What are you playing?

Persona 5: I am finally story-ready for the final boss.

However, I am definitely not stats-ready, being only level 63, so ... time to grind a ton. @Dei or anyone who's beaten the game, question:

Should I be grinding in Shido's palace, or is there a way to open up the last part of Mementos to grind there instead?
 
Persona 5: I am finally story-ready for the final boss.

However, I am definitely not stats-ready, being only level 63, so ... time to grind a ton. @Dei or anyone who's beaten the game, question:

Should I be grinding in Shido's palace, or is there a way to open up the last part of Mementos to grind there instead?
If you're asking that, you aren't story ready for the final boss.
 

fade

Staff member
Deadlight.

Picked it up for free from GoG. Why the hell can't people just say "zombie"? Shadow has to be the dumbest word for them yet. The protagonist is poorly acted and unlikable. I know the latter is intentional, but it ain't working. Also the game is super easy. Even if you screw up, the nearest save point is like half a screen away.

Still, gameplay is not uninteresting, and I do want to know how it ends.
 
Banished.

I'm feeling a bit burnt out on RimWorld and played a lot of Banished when it first came on the scene a few years ago. Apparently I need to get my hands on a community mod called Colonel Charters, which vastly expands and improves the game.

Feeling the itch for some Crusader Kings 2 again, but with the Game of Thrones mod. Decisions...
 
Banished.

I'm feeling a bit burnt out on RimWorld and played a lot of Banished when it first came on the scene a few years ago. Apparently I need to get my hands on a community mod called Colonel Charters, which vastly expands and improves the game.

Feeling the itch for some Crusader Kings 2 again, but with the Game of Thrones mod. Decisions...
I was playing Banished until I saw GB's post about Secret World Legends a couple days ago.

I haven't played an MMO in years.



(I tried really hard to find a video of John Cusack screaming "I was out!" from 1408, but couldn't..:( )
 
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I was playing Banished until I saw GB's post about Secret World Legends a couple days ago.

I haven't played an MMO in years.



(I tried really hard to find a video of John Cusack screaming "I was out!" from 1408, but couldn't..:( )
I loved the secret world. Loved it. I decided to check out Secret World Legends... and to me they ruined it. The combat feels awful and the skill wheel is gone, which was half of what made the game great. The story missions are still there, though, and are worth playing through if you've never played them before.


I can't help but feel like Funcom ruined something special.
 
I cried during the ending scene.

But now I'm reading the books.
The books showed just how little respect CD Projekt Red have for Yennefer and just how oddly off they got Triss. An Auburn haired sorceress with scars on her chest to the point where she would never wear anything with a plunging neckline.

Still love the games and Blood and Wine is still smagical.
 
Played through Witcher 3: Blood and Wine again. Just...the best. The best expansion to any game ever.
I picked it up when it went on sale on GoG a while back.

But my computer can't keep up with rendering the first damned scene.

So I regretfully have to shelf it until I get a better graphics card.
 
I loved the secret world. Loved it. I decided to check out Secret World Legends... and to me they ruined it. The combat feels awful and the skill wheel is gone, which was half of what made the game great. The story missions are still there, though, and are worth playing through if you've never played them before.


I can't help but feel like Funcom ruined something special.
As a longtime fan of the original game... SWL is a vast improvement in a lot of ways.

- Graphics, animations (especially in cutscenes), and special effects are all vastly improved.
- Simplified Combat means it's MUCH harder to build yourself into a corner than it was in TSW, where something like 80% of abilities were completely without merit and some abilities were a must have (I'm looking at you Elemental Force and Lethality).
- Introduction of levels means that early game it is much easier to identify if you are somewhere you shouldn't be. Early game is easier in general really.
- More of the story can be completed with a friend.
- The story is better integrated, with some all new scenes and events in missions and out of them. You'll do more of a zone before moving on and the rewards for 100%ing an area are decent.
- Later DLCs are better integrated as well.

To put it simply, Secret World Legends is a better GAME than it was, even if a lot of the social aspect was lost in the transition and the F2P elements are kind of shitty if you didn't own an account previously.
 
As a longtime fan of the original game... SWL is a vast improvement in a lot of ways.

- Graphics, animations (especially in cutscenes), and special effects are all vastly improved.
- Simplified Combat means it's MUCH harder to build yourself into a corner than it was in TSW, where something like 80% of abilities were completely without merit and some abilities were a must have (I'm looking at you Elemental Force and Lethality).
- Introduction of levels means that early game it is much easier to identify if you are somewhere you shouldn't be. Early game is easier in general really.
- More of the story can be completed with a friend.
- The story is better integrated, with some all new scenes and events in missions and out of them. You'll do more of a zone before moving on and the rewards for 100%ing an area are decent.
- Later DLCs are better integrated as well.

To put it simply, Secret World Legends is a better GAME than it was, even if a lot of the social aspect was lost in the transition and the F2P elements are kind of shitty if you didn't own an account previously.
I humbly disagree. The lack of levels and classes is what made the game unique to me, and now it feels like more of the same. I'm sure it will be beneficial to some people, but it's not for me.
 
