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Kingdoms of Amalur demo impressions thread [Up On 360/Origin/Steam/U.S. PSN]

Mage/warrior.

Going to make a WoW styled death knight, use harpoon and frost magics. Main weapons will be a great sword and either frost chakrams, or a frost staff.

Last mage/warrior destiny is pretty awesome.
Gain 25% of Damage Received as Mana
+25% Elemental Resistance
+20% Melee Attack Damage
+15% Total Armor
Blink - Short range teleport. Replaces Dodge.
Harmonic Overload - Chance to produce elemental projectiles per Kill

especially the damage taken to mana part. Curious to see how the harmonic overload thing pans out.
 
I'm pretty torn, myself. That's what great here, though, you're not stuck with whichever build you choose. The ability to change destinies, and respec your character is great. I'm usually iffy about the option to respec, but I think it's a great idea here. It definitely fits with the theme of not being tied down by fate.

I think I'll start off as a mage/rogue, as well. I wanted to do so in Skyrim, but magic was completely nerfed in that game. Glad to hear it's pretty badass here. (I sure hope it is, considering it's the Age of Arcana!)


I like the fact that you have to pay someone to respec your character. In other words, you have to work for it. If it were just done on the fly, it would feel cheap.
 
Any idea how this game will handle death? In the demo you could just resurrect on the spot with no penalty it seems...but I really hope thats not how it is in the full game.
 
Any idea how this game will handle death? In the demo you could just resurrect on the spot with no penalty it seems...but I really hope thats not how it is in the full game.

That's just for the demo since there is no save option.

In the retail version, you die, then reload the last save.
 
Check at the world map it looks that it is of a considerable size.

As for my feedback on the demo on PC I can say that I am completely enamored by this game. It certainly gives me the same feeling I had when I first started playing WoW with the sense of discovering a new world.

I choose a mage/stealthy build and the combat felt great. Certainly far better than what I am used to in this sort of games. Really deep (and the demo only unveiled a small part of it, I checked the moves list), and the ability to change on the fly the "class" of your character with just a weapon/armor change is great. The upgrade trees seemed promising too.

The negatives now. It felt better tailored to controller play. I have a controller with my PC but for someone that is going for the PC version keep that in mind. The camera felt a bit weird at times, mostly when using a ranged weapon (a scepter in my case) but that could be due to the auto targeting system. I wasn't able to understand if there's a way to choose the target with ranged weapons or if there's only the automatic targeting system. And finally some performance problems in audio with desyncs and graphic pop in of textures and some glitches. Also had 2 freezes (3 seconds) just before fights and the demo ended with a crash (maybe intended? How does the demo ends for you guys?).

All in all, I want to play this game. It hits all the right notes for me. I just need to be certain before buying that the audio/graphic problems are just a bad demo build.

If you have an interest in the world and lore, you should check out the site for Amalur As for the techinical hitches it seems the majority of them are from an old build of the game, it was handed off to EA, and EA chopped a piece off to make a demo. The way EA made it created alot of different bugs, which is sad honestly because i'd hate the bugs to turn someone away who would otherwise enjoy the game.

I really love the art style here for alot of different reasons, one it reminds me of chunky 90's comics made by guys like Joe Mad, and Mcfarlane (obviously) it just really makes the enviroments, and world pop to me. I said this before but I love all of the little details, there is only really so much you can do with caves, but they really try to make them unique, the dungeons really well detailed, the Thresher lair for instance had these awesome masks carved into the walls.

I love that the boggarts run around screaming when on fire, or the little pixie things that fly around in their (boggarts chase them too), The detail in the armor is great, Personally i'm interested in the lore and I enjoy hunting for the lorestones. Game just feels great to play, everytime the timer runs out right when i'm about to hit level 5 and thats garbage, but only another week to wait at this point.

I'm still debating on wether or not i'm going to play a Dokkalfar male, or an Almain male. One or the other but i'm not sure yet.

If I go Dark elf my character will look something like this.

