HMS Celtic

• Super Heal
• Improved AP
• Radar Cruiser

USS Rochester (CA-124)

• Smoke Cruiser
• Excellent AA Suite
• Strong AP

Scope

These ships were given to me by Wargaming for review.
Welcome back. Sure, it does seem rather apt to jump into the first published review in sometime with the addition of two new Baltimores…well, one Oregon-City Cruiser, and another Baltimore. With both ships being so closely related, it seems fitting to tag them both together here. Per the norm, there will be lots of pretty charts, and a comprehensive breakdown of both ships; with the added benefit of showing exactly where these two wrap up into the bigger picture.
All stats are current to the best of my knowledge as of v5.1. Stats are subject to change in the future, and this review may not reflect those changes.
Celtic is a GREAT ship, with a MODERATE Skill Floor and a HIGH Skill Ceiling.
Rochester is an AVERAGE ship, with a LOW Skill Floor and a MODERATE Skill Ceiling.
Quite obviously, this review is going to be mostly centered on Celtic, with some Rochester slapped in there to show exactly how she stacks up to the competition. 2 for 1, or a freebie, you decide.
Nothing could honestly make me happier than to be able to bring reviews and writing to you all full-time. If this interests you and you enjoy reading my work, please support me if you can, as every little bit helps. My goal is to keep my reviews free and public for all to read; and by supporting my Patreon you can help keep me at my desk.

Matrix Rating

• [BAD, WEAK, AVERAGE, GOOD, GREAT]
• {LOW, MODERATE, HIGH, EXTREME}

History

The design was first commissioned in the late 1930's, which adapted lessons learned from the preceding Wichita-Class and the currently under construction, lighter Cleveland Class. Baltimore's design featured an orthodox A-B-X configuration of 3 triple turrets of (8") 203mm guns. Fast and well-armed for the era, the fate of the project ended by cancelling later ships construction in favor of the Cleveland Class which were both faster, lighter, and quicker to build which meant more ships out at sea protecting US Navy Carriers. Baltimore Class Cruisers were built from 1941-1945 with some serving in various sub-classes until the 1970's.
With 14 completed ships of the class, the Baltimore-Class had the most constructed heavy cruisers built of any one class from nation during the war-time period. Generally considered a success, the class was preceded by the USS Wichita, and succeeded by the Oregon-City Class. With attached sub-classes, the Boston Class featuring the world's first Guided Missile Cruiser in the early 1950's USS Boston (CAG-1) and Flagship variations. The design was most notable for incorporation of surveillance radar, gun control fire systems which allowed for calculation beyond the horizon, 5'' Anti-Air, and 8'' Main Battery. This design was focused in on the ships ability to be a Carrier Fleet Escort Ship, capable of both Anti-Air Screening, Shore Bombardment, eventually being modified to serve as the world's first guided missile cruiser.
USS Baltimore (CA-68) herself was laid down in 1941, by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts. The ship was launched in 1942 and served until 1956 when she was decommissioned, and eventually scrapped in 1971. The ship served primarily in the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign, earning 9 battle stars.
HMS Celtic is a made-up ship that never actually existed but rests on the concept that would have been if the Baltimore Class had been sent to the Royal Navy. This was not an entirely foreign concept of the era either, with the two allied nations cooperating heavily with some ships being used by the other’s navy. It would be this cooperation that ultimately played a decisive role in every major theatre of World War 2.
USS Rochester (CA-124) was laid down in the same shipyard as her predecessor, in May 1944. She would be launched in August the following year, then commissioned into the US Navy in 1946. Succeeding the Baltimore Class, the Oregon City Class featured many similarities, with changes to her exhaust, superstructure and Anti-Air Suite. Rochester would serve throughout Korea and Vietnam, being decommissioned in the 1960s, and scrapped in the 1970s. 10 Oregon City Cruisers were planned, with only 4 completed.

Strengths: Celtic

• 9.9km Radar
• Royal Navy Super Heal
• Solid Anti-Air
• Sonar
• Improved AP Ricochet Angles

Weaknesses: Celtic

• Poor Fire Chance
• Short Duration Radar
• Lacks SHAP
• Low Base HP

Strengths: Rochester

• Smoke Generator
• Excellent AA Suite
• Improved AP Angles with SHAP

Weaknesses: Rochester

• Poor Smoke Fire Concealment
• Radar-Less
• Heal-less with Smoke Generator

The Basics

A Baltimore with a Super Heal and longer-range radar? Sign me up. Baltimore on her own is already one of the stronger ships in the game and in terms of utility, one of the stronger team players. Celtic takes an interesting concept and adds a new flair to an older line. She has her own strengths and weaknesses, all of which will be identified, some of which are likely to be seemingly splitting the finest of hairs. This ship has a bit less of a grudge against controlling caps than the traditional Baltimore but should be readily found in the same niche doing the same things, just slightly different. Radar support, anti-destroyer, area control are all tags that apply. Celtic is strong, strong enough to be thrown in with the likes of AL Baltimore, Mainz CE and Wichita CE.
Trashchester is tough. I’ll honestly do my best to not shred this ship into a bajillion pieces while pouring out the salt, but I’m only human. She was painful on release, and since she’s had work done, fitting for her review to be finally finished and published for you all to use as a dash of seasoning for dinner. On release, Rochester had a smoke fire concealment on par with her sister’s base concealment, meaning, her smoke was essentially pointless and served only to blind herself, and not her opponents. Lacking radar, Rochester presented as a clumsy self-blinding target unable to deal the things that engage her. What’s worse, Rochester trades her heal for her smoke, meaning, players are left purchasing a regular old Baltimore, with some fancy AA, or a deaf-mute without a heal. Yes. She was that painful; a concept that bumps in the worst of ways, both theoretically and in practice. While her concealment has been buffed, it’s still an awful kit as her smoke fire concealment is still too weak to present much of a force upon the caps. If we’re stuck to smoke firing spam, there are better ships than Rochester; even making good old Belfast 43 seem like a knight in shining armor.
Both of these ships do sport improved AP performance, in the shape of improved ricochet angles. We’ll tear this apart in the ballistic section, as per the norm. Baltimore’s ballistic performance has been studied quite extensively in the past, which has set up an excellent point of comparison.

Offense

• Celtic: GOOD
• Rochester: AVERAGE

Let’s start with the prodigal child and then work towards the bought rented mule. Celtic does well here, in terms of heavy cruisers (203mm) she sits nearer the top of the lists dropping more midfield when included with the rest of the pack. Apart from some of those silly DPM small caliber ships, Celtic packs a noteworthy punch. Rochester starts more midfield and holds her placing through the pack. For a 203mm cruiser, a 2s difference in reload is often enough to bump a ship up or down a rank, entirely. This translates to roughly 20k between the two, and about a full salvo difference.

	HE Alpha	HE DPM
AL Chapayev	2850	256 500
Cleveland	2300	254 769
Weimar	1700	244 800
Suzuya	2700	243 000
AL Montpelier	2300	220 800
Bayard	2200	221 200
Belfast 43	2450	207 529
Harbin	1900	207 273
Chapayev	2300	207 000
Mainz CE	1700	204 000
Kutuzov	2200	198 000
Mainz	1600	192 000
Ochakov	2200	182 069
Charles Martel	2800	151 200
Wichita CE	2800	151 200
Celtic	2700	145 800
Albemarle	3300	142 560
Wichita	2600	140 400
AL Baltimore	2800	137 454
Mogami	3300	132 000
Baltimore	2800	126 000
Rochester	2800	126 000
Atago	3300	123 750
Pyotr Bagration	2500	122 727
Azuma	5100	114 750
Hipper	2700	112 696
Riga	3050	106 625
Amalfi	3100	104 625
Prinz Eugen	2500	92 308
Sigfried	4400	60 923
Edinburgh	-	-
Perfect 10	-	-
Plymouth	-	-

In terms of alpha punch, Celtic and Rochester are somewhat similar separated by the performance of firing different shells off different reloads from the same gunnery.

	AP Alpha	AP DPM
Weimar	3750	540 000
Mainz	3900	468 000
Mainz CE	3900	468 000
Plymouth	3100	457 846
Cleveland	3300	365 538
Perfect 10	2800	358 400
Bayard	3300	316 800
AL Montpelier	3200	307 200
Chapayev	3400	306 000
Edinburgh	3100	297 600
Kutuzov	3300	297 000
Suzuya	3300	297 000
AL Chapayev	3100	279 000
Ochakov	3300	273 103
Harbin	2500	272 727
Charles Martel	4900	264 600
Belfast 43	3100	282 570
Hipper	6000	250 435
AL Baltimore	5000	245 454
Celtic	4500	243 000
Wichita CE	4200	226 800
Baltimore	5000	225 000
Rochester	5000	225 000
Pyotr Bagration	4550	223 364
Prinz Eugen	5900	217 846
Wichita	4000	216 000
Riga	5750	200 323
Azuma	8650	194 625
Albemarle	4500	194 400
Mogami	4700	188 000
Atago	4700	176 250
Amalfi	5100	172 125
Sigfried	11 600	160 615

Celtic has among the better AP DPM values for a 203mm armed cruiser, only being outclassed by ships with meatier AP. In terms of overall, Celtic sits more midfield. Her overall AP ballistic performance allows her to unlock more of this actual number than many of her counterparts.

	Range (Km)	Reload (s)
Weimar	15.3	5.0
Harbin	14.5	5.5
Ochakov	15.5	5.8
Mainz	15.8	6.0
Mainz CE	15.8	6.0
Plymouth	15.2	6.5
Cleveland	15.3	6.5
AL Montpelier	13.9	7.5
Perfect 10	15.2	7.5
Edinburgh	15.3	7.5
Bayard	15.8	7.5
Kutuzov	16.0	8.0
AL Chapayev	16.0	8.0
Chapayev	16.0	8.0
Belfast 43	15.3	8.5
Celtic	15.5	10.0
Suzuya	15.3	10.0
Charles Martel	15.8	10.0
Wichita	15.5	10.0
Wichita CE	15.5	10.0
Pytor Bagration	16.0	11.0
AL Baltimore	15.5	11.0
Hipper	15.8	11.5
Baltimore	15.5	12.0
Rochester	15.4	12.0
Albemarle	15.5	12.5
Prinz Eugen	15.8	13.0
Mogami	15.3	15.0
Riga	16.1	15.5
Amalfi	15.4	16.0
Atago	14.7	16.0
Azuma	15.8	24.0
Sigfried	16.2	26.0

Overall, there’s not all that much to crow about here. Rochester sits a bit lower on the charts than Celtic due to reload. Both have improved ballistics to offer compensation for a lack of torpedoes. The DPM numbers are at their worst, workable, and at best, functional, neither being awful nor spectacular. Celtic takes the edge due to better numbers overall.

