Ok so here’s basically what I understand so far: there’s obvi the IOS, the phone make (mainly because of the chip which comes in A or M models), there’s un/ tethered/ semi tethered jail breaking. I had all but accepted that my phone was a lost cause- it’s a iPhone 12 Pro Max on IOS 1.16.2 and I never update. I wanted to play Pokémon go but due to a recent carcrash I’m basically immobile. I’ve never modded or jailbroken anything and yet my exposure to the resource goes back probably further back than a majority of the people on the sub; way back- the iPod touch from 1-5 and I believe colored as well. Modding clash of clans for free gems, dragonville for rubys, star warfare level cheats and pocket god … the classic games my friends would pass all my legit dedication yet I never had it in me to mod. I’m a simple dude and I’d say I’m tech savvy. But when I follow 3x YT vids that basically promote a scam false installation I can’t help but bow my head and seek wisdom from Reddit. Since my aforementioned car crash I just want to be able to play Pokémon go. To walk or tp to santamonica Pier and farm there since I can’t travel. It’s not fair I’m stuck here and can’t play 😞 in any form I want to mod Pokémon go… sooo here’s my options: I have a iPad 7th gen on 14.4.2, an iPhone 12 Pro Max on 16.2, an iPhone 8 on 1.13 something, and an iPad Air that’s basically 1 month old so it’s not even worth the time for me to check it 😂 but I’m happy to take any advice you have to offer. Thank you for your time

Hi everyone first post here just wanted some advice about Last Epoch. I am on the Diablo 4 bandwagon so need something to do until June.
I watched a few videos on Last Epoch and just wanted to check a few things before I pull the trigger. I am a big endgame, min max, biggest number possible type of player and love boss mechanics, raids and grind so would like to know if theres anything like this in this game?
I do also like the multiplayer aspect and I know that for LE its only just been implemented but it's not a deal breaker if this is not 100% perfect.
Some of my favourites ARPGs: Diablo 2, Lost Ark, Torchlight 2, Dekaron (if anyone remembers it), Sacred Gold
I tried Grim Dawn and it felt very 2000s ala Dungeon Siege and didn't really vibe with me. I didn't really like the endgame of Diablo 3 running rifts with little other content.
Happy for any opinions at all.
Thanks

Devs should look at lost arks boating system for sailing
Areas were restricted due to what boat you had for instance an icy area needed a boat that could slice through glaciers to traverse…
Traveling would break boat slowly having to repair after awhile
Random islands that randomly spawned with events including pvp, pvm, and skilling
The point and click aspect felt intuitive and in line with osrs
This is just an idea to share that could help in development nothing concrete about this post just saying if they are looking for systems I personally like lost arks system and feel like it fits better than other mmo sailing systems for inspiration purposes

I hope someone could help me here. I am looking for a new ARPG to get addicted to.
I absolutely love PoE...but the last couple of leagues have left me playing for a week and quitting. I still would like something to scratch that ARPG itch while waiting for the next league because I just cannot give up on this game.
That being said I have never seen much of the end game yet...at all. I have put in close to 400 hours on Steam and easily another 1000+ on the standalone and the most I have done is reach red maps and I have been playing on and off since the talisman league... The game is way too complex for me, yet I absolutely love the gameplay loop even if I never actually see the end game
Other ARPGs I have tried include:

1. Grim Dawn - I have put in about 30hrs many years ago but it felt too slow so I never came back to it. I am open to trying it again though if it is better than I remember.
2. Diablo 3 - I did not enjoy this one. I havent played D2 which I heard a lot of good things about but my friend had D3 at the time so I played it for a bit but it felt kind of...boring? It did not scratch that itch. I am still open to trying Diablo games. I have not played D4 beta but I heard some good things about it so far and D2R seems like a good start too.
3. Lost Ark - Well..I am kind of stretching this..it is an MMO but it plays like an ARPG and the combat was really fun. It's a shame though once I got into the mindnumbing "endgame" loop I got burnt out.

Any suggestions are very appreciated. Thanks!

HMS Celtic

• Super Heal
• Improved AP
• Radar Cruiser

USS Rochester (CA-124)

• Smoke Cruiser
• Excellent AA Suite
• Strong AP

Scope

These ships were given to me by Wargaming for review.
Welcome back. Sure, it does seem rather apt to jump into the first published review in sometime with the addition of two new Baltimores…well, one Oregon-City Cruiser, and another Baltimore. With both ships being so closely related, it seems fitting to tag them both together here. Per the norm, there will be lots of pretty charts, and a comprehensive breakdown of both ships; with the added benefit of showing exactly where these two wrap up into the bigger picture.
All stats are current to the best of my knowledge as of v5.1. Stats are subject to change in the future, and this review may not reflect those changes.
Celtic is a GREAT ship, with a MODERATE Skill Floor and a HIGH Skill Ceiling.
Rochester is an AVERAGE ship, with a LOW Skill Floor and a MODERATE Skill Ceiling.
Quite obviously, this review is going to be mostly centered on Celtic, with some Rochester slapped in there to show exactly how she stacks up to the competition. 2 for 1, or a freebie, you decide.
Nothing could honestly make me happier than to be able to bring reviews and writing to you all full-time. If this interests you and you enjoy reading my work, please support me if you can, as every little bit helps. My goal is to keep my reviews free and public for all to read; and by supporting my Patreon you can help keep me at my desk.

Matrix Rating

• [BAD, WEAK, AVERAGE, GOOD, GREAT]
• {LOW, MODERATE, HIGH, EXTREME}

History

The design was first commissioned in the late 1930's, which adapted lessons learned from the preceding Wichita-Class and the currently under construction, lighter Cleveland Class. Baltimore's design featured an orthodox A-B-X configuration of 3 triple turrets of (8") 203mm guns. Fast and well-armed for the era, the fate of the project ended by cancelling later ships construction in favor of the Cleveland Class which were both faster, lighter, and quicker to build which meant more ships out at sea protecting US Navy Carriers. Baltimore Class Cruisers were built from 1941-1945 with some serving in various sub-classes until the 1970's.
With 14 completed ships of the class, the Baltimore-Class had the most constructed heavy cruisers built of any one class from nation during the war-time period. Generally considered a success, the class was preceded by the USS Wichita, and succeeded by the Oregon-City Class. With attached sub-classes, the Boston Class featuring the world's first Guided Missile Cruiser in the early 1950's USS Boston (CAG-1) and Flagship variations. The design was most notable for incorporation of surveillance radar, gun control fire systems which allowed for calculation beyond the horizon, 5'' Anti-Air, and 8'' Main Battery. This design was focused in on the ships ability to be a Carrier Fleet Escort Ship, capable of both Anti-Air Screening, Shore Bombardment, eventually being modified to serve as the world's first guided missile cruiser.
USS Baltimore (CA-68) herself was laid down in 1941, by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts. The ship was launched in 1942 and served until 1956 when she was decommissioned, and eventually scrapped in 1971. The ship served primarily in the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign, earning 9 battle stars.
HMS Celtic is a made-up ship that never actually existed but rests on the concept that would have been if the Baltimore Class had been sent to the Royal Navy. This was not an entirely foreign concept of the era either, with the two allied nations cooperating heavily with some ships being used by the other’s navy. It would be this cooperation that ultimately played a decisive role in every major theatre of World War 2.
USS Rochester (CA-124) was laid down in the same shipyard as her predecessor, in May 1944. She would be launched in August the following year, then commissioned into the US Navy in 1946. Succeeding the Baltimore Class, the Oregon City Class featured many similarities, with changes to her exhaust, superstructure and Anti-Air Suite. Rochester would serve throughout Korea and Vietnam, being decommissioned in the 1960s, and scrapped in the 1970s. 10 Oregon City Cruisers were planned, with only 4 completed.

Strengths: Celtic

• 9.9km Radar
• Royal Navy Super Heal
• Solid Anti-Air
• Sonar
• Improved AP Ricochet Angles

Weaknesses: Celtic

• Poor Fire Chance
• Short Duration Radar
• Lacks SHAP
• Low Base HP

Strengths: Rochester

• Smoke Generator
• Excellent AA Suite
• Improved AP Angles with SHAP

Weaknesses: Rochester

• Poor Smoke Fire Concealment
• Radar-Less
• Heal-less with Smoke Generator

The Basics

A Baltimore with a Super Heal and longer-range radar? Sign me up. Baltimore on her own is already one of the stronger ships in the game and in terms of utility, one of the stronger team players. Celtic takes an interesting concept and adds a new flair to an older line. She has her own strengths and weaknesses, all of which will be identified, some of which are likely to be seemingly splitting the finest of hairs. This ship has a bit less of a grudge against controlling caps than the traditional Baltimore but should be readily found in the same niche doing the same things, just slightly different. Radar support, anti-destroyer, area control are all tags that apply. Celtic is strong, strong enough to be thrown in with the likes of AL Baltimore, Mainz CE and Wichita CE.
Trashchester is tough. I’ll honestly do my best to not shred this ship into a bajillion pieces while pouring out the salt, but I’m only human. She was painful on release, and since she’s had work done, fitting for her review to be finally finished and published for you all to use as a dash of seasoning for dinner. On release, Rochester had a smoke fire concealment on par with her sister’s base concealment, meaning, her smoke was essentially pointless and served only to blind herself, and not her opponents. Lacking radar, Rochester presented as a clumsy self-blinding target unable to deal the things that engage her. What’s worse, Rochester trades her heal for her smoke, meaning, players are left purchasing a regular old Baltimore, with some fancy AA, or a deaf-mute without a heal. Yes. She was that painful; a concept that bumps in the worst of ways, both theoretically and in practice. While her concealment has been buffed, it’s still an awful kit as her smoke fire concealment is still too weak to present much of a force upon the caps. If we’re stuck to smoke firing spam, there are better ships than Rochester; even making good old Belfast 43 seem like a knight in shining armor.
Both of these ships do sport improved AP performance, in the shape of improved ricochet angles. We’ll tear this apart in the ballistic section, as per the norm. Baltimore’s ballistic performance has been studied quite extensively in the past, which has set up an excellent point of comparison.

Offense

• Celtic: GOOD
• Rochester: AVERAGE

Let’s start with the prodigal child and then work towards the bought rented mule. Celtic does well here, in terms of heavy cruisers (203mm) she sits nearer the top of the lists dropping more midfield when included with the rest of the pack. Apart from some of those silly DPM small caliber ships, Celtic packs a noteworthy punch. Rochester starts more midfield and holds her placing through the pack. For a 203mm cruiser, a 2s difference in reload is often enough to bump a ship up or down a rank, entirely. This translates to roughly 20k between the two, and about a full salvo difference.

	HE Alpha	HE DPM
AL Chapayev	2850	256 500
Cleveland	2300	254 769
Weimar	1700	244 800
Suzuya	2700	243 000
AL Montpelier	2300	220 800
Bayard	2200	221 200
Belfast 43	2450	207 529
Harbin	1900	207 273
Chapayev	2300	207 000
Mainz CE	1700	204 000
Kutuzov	2200	198 000
Mainz	1600	192 000
Ochakov	2200	182 069
Charles Martel	2800	151 200
Wichita CE	2800	151 200
Celtic	2700	145 800
Albemarle	3300	142 560
Wichita	2600	140 400
AL Baltimore	2800	137 454
Mogami	3300	132 000
Baltimore	2800	126 000
Rochester	2800	126 000
Atago	3300	123 750
Pyotr Bagration	2500	122 727
Azuma	5100	114 750
Hipper	2700	112 696
Riga	3050	106 625
Amalfi	3100	104 625
Prinz Eugen	2500	92 308
Sigfried	4400	60 923
Edinburgh	-	-
Perfect 10	-	-
Plymouth	-	-

In terms of alpha punch, Celtic and Rochester are somewhat similar separated by the performance of firing different shells off different reloads from the same gunnery.

