What are you playing now: The New Thread

[Mamoulian War]

Started to play Celestian Tales: Old North few days ago, and moved forward little bit with the story. Normal difficulty is pretty fine for the "story" mode. Not to hard, some times little bit easy, but OK for following the story. I am enjoying it so far, we'll see how it will move forward later

 

[Keyrock]

I finished Code Vein NG+ with the true ending. I found the Skull King battle a bit easier this time around, my glass cannon build did indeed pay off. I didn't outright kill him before he went into phase 3, but my damage output was high enough that I was able to finish him very quickly once he went into phase 3, so he never had a chance to really get going. The final battle of the game, The Virgin Born, I had significantly more trouble with than on the first run through the game, probably because of the glass cannon build. The odd thing about that battle is that it actually become easier IMHO once she (?) goes into phase 2. Phase 1 was the difficult phase for me, I obliterated her once I managed to survive into phase 2.

I'm done with the game for now, 82 hours is enough, I guess. We'll see once the DLCs come out if they're worth picking up. The true ending definitely sets the game up for sequels. Whether it sold well enough that sequels will be made, that I don't know, but story-wise, the opening is certainly there.

[Hawke64]

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin. Defeated the Old Iron King. It has been a fairly straightforward run so far, I've been dying mostly to gravity, defeating bosses on first attempts. The Smelter Demon and the entrance to the Iron Keep were slightly more difficult, because the knights there were more mobile and aggressive, than I remembered, and I was low on Estus when I reached the boss. The bridge itself seemed to be recreated as a PvP spot even in the offline mode - I got two NPC invaders.
The phantoms, added in SotFS, were both effective (could kill stuff and not die at the same time) and friendly (they performed appropriate gestures and used items). The old ones who were in the original version have not changed - sturdy, but not expressive.

The two bosses who can be hard to defeat are the Fume Knight and the Dark Lurker (not sure about spelling). I have not yet found the keys to any of the DLC areas.

[ComradeYellow]

Dark Souls II is like Mario II.  It's got some interesting elements but it's -all in all- the weird one of the bunch.

[bugarup]

I'm still loitering about Baldur's Gate 2, making new parties just to abandon them in a short while. Surprisingly enough, Chateau Irenicus does not annoy me enough to get Dungeon-be-gone, but I'm in dire need for a "Quaffs a couple of thievery potions and steals all the scrolls in Waukeen promenade" mod.

[melkathi]

I missed one collectable in the first world in Woven...

[ComradeYellow]

Thread inspired me to delve into Dark Souls III again.  Trying as a Caster/Thief build and showing great early success.  But then again I'm reminded that once you hit triple digit character levels, specialization becomes irrelevant and you can just equip or customize anyway you see fit.  Tis the bane of Soulsbourne games,

[Hawke64]

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin. Defeated Duke's Dear Freja (a giant two-headed spider) with 3 phantoms, whom I summoned while looking for the way to the second bonfire in the area. It was more chaotic, than going alone, but the NPCs were quite capable.
Also after saving Ornifex in the Shaded Ruins, I decided to try the Lost Sinner in NG+ (I had 1 bonfire ascetic). The boss dropped its NG+ soul, which I traded for the Chaos Blade.

It leaves only one path from Majula to clear and the Gutter is a worthy successor of Blighttown. A lot of wooden ladders and catwalks, poison, and zero visibility as a bonus. There should not be anything necessary for the run, so I intend to get to the Black Gulch as fast as possible without exploring much.

[MedicineDan]

I can trust myself to ask one question: is a primary arcane caster class viable in Dark Souls?

 

EDIT: I Don't mean hybrid caster, but a spell hurler.

Edited November 17, 2019 by MedicineDan

[Hawke64]

4 hours ago, MedicineDan said:

I can trust myself to ask one question: is a primary arcane caster class viable in Dark Souls?

 

EDIT: I Don't mean hybrid caster, but a spell hurler.

I haven't played a caster, but heard that it should be viable in DS1 and 2 and not recommended in DS3. I suppose (not sure), there are too many stats required to cast effectively and number of spells per rest is limited.