Ballistics

• Rochester: GREAT
• Celtic: GREAT

The tell-all ballistic chart. Royal Navy Cruisers and US Navy Cruisers sport among the best AP performance in their respective classes and tiers. Celtic has among the best HE DPM numbers of the Baltimores, but takes a hit on her fire chance percentage. Rochester SHAP hits like a truck, along with her Baltimore cousins. Things get interesting here the more you study this chart, captains. Celtic has arguably better HE, but worse AP. Rochester has SHAP and excellent AP performance, but poor shell count. AL Baltimore once again takes the cake with the best “happy medium” of the bunch, sporting a decent shell count, SHAP with excellent penetration and a lower muzzle velocity introducing slightly higher arcs yielding much more forgiving angles on the receiving end…
What I can say definitively, is Baltimore SHAP has much greater penetration than the standard AP. Wichita leans on HE at range, and she has the numbers to back it up, Baltimore hardly ever shoots HE in practice which is backed up by her AP performance and penetration values. Captains, it would not be entirely erroneous in terms of gunnery to compare Stock Baltimore to Celtic and Wichita or Elite Baltimore to Rochester and AL Baltimore.

	Ricochet (o)	Fuse Time (s)	Sigma	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile
Albemarle	45/60	0.033	2.0	814	AP
AL Baltimore	60/67.5	0.033	1.8	762	SHAP
Balti-Stock	60/67.5	0.033	1.9	853	AP
Balti-Elite	60/67.5	0.033	1.9	782	SHAP
Celtic	60/67.5	0.033	2.0	853	AP
Rochester	60/67.5	0.033	2.0	762	SHAP
Wichita	60/67.5	0.033	1.8	853	AP
Wichita CE	60/75	0.01	2.0	853	AP

The major and palpable difference in performance here is between Celtic and the native Baltimores, is that Celtic lacks SHAP. This means Celtic’s AP shells weigh less, which translates to depleting velocity and thus penetration values faster than the Baltimores heavier shells. Fortunately, Baltimore has some of the best AP penetration in her class which means that Celtic can afford to lose some raw penetration value before she begins to suffer. Rochester wins the AP argument here, while Celtic takes the HE side. It’s almost literally splitting hairs, and Baltimore Mains will feel right at home in either ship.

	Fire Chance %	HE Pen (mm)	Shell Count	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile
Albemarle	17	33	43	814	HE
AL Baltimore	14	33	49	823	HE
Baltimore	14	33	45	823	HE
Celtic	10	33	54	823	HE
Rochester	14	33	45	823	HE
Wichita	14	33	54	823	HE
Wichita CE	14	33	54	823	HE

If you’re looking to start fires, grab Albemarle. However, this is about the only such category she takes. Celtic manages better with access to a shorter reload and better overall ballistic properties. Shell by shell, edge Rochester, overall, solidly in Celtic’s favor by a full 9 shells.

Torpedoes

• Torpedo-less

Neither of these ships sport torpedoes, so this section is predicably blank.

Defense

• Celtic: GREAT
• Rochester: AVERAGE

Let’s jump into the major category of defense. Celtic arguably may be one of the best, Rochester, rather mediocre. From the top.
Celtic has among the best effective health pools, just edging out Edinburgh with a chunky 66k. It’s worth pointing out Albemarle tops both with a mighty 78k, though most Albemarle tend to be much more passive alluding to a different playstyle entirely. Baltimore is considered “tanky” at 56k, and Celtic adds in a super-heal. I wouldn’t chance to say Albemarle is particularly tanky, but she can heal quite well. A Baltimore is tanky enough to access that 66k EHP and is a scary thought. Baltimore can take a punch, where Edinburgh relies on defense by trickery, clever armor schemes and angling, Albemarle by range and angle. It’s also quite worth mentioning that Celtic rests with 36,7k base HP, meaning on par with most Cruiser Lights. Captains, you will feel getting hit in Celtic. Kit with 9.9km radar, sonar, a super heal, decent armor, excellent AA and workable concealment…captains, this is a literal no-brainer. Celtic is a slightly different twist off some of the most competitive ships in the game.
Rochester is rather tanky like most of her preceding Baltimore cousins. She has the same armor scheme essentially, and similar HP/EHP values. While this would normally be good on its own, Rochester has an Achilles’ Heel. Rochester must choose between having smoke or having a heal, and outright lacks Radar. While she has defensive AA, this is mostly a living meme rather than consistently as effective in combat as Radar. As said before, in terms of smoke cruisers there are just better options some of which don’t involve sacrificing your heal, or even radar. This relegates Rochester to just being a rather average 203mm CA, with very slightly better AA and decent enough armor.
The ranking seems a bit harsh, but that’s generally the difference between the hunter (Celtic), and the hunted (Rochester). Rochester initially will feel getting hit less, due to a larger health pool however, the table quickly swings in favor of Celtic, which gets most of it back.
​

	Health	Effective Health
Azuma	52 500	78 960
Albemarle	43 800	78 840
Sigfried	55 000	70 400
Celtic	36 700	66 020
Edinburgh	36 400	65 520
Hipper	43 800	58 517
Plymouth	41 000	58 220
Prinz Eugen	45 000	57 600
AL Baltimore	42 400	56 646
Baltimore	42 400	56 646
Mainz	44 000	56 320
Riga	42 000	56 112
Rochester	41 900	55 978
Amalfi	42 800	54 784
Mainz CE	42 500	54 400
Kutuzov	40 700	54 364
Pytor Bagration	42 000	53 760
Atago	40 100	53 574
Mogami	39 100	52 238
Perfect 10	36 500	51 788
AL Chapayev	37 000	51 504
Chapayev	37 000	51 504
Belfast 43	38 400	51 302
Suzuya	38 000	50 786
Wichita	37 900	50 634
Wichita CE	37 900	50 634
Charles Martel	38 000	48 640
AL Montpelier	36 900	47 232
Cleveland	36 900	47 232
Ochakov	34 750	46 426
Weimar	32 000	42 752
Bayard	34 700	-
Harbin	26 500	33 892

Armor

• Celtic: GOOD
• Rochester: GOOD

This chart below sticks to the USN and RN CA/CLs for now... At some point, this chart will include overmatch and juicy other details for all the cruisers, but for now, it is simple enough to get the point across. Most Cruisers have their critical spaces directly abutting the hull, others don’t. Cruiser armor varies widely and is worth looking at because there are absolutely ships with specific advantages worth exploring and exploiting. For now, let’s keep it simple.
As summarized before, the Baltimore Class has relatively good armor, while it has its weaknesses, is generally functional enough to get by. They are neither needlessly weighed down by their armor, nor under-armored. It’s worth saying Rochester and Celtic have vaguely the same armor lay out and will handle 380mm Battleships.

	Extremity Plating (mm)	Belt Armor (mm)
Albemarle	25	152
AL Baltimore	27	152
AL Montpelier	25	127
Baltimore	27	152
Belfast 43	16	114
Celtic	27	152
Cleveland	25	127
Edinburgh	30	114
Perfect 10	16	114
Plymouth	16	114
Rochester	27	152
Wichita	27	152
Wichita CE	27	152

Anti-Air Suite

• Rochester: BEST
• Celtic: GREAT

Rochester takes the cake here, with better and larger AA guns she’s rather resistant to airborne pests. Celtic ties in with the close second, along with her sisters. The truly beautiful thing about either ship is that captains will not need to waste any energy into building this into making this sector a functional kit. Captains, you can save some defensive energy by focusing into Celtic’s Radar and by leaving Rochester in port. The magic number here is being north of that 350/s line, Azuma scrapes by with a bit of focus, where pretty much all the USN ships will laugh off aircraft. A major point of contention that is worth noting; Rochester is immune, Celtic is quite resistant to CVs, where Albemarle gets by here, and Edinburgh is rather hindered. I suspect this will be massively impactful for competitive players.

	Range (Km)	DPS
Rochester	5.0	370
AL Baltimore	5.0	365
Baltimore	5.0	365
Celtic	5.0	365
AL Montpelier	5.0	363
Cleveland	5.0	363
Mainz	5.0	357
Mainz CE	5.0	357
Sigfried	5.2	354
Azuma	5.0	342
Hipper	4.5	288
Pyotr Bagration	5.0	280
Prinz Eugen	4.5	279
Plymouth	5.0	276
Perfect 10	5.0	276
Albemarle	5.0	272
Kutuzov	5.0	264
Amalfi	4.0	225
Wichita	5.0	217
Wichita CE	5.0	217
Bayard	5.0	212
Belfast 43	5.0	207
Al Chapayev	5.0	207
Chapayev	5.0	207
Charles Martel	5.0	204
Ochakov	5.0	196
Riga	5.2	188
Weimar	4.5	181
Edinburgh	5.0	175
Harbin	5.2	170
Mogami	5.0	127
Atago	5.0	90
Suzuya	5.0	67

Rochester takes the cake here, because everyone deserves to be really good at something. However, with CVs it’s important to remember everything is relative.

Concealment

• Rochester: GOOD
• Celtic: GOOD

Technically these are the same values while stock, and their rating is the same. However, this is quite deceiving. Rochester is GOOD leaning on GREAT where Celtic is GOOD leaning on AVERAGE. The reason for this follows their available commanders, which Shelly Beapley offers a unique 4th row concealment skill unavailable to any other commander, or nation. The result of this, Rochester, like her cousins sits at a comfortable 9.3km, where Celtic sits at 9.9km. Rochester can do almost nothing with this concealment, as she lacks radar, and her smoke fire window is just a pale 1.7km below her surface concealment. However, that .6km is a palpable difference and can open huge strategic windows; particularly once south of that magic 10km line.
The obvious connotation here is that hiding a radar cruiser inside 10km is far scarier than hiding a smoke cruiser inside 9.5, provocatively when that same smoke cruiser can be spotted inside her smoke at 7.6km. Captains, this 7.6km is on par with her sisters, however, this is a very narrow margin even for a support cruiser. Smoke is infinitely easier to use than radar, however, infinitely less forgiving.

	Stock Concealment
Amalfi	11.4
Atago	11.7
Harbi	11.8
Belfast 43	11.9
Plymouth	12.0
Edinburgh	12.0
Albemarle	12.1
Mogami	12.3
Suzuya	12.3
Cleveland	12.5
AL Montpelier	12.5
Celtic	12.6
AL Baltimore	12.6
Baltimore	12.6
Rochester	12.6
Wichita	12.6
Azuma	12.7
Weimar	13.0
Sigfried	13.0
Perfect 10	13.2
Bayard	13.2
Pyotr Bagration	13.3
Charles Martel	13.4
Hipper	13.5
Prinz Eugen	13.6
Mainz	13.7
Mainz CE	13.7
Kutuzov	13.8
Ochakov	13.8
Riga	14.2
AL Chapayev	14.3
Chapayev	14.3

Maneuverability

• Celtic: GOOD
• Rochester: WEAK

Celtic sits almost smack dab of the upper midfield pack of heavy cruisers where Rochester sits more towards the end of the pack. Rochester feels clunky and handles like it, where Celtic feels more “native” to her respective class sharing the same stats. While this is rated good overall, its more average in the face of Lighter Cruisers, representing more of a bang-for-the-buck scenario.

