Future of Vault Hunters and answering about the Life Series 

Hallo! I see a few commenters being worried/angry/sad about me laughing at the "Cause they told us so" person in my chat. For some context, this is not me laughing at the idea that any series (Life series specifically) would not be improv but scripted - although I can see the edit making it feel that way - It was a laugh at the joke "Cause they told us so" in the sense that it's a receipt for someone always taking things at face value. It was more about my chat (which I still havent figured out how to record in a nice way lol) and the several jokes that were made than anything else. But, since some people take it as me bashing the authenticity of some content, I figured I must apologise and explain myself; Sorry, no, I never bashed any authenticity of any content. No, I did not laugh at someone genuinely saying that "Things are true if they are said to be true" - it was all a funny joke. Anyway, Hallo! Good to have you all here :D

I don't think there's a single Hermit who Grian wouldn't "want" in the Life series, but it's important to take into consideration the way that the series is structured. Over a dozen content creators having to coordinate their schedules to be available at the same time on the same day for anywhere from six to nine weeks is no easy task, and the more people who join the series, the harder it is to maintain that balance. Also, as several others have said, Iskall has generally been busy with other things around the time that each season has been in the works. They generally seem to happen when there's a lull in other content, whether that's the time between Hermitcraft seasons or when a lot of the members are getting a bit fatigued with their current projects. Generally when that happens to Iskall, he ends up playing Vault Hunters, so things tend to overlap.

I think the life series also originally started around when you were completely stepping back from hermitcraft to focus on vault hunters, iirc

People seem to forget that Life Series members are those close to Grian AND is able to keep with the schedule. It's the reason why someone like Ollie isn't a member despite being close with Grian.

Iskall would be too powerful to be on the life series.

10 seconds in a iskall immediately roasts the hermits 😂

Dont mind me just waiting for the 9 year old coming here to create beef between iskall and grian where there isnt any

all im saying is if Iskall was in the life series he would bring a whole new kind of chaotic energy and him and Martyn would kill as a team

Honestly i think only reason iskall was not invited bcz he was busy with VH and not really playing on hermitcraft when grian started the life series. It's just them who were in grian's circle at the moment. It was an experiment that worked. They don't really add new members every season.

Just for etho I’d rather wait for another 3 months for the next season. Plus I think viewership wise summer is better too (if u care that much about it).

As other said, the Life series started right when Iskall was stepping back from HC to focus on VH. The server is mostly just "People Grian is close friends with." It doesn't mean he's not ALSO friends with other people (Mythical Sausage, Ollie, Keralis, Cub), but it's also a very full server, and it's hard enough to get 25 people to all be online every friday for 9 weeks in a row or whatever, without adding even more. But if you look at it, it's who Grian chooses to collaborate with, his closest friends. That's all. He has a bunch of side videos or mini projects like the build swap or guess that build or the streams he joins (Among Us, Phasmo, etc.) or the Minecraft Legends thing, and it's just those people, the people he has the most fun hanging out with.

The HC server is vibing hard right now! All the Hermits are having legit good times playing together! I think starting a VH series right now would possibly disrupt the moment. Maybe look at late spring /early summer. The time that feels best for you Iskall! But I'm a little selfish too, Watching you having so much fun has been addicting!

Very impressed with the professionalism here. Both in being self-aware enough to know that splitting too much attention from a current project at the wrong time may end up tanking it prematurely, and especially for the discussion around the Life series. No drama around not getting an invite, just simple respect for other friends' efforts and acknowledgement of the fact that not everyone is a good or needed fit for every project.

i big support the "push S4 until this summer so you can stay hyped for hermitcraft + maybe adding a hardcore challenge on the side"!!!! maybe a server wide sky vault or something gimmicky? arcade mode? chaos only? whichever is most plausible, but nothing too too too demanding like the 100 day challenge

Hermitcraft S10 have such a strong start that if any Hermit would start a side project, either series would be greatly affected, especially now that all the hermits is so close together which means more interaction content which may lead to future events and such also I think the Life series consist mostly of people who are big into role playing and sometimes natural derpyness who doesn't try hard enough to make a fool of themselves, that's easy content right there

@9:07 - "Because they told us." I just kept laughing like Iskall because I could hear Penn Gillette from Penn and Teller comparing it to when a magician tells you, "There's nothing up my sleeve."

