AggroChat #448 - NASApunk Adventures

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight we are back with the whole crew. We start off the show talking about how Secrets of Grindea, a game that we did an early gameclub show about…  has FINALLY launched out of Early Access. From there we talk about Last Epoch some more as Kodra was out last week and has much to say about explosions.  We also discussed building different characters and how the game rewards them.  Bel attempts a Tier list but gets shut down as he is the only one who still prefers Path of Exile. Finally, Tam and Ammo share their early thoughts about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

Topics Discussed:

• Secrets of Grindea Launched

• Last Epoch

• Kodra Returns and Has Thoughts

• The joy of building new characters

• Bel’s Tier Ranking Gets Shut Down

• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are back after taking a break last week due to the limited number of folks available.  This week we start off with a topic that has bounced around a bit on our docket.  Namely, we marvel at just how balanced City of Heroes/City of Villians is and what a pinnacle of system design it really is.  Bel spent a bit of time playing Nightingale now that is available in early access, and talks about the mess of a game that it is.  Finally, we dive into our primary topic this week and talk about the Last Epoch 1.0 launch and how phenomenal the game feels right now despite all of the server-side woes.

Topics Discussed

• City of Heroes/City of Villains

• How is the design so balanced?

• Nightingale

• Not a Bad Game, but Not a Great One Either

• Last Epoch

• The 1.0 Launch Woes

• The Massive Graphical Overhaul

• Why we love the game

• Accessible Design Matters

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we have a sick Bel that is trying to hold on during the show and a very long-distance Kodra, but it all works out in the end.  We start off with some discussion about Marvel reprinting the Godzilla comic run that has been out of print for decades.  From there Bel and Grace talk a bit about some recent experiences with Enshrouded and playing it multiplayer.  Bel also talks a bit about the endgame and its strengths and weaknesses.  From there we talk quite a bit about Last Epoch and the reveal of the Falconer and the upcoming 1.0 release.  We discuss our plans for the first “cycle” and how we seem to all be favoring the magic find faction. Lastly, we get into a discussion about how the spoiler-averse culture that we find ourselves in makes it very hard to discuss narrative games.

Topics Discussed:

• Godzilla Marvel Comic

• Enshrouded

• Some Multiplayer Gameplay

• Discussing the strengths and weaknesses

• Last Epoch

• Falconer Reveal

• Looking forward to 1.0

• Spoiler Aversion

• How it is hard to discuss narrative games

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! It has been a few weeks since we recorded a normal show and I think we had a bunch of conversation in us waiting to get out.  As a result, we recorded a bit longer than we should have but that is okay! We talk about Celeste 64 and that sort of gameplay translates to a very Mario 64 inspired game.  From there Kodra shares his experiences with Songs of Conquest a game that is very much a nostalgic continuation of the Heroes of Might and Magic Series.  Bel and Kodra talk about their experiences with the other new survival early access game Enshrouded and how it is shockingly complete, and really just needs polish. From there we dive into the main topic of the show where we discuss City of Heroes and how it is this perfect snapshot of the best of MMORPGs before World of Warcraft changed everything.  Finally, Bel actually completes his four voidstones in Path of Exile and talks about what a difference a dedicated bosser makes.

Topics Discussed:

• Celeste 64

• Songs of Conquest

• Enshrouded

• When Crowd Control Mattered

• City of Heroes

• The World before Warcraft

• No Daily Chores is Refreshing

• What a Difference a Bosser Makes

• Bel Kills POE Bosses

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! It is that time again, time for our yearly Games of the Year show. Last year we learned that it was far better to record two weeks in a row instead of creating a marathon three-plus hour long show and cutting it in half.  This week we dive into the second half of the show covering the final eleven games.  These are games that were important to us this year and may or may not have actually been released this calendar year.  A lot of them were, but I just wanted to set the expectations.

This year we did not have a lot of overlap, which is to be expected given that the seven of us have some wildly different tastes. It was a big year and I am sure there are a lot of games that you think might need to be on this list that we did not choose. Hopefully, you enjoy our thoughts all the same.

Games Discussed:

• I Was a Teenage Exocoloist

• Super Mario RPG Remake

• Boltgun

• Star Ocrean 2nd Story R

• Jedi Survivor

• City of Heroes

• Everspace 2

• Alan Wake II

• Super Mario Wonder

• Honkai Star Rail

• Baldur’s Gate III

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! It is that time again, time for our yearly Games of the Year show. Last year we learned that it was far better to record two weeks in a row instead of creating a marathon three-plus hour long show and cutting it in half.  So this week I bring you the first part covering fourteen games and for those who have not listened to one of these before…  these are games that were important to us this year and may or may not have actually been released this calendar year.  A lot of them were, but I just wanted to set the expectations.

