u/ackmondual

The settings app for my Google Pixel 6 divides apps into games and non-games. This one is showing up in the latter for me. I was wondering if this is the case with anybody else (list your phone if you will). I don't particularly mind, just curious is all

For me...

Karax, Fenix, HH, Swann, Stukov, and Stetmann

Karax especially since he specializes in "the way of the towers", "the way of the units", and "the way of the Spear of Adun laser show" that tackle various mutation configurations so well.

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Those mostly unaffected (again, for me) would be...

Raynor (I'm still not proficient at P3, P1 having no MULES is an issue in longer games despite how I loath "APM macro MULES"

Vorazun (I could hotkey DP and use Recall again, although it seems moot anyways since I hardly use her for Mutations)

Tychus (P2 micro was never that good, and I'd be willing to give up his P1)

Zeratul (I suck at AF hunting so P2 is out. Would miss P3, but having access to 3rd tier of Artifact fragments would be nice)

Energizers' Chrono Beam effectively applies stimpack to units and buildings. So just zap a worker unit with it and it'll get +50% movement speed! It only lasts for 10 seconds, but every bit can help (it certainly would've for some of my previous games). If you can have a network of them on the high ground, that could facilitate speed running. You will need to manually cast it since workers never attack and aren't eligible as an auto-cast target.

(I guess it's because regular Brutal is easy enough to not notice, and I haven't played this on Brutal+ in the longest time)

I'm assuming purchasing the Sc2 campaigns still gives you Swann, Zagara, Vorazun, and Karax as COs for Coop mode as well.

I typically play these sorts of things a few times just to explore it all. This time though, I accidentally beat it without having done so, and you're not permitted to repeat the Pinata Parties (save for taht bug a few days back). All I got are (bold faced are ones I'm unsure about)...

Apple Mortar (base plant without an upgrade)

Primal Pea Shooter (base plant without an upgrade)

Snow PS --> $2.5K Cold Snap Dragon
OR $3K Shadow PS

Primal Wall Nut --> $2K Frozen Pear

Zoybean Pod --> $3.5K Caulipower --> $5K Winter Melon Pult
OR --> $3K Grimrose

--> $3K Inferno (unassigned upgrade)

--> $3.5K Wasabi Whip (unassigned upgrade)

TL;DR, I much prefer Cherry Bomb here, and generally avoid the other two.

I really enjoyed Grapeshot in IAT/vanilla, but admittedly, as a plant that cost real $$, it was naturally OP (and hella fun)... it could 1-shot a Garg if placed at center, and scattering grape projectiles hit it as well. The sun cost, recharge, and explosion damage were all on par with Cherry Bomb, but all 3 of those attributes have been nerfed respectively... 150 vs. 250 sun cost, 50 vs. 60 recharge, 1800 vs. 600 explosion dmg.

Bombegranate also got enough nerfs that I find myself preferring Cherry Bomb to them.

Do any of you prefer Bombegranate and/or Grapeshot to Cherry Bomb?

It's some kind of rewards program built into your account and Google Play app.

So for the uninitiated, open your Google Play app, tap on your user icon at the top right, then tap on the entry that says "Play Points".

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Around 8 years back, I was purchasing enough on GP to be at Gold tier rewards (close to Platinum IIRC). However, I went through a dry spell and now currently 60% of the way through Bronze. (There's an 'i' button somewhere that explains the perks of each tier)

They have weekly "claim your Play Points" feature where every 100 of those can be redeemed for $1 in credit to buy apps and games (if not other stuff like eBooks, movies, TV shows).

Also events like get 8x the points if you purchase stuff from now till 10 days later.
Another would be tied to events like Genshin Impact.
Closest I came was some perk for Slice & Dice, but I long purchased the game.

I'm just curious how much people get into this program. What got me to think of this was realizing that I haven't really thought about it in all those years is all! 😲

I'm assuming it'll be a crapshoot (more than ever) to win the hotel lottery. But still, I'd like to know what the room rates are for rooms within the Gaylord itself, and surrounding areas where you're within a 15 to 30 minute walk from the con's/fest's entrances. At least I can try to budget now and save up.

And yes, I've stayed in Alexandria before. However, going forward, I'd rather not go if I can't get something within walking distance (unless them Super MAGfest shuttles that became available starting last year are reliable and operate 24/7 for the duration of the con/fest).

