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[Sanctuary]

Finally collected a full carrion set! YESSSSS

edit: A full gold forged carrion set + gold forged sovereign's mantle/hellfire cloak + orge's bone gives 100% stagger and knockdown resistance, I'm never getting another spell cast interrupted again!
Also 100% resist to poison, blindness, sleep, possession, silence, cursed, magick lowered, defenses lowered and magick defenses lowered. Holy shit.

That's cool and all, but like I asked earlier: what's the point? You've beaten the game. Where was that gear when you could have actually used it? I guess it's still useful if you plan on playing NG+ or starting your character over at the start with everything. But I personally don't find any enjoyment in simply steamrolling everything to death. It's the main thing that I kind of don't like about this game. You see all of this cool stuff, when you don't actually need it anymore. Online Ur gets pretty boring after a while.

 

[maomaoIYP]

You keep talking about enemies that have multiple parts to hit at once. I'm talking about hitting multiple enemies at once...

And you keep not reading what I'm typing. Holy focused bolt hits multiple enemies at once as well as multiple parts on enemies. The bolts are piercing, as long as enemies are standing in the line of fire they will connect. The each orb can also aim at different enemies as long as they are close enough, you can see the whole group of 5 - 6 orbs split of into two different groups occasionally. Holy focused bolt is the only element that is piercing, each different element of focused bolt have different properties.
I have a playthrough where I only use my main pawn, and both arisen and pawn are sorcs only. I know what I'm talking about.

That's cool and all, but like I asked earlier: what's the point?

No one's forcing you to like what I do.

You're really missing out when you ignore Miasma. It's one of the best spells in the sorcerer's arsenal. It deals pretty heavy damage in addition to applying poison status.

Poison is just inefficient imo. I've had pretty poor luck with it, I much prefer carrying something that does elemental damage.

 

[DarkoMaledictus]

That's cool and all, but like I asked earlier: what's the point? You've beaten the game. Where was that gear when you could have actually used it? I guess it's still useful if you plan on playing NG+ or starting your character over at the start with everything. But I personally don't find any enjoyment in simply steamrolling everything to death. It's the main thing that I kind of don't like about this game. You see all of this cool stuff, when you don't actually need it anymore. Online Ur gets pretty boring after a while.

That's one thing i was wondering, I'm level 26 and got mostly store gear except 1 or 2 blades. I'm I doing something wrong?

 

[Persona RS]

That's cool and all, but like I asked earlier: what's the point? You've beaten the game. Where was that gear when you could have actually used it? I guess it's still useful if you plan on playing NG+ or starting your character over at the start with everything. But I personally don't find any enjoyment in simply steamrolling everything to death. It's the main thing that I kind of don't like about this game. You see all of this cool stuff, when you don't actually need it anymore. Online Ur gets pretty boring after a while.

BBI is challenging even at lvl 200. And that kind of equipment is always usefull when playing on hard mode.

 

[SneakyStephan]

Sounds like you need a new bow. Once your mag atk is up to a good amount, it'll be much easier.

Sorry i was afk.
I have herald's helix, 424 magic on the bow and it's dragonforged.

I hope someone has to balls eventually to make a thread praising this game and shitting on games like Dragon Age and Skyrim. It sure as fuck ain't me, but I'd actually love to see the discussion. It really is odd how these kind of games get overlooked..actually it's not, but the reasons why are super depressing.

Do it , I'll back you up.

Before I played DD I already thought skyrim and the bioware rpgs had incredibly archaic mechanics that don't belong in a modern game (spreadsheets visualised in fake animations from a time when there wasn't enough compute power to do realtime combat)
The lack of hit reactions in skyrim, awful animations, total lack of feel and feedback to the combat etc is unforgivable on its own.

The DD thread would be great to give people some sense of perspective and offer a far better alternative if they really NEED that rpg carrot fix.

 

[Deified Data]

Poison is just inefficient imo. I've had pretty poor luck with it, I much prefer carrying something that does elemental damage.

It's all about layering on that damage. Start each fight with a miasma before you lay on the elemental spells. In my experience, I can do more damage on a prone enemy with a High Miasma than a Bolide or Seism in the same amount of time. That cloud of constant damage.

