Look, I tried. I really tried. I lost weight and kept it off for a year now. I got into lifting. I tried to build strength and I tried to build skills, I tried to be positive about it and tell myself that I'm learning so much and that I'm becoming stronger, fitter. But I don't feel fitter and I don't feel stronger. I feel like sh*t and if I'm honest, on the inside I'm still convinced that I hate exercise and that I'm a joke for trying to convince myself otherwise. People always say that it comes with time, that you'll start to think differently about yourself once you've built up a habit of exercise. But I feel that this is not true for me. I feel like I still think about myself exactly the same as when I was seriously overweight. Sometimes I wonder what the point of all of this was, if I'm still the same miserable, lazy person on the inside.
I want to build an identity as a fit person but I just can't believe myself. In my head, I'll always be the fat kid who takes any opportunity to skip gym class. I don't really know what to do anymore. I thought about ditching lifting for a while, given that I haven't really made much strength progress in the past few months. But I just think that lifting weights is cool and that being strong is something I aspire to. I don't want to quit it. Also, I'm afraid that whatever I'll do exercise-wise, this image of myself as lazy and unfit will come up and I'll get miserable.
I feel like I've dug myself into a hole mentally and I need to reset my relationship with exercise. I'm afraid I always think of myself as lazy and unfit. Does anyone have any recommendations?
Sorry if this came across as very rambly and has little to do with weight loss. I thought some of you might have experience with struggling to become fit after being "the fat kid".

I made it into WT4 at level 62 on my Rogue. I’m not using a copy/paste meta build but I feel like it’s doing pretty well. I attempted doing some 21 NM dungeons and immediately realized how much harder it was. I smashed my head against it for a while, not completing very many of them, and then hopped back to WT3 to run some 20s. I bounced back and forth from WT3 to 4 running 20s and 21s and now I’m at level 66. 20s have basically become effortless, even when things get really hairy and I make a mistake, it’s still easy to avoid death. However, 21s are still punishing me. I commonly get one shot by certain monsters, it’s taking much longer to kill monsters, and I’m rarely finishing the runs.
The only noted difference between WT3 and 4 as far as monster strength is supposedly 20% increase to ignoring resistances. There’s also an additional affix they get in WT4, but I was careful choosing only the sigils with affixes that weren’t too concerning, and when doing the level 20 sigils I would pick difficult affixes and still have no issues. I’d also use consumables in the 21s and nothing in the 20s.
All of this leads me to think there’s more going on than just a 20% increase in monsters ignoring resistances. This is only a 1 level gap in NM dungeons, but the difficulty difference is huge. Is there more going on in WT4 that isn’t specified? I can’t find any info on it looking online. Also, when monsters are a certain amount of levels higher than you, do they gain any sort of extra damage or defense from you? From what I’ve heard if you’re much higher in level than they are, there’s penalties towards XP gain, but does it work the other way where there are penalties if you’re much lower?
I’m just finding it hard to believe how much more punishing 20 to 21 is, unless there’s more about the difficulty increase that’s not mentioned in game. Anyone know?

This post may get a lot of hate but i need to know !
I can’t tell if I’ve just played way too many difficult games (hollow knight, elden ring, etc) since playing botw or if this game is just stupid easy? I’m about 50 hours in and it’s almost like brain dead easy to me…
I remember BOTW puzzles being difficult for me and even the environment was harder to traverse until later game.
I feel like in totk there’s always a ledge to rest on no matter where you’re climbing making stamina more of a convenience than a necessity and the puzzles aren’t even puzzles more so walk to the other end of this room.
Did i just get much better at games since botw or is this game’s difficulty made for children and I’ve just outgrown the franchise?

Contemplating on getting either Diablo 4 or Elden Ring.
Which one would You recommend?
No doubt both are great games and I think they share a range of similar positives.
My current thinking concentrating on the negatives:
Diablo 4 -only online so jumping in and out of the game casually is not apparently an option -Blizzard’s business model worrisome, especially for long haul -more expensive than ER, like 60% higher price
Elden Ring -relatively poor performance?

There are a lot of factors that make celebrating my achievements and feeling happy for myself very difficult. The people I surrounded myself with in my first life (Pre-ADHD treatment) have already moved on, and the ones that remain continue to hold me back from success however they can.
I know now that none of them understand the struggles involved in the way that this subreddit and other neurodivergent communities do. So I felt like making a post to better solidify how far I've actually come. There is still a lot of work ahead, but there is finally a light at the end of this long, dark tunnel.
This is my 2nd life list of accomplishments of survival:

• 5 years ago, due to the stress from being at the peak of my first life, and the comorbidities I was not yet aware of, I lost everything I had going for me. High paying software job, solo condo living, 6 year relationship, multiple social circles, losing over 100lbs in weight). I nearly committed suicide, but I survived, quit my job, moved back in with parents, and started my mental health journey. This was the beginning of my 2nd life.
  
• Since then, I went through years of non-adhd psychiatrists, therapists, misdiagnosis', a plethora of medications, and unemployment, living off of $500/month income support. Also a toxic family dynamic of manipulation, invalidation, minimization, etc. (which I was completely unaware of at the time). I relied on my addictions of weed, gaming, porn, sexually impulsive acts, binge eating, and cutting myself to prevent suicide.
  
• I discovered Russell Barkleys "snapshot of ADHD symptoms checklist" 2 years ago, and it convinced my psychiatrist to put me on Vyvanse, which kickstarted my adhd journey. Since then, I have been sober from alcohol and caffeine to this day, and researching whatever I can about this disorder.
  
• Vyvanse effectiveness wore off after 4 months, and my parents gave me covid after they came back from a vacation. This happened at the same time that I was dealing with really bad side effects of suicidality/depression when trying out secondary medications. This was one of the lowest points of my life, and I reached an epiphany after watching this video. . I knew I had to get officially diagnosed instead of constantly guessing.
  
• I was officially diagnosed with severe ADHD combined-type in Aug 2, 2022 at 33 years old, and started the process of building a team of specialists.
  
• I found my current adhd-specialized therapist in October, and she has kept me alive while I was on the waiting list for an ADHD med specialist. I tried communicating with family about the risks of ADHD, about how its genetic, and how it could improve our lives dramatically. No one believed me or listened.
  
• finally got in with a med specialist in December, and the switch from Vyvanse to methylphenidate was a MASSIVE improvement to my brain and overall awareness. Unfortunately, these medication trials also unveiled/clarified my trauma responses, comorbidities, masking, and the years of emotional abuse and control my family/friends had over me.
  
• The past 5 months, I applied for disability benefit support, taxes, rTMS treatment (suggested by therapist). My med specialist gave up on me after I reached max dosage of methylphenidate, and I was still experiencing bad anxiety + emotional dysregulation. He said I had to figure it out with my psychiatrist.
  
• This last month has been HUGE. I finalized my medications, 80mg Biphentin for dopamine levels, 25mg atomoxotine for norepinephrine levels, I'm now 1 month sober from weed. I can now stay calm and be aware of manipulation occurring. I reached out to 2 newer friends I know I can trust and they offered me a bed if things get bad. I'm now aware of my family sabotaging my sleep. I am now aware that they monitor, eavesdrop on me constantly, and don't respect my boundaries, despite my constant attempts at communicating them. My food portions have halved. Morning, nightly, and exercise routines are slowly starting to stick. I'm going for walks on trails in PUBLIC, despite the rejection sensitivity and body dysmorphia.
  
• 2 days ago, I've been accepted into a 30 day rTMS treatment program. There will be tests, bloodwork, physical, motor functioning tests. I'm getting so much help and care that I've never been able to find before, and I haven't been this excited for my future in decades.
  

I'm finally breaking through. It's been so damn long and hard, but things are finally starting to pay off. I finally know what its like to have a sense of self and small amounts of confidence. I'm so excited to start experiencing life like other people, and pursuing my hobbies without the crippling fear of judgment and failure. My brain is finally healing.
I want to thank this subreddit immensely for helping me get through the times when I had noone else. Your love and caring advice and responses have carried me through a lot.
I will cherish every moment if I meet any of you out in the real world. Our resilience, inner strength, and inner beauty is unmatched, and I wish everyone the best of luck. Thank you so much for reading.

