[WinterPhoenix]

I played for a couple of hours last night after I finished watching Iron Fist, before catching a coupla hours sleep. Bout 55 hours now I think, finished the corrupted zones and bandit camps, got the last of the collectibles and did Maker's End. Some great info on that quest like you said Traveller. I hit lv 50 and got the last of the skills with the end of that main quest as well. Pretty much a straight shot of main/side quests till the end for me now. I don't want it to end though! :/ lol

This post has been edited by WinterPhoenix: 21 March 2017 - 06:56 AM

[Traveller]

I spent far too long killing foxes for that gold travel pack - and not one of them would drop a skin! I now have tons of meat and bones but no travel pack.

So I found the quarry sidequest and fought first rockbreaker. I was horribly inefficient and used a ton of arrows, but I kept missing him with the explosive crates that were obviously scattered around on purpose.

I got the 'All Machines Scanned' trophy though.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 21 March 2017 - 07:54 AM

[WinterPhoenix]

I still need 1 fox skin so I can buy the last Shadow weapon, the rattler. I noticed all the shadow gear shows up on the game completion page, so I'm assuming they count toward the %.

[Serenity]

 WinterPhoenix, on 20 March 2017 - 10:11 PM, said:

 Serenity, on 20 March 2017 - 10:08 AM, said:

Wandering along, minding my own business, and happened upon two corrupted Rockbreakers. Rode a bit past them, jumped off my mount and headed back to fight them. Midway through the fight my mount gets attacked by a Behemoth which then proceeds to attack me from behind mid-Rockbreaker-battle. There were rocks flying at me from every direction.

Then, finally having beaten the three of them, I went round the next corner and found three Snapmaws, five Tramplers and a Ravager. I overrode one of the Snapmaws as a decoy and sneaked into cover, turned around and watched a massive battle ensue, with a couple of Longlegs joining in for good measure. Carried on to my destination without a scratch.

So much fun

Those 2 corrupted Rockbreakers are definitely the hardest fight I've had so far! In fact, apart from overzealous jumping causing me to plummet to my death a few times and trying to use the Thunderjaw's Disclauncher on Ravager's while it attacked me, they are the only thing that has caused a gameover for me. They killed me twice before I got them, I went into the fight with very little healing items as well, so I had to roll for dear life. Freezing them when they jump up and start spitting rocks at you is a good strategy, when frozen you can do serious damage to their vulnerable parts with Hardpoint arrows. Not sure how I'd have done it if a Behemoth got involved as well, would probably have needed to make a trip for healing items tbh. Those corrupted versions are definitely more aggressive than the normal version I'd come across before, the pop-up attack like a game of whack-a-mole was used so often, hard to even get damage in.

Yeah, freezing them and then doing extra damage was the way I went with it. One of them was over half damage when the Behemoth got involved, so I managed to take that one out pretty quickly. Then it was a case of rolling and sprinting and hiding behind rocks whilst concentrating on the second Rockbreaker and steering clear of the Behemoth.

The second battle was quite spectacular with explosions going off, and then the Ravager coming in with its gun blazing. It was quite funny how the Tramplers stopped what they were doing to watch what was going on, and then they all decided to charge in and get involved. That Snapmaw did me proud.

[Traveller]

Dived off top of extremely high waterfall, out of curiosity mostly! Was quite surprised to miss all the rocks and land safely in a pool.

[WinterPhoenix]

So I finished this game yesterday! Was mostly done on Wednesday, basically just did the final mission before Andromeda came through my door, about 65 hours or so i the end. Problem is, I don't really wanna play anything else, was playing Skyrim before this came, genuinely cannot see how I could go back to those load times and stuff now.