I'd honestly love a sort of Life Series spin-off series; throw in all the people who have NOT been in the series (but would be willing to) and see how funny that turns out! Imagine a Life Series mini season with people like Iskall, Doc, Wels, Stress, Joe, Zedaph and more all trying to trap each other, that change in dynamic would be hilarious

Iskall, also remember you were FULLY consumed by Vault Hunters during the first Life series. You were already burning out of Hermitcraft a little at that point. As for now... I agree about the server maybe being full - it's hard to keep track of a linear story if there are too many people. It would be good for your community (and you) to feel better though to just ask Grian so you can give an actual answer. I'm sure it's a very normal reason, similar to what you are guessing.

Btw, for reference, I get the “cause they told us so” joke. But it was more saying that many of the Lifers have talked about their process of making content on the Life Series, like the Imp & Skizz Podcast. Or Martyn doing 3 hour long streams. We know many people have broad strokes of who they want to be in the series. Like Impulse in the first season wanting to play a character a little like Little Finger from Game of Thrones. But other than those broad strokes, it doesn’t that the words and actions are actually scripted. It’s more like D&D. But with no Dungeon Master. So it’s just anarchy. And it’s brilliant.

I think it's also worth noting that each season of the life series has had a different mechanic which in turn has led to different social dynamics. For instance, the things a person could add that would be a great addition for Secret Life may not work for Double Life or Limited Life. Even the existing cast, for a varying number of reasons hasn't been constant throughout, Mumbo and Lizzie have only been in two of the five series while Ren wasn't in Secret Life (except for a brief cameo).

I imagine Grian sought out his close friends for the Life series first then further invited other players that he's seen active enough, and someone he's interacted with frequently. But that being said your play style and interaction with hermits would fit SO well in the Life series.

Subconsciously we might think of these series as just some friends getting together to game but it’s still making content and that adds a whole new layer with production. It totally makes sense to consider the player dynamics in terms of skill, relationships,etc. Time is also a factor, either time zones or if they have other things going on. Iskall obviously dedicated a lot of time to Vault Hunters so maybe that plays into it. You can’t have too many series running at the same time and they can’t all be with all the people either.

S10 Seem to be popping off for all the Hermits, so I definitely support the idea of delaying a Vault Hunter a bit until the hype has died down. To why you were not in the Life Series, I wouldn't overthink it... we just don't know. I do hope they invite you though, as you have a lot to bring to the table and is definitely suited for that sort of series.

Only reason I could think of is they might see Iskall as a busy person. Since due to what happened from past seasons of hermit craft. They might be thinking that there are days where you are not able to play, which is impactful if someone is absent from one session.

Ngl these little peeks into how hermitcraft and some other series in proximity playerwise work are great, glad youre figuring whats better for you, this being real and down to earth era of RU-vid might be my favorite

We know it’s improv because of the imp and skizz podcast. Impulse and skizz have told us multiple times

You should do a big playlist with hermitcraft episodes in order + the behind the scenes in order !

I love your Hermitcraft videos and your Vault Hunters videos, but I am really enjoying the HC content. I think postponing VH is a good idea.

I just assumed it was based on whoever Grian wanted each season plus a couple of acquaintances like Ren or Bdubs. If iskall expresses a bit more interest he might be considered as a 'guest star' (as I like to think of them) a player who turns up for a season or 2 as and when. Then again none of us could be guessing the correct criteria and it could just be that they think he's got his plate full with Hermitcraft and Vault Hunters.