Found a build for DS2: https://darksouls2.wiki.fextralife.com/Pure+Caster

For DS3: https://darksouls3.wiki.fextralife.com/Mage+Build

[ComradeYellow]

Pyromancer is easily the most OP class in DS3 on its own terms.

Caster is only good when you combine it with a high dex/stamina/short weapons build.

[Mamoulian War]

5 hours ago, MedicineDan said:

I can trust myself to ask one question: is a primary arcane caster class viable in Dark Souls?

 

EDIT: I Don't mean hybrid caster, but a spell hurler.

Because I for some reason always prefer to play caster classes in all of my computer games as main characters, I have tried this also for Souls Games, but because of the achievements, I have later made my character more into hybrid class.

Pure caster is very, very viable in Demon's Souls, if you have time and will to farm spices I have combined it with Moon Flachion when I needed mana regeneration, and pretty good in Dark Souls 1, but IMO, because of the limited number of spells you can learn. I have combined it with high dexterity, to be able to wield Uchigatana, because of its bleeding property.

But there are some crazy glass cannon builds for experts, which I've never tried which can almost one-shot everything.

Check this thread maybe to learn more about magic in Souls: https://www.giantbomb.com/forums/dark-souls-6255/sorcery-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-533893/

[Mamoulian War]

Also, I have finished story of Reynard de la Foret in Celestian Tales: Old North as my first playthrough of this game. It's short (around 10 hours long) but enjoyable game in a style of JRPG, which has some interesting plot twists for player to experience. The most surprising thing for me was, that it is one of very few games, where you do not play the hero, which has to save the world, but you play a squire, who with other pupils, helps the big generals with small tasks in the background of the comming war against a threat from The North. The game has also a prequel DLC, which is story about one of these big generals, how he became the big hero.

[ComradeYellow]

55 minutes ago, Mamoulian War said:

Souls 1, but IMO, because of the limited number of spells you can learn. I have combined it with high dexterity, to be able to wield Uchigatana, because of its bleeding property.

Magic Weapon + Uchigatana is a great early build yes, also good have Great Soul arrow in there as well for ranged control.  Will require some dodging and maneuvering though, as chances are you have to sacrifice points in HP and Equip Load.

[Keyrock]

With Code Vein out of the way I kinda feel like playing something non-action-y, probably a point & click adventure or a puzzle game of some sort. Until I figure out what said game is, I'm back to Witcher 3. I just finished up in Skellige, for the time being. I decided to put Cerys on the throne. Of the 3 choices, I actually think Svanrige would make the best ruler. However, to put Svanrige on the throne I would have to let Birna get away with murder and abandon a friend (Crach) in need, and I couldn't bring myself to do that. Of Crach's 2 children, Hjalmar as ruler would mean a stronger and more aggressive army in the fight against The Black Ones, however I think Cerys would be the overall better ruler in the long run because she is more level headed and less impulsive, plus she will put a stop to the piracy. If there was a way to put Svanrige on the throne while still punishing his mother, I would have done that, alas, choices in TW3 are rarely that simple.

[Mamoulian War]

5 hours ago, Keyrock said:

With Code Vein out of the way I kinda feel like playing something non-action-y, probably a point & click adventure or a puzzle game of some sort. Until I figure out what said game is, I'm back to Witcher 3. I just finished up in Skellige, for the time being. I decided to put Cerys on the throne. Of the 3 choices, I actually think Svanrige would make the best ruler. However, to put Svanrige on the throne I would have to let Birna get away with murder and abandon a friend (Crach) in need, and I couldn't bring myself to do that. Of Crach's 2 children, Hjalmar as ruler would mean a stronger and more aggressive army in the fight against The Black Ones, however I think Cerys would be the overall better ruler in the long run because she is more level headed and less impulsive, plus she will put a stop to the piracy. If there was a way to put Svanrige on the throne while still punishing his mother, I would have done that, alas, choices in TW3 are rarely that simple.