Anyways, damn if the story don't get emotionally heavy! Not to say the story is bad before the Maker's End quest, it isn't at all, it just isn't really 'there' relative to how it ramps up later on - one particular scene had me genuinely hating someone who obviously isn't even real! Can't wait for a proper discussion once you guys have finished as well

Btw the Ultraweave outfit from the bunker is OP! Got it just before the final mission. I got the Platinum Trophy as well, but I'm a little annoyed because the completion % only says 96.82%. I still need a fox skin for the last shadow weapon, but I don't see how that's making up 3 whole percentage points. I'm guessing it's the 3 scanned glyphs and multiple World Datapoints that I still don't have that would make up the rest. I'm genuinely at a loss to explain how I managed to miss so many of the non-quest related datapoints, like where the hell are they? lol No idea where the other glyphs are either.

This game might have ruined alot of others for me :/ lol

This post has been edited by WinterPhoenix: 24 March 2017 - 08:03 AM

[Traveller]

I've had a couple of nights off, back into it later after work though - looking forward to it!

I'll be sticking with it for bit, I'm in no hurry and after DA:I and the reviews I've read I won't be getting Andromeda anytime soon.

Far more likely to get into the last DS3 dlc after Horizon.

[WinterPhoenix]

Actually just got the DS3 season pass a few days ago, will probably start on that when the Ringed City drops next week. Got the goty edition of Shadow of Mordor as well, seeing as I never played it back when it was getting alot of hype. Thinking about NieR Automata/Persona 5 as well maybe, if I can justify the price tags to myself! I've always got Witcher 3 NG+ or Fallout4/DA:I DLC to go at as well I guess. This game has made going at anything else straight away feel too soon, bit like how I felt with books when I finished The Crippled God lol Genuinely feel a little bereft, Aloy is just so damn wonderful.

As for Andromeda, all the animation criticism is spot on and well deserved, 5 years in development it's just unacceptable how bad it looks, for human characters especially. Will play for story I'm sure, but i'm in no hurry, once the Ringed City drops I'll probably drop Andromeda for awhile.


On topic once again though, I agree with BK that levelling in this game should really have some sort of positive effect on you melee damage, the spear becomes basically irrelevant outside of the override function. The heavy knockdown can let you override in situations where stealth has failed but again this just to override, if you using the spear for any sort of damage it's woefully inefficient.



EDIT: Btw Trav, what was up with DA:I for you?

This post has been edited by WinterPhoenix: 24 March 2017 - 02:09 PM

[Traveller]

 Briar King, on 24 March 2017 - 02:58 PM, said:

Stumbled across a Corrupted Zone with 2 Rockbreakers. Those look way to mean and I'm already having a tough time opening the map up on Carja side. I left...

Wise choice. Haven't found that zone yet but one regular rockbreaker was a handful.

Re. Dragon Age Inq... I liked the landscapes and the character creation, but overall I think I just prefer a single character to a group. So whereas everyone seems to like all the various group interactions, I found I wasn't interested in them. I enjoyed certain quests for characters in Mass Effect 1 and 2, but DA had a group I had no interest in. The menus for crafting and upgrading, for a number of characters, was overly bulky and unwieldy. With a forge for this, a magic whatever for that... I'd put it on to play and spend half an hour sorting though equipment.

And I think if I remember right that it was another case of 'follow the mini map' to highlighted goal, collect/kill/talk to, get another highlight... it was a trudge. I killed the end boss without a single death and it was all over. And I was quite relieved.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 24 March 2017 - 03:25 PM

[WinterPhoenix]

Even having completed the game, those 2 corrupted Rockbreakers are still the hardest fight I had. The only enemies to actually kill me, well except for the Hunting Ground Thunderjaw but that was my own fault. Gotta go in fully prepared for that fight!

Quite enjoyed DA:I, and the enjoyment wasn't significantly lessened on a replay, it isn't as good as Origins, but frankly very few games are for me. I guess I probably have blinders where Dragon Age is concerned though, hands down one of my favourite game worlds of all time - I actively dislike 2 comparitively, and still clocked well over a hundred hours over all playthroughs lol As for never dying, I long ago decided that the Dragon Age games need to be played on Nightmare to experience them as they should be, too easy otherwise and there's no need to be tactical. I can understand the too many 'fetch and retrieve' quests complaint though, too true unfortunately :/

But yeah I genuinely love the world building and characters for the Dragon Age world, some of the dialogue is just gold as well, particularly in the first game, but they all have their moments.

