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[Blood Bowl] Blood Bowl 3 is out; praise Nuffle!

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Posts

  • chrisnlchrisnl Registered User regular
    No this game is terrible. Also something pretty interesting, the iPad version can play vs the Android version or the PC version, and you can use your teams from the PC version on your tablet (if that team is available for the tablet). For like $5 you get Humans and Orcs, and then for $3 each you can get Dwarfs, Skaven, Wood Elves and Chaos. It actually sounds halfway reasonable, though of course it has the same bugs as the PC version as well.

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  • KafkaAUKafkaAU Western AustraliaRegistered User regular
    I also probably got the email, but I saw the devs of space hulk promoting the new blood bowl iPad version. It upsets me because those guys did a great job with Space Hulk, I really think they would have made a much better game out of Blood Bowl than Cyanide did.

    Im pretty sure I've got most of you guys on Steam, I haven't played in a while, but I'm keen for games if I'm around.

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    Origin: KafkaAU B-Net: Kafka#1778
  • Banzai5150Banzai5150 Registered User regular
    I've not loaded the game up since last time I tested Legendary edition when Chaos came out. I MAY be up for some Triple Skull action.

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  • chrisnlchrisnl Registered User regular
    For some stupid reason I still have hope that maybe, just maybe, they learned some lessons from BB1 and BB2 will be less buggy. Though I read their dev blog and there is going to be a "transfer window" in leagues between seasons, where you can sell your players to other teams, but obviously only if that team is one for which the player would normally play anyway. Unless they massively improve the league management stuff (would it be too much to ask for stuff like European Football leagues with relegation and promotion handled automatically and stuff like that?), it doesn't seem likely that most leagues will have multiple teams of one race. So maybe it's a neat feature, maybe it isn't, but how often is that going to get used? Why would somebody else want a player I want to get rid of? Like if I have some stupidly badass Orc Blitzer with block, dodge, mighty blow and guard, why would I get rid of him? If I have some guy who is horribly mauled so that he's not worth having on my roster, like a -str injury or -av or lots of niggling injuries, who would want to hire him?

    Huh this got kind of rambly I guess. Like I hope they've learned from the previous game, but things like Dungeon Bowl and the addition of features like the ability to put players up for auction during the transfer window (unless the league is huge, are there really going to be three teams that a player can join the roster of?) kind of make me wonder.

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  • Banzai5150Banzai5150 Registered User regular
    edited August 2014
    Until they actually put more than 1 person in charge of bug fixes and upkeep....I'll probably steer clear as I still have a bad taste. But hey, I may try to start up a League again! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

    Banzai5150 on
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  • chrisnlchrisnl Registered User regular
    edited August 2014
    One of the bug fixes listed in the patch notes was an improved ability to reconnect to a game. Seeing as any ability to reconnect would be an improvement . . .

    Anyway yeah I do want to play more Blood Bowl, despite the bugs it is still really fun in a supremely frustrating way. I don't know if a league would be a thing or not, I love the structured format but their league options are so minimal it gets frustrating. Also it's super easy to get discourage early on if you do badly in your first couple of games.

    Anyway I'm up for playing some Blood Bowl, I would imagine I'll get wrecked as I knock a couple of year's rust off, but that's fine.

    -edit- How would people prefer to try and get games going? Steam messaging, ventrilo voice chat, forums posts, etc? I know this kind of thing can often be a hassle.

    chrisnl on
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  • Santa ClaustrophobiaSanta Claustrophobia Ho Ho Ho Disconnecting from Xbox LIVERegistered User regular
    Jesus, it's Blood Bowl. A game where it's you versus the dice and the dice always win. Bugs are features.

  • chrisnlchrisnl Registered User regular
    Eh it's one thing when the dice screw me, that's part of the game and expected. It's entirely another when you can't put your best player on the field because the game just won't let you select him.

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  • WotanAnubisWotanAnubis Registered User regular
    I always prefer playing against the AI first to get my feet wet, but I've always heard that playing against the AI teaches you how to play wrong and you shouldn't (and also the AI cheats massively with its dice rolls).

    But then, I'm pretty sure I'm not nearly experienced enough to play against an actual human being.

    Bit of a Catch-22.

  • DocshiftyDocshifty Registered User regular
    I always prefer playing against the AI first to get my feet wet, but I've always heard that playing against the AI teaches you how to play wrong and you shouldn't (and also the AI cheats massively with its dice rolls).