Iskall’s maniacal laughter at 8:55 made my day. So real. Which makes it funnier. LOL

The first second already unhinged lmaoo

8:45 Lmao I know how it sounds but honestly the members are very explicit about how it's not scripted and some life members like Martyn are very transparent about the behind the scenes.

yeah, the simplest way to view the matter of the 3rd Life cast is that Grian probably wants to avoid making it too big, and for his own reasons he has decided that the cast he has selected is, as well as he could have known, the best combination of players he could collect I do hope that new members still might get introduced if only because particular current members are unavailable, but I understand that that might end up conflicting with the principle of a maximum cast size if at the start of some season all previous players end up being available

It does sound a little bit harsh as you say it, but as viewers we really appreciate how open and honest you are about how things are going. I really hope the less understanding viewers don't get all mad at you for "bashing" the life series, it's totally reasonable to want to know more about how it runs. as you said, the series is incredibly polished and turns out amazing every time, and it's totally up to grian who he feels would be a good fit to participate. Your content this season, especially the behind the scenes stuff, feels especially real and genuinely fun. keep doing silly things for the sake of fun, and we'll keep having fun watching them.

Alot of reason for not being invited could be a mix of server space and the idea that Iskall also has his own development underway and along with the scheduling, splitting among multiple series/contents aswell as personal time then you have the way that they take over for when people arent able to come to the recording. It can also be seen that they dont want to make iskall feel forced to join when schedules dont add up, as much as im sure he'd love to play its a big task to have everything at hand at once and easy to get lost with it all.

Some members of the life series have said that they try to plan what the outline of the session will be but it always go down the drain because of unexpected happenings and it just go full improv. So yeah, Iskall will be a perfect fit for the series because of his randomness and spontaneity. So, I hope, I hope, I hope, that he will be a part of the next life series. Pretty please Grian... 🥺

"If I don't feel like I add anything to my friend's content, then I don't want to impose" Iskall is great

#NeverEverLeaving!™️

Iskall in the Life Series would be amazing

Genuinely, since some hermits are joining and you are also involved in it it makes sense to delay. The idea of a sky block pre season special is actually very smart; it lets like anyone who may have been planning around that time still have a series going up, yourself included, and just lets you hermits keep engaging with a season in which everyone is just actively aiming for fun over like anything.

Regarding being included in the Life series, I think it would largely be group size and the folks Grian is most interested in playing with.

I really hope in update 14 they fix the glitch with the Mana Shield Retribution damage. I reported it over a month ago now. Basically the main target only takes the added damage, not your main attack damage. EG: If you do 200 damage with your sword normally, then when Retribution triggers the main target takes like 5 damage, while the guys surrounding him take 205. Makes 1v1 really annoying, and if versing poison, wither, or fire it's straight up impossible to fight without disabling mana shield. Extremely easy to test with cactus/sweet berry and a few training dummies.

"Because they told us🥺" *raucous laughter*

Currently going through a rough patch mentally so your streams and episodes really boost my mood and help me get through the day and I look forward to them! Absolutely love your content, whether it’s ‘boring’ redstone or mining or farm building! Been watching you since mid season 5 and I love going back to rewatch the last seasons of your episodes ❤

Dude i would love to see you on secret life. Im a new subscriber but I’ve been binging all your hermitcraft content. You can be sneaky in an entertaining way, you are funny, and you bounce really well off others. I think you can add a lot to that series.

I think one big skyblock island and then everyone having their own little skyblock islands surrounding it would be awesome and wouldn't take too long if you did something like arcade mode but on skyblock. I've thought it would be a good idea for a while.

#neverleaving! The fun you have is SO wonderful to listen to. Your interactions with Stress, Mumbo, Yoel... it's fantastic.

I would absolutely love to see Iskall on the life series, I think he’d add a lot of social humour and pranking. Plus good, functional traps.

I would love to see Doc and Iskall on life series

IMO, no one'd fit the life series better than you would. The idea of a server full of interactions and as much improvisation as possible fits you perfectly as far as I'm aware. I'd absolutely love to see you in the series but as you yourself said, it's probably not as simple as that and there's a lot of underlying problems such as most noticabely the already high count of members.

the man has a great understanding of perspective. nothings personal, just logical . Big fan

#nevereverleaving I love the way you are looking at those things, why you're not in the life series. Without beeing offended you just look at it of a objectiv view. The world could learn a lot from you. I would love to see you in the life series, because you would bring pure CHAOS🎉

I think the delay is good for you and the other hermits playing vault hunters. I would love to see a mini Vault Hunters sky block challenge.