DSCF2185.jpg


Also for those worried about enviorments here are a few shots of some of the different localse that are present, though not close to all of them.

Nature4.jpg


Nature3.jpg


67ee79f4-c37b-4896-9477-e0e38a41bf1c.jpg


Nature.jpg


kingdoms_of_amalur_reckoning_2.jpg


Been playing the demo some more...it's really growing on me now. You guys got any plans for builds? I honestly can't decide what to do...they're all so damn fun. I'm leaning towards mage/rogue hybrid class with faeblades and chakram combo. But damn, the warrior class is mighty badass too with that scorpion move, quake magic, and greatswords. Decisions, decisions.

This is my build plan so far(could change somewhat):

Dokkalfar/Male/No God

Might:
Brutal Weaponry 1-3
Brutal Weaponry 2-3
Brutal Weaponry 3-3
Brutal Weaponry 4-3
Greatsword Mastery-6
Bulwark-4
Battle Frenzy-5
Stone Skin- 5
Celerity- 3
Quake- 5
Aftershock- 4
Hardy Consitution- 6
Adrenaline Surge-5
Power Strike-5
60

Sorcery:
Arcane Weaponry 1-3
Arcane Weaponry 2- 3
Arcane Weaponry 3-3
Arcane Weaponry 4-3
Chakram Mastery - 6
Sphere of Protection- 6
Sphere of Reprisal - 5
Sphere of Retribution- 5
Storm Bolt - 6
Chain lightning - 5
Tempest - 5
Conservative Casting - 5
Healing Surge - 4
Mark of Flame 4
63
 
I like the fact that you have to pay someone to respec your character. In other words, you have to work for it. If it were just done on the fly, it would feel cheap.

That's true, and the cost increases each time you respec. I can't see myself doing any more than once, just for some fine tuning. If I want to completely revamp my character, I'll likely start a new game. I'll probably do my usual good/evil runs. Hopefully there's some significant differences between each style of play.

By the sounds of this, there will be (Let's just hope in works in practice, as well as it sounds on paper)

Narrative Designer said:
Q: What are some of the long lasting consequences that we could expect to encounter? Will some consequences lead to some NPC's not ever wanting to speak to us again? – By TheHolyKnight

A: In many ways, Reckoning is a game about choice. There are the obvious examples, such as selecting your character’s appearance, skills, and fighting style, but there are plenty of other opportunities for visitors to Amalur to change the world. All our notable NPCs have agendas. If you choose not to cooperate, you can expect a strong reaction. Some will hate you. Some will fight you. Some may disappear, never to be seen again.

In the guise of the Fateless One, you have the power to alter the outcome of lives around them. Many side quests feature one or numerous choices, the consequences of which vary widely. In some cases, it may just be a difference in the quest reward. In others, it could mean lies, betrayal, or even murder.

Factions are an especially great place to make a profound impact on the world. The Age of Arcana is a time of change, and many of Amalur’s established orders are finding themselves overwhelmed by the transition. You will have a hand in shaping the future of these powerful institutions, for good or for ill. Everywhere you go, you will leave a trail of consequences behind you. – By Andrew "Fiend" Auseon, Narrative Designer

and

Narrative Designer said:
Q: Will people react differently to you depending on the race you choose? – By Bones

A: Yes, definitely. One of the most satisfying features of any good role-playing game is getting to explore a rich world that reacts to your choices, and that includes the race you choose for your character. In fact, the race, gender, and religion are all aspects of your experience that can illicit unique responses from the people of Amalur.

Just the other day I was playing a quest that involves a character with very strong opinions about the Alfar. Halfway through the conversation he paused, remembering that I was Dokkalfar, and tried to retract his comments for fear of offending me. It was a wonderful little moment of surprise, one that once again grounded me in the role-playing experience.

We don’t stop at the basics either. Your path through the game can have a powerful influence over how others view them. A good example of this is the Gardens of Ysa, a majestic—but cloistered—city that you visit during your journey across the Faelands. As an outsider and a mortal, the typical player will be met with suspicion by the city’s Fae inhabitants. However, if you've spent a good portion of time completing Fae quests and becoming a part of that race’s story, they won’t be greeted as strangers.

