My Hyperfixation on Fallout 76

I've been pretty much playing Fallout 76 for the past 3 weeks or so (probably since a couple days after the TV Show was released). I forgot how much I love this game and how much of a comfort game Fallout 76 is, for me at least. I was level 370 on April 22nd and by between April 27th-30th I leveled up to 400. I have about 180+hrs in the past three weeks. I will admit I have spent a couple all-nighters (not in a row) playing the game because I was having so much fun and lost track of time AND I wasn't tired because I was super focused. I've made a a new friend AND I have joined a Guild on Discord for the game. Often I join up with them while I play OR I play with my best friend (and their relationship partner) when they are online. I even have a book with tons of notes and stats on it, which I will share some info on this blog post.

I am currently Level 432, and working on trying to get enough Perk Coins to level up the last levels on my Legendary Perk Cards (the Legendary Perk S.P.E.C.I.A.L Cards for Endurance and Strength). I did the math, hopefully correct, and I need about 70 more levels/need to get to level 502 to get the total of 300 Perk Coins (I need 150 per Card Upgrade). Then after I get the final two Legendary Perk Cards upgraded. I can get the cards I want to have for the interchangeable on my build.

My Current Build:

My Legendary Perk Cards: Luck(4*), Int(4*), Str(3*), End(3*), Taking One for the Team (4*), and What Rads?(4*)

Perk Cards that are interchangeable:

[P]erception - Concentrated Fire

[E]ndurance - Ghoulish

[C]harisma - Inspirational

[I]ntelligence - Demolition Expert

[L]uck - Good with Salt

Legendary Perk Card: Taking One for the Team

(I dont wanna change my Strength Cards nor my Agility Cards unless they are situational like the agility card for crafting ammo).

Those cards I use for the most part but there obviously some cards that are situational (like Butcher's Bounty or Green Thumb). I have a list in my book on Perk Cards that I want to get. I need 14 levels to get the Perk Cards I want (though I might want more levels for other interchangeable cards). And the one card I want to get for the interchangeable Legendary Perk Card is Sizzling Style which gives Fire Protection and that will need another 300 Perk Coins (ugh) but that is on the bottom of my to do/to get list. 

My Current Mutations and Legendary Perks:

The Weapons I use are:

The Cremator (1 Mutants, 2 VATS Enhanced, 3 VATS Optimized) with Lithium (Pink) Projectiles, Multi-Shot Barrel, Fast Tank, and Slow Burning Tank.

Chainsaw (1 Vampire, 2 Crippling, 3 Light Weight) with Dual Bar and Flamer Mods.

Gatling Gun (1 Quad, 2 Rapid, 3 Swift) with Speedy Receiver, Long Barrel, Comfort Grip, Standard Mag, and Front Sight Ring.

I mainly use the Cremator and Chainsaw. I use the Gatling Gun sometimes and mainly when I am low on fuel. I have another Cremator crafted that I am trying to get Instigating on, though have yet to get it. I DO have an Auto-Axe but I am not using it UNTIL I get Vampire on it. Sadly it been several days if not weeks of scripping Legendaries and trying to roll the Vampire. No luck yet.

I have also placed my Camp in area closed to Starlight Berries and kind of near Firecracker Berries so I can farm them up (along with the Wendigo Cave for Brain Fungus) to get Berry Mentats for Intelligence. And I ALWAYS do Feed the People Event Quest for Mama Dolce so I can get the XP food (Canned Meat Stew). I've recently am trying to get my Intelligence up and keep XP buffs up when events are going on (though I am saving some of the XP Buff Foods and Items for when there is XP Bonus Weekends) to get the most XP. And whenever I am relatively close to leveling up, I go to West Tek to eliminated Super Mutants to get the last bit of XP to level (rather than waiting for the next event or whatever). I'm in the process of earning enough Gold Bullion to get Steven Scarberry (which is 4,000) while also saving some for whenever Minerva arrives in Appalachia (just incase she has something I want, like the Brotherhood Recon Right Leg which is an item I really want so I can try out the entire armor set though I've heard/read that the Secret Service armor is better [which is the armor I use]). I also want to get the Flannel Shirt and Jeans Shielded Upgrade, which you can only have a chance to get on a daily quest. That Flannel Shirt and Jeans under armor (with that upgrade) can give +3 Int which might not seem like a lot but with all the food/item buffs and XP bonuses, it can really add up to a lot of XP gain (which I really want so I can get those Perk Coins and Cards).

If you could tell by this post, I've really done my research while also having tons of fun within the game.