	Rudder Shift (s)	Turn Radius (m)
Weimar	6.4	660
AL Montpelier	6.9	660
Harbin	7.2	660
Cleveland	6.0	680
Wichita	6.0	680
Wichita CE	6.0	680
Perfect 10	8.0	680
Edinburgh	8.6	680
Belfast 43	9.9	680
Plymouth	10.1	680
Amalfi	11.0	680
Charles Martel	8.9	690
Mainz	10.5	720
Mainz CE	10.5	720
Albemarle	10.7	720
AL Baltimore	7.0	730
Baltimore	7.0	730
Celtic	7.0	730
Bayard	9.3	730
Hipper	9.7	740
Suzuya	5.6	750
Mogami	6.4	750
Ochakov	7.4	750
Rochester	10.5	750
Kutuzov	6.5	760
Prinz Eugen	9.8	770
Atago	8.1	790
Sigfried	14.0	880
AL Chapayev	8.7	890
Chapayev	8.7	890
Pyotr Bagration	10.5	890
Azuma	12.3	920
Riga	11.5	920

Commanders

Celtic:
Celtic essentially has one commander that is head and shoulders ahead of the rest, while the rest kind of just work. HotRod offers the best fit here inarguably, along with Radar Edinburgh and Radar Minotaur. This sets Celtic up to be a near par build with the USN CA Queen Shelly Beapley. While her 4th row skill’s absence here is certainly felt and results in a 9.9km concealment, the build is largely similar and works well for any radar focused cruiser. While there are other builds out there, this is the gem of the lot and helps unlock that sacred mantra of utility that surrounds the Baltimore Class. Inspirations should focus on concealment, Mikawa and Swirski, to bring Celtic’s detection to pair with her Radar.
HotRod

• Cognizant: -10% Radar Cooldown Time
• Ingenious: -7% Incoming Splash Damage, +1.6o/s Gun Traverse
• Full Speed Ahead: +5% Speed, -10% Rudder Shift
• Prescience: -20% Air Detection, +10% Radar Duration
• Acoustic Chamber: -25% Sonar Cooldown, +5% Sonar Duration, +1 Sonar Charge
• Fully Packed: -5% Consumable Reload, +1 Consumable Charge

Rochester:
Nothing can be easy with Rochester, and naturally, building her was to the same effect. Essentially there are two trains of thought for this ship, build into dispersion or build into utility.
AL Montpelier seemed to mesh the best, which then turns Rochester into a little flamethrower capable of merging all her shells into a single pixel. However, this build is rather finicky to use and has a fair number of weaknesses. The build heavily relies on team spotting and is itself a second-line cruiser. Something like a 19-20% fire chance and a nasty dispersion circle. Rochester already has excellent gunnery performance as discussed; Montpelier really sharpens the sword. Pair with AL Scharnhorst and Scott to reduce dispersion and sigma, respectively, even further.
AL Montpelier

• Anti-Air Mode: +10% AA Range
• Burn it Down XXL: +2% Fire Chance
• Igniter: +3% Fire Chance
• All-Out Assault: +4% Sigma, +10% Incoming Fire Dispersion, +5% Incoming Damage
• Fixated: +5% Sigma, -5% Dispersion
• Fully Packed: -5% Consumable Reload, +1 Consumable Charge

It's a rare day when Shelly gets sat down in favor of another commander in the USN CA tree, but I kept falling into the same pitfalls using the same build for similar ships often being able to use radar. Shelly will help bring out Rochester’s utility, but she’s arguably not as well fit in on Rochester as AL Montpelier is. Pair Beapley with concealment inspirations from Mikawa and Swirski and enjoy a very beautiful 9.3km concealment. Rochester has SHAP and excellent penetration values, meaning she can readily ambush and critically strike ships quite larger than her, all without torpedoes.
Shelly Beapley

• Refractory: -8% Chance of catching fire
• Ingenious: -7% Incoming Splash Damage, +1.6o/s Gun Traverse
• Full Speed Ahead: +5% Speed, -10% Rudder Shift
• Velocious: +5% Speed
• Private Zone: -8% Detectability
• Fully Packed: -5% Consumable Reload, +1 Consumable Charge

Consumables

Ok, rather than spell out everything, everywhere, all at once; I’m going to keep it simple here.
Celtic:

1. Damage Control: Standard, unlimited uses. 60s cooldown.
2. Sonar: 3km Torp, 4.2km Ship detection. Lasts around 98s when kit with Hot Rod and reloads in 132.
3. Radar: 9.9km range and lasts about 28s when built.
4. Heal: 733/s over 20s. Yep, that’s over 14k HP. Reloads in less than a minute too.

Celtic has a near ideal consumable suite. There are some differences off the mainstream, such as slightly less sonar range or shorter radar duration. Glossing over the minor differences, the bigger picture reveals something better. Built, Celtic can regenerate a LOT of health.
Rochester:

1. Damage Control: Standard, unlimited. 60s cooldown.
2. Defensive AA: +200% average AA damage. This is memes, it's sort of like a bug zapper for planes.
3. Sonar: Standard 3.3km/4.4km detection over 96s. The average sonar found on everything.
4. Smoke/Heal: 30s duration, 104s dissipation time for the smoke. 251/s over 28s for the heal.

Rochester is rather standard in her access to her consumables, with the killer choice between smoke or a heal. I’ve gone back and forth, generally landing on the heal. Rochester is essentially a decent cruiser hampered by her rather average consumable suite.

Modifications

1. Aiming Systems Mod 1: -7% Dispersion
2. Steering Gears Mod 2: -20% Rudder Shift
3. Concealment Mod 1: -10% Detectability
4. Main Battery Mod 3: -15% Gun Reload

Ok, so the modifications section is super easy because both ships share the same builds. Aiming Systems mod 1 for the dispersion, player’s choice on slot 2 with either propulsion mod 2 or steering gears mod 2. Concealment Mod 1 for slot 3 and finishing off slot 4 by increasing DPM with main battery mod 3.

Upgrades

• Both Celtic and Rochester are premium ships without any researchable upgrades.

Research

• Neither of these ships are currently used in Research Projects. Look out though, one of those random reward or anniversary projects in the future might literally scream having one of these two tucked inside.

Summary

• Celtic: GREAT
• Rochester: AVERAGE

Celtic is a joy. Rochester is work.
I can see Celtic becoming a popular contestant in competitive play with the access to that 9.9km radar and her super heal. I rather lamented her HE performance, more due to her lower fire chance then her DPM or ballistic performance. While it would be nice to see her have ¼ pen HE, she doesn’t need it. I find her nicely balanced and well measured to take on Tier 7. She is just unique enough to warrant her own review, whilst similar enough to stay nearer the beaten path. While she may not comfortably and outright usurp Wichita CE and AL Baltimore from their spots, she’s worth mentioning with the group. That’s saying something.
Rochester, well, let’s just say that not everyone can be the best. This ship is tough but can be rewarding in a sense of overcoming the demands of a challenging ships. My issue with Rochester is 2-fold, her smoke and her heal. She ideally needs both to function in this current meta, and running the ship’s gimmick leaves her with abysmal EHP in a plummet from pretty good to 3rd worst overall, which only trumps Harbin and Bayard while being out-healed by Weimar. With a smoke-fire penalty in the mid 7’s km, smoke is hard to use effectively that is not relegated to back line, HE spam. As said before, if we’re really going to be stuck to this, there are ships which do this better. While I love the perspective of a USN CA without radar just to offer something more unique, a USN CA without Radar is like a cart without a horse. Hilariously enough, Rochester seems to avoid CV games like the actual plague, so I suppose that’s one strong point. Otherwise, and largely, captains are left with a rather average 203mm CA.

• Be sure to follow me so that you don't miss any new content or reviews.
• You can find all my reviews published to wowsbuilds.com courteously hosted by Father Mundy.
• Opinions reflected in the review are the writers' own, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editor(s), collaborator(s), publisher(s), Wargaming, or World of Warships: Legends.
• Inspirational Credit to LittleWhiteMouse

Written By: Capt Thatch

Hi I started on Adven oils a week ago with Sapphire. I'm on CBD twice a day and a THC oil before bedtime.
Overall the THC is helping me with sleep and some anxiety, but the CBD oil I'm having not much luck with. Problem is I'm getting headaches about two hours after I take my morning CBD oil dose. Nearly every day this week, yesterday was a bad one. One of the reasons for me trying MC is to help migraines and chronic headaches.
I'm not sure what to do, should I drop the CBD oil, reduce its dose maybe? I have a review Dr appointment in 3 weeks, but would I need to make a separate appointment sooner to discuss this but I can't afford another £50 fee really.

Game Information

Game Title: Crime Boss: Rockay City
Platforms:

• PC (Mar 28, 2023)

Trailer:
Developer: Ingame Studios
Publisher: 505 Games
Review Aggregator:
OpenCritic - 50 average - 20% recommended - 6 reviews

Critic Reviews

Attack of the Fanboy - Noah Nelson - 3 / 5

Crime Boss: Rockay City's execution isn't revolutionary or exceptional, but its shot at an innovative roguelike campaign is a praiseworthy proof of concept. It might not have the most versatile activities, best gunplay, or first-class writing, but Crime Boss: Rockay City does provide an interesting experience that, like a cheap B-movie, has that certain kind of charm you can't help but enjoy.

Inverse - Corey Plante - 6 / 10

Rockay City has something interesting in its novel campaign structure, and its modest price tag currently discounted to $31.99 makes it an outright bargain. But there’s not enough to appreciate that warrants anybody to stick around for more than a random night with some buddies. The whole project is clearly a loving homage to the glory days of ‘90s action flicks, but the tone-deaf execution misses the mark. But how long can that hold your attention for when your multiplayer game time is far better spent elsewhere?

Screen Rant - Jason Hon - 2.5 / 5

The limited time to play the review build of Crime Boss: Rockay City felt unfinished and needed more gameplay activities and depth. With the game planned to be a live service experience, with more time, developer InGame Studios will hopefully add more features and gameplay mechanics to help the game stand out in the multiplayer shooter genre. There is fun to be had with a team of four friends completing missions together. Still, in its current state, Crime Boss: Rockay City feels like a low-level wannabe criminal trying to get rich quick on a street populated with multiplayer shooters who already do better.

Shacknews - Lucas White - 5 / 10

If the idea of playing a shooter crammed on top of a modern edition of Drug Wars, full of pseudo ironic stunt casting and roguelike gimmicks sounds like a good time, boy do I have a game for you. The only game for you, really. All snark aside I don’t think I’ve ever played a game quite like Crime Boss: Rockay City. It’s a massive swing and a big miss, with enough force to crack the sound barrier while the ball stays in the catcher’s mitt. It’s neither a cynical corporate cringe like Sharknado, nor is it a low-budget dud you’d expect to see a crew of robot puppets heckle. It’s weird, loud and uncanny. Frankly I’m surprised Christopher Walken didn’t show up.