    But then, I'm pretty sure I'm not nearly experienced enough to play against an actual human being.

    Bit of a Catch-22.

    The AI doesn't exactly cheat it just doesn't ever do things a human would, nor does it react well to things humans do. And playing on higher difficulties is actually easier, because of the way the AI weighs risk/reward.

    You really don't ever have to use any strategy to beat the AI, so you learn bad habits that will get you stomped in a proper human against human game. You really do just gotta jump in and play against people.

  • KafkaAUKafkaAU Western AustraliaRegistered User regular
    How will you know until you play your dwarfs against an elf team that fails all its dodges?

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    Origin: KafkaAU B-Net: Kafka#1778
  • DocshiftyDocshifty Registered User regular
    Stop saying Dwarfs

    VeeVee might appear

  • VeeveeVeevee WisconsinRegistered User regular
    An Unexpected Journey is still out there, waiting for their chance to slowly walk their way through your defense.

  • WotanAnubisWotanAnubis Registered User regular
    Veevee wrote: »
    An Unexpected Journey is still out there, waiting for their chance to slowly walk their way through your defense.

    From what little I've played, Dwarves seem like a really boring kind of team.

    Then again, I prefer the running and the throwing and the passing and the dodging and not so much the punching.

    If I ever really get into this, I'm gonna be playing some flavour of Elves is what I'm saying.

  • Albino BunnyAlbino Bunny Jackie Registered User regular
    Veevee wrote: »
    An Unexpected Journey is still out there, waiting for their chance to slowly walk their way through your defense.

    From what little I've played, Dwarves seem like a really boring kind of team.

    Then again, I prefer the running and the throwing and the passing and the dodging and not so much the punching.

    If I ever really get into this, I'm gonna be playing some flavour of Elves is what I'm saying.

    Skaven are the one true gotta go fast teams.

    Also if you're new then I always found Amazon's a super solid, basic to play team to learn with.

  • chrisnlchrisnl Registered User regular
    edited August 2014
    The only problem with the Amazons is that they almost literally have no chance against a Dwarf team, at least at starting team levels. The best advice for a new player is to avoid playing as Ogres, Halflings, Goblins, Vampires, Khemri and Nurgle though. That isn't to say that all of those teams are necessarily bad (though some certainly are), but they are at least tricky to play as a new player. The best teams to start out as are probably Humans, Orcs, Necromantic or Undead. Dwarfs are really slow and, while a good team, can teach you some bad habits with their extreme toughness for a new team. Elves of various flavors are also generally solid teams, but again can teach you some bad habits with their high agility. That said, if you want your first team to be Elf, Dark Elf or High Elf then go right ahead, they can be good fun.

    The number one thing to know about Blood Bowl as a starting player is that the dice are looking for a chance to screw you over. Give those nasty buggers as few chances as possible to do so.

    -edit- Actually one of the hardest things to do is get a new player into the game, I think. If you start against the AI, you learn terrible habits that will get your murdered against real competition. If you just go up against a random person, it is highly likely that you will get stomped without having any idea why. If you start out against a friend, or at least somebody willing to talk you through the first few games over voice chat, that helps, but that person has to be careful to give good advice, not pull out some of the dirtier more effective tactics right away while also being able to explain why they are doing things, and why NOT to do some things. The lack of an option to play without a turn time limit (at least I don't think there is one) can make this pretty tricky to accomplish.

    -since I love edits- There are some good guides on how to build an initial roster here as well as some other very useful things to know about Blood Bowl on the rest of the site. Obviously oriented towards the tabletop game, but the rules are the same (a few bugs notwithstanding) so it works out fine.

    chrisnl on
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  • WotanAnubisWotanAnubis Registered User regular
    Well, that's not very encouraging. And not just because I don't own a mike so voice chat is right out.

    Still, I suppose I should just bite the bullet. Maybe. At some point. Possibly.

  • Banzai5150Banzai5150 Registered User regular
    Just hit up almost any PA player in this thread and they will be willing to show you the ropes. It's hard to type advice in game due to time limits.

    What I found helpful was doing the campaign thing that has you play some games with specific goal in mind. Like, use this skill 3 times, etc. It helped me figure out how the skills interact.

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  • WotanAnubisWotanAnubis Registered User regular
    Tried to get into a multiplayer game, but the online lobby is a strange, intimidating mess and there appears to be no way to play against anyone without signing up for some League or other.

