Elden ring early rune farm
EldenRingRuneDrop
2022.10.07 11:18 Ok-Dragonfruit-2150 EldenRingRuneDrop
This is a community for people that are low levels and need a boost.
2022.03.04 00:34 Robodude917 eldendrop
Rune dropping/duping Elden Ring community
2022.02.27 08:40 NoTittyHavingKanye EldenRingMarketplace
Elden Ring Marketplace A free market where you can meet people to do anything. Dupe, trade, farm, glitch or other. IDGAF Just Be Civil
2023.03.29 18:26 LadAmbassador š Mid-20s CST PC Looking for an RPG fren! š
Hey there fellow gamers!
Our group of three friends is currently searching for someone else to join us on Discord. We're a laid-back bunch who enjoy playing games and sharing laughs together. We're also fans of edgy/offensive humor, so if that's not your thing, then we may not be the right fit for you.
We love RPGs and especially loved Divinity: Original Sin 2, but we're really excited for the full release of Baldur's Gate 3 in August. We plan on running a blind playthrough together, so if you're interested in joining us for that, it would be great if you could commit to making time to play with us regularly.
Aside from playing games, we also enjoy sharing memes, talking about anime/manga, and just chatting about whatever comes to mind. We're looking for someone who's not just interested in gaming, but also in socializing with the group.
If you think you'd be a good fit for our group, then don't hesitate to message me! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
List of notable multiplayer games we:
Are currently playing: Apex Legends / Risk of Rain 2 / Tabletop Simulator
Enjoy playing: Oldschool Runescape / FFXIV / Divinity: Original Sin 2 / Elden Ring / Gunfire Reborn / Borderlands / Dead by Daylight / Speedrunners / Deep Rock Galactic / Phasmaphobia / Monster Hunter: World
Are looking forward to playing: Baldur's Gate 3 / Wizard with a Gun / Hyper Light Breaker / Payday 3 / Risk of Rain Returns / Endless Dungeon
submitted by LadAmbassador to GamerPals [link] [comments]
Our group of three friends is currently searching for someone else to join us on Discord. We're a laid-back bunch who enjoy playing games and sharing laughs together. We're also fans of edgy/offensive humor, so if that's not your thing, then we may not be the right fit for you.
We love RPGs and especially loved Divinity: Original Sin 2, but we're really excited for the full release of Baldur's Gate 3 in August. We plan on running a blind playthrough together, so if you're interested in joining us for that, it would be great if you could commit to making time to play with us regularly.
Aside from playing games, we also enjoy sharing memes, talking about anime/manga, and just chatting about whatever comes to mind. We're looking for someone who's not just interested in gaming, but also in socializing with the group.
If you think you'd be a good fit for our group, then don't hesitate to message me! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
List of notable multiplayer games we:
Are currently playing: Apex Legends / Risk of Rain 2 / Tabletop Simulator
Enjoy playing: Oldschool Runescape / FFXIV / Divinity: Original Sin 2 / Elden Ring / Gunfire Reborn / Borderlands / Dead by Daylight / Speedrunners / Deep Rock Galactic / Phasmaphobia / Monster Hunter: World
Are looking forward to playing: Baldur's Gate 3 / Wizard with a Gun / Hyper Light Breaker / Payday 3 / Risk of Rain Returns / Endless Dungeon
2023.03.29 18:25 l0veh4tel0ve [25 she/they] Hi there! Looking for online friends.
Disclaimer: pls be patient with me. Iāve got a very busy work schedule so Iām not on here suuuper often. With that being said:
Hi! Iām Michaela. Iām 25 years old, non-binary but go by she/they out of convenience. Really whatever works for you works for me. Iām super awkward, terrible at making friends irl (and online, for that matter.) I have my boyfriend and my best friend and thatās about it right now.
Iād love to make some new friends to chat, play video games with, etc. I play a looot of Fortnite, some Minecraft, Diablo, Elden Ring, and Iām always down to try new games as well. My current game addiction is pressure washer simulator lmao.
I love art, books, nature, I dabble in witchcraft here and there. I love all things spooky. I work with vapes and the like, and I love the devilās lettuce.
If youāre interested in learning any more and becoming friends, let me know! Also, I apologize if I donāt get to everyoneās messages, my DMs are typically full of spam so apologizes ahead of time.
:)
submitted by l0veh4tel0ve to Needafriend [link] [comments]
Hi! Iām Michaela. Iām 25 years old, non-binary but go by she/they out of convenience. Really whatever works for you works for me. Iām super awkward, terrible at making friends irl (and online, for that matter.) I have my boyfriend and my best friend and thatās about it right now.
Iād love to make some new friends to chat, play video games with, etc. I play a looot of Fortnite, some Minecraft, Diablo, Elden Ring, and Iām always down to try new games as well. My current game addiction is pressure washer simulator lmao.
I love art, books, nature, I dabble in witchcraft here and there. I love all things spooky. I work with vapes and the like, and I love the devilās lettuce.
If youāre interested in learning any more and becoming friends, let me know! Also, I apologize if I donāt get to everyoneās messages, my DMs are typically full of spam so apologizes ahead of time.
:)
2023.03.29 18:21 Silent_Operation8597 What is next after Elden ring for me?
Finished elden ring like 3 times, and since I'm new, what do I play next? Was considering DS1, Bloodborne or sekiro but I'm open to discussion.
submitted by Silent_Operation8597 to darksouls [link] [comments]
2023.03.29 18:21 Dna87 It's not really Christmas until someone goes to prison
About 18 years ago I worked at the main video game retailer in the UK. It wasn't a bad job but like anything where you have to deal with the general public, it came with some crap moments.
This one was early December when the xbox 360 came out. Like most console launches we were running on a preorder only system. The only stock we received had been reserved by customers with a small deposit (Ā£20 I think). Because the launch was in December, the xbox was the must have Christmas gift and it made people go a little crazy. I think anyone who has had to deal with preorders at retail knows where this is going.
Our store opened at 9am. We couldn't do a midnight launch as the store was within a complex that was locked from 10pm to 8:45am each day. The first thing we see once the complex opens is a woman sprinting up to our door and frantically pulling on the handles. We let her know through the door that we don't open until 9am. At this point she's fairly reasonable, says ok and waits. Over the next 15 minutes a small queue forms behind her of people here for their consoles.
As you probably expected, she didn't have a preorder. Her response to finding out she couldn't buy an xbox was to scream at us, threaten that she was going to trading standards, yell about "false advertising" and eventually yell about how she was going to our competitor to buy one since they "have some decency". The problem being that the console was a preorder only basically everywhere, so we knew she wasn't going to have any success over there either.
About an hour later she comes back to the store and we're all braced for impact, but she just starts browsing which was a surprise. We didn't realise what she was up to until one of the late comers comes to pick up their console. As soon as they left the counter and headed for the door, entitled woman dashed over to them and started talking to them. We didn't know what she was doing at first, but it turns out she was offering to buy the console off other customers at an elevated price. The woman she spoke to wasn't interested. She was an older woman and had one of those wheely shopping bags that every older woman in England seems to have. (This becomes relevant later)
This is where entitled woman really really screwed up. Not taking no for an answer she suddenly pushed the woman, grabbed the bag and ran. She didn't get far because we always had a security guard round on launch days. She got about 20 foot out of the shop before they grabbed her and brought her back. When they called the police we were all kind of expecting her to be arrested for theft like all the times we had to ring about shoplifters.
But nope, turns out the woman she stole from had done other Christmas shopping that morning. She'd bought jewellery, other small electronics, all sorts. The goods in her bag totalled over Ā£2000. And because the entitled woman had pushed her to get the bag off her, it was officially robbery, not theft. Robbery for a relatively high value of goods to. It may not sound like a big distinction but legally it's pretty massive.
We were told by the security guard later, (who heard it from the arresting officer) she was able to get the charge reduced to theft as long as she pled guilty. This got her one year in prison and some period of supervision. That's pretty light for robbery but pretty heavy for forgetting to preorder.
submitted by Dna87 to EntitledPeople [link] [comments]
This one was early December when the xbox 360 came out. Like most console launches we were running on a preorder only system. The only stock we received had been reserved by customers with a small deposit (Ā£20 I think). Because the launch was in December, the xbox was the must have Christmas gift and it made people go a little crazy. I think anyone who has had to deal with preorders at retail knows where this is going.
Our store opened at 9am. We couldn't do a midnight launch as the store was within a complex that was locked from 10pm to 8:45am each day. The first thing we see once the complex opens is a woman sprinting up to our door and frantically pulling on the handles. We let her know through the door that we don't open until 9am. At this point she's fairly reasonable, says ok and waits. Over the next 15 minutes a small queue forms behind her of people here for their consoles.
As you probably expected, she didn't have a preorder. Her response to finding out she couldn't buy an xbox was to scream at us, threaten that she was going to trading standards, yell about "false advertising" and eventually yell about how she was going to our competitor to buy one since they "have some decency". The problem being that the console was a preorder only basically everywhere, so we knew she wasn't going to have any success over there either.
About an hour later she comes back to the store and we're all braced for impact, but she just starts browsing which was a surprise. We didn't realise what she was up to until one of the late comers comes to pick up their console. As soon as they left the counter and headed for the door, entitled woman dashed over to them and started talking to them. We didn't know what she was doing at first, but it turns out she was offering to buy the console off other customers at an elevated price. The woman she spoke to wasn't interested. She was an older woman and had one of those wheely shopping bags that every older woman in England seems to have. (This becomes relevant later)
This is where entitled woman really really screwed up. Not taking no for an answer she suddenly pushed the woman, grabbed the bag and ran. She didn't get far because we always had a security guard round on launch days. She got about 20 foot out of the shop before they grabbed her and brought her back. When they called the police we were all kind of expecting her to be arrested for theft like all the times we had to ring about shoplifters.
But nope, turns out the woman she stole from had done other Christmas shopping that morning. She'd bought jewellery, other small electronics, all sorts. The goods in her bag totalled over Ā£2000. And because the entitled woman had pushed her to get the bag off her, it was officially robbery, not theft. Robbery for a relatively high value of goods to. It may not sound like a big distinction but legally it's pretty massive.
We were told by the security guard later, (who heard it from the arresting officer) she was able to get the charge reduced to theft as long as she pled guilty. This got her one year in prison and some period of supervision. That's pretty light for robbery but pretty heavy for forgetting to preorder.
2023.03.29 18:19 1equals00 Best 256x Forest Nothing civs ranked
Ive played a bit recently, thought the Spanish Tahot strat but my opinions have changed, was also curious about other people's top picks
S-Tier (hard to beat)
Magyars - reason their forging, Iron casting, & blast furnace are free so if you go to imp you have cav & infantry that have ~1k damage, research conscription a cou8ple of times, some speed tech from stable and you have cav that can take down an entire civ in under 30 seconds. if you have extra time add some +20 cav hit points so they last longer
A-Tier (civs with eco bonuses, good if on large map & few people since you can focus on ranging opponent so they can expand fast)
B-Tier (you can beat other civs not on list but unlikely to beat S & A tier civs)
Civs with bonuses such as extra building hp, faster unit production, faster units are useless since that can be mitigated with a couple of upgrades. Its all about getting strong units faster than everyone else if you plan on fighting, or getting good sniping units if you plan ion sitting back. If you are up againsta strong unit civ (as example Spanish) you can still snipe various building to slow progress and let you catch up with your own unit upgrades
submitted by 1equals00 to AgeOfEmpires2 [link] [comments]
S-Tier (hard to beat)
Magyars - reason their forging, Iron casting, & blast furnace are free so if you go to imp you have cav & infantry that have ~1k damage, research conscription a cou8ple of times, some speed tech from stable and you have cav that can take down an entire civ in under 30 seconds. if you have extra time add some +20 cav hit points so they last longer
A-Tier (civs with eco bonuses, good if on large map & few people since you can focus on ranging opponent so they can expand fast)
- Burmese - Free lumber camp techs, these are good to have an early start but after 30 upgrades there is no benefit, so they give a small lead
- Spanish - Supremacy tech, results in op villagers but you do have to click everything, so you can destroy building fast but slow to kill units
- Vikings - Free wheelbarrow upgrades, good but easy to mess up (don't do more than 30 upgrades)
B-Tier (you can beat other civs not on list but unlikely to beat S & A tier civs)
- Celts - their "lumberjacks work faster" bonus is useful in the dark age but one you can start upgrading chop speed & handcart, advantage goes away
- Ethiopians - While the torsion tech is good, it also costs a lot and if you are playing a large map, someone can research +1 range/attack tech and kill you first, if you are playing a smaller map or have more people than someone with good units can kill you before you can research enough torsion techs to nuke
- Goths - free loom makes strong villagers, good for smaller maps where you can fight early
- Huns - dont need houses, good for start but advantage goes away once your vills are fast
- Incas - Same strat as Spanish Vils but it just cost more to upgrade villager attack
- Koreans - Good for sniping players, Guard Tower and Keep +2 range tech lets you shoot from afar faster than others, also you get 256x free archer armor techs if you go that direction
- Lithuanians - Sniping civ, TC get +3 range so you'd need a lot of them but you can snipe players faster
- Slavs - Farmers work 10% faster, help with food production since wheelbarrow speed upgrades don't affect farmers and food gets expensive
- Tatars - Thumb Ring & Parthian Tactics free, so you get fast firing and armored archers
- Turks - Free chemistry, so free +256 attacks for archers
- Bulgarians, fast Blacksmith upgrade times which can help you catch up
Civs with bonuses such as extra building hp, faster unit production, faster units are useless since that can be mitigated with a couple of upgrades. Its all about getting strong units faster than everyone else if you plan on fighting, or getting good sniping units if you plan ion sitting back. If you are up againsta strong unit civ (as example Spanish) you can still snipe various building to slow progress and let you catch up with your own unit upgrades
2023.03.29 18:13 ULikeWhatUS33 Playing a a FromSoftware game for the first time: Elden Ring from the perspective of a casual player
Heya there! So, I am a casual player. I tend to paly lots of games, especially single player games, but I've never been a real hardcore gamer. Got into many different titles, such as Ace Combat, Deus Ex, Medal of Honor, Half-Life... but I always played just for the fun of it, never on hardcore or anything... except S.T.A.L.K.E.R., this one I play on maximum difficulty for immersion purposes.