I would recommend you Stasis and Cayne for point and clicking If you are into horrors and you are not bothered by some "unpleasant" gory stuff. Stasis was free on GOG. Cayne still is. It took me around 14 hours to get through both of them. If you are not sure, if that could be your cup of tea, feel free to check my YT channel in my signature (yes, yes, shameless self-promotion ) If you are more into comedy, I would recommend Deponia series. Or if you are active on GOG forums, there is in one giveaway 3 copies of Whispered World Special Edition, which are still not not taken for more than 3 or 4 months.

https://www.gog.com/forum/general/the_community_giveaway_gog_edition_redux/page1

[GhostofAnakin]

Started a game of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, but just couldn't get into it.  Which is weird because I liked the first two games of the trilogy.

I think sometimes I have to be in a specific mood to play certain games, and right now I'm not in a Tomb Raider mood.  But the completionist in me is itching because I started it and don't like leaving games unfinished.

[Mamoulian War]

And I have started today the DLC for the Celestian Tales: Old North called the Howl of the Ravager. It is prequel to the game, which is story about one of the biggest heroes of the land. So far little bit easier than the main game, two hours, three boss fights. And I've encountered one glitch, with which I have ended up in the walls of one mansion, and because I forgot to save, I lost 30 minutes of progress Still having enough fun to like the DLC as well.

 

[Zoraptor]

Finished The Outer Worlds. Overall I'd rate it pretty highly, but it's definitely in the good* rather than excellent category. It was also very unstable for me with the companion map load bug, but I worked around it OK in the end which I wouldn't have if I didn't like it; and the limited support for ultrawide was disappointing though ultimately a minor complaint. Definitely a game where I'd hope for a sequel in the belief that a sequel would go from good to excellent with lessons learned. I can't see myself replaying TOW itself anytime soon, but I'd definitely consider picking up DLC at some point.

Spoiler

I guess the obvious sequel hook is what happened to Earth, and presumably (and sensibly really) any sequel would require a new character; though Earth wouldn't fit too well with 'Outer' Worlds.

Anyway, liked all the NPCs, and probably ended up using Nyoka and Ellie most. They were probably a bit too 'tropey' and single issue but at least were more believably so than the typical Bioware NPC. It was way too easy on normal. Quest design was a bit too samey and needed some more variation, skills were mostly useful without being overly so, but itemisation/ loot was distinctly (though typically, cannot remember the last game with good itemisation I played) meh. The plot was pretty straight forward but well executed. Don't really know what to think of the ultimate antagonist though, since you barely interacted with her and you don't have a long conversation with her as you did with the antagonists in most Obsidian/ BIS games; and while general dialogue was competently done there wasn't much that was truly memorable. Gunplay and graphics were fine and performance was good on a Vega64 with my only slow downs being on the level loading, though gunplay and enemy types definitely needed more variation.

So overall, close to the very definition of a 8/10 game. But since I played it on gamepass it was probably the best value for money I've ever had...

*Indeed I think I'd rate pretty much every single aspect of it as 'good, but not excellent', which doesn't happen all that often.

[Malcador]

Finally got a challenging mission in Tropico 6, although not too bad - I have glorious boat manufacturing and offices so money's sorted.  Game sure has oddball behaviour, with workers preferring to live in a shack near their work rather than a tenement or apartment down the road.  There are some funny moments when a 'Rich' citizen chooses to live in a shack though.

[Hawke64]

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin. I ran through the Gutter, cleared the Black Gulch (no idea how I was supposed to find the giants or Lucatiel, if I did not know about their locations - the ledges were nearly invisible) and the Drangleic Castle, reached the Shrine of Amana and collected all DLC keys. It seems like length-wise DS1 and DSII are quite similar - 2 bells=>4 great souls and 4 great souls=>King's ring =>the Ancient Dragon's thing (I forgot what it is) - but the order is reversed.

The Outer Worlds. I completed character creation and part of the tutorial section. I am going to continue the playthrough after DSII. So far I like the humor and appreciate 5-button mouse support.

[melkathi]

Started Narcos.

It looks like an XCOM clone at first but has some major differences:

1) Alternate Activations: You activate a unit, the AI activates a unit. You could activate the same unit again or a different one.

