u/LastTraintoSector6

https://andromedainsights.com/pages/custom-pc-builder/Z6T2FG7Q

That should lead to the current build. I have some wiggle-room on the price, but not enough to go up to a 5090 or anything like that.

However, one area that I'm really concerned about (and have absolutely no insight on) is cooling/noise reduction. Ideally, the fans and liquid cooler I choose would be pretty darned quiet. I am aware that the Noctua fans are renowned for being virtually silent, but... I don't think I can quite go that high for fans alone (it's over 300 bucks). I also know virtually nothing about liquid coolers... and there are a lot of options there to choose from.

But any other insights on other parts of the build would be very welcome. Thanks.

Specifically, I am looking at this: https://www.newegg.com/abs-kaze-ii-ruby-gaming-desktop-pc-geforce-rtx-5090-amd-ryzen-7-9800x3d-32gb-ddr5-2tb-nvme-ssd-k2r97n59r2-black/p/N82E16883360995?Item=N82E16883360995

vs.

this: https://andromedainsights.com/products/ai-v3-quasar-ryzen-7-9800x3d-rtx-5090-32gb

I've heard pretty good things about both companies, and the Andromeda Insights rig is obviously $400 more, which is not insignificant (although I have heard it mentioned that if you buy off their website, you don't pay sales tax because they're located in Oregon? Can anyone confirm/refute this? It would effectively make them the same price).

However, I've haven't bought a new gaming PC since 2019, and I know precious little about the best and worst companies these days. Any thoughts - either on the machines linked or the companies - would be most welcome. Thanks in advance.

I'm one of those Lego MOCers who really only uses Technic for structural support, so I'm not super familiar with what's available. I need to accomplish something similar to the piece above, but with the holes all on the same side. Is there a part that can accomplish that in Technic, or should I look for alternative solutions?

Thanks.

• I get that this is no longer considered a 'first tier' MMORPG.
• I realize that it is a Sunday.
• I appreciate that it is a holiday weekend.

However, one could also flip those last two points around and argue that because it is both a Sunday and a holiday weekend, people will be more inclined to want to pursue a leisure activity than, say, 9 a.m. on a Tuesday (not that I would excuse it then). So the fact that nobody is apparently 'manning the walls' in any kind of a meaningful enough way to fix the login servers (or call up whatever host they are using to reboot theirs) is very, very disappointing.

Not everyone pays for this game... but I do. That doesn't make me special. But it does mean that unannounced long-duration interruptions aren't really kosher, even considering the "special circumstances" of July 4th.

I recently started playing again, and decided to try to finish the JK story as a Sentinel. I really like the class, and played it before on a Consular. At level 22, I elected to hop on that old toon just to see if I was barking up the right tree.

And... while I love the frenetic playstyle of the higher level combat, I was alarmed to see that my character was pretty much constantly lit by this blue glow effect (which I think is a visual cue for the swiftness buff...?). Unfortunately, I don't know that I really want to run around looking like a living torch all the time while in combat. And since swiftness is always up... I'm always glowing.

Is there any way to disable this? Or should I just drop the class and go with something a little less showy (like a vigilance Guardian)?

Obviously, the Resort Swimwear Bottoms are very casual shorts. I was hoping for something that showed off a little skin, but were slightly more rugged than "I'm on my way to the early 90s mall." I don't possess a particularly good memory for gear names in this game, and several different Google searches returned nothing close, so I figured I just ask the experts.

I'm not going to claim to be some kind of melee combat expert. But one thing that's pretty clear in a lot of Star Wars media is that a high percentage of people who dual wield also favor an open stance. The reasons for this are obvious: lightsaber combat is (generally) a high-agility, movement-based 'dance' where some of the most skilled practitioners deploy a repertoire of flips, leaps, slides, etc. in order to battle foes. And, in such a situation, having a wider "wingspan" is clearly advantageous: you are combining mobility with reach.

An example of this can be seen in the old cartoon Clone Wars series where Asajj fights Anakin. Most of Asajj's attacks and parries in this (long) fight sequence have her arms spread outwards, keeping Anakin at the maximum distance from her possible. This is because Anakin - being obviously far more physically strong, and able to clutch his saber with two hands - can simply overpower her if he gets too close. By using an open stance, Asajj is essentially offsetting Anakin's brute force with finesse and speed (which is fitting, since she was trained by Dooku).

However, you just don't see that with either the Sentinel or the Marauder. Most of the moveset is defined by either piecing attacks or downward swings - almost as if the characters are beating on an oversized drum. And that's a shame, because it's (IMO) significantly less visually dramatic than using an open stance, and lowers the difference between simply playing, say, a Juggernaut and dropping the second saber entirely.

