AggroChat: Tales of the Aggronaut Podcast

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Hey Folks!  The gang is all back at the same time…  just in time to take a break effectively until after the new year.  Because of how the holidays fall this year, we will not be recording shows for the next few weeks and returning after that with our usually two-part Games of the Year show. This week we talk about more Twitter Madness and the time when a journalist misread the now-banned JoinMastodon account and created a fictitious person named John Mastodon that runs Mastodon.  From there we talk about Tam’s epic journey in trying to find some way to comfortably use a push-to-talk key while playing games on a controller.  We talk a bit about a few 2D games on the Steam Deck specifically Ghost Song and Salt and Sanctuary.  After that, we talk about our progress in the Path of Exile Forbidden Sanctum league and just how much madness is associated with learning that game in general.  Finally, we talk about playing Justin Roiland’s High On Life, a game about talky gunfriends. Topics Discussed: John Mastodon 5 Year Epic Search for a Foot Pedal Ghost Song Salt and Sanctuary Path of Exile Forbidden Sanctuary Progress The Madness of this Game High on Life

Tonight we have an assorted topic type show, but the main discussion ends up centering around games and game value.  What makes one game feel like a valuable experience and another game just seems like a waste of time.  We talk a bit about the Phantasy Star Online 2 America Day holiday and how they have a really strange impression of our country.  Kodra talks about his adventures in the deeply edge case Sudoku.  We also have a discussion about when the right time to group is in a game versus largely solo play.  In the middle of all of this there are several references to Guild Wars 2 and Destiny 2 for reasons. Topics Discussed Phantasy Star Online 2 “America Day” When to play a game with friends What point do you transition from solo to group play Kodra’s adventures in edgecase Sudoku. What makes up game value Getting the most out of a game The length of AAA Games Side Discussion about Guild Wars 2 Side Discussion about Destiny 2

Featuring: Ace, Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Hey Folks! We have the entire crew this week but have a bit of a rolling start without Tam, as he was finishing something up in Star Citizen.  We begin the show with some talk about Relooted a game about recovering antiquities and returning them to their rightful homes.  After that, we discuss Destiny Rising and how it appears to be in maintenance mode lately.  No one had it on their bingo card, but we talked a bit about the drop of the Warlock class in Diablo II Resurrected and how it is also coming to Immortal and Diablo IV.  Tam shares his thoughts about playing Warhammer: The Old World and how it is not exactly the game he thought it was going to be.  We discuss a bunch of rapid-fire topics from the recent Sony State of Play event, and then Kodra dives into Thinky Games and Shape of Dreams.  We discuss the failed state of Highguard and 2XKO and what it means for multiplayer games in general. Finally, a quick blurb that we are all looking forward to Horizon Hunters Gathering, and they should give us all keys to test it.   Topics Discussed: Relooted Destiny Rising Decline Warlock in Diablo II Rank and Flank: An Older Era of Minis Games Sony State of Play Thinky Games Shape of Dreams Failures of Highguard and 2XKO Horizon Hunters Gathering

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Hey Folks! We are down a few people this week as we start up our show.  Bel is in the process of trying to reboot "Bel Folks Stuff" and realized that he recorded an episode with Tam that never got released.  We talk about this weird pre-pandemic time capsule.  We discuss building a table for Infinity and how it is a game that wants something more akin to Mordheim.  From there, Ash and Kodra discuss the Rabbit and Steel expansion and unlocking new content. We go down a bit of a continuation of a topic from a month ago as we discuss the games that we did not end up playing, and more specifically, Tam exploring what Ys has to offer. Ashes of Creation was one of the more successful Kickstarter MMORPGs, but that is no more, because the entire project imploded almost overnight.  We talk a bit about that situation and also what goes wrong when trying to build a niche MMORPG for a limited audience.  Finally, Tam shares some of his recent experiences learning to play Star Trek Online and trying to be successful at doing so.   Topics Discussed: Bel Folks Stuff Tam Episode Building an Infinity Table Rabbit and Steel Expansion Ys Games We Didn't Play Ashes of Creation Implosion Trying to be good at Star Trek Online

