What are you currently playing?

happyninja42

Elite Member
Legacy
May 13, 2010
8,577
2,982
118
Very Hard Mode is where it gets really bad. Everything is nearly a damage sponge, and everyone does double the damage. You have to be at a very high level. Weapons included too.
Do you have to play on the harder difficulties to get a better chance of the higher quality seals dropping? is it tied to the level of the mission you are doing? Because i'm farming for weapons for fusion, and even with the seal that improves quality of weapon drops, mostly what we get is 0-1 Tier stuff. Tier 2 stuff is almost never seen, or if it does, its for shit traits like loot from grass :/
 

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
26,993
11,310
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
Do you have to play on the harder difficulties to get a better chance of the higher quality seals dropping? is it tied to the level of the mission you are doing? Because i'm farming for weapons for fusion, and even with the seal that improves quality of weapon drops, mostly what we get is 0-1 Tier stuff. Tier 2 stuff is almost never seen, or if it does, its for shit traits like loot from grass :/
Yes. I don't know all the details, but that is how it usually works in these Musou/Warriors games. The harder the difficulty, the more likely you will get high quality or powerful versions of weapon. Constantly playing on Normal will get you low rewards most of the time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: happyninja42

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
26,993
11,310
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
I played a little Anarchy Reigns again, and this game is still fun! Why didn't Sega promotes this enough? It makes no sense! Even though you can't play online. you can still do the multiplayer modes with bots, and thankfully, they are competent and not pushovers. I prefer the survival mode where you team up and fight waves of enemies. There are a multitude modes: Cage Match, Battleroyale, Tag Team, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and even Death Ball. Sega, fucking re-release this on modern consoles and PC already. There is no reason not to do it. One more thing, it's great to have an over the shoulder brawler with a jump button. Thanks, Platinum!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dirty Hipsters

Dirty Hipsters

This is how we praise the sun!
Legacy
Feb 7, 2011
7,927
2,290
118
Country
'Merica
Gender
3 children in a trench coat
I played a little Anarchy Reigns again, and this game is still fun! Why didn't Sega promotes this enough? It makes no sense! Even though you can't play online. you can still do the multiplayer modes with bots, and thankfully, they are competent and not pushovers. I prefer the survival mode where you team up and fight waves of enemies. There are a multitude modes: Cage Match, Battleroyale, Tag Team, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and even Death Ball. Sega, fucking re-release this on modern consoles and PC already. There is no reason not to do it. One more thing, it's great to have an over the shoulder brawler with a jump button. Thanks, Platinum!
Yeah, I miss this game.

It's definitely a game with limited appeal, which is why it was never promoted. I think Sega thought it was too "wacky" for a western audience. It would probably have done better on modern consoles than it did with the 7th generation.

The sound track in the game was killer, I have some of the songs in my workout playlist.

Never got too into the multiplayer since it was very unbalanced, but I'll admit that it was a lot of fun despite being pretty jank. Durga FTW.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BrawlMan

Dalisclock

Making lemons combustible again
Legacy
Escapist +
Feb 9, 2008
11,244
7,023
118
A Barrel In the Marketplace
Country
Eagleland
Gender
Male
I don't recall the difficulty changing for the Knight/Soldier/Mercenary slider, but it does effect the enemy aces that show up. The 'boss' fights in essence, when they show up there's typically a bit of a scene and it flashes their squadron name like SORCERER or whatever. Which also effects which planes get unlocked, IIRC you unlock different planes for fighting the different enemy ace groups. And I think you get different cutscenes during the ace interviews, but I'm not super sure anymore. Not all enemy aces are variable though, you get the same enemy aces for some levels regardless of you alignment.

