November Digest #4

World of Warships

Sussed out the Polish destroyer salvage event. Realised there was no point in hoarding anything to do with this game so I willingly exchanged resources to grab FOR FREE Blyskawica '44. Unfortunately I did not have enough for Blyskawica '52. Not sure how I feel about missing out on this upgraded OP ship. 

Limiting time now spent completing the Liberty Harbour missions. No longer going for the maximum possible given I am only playing Operational Command missions and ignoring anything to do with Naval Command. It save me playing time. 

Played today: Brisbane, GQ Johnny, San Martin, and Libertad. No Operations today, just Co-Op and Asymmetric. 

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Again, I took it easy today. Just did the bare basics playing Co-Op with two destroyers - GQ Johnny and Blyskawica '44. Exploited their 200% economic bonuses without expending said bonuses. 

Ark Royal was included to fulfil a couple Liberty Harbour mission tasks. 

Another nothing Common mission - 8 Battle for 8 Years - with nothingness rewards - community tokens and a Steam crate of a few grey economic bonuses.

WG have standardised the "random" rewards so that they've become predictable and practically worthless. No more genuine surprises like in the past which was some compensation for grinding away. WG did it first with the Supercrates (so that chances of grabbing a ship - be it tech tree or premium - are now one in a blue moon). To be expected I guess; it is WG after all. Thus nothing really to look forward to when logging in. Comforting thought however, another month and a half to go before I'm free from this gulag. 

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Ark Royal (for the Liberty Harbour missions) and Brisbane today. Not really interested in playing today and didn't finish all the tasks set for myself. Don't really care any more. 

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GQ Johnny and Brisbane participated in today's very short session. Got cranky with myself so much that I realised this game is no longer entertaining and worthwhile enough for me to continue keep lying to myself. I really can't wait for the year to finish up.

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Decided to switch to another commander group for upskilling. Thus I played the following ships with some interesting outcomes - Mecklenburg, Devastation, Jean Bart, Flint, Irian, Prins van Oranje, Satsuma. Apart from the last ship (12 pt cmdr), all the others are 10-pt cmdrs. And all are seasoned commanders, not event ones. Interesting grind from the POV they were different ships. But much the same result if one really cares - much ado about nothing. 

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Same group as above for captain upskilling grind today. Additional ships Okhotnik and Leone were included for a Liberty Harbour mission that I just gave up bothering to complete. 

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Today I've just played Satsuma for the daily coal crate rewards. Barely hanging in there as it is. 

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Into The Dead

Today I am with Wayne and Tracy. Now they're eight strong - Joe, Aubrey, Michelle, Frank, Barb, and Kirk.

This large group have been slowly following up information regarding the Network whom they eventually found after first encountering Eva. All this while scavenging and simply surviving. 

In exchange for fulfilling certain tasks for the smugglers, the group will be given passage out of the city. It is during one of the tasks that the group meet up with Kirk. And invite him to join the group. Figured he would be ideal in trying situations.

No doubt food will be tight. Let's hope they can achieve the tasks set and escape before someone karks it or turns. 

Took a break and returned to the game later that day. Gathered the items requested by Corbin of the Network. Tracy did the delivery. And got more than she anticipated after dropping off the items. Moral of the story: if it's too good to be true, then it is. 

Michelle turned while all this was going on after one particular encounter during a recent scavenge. So now there is one less mouth to feed. 

With the smuggler's network option going south unexpectedly, the team is now exploring the other alternate options for escaping the city. Namely the oil refinery or the helo airlift (Millhouse Mansion). One suspects similar outcomes however with their dealings with Corbin and the Network so the team will need to be extra cautious. Will that mean they have to find another way out of the zombie-overrun city? Is Eva worth harassing for another option? Do we kill Eva? 

Once you've established a new shelter, you can leapfrog from one zone to another per phase. 

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It seems Eva is your way out after all. However her help to you proves fatal to her. Meeting up with her again provides an opportunity which the team takes but not without some resistance from the Network but the team overcomes with relative ease and a bit of good luck. Upon returning to the Network they meet up with Corbin again and after a few incidents the team find their way out of Walton City. And breathe the free air once more. 

One option explored and completed. Which is good given it's one of the larger groups actively surviving - Wayne, Tracy, Joe, Barb, Frank, Aubrey, and Kirk. Now for the other two. 

