Yui's AMA

[yui 576]

1 hour ago, LordCowCow said:

Alright nerd for your 100th post in this what's your top 5 least favorite Heroic Spirits?

This is actually pretty tough, since most heroic spirits I range from neutral to really liking. There are less than five that I actively dislike, and I should clarify that I'm factoring FGO gameplay into this list a bit, unlike my last one.

#5

Spoiler

Despite his being on this list, I actually rather like Geronimo.

It may seem odd to clarify that I like my fifth least-favorite heroic spirit, but like I said, there aren't even five that I actively dislike, and FGO gameplay is a factor in this list. The latter is exactly why Geronimo is down here. He's just so bad. All three of his skills are powerful buffs for a single card type, which sounds great... until you realize that these buffs only apply to Geronimo himself, instead of his whole team, and only last for a single turn. This also renders his third skill virtually useless, since he only has one quick card that only packs two hits, which combined with his low star generation stat, means he won't get much use out of it anyway. His Noble Phantasm is actually pretty damn cool, but even then Geronimo holds himself back by having two buster cards, meaning he only has two arts cards with which to generate NP. Please DWs, buff this boy.

#4

Spoiler

With Mordred being my second-favorite and my also being a bit of a Lancelot fan, Artoria Pendragon working her way down here may not be entirely surprising.

This is an entry where FGO gameplay doesn't play a factor. The simple fact of it is Artoria is too vanilla, and does some rather stupid things in the name of honor, most notably in Fate/Zero during her final confrontation with Caster. When I watched Zero and about half of Unlimited Blade Works, I saw all these Servants positively brimming with character and personality, and Artoria was just kinda... there. Poster children of a franchise are very rarely my favorite characters, but it's even less common that I actually dislike them. Honor is important as a knight, but honor alone does not a knight make, much like how wheat is not the only ingredient needed to bake a cake. Artoria lacks those other ingredients.

#3

Spoiler

Fionn mac Cumhaill's spot in the number 3 slot is a weird one.

Fionn is a cursed combination of a mixture of reasons I don't like Artoria and why I don't like Geronimo. I could never get much of a feel for him in terms of personality besides "flirty dude". But that in itself doesn't really bug me that much. The actual reason Fionn's down here is FGO gameplay reasons, much like Geronimo. While Fionn isn't a trash servant like Geronimo, he is an incredibly frustrating boss to fight against, and one that you have to square off with more than once. Or at least, he caused me a lot of strife during my encounters with him. I also considered putting Hektor or Diarmiud in this spot for the same reasons, but out of the three, Fionn stuck out the most to me as "somebody I want to punch in the face".

#2

Spoiler

There's just something about Medusa that causes me to actively have it out for her.

Casting aside the fact that she fills the same niche as Alexander (one of my favorite riders) in FGO, Medusa is somebody that I - for reasons I can't discern - actively cannot stand the presence of. Unless I'll be seeing more of her in the future, she did precisely fuck all in Fate/Stay Night, she never struck me as particularly interesting anytime ever, and overall the only redeeming factor I can fish out from this mess of a servant is her lancer form is cute as fuck. I'm pretty sure Medusa's technically a divine spirit instead of a heroic spirit similar to her sisters, but both Stheno and Euryale are so weak as gods that being servants actually made them stronger, so since there aren't many servants I dislike, I'm putting Medusa in here anyway.

#1

Spoiler

Not unlike sai, my least favorite is Caster of the Nightless City, albeit for different reasons.

Absolutely everything about this servant actively does not appeal to me. I do not like her design. Her role in FGO is too niche. I cannot stand her personality. Being afraid of dying is a perfectly valid fear, but it was taken quite a bit too far with this bronze-skinned buffoon in my incredibly limited experience with her. While many Servants have left me with bad first impressions (Nikola Tesla, Gawain, Vlad III, to name three), they're generally characters that I warm up to before long. With this being the only one I've had that experience with that I've seen on someone's shitlist, I'm not holding my breath until I start liking her.

