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The Dwarves were barely a threat. I wasn't able to seperate their full stack from their high-tier capital, but they attacked me as soon as I beseiged.

Holy crap.

Not even Dwarves can break *Skink Javalins* with just the one ritual up - is my lord that badass, or are Skinks just underestimated? Granted, no single Dwarf unit faced a single Skink unit at a time, but two Skink Jav units shouldn't take a Dwarf CC unit in CC...

Just ran my Legendary Lord into a mosh pit of all their ranged units, had my starter Bastillidon hold the core of their melee, and ganged up on the flanks with skinks. Should not have worked, but Legendary Lords are OP.

Now I have the entire mountain range, the entire continent is a mix of me and 3 other lizardman factions that are all at about +200 friendliness with me (should not have NAPed them, should have planned on attacking them. Maybe I should restart), and I'm pushing into not-LatinAmerica held by Blue Vipers.

I still have 0 Saurus, and only a single stack which is over half filled with Skink Javs, and I'm into the "steamroll" portion of the game.

The thing about Dwarves is that they're very defence-heavy, but their melee attack is almost universally sub-par to make up for it. Combine it with the fact they have nothing that naturally causes Fear or Terror, and they're not really killing/breaking anything in melee in a hurry.

If you've got their ranged units locked down and a Monster in their lines--Dwarves are stubborn but fall prey to Terror just as easily as anything else--dishing out large AP damage and taking little back then they don't do well. All their strength is in pummelling you from range, holding a frontline and flanking around to unload into the sides and rear or charge great weapons into the back. Usually whatever survived the approach has battered morale and collapses shortly after the flank is complete.

If they can't do that, then they don't have many options. IMO you probably overestimated the Dwarves more than anything.

The new Warhammer DLC is great but I feel like it didn't make a Skink army that much more viable compared to Skarsnik and his Gobbos. RCS are a tier 2 unit and they die like absolute chumps in autoresolve to the point where you have to fight sure wins just so your RCS aren't mangled. I had hoped maybe they would add a tier 3 RCS unit with a shield and maybe a spear? You know Skinks playing at being Saurus but not as good. Also shame they didn't include a skink on horned ones cav unit in honor of the DoW unit, Tehenauhuin(sp?) can ride a horned one, sadly they didn't use that to make a Skink unit work. Maybe in exchange for the ancient salamander. Overall a fun addition.

Only thing I dislike from my observations for the AI is the major faction autoresolve bonus being removed versus minors. Now it just feels like there is absolutely no threat even on the hardest difficulty. Turn 100 and the strongest factions have at most two provinces, everybody is squatting in their towns because they just can't manage to get the ball rolling without confederation it seems. The autoresolve thing also means that 'major' factions that have a hard start meant for players now stand no chance at all. The TK die like flies now due to their recruitment mechanic and their base troops being garbage in AR. The only reason Skaven don't seem to get mangled is because the AI needs to basically blunder into their settlement just to fight them. Honestly I saw Itza take two full laps around Lustria with an army and not being able to figure out the Skaven they were at war with had the settlement right next to their capital, but at least the Skaven survive this way. Sure its more random, but it also feels a bit dumb.

Javalin Skinks under Tehenauhuin are basically the Tier 3 Shield & Spear skinks you're looking for. His traits make them quite durable, they have shields, and their javalins soften up the opponents before they close. I thought they were only dominating because I was facing mostly rats, but Dwarves and Orks - even Savage Orks - just can't hurt them.

RCS do die like chumps. I never send them in head-to-head (even outside autoresolve).

I think I need to pick up Skarsnik.

I generally don't like playing as Orks in various games, but in TotalWarhammer, they're really fun. They feel like the one faction where, to do them right, you need to carefully manage the flow of *your* morale. And Goblin Spearmen are usually great for running around the flank and rearcharging what my Boyz are holding. I thought they'd just be chaff, but I tend to get a lot of mileage out of them as long as I don't treat them like line soldiers. But an army of pure Goblins might be what I thought a Skink army would be (I'm somewhat disappointed that a Skink army worked out to be a traditional hold-the-line force, with Skinks being so durable). Is the Skarsnik DLC worth picking up?