Darrel and Leo's group suffered setback when Darrel turned. Now the group is just Cooper (the pilot) and Connor (novelist). The team is really low on supplies, and with only Connor left capable of scavenging, it is a mixed blessing when they run into Barb and invite her to join them. But lack of food is a real issue at the moment with Cooper already starving. And all the while, they're trying to reach the hospital to check out rumour there is a helo there.  

Took a break and returned to determine the fate Connor, Cooper, and Barb. Expecting this team to die out due to starvation.

Sure enough, Coops was the first to die. Then Barb lost hope which turned fatal and she wandered off into the city. This leaves Connor all alone and in the same pitiful state as his former teammates. Expect his to die shortly. With Cooper's death, the airlift mission failed. What now for Connor?

Switched over to Hector and Kayla's pairing. Joe has joined them as has Michelle. New mission "Ashes to Ashes" unlocked. Deciding to clear the entire area within their shelter's zone of resources before switching to a new location, as this will build up their assets and resources. Downtown is the new goal and north the new direction. 

After the fate of Darrel and Leo's group, making sure the team is operating close to maximum in all three areas of nourishment, rest, and morale before making any move to a new shelter. 

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Again with Hector and Kayla and Joe and Michelle. Tonight's session saw them add two more to the group, the veterinarian Aubrey and good old gunsmith Barb.

Have now moved the expanded team to the Galaxy Zone Arcade, closer to Kayla's and Michelle's tasks. No garden or distillery at this new location but that's not important for now as they have sufficient food for now. Just have to avoid recruiting new members...at least until Kayla's finished her Ashes to Ashes mission.  

Joe is doing much of the mule work in terms of acquiring resources for the team. But the others also share in scavenging when required, even Aubrey. Priority in this new location, aside for fulfilling the missions tasks, will be upgrading all the stations as quickly as possible so we can maximise the abilities/talents of the individual team members. 

Kayla finally got to check out her mother's urn at RM & K Communications building. Lots of zombies (and one terror situation). She snuck in and went to all the floors and sussed out every office (except the one with the terror situation) including the very top floor with the CEO's office and rooftop with the helo pad. But she ran into an obstacle as she was about to cross the sky bridge linking the building with it's other half that included the carpark. It was where her father's office was located. So I sent in Joe to clear that obstacle along with any other active zombie to make it easier for Kayla's return visit that night. But as Kayla reached her father's desk she ran into a thief rummaging through. Too late she tried to stop the thief. No urn. And was too slow in catching up to the thief. So what happens next?

The other mission is one I'm familiar with, linking up with the Network. Of course, Joe went out on a recce mission and the first zombie he encounters I forget to deal with it quietly. Instead Joe attacks the zombie which rouses all the other dormant zombies. Joe scooted out of there faster than a Black Friday sale. 

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Skipped Into the Dead tonight. Instead, browsed Steam for a new game. Spent an hour or so but ended up with nothing. Passing on Strange Antiquities as it suffers from the same problem common with Strange Horticulture - it can be completed in a day. 

As value for money these days seems paramount, many I see are just not worth the outlay. Games like Stardew Valley continue to remain popular for me simply because of its infinite replayability. And thus repays its value for money many times over. The same can't necessarily be said of other games - popular or otherwise. I have two very old games - Austerlitz and Waterloo - from my Commodore Amiga days. I have them because I know they can be replayed many times over and give different outcomes. They occupy my time but it's worth the effort. I know the historical outcome and often try to change it to explore the obvious what-ifs. I guess it all comes down to what you expect from a game. 

I have a library of games that are more than capable of filling the space so no biggie. 

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Each escape plan has a good and bad ending. Going to suss out the Oil Refinery escape plan because Jingles has got the Airflight escape plan sussed out through his engaging playthrough session. 

I really want to find out who the mysterious saboteur is and why they're putting barriers in the way. Already part of the way through anyway; just have to remember which group (think it was Hao and Mai). 

Keeping the heli pilot Cooper alive and fed takes a lot of resources anyway. Been to the hospital several times but never considered going up. Too busy scavenging and clearing the place of zombies. 

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Finally went with Penny and Daphne. Did not take long to add Joe and Michelle. Joe because of extra backpack space and Michelle because she's a good backup scavenger and lockpick maker. 

