How to Communicate in Sea of Thieves

A common complaint I’ve seen nowadays about Sea of Thieves is that “everyone just attacks you on sight”. While this is often true with Reapers (that’s literally their style of gameplay), often, when you look into things and read deeper into people’s posts, you realise that there was no effort to communicate on either side. And there are plenty of things you can do to provoke an attack, even if you don’t realise it. In today’s article, I want to discuss how to communicate with other players, and to make some suggestions as to how to not invite everyone to… [Continue Reading]

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How to Hit More Shots in Call of Cthulhu

One of the reasons combat builds aren’t recommended inĀ Call of Cthulhu is that the odds are pretty much always stacked against you, even in the areas you’ve specced yourself out to excel. A starting character cannot have more than 75% in any given stat, meaning even if you max yourself out in something (which, let’s be real, is a gigantic stake of skillpoints to expend on a single skill), you’re still gonna fail a quarter of the time! And nowhere is this more visible then when your “WWI veteran sniper” constantly misses more shots than a member of The A-Team.… [Continue Reading]

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A Guide to *Sometimes* Running Away

I’ll be honest, I don’t think running all the time will get you anywhere in Sea of Thieves. If you always run, then you never learn to fight. And that means, the second you get caught, you’re basically screwed. But there are definitely times where you NEED to run away. After all, I occasionally play solo, and I am definitely not skilled enough to take on a rank 5 reaper galleon on my own. The thing is, you need to be SMART when you run away. And today, I want to share a few tips to help you survive out… [Continue Reading]

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How to Not Die in Call of Cthulhu

This is a sister article to my previous on mitigating Sanity loss, and equally not-recommended because dying horribly should be the expectation (not the exception) in Call of Cthulhu. The whole point is that your characters are delving into things mankind is neither supposed nor equipped to know, and the system is built to run your party ragged and then spit them out as chewed-up gibbering husks. That’s half the fun! However, I’m not gonna pretend there aren’t ways to spec your character out for a bit more survivability than the average joe. I checked the internet to see if… [Continue Reading]

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How to Find the Age of Your World of Warcraft Character

During a content lull in Final Fantasy XIV, I temporarily reactivated my WoW subscription to try the new War Within expansion. I’ve had a long on-and-off relationship with this game, having first installed it sometime in undergrad after they added the free trial and taking multiple years-long breaks in between sessions. Nonetheless my two toons, a zombie pirate warlock and a werewolf druid, have pretty storied careers since they’re the only ones I ever play, and like most players I’ve developed something of an affinity for my little guys. So it’s always bothered me that I can’t see their age… [Continue Reading]

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3 Free Programs That Will Turn You Into a Video Editor (Updated 2024)

Three years ago I wrote an article on my recommendations for people hoping to try their hand at video editing without paying anything. After advising a friend on that exact topic, I’ve reviewed my old article and found it largely out of date, and in desperate need of updating. So here are my new suggestions for what you should get while breaking into this exciting and fun field of study: 1. Open Broadcasting Software The one software to survive from the old article, OBS remains the fan-favored way to record game footage or your own screen, if you’re going the… [Continue Reading]

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5 Basic Things a Newbie Should Do in Warframe

Being a newbie in Warframe is difficult. There’s so much to do, so many things flashing at you, so many urgent things. Once you’ve gotten past Vor’s Prize, you’re basically left to your own devices, in a game that feels very unfamiliar. Luckily, there are plenty of things a newbie can do to get themselves started. Follow the Star Chart Unlocking planets is your best bet as a new player. Unlocking planets unlocks new resources and new missions to obtain Warframes. You also unlock various quests as you travel across the star chart. This process is somewhat slow, but you… [Continue Reading]

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D&D 5e: A Complete Guide to Sidekicks

Pelor help me, I’ve fallen down another rabbit hole of obscure D&D mechanics. And these are even less likely than usual to ever happen in my actual games. But I don’t care because the sidekick rules are honestly really cool and revolve around one of my favorite concepts: playable NPC/monsters! Introduced in Dragon of Icespire PeakĀ (and heavily fleshed out in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything), the sidekick rules are a system whereby a normally-unplayable creature can gain its own class levels that let it grow stronger alongside a party of regular PCs. There are three Sidekick classes (Warrior, Expert, and Spellcaster)… [Continue Reading]

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D&D 5e: A Guide to Throwing Weapons

There are a few playstyles in 5e that don’t really receive enough developer support, in my humble opinion. Strength-based unarmed builds, for one, as well as single-wielding one-handed weapons without a corresponding shield. But throwing builds are probably the most-maligned on the list. Unless you stretch all the way into archery, non-spellcasters unfortunately aren’t going to hold their own in ranged combat. In today’s article, I want to discuss a few of the reasons why, and what an enterprising player can do to mitigate the issues. Problem #1: Action Economy Martial characters (except rogues) gain more attacks as they level… [Continue Reading]

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CTF_Crasher, the Most Interesting New TF2 Map in Years

I’ve found myself occasionally leaping back into TF2 these days. I’m not sure why, maybe I just miss the mixture of arena shooter mechanics and incredible character design/writing. But anyway, with Scream Fortress 2022 in full swing, I’ve had a chance to play all the new maps, and I really really like ctf_crasher. Overview For those who haven’t tried it, ctf_crasher is the first ‘new’ game mode we’ve received in years. While nominally Capture the Flag, it’s actually ‘reverse CTF’ in that both teams are trying to deliver their bomb to the enemy camp. And whichever character carries their team’s… [Continue Reading]

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