April Update

 April has been a weird month emotionally wise. At the beginning of April, I was doing great (especially since my birthday is at the beginning. And I was doing good for a while. Then my emotions dipped around mid-April, and I am unsure why. But I've been missing my mom, and the house I grew up in. I've been using my coping mechanisms, aka gaming, to distract from my sadness. I've been wanting to draw but my hands and brain cant seem to cooperate when it comes to drawing (and sometimes writing). Every time I try to draw, especially digitally, I get super frustrated/upset/angry. I am unsure whether or not that has to do with the non-cooperation OR my perfectionism. Either way, it sucks. But I shall continue to try to get something on physical or digital paper.

Wish me luck...

Progression on the To-Do List

It's March already, though my last post was near the end of Feb, and I've progressed on some things on my to-do list.

• Get through my playthrough of Mass Effect Andromeda on Playstation (because it's the last achievement I need. I am currently at Kadara Port) [progression] I'm now nearing/or on the last mission of the game. I've romanced Vetra and currently on the last mission HOWEVER, I've been like avoiding doing it because once it's done, then I have no reason to play on PS5. I mean I know I can play on PC but it feels kind of like a joy/sadness that it will be over...
• Catch up on reading (both Manga and Novels/Books) [progression] I've read like 3-4 manga, though I have like 15+ manga I still need to read. And I have read a chapter of the Mass Effect Andromeda Novel 1 which I am almost done with. Still have like 9-10 chapters left.
• Catch up on Anime (like re-watching Haikyuu! then reading the manga for the rest of the series, and watching the ones on my list) [Haven't really progressed]
• Restart my workout on the Peloton (I stopped because I got sick with Covid, then I got really depressed. Not saying I am not depressed anymore but I think I might be doing a little bit better) [Havent really progressed, I got one or two workouts in but Im struggling getting back into the swing of things]
• Finish the battle-pass of Overwatch 2 (which isn't too hard) [progression] I've completed the battle pass, though I am on the prestige part of the battlepass which is about half way done with titles.
• Sketch more often than I currently am [progression] I've actually started (recently) sketching more in my sketchbook which makes me happy however I want to make new characters (either to use later or just to get my imagination working).
• Continue working on my Comic. [no progression]
• Prepare in ESO for the Gold Road Expansion (comes out in June? July?) [not sure how to progress this bullet point...]

I Dont Stick to My Plans

I want to make a plan of things I want to do. Problem is that I never stick to the plans I make for myself, unless its like appointments or get-togethers. There are so many things I want to do.

I want to:

• Get through my playthrough of Mass Effect Andromeda on Playstation (because it's the last achievement I need. I am currently at Kadara Port)
• Catch up on reading (both Manga and Novels/Books)
• Catch up on Anime (like re-watching Haikyuu! then reading the manga for the rest of the series, and watching the ones on my list)
• Restart my workout on the Peloton (I stopped because I got sick with Covid, then I got really depressed. Not saying I am not depressed anymore but I think I might be doing a little bit better)
• Finish the battle-pass of Overwatch 2 (which isn't too hard)
• Sketch more often than I currently am
• Continue working on my Comic.
• Prepare in ESO for the Gold Road Expansion (comes out in June? July?)

I wish Haikyuu! had a dub because then I could multitask by working on my comic/draw. Maybe I'll look at my list and see if there are other dubs to watch so I can multitask. I even have a spot on my [art] desk to have my iPad set up to watch vids on (or look at Pinterest for references).

My (Updated?) Thoughts about Mass Effect Andromeda

 

I've recently been playing Mass Effect: Andromeda (again, on PS4 though. And yes it's a comfort game of mine) and I've been having thoughts about it. Not bad ones. I still thoroughly enjoy this game, even with the minor inconveniences or bugs. And I am on the side of "Yes, I know its a Mass Effect game set in a different location/setting/time-period. And yes, I know it feels different but No, I don't care I still like it a lot".

Some thoughts:

• I like the open-world aspect of the game. I know Mass Effect Trilogy is a bit more linear(?) about where to go and it's locations (and parts of that is nice because sometimes I don't know what I should be doing so the quests feel a bit more confined and easier to get to) HOWEVER, exploring a new world in an open world setting is fun because there is so much to explore. And, in my opinion, it's not as slow or as barren as Starfield (even though Starfield came out after, note: I struggle getting past the intro to Starfield because its so goddamn slow).
• I like the crew. We have a turian (Vetra Nyx), asari (Peebee, Dr. Lexi T'Perro), krogan (Drack), *spoiler* a new alien race crew member (Jaal Ama Darav), then of course the Human crew members (Cora Harper, Liam Costa, Gil Brody, Suvi Anwar, and obviously Ryder).
• The character creation is a bit more in-depth on ME:A compared to ME:Trilogy, unless you have mods (which I haven't done...yet.). There are tattoos, scars (not like the renegade scarring), more variety to hair color and eye color. I will say one gripe about the Character Creation in ME:A is that I cannot match eyebrow color to their hair color. It's tied to the face/complexion/whatever you choose.
• Another, minor, gripe I have is that the Maverick Helmet (the one I am currently using) doesn't really change color with my armor, or it doesn't have the same coloring as my armor like it's off by a shade or two.
• (This maybe counts for both the Trilogy and Andromeda but...) I like that there are many romance options for Ryder (some depend on gender). I love Vetra and Peebee. On my current playthrough I am romancing Suvi, but its a bit slower going than the others but she's sweet so I shall stick to her. I wish that I could romance Cora as a Female but she is straight in the game :( 
• Another, a bit less minor, gripe is that on PS4 there are so many auto saves that I can have like only one manual save per playthrough, which makes I difficult to get achievements. In the past, when I didn't realize the save issue, I'd constantly get a message that I dont have room to save. And I was so confused but then later on I realized it was due to the damn auto-save function. Which you have no way of like saving less or turning off completely.
• Another, very minor, gripe is that I wish they came out with some sort of DLC for the game. Like about Jien Garson's death. Maybe, I hope, they are working on a sequel to not only the Trilogy but also Andromeda. But I doubt that because many others were disappointed, uspet, did not like the game. I am one of a few, possibly rare few, that really like the game.
• I liked the story for Andromeda. They ended on somewhat of a cliffhanger so I hope they really do make a sequel.

