AggroChat: Tales of the Aggronaut Podcast

Featuring: Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen We have a pretty big show which is surprising given we are down a few folks. Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers out there who might be listening to this show. We start talking about Bluey Surprise! Episode, and then dive into Kodra’s thoughts about Guild Wars 2 Season 1. Bel talks a bit about why the Fallout series works but the Witcher series did not after the first season. Grace talks about Wylde Flowers a witchy queer farming sim and Thalen his experiences with Little Kitty Big City. Kodra shares his thoughts about the platformer Metroidvania Animal Well and Tam about the massive changes with Star Citizen 3.23. Lastly, Bel talks a bit about beating “The Feared” in Path of Exile on a non-bossing character. Topics Discussed: Bluey the “Surprise!” episode Guild Wars 2 Living Season 1 Why Fallout Series Works by Witcher Does Not Wylde Flowers Little Kitty Big City Animal Well Star Citizen 3.23 Virtual Tabletops Bel Beats “The Feared”

Featuring: Belghast, Kodra, and Tamrielo Hey Folks! We have a bit of a “Smol” show at least when it comes to cast. Last week we had to take that off because Bel was in “duck and cover” mode do to the storm system tearing through the center of the country and producing over one hundred Tornados. This week we had a bunch of folks with other commitments leaving it with just Bel, Kodra, and Tam. We talk a bit about the Helldivers Review Bomb, Angry Tarkov Players, and a now-fixed outrageous bug in Path of Exile that allowed for 18 linking a skill. From there we dive into some of Tam’s recent experiences in trying to get Fallout New Vegas up and running and how like Bel said a few weeks back… the games really still hold up well once you get past the technical limitations. Kodra gives a bit of a round-up of Metroidvania titles that he has been playing recently and then talks a bit about considering Strawberry Jam “done” after beating the Expert Lobby Yellows. Topics Discussed Helldivers Review Bomb Path of Exile Ridiculous Socket Bug The Effort of installing Fallout New Vegas Older Fallout Games Still Hold Up Fallout New California TCM Metroidvania Roundup Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights Tales of Kenzera: ZAU TEVI Celeste Strawberry Jam Expert Lobby Yellows Completed

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen We had a bit of a cursed show… Tam lost power and was essentially knocked out of the rest of the show and then Ash disconnects as well and takes a bit to get back in. We push through however as we always do. Bel talks about returning to Fallout 76 and all of the cool changes that have been put in since he last played. Thalen talks about Open Source Star Control 2 aka Free Stars. Ash continues his journey into Roguelikes talking about Anomaly Collapse and Inkbound. Thalen and Kodra share their thoughts about The Sign, the latest episode of Bluey, and Grace shares their thoughts about AFK Journey. Finally, Bel talks a bit about the recent market crash in the Path of Exile Necropolis league, making many chase items more accessible. Topics Discussed: Steamdeck Modification Adventures Returning to Fallout 76 Open Source Star Control Free Stars: The Ur-Quan Masters Roguelike Rundown Redux Anomaly Collapse Inkbound The Sign Bluey Episode AFK Journey Necropolis Market Crash

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen Hey Folks! On April 13th of 2014, we recorded the very first episode of AggroChat so last night the stars aligned just perfectly for us to be recording on our ten-year anniversary. We start the show by discussing a few different AFK games, namely Gnorp Apologue and AFK Journey. From there Bel talks a bit about the new Fallout TV Series and how it nails the setting and tone of the game. Kodra and Thalen talk a bit about the latest Bluey episode Ghostbasket. Kodra and Tam discuss their experiences playing together in Helldivers 2 and then Kodra and Bel talk some more about the Path of Exile Necropolis League. Topics Discussed: The 10th Anniversary of AggroChat The Gnorp Apologue AFK Journey Fallout TV Series Bluey Ghostbasket Episode Helldivers 2 Path of Exile

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Tamrielo, and Thalen Hey Folks! This week we are down a Kodra and a Grace but carry on with a short list of topics. First, we talk some more about playing Secrets of Grindea in its final form. Tam has ventured forth into Helldivers 2 and talks a bit about what makes the gameplay so infectious. Thalen introduces us further into Chants of Sennaar a game that he has decided is the spiritual successor to Loom. Bel is amazed at what a difference a few percentages make as Necropolis League in Path of Exile was saved by a very early patch. Finally Tam talks about the current event taking place in Star Citizen. Topics Discussed: Secrets of Grindea Helldivers 2 Chants of Sennaar Necropolis League Saved Star Citizen’s Current Event

