A promise I made...

...on the Neverwinter FB page. iirc it's more of a reply to a comment on a fellow Neverwinner pertaining countless daily quests bar those offered by Rhix and Dagult Neverember. One of the most common challenges facing MMOs is this: How are you, as part of the dev crew, going to prevent whatever risk present in prolonged grinding?

Grinding is not abt having sex w/your ideal A-list celebrity, but rather the fact that the gamers have to tahan N hrs of pointless monster bashing just to achieve actual rewards (in this sense, focusing on PvP sooner or later actually seems legit). It's not abt what you kill as who, but rather doing the same thing w/nary a challenge (one good reason why Industrial City patrol in Marvel Heroes 2015 is so lag-vulnerable is due to doing the same thing w/a tactical twist, i.e. too many blokes and gals in the same server/instance).

Ofc there are certain alternatives to avoiding this problem called boredom. The most common way is to swear off the game temporarily, so that you can actually get a breather by spending time w/your bf/gf. Conversely speaking, it also possibly means that PWE is trying to prevent stuff like this below from happening.

Then, we have that thing called time planning. When you feel that 'tis high time for you to get a decent life off the PC, then chances are that you might end up playing less on a daily basis (pardon my shitty pun).

In the event above scenarios are too good/bad to be true...

Ever since its official release last year, Neverwinter has created a whopping total of 5 campaigns (including PvP as well fyi). Story mode is story mode, the blokes @Cryptic quite obviously understood the need to bait the gamers. Let them grind for a fair bit (read: few months or so), then VOILA! We have a new campaign up in the cards.

Just as always, new campaigns means a few things:

1. No more grinding. At least for the next few weeks/couple of months.

2. New campaign packs (which may or may not be offered to the existing gamers for free as a loyalty reward).

3. At least one new race & class (Hero of the North pack doesn't count on the racial end since drow and Menzoberranzan Renegade are technically the same).

4. Perks and bragging rights.*

*That is unless you're a genius capable of creating something out of nothing.

iirc Tyranny of Dragons is nearing to an end if there's anything to go by Tiamat's presence. So who'll be next unholy sucker? I'd take Cyric since there should be plenty on the plate given Kelemvor's plot presence+Mystra finally making her long awaited resurrection. Hell, we may even end up seeing the real Alustriel Silverhand (pls note that Alustriel Silverhand=/=Alestrial Eliaden). If so, then we're out to see plenty of fun from the Zhentarim. Not to mention Elminster Aumar vs Manshoon Part Deux.

Or maybe we'll end up seeing a political crisis facing Dagult Neverember since the Sons of Alagondar do play a pivotal role thus far? Since they've got a major supporting role in the early parts in-game, why not give Arlon Bladeshaper some much needed screen time?

What about linking the next season w/whatever happening thus far where Drizzt Do'Urden and his merry Companions are concerned? Do note that those durned drow do have their grubby grip on Gauntlgrym now (and that's NOT including that most dangerous mutha*bleep* better known as Artemis "Barrabus the Gray" Entreri). Lest we forget, Faerûn's most BA rivalry actually had a hand in Neverwinter's current fate.

Suggestions that may make some sense...

In S'pore, the chenghu will always say something like this during any dialogue session:

"Please make your questions succinct."

Where I get this info, no one has the right to buah me. What I'm gonna say is this: What the header says.

Make CTA as a fixed event

In short, maybe the devs can try doing the Call to Arms event like... once every month or two? Via my personal experience, CTA is def the most in-demand event second only to Respen's Marvelous Game (albeit the last RMG was weirdly bugged). Order wise, maybe the devs can try doing each skirmish once instead of doing the same skirmish twice (note that CTA do have a history of hosting the same skirmish twice). The key lies in reliving the good ol'days where you can bash anybody you like sans the level limitations.

PvP event

Won't suggest this since the PvP queuing system is terribly broken atm. But if the devs decide to go ahead w/this, then it'll be good to do the queuing system in the gear score bracket. Sadly, it seems that the devs have tried this before (I mean the GS part). The outcome? Insanely long queuing time.

CTA: Dungeon ver

How cool can this get? The only bummer? High likelihood of insanely long queuing time (see above). Interestingly enough, the devs can opt to say "hey, let's scrap the other dungeons so that every player can focus on our newly modded CTA!"

Respen's Marvelous Dungeon

You've fought the original McCoy, now for that newly evolved Beast. Technically speaking, the relationship between the real CTA and the real Respen's Marvelous Game can be summed up below.

Make Temple of Tiamat longer

Not duration of process, but rather duration of event. I know plenty of ppl will think I'm batshit crazy due to comments of laggy rubberbands going around like da'man w/swords. True, false, or exaggerated, I don't care since I've yet to hit that laggy point (and to be fair, lag problem was actually much more serious the last time round). This is to give more gamers the chance to expose and express themselves.

Achievement points

Gamers are still clamoring for this, I suppose. Let's make things a bit spicier here, shall we? Let's say your character has the title "The Immortal" (i.e. this). What kind of bonus will this self pompous assery give you? Very simple. 5% chance of revival complete w/half life restored! (only caveat is having a 3-5 min cooldown) It's been quite some time since boys like Baofeng, Michael, Rion, and possibly Jeffrey (plus maybe even girls like Sharifah and Sheryl) have played CS while our ITE lecturer ain't looking at the right direction. So let's rumble! Not just PvP titles, but also PvE ones as well. To better every gamer's access to the 1st Gaming Amendment, why not give them a PvE specific perk? (Master of Monsters, anyone?) Unless a miracle happens (and I mean it without being sarcastic to the devs), chances are that not every gamers will be like me (read: bodoh enough to learn the PvP ropes via constant death loop).

Realms of *insert relevant term here*

Ever wondered how it feels to have a kick ass NPC giving you dailies? Done correctly, a daily quest keeps the rest away. Inspired by the Siege of Neverwinter event, why not do an event lasting 1-2 weeks? By visiting a specific NPC every Realmers enjoy loving/hating, every hero/heroine can have a chance to impress him/herself. Every brand new day brings a brand new quest. Chance to get new title? Cool BA loot even for the uncommon ones? Who knows you might even have the chance to meet additional BA NPCs!

The only catch? Wizards of the Coast need to play arbitrator. Some examples listed below:

Want an audience with Elaith Craulnober somewhere @Waterdeep?

Must pakei w/Elaine "not you, Elaine" Cunningham.

