Been playing a Valheim play-through with some close friends.


Theres about 5 of us, and we are usuing Valheim+ (Valheim Plus) with just a FEW tweaks to the vanilla game to make it a tiny bit less grindy.



For example, a slightly increased inventory, chest size increase, wide area repairs with the hammer, repairing gear when you go to a workbench without needing to manually do it, Karve inventory increased... and maybe a few others.


We still kept 'no teleporting with ore' and the difficulty high.


This has honestly been one of the most fun games I have played in a long time. If you tried valheim, and found it too grindy or had some other QOL issues, there are a bunch of really good mods that can make things more enjoyable for a casual group.


If you want settings suggestions, let me know! I'm very casual and even with some of these tweaks , the game can be frustratingly difficult at times. But it is very worth it if youre into base building, survival type games.

I installed Dead Space and Ghosts of Tsushima, they were in my library from free monthly PS+ games and I just cannot bring myself to play anything right now. I think I might be kind of done with gaming, except path of exile of course. I will probably always play that one and really looking forward to POE2.

This mindset should change next year, I do want to play Civ 7 and GTA 6

Wasn't sure what I felt like playing so I threw on the remaster of Chrono Cross. I'm already hooked. Nostalgia bug hit me hard.

Very underrated game. One of the best soundtracks I’ve heard in a JRPG.

One of a kind game and I go back and get addicted every year or 2. The mods really make it amazing and new every time I play it.

just waiting for GTA6....

*looks over from my Half Life 3 cage*

https://quaggapedia.afrikaburn.com/i...nging-meme.jpg

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I've been waiting for this for a while but it sucks it launches with Denuvo. I hate supporting that crap.

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I enjoyed the Stalker Series from what recall. Going to wait to read some reviews but will most likely be buying.


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I really need a modern gaming PC. Is it worth it to build one these days or is it better to just buy one already built? What is a good modern gaming PC with a good price?

Probably want to move this discussion to this thread:

https://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=347810

But short answer: Build.

I've bought one prebuilt PC in my life and whoever the slap dick was that installed the 1TB platter storage drive made it unremovable without completely taking apart the case.

Completely unacceptable. All storage should be interchangeable in under 2 minutes.

Also, when you put it together you'll know how to take it apart when you want to upgrade or tinker and that's half the fun.

I had a great run this last year. Played Fallout 4, Days Gone, Ghost of Tsushima and Horizon: Forbidden West - loved each one of them.

I didn’t have any must-plays in my backlog for afterward and I was paying for it. I booted up Miles Morales Spider-Man and gave that up within 5 minutes. South Park’s Stick of Truth seemed fun but that one didn’t hold me past the first 10 minutes. I figured I’d give Witcher 3 a shot after all these years but the tutorial was so bloated and complicated that I knew I had to be 100% focused to dive into that one. I put it down for now but that’s one I def wanna go back to before all’s said and done.

Thankfully Uncharted 4 has grabbed my attention. I’m probably like 10 hours into that one now and it’s got a good hold on me. Very different from all of the open worlders I’ve been playing recently, though. This one is extremely linear and no RPG elements to speak of.

Uncharted is probably one of the top 5 series in my opinion. Would be nice if they made a new one.

Yep, I was familiar with the series beforehand. I’ve actually watched the first three as “game movies” on YouTube.

That was fitting because the games are honestly more like movies than games anyway. It’s a pretty formulaic process: cutscene, climb some shit, shoot some guys, solve a puzzle, cutscene, shoot some guys, climb some shit, solve a puzzle, cutscene.

I’ve always been a fan of the adventurer looking for lost treasure trope anyway. Tomb Raider, National Treasure, Indiana Jones, etc.

I've been playing Monster Hunter Iceborne the last few days. What a great game.

I got sidetracked a few hours after starting Uncharted 4 back when it came out, and didn't have the chance to go back. We seem to like similar games, so I'm eager to hear your feedback.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
 

Looking forward to this...

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Uncharted series is LEGENDARY! Next to God of War series and Tomb Raider (new ones). :thumb:

I just started that game only to stop because of giving Black Myth Wukong another chance. Now that I am better at it, I have abandoned Monster Hunter Iceborne. It’s one of those games that I will get to……eventually. I do think that I will probably die before getting through my whole backlog of games.

Same here man. I quit Monster Hunter World to play the Mass Effect Trilogy. I played ME over and over for months. Coming back to Iceborne has been interesting. I had to completely relearn how to play the game because it's so complex. I will probably spend 200 hours on it. I'm definitely gonna die with an incomplete backlog.

Thank you. I was leaning towards build for those very reasons. Plus I can do it piece by piece instead of all at once. Which is good since I don't have a lot of money to burn at one time.

I finished it last night. Really cool story. Looking for lost pirate treasure will never not be rad, IMO.

My biggest issues with the game were 1) It’s kind of short. As a straight-forward platformer, there isn’t much in the way of exploration. I think I finished it in like 20 hours. 2) Kind of building on that, I suppose I’m just an open worlder kinda guy now. I like exploring, leveling up, and being able to customize gear. This game doesn’t have any of that. They even make sure to create a situation where you lose the weapons you’ve collected at the end of each chapter lol bastards

But yeah, as long as you’re cool with linear gameplay and enjoy the lost treasure hunts, this game is really enjoyable.

