en en en en en es es es pt en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en de en en fr en en pt en en fr en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en fr en pl en en en en en en en en en en en it en en de en en ceb en en en en en en en en fr en en en en en en en en de en en en eo en en en en en ja en en en en en da sv fr en en en en en en en lt en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en hu en en en lt en de en en en en en en en en it en en en en en en en en en en de en en de en en en qu en en de en en sk en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en de en en eo en en de en en es en en tr en en en en en en en en pt pt pt pt pt en en en en en en en en en en fr en en en en en nl en en en en en de en en en en en fr en en en en en fr en en en en en en en en en en en en en fr en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en fi en fi en en fr en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en tr en en da en en en en en fr en en en en en en fr en en hbs_lat en en en en en en en en en en en en fr en en fr en en cs en en en en en en fr en en en en de en en en en en en de en en en en en en fr en en en en en en en en hbs_lat en en fr en en en en en en en en en en en fr en en en en en fr en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en fr en en en en en nb en en en en en en en en en en en en en he en en en en en fr en en en en en en nl en en en ceb en en en en en en en en eo en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en fr en en en en en en en fr en en de en en en en en fr en en en en en en en en en en en fr en en en de en en en en en en en en de en en en en en en en en fr en en en en en en en en en en en fr en en en en en de en en de en en fr en en en en en en en en en fr en en en en en en en de en en fr en en en en en en en en en en en en en fr en en fr fr en sv fr fr en en en en en en en en en en en en de fr fr en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en es fr en en fr es en en en it en en en en en en en en de en hu en en fr en en en es en en en en en en en en en de zh en en en en en en en en sv en en en nl en en en en en en en de en en de en en en en en en
When Sydney gets that branch of the skilltree totally filled out, the PPO’s selective fire switch is going to have a lot of settings. Rapid fire, Cutting Beam, probably a stun Phaser, maybe a land mine or proximity bomb? Some sort of targeting laser slash gravity beam that pulls asteroids down on your victim? I’m just spitballing here. I mean, I obviously know what all the pips do but that last one does sound pretty cool. Hmm.
Speaking of training, someone should probably reinforce with Sydney that she should concentrate on her target, and not diddling with her weapon while firing. One lesson of MANY that Sydney needs to learn. Like who to inform that of out of control fires she starts on clandestine missions. In this instance, Harem is right there and knows what to do.
Double res version will be posted over at Patreon. $1 and up, but feel free to contribute as much as you like. Patreon donations might count as some kind of tax write off. I don’t know. Definitely ask a tax professional about that. But in the meantime, donate like you’re trying to get into a different tax bracket!
March 20, 2017, 10:07 am | # | Reply
Would somebody refresh my memory: D.P.S. ???
Pretty much. Other letters to watch out for:
PWN: More or less “own”, just with a p sound at the start.
March 21, 2017, 7:05 am | # | Reply
or Rouge instead or Rogue, which is a common laughing stock in MMOs (rouge = red in French).
For anyone who thinks that means “What Would Dr Phil Do?”, think again!
PST: Please Send Tell – requesting that responses be made in private chat rather than the channel.
Aggro: make the monsters mad at you
Tank: guy whose job it is to draw aggro, and soak up the hurt while the rest of the team fights.
Kite: draw aggro and run, trailing the baddies along like a kite string. Good for splitting a larger group.
March 20, 2017, 10:39 am | # | Reply
Department of Public Safety. Obviously. And how it affects them? Well. I’m guessing they’re going to have a lot of paperwork now.
March 20, 2017, 3:34 pm | # | Reply
Damage per second – considered by many to be the most important attribute for a DD – damage dealing avatar in MMO’s. I demur, because if you are too easy to kill, or you run out of whatever powers your damage in a few seconds, then you aren’t a DD, you’re just a burst damage wizard, and while sometimes that’s what you want, you become much less useful in prolonged fights.
Burst damage, low health, low def = a glass cannon.
pre-gaming, it was called “having a glass jaw”.
March 21, 2017, 11:59 pm | # | Reply
I think glass cannon predates gaming too maybe I’m not sure I’ll check later.
It originated in gaming circles, and has yet to achieve common usage outside of such.
Used well though, a glass cannon could break a glass ceiling.
Well, ideally one has a tank to draw aggro, while the DPS does the shanking.
DPS is usually done by the Rogue classes, not the fighter types. Wizards are for AOE and crowd control, along with buffs and counters. Healers… heal, but also throw defense buffs.
But yeah, Max DPS usually means you’re soft and squishy, and not advised for solo play.
Makes the games a bit more interesting when a character who’s obviously a templar healer type says “WATCH THIS” and proceeds to tear half a dungeon a new one.
March 23, 2017, 9:28 am | # | Reply
Or the Rogue just stands there laughing while with a hald dozen Daedra try to hurt him?
March 22, 2017, 1:23 pm | # | Reply
March 20, 2017, 9:15 pm | # | Reply
DPS can also mean the Damage Dealer toon itself. Singular or plural. Or the act or damaging something. It’s the context, really.