But anyways, I never liked games that were too difficult for me, so I've always played on normal difficulties and such . Not that I didn't enjoy a challenge, but I've always wanted something that could challenge me just enough for a couple of tries.
The Souls series was a series that I always admired the aesthetic style of it, but I had extreme prejudice against it, because in my view, it was a game for masochists (not trying to offend, it was my opinion at the time). I've seen many times people complaining about difficulty, frustrations, and such. And that always made me avoid the series.... until Elden Ring.
Some time ago, I got REALLY into Berserk. It's a series that has a very special place in my heart. And the Souls games are games that are basically a game version of the Berserk universe. And the "recent" Elden Ring game caught my atention. The style, the references, etc... I wanted to try it. I wanna wave a huge sword on my enemies. But my ignorant mind always said "Don't do it. You know you can't handle it, you are not good enough for this kind of game. You will just get angry and waste your time".
Until a couple of friends insisted me to try it out. They said "Elden Ring is not as frustrating. It has lots of mechanics and changes that make the game less frustrating and kinda easier. You can do it.". After a lot of convincing, and gave up and decided to try it... and oh boy...
Currently with 40 hours on my first playthrough. Made character that pretty much is a fusion of Guts and Casca from Berserk series (darkskinned one-eyed tomboy), got the Greatsword a.k.a. GutsSword and I am having so much fun. Did I get my ass handled back to me a couple times? For sure. I never though I'd made past Godrick, but I freaking did it. If I couldn't beat someone, I'd just turn around, do another thing and explore for a couple of hours, come back to the boss, and shove my sword through their head and beat them.
Me, who never though I could handle a souls game level of difficulty, managed to defeat Astel of the Void, just so I could marry Ranni. I literally died about 30 times, went to explore and improve my gear, came back, died 3 more times and then defeated him.... because I said to myself "I WILL MARRY HER, AND YOU WON'T STOP ME". (But Radahn I had to ask for help, because I simply couldn't defeat that mf by myself. Maybe I'll get my revenge on NG+)
I won't deny it. I tilted sometimes, yeah. I cursed some damm hitboxes that seemed bullshit, Yeah. I want every double-boss to go screw themselves, yeah. But I am loving a game that I NEVER though I would.
So, this game IS playable without an easy mode. If any of you have a friend who is discouraged of playing the game because they are afraid of the difficulty, tell them the oposite. Trust me, if even I manged to play Elden Ring and love it, anyone can.
submitted by ULikeWhatUS33 to Eldenring [link] [comments]
But anyways, I never liked games that were too difficult for me, so I've always played on normal difficulties and such . Not that I didn't enjoy a challenge, but I've always wanted something that could challenge me just enough for a couple of tries.
The Souls series was a series that I always admired the aesthetic style of it, but I had extreme prejudice against it, because in my view, it was a game for masochists (not trying to offend, it was my opinion at the time). I've seen many times people complaining about difficulty, frustrations, and such. And that always made me avoid the series.... until Elden Ring.
Some time ago, I got REALLY into Berserk. It's a series that has a very special place in my heart. And the Souls games are games that are basically a game version of the Berserk universe. And the "recent" Elden Ring game caught my atention. The style, the references, etc... I wanted to try it. I wanna wave a huge sword on my enemies. But my ignorant mind always said "Don't do it. You know you can't handle it, you are not good enough for this kind of game. You will just get angry and waste your time".
Until a couple of friends insisted me to try it out. They said "Elden Ring is not as frustrating. It has lots of mechanics and changes that make the game less frustrating and kinda easier. You can do it.". After a lot of convincing, and gave up and decided to try it... and oh boy...
Currently with 40 hours on my first playthrough. Made character that pretty much is a fusion of Guts and Casca from Berserk series (darkskinned one-eyed tomboy), got the Greatsword a.k.a. GutsSword and I am having so much fun. Did I get my ass handled back to me a couple times? For sure. I never though I'd made past Godrick, but I freaking did it. If I couldn't beat someone, I'd just turn around, do another thing and explore for a couple of hours, come back to the boss, and shove my sword through their head and beat them.
Me, who never though I could handle a souls game level of difficulty, managed to defeat Astel of the Void, just so I could marry Ranni. I literally died about 30 times, went to explore and improve my gear, came back, died 3 more times and then defeated him.... because I said to myself "I WILL MARRY HER, AND YOU WON'T STOP ME". (But Radahn I had to ask for help, because I simply couldn't defeat that mf by myself. Maybe I'll get my revenge on NG+)
I won't deny it. I tilted sometimes, yeah. I cursed some damm hitboxes that seemed bullshit, Yeah. I want every double-boss to go screw themselves, yeah. But I am loving a game that I NEVER though I would.
So, this game IS playable without an easy mode. If any of you have a friend who is discouraged of playing the game because they are afraid of the difficulty, tell them the oposite. Trust me, if even I manged to play Elden Ring and love it, anyone can.
2023.03.29 18:12 just_a_teen___ Yo ps4 just dropped a discount on rdr2 its like ā¬19 now and ive heard rly good things about it, but i dont know if ill like it, ik did like Detroit And spiderman but i couldnt get into elden ring or ghost of tsushima, should i get it?
submitted by just_a_teen___ to RDR2 [link] [comments]
2023.03.29 18:11 Interesting_Soup Ā£1k-4k (UK) Gaming / Work PC
Intro: Hi, I'm looking to buy a PC for the first time and looking for advice. Budget isn't really an issue, but I don't really want to splurge on the most expensive parts in every category, as I'm primarily playing unimpressive games with my friends (League, WoW) so I'm looking for realistic advice on what will be a good PC for the future that will last into the medium term. It seems wasteful to get the top spec stuff if I'm not really going to be utilizing the system to its max. TIA.
submitted by Interesting_Soup to buildmeapc [link] [comments]
What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.
- This PC will be used for primarily for working when I'm working from home (office job, basic word processing and emails, nothing technical) and playing games like Diablo 4, WoW, League of Legends, Elden Ring, etc.
What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?
- GBP 4000
When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.
- Within the next 30 days
What, exactly, do you need to be included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)
- Tower, Monitor can be on top
Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?
- United Kingdom, London
If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.
- I have an existing mouse and keyboard.*
Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?
- No, no need for overclocking.
Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)
- No.
What type of network connectivity do you need? (Wired and/or WiFi) If WiFi is needed and you would like to find the fastest match for your wireless router, please list any specifics.
- Both, will mainly be using WiFi.
Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?
- Nothing too garish or like it could be Alienware.
Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?
- Not needed
2023.03.29 18:09 anabolic_coach Q&A #74...Gynostemma Guidance for Optimal Results!
 | Q: Hi Coach I just want to drop you a line and say hello. I absolutely loved your columns on Gynostemma. I never knew all the info you mentioned in your write ups. submitted by anabolic_coach to Steroids_Canada [link] [comments] I am going to start taking it daily thanks to you but had a few questions that I was hoping you could answer for me. I saw that you recommended the Majestic Herbs tea and was wondering is that the only form it comes in? Do they make tea bags? Or what about in pill form? Would that still be beneficial? I won't mind the tea most likely but my wife is finicky and she might not like the taste but I was hoping I could get her on it in another form so that she could take advantage of the different health benefits that you mentioned. Oh yea I almost forgot to ask you as well. What is a proper dose to take for Gynostemma? Like how much should I use for teabag or capsules? Sorry for being a pain in the ass but I know you always come through for us. I would love to hear back from you. I know you are very busy with all your athletes and writing projects but if you could respond I would be very grateful. Please keep up the amazing work! Happy You Liked My Gynostemma Content! A: Hey man thanks for writing in. So you liked the info that I presented eh? I am happy that I helped even one person from my articles to change their nutritional habits and improve their health and performance. Ok so I will try best my best today to cover all your questions and even give you some bonus information to make your journey even better. Ok so here it goes! What Does Gynostemma Look Like? You are probably wondering what my recommendations are in terms of products. As I mentioned earlier the last thing I want to do is give you all this amazing information and yet leave you hanging on the cliff on what would be your best choices in this category. Usually, Gynostemma when purchased from a TCM herbal pharmacy will come in one-pound bags. It can vary in price due to your location, as well as the quality of the herb itself. Gynostemma before being Dried Gynostemma is not the cheapest herb out there but it is also not the most expensive either. But either way, the value it offers your health and performance is worth much more than spending a few pennies per cup. This dried tea looks more like long dry grass. It resembles gunpowder green tea. For those of you that know what I am talking about, it comes in a dried grass formation that once you start to boil in a pot, expands greatly to five times the size. This is the same for this form of Gynostemma. Even in a dried state, it should have a fresh and clean smell. When you rub it between your fingers it should crumble nicely but not turn to dust. If it does it may be too old so look around until you find freshly dried Gynostemma. Quality does affect the potency so making sure you get top of the line Gynostemma is a must-have. Toronto China Town Herbal Pharmacies! So Where Do I Find Gynostemma? Now since Gynostemma is not something you can find as easily as green tea with it not available at your local grocery store, you may be wondering how is one to get their hands on this amazing herb? Now one place that I have always gotten my Gynostemma tea from is local Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) pharmacies in my area. Since I live in Toronto, heading down to China Town is not an issue at all. Even though I donāt go as often as I used to, I keenly remember going to check out all the different herbal pharmacies one after another during my time studying TCM in school. After a long day of lectures on herbal medicine and acupuncture, my friend and I would jump on the subway and head down to see what the shops had. We would go and look at some of the new herbs that we just learned about in class, as well as pick up a new supply of acupuncture needles and a wide array of different herbs. If you have a China Town in your area then this would be the first place you can source out Gynostemma. Just remember you have to ask for it in Mandarin so make sure to ask for Jiaogulan and then they will know exactly what you are looking for. So if you live in large metropolitan areas finding this herb may not be a chore. But if you live in rural Kentucky, it might not be so easy. Now there may not be these types of shops in your area but no stress I got you covered. With the internet, so many things are really at your fingertips even those that you would in the past have no access to. My Favourite Gynostemma Tea Bag by Far! The other way to get in Gynostemma is from a tea bag. While this is not so common at herbal pharmacies you might find it in some Asian grocery stores. I have tried many brands that are sold at these stores and I honestly find them subpar. I think this is because they are using lower quality Gynostemma or they are using leftover crumbs when doing mass production of the higher quality leaves. Either way to be honest I wasnāt too impressed not only with the results but even the flavour. I found these much more bitter and do not taste the same as a high-quality dried bulk herb. I Do Not Recommend this Brand so Avoid It My Favourite Gynostemma Tea Bag! Now if you are not into making bulk herb teas and felt discouraged about what I explained above no stress I have you covered. There is one brand of teabags that I simply love and I know once you try it you will also. A company called Dragon Herbs makes an excellent Gynostemma tea in a bag form. It is called Spring Dragon Longevity Tea. This is without a doubt my favourite Gynostemma that comes in a teabag. Like I mentioned before I have tried several teabag forms of Gynostemma and nothing even comes close to Spring Dragon. Now whatās nice is that it contains not only Gynostemma but six superior tonic herbs to give it even more health benefits. It contains Siberian Ginseng which is another top adaptogen, Schizandra berry which may be my all-time favourite herb, Astragalus, Goji berry, and Luo Han Guo fruit to help sweeten it naturally without affecting your blood sugar in a negative way. It comes with 20 tea bags in each box and one thing I like is that each bag can make not one cup but three cups per bag. This gives you the most bang for your buck helping you to stretch your dollar that much farther. So if you are like me you can make a large batch of Gynostemma tea with around two litres of distilled water and throw in two tea bags and you are covered. Gynostemma is Absolutely Delicious and Nutritious! Another thing I like about the Dragon Herbs Gynostemma tea is that it is grown near the top of Great Immortal Peak which is a hidden pristine mountain located in Southern China. Now you might be wondering what makes this so special? Gynostemma here is grown on spring water without the use of pesticides or chemicals in a very fertile environment. Only the highest quality leaves are used during the selection process ensuring the highest potency. Not to be forgotten is the patented Super-Infusion Process that is exclusive to Dragon Herbs. Here they take the five tonic herbs and extract them. From there they turn it into a concentrated paste that is then soaked into the Gynostemma leaves to provide utmost potency and purity. The Great Immortal Peak in China This is without a doubt my favourite teabag form of Gynostemma. I purchase it all the time and have done so for many years. I am not sponsored by Dragon Herbs or getting any kickbacks whatsoever. When I recommend a product for you, you can rest assured that it is going to be top of the line in every category. I keep a box at my office and drink it all day long. It is so tasty that it feels more like a cheat than just drinking some type of tea. Having teabags also makes it convenient when traveling or on the road where brewing up a pot of herbs on the stovetop is not possible. Sometimes convenience is a deal-breaker when it comes to implementation and that is why ease of use is a must. Give Dragon Herbs Spring Dragon Tea a try just once and I can bet you will be coming back for more! Dragon Herbs Gynostemma Capsules are Amazing! What About Gynostemma Capsules? Now there may be some of you who do not like tea at all no matter if itās black tea, earl grey tea, or even green tea. I simply love so many different forms of healthy teas that I canāt imagine not liking them but there are some people that tea just does not jive with no matter how they decorate