 

[Thar 502]

When going into a new show, book, or game: What do you look for in a character that separates them from the rest - be it for fictional love interest or otherwise?

[yui 576]

5 hours ago, Thar said:

When going into a new show, book, or game: What do you look for in a character that separates them from the rest - be it for fictional love interest or otherwise?

[radio414 907]

you asked for fate-related suggestions and i don't know anything about fate so...

Can you describe aspects of Fate (story, gatcha mechanics, honestly whatever you want) using the Up-Goer Five text editor? Basically you're only allowed to use the thousand (or "ten hundred" as the site calls it) most common words in the English language.

[yui 576]

1 minute ago, radio414 said:

you asked for fate-related suggestions and i don't know anything about fate so...

Can you describe aspects of Fate (story, gatcha mechanics, honestly whatever you want) using the Up-Goer Five text editor? Basically you're only allowed to use the thousand (or "ten hundred" as the site calls it) most common words in the English language.

The show is about calling up people from the past to fight in a fight for a cup that can make any wish come true. These are great figures who are very important in the story of people as a race, and the people who team up with them after calling them to the present. It's a pretty fucked-up world but the normal people don't know any of this is going on either, so they have no idea about the crazy shit going on just under their noses.

 

The phone game lets you round up these people for yourself, catch them all, and run around through time doing different things to fix the past. It's pretty cool, and rather kind to new people or people who don't want to spend a lot of money. And free to play.

 

There is also a side show but that's a whole different matter that you shouldn't even worry about until you get into the big stuff first.

[Thar 502]

Who would be your Servant, what class would they be, and what would be your strategy in the fight?

[LordCowCow 840]

If we both were in a Holy Grail War what advantages do you think you'd have?

[yui 576]

4 minutes ago, Thar said:

Who would be your Servant, what class would they be, and what would be your strategy in the fight?

This depends a bit actually. In the history of Fate as an anime series, every summoning has been conducted with a catalyst related to the Servant one wants to summon and/or use of some extra lines in the summoning incantation. Using the sheath of Excalibur lets Kiritsugu summon King Arthur, Waver used a piece of cloth from Iskandar's cape to summon him, and Kariya added some extra lines to his summoning to get a Berserker-class Servant, among other things. This is also why r/grandorder users post catalysts of the Servant they want for good luck on their gacha rolls (I've even made a few myself, but all I can make is memes). But it is known that should one summon their Servant without such a catalyst, the Throne of Heroes will simply hand them the Servant that would best suit them.

The Servant I would get without a catalyst is still a bit up in the air as far as I know, but the latest consensus to my memory was that it would be Oda Nobunaga (my favorite Servant, as it so happens; see the bottom of the previous page). Should I get Nobu as my Servant in a Holy Grail War, I'd likely leave the strategizing to her since she'd certainly be a far better tactician than me, and try to get the drop on other Masters myself while she was busy dealing with Servants if she didn't need me or whatever type of magic I'd have for something.

If I were to use a catalyst to summon a Servant, however, I would rather like to summon Leonardo da Vinci as my Servant, perhaps using one of his blueprints as a cataylst. The Caster class isn't all that suited to direct combat, but with my weird ideas and da Vinci's brilliance, it's safe to assume that we'd have plenty of unique tools at our disposal to deal with the others in unconventional fashions they might not be ready for. It's a strategy based very much on the element of surprise and thinking of approaches that wouldn't normally work.

4 minutes ago, LordCowCow said:

If we both were in a Holy Grail War what advantages do you think you'd have?

If we assume this takes place in Fuyuki like the others do, and that I summoned without a catalyst thus ending up with Nobunaga, my Servant would be incredibly powerful due to Servants getting buffs in their homeland, proportional to their fame. The legendary Sengoku warlord largely responsible for Japan being a single nation would naturally be a pretty big deal in Japan. Otherwise, my advantages against others mostly rely on being over/underestimated, as well as my ability to come up with odd ideas on the fly (this would be all the stronger if I used a catalyst to summon da Vinci).