Featuring: Ace, Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, and Thalen   Good Morning Folks! We are down a Tam this week and had some topics that were sitting on our list for a bit.  We start off talking about the official end of Anthem and the Mark Darrah video that effectively provides an autopsy for the game.  Loosely related, we talk about the impending death of New World in January 2027.  This forces us down the path of talking about what the heck even makes an MMO anymore, and how we largely agree that it requires random interaction with other players to count.  We decided that the lobby-based games are PSOLikes since the first game we can remember that was that way was Phantasy Star Online on the Dreamcast.  From there, we talk a bit about Shape of Dream,s another Roguelike that Ash and Kodra have been playing.  Bel shares his thoughts on Legacy of Phrecia 2.0 in Path of Exile, and Kodra shares his endgame thoughts about Path of Exile II. We wrap the show up talking about the impending patch in Guild Wars 2 that is going to add quickplay for raids and the new Fashion Plates adjacent system.   Topics Discussed: Anthem is Offline New World will soon Die What Makes an MMORPG PSOLikes Shape of Dreams Path of Exile Legacy of Phrecia 2.0 Path of Exile 2 - Endgame Thoughts Guild Wars 2 Fashion Plates

Featuring: Ace, Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Hey Folks! We are back in full force and continuing our adventure through the second part of the Games of the Year 2025 podcast.  We cut the list in half, giving us fifteen games that we were talking about in each episode.  This is not necessarily a numerical list, but the titles that appear later in the shows did get more votes. It was a great year for gaming, but also a year where we were constantly getting distracted by the next big thing coming down the pipe.  While we played a lot of games… we did not necessarily FINISH a lot of games.   Topics Discussed: Fantasy Life - The Girl Who Steals Time Chess.Com Guild Wars Reforged Cauldron Ghost of Yotei Dune Awakening Atelier Resleriana The Red Alchemist & The White Guardian Deltarune Chapters 3-4 Wanderstop Where Winds Meet Path of Exile Legacy of Phrecia Split Fiction Hades II Blue Prince Silksong

Featuring: Ace, AmmosArt, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, and Tamrielo   Good Morning Folks! We are running things a bit differently this year. Due to unforeseen reasons, Thalen could not join us this week. As such, we paused our games of the year show to record a brief intermission show.  This week, we talked about Star Citizen, Pokémon Legends Z-A, Hytale, OrcaCon, Starfinder, Void Miner, the Amazing World of Retro Handhelds, and Kodra finally enjoying Path of Exile II.  We ran a bit longer than normal and, as such, cut the show a bit more abruptly than usual.  Pretty packed show for being something we pulled together on the spur of the moment, and also bumped a bunch of topics for our show after we wrap the games of the year.   Topics Discussed: Star Citizen Engineering Pokemon Legends Z-A Hytale OrcaCon Starfinder Thoughts Void Miner Retro Handhelds Path of Exile II and Kodra

Featuring: Ace, Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Hey Folks! It is that time again, time to roll over into a new season, and time to record our massive two-part games of the year show.  As we roll into Season 13, we have a minor revision to our lineup and two shows stacked with fifteen games each.  As is our tradition, the list was divided into two parts, and the more votes a title got, the later in the show it appeared. It was a great year for gaming, but also a year where we were constantly getting distracted by the next big thing coming down the pipe.  While we played a lot of games… we did not necessarily FINISH a lot of games.   Topics Discussed: Slormancer Sunderfolk Monster Hunter Wilds Hell Clock Grimshire Mercenaries of Trarthus Final Fantasy Tactics Digimon Story: Time Stranger Soulstone Survivors Ball x Pit Guild Wars 2 Fractal Incursion Xenoblade Chronicles X Def. Edition Dispatch Destiny Rising Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Featuring: Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Hey Folks! It is that weird time between holidays, and we are down about half of our folks for various reasons.  We push forward and record a pretty focused show around a few topics.  We start off discussing Q-Up, a game that effectively has a lot of things to say about League of Legends, and also discuss other games like Rabbit and Steel that are themselves commentaries on other games.  From there, Kodra takes Bel to task about Path of Exile II, and mostly how the game seemingly has no interest in making sure you can beat Act 1 with any build and player experimentation.  Thalen has been back in Warframe and attempts to recruit us all to the fold, and honestly…  it is working.  Lastly, we wrap the show with some discussion about the genre that evolved out of MMORPGs…  where the games are far less massive, but still sort of feel like they are a multiplayer experience in spite of only focusing on a handful of players.   Topics Discussed: Q-Up Path of Exile II Still Uninterested in Experimentation Board Games Returning to Warframe The MMO Successor Genre