it. For these people drinking multiple cups of tea per day may feel like a prison sentence and may opt-out of taking advantage of all these health benefits simply because they donāt like the taste. Now just so you know Gynostemma tea does taste absolutely amazing. In fact, itās one of my favourite tasting teas of all. It does have a very sweet and pleasant taste that is light on the palate so for the large majority of you I believe you will actually like the taste. It is much tastier than green tea so if that is your only point of reference donāt knock Gynostemma if you donāt like green tea. Like I mentioned earlier the Spring Dragon tea tastes even better than regular Gynostemma tea due to the added herbs and Luo Han Gao to make it even more amazing. But if it still doesnāt tickle your fancy or you simply donāt have the time to brew it up I still have you covered. Dragon Herbs also makes Gynostemma in capsule form as well. This is a straight Gynostemma capsule with no other herbs added, unlike the Spring Dragon tea bags. They use an extract of the same Gynostemma that is used in their tea bags so you know you are getting quality once again no matter what form you consume it in. Jing Herbs is of the Highest Quality! Another company that I am a big fan of is Jing Herbs. They make a ton of different TCM herbs in extract forms. They make extractions of single herbs as well as multi-herb formulations for specific issues and conditions. They are known for producing excellent products and their quality control is some of the best in the industry. They also make Gynostemma in capsule form as well. They use a 10:1 extract of their high-quality Gynostemma to provide you with potency you can trust. You can try out both brands to see what you like better, but you will not go wrong with either one that is for sure. So for those of you who donāt like tea or donāt have the time because you are constantly on the go, you can still get all the benefits in just a few capsules taken daily. You Already Know I Love Majestic Herbs Gynostemma Loose Tea! Loose Tea Gynostemma Now for the hardcore guys and gals out there who are looking to go OG when it comes to consuming their Gynostemma, then this is what you are looking for. Like I mentioned earlier I do half of the time get my bulk loose Gynostemma tea from a couple of different sources that are local to me. I know I have an advantage over some of you who may not have anything in your area to make this easy to find. But I also get my loose Gynostemma tea from one very reputable online source as well. One thing the majority of us have is access to the internet and I am assuming you have it too because you wouldnāt be reading this if you didnāt. You could always look at Amazon but you do have to be careful as well because sometimes counterfeits do show up. I know what you are thinking, ā Who the hell counterfeits tea?ā Believe me, there are crooks everywhere you go in just about any industry even tea. So in my opinion it will be hit and miss with Amazon so here is what I recommend. Organic Gynostemma Farms in Thailand One of the brands that I like for loose Gynostemma which you already know if you read my last instalment is Majestic Herbs. Now you may be wondering why I like this brand over some of the others available. For those of you that may have missed it I will cover it briefly once more. First off it is organic which is a big plus when it comes to making sure there are no contaminants, pesticides, or fungicides laced over your tea. Next is there are no additives, colourings, or flavourings added, and is also 100% non-GMO. Another plus is that it is grown by a group of small farmers that specialize in Gynostemma production in a very pristine high mountain region in Thailand. In fact, where this Gynostemma is grown is a designated national park of the Royal Family of Thailand. So we are talking about some amazing landscapes and high-quality soil. In fact, pesticides and chemicals are completely forbidden to be used on this land. Another thing that I really like about the Majestic Herbs company is its core values. National Parks in Thailand are Beautiful! You see I like giving my money to companies that have the same mindset as I. Plus I would always prefer to spend my hard-earned cash on smaller businesses rather than big corporations who could care less about you. In fact, like I hinted out earlier, Majestic Herbs sources their Gynostemma from indigenous hill-tribe communities in the north of Thailand. This in turn helps support local farmers and also cuts out middlemen so the savings go directly to the consumer. This is why if you have been a reader of my articles over the years, you know that I support small business entrepreneurs and when I find a good product I am the first one to bring it forth to all my readers so they can take advantage of the time and energy I have spent trying to find the highest quality products in many different niche areas. Gynostemma Extracts are Available as Well How Much Gynostemma Do I need to Consume? Now here is something I thought you would never ask. All joking aside, with all the info I have put out, now is the time to talk about dialling in the right dosage to take full advantage of all it offers your health. So letās look at the different methods of consumption and make sure your daily dose of Gynostemma is on point. For capsules, the large majority of them are around 500mg each. I would personally take 2 capsules 3 times per day. This would give you a nice dose of around 3000mg of active compounds. This can easily be accomplished both with the Dragon Herbs and Jing Herbs Gynostemma capsules that are available. It is best to separate the dose over 2-3 servings per day than to take it in all at once. Brew, Steep, and Enjoy the Gynostemma Goodness! Now when we are looking at using the Spring Dragon tea bags that I mentioned earlier, I would make a larger batch and then drink it throughout the day in several intervals. I take two tea bags and brew it over 1.5 liters of water. I would then throw it into one of my glass jugs and sip on it all day long. I like to have 1-2 cups early in the morning, afternoon, and evening about half an hour before meals. Due to its dual modulating health benefits, it can work all day long to provide opposite effects. When I have it in the morning I feel it provides my body energy without being stimulated like coffee. When taken later in the day I feel it helps me unwind and relax helping me prepare for a good nightās sleep. This is one of the really nice things about Gynostemma and I enjoy being able to consume it any time of the day without worrying that it may keep me up at night, or make me drowsy when I need to get things done. Measure Your Dried Gynostemma with a Scale When it comes to the Gynostemma loose grass form I would first measure out how much I want to consume. I personally use a digital food scale because I am a perfectionist and try to make whatever I am taking exactly what I want. Here I would take 15-30 grams of loose herb and then proceed to extract the compounds through a pot of distilled water on my stove. Another method that I have been playing around with my Chaga, as well as different TCM herbs, is using the Instant Pot. For those of you who have one you already know how awesome this kitchen appliance already is. But for those of you who are not familiar with it, you should definitely look into it as it is truly amazing for so many things. Similar to the above method that I used with the tea bags I would also use 1.5 liters of water. Gynostemma is an Excellent Base for Smoothies! For those of you who are new to this, you can start at a lower dose. Many people who may be brewing a single cup of Gynostemma may use around 5 grams of the dried leaf at a time. If you do the math 1.5 liters of water is around 6 cups of water. If we take this 6 cups of water and times it by 5 grams of loose herb we are now at 30 grams. So in essence, 2.5-5 grams of loose herb per cup will help you get all the benefits it has to offer. I donāt have the patience for this and I personally want to consume several cups per day to keep the dose of the 82 different gypenosides flowing through my bloodstream morning, noon, and night. This is why I will brew up a large batch that will last me all day long. Gynostemma Capsules are Easy and Convenient Conclusion So as you can Gynostemma truly lives up to its name āMagical Grassā without a doubt. Even just the adaptogenic properties that this herb holds makes it a major benefit for athletes. But when we look at all the other performance-enhancing qualities, as well as the beneficial health properties, Gynostemma is in a class of its own. It is no wonder that people who drink large amounts of this tea over their lifespan live to be centenarians. Dragon Herbs makes Tinctures as Well Not only does this wonderful tea help treat different health conditions, but even more so is that it prevents them from happening in the first place. This is why I personally drink this tea every day and have done so for more than a decade. I look forward to starting my day not with a cup of coffee like many people do, but instead with a potent adaptogen that will provide my health the critical building blocks in so many very important areas. One Amazing Herb for Health and Performance! I hope this series helped bring to light some of the many amazing qualities this herb possesses. As with all my content, I also try and help give you ideas to implement them with as much ease as possible so that it becomes part of your daily health plan. So now that you know all that Gynostemma has to offer your health and performance, isnāt it time to brew up a nice pot of this longevity tonic and take advantage of all it has to offer? Some Amazing Products all in One! |
2023.03.29 18:09 JackSpill11 When playing Elden Ring, I always get confused.
I keep on thinking, what boss should I fight? I went from Margrit to Godrick which Iām pretty sure is the right order. But, I wasnāt sure if I went to the right boss after Godrick. I went to Ronnalla, The Moon Queen after Godrick. I beat her, but now I donāt know what boss I should be fighting. I went to Godfrey (spirit form) and thought he was very difficult considering that Ronnalla was easy. Did I miss any boss?
submitted by JackSpill11 to Eldenring [link] [comments]
2023.03.29 18:03 joogasama Made some Elden Ring fan art
 | submitted by joogasama to IndianGaming [link] [comments] |
2023.03.29 18:02 TheGentlemanlyMan [Effort Post] Ancient Art & Modern Sensibilities
I had a discussion with a (left-wing) friend back in November (I went to a play so I can remember the date) where, before we saw the play, we went into Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery, right by the Liverpool Empire Theatre.
The Walker is renowned for its sculpture collection. I went there as a young child, something like three or four years old. I went there in primary school, again maybe six or seven. While we were there, there was a school group that had just come out of said sculpture gallery.
The gallery is filled with mostly 19th and early 20th century sculptures, much of which is neoclassical. A lot of them involve some form of nudity. One of my personal favourite pieces I saw there in November was a depiction of The Fall, it was an engraved piece of marble with Eve picking the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. It's a great piece. There was another that's a bronze statue of Puck, the fairy from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Like a devilish version of a cherubin. There were also cherubs, there were Roman and Greek gods and goddesses.
It's this beautiful capsule of artistic expression, of beauty and craft. Only a small room gallery filled to the brim with amazing sculptures and statues. On the door is a sign that reads "Warning: This gallery contains works that contain sensitive content". I hated that moment of seeing that sign, because I only saw it after leaving the gallery. We had entered through a different door.
I realised I disliked it for one major reason and one minor reason - The minor reason being that I have a reflexive aversion to this kind of puritanical, anxious self-censorship. Especially from an institution (be it an art gallery, a newspaper or journal, or a university) that claims to value free expression but then fails to uphold that in its actions. The major reason however was that I had to have this discussion about the sign itself in the place of any discussion about the actual artworks contained within the gallery.
The purpose of a gallery is to elevate the works within, to display the craftsmanship, the expression, the creativity of artists, the beauty and emotion contained within. Taking the example of the Fall of Man - This sign is pure materialism. It is deconstructive and devaluing. Because Eve no longer is 'the first woman', no longer the driving force of a key part of the Western canon (the story both of Man's exile from Eden and the recognition of human free will). None of the values in this piece, no part of the expression of this pivotal moment in either the spiritual story of Christianity, or in the creation of a key component of the Western Judeo-Christian canon, is prompted by this discussion. 'Eve' is reduced merely to Woman, A (Naked). Therefore it is sensitive content. Therefore we need warnings that you might see a depiction of a naked woman - Regardless of who she is, specifically. Contextualisation is too hard for our patrons, for the masses, so we will decontextualise this work. We will devalue it, literally remove the values and symbolism. Remove all semiotic value, all metaphor and all presentation - Make it āa piece of marble with a nude womanā. Literalism and utilitarianism embodied. Static and meaningless. Profundity replaced with profanity.
I bring this up because of the inane controversy over the statue of David. I despise this denigration of the works of great Western individuals, especially when it is being deemed 'pornographic'. Again, David, a Biblical figure of significant importance, depicted nude, is diminished down to merely Man, A (Naked). If you cannot distinguish between pornography and artistic depictions of naked human forms, the problem is that you are mistaken on the line of Stewart's 'I know it when I see it' distinction between art and pornography. Davidās expression of faith and its importance to the story of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (all of the Abrahamic faiths contain ideas of Davidās faith and its importance) are important quite literally the world over because of that, even if the depiction is found from an Italian and Renaissance Christianity ideal, what that statue represents both in art, religion, the history of art, and the history of Western ideas is huge and incomparable to the petty squabbles we have over whether a statue has visible genitals or not. Why is genitalia āsensitive content,ā like the sign on the gallery door, something that requires pre-warning, but not the deeper meaning and discussion and conflict that can arise from discussions of the art. Itās not just banal and puritanical censorship, itās banal and puritanical censorship on the basis of the weakest possible reasons - If you do not wish to ban discussions of the conflicting views and idea systems, and with it the whole concept of comparative religious studies like those of Weber, these conflicts that continue to rage to this day, then you cannot argue that a ban on the basis of the greatest offence (of heresy, apostasy, or heathen beliefs that are counter to the eternal truth of the universe and mankindās place within it) perhaps the censorship youāre imposing on genitalia is smaller in importance than you have considered. If it was considered at all. Which of these do you suppose constitutes āsensitive contentā more?Now I must address a counter-critique that has great merit and was suggested to me - The idea of pre-emptive self-defence. The gallery, the museum, the institution throwing up an easy sign that offends a smaller number than those they feel would complain about the supposed āsensitive contentā in the gallery. While they donāt believe itās truly necessary to protect people from āsensitive contentā and would rather not, itās the idea of taking of taking the steps necessary to protect oneself from social or legal complaints.
