Wind's Howling
Member
The loading, the pop-in, the draw-in, the silky smooth framerate despite the fact that there are even some combat situations where the effects are flying of the screen. They did an excellent job in terms of polish.
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Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning |OT| An Enemy-Pounding Funfest
- Thread starter ReaperXL7
- Start date
The loading, the pop-in, the draw-in, the silky smooth framerate despite the fact that there are even some combat situations where the effects are flying of the screen. They did an excellent job in terms of polish.
Hmm...
So it sounds like the story and stuff isn't a core focus.
I don't need (or even want) "deep" dialog like in BioWare games. Or decisions that change the world or anything like that. Just a well told story with great characters is enough for me.
Characters don't seem to be a focus either.
This sounds like a more focused TES-like game with actiony combat.
I didn't enjoy Skyrim and thought DA was just alright. I really enjoyed the Witcher though.
So it sounds like the story and stuff isn't a core focus.
I don't need (or even want) "deep" dialog like in BioWare games. Or decisions that change the world or anything like that. Just a well told story with great characters is enough for me.
Characters don't seem to be a focus either.
This sounds like a more focused TES-like game with actiony combat.
I didn't enjoy Skyrim and thought DA was just alright. I really enjoyed the Witcher though.
The story is well told. It isn't on the Witcher levels though. For what it is it gets the job done. Some of the characters are memorable, but from what I have seen so far, not many are. Granted I'm only 16 hours in and still in the first main area. I loved Skyrim but I would put the story in this above it.
Woo-Fu
Banned
What? The story and lore is the most developed part of the game.
Robobandit
Member
The main thing I enjoy about the story in this game is the writing. I'm only 10 hours in, though.. so I haven't met too many memorable characters.
So far none of the quests are purely blatant "Go here and kill X number of things".. they all have some degree of story built up around them. I really would like to do them all at this point.. that could change as the game continues.
So far none of the quests are purely blatant "Go here and kill X number of things".. they all have some degree of story built up around them. I really would like to do them all at this point.. that could change as the game continues.
I'm hearing so many conflicting things... even in just this thread.
Sounds like people are just skipping over alot of the lore.
The_Darkest_Red
Member
That's how I feel so far as well. It surprised me actually, I expected most of the side-quests to have little more than a line or two of dialogue associated with them.
The lore, dialogue, setting, and story are all dense and significant in what I've seen so far. In my first 5 hours with the game I probably spent 1 in the tutorial, 1 or 2 in combat or pursuing a quest objective, and 2 or 3 interacting with villagers and exploring the first town.
Robobandit
Member
Not everyone is going to be captivated by the story or care about the lore.. if it doesn't grab some of these people right away, they just ignore it and keep playing because the gameplay is good.
I am interested in the lore.. so I want to find every lore stone and read every book and ask everyone about everything that I have an option to.
They didn't' phone in the story or the lore, there's a lot there to be found and read/heard from npc dialog.
Everyone, of course, has a different opinion.
edit -
I think the problem for a lot of people is that the game does terminology dumps on you. It uses a lot of new words to talk about things that are happening in the world so if you aren't actively trying to understand the world while you're playing it, you'll probably write it off as unimportant or uninteresting.
If you've ever played FF XIII, you probably experienced something similar, being loaded up with terms that everyone knows the definition to except you. More of it is explained here, but you have to talk to npcs and not just use the expedient blue dialog option to get more information about various topics.
Personally speaking, I find it about as deep as Mass Effect or Dragon Age's stories were; I'm not expecting something from the story, however. That is to say, I'm just kind of taking what's said at face value and running with it. Just how I tend to approach these stores for the games. I don't overthink them so I can just enjoy the story.
Some production values lose the impact of some of the story moments but it's presented well. It's also nice to see just how many quests have more options through them as I get more skills; Dispel, Persuasion, Detect Hidden, Lockpicking, and maybe a few others I missed have all made an appearance in the dialogue trees.
One little touch I found nice: There's a quest involving a guy who was backstabbed and some loot was made off with. The in-game model is actually afflicted with bleed so he's actually bleeding out. A little jarring since the animation doesn't ... fit well for dialogue but I found it to be a nice touch.
