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.