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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Tonight we start off the show with what is quite possibly the least nonsensical intro that bends around and becomes a Happy Birthday message to Solaria…  which by the time this releases will be one day belated.  Tonight we talk about the Overwatch PVE Mode debacle and this expands out into a larger discussion of the downfall of Blizzard Entertainment.  From there we talk about Amazon making a new Lord of the Rings Game and some snark towards LOTRO.  Grace discusses exploring what is ultimately a very Free to Play Racing Game called Asphalt 9.  We talk a bit about the Last Epoch 0.9.1 Pre-Patch Hype week of teasers and that Bel has officially given up on killing Maven in Path of Exile.  Bel and Grace talk a bit about a Southeast Asian-Inspired Diablo-style ARPG game that looks like it is straight out of the 16-bit era of games called Ghostlore. Finally, we wrap things up with some discussion of the Star Citizen 3.19 patch and Invictus Launch Week, and the New Player Experience.   Topics Discussed: Happy Birthday, Solaria! Overwatch 2 PVE Mode Debacle The Downfall of Blizzard Amazon snarks about LOTRO Extremely F2P Racing Last Epoch 0.9.1 Pre-Patch Hype Week Bel Gives up on Maven Ghostlore ARPG Star Citizen 3.19 Invictus Launch Week New Player Experience

Featuring: Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Hey Folks! Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there in the AggroChat family, and also solace to those who have lost theirs along the way.  Tonight we start off the show with Bel and Grace complaining about the results of Eurovision and how both Finland and Austria “got robbed”.  From there Bel talks about playing some Diablo IV this weekend and how there have been some minor improvements from the last open beta test.  Kodra dives into some spicy takes about Breath of the Wild and how maybe he just isn’t into that game at all, and how it makes him sad about approaching Tears of the Kingdom.  Grace gives an update on Burning Shores' discussion and how she accidentally played it on the hardest mode.  Tam talks about Ixion some more and how it is weird to have boss fights in a city builder.  Kodra talks about some of his recent experiences with This Means Warp and trying out multiplayer.  Finally, we dive into a discussion spurred on by the fact that Thalen has been playing Final Fantasy IV Pixel Remaster on the Switch.   Topics Discussed: Complaining about Eurovision Diablo 4 Slightly Improved Spicy Breath of the Wild Takes Burning Shores Follow-Up Borrowed Power In Games Ixion: a Citybuilder Boss Fight This Means Warp Multiplayer Final Fantasy IV is Great

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Tamrielo   Hey Folks! This week we have Ammo back and talk about Honkai Star Rail or at least our early impressions.  Grace talks a bit about Horizon Forbidden West and the Burning Shores expansion.  We discuss a better FTL in This Means Warp, and that Vampire Survivors has released a DLC.  Kodra and Ash talk about how if everyone dies but the Tank, you can still win with Middara and this leads to some random discussion of MMORPG.  Tam is the only one of us who has experienced any Redfall so we talk a bit about it and the community reactions.  Lastly we sort of slide into a discussion about Guild Wars 2 without really meaning to.   Topics Discussed: Honkai Star Rail Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores This Means Warp Vampire Survivors DLC If Everyone but the Tank is Dead It’s Still a Win. More fun with Middara Redfall Irresponsible Speculation Accidentally some Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   This show was one of those times when random discussions that we did not plan happened.  Firstly we had a bit of an impromptu discussion about the Dungeons and Dragons movie which also led to some non-movie discussion.  From there Bel talks about his life as a Path of Exile Vendor as he has become increasingly immersed in the trade market as a seller.  Tam and Bel talk quite a bit about Jedi Survivor and how it is a more open game and might even draw some connections to Breath of the Wild.  Kodra talks about Lone Fungus and Ash about Everspace 2.  From there we fall into some unplanned discussions about how games seem to be moving away from Holiday Season release schedules, and then we get off on this tangent about the Gameboy.   Topics Discussed: Dungeons and Dragons Bel’s Life as a Path of Exile Vendor Star Wars: Jedi Survivor Lone Fungus Everspace 2 Games Moving Away from Holiday Releases Arguing about the Gameboy

