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[Clear]

Got to the desert area after what felt like 10 stealth missions which of course didnt progress the story one bit, and man the difficulty spike is real.

I had my gear upgraded at the border town but no weapon upgrade there meant i was doing virtually no damage to anyone. The desert area is also full of enemies at every turn so simply running past them is not a good idea because they chase you down no matter how far you run away. I tried it once and had an army of goblins, lizards, and thieves chasing me. Kinda cool but also very annoying because all im trying to do is get to the damn city to upgrade my weapon.

No port crystal in the city btw. So you have to put one down yourself. Then they have you travel back and forth between cities which can be a 30-45 minute trip if you dont have any ferystones which you likely wont since they cost $8k and most gear costs 25-40k before upgrades. Really obvious that they made this game for microtransactions.

Boss fights are still fun but i keep running out of healing items because these dudes do so much damage. Dragon and the stone giants go aggro towards the end and its virtually impossible to find an opening. used 5 wakestone shards in one dragon fight but couldnt make a dent after it went down to 2 health bars and went aggro.

Its not bad at all once you reach Battahl as the amount of money everything drops really jumps up. You just need to buy port crystals whenever you can and generally you should always have plenty in case of a pinch.

DD2 is a very weird game to be honest, you literally cannot play it like a regular open-world RPG without it fighting you every inch of the way. Punishment for failure in combat is minimal, but doing the wrong thing in a quest or such is often really harsh. Losing half your cash to get out of jail sucks way worse than burning a couple of stones for shortcut warping!

 

[Yerd]

Being vague for spoiler sake. So I just did this quest to find the assassin using the lady as bait in the empty house in bakbattahl and apparently did not do the right thing. I loaded up my last inn rest which was further back than I wanted. I'm going to do all the crap before that again, then inn rest right before this quest, because I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do. I will try a thing, but I can't be right in thinking that's what they want.

 

[Ivory Samoan]

I wish the night time wasn't so dark ..the view distance is so short and it obscures the beautiful visuals

That's like, my fave thing man

 

[GHG]

I arrive in Battahl by my self (all my pawns died on the way), all bloodied and brushed with no more healing items having wasted a dozen wakestones to get there, only to discover there's no fucking teleporter in the city?

First time I've felt like rage quitting a single player game in a long time.

 

[Revolutionary]

That's like, my fave thing man

I wish more games had nighttime as dark (and realistic) as DD.

I jumped back into Fallout 76 over the weekend to check out the new content and I forgot that nighttime in that game looks like a blue tint filter. It's so awful.

 

[Methos#1975]

Someone explain to me how you can have 3 archers in your party and still get wiped out by a mob of low level harpies. This game has some really oddly bad design issues that just drain the fun out of it at times.

 

[thief183]

Someone explain to me how you can have 3 archers in your party and still get wiped out by a mob of low level harpies. This game has some really oddly bad design issues that just drain the fun out of it at times.

If the pawn are bad trained it can happen... also the game is so easy that I wander how you could have been wiped... also, when choosing a pawn check their skill set.

 

[Clear]

I arrive in Battahl by my self (all my pawns died on the way), all bloodied and brushed with no more healing items having wasted a dozen wakestones to get there, only to discover there's no fucking teleporter in the city?

First time I've felt like rage quitting a single player game in a long time.

On the bright side you can buy a portcrystal there for 20 Wyrmslife crystals.

Also, don't waste wakestones on yourself. If you die in combat and reload you barely get set back.

 

[Methos#1975]

If the pawn are bad trained it can happen... also the game is so easy that I wander how you could have been wiped... also, when choosing a pawn check their skill set.

At level 61 they should of just plowed through them. But nope,two get picked up and dropped off a cliff and the third just constantly fires and misses until they are dropped off so I finish them off and then joy, a griffin decides to visit

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

if you dont have any ferystones which you likely wont since they cost $8k and most gear costs 25-40k before upgrades. Really obvious that they made this game for microtransactions.

And what microtransactions would that be? You can't buy gold, you can't buy gear, you can't buy ferrystones.
Also I haven't bought any gear, or upgraded any, or sold anything at all. I have bought a house and spent about 100k on whores, and I still have 100k in the bank; it just really sounds like you should be exploring more of vermund and doing more quests there instead of going to bhattal.