Javelin Skinks are decent but once you go to T4-5 AI armies they break too quickly to really anvil for the RCS. I feel RCS are in a good place when you control them. IIRC Tehenauhuin only has the standard lord buff for regular Skinks and his unique ones are only for the RCS which unlock at level 12, very late for a T2 unit. He himself is just a bit underwhelming I feel. Maybe just some tweaks because he gets his ass beat by those new regular Skaven lords. Great units though, just wish they didn't make every LM military building go to T4.

As for Orks and Skarsnik, I don't like playing regular Greenskins but Skarsnik is 'fun' in a hard way. Haven't played him since the new update but he really is stuck between a rock and a hard place. The first 10-20 turns usually end up with you dying due to angry WE or Dwarf invasions. Its very hard and it makes you consider going up against the Dwarfs with just Gobbos (2 to 1 is winnable but attacking a major dwarf hold can be such a pain) or perhaps risk a dangerous trek to the World Edge mountains chased by angry locals to find a quiet place to settle down. With Night Goblin fanatics providing you T4 IIRC correctly infantry and with Squigs and monsters you can really build a fun force. Of course with the right buffs and units sprinkled in you can make a traditional hammer and anvil force but that is still going to struggle with the local WE, VC or Chaos if you happen to settle to close north.

If you're on the fence and would be interested to try just wait about 6-8 weeks, the steam summer sale is closing in and usually they sell the old WH1 dlc for 66% off, which means its just a few bucks.

Started out with Mordhau.

I got myself a helmbarte a dagger and a helmet, then i went to town, to the church and walked out with all the gold

@Bharring and @Disciple of Fate: I'm actually also on the fence about the skarsnik DLC as well. I don't like dwarfs at all but the goblins sound fun. I was also interested in the Empire and VC DLC but empire doesn't get much worthwhile far as it looks and VC mostly just get buff units which is still sorta cool but also kinda meh. Is the empire and VC DLC worth it?

Skarsnik's Crooked Moons are the harder to play of the two by far, IMO, but probably the most different and, when all's done, probably the more powerful. Skarsnik's various campaign and army buffs are better than Belegar's and he can field stacks without much difficulty, which may be a little underwhelming to begin with due to being Goblins, but a few redline skills later those Goblins become powerhouses.

A late-game stack can see experienced Goblins with leadership higher than Orcs and somewhat silly MA/MD stats to go with them.

It's only the early game which is a bit of a slog, but it's doable, and once Skarsnik gets rolling it's like a green tide, only half as tall and twice the amount.

Second that Skarsnick gets kind of silly. I remember playing his campaign for the first time and thinking I'd hate it cause Goblin's died so easily in my other campaigns and were never a threat.

100 turns later, and I'm staring in awe as Goblis overrun Chaos, and not just through weight of numbers, but quality of troops. I kind of lost it a bit at how easy the game got with all the upgrades available.

Wildlands had another free story mission drop this weekend, this time involving a fellow ghost played by Jon Bernthal. As with the other stuff, a bit short, but still some good extra filler and the over the top melee execution move you can unlock is worth it.

Now to one day finally beat the Predator DLC.. ugh.

 LordofHats wrote:
Second that Skarsnick gets kind of silly. I remember playing his campaign for the first time and thinking I'd hate it cause Goblin's died so easily in my other campaigns and were never a threat.

100 turns later, and I'm staring in awe as Goblis overrun Chaos, and not just through weight of numbers, but quality of troops. I kind of lost it a bit at how easy the game got with all the upgrades available.

The da gobbos buff, stacks with the buff from normal goblins that all Goblin warlords get and with the buff for cavallery. It makes goblins hilarriously price efficent. Even better if you own Karak eight peaks and have built up the special buildings. +20 on leadership is insane for goblins, it brings them in line with some off the better regular infantry morale wise, not to mention when you have a general leading them with further buffs.
BUT until you are in 8th peaks it can turn into a slog (except if you manage to get a high enough settlement and get access to giant spiders, then it is relatively easy.

 flamingkillamajig wrote:
@Bharring and @Disciple of Fate: I'm actually also on the fence about the skarsnik DLC as well. I don't like dwarfs at all but the goblins sound fun. I was also interested in the Empire and VC DLC but empire doesn't get much worthwhile far as it looks and VC mostly just get buff units which is still sorta cool but also kinda meh. Is the empire and VC DLC worth it?