Genesis: Back thousands of years ago a gem named Rose Quartz was made on Earth! You see these space aliens called gems were killing the planet to make more of them and Rose wasn’t with that so she lead a rebellion called the Crystal Gems to take on the diamonds who were the leader of the gems. She ended up shattering Pink Diamond but yellow, blue and white diamond retaliated by leavening a blast that covered all of the planet affecting every gem turning them into monsters! Only Rose and some of her closest allies remained but she soon settled down with a human named Greg and gave up her body to make a son. Steven Universe.
Snail: Steven may look like the small chubby kid who gets bullied in school but he’s anything but! This kid saves the day with the Crystal Gems!
Genesis: Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl! And Steven started off weak and powerless be became stronger from his adventures with the gems even unlocking some of his mom’s abilities!
Snail: Such as his mothers shield able to block an attack from three diamonds that covered the entire planet!
Genesis: He can make bubbles to teleport small objects away or shield himself. He can also use them as makeshift boxing gloves to fight with!
Genesis then made some magical boxing gloves she used to knockout Snail
Genesis: Like that!
One Angry Snail getting up later
Snail: So mad at you I just can’t… Whatever Steven has control over his personal gravity being able to slow his falling and jump insane heights! He also scales to Garnet who was able to punch a damn mountain in half! That’s badass! But with all of this in mind Steven was treated like a child by his fellow gems. And while he was he wasn’t treated like a member of the team.
Genesis: Yeah like when your mom needs to take you to the movies with her friends on girls night since your dads not around and she doesn’t want you home alone
Snail: That’s not oddly specific or anything.
Genesis: What?!
Snail: Steven would gain the respect he so desperately wanted through many of his missions with the Gems! He is stronger then Lapis who lifted all the ocean on Earth at once! That’s roughly 352,670,000,000,000,000,000 gallons of water! That’s like an entire planet man!
Genesis: Almost as much as your mo-
Snail then slapped her in the face
Genesis: Yeah I deserve that…
Snail: Steven has dodged laser from near point blank, he can survive the g force of light speed travel, he even lifted a giant injector!
Genesis: This injector had enough poison in it to wipe out all life on Earth! And it was already a giant metal space ship thing! And Steven was able to lift it for a short time when his powers were fading!
Snail: So Steven after trail and trail fight after fight manage to save the universe by redeeming the diamonds!
Genesis: Bad writing aside Steven always had shows looming over his head the biggest one his mother
Snail: GOD DAMN IT NOT AGAIN!
Genesis: Turns out Rose was actually Pink Diamond and she was a lier who manipulated all her friends and even had them trapped for thousands of years!
Snail: Fuckin parents… yeah Rose was a shitty person and even years after her death Steven was stuck with people thinking he was his mom.
Genesis: Combine that with years of mental trauma from getting almost killed repeatedly and you have Steven go into a breakdown. Or his pink state
Snail: While pink Steven can move faster than his light dodging friends the crystal gems. He moved so fast that time moves at a near standstill for him! His powers also go into overdrive with him getting stronger, the power to straight up fly, screams loud enough to crack buildings, and new hexagon versions of his bubbles that are way stronger and more destructive! But he’s way more unhinged he’s losing control in this form to the point where he killed a gem.
Genesis: After bringing her back to life Steven felt like a monster and he spiraled into self hate creating monster Steven.
Snail: He lost all control but with the love of his friends and family Steven was able to calm down.
Genesis: While Steven struggled over learned to be a gem his greatest feat was being human.

Mayo_Enjoyer:every world needs a invincible hero except this one isn't invincible,meet Mark grayson the son of Nolan grayson who's more commonly known as omni man. Mark is a viltrumite like his father, viltrumites are a human like alien race who decided to kill off most of their population just to leave the strongest ones and they then started to conquer planets from the inside, Nolan was send to conquer earth he decided to play along as a hero, and after some hand holding with his pet I mean wife a baby was born because holding hands makes babies, and that baby was Mark grayson.
Mayo_Enjoyer:when Mark first discovered his powers he was lost but luckily for him his father was there to help him learn his powers and then mark started doing hero stuff, he fought against criminals, fought against a alien invasion, got his ass kicked by battle beast which I don't blame him for because battle beast is like the second if not the strongest character in the entire series, saved people got the girl and did some hero stuff until that day, one day mark found out that his dad is actually a alien conquer breed to kill and enslave other planets so he got his ass kicked so hard it became a meme maybe mark should think more often, anyways I'm not going to spoil the comics so to the abilities and feats we go.
Mayo_Enjoyer:Mark's viltrumite origin grants him several abilities such as super strength, super speed, flight, enchanted lung capacity, a ability which makes him stronger every time he gets beaten into a pulp, longevity, a enchanted healing factor, mark got all the basic powers now time for his feats, hurth thragg the strongest viltrumite who upscales from every viltrumite in the series, tanked hits from thragg while sun dipping in a fight with him on the sun, threw a trash can to London, played baseball over the globe, traveled from planet to planet, temporary outspeed teleportation, was unfazed by a nuke, killed thragg's kids, was able to fight while sun dipping, took a beating from battle beast and survived, was able to force dinosaurus to transform back, defeated conquest, defeated thragg who was able to defeat battle beast. That's all impressive feats of mark Grayson and now it's time for him to show that he's invincible

AC6 needs a detailed gameplay video to attract more players. Or else only the hardcore AC fans will buy this. This game's marketing and promoting effort is nowhere near the efforts they had put for DS, BB, Elden ring or Sekiro. Even the Fromsoft is not much serious about the game since the day it was revealed. Sekiro was such a small game (comparatively) but it received one boss battle trailer, detailed trailer explaining game mechanism, compiled gameplay trailer and a teaser. Even though Rockstar is known for making benchmark games, their RDR game was already a well know title but still their RDR2 had multiple trailers in a span of one year before the release. Two trailers were dedicated to explain the game's mechanism, economy and features. Unlike soulsborne games, AC6 is definitely not a serious(primary concern) project for Fromsoft.

AC6 needs a detailed gameplay video to attract more players. Or else only the hardcore AC fans will buy this. This game's marketing and promoting effort is nowhere near the efforts they had put for DS, BB, Elden ring or Sekiro. Even the Fromsoft is not much serious about the game since the day it was revealed. Sekiro was such a small game (comparatively) but it received one boss battle trailer, detailed trailer explaining game mechanism, compiled gameplay trailer and a teaser. Even though Rockstar is known for making benchmark games, their RDR game was already a well know title but still their RDR2 had multiple trailers in a span of one year before the release. Two trailers were dedicated to explain the game's mechanism, economy and features. Unlike soulsborne games, AC6 is definitely not a serious(primary concern) project for Fromsoft.

Both yoga and the gym have their advantages and benefits. Yoga combines physical poses, breathing, and meditation to build strength, flexibility, balance, and calmness. Gyms offer a modern way to build body strength and endurance using the latest equipment and technology.
Yoga provides physical and mental benefits; the gym focuses more on physical training. This is one reason why some people consider yoga to be superior to the gym. If someone needs to choose between the two, they will often select yoga as it is a holistic approach to living and well-being, while the gym predominantly focuses on physical fitness.
Still, both yoga and the gym are excellent ways to stay healthy and fit. It ultimately depends on individual preferences and fitness goals. For those seeking a more relaxing exercise, yoga would be the better choice. if someone desires an intense workout to build muscle and endurance, the gym might be more suitable.

I been looking for a game to get into for many hours, I love replayability and play with builds, I tend to dislike difficult games but I heard elden ring is not as hard as souls games?
Zelda is Zelda, but I fear I will end the game with that feeling I will never be in this iteration of Hyrule again because the game has no replayability value, while I still to this day playing Skyrim.
Let me know if there is something else that fits more Skyrim than Elden ring. I play on switch or ps4.
Edit: I forgot to tell that Elden Ring is considerably cheaper in my country. Like 2/3 cheaper than Zelda.

So after completing DS3, DS1R and Elden Ring, I've decided to pick up DS2. I'm having a blast so far, and already beat Last Giant, Lost Sinner, Royal Rat Authority, Najka, Freja and Gargoyle Quintuplets, but I'm kinda lost where to go now. There's one path from Majula that I cannot access yet (the one with the contraption) and I'm obviously missing something. I'm not looking for a straight answer and don't want to consult wiki (trying to avoid spoilers as much as possible), just a small hint to push me in the right direction. Thanks in advance!

