Arknights

Alright I tried to see about clearing an CC map with 0 risk and I ran into a problem with the mobs in today's map. Namely the they're Glass Cannons but only because they lose HP over a long period of time, long enough for them to break though my defenses.

I assumes that roadblocks would help, but I'm having trouble considering that they are opportunity cost galore (since they take DP) and because I have to remove and place them to stall them aforementioned mobs enough so that they don't kill my squad.

As such I was wondering if there is a dedicated guide series that tackles CC maps on a case by case basis or if getting some levels on my E1 units.

Not sure about guides for the daily rotating CC maps, but Kyostin V and Eckogen's guides might help a bit. Risks will differ though.

For CC you definitely want at least E1 max for level on the ops your using, healers and push/shifters might be able to get away with less. E2 will make it easier of course but that takes a while when you're starting out

Edited by strawberryflavored on Jan 17th 2021 at 3:29:20 PM

Yeah I found one such guide for the specific maps from the former channel and I'm thinking of using it later.

Edited by MorningStar1337 on Jan 17th 2021 at 12:50:07 PM

Just for fun: the Arknights script, with the release of Chapter 8 in China, already has a million words◊.

Speaking of that map, actually Lightning Bruiser is more accurate than Glass Cannon for these two enemy types, because they have high HP alongside ATK, which makes killing them not a quick job even with their HP drain

So it's been a whole year now, what did you guys thought of the story so far?

People over at r/arknights seem to really hate the story, but personally I'm vibing it a lot, though a lot of it owns to the fact that it really squares in into a lot of stuff I personally enjoy a lot, and which might not necessarily translate to other people.

I like the story a lot and it's actually surprising to hear that people hate it that much. That said, it certainly starts off a little oddly (introducing Mephisto before any of the sympathetic Reunion leaders), and I can definitely see how someone who doesn't want to a read a novel longer than the Lord of the Rings every time a new chapter comes out might feel that it drags on a little.

But when it's good, it's really good and the character beats they've been hitting the last few chapters have been universally excellent, imo.

Edit: I also find it interesting how anti-authoritarian it is for a game they allow to be sold in China.

Edited by Clarste on Jan 17th 2021 at 9:35:21 AM

Well I suppose the hate crowd could just be the same five dudes leveling the same comppaimts, day in and day out, but part of it I think is that the writers clearly expect you to go read every OP profile and feel no need to spell everything to you in the main text.

Which I don't mind, as a Dark Souls veteran I got used to having to play through a game three times and spend an entire afternoon on the wiki to piece it all together, but that's not exactly what a lot of people feel like doing.

The other thing is that the writers are not in any rush, a lot of complaints about the story being obtuse and not explaining things well enough can be countered with "well, that's because it's gonna be important later", but some people have little patience for slow boils.

FGO exists and people think Arknights' story is long? That's hilarious.

I been skipping the stories honestly.

I would have to agree that the shadowy foreshadowing stuff isn't exactly the best way of telling a story. Especially since the writers have shown themselves to so skilled at making you care strongly about a character you just met in the same chapter. So it's like, you don't need more foreshadowing, you have enough.

That said, one of the things I really like about the writing is how it doesn't feel the need to explain everything in perfect detail and trusts the readers to be smart enough to pick up on things. My favorite example being how way back in chapter 3 Misha's death was handled. I think a lesser work might have made it a shocking reveal that Misha was the one beneath the mask, but here they just took it as a given that reader could put the pieces together and let the reveal itself go unspoken. The writers aren't talking down to us, they respect our intelligence.

But when I talk about the writing being good I'm mostly thinking of the dialog, like the humorous banter between generic soldiers, or emotional confrontations like (chapter 7)Hoshiguma trying to stop Chen from leaving Lungmen.

Edited by Clarste on Jan 17th 2021 at 9:57:38 AM

Funnily enough, the dialogue is the most criticized part from what I've seen.

The talk between Patriot and Hellagur comes up a lot, which I find odd because I did remember liking it, though I didn't touch it for like half a year so I forgot how it goes, exactly.

The talk between Patriot and Hellagur is a classic and if you hate it I don't care what you think.

I guess you could argue that it's not "realistic" dialog but that has literally never been the case in fiction.