Interest starting to wane because there is a lack of narrative variety. So far, there are just three exit strategies with two basic options - good ending or bad ending. It would be nice to have a third option ending, one that offers a third end - neither good nor bad. Or one that is a Plan B to the main plan. But that's expecting too much.

If the above is wishful thinking then perhaps something more concrete would be more characters, more areas/districts opening up. More escape plan options like the Highway overpass one? 

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November Digest #3

Into the Dead

Today saw the large group of survivors deplete one by one until only Joe remained. The mission after recovering Hao's backpay was the Oil Refinery and discovering an escape route. The group eventually met up with Otto who was still stuck there. 

But they also met up with the stranger in the area who was sabotaging their efforts to escape. Unfortunately the group's demise meant the identity of the stranger and their motive for ruining their escape plans remains unknown. For now.

Keeping the group small makes better sense in starting out until the exit/exfil stage is reached. Because feeding a larger group is always going to be a problem. Water filtration and plant growing essential therefore.

Once the large group died out I started a new game tonight. Continuing with Hao and Mei as my starting pair because I have grown comfortable with them both. In scavenging the laundromat, Hao met a NPC character who was hostile so Hao (like he did with the brothers in the earlier game) took him out. No point beating about the bush. 

Hao might be a martial artist but he's as fragile like all the others especially when confronting awakened zombies. Whenever anyone suffers a deep wound from zombies, if it's not treated as soon as possible then invariably they succumb to infection and will turn. You really need pills, medicine kits, bandages, and (sometimes) unidentified pills. But be mindful that these pills can be anything. So, levelling up the medical station as soon as possible makes perfect sense. Or have Agnes or Aubrey in your team is a plus.

The revelation in playing this larger group has been Michelle. She developed into an ace scavenger, and was relied on the most. Much better than Hao if I was comparing the two. Each character though - male and female - do have their own scavenging strengths. 

Joe, and several others, have the same backpack space while others like Frank have less. Be mindful of this when allocating scavenging duty.

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I must have a soft spot somewhere in me because every time we run into another character, I always invite them into the group. Latest effort sees the pairing of Hao and Mei expand to five with Joe and Michelle and newcomer Barb whom they met at a local garage/fuel station. 

This time they're following Jingles path on his playthrough series. Set up is currently at a sports store because they have to check out the smuggler's network situated in Greenhaven. They met up with the mule Eva at the bookshop. She proved evasive in her responses to queries about the strange markings and talk of a way out of Walton City. 

Hao met up with Garrett (as part of his mission) and survived the combat. Being more careful with his fights. Joe's been picking up the slack mainly performing well on various scavenges and the seeking of the smugglers is, I believe, his mission. 

But the women have all chipped in as well when required. And all have performed much better stealth-wise. They operate better with bladed weapons. Yet to test out firearms however. Watched Jingles bumble his shooting moments.

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Met up with Christine at Mercer High School while they were attempting to find out more about the mysterious smuggler's network at the heavily zombie infested Pogo's in Greenhaven. Not sure where Pogo's will lead the group. It seems the best escape plan is to the north in the more affluent suburb there. But while the game is still new for me, all leads are worth exploring. And don't forget this game is still in Early Access so much more development will happen. 

The simplest plan would be to start new game with all the main pairings and see where their adventures lead. 

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Today I decided to run games with each pairing to see what and how. 

Darrel and Leo, the first of the new pairs trialled, spawned in a new and different location. They met up with Robbie, the novelist, at a location close to their initial shelter. Not long after the meetup they ended up moving to a house close to Millhouse Mansion, their target. In earlier visits they managed to scavenge the place but were not been able to access the top floor. Liking this pair because they've managed to avoid the oil refinery hell.

Sebastian and Dianne were the second pair I started next. They spawned in a familiar location in Southborough. Seb's mission is to hook up with an old army buddy. Keen to see how he goes with guns. 

The last two untried pairs - Hector and Kayla, and Penny and Daphne - both spawned in the same spot in the suburb of Buckland Yards.  

Darrel and Leo. Leo turned after a particular nasty attack. The survivors went to the mansion and met Red the homeowner. And met up with a trussed-up Cooper the helicopter pilot. Flight out impossible because the helo Cooper arrived in lies destroyed in the tennis courts. Now Cooper is part of Darrel and Robbie's ad hoc group, and they're searching for a possible lead to another helo. Will they do it though? Will Darrel and Cooper survive? 