 

[njean777]

So I switched to magick archer and now I have the skills to use daggers or a staff, I have been playing mostly sorcerer and mage since the start and have no clue if I should go with daggers or stick with my staff? I am level 27 if that helps anybody.

 

[maomaoIYP]

It's all about layering on that damage. Start each fight with a miasma before you lay on the elemental spells. In my experience, I can do more damage on a prone enemy with a High Miasma than a Bolide or Seism in the same amount of time. That cloud of constant damage.

Sounds pretty interesting, I'm gonna try that in a bit.

 

[I'm an expert]

So I switched to magick archer and now I have the skills to use daggers or a staff, I have been playing mostly sorcerer and mage since the start and have no clue if I should go with daggers or stick with my staff? I am level 27 if that helps anybody.

The hybrids are that way for a reason. You choose the style you want to play. Since you focused more on magic, go the staff route to compliment your skills. If you get tired of it, switch it up!

 

[Ala Alba]

Alright, sent. Threw in an upgrade too.

Thanks, man. I'm hope one day I'll be able to return the favor.

 

[Deified Data]

So I switched to magick archer and now I have the skills to use daggers or a staff, I have been playing mostly sorcerer and mage since the start and have no clue if I should go with daggers or stick with my staff? I am level 27 if that helps anybody.

Go with daggers. You're going to need that melee option.

 

[Hambone]

Hit level 53 last night, and I finally maxed out Assassin while my pawn maxed out Sorcerer.

Completed the Final Battle at 50. Light spoilers -

Spoiler

Wow! That final battle was long, but I love how they broke it up into cinematic chunks to make it feel truly epic. I'm not a real fan of games that have "boss fights", but there's something about this game that makes them so much fun. Maybe it's crawling atop a cyclops head and stabbing him in the eye repeatedly.

Made my first trip into Everfall too. I went down int the pawn guild stared into the abyss (no, it didn't stare back at me). This first platform I landed on was one with an awesome fight with a Beholder. Now I'm just wandering around down there.

Should I stick with exploring the Everfall, or should I move into BBI? Can I do both? Also, how do I start BBI?

 

[Deified Data]

Hit level 53 last night, and I finally maxed out Assassin while my pawn maxed out Sorcerer.

Completed the Final Battle at 50. Light spoilers -

Spoiler

Wow! That final battle was long, but I love how they broke it up into cinematic chunks to make it feel truly epic. I'm not a real fan of games that have "boss fights", but there's something about this game that makes them so much fun. Maybe it's crawling atop a cyclops head and stabbing him in the eye repeatedly.

Made my first trip into Everfall too. I went down int the pawn guild stared into the abyss (no, it didn't stare back at me). This first platform I landed on was one with an awesome fight with a Beholder. Now I'm just wandering around down there.

Should I stick with exploring the Everfall, or should I move into BBI? Can I do both? Also, how do I start BBI?

I'd collect a bit of Everfall gear before moving on to BBI.

 

[Xilium]

As I see it, the MA is more about versatility than raw damage and is intended to me more of a support class. In most cases, they will be outclassed in damage by Assassins, Rangers, Warriors, and Sorcs (pawns can sometimes be iffy due to inclinations though).

The MA's bow damage skills are very situational. Sixfold is basically your go-to skill if the enemy isn't strong against magic/ice, Ricochet is most useful in tight spaces, Rivet is most useful if you're with a warrior/melee strider/offensive fighter, Hunter is good for taking out large groups of weak enemies or hitting multiple weak points on larger enemies (Sixfold is usually better though since focusing damage on a single weak point provides a higher chance of stun or knockback/down), and Great Sacrifice is very powerful but most would say the cost is too high and it's use is very limited regardless.

Anyway, a good MA should really make use of their utility skills (Shadowshackle, Vortex Arrow, Great Ward Arrow, ect.) as some of those could be far more useful to your party than dishing out damage.

Also, I find using a staff on a MA to be pointless. Having a melee option is infinitely more useful.

It's all about layering on that damage. Start each fight with a miasma before you lay on the elemental spells. In my experience, I can do more damage on a prone enemy with a High Miasma than a Bolide or Seism in the same amount of time. That cloud of constant damage.

