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[Zakkath]

What's going to be part of that patch?

They haven't said anything yet. This from their lead designer :

"As Curt said, we'd LOVE to tell you what exactly will be in the patch and when exactly the patch will hit--we just don't know yet. When we're 100% confident of both the patch list (the list of changes/fixes) and the timing of the patch's release, we'll let you know!

Unfortunately, patching isn't something we can do overnight; it takes time to evaluate what's going on and determine what the biggest, nastiest issues really are, then it takes more time to solve those issues, then yet more time to VERY thoroughly test our fixes (the worst thing we could possibly do is break the game in NEW ways via a patch!), and finally a bit more time to actually get the patch certified and distributed through the various channels (Microsoft, Sony, Origin, Steam).

I'll tell you this much, though: we've already done a bunch of research (combing the telemetry data and spending a ton of time reading posts on this and other forums), we've got our tentative patch list together, and we're actively in the process of working on fixes for various issues right now. When we can tell you more than that, we will.

In the mean time, thank you for your patience, and kill a Boggart for me! "

Ian S. Frazier
Lead Designer
Big Huge Games

 

[Vyrance]

DAMN! I have that bug where my character freezes in place every few seconds while I'm trying to run around. If I stop running, he unfreezes, but a few seconds after running again he'll freeze again. Over and over. I heard loading a previous save fixes it, but I'm currently at 20 hours in, and my last save before the bug is at 8 hours. Fucking sucks. Hopefully the patch fixes this

 

[Deified Data]

They haven't said anything yet. This from their lead designer :

"As Curt said, we'd LOVE to tell you what exactly will be in the patch and when exactly the patch will hit--we just don't know yet. When we're 100% confident of both the patch list (the list of changes/fixes) and the timing of the patch's release, we'll let you know!

Unfortunately, patching isn't something we can do overnight; it takes time to evaluate what's going on and determine what the biggest, nastiest issues really are, then it takes more time to solve those issues, then yet more time to VERY thoroughly test our fixes (the worst thing we could possibly do is break the game in NEW ways via a patch!), and finally a bit more time to actually get the patch certified and distributed through the various channels (Microsoft, Sony, Origin, Steam).

I'll tell you this much, though: we've already done a bunch of research (combing the telemetry data and spending a ton of time reading posts on this and other forums), we've got our tentative patch list together, and we're actively in the process of working on fixes for various issues right now. When we can tell you more than that, we will.

In the mean time, thank you for your patience, and kill a Boggart for me! "

Ian S. Frazier
Lead Designer
Big Huge Games

I'm confident. Will keep playing and enjoying my easy-as-sin game in the meantime. Difficulty didn't kill my enjoyment of Okami, and it won't kill my enjoyment of Reckoning.

 

[I'm an expert]

DAMN! I have that bug where my character freezes in place every few seconds while I'm trying to run around. If I stop running, he unfreezes, but a few seconds after running again he'll freeze again. Over and over. I heard loading a previous save fixes it, but I'm currently at 20 hours in, and my last save before the bug is at 8 hours. Fucking sucks. Hopefully the patch fixes this

Run multiple saves at all times. I have 5 that I cycle constantly while I'm playing, and then I always backup the most recent one when I finish my play session. So I essentially have bookmarks of my play sessions on 2-3 hour intervalsl. Annoying? Yes, but this isn't specific to Amalur only, I do this with every rpg I play because of things like that. 8->20 hours is too much without backing up!

So..since my hp drain gems didn't work in my bow (I reported the bug on the official forums too)..I switched to hp regen and..yeah......................................hp regen gems..............yeah...............................ez mode.

 

[Hurmun]

So what kind of characters are you guys using? I just recently switched my character over to a magic based one. The attacks are so strong and the look really damn cool.