Featuring: AmmosArt, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen Since this episode will be coming out on Easter, Happy Easter to all who celebrate. Last night we talked about Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs for that more approachable Gloomhaven experience. We took a trip over to the Switch and discussed Mario vs Donkey Kong and Princess Peach Showtime. Bel talks a bit about his experiences with World of Warcraft Plunderstorm. Then we dive into a discussion about the Hugo Award Nominees and how hopefully 2024 will be a more reasonable year. This week the Necropolis League started in Path of Exile and Bel and Kodra talk a bit about their experiences with the league mechanic. Finally, we wrap things up with some discussion of Age of Sigmar 4.0. Topics Discussed: GloomHaven: Buttons & Bugs Mario vs Donkey Kong Princess Peach Showtime World of Warcraft Plunderstorm Hugo Award Nominees for Best Game Path of Exile Necropolis League Age of Sigmar 4.0

Featuring: Ammosart, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Thalen, and Tamrielo Hey Folks! Grace has returned to Stardew Valley and we spent some time discussing some recent changes… including the mayo meme. From there we talk a bit about Balatro as folks have had a chance to dive into it. Tam talks about his experiences with Pacific Drive and its unique blend of Car Survival games. This week was the full reveal stream for Path of Exile Necropolis League and we spent a bit of time talking through some of the significant game system changes. Finally, we end the show talking about some Last Epoch and the experiences that folks are still having with the game including a bit of a dive down the rabbit hole that is Spellblade. Topics Discussed: Stardew Valley Drinkable Mayonnaise Meme Balatro Pacific Drive Path of Exile Necropolis League Reveals Last Epoch Tam and the Spellblade

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen Hey Folks we’re back! Sorry for the week off but we return with a full docket of topics. We start off with some more discussion of Last Epoch and how everyone is still enjoying the game. Bel dinged 100 for the first time and we talked a bit about buildcraft and approachability. From there Bel talks about Dwarven Realms an ARPG of a sort that has gained traction this week amongst some of the streamers that is just “big dumb fun”. From there Ash goes down a list of Roguelikes that he has been enjoying lately namely Astral Ascent, Spiritfall, and Balatro. Tam revisits his topic surrounding the ambitious process of remaking Final Fantasy VII and his thoughts after having played a good deal of the second part. Finally, Bel uses volatile reversal and brings us back to the topic of Last Epoch and namely the impact it seems to be having on the ARPG genre as a whole. Topics Discussed: Last Epoch Bel Dings 100 Buildcraft Discussion Approachability Dwarven Realms So Dumb So Good Roguelike Lightning Round Astral Ascent Spiritfall Balatro Final Fantasy VII Remake Thoughts Entirely remaking a classic The Impact of Last Epoch

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen Tonight we are back with the whole crew. We start off the show talking about how Secrets of Grindea, a game that we did an early gameclub show about… has FINALLY launched out of Early Access. From there we talk about Last Epoch some more as Kodra was out last week and has much to say about explosions. We also discussed building different characters and how the game rewards them. Bel attempts a Tier list but gets shut down as he is the only one who still prefers Path of Exile. Finally, Tam and Ammo share their early thoughts about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Topics Discussed: Secrets of Grindea Launched Last Epoch Kodra Returns and Has Thoughts The joy of building new characters Bel’s Tier Ranking Gets Shut Down Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Tamrielo, and Thalen Hey Folks! We are back after taking a break last week due to the limited number of folks available. This week we start off with a topic that has bounced around a bit on our docket. Namely, we marvel at just how balanced City of Heroes/City of Villians is and what a pinnacle of system design it really is. Bel spent a bit of time playing Nightingale now that is available in early access, and talks about the mess of a game that it is. Finally, we dive into our primary topic this week and talk about the Last Epoch 1.0 launch and how phenomenal the game feels right now despite all of the server-side woes. Topics Discussed City of Heroes/City of Villains How is the design so balanced? Nightingale Not a Bad Game, but Not a Great One Either Last Epoch The 1.0 Launch Woes The Massive Graphical Overhaul Why we love the game Accessible Design Matters