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, and Thalen   Hey Folks! We are down a Tam and a Grace this week but push through with a limited crew.  Bel gets called out by Kodra for being entirely too comfortable with excessive grinds…  this time specifically talking about World Completion in Guild Wars 2.  Kirby Air Riders is a weird game and we talk a bout it.  Bel shares his extended thoughts about Path of Exile II and its current state as well as the Demon Bear being pretty freaking great.  Kodra has been trying to wrap up Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and talks a bit about that.  Ash is doing dumb things in Guild Wars 1 and apparently so is Kodra… so we talk about Guild Wars Reforged again.  Ultimately Sheep Raccoon is the sequel to podcast favorite Ultimate Chicken Horse and we once again recommend it.  Bel talks about the Paladin in Diablo IV and how it is almost as silly as the Last Epoch thorns build.  Kodra talks a bit about Blitz Chess and Thalen is back in Warframe and talks about that.   Topics Discussed: Bel's Grind Quotient Kirby Air Riders is Weird Path of Exile II Bear is Great Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Guild Wars 1 Nonsense Ultimate Sheep Raccoon  Diablo IV Paladin is Silly Kodra and Blitz Chess Thalen back in Warframe

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Tamrielo   Hey Folks! We are down a Thalen this week but continue chipping away at our massive backlog of discussion topics after taking two weeks off due to holiday and illness.  We start off with some talk about Dwarven Realms Season 5 and how it allows you to get all the loot without gating your access.  From there, we talk about Star Citizen and how it has mostly kept all of its promises during the 2025 release schedule.  Most of us have been playing Guild Wars Reforged, and we talk a bit about how much better the game looks and what we are playing.  Grace discusses a Vampire-Survivors-like that has building sim functionality in the very long-named Monsters Are Coming! Rock & Road.  Bel has ventured forth into the realm of FDM printing and talks about various lessons learned.  Lastly, a quick topic as Bel shares that the POE2 bear is really good, but so is the recently shadow-dropped Paladin in Diablo 4.   Topics Discussed: Dwarven Realms Season 5 Star Citizen 2025 Releases Guild Wars Reforged Monsters are Coming! Rock & Road Where Winds Meet Bel Loves FDM Printing POE2 Bear and D4 Paladin

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Hey Folks! Bel was partially dead, and then holiday travel happened, and as a result, we ended up taking a few weeks off without really intending to. We are back and hopefully for more than a few weeks, but given another holiday is looming, who knows. This week we talk about how all of the various ARPGs out there seem to have a contingency of aggro fans, and discuss the reasons why, but also why we are not quite as doomer on them.  Bel talks a bit about the release of the Druid and the Vaal league coming up in Path of Exile II.  Tam discusses a new Chinese MMORPG called Where Winds Meet, which seems to push Gacha elements aside and produce a really wild experience.  From there Grace discusses a Raid Healing Simulator if the form of Wild Growth, and Kodra, an alternate universe Donkey Kong Country in the form of Windswept. We have a revisiting of a topic we have discussed more than once, about why PVPVE fails… this time, how it ruins the otherwise joyful experience of Arc Raiders.  We wrap the show up with some rapid-fire topics about various books and media we have been consuming.   Topics Discussed: ARPG Players Angry Last Epoch Path of Exile Diablo IV Path of Exile II Druid and Vaal League Where Winds Meet Wild Growth Windswept PVPVE is Bad Revisited Short Topics

