You guys need to get Mercenary Kings, Super House of Dead Ninjas... also it's not on sale but definitely grab Nuclear Throne too. :) 

They look like games to the quality of what you'd get on a Sega or Nintenda 25 years ago. What is PC gaming coming to? :( 

 

haha, tempted to link dwarf fortress. still one of my all time favourite games. 

Combat looks twitchy as f*ck! I dig!
http://youtu.be/wu9w5P_7apA 

^_^

I like the mechanics more than D2; Flask system is more interesting and the more selective item modification is less annoying. 

Join the terrafusion guild then! 

Except everyone is quiet and no-one answers when I join now, cunts. Could have really done with some help in the catacombs last night.

Is there any way to control how the colour of a gem socket is changed when you use the chromatic orb on it?? Wasted so many of those fuckers trying to get an optimal gem set-up. 

As we told you on IRC yesterday right before you left, ignoring us, no, Chromatic Orbs is always random.
BUT, items have a tendency to have more slots of their color (for example, a strength item will more likely get red slots when you apply a Chromatic Orb on it, dexterity green, intelligence blue).
It's still possible to basically have any combination of slots on any item, but obviously getting 4 green slots on a strength item is gonna require a whole lot of Chromatic Orbs, whereas getting 4 red slots will be fairly quick.

So if you're having trouble getting the right color setup, maybe you need to try to get that combination of colors on another piece of equipment that will more easily fit to what you want, sometimes it's not really possible, that's part of the difficulty of crafting. 

Fuck you very much, I had gone well to bed before anyone answered.

And thank you very much for that answer, useful to know.

What are dex / int items in Armour?? Dex = evasion bonus, Int = energy shield bonus? 

Yeah, you can also see it by the required stats for items, for example an evasion/energy shield item will usually require you to have a certain amount of Dex and Int to equip it. 

What kind of build are you using on your ranger?

I'm trying this: http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/AAAAAgIBr-ubjQgu7YMZjgBe037EogX5GwEZ_v7Io4qbJjIBshnPeu967g4j9u_wWkhW-vzFZ6CHdkp93Q2QCluvTioppbZBapPV7cAP0k2-p-pizZjexkMxG8heE4TvdO1672BLBS1AoJ65YSEaVWSjNug6UjJ-Aeefy6cwFHFBqt-_-Ov3MnKpfNmsqiftGS7Uj7nd8i_vDudSVElfP_ZIjM9QUFhjxtgV8DpYBH6HGfe-FCBQR_Pd-WO95loaEuHZYVcNkc4a29wVp9Q=

but i'm finding my damage is getting pretty low halfway through act 3 normal. how's your survivability vs damage? 

I never re-speced my Ranger after the reset when the game came out, so I don't have a functional one at the moment, but I was using something similar (Pretty much the exact same keystones), and it worked out pretty well. What gem setup are you using?

If you're still in normal, you don't need to take Iron Reflexes, Iron Grip and Unwavering Stance too early, they are mostly interesting at higher levels. Your focus should be on getting to Resolute Technique (usually brings your DPS up if you weren't playing with crit gear) and Blood Magic (no more Mana problems), and lots of health nodes. Also, don't bother with Endurance Charge nodes until you see you can already maintain 3 easily with your gear/gem setup. 

Have a level 25 Witch (reserved for coop with a friend) which is purely spell based. Also have a Templar I recently started currently around level 15. Though I must admit the latter has been more fun to play, using a mixture of melee and spells is a little more engaging. 

Level 21 Templar and counting... :P Won't be long till I surpass my Witch at this rate. 

For AoE, i'm using Split Arrow + Lesser Multiple Projectiles + Life Gain on Hit.
Single Target is Burning Arrow + Faster Projectiles + Added Cold Damage
I also use Fire Trap and Poison Arrow clouds for extra damage.
I just got blood magic so it'll be another 4 levels before I get resolute technique.

I haven't done any testing but it's just a feeling that it takes longer to burn down mobs, even normal ones. This could just be the difficulty ramping up as i near the end of act 3 though.
My weapon isn't very good though, just a 22-64 damage level 32 bow (i'm 37). 

*Split Arrow + Lesser Multiple Projectiles + Life Gain on Hit + Fork 

I used mostly Lightning Arrow on my ranger, with lesser multiple projectiles, but Split Arrow is strong if you're going for more of a physical damage build.
Are you sure Fork is adding much? Chain is better sometimes if you have that, otherwise you could try adding some damage buff instead, or Pierce.

If you are going for more physical damage, Frenzy is pretty good as a single target skill, with Faster Attacks, it builds up Frenzy charges which will buff all your attacks, so even vs a group you can shoot a few Frenzy shots regularly to keep your frenzy charges up (that's 15% more attack speed).

But yeah, things get tough at the end of Act 3, you need to start finding or crafting better items. 

Fork is kind of funny because sometimes it'll ricochet in just the right way and deal tons of damage and other times it'll do nothing.
I will probably swap out for pierce (I haven't found chain yet).
Lightning Arrow (and frost) seem to be very mana hungry, but I haven't tried them yet since I got blood magic. It seems to do less damage though, but my current bow is a +phys bow with no elemental damage at all. I keep the other ones leveled up though so I can always swap if I get some +elemental damage items.

As for single target, I kind of like the woosh and particle effects of the flame arrows.... ^_^ also I have a hard time keeping frenzy stacked while kiting, keeping poison clouds and fire traps up. I really should try it again though since most of my damage is physical. 

Reviewed a few games lately.

Mirrors Edge 7.0
http://etherealhell.com/etherealhell/reviews/2013/mirrors_edge.php

Crysis Warhead 8.5/10
http://etherealhell.com/etherealhell/reviews/2013/crysis_warhead.php

Far Cry 2 7.5/10
http://etherealhell.com/etherealhell/reviews/2013/crysis_warhead.php

Who's played Alone in the Dark? Any good? 

oops correct link to fc2 is http://etherealhell.com/etherealhell/reviews/2013/far_cry2.php 

Slightly tangential but I find Leap Slam a very useful gem, not so much for attacking but for getting to power totems easier and also for taking shortcuts across the scenery. HTH. 

My 2hander Dualist in Hardcore beat most of Act2 by using Leap Slam for damage.

The dualist is great when he Leap Slams, because he does a little spin move in the air while doing it so it looks like he's this dancer in armor with a giant sword leaping around stepping on enemy's toes until they die. 

http://www.twitch.tv/redbullesports/b/482370792?t=3h38m

Red Bull semi-finals, Scarlett vs. Bomber, BO3, game 3, tied 1:1. Knife-edge game with a brilliant finish, exactly why SC2 is still such a great e-sport 3 years in. 

This was enjoyable, love the Zerg. Makes me nostalgic for Brood War though...