Dark Souls 3--Advice for NG+4 and Beyond

I now have conclusive evidence that NG+7 (Journey 8) is indeed the hardest difficulty. Some people claim that it gets harder past 7, so to dispel that notion, I just found the video that shows the damage numbers of NG+7 versus NG+8 here, and indeed, the attack rating is the same. I also experienced directly that NG+8 is the same as NG+7. Upon grinding the obese Angels near the Grand Archives bonfire in NG+8, I found that they are still at 96, 665 souls each.

Empirically, I just fought Soul of Cinder, who is one of the hardest Bosses for me, and he was just as hard on NG+8 as he was on NG+7 so we can safely say that NG+7 is where the difficulty increase stops.

I'm not going to give specific advice on how to beat each Boss, except for advice that would work for every build, since you may have a different fighting style. My fighting style is shield up, wait for all attacks to end, and attack, or if I'm nearly out of stamina, dodge out of the way and regain stamina.

I never understood why people find the SoulsBorne series so difficult, because every time I get killed, I just grind up levels. When I was seeking advice on how to beat higher NG levels, I was reading how a lot of people are sticking to the meta SL180, and I now see where the claims of difficulty lie. At that normal SL level, there's no way that I can achieve the NG+7 goal. If you really want to beat NG+7, the major advice is to grind, grind, grind your way to success.

I agree that I'm very much a grind queen. I was SL382 at the start of NG+7, so you can see how much easier that is compared to a normal build of 180. I started taking notes out of curiosity (I wished I did for the earlier NG cycles) and here were my stats at start:

NG+3: 307

NG+4: 327

NG+5:  343

NG+6: 360

NG+7:  382

NG+8: 400

So, my first advice is to grind levels, but you don't have to be over the top like I was. If you hit a roadblock, just level up. I tend to level up before a boss that I'm not good at, so I come into the battle with small amount of souls, so if I die, it doesn't bother me. Further, make sure you talk to Yoel of Londor who allows you to level up 5 times. Everyone hates the hollow look, but you can use the Purging stones to get rid of hollowing.

To save souls, I further abused the save scrum method. When I die with tons of souls to lose, I save that file and if I don't reach those souls, I then download and attempt getting those souls again until I'm successful.

The best early grinding spot is at Farron Keep Perimeter. The Dark Wraiths and Ghrus help you by killing each other. I used that grinding spot for NG (Journey 1) but only early game. At late game of NG, and on higher NG cycles,  it's better to wait and use the best late game grinding spot at the Grand Archives bonfire. Use rapport on one Angel, and he'll kill the other. Then use rapport on the other 2 and you can easily whack them to death with no risk.

Use Covetous Silver Serpent Ring (if you have the Ringed City DLC there's a +3 version), Mendicant's Staff, Symbol of Avarice, and Shield of Want to boost souls. Also, wear the Slumbering Dragoncrest Ring so you can sneak up on the Angels.

Grinding is rather boring, so I listen to music. I also grind whenever I talk with one of my friends who can talk for hours on end, which really helped a lot.  Even without a garrulous friend, you can quickly level up by using the Grand Archives Angel method; it's amazing how much souls they give especially with the Soul boosting items, so it doesn't take much time. Further, it isn't that boring if you listen to your favorite music while doing so.

In terms of stat allocation, I would aim at the very least for the softcaps, which are VIG 50,  END 40, VIT 40.  STR/DEX/INT/FTH are all at 40, and then the next softcap is 60. So, if you wield a strength weapon, aim for STR40 then 60.

Whatever you're doing that's successful in NG, you can carry on with the same exact strategy through NG+3, leveling up as needed.

For some reason, NG+4 was the turning point, where the enemies hit extremely hard, often taking out 3/4 of my health or 1HKO because I was using the lightest armor possible that has the best stats for the Bosses' elemental attacks. I would put on the most fire-resistant but lightest gear possible for the Abyss Watchers, magic for Crystal Sage, and so forth. 

However, with such light gear, the mid to late Bosses do so much physical damage, that it became exponentially easier when I used the heaviest possible gear (Havel's Ring is a must). As the Havel's Ring takes up a ring slot, I made it one of my goals to boost VIT up so I don't have to use Havel's and free up a ring slot. I eventually got my VIT up to 85 to get under 70%. I found out that, unlike past Souls games, you have the exact same running speed and i-frames from rolling when you're between 30% to 70% equipment load, so why not use the heaviest armor and push up to 70%? For some reason, I assumed that you run faster with more i-frame when you're under 50% which was why I was using very light equipment. Also, I was using light armor for the Fashion Souls, and heavy armor was not needed at the beginning NG cycles.

However, if you're a total master of rolling, then go under 30%, but only if you never make a mistake, b/c the NG+4 bosses can easily 1HKO or 2HKO. However, if you can dodge perfectly, you don't need any advice, lol.

If you use the shield up method, Greatshields with the highest stability are a must, along with wearing very heavy armor for poise. At NG+4, even with Havel's Greatshield, but using light armor, Gael would hit so hard that it takes up almost the entire stamina bar, and his next hit would break my poise, doing so much damage.

However, when I used the heaviest armor possible during NG+4, it was a revelation. I was able to shield all of Gael's attacks with enough endurance to either dodge or attack after each combo. On NG+6, I again only dodged after shielding all attacks when I run out of stamina, but other than that, always shield up.

At +6, Havel's Greatshield didn't have enough stability to sustain this amount of shielding.  Therefore, I used the Greatshield of Glory, which has the highest stability, but stamina regen slows down a little. Even so, because I have so much stamina left, I didn't need fast stamina recovery until NG+7, when even the Greatshield of Glory didn't hold up. I then switched back to Havel's Greatshield, but by then, I got a little better at dodging so I didn't have to shield all the hits.

Because increased poise is akin to increasing the stability of your shield, I became addicted to poise, being a shield junkie, so my go-to armor once I got my VIT to 85 is Havel's Greatshield, Havel's complete set, except for the Winged Knight Gauntlets, as it has incredible elemental and physical defense, as well as great poise. I used the Moaning Shield for bosses with only physical attacks (Champion Gundyr) as it has higher stability than Havel's. But any boss with elemental attacks, I use Havel's.

The above setup of Havel's or Moaning shield and armor works for all the bosses on NG+7.  I even used the Wolf's Ring +3 to add even more poise since Gael really sucks up a lot of stamina when you shield, but other bosses, I didn't have to use the Wolf's Ring. It's a relief to know that I can just stick with those pieces, as it was rather tiring to keep changing armor for each boss fight.

All of this to say that Heavy Armor adds protection, poise and stability so you can survive the rather heavy and strong attacks of Bosses in later NG cycles. And if you're a shield person, Greatshields are the key.

Regardless of what style you use, to make your life easier, I would use Pestilent Mercury (now called Mist with the most recent patch) against Darkeater Midir and let the poison do all the work. So the situations where you otherwise would hit Midir on the head, replace that with Pestilent Mist. It takes INT 30, so I would respec if you need to.