March 21, 2017, 5:28 am | # | Reply
“Would somebody refresh my memory…”
*paints “F5” and “Ctrl” buttons on ai_vin‘s forehead*
There you go bud. Just use the desk to refresh.
March 20, 2017, 10:10 am | # | Reply
I love this comic XD thanks for the new page XD
I can’t help but visualize Sydney yelling ‘FIREBALLFIREBALLFIREBALL’ every time she uses this.
Just wait until she get Explosive Runes…
… and then forgets, and tries to read them.
Nah, this is more like Magic Missile
I have to agree with fire bolt as MM does not miss and as you can see there are several missing the target setting fire to everything around.
Halo “I CAST MAGIC MISSILE!”
Maxima: “There is no one here to attack…”
Halo “I ATTACK THE DARKNESS”
March 21, 2017, 5:49 pm | # | Reply
Dabbles doesn’t discriminate on gender
March 20, 2017, 9:09 pm | # | Reply
March 20, 2017, 10:45 pm | # | Reply
March 21, 2017, 5:30 am | # | Reply
Melvin’s Massive (muffled sounds)
March 21, 2017, 3:26 pm | # | Reply
Marvins Magnificent M… Nevermind.
March 21, 2017, 4:05 pm | # | Reply
Now that’s a spell I can really sink my hands into.
March 21, 2017, 5:43 pm | # | Reply
Magnificent Microwave Casserole — wait, damn, not alliterative.
March 21, 2017, 5:50 pm | # | Reply
Mighty Microwaved Marsupials? o_O
March 22, 2017, 5:27 am | # | Reply
now available at a corner store near you, an alternative breakfast treat!
March 22, 2017, 9:22 am | # | Reply
We have a possum festival here. The leftovers are microwaved marsupial.
March 20, 2017, 11:06 am | # | Reply
Actually, it is the robot’s fault that the fire started. Halo’s shots bounced off of the robot’s shields, and last touch counts in Four Square, so that makes it legally the creator of the robot’s fault. Clearly.
March 20, 2017, 6:19 pm | # | Reply
Except for the fire bolts that clearly miss the dragonborn vampire blood robot in the second panel … those parts of the forest fire / property damage are totally Halo’s fault.
March 20, 2017, 11:16 am | # | Reply
I fail to see the strategical advantage of a scatter shot over her tank cutting exploding laser.
As for current fight, shoot the legs that are unprotected, light bee behind him and pew pew to oblivion.
March 20, 2017, 11:25 am | # | Reply
Scattershot is likely best used as either suppressive fire or dealing with a Zerg Rush.
Although, judging by the explosion, it could also be useful for terrain control and opening doors.
March 20, 2017, 12:12 pm | # | Reply
It has plenty of advantages, just not in the current situation. It’s a weapon that’s better off being used against a large number of small targets. Right now I think she’d be better off selecting the explody beam again.
March 20, 2017, 1:11 pm | # | Reply
or quick targets, that looks like it’d actually do LESS damage than chasing something with the “Buttah Cuttah”
March 20, 2017, 2:35 pm | # | Reply
The beam did seem a lot harder to control. Sydney seem to have a lot more control and accuracy with the rapid / scatter option.
March 20, 2017, 5:02 pm | # | Reply
The beam was hard to control because she’s afraid of it. Squinting and shaking is not a good set of things to do when firing a star based laser.
March 20, 2017, 2:47 pm | # | Reply
The advantage is suppressing fire that is what full auto is for or at least that is what they tell you as a private in Basic. Which is does nicely makes you keep your head down right up until you have to charge the emplacement.
March 20, 2017, 3:26 pm | # | Reply
it is the difference between a shotgun and a rifle.
The tank killer is effectively an “automatic rifle” once going it is a bit tough to control without training and practice. and the shot gun is shorter range more damage larger AOE.
single shot fired at a wall this would be the patterns for the hits (or similar).
o o o o o
o o o o o o o o
o o o o o o
o o o o o
March 20, 2017, 3:27 pm | # | Reply
wow that was a fail…
March 20, 2017, 3:30 pm | # | Reply
this is what i was trying to show with the “O”s but failed…
March 22, 2017, 3:37 am | # | Reply
Ooh, I can just make out what the tag, in the second link, says:
“Keep pointy end away from face, when finger is in here.”
March 22, 2017, 6:03 am | # | Reply
Caution: do not read this tag while holding rifle.
where’s the rifle pointed while you’re reading note?