Some time ago, I made two posts with some of Percy's best feats. The first one can viewed here. And the second: here.
Now I know that Jason isn't the most liked character in the fandom, but I like him. So I wanted to scale him.
Contents: Strength, speed, reaction speed, skill, durability, actual powers, Tl;dscaling, closing segment.
​
He was able to throw a club hard enough to knock down a Venti. Even causing it to curve so that it would hit Dylan when he tried to doge:

Jason threw the club. It seemed useless with the winds so strong, but the club flew right at Dylan, even curving when he tried to dodge, and smacked in the head so hard he fell to his knees
The Lost Hero

He was able to deflect a spear hit from a giant:

Jason raised his javelin to block the giant's next strike-a big mistake. Don't fight force with force, a voice chided him-the wolf Lupa, who told him that long ago. He managed to deflect the spear, but it grazed his shoulder, and his arm went numb.
The Lost Hero

The same giant was able to cause the entire mountain to shake just by slamming the butt of said spear into the ground:

Before they could get very far, Enceladus slammed his spear against the ground. The entire mountain shook.
The Lost Hero

Moving onto House of Hades, we see him casually shatter a metal with a kick, firmly putting him into the superhuman category of strength. Not only that, but he managed to stagger and knocked a giant to his knees:

One last time Jason flew at [Clytius], kicking him in the chest, and the giant's breastplate shattered. Clytius staggered backward..He fell to his knees, and the demigods encircled him
House of Hades

He was able to cut through a statue made of metal with help from Piper:

Piper and Jason went to work on Hygeia. They slashed through the statue's knees
Blood of Olympus

We are now done with Jason it the strength department. Obviously, he lacks many feats in this department, especially compared to Percy, but he is definitely stronger than an average human.
Speed:
He was able to stab a giant:

[Jason] rolled away from the giant's first spear thrust and jabbed Enceladus in the ankle. Jason's javelin managed to pierce the thick dragon hide, and golden ichor-the blood of immortals-trickled down the giant's clawed foot.
The Lost Hero

This might not seem that impressive, but Jason was being slowed down by Gaea. The Giant was being helped by Gaea. Finally, the giant was predicting Jason's attacks:

Enceladus' spear missed him by a millimeter. Jason kept dodging, but the ground stuck to his feet. Gaea was getting stronger, and the giant was getting faster. Enceladus might be slow, but he was not dumb. He began anticipating Jason's moves, and Jason's attacks were only annoying him
The Lost Hero

We see this here again:

Enceladus let him approach, grinning with anticipation. At the last second, Jason faked a strike and rolled between the giant's legs. He came up quickly, thrusting with all his might, ready to stab the giant in the small of his back, but Enceladus anticipated the trick. He stepped aside with too much speed and agility for a giant, as if the earth were helping him move.
The Lost Hero

Reaction/ combat speed. This is where Jason really shines. As he has several impressive feats:
He was able to keep up with Lit. The same guy who was so good, he earned the name Reaper of Men:

Lit charged.
The guy was fast. He slashed and sliced, and Jason could barely dodge the strikes, but his mind went into a different mode-analyzing patterns, learning Lit's style, which was all offense, no defense.
The Lost Hero

He can react to giants:

Jason raised his javelin to block the giant's next strike-a big mistake. Don't fight force with force, a voice chided him-the wolf Lupa, who told him that long ago. He managed to deflect the spear, but it grazed his shoulder, and his arm went numb.
The Lost Hero

He scales to Percy in reaction speed and was able to amaze Piper:

[Piper] rolled to the edge of the road and looked back, dazed and horrified, as [Percy and Jason] crossed swords, gold against bronze. Sparks flew. Their blades blurred-strike and parry-and the pavement trembled. The first exchange only took a second, but Piper couldn't believe the speed of their sword fighting.
Mark of Athena

The same guy who I scaled to have reaction speed as fast as 10 milliseconds. And the average human reacts at 250 milliseconds.
He can react to lightning:

Jason called down another lightning strike, but Ephialtes caught it on his spear and deflected the blast, melting a life-size plastic cow. He slammed a stone column out of his way like a stack of building blocks. Percy tried to keep the lake churning. He didn’t want Otis rising to join this fight, but as Ephialtes closed the last few feet, Percy had to switch focus. Jason and he met the giant’s charge. They lunged around Ephialtes, stabbing and slashing in a blur of gold and bronze, but the giant parried every strike. “I will not yield!” Ephialtes roared. “You may have ruined my spectacle, but Gaea will still destroy your world!” Percy lashed out, slicing the giant’s spear in half. Ephialtes wasn’t even fazed. The giant swept low with the blunt end and knocked Percy off his feet. Percy landed hard on his sword arm, and Riptide clattered out of his grip. Mark of Athena

While technically not reacting to lighting, Percy fought a giant who could, so Ephialtes' reaction speed=Percy's. What I'm getting at here is Ephialtes can react to lightning. Percy can keep up with Ephialtes. So Percy=Ephialtes' reaction speed. Jason=Percy reaction speed. Therefore, Jason=Ephialtes' reaction speed.
Too much for you to follow, here:

Jason swung at the first spirit. His blade passed through it and the creature's smoky form disintegrated. The second spirit let loose a bolt of lightning, but Jason's blade absorbed the charge. Jason stepped in-one quick thrust, and the second storm spirit dissolved into gold powder
The Lost Hero

There you go.
He reacts to arrows:

This time Jason's senses were on high alert. He felt the air ripple as an arrow materialized, racing towards Nico's chest.
Jason intercepted it with his sword and deflected it sideways.
House of Hades

Now, Romans use a type of composite bow called a Sagittarii. Composite bows can shoot arrows as a speed of 250 to 370 feet per second (76 to 113 m/s).
Also keep in mind that he is nearsighted. Giving him even less time to react than normal:

"Oh, of course!" Asclepius said. "You're a bit nearsighted! Simple fix."
He opened the drawer, whipped out a prescription pad and an eyeglasses case. He scribbled something on the pad, then handed the glasses and the scrip to Jason.
Blood of Olympus

So all in all, he has some fast reaction speed. Well above human.
Next up, skill.
He can keep up with Lit, a man so deadly, he was named the Reaper of Men:

Lit charged.
The guy was fast. He slashed and sliced, and Jason could barely dodge the strikes, but his mind went into a different mode-analyzing patterns, learning Lit's style, which was all offense, no defense.
The Lost Hero

He did all of this:

"I slew the Trojan sea monster," Jason continued. "I toppled the black throne of Kronos, and destroyed the Titan Krios with my own hands. And now I'm going to destroy you, Porphyrion, and feed you to your own wolves."
The Lost Hero

He killed the Trojan sea monster and killed a Titan without a weapon.
Durability:
He is immune to, or at least, resistant to electricity:

Dylan's form flickered. "That was enough lightning to kill twenty men!"
The Lost Hero

He survived this:

Enceladus let him approach, grinning with anticipation. At the last second, Jason faked a strike and rolled between the giant's legs. He came up quickly, thrusting with all his might, ready to stab the giant in the small of his back, but Enceladus anticipated the trick. He stepped aside with too much speed and agility for a giant, as if the earth were helping him move. He swept his spear sideways and met Jason's javelin-and with a snap like a shotgun blast, the golden weapon shattered.
The explosion was hotter than the giant's breath, blinding Jason with golden light. The force knocked him off his feet and squeezed the breath out of him.
The Lost Hero

While this is an already impressive feat, we have this to make this even more impressive:

The javlin's destruction had released so much energy, it had blasted a perfect cone-shaped pit thirty feet deep, fusing the dirt and rock into a slick, glassy substance.
The lost Hero

He was uncut by plastic shrapnel:

Together, the giants picked up a fake mountain as big as Percy's New York apartment and hurled it at the demigods. Percy and Jason bolted. They dove into the nearest trench and the mountain shattered above them, spraying them with plastic shrapnel.
Mark of Athena

He can tank a hit from a giant trident, although he was in a lot of pain:

Jason managed to avoid the prongs of the trident again, but the giant swung the other end around and smacked him in the chest.
Jason reeled back, stunned and in pain. Polybotes came in for the kill. Just before the trident would have perforated him, Jason's ventus acted on its own. It spiraled sideways, whisking Jason thirty feet across the courtyard.