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Returned to Sebastian and Dianne pairing today. New additions to the team with Barb and Rahul. Seb nearly turned zombie in a confrontation while scavenging but he managed to survive the ordeal thanks to prompt medical attention. While he was recovering Dianne and Barb took over sharing the scavenging duties. Rahul, the newest addition, should be an interesting addition. Barb and Seb know guns and have already repaired two pistols/revolvers and a shotgun. Yet to test them out however.  Rahul knows chemistry.

Priority for this grouping, after Seb hooked up with his old army buddy, has been locating hazmat suits at three specified locations. First one was already salvaged; new owner is happy to trade for it at a price. Where can I find four Chilli Con Carne? Second one was worn by the hanging (dead) CDC operator and is inaccessible. Currently prepping to locate the third hazmat suit at a location I know will be both tough and rough upon the character. Seen the "horror" inducing moment at this third location (from another earlier pairing) so know what to expect. 

Already experienced this trauma-inducing moment earlier when Seb reunited with his former army buddy at the militia's new home base and while doing so stumbled upon the "moment". 

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Tracy and Wayne's pair has expanded pretty fast. As of tonight they are now seven - Joe, Aubrey, Michelle, Frank, and Barb were all recruited tonight.

Expanded the scavenging position so now up to two can scavenge in the same phase. But they cannot scavenge the same. And it costs lots of base resources.

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Went with Seb and Dianne's group tonight. Aside from Rahul and Barb, they've also hooked up with Cooper, the helo pilot and Vince, the medical experiment at the local family clinic. All these meetings are not new having already encountered them through the other pairings. 

Vince was the rejected the first time met but this time he was welcomed into the group. Wasn't too sure how he'd go during recovery. He turned in the end. A lot of medical supplies were wasted on him. Cooper, on the other hand, was able to recover well enough to inform the group of another helo available. And thus a way out of the city. 

For now, the group is still trying to locate the third hazmat suit. Suspect it will be a dead end like the other two (still haven't found where I can locate chilli con carne, or if it can be cooked). More than likely they will end up at the obvious fourth location (discovered by another pairing/team in an earlier game).  

One new discovery was a flyer that randomly popped up one day of a new location with a fair amount of base supplies. The place is Keyline Storage. 

Access however is via the underground. Easy enough to gain entry once you deal to the zombies on your way in. And the two storage facilities give a gool haul of goodies. 

This team provided a good opportunity to test out the several weapons they have. Bit awkward fiddling with the keyboard at first but it went well enough in the end. Carbine is a decent weapon and an early favourite. Revolver and shottie were good too although the latter proved slow because it's a two-shot weapon. Don't forget to load up before you open fire. 

Also used grenades which proved lethal in tight spaces like in one of the hallways at the Kinski Gallery. 

Another early favourite weapon is the light cavalry sabre. Used it at the Millhouse Mansion to clear the entry. Seb just waited for the horde to attack and he slashed them to death one by one. It's a shame he couldn't kill Red. 

Every character can scavenge. But some are better at it than others. Even Rahul, whom the wiki consider a wimp and/or liability, performed well enough when presented with the right opportunity. Just have to make sure he's weaponised appropriately.  

Pioneer Motors presents another moment when you encounter rival scavengers. Killed the first one but the second one pleaded for mercy. Unfortunately Barb was not in the mood for granting clemency and down that second scavenger went. 

Ignored Hudson atop Briarwood Motel. His open hostility upon first meet towards my scavenger sealed his fate. Besides, the wiki claims he's more a liability than an asset anyway.

Postscript: Got the chilli con carne and delivered it to Julie (?) for an orange hazmat suit. Thus begins a repeat journey through the land of the green mist and the saboteur. 

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World of Warship

Aegis remains one of the more challenging Operations mission scenarios as far as I'm concerned. More so when you throw together a random group of players with varying intentions. Some may know what's required...and set out to do it. Others may not. Some will never know how to play this scenario despite best efforts. Occasionally, you will get a majority who do know and are able to take the initiative. And can wrest it from the enemy who are relentless arriving in wave after wave. 