Itās interesting that this was raised in the week that The Economist published in its Bagehot column an opinion piece titled āCensory Deprivationā, about British publishing worrying and dithering over publishing potentially āsensitiveā content - The editing of Roald Dahl being a major focal point of the OpEd - being an example of this self-censorship, with them quoting Orwellās opening to Animal Farm:
But what we can question instead is to return to my initial point - Why is a gallery, or a museum, or any other expressive institution muzzling itself and its own ability of expression? In much the same way of institutions like the American Congress giving up its legislative and oversight roles to play theatre and prance about the stage, the press giving up its reporting and oversight roles for activism, schooling and higher education from a moulding towards a moulded institution at the hands of its supposed āconsumersā - It is part of a trend of institutions giving up their institutional, character-forming, and moulding identity where we must adapt to them and their demands on us in favour of adapting to our own short-term, weak-willed demands. An institution basing itself around the ideal of free expression that believes itself to need to muzzle itself for the sake of others is walking one way and talking the other. The cowardice of an institution to stand up for itself, the same as a mealy-mouthed liberalism that cannot assert itself in the face of the radical left and radical right, is part of the general problem of institutional rot and abdication of norm formation in liberal societies today. If the institutions that protect the open society will not defend it, we should not defend those institutions for their choice against the paradigm that empowers them. I believe this fully answers the critique.
The reason why I dislike this further however, is that it's narcissism. I've discussed the modern world's inherent narcissism before - I think it's part of the gradual erosion of the bourgeois liberal-conservative ideological paradigm that constructs the basis for a society driven by middle class, bourgeois values rather than aristocratic/elitist or populist values. It denigrates art itself to bring it down from the expressive to the vulgar. To make this piece of surviving past expression - The immortalised voice of an artist, speaking across time to us. The sublime and the beautiful (Burke's terminology for the expressive power of art, poetry, rhetoric etc that stirs our feelings and emotions and determines our ideas of taste). Because we make this voice from the past, this continued expression, and all the discussion and artistry to the petty political concerns of today. Our own petty debates over cultural control, our own voice, our own expression to shout down those of the past because we think ourselves better than them. Our milquetoast intellectual labour of 'discussion' and being 'informed' and opinionated to override our appreciation for creations that should override those instincts. Those that should awe and inspire us.
Like it did for those children. Who can't have been older than six or seven each. Who get to see it untainted and with no banal materialism. Who got to experience the full magic and wonder and awe of the gallery.
Perhaps that's a romantic view, but I'd rather romanticism and beauty than a utilitarian sheet of paper telling me I may have my ideas challenged in a place of free expression.
submitted by TheGentlemanlyMan to tuesday [link] [comments]
The Walker is renowned for its sculpture collection. I went there as a young child, something like three or four years old. I went there in primary school, again maybe six or seven. While we were there, there was a school group that had just come out of said sculpture gallery.
The gallery is filled with mostly 19th and early 20th century sculptures, much of which is neoclassical. A lot of them involve some form of nudity. One of my personal favourite pieces I saw there in November was a depiction of The Fall, it was an engraved piece of marble with Eve picking the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. It's a great piece. There was another that's a bronze statue of Puck, the fairy from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Like a devilish version of a cherubin. There were also cherubs, there were Roman and Greek gods and goddesses.
It's this beautiful capsule of artistic expression, of beauty and craft. Only a small room gallery filled to the brim with amazing sculptures and statues. On the door is a sign that reads "Warning: This gallery contains works that contain sensitive content". I hated that moment of seeing that sign, because I only saw it after leaving the gallery. We had entered through a different door.
I realised I disliked it for one major reason and one minor reason - The minor reason being that I have a reflexive aversion to this kind of puritanical, anxious self-censorship. Especially from an institution (be it an art gallery, a newspaper or journal, or a university) that claims to value free expression but then fails to uphold that in its actions. The major reason however was that I had to have this discussion about the sign itself in the place of any discussion about the actual artworks contained within the gallery.
The purpose of a gallery is to elevate the works within, to display the craftsmanship, the expression, the creativity of artists, the beauty and emotion contained within. Taking the example of the Fall of Man - This sign is pure materialism. It is deconstructive and devaluing. Because Eve no longer is 'the first woman', no longer the driving force of a key part of the Western canon (the story both of Man's exile from Eden and the recognition of human free will). None of the values in this piece, no part of the expression of this pivotal moment in either the spiritual story of Christianity, or in the creation of a key component of the Western Judeo-Christian canon, is prompted by this discussion. 'Eve' is reduced merely to Woman, A (Naked). Therefore it is sensitive content. Therefore we need warnings that you might see a depiction of a naked woman - Regardless of who she is, specifically. Contextualisation is too hard for our patrons, for the masses, so we will decontextualise this work. We will devalue it, literally remove the values and symbolism. Remove all semiotic value, all metaphor and all presentation - Make it āa piece of marble with a nude womanā. Literalism and utilitarianism embodied. Static and meaningless. Profundity replaced with profanity.
I bring this up because of the inane controversy over the statue of David. I despise this denigration of the works of great Western individuals, especially when it is being deemed 'pornographic'. Again, David, a Biblical figure of significant importance, depicted nude, is diminished down to merely Man, A (Naked). If you cannot distinguish between pornography and artistic depictions of naked human forms, the problem is that you are mistaken on the line of Stewart's 'I know it when I see it' distinction between art and pornography. Davidās expression of faith and its importance to the story of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (all of the Abrahamic faiths contain ideas of Davidās faith and its importance) are important quite literally the world over because of that, even if the depiction is found from an Italian and Renaissance Christianity ideal, what that statue represents both in art, religion, the history of art, and the history of Western ideas is huge and incomparable to the petty squabbles we have over whether a statue has visible genitals or not. Why is genitalia āsensitive content,ā like the sign on the gallery door, something that requires pre-warning, but not the deeper meaning and discussion and conflict that can arise from discussions of the art. Itās not just banal and puritanical censorship, itās banal and puritanical censorship on the basis of the weakest possible reasons - If you do not wish to ban discussions of the conflicting views and idea systems, and with it the whole concept of comparative religious studies like those of Weber, these conflicts that continue to rage to this day, then you cannot argue that a ban on the basis of the greatest offence (of heresy, apostasy, or heathen beliefs that are counter to the eternal truth of the universe and mankindās place within it) perhaps the censorship youāre imposing on genitalia is smaller in importance than you have considered. If it was considered at all. Which of these do you suppose constitutes āsensitive contentā more?Now I must address a counter-critique that has great merit and was suggested to me - The idea of pre-emptive self-defence. The gallery, the museum, the institution throwing up an easy sign that offends a smaller number than those they feel would complain about the supposed āsensitive contentā in the gallery. While they donāt believe itās truly necessary to protect people from āsensitive contentā and would rather not, itās the idea of taking of taking the steps necessary to protect oneself from social or legal complaints.
Itās interesting that this was raised in the week that The Economist published in its Bagehot column an opinion piece titled āCensory Deprivationā, about British publishing worrying and dithering over publishing potentially āsensitiveā content - The editing of Roald Dahl being a major focal point of the OpEd - being an example of this self-censorship, with them quoting Orwellās opening to Animal Farm:
āThere is, he wrote, a āveiled censorshipā in British publishing. At any given moment there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without question. It is ānot exactly forbidden to say this, that or the other, but it is ānot doneā to say it.ā Anyone who tries to do so āfinds himself silenced with surprising effectivenessāWhatās more fascinating to me is that the need for this self-defence is a defence from what, precisely? As the writer notes:
āWhat is striking is how apparently mild the sanctions are for speaking out. People think, as one author puts it, that you are afraid of Twitter death threats. You arenāt: what really terrifies you is that your colleagues will think a little less of you. Most people do not require the threat of being burned at the stake to shut them up; being flamed by their peers on Twitter is more than enough.āNow, this is specifically referring to the literati - Those dealing within the world of publication with others in publication and the industry surrounding books. But I believe I can apply the principle cleanly across contexts - Is the worry about the public, or a minority reaction within colleagues or āfellow travellersā in the world of art, or a minority of the public that overlaps in a venn diagram? We cannot state any of these for certain.
But what we can question instead is to return to my initial point - Why is a gallery, or a museum, or any other expressive institution muzzling itself and its own ability of expression? In much the same way of institutions like the American Congress giving up its legislative and oversight roles to play theatre and prance about the stage, the press giving up its reporting and oversight roles for activism, schooling and higher education from a moulding towards a moulded institution at the hands of its supposed āconsumersā - It is part of a trend of institutions giving up their institutional, character-forming, and moulding identity where we must adapt to them and their demands on us in favour of adapting to our own short-term, weak-willed demands. An institution basing itself around the ideal of free expression that believes itself to need to muzzle itself for the sake of others is walking one way and talking the other. The cowardice of an institution to stand up for itself, the same as a mealy-mouthed liberalism that cannot assert itself in the face of the radical left and radical right, is part of the general problem of institutional rot and abdication of norm formation in liberal societies today. If the institutions that protect the open society will not defend it, we should not defend those institutions for their choice against the paradigm that empowers them. I believe this fully answers the critique.
The reason why I dislike this further however, is that it's narcissism. I've discussed the modern world's inherent narcissism before - I think it's part of the gradual erosion of the bourgeois liberal-conservative ideological paradigm that constructs the basis for a society driven by middle class, bourgeois values rather than aristocratic/elitist or populist values. It denigrates art itself to bring it down from the expressive to the vulgar. To make this piece of surviving past expression - The immortalised voice of an artist, speaking across time to us. The sublime and the beautiful (Burke's terminology for the expressive power of art, poetry, rhetoric etc that stirs our feelings and emotions and determines our ideas of taste). Because we make this voice from the past, this continued expression, and all the discussion and artistry to the petty political concerns of today. Our own petty debates over cultural control, our own voice, our own expression to shout down those of the past because we think ourselves better than them. Our milquetoast intellectual labour of 'discussion' and being 'informed' and opinionated to override our appreciation for creations that should override those instincts. Those that should awe and inspire us.
Like it did for those children. Who can't have been older than six or seven each. Who get to see it untainted and with no banal materialism. Who got to experience the full magic and wonder and awe of the gallery.
Perhaps that's a romantic view, but I'd rather romanticism and beauty than a utilitarian sheet of paper telling me I may have my ideas challenged in a place of free expression.
2023.03.29 18:02 CT_Phipps Ten Recommended Forgotten Realms Novels
https://beforewegoblog.com/ten-recommended-forgotten-realms-novels/
Dungeons and Dragons novels are pretty much responsible for me becoming the fantasy fan I became as an adult. If not for the books I bought at my local Waldenbooks (the literary equivalent of a Blockbuster from the Nineties and just as absent today), I would have rotted my brain on silly things like interacting with my peers or group activities like a healthy functioning teenager. Whew. Glad I avoided that. Just kidding.
One of my favorite settings for Dungeons and Dragons novels were the Forgotten Realms. The creation of Ed Greenwood with other authors adding to it, I always found the setting to be wilder and more fantastic than Dragonlance's Krynn.
People who have been following my work on Before We Go or Reddit will note this is the third article on the subject with Ten Recommended Classic Dungeons and Dragons Novels and Ten Recommended Dragonlance Novels.
Special thanks to Whitney Reinhart who helped me write this.
10. Darkwalker on the Moonshaes by Douglas Niles
The first of the Forgotten Realms novels wasn't actually intended for the setting but was written independently. Nevertheless, I love the people of the Moonshaes. A very simple "beginner's novel" for people getting into fantasy, it's really good and entertaining. The dark god Bhaal wants to take over the Moonshaes and kill the Earthmother. Its sequel trilogy is even better, dealing with the generational nature of Forgotten Realms as well as how even heroes can fall.
Bhaal and his minions are pretty generic "muhahaha" villains while Robyn and Tristan are stalwart goodie-goodies but that isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes you just want a god of darkness invading the peaceful Not-Britons before they are defeated through the power of love. I also liked the fact druids are the focus of the book since they rarely got attention in classic Dungeons and Dragons.
9. Azure Bonds by Jeff Grubb and Kate Novac
Azure Bonds is fantastic as an introduction of the differences between the Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance or, say, something like the Lord of the Rings. Whereas other stories ease you into the weird, Azure Bonds has cloning, a halfling bard, a dragon man paladin, a chatty red dragon, demons, liches, sexy sorceress ex-opera singers, and a magical curse in just the first volume. The characters are likable, entertaining, and just plain weird. It's a reminder why 5th Edition has Tieflings and Dragonborn as starting characters.
Alias is a fantastic protagonist as a sword-swinging sarcastic mercenary with the voice of an angel. She has no respect for the gods, society, her fellow mercenaries, and altruism. Which is problematic when she has a charitable lizard man, a faithful merchant, and a roguish halfling as her associatives.
8. Dissolution by Richard Lee Byers
What do runaway males, a slave revolt, and powerless priestesses have in common? The potential for true chaos and societal collapse. Lolthās priestesses struggle to contain the secret of Lolthās disappearance while wizards contrive to exploit their unexpected weakness. Rogue male drow band together and partner with an unlikely ally to incite a rebellion and wreak further havoc on the always precarious balance of power in Menzoberranzan.
In this, the first book of the War of the Spider Queen sextet, the Ruling Council chooses four representatives to determine whether other drow enclaves are affected or if Menzoberranzan stands alone. Phauraun Mizzrym, chief threat to Socere archmage Gromph Baenre; Ryld Argith, a Master of Melee-Magthere; Quenthel Baenre, Mistress of Arach-Tinilith and next in line to the Matron of House Baenre, First House of Menzoberranzan; and, Faeryl Zauvirr, daughter of Ched Nasad and ambassador to Menzoberranzan must journey into the Underdark and work together to preserve and protect their homeland, their way of life.