Powers. This is another place he is impressive in. He has several abilities he can call on in a clutch:
He can correct aim of things he throws:

Jason threw the club. It seemed useless with the winds so strong, but the club flew right at Dylan, even curving when he tried to dodge, and smacked in the head so hard he fell to his knees
The Lost Hero

He can control air pressure:

[Jason] felt a tugging sensation in his gut, and the air pressure dropped so rapidly his ears popped.
The Lost Hero

He can summon Tempest, a horse made of wind and electricity:

Suddenly the air turned cold. Piper's ears popped. About fifty yards away, a miniature cyclone three stories tall tore across the tops of the sunflowers like a scene from The Wizard of Oz. It touched down on the road next to Jason and took the form of a horse-a misty steed with lightning flickering through its body
Mark of Athena

Jason and Percy working together can create a massive storm:

On the deck of the Argo II, Percy and Jason stood together, their swords crossed. Annabeth got a tingle down her spine as she realized the boys were working together as one, summoning the sky and the sea to do their bidding. Water and wind churned together. Waves heaved against the ramparts and lightning flashed. Giant eagles were knocked out of the sky. Wreckage of the flying chariot burned in the water, and Coach Hedge swung a mounted crossbow, taking potshots at the Roman birds as the flew overhead.
The Mark of Athena

Jason can fly and carry people with him:

Jason summoned the wind to carry him and Piper to shore
Mark of Athena

He can cause water to boil and temporarily blind Piper:

BOOM! Lightning stirred the water into a boiling cauldron, steaming and hissing with electricity. Piper blinked the yellow spots out her eyes as the god Achelous wailed and dissolved under beneath the surface
Mark of Athena

He can use wind offensively:

The demigods rolled to either side, and Jason summoned the wind, using the giant's own momentum to shove him into the water
Mark of Athena

He can get angry enough to generate electricity:

the air turned electric-literally, as Jason started throwing off sparks.
Mark of Athena

He can melt iron and cause gold to steam:

Just then, thunder boomed overhead. Lightning flashed, and the bars on the nearest window burst into sizzling, melted stubs of iron.
Jason flew in like Peter Pan, electricity sparking around him and his gold sword steaming.
House of Hades

Jason has the ability to track people who use winds as a method of transport so things like air spirits can't run from him:

Jason couldn't exactly see him, but he'd had enough experience controlling the wind that he could track the angel's path-a warm wisp of red and gold zipping across the street..
House of Hades

He can control the four winds and even construct this out of wind:

[Jason] thrust out his hand. A swirl of dust shot toward the nearest horse. A lasso-a rope of wind, more tightly wound than any tornado-wrapped around the horse's neck. ..In less than a minute he had tethered all four venti. He reined them in, still whining and bucking, but they couldn't break Jason's rope. It felt like flying four kites in a strong wind-hard, yes, but not impossible.
House of Hades

He uses wind defensively:

Jason summoned gusts of wind to last aside javelins and arrows. He deflected a vial of Greek fire right up the throat of a gryphon, which burst into flames and spiraled into the pit.
House of Hades

He can carry others without having to fly himself:

Three dead Romans rose into the air and flew across the chasm. Then three more joined them. Finally Jason flew himself across and his squad began cutting through some very surprised-looking telkhines
House of Hades

He can use a sword or a javelin:

Jason slashed his gladius in a wide arc, vaporizing the nearest suitors; then he vaulted onto the table and jumped over Antinous' head. In midair he willed his bade to extend into a javelin-a trick he'd never tried with this sword-but somehow he knew it would work.
Blood of Olympus

He once more demonstrates his ability to create objects from air and now he can encase himself in air armor:

[Jason] raised his arm and summoned a lasso of wind... He lashed out with his wind rope, searching for strongest, most ornery *ventus in the storm.
He lassoed a nasty patch of storm cloud and pulled it in. "You're serving me today."
Howling in protest, the ventus encircled him. The storm above the ship seemed to lessen just a bit, as if the other venti were thinking Oh, crud. That guy means business.
Jason levitated off the deck, encased in his own miniature tornado. Spinning like a corkscrew, he plunged into the water.

Jason is capable of summoning weird lightning stuff at the bottom of the ocean. Also worth noting it is still as deadly and didn't shock Percy who was also in the water next to him. On top of that, he can now separate the volts to attack multiple targets instead of just one:

But [Jason] couldn't think of a better option. He thrust up his sword. Immediately the blade glowed red-hot.
A diffuse cloud of yellow light billowed through the depths, like someone had poured liquid neon into the water. The light hit Jason's sword and splayed outward in ten separate tendrils, zapping the basiliks.
Blood of Olympus

He can carry a current throughout his body, holding it for latter:

With a deafening blast, a white-hot bolt arced from the sky, straight through Jason's body as he leaped, wreathed in lightning, at the giant king.
Jason fell on King Porphyrion with such force that the giant crumpled to his knees-blasted with lightning and stabbed in the neck with a golden gladius.

He can blast a 30 foot giant off a clif:

Porphyrion lashed out wildly with his spear, but Jason cut it in half with his gladius. He charged in, jabbing his sword through the giant's breastplate, then summoned the winds and blasted Porphyrion off the edge of the cliff.
Blood of Olympus

Tl;dr and scaling: So Jason is powerful. He is definitely superhuman in al physical states. I am going to say, city level durability. His power level is at mountain level.
Closing segment: Honestly I think he could have been more powerful if we'd seen him in more books. Also I didn't use a Trials of Apollo feats as there I didn't find any. If you see any feats I missed let me know so I can scale them. So what did you think? Did this make you see Jason as more or less powerful than you originally thought? Who else would you like me to scale?
Respect Jason Grace, son of the sky god, Zeus!

I have a friend, who wanted elden ring to be his first souls game to beat. Keep in mind, this guy was an unexperienced rpg player, and really only played a lot of minecraft and fortnite. He struggled a lot with both the fire giant, and godskin duo. But once he took down the godskin duo, he quickly completed the rest of the game (sir gideon, godfrey, radagon) in under 24 hours. Now this al seems realistic, until he tells me that he beat melania in just three attempts. He also claims that he couldnt record the battle, because his xbox couldn`t.
Now im not trying to say; "Oh, you are a beginner so you instantly suck". Im just saying that beating malenia in just three attempts, on your first playthrou, with a lorsworn sword, is higly unlickly. Do anybody who maybe have more expertise than me, tell me if this is beliveble or not. Also keep in mind this "freind" lies about a lot.
​
(Again im not trying to be mean to this guy, im just higly doubting him.)

Our first Community Day of the season is here, and it's high time everyone be able to find themselves a shiny (literally!) new HAXORUS at last, don't you think? How does this funky Dragon look now in PvP battles? The answer to that is mostly right here in our Bottom Line Up Front:

B.L.U.F.

• After some clunkers, this has the look of a genuinely GOOD Community Day for PvPers! New move Breaking Swipe is a straight upgrade for Haxorus in ALL Leagues!
  
• Hax comes with an intriguing movepool already, with two of the very best fast moves in the game AND a varied and effective array of charge moves. There are several ways you can build it, before and still after Community Day... but all of them will now center around Breaking Swipe from here on out.
  
• Master League Haxorus is not surprisingly your top priority (Hax crosses the important 4000 CP barrier), but don't neglect looking for good ones for lower Leagues as well. Even in Great League, Haxorus does appear to have the sauce to (mostly) overcome its scary glassiness. This is a weekend to hunt for several Haxorus' (Haxoruses? Horoxii? 🤷‍♂️) if you can!
  

HAXORUS

Dragon Type
GREAT LEAGUE:
Attack: 151 (149 High Stat Product)
Defense: 96 (98 High Stat Product)
HP: 102 (103 High Stat Product)
(Highest Stat Product IVs: 0-14-13, 1499 CP, Level 15.5)
ULTRA LEAGUE:
Attack: 196 (192 High Stat Product)
Defense: 126 (126 High Stat Product)
HP: 129 (133 High Stat Product)
(Highest Stat Product IVs: 1-15-15, 2495 CP, Level 25.5)
MASTER LEAGUE:
Attack: 251
Defense: 157
HP: 166
(Assuming 15-15-15 IVs, CP 4062 at Level 50)
Real quick, because you're more here for the moves than anything. Haxorus is very frail. Like, the best examples I can give of HOW frail are as follows:

• It has basically the same Attack stat (in Master League) as Therian Landorus, Rayquaza, and Darkrai... but lower bulk than all of them. And NONE of them will ever be labeled as anything close to bulky.
  
• In Ultra League, the closest comp is Chandelure, with nearly identical Attack and (lack of) bulk.
  
• And in Great League, Haxorus' total stat product (basically Attack + bulk) is at #807... out of a list 852. It's roughly the same as falls-over-to-a-stiff-breeze Darmanitan, Breloom, and Honchkrow (all of which have a higher stat product than Haxorus!).
  