It's easily the most-beloved capital ship design from this era** thanks both to the fact that a) it's simply an awesome, pioneering look that came well before the Hammerhead Corvette from canon, and b) because, obviously, it's the Endar Spire. And I get that, yes, we have the wreckage (which is mostly just a pile of junk buried in the terrain) of the Spire, and also that Bioware wanted to show that technology had moved forward, and that the Hammerhead Cruiser was obsolete.

However, considering that Star Wars capital ships could conceivably be in-service for hundreds of years (the basic hulls having value, even if the internals were vastly upgraded), and how iconic this ship is, I wish we saw more of them in-game - even just as background models from the fleet. The Wanderer-Class transport and related militarized frigates just do not have the same charm or imposing profile.

^(** To the extent that) ^(people even work it into their Star Wars: Armada fleets.)

So, at least for the Juggernaut and Guardian, both of the basic attacks (for the latter, it's called 'strike') have different animations when the moves finish a monster. It's a neat little detail that adds variety to the monotony of slapping the same 10ish buttons every few seconds, and I am deeply grateful for it.

Anyway, I have often - even from the game's earliest days - heard the JK referred to, both in terms of story and combat, as the "Obi-Wan Kenobi fantasy." And this is largely true. However, it has also always struck me that the single-wield JK fights very, very similarly to Palpatine/Darth Sideous. The fierce insistence on keeping both hands on the saber for most attacks (Kenobi, if you watch a lot of his fights, actually doesn't do this that much), the inclination to perform plunging, two-handed stabs, and the 'spread both arms' flourish are all... well... kind of signature Sidious.

Not trying to ruin the JK for anyone or mock it or anything. Just pointing out that, in terms of DUELING (not lightning) swordplay, the Guardian is actually the closest to the baddest man in all of Star Wars.

So I know that most people do not RP, and have no inclination to RP. I actually don't really roleplay myself anymore, per se - I just like to have an "idea" of who my character is, which better assists in responding to the story as I go along. And this time, I wanted to play someone who was more of a criminal.

However, I am having a hard time picking a faction for this character. My breakdown (so far) is as follows:

• It seems more likely that the Empire would execute criminals, while the Republic would imprison them (+1 Republic).
• It seems more likely that harsher conditions within the Empire (as well as fewer freedoms to buy items, thereby creating a vibrant black market) would drive more people to crime, whereas in the Republic, greater openness would decrease this motivation (+1 Empire).
• The Empire has BHs, while the Republic has Smugglers. Both routinely act outside the law (wash).
• You (seem to) see more outright criminal take-overs in the Republic than you do the Empire (though this isn't universal). As an example: multiple sectors of Coruscant completely overrun by gangs) (+1 Republic).
• Corruption seems more widespread in the Empire; you encounter a lot of officials and military types willing to be bought off (+1 Empire).

So... I'm at loggerheads on this - seems like an even split. But I'd love people to open my eyes with other avenues to consider.

Did the best I could. Obviously, we're all severely limited by dyes. And the hair was never going to be right (so wish we could get a true 'big ponytail' in this game).

Pieces:

Head: Mira's Headband (Honor Guard dye)

Bracers: Wandering Disciple (Deep Brown & Black dye)

Chest: Skiff Guard (Dark Brown/Deep Blue dye)

Gloves: Gothic Master (no dye)

Boots: Gothic Master (no dye)

Belt: Mira's Utility (Honorable General dye)

Pants: Steadfast Master's (Dark Brown/Deep Blue dye)

I saw this image posted in a very old (5+ years) thread that stated that it was a Republic-only item. Does anyone know what this headband is? It doesn't appear to be the Mira's one, as that has color banding on it (and this is a solid shade). Thanks for any help.

And I say this for two reasons:

A) Both Star Wars as a whole and SWTOR make a line in the sand distinction between good and evil (especially when it comes to force users, but in the case of this game, it applies to all characters): Jedi are good, and Sith are bad. Now, we obviously know it isn't as clear-cut as that - I have plenty of 'light Sith' and 'dark Jedi' playthroughs (as I am sure most of you do). Faction doesn't define personal action.

However, in a larger sense, one side is - collectively; as a whole - portrayed as 'good,' and one side is 'evil.' And we know from real-world examples (such as a certain group of people fighting in a war 90ish years ago) that it's really, really hard to shake the stigma of being bad when you are ultimately aligned with the bad guys. Ergo, it should follow that logically, you can be as 'light' of a Sith as you want to be, but if you are still standing up and fighting for a faction that is not light-aligned, you are warring for a cause that is out of sync with your own morality.

And...