Someone said a couple of pages ago that the House of Ballads quest aptly demonstrates the depth of the lore in this game; I just finished that quest and I have got to agree. The whole thing about the songs and how they never change and the twists and all. I thought it was pretty interesting and unique; definitely not something you see in every fantasy game or book.
Hey scy, how's the min/maxing coming along and how's the build? Anything noteworthy about the ability trees that you have found?
I was checking out Sphere of Protection today and I see that the damage reduction has been scaled down even more from the demo. The skill seems pretty useless now on its own given the hefty mana upkeep. I'm not sure getting the first upgrade alone is enough to make the skill worthy in a Shadowcaster build.
Also, I read some pages ago that you like Lunge now. Anymore feedback on that?
I was checking out Sphere of Protection today and I see that the damage reduction has been scaled down even more from the demo. The skill seems pretty useless now on its own given the hefty mana upkeep. I'm not sure getting the first upgrade alone is enough to make the skill worthy in a Shadowcaster build.
Also, I read some pages ago that you like Lunge now. Anymore feedback on that?
Wind's Howling
Member
I seriously do not see the point of lunge other than the fact that it gives you a very good getaway while dealing damage at the same time.
CitizenCope
Member
So I get the game and imediately input my Gamestop pre-order codes. Start the game up and play for 3 hours forgetting about the codes I input. haha Where do I get this stuff and is it even worth it 3 hours in and level 3?
The story is fine, there are just so many (and I mean many) interesting side quests and tasks to get side tracked on, that you find yourself not even worrying about it. As many of the side quests have little stories that you find yourself wanting to find out what happens in. I actually feel compelled to do everything I come across.
In fact, this is where the structured, more focused open world really shines. As I suspected, you are going to get the most out of each area you go to. As it is densely packed with content that you can soak in and appreciate. Be it tons of loot or quests... but usually both.
In short, It is an incredibly addictive game, has good production value and is a pleasure to play. If you are a fan of high fantasy and/or action role playing games in general, then you definitely should not overlook this game. I'll leave it at that.
Wind's Howling
Member
It is in the chest in Gorharth next to the inn and yes it is worth it.
Alright, so it sounds like there's story and lore here for the people who want it.
I'll probably watch a few more streams to try and see some story stuff.
Hopefully I can get a better sense of what to expect by this weekend so I know if I should pick it up.
Thanks for the answers everyone.
I'll probably watch a few more streams to try and see some story stuff.
Hopefully I can get a better sense of what to expect by this weekend so I know if I should pick it up.
Thanks for the answers everyone.
The biggest thing I found was that you're limited to +2 Skills on top of their max. I was really looking forward to 100% Mysterious Toxins but I guess I'll deal with 70%. Mysterious Toxins is a bit better now but it's still not that amazing. Small area of effect and it fires off when a dead body LOSES their poison status. It really should just be at time of death and maybe increase the AoE size by ~3 meters; you want longer duration Poisons for the damage and debuff components but you want shorter ones so it ticks off quickly when they die to trigger Toxins. Just sort of bad design.
Hopefully I reach the top tier talents by tonight so I can see if Spellcloak is worth the Shadowcaster trade-off; I imagine the 10% stun per attack will be nice enough to warrant keeping Poison around and warranting the majority of the build.
The only thing that stands out right now is that I seriously dislike the third Faeblade special attack (Cyclone). It's off a dodge that just doesn't play nice with Blink all that well. It's hard to line up Blink so Cyclone lands for every hit. Well, it isn't "hard" but "not worth it" and it totally messes up my ability to dodge and then attack. I didn't pick up the off-Parry attack so I can't comment on it. It could be useful depending on the damage it does.
Likewise, Chakram's second special/Arcane Weaponry III isn't that great. It's a good escape attack, I guess, but you can't actually attack after landing from it for a second or so. I'll probably just respec out of it in the future as I don't see it as being all that useful. Likewise, I don't use the first special all that often either so I may omit that entire line in the respec. We'll see.
Edit: Actually, I may not have tried to see when you can Lunge from it. If I can Lunge back in, it isn't so bad ... but feels unnecessary outside of the spectacle of the attack. I mean, it doesn't have a huge damage bonus to it or large area of effect or really anything to make using it so I can Lunge back in worth it.