[Chaos Sonic 443]

Who is the best Ruler Class Heroic Spirit and why is it Summer Martha?

[yui 576]

4 minutes ago, Chaos Sonic said:

Who is the best Ruler Class Heroic Spirit and why is it Summer Martha?

If you like Summer Martha, got news for ya son.

She's pretty damn cool, but Jeannne's number one.

[LordCowCow 840]

Is it just cause I play Fire Emblem but does Saber being strong against Lancer make no sense?

[yui 576]

4 minutes ago, LordCowCow said:

Is it just cause I play Fire Emblem but does Saber being strong against Lancer make no sense?

Pretty sure it's just you playing Fire Emblem. I always saw it as "Lancer can get that first stab in, but if it doesn't kill or it misses Saber's in close where their sword is still effective and a lance/spear isn't as useful"

[Summer Darj 292]

IDK if you know Dragon Ball but here goes a sudden question:
Hopefully you know that in Dragon Ball series sometimes old enemies are revisited and brought back, for example Frieza in the recent movie, and Android 17 in GT. So, if you could choose, which previous enemy would you bring for Goku and co. to fight again?

[yui 576]

1 hour ago, Darj said:

IDK if you know Dragon Ball but here goes a sudden question:
Hopefully you know that in Dragon Ball series sometimes old enemies are revisited and brought back, for example Frieza in the recent movie, and Android 17 in GT. So, if you could choose, which previous enemy would you bring for Goku and co. to fight again?

Cell, no doubt about it. He was always my favorite Dragonball villain by a long shot, and the Cell Saga was my favorite arc in Dragonball.

[radio414 907]

Do you think running the Yui Rates Music thread has broadened your music taste? To put it another way, have you found new genres you otherwise wouldn't have or just individual songs?

[yui 576]

2 hours ago, radio414 said:

Do you think running the Yui Rates Music thread has broadened your music taste? To put it another way, have you found new genres you otherwise wouldn't have or just individual songs?

I don't have to think; I know it has. The most immediately notable impact it's had was Lordi becoming one of my favorite bands of all time after IRS posted this song to start off the thread on the old site.

There have also been a couple DAGames songs between this site and the old one (Instruments of Cyanide and Get Out in particular), as well as a handful of other songs from various bands/channels. It was also the first step responsible for my gradual warming up to the idol genre as a thing that exists across several forms of media; we've got Cow and Mirei to thank for that one for the most part. More recently, I've also been quite enjoying the music Darkness contributes, letting me dip my toes into a genre I'm not familiar with. The impact it's had wasn't life-changing or anything, but it's certainly there.

More important than that though, I hope I've been able to introduce members who contribute the thread to new music they enjoy, be it directly through my own suggestions or from them listening to songs others post.

Now then, a lot of things have happened since I've been asked about favorite/least favorite heroic spirits, so I'm gonna revisit those questions. I've re-evaluated what it means to call a Servant my favorite/least favorite, thought about the ones that fill me with joy/hate, and responded accordingly this time. Also gonna include a special #0 slot for each this time. Consider it Fate's equivalent to EX rank; something I can't measure through conventional means, so they belong in their own category. Also, something got fucky with the text editor along the way, so if the spacing in these is weird, that's why.

On 9/8/2019 at 5:35 PM, Saikazo May Cry said:

What are your top five favorite Heroic Spirits from Fate?

#5

Spoiler

Bartholomew Roberts

Bartholomew is a fairly new addition, both to Fate in general and to my list of Servants I really like. Simply put, if there were a Servant I wanted to have drinks with for the first time, it'd be this guy. Pirate though he may be, he makes sure to still be quite the gentleman. Furthermore, I can feel a special kind of kinship with someone like Bartholomew. Simply put, the guy knows what rocks his socks, and he'll own that shit without a hint of shame. For that reason, I'd rather like to get along with him.