B) Technically speaking, since we have Sentinels running around in the Empire; Snipers running around in the Rebuplic, I fail to see how it would in any way imbalance or alter the game experience to just have people outright change sides - to have fallen Jedi truly join the Sith, hang out on their fleet, etc., and the inverse for a light-sided Imperial character who wanted to truly turn. I definitely understood the reasoning before they implemented open class restrictions, but with that gone, what does it matter now?

---

I wanted to add: before someone says "what's the difference, just roll a Sith Sentinel or whatever." The difference is emotional and story-driven - the idea of a full arc, where our actions in the narrative lead to major outcomes where our characters actually follow their own deeds to a logical conclusion: they leave the team that no longer represents them. The same as Vader leaving the Jedi; the same as Luke refusing to join the Sith. That being on a faction in a war (especially a war like in Star Wars, where there aren't nationalities or tangible language barriers) is more about who you are or who you become (or refuse to become) than about where you started.

I recently started playing again after several years away, and tonight I went through the mounts in the collections menu, just kind of marking down ones I'd be interested in working towards acquiring.

Except...

• No, sorry, that was given to active subscribers for a few months. That's retired.
• Nope, that was a 180-day bundle buy-in. Now retired.
• One-time Twitch reward. That's not coming back.
• Lol, that one was part of a season and hasn't been re-offered. Sorry kid, you're out of luck.

I get that FOMO is a part of modern gaming - it's hardly exclusive to SWTOR. But, as an example, in a game like FFXIV, you have items come up in certain promotions/holidays, and either a) said events are fairly likely to repeat at some future point, b) the items eventually trickle down to either the Gold Saucer or various Moogle Tomestone events, or c) if you wait 8-10 months, they end up for sale on the Mogstation. So even though you can still miss stuff, there's a very real chance that you'll get other opportunities to acquire them.

In SWTOR, this doesn't seem to be the case. So many items - and not just mounts, but weapons, gear, and even hairstyles - are offered just once and then never come back (or, at least, haven't come back yet and are regarded as gone). And that's very disheartening. Because not everyone can or wants to stay subbed or 'tuned in' to a game they aren't playing. And we all go through periods where we just don't want to be in game XYZ - we all take breaks. So for this company to lock so much content behind these hard-FOMO windows is a real downer.

So this isn't way to back-door "begging Lego for military sets" - I know we're not getting any.

Rather, it's more a philosophical question: why do you think Lego is so opposed to, say, doing a fighter jet in military grey, or something like that?

I've been working on a MOC and kind of rolling this topic around in my head as I go, and there are a few things I've considered:

• It cannot be about firearms, because they are everywhere in Lego sets - not just Star Wars, but western, pirates, super hero sets, etc. And they aren't just "a piece that resembles a gun" - you've got legitimate pistols, rifles, canons, etc. So even though Lego figures aren't running around with glocks or anything, I assure you: the .45 six-shooter this bandit figure is holding on my shelf is just as 'real' and deadly.
• It also can't be about militaries per se, because, again, they're all over the place in Lego. Once more, I'm not talking just about armies of clones or stormtroopers, but "pirate ships" that are fairly obviously men-of-war, armored trains with U.S. Army soldiers and gatling guns, militaresque factions like, say, Blacktron or the Bluecoats, and so on.
• And, finally, it can't even be about wanting to avoid glorifying combat-related (or milsim) subjects. Like, just look at the new above set. That's clearly - clearly - an APC. Yes, it's in police livery... but I know a lightly-armored vehicle when I see one. And you can't look at that and say "oh, no, Lego wants to teach kids to avoid getting interested in tanks" in the same breath, but it just isn't true.

So... what's it about? Again, I'm not advocating-for something or attacking Lego - it's their company and product. It just seems like it's a policy that they play fast-and-loose with almost to the point that it's silly to maintain.

I don't see this listed under any of the styles on the cartel market. I have bought most (though not all) of the optional hairstyles. Clearly I am missing this one. Is it sourced from somewhere else?

I'm just tired of it. This match wasn't that egregious, but yesterday I had one with 7 of these things (which I should have screenshotted).

And yes, I get that the Jager is flawed:

• No smoke.
• Virtually no AA.
• Low damage individual fish.
• Shit guns.
• Really cannot contest caps.

But the fact remains that it is the lazy-man's Shimakaze: a boat that floods torps into open water at essentially zero risk. They make for bad teammates and worse net gameplay, dramatically contributing to an already-static later-tier experience where players huddle back and refuse to push. They don't really spot, mostly don't fight destroyers, and just sit on the sides and farm away.

Plus, whenever I see a ship dominating the meta in a game where there are dozens of competing options? It's a sign that there's a problem.