 

[gehrig38]

DAMN! I have that bug where my character freezes in place every few seconds while I'm trying to run around. If I stop running, he unfreezes, but a few seconds after running again he'll freeze again. Over and over. I heard loading a previous save fixes it, but I'm currently at 20 hours in, and my last save before the bug is at 8 hours. Fucking sucks. Hopefully the patch fixes this

Console or PC? If PC can you PM me specs so I can forward to QA?

 

[Deified Data]

So what kind of characters are you guys using? I just recently switched my character over to a magic based one. The attacks are so strong and the look really damn cool.

Pure finesse, here. Definitely my favorite build so far, but I haven't tried many.

 

[Hawk269]

Console or PC? If PC can you PM me specs so I can forward to QA?

A co-worker that I recommended that game shortly after launch has the same issue. He is on the 360 and basically he stopped playing the game due to this. He had mutiple saves, but they are all now "infected" by this bug. The common "internet" fix is to "START OVER". He is 25 hours into the game and basically refuses to start over and is hoping for a fix via a patch.

The sad part is that between myself and my co-worker we spread the word about the game and had 5 other co-workers buy the game..but with this bug and my and my families issues with the game becoming a cake walk if you do too many side quests or explore too much has caused me and my 2 kids to stop playing. Some of the co-workers were asking if they should still play because they are afraid of getting hit my the same bug..which one of them has the bug where he cant hit the buttons for extra exp when in reckoning mode.

In my small circle of friends there was 10 copies of the game bought, 2 by myself, 6 at work and 2 other family members...so we all love the game and spent our money, but a big percentage of us have shelved the game due to bugs and/or difficulty issues. I know I am beating a dead horse here, but just wanted to let you know that alot of people spent alot of money and some of us have spread word of how great the game is and was able to get others to buy the game.

 

[Vyrance]

Console or PC? If PC can you PM me specs so I can forward to QA?

Yea PC for me. I'll PM you with the info.

 

[KoreanBarbecue]

I'm thinking about this. Difficulty is really starting to plummet.

I probably should have waited a year to get the game. I didn't think it would be that moddable so it wouldn't matter. I am surprised and disappointed at how awful the difficulty curve is in the game, hopefully they fix it rapidly.

Other than the difficulty the game is pretty fantastic though. Then again I only just got to the plains but I'm still having a blast with it. While the complete lack of facial animation is a pretty big downer, the voice acting and writing has been pretty superb I think. For the majority of conversations I actually stop and listen. And while very derivative, the art style and world design is great. There are so many wonderful little details that I really enjoy finding while running around.

So far my only issues with difficulty come in that I'll run around for like an hour and literally destroy everything in my path, and then suddenly come across a higher-tiered enemy that is leaps and bounds stronger than what I've seen before. Granted, they're not strong enough to kill me, but their resilience and hitting power are definitely a notch above what I had experienced prior. And once defeated, it's back to slashing my way through weak fodder enemies again.

So what kind of characters are you guys using? I just recently switched my character over to a magic based one. The attacks are so strong and the look really damn cool.

I'm a pure, 100% Might player. I mainly use a longsword, but have recently come across some pretty overpowered hammers, so I may start using that weapon class exclusively. I do wish, though, there there were some expanded moves for the various weapons.

 

[H3rTz DoNuT]

So what kind of characters are you guys using? I just recently switched my character over to a magic based one. The attacks are so strong and the look really damn cool.

I'm using Finesse/Might build and I'm very happy with it

 

[Xilium]

I haven't had any game crashing or breaking bugs thus far. I just entered Alabastra and I have one quest that I can't complete because I accidentally salvaged the item needed to complete it and two more I can't start because I did something out of the intended order and now the quest givers are stuck in a conversation loop waiting for something to happen that apparently isn't. I've done every other quest (to my knowledge) up to this point with no issues. For an open-world game (or pseudo open-world depending on your definition), I think that's pretty darn good.

So what kind of characters are you guys using? I just recently switched my character over to a magic based one. The attacks are so strong and the look really damn cool.