A bit different, but there's a mobile game I play that I really enjoy, but sometimes the timewalls can be a bit long without much to do. Every time that happens I debate picking up another game to play in that time, but I know if I find something I enjoy playing I'd get hooked and end up coming back less and less to the game I was playing, until I stop completely. So I fully get that struggle of not wanting to jump to Vault Hunters when you're on such a roll with Hermitcraft. I'll also add that I started watching you for Vault Hunters and love those series, however this season of Hermitcraft has been a blast so far, so I know I'm happy with whatever you put out since both end up being great. Just don't overthink things! You can always reevaluate as you go, so best to go with what you feel is right for you at the time.

Summer start to the next VH is a great idea. Season 10 has a different vibe and the series has such amazing energy right now ❤

I’ve been loving the approach you’ve taken with this session of not over complicating things and just having the fun and joy of playing. I Also love this video specifically of you sharing genuine concern for projects and plan you genuinely love. As someone who has a job as a creative. But also struggles with anxiety it’s encouraging to see others talk about having the same feelings.

I mean, considering how you said that a weekly meetup or so on the server for the hermits (as in, a set time/date regularly where everyone is on) is something you wouldn't be able to commit to, it also means that you're completely incompatible with how the life series works (where you would have to do that for several weeks in a row, recording on the same day on the week every week for two or three month). And I wouldn't be surprised if that isn't a well known fact "behind the scenes" and thus they wouldn't ask you to join a series that your own playstyle and timemanagement wouldn't allow to commit to. Or so would be my guess.

Iskall, I think you just seem like a busy businesskall, that's probably why you aren't invited to a bunch of stuff. Scheduling could be another aspect. However, honestly, I think it's mainly for the fact that there were close knit people who were wrangled by Grian, thus bringing them together. It could also have been people asking to join - Which.. a DM to Grian could probably get you an answer if you let him know you wouldn't mind joining in as a guest/trial kinda deal, buuuuut, I don't think you exactly want to reach out and ask as you brought up possibly imposing, which is totally fair. It's like wanting to be invited to hang out/play a game, but not trying to Self-Invite. Either way, I look forward to you doing what you feel that you want to do regarding VHS4, whether it be delaying it fully, some short "intro" to the series on the update (which, let's be real, will allow people to get their feet wet and let them start stronger when S4 actually starts), or if you jump right in. Because in all honestly, no matter what you pick, as long as it's what you want to do, the people who have been watching since say.. Kingdomcraft, are still going to be around. Sure there may be some naysayers and whiners, but that just means there's a school holiday or something.

The secret life people have kinda made a point of saying it's not scripted and when they do try to plan something, like just going to make a certain build, it very often gets side tracked as soon as they start recording. I think they've made a point of saying this because you are very much not the only one to question if it's scripted. But you have a point, just because they say so doesn't make it true, although I thought it was really funny to hear you question it, as many of them are hermits 😆. Also just because you haven't been invited yet doesn't mean you won't be invited later, three people joined in the second season, one person joined in the fifth (most recent) season, and two of the people who joined the second season weren't in seasons 3 or 4 but were in season 5, also, I'm not sure exactly how it went but I know Ren and Skizz have both missed at least one season. Anyway, I rambled, congrats if you made it to the end

I think its pretty easy to understand why you were not invited. You seemed like you were focusing more on your own stuff, from the outside its really easy to see that you were not really available. You took on the job to create VH and were making series on it, asking someone to join another server when you are doing your own thing and have a lot on your plate would come off rude. If you were really interested, approaching your friend probably would have been the best choice. Nothing says you can't join a future season after you discussed it with Grian.

