood+About+to+Grind+to+a+Halt%3F&body=https://bleedingfool.com/news/learn-to-code-is-hollywood-about-to-grind-to-a-halt/"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Email</span></button></p> <p> <!-- AI CONTENT END 2 --></div> <p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br /> <br />[ad_2]</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/learn-to-code-is-hollywood-about-to-grind-to-a-halt/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Grind the herbs yourself in alchemy simulator Potion Craft</title> <link>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/grind-the-herbs-yourself-in-alchemy-simulator-potion-craft/</link> <comments>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/grind-the-herbs-yourself-in-alchemy-simulator-potion-craft/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[comicsunearthed]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sun, 26 Sep 2021 20:16:58 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Game]]></category> <category><![CDATA[alchemy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[craft]]></category> <category><![CDATA[grind]]></category> <category><![CDATA[herbs]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Potion]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Simulator]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.comicsunearthed.com/grind-the-herbs-yourself-in-alchemy-simulator-potion-craft/</guid> <description><![CDATA[[ad_1] Who’s in the mood for a little slice-of-life game about being an alchemist in a fantasy world? I’m sure one of you is, and I am, so here’s Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator. It’s a game where you do all the work of being a magical alchemist, including physically interacting with the tools. Those leaves don’t just express their own oils, you’ll have to get the mortar and pestle out to mash them up yourself. In Potion Craft as it is now, you gather materials, refine them in pots, alembics, and other such alchemy machines, and then turn them into […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> [ad_1]<br /> </p> <div id="article-body"> <p>Who’s in the mood for a little slice-of-life game about being an alchemist in a fantasy world? I’m sure one of you is, and I am, so here’s Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator. It’s a game where you do all the work of being a magical alchemist, including physically interacting with the tools. Those leaves don’t just express their own oils, you’ll have to get the mortar and pestle out to mash them up yourself.</p> <p>In Potion Craft as it is now, you gather materials, refine them in pots, alembics, and other such alchemy machines, and then turn them into potions. You discover what ingredients are good for yourself, creating new and more efficient or interesting recipes based on that experimentation. At the same time you run your shop, attracting customers and finding an audience for those new recipes. All the while, your real goal is to craft a philosopher’s stone.</p> <aside class="hawk-nest" data-render-type="fte" data-skip="dealsy" data-widget-type="seasonal"/> <p>When he tried out a demo earlier t his year, our Fraser Brown said that Potion Craft had “finally given me a crafting system I don’t have.”</p> <figure class=" inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check=""> <div class="image-full-width-wrapper"> <div class="image-widthsetter" style="max-width:2560px;"> <p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.25%;"><picture><source type="image/webp" alt="Potion Craft" class=" lazy-image-van optional-image" onerror="if(this.src && this.src.indexOf('missing-image.svg') !== -1){return true;};this.parentNode.replaceChild(window.missingImage(),this)" data-normal="https://www.comicsunearthed.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/missing-image.svg.svg+xml" data- data-original-mos="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xyDUFNhasakUJRV2czunZK.jpg" data-pin-media="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xyDUFNhasakUJRV2czunZK.jpg"/><source type="image/jpeg" alt="Potion Craft" class=" lazy-image-van optional-image" onerror="if(this.src && this.src.indexOf('missing-image.svg') !== -1){return true;};this.parentNode.replaceChild(window.missingImage(),this)" data-normal="https://www.comicsunearthed.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/missing-image.svg.svg+xml" data- data-original-mos="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xyDUFNhasakUJRV2czunZK.jpg" data-pin-media="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xyDUFNhasakUJRV2czunZK.jpg"/><img decoding="async" src="https://www.comicsunearthed.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/missing-image.svg.svg+xml" alt="Potion Craft" class=" lazy-image-van optional-image" onerror="if(this.src && this.src.indexOf('missing-image.svg') !== -1){return true;};this.parentNode.replaceChild(window.missingImage(),this)" data-normal="https://www.comicsunearthed.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/missing-image.svg.svg+xml" data- data-original-mos="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xyDUFNhasakUJRV2czunZK.jpg" data-pin-media="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xyDUFNhasakUJRV2czunZK.jpg"/></picture></p> </div> </div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: tinyBuild)</span></figcaption></figure> <figure class=" inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check=""> <div class="image-full-width-wrapper"> <div class="image-widthsetter" style="max-width:1946px;"> <p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:61.51%;"><picture><source type="image/webp" alt="Potion Craft" class=" lazy-image-van optional-image" onerror="if(this.src && this.src.indexOf('missing-image.svg') !== -1){return true;};this.parentNode.replaceChild(window.missingImage(),this)" data-normal="https://www.comicsunearthed.