March 21, 2017, 1:39 am | # | Reply
In a super equipped universe the primary advantage is probably that streams of lots of smaller projectiles are typically harder to block/reflect/dodge than a powerful continuous beam. Although the damage output for the beam is higher you only need one point that can be moved into the path of the beam to block all of the damage, much like Captain America with his shield. Whereas with a bunch of little projectiles you have to move to block or dodge each of them in turn or just hope you can take it, which typically either requires armor that can just take it, or speed enough to deflect or dodge all of them to avoid damage, light as it may be. Extremely rapid fire can also be a wonderful tool for locating an enemies weak points, just spray him all over and see what he reflexively blocks or seems to hurt more than the rest. When excessive terrain or Overkill damage are undesirable, like when fighting in a city for instance, lots of fairly weak projectiles tend to pose a lesser risk to civilians and structures than a beam that can potentially cut a building in half and then make it explode… A single collateral death by stray fire is a tragedy, dropping a whole building full of civilians trends to have some serious consequences.
March 21, 2017, 4:39 pm | # | Reply
“I fail to see the strategical advantage of a scatter shot over her tank cutting exploding laser.”
Speedster or missile attack, where you have a target approaching too quickly to chase with a beam and only have a very short time to engage it.
March 22, 2017, 3:40 am | # | Reply
You had me on the first one. The anti-Vance mode.
March 22, 2017, 6:04 am | # | Reply
had me on the first one, two. my backyard.
March 22, 2017, 3:17 pm | # | Reply
I have more than just two in my yard. I estimate about two hundred wolf spiders, judging by how many get displaced when I scythe the lawn.
March 22, 2017, 6:00 pm | # | Reply
Well, obviously you’ve never played Champions and used an Autofire advantage on your Energy Blast while targeting someone with the Missile Deflection power. Really throw a monkey wrench / spanner into the works.
Well, either that, or the person with Missile Deflection bought a lot of extra levels.
But yeah, against the Brick? Probably not so much…
March 20, 2017, 11:19 am | # | Reply
So, when does she get a spread-shot attack that eats enemy projectiles?
March 20, 2017, 11:53 am | # | Reply
It probably depends on which orb controls targeting since you have to see it and track it first…
March 22, 2017, 3:41 am | # | Reply
Now. Provided the projectiles are cup-cakes, Sydney need just spread her mouth wide.
March 22, 2017, 6:05 pm | # | Reply
Laser Point Defense System! Roll that Trak-Ball! And we’ve got so many options for Bridge Bunnies!
Oh, wait, you were thinking the other way….
March 20, 2017, 12:17 pm | # | Reply
Why did her eye color change in one panel? An anime character (or Halo) with red eyes is kind of creepy…
March 20, 2017, 12:30 pm | # | Reply
Her eye colour changed due to the ‘chevron thing’ as she dubbed it, overlapping her eyes. So we see a change in colour there.
March 20, 2017, 6:32 pm | # | Reply
the thing was part of the orbs mini layout around her fingers that acts as buttons, what colored her eyes is the red projected on her shield from which her fire bolt spray emerges.
March 20, 2017, 6:35 pm | # | Reply
well that didn't work at all …
the chevron thing was part of the orbs mini layout around her fingers that acts as buttons, what colored her eyes is the red aperture sphincter projected on her shield from which her fire bolt spray emerges.
March 20, 2017, 12:18 pm | # | Reply
I am so envious.
March 20, 2017, 12:19 pm | # | Reply
And with that final line, Sydney has proven to be a better member of a military force than 99.9% of ROTC graduates in the US.
March 20, 2017, 1:17 pm | # | Reply
Whatever do you mean? :o
March 20, 2017, 5:00 pm | # | Reply
Careful there, I’m an ROTC graduate, though I’d qualify that that with it was Texas A&M, which at the time was a military school in all but name…
March 20, 2017, 6:58 pm | # | Reply
I believe the implication is, knowing a couple things and realizing you have a long way to go is better than knowing five things and believing you are God’s gift to the military.
In all my time in the Armed Forces, the people I’ve seen get in the most trouble have been those who think they know everything… those with no fear of being wrong.
March 22, 2017, 4:31 am | # | Reply
“A fool has a little knowledge, and believes he knows everything. A wise man has a little knowledge, and knows he knows nothing.” -fortune cookie.
March 22, 2017, 6:13 am | # | Reply
hee hee hee. In USAF boot camp, in San Antonio, we had a buncha you A&M fellers visit us to do the obstacle course the same day my flight did. (“flight” here == AF equiv of army platoon). they were starting mingled with us (they let 2-4 runners go at a time, no order). the ROTCs all took off at a ground we’ll-show’em-how-boys lope, while us enlisted boots started at the comfortable jog we’d acquired in the June weather there. I musta passed by about twenty ROTCs passed out, or leaning over, or puking, by side of the path in the last half of that course.
March 20, 2017, 12:46 pm | # | Reply
The “Huh?” panel totally looks like Kurapica from Hunter X Hunter. Too spooky.
March 20, 2017, 1:11 pm | # | Reply
Hey! He’s not supposed to have a shield too! That’s cheating!
I wonder if it’s shield would survive the full power shot? That beam was pretty nasty.
And yeah, combat is not the best place to try out new powers.