    I remember having this exact same frustrating problem the last time my interest in Blood Bowl flared.

  • Banzai5150Banzai5150 Registered User regular
    Tried to get into a multiplayer game, but the online lobby is a strange, intimidating mess and there appears to be no way to play against anyone without signing up for some League or other.

    I remember having this exact same frustrating problem the last time my interest in Blood Bowl flared.


    Try with a PA person, their used to the system and can make it happen. Check the 1st page for those that were doing leagues. Or hit up @chrisnl‌ , @KafkaAU‌ , @Docshifty‌ , @Veevee‌ and anyone else that has been posting. Except maybe not VeeVee's bag of dicks Dwarf team!

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  • chrisnlchrisnl Registered User regular
    Yeah their UI is a hot flaming mess unfortunately. Signing a team up for Auld World or really any of the default open leagues (Albion, Naggaroth I think?) is fine, and there is a PA Open league but I don't know if it's just sign up and go or if there is an approval required.

    Some tips:
    1) You must put 3 players on the line of scrimmage for the kickoff. If you are the one kicking the ball off, that means your opponent moves first, so you are best served putting your 3 most expendable players on the line. Assume all of these guys will at the least be knocked over during your opponent's turn.
    2) If you are an agility or speed team (Elves, Skaven) and are playing against a bash team (Orcs, Chaos, Dwarfs, Khemri, Undead, etc) do your best to have as few of your players next to standing enemy players at the end of your turn as possible.
    3) Do all of your safe moves first, like positioning players to give assists on blocks, standing up and moving prone players to useful positions, that sort of thing.
    4) Try not to throw equal strength blocks, especially if you do not have block on your guy. A 1D block has a 1 in 3 chance of knocking your own player over, and as every experienced BB coach will tell you, a 1 in 3 chance to screw up will screw you 95% of the time.
    5) 2D blocks (where your blocker is stronger than the opponent, but not more than twice as strong) are fairly safe IF your player has block (1 in 36 chance of your guy falling down). If your player does not have block, it is a 1 in 9 chance of knocking your own player over, which isn't much better than the 1 in 6 chance a player with block has on a 1D block.
    6) Try not to use team rerolls on blocks that simply push back the enemy, unless it is critical that the player being blocked goes down.
    7) Protect your ball carrier to the best of your ability. One of the most basic formations is an X made out of 5 players, where the ball carrier is in the center and the tips of each leg of the X are setup to make approaching him difficult. Using a + formation is not recommended, as it lets the opposition get right next to the ball carrier without making any dodge rolls or throwing any blocks.

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  • WotanAnubisWotanAnubis Registered User regular
    edited August 2014
    Played my first ever online match against @chrisnl and my Elves lost 2-1 against their Skaven.

    Still, I scored one Touchdown more than I'd expected so I'm feeling pretty good about myself.

    WotanAnubis on
  • chrisnlchrisnl Registered User regular
    It was a fun match, I tried to pick a team that wouldn't just completely dominate yours. I feel that Elves do pretty well in the speed/agility matches, but really suffer against bashy teams (like Orcs, my favorite). With me as Skaven, you had the strength advantage while still having the agility game in play.

    The first match is always tough, because you're still getting the hang of the mechanics and the terrible UI. With more practice you'll get to see more variations on situations and get a good feel for when you should mix it up in a scrum, when you should screen and when you should just sit tight and let things develop a bit more.

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  • WotanAnubisWotanAnubis Registered User regular
    Yeah, right now my first instinct is to just punch everyone provided I get two dice and then start fiddling around with the ball maybe.

    Elves may not be my best team.

  • Banzai5150Banzai5150 Registered User regular
    I always let the other guy make the dice roll unless I HAVE to. Fuck them Trip Skulls!

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  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    Yeah, right now my first instinct is to just punch everyone provided I get two dice and then start fiddling around with the ball maybe.

    Elves may not be my best team.

    Haaaaaaave you met Dwarves?

  • WotanAnubisWotanAnubis Registered User regular
    Well, I don't want to skip right to the other extreme.

    Maybe I should try Chaos. Or Necromantic. Necromantic gets Werewolves, right? They should be both fast and capable of mauling, I suspect.

  • Santa ClaustrophobiaSanta Claustrophobia Ho Ho Ho Disconnecting from Xbox LIVERegistered User regular
    Halfling.

    Definitely Halfling.