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen Hey Folks! This week we have a sick Bel that is trying to hold on during the show and a very long-distance Kodra, but it all works out in the end. We start off with some discussion about Marvel reprinting the Godzilla comic run that has been out of print for decades. From there Bel and Grace talk a bit about some recent experiences with Enshrouded and playing it multiplayer. Bel also talks a bit about the endgame and its strengths and weaknesses. From there we talk quite a bit about Last Epoch and the reveal of the Falconer and the upcoming 1.0 release. We discuss our plans for the first “cycle” and how we seem to all be favoring the magic find faction. Lastly, we get into a discussion about how the spoiler-averse culture that we find ourselves in makes it very hard to discuss narrative games. Topics Discussed: Godzilla Marvel Comic Enshrouded Some Multiplayer Gameplay Discussing the strengths and weaknesses Last Epoch Falconer Reveal Looking forward to 1.0 Spoiler Aversion How it is hard to discuss narrative games

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen Hey Folks! It has been a few weeks since we recorded a normal show and I think we had a bunch of conversation in us waiting to get out. As a result, we recorded a bit longer than we should have but that is okay! We talk about Celeste 64 and that sort of gameplay translates to a very Mario 64 inspired game. From there Kodra shares his experiences with Songs of Conquest a game that is very much a nostalgic continuation of the Heroes of Might and Magic Series. Bel and Kodra talk about their experiences with the other new survival early access game Enshrouded and how it is shockingly complete, and really just needs polish. From there we dive into the main topic of the show where we discuss City of Heroes and how it is this perfect snapshot of the best of MMORPGs before World of Warcraft changed everything. Finally, Bel actually completes his four voidstones in Path of Exile and talks about what a difference a dedicated bosser makes. Topics Discussed: Celeste 64 Songs of Conquest Enshrouded When Crowd Control Mattered City of Heroes The World before Warcraft No Daily Chores is Refreshing What a Difference a Bosser Makes Bel Kills POE Bosses

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen Hey Folks! It is that time again, time for our yearly Games of the Year show. Last year we learned that it was far better to record two weeks in a row instead of creating a marathon three-plus hour long show and cutting it in half. This week we dive into the second half of the show covering the final eleven games. These are games that were important to us this year and may or may not have actually been released this calendar year. A lot of them were, but I just wanted to set the expectations. This year we did not have a lot of overlap, which is to be expected given that the seven of us have some wildly different tastes. It was a big year and I am sure there are a lot of games that you think might need to be on this list that we did not choose. Hopefully, you enjoy our thoughts all the same. Games Discussed: I Was a Teenage Exocoloist Super Mario RPG Remake Boltgun Star Ocrean 2nd Story R Jedi Survivor City of Heroes Everspace 2 Alan Wake II Super Mario Wonder Honkai Star Rail Baldur’s Gate III

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen Hey Folks! It is that time again, time for our yearly Games of the Year show. Last year we learned that it was far better to record two weeks in a row instead of creating a marathon three-plus hour long show and cutting it in half. So this week I bring you the first part covering fourteen games and for those who have not listened to one of these before… these are games that were important to us this year and may or may not have actually been released this calendar year. A lot of them were, but I just wanted to set the expectations. This year we did not have a lot of overlap, which is to be expected given that the seven of us have some wildly different tastes. It was a big year and I am sure there are a lot of games that you think might need to be on this list that we did not choose. Hopefully, you enjoy our thoughts all the same. Games Discussed: Risk of Rain Returns Risk of Rain 2 Celeste: Strawberry Jam Last Epoch Path of Exile System Shock Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Future Redeemed Hi-Fi Rush Dredge Dave the Diver Armored Core VI New World Fire Emblem Engage Final Fantasy XVI

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen Hey Folks! Hopefully, everyone is staying warm this week with the big cold snap hitting the center of the country and more specifically impacting Bel and Thalen. This week we start off talking about the Rogue Trader CRPG and how it is doing a pretty solid job of moving the bar forward. From there we talk a bit about the upcoming Granblue Fantasy Action RPG and how we have been waiting for it since 2017. In shocking news, we talk about the City of Heroes Homecoming server and how it is officially licensed and we believe it is the first fan run emulator server project to achieve that status. Last Epoch is nearing its official 1.0 launch and with it a bunch more information about the Trade system came out this week so we dive into it for a bit and contrast it with our experiences from Path of Exile. Peglin has released a bunch of updates and we talk a bit more about that phenomenal puzzle combat game. Thalen shares some information about how Dungeons and Dragons Online is apparently just giving away a ton of content and selling a bunch of mission packs for cheap on top of it. Tam finishes out the show talking about how it has taken him the better part of a year but he finally understands Star Trek Online. Topics Discussed: Rogue Trader CRPG Granblue Fantasy Relink City of Heroes Last Epoch and Trade System More Peglin! DDO Giving Content Away Understanding Star Trek Online