I was originally a pure mage using staff & chakrams and played through most of the game that way. After Mel Shenshir I switched to a pure rouge using faeblades & longbow. I really like seeing all those crits flying off of enemies with all that additional bleeding and poison damage while I'm swirling around the battlefield. Even without the AoEs, I think I was stronger as a mage (taking advantage of elemental weakness and all) but the rouge is a lot of fun.

 

[Deified Data]

Is anyone else playing through all three pure builds first so as to better combine classes on later playthroughs (i.e. know what and what not to allocate points to)?

 

[Xilium]

Is anyone else playing through all three pure builds first so as to better combine classes on later playthroughs (i.e. know what and what not to allocate points to)?

I played with the pure might build a bit before switching to pure rouge. I just found that in melee combat, I prefer faster moving weapons though the longsword was pretty useful in setting up aerial combos.

I've also found that I don't use the non-magic active abilities too much. Stringing together the various special moves of each weapon, parrying, and passives are pretty much what I rely on. If anything, I would most likely go finesse/sorcery in a subsequent playthrough (which will have to wait till after FFXIII-2). Other than the resilience passives, nothing in the might tree appeals to my playstyle and the best skills in the rouge tree for me are the poison/bleeding/critical passives/sustained abilities. I'd imagine my weapon choices would be daggers and chakrams.

 

[Laughing Banana]

I wonder, if an Archmage, Warlord, Nightblade, Shadowcaster, Blademaster, Champion, and an Universalist ever fought in one, epic grand melee, who will emerge victorious in the end?

Also, is this the old version of Amalur before it turned out like the one we have right now? Interesting.

 

[I'm an expert]

My gem not working in the bow bug was enough to annoy me but man now I'm really afraid I'm going to get hit by one of these major bugs. And if they infect all of your saves what is the point of all this backing up I'm doing. Sigh.

Anyway..that early level finesse set.. Perfidious? or some shit.. the 2 piece set bonus is +2 all finesse skills you have a point in. Ridiculous. I've never seen an rpg do this. You can even go ABOVE your abilities' max points allotment and get an ADDITIONAL bonus to whatever the ability is. So right now my bow skill is 7/7 with like +60% damage or whatever. No wonder this game's difficulty can be easily broken. If this was some high level thing that's fine, but this is literally the first set I ever found pieces for in the beginning area and the +2 points is the 2 piece bonus. Man..those testers who were playing this for 200 hours didn't find this stuff a tad off?

 

[Incendiary]

I've also found that I don't use the non-magic active abilities too much. Stringing together the various special moves of each weapon, parrying, and passives are pretty much what I rely on.

I actually find the Lunge finesse move to be one of the most useful moves in my repertoire. It's really useful at dodging attacks and setting up combos. After I respec'd and put more emphasis on the finesse in my finesse/sorcery combo I've been using Lunge a lot more than either of my Sorcery spells.

 

[grandjedi6]

This game is far too addicting for its own good.

 

[Laughing Banana]

I actually find the Lunge finesse move to be one of the most useful moves in my repertoire. It's really useful at dodging attacks and setting up combos. After I respec'd and put more emphasis on the finesse in my finesse/sorcery combo I've been using Lunge a lot more than either of my Sorcery spells.

Lunge is awesome. If you are doing it to deal damage, you're doing it wrong.

What is NOT awesome, however, is how some enemies can magically turn 180 degrees in a flash. Not cool.

 

[KuroNeeko]

We haven't had any word on what sort of DLC will be coming out next month, have we? Anything that indicates there will be some sort of Nightmare or Hardcore mode? I can't imagine that they'd have a new difficulty mode up (well, outside of a simple resists / increased monster damage / monster health) in such a short amount of time.

Any word?

 

[Laughing Banana]

It feels like I am the only person in the whole world that does not get bothered by Amalur's difficulty.

I feel like a unique snowflake.

