When John looked back at his life, he realised the dangers of self-righteousness. While it's fine to express outrage, there would always be things worse than a poorly done joke. For every abortion joke done by Michelle "not Michael" Wolf, a student is suffering from emotional abuse. For every Shrey "he was reported to the police by some Shrek" Bhargava, you have a 5 year-old dumb kid. Long story short, it's very easy to go around using a shield to hide your own sense of self-righteousness. At the same time, it's actually equally easy not to be vocal over things like thisand that.
Of course, John wasn't harbouring any hate towards any specific individual. However, it's true that he was done in by his surroundings during primary school, secondary school, and ITE. By the time he arrived at 32 SIB, he was a broken mess. Thankfully, suicide was prevented via a permanent PES E status. To understand an emotionally abused person, please read this.
Before John officially starts it, allow him to up a vid involving 2 BFFs and him
Okay, it's getting late at night now. Gonna end this here. Yeah, John knows it's so unlike him. Born in the year of the dog 1982, a vilified guy in school, and a wolf living in the Lion City. Thankfully for every Singaporean, this wolf is fictional.
John should have done this. This typing/talking otter should have done this much earlier on. For the past N years, YouTube is getting more than just a few analysis videos. From Game of Thrones to Fate/Zero, you got them all. From the question of Is Daenerys Targaryen Overrated or Misunderstood to answering Why Guts Stands Out From Other Protagonists, you can choose your sword (or dragon depending on your personal taste).
So what this analysis is all about?
It's self-explanatory. Hellsing, Ultimate or no Ultimate, is something no sane parent would want to show his/her kids. In a world where the morally insane outnumber the morally sane, however, Hellsing serves as an effective thinking tool (or maybe not depending on how much of a barking mad person you are). Even more so in a nation where being more moralistic can easily be confused for being actually moralistic. From NTUto the local version of Kill Bill, 'tis only natural for Alexander Anderson's knives to be outed in full force.
Before John continues risking his furry neck, allow him to post a warning:
As mentioned just now, Hellsing, Ultimate or no Ultimate, is something NO sane parent would want to show his/her kids. You DON'T teach innocent children the cruelties of reality by displaying scenes of gore, violence, and guts spilt here and there. You DON'T teach impressionable tweens and teens the birds and bees by showing them what is necrophilia. Xiaxue's A-bomb might be somewhat (?) safe for a certain age group, but Hellsing is for the mature while the Ultimate version is definitely for the mature and wise. Seriously, it's like comparing the atomic bombing of Nagasaki (i.e. Xiaxue's A-bomb) with that of Hiroshima (i.e. Hirano Kouta's Hellsing). Both are devastating in their own rights, but John won't be surprised if one side's casualty count was actually higher due to the difference in population density. Not to mention the fact that no one will ever know the exact numbers.
What this analysis will cover
Firstly, John is not going to cover the whole plot. In fact, the only reason for John's knowledge was the series wiki found here. John did not watch the series, but that didn't prevent this typing/talking otter from... well, typing/talking. Secondly, this post will only cover the topic of monsters and the reality of contradiction which may have escaped some/most of the viewers. Thirdly... well, maybe John will add more things. Or maybe not.
Definition of Hellsing
Hellsing is a very special word. Originally known as Helsing, the Abraham van Helsing in the series was never a Jackman Helsing. Instead, Hirano Jigokuta made this Helsing into... well, a jacked up Helsing. This Abraham van Helsing was neither a courageous man in black nor a righteous man in white. He's a man in grey. Seeing his wife as no different from a dead wife due to her insanity caused by grief? Check. Most likely becoming a hero just because he owed John Seward (definitely not this John here) a debt? You bet. Refusing to kill Dracula? This was proof of Abraham van Helsing being neither a courageous man in black nor a righteous man in white, but rather a jacked up Helsing in grey.
The second part shouldn't be seen as a decisive factor behind how Jigokuta reimagined an otherwise noble and intelligent vampire-hunting professor. But the first and third factors definitely told us something. And that is Abraham van Helsing was no honest Abraham.