7. Elminster: The Making of a Mage by Ed Greenwood
Who knows the Forgotten Realms more than the creator? Ed Greenwood manages to distill the events of an entire trilogy's worth of epic fantasy into a single book. Elminster of Shadow has long been the ultimate quest-giver in the Realms, being a sage on everything but also slightly mad. Reading his origins is a fun deconstruction of classic fantasy tropes as he is a hidden prince as well as farm boy who needs to retake his homeland from the sinister Mage Lords. Along the way, he becomes both lover as well as apprentice to the goddess of magic, Mystra.
Some people have criticized Elminster as a Gary Stu over the years, do to the over-the-top nature of his adventures but I actually appreciate the more interesting story of self-realization that he undergoes. Mystra forces Elminster to live a life as a rogue, priest, and even woman to help give him a perspective on the varieties of lives in the Realms. While he wants to overthrow the Mage Lords, by the time he finally confronts them, he's mostly let vengeance leave his heart. We also get why Mystra wants so many Chosen, magic tends to attract power-hungry lunatics and this turns the public off it.
6. Prince of Lies by James Lowder
The gods are always active in Dungeons and Dragons but the ones in Krynn are far more morally absolute than the ones in Faerun. Here, at least under some authors, they are every bit as petty and conniving as the Olympians. Their flaws are exaggerated and even the gods of good are prone to major screw ups. After the Time of Troubles, three new gods are elevated to ruling over the spheres of Death, Magic, and Evil. Watching Kelemevor, Mystra, and Cyric grow into their roles is a fascinating story.
Prince of Lies has Cyric as the primary focus with the newly crowned God of Evil being absolutely crap at his job. He's more concerned about making his followers worship him fanatically and systematically dismantles the Zhentarim that, previously, were the most effective force for villainy in the Realms. However, just because he's terrible at his job doesn't mean he's not incredibly dangerous. An idiot with omnipotent power is no less terrifying than a genius. Just in different ways. The sequel, The Trial of Cyric the Mad, is also a fantastic follow-up by Troy Denning.
5. Elfshadow by Elaine Cunningham
Arilyn Moonblade is a fantastic character and I really enjoy her as a contrast to Drizzt and Tanis Half-Elven as "outsider" characters. Drizzt is a fantastic character but being a drow means that stories regarding racism always have the tinge of, 'But Drow are a race of evil schemers.' Tanis also has a really dark origin as well. Arilyn Moonblade? She's a half-elf who is hated precisely because elves are blood purity obsessed bigots. Worse, she struggles with the fact that as the only half-elven Moonblade wearer, she is a "model minority" to some while a hated usurper to others. She just wants to kick some Zhentarim ass.
Arilyn is accompanied by a Wizard/Thief/Fighter named Danilo Than. If you're thinking multiclassing into those three classes versus going into Bard is a bit overcomplicated, then you're probably right. Also, it predates a similar joke in Order of the Stick by a decade. It's also one of the rare fantasy romances I'm actually invested in.
4. Canticle by RA Salvatore
While the Legend of Drizzt books are some of the most famous fantasy of all time, certainly up there with the best of "popcorn fantasy", I actually prefer the Cleric Quintet of Bob Salvatore's creations. Cadderly is an agnostic cleric of Deneir who struggles with the existence of his god despite being granted magic by him. He is aided by a beautiful bare-fisted monk named Danic and two oddball dwarves named the Bouldershoulder Brothers.
I like Cadderly as an alternative to Drizzt as he while he constanty questions and philosophizes, he often comes to definitive conclusions. I also feel like priests and clerics are an underrepresented group in fantasy.
3. Daughter of the Drow by Elaine Cunningham
Liriel Baenre is a drow apart. She is the daughter of Gromph Baenre, Archmage of Sorcere and brother to the most powerful Matron of Menzoberranzan. Lirielās innate magical abilities are beyond those of most drow wizards and under Gromphās protection, she is allowed to run free and wild throughout the city and wild Underdark tunnels.
She laughs and dances, fights and schemes, studies and explores at willā¦until Matron Triel Baenre orders her wayward niece to enter Arach-Tinilith, the proving grounds for all of Lolthās priestesses. But Liriel yearns for more than clerical supremacy. She discovers a way to take her Underdark magic to the surface world but the power players, both priestesses and wizards alike, seek to strip her of her discovery, her freedom, her life.
2. Forgotten Realms Classics by Jeff Grubb
This is cheating because it's a comic book series rather than books but I have to say that Jeff Grubb's Forgotten Realms comics are one of my all-time favorite. The crew of the Realms Master are an eccentric bunch of oddballs ranging from an iron golem to an alcoholic former paladin to an incredibly obnoxious elven priest. The crew only grows stranger from there. It's the willingness to embrace the wackiness of Dungeons and Dragons that makes me happy.
Dungeons and Dragons is, at its heart, not just fantasy. It is all fantasy everywhere shoved into a blender and then you hit frape. This is the kind of book where you have an airship, a winged rogue, liches, and the Time of Troubles. Yet, for all the sillingness, there's actually quite a few stories that are touching or serious. When you hear about a halfling with substance abuse problems, you think it's a joke, but it's actually played entirely straight. Not everything has aged well (a half-drow is split between her dark and light personalities and guess which ones are the evil?) but most of it is awesome.
1. Homeland by R.A. Salvatore
There was really no chance that there could be any other book at the top. As much as I love Everis Cale, the Spellfire books, or the Cormyr series, nothing will ever approach the popularity of the Legend of Drizzt series. While it technically started as the Wulfgar series with The Icewind Dale books, the books that cemented the popularity of D&Dās most iconic ranger (if not character) were the ones about his origins in Menzoberrazan.
Part of what makes the books so great is that theyāre so very different from typical fantasy. The decadent corrupt matriarchal society of the drow is incredibly fun. Itās absolutely ridiculous but played dead serious as Drizzt struggles to deal with the fact everyone else he knows is an enormous sociopath. The subsequent books lack the punch of Homeland but subsequent series have given us many more insights into drow society (two of which are on this list). Bob Salvatore may not have created the drow, a lot of the society he depicted was in Vault of the Drow (D3) but he certainly popularized them.
submitted by CT_Phipps to Fantasy [link] [comments]
Dungeons and Dragons novels are pretty much responsible for me becoming the fantasy fan I became as an adult. If not for the books I bought at my local Waldenbooks (the literary equivalent of a Blockbuster from the Nineties and just as absent today), I would have rotted my brain on silly things like interacting with my peers or group activities like a healthy functioning teenager. Whew. Glad I avoided that. Just kidding.
One of my favorite settings for Dungeons and Dragons novels were the Forgotten Realms. The creation of Ed Greenwood with other authors adding to it, I always found the setting to be wilder and more fantastic than Dragonlance's Krynn.
People who have been following my work on Before We Go or Reddit will note this is the third article on the subject with Ten Recommended Classic Dungeons and Dragons Novels and Ten Recommended Dragonlance Novels.
Special thanks to Whitney Reinhart who helped me write this.
10. Darkwalker on the Moonshaes by Douglas Niles
The first of the Forgotten Realms novels wasn't actually intended for the setting but was written independently. Nevertheless, I love the people of the Moonshaes. A very simple "beginner's novel" for people getting into fantasy, it's really good and entertaining. The dark god Bhaal wants to take over the Moonshaes and kill the Earthmother. Its sequel trilogy is even better, dealing with the generational nature of Forgotten Realms as well as how even heroes can fall.
Bhaal and his minions are pretty generic "muhahaha" villains while Robyn and Tristan are stalwart goodie-goodies but that isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes you just want a god of darkness invading the peaceful Not-Britons before they are defeated through the power of love. I also liked the fact druids are the focus of the book since they rarely got attention in classic Dungeons and Dragons.
9. Azure Bonds by Jeff Grubb and Kate Novac
Azure Bonds is fantastic as an introduction of the differences between the Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance or, say, something like the Lord of the Rings. Whereas other stories ease you into the weird, Azure Bonds has cloning, a halfling bard, a dragon man paladin, a chatty red dragon, demons, liches, sexy sorceress ex-opera singers, and a magical curse in just the first volume. The characters are likable, entertaining, and just plain weird. It's a reminder why 5th Edition has Tieflings and Dragonborn as starting characters.
Alias is a fantastic protagonist as a sword-swinging sarcastic mercenary with the voice of an angel. She has no respect for the gods, society, her fellow mercenaries, and altruism. Which is problematic when she has a charitable lizard man, a faithful merchant, and a roguish halfling as her associatives.
8. Dissolution by Richard Lee Byers
What do runaway males, a slave revolt, and powerless priestesses have in common? The potential for true chaos and societal collapse. Lolthās priestesses struggle to contain the secret of Lolthās disappearance while wizards contrive to exploit their unexpected weakness. Rogue male drow band together and partner with an unlikely ally to incite a rebellion and wreak further havoc on the always precarious balance of power in Menzoberranzan.
In this, the first book of the War of the Spider Queen sextet, the Ruling Council chooses four representatives to determine whether other drow enclaves are affected or if Menzoberranzan stands alone. Phauraun Mizzrym, chief threat to Socere archmage Gromph Baenre; Ryld Argith, a Master of Melee-Magthere; Quenthel Baenre, Mistress of Arach-Tinilith and next in line to the Matron of House Baenre, First House of Menzoberranzan; and, Faeryl Zauvirr, daughter of Ched Nasad and ambassador to Menzoberranzan must journey into the Underdark and work together to preserve and protect their homeland, their way of life.
7. Elminster: The Making of a Mage by Ed Greenwood
Who knows the Forgotten Realms more than the creator? Ed Greenwood manages to distill the events of an entire trilogy's worth of epic fantasy into a single book. Elminster of Shadow has long been the ultimate quest-giver in the Realms, being a sage on everything but also slightly mad. Reading his origins is a fun deconstruction of classic fantasy tropes as he is a hidden prince as well as farm boy who needs to retake his homeland from the sinister Mage Lords. Along the way, he becomes both lover as well as apprentice to the goddess of magic, Mystra.
Some people have criticized Elminster as a Gary Stu over the years, do to the over-the-top nature of his adventures but I actually appreciate the more interesting story of self-realization that he undergoes. Mystra forces Elminster to live a life as a rogue, priest, and even woman to help give him a perspective on the varieties of lives in the Realms. While he wants to overthrow the Mage Lords, by the time he finally confronts them, he's mostly let vengeance leave his heart. We also get why Mystra wants so many Chosen, magic tends to attract power-hungry lunatics and this turns the public off it.
6. Prince of Lies by James Lowder
The gods are always active in Dungeons and Dragons but the ones in Krynn are far more morally absolute than the ones in Faerun. Here, at least under some authors, they are every bit as petty and conniving as the Olympians. Their flaws are exaggerated and even the gods of good are prone to major screw ups. After the Time of Troubles, three new gods are elevated to ruling over the spheres of Death, Magic, and Evil. Watching Kelemevor, Mystra, and Cyric grow into their roles is a fascinating story.
Prince of Lies has Cyric as the primary focus with the newly crowned God of Evil being absolutely crap at his job. He's more concerned about making his followers worship him fanatically and systematically dismantles the Zhentarim that, previously, were the most effective force for villainy in the Realms. However, just because he's terrible at his job doesn't mean he's not incredibly dangerous. An idiot with omnipotent power is no less terrifying than a genius. Just in different ways. The sequel, The Trial of Cyric the Mad, is also a fantastic follow-up by Troy Denning.
5. Elfshadow by Elaine Cunningham
Arilyn Moonblade is a fantastic character and I really enjoy her as a contrast to Drizzt and Tanis Half-Elven as "outsider" characters. Drizzt is a fantastic character but being a drow means that stories regarding racism always have the tinge of, 'But Drow are a race of evil schemers.' Tanis also has a really dark origin as well. Arilyn Moonblade? She's a half-elf who is hated precisely because elves are blood purity obsessed bigots. Worse, she struggles with the fact that as the only half-elven Moonblade wearer, she is a "model minority" to some while a hated usurper to others. She just wants to kick some Zhentarim ass.
Arilyn is accompanied by a Wizard/Thief/Fighter named Danilo Than. If you're thinking multiclassing into those three classes versus going into Bard is a bit overcomplicated, then you're probably right. Also, it predates a similar joke in Order of the Stick by a decade. It's also one of the rare fantasy romances I'm actually invested in.
4. Canticle by RA Salvatore
While the Legend of Drizzt books are some of the most famous fantasy of all time, certainly up there with the best of "popcorn fantasy", I actually prefer the Cleric Quintet of Bob Salvatore's creations. Cadderly is an agnostic cleric of Deneir who struggles with the existence of his god despite being granted magic by him. He is aided by a beautiful bare-fisted monk named Danic and two oddball dwarves named the Bouldershoulder Brothers.
I like Cadderly as an alternative to Drizzt as he while he constanty questions and philosophizes, he often comes to definitive conclusions. I also feel like priests and clerics are an underrepresented group in fantasy.
3. Daughter of the Drow by Elaine Cunningham
Liriel Baenre is a drow apart. She is the daughter of Gromph Baenre, Archmage of Sorcere and brother to the most powerful Matron of Menzoberranzan. Lirielās innate magical abilities are beyond those of most drow wizards and under Gromphās protection, she is allowed to run free and wild throughout the city and wild Underdark tunnels.