Why don't you get the collection and play all 5 games?

I mentioned it previously but I actually watched all of the storylines as “game movies” on YouTube as they came out. Given the fact that the gameplay isn’t really the strong suit of these games (IMO), it really doesn’t make a lot of sense for me to go back and actually play them.

I really recommend taking the time to experience the Witcher 3 story before the game starts to feel too dated. It's one of the best story-driven games ever made, and it's absolutely worth the 80-100 hours it takes to complete (especially with all the DLC, which, are whole new stories themselves). Plus, Gwent is a fun mini-game that adds a nice break from the main story.

It can be really helpful to look up a quick synopsis of the first two Witcher games to better understand the motivations of the characters in The Witcher 3. I played The Witcher 3 without any prior knowledge and figured it all out as I went, but after finishing, I went back to learn more because the story was so good and I wanted to fully understand the context.

Agreed. The only thing that can get dated with that game is the graphics. The story is absolutely amazing and the DLCs are just as good (although I prefer Blood and Wine over Hearts of Stone).

Gwent was very addicting once you understand it. I found myself fast traveling to every town trying to buy the cards and play every person I can. It was such a time waste from a storyline perspective, but just so much fun.

Great adds.

The graphics are dated, yes, and the combat will likely feel a bit clunky by today’s standards, however, it was groundbreaking when the game first released.

I thought Hearts of Stone was a brilliant concept, especially how I agree that Blood and Wine was the superior DLC, though. I actually took a break from playing for a couple of days when I felt the story was nearing its end—I didn’t want to part with Geralt’s world just yet.

I also read that certain Gwent cards could be missed if you waited too long or triggered specific events. To avoid this, I’d save my progress whenever I entered a new town or village. That way, if I made a wrong decision that locked out a card, I could reload and check with all the NPCs to see if they were holding any new ones before advancing the story.

Regarding the Gwent cards, that is very true. Your strategy of saving when entering a town is a smart one that I never considered.

What I love about the combat is that while you don't have as many move/spells, the utilization of the along with the oils and potions you can make and use enhance the strategy.

With Hearts of Stone, that was a cool addition. What I found that makes it different is:


Blood and Wine was amazing as it just took you to a completely different world unlike the depressing environments of the main game (outside Skellige). You really do feel as if you have been whisked away to some fantasy world.

If you're playing the Witcher 3 on PC, there are a ton of mods and texture packs available to improve the graphics. There's so much improvement that's been done to the Witcher since release. I mean, they've added ray tracing for crying out loud.

Here's a few: https://gamerant.com/witcher-3-best-graphics-mods/

Yet another game I will probably never finish.

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous

70% off on Steam.

Witcher 3 especially now, is probably the greatest value of any game ever. You can pick up the complete gane with all dlc for like 20 bucks. That's insane.

It's definitely in my top 3 games of all time.

The addition of the quick fire type ability to cast signs, instead of having to switch to the sign then cast, has been probably the most tremendous gameplay changing aspect of that last series x update it got.

I agree 100%. It’s amazing how much that game still tops lists of greatest games of all time. Also $20 for what you get is ridiculous. That is easily a game that (including the DLCs) can take over 100 hours to beat. Due to the fact that there are branching outcomes based on your decisions you find yourself wanting to replay it just to make different decisions. Games like that stand up to the test of time well.

Lastly with the combat, I agree that the upgrade with the casting of signs is a nice touch. I do also like that they kept the signs simple. No need to root through a huge menu of spells to find the right one. Geralt has five signs that you can use and upgrade and that’s it. They add to the game, but don’t dominate it and each has a use.

The production level of the side quests in the game are what set it a tier above anything else.

Side quests are generally just filler for content, xp grinding, or currency. In Witcher 3, Geralt's occupation takes on stories of its own. A simple bounty board flyer to hunt and kill a monster becomes a bite sized story quest with actual stakes involved in many cases, depending on the decisions you make during the quest.

It's simply a phenomenally put together game, that has very little content that can be seen as dull, or padding the gameplay.

Personally, I hate Gwent though...

I have recently discovered the PS Portal that will probably help me finish some games.

Same here. My game time has gone up since I got a portal. I don't have to compete much for screen time.

big reveal about POE2 today on twitch

I cannot ****ing wait

I can't get into anything else anymore, this is the only game I still want to play. Early access is a $30 entry fee which I'm happy to pay and starts Dec 6. It looks amazing so far.

Man that was great. I didn't watch the Q&A yet, but the reveal made me go from on the fence, to fully excited.

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Probably not for me but I'll check it out at some point, hope it's all you and many others were hoping for. I still think the font and UI are about as ugly as i've seen in an arpg and was hoping it would be better than POE.

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Anyone playing this? Looks kinda cool and been on my wishlist forever, going to wait and see how the mods are for it.

I didn't think it was out yet.