Midir used to be my hardest boss, until I watched this absolutely brilliant YouTube video by ThePhilosophersGames who breaks down every single attack. I follow his advice to the exact letter, except using Pestilent Mist instead of whacking Midir on the head, of course. Additional advice is to slap on Tears of Denial Miracle because you can easily get 1HKO. Midir gives you enough time to heal and survive. Then whenever there's an opening, put on Tears of Denial again. Now, if only ThePhilosophersGames can do videos on Gael, Sister Friede and Soul of Cinder...

Use Toxic Mist Pyromancy or the Storyteller Staff weapon art against Gael, and melee attack Gael for more damage.  Hollowslayer Greatsword is superb against Gael even in NG+7, since Gael is hollow during phase 2 and 3, and the weapon is relatively fast. My refined Broadsword, even at 500 AR, was doing a measly 230 during NG+7, but the Hollowslayer was doing over 300 in phase 2 and 3. So, at higher NG cycles, I had to switch from the Broadsword to Hollowslayer.

To run past all enemies, it makes your life so much easier if you have INT 15 and use Hidden Body and a Lingering Dragoncrest Ring to make the spell last longer to save on your FP. Also wear the Slumbering Dragoncrest Ring to mask sounds.

Lastly, the Ringed City DLC gives you the best rings, including Ring of Favor +3 and the Chloranthy Ring +3. I had both rings on at all times, literally. For grinding, the DLC offers Covetous Silver Serpent Ring +3, and the Gold +3 if you want to grind covenant items. Since I was going for heaviest armor and poise, ignoring elemental resist for the most part, the Stoneplate Rings +2 add to your elemental resistances. I would go for all the DLC rings in NG, when it's much easier.

Using the above strategy, I was able to solo all the bosses in the main campaign and DLC through NG+7!

TLDR:

1. Grind
2. Heaviest Armor possible
3. Greatshields with highest stability if you use shields 
4. INT 15 for Hidden Body, Lingering Dragoncrest Ring and Slumbering Dragoncrest Ring to run past enemies 
5.  Ringed City DLC's rings are very helpful (but not necessary)

If you have additional advice or want any specific advice, don't hesitate to comment below!

The How of Happiness Review

XBox Elite Paddles Make You a Better Gamer

I completed Dark Souls 3 NG+7, and will play through NG+8 to see if in fact, NG+7 is the hardest difficulty, as there's some claim that NG+9 (Journey 10) is the hardest. I can make this determination once I get to the Grand Archives Bonfire.  This is the area of the best grinding spot in the game. With my soul-boosting items, each of these Obese Angels gives out 96,665 souls in NG+7, so all three are worth 289,995 souls. If the soul count is the same on NG+8, then we know that 7 is the highest difficulty.

Going through NG+7, I found that fighting one of the bosses, the Demon Prince, was very problematic, as you have to fight the camera most of the time. My strategy is to run away from the Orange activated Demon (Demon From Below) and wait until the Orange one is burnt out. Then tackle the Red one (Demon in Pain), since the final form of Demon Prince is much easier if you take out the Red one first.

The problem is while running away from the Orange, you have to move the camera to see where he is. However, your finger is off the face button when you move the camera, so you can't run while switching your viewpoint. Often, since you're walking and not running when adjusting the camera, the Orange demon then catches up with you and swipes your back.

On the lower NG levels, the damage is not that bad, and you can run away and heal. However, on NG+7, despite wearing all Havel's pieces, except for the Winged Knight Gauntlets (this seems to be the go-to default armor I've been using), he took out more than 1/2 of my health even in embered form at VIG 50 (health).

In NG+7 and the previous NG's, I run blindly in a straight line, moving out of the way of the poison blasts, and when the noise of the demons decrease (which means the Orange one is finally burnt out), I then fight the Red one. It worked, but I don't find this ideal or satisfying.

Therefore, I decided to bite the bullet and use the Elite's paddles, as I was avoiding them because I thought it would be too difficult to learn, and may not really add to the game-play. At any rate, I kept the same exact default configuration, where the left upper paddle corresponds to A (X on PS4), right upper goes to B (Circle), left bottom is X (Square) and right bottom is Y (Triangle). 

However, I assigned the A (X) button to Right Analog Stick click (R3). It's very intuitive to press A to lock-on the enemy and then RB (R1) to attack. Since you only lock-on when you're facing the monster, it's okay if your fingers are off the right analog stick since you don't have to move the camera in that situation. I just hate pressing R3.

I didn't realize I can un-map the face buttons until I read advice on how to get used to the Elite controller, and found that many forum members recommend that strategy. Indeed, I keep pressing the face buttons, but since nothing is registered, it reminds me to use the paddles, and I learned exponentially faster than when I didn't un-map them.

I then practiced this configuration in the grinding spot of the 3 Angels, and it makes a huge world of difference! I can control the camera any time I want to while running at the same time! No more stopping, then moving the camera to go up the next flight of stairs! Further, for some reason, I'm able to dodge faster as the paddles seem to be more exact than the face buttons, and faster to push (i.e. the paddles have leverage, if that makes sense). Sometimes, when I was using the B (Circle) button, I'll be running and then I want to roll, but I jump instead. This doesn't happen with the paddles.

After getting a bit more used to the configuration within the safe confines of grinding, I then fought Slave Knight Gael, in a trial by fire! I felt that this will definitely force me to get used to the paddles fast since it's so easy to die to him even with small mishaps. I was surprised that I beat him after 3 tries, whereas before, it would take me at least 10 attempts. I think it's because I was able to dodge with less effort and more successfully, with full control of the view.

I'm still getting used to the paddles as it's not yet muscle memory, but even so, it has improved my game-play to the point where I did pure melee on Champion Gundyr after Gael. My strategy before was to do melee during the relatively predictable Phase 1, and then Dorhy's Gnawing in phase 2. But, because the paddles make dodging so precise and fast, with complete camera control at all times, it was easier for me to dodge and then swipe with the very fast Refined Broadsword.

I really think that the next-gen consoles should incorporate these paddles in their standard controllers. I think whoever does this will have a leg up on the competition.

At any rate, if you own an Xbox Elite controller, I would force yourself to use the paddles so you can have access to the analog sticks at all time. To learn as quickly as possible, un-map the face buttons. Although difficult at first, you get used to them very fast, and it's so worth it!

The How of Happiness Review

Dark Souls 3, Crash Bandicoot, MH:World (Monday Musings 7)

Dark Souls 3 Progress
I finally made it to NG+7! That is Journey 8, and I'm heading toward Crystal Sage boss. I'm not sure if this is indeed the hardest difficulty. Most sources say it is, whereas another feels that it continues to scale up in difficulty through NG+9, or Journey 10.

I saw a YouTube video demonstrating that NG+7 is indeed the limit, but since I can't find it, I'm going to continue past 10 just to make sure, but also so I can level up. Dark Souls 3 has this brilliant mechanic, that's built in Yoel of Londor's questline, where you can level up 5 times, so you don't have to grind souls to increase your Soul Level.

In fact, if you take on this NG+100 game challenge, you can get to max or near max level, instead of grinding literally billions of souls. Perhaps that will be my next challenge, because I always wanted to legitimately have a max level character, but the grinding was too much. Though, I think I should work on my backlog of games. I'll see how I feel!