Today was one of those games where one guy railed against the rest of us because we were losing the game despite his singular best efforts. He even swore in chat. I let it slide because he was clearly frustrated. The rest of us were fighting as individuals to really notice. 

I was playing the newly acquired German premium Tier X cruiser Prinz Aldabert today. Admittedly, on reflection, not the best choice. Playing it while also familiarising oneself was probably an even worse option. But it is what it was. 

I corrected my early poor choices by ending the grind playing the familiar and comfortable Libertad in Asymmetrics. Always a comfortable choice in the right mode for its OP stature.  

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Blyzkawica '52/Blyzkawica '44 Salvage event began today. Not interested because it's extortionarily over-priced. 

Read the update regarding next Update. Again, uninterested. 

Uninteresting grind on the whole today. Went outside and did yard work before playing probably explained the lack of interest playing thereafter. 

Brisbane fares well enough in Operations although it depends on the mission. Slow grind on Utrecht. Tempted to spend Free XP and Elite Commander XP to upgrade to 21 point because grinding for 700,000 XP is taking forever, especially in Co-Op. Operations and Asymmetrics are a boost but not by much. Plus, the amount of concentration required is not sustainable beyond one hour of intensity. 

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Cannot rave enough about Libertad in Asymmetrics. Overpowered for sure but ever reliable. Brought out Friesland for one of the Dockyard missions. Usual performances from both Utrecht and Brisbane in Operations. While Libertad and Ark Royal rounded out the day fulfilling Liberty Harbour missions. Earned 225,000 credits in total today from those Liberty Harbour missions. 

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Forty-three days before FREEDOM! Played just two ships - Brisbane and GQ Johnny today. WG tossed our way another Common Mission only worth doing because I needed the Commander XP.

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Brisbane, GQ Johnny, Ark Royal, Libertad, Mecklenburg played today. Operations, Co-Op, and Asymmetric. Another silly Common Mission event finished. At least the rewards are welcomed. Mixed day completing the Aegis mission when drawn; again, depends on the team assembled. The other mission are a lot easier challenge-wise - Raptor Rescue, The Ultimate Frontier, Hermes, Cherry Blossom, Defence of the Naval Station Newport,.  

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Brisbane main grind today. Libertad and Ark Royal only for specific Liberty Harbour missions. Upskilled another commander to 21 points: this time, it was Michiel de Ruyter (Seasoned) on Utrecht. 

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Brisbane, San Martin, Ark Royal, Libertad played today. San Martin, part of my commander uspkill group, struggled in Operations. It's weak AP, for its level, is its major problem. It felt like I was throwing feather dusters at the enemy ships. 

Brisbane again performed to expectation in both Operations and Asymmetric. Firestarter, long-range torps, radar, are some of its pluses which helped it sustain playing despite its more obvious weaknesses.

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Strange Antiquities (Demo)

Seen this available through the Steam recommendations, and have been tempted enough to download the Demo version. I have played Strange Horticulture (from the same creators), which I enjoyed a lot. And therefore expect a similar response when I've downloaded the Demo. 

Yep. Like Strange Horticulture. Intriguing but not creepy as some have commented though. But then I'm playing the demo version. Two days (in-game) allowed before the demo ends. Definitely getting it. Like a lot of such styled games, there are loads of questions, sparse clues, and weird characters to keep you engaged. The creepy part is only in your imagination.

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November Digest #2

Into the Dead

Much more fun with this game than World of Warships. Went with Hao and Mei like I said I would. We started heading west and then south instead of north like Jingles in his series of playthroughs. Hao met up with a former fighter -  Garrett, who was after the same thing as Hao - the money their promoter had stashed away at the abandoned factory. Anyway while Hao was tracing the codes to unlock the safe his enemy had somehow managed to open the safe and retrieved the loot. Quite a lot too. Anyway when Hao finally returned, he found the safe open and Garrett gone.

Or so he thought. Garrett was in another part of the factory complex in a secured location. He challenged Hao to a winner takes all final bout. Of course, Hao beat the crap out of his foe and won the stash but suffered terribly from the guilt.

Not long after that, and as he was recovering from the guilt Hao was ambushed when he was on a scavenge at a local abbatoir. And despite his best efforts to recuperate and recover he eventually turned.