Yeah, High Miasma is very underrated.

 

[indigo-cyclops]

Other than the exp hit they straight up trivialize the game. I could hire a level 60 pawn right now..but WHY.

Very true, I was just curious because it seems strange you can do that... Wasn't sure if there are repercussions.

 

[InfiniDragon]

exodus slash is nice, but it didn't help me much with grabs and the area attack living armors do. that was the main issue for me in BBI.

The beginning of the attack should (haven't fought those guys yet on BBI) go through most grab attacks like a roll would on Sin/Strider/Ranger/MA, but the AOEs are gonna be a pain no matter what melee class you roll (of course ranged has a better time in those scenarios). Just gotta know when to hit that run button to try get a better position when those type of attacks start flying out (like Ur's Furor for example). XD

 

[Sanctuary]

And you keep not reading what I'm typing.

No, actually I saw what you had to say the first time. But then you went back to focusing on enemies that you could hit multiple times while I was still talking about hitting multiple enemies. Yes, I know that you claimed Holy Bolt will hit "multiple enemies", but it simply doesn't do it reliably enough. You don't need to act as though I just picked up the game. I know what the properties of Holy Bolt are. The fact is, enemies are not lined up in a nice tight row unless you're in a hallway. The homing properties aren't that great either. Half of the time when it pierces it just warps off into space, even when there are other enemies close by.

BBI is challenging even at lvl 200. And that kind of equipment is always usefull when playing on hard mode.

Maybe on Hard difficulty, but there's not much challenge at level 95 on Normal. Still doesn't change the fact that the gear appears after you could have used it. When I play Hard, it's from the start at level 1. Not decked out in a bunch of end game gear already.

As I see it, the MA is more about versatility than raw damage and is intended to me more of a support class. In most cases, they will be outclassed in damage by Assassins, Rangers, Warriors, and Sorcs (pawns can sometimes be iffy due to inclinations though).

The MA's bow damage skills are very situational. Sixfold is basically your go-to skill if the enemy isn't strong against magic/ice, Ricochet is most useful in tight spaces, Rivet is most useful if you're with a warrior/melee strider/offensive fighter, Hunter is good for taking out large groups of weak enemies or hitting multiple weak points on larger enemies (Sixfold is usually better though since focusing damage on a single weak point provides a higher chance of stun or knockback/down), and Great Sacrifice is very powerful but most would say the cost is too high and it's use is very limited regardless.

Anyway, a good MA should really make use of their utility skills (Shadowshackle, Vortex Arrow, Great Ward Arrow, ect.) as some of those could be far more useful to your party than dishing out damage.

Also, I find using a staff on a MA to be pointless. Having a melee option is infinitely more useful.

I seriously disagree about playing the MA as a support class. This may have been true in vanilla, but it's definitely not true now. I spent at least half of my levels trying to justify using ANY of the support skills, and there never was a single reason to. Vortex Arrow was a waste of space when I could have simply used Exploding Rivet and dashed through them myself (you don't need your party to do it for you). Vortex and Shackle also do not seem to actually be that effective on the majority of the enemies that actually matter. Great Ward arrow is also rather pointless and a wasted slot when you can just use Panacea and deal damage with another skill. None of the MA specific dagger skills were that great either aside from Immolation. You might be right about it being more versatile, and not dealing as much outright physical damage as an Assassin, or having instant room clearing power that the Sorcerer has, but overall it has a very easy time with everything, because it covers pretty much all of the bases. BBI is pretty consistent in room and hallway structure, and most things get destroyed with Ricochet there (you can also easily hit enemies that are above you that you can't actually target). For the bigger fights, Exploding Rivet excels, especially against the dragons, because you can set off chain reactions that will hit the heart and send it to the ground.

The staff is highly situational, but it still has it's uses. Namely dealing with Wraiths slightly easier. I never found a single use for Perdition though. It never seemed to work on anything. The thing is, the game doesn't make it to where you only have two choices. You don't have to run around with the staff equipped. You can equip it when you need to use it.