	AP Alpha	AP DPM
Weimar	3750	540 000
Mainz	3900	468 000
Mainz CE	3900	468 000
Plymouth	3100	457 846
Cleveland	3300	365 538
Perfect 10	2800	358 400
Bayard	3300	316 800
AL Montpelier	3200	307 200
Chapayev	3400	306 000
Edinburgh	3100	297 600
Kutuzov	3300	297 000
Suzuya	3300	297 000
AL Chapayev	3100	279 000
Ochakov	3300	273 103
Harbin	2500	272 727
Charles Martel	4900	264 600
Belfast 43	3100	282 570
Hipper	6000	250 435
AL Baltimore	5000	245 454
Celtic	4500	243 000
Wichita CE	4200	226 800
Baltimore	5000	225 000
Rochester	5000	225 000
Pyotr Bagration	4550	223 364
Prinz Eugen	5900	217 846
Wichita	4000	216 000
Riga	5750	200 323
Azuma	8650	194 625
Albemarle	4500	194 400
Mogami	4700	188 000
Atago	4700	176 250
Amalfi	5100	172 125
Sigfried	11 600	160 615

Celtic has among the better AP DPM values for a 203mm armed cruiser, only being outclassed by ships with meatier AP. In terms of overall, Celtic sits more midfield. Her overall AP ballistic performance allows her to unlock more of this actual number than many of her counterparts.

	Range (Km)	Reload (s)
Weimar	15.3	5.0
Harbin	14.5	5.5
Ochakov	15.5	5.8
Mainz	15.8	6.0
Mainz CE	15.8	6.0
Plymouth	15.2	6.5
Cleveland	15.3	6.5
AL Montpelier	13.9	7.5
Perfect 10	15.2	7.5
Edinburgh	15.3	7.5
Bayard	15.8	7.5
Kutuzov	16.0	8.0
AL Chapayev	16.0	8.0
Chapayev	16.0	8.0
Belfast 43	15.3	8.5
Celtic	15.5	10.0
Suzuya	15.3	10.0
Charles Martel	15.8	10.0
Wichita	15.5	10.0
Wichita CE	15.5	10.0
Pytor Bagration	16.0	11.0
AL Baltimore	15.5	11.0
Hipper	15.8	11.5
Baltimore	15.5	12.0
Rochester	15.4	12.0
Albemarle	15.5	12.5
Prinz Eugen	15.8	13.0
Mogami	15.3	15.0
Riga	16.1	15.5
Amalfi	15.4	16.0
Atago	14.7	16.0
Azuma	15.8	24.0
Sigfried	16.2	26.0

Overall, there’s not all that much to crow about here. Rochester sits a bit lower on the charts than Celtic due to reload. Both have improved ballistics to offer compensation for a lack of torpedoes. The DPM numbers are at their worst, workable, and at best, functional, neither being awful nor spectacular. Celtic takes the edge due to better numbers overall.

Ballistics

• Rochester: GREAT
• Celtic: GREAT

The tell-all ballistic chart. Royal Navy Cruisers and US Navy Cruisers sport among the best AP performance in their respective classes and tiers. Celtic has among the best HE DPM numbers of the Baltimores, but takes a hit on her fire chance percentage. Rochester SHAP hits like a truck, along with her Baltimore cousins. Things get interesting here the more you study this chart, captains. Celtic has arguably better HE, but worse AP. Rochester has SHAP and excellent AP performance, but poor shell count. AL Baltimore once again takes the cake with the best “happy medium” of the bunch, sporting a decent shell count, SHAP with excellent penetration and a lower muzzle velocity introducing slightly higher arcs yielding much more forgiving angles on the receiving end…
What I can say definitively, is Baltimore SHAP has much greater penetration than the standard AP. Wichita leans on HE at range, and she has the numbers to back it up, Baltimore hardly ever shoots HE in practice which is backed up by her AP performance and penetration values. Captains, it would not be entirely erroneous in terms of gunnery to compare Stock Baltimore to Celtic and Wichita or Elite Baltimore to Rochester and AL Baltimore.

	Ricochet (o)	Fuse Time (s)	Sigma	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile
Albemarle	45/60	0.033	2.0	814	AP
AL Baltimore	60/67.5	0.033	1.8	762	SHAP
Balti-Stock	60/67.5	0.033	1.9	853	AP
Balti-Elite	60/67.5	0.033	1.9	782	SHAP
Celtic	60/67.5	0.033	2.0	853	AP
Rochester	60/67.5	0.033	2.0	762	SHAP
Wichita	60/67.5	0.033	1.8	853	AP
Wichita CE	60/75	0.01	2.0	853	AP

The major and palpable difference in performance here is between Celtic and the native Baltimores, is that Celtic lacks SHAP. This means Celtic’s AP shells weigh less, which translates to depleting velocity and thus penetration values faster than the Baltimores heavier shells. Fortunately, Baltimore has some of the best AP penetration in her class which means that Celtic can afford to lose some raw penetration value before she begins to suffer. Rochester wins the AP argument here, while Celtic takes the HE side. It’s almost literally splitting hairs, and Baltimore Mains will feel right at home in either ship.

	Fire Chance %	HE Pen (mm)	Shell Count	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile
Albemarle	17	33	43	814	HE
AL Baltimore	14	33	49	823	HE
Baltimore	14	33	45	823	HE
Celtic	10	33	54	823	HE
Rochester	14	33	45	823	HE
Wichita	14	33	54	823	HE
Wichita CE	14	33	54	823	HE

If you’re looking to start fires, grab Albemarle. However, this is about the only such category she takes. Celtic manages better with access to a shorter reload and better overall ballistic properties. Shell by shell, edge Rochester, overall, solidly in Celtic’s favor by a full 9 shells.

Torpedoes

• Torpedo-less

Neither of these ships sport torpedoes, so this section is predicably blank.

Defense

• Celtic: GREAT
• Rochester: AVERAGE

Let’s jump into the major category of defense. Celtic arguably may be one of the best, Rochester, rather mediocre. From the top.
Celtic has among the best effective health pools, just edging out Edinburgh with a chunky 66k. It’s worth pointing out Albemarle tops both with a mighty 78k, though most Albemarle tend to be much more passive alluding to a different playstyle entirely. Baltimore is considered “tanky” at 56k, and Celtic adds in a super-heal. I wouldn’t chance to say Albemarle is particularly tanky, but she can heal quite well. A Baltimore is tanky enough to access that 66k EHP and is a scary thought. Baltimore can take a punch, where Edinburgh relies on defense by trickery, clever armor schemes and angling, Albemarle by range and angle. It’s also quite worth mentioning that Celtic rests with 36,7k base HP, meaning on par with most Cruiser Lights. Captains, you will feel getting hit in Celtic. Kit with 9.9km radar, sonar, a super heal, decent armor, excellent AA and workable concealment…captains, this is a literal no-brainer. Celtic is a slightly different twist off some of the most competitive ships in the game.
Rochester is rather tanky like most of her preceding Baltimore cousins. She has the same armor scheme essentially, and similar HP/EHP values. While this would normally be good on its own, Rochester has an Achilles’ Heel. Rochester must choose between having smoke or having a heal, and outright lacks Radar. While she has defensive AA, this is mostly a living meme rather than consistently as effective in combat as Radar. As said before, in terms of smoke cruisers there are just better options some of which don’t involve sacrificing your heal, or even radar. This relegates Rochester to just being a rather average 203mm CA, with very slightly better AA and decent enough armor.
The ranking seems a bit harsh, but that’s generally the difference between the hunter (Celtic), and the hunted (Rochester). Rochester initially will feel getting hit less, due to a larger health pool however, the table quickly swings in favor of Celtic, which gets most of it back.
​

	Health	Effective Health
Azuma	52 500	78 960
Albemarle	43 800	78 840
Sigfried	55 000	70 400
Celtic	36 700	66 020
Edinburgh	36 400	65 520
Hipper	43 800	58 517
Plymouth	41 000	58 220
Prinz Eugen	45 000	57 600
AL Baltimore	42 400	56 646
Baltimore	42 400	56 646
Mainz	44 000	56 320
Riga	42 000	56 112
Rochester	41 900	55 978
Amalfi	42 800	54 784
Mainz CE	42 500	54 400
Kutuzov	40 700	54 364
Pytor Bagration	42 000	53 760
Atago	40 100	53 574
Mogami	39 100	52 238
Perfect 10	36 500	51 788
AL Chapayev	37 000	51 504
Chapayev	37 000	51 504
Belfast 43	38 400	51 302
Suzuya	38 000	50 786
Wichita	37 900	50 634
Wichita CE	37 900	50 634
Charles Martel	38 000	48 640
AL Montpelier	36 900	47 232
Cleveland	36 900	47 232
Ochakov	34 750	46 426
Weimar	32 000	42 752
Bayard	34 700	-
Harbin	26 500	33 892

Armor

• Celtic: GOOD
• Rochester: GOOD

This chart below sticks to the USN and RN CA/CLs for now... At some point, this chart will include overmatch and juicy other details for all the cruisers, but for now, it is simple enough to get the point across. Most Cruisers have their critical spaces directly abutting the hull, others don’t. Cruiser armor varies widely and is worth looking at because there are absolutely ships with specific advantages worth exploring and exploiting. For now, let’s keep it simple.
As summarized before, the Baltimore Class has relatively good armor, while it has its weaknesses, is generally functional enough to get by. They are neither needlessly weighed down by their armor, nor under-armored. It’s worth saying Rochester and Celtic have vaguely the same armor lay out and will handle 380mm Battleships.

	Extremity Plating (mm)	Belt Armor (mm)
Albemarle	25	152
AL Baltimore	27	152
AL Montpelier	25	127
Baltimore	27	152
Belfast 43	16	114
Celtic	27	152
Cleveland	25	127
Edinburgh	30	114
Perfect 10	16	114
Plymouth	16	114
Rochester	27	152
Wichita	27	152
Wichita CE	27	152

Anti-Air Suite

• Rochester: BEST
• Celtic: GREAT

Rochester takes the cake here, with better and larger AA guns she’s rather resistant to airborne pests. Celtic ties in with the close second, along with her sisters. The truly beautiful thing about either ship is that captains will not need to waste any energy into building this into making this sector a functional kit. Captains, you can save some defensive energy by focusing into Celtic’s Radar and by leaving Rochester in port. The magic number here is being north of that 350/s line, Azuma scrapes by with a bit of focus, where pretty much all the USN ships will laugh off aircraft. A major point of contention that is worth noting; Rochester is immune, Celtic is quite resistant to CVs, where Albemarle gets by here, and Edinburgh is rather hindered. I suspect this will be massively impactful for competitive players.