But not before he and his sister hooked up with Kayla who joined their group. By the way, Kayla belongs to one of the pairs available to grind. She died too not long after Hao's fate whilst checking out a fire station in their locale after taking over the scavenging role. Got swarmed by a crowd of zombies. 

This has left Mei all on her lonesome. Be interesting to see how she copes. Hao was doing all the scavenging while she was stay-at-home doing all sorts of maintenance. And with recent arrival Kayla now gone as well, will Mei hook up with Joe, whom they met earlier in their moving but rejected at the time because they didn't have enough resources. Or will she meet up with others that are still hiding out in the zombie-overrun city. 

Sadly for Mei, Hao had buried the winnings in a secret location. Lol. Zombie activity has increased too. 

Twenty six turns is all it's taken to have me hooked. 

There are NPCs in the game. Some aren't friendly. In fact in another new game, Hao had to kill two brothers who were openly hostile to him when he was scavenging their location. And being mercenary about it, the brother and sister then moved in and took their digs for themselves.

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Four more crew members added to Hao and Wei's pairing.

Isabel is from one of the high schools. Joe, who found her, is another character from the first run through. Joe's interesting insofar as he's basically a mule, dogsbody for everything at the shelter. He sometimes goes scavenging but mainly he's at the shelter ensuring the barricades are maintained, and watching after Mei who basically stays at the shelter. 

The main scavengers happen to be Hao and Michelle whom they found at one of the suburban addresses. She's actually quite good, probably the best in the quintet: stealthier, more patient. 

Currently they've moved back north after dealing to Garret, and more west rather than north east. Went as far south as I could but then probably hit the game's edge.

Hao went back and found the military drop at one of the homes. 

Currently they're chasing after hazmat suits. But then they met up with Miguel hiding in the toilets at Pogo's and he told them there was one in the basement at the St Bernadette Hospital (Joe collected it eventually after Hao initially scouted the place for a telescope). 

Michelle met up with the dying foreman at the Oil refinery where she encountered the deadly toxic green mist exuding from the area. 

Increasing zombie activity is putting pressure on the team to find a way out of the city before it's too late. Can they make it though?

Constantly moving them from shelter to shelter mainly to achieve the various mission tasks.

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World of Warships

Brisbane does better in Asymmetric than Zao in that it has a faster torp reload. And has 12km radar alongside hyrdo. 

Playing Utrecht today was interesting; finally getting the hang of it. And resisting the temptation to push early solo. Will grind as close as possible to its 700 XP goal before spending Elite Commander XP.

All three cruisers do well as fire support, especially in pursuit. 

Played Libertad for the secondary missions. Easy to score over two hundred secondary hits. 

Several new super ships for sale that I'm eyeing at the moment knowing I will never play them once acquired. Collecting is the name of the game for now. Less than two months left to go. 

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Continued captain-grinding Utrecht. Did so until I got one-shotted by a Yamato while playing Newport Station Defence mission. Thought I was doing fairly well by sticking to my previous winning strategies of staying within the station perimeter when SPLAT! I was blatted. From full health too. 

Finally scored GQ Johnny. Don't remember much about playing Johnston so this was another reacquaintance session as I ran it through its own missions (+200% bonuses). Nice spread of torpedos but slow reload. The 'F' button takes some getting use to. 

For a change, I ran a couple of superships - Satsuma and Devastation. Played both in Operations. Not a good choice. Slow and not great at distance (which was why I ran them). 

Finished off session by captain-grinding Worcester. Yeah, weak armour is its downfall.

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November #1 digest

World of Warship

Latest Update (10.10) kicked in today. First off, like a well-known US streamer pointed out, today the cost of the infamous Puerto Rico B is obscenely ridiculous. Over four hundred Australian dollars! Absolutely not worth the asking price but you know some tool is going to spend that amount of money for it. And the same goes for all the others Black editions being foisted upon us. Unless you absolutely need it, keep walking.

They also have a Black Squadron event to further incentivize suckers whereby you obtain both original and Black versions. You receive various rewards - doubloons, coal, etc. Catch is you only get the rewards if you purchase a Black ship while the event is live. If you already own pairs, you just get what's in the progress bar listed above. 

More intrigued by the Poland! White and Red! common mission. Got the opportunity to run three of my Polish destroyers, the tech tree Tier VII Grom, the premium Tier VII Blyzakwica (an old warhorse favourite), and premium Tier VIII Orkan. Don't have the Blyzakwica '44. 