I need to finish the books of Mass Effect: Andromeda (Nexus Uprising, Initiation, and Annihilation). I am almost done with Nexus Uprising and it's been really good so far. Gives background to the Nexus Uprising (haven't seen any clues about the Benefactor nor clues on how Jien Garson died). The second book (Initiation), I believe, is based on Cora. 

COVID, Monthly "Gift", and Grief (Oh My!)

I haven't posted in a while due to the fact that I've been very sick with Covid-19, and I am not quite sure how I caught it (don't worry, I am currently quarantining). And now it's February. And I got my Time-of-Month "gift". And I'm missing my mom immensely (again). So that's like a truck load of physical and emotional damage at once that hit me last week. The only "good" thing is that my "gift" is almost done. But I'm still emotionally and physically suffering from Covid-19 and my mom's birth/death anniversary (She was born on Feb 8th and died Feb 11th, 60-something years later in 2019).

It's 2am and I'm trying not to spiral into the pit again.

But I have to be honest, due to my spacier than normal brain and sleeping days away to rest, I've missed a few days of medication. I'll try my best to take them at a decent hour today (no promises because spacey brain and sleepy time).

When I am awake and (semi)alert, I want to do things like draw, write, or game. But I either don't have the strength/alertness or my hands get super sweaty. That's been happening a lot with Covid. My hands (and feet) get super sweaty, making it difficult to draw or wear socks.

This past time I fell asleep, I thought I was in dream world for a long time. I thought I died or something. When I opened my eyes, I questioned reality. Was I really awake? Am I still alive? Is this a dream?

I don't want to be sick. Like, I was just sick in all of October last year.

I want my life to go back to when I lived in my house with my mom. I would want her to be better obviously. (But at the same time, if my mom didn't die and I never moved to my apartment, I would have never met my cat KiKi who I love so much with all my heart. My cat is the reason I live today).

It took me about half an hour to write this post (even though its not that long)

 

It's currently 2:30-ish am when I started writing this post. I have updated my blog's font and layout (and a few other things) this morning. No significant changes though. I had a coffee around 5pm yesterday (Saturday) and it's kept me awake since, which is semi-frustrating because I was working on fixing my sleep. Time to re-fix it again (lol).

On ESO, I've been leveling my (new) Nightblade Wood Elf (Maxx-Of-All-Trades) and using my main/templar to do misc/daily tasks along with fishing (Momo Mender Of All Wounds). With my nightblade, I am currently grinding out Alliance Assault War Skill for Caltrops (which is a pain to get, even with the Colovian War Torte which gives 50% boost to AP). I always, however, return to fishing with my main as a relaxing thing to do while watching YT or Anime (or listening to Distractible)

I've been playing "comfort games" over "new games", even though I have a long list of games (PS5 and PC) that I wanna start (ESO being the main comfort game). The list on PC is much longer than PS5 but I really wanna reignite my playthrough on Yakuza Series which happens to be on PS5/PS4.

I am now debating about rescinding my trying to give a daily mood update BECAUSE, in all honesty, I am pretty neutral when it comes to how I am feeling by the end of the day. And even if I was able to make notes throughout the day on my mood, I'd still like neutral about things unless something significant happens (Good or Bad). Even though some might not agree, I am pretty grey in the sense of Black/Bad and White/Good when I am doing better. Like I am not feeling like Im in a pit of darkness/despair/hopelessness NOR am I feeling like rainbows, sunshine, and pure happiness. Grey. I am currently grey.

(Here is my desk set up for traditional artwork. I want to work on my Copic Marker Coloring and Inking with G-Pen Nibs. The list on the book holder is my grocery list lol)