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   This week, we start off with some discussion around Path of Exile 3.27, the Keepers of the Flame league, and how we are doing breach to make things with the tree tree. From there, we talk a bit about the murder of Amazon Game Studios and how New World is essentially a shambling corpse now…  spooky. After that horror story, we needed something chill, so we talked a bit about Powerwash Simulator and its interesting method for delivering a story.  Grace and Bel finally finish the Destiny Rising raid and talk a bit about how good it is at teaching mechanics in lower-level content.  Dispatch is a wildly good game that is being delivered in an episodic method that feels like you are playing a really good television show.  Guild Wars 2 Visions of Eternity launched and we talk about some of our early thoughts, namely around the builds introduced by the new elite specs.  Finally, we talk a bit about Outer Worlds 2 and how it makes good on the idea of Obsidian's very own Fallout New Vegas that the first game started.   Topics Discussed: Path of Exile 3.27 Keepers of the Flame The Tree Tree New World in Zombie Mode Powerwash Simulator Destiny Rising Raid Dispatch GW2 Visions of Eternity Early Thoughts Outer Worlds 2

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Good Morning, Folks! This week we had the entire crew and a stacked list of topics, forcing us to bump several to next week.  Tam starts out talking about Time Flies, leading into Grace talking about Ball X Pit.  Bel shares his thoughts about the Path of Exile 3.27 reveal stream, and Ash discusses the Session Zero for the Critical Role Daggerheart system. Tam has been playing Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2…  and how it is very much not a sequel to the first game. Bel talks a bit about the CSGO Gambling Crash, where the illicit market lost some 3 billion dollars of value in a single day. Ash discusses playing Entropy Effect, which is set in the BlazBlue universe, and Bel shares some further bad news about the self-destruction of Xbox, with some new updates and Halo officially being announced for the PlayStation 5. We wrap things up with first impressions of Dispatch and Outer Worlds 2, which we are likely going to be talking about next week.   Topics Discussed: Time Flies Ball X Pit Path of Exile 3.27 Reveal Daggerheart Session Zero VtM: Bloodlines 2 CSGO Gambling Crash BlazBlue Entropy Effect Halo on PS5 Dispatch First Impressions Outer Worlds 2 First Impressions

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Hey Folks! This week, Grace and Bel start off the show talking about how good Destiny Rising has been now that they have arrived at the endgame.  They also talk a bit about Helhest, the new banner character. Grace shares her initial thoughts about He is Coming a roguelike that they have been playing. Bel shares some of the early spoilers for Path of Exile 3.27 Keepers of the Flame, which we are getting a full reveal for on the 23rd and is starting on the 31st.  It seems like we are maybe getting a Breach expansion league, with a bunch of quality of life changes.  From there, we dive into the topic that got bumped from last week about how there are so many good games… that it makes it really hard to play less-than-excellent games anymore. We also talk about how players are seeing through pointless grinds, and how AA games are back with a vengeance, while AAA games are floundering.   Topics Discussed Destiny Rising Helhest Banner Master and Grandmaster Mode Content Trikora Happened He Is Coming Path of Exile 3.27 Spoilers Keepers of the Flame Breach League When There Are Too Many Games Players Rebelling Against Grind The Rise of AA Games The Floundering of AAA Games Questionable Business Decisions

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Hey Folks! We start off the show with a discussion about how we all dogpiled on Discord and attempted the pre-release version of the MIT Mystery Hunt… and for those completely lost about the show title, one of the clues to one of the puzzles… was just the specific color of the Charlie XCX Brat Album. From there, Bel talks a bit about the Halloween event in Guild Wars 2 and how some folks take the Mad King's Labyrinth way the hell too seriously.  Tam discusses what seems to be a complete rework of how the factions work in Infinity, and Bel discusses the launch of World of Warcraft Legion Remix.  We talk a bit more about Hades II, and more specifically playing the game AFTER beating Cronos.  Finally, Bel talks just a little bit about his early experiences in Blue Protocol, where he is trying to find the fun in the game.   Topics Discussed: AggroChat vs Mystery Hunt Mad King's Labyrinth in GW2 Infinity Major Factions Update World of Warcraft Legion Remix Hades II Blue Protocol