It's worth it for the Goblin part as the Dwarf part doesn't really bring that many changes to the table. On that note if you don't want to collect them all I would say the EMP/VC DLC is not worth it. Sure it has some flavor units and RoR, but nothing that really changes the way you play the game (unless you count RoR as game changing). Its just boring mainly, Volkmar is ok-ish, but Ghorst is just boring compared to all the other VCs LL to pick from (he is just Kemmler without the new starting position or Krell imo). Same for the units, a bit bland and nothing you would really want to change your standard army build for. Maybe pick it up for 66% off on sale, but as someone who got it full price (even though that is quite low) I would say in hindsight it wasn't worth it if I wasn't going for a collect them all approach, even though Empire is my favorite game 1 faction.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 LordofHats wrote:
Second that Skarsnick gets kind of silly. I remember playing his campaign for the first time and thinking I'd hate it cause Goblin's died so easily in my other campaigns and were never a threat.

100 turns later, and I'm staring in awe as Goblis overrun Chaos, and not just through weight of numbers, but quality of troops. I kind of lost it a bit at how easy the game got with all the upgrades available.

Yeah this is totally true, but in all fairness the Lord buffs and AI incompetence when it comes to picking and building means that most factions can end up like this. By turn 100 usually the fun has already ended in TW games and certainly in Warhammer TW.

All this is making me want to play another Ork campaign, not as Skarsnick.

Orkz krumpin wid da short an stabby gitz runin round back proppa iz da best.

I'm about 40 turns into a Skarsnik campaign right now, after getting bored with the Bretonnians. Its probably my favorite faction to play, and every campaign with that faction feels different with who declares war on me and when. More so than any other faction, I feel like there is something always going on and that's how I like my TW.

The addition of the Massif Orcal province in south Bretonnia is a big boon to Skarsnik, as you can either take it early or watch them get weak enough that they accept a Confederate offer, and raid multiple Bret provinces fairly easily.

I mainly just like lining up a glorious release of Fanatics.

Thanks for the Bloodborne advice lads.
After defeating the Shadows, I beat the next four bosses in a row on my first try.

Pretty much none of them after that gave me any trouble. I don't think any of the rest of 'em took me more than four tries. Definitely some of the "runs" were worse than the bosses.
At the moment working through the Chalice Dungeons. I think the only boss left is the last one, and I want to give the chalice dungeons a proper run before I end the game. I really like the Chalice Dungeons, I know a lot of people do not, but I like me some dungeon nonsense, and this fits the bill.

I can't play the DLC which is a shame, I hear it is a really good one with a lot of awesome bosses. Ah well. It was awesome to finally get to play this game on my PC, and I think it is really something special.

Not Online!!! wrote:
Started out with Mordhau.

I got myself a helmbarte a dagger and a helmet, then i went to town, to the church and walked out with all the gold

I’ve been playing a lot of it too, brilliant game. I’m liking a Poleaxe for versatility. Can even couch it on horseback!

I've got unexpectedly into Ashen after looking through the RPG offerings on Game Pass. I guess the best way I can describe it is as Nice Dark Souls, which is why I'm somewhat surprised I stuck with it for more than about 20 minutes as usually these types of games are not my cup of tea at all. I guess it has a few things in its favour that have kept me on board.

- It's not handholdy, but it does at least have things like a quest log, map, markers, fast travel ect to make actually progressing through the game easier. No turning right instead of left at Firelink Shrine and going into an area where the enemies instakill you. These things never made Souls better for me, just more annoying to play. Likewise, the fact its characters are all very upfront about what they want, where you can get it and what you need to do is far more useful that the cryptic smirking of most Souls NPCs...