 

[LaughingStock]

I wish more games had nighttime as dark (and realistic) as DD.

I jumped back into Fallout 76 over the weekend to check out the new content and I forgot that nighttime in that game looks like a blue tint filter. It's so awawful.

DD2 has the best night time of any open world game.

 

[Ivory Samoan]

It's such a vibe, can't believe I modded it lighter in DDDA too lol.

DD2 has the best night time of any open world game.

 

[adamsapple]

I wish the night time wasn't so dark ..the view distance is so short and it obscures the beautiful visuals

That's ... the whole point.

The game explicitly tells you that at night time you won't be able to see beyond your footsteps.

Running around at night time, seeing a very faintly lit giant silhouette of a cyclops from some wisps is the distance and making you shit your pants is a highlight.

 

[Topher]

And what microtransactions would that be? You can't buy gold, you can't buy gear, you can't buy ferrystones.
Also I haven't bought any gear, or upgraded any, or sold anything at all. I have bought a house and spent about 100k on whores, and I still have 100k in the bank; it just really sounds like you should be exploring more of vermund and doing more quests there instead of going to bhattal.

I've used two ferrystones out of the ten I had. Currently I have maxed out gear that is available from vendors for me and my main pawn and 100k in gold and a couple thousand RC. I've got 10 or so camping kits. I guess I could spend $3 to put a portcrystal in Battahl, but since I'm grinding to max out all the vocations it kind of defeats the point. I make the most progress leveling just traveling between areas.

So yeah..... where is the focus on microtransactions again?

 

[Kacho]

In WRPGs there are always mods to make nights darker. Capcom does it right and people are like “it’s too dark I can’t see!” Lol

 

[Kacho]

People: “Fast travel ruins games! It’s trivializes the world!”

Capcom does it right.

People/ “Man this SUCKS!”

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

So yeah..... where is the focus on microtransactions again?

Being vague for spoiler sake. So I just did this quest to find the assassin using the lady as bait in the empty house in bakbattahl and apparently did not do the right thing.

What is the quest name?

 

[SCB3]

So I quit the game and deleted it and concentrated on my ER 2nd run when....

...I had a urge to play it on and bloody finish it, I've put so much in I need to, reinstalled it, I do however need to find somewhere selling the Portcrystals, I've only found the one so far and left it between the Checkpoint town and Bathal as they is no easy way to travel there

 

[adamsapple]

So I quit the game and deleted it and concentrated on my ER 2nd run when....

...I had a urge to play it on and bloody finish it, I've put so much in I need to, reinstalled it, I do however need to find somewhere selling the Portcrystals, I've only found the one so far and left it between the Checkpoint town and Bathal as they is no easy way to travel there

Portcrystals aren't sold to the best of what I've read ahead. You can only find like 5 through the entire game from quests and one or two hidden across the world.

I think you can also buy 1 as DLC but the game doesn't really need it. You can take an ox cart to the major settlements from what I've played so far.

 

[FoxMcChief]

DD2 has the best night time of any open world game.

It’s fantastic. I also loved Dying Light’s night time. I haven’t played the second game yet.

 

[FoxMcChief]

People: “Fast travel ruins games! It’s trivializes the world!”

Capcom does it right.

People/ “Man this SUCKS!”

The game is about each journey you make. Sure, you can level up to the point where fights are trivial, but the game is about delivering you those moments of traveling unsafe terrain. This isn’t Skyrim. I’m not gonna say that I love it, but that’s the point. And there are options. I just wonder if people forget about the oxen fast traveling.

Side note, I’m 40 hours in I just used a ferry stone for the first time last night.

 

[LaughingStock]

It’s fantastic. I also loved Dying Light’s night time. I haven’t played the second game yet.

I can't remember night time in DL1. But in DL2 it looks like shit.

 

[TintoConCasera]

I think I dig this postgame.

In the first game it was just farming wakestones in the Everfall, but here you get new areas to explore thanks to the water no longer being there and some bossfights against some nasty looking dragons. Also, being able to explore Gran Soren and the Bluemoon Tower is nice touch! Although they are mostly destroyed, it's nice they put something there for the fans of the first game. Gotta admit though, I got a bit sad when I saw the store of the "they are masterworks all" guy all destroyed and empty.