TheGamer - Lex Luddy - 2 / 5

There’s very little you could get out of Crime Boss that you couldn’t get out of Payday 2 next time it comes around in a Steam sale. And besides, I think those masks that “are for pussies” are actually really cool.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun - Alice Bell - Unscored

A sloppy, buggy Payday pretender whose USP of using 90s movie stars is probably the worst thing about it.

Hey all!
​
I stumbled on Dowfrost HD as a thermo-fluid, and found the price point to be very attractive compared to silicone oil or Huber's brand of fluids.
Anyone have any experience with this stuff? This could be a huge money-saver - what do you think? Looking to use it on a Huber Ministat 125cc.
My notes from datasheet comparisons and review of the Huber manual: Temperature range, viscosity are within range. The specific gravity of Dowfrost HD is 1019 grams/m3 (at 50%, i only need 40%) and the pH is 9.5-10.5 at 50%... I believe at 40% this would fall around 8.5-8.7-ish. Huber says no more than 1000 grams/m3 and that no acids should be used, and their fluid datasheet shows a pH of 7.
More digging, I *believe* the internal seals are made of Viton, which lists a good compatibility with Propylene Glycol (Dowfrost HD is made from this..) even though the pH is a bit high.
Would love to hear your thoughts!
​
Thanks for your help

Period: 730.39 days

	Submissions	Comments
Total	1000	24716
Rate (per day)	1.37	33.80
Unique Redditors	571	3006
Combined Score	83968	106679

Top Submitters' Top Submissions

1. 3488 points, 47 submissions: Adwai1h
   
   1. One of the Dream Machines growing up. Lucky to experience it. (131 points, 12 comments)
   2. I was 5 years old when Dhoom came out, now 17 years later I finally got to ride the Hayabusa:) (125 points, 20 comments)
   3. :) (119 points, 27 comments)
   4. Night Ride - Honda XR250 & RE Continental GT 650 (112 points, 19 comments)
   5. mY bEaSt (111 points, 40 comments)
   6. This Sub's Favourite Bike (107 points, 13 comments)
   7. Hi Bangalore:) - RE GT650 (103 points, 10 comments)
   8. Pictured: Man escaping responsibilities riding off in the night. (101 points, 13 comments)
   9. Fine! I did it, CB350, You guys wouldn't stay quiet so I rented one. (94 points, 22 comments)
   10. rain rain go away 😪 (93 points, 23 comments)
2. 2017 points, 16 submissions: avi7611
   
   1. Booked my Triumph Street Triple R 2022 carbon black on my 23rd birthday. It’s a dream come true 😀. Please bless my bike with your eyes (231 points, 60 comments)
   2. I don’t care if you call this bike ugly, This is one of the best looking for me. Triumph Street triple R (231 points, 85 comments)
   3. You can’t ignore these beauties. Every inch of these bikes are pure delicacy. (175 points, 43 comments)
   4. Enjoy this affordable beauty Continental GT 650 (164 points, 20 comments)
   5. Best Ducati panigale wrap I’ve seen. (154 points, 17 comments)
   6. A sunset ride POV on my Street Triple R 🌅 (140 points, 22 comments)
   7. Everytime i get off my bike I can’t keep myself from looking it back and admire for 2 mins. (139 points, 13 comments)
   8. And we are finally here bros 2022 STREET TRIPLE R - One of the naughtiest thing i own (138 points, 26 comments)
   9. There’s no Doubt that this is one of the most beautiful bike ever made. Daytona 675 (131 points, 13 comments)
   10. The photos i used to dream are now the photos i click by my hands. I hope everyone get their dream bike soon :) (121 points, 4 comments)
3. 1223 points, 21 submissions: jaymanshere18
   
   1. A sunset on the trails Hero Xpulse 200 (105 points, 8 comments)
   2. My dad chasing me, then me chasing him. 🥵🥵 Hero Xpulse 200 Stock vs Hero Karizma built for rally use. (96 points, 8 comments)
   3. It's a beautiful life. :) (84 points, 8 comments)
   4. Bought myself the Alpinestars SM8! India. (83 points, 28 comments)
   5. Hi, I am an artist who races rallies for fun. Currently, I'm preparing for my 5th rally on my third bike, and the one I like the most - the Hero Xpulse BS4 (Carb); I also ride trails and do off road centric tours. This post is inspired by u/arcaneformula and would love to talk to y'all - AMA! (70 points, 39 comments)
   6. Somewhere under the same sun, a couple weekends ago. Hero Xpulse 200, NCR. (67 points, 9 comments)
   7. Successfully finished the SJOBA Rally 2022. The rally was a big learning for me, the second day I couldn’t even focus on the track because of a tired mind. Felt defeated knowing I only rode 30% of my capabilities. Picked myself back up and saw some retribution on the last day. (67 points, 15 comments)
   8. Kisouma and I are ready to race the SJOBA Rally 2022! Wish us luck. ⚡️ (63 points, 4 comments)
   9. some photos from this year’s SJOBA Rally. Hero Xpulse 200. (54 points, 6 comments)
   10. I recently shot a commercial for a small company, this is a little edit I made from that footage. Hero Xpulse 200. (53 points, 10 comments)
4. 889 points, 9 submissions: SnooPeripherals2168
   
   1. Honda Rune (213 points, 34 comments)
   2. Indian FTR1200, stuff of dreams. (152 points, 47 comments)
   3. Zx12R that i checked out for a friend (116 points, 21 comments)
   4. Absolutely gorgeous (99 points, 20 comments)
   5. My favourite livery by Honda (85 points, 16 comments)
   6. Race preped Daytona! (81 points, 8 comments)
   7. from the archives (60 points, 2 comments)
   8. Gone but never forgotten. (42 points, 8 comments)
   9. Fun little package from Ducati (41 points, 0 comments)
5. 864 points, 12 submissions: Terryted
   
   1. finally found some time to wash few of the bikes .. (138 points, 33 comments)
   2. Came across a childhood photo of me thought I’d share it . That’s a old Yamaha V-Star by the way . (132 points, 27 comments)
   3. Africa twin ft cat on the thar ✌🏻 (87 points, 14 comments)
   4. Took some styling cues from the game 😂 .. Yamaha R6 hands down one of my fav bikes to ride on BIC(Buddh International Circuit) (77 points, 19 comments)
   5. Took the RD for a ride after a really long time . She still gives me goosebumps.❤️ (74 points, 14 comments)
   6. They say that weekends usually go by really fast i kid you not this weekend is fast!! at the California superbikes school. MMRT (72 points, 10 comments)
   7. Cb 650 ❤️ (56 points, 19 comments)
   8. Chapter 3 of California Superbikes School This time with the FZ6n (55 points, 4 comments)
   9. Fun Sunday ride - ft street 750 , interceptor and Honda shadow (52 points, 9 comments)
   10. It's raining two strokes😅 💨Yamaha RD350 , Yezdi Roadking (43 points, 1 comment)
6. 764 points, 15 submissions: Top_Coast_8709
   
   1. Yes we exist (85 points, 27 comments)
   2. Whenever I feel depressed I take her out and head to a Chai spot outside town. Works better than therapy ❤️ (73 points, 7 comments)
   3. Heading to the beach to celebrate 10k kms with her ❤️ (57 points, 12 comments)
   4. 10k completed with bae 🤝 enjoyed every second of it (56 points, 8 comments)
   5. They didn’t give us a duke 200 adventure so tried to make do with what i got 🥲 (53 points, 15 comments)
   6. Does this qualify as an hour glass figure? (50 points, 18 comments)
   7. New Skin for Smaug (49 points, 6 comments)
   8. Whatchu lookin at? (47 points, 8 comments)
   9. Celebrating 2 year anniversary with my baby ❤️ She was my first, one that I earned after a lot of grind. I still remember those countless YT videos of deliveries and reviews of the duke. Throughout college life I drooled over owning this beast. I still can’t believe this became a reality ❤️ (45 points, 7 comments)
   10. Completed two awesome years with my first self owned machine :’) what a blast its been (44 points, 13 comments)
7. 763 points, 8 submissions: gaurav_kumrawat
   
   1. Ride for today ;) (226 points, 25 comments)
   2. 11000kms in 5 months with this beast, loving it so far. AMA (126 points, 40 comments)
   3. Making the most of out weekend :) (90 points, 8 comments)
   4. 6000Kms on it, AMA (83 points, 29 comments)
   5. Surprised by how effortlessly it does 160 kmph and really stable too. (66 points, 13 comments)
   6. A day spent well (62 points, 30 comments)
   7. Love riding this bike (61 points, 10 comments)
   8. Weekend Ride with this single cylinder beast. (49 points, 8 comments)
8. 723 points, 10 submissions: octanekarnige
   
   1. Six years and over a lakh kilometres later. (155 points, 39 comments)
   2. The Best Bang For Buck I've Experienced (149 points, 41 comments)
   3. Saving an old workhorse from the scrapyard. My hand built lockdown project. Mod list in comment section! (80 points, 22 comments)
   4. Travelled from Delhi to Banglore for a trackday at Aruani Grid. The R15V4 is the perfect tool to hone your skills. (62 points, 20 comments)
   5. Picked up the Rally Edition. Genuinely impressed with the suspension setup after calibration to my weight. Can't wait to fiddle around with this and bolt on some performance parts. (61 points, 9 comments)
   6. Soaking in the sun. (48 points, 6 comments)
   7. The Old Gurgaon Experience 💀 (44 points, 6 comments)
   8. RC × RC × RC (43 points, 5 comments)
   9. 3 Months & 5000 kilometres later. AMA (41 points, 26 comments)
   10. One of Yamah's lesser appreciated gems. Been my workhorse for over 6 pleasurable years. (40 points, 9 comments)
9. 660 points, 9 submissions: Manyyack
   
   1. Office Friends gifted me these :') (131 points, 36 comments)
   2. Ride to Pondicherry. Can't explain how much I love this bike. P.S Ignore the wind noise. (129 points, 31 comments)
   3. Next : 8008 (77 points, 13 comments)
   4. Mornings like this. Free advice : Do not underestimate the weather and leave your Winter Jacket at home. Same video from Pondicherry ride. Was completely foggy and poor visibility till 7 AM. (75 points, 44 comments)
   5. The Topper and the Backbencher of the sub on way to Pondicherry (57 points, 11 comments)
   6. Completed 1K KM on this! Absolutely in love with it. AMA if you want. (52 points, 70 comments)
   7. I bought this Beauty today. (52 points, 15 comments)
   8. POV : You develop a crush on someone most hated and love them despite all of their shortcomings and flaws. (44 points, 23 comments)
   9. Shots from recent Ooty Trip. What a bike it is, absolutely love it ! (43 points, 19 comments)
10. 557 points, 4 submissions: ChumbaWambah
    