  • WotanAnubisWotanAnubis Registered User regular
    Next you'll be recommending Goblins.

  • ShadowofVTShadowofVT Robot Overlord Boston, MARegistered User regular
    edited August 2014
    Well, I don't want to skip right to the other extreme.

    Maybe I should try Chaos. Or Necromantic. Necromantic gets Werewolves, right? They should be both fast and capable of mauling, I suspect.

    Chaos is a great team once they get going, but they suffer a lot early on in their career. You start with NO skills to give you "free" re-rolls like sure hands or even block. Sure you can get a lot of 2-D blocks, but like chrisnl said that only gives you a 1 in 9 chance of not failing, and you're going to want more for a bashy team that needs to hit things. Chaos rerolls also cost a relatively large amount compared to some other teams (60k), so you won't have many to fall back on early on. Beastmen and the warriors can skill up to be absolutely amazing players, but it takes them a while to get there and you'll be at a big disadvantage against most teams for your first 6-10 games.

    Necromantic is one of my personal favorites, even though it's not a very strong team, just because I like the hybrid playing style. Werewolves are indeed very capable, but they also come with a huge bulls-eye on their back, so you have to be very surgical in their attacks and always have an escape plan. Their biggest disadvantage comes from the fact that there's no apothecary, so turn-over can be high depending on how your regeneration rolls go. That, coupled with their relatively high-priced positional players and AV-8 on average, means that sooner or later you're going to be trying things like picking up the ball with a zombie. But they also have very expensive re-rolls (70k) and no ball-handling skills to start, so early on you might struggle to make some of the simple ball-moving actions.

    Honestly, orcs are probably the team with the more forgiving roster and abilities, especially for a new player that leans bashy. They can set up some good blocks without being too slow (like dwarves), have a good variety of players to choose from. They also pretty much all have high armor so turnover isn't a huge issue, and don't have crazy overpriced guys for the skills they come with. If you do pick orcs, just don't make the mistake of thinking the Black Orcs (Strength 4) are the MVP's of the team. They should be mainly used to tie up opposing players or prevent access to the ball or your key players. The blizters are the guys who will do most of the heavy lifting for you, with the highest movement, AV 9, and starting with the block skill.

    ShadowofVT on
  • FiendishrabbitFiendishrabbit Registered User regular
    Necromantic has the problem that Werewolves are really good players. They're also expensive players and everyone knows that they're good and expensive. Expensive and not super tough.
    Ergo, Werewolves rarely survive to get their 3rd skill. Necromantic also really relies on their key players, so in general it's not a great cycle.
    It's a different thing in a closed league, but in Open they're a team where you tend to get emotionally invested (because that player is sooo good) and then you get your heart broken. Repeatedly.

    I'd really recommend orcs. Super tough, solid bunch of players. They're not a fast team (slightly slower than average), but they're faster than dwarves and every player except the thrower is "oomph" oriented. Facing an enemy team with lots of claw&piling on will be painful (One of the chaos teams. Necromantic is ok, because you can handle two claw players and werewolves are generally built to blitz and handle the ball, not go all-out murder), but otherwise you can handle it.

    A few tips for Orcs.

    1. Stay away from the troll. Far more trouble than its worth. Black orcs should be able to handle any strength requirements that you need (though see tip 7).
    2. You should try your darndest to get points on your non-blitzers. Otherwise blitzers will hog all your points, leaving you with an unbalanced team.
    3. You should not be afraid of the passing game. Orc throwers might not be as throw-tastic as those pointy-eared pansies, but if the opposing team have to guard themselves from a potential devestating throw they're so much easier to pummel!
    4. A +AG orc blitzer is an excellent addition to any orc team, both as a ballhandler, a tricky guy and a catcher. I once had a AG5, Dodge, tackle, Jump up orc blitzer. Oh the memories.
    5. Don't be afraid of the thrower. I love the orc thrower. So many uses. An offensive thrower (block, kick-off return, accurate or agility if you can get it) plays mostly into the "threaten to pass the ball to that blitzer up ahead" tactic. A defensive thrower (block, Nerves of Steel) on the other hand is a completely different thing. A good defensive thrower is both a great stealer and a way to turn a steal into a quick touchdown. There is also the Dump-off thrower, that build tends to really piss off the enemy coach.
    6. Even if your players are super tough it pays off to have reserves. Your linemen aren't as good as your other players, but they're tough and cheap.
    7. A dauntless lineman (or blitzer if you feel that you have your bases covered. With 4 blitzers you have room to develop) is an excellent guy to have around to handle Big Guys, mummies and the overgrown Chaos Warriors that always pop up everywhere.