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/missing-image.svg.svg+xml" data- data-original-mos="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uWiKokmLsHqRN74jGaB96K.jpg" data-pin-media="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uWiKokmLsHqRN74jGaB96K.jpg"/><source type="image/jpeg" alt="Potion Craft" class=" lazy-image-van optional-image" onerror="if(this.src && this.src.indexOf('missing-image.svg') !== -1){return true;};this.parentNode.replaceChild(window.missingImage(),this)" data-normal="https://www.comicsunearthed.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/missing-image.svg.svg+xml" data- data-original-mos="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uWiKokmLsHqRN74jGaB96K.jpg" data-pin-media="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uWiKokmLsHqRN74jGaB96K.jpg"/><img decoding="async" src="https://www.comicsunearthed.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/missing-image.svg.svg+xml" alt="Potion Craft" class=" lazy-image-van optional-image" onerror="if(this.src && this.src.indexOf('missing-image.svg') !== -1){return true;};this.parentNode.replaceChild(window.missingImage(),this)" data-normal="https://www.comicsunearthed.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/missing-image.svg.svg+xml" data- data-original-mos="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uWiKokmLsHqRN74jGaB96K.jpg" data-pin-media="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uWiKokmLsHqRN74jGaB96K.jpg"/></picture></p> </div> </div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: tinyBuild)</span></figcaption></figure> <p>Potion Craft is in early access right now, with enough stuff going on for “dozens of hours” in the alchemical sandbox. You can find Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator on Steam. It’s developed by niceplay games and published by tinyBuild.</p> </div> <p>[ad_2]</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/grind-the-herbs-yourself-in-alchemy-simulator-potion-craft/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>I’m only a few hours into New World, but the grind is already frustrating</title> <link>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/im-only-a-few-hours-into-new-world-but-the-grind-is-already-frustrating/</link> <comments>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/im-only-a-few-hours-into-new-world-but-the-grind-is-already-frustrating/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[comicsunearthed]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 30 Jul 2021 16:04:56 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Game]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Frustrating]]></category> <category><![CDATA[grind]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Hours]]></category> <category><![CDATA[World]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.comicsunearthed.com/im-only-a-few-hours-into-new-world-but-the-grind-is-already-frustrating/</guid> <description><![CDATA[[ad_1] Jumping into a new MMO for the first time should be exciting. You can’t beat the buzz of making it through the introductory quests, when the world opens up before you and you get to explore a vast new world. Unfortunately, I’m eight hours into New World, and I haven’t had that feeling yet. You start with a basic sword and shield, which would be fine if the combat—and movement in general—didn’t feel quite so clunky. Your dodge ability doesn’t seem particularly effective either, though that may improve as you upgrade specific stats or gear. In the meantime, I […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> [ad_1]<br /> </p> <div id="article-body"> <p>Jumping into a new MMO for the first time should be exciting. You can’t beat the buzz of making it through the introductory quests, when the world opens up before you and you get to explore a vast new world.</p> <p>Unfortunately, I’m eight hours into New World, and I haven’t had that feeling yet.</p> <aside class="hawk-nest" data-render-type="fte" data-skip="dealsy" data-widget-type="seasonal"/> <p>You start with a basic sword and shield, which would be fine if the combat—and movement in general—didn’t feel quite so clunky. Your dodge ability doesn’t seem particularly effective either, though that may improve as you upgrade specific stats or gear. In the meantime, I guess that’s why you have a shield. </p> <p>I’d rather play a ranged class, though, and I was relieved to find a bow quite quickly. But much like Fraser’s dilemma of <u>needing bullets for his musket</u>, I found I’d need arrows if I wanted to use it. </p> <p>The world of Aeternum really is beautiful, though you won’t discover this until you leave the beach area where you first wash up. From abandoned farmsteads to lush woodlands, there’s plenty of screenshot material out there. And I was particularly struck by the housing style at Light’s Hope, the first big settlement I encountered. The massive ship in the middle of town gives the whole place real character—and more importantly—gave me some incentive to play on to see what other settlements and areas had to offer.</p> <figure class=" inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check=""> <div class="image-full-width-wrapper"> <div class="image-widthsetter" style="max-width:2560px;"> <p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.25%;"><picture><source type="image/webp" alt="New World" class="expandable lazy-image-van optional-image" onerror="if(this.src && this.src.indexOf('missing-image.svg') !== -1){return true;};this.parentNode.replaceChild(window.missingImage(),this)" data-normal="https://vanilla.futurecdn.net/pcgamer/media/img/missing-image.svg" data- data-original-mos="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8oeqCwjuNLRzTYwPCjvvTk.jpg" data-pin-media="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8oeqCwjuNLRzTYwPCjvvTk.jpg"/><source type="image/jpeg" alt="New World" class="expandable lazy-image-van optional-image" onerror="if(this.src && this.src.indexOf('missing-image.svg') !