March 20, 2017, 2:22 pm | # | Reply
Why not? Combat is the best time, it’s when you need everything you’ve got, and then some
You don’t “hold back incase you may blow something up”, because the point is to blow something up
March 21, 2017, 1:21 am | # | Reply
Except im pretty sure if she tried the main beam and blew up half the neighborhood in the process, there would be a lot of upset people about the collateral damage.
March 20, 2017, 1:15 pm | # | Reply
Just for Syd’s sake, I hope the cutting beam has a sub-function that foreshortens it, so she can effectively have a lightsaber (or maybe more accurately, lightlance?)
March 20, 2017, 2:28 pm | # | Reply
That’s what people are hoping for if she ever buys the Hentorb + PewPewBall connector :D
March 22, 2017, 1:06 pm | # | Reply
I think Sydney already has a sub-function. Her only problem being limited air supply. But, on the plus side, she does have a glorious all-round viewing dome! All Sydney needs is clear water, with lots of fishies, and she would easily beat an aquarium experience.
Although the hypothetical lightsabre would be useful for slicing and cooking a nice fish dinner.
March 22, 2017, 6:08 pm | # | Reply
“Ah, I see you have the Force Field that goes Ping. Marvelous!”
March 20, 2017, 1:19 pm | # | Reply
Now that would be awesome. If the cutting mode condenses the awesome energies so much that it actually is a thin beam of insanely dense and hot energy that could cut through just … anything. AFAIK, the ‘default’ mode could just be pure, unrefined blast of energy.
March 20, 2017, 1:59 pm | # | Reply
Oh the world is going to be in so much trouble once she unlocks that…
March 22, 2017, 6:14 pm | # | Reply
::flickers his ears in confusion::
My apologies… translation error…
March 23, 2017, 2:40 am | # | Reply
Hey my minions are great doing a Mexican wave, it comes naturally to them.
March 23, 2017, 2:43 am | # | Reply
March 20, 2017, 1:43 pm | # | Reply
Hey Dave, I don’t know if this has been asked/answered before but how do you decide what upgrades Sydney gets? Is it story driven, what ever you think is cool, or do you roll dice?
March 22, 2017, 6:18 pm | # | Reply
DaveB has made a lovely mandala (which we get to see from time to time) – each point of the mandala is, according to DaveB, already decided as to what it will be. There is a very lovely big version of it linked someplace – I expect the electrons will hardly have settled into place before someone will provide a link for your viewing pleasure.
The timing on each unveiling is where, of course, hilarity ensues…
March 23, 2017, 3:22 am | # | Reply
As requested. Mind you the actual question was quite an interesting point that only DaveB could answer. Yes, we know he detailed all the powers before we even got to see the orbs, in the first place, of which we have seen the layout.. And a fan even created an approved cleaned-up version.
But in this case Sydney chose randomly. Did Dave likewise?
I presume that he chooses upgrades, from that, based on the ongoing story needs. However I could see that he used roleplaying mechanics, at key points, to determine things that he had not predetermined, for whatever reasons.
March 20, 2017, 1:47 pm | # | Reply
Sydney is going to be in *so much* trouble after this op.
March 20, 2017, 2:31 pm | # | Reply
Why? Because she, once again, saved the team? Mostly
It wasn’t her that went inside and got “Capri Sun’ed”, it wasn’t her that fell off of a roof, it wasn’t her that allowed her self to be used to make a hole in a building
March 21, 2017, 2:56 pm | # | Reply
Well, Max specifically told her not to shoot at things until trained, and she started a forest fire because she tested a new laser beam upgrade in combat.
March 21, 2017, 5:57 pm | # | Reply
Believe Maxi was talking about using her sidearm
So, your suggestion is that she does nothing? “Yeah, sorry Big Scary Killbot, I can’t fight you or stop you in any way because I haven’t finished training”
March 22, 2017, 1:29 pm | # | Reply
BaufenBeast is correct that Maxima specifically mentioned the PPO, in that context.* In addition to Peggy doing the same with the firearm later, so you are right on that aspect.
However Sydney is acting within Maxima’s order, as she did give a relevant exemption:
“I don’t want you shooting anything, unless you have no other option”
Halo has made a reasonable assessment that the tentacle will not be effective against this opponent,** which only leaves her the PPO as a viable option. Now the flaw in doing that has been exposed (thanks to the enemy’s shield) Sydney will have to either think more creatively or make do with whatever harassment she can achieve, with the tentacle.
The latter would not be ideal though, as the construct’s own tentacle has a long reach, so would continue to pose an ongoing danger to Sydney’s companions.
* Sydney had not been issued a firearm at that point, and the conversation was about the PPO, as this is the page following ‘touching a star’.
** It is worth remembering that the Mars building has a large basement. Which could be a standard feature of these buildings. Meaning the ‘grab them and slam them into the ground’ technique could pose a severe danger to captured hostages, as an example. Even if the tentacle is strong enough to pick this opponent up, in the first place.
