The Queue: Living while dying

I know Taylor Swift’s new album was the biggest deal last month, but if I had to rank all the new releases I would definitely put Living While Dying at the top. I’ve been listening to this latest record from my favorite Canadian Indie band fanclubwallet almost non-stop since it came out a few weeks back. I’d probably say my favorite track is New Distraction but I also really enjoy Head On and Me Time. You should give them a listen.

While I try to stop immediately thinking “apply directly to the forehead!” every time I read Head On let’s answer some questions.

Since the game is free to play you can always jump back in to dip your toes in to the current meta and see if you like what you find. You can also watch some streamers to see if you like the combos they’re playing. If you find you want to buy 50 packs, though, then you may want to forgo it unless you’re absolutely sure you’re back for the long haul.

As much as I would love to say Chaotic Good the reality is that I am a stickler for rules. Not that I want everyone to follow the law at all times, but if bikes aren’t allowed on the hiking trails in the local reserve don’t ride your bike on the trails! Many of the simple rules and regulations benefit a majority of people and it sticks in my craw when people selfishly disobey them.

That’s not to say I support adhering to the larger stuff as that’s where most of the problems flow from. I’m perfectly fine with protest and civil disobedience. It’s only when people are rulebreaking out of their own selfishness or laziness that I get perturbed. So as much as I want to be Chaotic Good, I have to say I’m Neutral Good.

NO

I’m only logging into the beta right now when researching stuff for Blizzard Watch articles I’m working on. There’s just not enough hours in the day!

I don’t. Blizzard is fond of using the “aspirant” designation and while we saw them a lot in Shadowlands you can find NPCs with that moniker from several other expansions. Heck even our characters were aspirants once if they’ve played through the Argent Tournament.

Blue Prince easily — even though I deliberately stopped playing after reaching the first ending. This game is so amazing and intricate I was becoming a tad obsessive and any game that makes me want to grab several notebooks just to keep track of information is in danger of consuming my life. I’ve been watching my favorite streamer play the game (she’s as obsessed as I was) so I’m able to see all the later stuff I missed and it’s just as awesome.

That said, I really haven’t done a good job of playing new releases this year. I have a strong feeling that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will end up being my 2026 Last Year’s Game That Would’ve Gotten Game of the Year if I Had Played It When It Released (Metaphor ReFantazio is the 2025 winner of that award). Hades 2 is also a possibility but it may be some time before I get to it.

As for forthcoming games there are a few Indie games (and the Nordic Horizons DLC for Euro Truck Simulator 2) I’m excited for but I’d be surprised if any of them challenge Blue Prince for GOTY.

It would be considered “post-apocalyptic” since you’re not actually partaking in the events that were wiping out humanity but surviving in the aftermath.

Bonus points for MusedMoose for coining “apokelyptic”.

The problem for me is that while I would love to do self-imposed challenges there are two impediments: one, I rarely have the opportunity to replay a game and two I kinda suck at my favorite genres such as metroidvanias. For me, completing a game on normal difficulty instead of easy/story is its own challenge.

That said I am planning on a self-imposed challenge for my next playthrough of Persona 5 Royal: the Kawakami Liberation Playthrough. I’m not going to bother Becky at all during the entire game! I’ll still get her rank to 10 of course to unlock everything but she will not be making coffee or doing any laundry for me. And if she calls a teacher out of the classroom I’ll actually study during that time instead of making bombs.

No, only the leader has to have a key. They use it in the pedestal at the start of the Mythic and that’s what sets the difficulty for the Mythic+ dungeon.

If someone is offering carries then you can’t embarrass yourself as they’re doing all the important stuff. Just follow as they wreck everything. If you want to seriously progress through Mythic dungeons you need to speak to … the answer to the next question! (Although if you are carried you’ll get a key on your own, but it may be too much for you in which case … also see the answer to the next question!)

The person you want to speak to is Lindormi in the Infinite Hub. She is the Pandaren standing next to the Console of Infinite Chaos (where you switch to Heroic World Tier mode). If you’re talking to Eternus head west a few steps — you can’t miss her.

Lindormi will give you your first Mythic+2 key no matter what you’ve done. She’s also available to downgrade your current key if you want — if you have a +11 and would rather do a +10 she’ll do so without swapping the target dungeon for the key.

There’s also an NPC that’s supposed to be at the end of every M+ run that will swap your existing key for a different dungeon without downgrading, however the ability to do so is flaky and may not be available in every dungeon.

That is all the time and space we have for questions again today! I hope everyone is staying warm (or if in the southern hemisphere staying cool) as the Winter (Summer) hastily approaches. Get some fresh air, stay hydrated, and have a great weekend!