Our goal has always been to create a living, breathing world for our fans, and even the smallest comment can make the fantasy real. – By Andrew "Fiend" Auseon, Narrative Designer

It's usual to see dialogue changes in response to your own particular race, but it's nice to see that your reputation will precede you here. I hope, on the flipside, if you're pretty rotten to the Fae inhabitants before getting to this city, you'll be greeted with hostility.
 
This is my build plan so far(could change somewhat):

Dokkalfar/Male/No God

Warrior build with no Harpoon? You're crazy =). As I typed that, I wondered if you can launch a guy with the sword, juggle him with arrows, and then harpoon him out of mid air. I need to load up the demo and find out.
 
Some day there will be an rpg that will give you these four dialogue options as standard:

Good
Evil
Neutral
Weird

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines has weird covered very nicely when you choose to play as a Malkavian.
I wish more RPGs embraced the insanity like that... I mean, your TV talks to you!

So, the level cap in Reckoning is
40
and the max ability and skill points are
123
and
40
respectively, it seems. (Spoiler tagged for those who don't want to know the numbers.) It seems using trainers, and Twist of Fate cards, the numbers for skills and abilities is a bit higher (not sure how much, total). I'm hoping we can max out most of our skills, as they all seem pretty useful. Of course we have to be pretty choosy at first with the distribution while levelling up, but then are able to work at increasing the rest by finding the trainers, and completing quests in specific ways to earn the proper twist of fate cards to increase our skills.

As for ability points, I'm fine with being rather limited there, especially since we can respec.

I just have a hard time deciding where to throw skill points when it comes to things like Alchemy, Smithing, Enchanting, Detect Hidden, Persuasion, etc. I want all these skills!
 
Warrior build with no Harpoon? You're crazy =). As I typed that, I wondered if you can launch a guy with the sword, juggle him with arrows, and then harpoon him out of mid air. I need to load up the demo and find out.

being honest I have not even tried harpoon yet, will probably do so on my next run. If i like it I may replace mark of flame for it since I only chose that one to dump points into.

Although a combo I was thinking of trying was Marking a target launch it in the air pop it arrows then detonate. Going to have to try that with a R/M build.

Those of you who are enjoying them demo, what do you think of the quests/lore so far? Some of the quests are alittle standard, but i've come across some fun/interesting ones.

there was one with a guy who had stolen an intelligence potion and it was wearing off so he was slowly becoming dumber the conversation was pretty funny, but I havent mess with alchmey much and the only other way to finish you have to go into the Warsworn keep, but not allowed in the demo :( .

Another was
a wolf had been turned into a human (nice little twist),had some crazy eyes though. "TWO LEGS!
 
any chance the demo saves the progress for the full game? The screen at the counter end said smething about continuing your progress, but I think I am hoping for too much, I really enjoyed it at first play, and I was glad to see the varied environments at the end on the shots from the end movie.
 
any chance the demo saves the progress for the full game? The screen at the counter end said smething about continuing your progress, but I think I am hoping for too much, I really enjoyed it at first play, and I was glad to see the varied environments at the end on the shots from the end movie.

No, game data isn't saved in the demo.
 
Incredibly stupid that stealing is based on chance. That was how I ended my demo experience, actually. I stole some book from a church with no one around, somehow everyone knew, and so I resisted arrest and killed all the guards.

Then I turned it off. They gotta fix that shit.
 
So is this game pretty dense in terms of Lore? I liked that they had those stones in the demo that told different tales and things, and that you can ask NPCs about different things in the world. Like, when you learn a word, you can ask everyone about it.
 
Incredibly stupid that stealing is based on chance. That was how I ended my demo experience, actually. I stole some book from a church with no one around, somehow everyone knew, and so I resisted arrest and killed all the guards.

Then I turned it off. They gotta fix that shit.