    Overall that's why I love the orc team. You can develop a team that's punchy, able to out-pass and out-agility most other punchy teams and features cheap reserves.

    "The western world sips from a poisonous cocktail: Polarisation, populism, protectionism and post-truth"
    -Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
  • Santa ClaustrophobiaSanta Claustrophobia Ho Ho Ho Disconnecting from Xbox LIVERegistered User regular
    I picked up CE during the Summer Sale, so I'd be up for a game now and then. I still have to install it and play it once or twice to get used to the PC version, but that's negligible.


    Also, this probably falls on deaf ears, but I've got the 360 version and would like to grind games and victories. So anybody who might have that would be cool, too.

  • VeeveeVeevee WisconsinRegistered User regular
    I promise not to use my bag of dicks dwarves unless someone specifically asks for them, I've got a ton more to choose from. Just hit me up on steam and I'm sure we can find a team we both can agree on, or I'll even make a new one.

  • VeeveeVeevee WisconsinRegistered User regular
    So games workshop game's are on sale on Steam right now. Is Dungeon Bowl and good, and is it worth the $7.49 it's on sale for or should I just stick with regular blood bowl for my "I hate myself" gaming?

  • chrisnlchrisnl Registered User regular
    Dungeon Bowl takes all the fun of Blood Bowl, and destroys it. Teams are hodgepodge collections of players from different team lists and nobody actually knows where the ball starts. There are 6 chests scattered around the dungeon, one of which has the ball. The others have a fireball (or some other nasty wizardly trap) in them that gets triggered when opened. There are teleporters that can move your players across the field, or trap them in the warp for the duration of the match. There is no score keeping, the game continues until somebody scores a TD, there is no time limit. I've always felt it takes the worst parts of Blood Bowl and emphasizes those.

    I mean really, a team with 0-16 Dark Elves, 0-6 Orcs and 0-2 Skaven? Or how about 0-16 Orcs, 0-6 Chaos Dwarfs and 0-2 Ogres? 0-16 Chaos, 0-6 Human, 0-2 Ogres is another combination available. Also the game is the same code as the Chaos Edition of Blood Bowl, so it still has all the fun quirks of that.

    I wouldn't suggest it personally. Regular Blood Bowl is about my limit for random stuff screwing me over. If this sounds like something you would like to take part in, at least go in knowing what you're getting into. :)

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  • VeeveeVeevee WisconsinRegistered User regular
    Yeah, that sounds terrible. I feel the same way about blood bowl being the max I can take with being randomly fucked over. It usually hits the sweet spot, but every once in a while it does make me rage quit. Which, now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever been upset when someone rage quits on me in this game.

  • WotanAnubisWotanAnubis Registered User regular
    On the one hand, I am kind of looking forward to Blood Bowl 2. On the other hand, this pre-order stuff is really getting out of hand.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URMfC-scXF0

  • VeagleVeagle Registered User regular
    Ugh, yeah I love Blood Bowl, but Cyanide Studio's handling of the game has not instilled a lot of faith in me. And looking into that pre-order a little closer, it looks like the playstation version gets the lizardmen, xbox gets the wood elves, and pc players can choose one of them. Although this time around, new teams will presumably be added as dlc, instead of asking you to rebuy a new version of the game every time they add one, so I guess that's a slight improvement.

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  • DockenDocken Registered User regular
    I was actually looking forward to this - I played the original way back in the day and was keen to kick things off again.

    But having just read about the butchering GW laid down upon Warhammer: Fantasy... I am kinda out for the moment; I mean, all this lore is essentially dead and all the teams no longer exist.

    I realise this is sort of stupid of me, but I loved the lore of W:F and now its gone... add to that the typical Cyanide bugs and I will wait a bit and see how it goes - if it knocks it out of the park I will pick it up.

  • M-VickersM-Vickers Registered User regular
    Do you can trade players for gold - I wonder if you can buy gold as DLC ? If so, that will lead to massive inflation...

    It does look fun, though, and I would like Bloodbowl on my PS4. I'll wait for reviews, though, as the PC version had some issues.

    Also, it lands the same month as Xcom, and I can't see myself getting two TBS games in the same month.

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