#4

Spoiler

Jeanne d'Arc (Alter)

With some things shifting around, Jalter finds herself promoted to the #4 slot. Unfortunately, there isn't really anything I can think to say about Jalter that I didn't say the last time I went over my top five. Except her voice I guess? I love Jalter's voice. I'd have a hard time playing the game if I had Jalter probably, because I'd just spend most of my time listening to her voice lines nonstop. I'm not really into the whole "step on me" thing, but I think I can make an exception here. Also, she's a welfare servant in next year's summer event, and in the berserker class no less! I'm happy.

#3

Spoiler

Rama

Despite everything, the king of Kosala retains his third-place position. This probably has to do with my appreciation for Rama growing deeper since I last talked about him, since I currently have him as a Servant in my Grand Order roster, and he's the foremost of my Sabers. This also means I can talk about more than just his sheer dedication to his wife Sita. Rama likes the good stuff in life. He's a man of justice, and a man of music and dance, as well as having a fondness for martial arts. He's a pretty serious guy, but doesn't shy away from having a bit of fun. And of course, he is indeed a king.

I too would like to see him reunited with Sita, even if I know it'll never happen.

 

#2
 

Spoiler

Oda Nobunaga

I'm trying to think of things to say about Nobu that I didn't last time. I really like leader types with initiative, and you don't become the sengoku era's winning warlord by not being one of those. I've always been of the mind that old things should generally be done away with in favor of the new unless the old thing in question has some particularly good merits that warrant it, which is a trait that I happen to share with both the fictional and historical Nobunaga. I'm still upset that her event's rerun ended months before I joined Grand Order, but the actual Nobunaga's tendency to say "it can't be helped" is eerily appropriate. Besides, I'm clinging to the idea right now that with GudaGuda's finale being this year in JP, next year might be another GudaGuda 1 rerun for all the players who joined in the years since the event's debut and rerun.

The only other thing I can really think to say is that Nobunaga gets more flak for her nature as a joke character than is warranted. This isn't to say joke characters shouldn't be criticized and judged fairly with their non-joke peers, but Okita is far more joke-y than Nobu, yet she manages to duck the radar on that. Furthermore, while Koha-Ace was a gag manga, and GudaGuda 1's writing was rather shitposty, it's been getting less and less haha me funny with each subsequent event, allowing Nobu's more serious side to show during those events. Or so I've been told.

#1

Spoiler

Gilgamesh (Caster)

I don't change my mind on #1 favorites very often, so I'll let Nobu's demotion to the #2 spot serve as proof of just how much I really like Caster Gilgamesh. Specifically this version of Gilgamesh, though. I don't like his default Archer form very much, and while Kid Gilgamesh is a very polite child, I'm not gonna smile just because he's in a scene like with the King of Heroes in his less hero-y, more king-y state. Ultimately, Caster Gil has a lot of the traits I liked about Archer Gil, but has lost many of the traits I didn't like about him, making him a cream of the crop guy that still lives for himself and his amusement, but not only knows how to rule over his people properly in the meantime, but knows how to do it very, VERY well. He's wise, bold, can both talk the talk and walk the walk, and is incredibly charismatic.

How charismatic, you may ask? Well, let's put it this way. It took him being on-screen for about... three seconds, for me to immediately really really like this version of Gilgamesh when I first saw him. Charisma A+ indeed.

There is more I'd like to say, but first, a SPOILER WARNING! The below spoiler contains... well, spoilers. If you care about spoilers and have not yet completed the Seventh Singularity, do not open the below spoiler! It contains major plot twists for that particular singularity, so you've got nobody but yourself to blame if you still open it knowing everything I just said.

Spoiler

Gilgamesh's wisdom as a king and as a hero truly shine in the later half of the singularity, when Tiamat awakens and everything goes to shit. Gilgamesh was able to prepare his people to get out of dodge, keep Uruk intact long enough for Ereshkigal to open up a hole into the underworld, and even sacrificed his life to save you which was all part of his own master plan to use his own body as a catalyst to summon himself in Heroic Spirit form. Quite the cunning king, if I do say so!