Edited by Clarste on Jan 17th 2021 at 10:05:14 AM

The dialogue choices I will absolutely criticize are, well, the Doctor's dialogue choices. I'm already warming up my eye rolls for the Heart of Surging Flame rerun.

I think it's also worth noting that the localization has gotten way more comfortable in recent chapters/events, so the earlier ones read as stiffer.

Yeah, that happens too. It takes time to settle into the characters and get used to the setting.

Yay more people that enjoy the story. I saw Dark Souls brought up and I do agree the feel is similar. That and Bloodborne. The story is what got me started with the game and a year after, it's what keeps me hooked, among other things of course. I am invested enough in it that I want to keep knowing what happens. Personally a big fan of the Demon Queen Amiya route. Definitely was not expecting that at the beginning but there are a lot of mysteries regarding Amiya in the first place. Also, the conflict inevitably going beyond Reunion. It would have been real easy to have the same designated Big Bads for the entirety of the game so I do appreciate having varied enemies from both story and gameplay perspective. Can't wait to beat the shit out of Theresis.

Also, Frost Nova was a concentration camp survivor along with her "siblings". I am surprised that got in there given what China is known to do with their minorities.

Speaking of which, I do appreciate how committed the writers are (so far) to character deaths. Misha and her brother has been mentioned. Theirs was particularly tragic especially with the all for nothing reveal. The fact that every Reunion leader killed so far have had such tragic backstories but also no way of coming back means it just hits harder in the gut. Chapter 8 spoilers: Possible exception with Mephisto since Hyperglyph may have other plans for him. Tho with all the character deaths, I also appreciate that Talulah lived. It just feels like her being alive contributes more to the story and kind of a combo breaker lol.

Anyway, in happier news: the animate PV for the summer event rerun. I see Skadi gets to touch Provence's fluffy tail.

Got Perfumer form Recruitment and got her E1 I'm pretty much ready for HOSF

Just returned to this game 2 weeks ago (for the Anniversary event and waifu outfits), but I'm excited to see how my main comp improved against Pompeii.

I still remember having to spam Silence's drone as soon as it's off cooldown just to heal off that volcanic slug's AoE. And IIRC, there was a YouTuber who mentioned that placing Lappland to face south of a specific tile trivializes most waves in Pompeii's map... Which helped me before. I'll see if I have to stick to those strats again.

I have Lappland so I might consider getting her to E1

Edited by MorningStar1337 on Jan 18th 2021 at 8:39:32 AM

Speaking of story: any good ten-percenter fanfics worth getting Oripathy for?

That does remind me. I have a weird idea for a Generator Rex and Arknights crossover^note (okay GR, Magia Record and AK crossover). Not sure how I thought of that exactly, must be the simialr premise of the majority of people being infected by inorganic matter

Edited by MorningStar1337 on Jan 18th 2021 at 3:13:45 AM

Speaking of, just wondering, but are you also interested in Death Stranding? Because it also has an Unobtainium like Originium, called Chiralium, that can generate a lot of energy and thus powers most techs, as well as being found at the site of a recent natural disaster

Edit: Bringing it up as maybe another idea for a potential crossover fic

Edited by Billy5545 on Jan 18th 2021 at 9:02:53 PM

A thought had occured to me. Due to lack of Elite 2 status and thus an alternate portrait, most of the 2 and 3 star units' animal motifs are more seemingly generalized (Beagle, Spot and Rangers seem to be the exceptions. and Durin is something of a weird case since dwarves don't have any associated animals or animalistic traits), so I am left to wonder if most of those low rarity characters are supposed to represent some animals in general as opposed to a specific breed or subspecies? (as in for example are Kroos and Popukar supposed to reference rabbits in general compared to the other Cautus characters?)

(As an aside the Sakraz and Sankta also aren't usually based on animals, but what they are based on still have animal traits)

Edited by MorningStar1337 on Jan 19th 2021 at 9:40:47 AM

Here's two fan webcomics for recommendations:

The Rhodes Island Experiences which mostly focuses on Vigna, who tries to get out poverty while dealing with the craziness at Rhodes Island and Red, who wants to make friends without freaking people out for her tail obsession.

Doctor's Life, a 4koma about a female Doctor and her bizarre everyday life with Red and Vermeil as her "pets".