This year we did not have a lot of overlap, which is to be expected given that the seven of us have some wildly different tastes. It was a big year and I am sure there are a lot of games that you think might need to be on this list that we did not choose. Hopefully, you enjoy our thoughts all the same.

Games Discussed:

• Risk of Rain Returns

• Risk of Rain 2

• Celeste: Strawberry Jam

• Last Epoch

• Path of Exile

• System Shock

• Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Future Redeemed

• Hi-Fi Rush

• Dredge

• Dave the Diver

• Armored Core VI

• New World

• Fire Emblem Engage

• Final Fantasy XVI

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Hopefully, everyone is staying warm this week with the big cold snap hitting the center of the country and more specifically impacting Bel and Thalen. This week we start off talking about the Rogue Trader CRPG and how it is doing a pretty solid job of moving the bar forward.  From there we talk a bit about the upcoming Granblue Fantasy Action RPG and how we have been waiting for it since 2017.  In shocking news, we talk about the City of Heroes Homecoming server and how it is officially licensed and we believe it is the first fan run emulator server project to achieve that status. 

Last Epoch is nearing its official 1.0 launch and with it a bunch more information about the Trade system came out this week so we dive into it for a bit and contrast it with our experiences from Path of Exile.  Peglin has released a bunch of updates and we talk a bit more about that phenomenal puzzle combat game.  Thalen shares some information about how Dungeons and Dragons Online is apparently just giving away a ton of content and selling a bunch of mission packs for cheap on top of it.  Tam finishes out the show talking about how it has taken him the better part of a year but he finally understands Star Trek Online.

Topics Discussed:

• Rogue Trader CRPG

• Granblue Fantasy Relink

• City of Heroes

• Last Epoch and Trade System

• More Peglin!

• DDO Giving Content Away

• Understanding Star Trek Online

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Happy New Year! We are back after the holiday break and are delaying our Games of the Year Show until a bit later in the month.  This week we talk about the Dave the Diver Dredge Crossover, Super Mario RPG and Thalen’s child plotting an interesting course through the game, and a return to Monster Hunter World. With Bobby Kotick leaving ActiBlizz, Bel has stepped back into World of Warcraft and talks a bit about his thoughts so far and the inspirations taken from Guild Wars 2.  From there we talk a bit about missing trade league despite how much of a capitalist nightmare it is and how it makes the players focus entirely on short-term gains. Bel talks a bit about how he has shifted his Chieftain into Righteous Fire and how it is a reasonable replacement for RF Juggernaut.  Finally, some breaking news while we are recording…  we talk a bit about the new FFXIV job Pictomancer, and the new limited job Beastmaster.

Topics Discussed:

• Dave the Diver Dredge Crossover

• Super Mario RPG Remake

• Monster Hunter World

• World of Warcraft after 3 Years Away

• Influences from Guild Wars 2

• Path of Exile

• The line goes up, and financialization of everything in another inflation league

• Righteous Fire Chieftain

• Missing Trade League

• Final Fantasy XIV

• New Dawntrail News

• Pictomancer

• Beastmaster

• OrcaCon

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! This is potentially our last show of the year because the next few weeks and the holidays within them…  are going to make it very hard to gather a quorum.  This week we are going to be brutally honest and tell you that if you have no interest in Path of Exile, then this might be a show for your to skip.  While we have a very brief conversation about Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and Kodra saving the day and being the big kid rescuing a stranded party, the show is mostly diving into the “Bel League” private league thusfar.  So yeah we talk about Path of Exile for an hour and a half and if that is not your thing, then that is totally cool.

Topics Discussed

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon

---- Making Memories, Saving Wiped Teams

Path of Exile

-- Affliction League One Week In

-- How Our Builds are Going

-- What happens when you follow a bait build

---- How much better the game would be with free respecs

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are back with everyone and it is weird how long it has been since we have done a full seven-person show!  Tonight we discuss the Game Awards and some of the negative reception surrounding it.  We talked for a bit about the Monarch television show and the larger Legacy Pictures Monsterverse.  Tam talks about The Exit 8 and the liminal weirdness of an ever-shifting train station. Then we dive into the Path of Exile Affliction League and more specifically our private “Bel League” and how that has been going so far.

Topics Discussed

– The Game Awards 2023

– Monarch and the Legacy Pictures Monsterverse

– The Exit 8

– Path of Exile

   \-- Bel League

   \-- Progress so far

  \-- Affliction League Mechanic