 

[nailbombxx]

Universally better.
I'm enjoying the game all over again... (without a trophy to be had). Following the platinum, this game extensions is one of the better ones that I have experienced in gaming.

I must get this sometime soon then.

 

[Muchi Muchi Pink]

I'll have to admit, that I should have bought the game when it was released the first time.

 

[nailbombxx]

I'll have to admit, that I should have bought the game when it was released the first time.

You should have. But then again you would risk the possibility of having the innkeeper fall in love with you and become your husband, thus ruining the most fun and addicting part of the game.

 

[Sanctuary]

You should have. But then again you would risk the possibility of having the innkeeper fall in love with you and become your husband, thus ruining the most fun and addicting part of the game.

I thought the combat was the most addicting part of the game?
Honestly though, I think whoever is picking up DA as their first DD, needs to at least rent the original just to get the save file. The eternal ferrystone is the best new addition to the old game.

 

[I'm an expert]

I thought the combat was the most addicting part of the game?
Honestly though, I think whoever is picking up DA as their first DD, needs to at least rent the original just to get the save file. The eternal ferrystone is the best new addition to the old game.

Ferrystones are only 2k though. I had like 300k gold getting to Gran Soren on my new hard mode file. Not a huge deal.

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

I thought the combat was the most addicting part of the game?
Honestly though, I think whoever is picking up DA as their first DD, needs to at least rent the original just to get the save file. The eternal ferrystone is the best new addition to the old game.

Nah, I still think it's good to go through the game without warping everywhere, at least until you hit that level 50 range of being stronger than everything and already having been everywhere.

 

[SneakyStephan]

Most fun and addictive part? I don't get it? the love interest has NO bearing on the game as far as I can tell, it's just an npc in a cutscene and then nothing?

 

[TheSpoiler]

There's something about BBI that makes it kinda like Dark Souls. I'm maybe a single hour in, but honestly, I've had my shield up while waiting for deadly snakes ready to spread their venom, waiting to receive an attack from an over-sided zombie, or waiting to fruitlessly block Death's attack.

I feel more dangerous, and scary, but I'm only level 23. Lotsa good fun.

 

[MMaRsu]

Most fun and addictive part? I don't get it? the love interest has NO bearing on the game as far as I can tell, it's just an npc in a cutscene and then nothing?

I got Fournival to marry me so I can now buy ferrystones in Cardassis

 

[Deified Data]

Most fun and addictive part? I don't get it? the love interest has NO bearing on the game as far as I can tell, it's just an npc in a cutscene and then nothing?

Guys, I think he's talking about post-game. Having Asalam as your RI ruins post-game by forcing you to go to Cassardis every time you need to change vocation or learn skills.

 

[Anteater]

I'll have to admit, that I should have bought the game when it was released the first time.

it's capcom, there's really no right or wrong when it comes to buying their games day 1 =P

 

[lowhighkang_LHK]

How in the world did this game get low scores??????????? This walks all over Skyrim and any rpg that has been released in years!!!! The dungeons are soo original and using player generated characters that grants the owners cashable points and items is one of the freshest idea in years!!

Going out in the wild at night feels like a true adventure, and the difficulty in some spots is just as enerving as Dark Souls...I'm pissed now I've missed out for so long on this gem!!

Only thing I feel is gear loot seems to be sparse, seems I get most of my loot via the shop, but otherwise amazing work Capcom!

Capcom redeemed!

The game doesn't have low scores. It's averaging in the high 70's. And the game, really does 'fail' as an "open" world RPG. They are like, only two towns, the entire game is brown, the visuals and forced letter box doesn't help.

In fact, the game should have been more advertised as a action / dungeon crawler with a Dark Souls like "open" environment. People made comparisons to Skyrim because that's how the game was perceived before release. And Skyrim has much better visuals, open world feel, quests and quest branching etc.

What makes Dragon's Dogma (for me) a much better game than Skyrim, is due to gameplay. DD has better gameplay. In fact, Skyrim doesn't even have gameplay, it has left trigger/right trigger stick waggling. DD's combat is Devil May Cry/Onimusha inspired with a stamina bar, there is no comparison. The inclusion of the Pawn system is yet another brilliant entry in the single player infused with influential multiplayer mechanics as seen in the Souls game. But even then that is flawed, the way the game matches you up with other players can be better. I.e, you should be matched with players around your level first - with players who are actively playing the game. Instead I get matched up with a level 199 dude who hasn't touched the game since last year. I always have to search and filter.