Played mostly Co-Op with this trio to grab the three rewards - the 60,000 Elite Commander XP on offer - because yesterday I had spent all my Elite Commander XP upskilling my Salem captain to 21 points (he started out as 17 point). Anyway, towards the end I jumped into Asymmetrics after the slow Co-Op grind was taking forever. Less competition from other players is the simple. More lively and challenging in Asymmetric anyway (less likelihood of falling asleep or being distracted by the dogs). Especially lively when facing a mostly enemy destroyer force with our friendly force of just three destroyers, one sub, and one carrier. Had fun all the same but it does require concentration. And normally most Asymmetric matches anyway go down to the wire. Same can't be said for Co-Op games. Snooze fest most times. Or it's over before you've even begun. 

Completed the usual Liberty Harbour mission goal of earning four collection tokens for exchange for 180,000 credits total. Of course, if opting to play Naval Command missions (PvP) as well that total jumps up to at least 270,000 credits. For one day's work, that's fair compensation. And the missions really aren't that hard.

For example, the carrier missions require obtaining a certain quota of rocket/bomb missions. For me, I just jump on the British Tier VI premium carrier Ark Royal, play a couple or three missions in Co-Op, and the task is done. 

Today I played Ark Royal (rockets & bombs mission), Grom, Blyzkawica, Orkan (all three for the Polish common mission requirement), Defence (bad choice for a certain Liberty Harbour task), Libertad (for the seconday hits ribbons mission). Played both Co-Op and Asymmetrics battle modes.

Yet to try the new missile scenario - Temporal Rift - that made its debut today. Received the three ships - a destroyer, a cruiser, and a battleship. Forgot this was a thing until after I'd finished my usual and daily grind. 

Not sure how I feel about playing it to be honest despite my reservations. As a gimmick, as with the Star Trek event, it should be fun. If this is going to a permanent feature (odds are this will be the case), they need to make it a distinctly separate battle mode like Asymmetric. And limit it to certain classes of ships (superships and above), then okay.

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Another new Battle of Trafalgar event. Rewards however are miserly - a few signals and one premium day. 

Spent dubs to progress through three phases in order to obtain Shinonome B in the Event Pass. Bonus was scoring some red economic bonuses from the Black Friday Squadron progress bar. 

Played Shimakaze (yeah, finally jumped on this ship), Ark Royal (rockets/bombs missions), Utrecht, Kalmar. Mostly Asymmetric but also Co-Op. 

Struggled a little with Shima in Asymmetric learning how to play her but persevered. Have to remember to save the third set of torps. Gone with the 12 km torps. Took this vessel out because of its torpedo offloads, but also to familiarise myself with this controversial ship. His proper skipper is grinding via Kitakaze. Yes, I could have taken Benham or Jager but the skipper being upskilled is Japanese. 

Performance was the same with Utrecht at the beginning but that was more me playing too aggressively. Once I adjusted however performance and outcome improved to the point where I now feel comfortable playing her no matter the situation in Asymmetrics. Its skipper is also my next candidate for 21 point upskilling (just upskilled today to 20 point from 19 point).

Kalmar was played to complete the Battle of Trafalgar final task. 

Completed the penultimate Dockyard mission.

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Last day of this ship-lean month. Played just two ships - Utrecht and Libertad. The former was the focus for today's grind; the latter just played to finish a Liberty Harbour mission. Considering spending dubs to buy some Event Pass phases to grab the sixty thousand Elite Commander XP so I can then fast track upskilling my first Dutch 21 point commander (not Helfrich) because I'm over playing Utrecht. Has its moment but requires a fair amount of concentration. And after a long day of concentrating, it gets tedious. And sometimes frustrating getting blasted by focus fire once too many times. 

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Into The Dead

Starting a new game this weekend. Introduced to Into the Dead through Jingles playthrough. Was unsure at first but the series by Jingles got me hooked. So will start this weekend and probably go with the new pair introduced, Hao and Mei. I believe they recommend going with Penny and Daphne to start out with. Apparently Penny is the best scavenger (according the Jingles). And from the playthroughs I've viewed thus far, Penny is great. But Hao and Mei have just been introduced and therefore relatively new to the game (one hopes). Will post a first game runthrough soon. 

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