8:35 That was really wholesome hahaha, a nice reminder of how pure the community is and why I love it so much :)

Would love to see VH-Skyblock! Also: I tend to give myself a budding vault rock on regular VH worlds aswell, to not have to go mining the classic way. Could be a great rare reward from loot crates

Self preservation and self care isn’t selfish, it’s necessary for sustainability

You have a very unique personality and the way you look at and play mc which is what makes you feel like your in a league of your own. I would love to see you in the life series and you don't need to think about self worth in others content or anthying. Any day you post a video or appear in another hermits video is a great day. You passively bring that something special everywhere you go and its why youre on of the if not the most entertaining to watch out of everyrone.

I know Secret Life isn't scripted because Etho can't act 😂

i started watching iskall from s10 and i really want him to be a part of the life series

i literally laughed out loud for 15 seconds when iskall said "because they told you so?"

after hermitcraft vault hunters ive been super looking forward towards vh smp s4 but id rather wait a few more months to make sure you (and the other hermits) dont have to split your focus/be forced to choose vault hunters or hermitcraft. A limited/short term series to bridge the time till then sounds very fun! esp with a limited stream time/record time to encourage collaboration :D as for the life series: at the beginning it was probs cos you were busy with vault hunters and now i think it might be as simple as having a lot of players already? The only seasons that they actually added new members were Last Life (season 2, Mumbo, Lizzie and Pearl) and Secret Life (Season 5) which only added Gem, who filled in for Cleo for one session the season before. So i think its probably just a case of "we're already at 17 active members and adding more is just going to make planing harder/drag out the length of the season" + if they were looking for new members they might want to look for non-hc RU-vidrs? since yoel and skizz are now hermits, its 12 Hermits vs 5 non hermits? (That being said: you would absolutely fit into it and id love to see what chaos you'd bring to that series

this man... he made me burst into laughter with the opening itself.... "they have to be useful for something right?"

always enjoy your content, and it's better when you're excited and have energy for a current project. keep doing what you have passion for cause we're here for it, genuinely hope your plans work out well

Iskall: "I don't mind joining if they explain it and invite me but really i'm not bothered" Random person: "Just ask grian to join if you want to join that badly!"

Honestly, pushing the series back until the summer is a smart idea. You can also make the update stable

I would be genuinely EXTREMELY surprised if Grian would actually not want you to be in the series. I don't know why he hasn't asked you but I am certain he would love to see you in the series. It is absolutely true that no matter how fun and seemingly accessible the Life Series format is, it does require an alteration of one's schedule for *multiple* weeks, something one might struggle to do. Otherwise, 3 hours a week (And a bit for video editing I guess) for a few weeks is really not a big time sacrifice. *12:40* And about ''adding something to others' content'' part... You are bloody *ISKALL!* One of the funniest and most charming content creators I've ever watched and especially funny with other people, and that's precisely what the Life Series is all about, fun and charming interractions that is always the basis of all the alliances, conflicts, betrayals, the imromptu storyline. And what *would* you bring to the table Welp, in my opinion, *a feast and a half!* You'd single-handedly make any interraction you're a part of 10 times more fun, on top of the usuals such as being a great builder, combattant and trap maker. At least that's my take on it.

I hope the one aspect of Last Life that iskall has watched is the "A-HA!" segment

I feel it's an odd way of looking at the Life Series. I don't think they went through everyone on the members list and thought "what do they add? Is there someone else already adding the same thing?" I'm sure there's some evaluation of whether or not they'd get along with everyone, whether their content matches the tone, and whether they'd be right for the series, don't get me wrong, but I can't imagine them writing out a pros and cons list for every person. The server has had people be added or sit out since it started, there's every possibility of new people joining. I just think you weren't really around at the time and hadn't really interacted with other members much lately. You might be best friends with Mumbo, but when was the last time you made content with him before Hermitcraft 10? And he wasn't even in the first season. You haven't had major collabs with Grian since season 6 excluding server-wide events. And you haven't met most of the empires peeps before and even missed out on the big crossover. I don't mean any of this in a negative way, of course, but if they were looking for people to invite you likely weren't the first to come to mind since you hadn't been around much. With you being more present now and meeting Skizz and Joel, the chances are definitely a bit higher of getting an invite if you seem interested.