 

[KuroNeeko]

I guess it comes down to where you find your enjoyment in the game. Typically, you want an engaging experience that presents the opportunity for meaningful choices. The game will initially start out difficult, but as you advance and gain power, loot, levels, and familiarity with the game system - the game should ramp up in difficulty. If the game is too difficult, you'll find it too easy and get bored. If the game is too hard, then you'll get frustrated and give up.

That's why balancing is so difficult. Especially with the easy access of information on the internet. You can internally test the game with a few hundred staff (which is a lot more than what most companies do) but the second the game comes out, you'll potentially have millions of people playing your game. Some of them are bound to find dominant strategies and then share them with others on forums like this one. In the span of a week, you have people complaining that the game is too easy and that the devs did a shitty job.

In this case though, it seems like the game is a bit too easy, regardless of the internet effect. It offers you a ton of choices on how to customize your character and play experience - but the drawback is that they have to make sure that all of them are viable or that you feel like you're perceptibly getting stronger - classic carrot / horse design. The problem is that the player is advancing faster than the enemies so that feeling of being in flow is lost.

If you're enjoying the story or just gathering loot - then you should be fine. If you're looking for an experience defined by challenge and opposition then it seems like this game is too easy.

For the record, my statement that the game is too easy is coming from what I've read. I haven't played it. I'd like to but games that are too easy are major turn offs for me. I may get it anyway and just set a "no health potion / hardcore" rule for my characters. Thing is, why should I have to come up with house rules to accommodate for a low difficulty curve. The jury is still out

 

[I'm an expert]

This thread is slow enough that you guys can see me document how I feel about the difficulty as I go from 6 hours in, to 14, and now at 20 hours in, level 15 in the last few pages of this thread. The game goes from "oh man this is tough, I love it" to "I'm not even out of the starter area and I own". Once you figure out crafting and/or gemming things take off. As I said in the above post though there's stuff like very early in the game set bonuses that can turn you into a powerhouse. And if someone was really trying to break it all, keeping yourself constantly potted with buffs (the mats are fairly easy to farm with how abundant plants are) would ensure always-on godmode.

To be perfectly fair though, if you sort of stuck to the main quest while only doing random side stuff here and there on your way, I have a feeling you'd be well in line with the game's balancing at least when it comes to level. The thing is the game has SO MANY options for customizing your character (the fact that you can take blacksmithing and sagecrafting and alchemy) that what should be a plus kind of turns into a minus.

Anyway, personally not complaining (except about bugs) as the gameplay itself is addicting and I'm slowly getting to the point where I just enjoy the world.

 

[Laughing Banana]

Hmmm.

The way I understand it, this is how the game scales the difficulty: when the player enters an area, the game "remembers" the player level and set the difficulty accordingly, correct? So a level 8 character entering a 7-10 area will face level 8 enemies?

So far so good?

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but once the game set a level, it will stay that way throughout the entire game? Meaning once the player enters that same area as a level 10 character, the enemy monsters are still level 8?

Instead of fixed scaling like that, why not implement something like this:
1. Say, the range of Area A is 10-20.
2. When the player enters Area A as a level 11 character, the enemies in that Area stays at level 11 (or maybe 12/13). This persist as long as the player stays in the Area.
3. Say the player leaves the Area. If in the future the player returns to the same Area as a level 18 character, for example, don't keep the enemies around as level 11... make all of them into level 18 as well.
4. But if the player returns to that Area as a level 22 or 23 character, keep the monsters around at level 20 (don't break the range), since the feeling of "growing more powerful than your adversaries", I think, is a very integral part of an RPG game.

For harder difficulties, maybe the game can just turn off all the range, like all the enemies in all the Areas in the world scale proportionately to the level of your character, meaning that stupid Boggart you meet at Webwood can and will become a level 40 enemy if you enter that area as a level 40 character.

 

[Xilium]

I actually find the Lunge finesse move to be one of the most useful moves in my repertoire. It's really useful at dodging attacks and setting up combos. After I respec'd and put more emphasis on the finesse in my finesse/sorcery combo I've been using Lunge a lot more than either of my Sorcery spells.