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Tamrielo   Hey Folks! We start the show with some extemporaneous discussion about Bel and his Three-Legged Backyard Feral Calico Cat…  and how she ran away for a month and is now back.  From there we talk a bit about Last Epoch finally managing to nail down hotbar management for transformation skills.  Bel talks a bit about how free-to-play games have ruined things and that there are folks balking at the $35 price tag of Last Epoch.  Ash and Bel are still playing a lot of Path of Exile and Bel talks about rolling into his second build of the league featuring Toxic Rain Pathfinder.  Tam talks about mods for Half-Life Alyx that allows you to play the game without VR.  From there we talk about Battletech: Mercenaries Kickstarter and how everyone seems to be shocked at how well it has done.  We talk a bit about Gunfire Reborn and how good of a game it is to play with friends.  We also talk a bit about the Stellaris Co-Op Beta and how it functions.  Finally, we wrap up with a bit of discussion about the Dungeons and Dragons Movie.   Topics Discussed: Feral Backyard Calico is Back! Last Epoch Transform Improvements Free to Play Ruined Things Path of Exile Toxic Rain Pathfinder is Comfy Half-Life Alyx Without VR Battletech: Mercenaries Kickstarter Gunfire Reborn is Great Stellaris Co-Op Dungeons and Dragons Movie

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   We start the show with some discussion about Path of Exile launching the new Crucible league…  and how the seasonal mechanic is sort of awful but the gameplay state is great.  Grace talks about a game hand designed for them called Dredge.  Tam talks a bit about another city builder of a sort called Ixion that causes some rough choices.  We talk a bit about the Super Mario Bros movie and how it is way better than we expected.  Because Nintendo makes screwed-up decisions we talk about hacking the 3DS to use an unofficial storefront.  Ash talks about some disappointment about the first drop in the Battle Network Legacy Collection.  Kodra talks a bit about the series finale for Owl House and playing Burgle Bros board game.  Finally, Bel talks a bit about some of the books he has been reading.   Topics Discussed: Path of Exile Crucible League Start Dredge Ixion Super Mario Bros Movie Hacking the 3DS Battle Network Legacy Collection Owl House Series Finale Burgle Bros Book Updates

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Good Morning Friends! Lairs Day has come and gone, but for those of us recording the show…  it was still happening and as a result, we talk a bit about that.  From there we talk about the repeated death of E3 and why maybe they should just call it quits going forward.  Thalen talks about the apparent fact that Crunchyroll is known for killing games.  Bel and Kodra talk a bit about the Zelda Direct and how apparently Tears of the Kingdom is going to be even more sandboxy.  Super Adventure Festival is going on in Guild Wars 2 and we talk about the quirky new Fashion Wars event happening in Lion’s Arch as well as the test release of World 3 of the Super Adventure Box.  This past week the Crucible League announcement stream took place and the patch notes were released…  frustrating a good number of players.  From there Tam talks about Terra Nill an ecological world-building sim.  Finally, we wrap up the show with some talk about the books we have been reading.  Thalen talks about the Broken Earth series and Bel talks about Legends and Lattes and the Bloodsworn series.   Topics Discussed Happy Liars Day E3 Cancelled for Lack of Interest Crunchy Roll Kills Games Zelda Direct Guild Wars 2 Super Adventure Festival 2023 Super Adventure Box World 3 Fashion Wars Path of Exile Crucible League Announcement Questionable Changes Terra Nill Some Book Talk Broken Earth Series Legends and Lattes Bloodsworn Series The Shadow of the Gods The Hunger of the Gods

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, and Tamrielo   Hey Folks! Tonight we are down three folks and contemplated not recording at all…  eventually deciding on the recording to save ourselves from a mega show.  The original intent was to record a fairly short show, but ultimately we ended up chatting away for the full time regardless.  Tonight we talk about Diablo IV again and some of our frustrations.  This weekend Grace got to play the game in the Open Beta so we start out with their opinions and devolve from there.  After that Tam talks a bit about his experiences with Triangle Strategy.  Finally, we talk about Adepticon and all of the news coming out of it for new miniature gaming releases.   Topics Discussed: Diablo IV Grace’s Opinions More Frustrations Triangle Strategy Awful Name Great Game Adepticon Reveals Warhammer 40k Infinity Ral Partha Nostalgia