Want to seek Erevis Cale @Stormweather Towers?

Go find Paul "neither that 13th disciple nor that walrus" S. Kemp first.

Nvr knew my boss (y) something I RT'd...

Only realized earlier today. Apparently, even orang melayu has heard of Neverwinter.

P.S: If you think this is me shamelessly advertising Cryptic studios and what not... well, you're wrong. My character is such that I can get absurdly obsessed w/whatever I do. And that includes gaming in general...

Some tips to remember...

1. Using Soulforged armor can be really hazardous. Generally, the difference between a n00b and a pro lies in whether one can make the most out of getting a rez... I swear you can get yourself killed easily once Soulforged effect gets triggered. Witness it first hand during my previous Gauntlgrym PvP. I'm not fibbing srsly. Want to use it for PvP, best you max the rank.

2. Assist is a very good way to learn PvP. In short, it actually does something decent or better when honing your tactical awareness of the situation. PvP in Neverwinter will always be absurdly fast paced, so you won't have time to react and resist (trust me when I say my character always die in open ground ambush). Unless you happened to be ppl like Juan "mata mata merah" Mata, Cesc "amigos @Barca, why always me?" Fàbregas, and Joe "not angry*" Allen.

*Disclaimer: I don't profess to share any views with TLJ by default. I just happened to find the 2nd half utterly hilarious.

3. A word of advice from yours truly: if your hardware specs is good enough, then there should be no worry of prolonged lag. Over the past few days, I realized the lag had died down while that message on top written in Taylor Swift's fave color has subsided quite a bit (not that server non-response is officially dead, but rather the chances have been nerfed big time).

4. If there's anything to go by, your highest chances of getting a lag would be doing the events for dungeon delves and Arena. In particularly, I doubt you won't get a lag or two if your 5 man gang happen have 2 Devoted Clerics or more (suspect lag is due to the possible number of frames executed. High time for me to upgrade graphic card, it seems).

5. If you think getting killed in PvE via lag is bad, wit till you get to PvP. That one's a greater monster. I know b/c whenever I hit a lag against another human opponent, it means I'm screwed (that plus I actually told the PC vendor that I won't be using it for gaming. Something I regretted b/c that's so last yr).

6. There has been calls for awarding more points for every successful assist. Why? 'Cuz you can KO that bugger, but too far away to deal the killing blow.

7. PvP gear is NOT for general PvE. Your PvP gear is pretty much as good as screwed if you happen to do any high end adventure zone (read: killing those stark raving mad cultists).

8. Skirmish and Gauntlgrym dungeons are exception to this rule due the break neck pace and relatively far shorter instance. I can assure you that having at least a 10% movement speed means tactical leverage (that plus maxing out your Battlewise feat alone=/=able to dodge aggro for GG dungeons). Most likely the reason why I can't really make the top cut for Executioner and Paingiver rankings. Living Dead title? You bet this is Arylos' first group PvE title. Talk abt invoking the name of Kelemvor lol!

9. If you want to be a srs PvP'er, be prepared to lose and learn. Try getting yourself used to ganking circumstances since no one will be charitable enough. Not even your own party if we're talking abt kills and assists.

10. Best way to win those Seals.of Triumph is to win 1 GG PvP. since any PvP victory will do when it comes to the Domination Battlemaster's end. Doubt it's a bug since there's no reason for the devs to discourage ppl from PvP.

12. One genius does not make a team, but one sucker can destroy it (read: if ppl know how dangerous of a mutha****a you are, they won't be dumb enough to let you run abt causing mayhem).

13. For convenience's sake, it's best for you to allocate enchantments for both your PvE and PvP gear. In this way, you won't have to burn your gold just to remove and reallocate.

A/N-Realized I need to sleep soon. Might as well temporarily stop here since my next rant-alysis will be covering some specific PvP stuff (read: all your base are belong to us).

Demi Gods and Semi Devils (aka my own half assed analysis)

Thank  goodness that the Neverwinter photo battle for the winter season will last 1 week. Originally, I was planning to do 1 or 2 of those. Sadly, I prefer doing this kinda stuff once I got enough sleep. Since I feel like doing something random, might as well do may own half assed analysis on what is arguably Louis Cha's one of (e.g. Sword Stained with Royal Blood and The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber) if not the most humanistic wuxia novel.

1st montage: Qiao Feng
2nd montage: Duan Yu
3rd montage: Xu Zhu
4th montage: Wang Yuyan
5th montage: A'Zhu
6th montage: Zhong Ling
7th montage: Mu Wanqing
8th montage: A'Zi
9th montage: Murong Fu

While one can never simply trust Wikipedia unless there's a green mark, lock, or a star, there are certain things which you'll know is true. That is provided you're in familiar territory.

The Eight Friends

In the Buddhist lore, there are eight entities deemed beyond human. Yet, they still remained bound to Saṃsāra, better known as the cycle of being human (that's the best I can explain it. Sorry). In short, these eight entities are still considered human in terms of desires and emotions. Below is how I'd classify the individual characters accordingly. Note that Louis Cha managed to troll himself upon realizing that his characters have gotten more complicated (read: more humane).

Deva

Duan Yu [段誉]

In Buddhist lore, deva is quintessentially an invisible entity. Unless there's a human having an (?) opened divyacakṣus (i.e. this). This is NOT to say that a deva=a ghost. Rather, we can easily equate them with the concept of "unseen beauty" or "unseen value".

Why him: Duan Yu would be basically one ridiculed as a loser by the standard of the society. However, this lucky lobo actually boasted innate talent (according to that fatso Yue Laosan [岳老三]) and/or pure dumb luck (talk abt having 2 smoking hot gf in the form of Zhong Ling [钟灵] and Mu Wanqing [木婉清]).

A/N: Despite whatever objective view I'm willing to take, I still resent the fact that Louis Cha decided to troll yours truly via the whole Wang Yuyan [王语嫣] deal. Makes sense to the cynics, but utter bs to the romantics.

Nāga

Qiao Feng [乔峰]

The Buddhist equivalent of a serpent, only that they're not evil by default. Also known as dragons [龙], the nāga are in charge of protecting the devas from the wrath of those who called themselves the asūras.

Why him: Qiao Feng was actually the master of the Eighteen Dragon Taming Palms [降龙十八掌], so we can see quite a bit of irony here. However, it must also be said that without the presence of water (i.e. seas, oceans, and rivers), a dragon is as good as ****ed. This is synonymous with Qiao Feng's character development where pretty much 60% of his story was a major identity crisis. That's until we got one bloody Hong-gi becoming his friend. No, I'm not referring to F.T Island. Rather, he's none other than the historical Yelü Hongji [耶律洪基].