That just moves you behind the enemy right? I just use blink (as a sorcerer) or the dagger charge (as rouge) to mimic that technique. That said, it might be useful now that I'm using faeblades but I really liking dodging away and then back towards the enemy to use the faeblade or chakram dodge special, which does crazy damage with all my high crit gear and poison/bleeding passives.

It feels like I am the only person in the whole world that does not get bothered by Amalur's difficulty.

I feel like a unique snowflake.

It doesn't bother me either but I also know how to limit myself. I don't use very many potion, don't use crafted items, and I only use set piece armors. I'm still a walking force of nature but I do occasionally still run into trouble when fighting a large number of enemies, especially if they use range attacks.

 

[Ricker]

You are not the only one Laughing Banana,I think the difficulty is perfect so far on Normal...just reached level 17,full Sorcery build,completed 42 sidequests and currently doing the House of Ballads and Main quest,alterning between the 2 and I still have some decently challenging fights,especially against Trolls or ennemies that throw whirlwinds and fireballs at me...

 

[Trojita]

I'll be picking this up soon. The game looks fun. It is on Steam right?

 

[jonhuz]

Killed Dren for the challenge when exploring that area. Can no longer continue on the main quest. I have to wait for a patch to fix a game breaking bug? Not good.

 

[glaurung]

I'll be picking this up soon. The game looks fun. It is on Steam right?

Yeah, it's on Steam alright.

I have played on the PS3 for a ridiculously long time, but still below level 15, hard mode and rogue build. Curiously enough, I have been very successfully using chakrams and the bow (the bow becomes insanely powerful once you invest in its skill tree). I haven't invested a single point in any other class tree, so the chakrams are more of a semi-ranged weapon that allow me to spread disease and fire and whatnot.

A properly great game, but I feel as if it is becoming rather boring. Combat is the only thing that is keeping me on my toes, otherwise the quests are almost all filler material.

 

[Bl4ckSunsh1n3]

It feels like I am the only person in the whole world that does not get bothered by Amalur's difficulty.

I feel like a unique snowflake.

I have no problems with it. I just don't say much about it because, well, I have no issue with it.

 

[Wolfgunblood Garopa]

60 hours in, and I fizzled hard. Stopped sidequesting and bum rushed the main quest, but I hit the game wall before I could finish it. I can't remember the last time I lost interest in a game so far in, after liking it so much.

It is a truly unusual game, in retrospect. I gave it the shifty eye for a bit before I decided to bail and sell it.

The world, lore and story are not good enough, especially for the talent involved. What was Ken Rolston's role in this? Morrowind is like Blade Runner compared to Amalur's Stargate Atlantis. Salvatore and Rolston, if they were indeed instrumental in coming up with this story and lore, should be taken to task for sleepwalking through this job and letting 38 down.

 

[Hobbun]

I hope we get some kind of official statement in regards to the release of the first DLC soon and what exactly will be in it. At least from what I heard before, it is supposed to come out sometime around the release of ME3, which is only a week away.

 

[scy]

That just moves you behind the enemy right? I just use blink (as a sorcerer) or the dagger charge (as rouge) to mimic that technique.

It interrupts low-priority attacks and causes hit-stun on smaller enemies. It also fires faster than Blink or charge moves. Lunge also links right into normal attacks so it works as the highest priority "dodge" option and lets you combo freely.

Also, with high Crit Damage builds, it's actually a decent attack when it hits about as hard as a Dagger swing :x

It feels like I am the only person in the whole world that does not get bothered by Amalur's difficulty.

I feel like a unique snowflake.

I'm always "bothered" by a game's difficulty so I don't know where I really fall in on this. I love games to be harder on me but it's not really a deal breaker, though. I don't necessarily mind that Amalur isn't punishing but I'd just enjoy it more if it were is basically my stance.