[Serenity]

I reached a point where I decided to leave all the remaining side quests, trials and cauldrons until after I finish the main quest. Then I'll get the Shield Weaver armour and have some fun with it for the last few hours I play until Persona 5 arrives next week

I haven't got far to go in the main quest now

Spoiler

I've just spoken to Sylens at the entry to the ruins on the Mountain That Fell quest

[Traveller]

 Serenity, on 28 March 2017 - 07:41 AM, said:

I reached a point where I decided to leave all the remaining side quests, trials and cauldrons until after I finish the main quest. Then I'll get the Shield Weaver armour and have some fun with it for the last few hours I play until Persona 5 arrives next week

I haven't got far to go in the main quest now

Spoiler

I've just spoken to Sylens at the entry to the ruins on the Mountain That Fell quest

Pretty much my plan now. I just finished the Redmaw quest and final cauldron so I'm getting fairly efficient at killing Thunderjaws. On my way up to the US base now to advance the main story.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 28 March 2017 - 08:51 AM

[WinterPhoenix]

Bk, if that's the ruin I think it is then you come back to that for a main mission, so no need to worry about not being able to get in, I did exactly the same thing. As for the spear, I agree entirely like said above, but honestly I found that the different shadow and Lodge bows plus freezing or fire did plenty of damage to kill things real fast, the spear becomes unnecessary - mostly because it's so inefficient, if it 'leveled up' I most probably would have used it for more than I did. Then again, I cut my teeth on Dark Souls, dodging and firing in this game isn't as difficult as some of the fights in that game series, I rarely found I needed to engage in melee tbh.

Ah Serenity, Trav, I actually genuinely wish I could experience that mission for the first time again, my gawd, the feels! Let me know what you thought when you're finished

This post has been edited by WinterPhoenix: 28 March 2017 - 09:52 AM

[Serenity]

 WinterPhoenix, on 28 March 2017 - 09:50 AM, said:

Ah Serenity, Trav, I actually genuinely wish I could experience that mission for the first time again, my gawd, the feels! Let me know what you thought when you're finished

You mean

Spoiler

when you find out Elisabet sacrificed herself in The Mountain That Fell? Yeah, some big revelations in that quest.

although (ending spoilers)

Spoiler

I found the scene right at the end where Aloy finds her body and listens to the final voice log even more affecting, when Elisabet says she what she would have wanted her child to be like. Kind of corny, I know, but it worked for me. Maybe it's just because I knew it was the final moments of the game.

So, yeah, I finished it finally. After I got the Shield Weaver armour I found loads of side quests I hadn't come across before, so I did all those first, then did the final main quests last night. I pretty much loved it from start to finish but I did find one thing I absolutely hated and that was

Spoiler

the scene that came after the end credits. It was totally unnecessary and I felt it undermined everything I/Aloy had just been through. I felt, up until then, everything had been handled really well, and the game and story felt complete. Even though we know there'll inevitably be a sequel or maybe story DLC, did they really need to whack us over the head with that cliffhanger? It kind of distracted from the 'proper' ending for me, which is a shame.

I'm standing at about 79% on trophies. I didn't bother finding all the collectibles or Grazer dummies, or doing the Hunter Trials and I'm not sure I can be bothered at the moment, but I might use them as an excuse to dip in and out when I fancy killing some machines.

Awesome, awesome game that has gone straight onto my list of all-time favourites along with the likes of Metroid Prime, Resi 4, The Last of Us and The Witcher 3. I'm not feeling quite as bereft as I did when I finished Witcher 3 (I couldn't play anything for about a week after that) but I might take a break for a day or two before launching into Persona 5.

[WinterPhoenix]

 Serenity, on 04 April 2017 - 07:59 AM, said:

 WinterPhoenix, on 28 March 2017 - 09:50 AM, said:

Ah Serenity, Trav, I actually genuinely wish I could experience that mission for the first time again, my gawd, the feels! Let me know what you thought when you're finished

You mean

Spoiler

when you find out Elisabet sacrificed herself in The Mountain That Fell? Yeah, some big revelations in that quest.

although (ending spoilers)

Spoiler

I found the scene right at the end where Aloy finds her body and listens to the final voice log even more affecting, when Elisabet says she what she would have wanted her child to be like. Kind of corny, I know, but it worked for me. Maybe it's just because I knew it was the final moments of the game.