Also, in case you missed it earlier, Bleed causes +33% Physical Damage taken and Poison causes some amount of decreased damage dealt; I'll try to hammer down the latter when I get the chance. If nothing else, Finesse/Sorcery means I'm getting Bleed and Poison on everything for massive damage bonuses (think I broke a 6000 damage Faeblade Assassination crit and a nearly 2000 combo crit) while reducing damage taken.
I use it if only for the fact that I have 600 base Mana. I still have nearly 200 Mana available for use. I'm also pure crits now so I can't imagine Shadowcaster having trouble with slinging spells all the time even with only 30% of your mana pool available to you.
Lunge grants hitstun on an instant timer and resets combos. It's basically the ideal way of extending combo length while moving out of range of frontal attacks or interrupting so you can attack without worry. Blink does most the same but doesn't interrupt and doesn't flow into the next attack as well (and due to Cyclone, I don't like dodging into a Faeblade attack if I can help it). It's also +5 Fate for the first time you use it on an enemy. My main stay favorite for small enemies I can juggle is to launch them and catch them on the way down with Lunge.
More than one point into Lunge does feel a bit like a waste, though. But I use Lunge basically every fight if I can and it's taken the prime real estate spot of my X spell slot.
Edit: I'm so looking forward to my next playthrough of Might/Finesse because Lunge with a Greatsword seems amazing.
Wind's Howling
Member
Ah I see. I might definitely invest into that ability considering I am in a full finesse built. I mainly just invested into the archer and dagger skills first. Archer has me surprised on so many fronts and is definitely needed when fighting a couple of those huge giants at the same time.
What's this 10% stun you're talking about? Also, nice to hear about Bleed but what are you using to get Bleed on enemies? Shadow Flare or Barbed Arrows?
Also, the numbers in blood graphics that pops up when hitting enemies means that the attack is a crit right?
I don't see much use for the chakrams' charged attack either. With that said, the faeblades and daggers charged attacks are pretty underwhelming as well.
you can get a house in the game?
Yeah, my only Ranged is Chakrams ... and the safest spot on some of the bigger enemies is behind them. Lunge is my way of getting there quickly and comboing off the stagger it granted. Chakrams aren't that safe of an option vs spells everywhere just due to huge delays on their last hit.
But good to hear Archery is looking like it has some depth to it. I'm planning on Might/Finesse next with Greatsword/Longbow. Should be fun times.
I should've specified; it's from Paralytic Poisons that I'll be getting from sticking with just Spellcloak (my 79/44 build). It should be 8% when maxed out and then +2 Skills should get it to 10%.
As for Bleed, Shadow Flare mainly. It fires fast and it's still good damage at this point (it's my staple for downing big targets fast). Barbed Arrows gets it for the Archer builds as well.
Should be that, yeah.
Faeblade one is okay vs big targets if you know you're going to land every hit. I just don't see a good opportunity to sit back and charge it when I can always just be attacking instead. Dagger one lets you at least hit a lot of targets to apply your weapon procs to them at least ... I guess.
Really, I just don't think the charged attacks are all that great; Scepter and Longbow may be a different story but the melee ones thus far don't seem all that great.
Quite a few. The first one is pretty early on and the second one I found was pretty uninvolved in getting it.
I basically entered the town and was given a villa.
You can eventually even get a castle and then an island fortress. One of these is supposed to have your own underground mines to explore as well.
Sir Garbageman
Member
Anyone...?
Classy, spent most of his time talking sports but gave like a fifteen second plug for his game.
One more thing, any idea where weapon requirements top out? Another issue I see with Spellcloak is that higher-end gear may need higher amounts of investment in the related tree and hence Spellcloak may not be able to use the strongest chakrams in the game. Would be a shame if that's the case.
I'm playing on Hard and the game hasn't been too difficult thus far. I rarely have to use potions but I find myself battling the camera too much during the battles. Too many things happening offscreen. It's just too low and too close. I really hope they fix this quick.
I'm an expert
Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
The game is locked at 30fps on PS3? Just from the demo I had crazy frame drops when in battle with a few dudes in the tutorial dungeon. Is the retail release better?