A/N: Apparently, Qiao Feng actually taught us a valuable lesson in life-There are many ways to die, but only two ways to live.

Yaksha

Xu Zhu [虚竹]

Yaksha do have an interesting gender divide. If you're a gal, it means you're smoking hot. If you're a guy... well, let's just say that 'tis not so bad being Tyrion Lannister himself. Better known as guardian spirits of mother nature, the Yakshas are quite obviously seen as carefree.

Why him: Two words, one name. 'nuff said. Srsly guys... the real Xu Zhu was anything but a looker. Def not that other Louis. At the same time, above mentioned part on being carefree seemed to be... well, I might as well let the Carefree Sect speaks for itself: 逍遥派掌门.

A/N: I realized getting hitched w/that super hot princess of Xixia [西夏] is like calculating the likelihood of dating Taylor Swift/Daniela Hantuchová/Horikita Maki/Park Shin-hye. Depending on how you see this parallel, it can be either super scary or super lucky. Depends, I guess...

Maybe both?

Garuda

A'Zi [阿紫]

Natural enemy of the nāga, the garuda always enjoy snacking one or a few of 'em. According to the Buddhist lore, the garudas detest the nāga. However, they are also tasked with protecting the devas. Which sounds kinda weird... kinda like how jolly ol' McCain would welcome the Ayatollah singing "bomb... bomb... bomb... bomb, bomb IS..."

Why her: I know it sounds truly weird... but whatever she did in-plot seem to only further that most tragic ending Louis Cha has ever done.

A/N: I could have included You Tanzhi [游坦之] as well, but I prefer to put him under another category. I mean, why would I be so stupid to classify him as Qiao Feng's better? No proof that Qiao Feng would ever lose against this bloke mano-a-mano...

Gandharva

Xu Zhu [虚竹]; Qiao Feng [乔峰]

I'd call this Xu Zhu's grandest moment of reckoning. To every monk, being reborn as a gandharva is tantamount to being proven as a failure. The reason behind this is very simple: Gandharva is quintessentially one of, if not the lowest fella in this caste system. In short, being reborn as one means you've just attained level 1 for your basic ethics. Def reserved for buggers guilty of rape, murder, and victim blaming. Not that buggers in my context should be seen as gay though...

Why them: If you believe in karma (not that I buy it anyway), it means falling from grace=you've done something really bad. Unlike how those real caste supporting mooks view the dalits, there's nothing sinful behind both our heroes becoming untouchables. While it'd be utterly stupid to blame that princess for Xu Zhu's fall from grace, pointing the finger to those trigger happy dudes where Qiao Feng was concerned could be seen as somewhat justified. That is until we see this moment of revelation.

Asura

Murong Fu [慕容复]; Jiu Mozhi [鸠摩智]; Murong Bo [慕容博]; You Tanzhi [游坦之]; Xiao Yuanshan [萧远山]; Duan Yanqing [段延庆]; pretty much 90% of Duan Yu's problem [i.e. 父债子还]

Where should I start??? Okay, let's start w/the last one.

If there's anything in common between father and son, it'd be the tendency to get horny. Okay, I know this is too harsh a judgment on Duan Yu since his only moment of horny lust was actually instigated by Duan Yanqing (i.e. the numero uno of the Four Great Villains [天下四惡 / 四大惡人]. When I reached that part where Duan Yu was forced between having sex w/Mu Wanqing (who by then was alrdy unveiled as Duan Yu's "half-sister"), my heart ended up in my mouth. I was like... "oh shit, let this not happen..." Thankfully everyone managed to bail out w/o losing a hair or virginity. It'd be outright horrendous otherwise since Duan Yanqing was truly a scoundrel.

If only Duan Yu' dad nvr fooled around... ~le sigh~

Not only that, but it seemed that plenty of Duan Zhengchun's old flings might have developed some form of homicidal impulse. Note that only those marked w/* are to be considered homicidal bitches on a homicidal mission.

Dad had sex w/Li Qingluo [李青萝]*, therefore Wang Yuyan became my "sis".

Dad had sex w/Qin Hongmian [秦红棉]*, therefore I nearly had sex w/my "sis".

Dad had sex w/Gan Baobao [甘宝宝], therefore Zhong Ling's dad actually recognized her "bro" since I got bishonen looks.

Dad had sex w/Kang Min [康敏]*, therefore she became a mad bitch horny for my best bro forever. (okay, that's stretching the truth a bit far. Kang Min did try to seduce Qiao Feng though. That was after she's revealed to be a mistress of toy boys)

Dad had sex w/Ruan Xingzhu [阮星竹], therefore my best bro forever nearly killed you. (okay, I admit that Qiao Feng's anger towards Duan Zhengchun was unjustified since everything was instigated by that mad bitch Kang Min. Didn't prevent Qiao Feng from committing culpable homicide tho...)

Then we have Duan Yanqing. Ever wondered how would you feel if that man you loath the most said to others that "he's my son LOLZ!" Basically, that'd either make you a fake bastard (bloke's barking mad) or a real one (that man actually shagged your mom! OH, THE HORRORS OF HELL AND PURGATORY!!!!). Altho to be fair, it was Duan Yu's mom making the first move. Hell hath no fury like a lady scorned, said hell actually provided a road to heaven for her only son. I really envy that Duan Yu...

Ofc we have Qiao Feng's dad. This loony old man was actually the cause of Qiao Feng's misery. Even though his intention was well-meaning (i.e. he couldn't bear the sight of his son serving the enemy like an idiot), his methods actually played vital part where Qiao Feng's untimely ending was concerned. In short, I take back my statement on A'Zi just now. Wait,,, does that mean I should put Xiao Yuanshan as the garuda while A'Zi should be under the kinnara category? Grrr... I screwed up big time here...

