Heroes of the Storm - Drafting Guide (Main Tanks)

We've discussed the first cornerstone to the necessary drafting triangle, the Sustained Damage, the Main Tank and the Main Support, now regarding the Main Tank. A Main Tank is a Warrior-Class hero that must be able to successfully:

- Crowd control and lockdown enemies
- Mitigate damage or have self-sustain
- Move in and out of combat easily

Except Stitches, Sonya and Chen (you, you, you, you, NOT YOU GUYS)

Although not all Main Tanks completely check those criterias, the best Main Tanks certainly do, heroes like Anub'arak and ETC for example are the top picks when it comes to Main Tanks. Given that some Warriors do not classify as Main Tanks but rather Bruisers, so here's a list of Main Tanks along with explanations for each requirement:

Anub'arak

CC and Lockdown
- This hero is special in a sense he has two basic abilities that stun can enemies, a rare advantage which explains why he is one of the go to tanks in competitive and can fare really well in any situation. That and the fact he can single-handedly stun lock a target makes him a really scary hero to deal with when paired with a solid backline

Damage Mitigation and Self Sustain
- Anub'arak inherently has 15 Spell Armor, meaning he can tank burst damage from mages. Pair that with his Hardened Carapace that allows him to generate his own shield, he becomes a tank that can easily soak up damage from Assassins when coupled with a fast player. Where he fails somewhat is his slightly low health and no ability to self-sustain until level 10, Locust Swarm isn't the best Heroic option but it does allow him to regenerate health when he needs to.

Mobility
- Anub'arak's Burrow Charge makes him very handy when engaging or escaping. The stun that comes along with the ability also adds value to his kit, plus he can out maneuver stuns or repositions that are clearly telegraphed if you time the burrow properly. Never underestimate a pocket Unstoppable.

Other Advantages
- Anub'arak also supplies a surprising amount of waveclear, his Impale coupled with his Trait that spawns beetles whenever he casts a basic ability. He can also turn a 5v5 fight into a 4v5 with his Cocoon ability.

Arthas

CC and Lockdown
- Arthas thins the line between a Main Tank and a Bruiser quite a bit, while he has a way to slow enemies in an area around him using Frozen Tempest, his lack of mobility means that he has to rely mostly on his lockdown ability, Howling Blast to get in close for the slow. At Level 10, he gains a long range, devastating slow with Summon Sindragosa.

Damage Mitigation and Self Sustain
- With a base physical armor of 10, Arthas can take hits from Basic Attacks like a champ, and he can heal his own health whenever necessary with his Death Coil ability. He gains more self sustain when he reaches level 10 with Army of the Dead. Also note that because the zombies surround him while the ability is active, they can intercept skillshots for you so that counts as Damage Mitigation I guess?

Mobility
- This is where Arthas' falls off a bit, he doesn't really have a way to engage the enemy or escape from a bad fight which is why support heroes that boost mobility like Lucio are often paired with him. He can somewhat dissuade long chases with Frozen Tempest.

Other Advantages
- Arthas can shut down Structures and Minion waves with Summon Sindragosa allowing his team to apply pressure on enemy fortifications without contest. He can also fill the role of a solo lane hero, with his high health pool, good waveclear and self sustaining capabilities.

Diablo

CC and Lockdown

- Diablo's crowd control comes in the form of displacements rather than slows, by forcefully repositioning enemies at will and then knocking them into unfavourable positions or worse, WALLS. Which is where his lockdown comes from as targets get stunned when knocked against a wall. The sheer tenacity and imposing nature of Diablo is what allows him to act as a Main Tank really well. What makes Diablo a terrifying (yeah, I went there) hero to deal with is Apocalypse which can devastate teamfights and quickly lead to a team wipe.

Damage Mitigation and Self Sustain

- While Diablo does not have any base armor, his advantage comes in the form of a gigantic healthpool. Diablo gains health every time a minion or hero is slain within his vicinity, allowing him to reach ridiculous amounts of hit points. His self sustain comes from various talents that allows him to regenerate more health over time based on a percentage of his health instead of a fixed amount.

Mobility

- Diablo's mobility isn't as reliable as Anub'arak's because you need to target an enemy to use it, but I've seen some players get really creative with it by using minions or mercs as a get out of jail free card when in a bad engage. 