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Tamrielo, and Thalen   We had a pretty meandering show where we thought we ran out of topics… and then suddenly remembered a few more at the very end.  We start with talking about Grace and Bel's adventures in All Ikora PVPVE nonsense with Destiny Rising.  From there, Grace talks about the full release of Slime Rancher 2, and Ammo some adventures in Mathematics with the Final Fantasy Tactics remake.  Xbox seems like it is cooked as they continue their trend of raising the price on everything, this time with Gamepass. Bel talks about revisiting the MySpace 1.0 era with an almost one-for-one clone called SpaceHey. Tam shares some thoughts about why Rise of Ronin did not land for him, but Ghost of Yotei absolutely has.  Bel has popped back into New World and was shocked to find some pretty significant updates to the game.  Then things go off the rails a bit, and we eventually talk about Hades 2 and the Electronic Arts sale to the Saudi Public Investment Fund.   Topics Discussed: Destiny Rising Only Ikora Edition Slime Rancher 2 Release Final Fantasy Tactics Xbox Price Hikes SpaceHey Rise of the Ronin Ghost of Yotei New World Aeternum Hades 2 Electronic Arts Sale

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   We are down a Grace this week, but carry forward with a handful of topics.  Bel talks about Diablo IV Season 10 after having sat out for a few seasons.  The game is in a pretty good state now.  Bel also goes on a tirade about how much he dislikes the builder/spender architecture in ARPGs and how you usually evolve your build to NEVER hit the builder. Tam, Kodra, and Ash offer their own rebuttals.  From there, we spend most of the show talking about Hades 2, which has been released this week into its full 1.0 version with some significant changes. We wrap the last few minutes of the show talking about a few other roguelikes that released recently, namely Wander Stars and Aethermancer.   Topics Discussed Diablo IV In A Good Place Builder Spender Feels Bad Hades 2 Full Release Wander Stars Full Release Aethermancer Full Release

Hey Folks! This week, we have a second opinion of Destiny Rising to offset Bel's fanaticism… and Grace doubles down on pretty much everything that has been said to this point. From there, Ash talks a bit about Alabaster Dawn which currently has a demo available. Grace discusses her further adventures in idle gaming, this time with Cast N Chill.  Bel talks a bit about what is ultimately a Gibsonian Transhumanism masterpiece in the Pantheon animated series. Ash dives into the Digimon Time Stranger demo and expects it to be his monster collection game of the year when it eventually comes out.  Hades 2 finally releases fully this week, and we are looking forward to it greatly. Bel talks a bit about further adventures in Guild Wars 2 fractals, and Tam and Thalen share their thoughts about Tiny Book Shop.  Grace discusses briefly that Deeprock Galactic Survivor has released its 1.0 version, and then we dive into a bit of a meatier topic, as Kodra, Tam, and Thalen have all hit 100% in Silksong.   Topics Discussed: Destiny Rising Second Opinion Alabaster Dawn Demo Cast N Chill Pantheon Digimon Time Stranger Demo Hades 2 1.0 This Week Guild Wars 2 Fractal Incursions Tiny Book Shop Deeprock Galactic Survivor 1.0 100% Silksong

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Hey Folks! We start off the show with a discussion about the hidden episode of this season's Game Changers over on Dropout TV.  Bel regales the group with his adventures in the endgame of Destiny Rising and how it really is a better Destiny game than anything we have gotten in years.  Grace instantly sells us on Star Birds just by telling us its from the folks behind Dorfromantik. More than that, it has the art style of Kurzgesagt so you adventure the galaxy with adorable birbs.  There is currently an event going on in Guild Wars 2 where you can run random fractals with complete strangers, and it is delightful and stupidly rewarding. Bel talks a bit about Borderlands 4, and while it is probably the best Borderlands since the second game…  it has some massive performance issues on PC.  Kodra talks about the recent board game A Place for My Books, and most of the crew dives into further discussion about Silksong.   Topics Discussed: Samalamadingdong Destiny Rising Endgame Star Birds Random Fractals Borderlands 4 Performance Woes A Place For My Books More Silksong - Trobbio!