    1. TVS Ronin Scrambler mod by TVS at Moto Soul event, Goa (217 points, 45 comments)
    2. TN Patrol Cops official vehicle of choice. The Gixxer SF. (154 points, 25 comments)
    3. The about to be globally unveiled Harley-Davidson X350 (131 points, 80 comments)
    4. Le BMW G310 GS's first service invoice for your perusal (55 points, 53 comments)

Top Commenters

1. Adwai1h (1768 points, 542 comments)
2. Why_when_where (976 points, 78 comments)
3. Born_Night_8797 (879 points, 109 comments)
4. vitviki (771 points, 166 comments)
5. ilurkilearntoo (771 points, 141 comments)
6. DrazeGamer (732 points, 136 comments)
7. KingsmanVishnu (719 points, 139 comments)
8. ittybittypitykitty (560 points, 52 comments)
9. Apeeksiht (543 points, 59 comments)
10. Manishimself (538 points, 68 comments)

Top Submissions

1. Going to get some dhaniya akira style. by DUST_2196 (461 points, 68 comments)
2. Anatomy of a “Chapri” (from Biturbo Media YouTube) by deleted (417 points, 109 comments)
3. We believe in Activa Supremacy. by itsmerachit (369 points, 28 comments)
4. Dominar, RR310 owners.. relatable? by matthrwmurdock (356 points, 72 comments)
5. My Ride to College by Beginning-Wolf-2864 (330 points, 51 comments)
6. I bought my first bike today! ♥️ by SummaOruAccount (322 points, 82 comments)
7. Bike for sale. Some scratches. Serious buyers only by adblr (305 points, 37 comments)
8. Had to stop and record an extremely important milestone. by KedPd (298 points, 42 comments)
9. Had no clue where I was headed but this was definitely something worth getting down and capturing on the phone. Absolutely surreal experience... by TheDarkKnight04 (295 points, 27 comments)
10. GT650 on the beautiful roads of A & N Islands by Rackjack26 (290 points, 48 comments)

Top Comments

1. 148 points: ittybittypitykitty's comment in Why do people name their bikes?
2. 145 points: DrazeGamer's comment in The bike will be locked inside for about a month, any measures i should keep in mind before leaving it ?
3. 130 points: EvilMorty_x-137's comment in Sold my Ninja to buy aYamaha Aerox. AMA
4. 122 points: PranavBhosale's comment in Meeting up with u/me_is_dumb_dumb from this sub reddit for weekend ride!
5. 121 points: Why_when_where's comment in your opinion on the E20 launch? you in the right mind would ruin the expensive engines with this adulterated fuel?
6. 115 points: Pam_Schrute's comment in Hey guys, I want some recommendations for a good bike for 2.5L or less. I'm a college student and going to take Loan to buy it. I mostly prefer those relaxed cruisers, I love the way it feels. Any type of bike rec is welcome. thanks in advance
7. 112 points: shim_niyi's comment in Anatomy of a “Chapri” (from Biturbo Media YouTube)
8. 107 points: witty_sperm's comment in what a beautiful sight!
9. 106 points: InitiativeTrue9583's comment in Dreams vs finance dilemma
10. 106 points: almighty_dev's comment in Got duke 200 as my first bike , gotta embrace the inner chapri ig🤷‍♂️

Generated with BBoe's Subreddit Stats

TLDR: FINRA has access to what in any other organization would be considered massive amounts of insider information. It also has a massive conflict of interest in the form of a 1.6 Billion dollar investment portfolio. The portfolio of the Self Regulatory Agency is largely unknown and is largely (if not completely) unmonitored by any other regulatory agency(s). I would be really, really curious to know how much of that portfolio is short?
In addition to massive conflicts of interest and minimal supervision from the SEC, FINERA does not appear to be directly accountable to Congress, rather than direct accountability FINRA instead invests a lot of money in lobbying. In 2012, it spent $960,000 as it pushed for legislation that would allow it to expand its regulatory reach to include RIAs, who are now primarily regulated by the SEC.
FINERA should have no ability to halt any stocks or securities while it is invested in the very markets it purports to regulate.
https://www.mercatus.org/media/46396/download
”LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY”
”By law, the SEC is in charge of Finra and has the power to approve or reject any rules Finra wants to adopt. But it applies little more than a rubber stamp to Finra’s rules, critics say.”
“In practice, Finra operates with substantial independence from the SEC,” Hester Peirce, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, noted in a 2015 paper. “Finra rules do not typically attract close attention from the SEC commissioners.”
”Finra operates with substantial independence from the SEC.” - Hester Peirce
(Source deleted)
”The Government Accountability Office likewise found that the SEC could be doing a better job of overseeing Finra in a 2012 report and a follow-up report in 2015. In the follow-up report, the GAO said the SEC had improved its monitoring of Finra but that it still needed to develop specific performance goals and measures for Finra oversight, formalize documentation of oversight determinations and perform an assessment of Finra’s internal risks related to staffing and priorities.”
https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/how-does-finra-differ-sec/
“Although it has regulatory powers, FINRA is not part of the government. It is a not-for-profitentity and the largest self-regulatory organization (SRO)in the securities industry within the U.S.”
”FINRA stands for "Financial Industry Regulatory Authority" and is a not-for-profit organization overseen by the SEC that seeks to protect investors by primarily overseeing all brokers in the securities marketplace. It lays out specific laws and requirements and provides certificates for individuals to be able to operate in the securities market.”
”FINRA is responsible for overseeing virtually all U.S. stockbrokersand brokerage firmsand providing avenues and legal certifications for those individuals to appropriately operate in their specific marketplaces.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/wall-street-regulator-is-also-an-investorwith-meager-returns-1507195803 ”Finra's $1.6 billion portfolio has returned 3.4% annually, versus 6% for a half-stock, half-bond portfolio.”
https://www.investmentnews.com/finra-denies-wsj-report-that-regulator-has-underperforming-portfolio-72391 ”Finra denies WSJ report that regulator has underperforming portfolio. Regulator says Journal's analysis makes improper comparison of returns.”
”From Finra’s origins in 2004 through 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s actively managed $1.6 billion investment portfolio has returned 3.4%, or $440 million less than a 6% return had the self-regulator invested in a balanced mix of global stocks and U.S. bonds, according to Wall Street Journal calculations of figures in Finra’s annual reports.”
https://www.investmentnews.com/finra-whos-watching-the-watchdog-72102 *”Finra wields enormous power over the lives of brokers and broker-dealers. Last year alone, it issued more than 1,400 disciplinary actions and barred more than 500 brokers from the industry.
And yet people in the industry know little about how Finra operates, how it spends the millions it collects in membership fees and fines, and how it sets its regulatory agenda. Finra writes its own rules, meets behind closed doors and releases information if and when it deems necessary.”*
”Finra is the watchdog that no one is watching. “It is largely unaccountable to the industry or to the public,” David Burton, a senior fellow in economic policy at the Heritage Foundation, wrote in a February report. “Due process, transparency and regulatory-review protections normally associated with regulators are not present, and its arbitration process is flawed. Reforms are necessary.”
”In an InvestmentNewssurvey of 363 readers who are regulated by Finra, nearly half — 48% — said the organization is not doing a good job of regulating brokers, compared with 29% who said it was. Meanwhile, 61% said Finra is not transparent about its finances, and the same percentage said the SEC’s oversight of Finra is inadequate.”
“Is it [Finra] a government or not a government agency? As long as there’s not a choice for brokers, it’s a monopoly – and monopolies need to be regulated.”
*”Jim R. Webb, CEO, Cape Securities Inc.
Jim R. Webb, CEO of broker-dealer Cape Securities Inc., is frustrated that Finra acts like a government agency but does not have to follow the laws that govern public agencies. For example, it is not subject to laws that would allow the public to attend its meetings, nor is it subject to the Freedom of Information Act, which allows anyone to request information about any matter from a federal agency.”*
”Finra protects itself from lawsuits from members by claiming that as an SRO it has absolute immunity from private lawsuits challenging the conduct of its regulatory mission.”
“There needs to be definition,” Mr. Webb said. “Is it a government agency or not a government agency? As long as there’s not a choice for brokers, it’s a monopoly — and monopolies need to be regulated.”
From a seeking alpha article that I cannot link due to Reddit blocking the site. (just search for the title, top result) Why Does FINRA Have An Investment Portfolio?
Oct. 11, 2017 12:10 PM ET By Roger Nusbaum, AdvisorShares ETF Strategist
”FINRA has an investment portfolio with a long track record of underperforming a 50/50 portfolio.”
”So, here’s a weird one involving FINRA that you might have picked up in the last few days. Apparently, it has a large, $1.6 billion investment portfolio, and the returns have been weak, according to the Wall Street Journal, underperforming a 50/50 equity/fixed income portfolio for quite a few years.”
”The WSJ article is woefully incomplete. It doesn’t say what the purpose of the portfolio is, it is unclear how it can even have a portfolio, and there are no specifics as to what the portfolio is benchmarked to other than a reference to a custom benchmark. The origin goes back to 2004, and it came out of the blocks trying to emulate the college endowments, which back then were revered. As a side note, the tide may have gone out some for quite a few of the endowments, but there is still plenty to learn about asset allocation from them.”
”As the story goes, the FINRA portfolio decided to significantly reduce its equity exposure in, um….2009. The article provides no details on how much equity exposure it had back then, but the portfolio underperformed a 50/50 in 2008, or how much it has now, but there is a quote from a spokeswoman about targeting a “much more conservative approach than a 50/50 benchmark.”
The rolls and activities of our regulatory agencies needs to be seriously examined and heavily re-evaluated.