Considering the climatic fight between Alucard and Alexander Anderson, one can interpret the Anglicized version of Helsing to be this: A song sung from the depths of hell.
Now there is a difference between the above definition and a song coming from hell. Below two videos represent a song coming from hell.
This video below, however, is the real definition of a song sung from the depths of hell.
A song from the depths of hell Sung by a lord and king Wallachia mourned for its dead Man, woman, and child for the Turks He was a slave to the sword His servitude to the iron pikes The fire of wrath knew no bounds Righteous hatred understood no end Foes and vassals were the same Souls consumed and doomed to fade Wallachia still mourns for its dead All the king's horses and his men Enemies and common folk march alike Heeding the devil's call to fight
~By Kuok Minghui
Note: Every poem here is done by this typing/talking/writing French otter. Please do not steal even though John L'Otter is too piss poor to afford a lawyer beyond the pro-bono option. M.Ravi, maybe?
Where the monsters hailed from
Whence do monsters hail?
Are they the figment of our greatest fear?
Are they the children of our inner hate?
Or mayhap they are truly our very selves?
~By Kuok Minghui
Vampires. Not the ones you read in Twilight. Let's cut the chase here, shall we? In the history of mankind, perhaps no one invoked memories of vampiric monsters like two individuals. One was a woman and a lady, the other a man and a lord.
The former was more vampiric than the latter, her name was Elizabeth Báthory.
No, not this Elizabeth. Also, the royal granny is never her... well, partying granddaughter?
Serial killer? Check. Slaughtered innocent girls just to bath in their blood? You bet. All in the name of eternal youth and beauty everlasting? Scary thought... but yeah.
The second one was none other than Vlad III. Also known as Vlad the Impaler, it must be stated that this Slavic dictator wasn't responsible for 377A. The title Impaler wasn't an indication of his sexuality, but rather his favourite way of execution. In fact, his brutality level was so damn high, the Ottoman Turks had to deal with their very own PTSD.
Alucard releasing his 0 proved one thing: He was truly a monster befitting of the name Dracula. No one like him could ever be called human. Then again, many are those we see as monsters. It's worthy to note that the enemies were separated into two categories: The German Nazis and those like Enrico Maxwell. It's utterly hypocritical for Maxwell to see Alucard as an abomination for three reasons.
1. By calling Alucard a monster, he ignored the fact that he himself was a power hungry monster.
2. By calling Alucard the devil, he ignored the fact that he was also a devil in his own right.
3. By calling Alucard Dracula, he ignored the fact that he was also a son of the devil by helping the Germans.
Edit on point 3: Maxwell wasn't helping the Germans per se, but he was indeed being a son of the devil named the Major.
So why did Enrico Maxwell call Alucard a monster, the devil, and Dracula? Because he saw how far the cruelty of Vlad III had gotten. And it's real, trust John. It's very easy for us to judge Enrico Maxwell just like how easy it was for him to call Alucard... well, Dracula. Granted, we should never call what is wrong right. Wrong is wrong even if everyone else called it right. But what do we see when we decided to look deep and hard inside ourselves? Do we see a shining paragon of justice? Do we see a struggler trying to do and say what is right despite our constant failures? Or do we see a Dracula in the same way Enrico Maxwell was guilty of sacrificing innocent lives for the sake of personal gain? (Note: See the hypocrisy here concerning his reaction towards Alucard's treatment of his own subjects and foes alike?)
Add Note: Apparently, Elizabeth Báthory was a Slav as well. #WhyAlwaysSlavs
Christianity+Agnosticism=A reality of contradiction
You may one day ask: What would Christianity be without Christ? A Christian without Christ is called Ian. Ian is the name of a guy, this logic can be extended to the whole of humanity as well. This is NOT an attack on any nation or any culture. It is the cold hard truth when it comes to human nature. If the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew was able to tell the cold hard truth, so can this... well, person here.