2) Counteracts - Real Time Overwatch: Your troops gain counteract points for kills and/or for unused actions. If a unit has a full counteract (you get half a point for unused actions) and an opponent runs into your LoS, you can shoot them in real time by mousing the targeting reticule over them and firing. It does mean you may miss the opportunity because you weren't paying attention, but it also means that if you don't want to waste a shot or wait a bit for the enemy to move completely out of cover, you can.

3) Killshots - Real Time Crits: Crits too are done in real time. You get to shoot again, executing the opponent with a kill shot. A bit gimicky, but it works so far.

4) Rest: Everyone has a rest action, which allows them to restore 1 health. I am a bit skeptical about this; it remains to be seen if/how that slows down the missions.

[GhostofAnakin]

23 hours ago, Zoraptor said:

Finished The Outer Worlds. Overall I'd rate it pretty highly, but it's definitely in the good* rather than excellent category. It was also very unstable for me with the companion map load bug, but I worked around it OK in the end which I wouldn't have if I didn't like it; and the limited support for ultrawide was disappointing though ultimately a minor complaint. Definitely a game where I'd hope for a sequel in the belief that a sequel would go from good to excellent with lessons learned. I can't see myself replaying TOW itself anytime soon, but I'd definitely consider picking up DLC at some point.

  Hide contents

I guess the obvious sequel hook is what happened to Earth, and presumably (and sensibly really) any sequel would require a new character; though Earth wouldn't fit too well with 'Outer' Worlds.

Anyway, liked all the NPCs, and probably ended up using Nyoka and Ellie most. They were probably a bit too 'tropey' and single issue but at least were more believably so than the typical Bioware NPC. It was way too easy on normal. Quest design was a bit too samey and needed some more variation, skills were mostly useful without being overly so, but itemisation/ loot was distinctly (though typically, cannot remember the last game with good itemisation I played) meh. The plot was pretty straight forward but well executed. Don't really know what to think of the ultimate antagonist though, since you barely interacted with her and you don't have a long conversation with her as you did with the antagonists in most Obsidian/ BIS games; and while general dialogue was competently done there wasn't much that was truly memorable. Gunplay and graphics were fine and performance was good on a Vega64 with my only slow downs being on the level loading, though gunplay and enemy types definitely needed more variation.

So overall, close to the very definition of a 8/10 game. But since I played it on gamepass it was probably the best value for money I've ever had...

*Indeed I think I'd rate pretty much every single aspect of it as 'good, but not excellent', which doesn't happen all that often.

I'd rank it about the same.  About an 8/10.  I did play through a second time, however, mainly to see how siding with the other side would play out.

I liked the companions well enough, but I thought some of them weren't really fleshed out much.  Ellie disappointed me, mainly, with her "sidequest".

If they add some DLC or expansion, I'll definitely go back to it.  As is, however, I think my two play throughs are the most I'll ever play because of the shortcomings I feel it had (that I voiced elsewhere).

[Wormerine]

I played quite a bit of Hollow Knight, and I think I am done with it.

I really enjoyed it until I reached the 1st (bad ending). Getting to the 2nd one was annoying, even though I already did bunch of extra stuff. With excessive backtracking it becomes a massive time waster. I didn't find wealth of extra content appealing, as combat was too basic for me to enjoy. The platforming section was infuriating - it's not build for this kind of precise movement, plus some design flaws - like not being able what's ahead of you, and poor signaling of danger zones (like how far saw blades go). 

Still, looking forward to the sequel - I hope they will expand on the combat and movement. 

[Tale]

A bit of Destiny 2, just enough to get the season title. Looks like this season was kind of meh and now it's essentially over. I might log back in to do dailies and weeklies so I can get the rest of the Empyrean Cartographer set, but don't expect to really play more of it. Dawn better sound incredible or I won't even come back for that.

A bit of Destiny 1, still struggling to do the 220-280 grind. My lowest level item is still gloves and I'm holding on upgrading anything until I get that. Can't do strikes since nobody is playing the level 36 versions. Just have to grind Court of Oryx solo, I guess. I did get Husk of the Pit. That's the good news.

And I just started The Outer Worlds. My god the environments are gorgeous. Who is responsible for this?