This post relates to GME because this is a part of our market that requires more reform than we previously anticipated. TLDR: FINRA has access to what in any other organization would be considered massive amounts of insider information. It also has a massive conflict of interest in the form of a 1.6 Billion dollar investment portfolio. The portfolio of the Self Regulatory Agency is largely unknown and is largely (if not completely) unmonitored by any other regulatory agency(s). I would be really, really curious to know how much of that portfolio is short? In addition to massive conflicts of interest and minimal supervision from the SEC, FINERA does not appear to be directly accountable to Congress, rather than direct accountability FINRA instead invests a lot of money in lobbying. In 2012, it spent $960,000 as it pushed for legislation that would allow it to expand its regulatory reach to include RIAs, who are now primarily regulated by the SEC. FINERA should have no ability to halt any stocks or securities while it is invested in the very markets it purports to regulate.
https://www.mercatus.org/media/46396/download ”LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY” ”By law, the SEC is in charge of Finra and has the power to approve or reject any rules Finra wants to adopt. But it applies little more than a rubber stamp to Finra’s rules, critics say.” “In practice, Finra operates with substantial independence from the SEC,” Hester Peirce, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, noted in a 2015 paper. “Finra rules do not typically attract close attention from the SEC commissioners.” ”Finra operates with substantial independence from the SEC.” - Hester Peirce
(Source deleted) ”The Government Accountability Office likewise found that the SEC could be doing a better job of overseeing Finra in a 2012 report and a follow-up report in 2015. In the follow-up report, the GAO said the SEC had improved its monitoring of Finra but that it still needed to develop specific performance goals and measures for Finra oversight, formalize documentation of oversight determinations and perform an assessment of Finra’s internal risks related to staffing and priorities.”
https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/how-does-finra-differ-sec/ “Although it has regulatory powers, FINRA is not part of the government. It is a not-for-profitentity and the largest self-regulatory organization (SRO)in the securities industry within the U.S.” ”FINRA stands for "Financial Industry Regulatory Authority" and is a not-for-profit organization overseen by the SEC that seeks to protect investors by primarily overseeing all brokers in the securities marketplace. It lays out specific laws and requirements and provides certificates for individuals to be able to operate in the securities market.” ”FINRA is responsible for overseeing virtually all U.S. stockbrokersand brokerage firmsand providing avenues and legal certifications for those individuals to appropriately operate in their specific marketplaces.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/wall-street-regulator-is-also-an-investorwith-meager-returns-1507195803 ”Finra's $1.6 billion portfolio has returned 3.4% annually, versus 6% for a half-stock, half-bond portfolio.”
https://www.investmentnews.com/finra-denies-wsj-report-that-regulator-has-underperforming-portfolio-72391 ”Finra denies WSJ report that regulator has underperforming portfolio. Regulator says Journal's analysis makes improper comparison of returns.” ”From Finra’s origins in 2004 through 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s actively managed $1.6 billion investment portfolio has returned 3.4%, or $440 million less than a 6% return had the self-regulator invested in a balanced mix of global stocks and U.S. bonds, according to Wall Street Journal calculations of figures in Finra’s annual reports.”
https://www.investmentnews.com/finra-whos-watching-the-watchdog-72102 ”Finra wields enormous power over the lives of brokers and broker-dealers. Last year alone, it issued more than 1,400 disciplinary actions and barred more than 500 brokers from the industry. And yet people in the industry know little about how Finra operates, how it spends the millions it collects in membership fees and fines, and how it sets its regulatory agenda. Finra writes its own rules, meets behind closed doors and releases information if and when it deems necessary.” ”Finra is the watchdog that no one is watching. “It is largely unaccountable to the industry or to the public,” David Burton, a senior fellow in economic policy at the Heritage Foundation, wrote in a February report. “Due process, transparency and regulatory-review protections normally associated with regulators are not present, and its arbitration process is flawed. Reforms are necessary.” ”In an InvestmentNewssurvey of 363 readers who are regulated by Finra, nearly half — 48% — said the organization is not doing a good job of regulating brokers, compared with 29% who said it was. Meanwhile, 61% said Finra is not transparent about its finances, and the same percentage said the SEC’s oversight of Finra is inadequate.” “Is it [Finra] a government or not a government agency? As long as there’s not a choice for brokers, it’s a monopoly – and monopolies need to be regulated.” ”Jim R. Webb, CEO, Cape Securities Inc. Jim R. Webb, CEO of broker-dealer Cape Securities Inc., is frustrated that Finra acts like a government agency but does not have to follow the laws that govern public agencies. For example, it is not subject to laws that would allow the public to attend its meetings, nor is it subject to the Freedom of Information Act, which allows anyone to request information about any matter from a federal agency.” ”Finra protects itself from lawsuits from members by claiming that as an SRO it has absolute immunity from private lawsuits challenging the conduct of its regulatory mission.” “There needs to be definition,” Mr. Webb said. “Is it a government agency or not a government agency? As long as there’s not a choice for brokers, it’s a monopoly — and monopolies need to be regulated.”
From a seeking alpha article that I cannot link due to Reddit blocking the site. (just search for the title, top result) Why Does FINRA Have An Investment Portfolio? Oct. 11, 2017 12:10 PM ET By Roger Nusbaum, AdvisorShares ETF Strategist ”FINRA has an investment portfolio with a long track record of underperforming a 50/50 portfolio.” ”So, here’s a weird one involving FINRA that you might have picked up in the last few days. Apparently, it has a large, $1.6 billion investment portfolio, and the returns have been weak, according to the Wall Street Journal, underperforming a 50/50 equity/fixed income portfolio for quite a few years.” ”The WSJ article is woefully incomplete. It doesn’t say what the purpose of the portfolio is, it is unclear how it can even have a portfolio, and there are no specifics as to what the portfolio is benchmarked to other than a reference to a custom benchmark. The origin goes back to 2004, and it came out of the blocks trying to emulate the college endowments, which back then were revered. As a side note, the tide may have gone out some for quite a few of the endowments, but there is still plenty to learn about asset allocation from them.” ”As the story goes, the FINRA portfolio decided to significantly reduce its equity exposure in, um….2009. The article provides no details on how much equity exposure it had back then, but the portfolio underperformed a 50/50 in 2008, or how much it has now, but there is a quote from a spokeswoman about targeting a “much more conservative approach than a 50/50 benchmark.”
The rolls and activities of our regulatory agencies needs to be seriously examined and heavily re-evaluated.

Darkness 16 year old Benrinnes Pedro Ximinez
Scotch Whiskey, 51.3% ABV
Distillery: Benrinnes, Speyside
Price:$149 for 500mL
Chill filtered: Unknown
Bottled: 2023
Maturation: Quarter Cask Pedro Ximenez finish
Body: Russet/Sherry
Nose: Very 1 dimensional, vanilla, sweetness Palate: Lime juice(?), peat
Finish: peat, aniseed
Review: I like my smokey whisky, but something I really detest is whisky that tastes of peat but not smoke. This is exactly that kind of whisky. Any time you see me put peat and aniseed together in the finish, it's a sure fire sign that I hated the whiskey. This is finished in PX casks but really lacks the sweetness I'd expect from a good PX whiskey. It's there on the back end if you really look, but if I tasted this blindfolded, I wouldn't be surprised if you told me it was Johnny black.
I'm really disappointed in this dram. I'll give it another shot then likely fob it off on some mates who gladly drink the aforementioned Johnny black.
Would I buy this to open in 10 years time: Nope. I wish I hadn't bought it.
Would I give this as a gift to a fellow whisky enthusiast: If I knew this was to their taste, maybe? Probably not.
Would I give this as a gift as an introductory whisky: I want them to actually like whisky, so no.
Final Score: 24/100
Purchase link: Subscription Only
Rating Scale:
0-50: Just bad.
51-60: It's a mixer.
61-70: Will do if there’s no better options.
71-76: Average.
77-82: Good (depending on price and availability, will probably buy another bottle).
83-87: Great (a cut above).
88-92: Excellently Crafted.
93-96: Superior.
97-100: Whisky Nirvana.
Review master log can be found here.
My three favourites to date are Highwayman Batch 3.5 (94/100), Archie Rose Stringybark Smoked (93/100), Tasman Whisky Sherry Cask (92/100).
My three least favourite reviews to date are this (24/100), Raymond B. Corn (37/100), and Chivas Regal Extra - Rye Cask (52/100).

TLDR: FINRA has access to what in any other organization would be considered massive amounts of insider information. It also has a massive conflict of interest in the form of a 1.6 Billion dollar investment portfolio. The portfolio of the Self Regulatory Agency is largely unknown and is largely (if not completely) unmonitored by any other regulatory agency(s).
I would be really, really curious to know how much of that portfolio is short?
In addition to massive conflicts of interest and minimal supervision from the SEC, FINERA does not appear to be directly accountable to Congress, rather than direct accountability FINRA instead invests a lot of money in lobbying. In 2012, it spent $960,000 as it pushed for legislation that would allow it to expand its regulatory reach to include RIAs, who are now primarily regulated by the SEC.
FINERA should have no ability to halt any stocks or securities while it is invested in the very markets it purports to regulate.
https://www.mercatus.org/media/46396/download
”LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY”
”By law, the SEC is in charge of Finra and has the power to approve or reject any rules Finra wants to adopt. But it applies little more than a rubber stamp to Finra’s rules, critics say.”
“In practice, Finra operates with substantial independence from the SEC,” Hester Peirce, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, noted in a 2015 paper. “Finra rules do not typically attract close attention from the SEC commissioners.”
”Finra operates with substantial independence from the SEC.” - Hester Peirce
(Source deleted)
”The Government Accountability Office likewise found that the SEC could be doing a better job of overseeing Finra in a 2012 report and a follow-up report in 2015. In the follow-up report, the GAO said the SEC had improved its monitoring of Finra but that it still needed to develop specific performance goals and measures for Finra oversight, formalize documentation of oversight determinations and perform an assessment of Finra’s internal risks related to staffing and priorities.”
https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/how-does-finra-differ-sec/
“Although it has regulatory powers, FINRA is not part of the government. It is a not-for-profit entity and the largest self-regulatory organization (SRO) in the securities industry within the U.S.”
”FINRA stands for "Financial Industry Regulatory Authority" and is a not-for-profit organization overseen by the SEC that seeks to protect investors by primarily overseeing all brokers in the securities marketplace. It lays out specific laws and requirements and provides certificates for individuals to be able to operate in the securities market.”
”FINRA is responsible for overseeing virtually all U.S. stockbrokers and brokerage firms and providing avenues and legal certifications for those individuals to appropriately operate in their specific marketplaces.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/wall-street-regulator-is-also-an-investorwith-meager-returns-1507195803
”Finra's $1.6 billion portfolio has returned 3.4% annually, versus 6% for a half-stock, half-bond portfolio.”
https://www.investmentnews.com/finra-denies-wsj-report-that-regulator-has-underperforming-portfolio-72391
”Finra denies WSJ report that regulator has underperforming portfolio. Regulator says Journal's analysis makes improper comparison of returns.”
”From Finra’s origins in 2004 through 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s actively managed $1.6 billion investment portfolio has returned 3.4%, or $440 million less than a 6% return had the self-regulator invested in a balanced mix of global stocks and U.S. bonds, according to Wall Street Journal calculations of figures in Finra’s annual reports.”
https://www.investmentnews.com/finra-whos-watching-the-watchdog-72102
”Finra wields enormous power over the lives of brokers and broker-dealers. Last year alone, it issued more than 1,400 disciplinary actions and barred more than 500 brokers from the industry. And yet people in the industry know little about how Finra operates, how it spends the millions it collects in membership fees and fines, and how it sets its regulatory agenda. Finra writes its own rules, meets behind closed doors and releases information if and when it deems necessary.”
”Finra is the watchdog that no one is watching. “It is largely unaccountable to the industry or to the public,” David Burton, a senior fellow in economic policy at the Heritage Foundation, wrote in a February report. “Due process, transparency and regulatory-review protections normally associated with regulators are not present, and its arbitration process is flawed. Reforms are necessary.”
”In an InvestmentNews survey of 363 readers who are regulated by Finra, nearly half — 48% — said the organization is not doing a good job of regulating brokers, compared with 29% who said it was. Meanwhile, 61% said Finra is not transparent about its finances, and the same percentage said the SEC’s oversight of Finra is inadequate.”
“Is it [Finra] a government or not a government agency? As long as there’s not a choice for brokers, it’s a monopoly – and monopolies need to be regulated.”
”Jim R. Webb, CEO, Cape Securities Inc. Jim R. Webb, CEO of broker-dealer Cape Securities Inc., is frustrated that Finra acts like a government agency but does not have to follow the laws that govern public agencies. For example, it is not subject to laws that would allow the public to attend its meetings, nor is it subject to the Freedom of Information Act, which allows anyone to request information about any matter from a federal agency.”
”Finra protects itself from lawsuits from members by claiming that as an SRO it has absolute immunity from private lawsuits challenging the conduct of its regulatory mission.”
“There needs to be definition,” Mr. Webb said. “Is it a government agency or not a government agency? As long as there’s not a choice for brokers, it’s a monopoly — and monopolies need to be regulated.”
From a seeking alpha article that I cannot link due to Reddit blocking the site. (just search for the title, top result)
Why Does FINRA Have An Investment Portfolio?
Oct. 11, 2017 12:10 PM ET By Roger Nusbaum, AdvisorShares ETF Strategist
”FINRA has an investment portfolio with a long track record of underperforming a 50/50 portfolio.”
”So, here’s a weird one involving FINRA that you might have picked up in the last few days. Apparently, it has a large, $1.6 billion investment portfolio, and the returns have been weak, according to the Wall Street Journal, underperforming a 50/50 equity/fixed income portfolio for quite a few years.”
”The WSJ article is woefully incomplete. It doesn’t say what the purpose of the portfolio is, it is unclear how it can even have a portfolio, and there are no specifics as to what the portfolio is benchmarked to other than a reference to a custom benchmark. The origin goes back to 2004, and it came out of the blocks trying to emulate the college endowments, which back then were revered. As a side note, the tide may have gone out some for quite a few of the endowments, but there is still plenty to learn about asset allocation from them.”
”As the story goes, the FINRA portfolio decided to significantly reduce its equity exposure in, um….2009. The article provides no details on how much equity exposure it had back then, but the portfolio underperformed a 50/50 in 2008, or how much it has now, but there is a quote from a spokeswoman about targeting a “much more conservative approach than a 50/50 benchmark.”
The rolls and activities of our regulatory agencies needs to be seriously examined and heavily re-evaluated.