The world of Hellsing is what happens when Christless Christianity reaches its greatest height. In name, the world of Hellsing was one of Christianity plus the supernatural. Protestants+Roman Catholics+occult=blasphemy, right? If that's what you see, then allow John to tell you the cold hard truth: It's NOT just that.
Hidden under the radar was the fact that God was never seen in this series. Not. Even. Bloody. Once. You know what that looks like? Christianity+Agnosticism. Agnosticism, in a nutshell, is the belief that...
1. God is real, just that we don't know which side He's on.
2. God is real, just that we can never reach Him.
3. God is real, just that we're most likely screwed anyway. That has to be the most depressing part if you're to ask John.
Of course, this is an oversimplification of things. John L'Otter is no John Calvin, so you'll have to ask someone else if you want to know more. Either that or Google is your BFF.
So why did John mention theology here?
God and Monsters
"Only a human can destroy a monster. Only a human could dare hope to."
Why did Alucard speak one of the baddest quotes thus far during his final duel against Alexander Anderson? It's evident that Alexander Anderson became a monster to defeat a monster. Before we try finding the answer to this question, let's get one thing clear: Alexander Anderson became a monster due to his faith.
Instead of a show of hypocrisy, Alexander Anderson's insane show of faith further proved how much of a contradiction the world of Hellsing truly was. In a world where Christianity was nothing more than a facade for actual Agnosticism, Alexander Anderson could be seen as the real hero. Yes, he's not the protagonist. Yet as one of the main antagonists (the other being the Major), he's the... well, only heroic figure. His role in the plot was nothing less than a contradiction, for the most notable "villain" was, in fact, the most notable hero.
As for Alucard, the most notable "hero" turned out to be more of a villain. Actually, he's truly one himself. Therein we can see the genius of Jigokuta. At the hands of any Hollywood scriptwriter, Alucard would have been relegated to the standard evil doing monster we're used to seeing. At the hands of Jigokuta, Alucard was truly worth every 0.1 of Hellsing Ultimate's 8.3/10 IMDb score compared to Thor: Ragnarok's 7.9/10 and Wonder Woman's 7.5/10. This is NOT to say Thor Odinson and Diana Prince sucked as heroic figures. Far from it. But compare them with Alucard and you should see the difference in depth. Leave power level in the purgatory, let character depth shine first in the heaven above.
The battle between the two monsters of God wasn't as simple as a fight unto the death. On the first glance, Alucard was the winner. But Anderson's final words indicated he himself was the true winner. In a world where God was nowhere to be seen and only there to be believed, Alucard became a monster. Before he became the monster we're so familiar with, he was already a monster of God. His brutal methods and deplorable means were waged in the name of God. Everyone is seeking a reason for his/her own actions, self-justification is always our favourite pastime. For Alucard, God became the reason and self-justification. He slaughtered countless lives in the name of God, he committed atrocities in the name of his God. Prayers of faith and mercy were nonsense to him, actions of righteous hatred were the only way to heaven. Not only did this signal Alucard's downward spiral into hell, but this was also the perfect evidence proving him to be a monster of God. On the first glance, Alucard denouncing God was due to circumstances involving his descent into the state of monstrosity. In reality, he was already a bloody monster before he realised it. Effectively, Alucard was a victim of a world ruled by Christianity, yet defined by the throne of Agnosticism. At the same time, it must be stated that his decisions were of his own and no one else. When Alucard was still a human Vlad III, he had no choice but to resort to extreme tactics. Why was he so adamant that God would never listen to prayers of faith and mercy? Because by doing so, his people would be doomed! The men would be slaughtered, the children enslaved, and the women raped. Vlad III had no choice but to be Vlad the Impaler. The desire to save his people became a life of deeds without the creed. And it's due to this way of living that Alucard cursed God for abandoning him. And here lies the interesting question of who abandoning who. Was God guilty of abandoning Alucard or was Alucard guilty of abandoning God? Only one answer is for certain: Damned either way.