You Tanzhi was a man hell bent on two missions. Mission 1 was to bump off Qiao Feng due to the debacle at the Juxian Manor [聚贤庄]. Mission 2 was to score w/A'Zi. Since the latter was so besotted w/the former (which led to that most tragic ending in wuxia novels), it means Tanzhi actually had to undertake two missions at the same time. One must NOT dismiss the impact which the tragedy at Juxian Manor had on You Tanzhi. In fact, his pseudonym "Zhuang Juxian" [庄聚贤] was not just a way of remembering the past. Above all, it's the glue preventing him from going all into pieces. On one hand, he desired A'Zi NOT b/c of lust. But rather he desired companionship. Something which he craved after everybody else treated him like scum. And all b/c of what? Because his family members were a pack of jerks? Hell no! It was the unforgiving society which chose to be that greatest jerk! Ironically, Qiao Feng was also a victim of that very same jerkass society. Ofc things didn't help that said jerkass society refused to empathize with the likes of A'Zi.

Then we have Murong Bo. This son of a bitch was arguably the architect of pretty much 99% of the tragedy so as to speak. Under the guise of a righteous man (fact was that the Murong family were an upstanding clan right from the get go), he actually instigated the conflict between the northern Song and the northern tribes. So how did he do it? Very simple. By giving fake info. No thanks to his dick dastardly strategy, a perfectly innocent family was forced to death. Long story short, poor Xiao Feng [萧峰] lost his mother to a bunch of bloodthirsty crusaders while his dad attempted suicide. The only catch? Xiao Sr never kicked the bucket. This was when he decided to create his own hit list (I mean Xiao Yuanshan). While it must be stated that Murong Bo's role in the plot was minimal, the impact of his ambition to revive the long gone Yan Kingdom was to be extremely severe (read: starting a war between the proverbial Crusaders and the metaphorical Saracens).

Then we have Jiu Mozhi. Now that bugger is really a damn problematic one. His lust wasn't towards women (since he's a legal monk) nor was it down to power (since his surname wasn't Murong). It's due to a hunger for more power. And all for what? It must be stated that his quest for power was to be that numero uno supremo in the martial arts world. There are many ways to earn respect and fame. Some do it through power, others relied on money. Then there are those who are desperately proving themselves in the name of merit. Jiu Mozhi belonged to the last type. While it's good to be competitive, going to the extremes can AND will have... well, as what the Freakonomics series enjoy quoting, "unintentional consequences". He tried to obtain the manual for the Divine Swords of Six Channels [六脉神剑]. Much to his dismay, unfortunately, the head of the Heavenly Dragon Monastery [天龍寺] managed to set down his holy orders in time. In short, Kurong [枯荣] ordered the holy book be cooked (and by that, I mean burning that manual). The only problem? As part of the Duan royalty, Kurong desired to have someone to inherit this super imba swordsmanship (to set the record straight, the Divine Swords of Six Channels didn't require a real weapon. Channel your ki via any one of the vital energy channels within the human body=this, I bluff not...).
As shit turned out, Duan Yu was the only one suitable for learning this. Why? Because only those from the Dali royalty [大理王室] had the right to learn it. This had nothing to do/ability, but rather the royal birthright. Scarily enough, it seemed that Duan Yu's memory was also super imba. Pretty sure he could easily recall pointless stuff happening more than 10 yrs ago (e.g. who were the ones bullying him 4 teh lolz).
In short, if you're good enough to remember useless stuff, it means you're old enough to remember important stuff.
As you can guess, Jiu Mozhi ain't givin' up just like dat. Pretty much 99% of his role was to hunt down Duan Yu, so that he could truly learn the power written in that holy book. As for the remaining 1%... well, let's just say that even utterly rotten religious bastards like him deserve a break.

If there's anybody capable of embodying the asura, surely it'd be Murong Fu. Just a brief intro on the asura here:
The asuras are seen as technically malevolent entities. This is very different from the other holy 7 in the sense that the rest actually have a decent/superior moral direction. The asura is one brimming with all kinds of negative emotions. One concept is that those departing to the asura realm are individuals who desired to do good, yet somehow managing to screw up by committing harmful acts (something which made Qiao Feng as qualified. Hate where such theory is going, man...). This is especially true for Xiao Yuanshan since the only immoral aspect of his character lies in the methodology (albeit good intentions in many cases tend to be subjective. Read: A'Zi). More damning assessment can be discovered here.

Was Murong Fu someone consumed by ambition? Well, I can pretty much liken his nature with his father. As they say, like father like son [虎父无犬子]. For the sake of his own selfish ambition, he cheated Wang Yuyan's feelings. For the sake of his own selfish ambitions, he desired the hand of that princess of Xixia (which culminated into that most fairy tale climax of the story). For the sake of his own selfish ambition, he had no qualms in spitting upon the basic morals of every human being. Yet, it must be stated that just like those doomed to be reincarnated as an asura, Murong Fu was a victim. He was a victim of circumstances, he ended up becoming his greatest enemy (something that I remembered to be part of the Buddhist dogma). For those who have seen the plot till the very end, I believe you all should understand what I'm talking abt. 'Tis ain't dogmatic rocket science, I'm sure of that...

To be cont'd...
b/c I too ****ing shagged out liao...
But don't worry, preview listed below.

Kinnara

Wang Yuyan [王语嫣]; A'Zhu [阿朱]; Princess Yinchuan [银川公主]

Mahoraga
?????????????????

El Estratega: Doce

Boro being the victim of black injustice, S'pore also. Boro kenna internal uproar, S'pore also kenna rumours of internal uproar. If this isn't proof that any team bearing the red jersey and a lion's mark ain't truly a Red Shirt, I dunno what else qualifies as being a Red Shirt.
#AllOurAncestorsComeFromTeesside

The Great Han Bailout

Singapore got its very own Great Singapore Sale, the Chu-Han War also had its own Great Han Bailout. You see, the difference between sale and bailout is quite apparent. Allow my Minghui-matics to do the parallel.

Women sold into sex slavery>>sale

Women liberated from sex slavery>>bailout

In this part, we'll explore how someone who looked like a girl managed to secure that Great Han Bailout.

A/N: This post might be rather short b/c said bailout only entails two events.

