Gilgon wrote:
Just to clarify - you clearly should not be giving advice in this section. No mention at all of total hp pool vs individual limbs, some of which lead to death when hp is brought to 0? Yawn.
Any newbies reading this should note two things. First, beware people who try to defend their views and flame others, much as Gilgon is an example of doing both here and in his mistake-ridden guide thread. It's probably best to lurk a little and figure out who won't leave you alone if you offend them and then avoid them afterwards when you start posting. The foe feature is a good example of how to do this. Second, beware people who talk about any sort of "conventional wisdom" in terms of "best" options with limited alternative views and rhetorical evidence. As we can see in this thread, for example, many posters have noted that the head HP pool is a relatively small one and may result in death with less damage having to be inflicted. While discussing aim, Gilgon only cites the accuracy mechanic, and accuracy is something he probably should have given attention to in his guide thread instead. He also should probably not give me as much attention as he did. Other posters, such as Edoras, OA, and even Dulrik, demonstrate a good command of both silence and of motion.
Newbies interested in roleplay might also take note of the ways in which a reply can open or close opportunities for additional, relevant participation in a conversation. While some posts, such as my original reply, speak in broad strokes and make their main ideas clear, there are also other posts, such as the one Gilgon makes here, which have no natural response nor productive place in the greater conversation. In that sense, we could say that Gilgon isn't "participating" in the thread in a conversational sense. We could, in theory, think of him as a troll in this instance. His follow-up post is a good defense against such allegations, though, and does seem to join the conversation... albeit redundantly except for his Livy-like concessions to the conventional wisdom of veterans.
I suppose it might also be interesting to note that all the information about HP pools is not officially documented in the game. To make decisions in-game based on these pools is, regardless of how we're able to spin it, a good example of some of the necessitated metagame thinking for making mechanically sound choices with characters.