I thought it was at first aswell, but i'm not sure if it is. I think there may be a bug, because there were a few times I got caught and the % on my theft items never went up. Other times it works, but you have to pay close attention to the eye above NPCS heads and make sure it's "Completely" empty before you steal anything or you'll get caught. Pan the camera around because it empties slowly, so even if a guard goes into another room he may still be aware of you.

So is this game pretty dense in terms of Lore? I liked that they had those stones in the demo that told different tales and things, and that you can ask NPCs about different things in the world. Like, when you learn a word, you can ask everyone about it.

Seems like it to me, there is tons of information to gather from books, lorestones, NPCs, i've even seen a few instances in dungeons where it looked like stories written on the walls (pictures, cave paintings. that kind of stuff).
 
So I tried launching an enemy, juggling it away from me with arrows and then hitting it with a harpoon but the game oddly pulled me to where the enemy was instead of pulling it to me. That's how it behaves when you harpoon giant enemies like bears etc, but this enemy is one I can harpoon to me normally. I hope that's a bug.

Speaking of bears, anyone else come across a bear frolicking on his back in the grass? Almost made me feel bad for stealth killing him.
 
ReaperXL07 said:
I thought it was at first aswell, but i'm not sure if it is. I think there may be a bug, because there were a few times I got caught and the % on my theft items never went up. Other times it works, but you have to pay close attention to the eye above NPCS heads and make sure it's "Completely" empty before you steal anything or you'll get caught. Pan the camera around because it empties slowly, so even if a guard goes into another room he may still be aware of you.

No, I was in like a tiny room and there was definitely no one in there with me, I checked. It's especially stupid because I wasn't just stealing a random item, it was for a quest. The entire point of the quest was to steal the book.

When I went back to the lady who asked me to get it for her she went into the fetal position and wouldn't take the damn thing because I had stolen it.
 
Been playing the demo some more...it's really growing on me now. You guys got any plans for builds? I honestly can't decide what to do...they're all so damn fun. I'm leaning towards mage/rogue hybrid class with faeblades and chakram combo. But damn, the warrior class is mighty badass too with that scorpion move, quake magic, and greatswords. Decisions, decisions.
I'm leaning towards a rogue type with the finesse tree. I loved using daggers in the demo. And I want some of those crazy looking fae-blades (I think that's what they're called).
 
So I tried launching an enemy, juggling it away from me with arrows and then hitting it with a harpoon but the game oddly pulled me to where the enemy was instead of pulling it to me. That's how it behaves when you harpoon giant enemies like bears etc, but this enemy is one I can harpoon to me normally. I hope that's a bug.

Speaking of bears, anyone else come across a bear frolicking on his back in the grass? Almost made me feel bad for stealth killing him.

Yeah i've also come across a few that were sleeping, they did a pretty good job on the behaviors and AI for creatures/enemies. Thought it was a nice touch with bandits doing pushups at their camp, also found a few peering off an edge in one of the dungeons, looked like there was some kind of underground city underneath all the fog.

Daggers felt super weak to me. Won't be using them in the full game anyway, but they seemed really awful.

they felt that way to me aswell at first, but after I upgraded Dagger mastery,and got some good ones they were better. Envenomed edge also gives them a nice bite.

I'll be using Greatswords, and Chakrums for my first go though.
 
Daggers felt super weak to me. Won't be using them in the full game anyway, but they seemed really awful.
Weak but fast. I used them for backstabs and as just another method of keeping the hits going against enemies.

And yeah, Chakrums seem way too cool to pass up. Whichever path I end up taking I'll definitely carry a pair of those around.

And randomly - lockpicking kindof sucks in this game. The whole experience of that mini-game feels like turning fat knobs on a tonka toy.
 
Weak but fast. I used them for backstabs and as just another method of keeping the hits going against enemies.

And yeah, Chakrums seem way too cool to pass up. Whichever path I end up taking I'll definitely carry a pair of those around.

And randomly - lockpicking sucks in this game. The whole experience of that mini-game feels like turning fat knobs on a tonka toy.