At any rate, the fascinating thing I found finishing through NG+6 is that I had to change strategies on a few of the Bosses. In the past SoulsBorne series, I never had to change the strategy up through the highest difficulty, using the same equipment, spells, weapons, and so forth.

I found out that poise and armor were, in fact, important from NG+4 onwards, which was very interesting indeed, as I followed the general consensus' advice to do "Fashion Souls" since "armor doesn't matter", and that poise was "broken" and non-existent in the game. I was more than happy to do Fashion Souls, as the heavy armor is ugly, dare I say, hideous, whereas the light armor can be actually stylish.

I'll write more about my experience through NG+9 (just to make sure I'm actually playing the hardest difficulty level) once I finish, as well as tips and advice regarding strategy and the easiest way to beat the bosses on highest difficulty.

Crash Bandicoot Trilogy
I might very well get the game, since the other issue was that using the CronusMax, and its random disconnection, and character walking straight with no input, I was afraid that as I'm just about to beat the most difficult level, Crash would fall off platform. It didn't bother me in Dark Souls 3, because if I get killed due to disconnection, or character going straight, I just see it as another opportunity to practice the boss again, practice that I sorely need. I guess I can say the same about Crash, that if I die, it would be more practice, but I can see the aggravation of having to do the level multiple times, and it may not be as intrinsically fun as a Dark Souls 3 boss.

However, since the revelation of the XIM 4, and thus far, NO disconnections or wonky mis-inputs, I can comfortably play ANY game without these fears, so I might get Crash.

Monster Hunter: World
Out of all the games coming out, my absolute most anticipated game is Monster Hunter: World, finally coming to more powerful consoles, the PS4 and XBox One, and PC, that is, since their first, which I believe was on the PS2.

Of course, as with a lot of Monster Hunter fans, we hope that the game-play is just as challenging, as well as specialized for each weapon category, where each weapon category is completely different. Even more so than the SoulsBorne series, it really takes hundreds of hours to "git gud" with each weapon type, to the point where using a different weapon feels like an entirely new game in of itself.

Indeed, the SoulsBorne series have taken elements of Monster Hunter game-play (as well as Horizon: Zero Dawn), so yes, Monster Hunter is an extremely influential series, but for some reason, it never gets the credit, and not nearly referenced as much as the SoulsBorne or Zelda series for having impact in melee and ranged game-play.

In fact, I would say the game mechanics of Monster Hunter was revolutionary as it focuses on exacting, deliberate movements, dodging, traps and so forth, as opposed to the usual hack and slash method.

At any rate, upon watching the newest game-play, the game is going to make us Monster Hunter fans happy and entice newcomers, as it appears to have the same exacting game-play, but with quality of life improvements and more intuitive game-play to make the game even more fun and less tedious. Therefore, it'll be the best of both worlds.

Some members of the community are upset that damage dealt with monsters will show hit numbers, but this is a welcome change. Before, I would have to look up each monster to see which parts of their bodies are the weakest, which is very immersion breaking. Whereas, now, through experiencing the hunt directly, you can find out on your own their most vulnerable spots. No more putting down controller, Googling the monster, before even getting to the hunt. You can now just plunge in and discover on your own, and discovering things is extremely satisfying.

I don't believe the monster's health bar will be listed, so you are supposed to be able to tell if the monster is about to die when it starts limping, and/or through appearance such as the Kut-Ku's feathers on its head getting torn with bruised eyes (poor Kut-Ku), which mimics hunting.

In that sense, I hope they do NOT have health bars (or at least have the option to turn it off). Part of the fun is to determine when they're about to die so you can trap them, and that adds to the game-play.

It's intrinsically satisfying to upgrade your weapons, and one thing that I love about Monster Hunter, is that your weapon changes in appearance when you upgrade (which more games really should follow), as well as being able kill the same monster faster and faster. It's extremely appealing to see your weapons getting bigger and badder upon each upgrade.

In Monster Hunter: World, I believe it keeps the same weapon upgrade mechanics, but it will be even more gratifying to see the hit damage points increasing upon each upgrade. It will make players motivated to keep upgrading, because frankly, at some point, I get tired of grinding for upgrade materials for both weapons and armor (Rathalos Ruby, I'm looking at you, which still never dropped for me).

But if I have concrete proof through numbers, I would certainly plow through. I can see myself saying, I want to do x more damage, so being compelled to get the materials.

The other welcome change is that upon upgrading the weapon, the menu will show the upgrade tree, which also helps with immersion. Before, you have to Google to see what the upgrades were, and which branching paths the weapon can take, otherwise it's very confusing.

Indeed, the beauty of Monster Hunter is the complex, deep and rich weapon upgrade pathways, and it would be nice to see the branching trees in the menu. Revealing the hit numbers and the upgrade tree will demystify these aspects of game-play, and in turn, entice newcomers, who are very much welcome and needed.

I'm also relieved that we're going to have Palicoes, little Feline hunters who will accompany you on hunts if you want them around. The original trailer shown at E3 2017 didn't show the little fur-balls, so I was happy to find out they'll be present.

One of the things I wished they kept, though, was how to track the monsters. I like the concept of using paintballs to track each monster, as it feels more like hunting, and you have to be prepared to make sure you have enough paintballs coming into the hunt.

Also, there are gems that you can add to your armor set that can automatically track the monster, but you have to waste slots for that feature. So, I like how you have to strategize between throwing paintballs (which I'm awful at, and often miss), or wasting slots for tracking.

However, in Monster Hunter: World, you follow this very convenient lightning bug, which is a bit unfortunate. In the gameplay clip, your instructor tells you to follow the slime of the monster (and I'm sure in other monsters, you can follow their footprints, feathers, dung, etc), which is even more brilliant than the paintball system because this is exactly what hunters do.

It made no sense to me why we also have lightning bug to follow, so what's the point of tracking the monster's slime? This is an example where what is supposed to be quality of life improvement is NOT, and actually detracts from game-play. Whereas quality of life improvements in showing weapon upgrade pathways actually improve immersion, and are improvements that make sense.

I'm praying they'll reverse course, and just have you track monsters the way hunters do in the real world, by following tracks and monster's by-products.

The other thing that made me groan was the series will keep the egg collecting quests, ugh. Being completionist, I felt that I MUST complete these quests, but I don't find them fun, and I'm sure quite a lot of fans also feel the same way.

On the other hand, you don't have to do them, and they're there for nostalgia perhaps. But if they're necessary for Achievement/Trophy, that would be unfortunate for us Achievement/Trophy hunters (pun intended).

In general, from watching the game-play, it looks exactly like the Monster Hunter that we all know and love: just as challenging, difficult and specialized, but with better graphics, more textures and details, more intelligent AI, monsters interacting with each other and in the environment more naturally, beautiful, varied topography, quality of life improvements (except for the monster tracking aspect), and smoother game-play.

I'm impressed that this presentation is the Alpha, unfinished version, and it already looks polished, so it will get even better over time.

Monster Hunter fans: what do you want to see different or kept the same?

The How of Happiness Review

Cronus Max vs. XIM 4--XIM 4 IS THE BEST PRODUCT FOR CROSS CONTROLLER GAMING!!!!!