Please pull another prank on beef. Your shenanigans is what made me watch you so eagerly. Please dont let the pranks die. Anyways ly iskall

I really hope he gets into the next season of life series

We should fill a petition for having iskall on the life series! He would fit perfectly we all know that. Viewers and Hermitcraft fans let's unite!

say what you will guys but for my money Iskall is the GOAT of hermitcraft (with DocM77)

I think it's a good idea to wait with VH update a bit, it'll allow you, Etho and a few other poeple to take a breather, enjoy Hermitcraft or whatever they're doing and come back with a fresh mind, sounds like a healthy idea

I haven't really seen many people in the comments specifically talk about the mini series that would lead up to the actual vault hunters smp but I just wanted to say that I really like the ideas you and chat came up with.

I don't feel like I need a VH series rn, I've been watching. Almost every single hermit for the first time in years.

I think iskall would be a great addition to the life series. There's the obvious reasons that Iskall's style of randomness, spontaneity could make for some hilarious moments. But I also think iskall is just a good minecraft player. He did pretty well in both demised competitions, and is redstone competent. The series needs someone whos able to rival Smajor's ability a little bit so that Scott doesn't have to hold back so much.

Iskall comes across as a really genuine person here. He's straightforward, humble, honest, and generous in his description of content his friends are making. Would love to see him on the next life series because I like watching him interact and play with his friends, but I love whatever content he decides to put out

if only they knew how much we love iskall and how much our life series likability will soar up if iskall joins

I think the lack of invitation may just be because they already have a lot of Hermits in the server, and, at least for the first season, they wanted more empires people and other content creators. Then with the following seasons, they just kinda stuck with the people they had because it worked so well the first time.

Dude. This last month of Iskall content has been like a wish got granted by some twisted Genie 😊

Working traps in the life series would be a blood bath

Hinestly i think it would be nice to see you on hermitcraft longer this season. I love love love vault hunters but at this point i just want more of you on the hermitcraft server. But of course i think you should do what benefits you most!

Iskall digging another hole... great discussion 🎉

Your part in the demise game was amazing if you told me that happened in the life series i would believe you without a doubt. So i think you would fit in greatly and create very funny moments

Honestly, if you're genuinely are interested in joining the life series, don't think its unreasonable for you to join (e.g., it would be unreasonable for you to join if you're too busy to do a life series), and believe it is appropriate to ask Grian, you could ask him if he's open to discussing if you could potentially join the life series. And if he isn't, just say thats cool, and if the situation regarding that question changes, tell you because you'd probably still be interested in joining.

I have been missing Vault Hunters but i guess i can hold out

I really thought you turned it down, someone told me and I had no reason to question it as it would have been so good with you there, so I am so glad I watched this video. I have read through comments here and someone said that it happened when you were completely stepping back from Hermitcraft and focusing on Vault Hunters so that makes a little sense to me. Now that you are back giving Hermitcraft your focus, who knows what next season of the life series will bring. I am loving the vids so far, keep it up

Loving the vodskall content!

I think the biggest issue with the life series was just scheduling and commitment. I love your content but at the time it was starting up you were very focused on VH, and that type of series really requires everyone being able to make it all the time

I'd love to see Iskall on the life series. I don't know what's going on behind the scenes but in the last couple years he has seemed overloaded. I mean like he hadn't (not including the last mi th of awesome co tent 😊) been on hermitcraft a ton and had a lot on his plate regarding vault hunters. If it was me at that time; I wouldn't be bugging Iskall about some new smp that I wasn't sure would work

Yeey iskall talking about the things that keep me up at night lol

i love iskall and his cynical humor, these vod videos are so good.

I have to wonder if your main attention on vault hunters, and thus absence from the hermit craft server during the last life, 3rd life, etc series may have contributed to why you weren't invited. Not because you wouldn't be great for it but you were pretty deep into your own thing so there were probably some assumptions made on whether you'd be interested or be more occupied by vault hunters. Anyhow, I personally think your antic would be perfect for those last life series'. It'd be cool to see you in one like it in the future and really hope they didn't choose to not invite you based purely on what you could bring to the table.