Clan Battles (World of Warships)

I got to test out the Bourgogne and overall she’s a fantastic ship. She’s not as tanky as what I’m used to, but the added maneuverability and extra three guns really makes all the difference sometimes.

I think it was my first clan battles match in the Bourgogne where I thought I’d killed myself when I angled against an incoming salvo and slammed into an island while trying to get behind a Petropavlovsk. He came out of hiding with his guns aimed right at my citadel, but like some kind of classic western, we both fired, I got the citadels and he got the overpens. That Petro disappeared in a plume of fire and the match ended right there. My HP bar barely nudged.

Other situations were worse, since Bourgogne can’t take a lot of focused fire for very long. If the team wasn’t quite on top of everything that was happening, or they were too occupied with their own match ups, it was very easy to get taken out early in a match.

Even so, I’m loving this ship. I prefer the look of the Jean Bart more, and not having a third turret eliminates the temptation to give enemies too much of my broadside, but unlike most battleships, this extra turret houses four guns, not just three or two. That’s a third of the overall firepower you’ve got to consider when positioning and angling in battles.

PSO2: NGS

I really want to write about the games I play in my free time, but World of Warships is the only one where I’ve got any kind of comfortable format down. It’s also the only one I’m consistently active on. Even so I’ve got to get into the habit. I’m in the process of eliminating as many hobbies that aren’t relevant to the Praedian Records and the ZAP project as possible. They’re fun and all, but if they’re not directly serving in some capacity, even if that just amounts to having something to write about, then what’s the point?

At some point this month I’ll try to give the new Retem region a good deep dive and put my thoughts up here. For now my first impressions are mostly good. The setting is interesting, the new mobs are actually dangerous now. I can’t goof off during fights like I normally do, which is a good thing. Part of what makes NGS so fun is how interactive the combat is. That and the depth of character customization is the only thing is has over Final Fantasy XIV Online (and there’s a strong argument to be made that limited customization is better for the game).

There’s one more thought I’ve got on PSO2 but I’ll include it below since the same idea applies to FFXIV.

Final Fantasy XIV Online

Pretty much the same vein as PSO2, though I can safely say FFXIV gets more of my time these days. There’s about … five hundred times the amount of content, not including the expansions, and sadly I am not exaggerating on that point. I might even be lowballing it since it’s just the impression I get from the content I know about but haven’t bothered touching. There’s a lot of stuff to do in this game. That doesn’t mean it’s all interesting or enjoyable, but it makes you feel like you’re in a world and not an island.

So I’d like to do something interesting with this one, not just write about what I’m doing (HeavensWard by the way), but actually try something fun and creative. Maybe a retelling of events with actual dialogue from the Warrior of Light. That could be interesting. I should do that with all the games I like that have silent protagonists, actually. Before I even attempt something like this though I’d need to make sure I can store all the photos. I’ve got plenty of space now, but that’s not necessarily going to be the case in three to four years.

That’s all for now.