The game also excels because it's challenging, unfortunately that challenge level dissipates near the mid-way on point. Hopefully post-game and BBI ramp things up again.

Ultimately DD has better gameplay than Skyrim, but Skyrim beats it on basically everything else. Capcom either needs to make a better open world and quest system/story, or they need to re-establish DD has more of a linear action/RPG dungeon crawler - basically put it in the same 'genre' as Demon/Dark Souls.

As for my opinion Skyrim? It's the coolest and most boring game that I stopped playing all at once.

There's something about BBI that makes it kinda like Dark Souls. I'm maybe a single hour in, but honestly, I've had my shield up while waiting for deadly snakes ready to spread their venom, waiting to receive an attack from an over-sided zombie, or waiting to fruitlessly block Death's attack.

I feel more dangerous, and scary, but I'm only level 23. Lotsa good fun.

Yeah, what your experiencing is the result of playing a game that has the balls to actually challenge you as much as you challenge it. Please developers learn this - stop giving us interactive movies as your "video games."

 

[InternHertz]

I have 2 Notice Board quests left in Post-Game. Then I'll need 3 more Wakestones.
After that I'm going into NG+ because I don't want to farm anything in Everfall right now nor go to BBI just yet.

 

[I'm an expert]

I have 2 Notice Board quests left in Post-Game. Then I'll need 3 more Wakestones.
After that I'm going into NG+ because I don't want to farm anything in Everfall right now nor go to BBI just yet.

How come? Isn't NG+ in this game completely pointless? No increased difficulty or anything, just keep your same stats/shit but start again. If anything I'd farm all that stuff just to make the NG+ run even quicker. Or am I missin sumtin

 

[Anteater]

Ultimately DD has better gameplay than Skyrim, but Skyrim beats it on basically everything else. Capcom either needs to make a better open world and quest system/story, or they need to re-establish DD has more of a linear action/RPG dungeon crawler - basically put it in the same 'genre' as Demon/Dark Souls.

As for my opinion Skyrim? It's the coolest and most boring game that I stopped playing all at once.

Yea Capcom did spend a lot of money on the open world aspect of this game, and imo they did fail terribly when you make the comparison between the 2 games, like by a lot, the quest structure was poop, the map is barely better than one you find in something like okami which I doubt had a really big budget.

At this point Capcom isn't really going to greenlight a DD that goes towards the elderscrolls direction, they can't afford it, but they can still learn and make the game more consistent, challenging with a ton of exploring, we just don't know what direction they will take it.

They do have a really cool combat/class system built for DD though, so as long as they improve the core combat and balance the game better, they have something really special for next gen.

 

[SneakyStephan]

Ultimately DD has better gameplay than Skyrim, but Skyrim beats it on basically everything else. Capcom either needs to make a better open world and quest system/story, or they need to re-establish DD has more of a linear action/RPG dungeon crawler - basically put it in the same 'genre' as Demon/Dark Souls.

As for my opinion Skyrim? It's the coolest and most boring game that I stopped playing all at once.




Yeah, what your experiencing is the result of playing a game that has the balls to actually challenge you as much as you challenge it. Please developers learn this - stop giving us interactive movies as your "video games."

I agree with the last sentence, but skyrim beats dd in every aspect but combat? NO fucking way.

The music is amazing in DD (generic in skyrim).
The animations (which make up part of the graphics) are amaaaaaazing, skyrims' animations... yeah I don't even have to go there do I? jesus christ.

The inventory is also far better than skyrim's abomination, especially for a console UI, grid based? YES PLEASE.

The sense of adventure I get from the open world part and large story dungeons of DD is also greater than anything I got from skyrim, this is the most 'adventury' game i've played since stalker... and stalker is in a league of its own so that's a big compliment.

DD also feels way more alive because of the great texture work (things never look out of place) and waving vegetation...
Skyrim always felt like I'm walking around in a maquette, uncanny puppet valley.