Featuring: Ammosart, Grace, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Hey Folks! This week Bel talks about his experiences playing Diablo IV Beta and how it is nothing as he expected and mostly Diablo the MMORPG.  From there Bel and Grace talk about their experiences playing Last Epoch multiplayer doing the endgame activity called Monoliths.  Tam talks about Star Citizen 3.18 recovering from its server woes and how fleshed out the new racing league feature is.  Kodra talks about how much he enjoys games that are themselves effectively a tutorial.  We’ve talked about Battletech by Harebrained Schemes quite a bit but we dive into an update about the current state of mods.  Then we end up going off the deep end into a discussion about the 90s internet and the things that are now lost to the sands of time.   Topics Discussed: Diablo IV Beta Bel Has Concerns Last Epoch Endgame with Friends Bel and Grace Play Monoliths Together Star Citizen 3.18 Recovers Racing League Tutorials in Games and Tutorials as Games Battletech with Mods Remembering the 90s Internet

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Good Morning Folks! We start off the show with some random talk about Rick Astley and the history of Rickrolling.  From there Bel talks about getting a Commander tag and going for the obvious best choice…  that Catmander.  Kodra talks about beating Axiom Verge and his struggles with M.A.S.S. Builder not quite being detailed enough.  From there we talk about the launch of the Last Epoch Multiplayer patch and the struggles of instant 8X growth.  We talk a bit about the challenge of a game launch and scaling servers without overbooking capacity.  Then we finish out with some discussion from Tam about the Star Citizen 3.18 patch and its own server capacity issues.   Featuring: Superfluous Rickrolling Bel is a Catmander in GW2 Axiom Verge M.A.S.S. Builder Last Epoch Servers Hugged to Death Various Discussions of the new patch Server Scaling and Massive Updates Star Citizen 3.18 Persistent Entity Streaming

Featuring:  Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Tonight we start off with some light discussion about Guild Wars 2 and more specifically the new patch that dropped on the 28th including a brand new map called Gyala Delve.  We talk briefly about wrapping up Diablo 3 Season 28 and looking forward to the Last Epoch Multiplayer patch landing next Thursday.  We talk a bit about Microsoft getting to subpoena Sony for records about their practice of paying companies to keep games from GamePass.  We also talk about the practice of corporate write-downs and how Wizards of the Coast and Funko have gotten caught throwing massive amounts of product in landfills recently.  From there we have a sort of rapid-fire discussion of a bunch of mech names, namely Mechwarrior Online, the upcoming Armored Core game, and Mass Builder.   Topics Discussed: Guild Wars 2 Gyala Delve Content Drop Diablo 3 Season 28 Finished Last Epoch Multiplayer Patch on 3/9 Phantom Brigade Beating Wagon World Microsoft gets to Supoena Sony Wizards and Funko Land Fill Disposals Mechwarrior Online Armored Core Mass Builder

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Hey Folks! This week we accidentally recorded an hour-and-a-half-long show.  I guess this is what happens when you punt a bunch of topics to another week because we were missing the folks attached to said topics.  We start off with the discussion about Theatrhythm Final Bar Line that we hinted at last week.  From there we talk about Media from our Childhood that is not cursed… aka The Princess Bride.  From there Tam talks about his further Steam Deck adventures with Eastward and What The Golf.  Bel talks about his experience buckling down and getting his Skyscale in Guild Wars 2.  We talk briefly about the Valve Honeypot catching over 40,000 DOTA cheaters, and Kodra talks about playing Troll Mario Maker levels, more specifically Super Wagon World.  From there we go down this nostalgic trip about pulling dungeons and the puzzles that they used to present and our niche desire for randomized dungeon runs in MMORPGs.   Topics Discussed: Theatrhythm Final Bar Line Princess Bride and Kids Media from our Childhood Still Valid for Modern Standards Eastward What the Golf Bel Gets a Skyscale in Guild Wars 2 Tam is Experiencing Good Crabs Again Diablo 3 Season 28 The Altar Bel’s Rough Start Valve Crafts a Cheater Honeypot Over 40,000 Bans for DOTA Super Wagon World Troll Levels for Mario Maker Xenoblade III is a Pulling Puzzle Nostalgic Trip Down Memory Lane about Pulling Dungeons Niche Desire for Randomized Dungeon Crawls