Other Advantages

- Diablo's Trait allows him to respawn after 5 seconds if he dies with 100 souls. The problem with this is that he loses all the bonus health and regeneration he gained from that 100 souls. But it allows him to sacrifice himself if needed, knowing he won't be gone for too long before the next teamfight. Most Main Tanks have an acceptable level of waveclear and Diablo is no exception, the difference here is that he actually gets a lot of value out of rotating from lane to lane to collect experience as he can collect souls as well in the process.

ETC

CC and Lockdown

- ETC can stun and displace enemy units with Powerslide then Face Melt, While he doesn't have much slows until later in the game, the intrusive nature of his abilities make him very hard to deal with in the hands of a skilled player.

Damage Mitigation and Self Sustain
- ETC can restore his own health with Guitar Solo and you can even spec him into a somewhat side support with his Prog Rock talent. His trait allows him to generate Armor at will with the use of his basic abilities and he can even supply a healthy amount of physical armor for his teammates as well if you configure him towards that.

Mobility
- ETC engages and disengages with his Powerslide ability, which you can spec so that he can move over terrain as well. The stun that accompanies the ability helps him set up for his teammates and force an enemy out of position with Face Melt.

Other Advantages
- Mosh Pit is a game breaking ultimate that can lead to many one-sided fights, having a 4 secomd stun is no joke in a game this fast-paced. If you need a pseudo-global ability, Stage Dive allows ETC to split push during objectives and Stage Dive in when he is really needed. While his waveclear is not as prominent in the beginning, you have talents as you progress into the game to improve his waveclear.

Johanna

CC and Lockdown

- I'm not a player that necessarily likes playing as Tanks or Warriors, but Johanna is a good hero to start with, her kit is easy to pick up and her CC and Lockdown abilities are quite easy to land when chaining together her abilities. She can drag enemies near her with Condemn and then follow up with a powerful slow with Punish. Because the initial slow from Punish is 60%, it's almost as good as a 0.5 second root, an opening which lets her team really pile on the damage. Her lockdown gets even better at level 10 with Blessed Shield, which allows her to stun multiple targets at once.

Damage Mitigation and Self Sustain

- Johanna's trait gives her a hefty shield but there are talents that help her heal health as well. This coupled with a baseline 25 physical armor really allows her to counter basic attack heroes. She can even blind multiple targets with her Shield Glare which allows her to supply some damage mitigation to her team.

Mobility

- Mobility is one of Johanna's weaker sides, although her trait allows her to walk through stuns and roots as well as slows whenever she needs to. If she really needs to make a grand entrance, her other Heroic, Falling Sword can be taken instead.

Other Advantages

- Johanna has really good waveclear, especially when you chain Condemn together with Punish and you can enhance this with the burning rage talent as well. She even has a second chance talent at level 20 with Indestructible.

Muradin

CC and Lockdown

- Muradin is your bread and butter tank, and that's a good thing, he has a good stun from Storm Bolt and a slow with Thunder Clap. If you land Storm Bolts regularly, he can stun 2 targets at once. More aggressive players can opt for Haymaker to push an enemy into your team for a quick takedown.

Damage Mitigation and Self Sustain

- Damage Mitigation and Self Sustain are where Muradin shines the most. He has incredible self sustain with his trait Second Wind, healing by a percentage of his max health when out of combat, so much so he can be quite independent from the rest of the team. He has damage mitigation in the form of attack speed slows with Thunder Clap and physical armor talents, but his damage mitigation extends to his teammates as well thanks to the attack speed slow. Avatar adds to this by increasing his health and making him more tanky than he already is.

Mobility

- His Dwarf Toss allows him to jump in and out of combat, but when using it to engage he deals damage to the landing area. While it does supply him with some armor, please note that the jump is interruptible so use it when you're sure you won't get CC'ed.

Other Advantages

- Muradin is one the greatest tank heroes you can use in terms of damage taken for the team thanks to his immense self sustain. You can zone out areas with his Thunder Burn talent or just punish over extends with his damage increasing talents.

These are just the quintessential warriors you should have in game, there are also others you can use, like:

Tyrael, who doesn't have much CC but can definitely mitigate a ton of damage with his constant shields and his Sanctification. He can dart in and out of battle with El'druin and can help his team reposition and escape with Smite.