	Range (Km)	DPS
Rochester	5.0	370
AL Baltimore	5.0	365
Baltimore	5.0	365
Celtic	5.0	365
AL Montpelier	5.0	363
Cleveland	5.0	363
Mainz	5.0	357
Mainz CE	5.0	357
Sigfried	5.2	354
Azuma	5.0	342
Hipper	4.5	288
Pyotr Bagration	5.0	280
Prinz Eugen	4.5	279
Plymouth	5.0	276
Perfect 10	5.0	276
Albemarle	5.0	272
Kutuzov	5.0	264
Amalfi	4.0	225
Wichita	5.0	217
Wichita CE	5.0	217
Bayard	5.0	212
Belfast 43	5.0	207
Al Chapayev	5.0	207
Chapayev	5.0	207
Charles Martel	5.0	204
Ochakov	5.0	196
Riga	5.2	188
Weimar	4.5	181
Edinburgh	5.0	175
Harbin	5.2	170
Mogami	5.0	127
Atago	5.0	90
Suzuya	5.0	67

Rochester takes the cake here, because everyone deserves to be really good at something. However, with CVs it’s important to remember everything is relative.

Concealment

• Rochester: GOOD
• Celtic: GOOD

Technically these are the same values while stock, and their rating is the same. However, this is quite deceiving. Rochester is GOOD leaning on GREAT where Celtic is GOOD leaning on AVERAGE. The reason for this follows their available commanders, which Shelly Beapley offers a unique 4th row concealment skill unavailable to any other commander, or nation. The result of this, Rochester, like her cousins sits at a comfortable 9.3km, where Celtic sits at 9.9km. Rochester can do almost nothing with this concealment, as she lacks radar, and her smoke fire window is just a pale 1.7km below her surface concealment. However, that .6km is a palpable difference and can open huge strategic windows; particularly once south of that magic 10km line.
The obvious connotation here is that hiding a radar cruiser inside 10km is far scarier than hiding a smoke cruiser inside 9.5, provocatively when that same smoke cruiser can be spotted inside her smoke at 7.6km. Captains, this 7.6km is on par with her sisters, however, this is a very narrow margin even for a support cruiser. Smoke is infinitely easier to use than radar, however, infinitely less forgiving.

	Stock Concealment
Amalfi	11.4
Atago	11.7
Harbi	11.8
Belfast 43	11.9
Plymouth	12.0
Edinburgh	12.0
Albemarle	12.1
Mogami	12.3
Suzuya	12.3
Cleveland	12.5
AL Montpelier	12.5
Celtic	12.6
AL Baltimore	12.6
Baltimore	12.6
Rochester	12.6
Wichita	12.6
Azuma	12.7
Weimar	13.0
Sigfried	13.0
Perfect 10	13.2
Bayard	13.2
Pyotr Bagration	13.3
Charles Martel	13.4
Hipper	13.5
Prinz Eugen	13.6
Mainz	13.7
Mainz CE	13.7
Kutuzov	13.8
Ochakov	13.8
Riga	14.2
AL Chapayev	14.3
Chapayev	14.3

Maneuverability

• Celtic: GOOD
• Rochester: WEAK

Celtic sits almost smack dab of the upper midfield pack of heavy cruisers where Rochester sits more towards the end of the pack. Rochester feels clunky and handles like it, where Celtic feels more “native” to her respective class sharing the same stats. While this is rated good overall, its more average in the face of Lighter Cruisers, representing more of a bang-for-the-buck scenario.

	Rudder Shift (s)	Turn Radius (m)
Weimar	6.4	660
AL Montpelier	6.9	660
Harbin	7.2	660
Cleveland	6.0	680
Wichita	6.0	680
Wichita CE	6.0	680
Perfect 10	8.0	680
Edinburgh	8.6	680
Belfast 43	9.9	680
Plymouth	10.1	680
Amalfi	11.0	680
Charles Martel	8.9	690
Mainz	10.5	720
Mainz CE	10.5	720
Albemarle	10.7	720
AL Baltimore	7.0	730
Baltimore	7.0	730
Celtic	7.0	730
Bayard	9.3	730
Hipper	9.7	740
Suzuya	5.6	750
Mogami	6.4	750
Ochakov	7.4	750
Rochester	10.5	750
Kutuzov	6.5	760
Prinz Eugen	9.8	770
Atago	8.1	790
Sigfried	14.0	880
AL Chapayev	8.7	890
Chapayev	8.7	890
Pyotr Bagration	10.5	890
Azuma	12.3	920
Riga	11.5	920

Commanders

Celtic:
Celtic essentially has one commander that is head and shoulders ahead of the rest, while the rest kind of just work. HotRod offers the best fit here inarguably, along with Radar Edinburgh and Radar Minotaur. This sets Celtic up to be a near par build with the USN CA Queen Shelly Beapley. While her 4th row skill’s absence here is certainly felt and results in a 9.9km concealment, the build is largely similar and works well for any radar focused cruiser. While there are other builds out there, this is the gem of the lot and helps unlock that sacred mantra of utility that surrounds the Baltimore Class. Inspirations should focus on concealment, Mikawa and Swirski, to bring Celtic’s detection to pair with her Radar.
HotRod

• Cognizant: -10% Radar Cooldown Time
• Ingenious: -7% Incoming Splash Damage, +1.6o/s Gun Traverse
• Full Speed Ahead: +5% Speed, -10% Rudder Shift
• Prescience: -20% Air Detection, +10% Radar Duration
• Acoustic Chamber: -25% Sonar Cooldown, +5% Sonar Duration, +1 Sonar Charge
• Fully Packed: -5% Consumable Reload, +1 Consumable Charge

Rochester:
Nothing can be easy with Rochester, and naturally, building her was to the same effect. Essentially there are two trains of thought for this ship, build into dispersion or build into utility.
AL Montpelier seemed to mesh the best, which then turns Rochester into a little flamethrower capable of merging all her shells into a single pixel. However, this build is rather finicky to use and has a fair number of weaknesses. The build heavily relies on team spotting and is itself a second-line cruiser. Something like a 19-20% fire chance and a nasty dispersion circle. Rochester already has excellent gunnery performance as discussed; Montpelier really sharpens the sword. Pair with AL Scharnhorst and Scott to reduce dispersion and sigma, respectively, even further.
AL Montpelier

• Anti-Air Mode: +10% AA Range
• Burn it Down XXL: +2% Fire Chance
• Igniter: +3% Fire Chance
• All-Out Assault: +4% Sigma, +10% Incoming Fire Dispersion, +5% Incoming Damage
• Fixated: +5% Sigma, -5% Dispersion
• Fully Packed: -5% Consumable Reload, +1 Consumable Charge

It's a rare day when Shelly gets sat down in favor of another commander in the USN CA tree, but I kept falling into the same pitfalls using the same build for similar ships often being able to use radar. Shelly will help bring out Rochester’s utility, but she’s arguably not as well fit in on Rochester as AL Montpelier is. Pair Beapley with concealment inspirations from Mikawa and Swirski and enjoy a very beautiful 9.3km concealment. Rochester has SHAP and excellent penetration values, meaning she can readily ambush and critically strike ships quite larger than her, all without torpedoes.
Shelly Beapley

• Refractory: -8% Chance of catching fire
• Ingenious: -7% Incoming Splash Damage, +1.6o/s Gun Traverse
• Full Speed Ahead: +5% Speed, -10% Rudder Shift
• Velocious: +5% Speed
• Private Zone: -8% Detectability
• Fully Packed: -5% Consumable Reload, +1 Consumable Charge

Consumables

Ok, rather than spell out everything, everywhere, all at once; I’m going to keep it simple here.
Celtic:

1. Damage Control: Standard, unlimited uses. 60s cooldown.
2. Sonar: 3km Torp, 4.2km Ship detection. Lasts around 98s when kit with Hot Rod and reloads in 132.
3. Radar: 9.9km range and lasts about 28s when built.
4. Heal: 733/s over 20s. Yep, that’s over 14k HP. Reloads in less than a minute too.

Celtic has a near ideal consumable suite. There are some differences off the mainstream, such as slightly less sonar range or shorter radar duration. Glossing over the minor differences, the bigger picture reveals something better. Built, Celtic can regenerate a LOT of health.
Rochester:

1. Damage Control: Standard, unlimited. 60s cooldown.
2. Defensive AA: +200% average AA damage. This is memes, it's sort of like a bug zapper for planes.
3. Sonar: Standard 3.3km/4.4km detection over 96s. The average sonar found on everything.
4. Smoke/Heal: 30s duration, 104s dissipation time for the smoke. 251/s over 28s for the heal.

Rochester is rather standard in her access to her consumables, with the killer choice between smoke or a heal. I’ve gone back and forth, generally landing on the heal. Rochester is essentially a decent cruiser hampered by her rather average consumable suite.

Modifications

1. Aiming Systems Mod 1: -7% Dispersion
2. Steering Gears Mod 2: -20% Rudder Shift
3. Concealment Mod 1: -10% Detectability
4. Main Battery Mod 3: -15% Gun Reload

Ok, so the modifications section is super easy because both ships share the same builds. Aiming Systems mod 1 for the dispersion, player’s choice on slot 2 with either propulsion mod 2 or steering gears mod 2. Concealment Mod 1 for slot 3 and finishing off slot 4 by increasing DPM with main battery mod 3.

Upgrades

• Both Celtic and Rochester are premium ships without any researchable upgrades.

Research

• Neither of these ships are currently used in Research Projects. Look out though, one of those random reward or anniversary projects in the future might literally scream having one of these two tucked inside.

Summary

• Celtic: GREAT
• Rochester: AVERAGE

Celtic is a joy. Rochester is work.
I can see Celtic becoming a popular contestant in competitive play with the access to that 9.9km radar and her super heal. I rather lamented her HE performance, more due to her lower fire chance then her DPM or ballistic performance. While it would be nice to see her have ¼ pen HE, she doesn’t need it. I find her nicely balanced and well measured to take on Tier 7. She is just unique enough to warrant her own review, whilst similar enough to stay nearer the beaten path. While she may not comfortably and outright usurp Wichita CE and AL Baltimore from their spots, she’s worth mentioning with the group. That’s saying something.
Rochester, well, let’s just say that not everyone can be the best. This ship is tough but can be rewarding in a sense of overcoming the demands of a challenging ships. My issue with Rochester is 2-fold, her smoke and her heal. She ideally needs both to function in this current meta, and running the ship’s gimmick leaves her with abysmal EHP in a plummet from pretty good to 3rd worst overall, which only trumps Harbin and Bayard while being out-healed by Weimar. With a smoke-fire penalty in the mid 7’s km, smoke is hard to use effectively that is not relegated to back line, HE spam. As said before, if we’re really going to be stuck to this, there are ships which do this better. While I love the perspective of a USN CA without radar just to offer something more unique, a USN CA without Radar is like a cart without a horse. Hilariously enough, Rochester seems to avoid CV games like the actual plague, so I suppose that’s one strong point. Otherwise, and largely, captains are left with a rather average 203mm CA.