March 20, 2017, 1:58 pm | # | Reply
The epic unlock is obviously going to turn that orb into a Lazy Gun. =p
March 20, 2017, 2:02 pm | # | Reply
Is it me, or did the scatter shot pushed the robot from a close range to a medium range compared to Sydney?
March 20, 2017, 2:33 pm | # | Reply
It is possible, unless he just backed up, but either way, yes, he is further back than before she started shooting
March 20, 2017, 2:33 pm | # | Reply
So there is an aperture open in the forcefield. Can Harem port inside now? More importantly will she let go of the PPO in time to avoid a tentacle thrust through the opening?
March 20, 2017, 2:36 pm | # | Reply
Depends on if it can stay open when she’s not firing through it, like the Droideka’s from “The Phantom Menace”
March 22, 2017, 1:33 pm | # | Reply
That is certainly the appearance. However Dave has advised that it is not actually a hole, but rather a ‘particle portal’. So (by obvious implication, of that) the beam actually starts on the outside of the force-field. Much like we see the tentacle doing, under similar circumstances.
March 20, 2017, 3:07 pm | # | Reply
So while Sydney is busy monologuing, this is when the mech reaches its tentacle and smacks her. At least thats what I was thinking was going to happen. Girl lacks focus in spades.
March 21, 2017, 12:42 am | # | Reply
Good thing she has a shield! :D
March 20, 2017, 4:00 pm | # | Reply
And now I have a solid guess as to what one of the unknown orbs does. It’s a mana power meter. Sydney never gets close to draining it at this point, so she never sees it change. However, as she uses her power ups more and more over time, I’m betting one of them is going to show a mana drain on it and will need to recharge over time. However, since she is more like a level 3 noob at this point, it will take her many more level ups until we see it start to discharge, unless she keeps firing this thing for the next several minutes while waiting for Maxima.
March 20, 2017, 4:26 pm | # | Reply
Sydney has a shield, and so does it. Nice.
Well, save for the missing parts. Still nice shape for a shield.
But fans wonder. Will she gather enough gray matter to use the tank cutter function?
March 20, 2017, 5:03 pm | # | Reply
As she noted, more training. Much more training….
March 21, 2017, 12:34 am | # | Reply
Me looking at the next to last panel, I see some scorch/melting on it’s shoulder. I think Sydney has force shield and it has hella armor.
March 21, 2017, 5:59 pm | # | Reply
It is cheating by having both, check panel eight, it has deployed a fancy flower-shaped shield
March 22, 2017, 1:13 pm | # | Reply
Or enough gray matter to change tactics? Lighthook would probably do better in this situation
March 22, 2017, 1:42 pm | # | Reply
That is the safest option now, yea. Unless Sydney can find a way to ensure the PPO attack does not bounce off the shield again.
However do recall that they are standing on a building. Even abandoned ones have caretakers and the possibility of other people being inside, be it estate agents and clients, or squatters living in it. So the ‘slam it into the ground’ technique is not advisable.
Just hanging onto it will not end the fight though. And throwing it off the roof (should it even be within the tentacle’s weight limit) poses a danger to Harem and Krona below. And possibly to the hostages which we know to be underground.
Even Sydney could not be sure where the basement from the Mars building extends, as she had very limited sensory capability when moving the lightbee.
March 20, 2017, 5:13 pm | # | Reply
They’re having a mexican standoff with forcefields.
March 21, 2017, 5:33 am | # | Reply
they should have it with burritos!
March 20, 2017, 6:20 pm | # | Reply
In “Vigilante V8” we called it the “CRATER MAKER”. you got the key sequence right and it would fire your entire shot of “skyhammer” rounds high into the air, lock onto your target and fall down on it with an explosive force that left a crater in the terrain… which your opponent would usually remain trapped in.
Then there was the “COW PUNCHER” from the “Bruiser cannon” which I thought was fun since it did no damage but sent whatever it hit flying/hurtling away as though it had been flung by the hulk himself.
Didn’t mind the “ROAD RUNNER” from the “Bulls eye” either. Same sort of thing. No damage, but when you’ve got a rocket that just sticks to you and keeps on burning to push you around it can be mighty annoying… Particularly if it hits the right angle and just sends you spinning around…
March 20, 2017, 6:32 pm | # | Reply
Really what she needs right now though is a water gun… Not sure if the orbs can do something like that though. the PPO in particular seems to be about energy but in general, anything they create is only temporary so creating water out of thin air isn’t likely.
March 20, 2017, 6:28 pm | # | Reply
if you were referring this to a friend,what would you say?
March 21, 2017, 6:01 pm | # | Reply
Simply “You gotta read this!”
March 22, 2017, 2:03 pm | # | Reply
“The comic has hilarious comedy, incredible art, and a rich, cleverly thought out, setting.”
Beyond that it would be best tailored to whatever you know about your friend, that is pertinent. If they are easily offended, it is worth warning about Sydney’s colourful language, for example. Or if they already read webcomics, you could indicate that it is on a par with the very best, such as Girl Genius.