Now the typing does help a little bit. Sometimes. As a Dragon, Hax resists all the "elements": Grass, Fire, Water, and Electric, though it is also (rather famously) weak to Fairy, Ice, and other Dragon damage. So... more resistances than vulnerabilities, at least!
But... yeah. Pokemon like this basically require spam to have a chance at making an impact. Thankfully, Haxorus has that in spades, and its new move addition only helps with that, with one of the more interesting movepools in the game!
Fast Moves:

• Counter (Fighting, 4.0 DPT, 3.5 EPT, 1.0 CoolDown)
  
• Dragon Tail (Dragon, 4.33 DPT, 3.0 EPT, 1.5 CD)
  

Counter is the best fast move in the game, bar none. That said, Dragon Tail, especially with the STAB damage is enjoys with Haxorus, is really good too. And its average energy generation is more than compensated for with the charge moves. (We'll get to those in a second.)
Point is, while Counter is the first move you'll likely consider, this is one of those very rare cases where it may not actually be the best. We'll come back to that.
ᴱ - Exclusive (Community Day) Move
Charge Moves:

• Breaking Swipeᴱ (Dragon, 50 damage, 35 energy, Reduces Opponent Attack -1 Stage)
  
• Dragon Claw (Dragon, 50 damage, 35 energy)
  
• Night Slash (Dark, 50 damage, 35 energy, 12.5% Chance to Raise User Attack +2 Stages)
  
• Surf (Water, 65 damage, 40 energy)
  
• Earthquake (Ground, 120 damage, 65 energy)
  

Not one, not two, but THREE moves all costing only 35 energy (tied for cheapest in the game). And then Surf costing only 5 energy more and dealing 15 more damage. THIS is the kind of spam AND unpredicatbility you hope for with something glassy like this! And if the opponent lets it hang around, you can try and punish them with a good closer as well in Earthquake.
The move variety is SO good, in fact, that it can be hard to settle on what to leave out. One choice, however, becomes obvious now. The term "strictly better" is probably overused, even by me, but Breaking Swipe really is strictly better than Dragon Claw, and thus Haxorus itself is strictly better coming out of Community Day than it is going in. So we can safely push Claw off the raft, as it were, just as we did with Rayquaza when it got Breaking Swipe.
So that leaves us with four moves: 35-energy Breaking Swipe and Night Slash, 40-energy Surf, and 65-energy Earthquake.
Now let's start putting those together with the fast moves and see what shakes out! And we're going to go backwards to do it, starting with the league where Hax is most relevant and working down from there.

MASTER LEAGUE

So for comparison, here is Haxorus' former best in Open Master League, and here is Master League Premier, both running Surf/Dragon Claw. Night Slash isn't too far behind Claw, but the latter is better for overpowering Mamoswine and Machamp (the latter of which resists Night Slash), so Claw gets the nod. ALSO note that I used Dragon Tail there, not Counter. Counter certainly is viable (as good as it is, it would be hard NOT to be viable!), and gets some extra wins versus things like Snorlax and Melmetal with a clear weakness to Fighting damage, but Dragon Tail is needed if you want to beat both Giratinas, Yveltal, and to much better guarantee Garchomp. I lean Tail, but I won't say Counter is "wrong"... just different.
Anyway, with Breaking Swipe beign a clear upgrade on Dragon Claw, let's see how much of an upgrade. Swapping Swipe in for Claw and leaving all other factors alone leads to a clear improvement with six new wins: Mewtwo with Focus Blast or Shadow Ball (note, however, that Ice Beam M2 wins with Hax having the winning Swipe fully charged but unable to fire), Yveltal, Groudon, Gyarados, and now Snorlax that was formerly one of Counter's few advantages. Amazing what a simple little nerf to the opponent's Attack strength can do for flimsy Pokemon like Haxorus (as it did for Rayquaza too!). In Premier, it's more of the same, with those Gyarados and Snorlax (and Shadow Snorlax) wins cropping up.
Breaking Swipe's indirect buff to Haxorus' bulk actually allows something even more impressive, though. Whereas before, Earthquake wasn't really an option as Hax would often perish before getting to it in a meaningful spot, Breaking Swipe changes all that. It still unfortunately comes up a little short versus the big Steels (including Diagla), and does give up former wins versus Excadrill and Ice Punch Ursaluna, but it can gain Zacian, folks. (At least, without Play Rough.) Just rolls over it with a big Earthquake. Nice! Similarly, it can also beat Primarina this way now (that's likely just for ML Premier, though).
I will note, however, that Counter doesn't see quite the same bump. It IS better than Claw still, and that shows up more in 2v2 shielding (Claw vs Swipe) as multiple Breaking Swipe debuffs add up, but Dragon Tail is still generally better in 1v1 (and 0v0) shielding and still gets my overall vote. Just too many things that Dragon damage is better for than Fighting damage at this level.
So in short, yes, Breaking Swipe is a clear upgrade for Haxorus in Master League and worth pursuing on Community Day for this purpose. It's still not quite on the level of, say, Dragonite or Kyurem or fellow Swiper ("Swiper, no swiping!") Rayquaza, but I think it defintely moves up into a higher tier of Dragon right there among them.
Master League is what most folks are eyeing going into this weekend, but what about elsewhere?

ULTRA LEAGUE

Similar upgrade here, with Breaking Swipe (this time moreso with Counter... more punchable things at this level than in Master League!) [clearly distancing itself from Dragon Claw... new wins include Swampert, Venusaur, Charizard, Mandibuzz, Guzzlord, Drapion, Golisopod, and of course, Snorlax. (Yeah, CounteClaw/Surf couldn't quite do that before!) Interestingly, it slides backwards in Premier, but in Open? Perhaps it's worth some spice consideration now.
Any better in Master League? Spoiler alert: nah.

GREAT LEAGUE

Lots of punchable things down in Great League as well, where Counter Hax is probably already a bit better than you think, at least on paper. Wins against things like Lanturn, Swampert, Galarian Stunfisk, Registeel, Bastiodon, Victreebel, Talonflame, Mandibuzz, Dunsparce, Diggersby, Alolan Sandslash and Walrein catch the eye, but then Breaking Swipe just goes and makes it better with Drapion, Toxicroak, and even Lickitung! And look how far it can now go in 2v2 shielding! Something so fragile shouldn't enjoy that level of success in longer battles like that in Great League, but here we are!

IM SUMMATION....

I'm surprised to say it, but I think that Breaking Swipe Haxorus may be worth grinding for in all three Leagues! If I had to rank them, it would be Master first, then Great, and then Ultra, but if you find a candidate with good Ultra League or Great League IVs, evolve it while you can get Breaking Swipe, even if you end up short on candy needed to build them all now. We'll get more Axew candy later this year, right?
Gonna wrap it up right here, as Community Day is FAST approaching, and I have Summer Cup (Ultra) analysis to try to get back to anyway!
Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter with near-daily PvP analysis nuggets or Patreon, if you're feeling extra generous.
Good hunting, folks! Do stay safe out there, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!

Our first Community Day of the season is here, and it's high time everyone be able to find themselves a shiny (literally!) new HAXORUS at last, don't you think? How does this funky Dragon look now in PvP battles? The answer to that is mostly right here in our Bottom Line Up Front:

B.L.U.F.

• After some clunkers, this has the look of a genuinely GOOD Community Day for PvPers! New move Breaking Swipe is a straight upgrade for Haxorus in ALL Leagues!
  
• Hax comes with an intriguing movepool already, with two of the very best fast moves in the game AND a varied and effective array of charge moves. There are several ways you can build it, before and still after Community Day... but all of them will now center around Breaking Swipe from here on out.
  
• Master League Haxorus is not surprisingly your top priority (Hax crosses the important 4000 CP barrier), but don't neglect looking for good ones for lower Leagues as well. Even in Great League, Haxorus does appear to have the sauce to (mostly) overcome its scary glassiness. This is a weekend to hunt for several Haxorus' (Haxoruses? Horoxii? 🤷‍♂️) if you can!
  

HAXORUS

Dragon Type
GREAT LEAGUE:
Attack: 151 (149 High Stat Product)
Defense: 96 (98 High Stat Product)
HP: 102 (103 High Stat Product)
(Highest Stat Product IVs: 0-14-13, 1499 CP, Level 15.5)
ULTRA LEAGUE:
Attack: 196 (192 High Stat Product)
Defense: 126 (126 High Stat Product)
HP: 129 (133 High Stat Product)
(Highest Stat Product IVs: 1-15-15, 2495 CP, Level 25.5)
MASTER LEAGUE:
Attack: 251
Defense: 157
HP: 166
(Assuming 15-15-15 IVs, CP 4062 at Level 50)
Real quick, because you're more here for the moves than anything. Haxorus is very frail. Like, the best examples I can give of HOW frail are as follows:

• It has basically the same Attack stat (in Master League) as Therian Landorus, Rayquaza, and Darkrai... but lower bulk than all of them. And NONE of them will ever be labeled as anything close to bulky.
  
• In Ultra League, the closest comp is Chandelure, with nearly identical Attack and (lack of) bulk.
  
• And in Great League, Haxorus' total stat product (basically Attack + bulk) is at #807... out of a list 852. It's roughly the same as falls-over-to-a-stiff-breeze Darmanitan, Breloom, and Honchkrow (all of which have a higher stat product than Haxorus!).
  