Note: I corrected past articles to reflect getting the XIM4 instead of the CronusMax.

I became rather tired of the CronusMax disconnecting, sometimes rather frequently, when you

CronusMax--NOT Recommended

first plug it in, though after awhile (maybe about an hour or so), it remains connected, only randomly disconnecting. I forgot to also mention, there are times when the character would just walk/run straight without any input, which has also been a complaint on the CronusMax forums. 

So I decided to find alternatives that day. TitanOne is the other competing product that I've already heard about, founded by the original creator of CronusMax, and there's a lot of controversy between the two companies as to who wronged who.

The point, however, is that I kept tolerating the CronusMax because the DS4 controller is so awful to my hands, that I heartily recommended this product. It was worth it to me because the DS4 caused pain. So both the CronusMax and TitanOne probably work similarly, so TitanOne wasn't an option.

The other issue with CronusMax is that it allegedly has full DS4 touchpad functionality, including left and right touch pad presses, as well as its touch-pad function, but I was never able to program the touch-pad, though I was able to program left and right touch pad presses.  Again, that didn't bother me, since no PS4 games that I own use the touch-pad, except for a minor game-play element in Infamous: Second Son.  It's no wonder that I never finished the game, despite being a very fun game, since you must use the DS4 touch-pad when you do graffiti (if I recall correctly).

With the CronusMax, you can only use the XBox One controller, and you can't use the touch-pad of the DS4 for the times that you need to, but that's very rare, and again, I only saw it used in Infamous.

I knew about the XIM 4 product before, but always thought it was just for mouse and keyboard, because even the website itself advertises this as its main feature, ambiguously stating that it does "more", which I didn't notice when I was researching cross-controller products back then. It makes no sense that the company doesn't advertise cross-controller support directly on the website, as I'm sure there's a lot of gamers who want to use their preferred controller on any console. However, this time around, I was curious as to what they meant about "more".

So, disgusted with the CronusMax yesterday (shortly after I wrote the XBox One Elite Controller post), I googled "XIM 4 XBox One Controller for PS4" and to my delight, it has that feature, and you can use any last-gen and current-gen controllers with any last-gen and current-gen console except for the Wii U console (same goes for the CronusMax).

The Fantastic XIM 4

I wanted to buy the product from XIM 4 directly, but it was sold out--and it's no wonder since this product is fantastic.  I bought it instead, from a third-party seller of Amazon (Amazon Prime), in case XIM 4 isn't the product that I hoped for, I can return it hassle-free. Plus, it had next day free shipping!

After coming home from work today, I set it up. It took an hour, because the "Quick Start" guide didn't mention a crucial step, and that is you must configure before you plug and play, but the guide made it seem like this was just "plug and play".

My heart sank when it didn't work, but after doing quick research, I updated firmware, downloaded the newest manager, and it took just ONE button press (top listing) for Cross-Controller to come up and so easy to map the buttons (in fact, it maps automatically for you). I will do a more in-depth instruction of this later, but I wanted to get this product review up, since I'm so excited about it.

If you even go through the CronusMax forums, you will see that it's a rather complicated affair programming cross-controllers, but with the XIM 4, it was a breeze.

Further, what is absolutely brilliant about the XIM 4 is that you can USE THE DS4 at the same time, so you just use DS4 touchpad when needed, and it's share button. If for some odd reason you want to use the DS4 completely, you can just use DS4, but why use DS4 when you have your XBox One controller connected?  But the point is, you can have BOTH in use at the same time. In other words, using the XIM 4, you have full touchpad/share support.

The most important feature, though, is there's NO disconnection whatsoever. It plays flawlessly with NO lag, since it's wired. Therefore, the CronusMax administrator's frequent claims that the problems are with the micro-usb connection, or the CronusMax not being plugged directly to the console, are absolutely wrong. I'm using the EXACT same micro-usb connections and they work flawlessly on the XIM 4, but NOT on the CronusMax, so clearly, the problem is with the CronuxMax itself.

Even though XIM 4 costs a little less than twice the price of the CronusMax, at 124.99 plus shipping (directly from XIM 4 store) versus $69.99, I recommend only the XIM 4. 

Conclusion: XIM 4 is the best product for cross controller gaming!  Buy here.

The How of Happiness Review

XBox Elite Controller--Best Buy is the Only Option!

Believe it or not, my Xbox Elite Controller broke yesterday. I purchased this second controller, this time at Best Buy, on August 10th, for the 2-year warranty, so lasted literally only 2 weeks. It was the usual LB bumper button, and even one of the Best Buy employees mentioned that a lot of these controllers were returned for that same problem, and his LB broke in 9 months, which is about the same time that my first one lasted.

The warranty that I bought at Amazon, through a third party seller, reimbursed the cost, less tax, but if I buy another controller, I have to buy another warranty, as that warranty has been "fulfilled".

However, when I went to Best Buy, I was hoping they can repair the controller through Geek Squad, and that the warranty will continue. I was afraid that if they replace it, I have to buy yet another warranty for the new controller, from my experience with that past Amazon third party seller.

To my delightful surprise, they gave me a new controller, and since it broke within 2 weeks, the warranty starts yesterday, rather than August 10th, which was really nice.

Before, when I thought you had to buy warranty each time the controller breaks, paying $20 every month or every other month was not worth the controller, and I only recommended this controller if you can stomach paying this amount. For me, it was a must, as the DS4 was THAT bad. You need the XIM 4, that allows me to use the Elite with the DS4.

Now, however, I can 100% without reservation recommend the XBox Elite Controller, only as long as you buy it from Best Buy (pun intended) with the 2-warranty. I don't think it's that "bad" to pay $20 every 2 years.  Further, very soon after, the next-gen consoles will be coming out with new controllers *prays for DS5 off-set analog sticks* so at most, it will be $40, unless, miraculously, your most recently replaced Xbox Elite Controller can last past the warranty.

Hopefully this third controller will hold out, but if the notorious LB bumper breaks again, I can get a new one at no cost.

Conclusion: Buy Xbox Elite Controller at Best Buy

The How of Happiness Review

Bullet Journal Migration, Video Game Back Log (Monday Musings 6)

Bullet Journal Migration 
Over a week's worth of the Daily Log has passed, so I'm starting a new "spread" for the Daily Log. As there are items I didn't complete the past week, I use the > symbol meaning, that these items will be migrated/written down in this new Daily Log. I believe the founder's YouTube video didn't mention this, and only mentioned that at the end of the month, to migrate/write down all the incomplete items of that past month in your next Month Log. But it made sense to me to do this from one daily log to the next.

How to Deal with Back Log
I was thinking about this issue, as I may cave in and buy Crash Bandicoot Remake even though it's against my policy of NO new games until I complete AT LEAST 3, and in fact, now considering my backlog, I really should make this TEN.

At any rate, my friend kept mentioning how awesome this game is since he saw his brother playing Crash when he was growing up. Indeed, it would be fun to play while he watches to revisit his nostalgia, and Crash is too adorable and zany to pass up. However, I'm holding out for now, at least until I complete Dark Souls 3 NG+7, Hell Blade, Nier:Automata, Uncharted 3 and 4, and the Last Guardian. Ideally, I shouldn't even get the game, since my platforming skills are awful, and this game is notoriously difficult. Further, platform games are definitely not my favorites. But at the same time, it's rather hard to resist.