Currently, it feels like I'm doing things to get through combat better for my own sake of just looking cool when doing combat, not because I actually need to. And while looking cool is always a nice plus, it'd be great if it truly felt necessary. There's a fun combat system but all you really need to learn is how to Parry and when to Dodge; the rest of it is basically for your own enjoyment, not because you actually need to learn how to best use your toolset.

On that note, I actually like the enemies that follow you after Dodges even when in mid-attack. They still have their dodge timings so it's a nice little way to make Dodging at least slightly harder. Though, it does look silly when you're fractions of a second off and they track you mid swing, but I guess it'd be a bit much if every enemy had a unique animation for these things.

Though, at the least, Trolls should've grabbed you out of bad rolls :x

 

[coopolon]

Do the +% health and mana gems work? I just created a hero's gem (+20% health) and socketed it into some pants. When I have the pants unequipped my health is 282, when I equip them my health is still 282.

Edit: Nevermind, you have to exit out of the menu for the effect to take place.

 

[sneaky77]

I have no problems with it. I just don't say much about it because, well, I have no issue with it.

Yeah I agree, I am still loving this game

 

[chifanpoe]

Yeah I agree, I am still loving this game

The same, I have put about 70 hours in now and still having a blast.

 

[ParityBit]

I think I finally hit critical mass with the game, all I have left is the main story and a faction quest going on. Random side missions pop up and I kill those off as I move on.

I think I may get most of the achievements, but that one with the 10 of each kind of plant is really annoying to me. At least with the 25 trap kill one I can respec, spend some time and get it. I have no idea of my progress on the plants. I am HOPING I just get it, because I always pick plants at least once on the map. Part of my OCD when I look at the map!

 

[RyanardoDaVinci]

...I think I may get most of the achievements, but that one with the 10 of each kind of plant is really annoying to me. At least with the 25 trap kill one I can respec, spend some time and get it. I have no idea of my progress on the plants. I am HOPING I just get it, because I always pick plants at least once on the map. Part of my OCD when I look at the map!

Just respec and max out alchemy, sell every plant in your inventory and then run around only picking up 10 of each, that's how I did it.

I had to respec 4 or 5 times to acquire trophies and to make use of all the trainers; still need two trophies though, I'm hoping I can get them in the DLC.

 

[Gaming Truth]

Amazon just delivered my copy today and it's heavenly! It's almost 600 pages seems like it covers everything:

• All of the skills and how they work
• Strategies for different build types
• Every quest detailed
• All the maps
• Pictures and descriptions of all the unique and set items
• Tons of art and I think (trying to avoid spoiling myself) a detailed history of the world

The book is well laid out, very pretty in terms of picture content, concept art, and tables detailing things like drop percentages, repeat vs. varied attack fate contributions, skill stats, etc. It's definitely worth a look and if you collect strategy guides like I do, it's a must buy.

 

[Deified Data]

Anyone read the in-game book "On Chickens"?

Funniest shit I've read in a while.

 

[I'm an expert]

Anyone read the in-game book "On Chickens"?

Funniest shit I've read in a while.

I read it for the "read books trophy" but I don't actually read books in games like this because they're mostly some filler stuff meant to flesh out the world and usually end up being meaningless. I think WoW is what spoiled me on that as all the books in that game are meh. Same in Dragon Age too. The exceptions are things like codexes in games like ME2 or FF13 where when something interesting pops up I will go and ready about it since its usually pertaining to the main story. In games like this it's stuff like "The Tale of Babalzooch and how he defeated the Kameroop in the fields of Yarvia!" which means absolutely nothing to me.

Now that I think about it, I will skim through stuff like "miner's journal" when in a cave or something just to know what's going on with my current environment/task. So that kind of stuff interests me, just not vague lore about the world.

Do you guys usually read in-game books/lore about the world (not necessarily the main story) in games like this?

