This one sort of surprised me


Removed the restriction for the Advanced Character Token and the Mythic Token on Siege.

There are issues that develop over time with the spoken commands, and occassionally with the re-equip subs, but I have used it to work up maybe 20 toons.

The version I am currently working on uses party tools to choose targets, prioritize cross heal targets, manage ROT timing and skill caps. It should work for any number of toons simultaneously. I have been testing it using three toons beating on each other and trying to perfect a formula that compares their relative states of injury to heal the right toon at any given moment. Its taken a while to get to work smoothly, but it has applications outside of this context. Once I have everything working like I want I will build some menus and automated setup and post a complete version. IMHO it's already a lot more powerful than fighting a golem.

I think the most important thing is that you need to feel good about where you live. If you always wanted a garage to putter around in, don't look at houses without one -- that sort of thing. If you think that you will live there the rest of your life, sit down with your wife, talk about what features in a house are important to you and make a list.

If you will live there "forever" then I say you don't care what anyone else thinks. If not, then you might consider looking at your home from the perspective of what "everyone" wants in a home. Things like how easy is it to get to where most people work. What is parking like. How many bedrooms does it have. What amenities are nearby.

Those are my thoughts about what to buy. If you are looking at how to buy I have some thoughts there as well.

FSBO: (For Sale By Owner)
Look at these, but be aware that there are some issues pro and con. People selling their own homes generally have two obstacles 1) emotional attachment to the home and the price they paid for it, and 2) lack of broad knowledge of the CURRENT market for similar homes. Some savy individuals will minimize one or both of these, but they generally apply to anyone who is selling their own home rather than doing it for a living. In a hot market FSOB homes can often be underpriced because of both 1 or 2, but more likely 2. In a poor seller's market, like we are in now, FSOB are often OVER priced because of both 1 & 2.

Distressed Property
If you are not in a hurry, look at distressed properties. By this I mean properties that are in forclosure, have been forclosed on, or are for sale by owners who are underwater. These transactions can take a long time, but the savings can really be worth it. There are lots of stories circulating recently about people who have acquired a really nice house this way for around 60% of listed price.  

Should I get an Agent?
You used to have little or no choice because the market would not give you access to listings (MLS) unless you used an agent. The Supreme Court made that illegal and now you can get virtually all of the information an agent gets online yourself. My personal opinion is that if you know generally where you want to live you probably don't need an agent when buying a home if you can get a real estate attorney to do the paperwork. Even if you don't get your own agent, you may end up dealing with a seller's agent. Some of them will try to represent you in addition to the seller and get a double commission. This is illegal unless you agree to it, but its not readily obvious that its happening in a lot of cases. You pay for the property and the commission comes out of the money the bank/seller receive. Be aware that you can negotiate an agent's rate in most cases. Good agents will be willing to talk to you about commission in a market like this one, particularly if you found the property yourself. I still see a place for real estate agents for people who are relocating to an area they don't know well, first time buyers and on the sell side. However, I think that the commission agents generally charge is completely out of line with the value they add to most transactions.

I would buy a couple of yards of flooring if you want the bowling alley look. Painting it will be a pain and using it will tear it up. If you use actual flooring it will look good, be relatively easy to make, and it will be durable. Try a flooring outlet. They might even have some scraps you could use.

We called it "hey mister" -- because that was how I started the conversation with the guy going into the liquer store.

A friend and I tried smoking just about everything in the pantry, but I never drank anything intended as a cleaning supply or engine lubricant/cooler...

So I realize that most folks on this site don't care for iPhones - but I admit to having a couple of them. My wife wanted and comandered the plan. My son recently downloaded Infinity Blade and it is a really impressive game for your phone. I am pretty blown away by the graphics, sophistication of play. I think I read the book a while back and realized it while watching him come back to life.

I am sure they can put it on Android if its not already out for that OS. I think its well worth the $6.

I am going to put together some research on the new BODing rules and will maintain this thread on the changes. The main topic, I believe, is how/whether we can use bribing to get better BODs. I am going to put in some additional information about the changes as I work through it.  If you would like to add to this thread, please feel free to respond, and your suggestions will be incorporated into the main post.

Timing Changes

The delay between getting BODs is no longer skill dependant, it is six hours, regardless. There is, however, a buffer of up to three bods that you can pick up all at once. Turning in a completed bod still allows you to get a new bod immediately and doesn't reduce your buffer.


Bribery

Looks like it has a lot of potential to increase access to high end hammers. I think it is going to require some testing to see what can be done to get there.  First some information about how it works.