At the same time, I ignored my rule and got the Witcher 3, as it is considered one of the major games of this generation.

Because of all these temptations, and the rather ineffective rule that I can only get a new game after three are completed (i.e. this rule is not enforced, lol), I've decided to donate all the games that I haven't played within the past 12 months to the library. I love win-win situations, so this is a clear win-win solution to backlog. Other people can borrow and use the games so they don't go to waste, and if I ever want to play one of these games, I can borrow, say, the Mass Effect trilogy from the library, even though I played 1 minute of the first one since I got it back in 2013, when I started seriously gaming. So I don't foresee myself borrowing one of my donated games.

I haphazardly donated video games before, but I think I'll make a larger commitment with the 12-month period rule. This demonstrates that if possible, it's always a good idea to get a hard copy if available, as I regret some of my digital purchases, since I can't give those away to someone who would really enjoy them.

Easy Bosses That Are Difficult For Me
Playing through Dark Souls 3, my goal is to reach NG+7, now that I finally memorized all the items placed in the world. I'm at NG+2 right now. During NG, being completionist, I felt the need to get all the items possible including all the Covenant items before going into the next game cycle.

There is one Covenant, Spears of The Church, where you give Filianore's Spear Ornaments to rank up, and you are rewarded a Covenant item (usually a weapon or a spell) once you're at rank 2. Since I play offline, the usual method of farming enemies who can drop these covenant items was impractical, as the Ringed Knights rarely dropped these Ornaments, despite my discovery being over 450, which is very high. I respec'd to Luck 99, and equipping all item discovery equipment including: Symbol of Avarice, Covetous Silver Serpent Ring +3, Crystal Sage's Rapier, and Rusted Coin, and still no drop after 1 hour (!).

These Ornaments seem to be even more rare a drop than the notorious Proof of a Concord Kept (Concords are needed to rank up in the Blades of the Darkmoon Covenant). However, if you keep reviving and fighting one of the bosses, Halflight, Spear of the Church, you're guaranteed an Ornament. You need 30 of these Ornaments to get to the highest rank of 2.

So, yes, I fought Halflight over 30 times to be able to achieve the maximum rank, and I'm still not good at defeating her. For some reason, she's very difficult for me, even though all the guides mention that she's a "pushover" and that her AI is easy to exploit, that is offline (online, you may end up battling another person).

Even after practicing 30 times (this is offline of course), I still died 1 time, and Tears of Denial Miracle (leaves you with 1 hit point if the attack otherwise would have killed you) saved me 2 times. And this was when I was level 200s on an NG boss, and I was still struggling! The issue I have with Halflight is by the time I close in on her, and about to attack, she would often parry my attacks and get a critical in, dealing at least 1/3 of my health bar in damage. She also has a rather large AOE (Area of Effect) attack that prevents me from closing in. The best time to attack her is when she pulls out her bow and arrow, so when you strike, at least she can't parry and riposte you. However, as soon as I close in, she immediately switches to her sword and shield, so I have to back off again as I'm afraid she might parry and riposte.

On the other hand, two excellent Dark Souls 3 Players mentioned that Oceiros is one of their hardest bosses. The only time I ever died to him, was when I thought that you can cut off his tail for a weapon. So by aiming at only his tail, it led to one death, and I believe I was at a reasonable level of 70 at that time, and not my usual over-leveled self. However, the other 5 or more times I faced him, I never died, and in fact, I may have used 1 Estus Flask at most. I'm surprised that I must be doing something right against this Boss, when all I'm doing is spamming R1 the whole time and making sure I get under him.

Furthermore, the last boss ever of the entire SoulsBorne series (sniff), Slave Knight Gael, is pretty easy for me, though many find him difficult. My strategy is to guard with Havel's Greatshield +10. After Gael finishes his hit combos, slash twice at him with the refined Broadsword + 10, on a quality build. The Havel's stability of 80, and the fact that it blocks 100% physical and over 83% of the rest of the elementals, make Gael surprisingly easy, especially if you equip the Sun Princess Ring that regenerates your health that helps to offset the small chip damage of Gael's elemental attacks.

Due to the high stability of Havel's, you really don't run out of Stamina, though having your highest ranked Chloranthy ring equipped is highly recommended. I don't have to use any buffs using this particular method. However, this is only good through NG+2, I'll have to see if it holds up on the hardest difficulty level of NG+7.

And, then there are Bosses that almost everyone finds difficult, such as Darkeater Midir (shudders).

I find it fascinating how we have our specific talents, rendering some bosses really easy that others find difficult. At any rate, which bosses are easy for you that most people find very hard, and vice versa? 

The How of Happiness Review

Modern Family, Racism of Mario, XBox One Controller Issues (Monday Musings 5)

Why I Hate Modern Family
I really don't understand how this TV show has been so critically and commercially acclaimed. It boggles my mind, especially as I was ready to despise the show before watching it. I'd read this article about an episode that belittled Nigerians as "grinning, dumb Africans"...a great piece which goes into depth about the "hilarious" racism and other chauvinism, and the clips provided made my blood boil.

I'm sure some defenders might say I'm missing the context since I didn't see the entire episode, and in fact, had never watched any previously. However,  there's no context in which this is funny, rather than simply mean-spirited at best. One of the best things about the U.S. is our freedom of speech, and I'm glad to use mine to chime in about how obnoxious Modern Family is.  If I wasn't such a fan of the First Amendment, I might approve banning something as pathetic as this.

However, I try to keep an open mind, so when a couple of my friends, who love this show, wanted to show me a "funny" Bad Asian Driver episode, and I learned that at least one of the series' writer/producers was Asian-American Elaine Ko, I wondered how bad could it be?

In "Fears", the couple of blatant caricatures of Euro-American gay men, who have adopted an awful Asian daughter stereotype (if she were 18 years old or more, she would meet the criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder, aka a sociopath) had their Asian-American pediatrician (Suzy Nakamura) over for dinner.

At one point, she discusses how she triumphed over her parents by refusing to follow traditional roles for Japanese women as exclusively wives and mothers. Series creator Steve Levitan, even with a token Chinese-American on staff, didn't realize that another Asian-American stereotype is for Asians to solely work in "professional" fields such as medicine, law or engineering--truly clueless.  But, at any rate, after hitting that point over the head, as she begins her drive back home, she backs up into a garbage can. Funny? Not so much.

Since I wasn't so keen on the show already, I wondered if I was letting prejudice intrude unfairly. Was I a "special snowflake," the kind we read of in internet space, especially as Modern Family is noted to be so very"progressive" as well as Emmy-winning?

For instance, if I found out that Joss Whedon wrote this Asian episode, would I find it funny and not offensive? After thinking about it, I'd probably give Joss Whedon the benefit of the doubt, or a pass this time, but would wonder what is the poor guy thinking in writing such dreck? Has he lost all of his writing skills overnight? (My cat Emmy, portrait in blog masthead above, probably would've slept comfortably through these episodes, if she didn't choose to yowl at the screen.)