Gifted Bastard, Greedy Bastard

[汉四年，韩信破齐而欲自立为齐王，汉王怒。张良说汉王，汉王使良授齐王信印，语在淮阴事中。]

《史记; 留侯世家》

司马迁著

[汉四年，遂皆降平齐。使人言汉王曰：“齐伪诈多变，反复之国也，南边楚，不为假王以镇之，其势不定。愿为假王便。”

当是时，楚方急围汉王于荥阳，韩信使者至，发书，汉王大怒，骂曰：“吾困于此，旦暮望若来佐我，乃欲自立为王！”

张良、陈平蹑汉王足，因附耳语曰：“汉方不利，宁能禁信之王乎？不如因而立，善遇之，使自为守。不然，变生。”

汉王亦悟，因复骂曰：“大丈夫定诸侯，即为真王耳，何以假为！”

乃遣张良往立信为齐王，征其兵击楚。]

《史记; 淮阴侯列传》

司马迁著

Trans:
During the fourth year of Han, Han Xin vanquished the vassal state of Qi. Desiring to make himself the King of Qi, the King of Han was enraged as a result. However, Zhang Liang advised the King of Han to accede to Han Xin's request. Hence, the King of Han sent Liang as an envoy to impart the royal seal of Qi unto Xin. Details of said event are recorded in the account of Huaiyin]

《Annals of History: Marquis of Liu》

Written by Sima Qian

During the fourth year of Han, the vassal state of Qi was finally subjugated. An envoy was sent, telling the King of Han: "The state of Qi will always be a traitorous nation. With its location at the south of Chu, a temporary King must be installed to pacify whatever rebellious elements present. Your humble vassal is willing to undertake this task."

At that time, the forces of Chu were besieging the King of Han at Xianyang. Upon receiving such word from Han Xin's envoy, the King of Han flew into a rage.

"I am now trapped here, hoping that you'll come to my aid. How dare you ask me to make you a King!"

Zhang Liang and Chen Ping then kicked the King of Han at the leg, whispering thus: "We are now in dire straits, how can we afford to refuse Han Xin's request? He must be made King and be treated with respect. If so, he will remain loyal. If not, he will rebel."

At last understanding, the King of Han resumed his cursing: "A great man capable of subjugating rebellious lords must be made a true King. Why must one like him be merely a temporary one?"

Thus, Zhang Liang was sent to made Xin the King of Qi while gathering Han Xin's men to attack Chu.]

《Annals of History: Account of the Marquis of Huaiyin》

Written by Sima Qian

Analysis:

When you're on the up, everyone wants to be your friend. When you're totally down, everybody wants to shoot the dog. No matter how idealistic you claim yourself to be, this is reality. The world and history has told us this much. It doesn't matter whether you've got the mandate from that man upstairs. People will desert you once they feel disillusioned, never mind feeling betrayed. [1]

The same goes for Liu Bang as well. His alliance was in danger of dissolving [2], Han Xin managed to pull one goal back for #TeamHan.

The only problem?

Han Xin wanted to be someone far greater than some mere grand commander.

The greatest problem?

He chose the wrong time to do so.

Can you imagine Erdoğan demanding Syria to cede the town of Kobane unto the Turkish rule post-ISIS? I know this what-if sounds absurd, but how Assad would feel is basically how Liu Bang felt here. Now I'm not implying Turkey will bail Kobane out since certain things are not meant to be refuted. My point is that when you're in trouble, you don't expect your most powerful friend to ask something like...

"Eh, I really like that girl who happens to be your stead's BFF. Can introduce her to me? Really like that type who is a bit dark, and also very vivacious. I confirm will be a very nice bf and a very hiong lover one. Confirm guarantee plus chop."

I don't know about you, but if I have a girlfriend and a friend of mine happened to ask me this question...

Enter the twin talents, Zhang Liang and Chen Ping. By kicking Liu Bang, they're quite obviously not trying break his leg. [3] Granted true, Han Xin was being unreasonable. After all, he should have known his boss' current situation. Yet, they also reminded Liu Bang what kind of employee Han Xin was. It's one thing to be a jerk, quite another to be a life saving jerk.

Staying true to his political acting chops, Liu Bang converted his personal anger into righteous anger. By improvising on whatever said just now, Liu Bang managed to create his own PR coup.

In life, you can't have your cake and eat it at the same time. It's one thing detesting that bugger seated just next to you, quite another to ask yourself whether said bugger is the only man able to bail you out... [4]

Powerful Bastards, Valuable Bastards

[其秋，汉王追楚至阳夏南，战不利而壁固陵，诸侯期不至。良说汉王，汉王用其计，诸侯皆至。语在项籍事中。]

《史记; 留侯世家》

司马迁著

[汉欲西归，张良、陈平说曰：“汉有天下太半，而诸侯皆附之。楚兵罢食尽，此天亡楚之时也，不如因其机而遂取之。今释弗击，此所谓‘养虎自遗患’也。”

汉王听之。汉五年，汉王乃追项王至阳夏南，止军，与淮阴侯韩信、建成侯彭越期会而击楚军。至固陵，而信、越之兵不会。楚击汉军，大破之。汉王复入壁，深堑而自守。谓张子房曰：“诸侯不从约，为之柰何？”

对曰：“楚兵且破，信、越未有分地，其不至固宜。君王能与共分天下，今可立致也。即不能，事未可知也。君王能自陈以东傅海，尽与韩信；睢阳以北至谷城，以与彭越：使各自为战，则楚易败也。”

汉王曰：“善。”

于是乃发使者告韩信、彭越曰：“并力击楚。楚破，自陈以东傅海与齐王，睢阳以北至谷城与彭相国。”

使者至，韩信、彭越皆报曰：“请今进兵。”

韩信乃从齐往，刘贾军从寿春并行，屠城父，至垓下。大司马周殷叛楚，以舒屠六，举九江兵，随刘贾、彭越皆会垓下，诣项王。]

《史记; 项羽本纪》

司马迁著

Trans:

[Come the same autumn, the King of Han pursued the forces of Chu unto south of Yangxia. Upon facing a setback, the King of Han could only choose to retreat and hold fort in Guling. Alas, the various lords had yet to come to his aid. Upon hearing Zhang Liang's advice, the King of Han decided to follow suit. Indeed the various lords soon flocked to his aid. Details of said event are recorded in the account of Xiang Ji]

《Annals of History: Marquis of Liu》

Written by Sima Qian

[The forces of Han desired to return west. Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, however, said: "Now that Han possess more than half of the lands, the lords have all pledged allegiance unto us. The soldiers of Chu were already tired and their supply running low. Indeed heaven had announced the demise of Chu. Why not attack since there's a chance? If we're to let them go, this would be rearing a tiger for future harm."

The King of Han listened. Come the fifth year of Han, the King of Han pursued the King of Xiang unto south of Yangxia. Stopping there, he intended to join forces with the Marquis of Huaiyin (Han Xin) and the Marquis of Jiancheng (Peng Yue) to attack the Chu army. Upon reaching Guling, both Xin and Yue's army were nowhere to be found. The army of Chu attacked the forces of Han and gained a huge victory. Retreating once again, the King of Han was forced to defend deeply. Seeking Zhang Zifang's counsel, the King of Han asked: "The lords have yet to be seen. What must we do?"