Blaze is one of the best tanks you can have in game, simply because he can assume both roles, either a solo laner, with his waveclear or a main tank. He has amazing zoning capabilities and can self sustain quite well thanks to hit kit. He also great initiation with his Jet Propulsion and some damage mitigation thanks to his trait, Pyromaniac. On top of that, he can provide damage mitigation for his allies with his Bunker Drop. Just a great overall hero to have in your kit should you need a tank.

Have fun and prove to your enemies that immortals really do exist!

X2T Wireless Earbuds - Review (Final Thoughts)

For just the review, scroll until the review section,

The X2T's, taken from Amazon.com

How long has it been since I've done a review on tech? Quite a long time, and that has to be because of how long the tech I have on me lasts. Remember the Avantree Auditions? Yeap, they're still alive and kicking. But it has been 2 years since I've posted that review and technology has come a long way since then. And the most expected advancement after the bluetooth headphones are bluetooth earbuds. Like just the earbuds and nothing else. That's the future of bluetooth headphones. The first glimpse we've had of these miraculous devices happened around early 2015 but after Apple announced the Apple Airpods, wireless earbuds were going to take off.

While I'm not personally a fan of Apple, this is one of the few times I'm actually happy they did this. What they did with the headphone jack, ...is another story.

Thank you, Marilyn

So back to my bluetooth headphones, yeah they're great and all, but not exactly comfortable to wear if you're sweating a lot. Not only does you head feel a thousand times hotter, but you think of all the sweat just collecting in the ear cups, that's not a pleasant thought. So having the same thought process every single time I want to do heavy work while wearing headphones was discomforting to say the least. And then my thoughts shifted to the Apple Airpods, then to the fact that surely companies now are manufacturing their own versions of Wireless Earbuds, and surely some of them would be in the price range I would be comfortable spending money.

And after window shopping, day in and day out, I actually stumbled across a pair that was relatively cheap, and looked quite attractive (according to me, my tastes, and I). And like c'mon, the whole sweating story, was just one reason why I wanted to buy them, I mean, this is the stuff we dreamt of when we were kids, and now they're becoming a REALITY.  We are living in the future people and we often forget that, but just look how far we've come. Behold! The X2Ts~

Oh, those perfect circular designs, not ergonomic but who cares they look great!

Me, when I saw them in the mail

Gone are the days where I have two cups collecting head sweat attached to my ears, bathing my ears in the excretions of my skin glands. No more pesky wires getting in the way so let's head on to the review:

X2T Wireless Earbuds Review

Getting a pair of these earbuds comes with,

The carrying pouch, the earbuds, the charging case and a USB to microUSB cable (which I forgot to take a photo of)

They also include replacement ear tips in different sizes so you can be sure you'll have the perfect fit no matter how big, or small you ears are. It's just a shame you only get one of each size so make sure they last!

First off, let's discuss Sound Quality:

These earbuds handle sound really well! Since these were relatively cheap, I went into them just assuming they would sound just mediocre or unimpressive. But far from that, there's clarity in each note, the sounds are separated well so music doesn't just sound muffled together, you can hear each instrument clearly, with a bass that was a bit too strong for me, I had to reduce it in the equalizer. Speaking of bass, the bass is very strong and produced well, they aren't over saturated with a satisfying, very deep thump and a very pronounced lower bass rumble. The ones that induce rumbles in your chest kind of lower bass. There isn't much to say about the treble though, it isn't bad per se, in fact, these earbuds produce wonderful higher tones, but there isn't anything special to talk about unlike the bass. The mids are clear with an intensity I can appreciate, given how small these earbuds are. There's also a very nice amount of sound stage, not as closed as the Audio Technicas or the Avantrees. Which makes me wonder, are headphones meant to have a smaller sound stage because most of my earphones and these earbuds have wider sound stages than those gigantic headphones. If you're judging these earbuds solely on Sound Quality, I'd swear by these straight away. 

Unfortunately, these are wireless earbuds so there's also the connection aspect. Which is the most disappointing part of this whole experience. Half the time when I was listening to music, the left bud would die out for half a second only to go back to producing sound after. And this occurs quite frequently throughout the listening experience, to the extend it becomes annoying.

