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Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

bps21

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Got to put in some real time with the game today. I love combat. Some of the enemies are cheap as fuck so I go through a lot of potions since I'm playing on hard. But there's always a way.
 

Mik

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I haven't found any enemies cheap, necessarily, but treshes and other mage type enemies can be real tough on hard. The key is to get as close the distance as much as possible (counter to my normal strategy) and just wail away melee. Unless you're a rogue, in which case I have no suggestions.
 

Mazto

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Just did the funniest fateshifting ever. I was fighting some gnomes, and when I triggered the shift I slammed one of them down like I was doing an Alabama Slammer wrestling move and they bounced back up into my button mash of swinging a hammer like a baseball bat sending them flying across the giant hall.

Hilarious.
 

Mik

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I love this game. In my opinion it blows away every RPG I've played in years except Skyrim.

In fact, only Dragon Age: Origins is even in the conversation. DA2...forget it.
 

vivisectvi

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I've been taking my time with this one. I felt like I was going to rush through it to make room for Mass Effect 3 when that comes out, but I think I'll try to juggle both games (if time permits). I'm just making my way through the Ballads faction questline right now and it's pretty cool.

I also just got another set of purple daggers and chakrams that are pretty sweet. I think the chakrams are called "Dragon's Teeth" or something like that, and do fire damage. The daggers do fire or ice damage depending on what time of day you use them (fire in the daylight, ice at night). I've also been finding a LOT of powerful bows.. so many that I'm thinking the game wants me to respec to use more archery. Might just do that. ;)
 

Mazto

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Does anyone use any other weapon combo than Weapon and Chakrams? For awhile I was trying to go pure rogue with daggers and a bow and hated it. Chakrams forever.
 

bps21

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I used a longsword and a greatsword. When I had them stunned with the quicker longsword I would tear them up with the greatsword. Plus the roll into greatsword downward slash does a ton of damage.
 

Mazto

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I could see that, I have no points in Might, so I have a pair of Chakrams that I forged that does more damage (200) than any Greatsword or Hammer I've come across.

Maybe it's just my play style but I've been cornered too often and had to use the Whirling Dervish Chakrams cyclone of death to knock back surrounding foes to often to use anything but that as my secondary. Might reroll a character and drop some might down.
 

Mik

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Finding this just like Skyrim... it's gotten to the point where I barely even look at chests anymore because 95% of what's in there is completely useless to me. I have over a million gold and gear that suits me just fine. I still haven't even explored the entire right side of the map so I feel like maybe that happened a little too early.
 

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http://www.joystiq.com/2012/02/29/the-legend-of-dead-kel-is-reckonings-second-dlc-arrives-on-m/

amalurdlcheader.png


Interested in buying a fancy virtual house? Beyond a handful of new objectives on an island paradise (Gallow's End), that's exactly what you'll get out of the upcoming downloadable content for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, arriving on March 20 to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

The content claims to add 15% more space to the overall world map in Reckoning as well, and introduces new enemy types, dungeon areas, and loot. More importantly, though, it introduces Gravehal Keep, a fancy new domicile for your fate-less explorer to, presumably, throw garish parties. No pricing was given for the content, but we'd wager a dollar that it'll cost at least $10 when it arrives later this month.

Update: EA confirmed the price at 800 MS Points/$9.99 across all platforms.
 

Mik

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Finally crossed the ocean, and fought Balor during the seige on Mel Senshir...epic.

The right side of the map is proving to be pretty fun.
 

Mazto

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The House of Sorrows line is pretty fun, I just unlocked Seaview Castle and it's radness, easily my favorite house because the lay out to the crafting stuff is simpler than the one in Adessa.

Got a nice pair of daggers that have like 20 percent chance to steal health, and with my self-made gear with health and mana regen on it I rarely have to use potions now unless I run into multiple casters or ungodly amounts of enemies.

I don't know what review of this didn't like Blacksmithing, but I easily make better stuff than anything that drops for me even Epic gear. The only drops I use now are things like my daggers because I like the higher health theft, and the rings. Everything else is made. Even when I had Dreadscale with three gem pants, I got the Dreadscale legging piece for crafting and had like 50 more armor points on them in addition to plus 100 health and mana I got from different components, then bleeding resistance and mana regen.
 

Mik

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Like Skyrim, Blacksmithing at the highest level kind of breaks the game. I pretty much speed ran through the right side of the map. It was very fun but didn't even stop to look at chests or explore the dungeons - no need.

Just beat the game an hour or so ago.

The final quest lacks the epic scale of let's say a Dragon Age Game (like Origins, with trolls everywhere and then the Archdemon), but you certainly clear out room of 10-15 Tuartha at a time regularly which is somewhat fun. But the final boss battle was really well executed, realllly cool final boss. Like the rest of the game, though, a little too easy.