TLDR: FINRA has access to what in any other organization would be considered massive amounts of insider information. It also has a massive conflict of interest in the form of a 1.6 Billion dollar investment portfolio. The portfolio of the Self Regulatory Agency is largely unknown and is largely (if not completely) unmonitored by any other regulatory agency(s).
I would be really, really curious to know how much of that portfolio is short?
In addition to massive conflicts of interest and minimal supervision from the SEC, FINERA does not appear to be directly accountable to Congress, rather than direct accountability FINRA instead invests a lot of money in lobbying. In 2012, it spent $960,000 as it pushed for legislation that would allow it to expand its regulatory reach to include RIAs, who are now primarily regulated by the SEC.
FINERA should have no ability to halt any stocks or securities while it is invested in the very markets it purports to regulate.
https://www.mercatus.org/media/46396/download
”LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY”
”By law, the SEC is in charge of Finra and has the power to approve or reject any rules Finra wants to adopt. But it applies little more than a rubber stamp to Finra’s rules, critics say.”
“In practice, Finra operates with substantial independence from the SEC,” Hester Peirce, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, noted in a 2015 paper. “Finra rules do not typically attract close attention from the SEC commissioners.”
”Finra operates with substantial independence from the SEC.” - Hester Peirce
(Source deleted)
”The Government Accountability Office likewise found that the SEC could be doing a better job of overseeing Finra in a 2012 report and a follow-up report in 2015. In the follow-up report, the GAO said the SEC had improved its monitoring of Finra but that it still needed to develop specific performance goals and measures for Finra oversight, formalize documentation of oversight determinations and perform an assessment of Finra’s internal risks related to staffing and priorities.”
https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/how-does-finra-differ-sec/
“Although it has regulatory powers, FINRA is not part of the government. It is a not-for-profit entity and the largest self-regulatory organization (SRO) in the securities industry within the U.S.”
”FINRA stands for "Financial Industry Regulatory Authority" and is a not-for-profit organization overseen by the SEC that seeks to protect investors by primarily overseeing all brokers in the securities marketplace. It lays out specific laws and requirements and provides certificates for individuals to be able to operate in the securities market.”
”FINRA is responsible for overseeing virtually all U.S. stockbrokers and brokerage firms and providing avenues and legal certifications for those individuals to appropriately operate in their specific marketplaces.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/wall-street-regulator-is-also-an-investorwith-meager-returns-1507195803
”Finra's $1.6 billion portfolio has returned 3.4% annually, versus 6% for a half-stock, half-bond portfolio.”
https://www.investmentnews.com/finra-denies-wsj-report-that-regulator-has-underperforming-portfolio-72391
”Finra denies WSJ report that regulator has underperforming portfolio. Regulator says Journal's analysis makes improper comparison of returns.”
”From Finra’s origins in 2004 through 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s actively managed $1.6 billion investment portfolio has returned 3.4%, or $440 million less than a 6% return had the self-regulator invested in a balanced mix of global stocks and U.S. bonds, according to Wall Street Journal calculations of figures in Finra’s annual reports.”
https://www.investmentnews.com/finra-whos-watching-the-watchdog-72102
”Finra wields enormous power over the lives of brokers and broker-dealers. Last year alone, it issued more than 1,400 disciplinary actions and barred more than 500 brokers from the industry. And yet people in the industry know little about how Finra operates, how it spends the millions it collects in membership fees and fines, and how it sets its regulatory agenda. Finra writes its own rules, meets behind closed doors and releases information if and when it deems necessary.”
”Finra is the watchdog that no one is watching. “It is largely unaccountable to the industry or to the public,” David Burton, a senior fellow in economic policy at the Heritage Foundation, wrote in a February report. “Due process, transparency and regulatory-review protections normally associated with regulators are not present, and its arbitration process is flawed. Reforms are necessary.”
”In an InvestmentNews survey of 363 readers who are regulated by Finra, nearly half — 48% — said the organization is not doing a good job of regulating brokers, compared with 29% who said it was. Meanwhile, 61% said Finra is not transparent about its finances, and the same percentage said the SEC’s oversight of Finra is inadequate.”
“Is it [Finra] a government or not a government agency? As long as there’s not a choice for brokers, it’s a monopoly – and monopolies need to be regulated.”
”Jim R. Webb, CEO, Cape Securities Inc. Jim R. Webb, CEO of broker-dealer Cape Securities Inc., is frustrated that Finra acts like a government agency but does not have to follow the laws that govern public agencies. For example, it is not subject to laws that would allow the public to attend its meetings, nor is it subject to the Freedom of Information Act, which allows anyone to request information about any matter from a federal agency.”
”Finra protects itself from lawsuits from members by claiming that as an SRO it has absolute immunity from private lawsuits challenging the conduct of its regulatory mission.”
“There needs to be definition,” Mr. Webb said. “Is it a government agency or not a government agency? As long as there’s not a choice for brokers, it’s a monopoly — and monopolies need to be regulated.”
From a seeking alpha article that I cannot link due to Reddit blocking the site. (just search for the title, top result)
Why Does FINRA Have An Investment Portfolio?
Oct. 11, 2017 12:10 PM ET By Roger Nusbaum, AdvisorShares ETF Strategist
”FINRA has an investment portfolio with a long track record of underperforming a 50/50 portfolio.”
”So, here’s a weird one involving FINRA that you might have picked up in the last few days. Apparently, it has a large, $1.6 billion investment portfolio, and the returns have been weak, according to the Wall Street Journal, underperforming a 50/50 equity/fixed income portfolio for quite a few years.”
”The WSJ article is woefully incomplete. It doesn’t say what the purpose of the portfolio is, it is unclear how it can even have a portfolio, and there are no specifics as to what the portfolio is benchmarked to other than a reference to a custom benchmark. The origin goes back to 2004, and it came out of the blocks trying to emulate the college endowments, which back then were revered. As a side note, the tide may have gone out some for quite a few of the endowments, but there is still plenty to learn about asset allocation from them.”
”As the story goes, the FINRA portfolio decided to significantly reduce its equity exposure in, um….2009. The article provides no details on how much equity exposure it had back then, but the portfolio underperformed a 50/50 in 2008, or how much it has now, but there is a quote from a spokeswoman about targeting a “much more conservative approach than a 50/50 benchmark.”
The rolls and activities of our regulatory agencies needs to be seriously examined and heavily re-evaluated.

Is this tank any good as I've seen mixed reviews? The reload and aim time stats don't look good It's about to be in the store at 50% discount making it 4,200 gold but is it worth it? Thanks in advance.

So, I recently tried a new game (DRG) which changed my prospective on paladins.
I still love paladins, but I don't think I can put up with all it's blemishes anymore, so this wants to be a little bit of a goodbye post.
Here's a short lists of what I think doesn't really work in Paladins, hopefully it can help you guys to see the game under a new light:
Unfinished product
We've talked a lot about Paladin's unresolved glitches and bugs, textures bot loading in the character selection menu, Octavia's dome Is still opaque on low settings, sound bug, machine gun Kinessa (and other characters as well), constant crashes on console...
A greedy company
How many chests does this game have? 20/30? That's ridiculous, that way if you really want a skin that isn't available for direct purchase you need to gamble with chests until you find it. Spending 5€ on a nice skin would be totally fine, spending 50 to get the skin you wanted and 9 other skins and recolours that you didn't care about doesn't fly with me.
Also I can't help but think that Hi-Rez is trying to milk the game as much as possible with all those new sexualized skins.
Toxic players
To be fair there are communities that are way more toxic than Paladin's (E.G. Valorant), but when you get to be part of a welcoming and passionate fan base where toxicity is discouraged, going back to Paladins is hard.
There you go, that's probably more than enough, my point is; if you're happy with Paladins keep playing the game, it can be fun, no doubt about that, but if you're starting to feel like you had enough there are other titles out there that have far better reviews, for a good reason.
Have a nice one :)

SF/F (general)—Part 1 (of 15)

• SF Masterworks at Wikipedia
• Fantasy Masterworks at Wikipedia
• Hugo Award for Best Novel
• Nebula Award for Best Novel
• Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Book Lists WWEnd [Worlds Without End]
• /Fantasy "Top" Lists
• /Fantasy Themed and Crowd Sourced Lists
• Top Science Fiction [lists]
• Worlds Without End: Books [Lists]
• Rocket Stack Rank: Ratings tag; the blog covers short SF/F, though I don't use it myself
• "Not sure who will find it useful but I made a Twitter bot that tweets out daily a SF recommendation from Project Gutenberg’s public domain collection." (printSF; 08:07 ET, 17 January 2023; https://twitter.com/Gutenberg_SciFi)
• Locus Magazine, Best All-Time SF Novel (August 1998; published before 1990)
• Our Very Own Top Book Poll - Results! (printSF; 10 February 2023)
• u\BobQuasit's Book recommendations
• PMaranci's (u\BobQuasit's) reviews (with spoilers)

The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One and The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two (published in paperback in two volumes, A and B). There are audio book versions.