I humbly disagree. The lack of levels and classes is what made the game unique to me, and now it feels like more of the same. I'm sure it will be beneficial to some people, but it's not for me.
The inability to tell if you were strong enough to do an area was the #1 new player complaint for years and one of the reasons less than half of all players made it out Kingsmouth. The poor explanation of the Ability Wheel was the #2. And, again, the levels only matter for the new player experience. I was 41/50 before leaving Blue Mountain. You hit 50 before City of the Sun God and everything after that is just item level like in the old days.

They also got rid of AEGIS in Tokyo because NO ONE liked it and they (self-admittedly) only did it to gate progression against everyone who already had 10.5 gear.

I'd also like to mention that implementing these changes is the only reason Funcom agreed to finance Season 2 of the game (Starting Late 2017/Early 2018).
 
I loved the secret world. Loved it. I decided to check out Secret World Legends... and to me they ruined it. The combat feels awful and the skill wheel is gone, which was half of what made the game great. The story missions are still there, though, and are worth playing through if you've never played them before.


I can't help but feel like Funcom ruined something special.
When I first started playing, I found the skill tree a little overwhelming due to the number of choices you could make right off the bat. So, I looked up some build advice and took forever figuring out that it was totally invalid because there was no skill wheel any longer. :D

But I'm digging the game. I'm still in the starter area (Kingsmouth) at level 16, since I've only been playing like 3-4 days. But I think I'll be out of here soon. The next tier in my storyline mission says to go to the savage coast, but I have a few more level 14-15 quests to do to finish out the area.

Thinks I like so far:
  • Cut scenes for mission starts. I like that the game gives story flavor in the form of cinematics--the last time I played MMOs, if you wanted to learn lore you had to read quest text.
  • Very open customization.
  • Skill points and action points are earned separately from leveling.
  • Puzzles in quests--it's not all about killing 20 foxes and returning their tails to a vendor for xp.
  • The item leveling system--you 'grow' your own gear by fusing/upgrading.
 
I don't get why you're trying to tell Poe he has to like it though.
He doesn't. I'm simply pointing out these changes have helped the game achieve greater profitability, with more players being retained past the starting zones, which means more players get to experience the story as well.

Besides, the classic TSW is still up and around for those who want to play it. It's just not getting another update; all future story and content updates are for SWL.

  • The item leveling system--you 'grow' your own gear by fusing/upgrading.
This is my favorite new addition as well. It means if you find a weapon/talisman with an effect you like early on, you don't need to dump it. You can just upgrade it. So the Shadowbound Focus I have will always be useful.
 

fade

Staff member
The skill wheel was my LEAST favorite thing about the original. I get the appeal, I really do. But for a filthy casual like me who just doesn't have the time to go through and figure out how it works, it was too much. So TL;DR I liked the idea of it but disliked using it.
 
Crafting was my least favorite thing in TSW. I had an inventory full of runes and materials that I never really knew what to do with. I'd just combine them to upgrade them, then have a bunch of runes sitting there. But I'm liking the new system to use items to upgrade your weapons and talismans.

One thing that disappointed me for SWL is that they make you pick your weapons in character creation. I liked going to the armory to try out all the weapons before choosing. More immersive, storywise.

It's been fun re-running the game. Except I'm now going to have to re-do some of those missions that I struggled with, and thought "I'll never have to do this again!" when I finished them, like The Cost of Magic and The Castle. :cry:
 
Yeah, I gave the game another try with the Legends reboot. I like simplified skill system now. I remember the other was a bit too complicated for my liking. And I like the leveling system, too.

What I DON'T like is their currency system. There are FOUR different types of currency and it makes no sense to me. Plus, I don't see how you can get anything in the game like new clothes or transportation like motorcycles without paying real-world money. When I first played the game, I could go to the clothing store and buy all kinds of stuff. Now, it's all locked behind their gold currency or whatever you call it, which you have to pay real world money with.
 
Yeah, I gave the game another try with the Legends reboot. I like simplified skill system now. I remember the other was a bit too complicated for my liking. And I like the leveling system, too.

What I DON'T like is their currency system. There are FOUR different types of currency and it makes no sense to me. Plus, I don't see how you can get anything in the game like new clothes or transportation like motorcycles without paying real-world money. When I first played the game, I could go to the clothing store and buy all kinds of stuff. Now, it's all locked behind their gold currency or whatever you call it, which you have to pay real world money with.
Ugh, yeah, the four currencies are a pain.

You can buy clothes with Marks of Favour, which you get from completing missions or from selling things in the auction house. You can buy clothes directly from the Dressing Room in your character screen. Some special clothing does require Third Age Fragments or Aurum, but I think the basics can all be bought with MoF.

Vehicles need the Third Age Fragments, which come out of the cache boxes. However, if you want a motorcycle and are willing to wait a bit, you get one from a mission Moose (in Kingsmouth) gives you when you reach Level 50.
 
Ugh, yeah, the four currencies are a pain.