Now the typing does help a little bit. Sometimes. As a Dragon, Hax resists all the "elements": Grass, Fire, Water, and Electric, though it is also (rather famously) weak to Fairy, Ice, and other Dragon damage. So... more resistances than vulnerabilities, at least!
But... yeah. Pokemon like this basically require spam to have a chance at making an impact. Thankfully, Haxorus has that in spades, and its new move addition only helps with that, with one of the more interesting movepools in the game!
Fast Moves:

• Counter (Fighting, 4.0 DPT, 3.5 EPT, 1.0 CoolDown)
  
• Dragon Tail (Dragon, 4.33 DPT, 3.0 EPT, 1.5 CD)
  

Counter is the best fast move in the game, bar none. That said, Dragon Tail, especially with the STAB damage is enjoys with Haxorus, is really good too. And its average energy generation is more than compensated for with the charge moves. (We'll get to those in a second.)
Point is, while Counter is the first move you'll likely consider, this is one of those very rare cases where it may not actually be the best. We'll come back to that.
ᴱ - Exclusive (Community Day) Move
Charge Moves:

• Breaking Swipeᴱ (Dragon, 50 damage, 35 energy, Reduces Opponent Attack -1 Stage)
  
• Dragon Claw (Dragon, 50 damage, 35 energy)
  
• Night Slash (Dark, 50 damage, 35 energy, 12.5% Chance to Raise User Attack +2 Stages)
  
• Surf (Water, 65 damage, 40 energy)
  
• Earthquake (Ground, 120 damage, 65 energy)
  

Not one, not two, but THREE moves all costing only 35 energy (tied for cheapest in the game). And then Surf costing only 5 energy more and dealing 15 more damage. THIS is the kind of spam AND unpredicatbility you hope for with something glassy like this! And if the opponent lets it hang around, you can try and punish them with a good closer as well in Earthquake.
The move variety is SO good, in fact, that it can be hard to settle on what to leave out. One choice, however, becomes obvious now. The term "strictly better" is probably overused, even by me, but Breaking Swipe really is strictly better than Dragon Claw, and thus Haxorus itself is strictly better coming out of Community Day than it is going in. So we can safely push Claw off the raft, as it were, just as we did with Rayquaza when it got Breaking Swipe.
So that leaves us with four moves: 35-energy Breaking Swipe and Night Slash, 40-energy Surf, and 65-energy Earthquake.
Now let's start putting those together with the fast moves and see what shakes out! And we're going to go backwards to do it, starting with the league where Hax is most relevant and working down from there.

MASTER LEAGUE

So for comparison, here is Haxorus' former best in Open Master League, and here is Master League Premier, both running Surf/Dragon Claw. Night Slash isn't too far behind Claw, but the latter is better for overpowering Mamoswine and Machamp (the latter of which resists Night Slash), so Claw gets the nod. ALSO note that I used Dragon Tail there, not Counter. Counter certainly is viable (as good as it is, it would be hard NOT to be viable!), and gets some extra wins versus things like Snorlax and Melmetal with a clear weakness to Fighting damage, but Dragon Tail is needed if you want to beat both Giratinas, Yveltal, and to much better guarantee Garchomp. I lean Tail, but I won't say Counter is "wrong"... just different.
Anyway, with Breaking Swipe beign a clear upgrade on Dragon Claw, let's see how much of an upgrade. Swapping Swipe in for Claw and leaving all other factors alone leads to a clear improvement with six new wins: Mewtwo with Focus Blast or Shadow Ball (note, however, that Ice Beam M2 wins with Hax having the winning Swipe fully charged but unable to fire), Yveltal, Groudon, Gyarados, and now Snorlax that was formerly one of Counter's few advantages. Amazing what a simple little nerf to the opponent's Attack strength can do for flimsy Pokemon like Haxorus (as it did for Rayquaza too!). In Premier, it's more of the same, with those Gyarados and Snorlax (and Shadow Snorlax) wins cropping up.
Breaking Swipe's indirect buff to Haxorus' bulk actually allows something even more impressive, though. Whereas before, Earthquake wasn't really an option as Hax would often perish before getting to it in a meaningful spot, Breaking Swipe changes all that. It still unfortunately comes up a little short versus the big Steels (including Diagla), and does give up former wins versus Excadrill and Ice Punch Ursaluna, but it can gain Zacian, folks. (At least, without Play Rough.) Just rolls over it with a big Earthquake. Nice! Similarly, it can also beat Primarina this way now (that's likely just for ML Premier, though).
I will note, however, that Counter doesn't see quite the same bump. It IS better than Claw still, and that shows up more in 2v2 shielding (Claw vs Swipe) as multiple Breaking Swipe debuffs add up, but Dragon Tail is still generally better in 1v1 (and 0v0) shielding and still gets my overall vote. Just too many things that Dragon damage is better for than Fighting damage at this level.
So in short, yes, Breaking Swipe is a clear upgrade for Haxorus in Master League and worth pursuing on Community Day for this purpose. It's still not quite on the level of, say, Dragonite or Kyurem or fellow Swiper ("Swiper, no swiping!") Rayquaza, but I think it defintely moves up into a higher tier of Dragon right there among them.
Master League is what most folks are eyeing going into this weekend, but what about elsewhere?

ULTRA LEAGUE

Similar upgrade here, with Breaking Swipe (this time moreso with Counter... more punchable things at this level than in Master League!) [clearly distancing itself from Dragon Claw... new wins include Swampert, Venusaur, Charizard, Mandibuzz, Guzzlord, Drapion, Golisopod, and of course, Snorlax. (Yeah, CounteClaw/Surf couldn't quite do that before!) Interestingly, it slides backwards in Premier, but in Open? Perhaps it's worth some spice consideration now.
Any better in Master League? Spoiler alert: nah.

GREAT LEAGUE

Lots of punchable things down in Great League as well, where Counter Hax is probably already a bit better than you think, at least on paper. Wins against things like Lanturn, Swampert, Galarian Stunfisk, Registeel, Bastiodon, Victreebel, Talonflame, Mandibuzz, Dunsparce, Diggersby, Alolan Sandslash and Walrein catch the eye, but then Breaking Swipe just goes and makes it better with Drapion, Toxicroak, and even Lickitung! And look how far it can now go in 2v2 shielding! Something so fragile shouldn't enjoy that level of success in longer battles like that in Great League, but here we are!

IM SUMMATION....

I'm surprised to say it, but I think that Breaking Swipe Haxorus may be worth grinding for in all three Leagues! If I had to rank them, it would be Master first, then Great, and then Ultra, but if you find a candidate with good Ultra League or Great League IVs, evolve it while you can get Breaking Swipe, even if you end up short on candy needed to build them all now. We'll get more Axew candy later this year, right?
Gonna wrap it up right here, as Community Day is FAST approaching, and I have Summer Cup (Ultra) analysis to try to get back to anyway!
Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter with near-daily PvP analysis nuggets or Patreon, if you're feeling extra generous.
Good hunting, folks! Do stay safe out there, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!

Our first Community Day of the season is here, and it's high time everyone be able to find themselves a shiny (literally!) new HAXORUS at last, don't you think? How does this funky Dragon look now in PvP battles? The answer to that is mostly right here in our Bottom Line Up Front:

B.L.U.F.

• After some clunkers, this has the look of a genuinely GOOD Community Day for PvPers! New move Breaking Swipe is a straight upgrade for Haxorus in ALL Leagues!
  
• Hax comes with an intriguing movepool already, with two of the very best fast moves in the game AND a varied and effective array of charge moves. There are several ways you can build it, before and still after Community Day... but all of them will now center around Breaking Swipe from here on out.
  
• Master League Haxorus is not surprisingly your top priority (Hax crosses the important 4000 CP barrier), but don't neglect looking for good ones for lower Leagues as well. Even in Great League, Haxorus does appear to have the sauce to (mostly) overcome its scary glassiness. This is a weekend to hunt for several Haxorus' (Haxoruses? Horoxii? 🤷‍♂️) if you can!
  

