Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

[Archdemon Stu]

Has anybody else gotten in on this game?  It has a sort of Skyrim-had-sex-with-Fable-and-Warcraft feel to it, and it's amazing (don't ask how that 3 way baby works out, just go with it).

The storyline is pretty cool, though if you go off on side quests, they tend to kick a dead horse with the whole, "Holy balls, you're unique and stuff!" thing.  As for graphics, the cartoony style allows for awesome performance at all times, and the gameplay mechanics are extremely fun I think.  I started off with quick weapons that kept large groups at bay pretty easily and gave me very few openings, but I decided that was a bit boring, so I simply swapped to the clunky two-handed swords and wow... so much more damage done, so much more I have to plan ahead of time, and so much fun.  I have yet to try casting, but it looks like they took a Dragon Age II approach where you look badass while casting.

Am I the only one on this train?

[Veldanya Venalla]

Well I had it pre-ordered and as soon as I get paid (and insure I have enough funds to last me to next paycheck etc.) I hope to go pick up said paycheck (unless GS dropped my pre-order...called em the night before release to see if they could hold it until i get paid and the guy said he would but informed me of store policy so we will see)

[Radobe]

I am playing it as well I managed to reach lvl 37 quite fast due to the fact that I tend to go everywhere before i even get the quests to get there and thanks to that even on hard the game offers no challenge which is disappointing. The best combination I found so far is using daggers and bow. I crafted my daggers with a flawless ice hilt and ice gem and I easily crit for about 2k of dmg with my first hit of the chain because I all of my armor sets give me more about 14% crit chance each and i have around 60-75% crit chance total. And if I start the battle from distance I with my bow I finish them off before any one gets in order for me to use daggers. Btw my abilities build is hybrid might/finesse. With battle frenzy and relentless assault no enemy offer any challenge. I am still hoping to get better items than the ones i master crafted but so far I have no luck whatsoever. The bad side of the game is the multitude of frustrating bugs usually related to some of the quest and the biggest one is the bug related to the "Her Righteous Fury" quest where apart from preventing you from finishing the quest the bug also stops your fast travel and cripples your game and since I was a victim to it as well I will most likely start a new character now so beware of the bug and read more about it on the game forums.

[Kitharsis]

I'm a big bad lvl 7 Finesse/Magic elf man.  Chakrams and Fae Blades.  I'm not sure how my build is going to end up, I just know that this playstyle is fun and challenging so far on Hard.

I don't die, but I feel like having to chug a health potion is a loss.  I have Skyrim too, but the combat was just too boring and it didn't hold my attention.  I love the god of war like combos and the flashy particle effects.  I'm not doing any crafting, instead just using gear drops.  I might get some alchemy since I have OCD about picking up reagents.

Good game.

I have it for Xbox 360, btw.

[Archdemon Stu]

Jharm:  Then we will continue to tell you how awesome it is while you don't have it!

Radobe: 37 already?!  Man I need to quit school and work so I can do that.  Glad to hear the game still holds interest that deep in though!

Kith:  I find the thing you said about potions funny because I thought I was the only one.  If I use a potion, I feel like I lost the fight.  While Radobe says he hasn't faced a challenge, I gotta' say, trying to go through this game without potions is pretty difficult for me.  I do use them between fights though to get my health back up. I feel like the fact that the game gives me the option to challenge myself by ignoring mechanics without sacrificing gameplay in these little ways is a definite plus.


It's cool to see everyone took such different routes in their character build too.

[Veldanya Venalla]

Yeah im headed out shortly actually to pick up my copy.  From playing the demo im looking at either full finesse or finesse/combat.  Havent decided yet if ill be going the rogue type route or the warrior route and then branching into the other tree.

[Archdemon Stu]

Just switched my specs out for a straight hammer-wielding warrior build and wow... between the sustained ability I get that increases my damage and damage resistance, and the active that makes me unable to be knocked down and drain health, I am literally invincible.  I would have to put a conscious effort into dying.  If crushing people with this thing wasn't so rewarding, I would change out due to sheer imbalance.  I hope they have some scary enough bosses in this game to where this is a necessary amount of whoop ass.

[Radobe]

Right it appears lvl 40 is the maximum. As far as health potions go I am the type of gamer that doesn’t waste any thing I even used to load when I had to use a potion in a fight, because you know it just doesn’t feel right . Any way about the build, I am currently able to use 4 weapons and namely Longbow, Daggers, Fae blades and a long sword. Each of them has a different element on them respectively fire, ice, poison and lightning. I did that after I fought a boss that was immune to ice and it took me 1 minute to realize why I don’t do any damage to him .  And Kitharsis, the items you make yourself are the best, because you put on them exactly what you need. In my build I made most of my armors to give me +7% cirt chance per peace, and around +14-29% dmg depending on the piece of armor. The thing about crafting is that when you craft something it always crafts it in “fine” condition which means it is giving the biggest natural dmg/armor out put this item has. Another thing I noticed was that when I salvage items I don’t need that I crafted before the gems I put on them sometimes come back as flawless materials which are the best. For example if I make an iron dagger and add put the best fire gem on it there is a chance that I get a flawless burning handle. The same goes for armor gems and etc.
One last thing, I have not created or effectively used potions other than the occasional healing in my fights at all. The duration of potions is too small and it is a waste to use it for only 1 battle so I never really used them and just junked them to free room in inventory. Oh and if you are like me and are wandering what master crafting is (the last lvl of blacksmithing). It adds a bonus to whatever you are crafting based on the type of item, for example most weapons (if not all, haven’t tested it) get +% dmg based on the level of the material if you use the best core material it is 7% bonus dmg.