On the other hand, I do find Bad Asian Driver jokes funny if delivered well in interesting ways, such as Wanda Sykes' joke about Tiger Woods crashing his car.  Sykes' delivery was brilliant and absolutely hysterical, as she pokes fun at stereotypes (and inept "news coverage").  Ali Wong's Asian jokes are also equally humorous, in part because she knows what's she's talking about, in her Netflix Special Ali Wong: Baby Cobra.

Perhaps the "silver lining in the cloud" is that at least I only had to suffer through two complete episodes to know that Modern Family is still atrocious, since my friends then showed me another episode featuring the Asian daughter (that's how I came to find out that she has Antisocial Personality disorder).

One episode of Modern Family is one episode too many.  Even so, if this episode had been in any way actually good, I might've had to watch a few more to fairly assess that Modern Family is dreadful. It was a relief that the episode "Fears" was as bad as I suspected it would be.

My Mario Character
Since I found Super Mario Odyssey gameplay quite compelling, I occasionally Google the video game to watch more clips. Unfortunately, one of my Google searches led to the controversy that Nintendo may have incorporated yet another culturally insensitive insult with "Sombrero Mario" in their upcoming game.

I can't speak for the Mexican community, but the name "Sombrero Mario" was enough to make me cringe, given the history of Nintendo and the already unfortunate stereotyped depiction of Italians in Mario and Luigi themselves. I'm expecting the worst. As an Asian-American woman, if Mario was "Rice Hat Mario," I wouldn't find this as honoring my heritage.

Again, comments ran to how "special snowflakes" are ruining video games by being upset needlessly over Nintendo's possible negative depiction of Mexicans. Even the writers of these articles themselves seem to feel that any controversy is overstating the case.  This is one of the first articles that comes up on Google where the writers find any outrage ridiculous.

I've decided, then, to make my own Mario Character who might go over quite well with the Asian population (and any who aren't charmed just have to be Wrong, sarcasm). His name is Ching-Chong, and his brother is Ching-Chang.  His skin color is yellow, with prominent buck-teeth, complete with Asian Rice Hat, pocket calculator, and also an abacus.  It's important to conflate Asian cultures (since we're all the "same"), so he's wearing a Karategi (i.e. karate uniform). When he jumps, he says "Ah so, ah so."

The story behind this set of platform games is that Princess Ming is kidnapped by Bai-Luo who forces her to be a "Comfort Woman". Our intrepid hero, Ching-Chong, the Electrical Engineer, needs to save her.

In addition to Ching-Chong's platform games, there's Ching-Chong Kart. Here, I program the analog sticks to be inverted, ranging anywhere between 1 to 10 seconds in randomized manner. By not knowing when the sticks will invert, it's very easy to crash the Kart. Ching-Chong is the only character that has this control scheme, while the other characters have pin-point precise control over the steering wheel. Therefore, the only Asian driver is easily the most accident-prone one of the game.

I think even if this were done in a satirical manner, the bad jokes and, say, offhanded references to the atrocities of the Rape of Nanking would get old very fast. If you really and truly want to honor a community, its crucial to speak to members of that community and run your ideas by them.

I don't think it costs a lot of time and effort to do that, and certainly, a multi-billion dollar corporation such as Nintendo can easily afford to do so.  However, I've a strong sense that Nintendo did not do that and just thought it was "cute" to put Mario in a 1940s American cartoon-style Mexican outfit.

New XBox One Elite Controller
Fortunately I had a warranty and was able to get a full refund on the controller. I learned that due to the build-quality issues of the old model, Microsoft released a new one, and the new Elite controller surprisingly is even better.  The LB and RB buttons are now so easy to press that you only need light pressure.  Further, you can press these buttons with the same light pressure from any angle, any location that you feel comfortable.  I like pressing  at the very edge, when with the regular XBox One and the old Elite models, you had to press a bit harder from a certain angle.

I'm so happy with this controller, since I can kill enemies with considerably less effort, as I can press the RB (i.e. R1 for Sony) hit button so quickly.  It amazes me that it's made the gameplay significantly easier and more enjoyable.

I also hope that this new version holds up considerably better than the old one did.

Another thing I would like to see improved in this controller: the face buttons to be color-coded, so X will be blue and so forth, as opposed to the current situation where all the buttons are gray.

The How of Happiness Review

DARK SOULS 3 All Items

Here's the link to my notes.

I finally completed the notes to Dark Souls 3! These items include NG+/NG+2 Rings. The Soul Items are NG, and in parentheses, these Soul Items are in NG+ and beyond. For instance, Soul of a Deserted Corpse (Proud Paladin), so you get the Deserted Corpse in NG, and Proud Paladin in NG+ and beyond.

This list does not encompass all the NPC quest lines, but it does include all items found in the world. If you notice anything missing, please feel free to comment.

I used (but what else?) DieNoob's Youtube video, cross-referenced with the Dark Souls 3 Cheat Sheet, so I believe this is the most complete list. 

However, if you notice anything missing, please feel free to comment! 

Since I numbered the items, it's easier if you just delete the numbers as you get each item, as opposed to laboriously using strike-through. 

The How of Happiness Review

Bullet Journaling 101

I've decided to write this post to go over the basics of Bullet Journaling. I'm including my own entries to demonstrate that you do NOT NEED TO BE AN ARTIST! In fact, the best place to start is the creator's own YouTube video, and he has no artwork featured. I had to take notes as he went very quickly over the system, but I appreciate how he's not dogmatic and actually states you can use any notebook, as opposed to the official one.

Since I had to take notes during the video, I don't mean to offend anyone by pointing out the obvious, because I needed these most basic things pointed out to me when I started out. So, I'm writing this post to cover the absolute basic things.

The other reason for writing this post, is to show you my entries because they're very basic and require no talent, just notebook, pen and ruler. When you see other people's Bullet Journals, I wonder if they all are graduates of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), which made me feel overwhelmed.

Indeed, I was excited to see one YouTube video on Bullet Journals, to get more understanding of the basics, as he insists that he can't do art, and that all the ideas he had was from other Bullet Journalists. Come to find out, on his Key page, he had this very handsome artwork on it. 

At any rate, I also have gotten ideas from other Bullet Journalists and put together something that is very basic that everyone can do. 

But again, watch the YouTube video first, and then you can get ideas below.

I'm using a Leuchtturm A4 Master Slim notebook as Leuchtturm is the general consensus, most preferred Bullet Journal.

Terminology:

Spread. This just means two pages, when your book is lying flat:

Spread

The order of Each Spread is: Content, Key, Future Log, Monthly Log, Daily Log, and Collections. I will break each component down.

The Leuchtturm has a Content page built-in and also numbers every page in the journal for you. Otherwise, you'll have to number the pages by hand. Also, I like how the Leuchtturm Content section already has the page numbers on the left for you to write in, and then the subject is to the right:

Content Page, Close-Up

As you can see in the Content page, the first page is the Key. I like to put the Key on Page 1, which Leuchtturm numbers for you. If you have to hand-write all the page numbers, you can number your pages any number you want.

(Aside: if you noticed, I also wrote the Key on the Content spread, just for reinforcement, but I wanted to have a complete new spread for the Key and so I also rewrote the Key on Page 1. In other words, I wrote the Key in two different places).