Zhang Liang replied: "The army of Chu had just earned themselves a reprieve while Xin and Yue had yet to be allotted their own share of land. Hence, their tardiness. If a ruler can share his territory with others, he must made it known. If not, then the outcome will be unknown. M'lord can grant the King of Qi (i.e. Han Xin) the eastern lands stretching till the sea; as for Chancellor Peng (i.e. Peng Yue), he can be given the lands north of Suiyang till the city of Gu. Once both are motivated to battle for themselves, the Chu army can be defeated easily."

Hence, envoys were sent to both Han Xin and Peng Yue with this plea: "May you start deploying the forces now."

Han Xin then attacked from the lands of Qi as Liu Jia's army followed suit from Shouchun, both armies laying waste to the cities and their people. Ultimately, they reached Gaixia. The Grand Commandant Zhou Yin then betrayed Chu, his men from the Shu prefecture destroying six other prefectures. The soldiers from Jiujiang then heeded his (Zhou Yin's) call, their combined numbers meeting up with Liu Jia and Peng Yue at Gaixia. All for the sake of attacking the King of Xiang.

《Annals of History: Records of Xiang Yu》

Written by Sima Qian

Analysis:

Liu Bang's current predicament was oddly like something happening N years later @the north east of England. Long story short, I doubt Karanka will escape sanctions coming from that UN of English football. And all for what? Because he was rightfully accused of disrespect towards the authorities taking the black. Now that Karanka is in the danger of taking that literal black, what are we to do? Who do we call? This guy? And lest we forget, whatever vicious rumours circulating over Higgy's departure won't go away just because Go Dok-mi happened to be a victim of online slander. [5]

Interestingly, it seems that Peng Yue has attained the status of Chancellor [6] even before Liu Bang managed to unify the whole of China. In short, the two amigos calling the heaviest shot were Han Xin and Peng Yue. As for Qing Bu, it can be argued that since he's born a scoundrel (i.e. an outlaw), his level of respect was virtually zero. [7] Ofc it didn't prevent him being joint first w/Han Xin and Peng Yue in the whole Executioner/Paingiver ranking.

So there we have it: double action with twice the fun. While Han Xin's actions managed to galvanise Liu Jia into taking the same action, Zhou Yin actually took the chance to rebel. Granted that 90% of the vassal population was alrdy disillusioned w/their current boss, to see one prefecture's worth of military pwning a force six times the value is like seeing Boro putting 6 goals past Mad Ian's lads.

Let this be known: when Han Xin and Peng Yue decided to attack from their respective positions, their decision managed to create a chain reaction. Ever tried playing a Hunter Ranger at lvl 60? Ever tried doing a Feytouched effect via Fox's Shift? If you're like me as a Neverwinner, chances are that you'd realise the devastating effect wrecked on those dumbass cultists. Visualising this is like visualising the Han Xin+Peng Yue effect. [8]

The key thing lies NOT in tactics, but rather understanding the psyche of those involved. When Zhang Liang mentioned using both Han Xin and Peng Yue's self serving mentality as a weapon, two things must be taken into account.

1. Their decision must galvanise the rest in order to have an absolute chance of success (hence Zhang Liang's confidence that the Gaixia Screwjob would be Xiang Yu's Montreal Screwjob).

2. Behind every self serving intent lies a common end.

Point 1 is very easy to understand, but what about point 2? Allow this lowly strategist wannabe here to analyze this:

This weekend, we're going on a long trip down south. Quite a bit like how Robb Stark was intending to take down the Lannister dynasty mano-a-mano. Our only problem? Karanka confirm will kenna the banhammer, Higgy alrdy double confirm boh-liao...

Even if you're the most ardent Boro fan, it'd be hard to say "hey, let us put 6 past that barking mad Ian 4 teh lolz!"

Let us just do the simple Minghui-matics here...

Every Boro fan wearing the Red Shirt+desire to **** the living daylights out of those living bar codes next season=self serving bastard

Every player wearing the Red Shirt+desire to prove themselves=self serving bastard

Higgy wearing the Red Shirt+desire to see his lifelong dream achieved=self serving bastard

Karanka treated like a Red Shirt+desire to **** those men in black via results after 90 mins=self serving bastard.

Me living like a Red Shirt+desire to be El Estratega of Boro=self serving bastard

Amplify the word Self Serving Bastard. What do you get?

#SSB

To be cont'd...

[1]: Wait... that sounds oddly familiar...
[2]: In the same way crisis is a-coming to my beloved Teesside due to Higgy's sudden departure.
[3]: Sorry for the piss poor quality here...
[4]: This NOT me throwing whatever little weight behind Higgy. Okay, there's such a thing called diff in opinions. So what? The current fight against the ISIS is full of differences in opinions anyway...
[5]: I don't profess to know even a word of español, let alone simple castellano. But still I find this El Clásico'kay weirdly amusing...
[6]: Ironically, Zhang Liang ended up being Liu Bang's numero uno choice for Chancellor after the war.
[7]: Just don't ask me whether Snoop Dogg has any hand in Super Mario grabbing coins like a Jew.
[8]: Quite a bit like how Hong Kong stock market shares tend to take a massive tumble whenever Adam Cheng did a new drama.

Cryptic...

Cryptic

Definition 1: Having a meaning that is mysterious or obscure.
Example-Jon finds Dany's decision to fake her name in front of him a tad too cryptic.

Definition 2: That studio infamous for red text and lag.
Example-While the Cryptic studio has been criticized over technical issues, it remains a general consensus that Neverwinter Online is a total success. Especially given the issues stated above.

Proof that at least Cryptic is able to give me some much needed cheer...

Truly sucks, last night. While my beloved nation's loss can be attributed to key injuries plus some half-baked mind game targeted against one or a few M'sian players doing rokok, Boro's 1-1 draw was case of unforgivable circumstances, in which only the locals and neutrals were absolved of culpability. That's unless stuff like racism were involved. The fact that you got assaulted by a black merely means you should let the cops do their job. If they can't be arsed, it doesn't mean you should invoke the 2nd Amendment. Period.

Enough griping, I believe I have more reason to do so come tomorrow since I know I'll die a poor man in the same manner as that Lazarus mentioned in the Gospel of Luke.