Is this thing on? Oh, ok (my thought process during that half a second)

On good days, both earbuds produce sound equally and consistently, but only for around 1 hour and 30 minutes, after that the battery life starts to fall off, then you'll have skips and stutters coming from either earbud. This, however, I'm not really complaining about but it's something you should note if you want to get these earbuds. In terms of tether range, these earbuds don't have that much range to them either, simply putting your phone in you trouser pocket is enough to cause some inconsistent music playback. My solution to this is to place my phone somewhere close by that has some height to it, I've realized when my phone is on higher places there's less connection problems. Or else, the earbuds only play music smoothly while within an arm's reach of your phone, which isn't that much to work with. Even then, on bad days, the left bud will just decide every now and then to stop playing music for half a second. To demonstrate how weak the bluetooth connection of these earbuds are, if you ever get them, just covering one earbud, while in your ear, with your palm can already start causing some connection issues.

How about Comfort and Ease of Use?

These earbuds are light and can sit comfortably in your ear for long periods of time (by long period, I mean around an hour and a half). During which I used them as long as they remained consistent, and I didn't suffer from ear fatigue even though these earbuds are mostly held by the ear tip in your ear cavity. While I can't speak for everyone, the circular form factor sits well in my ear, but those with smaller ears might find them too big. These are in-ear buds so the noise isolation is top notch, depending on how deep and well you've plugged your ears, you can easily shut someone off or continue having a conversation with them. Either way, they continue to sit comfortably in the ear. The earbuds feature a single button, on either bud, and a single press plays or stops the current track depending on what's happening. A long press turns the earbuds off if they were already connected. One of the features that actually surprised me, because of how seamlessly both earbuds turned off at the same time. Given that both earbuds were on and connected in the first place. A long press while the earbuds are off turns them on with an audio queue to inform you they're on. Although it's recommended you turn on one first, get it connected and then turn on the other one, they should both pair to your phone with no issue if done so. A longer press with put them into pairing mode, which is done when you're just connecting for the first time.

I should also note that each earbud registers as a different device in your bluetooth menu. So it's good to keep one side as the primary bud (the one you always turn on first) and the other as the secondary bud (which you turn on next). And also I've tried reversing this to check the connection issues with the buds, and it actually became worse. So I can't speak for all X2T earbuds, but for me, the left one is certainly the troublemaker of the pair.

Earbud capacity: 85mAh, Case capacity: 1500mAh

The charging process is pretty seamless, simply insert the earbuds into the charging case and leave them undisturbed for a second, the charging progress is indicated by the LED light in the earbud, orange meaning charging and blue meaning at full capacity. The buds are held in place by magnets so it's really impressive to experience for the first time. It's like the bud pulls itself into the case effortlessly once in close proximity. The charging case is basically a glorified powerbank which you can charge using microUSB and you can keep track of how much juice is left by the blue LEDs on the charging case.

These earbuds definitely look futuristic, with their material choice and minimalist design

Additional Features, or lack thereof,

Even though both buds have buttons, they function the same regardless of which bud you press. From a design standpoint, it makes sense to give the user the choice to start with either bud. But on the other hand, the lack of a way to differentiate the left bud from the right makes me think they simply used the same mold to make either bud and just change the internals for the left and right channel. Which is a shame given that they could have included forward and back controls on these. Instead you're left with the bare bones, Play and Pause. They also don't have any NFC support for easy pairing but that's just a minor gripe. For the most part, you're getting quite a classy package here, bare bones, yes, but classy looking.

The entire product is meant to impress visually, but the user experience speaks differently

Verdict

The X2Ts definitely delivered in the looks department, its initial impression also left me with wonder and amazement. But as you continue to use the earbuds, the cracks will start to show. And they're very ugly cracks. The sound quality is impressive for a pair of earbuds at RM80, and wireless ones at that, but the connection issues you're likely to encounter and the difficulty you'll have differentiating right from left will pull away from that seamless experience we've come to expect from technology nowadays. The fact that the manufacturers managed to overlook a simple design element to help distinguish the two buds baffles me, and that either bud can function as the primary bud, adds to this confusion. I've seen other earbuds that clearly assign the right bud as the main driver and the left as the secondary bud which makes the experience less confusing and frustrating. The overall package is built to please and catch the eye, but note that these earbuds are temperamental and can deliver inconsistent performance as you continue to use it. If you're okay with those caveats, feel free to get yourself a pair, or else, look for other brands and perhaps, be prepared to shell out a couple more dollars for that assurance of quality.

