This episode was sponsored by Squarespace.
We all know that humans are overpowered and deserve a nerf,
but that doesn't mean that there aren't any good counterplay options.
And while there are plenty of builds in the game that can harass humans,
none have achieved the same infamy that the goose has.
The goose is easily one of the most polarizing
characters in the entire game with plenty of players complaining to the devs that it needs to be nerfed.
But let's do a deep dive into their stats and abilities Before we jump to conclusions here. Are they really that OP?
Are there any really solid counter play options?
Let's start with their two signature abilities.
The first one dramatically boosts their resolve,
granting near-total immunity to intimidation effects while the second one drastically increases the effectiveness of the goose's own intimidation abilities.
This can lead to some absolutely hilarious
situations where builds which could potentially one-shot at goose don't even have enough resolve to resist losing their nerve.
The bigger the opponent is, the less effective their intimidation effects are against geese. So while a dog may spook them
Behemoths like giraffes, cows, and elephants are unable to scare off the goose.
Next let's have a look at the base stats of the goose.
Right off the bat we notice that their best stat is HP, followed closely by their mobility.
This is a bit of an unorthodox build to be honest, which could be part of the reason they're so successful.
Most tanks tend to have high HP of course, but they also tend to favor defense and power over mobility.
But there's one other thing worth paying attention to on the stat chart. Their power level.
IT'S ABYSMAL!
The goose build's max hit is so low that it would take ages for them to ever actually bring down an opponent's HP to 0.
In some cases their DPS literally can't even match the natural health regeneration of their targets.
So how is it that a build with almost no combat potential has been so dominant in the meta lately?
Well, it ties back into their abilities.
intimidation based abilities synergize perfectly with the goose's stats. Their goal with intimidation is to grant themselves control over an area, and
when it works the goose player typically doesn't actually need to deal any damage in order to end the battle.
But should the target resist their intimidation attempt, the two most important stats are going to be HP and mobility.
HP, so that if the opponent counter attacks, you'll be able to take a hit or two, and still keep up the pressure; and
the mobility so that if they actually do turn the tide of battle, you'll be able to escape.
In addition to having good stats for the job,
the goose build is also perfectly suited to conquer the newly created city park biomes that have become more commonplace due to the continued dominance
of the human build. So what can you as a player do to counter the gooses? notorious strategy?
Well, I think the chink in the armor is pretty apparent. They do basically no physical damage,
so your own HP and defense level is not really something you need to worry about if you end up in a skirmish with them.
Their attack strategy depends entirely on intimidation,
so if your character can resist their intimidation attempts, you'll have pretty much won the battle before it ever began.
So to increase your chances of resisting intimidation, you need to have a high resolve stat,
which can be gained either by having high intelligence or by playing in groups.
Once you've managed to stay in the fight, winning should be relatively easy, but I have some tips for that too.
Geese really have only three different attack moves, those being Aerial Ace, Wing Attack, and Peck.
Aerial Ace and Wing Attack are both pretty standard rushdown, attacks being short ranged and low power.
But Peck is an interesting move because it's technically a spacing type move.
It has a lot of range like most spacing attacks do, but the interesting part about it is that it's actually very vulnerable.
Most spacing moves rely on a disjointed weapon that can pressure an opponent from a safe distance.
Whether it's in the form of horns, claws, or a long beak,
The function is basically the same, but with geese instead of using a protected part of their bill,
they're actually taking a huge risk whenever they launch at a target.
So if you target their neck and punish them whenever they're trying to Peck you you can really make the matchup difficult for them.
Another thing that's near impossible for them to deal with is stealth, since their intimidation
abilities are useless when they can't see the attacker coming before it's too late.
So, with that in mind, here are some basic tips for beating geese. Number One: Try to resist intimidation.
Number Two: Target their weak point for massive damage, and Number Three: Use stealth to prevent them from abusing intimidation abilities.
Now for you goose mains out there, don't worry,
I'm not just gonna give away all your secrets without giving you a tip as well.
This is a big one, goose players, you need to do a better job avoiding grabs.
Your high mobility stat doesn't do you any good if you get caught and can't fly away or swim.
Because geese, like most birds have hollow bones,
they're especially vulnerable to crush type damage, the kind often inflicted from grabs.
The obvious implication here is that learning different matchups is important, you need to learn which builds are focusing on finding grabs.
You also need to recognize that all three of your offensive moves have a blind spot directly behind you,
and so it's absolutely essential that you don't let an opponent cross you up and grab you from behind,
because once that happens, you're out of options.
This makes it especially difficult to battle two opponents at once,
since it's nearly impossible to avoid getting grabbed by one while you're attacking the other.
but really, the best tip I can give goose mains is that you should switch to a build that can actually back up its
intimidation attempts, a bill that even geese are afraid of, the Swan.
Swans are basically everything scary about geese but shifted to Maximum Overdrive.
Unlike geese, swans can dish out some serious damage, and on top of that, their aesthetics level is one of the highest in the game.
But yeah. Swans and geese, both excellent builds.
But in my opinion the Swan is the better choice because of their higher power and better aesthetics.
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Thanks again for watching, and good luck out there.
*sick jazz my bois* (Subtitles by Zai's Meme Chamber/Zaiman12345)