== -1){return true;};this.parentNode.replaceChild(window.missingImage(),this)" data-normal="https://vanilla.futurecdn.net/pcgamer/media/img/missing-image.svg" data- data-original-mos="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8oeqCwjuNLRzTYwPCjvvTk.jpg" data-pin-media="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8oeqCwjuNLRzTYwPCjvvTk.jpg"/><img decoding="async" src="https://vanilla.futurecdn.net/pcgamer/media/img/missing-image.svg" alt="New World" class="expandable lazy-image-van optional-image" onerror="if(this.src && this.src.indexOf('missing-image.svg') !== -1){return true;};this.parentNode.replaceChild(window.missingImage(),this)" data-normal="https://vanilla.futurecdn.net/pcgamer/media/img/missing-image.svg" data- data-original-mos="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8oeqCwjuNLRzTYwPCjvvTk.jpg" data-pin-media="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8oeqCwjuNLRzTYwPCjvvTk.jpg"/></picture></p> </div> </div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Amazon Game Studios)</span></figcaption></figure> <p>On my way to the town, I abandoned the idea of using the bow purely because keeping track of arrow usage seems like a huge pain. After checking my character sheet to see what I could equip, I decided to concentrate my efforts on getting a fire staff instead. There were plenty of quests around the settlement, and I was introduced to the intensive crafting system, giving me a use for the vast amounts of materials I’d acquired. But I soon discovered that I’d need a very specific material to craft my fire staff, so I resigned myself to continuing with sword and shield for the time being.</p> <p>Quests sent me out of the Light’s Hope settlement, but it was painful to venture into areas inhabited by the Corrupted—and I’m sure my awkwardness with the weapons didn’t help. Enemies spawn with frightening regularity, and searching for quest items in areas highly populated by enemies means a lot of work—especially if other players aren’t around to help thin them out. One particular quest required me to kill and loot a named enemy, located in a big tent with other Corrupted nearby. I had to kill at least three or four of these to reach my target, but by the time I engaged him, the others started to respawn. So naturally, I died. When the same thing happened the next time, I learned my lesson and ran away. On the next attempt, I grouped up with another player, and we both died.</p> <p>Frustrated, I decided to abandon the quest and head back to town. This is when, to my surprise, I found a fire staff in my bag. Where did that come from? Excited for the first time since logging in, I went to equip it, only to discover that I needed to be level 13. Okay, that’s fine. I was level 11. I could do this.</p> <figure class=" inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check=""> <div class="image-full-width-wrapper"> <div class="image-widthsetter" style="max-width:2560px;"> <p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.25%;"><picture><source type="image/webp" alt="New World" class="expandable lazy-image-van optional-image" onerror="if(this.src && this.src.indexOf('missing-image.svg') !== -1){return true;};this.parentNode.replaceChild(window.missingImage(),this)" data-normal="https://vanilla.futurecdn.net/pcgamer/media/img/missing-image.svg" data- data-original-mos="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2iEouZrzt5LPmPpGgkhpdC.jpg" data-pin-media="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2iEouZrzt5LPmPpGgkhpdC.jpg"/><source type="image/jpeg" alt="New World" class="expandable lazy-image-van optional-image" onerror="if(this.src && this.src.indexOf('missing-image.svg') !== -1){return true;};this.parentNode.replaceChild(window.missingImage(),this)" data-normal="https://vanilla.futurecdn.net/pcgamer/media/img/missing-image.svg" data- data-original-mos="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2iEouZrzt5LPmPpGgkhpdC.jpg" data-pin-media="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2iEouZrzt5LPmPpGgkhpdC.jpg"/><img decoding="async" src="https://vanilla.futurecdn.net/pcgamer/media/img/missing-image.svg" alt="New World" class="expandable lazy-image-van optional-image" onerror="if(this.src && this.src.indexOf('missing-image.svg') !== -1){return true;};this.parentNode.replaceChild(window.missingImage(),this)" data-normal="https://vanilla.futurecdn.net/pcgamer/media/img/missing-image.svg" data- data-original-mos="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2iEouZrzt5LPmPpGgkhpdC.jpg" data-pin-media="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2iEouZrzt5LPmPpGgkhpdC.jpg"/></picture></p> </div> </div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Amazon Game Studios)</span></figcaption></figure> <p>After looking through some of the quests on the Town Projects board, I settled on some reasonably tame looking fetch quests nearby. I was hugely resentful that the game was forcing me to grind levels so early just to equip my weapon of choice, so I opted for gathering or crafting quests, though a quest to kill 20 boars seemed pretty chill, so I picked that up too.</p> <p>I’m almost level 13 now and hope to begin my New World journey properly and in the way I want to play it. I’m fully aware that it’s too early to judge the game as a whole, but I usually find some excitement to push me through the early stages of most MMOs. So far, New World just feels incredibly grindy and frustrating, made worse by certain weapons seemingly locked behind level requirements. I’m sure I’ve barely brushed the surface of what Amazon’s MMO has to offer—I just didn’t expect to have to do so much, so early on, in order to unlock a playstyle I might enjoy.</p> </div> <p>[ad_2]</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.comicsunearthed.com/im-only-a-few-hours-into-new-world-but-the-grind-is-already-frustrating/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> </channel> </rss>