I'm still working on the postgame quests, still got to evacuate Vernwornth and the Sacred Arbor, and I wonder if there's more unmarked stuff I still got to find, like going back to where the Talos rests.

I dunno, people critice it but I'm liking it better than the wakestone farming of the first game. All it needed were some new enemies... where's my Evil Eye?

This game has me excited to play more Elden Ring in June.

Adventure bros sure are eating good in 2024.

 

[FoxMcChief]

Is NG+ harder? Do enemies have more health, hit harder, or is it just a world reset, but you keep your character stats/skills? Is there content exclusive to NG+?

 

[TintoConCasera]

Is NG+ harder? Do enemies have more health, hit harder, or is it just a world reset, but you keep your character stats/skills? Is there content exclusive to NG+?

It stays the same balance wise, just a world reset. Regarding content exclusive, I think there's some minor stuff, but not sure.

 

[Kacho]

So I quit the game and deleted it and concentrated on my ER 2nd run when....

...I had a urge to play it on and bloody finish it, I've put so much in I need to, reinstalled it, I do however need to find somewhere selling the Portcrystals, I've only found the one so far and left it between the Checkpoint town and Bathal as they is no easy way to travel there

 

[SantaC]

Agural Flare + Maelstrom = GG

 

[ssringo]

Agural Flare + Maelstrom = GG

Had the time of my life with flare and a drake at the front gates yesterday. I'd get it attached and simply could not hit it to even activate it, let alone ramp it up. His AI was on point that day and he just repeatedly blocked all my shots. It was so bad he just left. First time one had escaped me in quite a while

It's stupidly powerful when you dont fail...

 

[adamsapple]

Quest to find jewel, two potential buyers. Make a forgery and give one to each to get two rewards.

 

[Kacho]

These end game monsters you have to go out of your way to fight are great.

 

[TintoConCasera]

These end game monsters you have to go out of your way to fight are great.

Found anything new aside from those brined drakes with a glowing horn? (<- the ones that show up in those red pillars of light)

 

[Kacho]

Found anything new aside from those brined drakes with a glowing horn? (<- the ones that show up in those red pillars of light)

Spoiler

A brine covered wyrm!

 

[Kacho]

I love the stakes in the end game. If you die go back to start. Makes really consider if I should fight something. Worry I’m getting too big for my britches.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Spoiler

A brine covered wyrm!

Aren't we talking about the same thing?

Nevermind tho! I'll jump back in after work, maybe I find something new too.

I love the stakes in the end game. If you die go back to start. Makes really consider if I should fight something. Worry I’m getting too big for my britches.

Yeah it's very cool. So far I'm trying to clear it without resting to avoid the brine advancing and consuming everything. Glad I explored a lot during the game and got like 10 Allheals, without those I'd be fucked.

 

[Kacho]

Aren't we talking about the same thing?

Nevermind tho! I'll jump back in after work, maybe I find something new too.

Spoiler

No! There is the puss covered drake, the brine covered drake with the horn, and I just killed a brine covered wyrm next to the excavation site.

 

[Kacho]

Yeah it's very cool. So far I'm trying to clear it without resting to avoid the brine advancing and consuming everything. Glad I explored a lot during the game and got like 10 Allheals, without those I'd be fucked.

I’m scrapping by with minimal consumables. It’s getting dicey lol

 

[TintoConCasera]

Spoiler

No! There is the puss covered drake, the brine covered drake with the horn, and I just killed a brine covered wyrm next to the excavation site.

oooh! holy shit. I was around that area just yesterday but didn't found that, guess I need to go and have a look.

 

[FoxMcChief]

This thread always makes me wish I was playing the game. Even when I have the game paused and I’m reading it.

 

[adamsapple]

This thread always makes me wish I was playing the game. Even when I have the game paused and I’m reading it.

 

[SlimySnake]

The game is about each journey you make. Sure, you can level up to the point where fights are trivial, but the game is about delivering you those moments of traveling unsafe terrain. This isn’t Skyrim. I’m not gonna say that I love it, but that’s the point. And there are options. I just wonder if people forget about the oxen fast traveling.

Side note, I’m 40 hours in I just used a ferry stone for the first time last night.

People: “Fast travel ruins games! It’s trivializes the world!”

Capcom does it right.

People/ “Man this SUCKS!”