You can buy clothes with Marks of Favour, which you get from completing missions or from selling things in the auction house. You can buy clothes directly from the Dressing Room in your character screen. Some special clothing does require Third Age Fragments or Aurum, but I think the basics can all be bought with MoF.

Vehicles need the Third Age Fragments, which come out of the cache boxes. However, if you want a motorcycle and are willing to wait a bit, you get one from a mission Moose (in Kingsmouth) gives you when you reach Level 50.
Here's how the currencies work.

Anima Shards: These are for upgrading your gear and occasionally buying small things from the vendors. Get these from missions
Marks of Favor: Used for... basically everything, from buying stuff on the Auction House to buying clothes to buying sprint upgrades. You get these from missions, but the real way to do them is to do your daily challenges. 10 Daily Challenges will get you 10k Marks or 12-13k if you're a sub.
Aurum: This is the real money stuff and it's used for some cosmetic items, high level sprint upgrades, to buy extra AP and SP, cache keys, etc. It's for the good stuff. If you don't want to spend cash for Aurum, you can buy it with Marks of Favor but it might take you awhile to buy some of the more expensive stuff.
Third Age Fragments: Currently, you can buy rare pets, a tuxedo in white or black, a military motorbike, vespa scouters, and two pip purple epic gear. You get them from opening caches (about 30-40 per).

Compare this to TSW back in the day: Pax Romana, Black Bullion, two kinds of pvp currency, a currency for EVERY event, lucky coins from bags, Aureas from sims, and I think I missed at least one.
 
Here's how the currencies work.

Anima Shards: These are for upgrading your gear and occasionally buying small things from the vendors. Get these from missions
Marks of Favor: Used for... basically everything, from buying stuff on the Auction House to buying clothes to buying sprint upgrades. You get these from missions, but the real way to do them is to do your daily challenges. 10 Daily Challenges will get you 10k Marks or 12-13k if you're a sub.
Aurum: This is the real money stuff and it's used for some cosmetic items, high level sprint upgrades, to buy extra AP and SP, cache keys, etc. It's for the good stuff. If you don't want to spend cash for Aurum, you can buy it with Marks of Favor but it might take you awhile to buy some of the more expensive stuff.
Third Age Fragments: Currently, you can buy rare pets, a tuxedo in white or black, a military motorbike, vespa scouters, and two pip purple epic gear. You get them from opening caches (about 30-40 per).

Compare this to TSW back in the day: Pax Romana, Black Bullion, two kinds of pvp currency, a currency for EVERY event, lucky coins from bags, Aureas from sims, and I think I missed at least one.
True, it is much better than the old system. I think I only used Black Bullion and Lucky Coins a few times. Never really used any of the others. Most of my purchases were with Pax or Funcom points.

Anima shards are also used to upgrade your museum--which is why I never have any. But I do have all the exhibits for New England and Egypt! I'm glad they switched to currency rather than using AP to build your museum, becasue that sucked.
 
True, it is much better than the old system. I think I only used Black Bullion and Lucky Coins a few times. Never really used any of the others. Most of my purchases were with Pax or Funcom points.

Anima shards are also used to upgrade your museum--which is why I never have any. But I do have all the exhibits for New England and Egypt! I'm glad they switched to currency rather than using AP to build your museum, becasue that sucked.
And the rewards are better: toys that do effects instead of short duration consumables. Being able to summon my demons on command is very nice.
 
I would like to take a moment here to share some hard news - news that is more about what I will not be playing. On August 23th, 2017 at 7:34 P.M., my Xbox 360 quietly passed away. After a brief but sudden inability to connect to the internet, the family was notified with the traditional red ring of death. My Xbox 360 leaves behind a Kinect, two controllers, twenty five games, and about fifty Disney Infinity characters.

No services will beheld, as the family wishes to mourn in private. Memorial donations may be made to Child's Play.
 
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I would like to take a moment here to share some hard news - news that is more about what I will not be playing. On August 24th, 2017 at 7:34 P.M., my Xbox 360 quietly passed away. After a brief but sudden inability to connect to the internet, the family was notified with the traditional red ring of death. My Xbox 360 leaves behind a Kinect, two controllers, twenty five games, and about fifty Disney Infinity characters.

No services will beheld, as the family wishes to mourn in private. Memorial donations may be made to Child's Play.
So there is still time to prevent this from happening if you move quickly! :D
 
I don't believe for a second that a 360 quietly passed away. Those things make more noise than a taxiing 737. Fake news.
 
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I am sorry for your loss.
If only they had some sort of meter that showed temperature so you could monitor when it needed cleaning.

--Patrick
Odd thing: it didn't overheat. The night before,it couldn't connect to the internet right after I turned it on. The next day, all RROD. I suspect it was just it's time. I'm not sure when we got it, but I know for sure it was the only electronic I took out of the house when the tornado hit five years ago so the kids would have something to focus on while we panicked at the hotel.
 
Oooooo I didn't realize this was out yet. I know what I'm doing tonight.

Edit: oh boo, pc release is the 29th.
 
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