- It's the right blend of simple and deep. The actual progression mechanics basically boil down to getting more health and stamina on completing quests, but there's a good array of weapons/upgrades available to keep things interesting. The combat, likewise, is perhaps a pared down version of Souls, but still has a nice weight and feel to it while remaining fairly punishing.

- The art style is gorgeous, wonderfully minimalist. The music, too, is lovely and calming, giving the whole thing an air of pleasant adventure rather than oppressive dread. The more open environments help with that as well.

Supposedly the big twist on the formula is that Ashen pairs you with random players who appear as a companion NPC in your world while you appear as the NPC in theirs... it's a neat idea, but I can very rarely tell the difference between when another player is with me versus the AI...I'd actually be surprised if there's enough of a player base on Xbox for the matchmaking to actually kick in that often. It's nice having a companion for this sort of game though, AI or otherwise. Makes the whole thing a bit less lonely.

I very much doubt I'll finish it, but at the very least, I'll go until I hit something that's simply beyond my skill level (the two bosses so far have been fairly easy, but that won't last...) If you're into this sort of thing though, or at least into the idea of it, I reckon it's worth a look, especially if you have Game Pass as then all it's costing you is a small download.

 Nostromodamus wrote:

Not Online!!! wrote:
Started out with Mordhau.

I got myself a helmbarte a dagger and a helmet, then i went to town, to the church and walked out with all the gold

I’ve been playing a lot of it too, brilliant game. I’m liking a Poleaxe for versatility. Can even couch it on horseback!

Pah, i recently picked up a Pike and in good swiss manner i am the bane of anything in the open.

Sadly i have no one yet that would fill a pikewall with me or form a Gwalthufe....

:(
Fells bad man.

 Da Boss wrote:
Thanks for the Bloodborne advice lads.
After defeating the Shadows, I beat the next four bosses in a row on my first try.

Spoiler:

Rom was a pisstake, just ran past the spiders and hammered him.
The One Reborn was a bit tricky, but I got them in one, even though I did not realise there were bell maidens on the balconies healing him and casting fireballs!
The Amygdala was a pretty cool fight, and it was hairy, but I managed it. The run through the Nightmare was much worse than the boss.
And the Cosmic Kin were a joke boss in my opinion!

Pretty much none of them after that gave me any trouble. I don't think any of the rest of 'em took me more than four tries. Definitely some of the "runs" were worse than the bosses.
At the moment working through the Chalice Dungeons. I think the only boss left is the last one, and I want to give the chalice dungeons a proper run before I end the game. I really like the Chalice Dungeons, I know a lot of people do not, but I like me some dungeon nonsense, and this fits the bill.

I can't play the DLC which is a shame, I hear it is a really good one with a lot of awesome bosses. Ah well. It was awesome to finally get to play this game on my PC, and I think it is really something special.

I still reinstall and play it from time to time (on PS4).

If you loved that game, consider either the Dark Souls series or Nioh.

Dark Souls is 'slower' and more deliberate - but not easier (or harder). You have a much wider array of options and tactics available, but it's not as visceral, in-your-face, or fast. You have to commit much more than in Bloodborne, but you have a lot more options about when to commit and how.

Nioh feels 'faster' to me, and I love the Diablo-esque loot system, but the difficulty and encounter design isn't as polished as Bloodborne.

Both great games, but very different environments.

Currently playing some Satisfactory and having a blast. The game feels like a cross between Subnautica and Factorio.

What began as research for a bit of Megadrive programming turns into a full on session with the shinobi games.

Revenge of Shinobi is bloody cool( back in the day, the intro alone SOLD the megadrive in electrical stores ), but is let down by a lack of play testing. Far too many leaps-of-faith, awkwardly placed traps and enemies, and then you have the pixel-perfect bosses. Yuzo Koshiro is the bomb and the atmosphere is top notch.

Shinobi III is surprisingly good. Quite a challenging game but only punishes you when you are not paying attention or making the same obvious mistake - as it should be. The "riding" levels could have broken the game but thankfully don't outstay their welcome and actually make a nice change inbetween the ordinary levels.