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• You can find all my reviews published to wowsbuilds.com courteously hosted by Father Mundy.
• Opinions reflected in the review are the writers' own, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editor(s), collaborator(s), publisher(s), Wargaming, or World of Warships: Legends.
• Inspirational Credit to LittleWhiteMouse

Written By: Capt Thatch

I always wanted a majority of the starters to dominate in competitive pokemon like grassy glide rillaboom, greninja, and blaziken did. I decided to just think of a bunch of random new starters Ideas and decided to make these starters BROKEN/OP so they can take over the meta game lol. These mons are meant for Ubers. They all have a total stat of 534
1st starter:
Type: Grass/electric speedy special attacker.
Hidden ability: Marksmanship : The pokemons deadly accuracy gives every attack a 35% chance to crit or to the flinch target.
Model: Fox McCloud from Starfox. Imagine a grass type version of Fox McCloud carrying a wooden craved pistol and a wooden rifle on his back. The hair is spiked due to him being an electric type. He uses electricity to shoot leaves or rocks out of the rifle/pistol
HP: 80
Attack: 50
Def: 79
Sp.Att: 125
Sp.Def 75
Speed: 125
signature move: ChloroBlaster (grass/special)
Effect: lowers special defense by 1 stage.
Base: 80
Acc: 100
PP: 10
Moveset: ChloroBlaster, thunder bolt/thunder, power gem, volt switch.
2nd starter:
Type: Fire/flying physical attacker with balanced bulk and speed
Model: Red/orange Griffin with flames around its front talons, its eagle like neck and wings. It will always leave a trail of fire and smoke when it walks/flys.
Hidden ability: Smoldering Presence: The heat that this pokemon gives off causes every pokemon in the battle to be burned. Water, rock, and ground pokemon are not effected. However, this pokemon takes 50% less damage from water attacks.
HP: 95
Attack: 117
Def: 90
Sp. Att: 50
Sp.Def 80
Speed: 102
Signature move: Red Hawk (fire/physical)
Base damage: 100
Acc: 100
PP: 10
Moveset: swords dance, red hawk, iron head, wild charge/roost/brave bird.
3rd starter:
Type: WateGround physical attackewall
Model: Think of an alligator snapping turtle but more dinosaur like. Very rough and jagged looking shell with a massive beak that will rip through any foe.
Hidden ability: kraken shell: All incoming damage is reduced by 20% and returns 5% of the reduced damage. Ex). 100 damage is now 80 damage. The reduce damage is 20 so 5% of 20 damage is sent back.
HP: 125
Attack: 113
Def: 104
Sp. Attack: 38
Sp.Def 104
Speed: 50
Signature move: Aquatic Snap (watephysical)
A pokemon hit by this move will lose 1/8th of MAX HP per turn. If the move lands consecutively, the amount of HP lost per turn increases to 1.6/8 of MAX HP.
Base Damage: 80
Acc: 90
PP 10
Moveset: Slack Off, aquatic snap, earthquake, curse/spikes/stealth rock/bulk up.

​
Link is dead, or dreaming.
lol ok lets backup. im pretty sure being in heaven or being in a dream is the laziest way to write an anything, but for breath of the wild...it makes a lot more sense than you would think.
originally what caught my attention was the fact that there are a lot of similarities between skyward sword and botw. namely, the hylian shield design is the same, the master sword is the same, (some could say that its the same as twilight princess too, but the twilight princess one is a darker shade of purple and has golden around the golden gem on the hilt so its technically different) and I thought that well maybe that means botw is somewhere near skyward sword, but then I started thinking more about it. the mirror of twilight, the yellow striped at, (yes i watched a lot of game theory) and the references to each different timeline. matpat said that its because of hyrule warriors, which connected all the universes, but the developers said that game isn't canon and I happen to be a stubborn little brat, so im not gonna explain it away with hyrule warriors like game theory did. no, my theory is that link is dead or dreaming, and somehow accessed the memories of all the different past versions of himself. but I'll get to the specifics of that later.
now, the main and obvious reason that I think this is because, well, it has references to each timeline. thats pretty much it. but looking closer, there are a few very specific details that were chosen.
throughout the game, the hylian shield and the master sword, link's two most familiar tools, have their designs from skyward sword. considering its at the end of the timeline, which is objectively the farthest away from skyward sword as possible, that seems kinda weird. like after thousands of years, they just changed to their original form? no, something must have happened. one other smaller detail relating to skyward sword is that the language on some of the signs is the same as the skyward sword era.
now, lets look at some other facts: the rito and the zora are both alive in this game, but seperatly, even tho the rito were suppose to be the descendants of the zora. how is that possible? never explained. how about calamity ganon? where did it come from? they tell the story of it, and how it appeared, but not how. they don't specify on ganondorf or who created calamity ganon, he just sort of appeared.
​
all of these things can be explained with a few different theories that are all vaguely similar to one another.
1: Link is dreaming. link got real tired from his last adventure and as he fell asleep, he accidentally gained access to all the memories of all his past incarnations, and their adventures. everything that any link ever has ever known was crammed into this huge dreamworld for link to explore. calamity ganon is the incarnation of the nightmare part of all of link. ganon has been seen by multiple links a lot, and when combined, only share one similarity: they are formed out of pure evil, and therefore thats how he is depicted in this dream sequence. this can also explain why the rito are there, the zora are there, and the references to skyward sword. and TOTK looks like it could be going along with this too, seeing as the next part of this dreamland revolves around him flying up into the sky, like what happened when hyrule was lifted into the sky.
one more small detail, is that Impa is there. demise in skyward sword said that he would cast a magic so that the three that represent the triforce pieces would be reincarnated again and again and again, and yet another recurring character is impa. (i know there are other recurring characters, but ill get to that in a different post) and impa, in botw, is depicted as incredibly old. now, link, throughout all his journeys, has seen impa as one thing more than anything else: fragile and old. so if link were to be dreaming and his mind was searching through memories, what would be the most likely thing for his brain to comprehend? an old, fragile impa.
​
2: Link died. there are two possible theories that spin off from this one theory:
link died, and is now having flashbacks of all his memories before he gets reincarnated again OR...
that link died for the last time, and succesfully reset the timeline.
now, hear me out. similar to the dream timeline, my theory is that all these different memories from other links are being jumbled into one world--but for a different reason. for some reason, the three spirits of the triforce lost their sense of creativity--and decided that as they are forced to reincarnate over and over again, (because of demise's magic thingie) that they decided to reset the timeline and recreate all the events over again, except, nothing went as planned. BOTW is the limbo, the in-between of a new hyrule being created. everything from the past timelines were brought right here and formed into one big world, which recreated hyrule in a very different way from what it had planned. so link was dropped into this world by accident while skyward sword was being recreated, and now, TOTK is the reset version of skyward sword, mostly referenced by the fact that there are now islands being lifted into the sky. of course TOTK hasn't been released yet so it may destroy my whole theory, but this is what i've got.
​
two other things I forgot to mention, starting with the first: the technology.
for both the death timeline and he dream timeline, the tech has gone crazy. the legend of zelda game series is about fantasy, and suddenly out of nowhere technology starts to become a huge part of the game starting with botw? now, in past games there have been other, smaller technological innovations, but nothing as big as giant robot animals that shoot lasers. for the dream timeline, Link's memories of diffewrent technological pieces all crammed together to create new technologies never before thought of, and were brought into the dreamworld not seperate, but not fused together. for the death timeline, well, its kinda the same thing: all the technology from the previous games and timelines were brought here altogether instead of seperate from one another, and the gods or whatever kept it in the world as it restarted with TOTK (aka the new Skyward sword)
the second thing I wanna mention is amiibos:
now this is a really stupid thing to bring up, but literally every amiibo item you get, including costumes and armor from previous games, and even wolf link and epona, can all be explained in both the dream theory or the death theory. and its basically the same way you explain technology and everything else. the amiibo stuff is all from other timelines and games, and therefore the memories brought it back. this works for the DLC too, because there is a lot of stuff from that (for example tingle armor, the phantom knight thingie, the purple bunny thing) all come from previous games, previous memories, ETC. ETC.
​
now, I know this theory is so, so far out and so, so far fetched, but I have been trying for a long time to fit the pieces together on breath of the wild, because it goes in all different directions. Thank you for reading this far, I am but a child on the internet who enjoys this game series, and I hope you enjoy my theory concepts.

Do you think a Berserker build with the Barbarian would be a similar play style?

You guys. I have questions that I'm not necessarily looking for answers for, but I'm welcome to any explanations. This post is more of an "I will make your brain stop braining" post. With that being said, here are my questions:
What if a sapphire had her gem where her eye should be?
If a gem was on the inside of their elbow, would they have one non-bending arm?
If Steven's gem was on his nose like Jasper, would he be a mouth-breather or would his gem breathe for him?
Gems don't have ears, except for Amethyst. And Sapphire doesn't have legs unless she shapeshifts a pair for herself. So... can a gem's permanent physical form be something not humanoid?
If gems can travel faster than the speed of light, why don't they have a way to protect their literal lifesource?
If two gems with left eyeball gems fused, what would happen to the gem? Would they combine colors? Would they become one gem?
Does gem placement determine personality?
If Garnet is made of one icy mom and one firey mom, making her temperature neutral to everyone and everything around her, how can she swim in lava?
​
I might come up with more questions- if I do, it'll be in another post.

Hello! I'd like to preface this by saying I'm not trying to complain and am actually really loving Lost Ark so far. The graphics are amazing, story is enjoyable, combat is unique, and I assume lots of people like the game based on how many bots there are in the starting area.
I recently picked up Lost Ark and just hit combat level 39 on my Artist. I see a lot of places talking about how raids and cool gear upgrades are available at level 50, which I assume isn't too far away, but I'm a little confused on how long that'll take me. I currently have 38 hours on the game, and I don't know if that's typical or not. I'm just wondering how much longer it should take me to get to play with other people, because it's pretty lonely in the earlier areas.
I usually complete games pretty fast which is why I'm curious. I've been completing all the quests I come across and collecting mokoko seeds but other than hitting that stupid barricade on Mount Zagoras for like 40 minutes, I haven't really been doing anything too crazy or out of the way. Should I be farther along by now? Is there something I'm missing?
Also, when do I get cute outfits? The ones I'm getting now are basically recolors of the same crop top and booty shorts (I don't mind the style it's just that this green + brown combo is giving me hives), and I'm really jealous of the cute mage outfits I keep seeing on the bots. Are there any outfits I can get for actual money? When I open the shop I just see a couple simple coats and some baseball outfits (?) but sometimes on the loading screen I see an "Artist outfit" promotion. Are those actual gear sets I'd have to level up to be able to buy?
This is a lot of questions rolled into one and sorry for the wall of text! I'm just kind of twiddling my thumbs atm because I find the combat not super challenging thanks to the new character buff. I haven't died or even been close once, is the class I chose overpowered or something? It is still fun but I want to play with other people. Also not used to Reddit so let me know if I should format posts differently or word things in a different way :)

For context; I played Sorc (~lv22, initially easy mode then upgraded up one difficulty when it was too easy) and Rogue (~lv9) on a 3000 series Ryzen 7 and a 3060 gpu with Windows 11 x64.