Primal Sunflower is my go-to since it's possible when you max out the "starting sun" track to 100. But in addition to no sun dropping at night, the production feels, slower (or am I imagining this?), that it still quite doesn't cut it.

So I typically go Sun Shroom.

To compliment that, I also have Gold Bloom + that Imitated.

Do you put much thought into how many mastery pts should go into CB (Chrono Boost)? I'm under the impression that most of us focus on the other side of that mastery set, and just dump whatever mastery points are remaining into CB (if there are even any remaining). The full list of such power sets include...

--Artanis, Karax, Vorazun - CB vs. more initial and max Spear of Adun energy
--Alarak - CB vs. Structure Overcharge shield and attack speed
--Fenix - CB vs. more starting supply
--and as a reminder, Zeratul has CB, but no mastery for that

Contrast that to say, Masteries that increase damage values which has its own page below on the sc2coop-com site...

https://starcraft2coop.com/tools/masterybreakpoints

... where the tool breaks down individual thresholds on how many mastery points you need to 1-shot certain enemies (e.g. 7pts minimum into Kerrigan's Immobilization Wave, to 1-shot Mutalisks), how required to kill a foe in 2 hits, etc.

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I've experimented with putting a lot of mastery pts into CB for the following COs and prestiges... Karax P1 + P2, Fenix P2. My general observations are that their effects are noticeable, but nothing stands out as "crucial". Admittedly, Karax P1 towers fire faster with CB due to the prestige's (+).

I have my personal Android phone, but it's constantly running low on storage (500MB to 1 GB), and a personal iPad that's around 10 GB of free space. Is there a recommended amount of free storage?

I suppose I could free up more storage, but I'm wondering if it'd be simpler to just get another device dedicated for testing to keep things compartmentalized and simpler.

I have a bunch of SNES stuff sitting in some boxes. I haven't used this stuff in over several decades and figure I should make plans to sell it. I haven't gone through everything yet (still have a few more boxes to check out), but I'm fairly sure it's gonna be less than a dozen cartridges (games), and a few scant boxes and manuals. Def. don't have any rare stuff like Earthbound.

What are some preferred ways to sell them? I guess there's always Ebay, but I've never sold on there. I could see if there are local game exchanges in my area. Some large video game cons where vendors do buy this stuff. What other methods am I missing?

My goal is to get "decent amount" of money for them. I can be patient so there's no rush (nor need to lowball). I'm not trying to get top dollar either since that sounds like a "the juice isn't worth the squeeze" type situation.

So when you're playing a level when you get to select the plants you want, you can tap on the heart icon to keep them pinned to the top for easy access. Which plants do you do this for, and why?

For me, I got the following...

Torchwood - I'm generally a fan of flaming pea shots. In this mod, more so since peas can be upgraded an additional 3 times (from red/fire, but then to blue, then purple, then white for +100%, +200% damage, +300%, and +400% damages respectively), and do a bit a splash damage (+10% across the board)

Gold Bloom - windfall money without taking up a planting spot on the lawn

Imitator (Potato) - Copying stuff is pretty universally useful. Typically on Gold Bloom itself.

For me starting off, I used to play on since it was a way to try out new COs without having to purchase them (let alone at higher levels, beyond the "free to play" lv5, and even into mastery). Later on, try prestiges you haven't leveled up to.

Nowadays, "it depends"......

If it's something I think I can do or will be fun (despite losing), I'll soldier on. For examples, some neat combinations have included...

--Karax + Kerrigan - where I still retain all top bar abilities of Karax, lose 0 of hers since she never had any, but I still get to make mass Hydras to round out my army

--Karax + any CO who can make basic combat unit that does both anti-ground and AA really

--Nova or Vorazun as an ally since I get gas buildings without needing workers set to harvest them

--Stukov P3 ally since that doesn't require any APM

... also digging that I can freely pause and unpause games. Last but not least, I had some allies that were just plain terrible. They kept complaining/whining/bitching, or they weren't really doing anything (I suspect they were afk much of the time anyways).

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OTOH, I'll just leave if I needed to leave anyways or welcome the game ending sooner, need a win that I can't do on my own (like Mutation bounty for tough weeks, or for the "first win of the day" bonus), or "just want to call it a night".