Now let's look at Alexander Anderson. More than Alucard, this was a monster of his own making. Anderson opted for the best option. He had no hope of defeating this monster, so he decided to be a monster himself. A monster of God. The irony here couldn't be any more evident. Here we have a current monster of God fighting against a devil who used to be one himself! Alexander's status was the reason why Alucard became a monster while he was still a human Vlad III! There's no difference between Alexander Anderson of now and the Alucard of then. That's the mockery facing the two. Anderson must have sensed it, but Alucard definitely knew it. This was the reason for his anger. He hoped for Anderson to kill him. Anderson had the chance when he was still a human. Then he forfeited the right.
The moral high ground
Monsters have no moral high ground. This was Alucard's logic. Yes, they're N times more powerful than humans. A pragmatist would surely say it takes a monster to take down a monster. In a show of cruel humour, Alucard was an idealist. How can a human destroy a monster? How could a human dare hope to?
This is where we see another contradiction in the world of Hellsing. The first contradiction was the relationship between religion and Agnosticism. The second one referred to what Alucard said: "Only a human can destroy a monster. Only a human could dare hope to."
To him, a monster didn't deserve to live, its only right was to die. This was the price demanded by immortality, truly an irony it turned out to be. A monster killing a monster would just sustain, if not at least prolong the vicious cycle of conflict. For a human to kill a monster, however, there's hope for this cycle to be halted. Even if it's to be just a reprieve lasting less than a year, it's still better than nothing. But for this to happen, the human being in question must never feed his/her dignity to the merciless world. Monsters became monsters because they couldn't handle any longer the wounds bleeding inside them. Or at least that's Alucard for ya. Yet, if humans refused to give up their dignity, how could they hope to defeat the monsters? When you think about it, the world of Hellsing was actually one of despair and not one of hope. Alucard's wish was merely an extension of the tragedy defining his descent into hell.
404: Winner not found(?)
Again, we see another irony. It seemed that Jigokuta enjoyed torturing us with ironies and contradictions in the name of despair. There's a German word for it: Schadenfreude. Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung would have been impressed if they're still alive like Alucard and... Alucard?
Anyway, did Anderson truly lose the fight? If we're talking about killing Alucard, his failure proved himself to be the loser. But observe carefully his dialogue with Alucard, his famous last words to a foe he's unable to defeat: "Demons do not cry. You became a demon, because you couldn't cry anymore right? Humans cry and when their tears finally run dry, there's nothing left, but a demon or a monster and one final prayer for death. So, laugh demon. Laugh that arrogant laugh of yours and remember I beat you to it."
Beat Alucard to what? To the grave? Perhaps death was merely secondary. Anderson became a monster in form, but he never lost his dignity as a human being. The definition of his own dignity lies in his unshakeable faith. So by translating his dignity into action, did that make Anderson more of a monster or more of a human? On the first glance, the above question made no sense. After all, Alucard did the same thing, right? Wrong. Alucard's dignity was never about his nation, people, and family. Rather, these things existed for his dignity. They were the reason for his dignity, not his dignity per se. As for Anderson, he harboured a hope. This hope was the reason why his faith was his dignity and not just the reason for it. His deeds made him no different from Vlad, but the difference lies in hope. Vlad hoped for the deliverance of his nation, people, and family. That's why he became the monster known as the No-Life King, a bitter accuser against God. For Anderson, deliverance was about himself. Nothing more because he's only a human, nothing less because that's the true face of his dignity. And therein we see another irony: Had Anderson won the fight, he'd truly become the new Alucard instead. Anderson had every reason to say Amen first, for he won the war by losing the battle. Alucard won the battle but lost the war, that's why he could only answer Amen to Anderson's final moment.
So did Anderson go to heaven? It's very hard to say. The vision he saw could easily be the truth of his inner world, the inner world of an upright man whose life as a priest would have turned out differently had reality be not so... well, Agnostic.
As for Alucard, he became a winner by his own right as well. The ending revealed a clean break from his damning past. By only retaining Schrödinger, whether it's due to self-will, the inability to do so, or both, Alucard managed to retrieve that one thing he craved the most: Not deliverance but the very dignity he believed to have lost after abandoning his humanity. Before John ends this epic post, here's another song truly sung by hell itself.