Starting off with the great

• Art direction is fantastic
• Spells and skills feel great
• Combat still feels slick
• Cinematics team is still one of the best
• I appreciate that its got an M17+ rating
• Mark as junk is a welcome improvement for inventory management. I kinda wish there was more marking types (mark as junk, mark for scrapping, etc)
• Storytelling has definitely stepped up from the Saturday Disney villains of Diablo 3
• Never had a crash!
• I like the revised potion system

I'll start with what could potentially be fixed by launch

• Rubber-banding issues when walking between areas. I kept running into invisible walls and then bounced back to a previous spot when walking between two areas. Most notably the Kyovashad and Eastern Gatehouse/Cathedral of Light.
• An annoying delay after talking to an NPC while the camera pans, preventing you from choosing the next dialog options. I'm a bit of a lore junkie and playing it for the plot.
• Can't always skip dialogue with characters? Couldn't seem to find a pattern with it.
• Subtitles on movies are buggy. Doesn't go away after words are spoken or de-sync within a minute.
• The (dungeons?) felt too too big, overstaying their welcome. I had moments that I was so bored while backtracking that I actually dozed off at the computer.
• Big bosses seem to be mainly damage sponges. The one at the end of Act1 took forever with 2p, despite the pattern not deviating much other than attacks speeding up a bit.
• If I'm playing solo, please for the love of Akarat pause the damn game when I press ESC. Coming back to a dead character after having to run off and do something on a moments notice isn't fun.
• I can see textures loading in as cutscenes play.
• Why can't I right-click and teleport to someone in my party? The friend I was playing with was genuinely angry about it
• It's too easy to miss waypoints. Could we automatically activate them once we step foot into a town?
• Camera zoom levels of the gameplay area (this has been discussed thoroughly by others already)
• Comparing off-hand damage tooltips seems buggy (off-hand skull showing me +1 damage, swapped off-hand showing me +13 damage). How could they both be better than the other?
• Every cellar I went into was the same hallway/room. Did I just have awful RNG?
• My basic lightning arc attack was one-shotting mobs. Chain lightning destroyed everything it touched. The iconic frozen orb spell? Merely tickled the enemies...
• Exit dungeon button is useless whenever I reach for it. Dungeon map doesn't always have "leave dungeon" or leave area. I don't always want to TP back to town.
• I keep pressing "E" by accident during a battle and it is always followed by panic as chunks of my HP are taken out. Remapped it to backspace
• Performance is steady for the most part, but randomly stutters for a few moments.
• Consider unlocking the skill slots for the earlier levels as we gain more skills. What's the point of letting us unlock multiple skills if we didn't have the ability to use them in slots?
• Sometimes pinned locations on the map will show you a red line path that isn't valid

Post-launch improvements?

• Character designer has so little options compared to Lost Ark. The interface to create your character felt really clunky too (eg. left/right buttons instead of a gallery)
• If I was somewhat bored with the "increased drop rates" during beta then I'm not really looking forward to the launch drop rates
• Only realising it now after the beta had finished, I never noticed the music in the game. Is there even any music?
• For a game that was touted as Diablo+MMO I found very little reason to interact with strangers, and even if I wanted I found it very difficult to figure out how.

Things that stop me from buying but unlikely to be fixed, ever

• No offline mode for console. I am not paying a monthly subscription fee to PSN/Xbox to play Diablo solo.
  
• The story-telling mechanisms used are cheap. D4 is too much "telling", not showing
  

-- Over-use of holograms to re-tell events
-- Neyrelle's mum is having the time of her life following Lilith around. Why on earth does she spend so much time leaving diary entries on stone tablets?

• The plot/dialogue is an insult to the intelligence of the M17+ audience. I found Dead Cells had a more intriguing way of telling a story than Diablo 4.

-- After gruesome scene where priest is killed in church, Lilith speaks to guy in hoodie, "Now our true work begins" - that last line cheapened the whole scene. Would have maintained a more menacing tone by ending with "Go to the Dry Steppes and proceed with preparations".
-- Our character is drugged and abducted after their first meal, escape and hours later happily agrees to enjoy a meal with another total stranger (Lorath)
-- A grave danger has been unleashed upon this world, we need to hurry! But first, carry this token around in the snow to a few altars. Then seek blessing from our living Angel. Oh he didn't approve? That's ok, I'll bless you anyways lulz
-- Nobody in town seems surprised by my discoveries about the big baddie. They all seem to be ahead of any developments, why cant they just save the world themselves?

• The world feels TOO big? I felt fatigue looking at the map and thinking about how much walking is required before a mount is unlocked. Parts of the game felt like a walking simulator (could just be a me-problem)
• Sorc skill-tree seems too linear, felt more like a skill-stick.
• Missing the feeling of building a character the way we want and having items supplement that build, rather than the other way around. Most notable after playing D2R prior to D4 beta.
  
• Why no local co-op for PC?
  
• I feel nothing towards the MMO aspects of the game.
  
• I feel next to nothing towards the story of the game.
  
• I thought my friend was lying about how much the game costs (too damn much)
  

Thanks Blizzard for the D4 open beta, but I have now confirmed that the franchise is no longer what I crave for in an ARPG.
This is really sad for me as I always saw Diablo 1 as the genre defining game and Diablo 2/LoD/D2R as the gold standard that every game aspired to be. Hundreds of hours sunk into D1/D2LoD, not even including the time on creating fan apps (mobile app for Runewords) and D2 mods. D3 was ok, RoS fixed it up but the ARPG genre now has alternatives.
Diablo 4 is a decent game. I want it to succeed and I'm sure many will enjoy it thoroughly, but it's not for me.

I've recently returned to the game after spending a few years away (because my old-ass phone couldn't run the game anymore lol) but unfortunately I lost access to my old save (level 28ish I think😢) so I've gotta start all over again! Yay!
My one question, would it be a good idea to just buy as many ovalith dragons from the Spring event to crank my gem income? I've got the gemstone island so I can accommodate 12 total, but I'm not sure if buying some other dragons would be a better use of my eggs. I'm still quite early in this new save (just got to metal yesterday) so I don't entirely care about grabbing the chrysalis/hidden/monolith dragons yet since I still have plenty of normal dragons to breed, but is it worth it to buy them anyways? Or do I just dump the eggs into a ovalith gem factory? Thanks~

Of course you are. So am I. So let's be interesting together!
I'm 6 feet tall, brown hair, blue eyes, average build. I'm looking for intriguing conversation, riveting discussion, and gripping connections. I'm not as overly concerned with appearances as I am with being fun to converse with. Though I'm sure neither will be a problem for all of you beautiful people out there.
Some of my main interests:
Sports! Football and basketball primarily.
Music! Metal and hip-hop. Bands like Counterparts, Currents, Miss May I, Architects (pre-2020), and Fit For A King.
Video games! Valorant, Overwatch, Lost Ark. Also some more casual stuff like Stardew Valley.
Now, tell me about your interesting self please. :) How do you like to waste time? Who's your favorite band? Have you ever been in love?
Looking forward to getting to know you. <3

I've just recently got back into Last Epoch, with the 0.9 patch that just released, and now multiplayer is a thing! I'm playing on my offline necromancer by myself, but let's make new toons together and play together!
I'm also playing Old World some, but have never played it with another person. Maybe we could, if you want?
Aside from that, I also play Hearthstone a lot. It used to be my favorite game ever but it sucks recently. I do play standard some, mainly shaman, priest, mage, and paladin. Would love to also play arena with someone, we watch and help each other like a 2 player co-op game. I'm pretty good at arena and now that there's a leaderboard it again it would be exciting to get on it. Unfortunately, my first few runs since they added the leaderboard went badly. I also recently got into Battlegrounds. I accidentally bought the battle pass on the EU server so that's the one I'm playing on and over 6k MMR now. A new BG patch is coming this week, adding buddies again (I've never played with them) so that's somewhat exciting.
Would also like to find someone to play Slay the Spire with too where we watch each other. I'm not sure about the co-op mod as I hear it sucks, but maybe. I've played it a lot and have beat Ascension 20 and then some with the Silent, been getting into the Defect some but don't play the other 2 classes at all. Would love to have someone to play this game with or show them the ropes.
And I play some other obscure titles like Thea 2, and Across the Obelisk. Would be nice to find somebody to play one of those with.
I would really love to find someone to introduce a new game to me in a genre I like. TCG, MMO, ARPG mainly. Really, I'm just looking for a friend to play with that is fun and we get along. That's all that really matters. Sucks playing alone every night.
MMORPG's I have played and enjoyed include Elder Scrolls Online, ArcheAge, Bless Unleashed, New World, and Wakfu. I have also tried out FFXIV, WoW, GW2, Lost Ark, and BDO, but never really got into any of these. If you know of any other good MMO's, let me know and maybe we can play it together.
ARPG's I have played and liked in the past include Path of Exile, Last Epoch, Diablo 3, Undecember, and Grim Dawn. I think I might be permanently done with playing PoE alone, but would like to try playing it with someone else, especially someone knew who I could teach everything to Diablo 4 looks lame.
A little about me: I'm 34 years old, live in the US in central time zone, and live alone with my 2 cats. I'm looking for friends to game with because I don't really have many. I'm online every night and usually gaming! I'm super friendly and talkative and looking for the same, and someone who has time to talk and to play. I'm also LGBTQ+ friendly in case that needs to be said. Also looking for people who have a sense of humor. I don't care about your age as long as we get along.
I pretty much game 24/7 when I'm not working or sleeping. I usually get home around 5 or 6 PM central time (sometimes earlier or later) and usually go to bed around 3 or 4 AM. You can add me on Discord: MeltedWater#9972 (Please don't message me here on Reddit, the messages aren't going through for some reason.)