We may have some folks who are still relatively new. And even though many of us are multi-year veterans at this point, I'm wondering if folks still remember trying out COs for the first time, and what your thoughts and experiences were? Mention a timeframe (like a year, or some point of reference like when Coop first came out, all COs already dropped, or when Vorazun got nerfed).

Feel free to add additional memories of discovering various prestiges as well!

A conversation got into rising costs, including gas. I recall that I had times where I took a break from gaming for one to a few months at a time. I was able to go another 2 to 3.5 weeks before I normally would have to refill on gasoline! 😲 Makes sense since for one case, it was 15 minutes one day, 30 minutes round trip, multiplied by 3 times per week. That's 1.5 hours on local roads. 6 hours in a given month! I do have a few of them like conventions, monthly ones, or every few months or so that would incur toll fees (I didn't have to take those roads, but the savings in time wasn't trivial).

I'm wondering if folks keep track of their transportation costs related to the hobby and would care to share this info! Buying games from the FLGS. Parking. Toll roads. Gas. Public transport tickets/passes (bus, subway, train, etc.)

Curious what folks' top ten are. Mine in no particular order...

1. Zonai devices - whether you use them individually, to form basic contraptions, or whole machinery/vehicles, there's practically a whole sub-game to these! And they appear in a variety of situations too... in the wild, objectives in shrines, or ad-hoc from your own inventory. And you do have the option to call upon these as much or as little as you'd like to find alternative solutions, or make things easier (or more complicated) as you see fit.
2. QoL improvements - For examples... 1) during a conversation, press the Y button to view its log and catch previous lines!, and 2) after opening a treasure chest and you have no more equipment slots left, your inventory appears where you can press X button to drop something on the spot!
3. Great Fairy Serenade, performed by the Stable Trotters! - One of my favorite tracks/BGM in the game. There are many variations of this since it can be broken down into individual and subsets of parts!
4. You can fight Gleeoks again! - We still respect Silver tiered Moblins, Lynels, and other dragons. But these are a classic boss from OG LoZ, and it's nice to fight them in this game space, in full 3D no less.
5. Addison Signs are a fun, new type of puzzle
6. I like Penn better than Kass - SOAR sue me. If nothing else it's nice to see journalism well and alive in Hyrule (and getting paid for it to boot). I hope he's doing well, and managed to return to his family
7. "Tutorial shrines" are nice inclusions - Not just how to use your newly minted runes, but also covering the basics like how to use your shield, how to parry, how to dodge, bow & arrow, bullet-time, throw objects, use zonai devices for combat and overcome obstacles, etc.
8. Addition of Depths and Sky levels - may feel "copy & pasted"/"samey", but I have enjoyed their unique atmospheres, and how you go about explorations there. They have felt like "new worlds" FWIW
9. Story involves time travel and "evil Zelda" - I'm generally a fan of time travel, and just can't get enough of "evil Zelda"!
10. Sages - having them around made the game feel like variations of battle royale/MOBA! So multiplayer, without having to do actual multiplayer.

Both are great games, but I'd like to hear from others what they liked when going from H1 to Hades 2. Mine in no particular order are...

1. Improved Cast - This alone was nontrivial. The Cast in H1 wasn't terrible. It stood out more since Zagreus had fewer ranged attacks, but it really benefited more with boons. Here, the baseline here used as a zoning device sets it apart, and only gets better with boons (if not just different)!
2. Removing double+ dash for sprinting - As someone who really enjoyed the former in Hades 1, it's oddly refreshing to not have this anymore! As for sprinting, the integration with various boons and other mechanics (ie. animal familiars), this here was an alternative way to cover ground quicker that used to be via mad dashing
3. Ω/Omega attacks + Magick system - This allows for each of the 3 combat maneuvers... Attack, Special, and Cast, to have an alternative, but also making them more powerful, useful, ranged, etc. for more variety, but still keeping things balanced (since running out of Magick is a thing)!
4. Dresses and Armor are a nice additions - It goes beyond "Melinoe can take more hits" as there are boons and other boosts associated with them. Dresses not only look neat (cosmetic, but work with me), but provide permanent bonuses tied to them!
5. Two paths - Having both Underworld and Surface does add extra to game play variety. Not to mention adding some layers to the story/plot (pun intended I suppose)
6. Scylla and her band! - The BGM definitely stands out! But the 3 of them equipped with (modern) Rock Band gear, and all that integrated as a 3-crew boss fight was also terrific. Last but not least, hearing her at the start of Oceanus, and her voice getting louder as you draw near
7. Titan of Time as a boss - Since hearing about this, I was wondering what mechanics and game play elements they would put into a boss that controls and utilizes time!
8. Time travel - I'm always a sucker for games, films, and shows otherwise with this
9. Toula cat + other animal familiars - You do have a whole slew of animal familiars to work with and each of them have their pros and cons. I just happen to be more of a cat person is all!
10. Chaos Trials - Nm the rewards, but this is a like a separate mode (that still integrates with the main game) that lets you do only one biome (for a more bite-sized run), but with a preset of weapons, aspects, boons, keepsake, etc. (which lets you experiment with some new game play elements, but also see how some boons are when they're "cranked up to 10").