Games like this and Skyrim need to figure something better out to keep the challenge all game. Both of them start out epic and unreal and then stay good but are way too easy at the end.
 

Mazto

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Just ran through the ending.

Pretty sweet fight. Clocked in just shy of 70 hours, did 5 of the 6 factions completely. I might reroll just to get the Schola Arcana one done and maybe make some different choices on the main plot.

My only gripe is that they give you random drops like you ran a WoW dungeon, and I kept getting Might gear/weapons that were totally useless to me.
 

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Finally diving into the DLC Dead Kel content.. It's fucking huge! Lots of shit to do and a hell of a lot of items and new features.. The player housing alone is massive.
 

vivisectvi

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Just got this bad ass armor set via the Dead Kel DLC. I've resolved myself to stop black smithing. As said earlier it outclasses everything you find.. But doesn't look as cool. ;)

Apgkb92CQAAlyKh.jpg
 

vivisectvi

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Joystiq said:
New downloadable content for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is slated to arrive later this month. Entitled "Teeth of Naros," it has players exploring the land known as the Teeth of Naros, where they will "encounter the Kollossae, a devout race of giants, and uncover the mysteries of their faith."

The DLC will feature the magical, floating city of Idylla, 20 side quests, dungeons and new enemies to fight. And, of course, there will be some fresh loot, including Twists of Fate, armor sets and weapons. Teeth of Naros will hit Xbox Live, PSN, Origin and Steam on April 17 for $10.

Press Release said:
Glimpse into the future of Amalur, as Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA), 38 Studios, and Big Huge Games unveil Teeth of Naros™, the second downloadable content (DLC) pack for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning™. Players will journey through a forgotten land called the Teeth of Naros, a harsh environment named after an ancient troll god. In this new journey players will encounter the Kollossae, a devout race of giants, and uncover the mysteries of their faith. Teeth of Naros will be available starting on April 17, 2012 on Xbox Live for 800 points and PlayStation®Network, Origin™ and Steam for $9.99.

The Teeth of Naros DLC and the journey through the mysterious land will feature:

A New City - Explore the city of Idylla, which magically floats in the sky above the Teeth of Naros featuring more than 20 side quests, multiple dungeons and a mysterious new race
New Enemies and Dungeons - Players will take part in a crucible of faith and tribulation with new dangers and enemies as they journey through five enormous new dungeons
New Twists of Fate and Items - Three new Twists of Fate, nine new armor sets, six new shields and 18 new unique weapons for players to choose from as they journey through this new world
 

vivisectvi

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Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning - Teeth of Naros Trailer

Q&A from the Amalur site:

Will there be an increase in stash and/or inventory limit? – By nodamnit

One of the merchants in the Teeth of Naros DLC does sell a backpack, so you will be able to increase your inventory limit a little.


Will there be an increase in level? Maybe new abilities? – By nodamnit

Raising the level cap is something that we wanted to do for the Teeth of Naros DLC, but due to logistical constraints we were not able to do so.

As for new abilities, we have implemented a new damage type called Primal Magic. By using one of several unique "Primal" weapons, you can dramatically increase the damage caused by your spells for a short period of time.


How many hours of gameplay is this estimated to add? – By Dynimix

We haven't done a time trial, but we've got at least 20 hours of additional content in this DLC pack. It's a giant DLC in more ways than one! Nyuk nyuk nyuk.

I'm here 'til Thursday. Tip your waitress.


Will you be able to fast travel in and out of the DLC area or will you be stuck there like TLODK? – By br_casino

Once you arrive in the Teeth of Naros they you’ll be able to fast travel between the DLC space and the Faelands.


Are the new enemies actually going to be new and unique? Also, are there going to be even bigger enemies than the trolls and the big fat red guys? – By cam140

We have a completely new monster in the Teeth of Naros – the Pteryx. These are giant bipedal birds that use a combination of storm magic and strong melee to subdue their prey. Think of it like Toucan Sam telling you to follow your nose – to hell.

We do have new variants of classic Reckoning monsters as well. But I’m not going to show all of my cards…


Is the new race also going to be like a different creature all together and not just another kind of fae? – By cam140

In a word, yes. The Kollossae are a completely different race from those encountered in Reckoning. In our lore, they're considered to be part of the "giant kin" – along with Jottun and Ettin (they aren’t actually related to each other, they're just all larger than most mortal races). Kollossae are a lot more sociable and cooperative than other giant kin, which is why they’ve been able to develop more advanced magic and sophisticated civilizations that the player will get to explore in the Teeth of Naros.


Is this the last DLC, or are there more planned? I've heard it mentioned that you guys had already finished "both" DLC before this game was released, so does that mean this is the final one, or can we look forward to a third/fourth, only further down the line since you would have to develop them? – By SageShini

I probably can’t go into too many specifics here, but I will say that we devs have plenty of ideas for further adventures in Reckoning’s setting…


Do the Kollossae have an accent? If so, what accent is it?! – By RingX55

This took flippin’ forever to figure out. So I’m glad somebody asked about it.