She laughs and dances, fights and schemes, studies and explores at willā¦until Matron Triel Baenre orders her wayward niece to enter Arach-Tinilith, the proving grounds for all of Lolthās priestesses. But Liriel yearns for more than clerical supremacy. She discovers a way to take her Underdark magic to the surface world but the power players, both priestesses and wizards alike, seek to strip her of her discovery, her freedom, her life.
2. Forgotten Realms Classics by Jeff Grubb
This is cheating because it's a comic book series rather than books but I have to say that Jeff Grubb's Forgotten Realms comics are one of my all-time favorite. The crew of the Realms Master are an eccentric bunch of oddballs ranging from an iron golem to an alcoholic former paladin to an incredibly obnoxious elven priest. The crew only grows stranger from there. It's the willingness to embrace the wackiness of Dungeons and Dragons that makes me happy.
Dungeons and Dragons is, at its heart, not just fantasy. It is all fantasy everywhere shoved into a blender and then you hit frape. This is the kind of book where you have an airship, a winged rogue, liches, and the Time of Troubles. Yet, for all the sillingness, there's actually quite a few stories that are touching or serious. When you hear about a halfling with substance abuse problems, you think it's a joke, but it's actually played entirely straight. Not everything has aged well (a half-drow is split between her dark and light personalities and guess which ones are the evil?) but most of it is awesome.
1. Homeland by R.A. Salvatore
There was really no chance that there could be any other book at the top. As much as I love Everis Cale, the Spellfire books, or the Cormyr series, nothing will ever approach the popularity of the Legend of Drizzt series. While it technically started as the Wulfgar series with The Icewind Dale books, the books that cemented the popularity of D&Dās most iconic ranger (if not character) were the ones about his origins in Menzoberrazan.
Part of what makes the books so great is that theyāre so very different from typical fantasy. The decadent corrupt matriarchal society of the drow is incredibly fun. Itās absolutely ridiculous but played dead serious as Drizzt struggles to deal with the fact everyone else he knows is an enormous sociopath. The subsequent books lack the punch of Homeland but subsequent series have given us many more insights into drow society (two of which are on this list). Bob Salvatore may not have created the drow, a lot of the society he depicted was in Vault of the Drow (D3) but he certainly popularized them.
2023.03.29 18:01 Excorpion My First Week Invading - Thoughts and Questions
 | I know some people dont want to read all of it, so just jump to a section of ur interest :3 submitted by Excorpion to Eldenring [link] [comments] --- Presentation --- Hello! My name is Excorpion, and currently i have only one week invading people. I have to say, its a lot of fun, and a nice learning curve about How to properly invade. My character is a Mage, with Moonveils Katana as Main Weapon, and a Bow as optional. --- Learning Curve --- At first i was playing invasions like a full 1v1 combat, and of course, with my build and stats, that just doesnt work... Im using my first build, a character lvl170 to invade, so i dont invade low lvl people, and its more fair when they know the game better. (I put the images at the end, so it doesnt interrupt the POST). After a while i understand that, when ur invading, u dont need to go 1v1 vs the Host... u can play with them, because... when ur being invaded, u have 2 options... fight, or get to an objective (like enter a boss arena). So! in the other side, ur objective is to kill the host, or, not letting them complete an objective. (this could be problematic sometimes). --- Types of Player --- But then i learned about the types of mutiplayer players that Elden Ring has... And we have: - Normal players: People who is just playing randomly, and they arent prepared for invasions, or sometimes, they dont even notice them. - Gankers: People who is doing coop, but waiting on a grace to rush and attack invaders, also Hunters appear a lot in this too. - PVPers: People that use certain areas to fight 1v1 combats, like... in the arena, but, not in the arena... This places are mostly, Liurna, outside of the Academy, and The First Step grace, on Necrolimbo. - AFKFarmers: The worst of them all. People that hide on unreachables places using torrent, and wait for people to invade, and fight vs hunters, or lose their minds searching for them. But then, i found another kind of players... Recursants and Bloody Fingers. Sometimes, this people want to kill each other, and i dont know why! --- Invaders attacking invaders ??? --- Why invaders WANT to kill invaders? Not for PVP reasons obviously, because i dont engage with invaders, and if they try to attack me, i just run... far far away... i already ran like 5 minutes without stopping from a Recursant called "Guts", because he spawned, and insta runtowards me as invader to kill me... i dodged, until he ceased... but he never ceased, so i tried to push him off a cliff and failed on the attempt, dying on the spot. If u can give me explanation about it, it would be fantastic. --- Problems with Invasions --- About invasions i also learned that, some boss invasions, shouldnt be on the list... examples: - Malenia's door: Like 10% of the people here wait for the invader to reach the door, and fight in that tiny spot. - Morgot-Godfrey-Radagon-EldenBeast-All the upper city of Leyndell: IDK Why, this location is a good idea for invasions pool... i mean, there is 0% of chances, of catching a host and have a fight with them... it just waste time. - Radhan beach: Seriously, i appeared 5 times in one week of invasions, on the beach that has a teleport to Radhan... AND JUST WATCHED THE PEOPLE FIGHT AT THE DISTANCE, AND THEY DIE !! The last one should be quitted soon... but, there are some BIG bugs during invasions... Sometimes, specially in Malenia, and upper Leyndel, u can invade, after the host entered the boss room!, i have a video fighting with people vs Radagon, and i attacked the host without problems!. --- Future experiments --- Currently i want to try to be a Hunter, so im called to help people being invaded. IDK if there is a way to be called quicker, but im going to try my best. Maybe i will do another post them. --- Images --- https://preview.redd.it/tkhrhpqf6pqa1.jpg?width=1366&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=80c9fce32cc404797e5ede6a610f112cc41f441a https://preview.redd.it/wq88qoqf6pqa1.jpg?width=1366&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3a30266cb8eb8f40facf2c71717c0904e7db58f6 https://preview.redd.it/w4jv0pqf6pqa1.jpg?width=1366&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=71b3146acfa75b309b91df687710fd28c4e7e2a1 https://preview.redd.it/aj6u5pqf6pqa1.jpg?width=1366&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=83422a3f54a3c2136b6557ae5e6d8fc5af1578c5 https://preview.redd.it/m75n3sqf6pqa1.jpg?width=1366&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2de1a14d00966063e81ec8fc8045dc6079f42a06 https://preview.redd.it/qdceqoqf6pqa1.jpg?width=1366&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7c7580625c34fcc2c9c7b0dedbb4629026235bd6 |
2023.03.29 17:59 robotwithhumanhair22 Ayaneo 2 - My Experiences
I've seen a lot of posts on this sub about stuff not working with several Ayaneo 2 units and I figured I'd give my own two cents and try to balance the bad with some good. Reading through Reddit posts and reviews akin to my own has really helped me to become informed with purchases like this and I hope this helps you in the way that these posts have helped me. For the record I had been researching other devices like the GPD Win Max 4, AOKZOE A1, and the Steam Deck and had ultimately decided on the Ayaneo 2 as being the best fit for my particular use case.
I've had the Retro Power variant since January and spent weeks upon weeks getting it set up with my ROM collection, installing / setting up / optimizing emulators, installing other tools and setting up miscellaneous games like Super Mario Bros X. And on top of all that, setting it up with LaunchBox / BigBox which in my opinion are phenomenal front ends. But I digress, and from now on will watch the frequency of my usage of "setting up". As someone who has only really owned Nintendo consoles since the SNES days (and a gaming PC), I was kinda blown away by this thing and still am - my main intent for the Ayaneo 2 was to turn it into a device that could play anything I threw at it and it does by FAR.
I'll start off with the good, explain the bad, and address my own personal nitpicks, in that order.
The Good
For starters, the performance is insane for what it is. Keep in mind that I only really play with low settings as well as low resolutions, so YMMV; I never really cared all that much for graphics and textures and such, as long as the gameplay is smooth. And smooth it is. It ran games like Elden Ring and Spider-man Remastered very smoothly at 22W using these settings, lighter games like Outer Wilds and emulators like CEMU/Dolphin at 15W, and indie games and NES/SNES emulation at 7W. The battery life may leave much to be desired if you're running above 15W, but I can easily squeeze out at least 3 hours of the battery if I keep it at 7W with lighter games, which is my primary use case. Anything above 15W and I just place it on the dock, which outputs to my TV just fine. The fan noise above 15W can get a little loud, but using Aya's SmartFan app and making adjustments there can calm it down a bit. (I mimicked the settings Taki Udon used in his review of the Ayaneo Geek.)
The screen is phenomenal, hands-down. I almost couldn't believe it was IPS - it looks more like OLED to me. The colors are super vibrant, and you can easily change the color settings in the AMD Adrenalin app to your liking as well. I have a few nitpicks regarding this, however, which I will get to shortly.
The Dpad. My god, the dpad. It's amazing. It's precise, and has something that's reminiscent of that SNES dpad "squish". Not quite the same, but there's definitely a resemblance. Best dpad I've used so far behind the SNES'.
The device itself is extremely comfortable to hold, too. I have larger hands so this was a nice surprise - the 2DS XL and Switch both make my hands cramp up after an hour of use, but I'm not experiencing this with the Ayaneo 2.
The Bad
Now the bad (which thankfully I've discovered workarounds for most) - my particular unit is having a strange issue where when booting, it freezes at the logo screen and needs to be forced off - one particular day it would constantly throw a BSOD with BAD_SYSTEM_CONFIG_INFO; I had even re-installed Windows the day I got it. When this happens more than twice in a row, it goes to automatic repair and the startup repair tool doesn't do much to help with this. The only way I could get it to boot successfully was to use a restore point I had made a week prior, which thankfully keeps your files / games / save files in tact, but upon turning it off or rebooting it would get stuck again. Surprisingly, this morning when I placed it back on the dock after 2 days of use without charge and tried booting, it was successful; even the three additional reboots I performed after that brought it back up, and with speed too. Taking it off of the dock, same thing: successful and quick boot into Windows. A few folks in the Ayaneo Discord channel have given me helpful advice regarding placing it back on a charger and trying as well as pointing me towards a potentially-stuck WIndows update, and I appreciate the community there. But these days I'm at about 50% clench every time I start up the Ayaneo and the thought of re-installing Windows after all I've done to it so far absolutely spooks me.
Opening it up for repairs or swapping the SSD is an absolute pain as well, and I was unable to avoid damaging and chipping the shell in the process. I initially did this to try to correct my left analog stick, which was off-center ever so slightly towards the up direction, which I also was unable to resolve. This I've learned to deal with, as it doesn't affect input at all. It's just a bit awkward to look at if you know what you're looking for.
I'm sure you've seen a bunch of negative reviews of Ayaspace, and though it isn't quite a flaming heap of trash, it's still extremely buggy. Updating it always reverts the language to Chinese and sometimes controller firmware updates refuse to install. The Chinese English is also really strange too, and many settings aren't quite explained in much detail. It took me a while before I realized that in order to make a change, I also have to hold the Start button to save the changes or else it won't work. Changing resolutions through the Quick Tool, for example, from 1980x1200 to 1980x1080, the image is not centered; instead of a small black bar on the top and bottom, there's a larger black bar at the top of the screen and the image is not centered. I've been able to bypass this by setting the resolution in Windows display settings, but I'd imagine a similar level of success with tools like Handheld Companion.
My Nitpicks
This device is a tinkerer's dream - which isn't quite a nitpick, per se, but may not be for everyone. It comes with base Win11 Home with Ayaspace and various Aya drivers installed, and that's it; everything else must be set up from scratch. And there were a few weird hiccups that I've had to overcome to get it set up the way that I wanted. For example, I planned on using the Ayaneo 2 with a dock connected to my TV most of the time, but pairing a Bluetooth controller (8bitdo SN30 Pro 2 as XInput) right off the bat did not work. I ended up using ReWASD to pair my controller to the Ayaneo controller so that both would be recognized as "player 1", and set up another profile for players 2-4 to be recognized as long as their controllers are XInput. I'd imagine if I was using a Switch Pro controller I'd need to set up another profile. However Ayaspace has a setting that disables the on-board controls so that a Bluetooth controller can be used instead, and I'd imagine there are other tools out there that would help with this. I just found ReWASD to be the most reliable option here. I've also set up my display settings when connected to a dock to disable the display from the Ayaneo itself and have only the TV display enabled to completely eliminate issues with conflicting resolutions. Admittedly I get a sick satisfaction from tinkering and setting things up and embracing the freedom you have to set things up the way that you see fit, but if you seek a device that you can just boot up and play instantly you may want to look elsewhere.
The buttons are a bit clicky and a bit on the smaller side, but they do work fine with a decent amount of travel. I personally would've preferred rubber membrane as I prefer squishy buttons like the SNES controller, but that's just me. The analog sticks and triggers both have a lot of travel to them, a bit more than I would've liked, but they're both great and the hall sensors for both are stupid accurate.
The brightness of the screen I've found was bit too bright on the lowest setting. I've had to tame the vibrant colors a bit using AMD's Adrenalin tool and install a third-party application called Dimmer, which dims your screen brightness way past what the system minimum is. It does so on a sliding scale, however, so you can tweak this to your heart's content.
I've heard a lot of complaints about the sound, and though while it's not the best, I really don't mind it. If I wanted better sound quality, I have no problem just connecting it to the dock, plugging headphones into the jack, or using Bluetooth earbuds.
The device itself, though comfortable to hold, is a bit heavy. This I also don't really mind a whole lot, considering this is essentially a laptop/tablet with a gamepad attached, but may be a point of contention for some.