Story-wise it's just a bit of a history lesson regarding the Belkan war that gets talked about a bunch in AC5 so it's not too interesting, but there's some nice moments here and there. I actually got bored of AC0 a few times and it took me a few tries to actually go through it all.
I heard some of the squadrons you get on Mercenary are either harder or more numerous then ones you get on soldier/knight, but that could be wrong, of course.
 

wings012

Elite Member
Legacy
Jan 7, 2011
856
307
68
Country
Malaysia
I heard some of the squadrons you get on Mercenary are either harder or more numerous then ones you get on soldier/knight, but that could be wrong, of course.
It's probably subjective as to which is harder, since some of them have different gimmicks. But I haven't really played and scrutinized AC0 to such a degree that I would know which enemy ace squadron is harder, so I won't refute that maybe one alignment is harder than another.

I recall a Knight(?) squadron having a false lock on signal gimmick and that really threw me of a loop. I was wondering why my missiles were missing, then I realized trying to fly close to them that there were a lot of false signals and you had to visually confirm that you had a valid lock. That's the only enemy ace squadron that stood out to me. The rest were just the usual a bunch of guys outnumbering you who are really hard to hit.
 

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
26,993
11,310
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
I think Sega thought it was too "wacky" for a western audience.
If that is Sega's justification, it's hypocritical and makes no sense. They already had plenty of wacky M-Rated games in the 7th generation before Anarchy Reigns. Bayonetta, Mad World (though it's darker and more depressing despite the wacky and comedic moments), and House of the Dead Overkill. Even Vanquish to a lesser extent. I know this was still around the "grim and gritty" era, but even by 2012-13, most gamers/people were getting sick and tired by that point. Other than many high profile AAA studios. It took nearly 2014-15 for them to get the fucking point.

The sound track in the game was killer, I have some of the songs in my workout playlist.
Got plenty of songs and the most of the Mad World ost on my mp3 player.

It would probably have done better on modern consoles than it did with the 7th generation.
No arguement there. Especially when it was one of the first of its kind. Though according to @Phoenixmgs, MGS4's online multiplayer beat everyone to the punch of the battle royale craze. He's not wrong, but Anarchy is the only Hero/Battle Royale brawler that is unique to all of the other shooters.
 

Worgen

Follower of the Glorious Sun Butt.
Legacy
Apr 1, 2009
14,491
3,437
118
Gender
Whatever, just wash your hands.
PLAY IT NOW!
Ok, I did start it up, its pretty awesome. But, it still feels more simplistic then something like Fight N Rage. But I consider Fight N Rage a top tier brawler.
 

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
26,993
11,310
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
Ok, I did start it up, its pretty awesome. But, it still feels more simplistic then something like Fight N Rage. But I consider Fight N Rage a top tier brawler.
I disagree with you there. It's not that simplistic, even when compared to Fight N Rage. I will give FNR give credit for more enemy variety, weapons (melee weapons are lacking The TakeOver and were a last minute addition), and bonus content. Top tier in that department, but I hate the checkpoint system and the fact the games drags. The TakeOver has a little of that problem, but it's a much shorter game. BTW, did you get the Switch version or Steam? The PS4 version is taking forever for a dumb reason involving Sony.


Once you experiment with the combat and learn how to juggle properly, the gameplay opens up even more.

 

Dirty Hipsters

This is how we praise the sun!
Legacy
Feb 7, 2011
7,927
2,290
118
Country
'Merica
Gender
3 children in a trench coat
If that is Sega's justification, it's hypocritical and makes no sense. They already had plenty of wacky M-Rated games in the 7th generation before Anarchy Reigns. Bayonetta, Mad World (though it's darker and more depressing despite the wacky and comedic moments), and House of the Dead Overkill. Even Vanquish to a lesser extent. I know this was still around the "grim and gritty" era, but even by 2012-13, most gamers/people were getting sick and tired by that point. Other than many high profile AAA studios. It took nearly 2014-15 for them to get the fucking point.
The problem is none of those games did that great in sales despite all being awesome games (although I kinda hate Madworld because the art design makes my eyes hurt).
 