With respect, i couldnt disagree more.

I didnt have a problem with lack of fast travel in the first area. But once you get to the second area they start sending you back to the first area and im like wtf. I even put a port crystal up in the desert city but now i dont have any ferystones. sorry but if you are going to make me walk back and forth (remember, ox-carts dont go to the desert city and drop you off at the border town) then you have to have a better fast travel system than that.

Here is why it matters:
When i went to the trek to the desert city, i was extremely underleveled despite maxing out my fighter vocation. no weapons at the border town. so had to wait unitl i got to the desert city to get a good weapon. only problem is that the area is full of enemies who are incredibly aggressive and never let you run past them. even after you get to a camp, you are done. so now, you have no health, no good weapons or armor, and no way to go back to the town to get some supplies or better armor. it completely broke the game. had i been allowed to fast travel to the border town, i wouldve loaded up on supplies, get better armor and reset my stupid health. because again, camp fires cannot be lit until you clean the area around you.

once i finally got to the second city and bought the better weapons and armor, it was fine because i was no longer running past everyone and fighting a group of 5-6 enemies max is much easier than an army chasing after you. So had i been allowed to fast travel, i wouldve had a much better time.

 

[SCB3]

Not far off, I think its more "I won't let this fucking game beat me"

I feel the same with Sekiro tbf

 

[SCB3]

With respect, i couldnt disagree more.

I didnt have a problem with lack of fast travel in the first area. But once you get to the second area they start sending you back to the first area and im like wtf. I even put a port crystal up in the desert city but now i dont have any ferystones. sorry but if you are going to make me walk back and forth (remember, ox-carts dont go to the desert city and drop you off at the border town) then you have to have a better fast travel system than that.

Here is why it matters:
When i went to the trek to the desert city, i was extremely underleveled despite maxing out my fighter vocation. no weapons at the border town. so had to wait unitl i got to the desert city to get a good weapon. only problem is that the area is full of enemies who are incredibly aggressive and never let you run past them. even after you get to a camp, you are done. so now, you have no health, no good weapons or armor, and no way to go back to the town to get some supplies or better armor. it completely broke the game. had i been allowed to fast travel to the border town, i wouldve loaded up on supplies, get better armor and reset my stupid health. because again, camp fires cannot be lit until you clean the area around you.

once i finally got to the second city and bought the better weapons and armor, it was fine because i was no longer running past everyone and fighting a group of 5-6 enemies max is much easier than an army chasing after you. So had i been allowed to fast travel, i wouldve had a much better time.

ok so another souls comparison here but its relevent, remember how in DS1 you cannot fast travel until you get to Gwendoline in Anor Londo? Thats how this game should've handled it, allow fast travel ONCE you get to a certain part, lock it behind a quest or whatever, and limit it to your houses or towns sure but right now it sucks going through the same areas over and over

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

When i went to the trek to the desert city, i was extremely underleveled despite maxing out my fighter vocation. no weapons at the border town. so had to wait unitl i got to the desert city to get a good weapon. only problem is that the area is full of enemies who are incredibly aggressive and never let you run past them.

Sounds like you've taken the hint and just gone back to the border checkpoint .
This sounds exactly like people complaining in the first game that the witchwood bandits tore them up...yeah well don't go there then.

remember, ox-carts dont go to the desert city and drop you off at the border town

So what's the problem? You take an ox cart to the border and then you take another ox cart to bakbhattal, and vice versa.

 

[Topher]

With respect, i couldnt disagree more.

I didnt have a problem with lack of fast travel in the first area. But once you get to the second area they start sending you back to the first area and im like wtf. I even put a port crystal up in the desert city but now i dont have any ferystones. sorry but if you are going to make me walk back and forth (remember, ox-carts dont go to the desert city and drop you off at the border town) then you have to have a better fast travel system than that.

Here is why it matters:
When i went to the trek to the desert city, i was extremely underleveled despite maxing out my fighter vocation. no weapons at the border town. so had to wait unitl i got to the desert city to get a good weapon. only problem is that the area is full of enemies who are incredibly aggressive and never let you run past them. even after you get to a camp, you are done. so now, you have no health, no good weapons or armor, and no way to go back to the town to get some supplies or better armor. it completely broke the game. had i been allowed to fast travel to the border town, i wouldve loaded up on supplies, get better armor and reset my stupid health. because again, camp fires cannot be lit until you clean the area around you.

once i finally got to the second city and bought the better weapons and armor, it was fine because i was no longer running past everyone and fighting a group of 5-6 enemies max is much easier than an army chasing after you. So had i been allowed to fast travel, i wouldve had a much better time.