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Thalen Hey Folks! Happy New Year! We are back after the holiday break and are delaying our Games of the Year Show until a bit later in the month. This week we talk about the Dave the Diver Dredge Crossover, Super Mario RPG and Thalen’s child plotting an interesting course through the game, and a return to Monster Hunter World. With Bobby Kotick leaving ActiBlizz, Bel has stepped back into World of Warcraft and talks a bit about his thoughts so far and the inspirations taken from Guild Wars 2. From there we talk a bit about missing trade league despite how much of a capitalist nightmare it is and how it makes the players focus entirely on short-term gains. Bel talks a bit about how he has shifted his Chieftain into Righteous Fire and how it is a reasonable replacement for RF Juggernaut. Finally, some breaking news while we are recording… we talk a bit about the new FFXIV job Pictomancer, and the new limited job Beastmaster. Topics Discussed: Dave the Diver Dredge Crossover Super Mario RPG Remake Monster Hunter World World of Warcraft after 3 Years Away Influences from Guild Wars 2 Path of Exile The line goes up, and financialization of everything in another inflation league Righteous Fire Chieftain Missing Trade League Final Fantasy XIV New Dawntrail News Pictomancer Beastmaster OrcaCon

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, and Tamrielo Hey Folks! This is potentially our last show of the year because the next few weeks and the holidays within them… are going to make it very hard to gather a quorum. This week we are going to be brutally honest and tell you that if you have no interest in Path of Exile, then this might be a show for your to skip. While we have a very brief conversation about Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and Kodra saving the day and being the big kid rescuing a stranded party, the show is mostly diving into the “Bel League” private league thusfar. So yeah we talk about Path of Exile for an hour and a half and if that is not your thing, then that is totally cool. Topics Discussed Pokemon Mystery Dungeon ---- Making Memories, Saving Wiped Teams Path of Exile -- Affliction League One Week In -- How Our Builds are Going -- What happens when you follow a bait build ---- How much better the game would be with free respecs

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen Hey Folks! We are back with everyone and it is weird how long it has been since we have done a full seven-person show! Tonight we discuss the Game Awards and some of the negative reception surrounding it. We talked for a bit about the Monarch television show and the larger Legacy Pictures Monsterverse. Tam talks about The Exit 8 and the liminal weirdness of an ever-shifting train station. Then we dive into the Path of Exile Affliction League and more specifically our private “Bel League” and how that has been going so far. Topics Discussed – The Game Awards 2023 – Monarch and the Legacy Pictures Monsterverse – The Exit 8 – Path of Exile \-- Bel League \-- Progress so far \-- Affliction League Mechanic

Featuring: Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen Hey Folks! We are down basically the front half of the alphabet for this show, but the remaining four of us end up recording a deceptively long episode. Path of Exile revealed the details of the Affliction League and we had an awful lot to say about that. We talk through one of the biggest meta-shakeups in the game’s history. Bel also picks a fight with Kodra apparently when he called Guild Wars 2 more of an ARPG than an MMO. It all resolves peacefully however as we realize those judgments are based on different points of reference. We close out the show with Tam talking about some of the interesting choices being forced in Star Citizen. Topics Discussed: Path of Exile Affliction League Meta Shake-Up Death of Righteous Fire Ultimatum Returns Goodbye Metamorph Guild Wars 2 as ARPG Kodra wants to fight Bel Different points of reference Star Citizen Forcing Interesting Choices

Hey Folks! This week we start off with a topic about in game events, and how wildly different they can be between various games. Specifically this topic was inspired by the Star Citizen IAE 2953 event but we give into many different game events. Ash gets around to playing Armored Core 6 and talks about how awful the intro to the game is. Bel laments how sometimes maybe being a more Open World experience makes a game worse. Specifically this is inspired by Jedi Survivor and how it is a much less tight game than Fallen Order. Shocking to no one we dive into another Path of Exile topic and more specifically how Kodra and Bel completed some dumb Trial of the Ancestors achievements. Bel has finished Alan Wake II and gives the game another hard plug and then talks a bit about how Guild Wars 2 Secrets of the Obscure is really good. Topics Discussed: In Game Festival Events Star Citizen IAE 2953 Final Fantasy events Other Game Holidays Armored Core 6 Why is the intro so awful? Sometimes Open World Makes Games Worse Jedi Survivor Muddied Waters Path of Exile Doing Dumb things with Totems Lament of why Multiplayer is needlessly punishing Kodra knocking out achievements Alan Wake II - After Credit Roll Guild Wars 2 Secrets of the Obscure is good