I'm going pure Sorcery so I will probably mess with Chakrams a lot. Staff and Chakrams seems like a good combo, since if I need a longer range I can just use magic rather than a Sceptre (though in the demo Sceptres are stupidly powerful). Staff has the vortex ability so I can't see myself skipping it really, too useful.

Edit - Also, yeah I'm not crazy about the lockpicking either. Dispelling is much cooler.
 
Loved the demo, I really want the daggers to be more effective. Might just stick with swords in this game. Speaking of which whats the difference between great swords and swords?

I played the demo on PC, maxed settings locked FPS with vsync at 60 FPS. My rig is i7-950 with GTX570, not one dip in FPS. Plays great with 360 controller!
 
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines has weird covered very nicely when you choose to play as a Malkavian.
I wish more RPGs embraced the insanity like that... I mean, your TV talks to you!

So, the level cap in Reckoning is
40
and the max ability and skill points are
123
and
40
respectively, it seems. (Spoiler tagged for those who don't want to know the numbers.) It seems using trainers, and Twist of Fate cards, the numbers for skills and abilities is a bit higher (not sure how much, total). I'm hoping we can max out most of our skills, as they all seem pretty useful. Of course we have to be pretty choosy at first with the distribution while levelling up, but then are able to work at increasing the rest by finding the trainers, and completing quests in specific ways to earn the proper twist of fate cards to increase our skills.

As for ability points, I'm fine with being rather limited there, especially since we can respec.

I just have a hard time deciding where to throw skill points when it comes to things like Alchemy, Smithing, Enchanting, Detect Hidden, Persuasion, etc. I want all these skills!

Any word on how long it will take to reach the level cap? Is it even possible in one play through?
 
Loved the demo, I really want the daggers to be more effective. Might just stick with swords in this game. Speaking of which whats the difference between great swords and swords?
Great Swords are the slowest weapons in the game, but they have greater reach than long swords and do more damage. Long swords are the fastest warrior weapon, but they are both stronger than and slower than the rogue weapons. Great swords and long swords have different special attacks that you can get by investing in "brutal weaponry" skills.
 
I'm hoping that alchemy and blacksmithing are very useful in this game. I'm always attracted to crafting in rpgs. If I understood the system correctly you can break down weapons and gear you don't want and turn it into materials for your own crafted gear?
 
I'm hoping that alchemy and blacksmithing are very useful in this game. I'm always attracted to crafting in rpgs. If I understood the system correctly you can break down weapons and gear you don't want and turn it into materials for your own crafted gear?

Yes any equipment you obtain can be broken down into mats to build new better stuff through crafting, also it's been discussed by the devs on the forums that some of the best gear can only be obtained through crafting. Sagecrafting is more for enhancement craft though, adding/creating gems in order to give your gear buffs/elemental properties.

So i'll be making damn sure to max out Blacksmithing and Sagecraft. It also appears that some quests will be far easier to complete if you have the proper skill in the different crafts.
 
If I'm staring at the ass of a character for 100 or so hours, I'm going female.

I've never understood this line of thinking. Why are you even staring at the ass? Why are you sexualizing a videuh game? Do you feel like you will be made fun of and called a homosexual if it's a male character?

Do you ever watch any sports? Don't stare at the dudes too long or you might be gay! Or would you only watch WNBA?
 
I like the fact that you have to pay someone to respec your character. In other words, you have to work for it. If it were just done on the fly, it would feel cheap.

I, on the other hand, would like to have fun while playing the game, and not work. Respecc cost in non-MMO game (where it exists to provide balance to the economy and player base) is stupid and a simple copy/paste with no thought. It's ok though, that game has "single player MMO" written all over, which is why I won't be buying it.


I've never understood this line of thinking. Why are you even staring at the ass? Why are you sexualizing a videuh game? Do you feel like you will be made fun of and called a homosexual if it's a male character?

I'm pretty sure if homosexuals would like to stare at same-gender character, we should let them. Sorry you don't get, I also enjoy playing as female characters in all RPGs. You know, kinda understandable since it's a ROLE-PLAYING game.
 