 

#0

Spoiler

Billy the Kid

If you asked any of my other Fate friends "who is Yui's signature Servant?" they'll tell you it's Billy, and for good reason.

Right from the get-go, when I first met him tagging along with not-Altera during the Paul Bunyan event earlier this year, something about Billy just resonated with me. Even now, I can't really put a finger on it. Maybe just the general energy he carries himself with? Whatever it is, it attracted me to the boy, and he's been a Servant that took a lot of my firsts. First max ascension. First grail. First level 10 skill. First bond 5, and eventually first bond 10. Cornerstone of my first team. My first multi-limit broken craft essence goes on him, too.

My appreciation for Billy only deepened during the main story. Without any spoilers, Billy's presence in the America singularity always seemed to be a treat. Among a wacky roster of wannabe idols, trappers, a few loonies, and more, Billy was... he's just a dude, and that's it. It's really basic, but that's part of why I like it so much. He just wants to kick back, have a nice quiet evening, and not have to deal with any trouble. Billy's seen me through a lot of fights in Grand Order, and I'm looking forward to many more.

Also, Archer is my favorite class. That helps a bit too.

 

On 9/9/2019 at 5:11 PM, LordCowCow said:

Alright nerd for your 100th post in this what's your top 5 least favorite Heroic Spirits?

#5

Spoiler

Artoria Pendragon

All of what I said last time still applies to Artoria. Honestly, I only added Artoria as a last resort this time, since I couldn't think of enough Heroic Spirits that I actually dislike. One of the most bland Servants in Fate seems like an appropriate #5.

#4

Spoiler

Phantom of the Opera

Remember that time I put Geronimo on my old #5 slot purely because - despite thinking he was an awesome character - he was just really really bad? What if I told you there was a Servant who was just about as bad for gameplay purposes, but without having a cool character attached to it? This dude's actually so boring that I forgot he existed until earlier today, and even then I only remembered because he directly confronted me in the story. And then I laughed at him.

Setting aside the fact that Phantom of the Opera is easily my favorite musical of all time, this a guy with none of the interesting tidbits Eric displayed in the source material, and instead suffers from what I shall call "release writing syndrome" since it's caused by Servants being released near the start of FGO's span when the dev team didn't really give a shit, with only Servants who existed beforehand such as Cu Chulainn being immune. Symptoms include having exactly two character traits, 90% of your dialogue focusing too obseessivley on a single thing, and if you happen to be a bronze Servant like ol Phantom here, very little hope of recovering with some impressive writing later.

That's not to say it's impossible, mind you. Mozart and Benkei are great examples of this! Despite being release or near-release Servants introduced in Grand Order like Phantom is, they have some pretty great character writing. I'd really like Phantom to one day get the same treatment, but I'm doubtful. Until then, I'll keep him down here.

#3

Spoiler

Gilgamesh (Archer)

I really don't like Gilgamesh in this form. A lot of what I'm about to say will be comparing him to Caster Gilgamesh who I discussed earlier in this post, so please go find and read that before proceeding.

Unlike his Caster counterpart, Archer Gil either can't put his money where his mouth is, or is so absorbed in his own gigantic ego that he never sees the need to. He has no interest in cooperation, seems to lack the wisdom of his Caster form, and would likely be a pretty shit leader despite his Charisma A+. His mindset on what he wants to do with the modern world is also simply incompatible with the way humans will naturally develop, though I'm unsure how much of that was affected by his lengthy mud bath in Fate/Zero. He also did Illya dirty in Stay Night.

Ultimately, I'm unsure how much of why I dislike Gilgamesh is actually Gilgamesh. My main exposure to him has been via anime where he either didn't do much of note (Zero) or was likely corrupted by the grail in the wake of the events of Zero (Stay Night). I'll have to see more of him in other material to get a more firm stance on Gilgamesh, but it's not looking good for the King of Heroes in this form.