Key

At any rate, on the left of the Key page, I put down the Bullets, and on the right, Signifiers. Note how I scratched things out, so this is clearly not "professional" and you'll do a better job than this.  Here's a close up of Bullet symbols.  As we go into the details of the various logs, the symbols will be explained:

Bullets, Close-Up

 Here's the details of the Key page, Signifiers:
 

Signifiers, Close-Up

On the next Spread, I have the Future Log spread on pages 2 and 3.  You put 6 months per Spread.  The beauty of this system is that unlike planners, you can start at any month you want, instead of the usual January. Here, we started in August, so the Future Log spread runs from August 2017 through January 2018.
 

Future Log

Here's a close-up of the Future Log's September, which has the taxes due.  For taxes due, that's on September 15th, I circle that day on the calendar. To the right, I put, in order: ! (signifying Deadline), * (signifying Important) and • (signifying Task).
 

Future Log, September, Close-Up

After the Future Log spread, here's the Monthly Log spread, Pages 4 and 5. On the left side of the spread is the calendar, and on the right is the Month's To-Do list, events, appointments.

Monthly Log for August

Close-up of the Monthly calendar, I have put in the events and appointments:
 

Monthly Log: August Calendar, Close-Up

This is the close-up of the other page of the Monthly Log, which is your to-do list, events and appointments. The • are the Tasks, ◯ are events like Birthdays, Holidays, and △ are scheduled events like Doctor's Appointments. As you can see here, blog is due on the 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th. I'm quite surprised that I was organized enough to put all the dotted tasks first, followed by appointments below, and then on the right side, all the events. That's unusual for me, and most likely, in the future, this would not be organized.  However, by looking at the Monthly Log's calendar of this spread, you can see when all the events/tasks are scheduled/due, so organization of the To-Do List section of the spread is NOT necessary.

Monthly Log, August To Do List, Close-Up

After the Monthly Log spread, next spread is the Daily Log, pages 6 and 7. At the bottom is the Daily Habit Tracker. I only added 3 Habits, but will add more once I'm more consistent:

Daily Log Spread

This is a close-up of the Daily Log. The • is the Task, and the X means I completed the Task. The ◯ is an event and * is important:
 

Daily Log To-Do List, Close-Up

This is a close-up of the Daily Habit Tracker which I put at the bottom of the Daily Log. I made only three rows of the habits, and then the columns are the days of the week. I put X when completed the tasks:

Daily Log: Daily Habit Tracker, Close-Up

For the next spread after Daily Spread, you can include your Collections.  My Collections are: Gratitude Journal, Exercise Log, Video Games to Complete, Blog Ideas, and Dark Souls 3 Notes. You can make your Collections any subject you want, or not have any Collections.

My Gratitude Journal is very simple, on pages 8 and 9:

Collection, Gratitude Journal, Close-Up

Exercise Log follows on the next spread, pages, 10 and 11. I circle the days when I do at least 10 consecutive flights of stairs, so it can give me an easy visual as to how many days/week I've been exercising. As you can see, last week, I exercised twice, which are circled. Below the calendar, I just wrote dates, and #Flights. It may be hard to see, but the last entry is 8-2 = 10, 10 = 20 Flights:

Collection: Exercise Log, Close-up

Video Games to Complete, 11 and 12, this is a close-up to get a general idea. I put • next to each game, to cross out • once game is completed:

Collection: Video Games to Complete, Close-Up

Dark Souls 3 Notes is self-explanatory, but I made sure I start it on a new spread as per usual:

Collection: Dark Souls 3 Notes, Close-Up

The beauty of this system is that once you fill up the daily log, you can easily go to the very last blank spread, to make your next daily log. This is not an issue because you can index those pages so it will be easy to find. Further, the Leuchtturm has a bookmark that you can place for your current daily to-do list. If you run out of space for any of the Logs or Collections, then add that to your next blank spread, index those pages, and so on and so forth.

Now that you see how simple it is to make your Content, Key, and Future, Monthly, Daily Logs, and Collections, the organization plan is quite brilliant, which we'll break down.

However, first, watch the Youtube Video as it makes more sense to see the system in action.

For each day, write down • Tasks in the Daily Log. If you remember that you have something scheduled way in the future, like taxes due, put the Scheduled symbol (<) next to it. The < visually points back to the Future Log spread, and reminds you to add the task to the Future Log.
 

Daily Log, Migrated Tax with < sign

Then, go back to the Future Log, and put the Tax task in your calendar. As you can see, in this close up of the Future Log, I circled 15, and to the right, wrote down the Task (•) of paying taxes, with the deadline (!) and important (*) signifiers:
 

Migrated Tax Task to the Future Log

At the end of this month, August, look at all of your Daily Log lists. Scan for all the • that have NOT been crossed off, and see if you really need to do them. If not, put a line through the entire task.  But, if you still need to do them, put a Migrated symbol (>) on it, and write that task in the next month's Log, September, in the To-Do List section of the spread.  The > points forward, reminding you to put this in the next month's Log. 

Since we're not at the end of August, I don't have any examples of Migrated tasks, but will update this post with picture when the time arrives.

Next, look at the Future Log to see if you have any tasks for the upcoming Month, September, and then put that September task in your September monthly log spread. So, starting in September, I'll put taxes due in the September Monthly Log, and when it comes to the 15th, that would be on my Daily Log to do list.

And that's all there is to it!

I really love this system as you can see everything on paper, and can easily flip the pages back and forth, which is much faster than electronic systems.

Conclusion: Do not be intimidated by the fancy artwork, perfect handwriting and calligraphy, fancy fountain pens, and terminology of the Bullet Journal world. Your Bullet Journal can be as simple as the one I've shown. Those who are creative, by all means draw! This is your journal to do whatever you want with it!

The How of Happiness Review

Dark Souls 3, Cheat Engines, XBox One Controller Repair Issues (Monday Musings 4)

DARK SOULS 3 PROGRESS 
I finally memorized the main game, and am now working on the DLCs, which I'm frankly dreading. I kept going over the same last three areas of the main game due to procrastination. I "felt" that I didn't quite master Lothric Castle, Grand Archives, and Archdragon Peak, when in fact, I can visualize these areas and all items in my mind. The DLCs were so difficult for me, even when I was SL300s (?!??) I had a lot of problems, that I'm really not inspired to go through the DLC areas.

Even though I'm now using a PC/Steam with cheat engine, so that there's one hit kills, enemies can't move, infinite stamina, infinite weight, and infinite HP, I still feel the dread because of past experience. If you want to memorize the game, I recommend getting the PC/Steam version and using such a cheat engine as it would make it SO much faster to make a save-file of the entire NG+2 game, leaving all items behind. I mention NG+2, as that game cycle will have all the NG+/+2 rings. So when I want to go to an area, I just bonfire to the area.

To find this master save file (the one that the PC/Steam system uses), you need to search for %appdata% as it's a roaming, invisible file. Then you'll see the Dark Souls 3 folder, literally titled Dark Souls 3.  Copy and paste that onto another save file and/or USB drive.  I'll pretend that you copied the file to your USB drive. Once you pick up all the items and you want to practice again, just copy and paste the USB drive file onto your %appdata% folder.

