What do y'all think of Magran's Fires?

[Verde]

Which ones do you like, which ones don't you? Which seem in need of heavy tweaking vs good as they are?

[Boeroer]

I don't like any of them. But if there's players out there who feel differently: cool!

[Frak]

I like Skaens Challenge. I've activated Ondras too, but haven't been to sea enough to judge.

[Wormerine]

I am yet to try any of those (probaby for my 3rd playthrough, but I am also sort of waiting maybe for the turn based mode if it will ever happen) so here is my view on them purely based on discriptions:

Quite interested in using:

-Galawain

 

Looks cool on paper but expect it to be dull/frustrating in practice:

-Berath

-Abydon

-Rymgrand

-Hylea

-Woedica

 

Not interested in at all:

-Eothas

-Magran

-Skaen

-Ondra

-Wael

 

Not doing solo and cenrtainly not triple crown.

 

Personally I see most of them as too irritating to commit full playthrough to (not a big fan of starting and abandoning a playthrough). What I would be interested in is a "random" option - alternate between a random Fire every once in a while (every hour maybe?) Well, except the Eothas one. Screw that one. 

[Starwars]

I did a playthrough with Ondra's challenge. I mean, I liked it more than playing without it but it's not a huge change. I did like that storms get a somewhat bigger role but they are still weird in that they're "setpieces" that just wobble back and forth. If they spawned randomly and moved around at random before disappearing again it would've been way cooler.

The faster enemy ships is of no consequence really. I mean, it's only really a problem if you happen to get caught in the early game. But I guess I like it in the sense that I did get forced into a few more ship battles than normally and actually had to engage in those systems a bit more where my crew got injured and I had to repair the ship.

 

So pretty small changes overall but I do like them a bit more than the vanilla experience I suppose though I'm not crazy about it.

 

I'm pretty intrigued by Woedica's Challenge but I just wonder how it will feel in a game that is created with the per-encounter stuff as a base. I get that it will be a challenge but will it be interesting and fun?

[thelee]

top tier, near-100% use for all future runs

- Skaen: matters more than I thought while still being subtle. Carrying torches into battle (and/or deliberately choosing to use Xoti's Lantern or the special sabre-torch) is definitely something that I've never done before and I enjoy doing. I like the occasional tension of switching away from a torch-based weapon set to do more damage at the expense of losing visibility on distant archers or mages. I also like the tension that some items care about being at night, but doing so also disadvantages you a bit (either with reduced visibility or having to carry suboptimal torches). Torches are club proficiency, and I have definitely wacked bosses with a torch for the -25 will in a pinch.

- Ondra: makes the storms more of a real concern, some of them are just friggin massive and won't go away. Ship combat is more brutal until you get a really fast ship, can't just outsail or run away as easily (note: ships aren't just faster on the map, they are faster in the ship encounter as well, which can be pretty brutal if you're unprepared for a fight because it might mean you can't run away or control your distance very well).

- Rymygrand: of the different challenges that makes resting more impactful, I like this the most. Once you assemble a good collection of rest bonuses you really don't want to rest if you don't have to, because you might not have the right ingredients to recreate it (or you might be stuck with hardtack). Makes faster ship sailing and more efficient exploration meaningful. Acts as a money sink in a less annoying way than Abydon's. Makes you pay more attention to what stores sell what kind of ingredients (Harbinger's Watch is my A++ location despite being so far out of the way, because of the Lager that gives -15% recovery time for my pukestabber and the ease to make Brew-Battered Ysae).

 

ok tier, fun as a diversion

- Berath: basically is a "no knockout" challenge until you get some revive effects. They increased the duration to 10s, so I don't have complaints about it anymore. Can be a bit weird sometimes because "no runnign from encounters" sometimes means including enemies you didn't think were part of the "encounter"

- Galawain: I would put this as top-tier due to how it makes fighting beasts much more interesting and challenging, but it's also high-risk. Dragons are beasts, the big cave grub is a beast, as are some megabosses, and if you get really unlucky you could get a nasty bonus on them. I think the worst would either be Bullish (they interrupt and push on any hit) or Unstoppable (can't be afflicted or interrupted) - a nasty buff can significantly make bosses harder, might even make certain megabosses impossible (I haven't tried any megabosses with this on yet).

- Hylea: was suprisingly fun, but there's a bug right now where Vela is super squishy now which basically requires you to have 100% withdraw uptime or get one shot, so I would stay away until that gets fixed.