To initiate a bribe, there is a dropdown from the context menu on an NPC blacksmith. It says bribe. When you select it, you get the message:

"So you want to do a little business under the table? Target a bulk order deed to show to the shopkeeper."
You get a target cursor with this message. Applying the cursor to a BOD gives the following message:

"I shouldn't have too much trouble finding a better replacement for that bulk order." "If you help me out, I'll help you out. I can replace that bulk order with a better one, but its gonna cost you XXXXX gold coin. Payment is  due immediately. Just hand me the oder and I'll pull the old switcheroo."

Handing the deed over to the NPC withdraws the amount from your bank and gives you a new deed with the following message:

"You'll find this one much more to your liking. It's been a pleasure, and I look forward to you greasing my palm again very soon. XXXXX gold has been withdrawn from your bank box."


My initial thoughts on Bribery:

Bribery looks to be a signficant gold sink, as its not all that cheap to upgrade an sbod, and lbods are a multiple of the included peices. In addition, the threshold before an NPC stops upgrading bods is pretty low. The most I have gotten from one NPC so far is four upgrades. Based on this, I think that it makes sense to identify the best upgrade opportunities and focus on those. Based on the value of the rewards, and the cost involved, I am focusing on maximizing the number of valorite hammers I can get out of my bods, and on upgrading chain where it makes sense. Thus far, my list of upgrades that look to be worth it below. I will add to this as I finish looking over the charts.

One Upgrade to Valorite Hammer:

Deed                              Previous Reward
PL_Small_E_15_VA              Ver Hammer
PL_Small_E_20_VE              Ver Hammer
PL_Small_N_20_VA              +30 ASH (this is the best ROI opportunity I see)


Two Upgrades to Valorite Hammer:

Deed                              Previous Reward
PL_Small_E_10_VA              Ver Hammer  (I may not upgrade these)
PL_Small_E_15_VE              +60 ASH (I may not upgrade these)
PL_Small_N_15_VA              Gold Hammer
PL_Small_N_20_VE              Gold Hammer

Chain BODs Probably Worth Upgrading

Deed                     Previous Reward              New Reward             #Upgrades
CH_Small_E_15_VE    +30 ASH                         Agg Hammer              1
CH_Small_E_20_AG    +30 ASH                         Agg Hammer              1
CH_Small_E_20_GO    Gold Hammer                  +60 ASH                    1
CH_Small_N_20_BR    Bronze Hammer               +20 Skill Scroll           1
CH_Small_N_15_VA    +15 ASH                         +20 Skill/Agg Hmr      1
CH_Small_N_20_VE    +15 ASH                          Agg Hammer              1

Bribery Test Results:

Single Upgrade from Ver Hammer Set to Val Hammer Set:

15 exc Ver Plate Legs 54,700gp replaced with 20 Ver Plate Legs    
15 exc Ver Plate Legs 36,400gp replaced with 20 Ver Plate Legs    
15 exc Ver Plate Legs 38,400gp replaced with 20 Ver Plate Legs  
15 exc Ver Plate Legs 40,400gp replaced with 20 Ver Plate Legs    
15 exc Ver Plate Legs 41,400gp replaced with 20 Ver Plate Legs    
20EVerTunic 64,000
20EVerTunic 65,900
20EVerTunic 38,700 (Switched locations and price dropped a bunch)
20EVerTunic 40,700
20EVerTunic 39,200
20EVerTunic 41,200
20EVerGloves 36,800
20EVerGloves 33,300
20EVerGloves 35,300
20EVerGorget 37,200

Single Upgrade From Ver Hammer to Val Hammer Average per piece: 42,907

Current Projection for turning a Ver Hammer set of deeds into a Val Hammer set of deeds (Smalls only): 257,440
Upgrading the LBOD would approximately double that cost.
While I expect the price of hammers to come down, the typical verite hammer sells for around 8M, while the typical valorite hammer sells for around 15M and up. A single upgrade appears to be worth doing. The double upgrades are likely to double the cost, based on my intial examination and also appear to be worth doing as well.


Additional Testing Not Yet Considered Above:

10 exc Ver Plate Legs 32,400gp replaced with 15 Ver Plate Legs   Comment Deed is still a ver hammer deed.
15 exc DC ring gloves 15,800 gp replaced with 15 exc B ring gloves  Comment Deed jumped 2 ore grades
20EVerTunic 60,900
20EVerTunic 66,800
20EVergorget 38,300
20EVergloves 40,300
20EVergorget 42,300
20EVerTunic 21,200
20EVerLegs 21,200
20EVerLegs 41,400
20EVerTunic 43,400