For someone into social issues, you could mention how it promotes feminist issues and features a heroine with ADHD. Yet still manages to have cheesecake and beefcake, without compromising the former. But only for folks interested in such things, as others may be more interested in the huge super fights, or plethora of clever super powers and interesting characters.
And, for someone who enjoys entertainment with multiple layers, there is the fact that the comic has many small details and even plot-relevant clues, hidden within the artwork and dialogue. Allowing enjoyable rereading and encouraging detailed scrutiny.
Plus the comments community is a nice tranquil pool, which is a rarity on the internet, so is worthy of mention in its own right.
March 20, 2017, 6:50 pm | # | Reply
I like that her reaction to the forest being on fire in a classified mission problem is “I really need more training.”
I keep seeing Max, elsewhere, simultaneously face-palming and grinning with pride out of the blue.
March 20, 2017, 7:26 pm | # | Reply
Well, time to add something to the handbook.
1) Check Behind the Target
2) *new* Check the Target for a Reflective Shield
#2 is kinda hard, and requires lighter attacks first to try and bait out a shield (if there is one). Otherwise you throw your ULTIMATE FINAL SUPER FINISHER, it just get bounced back at you… or the orphanage across the street.
March 21, 2017, 4:45 am | # | Reply
Actually, it turns out she should have opened with the alpha-strike… her first hits with the new power clearly got through (panel 2) before her opponent was able to bring up the shield. So in this case, “nuke first, ask questions later” would have been the optimal policy.
March 20, 2017, 8:10 pm | # | Reply
She is going to be in so much shit after this mission.
March 20, 2017, 8:19 pm | # | Reply
This page is why Sydney will be commanded to use Lighthook in combat unless absolutely necessary.
This page is also why they need to take Sydney out to where they test fire artillery and go through every single option on her orbs. The heck with not knowing what she can GET, she doesn’t even know everything she HAS.
A complete list of what every icon on every orb does (when they can tell at all) will give them a lot of information and many clues to the logic of whoever built the orbs.
March 21, 2017, 4:42 am | # | Reply
As far as I’m aware, they *do* know all of her current powers, and have studied the tree as best they can.
Regardless, she’s now had two “level ups”. Both of them have essentially been new abilities linked to the existing ones, rather than being simple power upgrades… one gave her the ability to teleport to the location of her “remote self”, the other providing more flexibility in her weapon option. So the experts will probably have some better ideas what to expect in future once they’ve had a chance to evaluate this…
March 22, 2017, 1:33 pm | # | Reply
March 20, 2017, 10:11 pm | # | Reply
So basically she went from ‘Like Buttah’ to… an autocanon? No, not an autocanon, if it was, it woud’ve ripped that thing in half. The one on the nose of the Warthog AC-10 can cut a modern tank in half just as easily as the ‘buttah cuttah’. And an autocanon also doesn’t have to worry about a choke. So basically it downgrades from ‘cuts through tanks like butter’ to… what, a ma duce equivalent?
Granted, this version will be very useful as a suppression weapon and against tightly packed ‘zerg swarms’, so it DOES have its uses. But I think Sydney needs to revert back to the previous setting on the PPO orb and try again.
March 21, 2017, 10:13 pm | # | Reply
That last might also result in a ricochet, off of its shield. But this time with an attack that can cut a tank in half! That could cause some serious collateral damage to a totally random target. Which would include Pixel and Harem amongst the more significant ones. Plus Peggy and Maxima as less likely ones.
Then, of course, any orphans and bunnies, that fled home from the forest fire, might find the building being cut in half!
You are right, of course, that Sydney does need to attack more effectively, but she also needs to figure out how to mitigate against that highly likely result. Something that may not be easy for her to do, in her extremely sleep-deprived and emotionally fatigued state!
March 21, 2017, 12:43 am | # | Reply
I don’t know if anyone mentioned it (I didn’t have time to read ALL of the comments), but… the PPO works with shield up. I’ve always thought of the orbs as a swiss army knife for an entity from some advanced race, so the orb’s powers won’t work against each other by design.
March 22, 2017, 2:58 pm | # | Reply
Various folks have had that misapprehension, but this is actually the first instance that we have seen in the comic. Although the logic that the tentacle works with the shield up did imply that the PPO would too, we could not tell that, for sure, until this page.
March 21, 2017, 2:50 am | # | Reply
You forgot the flame thrower.
March 21, 2017, 8:42 am | # | Reply
I didn’t break it. The fire broke it.
March 21, 2017, 8:52 am | # | Reply
What happened to Syd’s eye’s in that one panal? They are red. Anyway its gonna be kinda a stalemate if the stupid robot has a shield too, so basically they are just gonna stare at one another.
March 21, 2017, 10:08 am | # | Reply
We are seeing her eye through the virtual “crosshair” projected on her shield, and it also happens to be red. No change in her eyes, just red tinted stuff between the eye and fourth wall.