 

buh tier, doing it just for the checkmark

- Wael: meh

- Eothas: the time constraint is fun for Acts I and II, but with Act III you either way have too much time (because you frontloaded it into Act II) or not enough time (if you planned on doing any of the extra content). I wish they had come up with a way to have a time constraint that didn't basically lock down your ability to explore.

- Woedica: I actually prefer the per-encounter system. It also doesn't help that the game is not really balanced for per-encounter, so certain classes/setups become extremely good on this challenge (e.g. cipher, chanter, blood mage). Combining this with Rymrgand would be insane since most prepared foods decay in 1-3 days.

- Abydon: I liked it at first, but repairing becomes extremely tedious. I would happily accept less frequent repairs with a proportionally increased cost. Having to be deliberate about what weapons you use is one thing (and makes summoned weapons and fists better), but having to repair/switch weapon or armor after every battle once you get to mid-late game is just super annoying.

 

garbage tier

- Magran: not as bad now that you can slow time, but still, wtf

Edited January 17, 2019 by thelee

[Verde]

Skaens challenge interests me but I wimped out this playthrough

[Verde]

Nooooo...Hylea's Bounty spoiled! Anyway around this? Maybe using it for the digsite drake fight? Ugh.

[daven]

I have been doing the one which makes it darker or something. Makes dungeons feel a lot more... hmm... can't quite think of the word. But it's a good thing. I like having some torches out and that, adds to the role playing I suppose.

[thelee]

Nooooo...Hylea's Bounty spoiled! Anyway around this? Maybe using it for the digsite drake fight? Ugh.

You can time it so that you do the first area without rest then head *straight* to Port Maje (no stopping anywhere), then you can recruit Xoti, and hire any hirelings, then immediately leave town and that leaves you a couple hours to rest your party with Hylea Bounty or Captain Banquet before they spoil. Then hold onto that resting bonus as long as you can.

Edited January 18, 2019 by thelee

[Verde]

 

Nooooo...Hylea's Bounty spoiled! Anyway around this? Maybe using it for the digsite drake fight? Ugh.

You can time it so that you do the first area without rest then head *straight* to Port Maje (no stopping anywhere), then you can recruit Xoti, and hire any hirelings, then immediately leave town and that leaves you a couple hours to rest with Hylea Bounty or Captain Banquet before they spoil. Then hold onto that resting bonus as long as you can.

Ah. Thx. Not a big deal now that I know - I can use it for the Drake fight - just never considered it.

 

Good pt about maintaining the resting bonus. Does that mostly mean not getting injuries or using per rest abilities?

Edited January 18, 2019 by Verde

[thelee]

 

 

Nooooo...Hylea's Bounty spoiled! Anyway around this? Maybe using it for the digsite drake fight? Ugh.

You can time it so that you do the first area without rest then head *straight* to Port Maje (no stopping anywhere), then you can recruit Xoti, and hire any hirelings, then immediately leave town and that leaves you a couple hours to rest with Hylea Bounty or Captain Banquet before they spoil. Then hold onto that resting bonus as long as you can.

Ah. Thx. Not a big deal now that I know - I can use it for the Drake fight - just never considered it.

Good pt about maintaining the resting bonus. Does that mostly mean not getting injuries or using per rest abilities?

Yeah, or even if you have injuries just pushing through if it's only a few.

 

There's a whole thread about no-rest runs, might have useful pointers.

[Gniel]

I've now completed all of Magran's Fires. I did it 3 runs, I think, and all on Veteran.

 

Run 1: Eothes + Magran

The was actually my first time to beat the game. The timer takes away a lot from the game, but it also helped me learn how to speed run the game and huge advantage that doing the main story first thru Magran's Teeth (Act 3 I think). This influenced how I played the next two runs a great deal.

 

Run 2: Berath + Skaen + Galawain + Ondra + Woedica

Woedica's and Ondra's are annoying. I barely noticed Galawain. Berath was difficult but I figured out a team comp that worked until I got resurrect. Also, speed running the main story allowed me to be over leveled for much other content.

 

Run 3 (Nuclear fallout): Abydon + Rymrgand + Helyea + Wael

Equipment decay without being able to see how much funds you have was annoying as hell. I started with 55k via Berath's Blessings. I still ran out of money without upgrading my unique weapons until the end of the game. I had around 900 spoiled food items at the games end. This version was so annoying I speed ran it more than the others and beat the game at lvl 15. Hylea was also very annoying in herself as I made the mistake of running a melee Watcher. Hylea follows around the watcher, thus keeping her at a safe distance from the battle is a thing in itself. If you do Hylea main a ranged hero.