However, make sure both your Steam and game are running off-line as you can be soft-banned if you play on-line, and perhaps even off-line, which happened to me with Dark Souls 2. This is the trainer that I use. Since you'll be invincible with infinite stamina, weight, HP and FP, and the enemies aren't moving (you need to turn that feature off for Yhorm, though, since he'll get stuck on the throne and you can't hit him), do NOT turn on infinite Souls, infinite Items, or messing up your stats in any way, as I'm quite paranoid that even off-line, From's servers can magically find and ban you (they look for any suspicious amount of items and overly high SL levels for the game time), which happened to me with Dark Souls 2. I worked around the Dark Souls 2 soft-ban by creating another account, and using the Family Share when I want to do co-op. This goes on to my gripe:

FROM SOFTWARE AND HOW WE PLAY GAMES
I really don't understand the soft-banning of players who are actually playing off-line and using cheat engines. I mean, who cares if someone beats the game by cheating? What is wrong is if you use cheat engines so your infinite HP, FP and weight character can beat up on other real human players in multi-player, or if your infinite character co-ops and you get a cheap kill, so that the summoner doesn't get the fun experience of killing a difficult boss (unless it's your friend, and you want him or her to do that for you).

But, really, who cares if you want to mess around with cheat engines during a single player campaign that affects literally no-one in the gaming world? Even so, I have read commentary online where people are actually ANGERED that someone is using cheat engines to beat a difficult boss. I really don't see how this is unethical, because it's not like you're cheating on an important exam that tests your knowledge of the job you're going to do. This is a fucking game! There's never going to be a life or death situation where, OMG, since you didn't beat Dark Eater Midir legitimately, the person is going to DIE!!!

I mention Dark Eater Midir because he's genuinely the one boss that I almost broke down and wanted my friend to co-op, but I finally beat him solo. But, perhaps the thinking is that "you're only cheating yourself" for not enjoying the thrill of beating the boss, but again, who really cares? There's other things that are much more enjoyable and thrilling that you can participate in, it's not like cheating in games is going to reduce the quality of your life!

XBOX ONE ELITE CONTROLLER--MUST GET WARRANTY
I've forgotten to mention in my past reviews the major issue of the XBox One Pro controller, and that is, they tend to not work properly, lasting less than one year, so I made sure I got a warranty for my controller when I first purchased. Check all the Amazon and gaming forums, and you'll see that this is not just a few isolated cases.

Mine was working fine, until recently, it has started to randomly disconnect, the playable character will go in straight line without my touching the controller, and the left LB sometimes doesn't register as the button doesn't click. Wiggling around the LB puts it back in place. The warranty gave my money back (NOT including tax, but fortunately I didn't pay tax at the time of the online sale). I'm afraid that if I buy another Xbox One Pro controller with warranty, that if it also breaks within a year, I'll have to get another one, with yet another warranty, after each broken Pro controller. That would cost approximately $20 for each broken one.

I thought that Microsoft's warranty might cover three years where they make sure they replace the controller so it will function for all three years, but they do not give out warranties for accessories.

As the warranty I had was online, and they refund your money, but not your tax (however, I couldn't find this seller so the only safe option is Amazon, which you'll have to pay tax), I would recommend buying the controller instead at Best Buy. With the Geek Squad protection giving you a full replacement, you don't have to worry about your tax not being refunded. Unfortunately, this is only for two years. What I recommend is if the controller breaks in less than 90 days, get a new one through Microsoft. Then, if that new controller breaks outside of 90 days, the Geek Squad protection will cover. If you buy the controller through Microsoft, the warranty is only for one year.

I'm not sure if Best Buy's product replacements are infinite until your two years are up. If they are, then Best Buy is the best deal. If that's not the case, then you have to get a warranty upon each new replacement, and it will cost $19.99 plus tax. I think you'll have to find if it's worth it to you, but due to the comfort, it's worth it for me. However, it is a gamble, and I'm crossing my fingers that my new controller will function for at least over a year.

The other problem is that the regular XBox One controller also breaks easily, due to the flimsy micro-USB connection, but the $19.99 warranty cost every time the controller breaks may not be worth it, given that the controller is around $40. I'm not sure what to do in this situation except perhaps buying them directly from the Microsoft store, and if you're lucky, going to a physical Microsoft store, and complain. I think if you keep complaining in a respectful manner, the managers will feel uncomfortable as other customers there will hear how flimsy the controller is, and may give you a new one despite warranty expiration. Further, it's important for the other consumers there to see that these controllers do break often so they can make an informed decision with their purchases.

CLAIREFONTAINE IS MY FAVORITE
I can safely say that almost all, if not all, bullet journalists will prefer Leuchtturm over Moleskine. Simply put, Leuchtturm is better quality than Moleskine in every aspect including paper, function, design, variety and cost. Since Leuchtturm costs the same as a Moleskine and better in every way, why not get a Leuchtturm?

What surprised me is that I love the Clairefontaine French-ruled paper so much, that despite the issues of the notebook, I prefer it to Leuchtturm. However, I think most bullet journalists will prefer the Leuchtturm due to the following reasons: you can't chose the color of the Clairefontaine notebook, it doesn't lie perfectly flat and you really have to push the paper down, no ribbons for bookmarks (and Leuchtturm has 2), the cloth-bound cover is not hard-cover, but laminated, and the pages aren't numbered. Even so, the Clairefontaine paper quality is so incredible that I can overlook these issues, and it's half the cost of the Leuchtturm, and includes more sheets.

The French-rule instantly makes my handwriting neater, as it has built-in spacing, so writing isn't squished and cramped, as you can see with the Leuchtturm. Because it's easier to write on the so smooth paper, my handwriting is naturally neater. I tried writing as neatly on both the Clairefontaine and Leuchtturm, and you can see how much easier it is to read on the Clairefontaine. They're both the same notes on Lothric Castle. Indeed, I can't impress upon how smooth the Clairefontaine paper is compared to the Leuchtturm--it's really a joy to write on, whereas Leuchtturm's paper is more functional, and not quite as enjoyable.

Furthermore, for fountain pen users, my understanding is that Clairefontaine is the only paper that can withstand the ink. However, for most people like me who don't use fountain pens, there is no issue with the Leuchtturm paper with ball point pens, and I used the rather smudgy Bic Crystal Ball Pen on the Leuchtturm with no bleeding or ghosting.

In addition to Clairefontaine's silky smooth paper, I love the smell of it (!), and the bright white color versus the ivory color of the Leuchtturm. Also, the lines are darker than the Leuchtturm, making it easier for me to see so I can be guided better, but most bullet journalists would probably prefer the more unobtrusive lines of a Leuchtturm and may hate the smell of the Clairefontaine paper (cross between new car smell and Play-Doh), whereas Leuchtturm's is odorless.

Now, if the Leuchtturm has Clairefontaine paper, French-ruled (and the other formats such as dotted, grid), then it will be THE undisputed choice for best Bullet Journal.                                    

Clairefontaine--Lothric Castle Notes

Leuchtturm--Lothric Castle Notes

The How of Happiness Review