I didn't have much problem with the enemies in the second area myself, but I've been grinding a good bit. What level are you, btw? Also, I felt the weapons I got in the border town were more than sufficient, but that may also go back to leveling.

What's the issue with the ox cart to Battahl again?

 

[Melon Husk]

Dragon's Dogma doesn't try to please everyone and that is good.

Different types of players... intrinsic rewards versus extrinsic rewards... exploration versus ticking check boxes...

 

[Yerd]

What is the quest name?

I will get back to you with the answer. Once I get back in the game.

Spoiler

its princess nadinia assassin. You catch him, then you can talk to a guard to get another quest to find out who's behind it.

I get to the house and they want me to kill nadinia. So i grabbed the culprit and she killed herself.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

I will get back to you with the answer. Once I get back in the game.

Spoiler

its princess nadinia assassin. You catch him, then you can talk to a guard to get another quest to find out who's behind it.

I get to the house and they want me to kill nadinia. So i grabbed the culprit and she killed herself.

Hmm interesting, it turned out differently for me:

Spoiler

I failed to stop the assassin, so she died, but then I just revived her in the cemetary, she then gives some instructions and disappears (I'm going to where she shows up now), but the quest becomes really weird then, it still says to apprehend the assassin, but he's already in the gaol, so there you can talk to him about the plot, and that's basically where I am with it now.

 

[Yerd]

Hmm interesting, it turned out differently for me:

Spoiler

I failed to stop the assassin, so she died, but then I just revived her in the cemetary, she then gives some instructions and disappears (I'm going to where she shows up now), but the quest becomes really weird then, it still says to apprehend the assassin, but he's already in the gaol, so there you can talk to him about the plot, and that's basically where I am with it now.

Spoiler: How my quest went

Sounds like you never caught the first person? I was at the last moment to catch him. Then checked my inventory. She gives you a piece of paper with a description of the person. So I grabbed him. Then he ends up in jail, you bribe him to give you info. It was the Snakes, there's a snake in the jail at the time. He won't talk, so I ended up opening his cell and he runs off. I thought I screwed it up because I couldn't find him. I went back to ancient battle ground thinking he might be there. His name is in the NPC list as "always on the move" so I thought I was screwed. Then I found him at a bar in bakbattahl. Talked to him and set up the next part finally. Then that's where the guard wants to use nadinia as a decoy in an empty house. Get to the house and they have nadinia and a fake. Nadinia says she wants to be the decoy, not the decoy to be the decoy. So I agree. Assassin shows up she confirms it's nadinia, then says I have to kill her. I just grabbed her instead and in the dialogue scenes she kills herself.

So I'm thinking maybe I just kill nadinia and wakestone her or next time use the decoy and see what she says about that.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

Spoiler: How my quest went

Sounds like you never caught the first person? I was at the last moment to catch him. Then checked my inventory. She gives you a piece of paper with a description of the person. So I grabbed him. Then he ends up in jail, you bribe him to give you info. It was the Snakes, there's a snake in the jail at the time. He won't talk, so I ended up opening his cell and he runs off. I thought I screwed it up because I couldn't find him. I went back to ancient battle ground thinking he might be there. His name is in the NPC list as "always on the move" so I thought I was screwed. Then I found him at a bar in bakbattahl. Talked to him and set up the next part finally. Then that's where the guard wants to use nadinia as a decoy in an empty house. Get to the house and they have nadinia and a fake. Nadinia says she wants to be the decoy, not the decoy to be the decoy. So I agree. Assassin shows up she confirms it's nadinia, then says I have to kill her. I just grabbed her instead and in the dialogue scenes she kills herself.

So I'm thinking maybe I just kill nadinia and wakestone her or next time use the decoy and see what she says about that.

I'm actually on that part now of speaking with him at that same spot, but I need to talk to her first, however if it goes like how my version went, she's not actually in the city anymore.

 

[Kacho]

When you finish a great game