 

[Enco]

I read it for the "read books trophy" but I don't actually read books in games like this because they're mostly some filler stuff meant to flesh out the world and usually end up being meaningless. I think WoW is what spoiled me on that as all the books in that game are meh. Same in Dragon Age too. The exceptions are things like codexes in games like ME2 or FF13 where when something interesting pops up I will go and ready about it since its usually pertaining to the main story. In games like this it's stuff like "The Tale of Babalzooch and how he defeated the Kameroop in the fields of Yarvia!" which means absolutely nothing to me.

Now that I think about it, I will skim through stuff like "miner's journal" when in a cave or something just to know what's going on with my current environment/task. So that kind of stuff interests me, just not vague lore about the world.

Do you guys usually read in-game books/lore about the world (not necessarily the main story) in games like this?

I never do.

It's cool to have them there but they're pretty useless to me. I don't play a game to ready a filler story book about a useless topic. I'm not one for really getting into lore and history and stuff like that.

 

[Brandon F]

60 hours in, and I fizzled hard. Stopped sidequesting and bum rushed the main quest, but I hit the game wall before I could finish it. I can't remember the last time I lost interest in a game so far in, after liking it so much.

It is a truly unusual game, in retrospect. I gave it the shifty eye for a bit before I decided to bail and sell it.

The world, lore and story are not good enough, especially for the talent involved. What was Ken Rolston's role in this? Morrowind is like Blade Runner compared to Amalur's Stargate Atlantis. Salvatore and Rolston, if they were indeed instrumental in coming up with this story and lore, should be taken to task for sleepwalking through this job and letting 38 down.

My thoughts after only 15 hours. I won't rag on the development staff specifically, but it is such a shame that so much effort went into mechanics, lore, and other content-related stuff, only for that foundation to collapse under its own weight. Game balance is non-existent, and the story needs a sufficient hook to maintain engagement. Granted, the story may pan out eventually as I view more of it, but the game is broken and I have lost all motivation at such an early stage to keep playing based purely on the fundamental lack of balance.

I am avoiding crafting, shops, and damn near 80% of the core systems just to keep 'god-mode' from activating(Hard mode even), but there is no hope. It feels entirely unavoidable, and really at this point what am I gaining from the experience playing it in such a backwards fashion?

I've put my game on hiatus for the hopes the team can eke out a fix with the upcoming patch. It's not a specific problem with this game alone(far more RPG's suffer this problem than most), but I really wish more developers can put focus into proper game balance. Proper balance is a real industry-wide problem and it is becoming more apparent that this gap in execution will separate true development talent.

 

[Riggs]

I still own this game, decided to just keep it and hope for a patch. I played it 2 days straight pretty much right at release, around 24 hours logged. I am just way OP nothing is a challenge, I love the game and the loot though. So hopefully they do something about the difficulty.

 

[ColonialRaptor]

I still own this game, decided to just keep it and hope for a patch. I played it 2 days straight pretty much right at release, around 24 hours logged. I am just way OP nothing is a challenge, I love the game and the loot though. So hopefully they do something about the difficulty.

I hope they patch in a 'hyper hard' unlock when you complete the game because this is a replayer if there ever was one. Combat system is just so fun and playing again with a different character type is just a fun idea

Currently on a Might / Finesse with a lean towards finesse build (but using Might Armor at this point) and loving it. I've been upgrading my Bow skills and my god I love it, it's great for softening up foes while they close up on you

Are daggers the only weapons that can be used for sneak attack / kills?

 

[Trigunner]

60 hours in, and I fizzled hard. Stopped sidequesting and bum rushed the main quest, but I hit the game wall before I could finish it.

I was almost 80 hours in before doing the main quest. I got up to the Templar fight in Adessa and didn't find the story particularly engaging. I was getting a little burnt out from all the side stuff, so I took a day off from playing for the first time since release and then started Skyrim. It'll probably be a while before I get back to KoA

 

[I'm an expert]

I hope they patch in a 'hyper hard' unlock when you complete the game because this is a replayer if there ever was one. Combat system is just so fun and playing again with a different character type is just a fun idea

Currently on a Might / Finesse with a lean towards finesse build (but using Might Armor at this point) and loving it. I've been upgrading my Bow skills and my god I love it, it's great for softening up foes while they close up on you

Are daggers the only weapons that can be used for sneak attack / kills?