Paradise found and lost Where will our prayers go? Jerusalem in sight and far When shall we see our God? Blood, death, and screams Why do we cry? Faith, mercy, and a curse Must we be monsters? Eternity and an arrogant laugh Where is the hell our souls shall go?
Nope. No one is doing a sequel to Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice. Let alone this talking/typing French otter John L'Otter. You see, John now knows what he wants to do with his Twitter account. Apart from replying to tweets, John's Twitter account has now officially declared independence from his Facebook account. Facebook will be used for more serious stuff while Twitter is now for the lighter side of things. Therefore, disconnection is a must. Hopefully, John can keep this consistent. Here's a (non-exhaustive) list of stunts this tweeting otter has pulled off so far.
https://t.co/g3bxNfTZxc
We need @JeremyClarkson . We really need him to drive a lorry with someone else driving the Maserati. Not necessarily a Mexican though.
https://t.co/lPsBTKSR3W
Moral of the story? There's no chance in hell you can ever win against the master @JeremyClarkson Just ask the British lorry drivers and all the Mexicans manufacturing their Maseratis.
https://t.co/0u2zxv8Sv2
I find amusing the fact that humanity is more oft than not a self-fulfilling prophecy. I'm pretty sure Shakespeare would have been as well. #GreatMindsThinkAlike
Needless to say, John won't blame Colin "the Kaep Crusader" Kaepernick for this rather. Rather, John blamed the memes. But before John starts the story (?) of Inspiration And Sacrifices, allow this typing/talking otter to... well, stir up some shit. After all, if they could defeat a buaya, whynotJohn?
Believe in people. Even if it means... okay, never mind.
Believe in yourself. Even if it means... okay, never mind. Ryougi Shiki will still kill you anyway.
Lyrics Believe in your Servant. Even if it means he's the hero and you're the knave.
And lastly, believe in yourself. Especially if it means you'll get a girlfriend who is rich, pretty, and intelligent. Also, believe in your Servant. Especially if he's actually your boyfriend. Well, sorta. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
P.S: Believe in your education system. That is if the person upstairs happened to look like auntie Seetoe Beechan from DDR. Think I'm going to get myself into trouble for this. Hopefully, the Cantonment Brigade won't be mobilised to bust this typing/talking otter.
Add P.S: Maybe this song below will be an indication of what John will do for the next post under this label.
Been a very long time since John last wrote something. That is, for this blog. It's been quite an interesting couple of weeks or so. For the first time since N ages, John is feeling the push and that wee bit of motivation to flex his writing muscles.
Then in Barovia, you got the high SES guy and low SES girl. It's never a case of welcome to Singapore, but you can be very sure this post is about welcome to Berez. The low SES girl was someone named Marina, the high SES guy was none other than Strahd von Zarovich. Hell has no fury like a woman scorned, but the Nine Hells have no wrath like Strahd von Zarovich angered. That's why something like this below was a common sight in the ruins of Berez.
Somewhere in the ruins of Berez, you could see a tree shedding leaves of ethereal beauty. No one should ever deny Strahd being a jerk. But you have to admit Strahd's steadfastness when it came to love. Yes, he's a philanderer. But for some funny reason, his love for Marina was more of a Shakespearean Romeo than the common Romeo. If you're lucky enough, you'd see him kneeling before her grave lamenting his loss (i.e. Marina's death). You can try taking him down. Don't worry, you won't die until you face him in Base Ravenloft.
Actually, there's a reason why Strahd was a Shakespearean Romeo before Marina. Despite the journal text concerning him, Strahd did have a humane side. This was why Madame Eva persisted in trying to save him. So what if Neverwinter Online painted him out to be a heartless monster? There's a reason why Hellsing Ultimate (8.3/10) scored higher than Wonder Woman (7.5/10) on IMDb.