Hmmm...I have Shinobi X for the Saturn. If memory serves it was pretty good....

Playing Battle Brothers- the new expansion makes it tons of fun to start new warbands, which is really great because it seems like the difficulty also spiked. I'm learning to keep mercenaries alive all over again. Science does not advance without heaps of corpses!

Just finished platting The Liar princess and the blind prince that I got on sale from golden week. A nice breath of fresh air as far as games go, its art style is very reminiscent of a style that reminds me of where the wild things are and although the platforming elements are pretty basic, the story was good despite being simple. It's also fairly short, which is great for someone who's been playing red dead 2 for weeks.

 Gitzbitah wrote:
Playing Battle Brothers- the new expansion makes it tons of fun to start new warbands, which is really great because it seems like the difficulty also spiked. I'm learning to keep mercenaries alive all over again. Science does not advance without heaps of corpses!

Yeah me too. Quite enjoying, especially the diffrent starting options. The lone wolf is imo the most intresting followed by the barbarian one. Really like how they've shock up the early game.

Played a bunch of assassins creed odyssey over the weekend, to the point that I burned out on it again. It honestly feels too big, with a lot of repetitive content that doesn't really serve much purpose.

Every so often I run into something interesting (like a captured 'god' that leads to a cyclops fight), but mostly its killing red and blue dudes for xp and loot to breakdown to upgrade gear.

Even the legendary animal hunts didn't help as much as I hoped, they were annoying (especially the farting pig), and the payoff was... Unsatisfying.

 Nerak wrote:

 Gitzbitah wrote:
Playing Battle Brothers- the new expansion makes it tons of fun to start new warbands, which is really great because it seems like the difficulty also spiked. I'm learning to keep mercenaries alive all over again. Science does not advance without heaps of corpses!

Yeah me too. Quite enjoying, especially the diffrent starting options. The lone wolf is imo the most intresting followed by the barbarian one. Really like how they've shock up the early game.

Oh absolutely. It is so easy for a Lone wolf run to go south- you really have to watch your armor. I'm having far too much fun with the Davskul cultists, especially since we started calling them Dave's Cool cultists, and treating all of our recruits as expendable until they join our cult. The steady stream of free dudes is awesome, and so far we haven't had any human sacrifices.

Barbarian start requires far more caution than I expected- I thought I'd be running around merrily slaughtering peasants and taking on towns, but you need to be downright cagey about who you fight, and where you do it.

Picked up Battlefront 2 again. Had it on release on the PS4 but couldn’t get on the it plus the PS4 screwed up, so while it was on Xbox live for a fiver I thought what the hell will give it another shot.

Well I’m damn glad i did, it’s not the game it was on release and I mean that in the best way possible. Am really enjoying it this time around. Everything feels a lot tighter and smoother. Only thing that bugged me was the length of some of the capitol supremacy matches.

One lasted for nearly two hours but it’s being patched soon or has, just haven’t been able to play for a few days.

What am I playing right now?
City of Heroes: Homecoming.
https://forums.homecomingservers.com/index.php/topic,950.0.html
Oh, it is glorious to be back in Paragon City.

Went back to playing Stardew Valley. I'm honestly not sure why the game is so fun and addictive, but it is! Problem is, it's eating into my painting time, which is not good.

I've been replaying Final Fantasy 12 on PS2, which has been fun - When I first played, I just went for "Heavy armour, hardest hitting weapon, and spam Quickenings" - playing it with a bit more consideration to balanced party set-up makes it very different! It's been quite handy to mine for inspiration for my D&D campaign, as well.

I also picked up COD advanced Warfare on the 360, and Force Unleashed on PS2. COD campaign was kinda fun, I thought - I enjoyed the jump-pack exo suits, and the sarcastic British dude didn't get murdered at the end, for once, so that's a plus!

Force Unleashed... Eh. the story seems fun, but I can't put up with the clunky controls - I'm not a big fan on button-mashy hack n' slash games, as a rule, and the boss fights so far have been... just, dull. But for 50p, I figure it was worth a punt!