The reason why I put the title above is down to me getting that much awaited coalescent ward. Call me an idiot, but I suspect chances of getting that precious disc is around 10% or maybe even less. This is taken into account that:

1. You can't earn Celestial Coins via the standard hourly invocation. Last time round boleh, this time round tak boleh.

2. Which inversely means you need 1 full week of logging in to get your much needed maximum dosage.

So far so good, I've been absurdly lucky in  a sense that:

1. My first coalescent ward was obtained via my first Coffer of Wondrous Augmentation.

2. Just when I thought my entire Sunday would suck equally, if not harder than my upcoming week, Cryptic decided to drop me that belated Thanksgiving present. Sans watching Trish Stratus vs Stacy Keibler 'live' @Walmart ofc.

Both moments went to Arylos b/c I needed to do epic enchantments on my armor and main hand weapon. Just a word of caution though:

Epic enchantments do NOT enhance your gear score!

Rather, either they amplify the gear score or offset any disadvantage in gear score via trigger effect!

Take for example having a Feytouched epic on your main hand weapon. Supposedly you're out to create G-Dragon's BFF, namely F-Dragon. This is def a far better alternative compared to having a higher GS, but zero epic enchantment. 3% damage bonus will NOT last 20 secs, but it will up your GS by a whopping relevant amount since I suspect said bonus is calculated from the median power value.

Another example would be having a Briartwine epic. Once you trigger the effect, it will deal back 2% of damage dealt back to the attacker. Will this increase your GS? No. Will offset whatever disadvantage due to a lower GS? Yes.

This is VERY important b/c I've committed the stupid mistake of forgoing High Sentry's Longbow of the Unicorn in exchange for Stormcaller's Bow. Granted true I was merely horsing around (read: testing whether SB is better despite being only a rare gear). That plus I was also holding out for that final piece to my much wanted Forest Warden puzzle. While I've got no problem re-calibrating my Encounter skills set (i.e. I had to switch Split the Sky for Fox's Cunning to get around the handicap of scoring no F-Dragon), I don't like the trade off. I mean, yeah everybody have a lesser chance of dying plus that party buff bonus. Yet, I've been in circumstances where:

1. I don't have the full armor set for Forest Warden.

2. I still got my High Sentry's Longbow of the Unicorn complete with a lesser grade Feytouched.

3. Every dragons actually went down faster w/o any repercussions caused by character death.

Which means using a higher GS equipment at the expense of an epic enchantment slot confirm totally bohua one...

Nerf Alert!

There has been plenty of word going about where Hunter Rangers got themselves terribly shafted in the nerfing dept. One of the main complaints is that Fox's Shift got nerfed in terms of damage. In PvP and PvE alike, a lot of gamers would agree with me that FS=the best bet in AoE damage for HR. While Rain of Swords got some neat damage buff, it's not your BFF in both PvE and PvP (that is unless you're running a lvl 60 campaign lair against the boss. Ironically, a good RoS user can AND will murder any boss outright. Don't believe me, you're actually looking at Arylos here).

One thing I noticed is that in any party instance, the HR will always be that Jon Snow b/c of Robb Stark himself (i.e. mainly Control Wizards and Devoted Clerics). Even Great Weapon Fighters are still thought to be semi-imba. Which really says a lot.

How to re-calibrate (only via my personal exp as combat Stormwarden HR!)

If you desire any bragging rights, be sure to choose HR. Not only will you be lauded as the next King of Gondor and Arnor, above all you'll be proven as the next Drizzt Do'Urden minus his two hot girlfriends. Any other class will merely make you look like Artemis Entreri (in the sense that his official stats are higher than every fanboy/girl's fave traitor).

Firstly, be mentally prepared to let the rest become the hero/heroine. iirc the only way to impress any random party members is to emulate Drizzt's crazy tendency NOT to use potions, healing type or no healing type.

Secondly, you'll need to stage an effective ambush game esp for skirmish. In short, you'll still need that Marauder's Rush bs. Nerf or no nerf, this is your only chance to score anywhere above bottom place in the Executioner and Paingiver rankings. Not that you'll be that numero uno anyway...

Thirdly, you'll need Split the Sky. Yes, I know HR sucks in everything apart from being a literal survivor (which is something I've fashioned for Arylos. Just don't ask me whether I know where that former China tour guide got his Survivor T-shirt). Yet, you must also know that no member is indispensable in the party. StS can be a game changer in terms of CC stacking. Check out this skit...

CW: Hey, Ng! Can help me to nuke the mob?

HR: No prob, Yap!

*chaos ensues for the mob due to Ng doing the correct art of splitting*

Above skit is fictional b/c I don't even know how many local chio-bus actually know where is Neverwinter. Yet, rest assured that CC stacking is a tried (i.e. theory) and tested (i.e. practical) experiment along the line of Albert Einstein's E=mc2.

Note: Ofc a party can do that w/2 CWs, but then again having a pure CW party means you're free to do anything w/o getting caught. Too bad my NSF years didn't have this kind of BA ppl.

Companions=/=your gf, but you'll nvr know the rest...

While I failed to reach my KPI during the last Call To Arms (i.e. the Pit Fight against spiders and wolves), at least I got myself a double whammy. Firstly, that batshit crazy cousin of Cyrea Durothil ended up giving me a Green Slime companion (note that while Cyrea Durothil is my own intellectual property, Respen Durothil is NOT. That is unless you can't differentiate between Humans and Sun Elves).

Initial verdict is that Green Slime is good to use when it comes to giving the HR an edge in solo PvE. This is due to Acid Aura capable of doing either a standalone execution or as a combo w/Engulf. However, having only 1 Defense rune slot means you'll need to calibrate it as a Life Steal companion. Given that it's a control type, surviving shouldn't be so hard so long you have StS in handy. Done properly, you can easily wipe a small crowd.

Then comes this weekend's CTA. As I've said, playing HR means you'll have to settle for 2nd best in virtually 99% of the gameplay dept. The fact that I managed to become so much more than just numero uno for the Walking Dead ranking is truly a feat by itself. Not that this has anything to do w/Arylos worshiping Kelemvor anyway.

A lot has been said about men in black screwing any football team wearing red and bearing the lion's emblem. Be they my countrymen or my fellow Boro-thers in arms, black and red don't go well w/each other, it seems.

In the form of some surreal comedy, the Swashbuckler dye actually confers a costume color change along the line of maroon red. And to think everyone is out to kill a Blackdagger bandit or ten at the very least.