Stunlock and counteroffensive
The enemies in the ruins of Berez are 100% undead. Nature of existence wise, the variation is the same as those at the Howling Hills. Same family, different members. This is unlike the Cursed Meadow and Whispering Wood where distinctively different enemy types are present.
At this point in writing this post, allow John to offer a personal advice: Unless you're really confident, try choosing for yourself the ideal hunt zone. You have four to choose from, so choose two or three at the most. This is mainly due to Cryptic upping the difficulty level in the Barovia zone. If you're still surprised at this, it means you're most likely spending too much time playing World of Warcraft. After all, that one requires a monthly fee, unlike Neverwinter's F2P model. Whispering Wood and Cursed Meadow would be John's recommended choices. Howling Hills zone is NOT to be recommended for alts and lower geared mains now. The lupine Chippendales brigade has yet to alter the modus operandi, but the Wolf Dude's BFFs sure have gotten harder and faster. Simply put, their zerging game failed the dope test. Not only that, their zerging game dodged the dope test. Definitely not a good thing for gamers out to test their luck considering Howling Hills is always the hardest open-world zone in Barovia. This looks worse than the two-panel sequence below.
Stunlocking in the ruins of Berez works in a similar way. Break up play=fight>boss the play=stun>score the goal=continual pummeling while maintaining the stun. This is most evident when fighting ghouls. To be fair, some of the undead enemy types are much easier to deal with. Zombies and skeletons belong to that category. Zombies don't do a thing apart from walking up to you and trying to grope you in the most damaging way possible. As for skeletons, the archers are the primary source of dps. So take them down before they start targeting your knee. If the tanking skeleton is present, just bait that thing to the archers. One shield bash and you're stunned. And with that, the undead would just make a French toast out of you.
Dealing with ghouls means dealing with one mob of them (either that or a ghoul-zombie combination). Enemy mobs in Neverwinter tend to operate along the line of racism. It's like seeing a group of white people minus any other person. It's like seeing a group of Singaporean Chinese minus a Malay, Indian, or Eurasian. Not all the time, of course. But definitely most of the time. Therefore, dealing with them shouldn't be that hard. Against ghouls, it's a race of dps. Considering the increased level of difficulty, it's even more imperative that you must out-dps them. While preventing a stun can be 50-50, try not to be stunned more than once per fight. A ghoul stun can last quite long, so please have a decent form of control resistance. Otherwise, make sure you have a jailbreak ready (for a trickster rogue) or CC (for a control wizard). Great weapon fighters shouldn't have a problem with this due to #UNSTOPPABRU while the rest (minus guardian fighters) can be a bit dodgier, to say the least.
Vampires come in three forms: Spawn, Vampire, and Honor Guard. Spawn shouldn't be a problem. But vampires and honor guards are much dicier to deal with. Because both belong to the fully fledged type unlike the half-turned sorry failure of a Barovian, they're able to turn into a swarm of bats. While this is different from the Bat Swarm mount attack you can pull off, this move was meant to be jailbreak+evade. You can't hit them when they're in this mode. So you got no choice but to bid your time until they reappear in their original glory. Vampires tend to be accompanied by their spawns, so try to take down the spawns first. The reason why being that vampires enjoy pouncing on you. This means the risk of getting knocked down. Knockdown attacks can be interesting at times. Against opponents immune to it, such moves are next to useless (unless you're a melee HR pulling off a Flurry). In fact, knockdown immune opponents are more common than those immune to other control effects (note that control immunity can be either partial or total). Unfortunately, no player is immune to knockdown unless it's a master infiltrator TR triggering a non-stealth Impossible to Catch. The vampire jump comes out fast, so it takes a quite bit of practice to avoid getting hit. At the same time, the terrain in Berez is full of broken walls. Which means you'll be fighting in an enclosed space while trying to dodge the prone and stun. Considering how fast the CC attack can come out, it's the same old story: Try getting a decent control resistance game. It's not that hard if you can get a Sigil of the Controller. Otherwise, you'll really need something else to buff your defense, potion or no potion.