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, and Kodra   Tonight we have a bit of a short show as we had to punt several topics to next week since Tam and Thalen were out.  Bel talks about his recent adventures since the beginning of the year with the Library system and the Libby App.  From there Ash shares his experience using Character Questionnaires to drive character development in a tabletop pen-and-paper game.  Kodra talks about streaming a day of Celeste Strawberry Jam and his experiences playing the game with a pillowcase on his head.  Bel talks about what happens when a large Mastodon instance closes and over 17,000 folks have to relocate at once.  Bel also talks about his experiences helping to administrate Gamepad.club. Finally, we talk about times when games decided to break their world or remove large chunks of content and why it didn’t work.   Topics Discussed Adventures with the Library System Bel gets a Library Card The Libby App Gideon the Ninth / Harrow the Ninth The Last Watch Catching up with Dresden Character Questionnaires are Amazing Using a Questionaire to help build character development in tabletop games. Celeste Strawberry Jam Beginner Lobby Kodra plays with a Pillowcase on their Head The Death of an Instance What happens when a large Mastodon Instance closes Bel helping admin Gamepad.club Breaking the World Does Not Work Guild Wars 2 Living World Season 1 World of Warcraft Cataclysm Evequest 1 to Everquest 2 Destiny 2 Removing Content FFXIV ARR did Work However

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Hey Folks! This week Bel has been playing Last Epoch quite a bit of late and has roped both Grace and Tam into it.  We talk a bit about how the game has improved over time and how it compares to Diablo III and Path of Exile.  From there Thalen and Tam talk a bit about their further experiences with Lord of the Rings Online.  Kodra talks about his adventures in watching a live stage production of Bluey, and we talk a bit about the show in general.  Tam shares his thoughts on Hi-Fi Rush and dives into a topic about the oddities of Steam Deck Compatibility.   Topics Discussed: Last Epoch Multiplayer Beta Class Design Comparisons with other ARPGs Lord of the Rings Online Bluey Big Play The show in general Hi-Fi Rush Steam Deck Incompatibilities

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen We start off the show with a discussion that has been kicking around our list for a while, where Tam discusses the shared DNS of a Good Stealth Game and a Good Metroidvania.  From there Kodra has had time to play Forspoken and talks about his experiences after last week's show.  We dive into a discussion about the news coming out that no one seems to be signing up for E3 and once again we question if there really is a place for that show in the public consciousness.  Lastly, we talk about some of the games that are supposed to be released this year and try and determine which we actually think are. Topics Discussed Shared DNA of Stealth games and Good Metroidvanias More talk of Forspoken Nobody is Going to E3 Games we doubt are releasing in 2023

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen Hey Folks!  We start off the show with some updates about Wizards of the Coast and the OGL debacle that they are so rapidly trying to walk back.  Are we going to forgive and forget or is the damage done?  From there we talk a bit about Fire Emblem Engage and how it is quite different from previous Fire Emblem outings.  Tam does his best to combat the bad press and shares with us his thoughts about Forspoken, and how it is actually a really good game. From there we dive down a rabbit hole that is revisiting Lord of the Rings Online.  We talk about how it has held up through the years and the interesting way that it is continuing to expand now that they have finished the main story arc of the books.  We also talk a bit about what an interesting place the Landroval server is specifically. Topics Discussed Open Gaming License Update Wizards Furiously Backpedals What this means for the Movie Fire Emblem Engage Forspoken Bad Press not Warranted Lord of the Rings Online New Content Old MMORPG Sensibilities Landroval Server