Previous
Everyone looked where Frisk pointed. It was Alyx !
Alyx : It seems that Reaper sacrificed himself for nothing…
Tony : First of all, his name is Gabriel Reyes ! Second, it’s okay. Thanks to him, Bethany did the Purification earlier than expected.
Alyx : … Honestly… I don’t even know why you started this in the first place. You destroyed our complex TWO TIMES. This little b**** caused a riot for the second time.
Mary : HEY !!! DON’T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT !
Alyx : CLOSE YOUR MOUTH ! I’m talking ! And… Not only Bethany destroyed our complex… SHE ALSO CAUSED A GENOCIDE IN OUR ENTIRE CREW ! We lost practically everything !
Keinss : You know that Karma always gets you ? If you didn’t steal the Dark Amethyst, maybe none of this would ever happened ?
Alyx : Possibly… But I just have something to ask… You think you are above consequences… Don’t you ?
Tony : If you have a good look, you would know that it was because of my HATE that Fina is here. Otherwise, she would still have her friends… AND HER WORLD !
Fina : …
She started to cry because Tony basically told the truth.
Tony : Hey… Don’t cry. At least you are still here. Even though it wasn’t happy after what happened to you…
Fina : No… *snif* It’s fine. Thanks Tony.
Alyx : Grr… Why you are forgiven easily ?! Did you see all the mistakes that you’ve made in your adventure ?!
Tony : At least, unlike you, I’m learning from my mistakes. And I try to protect those who has suffered long enough.
Alyx : You know what ?
She bring out her sword and she pointed right at Tony.
Alyx : I think it’s time to reveal the truth !
??? : Stop there, Alyx !
She turned back to see that Dmitri arrived. And of course, she was surprised about his arrival.
Alyx : D-Dad ?!
This single word did react literally everyone in shock. Dmitri approached her daughter calmly.
Dmitri : Let me take care of this one, okay ?
Alyx : But Dmitri… Tony is really strong. Remember that he destroyed the Airship ?!
Henry : First, it was me, not Tony. And second, we almost died due to him !
Dmitri : So I have more reasons to attack you.
Alyx : Dmitri… Don’t…
Dmitri : I’ll take care of this ! GET OUT !
Alyx turned her face in sadness. She didn’t want to abandon her father because Tony was basically younger and stronger than him.
Alyx : Just… Be careful, okay ?
Dmitri : I will. Now get out !
The Ice Queen immediately leaved the aftermath and trapped Bethany, Tony and Amina into the magical arena.
Amina : Oh no !
Keinss : Dammit ! Looks like you have to fight him without us, Tony.
Dmitri : Hehe… I know that Amina is practically useless in fighting and Bethany doesn’t have anything to protect herself. Simply because I can take you to your Abandoned Form with this stone.
The Warden activated the stone to affect the Trio. But strangely, only Bethany did get affected.
Dmitri : Well… I didn’t expected this…
Tony : Are you stupid ? I can’t get into this form because I don’t have HATE anymore and Amina… IT’S A DEFENSE MECHANISM, YOU IMBECILE !
Ruby : Hey, your language, Guardian !
Dmitri : Alright… *summons his pistol* I hope God is with you. Because I won’t give you Mercy…
SOUL BATTLE START !
Dmitri : You did knew that you had a chance to stop. But unfortunately, you didn’t… And now, you have to pay the price for your consequences, Tony VJ…
Dmitri armed himself with his gun and a lance and pointing it towards the trio.
Dmitri : I’ve said that I’ll stay on my morals on my members. But for you, I’ll make an exception, Guardian.
*Dmitri is looking through you…
The Soul Battle is resembling to the Papyrus fight in REVENGE : The Unseen Ending. (The first version actually.)
Dialogue :
- You know ? Maybe in an another timeline, we did became friends.
- With your own powers, you could have benefit the Wall in it’s entirety.
- Remember the Dark Amethyst ? Well… When I discovered this gem, I knew what to do with it.
- The Government couldn’t resist to our attacks according to the plans. And even the Toppat Airship had zero chance against it !
- It could have ended well… Until you came.
- And I don’t count Mary, Bethany and Amina too. A woman that managed to pass her trauma is impressive. More if she did get along with it.
- A girl that managed to lure towards a deadly trap that I’ve caused myself due to you…
- And an artificial experiment that did get feelings towards Henry and did everything to hide him from me and my complex.
- Even Henry himself… This man is probably the embodiment of Luck itself.
- You imagine what would happen if I had the same Luck as him ? I would be INVINCIBLE.
- Also… Henry does most of the job. Ellie does help but not as much.
- And Charles is not that talented. Seriously. How his ‘Greatest Plan’ is supposed to work ? It’s just a kamekaze attack.
- His own sister, Sarah… Clearly abandoned due to a simple mistake.
At the 13th Attack however, his weapon seems to loosen in resistance and starts to break.
- All of those people. That suffered in their own way.
- Heh. I don’t even know if it’s your fault or not.
- After all, this has gone for long enough…
And at the last attack, Dmitri’s lance did break and lost completely it’s HP. Dealing 1582 Damage. The barrier disappeared and the Warden, fell.
Dmitri : Even with that… It’s not enough ?!
Bethany : You’ve lost ! Give up, Warden !
Alina : You are also alone ! And as the daughter of the person that protects the city, you are under arrest !
However… Dmitri started to laugh.
Monika : HEY ! WHAT’S SO FUNNY ?!
Dmitri : You think I’m done yet ? Well… Try to catch me.
And then, he run away, which surprised everyone.
Henry : He… Left ?!
Charles : GUYS ! CATCH HIM ! DON’T LET HIM CAUSING MORE HARM !
And the entire team pursued the Warden into the city. To arrive into an unfinished place.
Next

you may have your 15 gems of your choice 1 diamond 1 jasper 1 bismuth 1 pearl 1 peridot and the rest are your choice build your team and post it or keep it to yourself you may choose whatever color gem you want and you are aloud to ad connie and steven you may use real gems from the show this is live chat soo what you do is write your stuff on paper you may pick one perk for you team down below in the voter then your gems will each have 25 life each hit a person calls as far as a defualt hit like a punch or shield stun will cause 1 damage lost you can call 3 blocks per match and 2 super attacks a super attack costs 3 damage and 1 power attack that costs 4 damage and 1 revive on a gem soo if they run out of life you can revive them you fight til the other players gems are all poofed soo to start a fight go down to live chat and type (if your brave im ready) and wait if you are replying say (im brave) then enter a chat with the player and fight i know it sounds very hard but come back up here for a review here
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Table of Contents
Chapter 17 l Chapter 18 l Chapter 19 l Chapter 20 l Chapter 21 l Chapter 22 l Chapter 23
Chapter 24