HAXORUS

Dragon Type
GREAT LEAGUE:
Attack: 151 (149 High Stat Product)
Defense: 96 (98 High Stat Product)
HP: 102 (103 High Stat Product)
(Highest Stat Product IVs: 0-14-13, 1499 CP, Level 15.5)
ULTRA LEAGUE:
Attack: 196 (192 High Stat Product)
Defense: 126 (126 High Stat Product)
HP: 129 (133 High Stat Product)
(Highest Stat Product IVs: 1-15-15, 2495 CP, Level 25.5)
MASTER LEAGUE:
Attack: 251
Defense: 157
HP: 166
(Assuming 15-15-15 IVs, CP 4062 at Level 50)
Real quick, because you're more here for the moves than anything. Haxorus is very frail. Like, the best examples I can give of HOW frail are as follows:

• It has basically the same Attack stat (in Master League) as Therian Landorus, Rayquaza, and Darkrai... but lower bulk than all of them. And NONE of them will ever be labeled as anything close to bulky.
  
• In Ultra League, the closest comp is Chandelure, with nearly identical Attack and (lack of) bulk.
  
• And in Great League, Haxorus' total stat product (basically Attack + bulk) is at #807... out of a list 852. It's roughly the same as falls-over-to-a-stiff-breeze Darmanitan, Breloom, and Honchkrow (all of which have a higher stat product than Haxorus!).
  

Now the typing does help a little bit. Sometimes. As a Dragon, Hax resists all the "elements": Grass, Fire, Water, and Electric, though it is also (rather famously) weak to Fairy, Ice, and other Dragon damage. So... more resistances than vulnerabilities, at least!
But... yeah. Pokemon like this basically require spam to have a chance at making an impact. Thankfully, Haxorus has that in spades, and its new move addition only helps with that, with one of the more interesting movepools in the game!
Fast Moves:

• Counter (Fighting, 4.0 DPT, 3.5 EPT, 1.0 CoolDown)
  
• Dragon Tail (Dragon, 4.33 DPT, 3.0 EPT, 1.5 CD)
  

Counter is the best fast move in the game, bar none. That said, Dragon Tail, especially with the STAB damage is enjoys with Haxorus, is really good too. And its average energy generation is more than compensated for with the charge moves. (We'll get to those in a second.)
Point is, while Counter is the first move you'll likely consider, this is one of those very rare cases where it may not actually be the best. We'll come back to that.
ᴱ - Exclusive (Community Day) Move
Charge Moves:

• Breaking Swipeᴱ (Dragon, 50 damage, 35 energy, Reduces Opponent Attack -1 Stage)
  
• Dragon Claw (Dragon, 50 damage, 35 energy)
  
• Night Slash (Dark, 50 damage, 35 energy, 12.5% Chance to Raise User Attack +2 Stages)
  
• Surf (Water, 65 damage, 40 energy)
  
• Earthquake (Ground, 120 damage, 65 energy)
  

Not one, not two, but THREE moves all costing only 35 energy (tied for cheapest in the game). And then Surf costing only 5 energy more and dealing 15 more damage. THIS is the kind of spam AND unpredicatbility you hope for with something glassy like this! And if the opponent lets it hang around, you can try and punish them with a good closer as well in Earthquake.
The move variety is SO good, in fact, that it can be hard to settle on what to leave out. One choice, however, becomes obvious now. The term "strictly better" is probably overused, even by me, but Breaking Swipe really is strictly better than Dragon Claw, and thus Haxorus itself is strictly better coming out of Community Day than it is going in. So we can safely push Claw off the raft, as it were, just as we did with Rayquaza when it got Breaking Swipe.
So that leaves us with four moves: 35-energy Breaking Swipe and Night Slash, 40-energy Surf, and 65-energy Earthquake.
Now let's start putting those together with the fast moves and see what shakes out! And we're going to go backwards to do it, starting with the league where Hax is most relevant and working down from there.

MASTER LEAGUE

So for comparison, here is Haxorus' former best in Open Master League, and here is Master League Premier, both running Surf/Dragon Claw. Night Slash isn't too far behind Claw, but the latter is better for overpowering Mamoswine and Machamp (the latter of which resists Night Slash), so Claw gets the nod. ALSO note that I used Dragon Tail there, not Counter. Counter certainly is viable (as good as it is, it would be hard NOT to be viable!), and gets some extra wins versus things like Snorlax and Melmetal with a clear weakness to Fighting damage, but Dragon Tail is needed if you want to beat both Giratinas, Yveltal, and to much better guarantee Garchomp. I lean Tail, but I won't say Counter is "wrong"... just different.
Anyway, with Breaking Swipe beign a clear upgrade on Dragon Claw, let's see how much of an upgrade. Swapping Swipe in for Claw and leaving all other factors alone leads to a clear improvement with six new wins: Mewtwo with Focus Blast or Shadow Ball (note, however, that Ice Beam M2 wins with Hax having the winning Swipe fully charged but unable to fire), Yveltal, Groudon, Gyarados, and now Snorlax that was formerly one of Counter's few advantages. Amazing what a simple little nerf to the opponent's Attack strength can do for flimsy Pokemon like Haxorus (as it did for Rayquaza too!). In Premier, it's more of the same, with those Gyarados and Snorlax (and Shadow Snorlax) wins cropping up.
Breaking Swipe's indirect buff to Haxorus' bulk actually allows something even more impressive, though. Whereas before, Earthquake wasn't really an option as Hax would often perish before getting to it in a meaningful spot, Breaking Swipe changes all that. It still unfortunately comes up a little short versus the big Steels (including Diagla), and does give up former wins versus Excadrill and Ice Punch Ursaluna, but it can gain Zacian, folks. (At least, without Play Rough.) Just rolls over it with a big Earthquake. Nice! Similarly, it can also beat Primarina this way now (that's likely just for ML Premier, though).
I will note, however, that Counter doesn't see quite the same bump. It IS better than Claw still, and that shows up more in 2v2 shielding (Claw vs Swipe) as multiple Breaking Swipe debuffs add up, but Dragon Tail is still generally better in 1v1 (and 0v0) shielding and still gets my overall vote. Just too many things that Dragon damage is better for than Fighting damage at this level.
So in short, yes, Breaking Swipe is a clear upgrade for Haxorus in Master League and worth pursuing on Community Day for this purpose. It's still not quite on the level of, say, Dragonite or Kyurem or fellow Swiper ("Swiper, no swiping!") Rayquaza, but I think it defintely moves up into a higher tier of Dragon right there among them.
Master League is what most folks are eyeing going into this weekend, but what about elsewhere?

ULTRA LEAGUE

Similar upgrade here, with Breaking Swipe (this time moreso with Counter... more punchable things at this level than in Master League!) [clearly distancing itself from Dragon Claw... new wins include Swampert, Venusaur, Charizard, Mandibuzz, Guzzlord, Drapion, Golisopod, and of course, Snorlax. (Yeah, CounteClaw/Surf couldn't quite do that before!) Interestingly, it slides backwards in Premier, but in Open? Perhaps it's worth some spice consideration now.
Any better in Master League? Spoiler alert: nah.

GREAT LEAGUE

Lots of punchable things down in Great League as well, where Counter Hax is probably already a bit better than you think, at least on paper. Wins against things like Lanturn, Swampert, Galarian Stunfisk, Registeel, Bastiodon, Victreebel, Talonflame, Mandibuzz, Dunsparce, Diggersby, Alolan Sandslash and Walrein catch the eye, but then Breaking Swipe just goes and makes it better with Drapion, Toxicroak, and even Lickitung! And look how far it can now go in 2v2 shielding! Something so fragile shouldn't enjoy that level of success in longer battles like that in Great League, but here we are!

IM SUMMATION....

I'm surprised to say it, but I think that Breaking Swipe Haxorus may be worth grinding for in all three Leagues! If I had to rank them, it would be Master first, then Great, and then Ultra, but if you find a candidate with good Ultra League or Great League IVs, evolve it while you can get Breaking Swipe, even if you end up short on candy needed to build them all now. We'll get more Axew candy later this year, right?
Gonna wrap it up right here, as Community Day is FAST approaching, and I have Summer Cup (Ultra) analysis to try to get back to anyway!
Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter with near-daily PvP analysis nuggets or Patreon, if you're feeling extra generous.
Good hunting, folks! Do stay safe out there, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!

Our first Community Day of the season is here, and it's high time everyone be able to find themselves a shiny (literally!) new HAXORUS at last, don't you think? How does this funky Dragon look now in PvP battles? The answer to that is mostly right here in our Bottom Line Up Front:

B.L.U.F.

• After some clunkers, this has the look of a genuinely GOOD Community Day for PvPers! New move Breaking Swipe is a straight upgrade for Haxorus in ALL Leagues!
  
• Hax comes with an intriguing movepool already, with two of the very best fast moves in the game AND a varied and effective array of charge moves. There are several ways you can build it, before and still after Community Day... but all of them will now center around Breaking Swipe from here on out.
  