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen Folks… after a year of trying to win the housing lottery in FFXIV, Belghast finally gets a house and in the same lot number that we used to have an FC House in Mists.  From there Kodra talks about the tabletop game Middara and how it contains one of the best tutorials for a game that he has seen. One of the negative side effects of recording massive two-part games of the year show is there are hot topics that end up getting thrown on the back burner.  From there we finally talk about the situation happening with Wizards of the Coast, the Open Gaming License, and the entire community abandoning ship.  We talk a bit about Fog Sudoku and Kodra explains what exactly it is.  From there we finish out the night talking about Marvel Midnight Suns and how in some ways it is a perfect game, and in other ways, it completely misses the point. Topics Discussed Housing Windfall in FFXIV Middara is a Great Tutorial Wizards of the Coast Burning Self Own of 2023 Misunderstanding their Community The rise of ORC and fall of OGL Fog Sudoku Marvel Midnight Suns

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen Hey Folks! Welcome back to the second part of our yearly “Games of the Year Show”.  I have to admit I greatly enjoy this process and probably this year more than many in the past.  We had a wildly diverse set of games that the seven of us collectively chose this year.  Over the course of these two shows, we talk about twenty-six different games.  Often times there are a few big games that most of us played and put on our list, but this year we all had a pretty wild variety of choices. I also feel like we have set a standard going forward, that we no longer will we do this nonsense where we record for four or five hours and then split it in half.  Recording two normal shows seemed to feel much better and produce a better discussion.  Hopefully, our listeners will agree.  In this show, we tackle the second half of the list and burn through fourteen more games. Topics Discussed Fire Emblem Warriors Three Hopes Peglin Stepmaniax Unsighted Mindcrack for Celeste Vampire Survivors Stray New World Brimstone Sands Pokemon Legends Arceus Tunic Ooblets Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Citizen Sleeper Horizon Forbidden West

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen Hey Folks! It is that time again for our multi-part episode as we talk about the games that were important to us specifically during 2022.  A bit of a reminder for anyone who has not heard one of these shows before, we are not necessarily only talking about games that were released in 2022.  If we were late playing a game but it was extremely important to us, it might still get the nod here. Something that is working slightly differently this year is generally speaking we record a marathon show that runs about 3-4 Hours and then I crudely carves it up into multiple shows.  However, what happens is we have one show that is full of short topics and another show that has all of the long discussions.  This year I sorted the list so we got a blend of single honorable mention picks and meaty multi-member picks in the same show.  We are also recording it two weeks apart so none of us have to deal with the late night that this show always brought on.Hopefully, the changes lead to a better listening experience.  So in this episode, we are going to talk about the first half of our games of the year, and next week we will continue with the rest.Topics Discussed: Digimon Survive Pokemon Scarlet and Violet TMNT Shedder’s Revenge Trials of Mana Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons Elden Ring Fallout 76 Star Ocean: The Divine Force Wordle Kirby and the Forgotten Land Cult of the Lamb Path of Exile

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Hey Folks!  The gang is all back at the same time…  just in time to take a break effectively until after the new year.  Because of how the holidays fall this year, we will not be recording shows for the next few weeks and returning after that with our usually two-part Games of the Year show. This week we talk about more Twitter Madness and the time when a journalist misread the now-banned JoinMastodon account and created a fictitious person named John Mastodon that runs Mastodon.  From there we talk about Tam’s epic journey in trying to find some way to comfortably use a push-to-talk key while playing games on a controller.  We talk a bit about a few 2D games on the Steam Deck specifically Ghost Song and Salt and Sanctuary.  After that, we talk about our progress in the Path of Exile Forbidden Sanctum league and just how much madness is associated with learning that game in general.  Finally, we talk about playing Justin Roiland’s High On Life, a game about talky gunfriends. Topics Discussed: John Mastodon 5 Year Epic Search for a Foot Pedal Ghost Song Salt and Sanctuary Path of Exile Forbidden Sanctuary Progress The Madness of this Game High on Life