So, yeah, I finished it finally. After I got the Shield Weaver armour I found loads of side quests I hadn't come across before, so I did all those first, then did the final main quests last night. I pretty much loved it from start to finish but I did find one thing I absolutely hated and that was

Spoiler

the scene that came after the end credits. It was totally unnecessary and I felt it undermined everything I/Aloy had just been through. I felt, up until then, everything had been handled really well, and the game and story felt complete. Even though we know there'll inevitably be a sequel or maybe story DLC, did they really need to whack us over the head with that cliffhanger? It kind of distracted from the 'proper' ending for me, which is a shame.

I'm standing at about 79% on trophies. I didn't bother finding all the collectibles or Grazer dummies, or doing the Hunter Trials and I'm not sure I can be bothered at the moment, but I might use them as an excuse to dip in and out when I fancy killing some machines.

Awesome, awesome game that has gone straight onto my list of all-time favourites along with the likes of Metroid Prime, Resi 4, The Last of Us and The Witcher 3. I'm not feeling quite as bereft as I did when I finished Witcher 3 (I couldn't play anything for about a week after that) but I might take a break for a day or two before launching into Persona 5.

Yeah that bit certainly had some feels, but I actually meant:

Spoiler

When you find out how Ted fucked over future people by obliterating all human knowledge in the Apollo subroutine. Then killing the rest of the Alpha's, including the hacker guy, my death metal buddy

It is a truly brilliant game though, I agree entirely. Top 10 all time quite possibly, though I'd need to give that kinda list some serious thought really. The story just ramps up so amazingly, gameplay is great, controls are fluid, mechanics work well - though I think things like skills need to be expanded for any potential sequels - and last but definitely not least the game just looks stunning.

[Traveller]

Yeah I've had a busy week. Back home late, and just finishing up Monte Cristo in spare time. Might have a try later.

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

I'm enjoying this game but it hasn't grabbed me get with that feeling that I have to get back to play more. I'm not too far into it, I just left the sacred lands. All the robots were too easy, now they are all too hard. I want to be into this game more than I am.

[Cause]

 Briar King, on 06 April 2017 - 10:55 PM, said:

 Raymond Luxury Yacht, on 06 April 2017 - 06:08 PM, said:

I'm enjoying this game but it hasn't grabbed me get with that feeling that I have to get back to play more. I'm not too far into it, I just left the sacred lands. All the robots were too easy, now they are all too hard. I want to be into this game more than I am.

I feel you on the robots. I'm having a real struggle in Carja lands. This is why I Bitch about gaining any strength on lvl ups. I'm reduced to sneaking/running by now and it's not cool. Your supposed to get stronger as you lvl in rpg's.

There is a wierd point in the game where the machine a get stronger and you haven't yet learnt how to maximize your skills that the game gets hard!

A few more levels for more hp. A few more discoveries of how to best exploit machine weaknesses and it all comes together. I think I was over ten hours in to the game before I realized how elemental damage really worked

[Traveller]

Just finished. Can't really add more to what has already been said - I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing, start to finish.

The ending was good, the

Spoiler

final scene where she finds Sobeck after all those holos and finding out about her sacrifice was... touching.

It had just the right amount of everything. Any more and it may have started to get repetitive.. so even the game length was well balanced. I don't think I've played a better made game. I feel like I just finished a very satisfying book.

[Traveller]

You don't need strength from level ups. I think that's what's clever about the game - instead of following the formula of 'getting stronger as everything else does' you gain in knowledge and technique.

When you first encounter a Thunderjaw they pretty much stomp all over you. Later on I was ripping off side panels and weapons, freezing them, then sticking multiple shots into their hearts using their own disc launcher.

The one skill path that actually increased the spear damage is the one I got last as it's not really needed.