• Master League Haxorus is not surprisingly your top priority (Hax crosses the important 4000 CP barrier), but don't neglect looking for good ones for lower Leagues as well. Even in Great League, Haxorus does appear to have the sauce to (mostly) overcome its scary glassiness. This is a weekend to hunt for several Haxorus' (Haxoruses? Horoxii? 🤷‍♂️) if you can!
  

HAXORUS

Dragon Type
GREAT LEAGUE:
Attack: 151 (149 High Stat Product)
Defense: 96 (98 High Stat Product)
HP: 102 (103 High Stat Product)
(Highest Stat Product IVs: 0-14-13, 1499 CP, Level 15.5)
ULTRA LEAGUE:
Attack: 196 (192 High Stat Product)
Defense: 126 (126 High Stat Product)
HP: 129 (133 High Stat Product)
(Highest Stat Product IVs: 1-15-15, 2495 CP, Level 25.5)
MASTER LEAGUE:
Attack: 251
Defense: 157
HP: 166
(Assuming 15-15-15 IVs, CP 4062 at Level 50)
Real quick, because you're more here for the moves than anything. Haxorus is very frail. Like, the best examples I can give of HOW frail are as follows:

• It has basically the same Attack stat (in Master League) as Therian Landorus, Rayquaza, and Darkrai... but lower bulk than all of them. And NONE of them will ever be labeled as anything close to bulky.
  
• In Ultra League, the closest comp is Chandelure, with nearly identical Attack and (lack of) bulk.
  
• And in Great League, Haxorus' total stat product (basically Attack + bulk) is at #807... out of a list 852. It's roughly the same as falls-over-to-a-stiff-breeze Darmanitan, Breloom, and Honchkrow (all of which have a higher stat product than Haxorus!).
  

Now the typing does help a little bit. Sometimes. As a Dragon, Hax resists all the "elements": Grass, Fire, Water, and Electric, though it is also (rather famously) weak to Fairy, Ice, and other Dragon damage. So... more resistances than vulnerabilities, at least!
But... yeah. Pokemon like this basically require spam to have a chance at making an impact. Thankfully, Haxorus has that in spades, and its new move addition only helps with that, with one of the more interesting movepools in the game!
Fast Moves:

• Counter (Fighting, 4.0 DPT, 3.5 EPT, 1.0 CoolDown)
  
• Dragon Tail (Dragon, 4.33 DPT, 3.0 EPT, 1.5 CD)
  

Counter is the best fast move in the game, bar none. That said, Dragon Tail, especially with the STAB damage is enjoys with Haxorus, is really good too. And its average energy generation is more than compensated for with the charge moves. (We'll get to those in a second.)
Point is, while Counter is the first move you'll likely consider, this is one of those very rare cases where it may not actually be the best. We'll come back to that.
ᴱ - Exclusive (Community Day) Move
Charge Moves:

• Breaking Swipeᴱ (Dragon, 50 damage, 35 energy, Reduces Opponent Attack -1 Stage)
  
• Dragon Claw (Dragon, 50 damage, 35 energy)
  
• Night Slash (Dark, 50 damage, 35 energy, 12.5% Chance to Raise User Attack +2 Stages)
  
• Surf (Water, 65 damage, 40 energy)
  
• Earthquake (Ground, 120 damage, 65 energy)
  

Not one, not two, but THREE moves all costing only 35 energy (tied for cheapest in the game). And then Surf costing only 5 energy more and dealing 15 more damage. THIS is the kind of spam AND unpredicatbility you hope for with something glassy like this! And if the opponent lets it hang around, you can try and punish them with a good closer as well in Earthquake.
The move variety is SO good, in fact, that it can be hard to settle on what to leave out. One choice, however, becomes obvious now. The term "strictly better" is probably overused, even by me, but Breaking Swipe really is strictly better than Dragon Claw, and thus Haxorus itself is strictly better coming out of Community Day than it is going in. So we can safely push Claw off the raft, as it were, just as we did with Rayquaza when it got Breaking Swipe.
So that leaves us with four moves: 35-energy Breaking Swipe and Night Slash, 40-energy Surf, and 65-energy Earthquake.
Now let's start putting those together with the fast moves and see what shakes out! And we're going to go backwards to do it, starting with the league where Hax is most relevant and working down from there.

MASTER LEAGUE

So for comparison, here is Haxorus' former best in Open Master League, and here is Master League Premier, both running Surf/Dragon Claw. Night Slash isn't too far behind Claw, but the latter is better for overpowering Mamoswine and Machamp (the latter of which resists Night Slash), so Claw gets the nod. ALSO note that I used Dragon Tail there, not Counter. Counter certainly is viable (as good as it is, it would be hard NOT to be viable!), and gets some extra wins versus things like Snorlax and Melmetal with a clear weakness to Fighting damage, but Dragon Tail is needed if you want to beat both Giratinas, Yveltal, and to much better guarantee Garchomp. I lean Tail, but I won't say Counter is "wrong"... just different.
Anyway, with Breaking Swipe beign a clear upgrade on Dragon Claw, let's see how much of an upgrade. Swapping Swipe in for Claw and leaving all other factors alone leads to a clear improvement with six new wins: Mewtwo with Focus Blast or Shadow Ball (note, however, that Ice Beam M2 wins with Hax having the winning Swipe fully charged but unable to fire), Yveltal, Groudon, Gyarados, and now Snorlax that was formerly one of Counter's few advantages. Amazing what a simple little nerf to the opponent's Attack strength can do for flimsy Pokemon like Haxorus (as it did for Rayquaza too!). In Premier, it's more of the same, with those Gyarados and Snorlax (and Shadow Snorlax) wins cropping up.
Breaking Swipe's indirect buff to Haxorus' bulk actually allows something even more impressive, though. Whereas before, Earthquake wasn't really an option as Hax would often perish before getting to it in a meaningful spot, Breaking Swipe changes all that. It still unfortunately comes up a little short versus the big Steels (including Diagla), and does give up former wins versus Excadrill and Ice Punch Ursaluna, but it can gain Zacian, folks. (At least, without Play Rough.) Just rolls over it with a big Earthquake. Nice! Similarly, it can also beat Primarina this way now (that's likely just for ML Premier, though).
I will note, however, that Counter doesn't see quite the same bump. It IS better than Claw still, and that shows up more in 2v2 shielding (Claw vs Swipe) as multiple Breaking Swipe debuffs add up, but Dragon Tail is still generally better in 1v1 (and 0v0) shielding and still gets my overall vote. Just too many things that Dragon damage is better for than Fighting damage at this level.
So in short, yes, Breaking Swipe is a clear upgrade for Haxorus in Master League and worth pursuing on Community Day for this purpose. It's still not quite on the level of, say, Dragonite or Kyurem or fellow Swiper ("Swiper, no swiping!") Rayquaza, but I think it defintely moves up into a higher tier of Dragon right there among them.
Master League is what most folks are eyeing going into this weekend, but what about elsewhere?

ULTRA LEAGUE

Similar upgrade here, with Breaking Swipe (this time moreso with Counter... more punchable things at this level than in Master League!) [clearly distancing itself from Dragon Claw... new wins include Swampert, Venusaur, Charizard, Mandibuzz, Guzzlord, Drapion, Golisopod, and of course, Snorlax. (Yeah, CounteClaw/Surf couldn't quite do that before!) Interestingly, it slides backwards in Premier, but in Open? Perhaps it's worth some spice consideration now.
Any better in Master League? Spoiler alert: nah.

GREAT LEAGUE

Lots of punchable things down in Great League as well, where Counter Hax is probably already a bit better than you think, at least on paper. Wins against things like Lanturn, Swampert, Galarian Stunfisk, Registeel, Bastiodon, Victreebel, Talonflame, Mandibuzz, Dunsparce, Diggersby, Alolan Sandslash and Walrein catch the eye, but then Breaking Swipe just goes and makes it better with Drapion, Toxicroak, and even Lickitung! And look how far it can now go in 2v2 shielding! Something so fragile shouldn't enjoy that level of success in longer battles like that in Great League, but here we are!

IM SUMMATION....

I'm surprised to say it, but I think that Breaking Swipe Haxorus may be worth grinding for in all three Leagues! If I had to rank them, it would be Master first, then Great, and then Ultra, but if you find a candidate with good Ultra League or Great League IVs, evolve it while you can get Breaking Swipe, even if you end up short on candy needed to build them all now. We'll get more Axew candy later this year, right?
Gonna wrap it up right here, as Community Day is FAST approaching, and I have Summer Cup (Ultra) analysis to try to get back to anyway!
Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter with near-daily PvP analysis nuggets or Patreon, if you're feeling extra generous.
Good hunting, folks! Do stay safe out there, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!