The only thing skyrim has dd beat in is size, big empty boring ass size with a few nice but meaningless vistas...
Not to mention how shitty the skyrim engine is...


The black bars in DD are to preserve the image quality, it's one of the cleaner looking games with little shimmering and pixel crawling on consoles because there is no scaling going on.
The only bad thing about DD visually and technically is the awful framerate, but then again that's par for the course on the consoles, I wish capcom would release a pc version and allow us to transfer saves.

 

[I'm an expert]

What's wrong with the map?! I love the map..

 

[Xilium]

I seriously disagree about playing the MA as a support class. This may have been true in vanilla, but it's definitely not true now. I spent at least half of my levels trying to justify using ANY of the support skills, and there never was a single reason to. Vortex Arrow was a waste of space when I could have simply used Exploding Rivet and dashed through them myself (you don't need your party to do it for you). Vortex and Shackle also do not seem to actually be that effective on the majority of the enemies that actually matter. Great Ward arrow is also rather pointless and a wasted slot when you can just use Panacea and deal damage with another skill. None of the MA specific dagger skills were that great either aside from Immolation. You might be right about it being more versatile, and not dealing as much outright physical damage as an Assassin, or having instant room clearing power that the Sorcerer has, but overall it has a very easy time with everything, because it covers pretty much all of the bases. BBI is pretty consistent in room and hallway structure, and most things get destroyed with Ricochet there (you can also easily hit enemies that are above you that you can't actually target). For the bigger fights, Exploding Rivet excels, especially against the dragons, because you can set off chain reactions that will hit the heart and send it to the ground.

The staff is highly situational, but it still has it's uses. Namely dealing with Wraiths slightly easier. I never found a single use for Perdition though. It never seemed to work on anything. The thing is, the game doesn't make it to where you only have two choices. You don't have to run around with the staff equipped. You can equip it when you need to use it.

Well, this is true for me now as well but that is because I'm overpowered for the enemies that I'm facing and I have more money, items, and wakestones than I know what to do with so I can afford not to be defensive (I'm not playing on hard).

That said, I still find shadowshackle (more specifically, its upgrade) very useful for slowing or outright stopping all but the largest of enemies in BBI (It may slow them down too but I don't ever bother to get that close). Magical Gleam (and it's upgrade) is also still useful to me as it is significantly brighter and covers a larger radius than even the Elite Lantern which makes ranger and sorc pawns more effective at taking out enemies are greater distances (I also just like being able to see better). From what I've seen, Vortex still works on goblins, wolves, and humanoid enemies, but I've personally stopped using it.

Anyway, for me all the Magick bow skills do around the same amount of dps except Ricochet when in a cramp area so I just don't have any reason to bring a full arsenal of attack skills. I've been primarily using Gleam in my third slot along with Ricochet and Sixfold since most enemies in BBI not strong against magic are weak to either lightning or ice.

Also, even if you don't like any of the dagger skills, the primary point of using them over staffs is for when you have to deal with golems or enemies with high magic resistance. A staff and magic bow is pretty redundant and you likely have a mage and/or sorc with you anyway.

 

[TheSpoiler]

Skyrim has nothing on DD. The latter has combos and a myriad of different ways that allow for much deeper combat.

 

[Anteater]

time for bbi, ain't got no time for the remaining vanilla quests, already did them a million times, and i just noticed my pawns are stupid against wyverns >_<

 

[Persona RS]

Maybe on Hard difficulty, but there's not much challenge at level 95 on Normal. Still doesn't change the fact that the gear appears after you could have used it.

Did you completed BBI? I'm asking because some areas near the end have tough enemies compositions (2 dragons + multiple Living Armours or Eliminators + Cursed Dragon or Death). Also, the final boss gains a new form after you complete BBI for the first time.

I'm at lvl 200 and some enemies can punish my mistakes and take big chunks of my health.

Still doesn't change the fact that the gear appears after you could have used it. When I play Hard, it's from the start at level 1. Not decked out in a bunch

You progress into game, defeating tough enemies and get rewards for that. Then, with that new equipment, you fighter tougher enemies and get more rewards for your accomplishments. That way, the game has always a balanced dificulty and objectives to complete.