 

 

So I think I really enjoyed having the fires available as an option. I feel like Eothes was the only one that taught me much of anything about the game. I also spent more care paying attention the my AI programming with Magran's challenge. I was quite disappointment that there wasn't a final challenge unlocked after completing all the other challenges. There might have been some teasers on Twitter about this, so maybe it's coming.

 

I started on a triple crown run, but failed fighting the bats in the cave. I guess I'm not ready for a triple crown and am doing a PotD, Upscaling all, Iron mode. I'm only leaving out expert mode as I find this to be a very important aspect of trying my first run of PotD.

[thelee]

I've now completed all of Magran's Fires. I did it 3 runs, I think, and all on Veteran.

 

Run 1: Eothes + Magran

The was actually my first time to beat the game. The timer takes away a lot from the game, but it also helped me learn how to speed run the game and huge advantage that doing the main story first thru Magran's Teeth (Act 3 I think). This influenced how I played the next two runs a great deal.

 

Run 2: Berath + Skaen + Galawain + Ondra + Woedica

Woedica's and Ondra's are annoying. I barely noticed Galawain. Berath was difficult but I figured out a team comp that worked until I got resurrect. Also, speed running the main story allowed me to be over leveled for much other content.

 

Run 3 (Nuclear fallout): Abydon + Rymrgand + Helyea + Wael

Equipment decay without being able to see how much funds you have was annoying as hell. I started with 55k via Berath's Blessings. I still ran out of money without upgrading my unique weapons until the end of the game. I had around 900 spoiled food items at the games end. This version was so annoying I speed ran it more than the others and beat the game at lvl 15. Hylea was also very annoying in herself as I made the mistake of running a melee Watcher. Hylea follows around the watcher, thus keeping her at a safe distance from the battle is a thing in itself. If you do Hylea main a ranged hero.

 

 

So I think I really enjoyed having the fires available as an option. I feel like Eothes was the only one that taught me much of anything about the game. I also spent more care paying attention the my AI programming with Magran's challenge. I was quite disappointment that there wasn't a final challenge unlocked after completing all the other challenges. There might have been some teasers on Twitter about this, so maybe it's coming.

 

I started on a triple crown run, but failed fighting the bats in the cave. I guess I'm not ready for a triple crown and am doing a PotD, Upscaling all, Iron mode. I'm only leaving out expert mode as I find this to be a very important aspect of trying my first run of PotD.

 

 

lololol i didn't even think about the wael + abydon interaction annoyance. just be grateful you didn't combine rymrgand and woedica

[Verde]

I'm glad someone necro'd this.

 

I've been playing with Ondra, Rym, Galawain, and Abby challenges. I've tried Berath and Wael. Here are my thoughts -

 

Fun Enhancement Tier:

 

Rym - spoiling of food adds another, but reasonable, layer of strategy without breaking the bank. Also provides reason to visit all the food vendors.

 

Galawain - makes beasts tougher, but not terribly so

 

Kinda Not Noticeable Tier:

 

Ondra - bigger storms which is cool, but didn't notice too much else

 

Annoying Tier:

 

Abby - great idea but horrible execution. Weapons and armor break every other fight and if you're not careful they will break forever. Def hurts the wallet big time.

 

Berath - I mean it's fine, much harder in the beginning, but not really my cup of tea

 

WTF Bonkers Tier:

 

Wael - by hiding "some" numbers, it really means all numbers lol even ability charges and other necessary info. My hats off to anyone who completes this challenge.

Edited February 6, 2019 by Verde

[InsaneCommander]

I'll try Skaen's and Ondra's. I was thinking about Galawain's too, but if it affect megabosses, then I won't pick it. Some of the megabosses are really annoying so I might not even try beating them again, but I'd like to leave the option available.

 

Hylea's is interesting, but it could force me to restart the entire game when I reach a difficult spot, maybe even in the late game. So no.

 

Berath, Rymrgand and Abydon have interesting ones too, but I'll probably regret if I choose them.

 

Woedica's would be perfect if someone made a mod to make the game like the first one. Maybe then I'll choose it.

 

Eothas, Magran and Wael: no way.

 

That said, I'll probably try a pacifist run with all challenges enabled one day. If you really can get to level 19 without any battles, maybe it will be possible to get very far into the game. And since the end boss is optional, with a good party and AI settings, who knows...

[Pus-in-Boots]

I don't like any of them. But if there's players out there who feel differently: cool!

Care to elaborate?