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
26,993
11,310
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
The problem is none of those games did that great in sales despite all being awesome games (although I kinda hate Madworld because the art design makes my eyes hurt).
Bayonetta did okay depending on the console. The 360 sales were decent in the US/UK, but horrible in Asia/Japan. While the PS3 version sold the most in Japan/Asia, but did horrible with the 360 in those territories. Ironic, because the PS3 version is still the worst way to play the game. HotD Overkill did a little better on HD consoles and PC, but your point still stands. Mad World my eyes rarely had issues with looking. It was awkward at first, but only took me about 10-15 minutes to adjust. I know everyone is different, but from what I remember, most people adjusted fine or rarely had the eye strain. Even with taking the lack of sales in to account, it was a dumb boneheaded move on Sega's part. Had they released the game originally as scheduled for a simultaneous release for all regions and bothered to promote the fucking game! They would have made some type of profit. What's worse is that they did not bother to tell Platinum about the date change (Q1 of 2013) for Western release until after the announcement. Pulling a Capcom sized dick move. The 2010s is where I was so nearly done with Sega by this time. Due to them chickening out, they lost even more money. A shitty and similar scenario that would happen with Rayman Legends not too long later.
 

Chupathingy

CONTROL Agent
Legacy
Apr 3, 2020
212
140
48
And of course, I want to see if "Belka Did Nothing Wrong" is a legitimate viewpoint or the memetic version of "Stabbed in the back" and "The lost cause of the Confederacy", because AC5 didn't give me much reason to like Belka very much.
Dude, you need to learn how to relax and recognise a joke.

Apparently this acts as a dynamic difficulty slider because boss squadrons who show up every so often will be easier or harder depending on how much of a bastard you are, aside from people treating you like a hero or an asshole.
I wouldn't call it a difficulty slider per se, though one of the hardest squadrons in the game IMO is fought in the mercenary 'path'.
 

Gergar12

Elite Member
Legacy
Apr 24, 2020
3,383
809
118
Country
United States
I could make a guide, but I am too lazy. Also hot-takes incoming.

I know another Genshin impact post, but here is a tip for all players who plan to stay. Do not let the main player base lie to you. Yes at endgame you need a team of main DPS, sub-DPS, support, and either another sub DPS, support or healer. But when you are leveling through the game, 3-4 of your team needs to fight. Yes, I know you can do sick elemental reactions, but once that main DPS dies your screwed. Also, I am biased since I do not like backing down, most players teleport away from a fight in a fight which you can do, but I am taking out those 4 ruin guards in one try even if it kills ¾ of my characters.

Also, another tip summons of characters > weapons unless you are a whale. The reason I said this is simple really, there is in theory no nerfs, but there are de-facto nerfs.
Let me explain; when the enemies or activities get buffed, and your character does not that is a de-facto nerf. So get as many 4 stars (ideally all of them), and some five stars as possible so that you can diversify, and when one character is no longer fun, and or useful you can switch to another.

Another tip, pity hits at 90 summons so you will get a five star at 90 summons, pick the 5-star banner character that you want. Screw the meta, look up the character on YouTube, do the character demo, and see if you like it, oh if you are a try-hard (kind of me, kind of not) you could look up this tier list. My first five stars were Xiao, and my second was Diluc because I liked their fighting styles, and Xiao’s fast attacks fit me, also I got lucky with RNG.

(seriously look this up, once every decimal patch 1.3 -> 1.,4)

Another tip, reactions, reactions, water + ice good, water + fire good, ice + electric good, wind + anything but geo good. Geo is designed for shields.

At endgame your talents and artifacts are the most important thing unless you didn’t level your main, and sub-DPS, do that.

Explore the world, upgrade your statue of the seven, look up a guide on quests, but don’t do what other players are telling you to do which is to look up every statue of the seven geo-oculus. One I am biased, but unless you’re a try-hard that sounds boring, and fetch quests. Do natural progression, there is no PVP, if there is in the future do it at all costs. Also, unlock all fast travel points.