March 21, 2017, 6:04 pm | # | Reply
It does have a shield, a fancy petal-shaped shield as seen in panel eight
March 21, 2017, 12:01 pm | # | Reply
So the initial hits tagged it then it brought up a foreword shield. I wonder how much actually got through and if it did any noticeable damage.
March 21, 2017, 9:38 pm | # | Reply
Panel 2 appears to show some melting being inflicted, on the torso. Logically it must have been doing at least some damage or else there would have been no need to raise the shield. There must be some power drain, a limited duration or simply it getting in the way of its own attacks, otherwise the construct would have the shield up as soon as it detected the enemy or got attacked.
So for it to accept whatever handicap the shield offers, it must have considered even this weaker set of attacks to be dangerous enough to justify that.
March 21, 2017, 12:51 pm | # | Reply
For all the effect it seems to have had, Sydney should have just stuck with the single shot cuts-tanks-in-two beam of destruction.
And don’t give me any of that “The bad guy has a force field” bullshit. Clearly the bad guy didn’t have a force field when it was busy being sliced up by laser claws, so why suddenly now? Remember that whole “Pointing a spherical ball at a bad guy doesn’t convey a threat, but a pistol does” lesson that Maxima took such pains to explain to Sydney?> Well, she was clearly wrong! Point one measly pokeball at this bad guy and it’s immediate instinct is apparently to wet its pants and then put up its force field. In that order.
March 21, 2017, 4:34 pm | # | Reply
“Well, she was clearly wrong! Point one measly pokeball at this bad guy and it’s immediate instinct is apparently to wet its pants and then put up its force field. In that order.”
In panel 2 we clearly see it get hit by the pellets it didn’t bring up the field until after the first few hit it.
however your initial assesment on the single shot might be right, but i think that might be maxima’s teaching her about thinking about what she uses that thing on and her surroundings.
March 23, 2017, 1:45 am | # | Reply
i think that might be maxima’s teaching her about thinking about what she uses that thing on and her surroundings.
I can’t buy that, sorry.
“Now eat whatever I just bought!”
In other words, I’ll use the completely unknown but almost certainly blasty new ability of my PPO rather than the one I have at least a modest amount of experience using.
A very poor decision, compounding her decision to fire the PPO in the first place. It’s not completely her fault, Krona essentially ordered her to “Shoot it! Put your shield up!” and that’s what she did. But Krona isn’t in her chain of command. Pixel appears to be the head of this team, and she ordered Sydney to “get to cover and spend your damn point!” Which she did in part, only getting to the cover of her force field after she spent the point.
I can forgive her for being new and confused by conflicting orders from different sources. Any real world Army private who had both their Sergeant and their Lieutenant bark two different orders at them in the span of a few seconds while under fire for the second time ever would probably also not know which order to follow, or in which order.
But again, once she was within the force field, and with none of her team even in sight much less under immediate attack, firing the PPO in haste was a poor choice. And firing the unknown PPO ability in haste was a horrible choice.
March 23, 2017, 3:54 am | # | Reply
Sydney did make a poor tactical decision. However she was following the correct chain of command, even if she has not been taught about such things yet. Pixel was in command. You are correct that Krona, as an ally, does not feature in the chain of command.* Next is Harem, as a corporal, which ranks above Recruit Sydney.
However Pixel is currently incapacitated and no longer on this rooftop battlefield. Likewise Harem has left the top of the building. Meaning that next in the chain of command is Sydney. She is required to act on her own recognisance, in this situation.
Further her standing orders, from Maxima are ‘Do not shoot, unless you have no other option‘. This is because of the sheer destructive capability of the PPO. Once it has cut through this enemy the beam would keep going and cut through other things in its path. Even worse on a miss.
Sydney did have another option though. Take and try out a random upgrade, and hope that it does something useful. The upgrade happened to be to the PPO, but Sydney went with it anyhow.
Had she lucked out there would be cries about her being the writer’s pet and that she only won due to him ‘fixing it’. As it was she is quite lucky, from the point of view that it did not turn out to be even more overkill than her normal beam!
It was though an unnecessary gamble, you are perfectly correct.
On the plus side it is a distinct improvement from being frozen. Further she does have various mitigators for making that choice, not least of which is being in the ‘heat of battle’.** Importantly though it was her decision to make, and she did operate within the rules of engagement.
* Unless Pixel or Maxima had specified that Krona was second in command, for this mission, which overrides the default operating conditions. Such things do occur. We can even see movie examples of this, but based on real-life situations, where the ‘chain of command’ incorporates individuals from different services or nationalities.
It is just a matter of practicality in unusual circumstances. The same applies, on the battlefield, when conducting joint operations with allies.
** Yes she does have the shield up, so could pause, to take stock. But she had just been within a hare’s breath of being killed, and was pumped full of adrenaline. In addition to being sleep deprived and having (understandable) impulse control issues.