Jharm you should go rouge first, there is nothing as fun as sneaking around and backstabbing! And at the start branching is not that good, it is better to stick with a class at least until lvl 20 or so and than try to branch out. Relentless assault is a must for any type of melee dmg dealer if you don’t want to use potions and evade all the time.

[Archdemon Stu]

You know Radobe, I love stealthing around in games typically (it was my first build), but I feel like the sneaking speed is a bit too slow, and I get impatient.  With more points into stealth can you at least walk faster toward your target?

Also, check... build two hammers with different elements!  Thanks for the tip. :3

[Radobe]

The only thing that changes with rising stealth is how fast the gouge on enemies awareness fills up and from how far away they can see you.

I’ve tried all the fighters weapons, so far two handed weapons dish out the most dmg but are very cumbersome and almost always leave you open for attacks even if you kill the one you are attacking. And to be honest with daggers I am doing 1-2 shots kill on normal enemies so do I really need to sacrifice speed and mobility for more dmg? Lastly the main reason I use daggers is because they have quick short attacks and I can always evade enemies if necessary and since I always try not to get hit in battles its perfect for me.

Another thing people should know is that skills can go 2 lvls above their maximum so for example your mastery of daggers can go up to lvl 8 if you have spent 6 points in it and have +2 to finesse abilities but some skills can’t go above their maximum so keep that in mind when you lvl up and have bonuses to your abilities those extra points you get can optimize your builds.

[Archdemon Stu]

Aw poo, I kinda' wanted to try stealth out some more too, but if movement speed doesn't increase... blah.  I'm too impatient.  My gameplay style is always a "get in their grill" sort of thing.

Think I'm going to have to try magic in this game once I get through the story.  It looks like a buttload of fun, and I only barely read the cards where it said that they get a blink ability, and upgraded "frost blink" abilities.  Mmmmm... <3

[Kitharsis]

I'm finding stealth useful for stealing everyone blind.  I haven't tried pickpocketing but with a few lvls  in it I can rob most houses.  It comes in handy for a few quests.  Especially the Travelers.

I'm up to lvl 15 I think.  Sticking with Sorcery/Finesse.  After actually checking out blacksmithing I'm going to throw points at it.  The weapons you can make are just too good.  I see what you mean.

There is a lot to do!  Everything is fun and I haven't really found anything I felt was a chore like in Skyrim.

[Veldanya Venalla]

I'm finding stealth useful for stealing everyone blind.  I haven't tried pickpocketing but with a few lvls  in it I can rob most houses.  It comes in handy for a few quests.  Especially the Travelers.

Thats kinda the point Kith lol....they are the "thieves guild" of Amalur.  I just got my rogue to Star Camp and got the first quest from them to be able to join the Travelers.  Seriously need to try play more of the game...SWTOR keeps distracting me.  SPEAKING OF WHICH....where the heck have you been Kith?

[Kitharsis]

SWTOR...  I, uh...

Canceled my subscription.  I logged on a few weeks ago all excited to play.  Then I looked at my quest logs and fiddled around but didn't feel like actually doing anything. 

Three things I think need to happen before I play again:  1.)  New PC.  I hate having everything on low and still getting FPS drops.  2.)  No new games come out to steal my addictions.  3.)  I suddenly have a large amount of free time.

I think I'm done with MMO's for a while.  A game I can pause and come back to is so much more forgiving.


In KOA news, I finally got rid of the Shephard set and look like a proper sorcery/finesse guy now.  Has anyone found any full sets aside from the one given by the demo?  I have single pieces of 4 sets or so, but nothing to make a set.  Do I need to explore an area fully to find all the pieces?  Are they local to one "zone" or are they just random?  Should I just read a wiki and shut up?

[Archdemon Stu]

Yeah, same thing happened with me Kith.  I was having a blast on my Imperial Agent, switched to healing for group PvP, and then came back to it after a vacation to Korea... I just lost the momentum, I don't know.  I just don't have the motivation for an MMO of any sort.  Though I'll give Tera a peek when it finally gets localized.

As for sets and stuff... I got 4/5 pieces of a mercenary set in the beginning area, but never got to finish it really.  When I found them it was all monsters in the same general level range, but I don't know if it's 100% zone specific or level specific.  I also got one from a faction quest, so I'm wondering if they reward more down the line... RADOBE!  You know things. 

[Veldanya Venalla]

Yep dont worry about it Kith...there hasnt been much "original" Officio Administorum action lately.  You're always welcome back of course if you decide to start playing again

[Radobe]

Well sets have droped randomly for me, based only on the area level and i have atleast 60+ parts stored in my stash, there are a few guild sets that you get when doing fraction quests and thats just about it. I find that apart from my crafted items (so far the best ones i got) some purple (unique) items are almost worth keeping. Botom line is sets at lower lvl suck and at higher lvl are not worth it because you can craft items that are specific for your play style rather than have sets with more balanced stats. I go for dmg and crit chance only and any set items that doesnt give me that i dont realy need so i only keep them to check out how they look on my character.