Also, I know some player who is further up than me will tell me I am bullshit which is true in some ways, but it’s a game, have fun, there is no PVP. (yet).

As for whether you should spend money on this game… Do you enjoy it, and will play it, and not play other games -> yes, if no don’t. For me, since there are no games coming out that I like, and I hate PVP-based progression, and yet love live service this game is a dream come true for me.

More tips coming soon.

Also, I am not that good at the game as I played the game late, but I am better than most, just not youtubers, and hardcore redditors who play, and or whales.

Edit: At endgame, healing sucks unless you use Bennett who buffs your attack.

Edit2: Ice + fire is good as well.
 

stroopwafel

Elite Member
Jul 16, 2013
3,031
357
88
Little Nightmares 2. Cute adventure with a terrific artstyle. Just like the first it's worth playing for the animations alone. Also been playing Ys 9 which I've been enjoying a lot. I really like the setting of Balduq and it's inhabitants. Like every Ys game it shows it's budget compared to like a Squeenix production but it has an artisinal quality that is very charming. Also been playing the Nioh remasters and the high framerate and almost non-existent loading times make these phenomenal action-rpg's even better.
 

Satinavian

Elite Member
Legacy
Apr 30, 2016
1,721
674
118
I could make a guide, but I am too lazy. Also hot-takes incoming.

I know another Genshin impact post, but here is a tip for all players who plan to stay. Do not let the main player base lie to you. Yes at endgame you need a team of main DPS, sub-DPS, support, and either another sub DPS, support or healer. But when you are leveling through the game, 3-4 of your team needs to fight. Yes, I know you can do sick elemental reactions, but once that main DPS dies your screwed. Also, I am biased since I do not like backing down, most players teleport away from a fight in a fight which you can do, but I am taking out those 4 ruin guards in one try even if it kills ¾ of my characters.
Nice that you are still playing it. Wasn't sure. I do so as well.

Now outside of Spiral Abyss the game is not that hard, so choose characters you like and ignore the meta. Having a main dps is consequence of how expensive it is to properly outfit a character and doing it once and having that one out most of the time is just prudent until you can afford to improve the others. And having a sort of healing beside dishes is just nice.
Also, another tip summons of characters > weapons unless you are a whale. The reason I said this is simple really, there is in theory no nerfs, but there are de-facto nerfs.
Let me explain; when the enemies or activities get buffed, and your character does not that is a de-facto nerf. So get as many 4 stars (ideally all of them), and some five stars as possible so that you can diversify, and when one character is no longer fun, and or useful you can switch to another.
I agree with characters >weapons, but for other reasons. Better weapons just give you better numbers. New characters give you new abilities and more variety in game which otherwise gets repitative.

Another tip, pity hits at 90 summons so you will get a five star at 90 summons, pick the 5-star banner character that you want. Screw the meta, look up the character on YouTube, do the character demo, and see if you like it, oh if you are a try-hard (kind of me, kind of not) you could look up this tier list. My first five stars were Xiao, and my second was Diluc because I liked their fighting styles, and Xiao’s fast attacks fit me, also I got lucky with RNG.
There also seems to be a soft pity with increased rates after around 70 tries before you get to the guaranteed one after 90. So if you want to safe your pity 5*, you should stop considerably before that.

I also ignore the Tier lists. If a character is properly built and fits your playstyle, he or she is useful. Team composition, constellations and artefacts change the perceived strength additionally. Yes, that is even true for poor Amber.


Edit: At endgame, healing sucks unless you use Bennett who buffs your attack.
Disagree. Got Jean early on which is one of my favourite characters and use mostly her and Xiangling as DPS, even if the latter is just a free 4*- And Jeans healing is till more than enough for basically everything unless i make some mistake.
 