Great Swords are the slowest weapons in the game, but they have greater reach than long swords and do more damage. Long swords are the fastest warrior weapon, but they are both stronger than and slower than the rogue weapons. Great swords and long swords have different special attacks that you can get by investing in "brutal weaponry" skills.

Does finesse carry over to swords or do the skills just apply to daggers.
 
heh, okay be honest guys, how many of you actually play as male character in this game? come on, let it out. since there doesn't seem to be any romance aspect in the game, and if I'm playing a game for 100 hours, I'd rather see appealing female character than male character, so I make mine female dokalfar. just wondering if I'm the only one who thinks like that. ;-)

my rule is, if there is a character creator, I make a character similar to myself. if not, I usually choose a female character.
 
Any word on how long it will take to reach the level cap? Is it even possible in one play through?

Not sure how long it would take, but I imagine you can reach it in one playthrough, depending on what all you do. I reached it in Skyrim, and the cap there was 80ish. (Granted, levelling works differently in Skyrim.) Still, doing all the quests you can, I'm sure it can be reached before the end. I sure hope so, anyway. I'd hate to have all these skills finally unlocked, and no reason to use them.

Apparently, according to members of the Reckoning forums, if you make efficient use of skill trainers, you can max 6 skills out by the end.
 
Been playing the demo some more...it's really growing on me now. You guys got any plans for builds? I honestly can't decide what to do...they're all so damn fun. I'm leaning towards mage/rogue hybrid class with faeblades and chakram combo. But damn, the warrior class is mighty badass too with that scorpion move, quake magic, and greatswords. Decisions, decisions.
Why not go Universalist? The only downside would be if it doesn't let you use the ultimate skills from the other classes, and that's only an "if". Because if it does, there's no reason to be anything else I don't think.
 
Why not go Universalist? The only downside would be if it doesn't let you use the ultimate skills from the other classes, and that's only an "if". Because if it does, there's no reason to be anything else I don't think.

Warlord gets the most broken ability in the game and the other maxed out classes get crazy shit as well. Universalist is just combo video material :P
 
Daggers felt super weak to me. Won't be using them in the full game anyway, but they seemed really awful.

I love the daggers. They're really fast and a full 6-hit combat pretty much takes down anything in my path. They also have the benefit of allowing you to shield-out or magic-out of the combo chain 4 or 5 hits into it. But the biggest benefit is they and Fae blades are the only weapons you can one-hit sneak-kill with. I'm enjoying them with chakrams for crowd control.
 
Also for those worried about enviorments here are a few shots of some of the different localse that are present, though not close to all of them.

Nature4.jpg


Nature3.jpg


67ee79f4-c37b-4896-9477-e0e38a41bf1c.jpg


Nature.jpg


kingdoms_of_amalur_reckoning_2.jpg

The problem I have with the envoremts is that they remind me faaaar too much of WoW. (With upgraded graphics of course)
Thousand+Needles-rock+spire.jpg

ashenvale_enviorment6.jpg

kylredridge.jpg

4609503490_a2b02f186d_z.jpg
 
Why not go Universalist? The only downside would be if it doesn't let you use the ultimate skills from the other classes, and that's only an "if". Because if it does, there's no reason to be anything else I don't think.
You pretty much answered it. If you go the jack-of-all-trades route, you won't be able to access as many high level skills. I think it'd be best for me to stick to a two-class hybrid or just focus on one. Three would dilute it too much, imo.

The problem I have with the envoremts is that they remind me faaaar too much of WoW. (With upgraded graphics of course)
Not an issue for me whatsoever since I never played WoW. :)

Another thing I'm loving is just how damn colorful these environments are. Even that desert area has personality to it. The graphics may not be superb, but the art style compensates for it easily.
 
Especially console only players who aren't burnt out on WoW will have great fun with this game. I can't see me playing this in the near future though, will probably get it in a sale next year...

Same thing. It's VERY WoW-like, also with mechanics (talent trees, etc.) it's really a single-player MMO. Pass.
 
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