After Thoughts

Honestly, I've still been using these earbuds, there's no denying the convenience of wireless earbuds, these don't heat up my head, and it's as if I'm not wearing anything but earplugs. Most of the time, if I don't want to encounter connection problems, I'd just connect the right bud. Which is much better in those cases where you're talking to someone or still have to use you sense of hearing. Putting your phone at a higher place does improve the connection range and can allow you to move around the room freely, my reasoning why this works is because there are less objects that can interfere with the weak bluetooth connection. Or else, I'd just try my luck with the temperamental left bud. Sometimes, I'd be:

Or else, most of the time, it'll just be like this:

Why are these two shirtless? There were literally no other gifs that had the right expressions so yeah.

Have fun and keep looking for those perfect buds!

Maplestory Blitz - Monster Card Guide (Continuation)

Hey guys! I've been playing more Maplestory Blitz this past few days and I've discovered some other monster cards that are quite good as well. I like to keep my guides for the cards you should use more average user centric, meaning cheaper and more affordable cards only, not those very rare, legendary rarity cards those high-end users that play all day, every day use. I understand the frustration of looking up guides online, and finding guides or premade decks that require Epic and Legendary cards for it to work.

Yeah, I'll just fork out 100 dollars on this game to actually get good

Because those guides aren't useful to me, a person that just trying out the game and is not yet sold on the fact that I'm going to have to spend a truckload of money to even get a semblance of victory in my upcoming games, so I'd rather work from the ground up. Start from the easily accessible cards first and maybe eventually cover legendaries? (let's be real here, I don't have that amount of time, money or even attention span to work for those cards, free to play) This post is a follow up to the previous one I've posted, since it's quite a ways away from now, a lot has changed in the world of Maplestory Blitz, hence, this update~

The Toy Trojan, I glossed over this card before, but then looking at its stats and using it in a few games, I must say, I'm impressed. The charge effect really allows you to pressure the enemy if you already have a monster knocking on their doors. Seriously, this card works to put even more pressure, forcing them to use monsters quickly, hence, bad mana management or forcing them to burn their spells. Whichever they choose, know that you came out on top regardless. This card is also good rush decks for like a Phantom or a Demon Slayer, given the low mana cost.

How did I miss this card? Toy Black Knight is quite weak as a standalone card, but when you already have monsters on field, you can really bring the pain, just make sure this card is on the backlines. Also, gotta love the card's descriptions, haha.

Panda Teddy, the effect is simple enough, until you read it really carefully, cause yeap, that says "another monster". Not enemy monster, not allied monster, but just monster, so that means, even if your monsters die, rest easy knowing that your Panda Teddy is getting swole and going to wreck all the monsters on that lane! Expect if it dies by an enemy spell or two.

Gettin swole! Get it? Cause Panda and this is a Red Panda... ok I'll stop

Ok, question, are all the monsters from Ludi just good in general cause there has been 4 cards so far and all of them are monsters from Ludi?

You've seen Panda Teddy, well, Mr. Bouffon is a stronger version of that, plus look at that card art! I must say the art team really did a good job with the artwork in this game.

I'm not saying you have to have this card, and I'll admit, amongst the other cards on this list, this is one of the weaker ones. But just know that if you have a couple of Mixed Golems in your collection, they're quite good at filling decks because of their stats and effect.

That card description tho

When I saw this card, the first question I asked myself, why have I not realized it existed until now. Like look at that card effect! Tauromacis is a great card if you're running buff decks, because most of the time all you have to do is heal him back to health and leave the rest to him.

Even if you don't have enough coins or shards to get good cards yet, don't worry, keep Maplestory Blitz around on your phone and just sign in daily to get the freebies. Their free to play model is quite friendly and by the time you know it, you'll be buy and crafting cards in no time!

And THAT'S IT! This post was never meant to be as long as the other posts but that's because Luminous is out already, he's a new Hero Class you can use and he runs along the lines of a Priest in Hearthstone. 

If you wanna know, Priest was my second favourite class after Mage, so yeah, this guy's excited~

He has a very interesting and also a bit stronger (IMO) than the other classes. So right now I'm getting him to level 10 so I can test out all his abilities and you'll hear from me in another blog post.

Until then...

HAVE FUN AND COLLECT MORE CARDS!! I guess?