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St. Michael
Failure.
The thought hit me hard. I watched as Xyphiel crested over the wall and stared down upon me. All I could see in his visage was my failure.
Once, so long ago, at the edge of the memory of eternity stood a Niten Dragon whose passion for God and his kind rivaled my own.
He was to be, in truth, my successor.
A man born of peace, not war. A man who would sacrifice everything unto his family, his kin, and at the end of the day, smile and request if there were more he could give.
Now the abomination before me glared at me with contempt and downright glee.
Corrupted by Pride and by my Brother Lucifer. The Fallen Prophet Xyphiel stood before me, in his most impure form.
The darkness in his eyes was an abyss that knew no true depth. Hovering over those twin pits of pitch-black void sat a pair of dark crimson embers. His once scaled, Seraphim wings, were replaced by the Cherubim wings of my Brother Lucifer, yet even those Xyphiel had altered.
No more were they white, nor even blackened by soot as they could easily become. Nay! Now they rose behind him in a charred crimson, catching the fading light of the sun here and there.
His armor, stained with the blood of millions as his hand, clad in a golden gauntlet, wielded the Puriel Blade.
I would free that blade from his hand by the end of this day, one way or another. I knew that within, he drew from the demons imprisoned in the Puriel Blade.
The Puriel blade housed legions of demons, lost souls, and Fallen angels. Xyphiel had not let it out of his sight all this time. Likely drawing from Lucifer and God knows how many other unholy powers which were trapped within.
I knew my goal and my hand was outstretched, waiting for the tool I could use to achieve it.
Geoffery placed my original sword in my hand.
As it touched my gauntlet I could feel the blade’s spirit emboldened. Through Geoffery’s works over the millennia, he had tempered it in Justice and Goodwill, as I had instructed him.
Though far from my disciple, I turned to Geoffrey, appraising the blade and hearing it resonate with the songs of its use as it defended the helpless and smote the wicked by Geoffrey's hand.
As if the blade itself took me through Geoffrey's life as he battled against man and old Gods alike.
This particular blade was forged once from the remains of a defeated Old One. The spirit purified in God’s divine power, its essence cleansed of darkness and void and replaced with unending light and hope.
I had missed this blade, my Blade of Ohr Tahor. With it and my shield of Chazak Choma, I readied myself to do battle with Xyphiel, as it was foretold.
For I knew that Xyphiel wielded the power of my Brother, Lucifer of Pride, and now I would have to defeat him.
If I failed this day, all was lost.
“Geoffrey Karkade, you have done well. Now, return to me my blade, so that I may try and fulfill my Father's prophecy,” I praised Geoffrey, my eyes never leaving Xyphiel.
“Done well??!” Xyphiel scoffed, laughing as he approached, landing several meters from myself, The Metatron Timothy, and Geoffrey. “Do you not know what he is responsible for, Michael?”
I narrowed my eyes at him, readying my shield and sword, “I have had enough of your venom, Fallen Prophet! This ends today!” I shouted.
Xyphiel did not acknowledge me, addressing Timothy, “Ask your supposed mother, Boy! Your dear uncle is the one who destroyed all of Nite at the behest of Lucifer! Now he claims to be Michael’s disciple. Yet…” Xyphiel’s brow furrowed in fury as his eyes fixed on me, “When I came to the Guardian Council, I was offered no mercy…”
Before I could speak, Geoffrey called out, “There’s a difference between you and me, Xyphiel! Though it is true, I did as you said long ago! I set myself upon a path to atone for my misdeeds, rather than wallow further in the mud of corruption!”
I couldn’t help but smile. Of all the people, I never thought a former child of Lucifer would be able to hold a moral high ground over a Niten Dragon.
That being said, neither Geoffrey nor Timothy of Enoch could yet stand against Xyphiel. “Go, now!” I shouted, “Aid your comrades!” I turned to Xyphiel once more, “This fate is mine to face.”
“Archangel, I’ll fight by your side!” Timothy of Enoch protested, “I’m the sundered child, this is my fate as well!”
Geoffrey, for his part, pulled Timothy away, “St. Michael knows what he’s doing. If he says you’re needed elsewhere, then elsewhere you go! Come on, there’s plenty to defend!”
Timothy was pulled, reluctantly, from my side as I approached Xyphiel.
Xyphiel scoffed, “Geoffrey ought to burn for lying to the boy,” he chuckled as he fixed his gaze upon me, “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, Michael.”
I charged ahead, not wanting to listen to Xyphiel’s putrid words a moment longer. My sword was raised high, my shield ready to parry or deflect. The time for speaking had ended.
The Sword of Samael had been drawn and now it was time for the wrath of God to descend upon the damned.
Even if one of those fallen were once our own brightest.
I felt a sense of Déjà vu.
Xyphiel blocked my strike with the Puriel blade and I could hear the blades sing a ballad of anguish and despair as they collided.
“Michael,” Xyphiel tsk’d me, his wrist holding firm, though at its limit as I clashed with him, “Striking first? What happened to turning the other cheek?”
“That is meant for those who might be forgiven for their transgressions, one day!” I growled, pushing my shield against Xyphiel, forcing him back, “Not for the likes of you!”
Xyphiel took a step back, gripping the Puriel blade in both hands, raising it upwards as he crouched down, the point aiming towards me. A Lancing pose, of sorts, like a viper ready to strike, “Ah, yes. I can never forget! I am The Unforgiven, after all.” Xyphiel lunged forward, the tip of the Puriel blade rocketing towards me.
I parried it with my shield, turning and swinging my blade down towards his wrist.
To my shock, his gauntlet-clad hand caught my wrist before I could sever his. I felt the claws of his hand digging into my flesh and wisps of blue mana seeped from my wounds.
“You see, Michael? You think you have the advantage in this battle, but you’re sorely mistaken,” Xyphiel taunted.
I twisted my wrist from his hand and pushed him back once more with my shield.
Xyphiel withdrew, though he continued his verbal onslaught, “While you sat high above in Heaven, singing lovely choirs to God Almighty, I was fighting,” Xyphiel grinned, looking to the chaos unfolding around us, “As were they,” he motioned to the armies of darkness seething around us.
I kept my focus on Xyphiel, waiting for his next strike.
“Ever embattled, even with one another, fighting day in and day out,” Xyphiel grinned, “Growing ever stronger, longing for the day they would destroy you.”
I flexed my hand behind my shield, waiting to make my strike. If I could pull the Puriel blade from him, or better yet, shatter its hilt, then Xyphiel would no longer hold the legions of Demons imprisoned within.
While he wouldn’t be defeated, it would be the first blow to land upon him. I would take his dark powers, piece by piece.
“We have not been resting, Fallen Prophet. We have been preparing as well, for the day to finally set the world right!” I called out, charging forward.
Xyphiel stood firm, pridefully believing he had anticipated my attack.
As I charged forward, I did not attack with my blade, instead moving to strike with my shield.
Xyphiel was caught off-guard, and as he blocked my shield with the Puriel blade, I thrust my sword into the gem of its hilt.
I watched as the jewel was struck firmly, and cracked. “I am sorry, brother Puriel. It had to be done.”
The gem let out a shockingly pitiful spat of light sparks and white smoke before it shattered, crumbling to the ground.
Something was wrong.
I felt no shift in strength from Xyphiel, no change in his temperament.
The Puriel Blade didn’t even feel different as it scraped and trembled along my shield.
“Confused, Michael?” Xyphiel said with a vicious grin.
I leaped back, keeping my guard up as Xyphiel’s grin remained. “Where is the true Puriel blade? The blade that you used to imprison Lucifer and his armies!” I demanded.
It had to be a replica or a fake. Did Xyphiel have the blade elsewhere on him and refused to fight due to the risk it would put him in?
Xyphiel glanced at the sword in his hand and back to me, “This is the Puriel blade, of that I can assure you, Michael. Did you think I would take anything else into battle?” His grin grew ever more contemptible, “My goal was, after all, to slay angels.”
I growled, “If that was the true blade, then the prison would have broken when I shattered the seal upon it!”
Xyphiel took his gauntlet-clad hand off the blade, his eyes locked on mine, “Puriel’s Seal, perhaps, but…” Xyphiel opened his palm, and at its center was the Greater Seal of the Scribe Lord, “But whoever said I was using his seal when I have my own?”
The seal on Xyphiel’s hand now pulsed with horrific energy, a darkness I had never seen before.
But even so, the seal was once used to lock the Damned and Fallen deep within Hell! Unless… Could he have been so mad?! “You couldn’t…” I stammered.
The seal began to rotate slowly on his palm, as a key turns in a lock, “It is as you have said, all those years ago, Michael! I am the Seal!”
Xyphiel’s eyes shifted from his deep crimson to violet, to red, and back to crimson, “You imprisoned those demons within yourself?!” I cried out in shock and horror.
“All at my disposal, but I wouldn’t be a fool to rely on all of their power,” Xyphiel chuckled, “I only needed to leverage one.”
“One?” I asked though I knew who.
Lucifer.
“But, perhaps you’re right, Michael,” Xyphiel spun the Puriel blade in his hand and I watched the jewel pieces lift from the ground and merge once more unto the blade’s hilt. Now the insignia within it was that of a Mobius Crest. The symbol Xyphiel had adorned himself with often.
A reminder of his immortal existence and a perceived curse.
“Perhaps they shouldn’t be imprisoned,” Xyphiel snapped his fingers, grinning at me, “Let us compromise…” I watched as the center of the seal on his hand, opened once more, “I shall release all but one.”
I rushed towards him.
My new goal was clear: I had to take his hand. I had to sever his connection with the seal. I had placed it upon his hand all those eons ago, it was fitting that I remove it.
Xyphiel turned, his seal-bearing hand facing behind him as he blocked my strike with the Puriel blade. “It’s rude to interrupt, Michael!”
A cone of blackened light erupted from Xyphiel’s hand as I watched, powerless, as he unleashed yet more potent demons.
Xyphiel turned to me, grinning wickedly, “You’ve done exactly what I wanted, Michael. All of Heaven is here now… and I can unleash the true breadth of my army!”
I heard a horrific roar as I saw the mighty wings of the gigantic demon of Destruction and Chaos, Abaddon, unfurl into the air.
“I have released you!” Xyphiel called out, “Serve me, Xyphiel, Lord of Pride, and today, you shall feast on the flesh of angels!”
Abaddon soared into the air and bellowed back, “Prisoners of Lucifer - our new Lord gives us freedom! Let us reward it with death upon the children of God!” Abaddon's massive form crashed through one of the walls of the city, roaring in celebration as yet more horrors poured out of the seal upon Xyphiel’s hand.
The flood stopped and I witnessed demons tearing into the forces of God, their numbers more than I could imagine.
“Seems it is far easier to get into Hell than Heaven, dear Michael,” Xyphiel boasted, “While you were busy singing and training, the armies of Hell swelled and readied themselves for this day.”
My eyes widened as Xyphiel’s golden-clad hand took hold of the Puriel blade.
Xyphiel rushed towards me, the Puriel blade readied at my chest, “The day that Heaven itself shall fall!”
…
Ragna
I lay there on the floor where Zepherina had fallen.
She came to save me and now she was trapped here.
Could I have failed her more?
Zepherina, Rachel, Eva, or Timothy?
My regret reached even further back.
Moira, Alyssa, Xahara, and Soradoria?
How many did I let down or fail? Over and over again.
I curled up in a fetal position, a half-empty bottle clutched to my chest.
I envied Alexander of Macedonia.
How death came for him so easily. I wanted nothing but darkness to take me, swallow me up, and ferry me away.
I’d rather feel nothing than an ounce of what I felt now.
The ground shook and I looked around me, the entire room shaking.
“Mom!” I heard Zepherina shout from below.
Ripping out of the floor was a sight I had thought I would never see again.
My eyes went wide as I gazed upon a strange figure rising from the shattering floor.
Was this another illusion from this damned place? Was I just dreaming in a drunken stupor? This figure rising from the floor had the wings of a Nite but the body of a Dei.
She looked like my mom or a version of her. But it couldn’t be, I saw my mother die, Guardians know how long ago.
No, this figure had the face of Zepherina.
This representation of Zepherina had white Niten Dragon wings, and her head adorned with white horns. Her eyes sat in her seemingly empty eye sockets, a glowing white mist around a pair of solid amethyst spheres which gazed upon me with a surprising level of authority.
But it wasn’t authority or pride holding those eyes on mine. I saw hope looking back at me.
“Z-Zepherina?!” I gasped, “What-What is this?!” I stammered.
Zepherina hefted me off the floor like I was nothing more than a cardboard cutout, “Time to sober up and get out of here, Mom!” She declared as she ferried me out of the bar and towards the throne room.
I let the glass bottle and tumbler slip from my fingers as I grabbed a hold of her, unsure if the glass was what I heard shattering or if that was the tower around us crumbling to pieces.
I could hear Madison shouting now, “Zeph, what the fuck did you do?!”
“It wasn’t me!” Zepherina protested, but still running, “Okay, it was but not-Nevermind! Come on, we have to get out of here! The whole tower is coming down!”
Zepherina was right and I glanced around us frantically, unsure where we were or what was what.
I still had some drink in me, my vision wasn’t fully clear and I was still groggy.
All I could do was gaze up at Zepherina’s potent form, holding onto me firmly and securely.
Every step, every movement she made exuded confidence and prowess.
There wasn’t a single moment where I held a shred of doubt in her resolve.
We weren’t in danger, I knew that much. Not with Zepherina here. Not with my daughter here.
I heard the sound of a slight animalistic whine and turned to see that under Zepherina’s other arm was Stalphous, glancing at me, uncertain, his eyebrows raised in concern at the chaos going on around us.
“Madison, get it in the air!” Zepherina shouted as I watched Madison rush into a transport vessel.
The Tower of Mourning was all crumbling around us and Zepherina’s hands were full, Madison was doing all she could.
I could hear Stalphous whine.
I felt the same.
Helpless, unsure of what was going on.
Then the transport started to slip off the edge of the tower!
No! I wasn’t helpless!
I thrust my hand out, something I hadn’t needed to do when using my telekinesis in so long. Addled as I was, I needed a guiding hand to help me focus.
I held the vessel as best I could.
I could feel Zepherina tense up as we flew towards it and we stopped as we came to the vessel, which I held in place with my mind.
Barely, I might add.
We were still collectively falling, just a bit slower than we would had I done nothing.
“I’m not… Completely… Useless…” I stammered, my primary focus less on talking and more on holding the ship in place while Madison got its engines warmed up.
Thankfully, it didn’t take long.
Soon, the vessel was hovering on its own and I could release it.
Zepherina flew in, dropping Stalphous into the loading area and sitting me upright in a passenger seat, “Madison, you got them from here?” Zepherina asked.
Distracting me from the events next was Stalphous rushing me and licking at my face, the foul scent of his breath helping me sober up, “Stal, Stop,” I tried to instruct him as his smooth yet slimy tongue slid over my face.
I had to keep his tongue from my eyes, I wasn’t going to want the bacterial soup of his saliva getting in there. Weakened as I was, I might get an infection.
“I gotta go, Mom,” Zepherina informed me with a reassuring smile.
I had to slow her down or at least get some idea of what was happening before she left, “Zepherina, look at you! What form is this?!” I demanded.