I have no issue with the UI and fonts but these developers are the best in the business. It's going to be pretty similar to POE1 but it sounds like they want the boss fights to be better, but honestly when I'm mapping I only do the map bosses if I can kill it in 2 seconds and skip the rest lol

It is indeed, came out yesterday.

The graphics and gameplay look really good but it does seem to play a lot slower. We'll see I'm sure I'll play it, I played POE on release it seems like 15 years ago lolz.

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Game looks incredible though, this dev video really sold me on trying it maybe soon. :)

It really is one hell of an ARPG. The end game is where the focus is and every 3-4 months they add a new league that changes everything. But you can get addicted to it, nothing provides dopamine like some hearing a certain drop sound in POE!

I cannot ****ing wait.

What does that douche bag feel he's bringing to the table by cutting off 15% of the lower left screen so viewers have to look at him slouched over staring at a monitor? Just say "hi" and get lost.

Very cool looking game however. Wow!

Unfortunately his video is one of the most thorough and lengthy that shows other parts of the game other than some dude with a crossbow which is 95% of other POE2 vids.

hes live streaming at the same time hes recording the video... his face is his brand.

https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/t...0x600bf-60.jpg

Alrighty, I’m knee deep in The Witcher. This is my kind of game. Fully open world, a million question marks to explore, an overly complicated alchemy/drafting process? Love it.

But **** those of you who recommended playing Gwent. I spent about an hour yesterday trying to beat this Bloody Baron dickhead before realizing he just has wayyyyy better cards than me and no amount of luck or strategy will land me a win until I build up my deck.

LMAO That's kind of the point. Need to hit up all the merchants while you're traveling around unlocking your fast travel posts to buy their cards. Oh, and BTW, spy cards are incredibly OP. Like, game breaking.

Yeah, he’s absolutely long dicking me with these spy cards. He has three of them and seems to get two of them in every match. He’ll drop two of the close combat spy cards then play biting frost like a true psychopath to **** me over. He still wins the round and now he’s got an extra 4 cards.

The torch cards can also die in an AIDS fire.

Use decoys and medic cards to use his spies against him.

https://gwentcards.com/

Go to the top left and pick Northern Realms. Get these cards as soon as you can.

Blue Stripes Commando.
Both Catapults.
All Three Crimson Reavers.

Also get all the decoys you can find.

That'll make you pretty damn strong regardless of who you're playing against.

Let that ass **** use his spies early and either decoy them or medic them from your discard pile to make sure he never gets that large of an advantage and try to break up your heaviest hitting stuff between rounds so it doesn't all get scorched at once.

Feeling really salty you can decoy your own medic a couple times and bring back the catapults/reavers you've already used. Or the spies that are in your discard pile

So instead of doing an introduction and an wrap up he sits there taking up space and doing nothing but blocking the very product people are tuning in to see?

Great strategy!

And he's got a face for radio to top off his poor production skills.

Dunno hes making hundreds of thousands of dollars on youtube and twitch.. and so are tons of other people following the same formula.

Jedi Survivor and Kingdom Come Deliverance on sale for $17.49 and $2.99 respectively.

Perfect additions to my library. NEVER pay full price for games LMAO

That's one good thing about having a huge backlog of games. I never pay more than a few bucks for games because by the time I get to them, they're on clearance.

can't really stand that guy. All of the poe streamers and the game developers are sucking his dick, he plays POE for a week and says "wow this game really is so much better than diablo 4!" and then goes right back to diablo ROFL

Jedi survivor is awesome!

Truth. The Mysterious Elf is arguably the best card in the game.

Not nearly as annoying to me as Raxx, dude is monotone and boring.

ya I know who that is. People were making fun of him because he had some of the best POE crafters handing him over mirror tier gear and he acted like he knew what he was doing, it was something like that.

Always the smartest edgelord in the room, wears a hoodie and thinks he's Palpatine.

This guy is much better...

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Shows you how to get teh big dam :D

Witcher may top the list of fantasy worlds I’d never, ever want to live in. Some of these monsters are just ****ing weird.

This dude buried his miscarried fetus and it dug itself out of its grave to go on a murder spree lol

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Kind of hilarious

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The physics! 🤣

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Ya the guy is annoying and it looks a bit broken but you have a million physics settings to play with and man it looks fun lolz

I beat the ****er. You were right, it was the decoy and medic cards that saved my bacon.

I focused on exploring the world and playing gwent whenever the opportunity arose. I also made sure to buy any cards vendors were selling (I was previously saving the money for gear) and that was good enough.

Lmfaooooo literally. I had just completed the Baron’s quests, came back and told him his wife lost her mind in a bog and his daughter never wanted to see him again.

Anyway, about that game of gwent..

It's the best. You'll run into some terse shopkeeper or someone devastated by personal tragedy and they'll all give a contemplative nod without fail.

As a random aside, if you're looking up guides or whatever makes sure you're using the pertinent ones. Witcher 3 has gone through at least 2 complete overhauls with a whole bunch of balance changes in between.

I've finally started Cyberpunk 2077, and I'm very impressed with the hooker banging. We've come a long way from the shaking cars in the GTA series.

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Madden Killer? Will it ever happen?

That is so funny and so true.

No. The NFL won't allow it.