In the greater form of surreal comedy, however, it seems that Cryptic decided to reward both Myrreas and Arylos with a Swashbuckler companion. And to think both sets of surreal comedy actually took place BEFORE that fatal Saturday.

I can't say much abt Myrreas since I'm still comfy w/his Man-at-arms. For Arylos, however, Evia is quite an interesting fare. As a Swashbuckler, Evia is basically NOT a DPS spec. She's not a defensive spec as well, let alone control spec or nuke spec. Evia will ONLY operate her charm in a way every charming female rogue should: giving enemies their rightful welfare treatment.

Combat Advantage is an important system b/c it tends to separate Gambit from the gamblers. Gamblers only rely on chances (i.e. the punters), but Remy LeBeau himself is a master of chances (i.e. the banker). This is what separates adults from kids, masters from the n00bs. It's not a shame to call yourself a n00b, but calling yourself a master means you'll run the risk of severe testing (and to set the record straight here, I'm actually a n00b in terms of PvP). Swashbucklers will always give you a free CA attack every 2 secs (i.e. 2 secs cooldown). CA deals bonus damage, CA is basically what a Trickster Rogue does best (need to test whether CA damage can  stack or not asap. C'mon, lvl up more, Evgreene!)

Note: You'll need Damaran Shepherd to add in that much needed +2% crit bonus for Ev... erm, I mean your Swashbuckler.

Fixing the opposition

PvP. Either you hate it or love it. This is def your best source of Astral Diamonds income due to a bonus 4K offered as a victory prize. With the current patch, HR has arguably gotten weaker due to Wild Medicine getting nerfed by half in PvP. This means an even lesser chance of survival, let alone the cold hard fact that HR still remains the weakest link in terms of CC play.

However, PvP is a game of teamwork. If even the likes of Ronaldo and Messi can't perform w/o the rest, what's more every Neverwinner? Being the slowest turtle=/=weak link. I've learnt the hard way that those being the fastest tend to be the ones more suited to kill than to assist. To set my record straight, Arylos actually ended up having the 2nd highest assist rate on average (that is if I managed to score a victory). This calls for a correct set of skills.

Firstly, you'll need Aspect of the Pack b/c of the additional CA bonus generated within 15-20 ft. PvP is extremely pace-based, hence you'll need fast thinking and equally fast reflexes.

Secondly, Marauder's Rush. Even though the devs might have alrdy nerfed the distance (def they nerfed the damage since a 2K damage range is quite obviously crazy), MR remains as every combat HR's tactical mainstay.

Then, you'll need 2 means of enemy control. In short, either you ensnare, slow, or knockdown. My personal fave is Boar Rush due to damage buff in the current patch. Applied properly, a MR>BR sequence may NOT score you plenty of kills, but it WILL score you plenty of assists (note: defeating+finishing=kill. Only defeat or finishing=assist). The only problem? If opponent is a dodgy bastard.

Gambit is not for gamblers

25% AP and BOOM! This is not Pikel Bouldershoulder casting his doodad magic, but rather this vid below.

Point is NOT abt why above vid lagi fast, but rather the fact that tossing energy projectiles is fun. In the same way you won't die once Gambit nailed you a kinetic card, likewise Disruptive Shot won't kill you. Against Guardian Fighters and Control Wizards with high Wisdom score, DS is virtually a useless bs. Against the rest, however, they'll call this a load of stupid bs. Especially effective against TRs and I can attest to you that TRs can be absurdly OP'ed given the correct team lineup.

iirc if you manage to meet 1 dodgy scoundrel, chances are that he/she is either a Scourge Warlock or Trickster Rogue. Against SW, just do that DoT bleed. Against TR, well, they tend to be suckers for sucker punches. If Gambit's tactics isn't one, I dunno what else is. Just remember to save all your AP for DS. Period.

At the end of the day, remember this: as a HR, your role is that of a tactical support. Be it PvP or PvE, CC stacking or direct attacking support, this IS your role. If you don't like being a humble person, then HR is NOT the class for you.

And lastly to prove that HR don't suck really that much...

There was an instance where I got myself into 4 man team w/o any magic users. That was against an Epic 6.8K Gray Wolf Den. My team got wiped more than once. Very likely at least twice or thrice. After an apparent failure on my part to gather vital reinforcements in the form of some French (?) CW (apologies to that particular individual who happened to be my guildmate as well. I was too much of an interface retard and I still am atm), things actually went to a head where...

Me: Okay, screw it guys. Let's face the last boss head on and hope for the best.

The rest: Amen to that, chief.

Granted I can't recall the details, but it should be something like that. For the umpteenth time in my personal Neverwinter PvE record, I ended up becoming that de-facto party leader (read: I wasn't the original McCoy tbh).

Then came the moment where every fightback has its fairy tale ending. I still recalled very clearly that NO one actually died in action. I was too damn busy doing Fox's Shift in order to up my movement speed (since we only have 1 defensive tank in the form of a Guardian Fighter), I was also too busy to doing Oak Skin (since I was their only source of buffing/healing). At the same time, I was also too busy trying to nail in that occasional Rain of Swords (it really helped the cause that we've got 1 archer HR pulling off a Predator on that final boss).

Yet, it's not so much of my crazy GAR-cher-esque performance that won the day. Rather, my choice of being a servant paid off big time. You see, having a full epic 4 piece means having the relevant bonus if we're talking abt epic dungeons specific armor. As a Forest Warden, the rest actually have an equal right to earn a +200 buff for their highest stat. Which means while the skipper got nothing, the rest did. Apart from the GF and ranged spec HR, the last bloke was actually a Great Weapon Fighter. Going by the normal assumption, it means my team actually become a monstrous bunch of hard  hitters (apart from the GF ofc!).

The only problem? Oak Skin is just like your girlfriend. It's NOT abt the healing (e.g. me praising Stevia's bikini look)*. It's abt BOTH the healing and defense boost (e.g. me complimenting Stevia on BOTH her beauty and brains)*.

*I don't profess having a pretty and intelligent girlfriend by that name, so stop buggering me abt bikini pics.

P.S: Briartwine+Life Steal, anyone? I have fun throwing Malus Blackdagger down the proverbial well. For those who can get easily traumatized, I don't suggest partaking the Black Crypt dungeon. Montage of Traven Blackdagger might scar you for life if you happen to be a guy. If you happen to be a girl, triple confirm will scar you forever one. Someone in my party actually made a joke abt that portion. Which I'll not say.