Zepherina’s face remained warm, serene, and confident, “I’ll explain later, I gotta go save Themyscira from Xyphiel, okay?”
Zepherina was going to face Xyphiel? Now? She said the words with such conviction. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind.
Zepherina was going to stop him? My daughter planned to fight Xyphiel head-on?
The fight of her life lay before her, and here I was, holding her back. Yet she still came for me? She saved me? I could not let her go alone.
“You did this, didn’t you? You defeated what was holding me there?” I said, motioning to the collapsing tower below us.
Zepherina simply nodded, stretching out her shimmering Niten wings, getting ready to leave. Standing there, she looked like my mother, Yuki.
I reached out to caress her cheek, “Zepherina…” I wanted to say so much. ‘I’m proud of you,’ ‘you’re incredible,’ ‘that’s my girl!’
So cliché but still, I could barely speak. I was so taken aback by how powerful she had become.
“We’ll talk later,” Zepherina said comfortingly.
I moved to stand, but I was strapped in. I immediately began to undo the belt buckles holding me in place.
I wasn’t going to sit back, drinking myself into a stupor, feeling sorry for myself.
Zepherina’s face fell as she spoke in a concerned tone, “Mom? I gotta go. I don’t have time-”
I didn’t let her finish, “Take me with you,” I demanded.
Zepherina paused for only a single moment before she smiled at me, opening her arms, “Then let’s go.”
Madison shouted over the hum of the engines, “Uh, hey, guys?!” She said as she pointed northward.
There a massive pillar of light reached out from the horizon and high into the apex of the firmament above. A grand spectacle of swirling glowing white clouds at the top with many streaks streaming down from the heavens above.
Zepherina’s voice cracked through the hum of the engine, “They opened up Heaven’s Gate,” she said in awe.
The battle hadn’t just begun, it was well underway.
Even I knew what that meant: Sofia had sacrificed herself to open the gates. Despite my disdain for her, I had to respect her for it. It was certainly no easy feat to give yourself over to a greater cause.
“Well, my old foe, Godspeed to you,” I thought as I turned to Zepherina. “What are you waiting for? Let’s not be the last ones to get a shot at Xyphiel.”
Zepherina smiled, grabbing hold of me, “Hold on tight, Mom.”
I turned to Madison, “Make sure Stalphous is safe, Captain!”
Madison shouted back, “It’s Colonel now!” She shouted as she gave me a thumbs up, “And Stal’s safe with me!”
Stalphous sat calmly on a passenger seat, his thick lizard-like tail wagging back and forth as he licked his snout happily.
“Be good for your auntie!” I shouted as Zepherina and I took off.
I had to hold on tightly as we soared faster and faster toward the pillar of light.
I couldn’t even see the world around us, the wind was so intense. I shut my eyes, holding onto Zepherina for dear life.
I could feel the feathers of my wings being ripped off by the sheer force of the air, we were traveling so fast.
Yet, somehow, I knew those were feathers that would fall regardless.
I could feel my strength returning. Whether that was by my power or Zepherina’s, I didn’t know. Nor did I care, to be honest.
We slowed and I opened my eyes, watching a final white feather flutter off of my blackened wings.
I smiled at my dark wings, noticing my hair had darkened as well.
I turned to Zepherina, her smile had turned into the stone-cold look of a warrior.
My attention was caught by the sounds of clashing blades, weapons firing, and the din of war cresting over the battlefield.
We landed on the top of the capitol building, Zepherina setting me down.
“Mom, wait here until you’re ready to join in. I’ve got scores to settle,” Zepherina said, a pair of glowing white blades of pure light materializing in her hands.
“Zepherina,” I said, slowly getting to my feet.
Zepherina turned to me, an aura of divinity surrounding her.
I smiled at her, “I’m so proud of you. Thank you. I love you.”
Zepherina’s stone-cold face cracked a smile, “Love you too, Mom.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, she jumped from the rooftops and dove into the fray.
I moved to the edge of the capitol building’s roof, and looked around, “Rage, confirm you can hear me.”
“Confirmed. Welcome back, Mother,” Rage reported.
I sighed, turning to a door on the roof, “I’m not at full strength yet. How functional are the old armature systems?”
“Fully maintained in storage mode at this time. Would you like to exhume it?” Rage asked.
“Yes, Rage. Please do,” I ordered, heading down into the capitol. “I’m not going to be useless. I will fight, to my last breath.”
“Oh, I am so happy to hear that, little Sellenia!” My eyes went wide as I looked out into the distance to see Zelletia’s massive form descend from the sky, landing on the battlefield.
Zelletia’s huge head turned right and left, searching for me below.
Had she not seen me yet?! I rushed into the Capitol building, moving to the stairwell.
Normally, the elevator would be my first inclination, but all things considered, I had to hurry.
The armory was in the basement.
I jumped over the railing and sprung my wings straight up, falling down the center of the stairwell as quickly as gravity could move me.
“Come out, Come out, wherever you are… Or is little Sellenia too afraid to meet her doom with the rest of her supposed empire?!” Zelletia’s voice taunted.
I growled to myself as I landed below, rushing through the hallways as I felt the ground shake under my feet.
Rage was keen enough to know that I needed the doors unlocked and I slammed my way through as many of them as I could while I made my way to the armory.
To where Esmeralda and Brittany should have been.
I smashed into a lab to find only Esmeralda sitting calmly on a stool drinking a glass of wine, a bottle next to her.
I was about to admonish her but it struck me that up until a few minutes ago I was doing the same thing, “Esmeralda!” I shouted.
Esmeralda turned to me, bowing her head and lifting her glass, “My Mistress, however, can I be of assistance?”
“I believe you had considered armor for Zepherina that would nullify demonic power, yes?” I asked.
“Yes my Empress, but I believe you said she was not yet ready…” Esmeralda mused.
“I need it,” I ordered.
“You?” Esmeralda turned to me, confused, “But you do not need such-”
“Did I stutter, Esmeralda?” I growled, narrowing my eyes at her.
Esmeralda flinched, dropping her glass, “O-Of course, My Mistress. My humble apologies… Allow me to fetch it.”
“Now!” I commanded, glaring at her.
Esmeralda was on her hooves and moving quickly through the lab as she did I hurriedly removed my shirt and boots.
Within, Esmeralda opened a large chamber where a set of plate armor stood on a mannequin about Zepherina’s height. Luckily we had similar builds.
Esmeralda was careful not to touch the armor, as she unveiled it to me, “The engineers did well enough where I cannot touch the blessed armor. An alloy made of blessed metals plated in pure silver, with every aspect of the forging, even the plating, performed in the sacred waters of the Guardian Temple, courtesy of the Temple's custodian, what was his name? Juan or Jorge...? Yes, I think it was Jorge. Some Spaniard," Esmeralda turned to me, “Well either way, were you a demon it would burn your skin upon first touch…” Esmeralda looked me up and down, “Or a Fallen.”
I moved towards the armor, hesitating for a moment as my reflection stared back at me from the shined silvery surface. Etchings across the shoulders and chest bore the sigil of Penthesil and etched along its sides were holy symbols and runes.
I paused for a moment, then the ground under my feet shook, “Fuck it. If it burns me the entire time that means it’ll burn anything else I touch.”
My hands moved to the buckles and I quickly slipped the armor on, being as careful as I could to not come into contact with the outside portions of the armor whenever I could.
Esmeralda gave me a curious expression as I donned the armor.
I finally picked up the helm, my hands properly protected by the gloves, “What are you staring at?”
Esmeralda looked me up and down, “...By all accounts, if you were a Fallen Angel, that should burn you. At least as far as I know,” Esmeralda’s eyebrows rose in thought on her otherwise flawless face, “Unless that only applied to Fallen whom were cast down into Hellfire?"
“No time to debate the how or why,” I said as I looked around, “Weapons?”
“There wasn’t much need for a weapon with Zepherina having the so-called Dragon Slayer blade you designed for her,” Esmeralda said with a shrug.
I glanced at my wing and focused on a feather, pulled one out, and tested if I could form it into a blade.
My feather was a proper sword. I nodded and formed a second one. “Taking another method to slay this dragon.”
“Good luck, My Empress,” Esmeralda said with a bow.
“Where is Brittany?” I asked.
“Brittany is aiding Lady Dmitria in the Atlantic States in the Americas, My Mistress,” Esmeralda informed.
I moved past her, “I won’t force you to fight your brethren.”
“I had no intention to do so,” Esmeralda admitted, “You had given me no order to defend the Capitol nor to fight. So I shall remain here.”
I nodded to her, “If you should be captured, you are to claim you never stopped serving my father, make no mention of our pact, and assume your previous responsibilities while avoiding my brother, until I call upon you. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”
Esmeralda’s face soured, “I would have rathered you to order me to fight… But very well, My Mistress,” Esmeralda bowed low to me, “It shall be as you command.”
I rushed out of the labs as the ground shook again.
I could hear Zelletia’s voice in my mind, but I could somehow tell this was not a message just for me. Her voice was ringing out to all those in the city, “Is this how the Empress of Penthesil addresses a challenge?! She hides on the battlefield!? How cowardly of you, Little Sellenia!”
I rushed to the stairwell and jumped up into the air, flying up through the stairwell until I reached the roof.
I did not bother with the door and just crashed through the doorway and into the air, spreading my wings wide to slow myself down once I was over the Capitol building.
I responded as Zelletia did, in the minds of all around me, “Not running from you worm! Just waiting for you to be exactly where I wanted you to be!”
Zelletia was there, where I expected. Standing at the center of my capital city. The last place I wanted to see her, but for my attack, she was just where she had to be.
I dove towards her, my armor blinding her at first as I swung my blades at her eye.
Even as she swatted me away, I could hear her roar in pain as the flesh on her massive paw burned.
That being said, I was still swatted down to the ground.
I pushed myself to my feet and slammed my swords together, reforming them into a polearm as I rushed towards her towering front paw.
I let loose a war-cry as I drove it between the scales on her toes, causing her to lift her foot instinctively. As she raised her front paw, I was riding along with her, my polearm impaled deep into her flesh.
Just as I was about level with her chest I pushed off of Zelletia’s scales, watching as my boot caused her scales to burn and wither.
Zelletia let out a deafening roar, the power of which knocked over a building before her, blowing any soldiers, demons, or angels away as she did.
I was luckily away from the blast as I dove towards her ear.
Zelletia’s head thrashed slightly and I had to adjust, landing on her horn. I wrapped my legs tightly around her massive tree-sized horn and took a firm grip of my polearm, swinging down and thrusting the polearm into her ear.
My blade pierced through her flesh and I felt as I struck her eardrum.
Zelletia’s thrashing increased wildly now, as she stumbled, her equilibrium thrown by my strike.
“You vile little insect!” Zelletia’s voice bellowed as she slammed her horn, and me with it, down into the ground.
I rolled over, pushing myself away from Zelletia as a cloud of dust and debris burst into the air.
The ground shook once more and rising out of the cloud was a surprisingly smaller sight.
Zelletia was in her Rex Dragon form still, but now an eighth the size. Still, Zelletia was over twelve meters tall.
I glared up at her, “What, did I make you dizzy, snake?”
Zelletia growled, turning quickly, far faster than I expected, sending her tail whipping at me at high speed.
I gasped as it collided with me, knocking me through a building’s wall as I tumbled across the battlefield.
I landed in a mass of demons and soldiers.
One large demon grinned down at me. It was some kind of towering goat-like creature with burning green eyes. It reached a massive hand towards me moving to hold me down while it rose a bloodied cleaver the size of a small car in its other hand.
The moment its free hand touched my armor, however, the flesh on the demon's skin burned.
The goat demon reeled back, screaming in pain.
I reached out, grabbing at its wrist as more fur and flesh burned, “The Ragnarök has come for you all!” I pulled hard on its wrist, ripping its arm from the socket and causing the huge beast to tumble forward.
As it fell I whipped the polearm through its body, slicing the creature in half, allowing both sides of its body to fall on either side of me.
I turned to the demons around me who quickly turned and began to run, my soldiers all crying out in joy, “Let none escape!” I shouted.
Zelletia landed before me, roaring at me and the soldiers around me.
They took up arms quickly, ready to fight her.
I shook my head, “Leave this one to me!” I ordered, “Kill the retreating Demons!”
My soldiers quickly took up my charge.
“Oh Sellenia, you must feel so special! Having little pathetic creatures listening to your every command as if it matters…” Zelletia taunted, “How fitting that you become a queen when you have robbed me of my right to rule at every turn!”
“I am no queen! And you have no right to call me Sellenia!” I shouted, readying my polearm, “I am Empress Ragna Misho,” I narrowed my eyes at Zelletia’s, “And I’m going to end you.”
“Try it, Little Sellenia!” Zelletia roared in anger at me, her foul breath making me dizzy.
I held firm and rushed towards her, only to be swatted aside by her paw before I could get in range of her.
The blow carried the same force as she had when she was larger. This time I had to drive the base of the polearm into the ground to stop myself from flying backward.
“My size change was tactical, insect!” Zelletia grinned, spreading her wings, “I was too large to keep track of you before… But now,” Zelletia’s maw turned up into a wicked grin filled with snaggle teeth, “I can find you easily.”
I groaned as I got to my feet, “Just means I can inflict more damage on you.”
“Try it, flea!” Zelletia snapped at me.
I took to the air, polearm at the ready now, dodging her strikes as best I could.
Zelletia was right, however. She was far faster now.
I barely missed her massive jaws as they snapped near my shoulder.
With a swift motion I struck at her cheek with my polearm, but her tail once again swatted me out of the air.
I was sent straight down with such force that I bounced upwards for a moment before I turned and fell onto my back.
Zelletia loomed over me, my vision tunneling and blurred as her voice rang in my ears.
“I will admit, watching you languish in the Tower of Mourning was enjoyable… But I will take just as much satisfaction in killing you. When you get to your mother’s realm of the Dead, do tell her that her throne will be the next I take!” Zelletia laughed heartily, “All that was robbed from me shall be mine at last!”
I heard a roar of pain, followed by a flash of brilliant yellow light.
Landing next to me was one of Zelletia’s massive horns, severed completely from her head.
Zelletia roared in pain and anger, her voice shrill as she cursed, “You pathetic little Niteling!”
Landing next to the horn I saw a pair of draconic paws, with yellow scales and tan claws. Wrapped around them were white leathers and silvery shin guards.
My eyes followed the legs up, looking to see an outstretched claw of a Niten Dragon reaching down towards me.
My vision cleared and my eyes focused on her brilliant blue eyes as she spoke, my heart caught in my throat.
Tears filled my eyes as I looked upon a face I had all but forgotten to time long ago. But now, before me, there was no mistake, it was her!
“You’re lucky I got here in time,” Tassel’s smiling face looked down at me as she took my hand, pulling me to my feet and greeting me with a wry and friendly grin, “Why am I always saving your ass, Sellie?”