But I agree with you in one thing. Using BBI gear in the vanilla enemies, makes things too easy even on Hard Mode.

 

[Sanctuary]

Ferrystones are only 2k though. I had like 300k gold getting to Gran Soren on my new hard mode file. Not a huge deal.

Money seems to actually matter later on though when you end up having to buy a bunch of curatives. More importantly though is the upgrade costs. Sometimes they are over 400k. Plus, often you're going to want to use the black cat to forge crafting materials that are rather rare, and those range between 10k - 35k just for one (and you might need eight copies).

Regardless, the Ferrystones were expensive as hell in vanilla. They might not be as bad now, but if you want to warp around a lot, it would still be cost prohibitive. Compared to, you know...free.

Did you completed BBI? I'm asking because some areas near the end have tough enemies compositions (2 dragons + multiple Living Armours or Eliminators + Cursed Dragon or Death). Also, the final boss gains a new form after you complete BBI for the first time.

I'm at lvl 200 and some enemies can punish my mistakes and take big chunks of my health.

I'm playing as a ranged class that occasionally does melee, so my risk of being hit is still there, but it's less than say a Warrior, or Assassin focused on melee. I know just how hard some of the enemies hit in BBI, which is why I use Tenacity.

You progress into game, defeating tough enemies and get rewards for that. Then, with that new equipment, you fighter tougher enemies and get more rewards for your accomplishments. That way, the game has always a balanced dificulty and objectives to complete.

But I agree with you in one thing. Using BBI gear in the vanilla enemies, makes things too easy even on Hard Mode.

I'm not talking about progression (or rather, I'm really talking about post-progression). I know how it's supposed to work. What I'm annoyed with is that some of the really good items don't appear until after you've beaten the game, or are just about to. You get all of this stuff after it would have helped you progress. Since you've beaten the game without it, what is the point of getting it after? You could chalk it up to just RNG and bad luck or whatever, and I like to see new gear just as much as anyone else; it's just that it feels too much like the MMORPG setup where you need this new gear to help you fight the next (and usually) tougher boss or whatever. Except in this game, the "best" gear shows up after you've beaten all that there is to beat.

Some people just like to grab every item just to have completed finding everything. I'm not one of them, simply because none of that is helping me to progress during the game--I've already finished. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just not my thing.

 

[Augemitbutter]

The beginning of the attack should (haven't fought those guys yet on BBI) go through most grab attacks like a roll would on Sin/Strider/Ranger/MA, but the AOEs are gonna be a pain no matter what melee class you roll (of course ranged has a better time in those scenarios). Just gotta know when to hit that run button to try get a better position when those type of attacks start flying out (like Ur's Furor for example). XD

try it yourself. i know it's doable, but pretty hard if you're scared to start your offensive. in hard mode, those attacks i've described are one hit kills. i'm a dagger type user primarily. imagine how convenient it is if you're not stuck in a long attack animation and your dodge is always ready.

 

[Sanctuary]

Well, this is true for me now as well but that is because I'm overpowered for the enemies that I'm facing and I have more money, items, and wakestones than I know what to do with so I can afford not to be defensive (I'm not playing on hard).

That said, I still find shadowshackle (more specifically, its upgrade) very useful for slowing or outright stopping all but the largest of enemies in BBI (It may slow them down too but I don't ever bother to get that close). Magical Gleam (and it's upgrade) is also still useful to me as it is significantly brighter and covers a larger radius than even the Elite Lantern which makes ranger and sorc pawns more effective at taking out enemies are greater distances (I also just like being able to see better). From what I've seen, Vortex still works on goblins, wolves, and humanoid enemies, but I've personally stopped using it.

Anyway, for me all the Magick bow skills do around the same amount of dps except Ricochet when in a cramp area so I just don't have any reason to bring a full arsenal of attack skills. I've been primarily using Gleam in my third slot along with Ricochet and Sixfold since most enemies in BBI not strong against magic are weak to either lightning or ice.

Also, even if you don't like any of the dagger skills, the primary point of using them over staffs is for when you have to deal with golems or enemies with high magic resistance. A staff and magic bow is pretty redundant and you likely have a mage and/or sorc with you anyway.