#2

Spoiler

Artemis Orion (but it's actually Artemis)

The moon goddess and the star of her eye are an odd duo. And while I actually rather like Orion himself, I'm not too keen about Artemis. She doesn't really come off to me as much more than an airheaded and overly obsessive wife who doesn't treat her hubby very well to begin with. I'm not overly fond of her design either, and something about her voice makes me think they should have cast someone else instead. Overall, not really somebody I like on any level. Funnily enough, Artemis has the same problem as Medusa did last time where technically she's a Divine Spirit instead of a Heroic Spirit, but I seem to recall she did some weird fuckery to force herself down to the level of a Heroic Spirit so she could be summoned? I forget.

#1

Spoiler

it's still Caster of the Nightless City

#0

Spoiler

SPOILER WARNING!!

This entry contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the entire 1st arc of Fate/Grand Order! Do not open the below spoiler unless you've finished the first arc of the game (all singularities + temple of time) or do not care about Fate/Grand Order spoilers.

Spoiler

I'm serious!! If you get spoiled with the below and are upset about it, don't come crying to me. I warned you. Twice.

Spoiler

Goetia

As someone who's never liked "Look how powerful I am! Everything you do is futile! Go cry about how useless you are ahahahaha!" type villains, the 72 Demon God Pillars struck a special cord with me, especially with my powerful disdain for AoE bosses in FGO, which every pillar happens to be until you start doing Temple of Time content. What I also don't like is when someone claims to be someone else, and Goetia - the collective hivemind of all 72 pillars - did a superb job at that. What I also also don't like is Mash getting killed, not just in-game, but in-story as well. Guess who did that? Also Goetia. What I ALSO also also don't like is when boss fights force me to tap into my saint quartz reserves. Which Goetia also did. Twice.

In a twisted way, I'm glad I helped Goetia learn what it was to be human through his newfound hatred of me. In the same regard, he taught me a lot as well. I've found many villains that I dislike, or find intolerable, or that make me mad. But before encountering Goetia, I don't think I ever truly understood what it meant to really hate someone. Luckily for me though, the feeling appears to be mutual.

He does look cool as fuck though. And I can get behind his motivations honestly, though I don't agree with his methods or approach.

 

 

 

[radio414 907]

What was your favorite masquerade monster you played? What about in real life?

[yui 576]

30 minutes ago, radio414 said:

What was your favorite masquerade monster you played? What about in real life?

Can't say I'm all that attached to any halloween costumes I've donned irl. For Halloween Masquerade monsters though, I'd call it a tie. My 2016 monster Chara, and my 2019 monster Kurumi, were equally enjoyable for me to play.

[Thar 502]

You can make one bot on Discord. What would it do?

[yui 576]

7 minutes ago, Thar said:

You can make one bot on Discord. What would it do?

Alexabot. Every time somebody says "this is so sad" she either:
1: Plays Despacito in a voice channel
2: Posts a link to Despacito in the text channel, or
3: Both

[Saikazo 241]

How do you feel about Ushiwakamaru?

[yui 576]

2 hours ago, Saikazo said:

How do you feel about Ushiwakamaru?

Ushi's pretty neat. Not really my favorite Rider or my favorite 3* Servant, but she's cool. I like her.

[Summer Darj 292]

What is your opinion on the removal of the moves "Pursuit" and "Hidden Power", which had competitive relevance in some formats, from Pokemon Sword & Shield?

[yui 576]

14 minutes ago, Darj said:

What is your opinion on the removal of the moves "Pursuit" and "Hidden Power", which had competitive relevance in some formats, from Pokemon Sword & Shield?

The relevance of those moves was mostly in singles if I know what I'm talking about (I may well not). Not only am I more of a doubles fan, but even in singles I didn't use those moves very often. Not to mention what a pain in the ass it is to get Hidden Power to work just right in actual games without some sort of generator software. Can't say I'll miss either of those moves.

[Saikazo 241]

Can you say 3 good things about Caster of the Nightless City?