TL;DR - My Verdict
When the Ayaneo 2 works, it's fantastic. But when it doesn't, it's a pain in the ass. That may just be Windows for you, it may not. I have yet to figure that out. But when it works as-intended, this is a fantastic little device that has so much power underneath the hood. And you can do pretty much everything with it, within reason, of course. Is it worth the hefty price tag? Maybe, maybe not; it depends on what you'd like to accomplish with it.
Do you want to just emulate older systems up to Gamecube/Wii? For that I'd recommend an Android-based handheld.
Do you want something that'll play your Steam/AAA games well on the go and nothing else? Go with a Steam Deck, for sure. You really can't beat that price-to-performance ratio and SteamOS is really good at what it does.
Do you want a one-and-done device that is capable of storing terabytes upon terabytes of games and will be what you use for all of your gaming? Ayaneo 2 for sure.
Thanks for reading! I hope this helped and I'd be happy to answer any other questions you may have.
submitted by robotwithhumanhair22 to ayaneo [link] [comments]
I've had the Retro Power variant since January and spent weeks upon weeks getting it set up with my ROM collection, installing / setting up / optimizing emulators, installing other tools and setting up miscellaneous games like Super Mario Bros X. And on top of all that, setting it up with LaunchBox / BigBox which in my opinion are phenomenal front ends. But I digress, and from now on will watch the frequency of my usage of "setting up". As someone who has only really owned Nintendo consoles since the SNES days (and a gaming PC), I was kinda blown away by this thing and still am - my main intent for the Ayaneo 2 was to turn it into a device that could play anything I threw at it and it does by FAR.
I'll start off with the good, explain the bad, and address my own personal nitpicks, in that order.
The Good
For starters, the performance is insane for what it is. Keep in mind that I only really play with low settings as well as low resolutions, so YMMV; I never really cared all that much for graphics and textures and such, as long as the gameplay is smooth. And smooth it is. It ran games like Elden Ring and Spider-man Remastered very smoothly at 22W using these settings, lighter games like Outer Wilds and emulators like CEMU/Dolphin at 15W, and indie games and NES/SNES emulation at 7W. The battery life may leave much to be desired if you're running above 15W, but I can easily squeeze out at least 3 hours of the battery if I keep it at 7W with lighter games, which is my primary use case. Anything above 15W and I just place it on the dock, which outputs to my TV just fine. The fan noise above 15W can get a little loud, but using Aya's SmartFan app and making adjustments there can calm it down a bit. (I mimicked the settings Taki Udon used in his review of the Ayaneo Geek.)
The screen is phenomenal, hands-down. I almost couldn't believe it was IPS - it looks more like OLED to me. The colors are super vibrant, and you can easily change the color settings in the AMD Adrenalin app to your liking as well. I have a few nitpicks regarding this, however, which I will get to shortly.
The Dpad. My god, the dpad. It's amazing. It's precise, and has something that's reminiscent of that SNES dpad "squish". Not quite the same, but there's definitely a resemblance. Best dpad I've used so far behind the SNES'.
The device itself is extremely comfortable to hold, too. I have larger hands so this was a nice surprise - the 2DS XL and Switch both make my hands cramp up after an hour of use, but I'm not experiencing this with the Ayaneo 2.
The Bad
Now the bad (which thankfully I've discovered workarounds for most) - my particular unit is having a strange issue where when booting, it freezes at the logo screen and needs to be forced off - one particular day it would constantly throw a BSOD with BAD_SYSTEM_CONFIG_INFO; I had even re-installed Windows the day I got it. When this happens more than twice in a row, it goes to automatic repair and the startup repair tool doesn't do much to help with this. The only way I could get it to boot successfully was to use a restore point I had made a week prior, which thankfully keeps your files / games / save files in tact, but upon turning it off or rebooting it would get stuck again. Surprisingly, this morning when I placed it back on the dock after 2 days of use without charge and tried booting, it was successful; even the three additional reboots I performed after that brought it back up, and with speed too. Taking it off of the dock, same thing: successful and quick boot into Windows. A few folks in the Ayaneo Discord channel have given me helpful advice regarding placing it back on a charger and trying as well as pointing me towards a potentially-stuck WIndows update, and I appreciate the community there. But these days I'm at about 50% clench every time I start up the Ayaneo and the thought of re-installing Windows after all I've done to it so far absolutely spooks me.
Opening it up for repairs or swapping the SSD is an absolute pain as well, and I was unable to avoid damaging and chipping the shell in the process. I initially did this to try to correct my left analog stick, which was off-center ever so slightly towards the up direction, which I also was unable to resolve. This I've learned to deal with, as it doesn't affect input at all. It's just a bit awkward to look at if you know what you're looking for.
I'm sure you've seen a bunch of negative reviews of Ayaspace, and though it isn't quite a flaming heap of trash, it's still extremely buggy. Updating it always reverts the language to Chinese and sometimes controller firmware updates refuse to install. The Chinese English is also really strange too, and many settings aren't quite explained in much detail. It took me a while before I realized that in order to make a change, I also have to hold the Start button to save the changes or else it won't work. Changing resolutions through the Quick Tool, for example, from 1980x1200 to 1980x1080, the image is not centered; instead of a small black bar on the top and bottom, there's a larger black bar at the top of the screen and the image is not centered. I've been able to bypass this by setting the resolution in Windows display settings, but I'd imagine a similar level of success with tools like Handheld Companion.
My Nitpicks
This device is a tinkerer's dream - which isn't quite a nitpick, per se, but may not be for everyone. It comes with base Win11 Home with Ayaspace and various Aya drivers installed, and that's it; everything else must be set up from scratch. And there were a few weird hiccups that I've had to overcome to get it set up the way that I wanted. For example, I planned on using the Ayaneo 2 with a dock connected to my TV most of the time, but pairing a Bluetooth controller (8bitdo SN30 Pro 2 as XInput) right off the bat did not work. I ended up using ReWASD to pair my controller to the Ayaneo controller so that both would be recognized as "player 1", and set up another profile for players 2-4 to be recognized as long as their controllers are XInput. I'd imagine if I was using a Switch Pro controller I'd need to set up another profile. However Ayaspace has a setting that disables the on-board controls so that a Bluetooth controller can be used instead, and I'd imagine there are other tools out there that would help with this. I just found ReWASD to be the most reliable option here. I've also set up my display settings when connected to a dock to disable the display from the Ayaneo itself and have only the TV display enabled to completely eliminate issues with conflicting resolutions. Admittedly I get a sick satisfaction from tinkering and setting things up and embracing the freedom you have to set things up the way that you see fit, but if you seek a device that you can just boot up and play instantly you may want to look elsewhere.
The buttons are a bit clicky and a bit on the smaller side, but they do work fine with a decent amount of travel. I personally would've preferred rubber membrane as I prefer squishy buttons like the SNES controller, but that's just me. The analog sticks and triggers both have a lot of travel to them, a bit more than I would've liked, but they're both great and the hall sensors for both are stupid accurate.
The brightness of the screen I've found was bit too bright on the lowest setting. I've had to tame the vibrant colors a bit using AMD's Adrenalin tool and install a third-party application called Dimmer, which dims your screen brightness way past what the system minimum is. It does so on a sliding scale, however, so you can tweak this to your heart's content.
I've heard a lot of complaints about the sound, and though while it's not the best, I really don't mind it. If I wanted better sound quality, I have no problem just connecting it to the dock, plugging headphones into the jack, or using Bluetooth earbuds.
The device itself, though comfortable to hold, is a bit heavy. This I also don't really mind a whole lot, considering this is essentially a laptop/tablet with a gamepad attached, but may be a point of contention for some.
TL;DR - My Verdict
When the Ayaneo 2 works, it's fantastic. But when it doesn't, it's a pain in the ass. That may just be Windows for you, it may not. I have yet to figure that out. But when it works as-intended, this is a fantastic little device that has so much power underneath the hood. And you can do pretty much everything with it, within reason, of course. Is it worth the hefty price tag? Maybe, maybe not; it depends on what you'd like to accomplish with it.
Do you want to just emulate older systems up to Gamecube/Wii? For that I'd recommend an Android-based handheld.
Do you want something that'll play your Steam/AAA games well on the go and nothing else? Go with a Steam Deck, for sure. You really can't beat that price-to-performance ratio and SteamOS is really good at what it does.
Do you want a one-and-done device that is capable of storing terabytes upon terabytes of games and will be what you use for all of your gaming? Ayaneo 2 for sure.
Thanks for reading! I hope this helped and I'd be happy to answer any other questions you may have.
2023.03.29 17:59 Xz55000 EU (Netherlands) - 1700 EUR build - Worth waiting until mid April?
What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.
- Primarily gaming pretty much everything. Newish things I am interested: RDR2, Elden Ring, Forza Horizon 5, Spiderman, Monster Hunter 5, Baldur's Gate 3, upcoming Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and Starfield (if they're good). Regularly I play CS GO and Fortnite.
- I have a 1440p 165hz monitor and I am not planning on upgrading to 4k or higher refresh any time soon.
- I'll also program (primarily C and Python), do minor video editing, and CAD work, but it's so minor that I think a PC primarily built for gaming will do these just fine.
- I'll dual boot and play around with virtual machines a lot too.
What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?
- Max 1700 EUR (as I am in the EU this is including taxes). There is some wiggle room if the benefit is great enough.
When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.
- Mid April at the latest. I was thinking of waiting for the release of 7800x3d and perhaps even the 4070 to see if that would bring prices down further, but I am not hopeful. What is your opinion?
What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)
- Tower, I have everything else.
Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?
- I am in the Netherlands. Any story in the EU that would deliver to NL is fine by me.
If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.
- 1440p 165hz monitor is the main thing that is worth mentioning. I am not planning on upgrading this any time soon.
Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?
- I am interested in overclocking in the future to try and milk my PC as much as possible when it starts to show its age.
Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)
- 2TB storage at least, I have 1TB right now and it's sometimes limiting.
What type of network connectivity do you need? (Wired and/or WiFi) If WiFi is needed and you would like to find the fastest match for your wireless router, please list any specifics.
- I need wifi, unfortunately. The mobo doesn't have to be wifi, I can get a PCi adapter, but ideally I wouldn't have to.
Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?
- Preferably no RGB unless I am truly saving a good amount of money or I can for certain turn it all off whenever I want.
Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?
- Nope.
Extra info or particulars:
- I have come up with this build: https://nl.pcpartpicker.com/useXz55000/saved/LbbphM
- I found a store selling a nice upgrade kit for 529.00. Worse RAM than the build above, but I think it's worth it in order to save 46 EUR.
- AMD Ryzen 5 7600X processor
- Gigabyte B650M Gaming X AX motherboard
- 32 GB Corsair Vengance 5600 Mhz DDR5 (2x 16 GB, CL36)
- Do you think it's worth waiting a while longer?
- Do you think this budget is overkill for 1440p 165hz?
2023.03.29 17:57 WolfpackRVA Monster 696 Starter Replacement
Hey guys,
Iām hoping that somebody here who is familiar with starter replacement on Monsters can help me overcome a massive brain fart that Iām having in getting my bike back together after replacing the starter.
Hereās the long and short of itā¦ my 2011 Monster 696 needed a new starter. I went through this pretty straightforward install and in the process noticed some concerning abrasion on my clutch hydraulic line, so I removed the damaged line and paused reassembly to order a new one to replace it.
Cue freezing temps and early arrival of a new baby, and itās now been a couple of months since my head was in this project.
So here is my very simple questionā¦ At some point in the disassembly and removal of the starter and other parts that are required to get to the starter, I removed and lost a snap ring - the only snap ring that I encountered during this process - and at this point I canāt remember what it came off of. Iāve tried looking through the factory parts diagrams but couldnāt locate it there.
If anybody has gone through this replacement and can help jog my memory on this snap ring I would be extremely appreciative! Cheers to all, and happy/safe riding!
submitted by WolfpackRVA to Ducati [link] [comments]
Iām hoping that somebody here who is familiar with starter replacement on Monsters can help me overcome a massive brain fart that Iām having in getting my bike back together after replacing the starter.
Hereās the long and short of itā¦ my 2011 Monster 696 needed a new starter. I went through this pretty straightforward install and in the process noticed some concerning abrasion on my clutch hydraulic line, so I removed the damaged line and paused reassembly to order a new one to replace it.
Cue freezing temps and early arrival of a new baby, and itās now been a couple of months since my head was in this project.
So here is my very simple questionā¦ At some point in the disassembly and removal of the starter and other parts that are required to get to the starter, I removed and lost a snap ring - the only snap ring that I encountered during this process - and at this point I canāt remember what it came off of. Iāve tried looking through the factory parts diagrams but couldnāt locate it there.
If anybody has gone through this replacement and can help jog my memory on this snap ring I would be extremely appreciative! Cheers to all, and happy/safe riding!
2023.03.29 17:55 R00LEX1234 Azir solution for weak early /mid
Hello guys !
I have been struggling with azir since the nerfs , but im into something new what i haven't seen before .
Im an azir main since he came out , (diamond elo ) , the early is unplayable u kinda cant trade just , farm w w, been trying new build actually this might be a solution , u must to play with conq every other runes are weak on him in my opinion , actually i have been rushing archangel for first item , attack speed boots , and riftmaker , max w in every situation, nashorabadon etc , (the w attacks stacks seraphs ) so u have stacked seraph before 17-18 , depends on , u can stack riftmaker by attacks , u have the attack speed from boots/nashor , opinions ?
submitted by R00LEX1234 to azirmains [link] [comments]
I have been struggling with azir since the nerfs , but im into something new what i haven't seen before .
