Nox Beta

I'm personally really excited about the new stat tracker feature; hero specific MMR looks very intriguing. The sleeker shop interface and hero demo/previews will be dangerous for my wallet P.S. I can't wait for the desert terrain compendium stretch goal to be implemented

The beauty about Dota (and horror, for some) is that everything depends. This means that the team that can make quicker and smarter decisions, and more importantly, execute them well, will usually win. In a nutshell, experience accounts for a lot. In saying that, sometimes the theoretical best course of action is not necessarily the most practical, feasible or executable due to skill deficits, for example. Knowing the practical limits of what can or can't be achieved is a skill in and of itself. My basic decision-making process is usually: a) What are my team's strengths and weaknesses now? How strong will/can we be later? What are the opponent's strengths and weaknesses now? How strong will/can they be later? The answers to the above questions will inform the way I play. The tricky part is that the answer(s) will depend on a bunch of factors; not all of which you can control, and not all of which are necessarily identifiable e.g. draft, lane allocation, individual skill, teamwork propensity, map awareness etc.

Got 11 caches; 2x compendo points, no courier P.S. Skywrath set is dope. The headpiece and weapon have alternate styles.

I honestly did not think this day would ever come (for those outside the EU). Hopefully the refunds will help curb the unsavory trends that have plagued the game industry as of late: - Broken/shoddy game releases (especially triple A titles) - Confusing pre-order bonuses - Divisive content e.g. map-packs affecting matchmaking etc - Flat out false advertising Heck, maybe even early access games will be compelled to update/finish their products. An interesting point to note is their stance on DLC. Depending on how it's understood by Valve, it could be a huge issue for consumers because time of DLC purchase =/= time of DLC experience. That is, you may not actually see/play the DLC until well over 2hrs into the game. Although I feel the general refund changes are predominantly good, there are some things that are certainly not as simple as it seems and some hairy situations will surely arise.

*Already mentioned in The Business Side of Video Games thread. P.S. Mods please delete this thread (I don't know how ...). Thanks! Further details*: http://store.steampowered.com/steam_refunds I honestly did not think this day would ever come (for those outside the EU). The positive implications are massive, particularly in the way of curbing the unsavory trends that have plagued the game industry as of late, e.g.: - Broken/shoddy game releases (especially triple A titles) - Confusing and divisive pre-order bonuses (cough Ubisoft cough) - Flat out false advertising (e.g. colonial marines) Heck, maybe even early access games will be compelled to update/finish their products. What do ya'll think? too good to be true? Less of a deal than I think it is? Strategic move from Lord GabeN to reverse the damage caused by their failed mod monetisation plans? P.S. Apologies if this is in the wrong forum section or has already been posted (I could not seem to find it mentioned anywhere else).

Slight changes like the short but massive slow added to Leshrac's lightning storm help a lot, allowing him to setup his own stun whereas before he had to either rely on an ally or wait for enemies to make a mistake. Like Jutranjo said, the new octarine core item is quite significant and pretty much guarantees Lesh's viability in the late game; i.e. improved survivability to do more dmg to survive longer etc.

Long time Dota 2 player; started way back in Dota All-Stars (and sucked) and got into Dota 2, 2 years ago (gotten somewhat better). Since then, I've been playing pub games on a daily basis, with the occasional ranked games when I feel like upping my MMR. I follow the competitive scene to some extent and always play to win (whatever that means lol). I'm happy to help newcomers though I only ever play with a full party/stack. Holler if you want to fall into the doto rabbit hole, only to clamber out through blood, sweat and tears (and victories along the way ).

I came back to GW2 3 months ago after almost 2 yrs hiatus upon hearing about Heart of Thorns. In re-familiarising myself with the game, I spent a considerable amount of time figuring out what items in my bank were useful/worthless. To my sorrow, I was painfully reminded that I was a precursor away from completing my Twilight zzzz (I have all other components). I'm in a small, mainly aussie guild with roughly 5 active members on any given night (all returning/preparing for the expansion). We spend most of our time getting achievement points (for the sweet sweet skins), spvping, or getting gold (i.e. silverwastes/world boss train). Holler if anyone is interested.

Now that the qualifiers are over, do you guys think the 6.84c meta will evolve much further before the TI main event? If not, what do you think are some potential game changes/tweak icefrog will make before then? I personally feel the current meta is the best it's ever been based on two reasons: 1) Higher number of viable hero picks in the pro-scene (http://i.imgur.com/7OT0u1b.png) 2) More action-packed games (although to the detriment of game length, it seems). One change I would like is to see is Earth Spirit in CM

Awesome that you guys got an interview with Aui! I really enjoyed the show. Not exactly a point of criticism but just a suggestion you might consider exploring for future shows; for personalities that are little more guarded, perhaps it might be good to get a second guest to help them feel more comfortable (e.g. another pro player or teammate). Of course, this is easier said than done and it's no guarantee for anything! In any case, I feel that each show is getting better so keep up the good work!

That's great to hear! I'm 60hrs in and I don't think I'm halfway done with the main quest line in Novigrad; casually doing side quests if they're conveniently along the way. Although I'm playing with map markers on, I still find myself stumbling upon a fair amount of hidden things that aren't highlighted. W3 really is truly massive.

Hi Everyone! I serendipitously stumbled upon Idle Thumbs a little over a year ago. Since then, I have listened to every single Idlethumbs pod that was cast, whilst slowly branching out to Three Moves Ahead and Steve Gaynor's insightful Tone Control (please resume these!). I could not express the immense joy I felt when Dota Today was launched (2.5k+ hours clocked into that darn game). I also could not express the extreme sadness I felt when Dota Today became an irregular venture In any case, I have fallen in love with all the Idlethumbs guys. More importantly, I've inadvertently and indirectly developed a warm feeling towards the Idlethumbs community. Hearing about how great and friendly they are at live events as well as the thoughtful (and amusing) questions/emails they send has assured me that signing up and becoming a more active member was the right thing to do for my life. (There also seems to be a relatively large population of Australians amongst the community, which is rather delightful!). I'm currently in the final year of my PhD at the University of Sydney (My thesis pertains to the impact of video game play on social well-being amongst young adults). Unfortunately, I find myself with less and less time to play video games as my deadline approaches, at which point I have become heavily dependent on living vicariously via the shows. Keep up the great work, Idlethumbs, and a big happy hello to the community