Worgen

Follower of the Glorious Sun Butt.
Legacy
Apr 1, 2009
14,491
3,437
118
Gender
Whatever, just wash your hands.
I disagree with you there. It's not that simplistic, even when compared to Fight N Rage. I will give FNR give credit for more enemy variety, weapons (melee weapons are lacking The TakeOver and were a last minute addition), and bonus content. Top tier in that department, but I hate the checkpoint system and the fact the games drags. The TakeOver has a little of that problem, but it's a much shorter game. BTW, did you get the Switch version or Steam? The PS4 version is taking forever for a dumb reason involving Sony.
I grabbed it on steam. I say simplistic since Fight N Rage had different story lines for each of the characters depending on if you were playing single or multi, it had multiple paths you could choose (although fuck the path on that stupid sewer barge) the enemies in it were very aggressive and each had distinct attacks. Probably the main one though is enemy attacks, sure some of the enemies have distinct attack patterns but for the most part I haven't had to change up how I fought them. Maybe as I do more I will.
 

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
26,993
11,310
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
I grabbed it on steam. I say simplistic since Fight N Rage had different story lines for each of the characters depending on if you were playing single or multi, it had multiple paths you could choose (although fuck the path on that stupid sewer barge) the enemies in it were very aggressive and each had distinct attacks. Probably the main one though is enemy attacks, sure some of the enemies have distinct attack patterns but for the most part I haven't had to change up how I fought them. Maybe as I do more I will.
That's what I meant by bonus content. Sorry I wasn't more specific. While both brawlers are throwbacks to Final Fight & SOR, The Takeover is way more straightforward throwback. The most you're going to get is a good ending or bad ending. It's nothing complicated and it's easy to do either one. That said, when playing on hard mode, you do have to change up your strategy a bit. Enemies react faster and are a lot more aggressive. You can't use level select on hard mode either. When you lose all your lives you get no other continues; you get only the continue you start with. Lose all of your lives at any point you have to start the game all over again on hard mode.
 

Worgen

Follower of the Glorious Sun Butt.
Legacy
Apr 1, 2009
14,491
3,437
118
Gender
Whatever, just wash your hands.
That's what I meant by bonus content. Sorry I wasn't more specific. While both brawlers are throwbacks to Final Fight & SOR, The Takeover is way more straightforward throwback. The most you're going to get is a good ending or bad ending. It's nothing complicated and it's easy to do either one. That said, when playing on hard mode, you do have to change up your strategy a bit. Enemies react faster and are a lot more aggressive. You can't use level select on hard mode either. When you lose all your lives you get no other continues; you get only the continue you start with. Lose all of your lives at any point you have to start the game all over again on hard mode.
Oh hardmode do you need to beat the game in one sitting? I got about half way through before I needed to go and it made it seem like my run was just ended by doing that.
 

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
26,993
11,310
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
Oh hardmode do you need to beat the game in one sitting? I got about half way through before I needed to go and it made it seem like my run was just ended by doing that.
Yes. If you started with hard mode, you do have to beat it in one sitting. If you quit the game at all, you'll have to start all over again. the game never tells you this and I only found out how by curiosity when I first bought it on Steam. Basically I died at the last stage just before reaching the final boss. Once I lost all my lives, I went to the game over screen instantly. No countdown, no nothing. Character straight up faceplant dead.
 
Last edited:

Worgen

Follower of the Glorious Sun Butt.
Legacy
Apr 1, 2009
14,491
3,437
118
Gender
Whatever, just wash your hands.
Yes. If you started with hard mode, you do have to beat it in one sitting. If you quit the game at all, you'll have to start all over again. the game never tells you this and I only found out how by curiosity when I first bought it on Steam. Basically I died at the last days just before reaching the final boss. Once I lost all my lives, I went to the game over screen instantly. No countdown, no nothing. Character straight up faceplant dead.
Thats annoying, I was hoping for at least save and quit points or something.