Picking the accent for the Kollossae was tricky because in the setting of the DLC they’re at a pivotal moment in their history. In their somewhat recent history, the Kollossae used to be as brutish as Ettin or Jottun. But as the DLC explains, they’re in the throes of a cultural revolution. We wanted to have them sound like they were trying very hard to appear sophisticated, but with their strength and power to boil through when needed.

To that end, we tried a bunch of different accents, and ended up going with something that was like a very light mid-Atlantic intonation – similar to something you might hear in movies from the 1930’s. To offset this, our audio team (who are awesome, by the way) applied post-processing to the lines so that they would be deeper, more resonant, and other tricks to make them sound different from Amalur’s other races.


Who or what is Naros? – By Gossamer

Naros is a Troll god. I can say no more.


Will we actually meet the Kollossae? – By Gossamer

Hells yes. You and the Kollossae will be like this. You can’t see it right now, but I’m crossing my index and my middle finger.


In regards to the concept art (check Facebook if you haven't seen it—it’s sweet looking), there is a floating city which appears to be hovering over a city beneath it on the ground. Will we be able to descend into the depths of the floating city (which has a giant crater below it) and jump to the city below? That'd be sweet. I ask because Dead Kel gave us some crazy jump heights. – By lBlLlUlNlTlZl

The only city in the expansion is Idylla, which floats above the earth. As to what that structure is beneath it… well, I’ll let you figure that out.

But yes, you can jump from Idylla. Hope you have shin guards.


What is the minimum level requirement? For example, in Dead Kel it was 10. – By WastedPotential

We don’t have one. You can start the Teeth of Naros upon exiting the Well of Souls, if you want. The Teeth of Naros was built to handle players of any level, since you can encounter its starting location so early in Dalentarth.


Dead Kel sent you to Rathir to start its missions. Where does Teeth of Naros send you? – By WastedPotential

The Teeth of Naros DLC begins in a camp located to the south of Ettinmere.


Will the quest begin like Dead Kel? After download it appears in your quest log? – By WastedPotential

Yes, the quest is automatically added to your quest log when the expansion is downloaded.

I really hope they decide to up the level cap to 60 or something for the next DLC. 40 is way too low for the amount of content in the standalone game itself, let alone with the DLC added on..
 

KingPK

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Anyone else following the 38 Studios debacle? Shitty as it is to say, loaning that much money to a company that, at that time, hadn't even released one product yet had bad idea written all over it.
 

Smues

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Yeah it's looking like a total mess. I didn't realize just how much money the state had given them, wow. And it's really too bad because the game is supposed to be really good.
 

Master Thrasher

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I'm so happy Curt Schilling is behind it. The government is bad unless it's trying to prop up his venture.
 

Cartman

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Schilling is a typical Republican Hypocrite, and the former governor of this stupid state threw 75 Million at him and begged him to move his company here. Now we (taxpayers) are going to get stuck with the bill.
 

bps21

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Can someone explain the whole thing as dumbed down as possible for me?
 

KingPK

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Rhode Island offered 38 Studios a $75 million loan over the next 4 or so years to lure them from Massachusetts with the idea that they would provide jobs and give the state a foothold in the gaming industry (Mass actually become a pretty big state for game development). At the time of the loan, they had not released a single product and the MMO they have been developing, which is what most of this money is going towards, is basically in a Duke Nukem Forever situation as they keep talking about it but almost nothing has officially been shown or announced (they've pulled out of E3 this year). They missed a $1.15M payment and had to not pay their employees to meet it (apparently they spend $4 million a month in expenses).

The state program that funded this had a budget of around $125M, so they basically threw almost all of the money at one company. That's smart.
 

Cartman

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Yea, as soon as I can sell my house without taking a ridiculous loss i'm moving to Mass...oh wait that's never going to happen so I guess i'm just screwed.
 

Kageho

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Forcing them to hire that many people right away was stupid. More people = more resources devoted to paying people. I think though that Curt was stupid for taking the deal, as it handicapped 38 Studios. I'd probably guess that they'll go under, the State will end up with both IPs as collateral (Project and Amalur) which will then get bought for 25 million by a company that decides it wants to invest in it (though highly doubtful).

Basically, Rhode residents, you are screwed to the tune of 112 million. Enjoy.
 

KingPK

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How could they have turned down a sweethart deal like that? I blame the state for seemingly buying into potential and the celebrity cache of Schilling instead of looking towards a company with an established record of success like Harmonix (who had been looking for a buyer last year and has shown they can produce quality content).

In the end it is the onus of 38 to produce something, but this was a huge, probably uniformed gamble by RI.
 
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