I started using Thumb-Key after MessagEase began charging a subscription. It had an “english symbols messageease” layout that was basically the same one I’d used for years.

I feel like superheroes have a plot constancy that forces them to stay superheroes. Their superpowers may lapse, but they generally get them back and feel justified in using them. Their main villains may fall or seemingly reform in one episode or series, but usually return as bad as ever. In Legends, Luke’s fight with the Empire is almost over before it has begun. Cleaning up the Remnant and warlords falls to regular X-wing pilots and commandos in the New Republic era. Luke is more of a mediator than a fighter and mostly withdraws from heavy use of the Force by the New Jedi Order era. Even the new enemies of that era don’t stay enemies forever. Instead of forcing constancy, Legends allows conflicts in these eras to be “solved” and to permanently change characters.

• Starcraft reboot with Brood War era story and units, and Company of Heroes 1 macro and pacing
• Isometric ARPG with modern graphics, a well-integrated story, no gearcheck bosses, and high SSF droprates
• Online/offline CCG with MTG-level mechanical depth and art style but no F2P business tactics
• Star Wars lightsaber combat with deep fighting mechanics and modern graphics
• Star Wars space combat with coordinated squad-based dogfighting

In that case, direct downloads (in conjunction with ProtonVPN free) would be a superior method. The article makes piracy sound synonymous with and exclusive to torrenting, but DDL and Usenet also exist. Many of the megathread categories have DDL links right at the top.

Cs.rin.ru is mainly gaming focused but has an FAQ that covers general DDL concepts like source trustworthiness/scene names and workarounds for filehoster limits. You could probably paraphase/quote or screenshot with credit (ironically) to save a login. The same people not wanting to sign up for a VPN might also look askance at a .ru domain.

Use ProtonVPN Free with direct downloads only (their P2P servers are paid). Check the megathread categories for links.

Path of Exile. You will watch a cool new budget friendly league starter guide on YouTube and follow it religiously. You will install or update half a dozen 3rd-party tools for essential QoL. You will ignore the new league mechanics until maps while speedrunning the same unskippable story for each character. You will hide most loot and avoid risky item crafting. You will pickup currency to buy your gear wholesale from other players. You will reroll your character or rq if your build has no defense or bossing damage or becomes too expensive due to popularity (Mathil effect). You will repeat this cycle in 3-4 months.

Warframe had a very pay-it-forward culture when I played (Fortuna-Old Blood expansions). I got advice on meta starter weapons (Hek/Atomos) and Warframes (Rhino) and where to farm them. I got taxis to locked (for me) planets and direct help for some of the bosses. Other noobs were also helpful for the mutual revives. I even got some free trash mods from a clan member when they saw I was new.

For spontaneous conversations I’d join clan parties or simple missions with lots of downtime (i.e., escort, wave survival). Endgame farms with specific roles and/or time gating like Eidolon hunts were very sweaty.

Halo CE has some real bangers (Devils…Monsters, On A Pale Horse, Covenant Dance, Under Cover of Night). Blow Me Away from Halo 2 has some amazing guitar riffs. The Starcraft: Mass Recall mod adds a lot of great music from other games/artists to its cutscenes. Starcraft Terran 1 goes METAL is probably my favorite out of those.

Many specific subreddits don’t have equivalents yet; check Communities (top bar on website)/All. On Jerboa the Communities button is the three dots on the bottom bar: https://reddthat.com/post/8623

I loved the mechanics in Company of Heroes 1 and wished it was more accessible and window-friendly.

Infantry: MG suppression, cover system, retreating and reinforcing squads, squad members spreading out and dodging shells, captureable weapons, occupiable/destructible buildings, destructible terrain, artillery leaving massive dirt clouds and craters (aka cover). It made me feel like I was fighting in a real war, but without the “unfair” TTK of real life MGs/tanks.

Macro (vs Starcraft 2): no workers (capture territory to generate resources), no 6 pool (base has starting bunkers) or proxy (can only build production in base), 1 of each building all game instead of 10+ Rax/Gate, 4-6 squads instead of 100+ Marines, cutoff harass (disconnect enemy territory from their base). I felt like I was fighting my opponent instead of the game.

I hate RNG-heavy progression that discourages playing the actual game.

Path of Exile had terrible loot droprates and gamble crafting when I last played in Ritual League. Starting a league = poring YouTube for safe league starter builds to follow step by step. Gearing up = only picking up currency and buying items from other players on a website. Making $$$ = flipping items (buy low sell high) in hideout (personal town).

Path of Champions (PvE gamemode in Legends of Runeterra) drops shards and fragments to unlock new champions and relics that add a passive effect. Drops are random and not duplicate protected. Champions need 2 star upgrades totalling their unlock cost to feel playable. Optimal progression = speedrunning dailies/weeklies, 2-starring meta champs, and logging out.

I actually used uBlock Origin to hide my karma in the top right corner from myself when it was shown by default. I found commenting less stressful that way.

It reminds me of when I tried switching to Linux (from Windows). Functional but lacking a lot of mainstream software, especially games. Lemmy feels way easier to use like a normal website, but there is a feeling almost akin to homesickness.

Game-specific subreddits (i.e., LegendsofRuneterra, PathofChampions, CustomLoR, MagicArena, leagueoflegends, starcraft, Factorio, LastEpoch, ftlgame). Warframe@dormi.zone looks good.

Franchise-specific subreddits like Batman. !star_wars@lemmy.world looks good.

Entertainment (i.e., Showerthoughts, oddlysatisfying, interestingasfuck, DesignDesign, EngineeringPorn, OldSchoolCool).

Niche art (i.e., PixelArt, RetroFuturism, cassettefuturism, TheNightFeeling).

I expect the first two categories (where I commented most) to be the slowest to move here.