Yep, playing on PS3 here as well. The game runs great. Quite a feat for such a huge game.
The performance is definitely better than the demo. Five hours and it's run smoothly so far; the tutorial dungeon is probably the worst in terms of performance.
You can get a castle and an ISLAND FORTRESS in this game.
Well Chakram and faeblades are clicking a bit now, I really like following up the 3rd of 4th chakram combo with a twisted claw, works pretty well on big enemies.
The only thing that is annoying me is not being able to dodge cancel out of some moves, or dodge out/block while you are getting hit; leads to me getting hit like 4 times by some enemies because my guy is staggering and can't do anything.
Not being able to dodge cancel out of the final attack in a combo is less of a concern, I understand that, but not being able to dodge or block when you are getting pounded is kind of annoying. Also the cooldown at the end of like, twisted claw, before you can dodge seems a bit too long.
Feels like most of the close range weapons aren't really suited for dealing with lots of enemies, I always feel the need to pick away at groups with chakrams before actually engaging.
The only thing that is annoying me is not being able to dodge cancel out of some moves, or dodge out/block while you are getting hit; leads to me getting hit like 4 times by some enemies because my guy is staggering and can't do anything.
Not being able to dodge cancel out of the final attack in a combo is less of a concern, I understand that, but not being able to dodge or block when you are getting pounded is kind of annoying. Also the cooldown at the end of like, twisted claw, before you can dodge seems a bit too long.
Feels like most of the close range weapons aren't really suited for dealing with lots of enemies, I always feel the need to pick away at groups with chakrams before actually engaging.
The_Darkest_Red
Member
Agreed. I'm also playing on PS3 and I can tell a huge difference in performance from the demo to the final product. The camera also has a much tighter feel which goes a long way in a game this expansive.
BabeSlayer
Member
10 straight hours yesterday and only 2 glitches I was very very impressed..only one of which was game breaking. (Got stuck inside a big spider and couldn't move..had to reload my latest save) I'm on an xbox 360 btw.
I am loving this game, blacksmithing is actually fun in this game that is something I have never said before. Loving the loot, I haven't even touched the main quest yet.
I am loving this game, blacksmithing is actually fun in this game that is something I have never said before. Loving the loot, I haven't even touched the main quest yet.
Wind's Howling
Member
This can happen at some times but when you are outside just fast travel to somewhere else.
BabeSlayer
Member
Ya i was in a cave so couldn't
but wasn't that big of a deal TBH. Nothing as bad as Skyrim type bugs.Weapons have no stat requirements, just level. No idea on Armor stat requirements but I imagine it might actually go all the way up to around 100. The level appropriate equipment for the area I'm in right now are already nearing 30 in the corresponding tree while the weapons are only up to Level 15.
Haven't seen any Hybrid equipment (that is, requires two trees).
Some hits will stagger you and you'll just eat the combo. Kobolds are pretty good at this with their three-hit combo. I think it just teaches you the importance of blocking appropriately! :x
razgriz417
Member
Just started this game and got to the demo area/first town. Opened the chest and got my dlc only to find that most of the Fate weapons were already worse than I had, though it was nice to get a free set of Chakrams to play with. Loving this right now
Does anyone know where/if there's a way to store your loot somewhere? I have a bunch of dlc items that I want to save, even though they arent useful because they look unique. Also, does crafting material take up your inventory space? Like to drop that off if it does.
Does anyone know where/if there's a way to store your loot somewhere? I have a bunch of dlc items that I want to save, even though they arent useful because they look unique. Also, does crafting material take up your inventory space? Like to drop that off if it does.
Wind's Howling
Member
There is a quest that eventually gets you a house but that is about 4-5 hours into the game and unless you want to get owned by spiders I would not suggest going to
webwood
sloppyjoe_gamer
Gold Member
Quick Q...how do you lock on to an enemy during battle....or cant you?
Wind's Howling
Member
You can not. The game locks itself on the opponent you are currently attacking, facing or is closest near you. The bow does use an auto-lock function.
razgriz417
Member
Thanks, guess I'll be lugging around all this stuff for a while :/ (Screw my inner loot whore)