Im an azir main since he came out , (diamond elo ) , the early is unplayable u kinda cant trade just , farm w w, been trying new build actually this might be a solution , u must to play with conq every other runes are weak on him in my opinion , actually i have been rushing archangel for first item , attack speed boots , and riftmaker , max w in every situation, nashorabadon etc , (the w attacks stacks seraphs ) so u have stacked seraph before 17-18 , depends on , u can stack riftmaker by attacks , u have the attack speed from boots/nashor , opinions ?
2023.03.29 17:53 PathFinder1892 Elden Ring (but) Dynasty Warriors esk
First off just had the idea pop in my mind and new here but just the concept seemed cool to me.
Think Elden Ring and all the combat styles but in a Dynasty Warriors format I'm sure with how much story is told within Elden Ring you could place this into some part of the history and come up with a well done plot. With today's tech too I bet that it be a lot of fun.
Just wanted to share see what others thought.
submitted by PathFinder1892 to Eldenring [link] [comments]
Think Elden Ring and all the combat styles but in a Dynasty Warriors format I'm sure with how much story is told within Elden Ring you could place this into some part of the history and come up with a well done plot. With today's tech too I bet that it be a lot of fun.
Just wanted to share see what others thought.
2023.03.29 17:52 TheHerosShadow Imagine not leveling your mind. Are 99% of players stupid?
 | submitted by TheHerosShadow to shittydarksouls [link] [comments] |
2023.03.29 17:48 Big-Policy-3019 is using dragon comnuion with faith viable?
hello ı am planning to play elden ring and though both the faith incantations and dragon comnuion stuff looked cool now from what ı understand you can use dragon comnuinion with faith if you use a faith scaling chime but is it worth it? lets just say 50 faith to unlock all spells and 12 arcane to unlock the basic dragon comnunion breaths would that be viable or should ı just not bother and use only faith?
thank you in advance
submitted by Big-Policy-3019 to Eldenring [link] [comments]
thank you in advance
2023.03.29 17:48 QuixoticWeekender Primary trying to make due until specialist seen
39F, sudden symptom onset in early December right before & after a migraine. Do the cervical MRI results warrant the symptoms? What other tests could my primary order until I see a neurologist? (sheās very open to suggestions but knows sheās a generalist) Are there any other specialties she should consider referring me to? My primary is doing her best bc the neurologist who first saw me wouldnāt let me share my symptoms, then also didnāt answer my primaryās questions when she tried. My outside referral, approved by insurance, was turned down by the med group for lack of appt availability.
PRIOR DIAGNOSES ADHD (hyper type), Fibromyalgia, Migraines, Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (sleep study 2021), Mild asthma (mostly in extreme temps or with fever), PMDD
Meds Gabapentin and trazadone for sleep leg twitches, Adderall XR (was newly on Vyvanse when symptoms started, switched back when Adderall shortage let up), flexeril as needed since symptoms started; Discontinued since symptom onset: Vyvanse, Singulair (due to black box warning w/some symptom overlap), Sumatriptan (not to take it since Iād had an aura); Attempted birth control in case it could interrupt migraines, but it didnāt and made me have a flat affect, so went off.
Migraine history: Onset around 32 w/1 occurrence, which quickly abated after sudden vomiting. Around 35: started having migraine w/out aura at the end of every period, until I discovered that prenatals helped. About a year ago, 38: started having migraines at time of ovulation, which I had confirmed was happening exactly two weeks before every period, regardless of cycle length - prenatals did not help these. Nov 2022: had my first aura, visual, right before a migraine. Dec 2022: was very restless for first two period days, not in my hyperactive/good ideas adhd sort of way, but, if Iām remembering correctly since I didnāt suspect anything and therefore wasnāt tracking, just constant startling and needing to move and getting annoyed. Period day 3: migraine but different bc it was across both eyes, not just eitheor, no aura. This was also earliest Iād had one during a period. I maxed out on Sumatriptan, spacing out as prescribed. Period day 4: woke up w/right side facial numbness, was advised to go to ER. I did, but they quickly surrounded me for a stroke check, I got very overstimulated, then they sent me back to lobby to wait. I became very restless again and ended up leaving when I couldnāt sit still but was somehow also too exhausted to pace for release.
Other History Severe neck injuries at 18 &21ish, medium bad ones at 28ish & 34ish. The āvid: Iāve never tested + despite testing when my wife or I have been sick, and she had never tested + either. Before I took Adderall, I would get every cold for two weeks straight, so Iāve been very careful about masking and other preventative steps.
Tests since: Brain: MRI without, later with, contrast; MRA and MRV = all normal Blood (all normal): ANA, thyroid, thyroid antibody, sedimentation rate, CRP, complete blood count, metabolic panel, magnesium level, ACE, Lyme antibody Cervical MRI w/contrast: bulging discs and foraminal stenosis at all points between C3 and C7; mild and moderate spinal stenosis at C3-4, 5-6, 6-7; facet disease at C7-T1. Scheduled: routine EEG
*Symptoms: -twitching in neck and face -muscle tightness, but not like anything Iāve felt before - can feel like energy is coursing through the front of my neck It has gone as far up as my eye(s), is usually on right side but occasionally switches for very short time and even more occasionally is on both sides. (Something I havenāt seen anyone say about muscle tightness: I usually have a low amount of pain at all times, but when this happens, pain is less or gone) -blurry eye(s), usually just right side, or inability to focus eye(s) without facial twitching or pain behind them, and is sometimes accompanied by eye dryness -overstimulation, way beyond my normal for my adhd, primarily with sounds & light, sounds being most frequent -after never having more than two migraines/month, had four in one week, and what feels like migraines, but shorter, more frequently -migraines now worse when changing positions, worst is going into laying down and best is sitting up -new headache type that best matches what Iāve seen called āice pickā -sound most similar to waves crashing in my ears (started as occasional ringing, but changed to this, happens especially with headaches or when laying down) -difficulty finding words; my primary noted it as describing words, as opposed to knowing them. (This has been weird bc Iām a communications professional) It happened spoken first, now writing just as frequent; once lost ability to verbally speak for a few minutes (got stuck on the āsā sound) -difficulty organizing thoughts & work (this, & word difficulty, causing me to sometimes take hours on tasks Iāve done in 15 minutes) -switching words/letters: I didnāt notice this at first but others pointed it out and Iāve seen when Iāve gone back to review my notes -short, intense mood bursts: remind me of during a migraine, but more frequent and w/o headaches -much more easily stressed, and symptoms are worsened by stress -getting overheated, especially w/attempt to exercise beyond walking 1/4 mile (itās been 50-60 degrees F) -forgetfulness: that āwhyād I walk in hereā feeling but, when itās bad, happens on repeat and can happen while at my desk, in the time it takes to grab a pen to write down what I wanted to remember -restlessness that comes for a day or two at a time and has been bad enough that I wake up after 3 hrs, even w/ Flexiril + gabapentin + trazadone -Occasional nervousness that I donāt know how to describe bc itās unlike any Iāve felt before
Timing Initially symptoms were around for 2-3 weeks, then mostly gone for a couple, but Iāve only had 2-3 days of less symptoms in March. -symptoms donāt seem to follow patterns, but some seem more likely to be present with certain others, I.e. twitching w/ tightness and forgetfulness w/ disorganization, but have occasionally had other mash ups or many at once
Family history: MOM refused the next steps tests, but stiff person syndrome is suspected; confirmed she has low dopamine but Parkinsonās ruled out; PATERNAL GRANDFATHER: per my dad - his dad was diagnosed with MS, but it was later ruled out and, as far as he knows, my grandpa never received a final diagnoses, then he lived into his 70s - I recall him also having heart issues. DAD and at least 1 of my 2 BROTHERS have had migraines, and my brother mentioned heās had some very intense visual auras
TL/DR I have a history of pretty common diagnoses, which are often seen overlapping one another, that Iāve had for varying lengths, but my brain has felt broken since December and attempts to see a neurologist keep following through
submitted by QuixoticWeekender to AskDocs [link] [comments]
PRIOR DIAGNOSES ADHD (hyper type), Fibromyalgia, Migraines, Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (sleep study 2021), Mild asthma (mostly in extreme temps or with fever), PMDD
Meds Gabapentin and trazadone for sleep leg twitches, Adderall XR (was newly on Vyvanse when symptoms started, switched back when Adderall shortage let up), flexeril as needed since symptoms started; Discontinued since symptom onset: Vyvanse, Singulair (due to black box warning w/some symptom overlap), Sumatriptan (not to take it since Iād had an aura); Attempted birth control in case it could interrupt migraines, but it didnāt and made me have a flat affect, so went off.
Migraine history: Onset around 32 w/1 occurrence, which quickly abated after sudden vomiting. Around 35: started having migraine w/out aura at the end of every period, until I discovered that prenatals helped. About a year ago, 38: started having migraines at time of ovulation, which I had confirmed was happening exactly two weeks before every period, regardless of cycle length - prenatals did not help these. Nov 2022: had my first aura, visual, right before a migraine. Dec 2022: was very restless for first two period days, not in my hyperactive/good ideas adhd sort of way, but, if Iām remembering correctly since I didnāt suspect anything and therefore wasnāt tracking, just constant startling and needing to move and getting annoyed. Period day 3: migraine but different bc it was across both eyes, not just eitheor, no aura. This was also earliest Iād had one during a period. I maxed out on Sumatriptan, spacing out as prescribed. Period day 4: woke up w/right side facial numbness, was advised to go to ER. I did, but they quickly surrounded me for a stroke check, I got very overstimulated, then they sent me back to lobby to wait. I became very restless again and ended up leaving when I couldnāt sit still but was somehow also too exhausted to pace for release.
Other History Severe neck injuries at 18 &21ish, medium bad ones at 28ish & 34ish. The āvid: Iāve never tested + despite testing when my wife or I have been sick, and she had never tested + either. Before I took Adderall, I would get every cold for two weeks straight, so Iāve been very careful about masking and other preventative steps.
Tests since: Brain: MRI without, later with, contrast; MRA and MRV = all normal Blood (all normal): ANA, thyroid, thyroid antibody, sedimentation rate, CRP, complete blood count, metabolic panel, magnesium level, ACE, Lyme antibody Cervical MRI w/contrast: bulging discs and foraminal stenosis at all points between C3 and C7; mild and moderate spinal stenosis at C3-4, 5-6, 6-7; facet disease at C7-T1. Scheduled: routine EEG
*Symptoms: -twitching in neck and face -muscle tightness, but not like anything Iāve felt before - can feel like energy is coursing through the front of my neck It has gone as far up as my eye(s), is usually on right side but occasionally switches for very short time and even more occasionally is on both sides. (Something I havenāt seen anyone say about muscle tightness: I usually have a low amount of pain at all times, but when this happens, pain is less or gone) -blurry eye(s), usually just right side, or inability to focus eye(s) without facial twitching or pain behind them, and is sometimes accompanied by eye dryness -overstimulation, way beyond my normal for my adhd, primarily with sounds & light, sounds being most frequent -after never having more than two migraines/month, had four in one week, and what feels like migraines, but shorter, more frequently -migraines now worse when changing positions, worst is going into laying down and best is sitting up -new headache type that best matches what Iāve seen called āice pickā -sound most similar to waves crashing in my ears (started as occasional ringing, but changed to this, happens especially with headaches or when laying down) -difficulty finding words; my primary noted it as describing words, as opposed to knowing them. (This has been weird bc Iām a communications professional) It happened spoken first, now writing just as frequent; once lost ability to verbally speak for a few minutes (got stuck on the āsā sound) -difficulty organizing thoughts & work (this, & word difficulty, causing me to sometimes take hours on tasks Iāve done in 15 minutes) -switching words/letters: I didnāt notice this at first but others pointed it out and Iāve seen when Iāve gone back to review my notes -short, intense mood bursts: remind me of during a migraine, but more frequent and w/o headaches -much more easily stressed, and symptoms are worsened by stress -getting overheated, especially w/attempt to exercise beyond walking 1/4 mile (itās been 50-60 degrees F) -forgetfulness: that āwhyād I walk in hereā feeling but, when itās bad, happens on repeat and can happen while at my desk, in the time it takes to grab a pen to write down what I wanted to remember -restlessness that comes for a day or two at a time and has been bad enough that I wake up after 3 hrs, even w/ Flexiril + gabapentin + trazadone -Occasional nervousness that I donāt know how to describe bc itās unlike any Iāve felt before
Timing Initially symptoms were around for 2-3 weeks, then mostly gone for a couple, but Iāve only had 2-3 days of less symptoms in March. -symptoms donāt seem to follow patterns, but some seem more likely to be present with certain others, I.e. twitching w/ tightness and forgetfulness w/ disorganization, but have occasionally had other mash ups or many at once
Family history: MOM refused the next steps tests, but stiff person syndrome is suspected; confirmed she has low dopamine but Parkinsonās ruled out; PATERNAL GRANDFATHER: per my dad - his dad was diagnosed with MS, but it was later ruled out and, as far as he knows, my grandpa never received a final diagnoses, then he lived into his 70s - I recall him also having heart issues. DAD and at least 1 of my 2 BROTHERS have had migraines, and my brother mentioned heās had some very intense visual auras
TL/DR I have a history of pretty common diagnoses, which are often seen overlapping one another, that Iāve had for varying lengths, but my brain has felt broken since December and attempts to see a neurologist keep following through