I have zero interest in replaying a game like this, specifically because it gives you the option to try any build at anytime within your current run. I've already switched so many times in these first 20 hours that I feel like I've already experienced the "how would this game be like if I was this.." phenomenon. The only thing I have left to do is try out the top tier abilities for every class which is what I'll do near the end.

I'm a finesse (bow) build and yeah, the bow gets crazy good with all points in it. And yes, only daggers can do fatal sneak attacks. I run daggers as my secondary weapon and start battles like that. Faeblades are crit/stun on a sneak attack.

 

[Deified Data]

I read it for the "read books trophy" but I don't actually read books in games like this because they're mostly some filler stuff meant to flesh out the world and usually end up being meaningless. I think WoW is what spoiled me on that as all the books in that game are meh. Same in Dragon Age too. The exceptions are things like codexes in games like ME2 or FF13 where when something interesting pops up I will go and ready about it since its usually pertaining to the main story. In games like this it's stuff like "The Tale of Babalzooch and how he defeated the Kameroop in the fields of Yarvia!" which means absolutely nothing to me.

Now that I think about it, I will skim through stuff like "miner's journal" when in a cave or something just to know what's going on with my current environment/task. So that kind of stuff interests me, just not vague lore about the world.

Do you guys usually read in-game books/lore about the world (not necessarily the main story) in games like this?

Always, without exception, no matter how dry or poorly written. I'm a huge lore-nut for games like this. Amalur's books are actually better written than most, though they're also considerably shorter than say, Skyrim's. There were a few weird inconsistencies in Amalur's lore that can only be cleared up by reading books, such as whether or not the Fae are immortal or not. They seem to fear death and dying on some level - they mourn the death of the likes of Sagrell, yet others like

Spoiler

the Widow

claim they'll simply rise again if struck down. After reading a text on the phenomena, I learned that

Spoiler

the Fae are only semi-immortal. They grow old, albeit very slowly, and can die violent deaths. They claim they return to the "Great Cycle" when they die and are reincarnated, but it's been suggested that by "reincarnation" they actually mean "returning to the earth". So the Fae are in fact an extremely long-lived race with delusions of immortality. I think? The in-game text could have been biased, but that's the impression I got.

The more you know!

 

[Grinchy]

60 hours in, and I fizzled hard. Stopped sidequesting and bum rushed the main quest, but I hit the game wall before I could finish it. I can't remember the last time I lost interest in a game so far in, after liking it so much.

It is a truly unusual game, in retrospect. I gave it the shifty eye for a bit before I decided to bail and sell it.

The world, lore and story are not good enough, especially for the talent involved. What was Ken Rolston's role in this? Morrowind is like Blade Runner compared to Amalur's Stargate Atlantis. Salvatore and Rolston, if they were indeed instrumental in coming up with this story and lore, should be taken to task for sleepwalking through this job and letting 38 down.

I got almost to 38 hours when I realized I had better take a break. I didn't fizzle out yet, but I could tell I was in danger of getting there. As I come back to it now I have a lot of fun playing, but it's not a game I can play for long play sessions daily.

I think I kind of agree with what you said here, just less harshly. I don't find msyelf getting absorbed into the characters or story much at all so far, aside from maybe the arena stuff. I really liked that. I think I just got really bored of the "magical" stuff like the House of Ballads quests even though I'm a mage. I never really liked the mage's guild stuff in Elder Scrolls either, though.

Luckily, I enjoy the dungeon grinding. So this can be more of a loot whoring action game with RPG elements for me as opposed to a story-driven RPG experience. That's ok for me in the end, but I'd love to see this team apply everything they've done right so far with a more convincing story in their future endeavors.

 

[H3rTz DoNuT]

What's the gold for guys? I mean how do you spend it? I have over 5mil and no idea what to do with it