I knew about how shadow shackle could slow enemies down (it seems to basically be torpor), but because of how highly situational it was, AND because it was a melee ranged skill that had to be cast, it just felt too impractical most times. I actually tried it again later on against mimic chests, thinking that would be a great use for it, but it doesn't seem to have any effect on those at all.

I also wasn't saying that I didn't use dagger skills. I do all of the time. I was talking about the MA specific skills being rather "meh" aside from Immolate. Cutting Wind and Hundred Kisses get used a hell of a lot. In fact, Cutting Wind was probably my most favorite "actiony" skill (although I still think the name is silly), and everytime I use it, it just makes me think of Ninja Gaiden or Spider Man's Maximum Spider super/hyper.

The skills I've been using pretty much from the start of BBI onward were Sixfold, Ricochet and Exploding. Everything else was just too situational, and I would rather be prepared for anything. I had Holy based daggers as well as a pawn with Holy affinity to cover the rest. Sixfold owns the crap out of the Gorecyclops, Saurians, Banshees and Eliminators. Ricochet shreds Ancient Ogres as well as the human type raiders/bandits or whatever they are and the Worgs. Exploding/Immolate takes care of the majority of everything else.

 

[zychi]

I'm downloading the PS3 version of this game since I enjoyed the demo.

This game better be good GAF. I don't usually buy into GAF hype, but I need a console rpg to play.

 

[Sanctuary]

I'm downloading the PS3 version of this game since I enjoyed the demo.

This game better be good GAF. I don't usually buy into GAF hype, but I need a console rpg to play.

GAF hype has typically been overhype for me. In the case of this game though, it's the only reason I gave it a second look. I was extremely surpirsed.

 

[Not Spaceghost]

The boss fight with Daimon is quite possibly the coolest thing in the whole game. The music, the voice overs, the ambiance, how fast he is, it is truly amazing.

Spoiler

It was amazing how I had him at his 2nd to last life bar and he started doing his IMMA SUCK YOU INTO THE RIFT spell which caused 2 of my pawns to instantly disappear, I nearly lost a third but I picked her (Sway) up and threw her across the room while nearly getting caught in the thing myself.

 

[atomsk]

89 on my second run of BBI and I haven't gotten past the 3rd section yet.

When I run into situations like Fire Dragon -> open 2 chests -> Zombie Dragon spawns, I tend to run out of curatives. =/

 

[FaintDeftone]

I've always wanted to play Dragon's Dogma but just completely skipped over it when it released. Now that the original version is only $20 at Gamestop, should I go with that or is Dark Arisen that much better to warrant the higher price?

 

[Anteater]

I've always wanted to play Dragon's Dogma but just completely skipped over it when it released. Now that the original version is only $20 at Gamestop, should I go with that or is Dark Arisen that much better to warrant the higher price?

go with dark arisen, it has the original game with some updates and the dlcs from the vanilla game.

 

[DarkoMaledictus]

I've always wanted to play Dragon's Dogma but just completely skipped over it when it released. Now that the original version is only $20 at Gamestop, should I go with that or is Dark Arisen that much better to warrant the higher price?

Dark arisen all the way... it adds a ton of content! No point in going vanilla!! Great price for the amount of stuff u get!

 

[we.are.the.armada]

I'm in the DD camp for sure but if Skyrim did anything well it was organic exploration - the world seemed to bloom very well with content. DD, regrettably has too many empty areas, something that I hope gets turned around in the sequel

 

[I'm an expert]

I'm in the DD camp for sure but if Skyrim did anything well it was organic exploration - the world seemed to bloom very well with content. DD, regrettably has too many empty areas, something that I hope gets turned around in the sequel

But the maps are small enough, relatively, that when I get to a stretch of hill where there's nothing I'm actually relieved. It's like a small safe spot from monsters/traps/whatever. The entire area below the Shadow Fort to the Witchwood entrance is just so well designed. Monsters in perfect spots, bandits in perfect spots, treasures and ore in perfect spots, plenty of scenic areas, plenty of lore type places, a dragon.. =O