March 21, 2017, 10:02 pm | # | Reply
Pixel is a melee attacker. So is the construct. Except it has far greater reach than her. It correctly assessed that it could beat Pixel without raising the shield. This it may not have been able to do if it raised the shield, as it would then be impeding its own attack, in having to reach around it. Lessening its range would make it harder to defeat Pixel promptly, raising the risk of weight of numbers, or reinforcements, swinging the engagement against it.
What you have cited is not an example of flawed scripting but rather an indication that this construct is not as dumb as the previous ones. But Sciona did indicate that this one is significantly more dangerous than the others. One reason being that it is using tactics.
Clearly its tentacle was inadequate to penetrate Halo’s shield, so raising its own has no loss, as the weapon it would impede is already ineffective against her. Further it was correct to attempt the attack, before Sydney raised her shields, as it would clearly have been able to kill her easily, had it landed its attack before she reacted.
Personally I find it refreshing to have an antagonist use smarter tactics than the protagonist. Sydney’s plan was indeed flawed, as you indicated. She was gambling on getting a more powerful version of her previous attack. Not conveniently getting that is a sign of a more believable and balanced setting, in that the bad guys get lucky breaks too, rather than it just being the heroes who ‘luck out’.
March 21, 2017, 11:20 pm | # | Reply
Yorp I look forward to your comments and replies as much as I do the actual comic. I would read the comments section of all the pages but I’ll bet that would take just as long as reading the Fate/Stay Night visual novel! I’ll just have to settle for the one comments section every few weeks that I let pages build up before I read what’s new in the series (I don’t like reading only one page at a time).
March 21, 2017, 11:22 pm | # | Reply
I didn’t enable email notifications in the last comment. Now I did in this one. Reply to this one if you have something to say to my last comment.
March 22, 2017, 1:10 am | # | Reply
Very kind of you to say that. Of course I can only reflect the inspiration that DaveB provides in the comic and that of our fellow readers. I too find it a great pleasure participating in such a great community. None of which would be possible without Dave making the comic so well and attracting so many wonderful people, as a result.
The comment next to the check mark (“Email me when new comments are added to this thread.”) is misleading I am afraid. You will find that any new comments, or replies, added to this comic page will result in an email notification going to you.
Hopefully you will have a helpful email system, which will group them all together, so you only get one notification per day in your ‘in box’. If not, and the volume is inconvenient, you can click on the ‘unsubscribe’ option. Because gmail uses grouping I do choose to use that feature. But typically only do so on the second or third day, after a page goes live, as it is fairly redundant prior to that.
That way I get notifications if comments are added months or even years afterwards. And there is a reasonable volume of new comments, and replies, on the old stuff, as folks do rereads or when new readers get tempted to have their say, as they work through the archive. I hope it works out OK for you too.
March 22, 2017, 9:25 am | # | Reply
“, so raising its own has no loss, as the weapon it would impede is already ineffective against her…”
suggesting the thought that the construct may switch to its ppo-complement, and thursday’s page will see it unleash fiery hell towards Halo. Another test of the shield orb, coming up.
March 22, 2017, 3:03 pm | # | Reply
I would be very surprised if an end-of-arc monster did not have multiple attack options. Even the lesser constructs had various ones.
Of which it is worth recalling that one of those was specifically a shield-penetrating attack!
Whilst most folks assume that it was due to anti-magic, and thereby no threat to Sydney’s shield, that is an assumption not backed up by what we saw in the comic. Whilst it could be that it could simply be an anti-force field weapon that would work equally well against magical, technological or super powered shields.
March 22, 2017, 6:16 pm | # | Reply
I don’t think the mannekillers are inherently intelligent. Just reacting to outward stimuli with general solutions that’ve been built in. There may have not been any real solution to laser claws besides toss to adjacent building, but random fireball barrage? Easy peasy
March 21, 2017, 4:19 pm | # | Reply
Ooh! With this setting Sydney won’t feel so horrible about using the PPO since it’s not at its all-powerful nuclear destruction beam. She can finally do some serious damage.
March 21, 2017, 5:13 pm | # | Reply
Mission Report: S. Scoville, recruit.
“It was like that when I got there.”
March 21, 2017, 7:55 pm | # | Reply
She definitely doesn’t want to use the Buttah Cuttah now that she knows it has a shield. We certainly don’t want a ricochet from *that*.
Time to scoop everyone else up in the shield! Starting with the Reality Hacker.
March 22, 2017, 5:19 am | # | Reply
Please remind me again what does PPO actually as far as the Orb is concerned?
March 22, 2017, 6:32 am | # | Reply
pew-pew orb, but only under certain conditions. https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/490
March 22, 2017, 3:11 pm | # | Reply
The PPO is the red orb, which does an energy blast. The most significant demonstration of which was cutting a tank in half, in the demonstration to the press corps. Sydney has otherwise been afraid to use it, since the incident Garbler linked above.
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Grrl Power is a comic about a crazy nerdette that becomes a superheroine. Humor, action, cheesecake, beefcake, 'splosions, and maybe some drama. Possibly ninjas.
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