Thorns, Vengeance, Steadfast, and Kumar
Apparently, the devs did something interesting to Thorn Ward. Previously, you may have realised Thorn Ward being unable to throw the dps to other players. This is most likely due to critical hit=increase in damage instead of higher damage resistance debuff. Now, the rules have changed. Unless the tooltip is calling a bluff, critical hit most likely would result in higher DRI debuff. At the same time, it's also likely that critical damage has been lowered. Out of 10 raids, John noticed Arylos' dps count dropping despite a 14K+ total item level score. Out of every such moment, Arylos was using Thorn Ward to debuff first. Which wasn't really that bad if so. In fact, it merely made the combat HR more interesting to play when it comes to raiding. This effectively made the combat spec more of a higher end debuff-dps build when it comes to ease of usage. As anyone can tell you, end-game raids (read: advance and expert queue raids) require more buff/debuff than pure dps muscle.
And speaking of combat spec HR, John is now messing around with Seeker's Vengeance on both loadouts. The reason being why was that dps stormwardens on the combat spec basis can be easily straitjacketed at times. In open world, it's not a problem. In raiding, however, there will be specific moments where you couldn't change loadouts. The reason why John mentioned this was because of Twin-Blade Storm. That thing is very efficient in crowd clearing dps. It can rack up the damage and body count like nobody's business. But there's a problem: Say for example facing that undead beholder boss in Castle Never. You'll need to manually change the class feature. Which is doable, but annoying. Not to mention if you have to run stuff like Illusionist's Gambit where you won't have the time to do a switch. Seeker's Vengeance requires positioning, so movement speed is important. If you wanna go with that one, make sure you get 2-3 points in the Vampiric Grace boon. In fact, John recommends a full 3 pointer because the main weakness in combat HR lies in the movement. Get yourself a Gladiator's Guile and a maxed out VG. That should do the trick. Don't worry about the rest. Unlike other campaigns, Ravenloft boons are mostly support-based with the two anti-undead ones and Blood Lust being the exception. And even then, BL is for crit-based dps. If you're running on a pure power or arpen-power build, either go for Righteous Sacrifice (quite fun if you're crazy enough to go either instigator or sentinel GWF) or Hypnotic Gaze (executioner TR running on a Shadow Strike stealth refill, anyone?). At the same time, running SV on open-world is surprisingly doable, believe it or not. But you'll need two fast-hitting encounters, one with fast cooldown and the other with high damage. Thorn Strike and Plant Growth should be a no-brainer here.
Steadfast Determination. Should your destroyer GWF get it? The synergy with Destroyer class feature seemed quite good. GWF relies on consistent damage, so going with Destroyer-Weapon Mastery combo is a no-brainer. As for Destroyer-Wrathful Determination, it's can be very tricky. Yes, the dps would scale according to your #UNSTOPPABRU meter. But what's the use if you're a destroyer spec? Destroyers need to destroy the opposition via #UNSTOPPABRU mode. WD is all about saving your #UNSTOPPABRU for a specific moment of awesome heroism. That's for instigators and sentinels, not destroyers. It's like hiring the ideal bodyguard for Taeyeon against those howling 사생팬 all over the world. You don't hire someone directing the security from behind because the aggro would always be too damn high. You don't hire a defensive tank as well because the aggro would want to repeat history again. You hire a Cimmerian named Conan. If you can't keep them at bay, gimp them as if you're at Normandy, Stalingrad, or Iwo Jima.
Lastly, Kumar. Not the Indian but the Indian bear. Because that uncommon critter was bind to account, John couldn't sell it. He could only stick it to any of his toons. Then he did the dumbest thing ever: He allowed a scourge warlock to adopt it. As the result, the solo loadout had to be tweaked from temptation to damnation. Otherwise, what do you expect? 10% lifesteal proc with only the warlock benefitting from it? That's dumb! No choice, go damnation. At least a SW going with an augment comp benefits best as a damnlock. Of course, it won't solve the problem of having the comp effect next to useless. John should have given it to the GWF.