Curious what folks have to say here. For those of you that played BotW first, then simply reword the question as "going back to BotW". Mine in no particular order include...

1. The story - It is more straightforward and "clean".
2. Not having to deal with "gemflation" - Otherwise, selling Amber went from 30 rupees each to only 10! Opal from 60 to 30! Topaz from 180 to 80! Ruby from 210 to 110! Sapphire from 260 to 150. 😠
3. Having Ancient weapons - Like the lightsabers of the Zelda universe!
4. Having Guardians - Like the terminators of the Zelda universe! A nice variety of these too like small ones, large tanky ones, flying ones, and stationary ones that act like turrets.
5. Motion control shrines - I know many did NOT like these (and Nintendo couldn't be bothered to keep them for TotK), but I did enjoy them given there were only 5 of them. (however, I play handheld mode these days so I may be eating those words today)
6. Champion abilities were still useful, but easier to deal with - No need to hunt down sages
7. Divine Beast dungeons - I found these were fun and to be well designed. Thematic too like the elephant having water mechanics, and the Camel one utilizing electric current.
8. Blight bosses - similar to above. These had personalities of their own, with tie-ins to their elemental powers
9. Rune abilities being simpler and inferior actually added a lot to game play - For example, Magnesis only working on metal did prune the so called "decision tree".
10. "Blue juice" - How many megabytes does it hold? What does it taste like?

Curious what folks' top ten are. Mine in no particular order...

1. Zonai devices - whether you use them individually, to form basic contraptions, or whole machinery/vehicles, there's practically a whole sub-game to these! And they appear in a variety of situations too... in the wild, objectives in shrines, or ad-hoc from your own inventory. And you do have the option to call upon these as much or as little as you'd like to find alternative solutions, or make things easier (or more complicated) as you see fit.
2. QoL improvements - For examples... 1) during a conversation, press the Y button to view its log and catch previous lines!, and 2) after opening a treasure chest and you have no more equipment slots left, your inventory appears where you can press X button to drop something on the spot!
3. Great Fairy Serenade, performed by the Stable Trotters! - One of my favorite tracks/BGM in the game. There are many variations of this since it can be broken down into individual and subsets of parts!
4. You can fight Gleeoks again! - We still respect Silver tiered Moblins, Lynels, and other dragons. But these are a classic boss from OG LoZ, and it's nice to fight them in this game space, in full 3D no less.
5. Addison Signs are a fun, new type of puzzle
6. I like Penn better than Kass - SOAR sue me. If nothing else it's nice to see journalism well and alive in Hyrule (and getting paid for it to boot). I hope he's doing well, and managed to return to his family
7. "Tutorial shrines" are nice inclusions - Not just how to use your newly minted runes, but also covering the basics like how to use your shield, how to parry, how to dodge, bow & arrow, bullet-time, throw objects, use zonai devices for combat and overcome obstacles, etc.
8. Addition of Depths and Sky levels - may feel "copy & pasted"/"samey", but I have enjoyed their unique atmospheres, and how you go about explorations there. They have felt like "new worlds" FWIW
9. Story involves time travel and "evil Zelda" - I'm generally a fan of time travel, and just can't get enough of "evil Zelda"!
10. Sages - having them around made the game feel like variations of battle royale/MOBA! So multiplayer, without having to do actual multiplayer.