• "Any (book) scifi protagonists that use martial arts?" (scifi; 21 July 2014)
• "Recommend Me: Books about a 'scientist' of magic" (Fantasy; 19 January 2021)
• "Biology/Microbiology Focused Books" (printSF; 15:50 ET, 14 January 2022)—list
• "Fantasy books you love" (booksuggestions; 7 June 2022)
• "Sci fi martial arts thrillers" (printSF; 16 June 2022)
• "Series with a detailed magic system" (Fantasy; 27 June 2022)
• "Book where magic is explored in a realistic way" (Fantasy; 13 July 2022)
• "Are there any two unrelated books from different authors that you consider to be 'Twin Books' for whatever reason?" (printSF; 25 July 2022)
• "Book recommendations with non-Sandersonian magic" (Fantasy; 26 July 2022)—very long; hard magic
• "PrintSF Recommends top 100 SF Novels" (printSF, 6 August 2022)
• "I'm nearing the end of almost every 'must read' fantasy list and I need help" (booksuggestions, 8 August 2022)—SF; longish
• "SciFi novels for kids?" (scifi, 16:17 ET, 9 August 2022)—long
• "Fantasy books that include romance, but where it's not the focus?" (booksuggestions, 19:17 ET, 9 August 2022)—longish
• "fantasy books?" (booksuggestions, 19:30 ET, 9 August 2022)—long
• "Favorite stand alone fantasy novel?" (Fantasy, 09:46 ET 10 August 2022)—long
• "What are some good 21st century science fiction books to read?" (suggestmeabook; 11:27 ET, 10 August 2022)
• "best science fiction story of all time?" (suggestmeabook; 01:32 ET, 11 August 2022)
• "Most recommended fantasy series?" (suggestmeabook; 04:28 ET, 11 August 2022)
• "Sci-Fi recs for a mainly fantasy reader?" (Fantasy, 11 August 2022)—longish

Hi, first time getting an ultra wide monitor, does anyone have any thoughts as to which monitor would be better? I am leaning towards the Asus since it has KVM, however, this is more of a nice to have and not a deciding factor. If the LG is otherwise better image quality wise I would still want to go with the that instead. I tried looking online but there weren't as many reviews of the Asus compared to the LG one. They are only $50 difference. Gaming and productivity. TIA!

TLDR: FINRA has access to what in any other organization would be considered massive amounts of insider information. It also has a massive conflict of interest in the form of a 1.6 Billion dollar investment portfolio. The portfolio of the Self Regulatory Agency is largely unknown and is largely (if not completely) unmonitored by any other regulatory agency(s).
I would be really, really curious to know how much of that portfolio is short? And if they do have short positions, were they short MMTLP when they halted the stock. They used a very obscure type of halt in a big hurry as if they were desperate to save some shorties ass. Was it their own ass?
In addition to massive conflicts of interest and minimal supervision from the SEC, FINERA does not appear to be directly accountable to Congress, rather than direct accountability FINRA instead invests a lot of money in lobbying. In 2012, it spent $960,000 as it pushed for legislation that would allow it to expand its regulatory reach to include RIAs, who are now primarily regulated by the SEC.
FINERA should have no ability to halt any stocks or securities while it is invested in the very markets it purports to regulate.
https://www.mercatus.org/media/46396/download
”LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY”
”By law, the SEC is in charge of Finra and has the power to approve or reject any rules Finra wants to adopt. But it applies little more than a rubber stamp to Finra’s rules, critics say.”
“In practice, Finra operates with substantial independence from the SEC,” Hester Peirce, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, noted in a 2015 paper. “Finra rules do not typically attract close attention from the SEC commissioners.”
”Finra operates with substantial independence from the SEC.” - Hester Peirce
(Source deleted)
”The Government Accountability Office likewise found that the SEC could be doing a better job of overseeing Finra in a 2012 report and a follow-up report in 2015. In the follow-up report, the GAO said the SEC had improved its monitoring of Finra but that it still needed to develop specific performance goals and measures for Finra oversight, formalize documentation of oversight determinations and perform an assessment of Finra’s internal risks related to staffing and priorities.”
https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/how-does-finra-differ-sec/
“Although it has regulatory powers, FINRA is not part of the government. It is a not-for-profit entity and the largest self-regulatory organization (SRO) in the securities industry within the U.S.”
”FINRA stands for "Financial Industry Regulatory Authority" and is a not-for-profit organization overseen by the SEC that seeks to protect investors by primarily overseeing all brokers in the securities marketplace. It lays out specific laws and requirements and provides certificates for individuals to be able to operate in the securities market.”
”FINRA is responsible for overseeing virtually all U.S. stockbrokers and brokerage firms and providing avenues and legal certifications for those individuals to appropriately operate in their specific marketplaces.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/wall-street-regulator-is-also-an-investorwith-meager-returns-1507195803
”Finra's $1.6 billion portfolio has returned 3.4% annually, versus 6% for a half-stock, half-bond portfolio.”
https://www.investmentnews.com/finra-denies-wsj-report-that-regulator-has-underperforming-portfolio-72391
”Finra denies WSJ report that regulator has underperforming portfolio. Regulator says Journal's analysis makes improper comparison of returns.”
”From Finra’s origins in 2004 through 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s actively managed $1.6 billion investment portfolio has returned 3.4%, or $440 million less than a 6% return had the self-regulator invested in a balanced mix of global stocks and U.S. bonds, according to Wall Street Journal calculations of figures in Finra’s annual reports.”
https://www.investmentnews.com/finra-whos-watching-the-watchdog-72102
”Finra wields enormous power over the lives of brokers and broker-dealers. Last year alone, it issued more than 1,400 disciplinary actions and barred more than 500 brokers from the industry. And yet people in the industry know little about how Finra operates, how it spends the millions it collects in membership fees and fines, and how it sets its regulatory agenda. Finra writes its own rules, meets behind closed doors and releases information if and when it deems necessary.”
”Finra is the watchdog that no one is watching. “It is largely unaccountable to the industry or to the public,” David Burton, a senior fellow in economic policy at the Heritage Foundation, wrote in a February report. “Due process, transparency and regulatory-review protections normally associated with regulators are not present, and its arbitration process is flawed. Reforms are necessary.”
”In an InvestmentNews survey of 363 readers who are regulated by Finra, nearly half — 48% — said the organization is not doing a good job of regulating brokers, compared with 29% who said it was. Meanwhile, 61% said Finra is not transparent about its finances, and the same percentage said the SEC’s oversight of Finra is inadequate.”
“Is it [Finra] a government or not a government agency? As long as there’s not a choice for brokers, it’s a monopoly – and monopolies need to be regulated.”
”Jim R. Webb, CEO, Cape Securities Inc. Jim R. Webb, CEO of broker-dealer Cape Securities Inc., is frustrated that Finra acts like a government agency but does not have to follow the laws that govern public agencies. For example, it is not subject to laws that would allow the public to attend its meetings, nor is it subject to the Freedom of Information Act, which allows anyone to request information about any matter from a federal agency.”
”Finra protects itself from lawsuits from members by claiming that as an SRO it has absolute immunity from private lawsuits challenging the conduct of its regulatory mission.”
“There needs to be definition,” Mr. Webb said. “Is it a government agency or not a government agency? As long as there’s not a choice for brokers, it’s a monopoly — and monopolies need to be regulated.”
From a seeking alpha article that I cannot link due to Reddit blocking the site. (just search for the title, top result)
Why Does FINRA Have An Investment Portfolio?
Oct. 11, 2017 12:10 PM ET By Roger Nusbaum, AdvisorShares ETF Strategist
”FINRA has an investment portfolio with a long track record of underperforming a 50/50 portfolio.”
”So, here’s a weird one involving FINRA that you might have picked up in the last few days. Apparently, it has a large, $1.6 billion investment portfolio, and the returns have been weak, according to the Wall Street Journal, underperforming a 50/50 equity/fixed income portfolio for quite a few years.”
”The WSJ article is woefully incomplete. It doesn’t say what the purpose of the portfolio is, it is unclear how it can even have a portfolio, and there are no specifics as to what the portfolio is benchmarked to other than a reference to a custom benchmark. The origin goes back to 2004, and it came out of the blocks trying to emulate the college endowments, which back then were revered. As a side note, the tide may have gone out some for quite a few of the endowments, but there is still plenty to learn about asset allocation from them.”
”As the story goes, the FINRA portfolio decided to significantly reduce its equity exposure in, um….2009. The article provides no details on how much equity exposure it had back then, but the portfolio underperformed a 50/50 in 2008, or how much it has now, but there is a quote from a spokeswoman about targeting a “much more conservative approach than a 50/50 benchmark.”
The rolls and activities of our regulatory agencies needs to be seriously examined and heavily re-evaluated.

Sa mga relatives ko na nagsasabi na ang Fine Arts ay ‘madali lang kasi puro drawing’. Mahirap din po maging CFAD Student. Lahat po ng course sa college mahirap, lalo na pag first year dahil nagaadjust pa. Kung alam lang nila kung ilang plates ang ginagawa namin at kung gano kalaki ung papel or canvas :))) Minsan 5 plates every 2 - 3 weeks plus groupwork and reporting sa minor subs, sa major naman ung iba colored pencil, watercolor, acrylic, sculpture. Napapagod din po kami kahit nakaupo lang, naddrain din ang energy namin. Hindi po madali ang course na ito.
Sinasabi nila na madali lang dahil walang iniisip kundi mag drawing lang ng mag drawing hayssss. May mga GenEd din kami kaya may time din na need mag review sa ibang subj dahil ung iba may 50 item examination.
Pls wag naman ibaba ang CFAD 😭

Hi everyone, hope things are going well.
I test in a little over a month and I'm kinda freaking out lol, wondering if anyone here has some advice. I took the NMBE 25 a week ago and got a 66% which I was pretty happy about. However, I can't seem to break like 50% overall average on UW (only ~20% of the way through), I have some blocks that are really rough were I score like mid 40s and some where I am scoring in the low 60s but as I said I hover around 50% average overall.
I've done a pass of Pathoma and Sketchy pharm/micro with almost no Anki (tried to fit it in but my UW review takes so much time).
I had originally planned to do 3 UW blocks a day (lol) but I've just been so burned out because I am SO SLOW reviewing them - I can get through 2 blocks if I really push it but IDK it still takes me like 4 hours a block minimum. I was also planning on taking NMBEs 26-31 over the next 4 weeks.
Any thoughts on what to prioritize? It feels kinda bad not being able to complete all of UW or do all the NMBEs I want to do but it feels like there isn't enough time in the upcoming weeks.
Thanks so much!!!