In What Electronic Entertainment Have You Been Partaking #19: Cyberpunked

[Birdjaguar]

Well, I've settled on a name, and after few areas, called it quits for today.

The Ultimatum mechanic is just...awful. Within first three trials, my poor, single-digit level melee Marauder encountered ranged monsters spawning in area completely separated by cliff, making them unreachable, ranged mobs casually walking out of the arena and sniping me from there and trial spawning in such a tight spot that it was impossible to avoid hazards.

Watch for what type of trial it is. Some are easier than others. I like defend the Alter and stay in the circles ones best. I'm skipping many though, they slow down forward progress through the Acts.

 

[PhroX]

Well, I've settled on a name, and after few areas, called it quits for today.

The Ultimatum mechanic is just...awful. Within first three trials, my poor, single-digit level melee Marauder encountered ranged monsters spawning in area completely separated by cliff, making them unreachable, ranged mobs casually walking out of the arena and sniping me from there and trial spawning in such a tight spot that it was impossible to avoid hazards.

I wouldn't really say any of those things are major issues. Ranged mobs at a distance are annoying, but you don't have to kill them - even for the utlimatum types that count kills, monsters will keep spawning until you achieve it, so you can just ignore ones you cant reach and keep killig the ones you can, and issues with a lack of movment skills only lasts for a few levels early on - after that, any inability to cross cliffs is purely your choice. The third point is you making the mistake of chosing trials with hazard areas when you're in a tight space. You're meant to asses what options are available and take the one that fits the situation. And if none fit, then take your winnings and leave.

Anyway, I did some playing around with my Soulwrest to see what I could come up with, and I've got something I like. I've got said item to 6 socket, 5 link (the latter from a harvest craft), so I've put Summon Phantasm in the unlinked socket as, for some reason, the cap on the number of phantasms from the item and gem stack, giving me 20 at gem lvl 20. Then, I've put 4 relevant supports (GMP, Minion Damage, Predator and Brutality) plus Raise Spectre (Syndicate Operatives). That way I'm basically getting a 5 link spectre and a 5 link phanatsm (with double cap) on one item. Plus I've still got my 5 link skellies in my chestpiece for more single target. Had to cut the zombies sadly, but I've still got a stone golem for the regen buff and applying main and feeding frenzy.

I've done a couple of low red maps and it seems to be working well. I can't really see anything on the screen with 30 (normal) to 60 (with Vaal skellies up) minions, but it's fun. Still need my last trial to get Mistress of Sacrifice for defenses - with that, and my tree, I'm looking at around 65/40 block without glancing blows or any bonuses on my gear beyond the staff. Add in a solid life pool, a bit of phys restances, good regen from the golem plus Soulwrest and life gain on block from offering, Bone Barrier, and of course the general survivability of having a bunch of minions getting in enemies way, and I should be OK for now.

 

[Kjara]

The one exception to flat hp on block not being high enough IMO is the surrender (though its not cheap, it gives a flat 250 hp per block). The anvil gives a bit as well (though if you are using that, its primarily for the max block usually). On the es side of things, the other standard unique to consider is Aegis Aurora (recover 2% of armor as es on block). With 20k armor, that's 400 es per block (and one of the best reasons to go armor/es hybrid).

 

[Takhisis]

I like when the result is so obviously lopsided in your favor that your auto-resolve avatar just pwns the opponent by immediately stabbing him in the face/neck without any blows back and forth You can almost hear your guy say...

"All too easy"

The Internet has trained you well.

 

[Zardnaar]

Beat FO4 using pipe weapons on Survival. Level 40 teaching 41 once completed.

 

[Sarin]

Played PoE again for a bit...after getting Leap Slam and a bit of gear, trials stopped being so annoying and became a good source of leveling gear. Good thing about it is that this way I'm getting trash uniques at low level when they're actually useful.

But it's still mediocre league at best. We'll see if the improved old leagues mechanics make the game somewhat more enjoyable.

 

[Birdjaguar]

They did something to with Vaal soul accumulation so my AW has much more up time in a fight.

 

[EgonSpengler]

Path of Exile

My Templar cleared the first couple of Tier 1 maps just fine. After finishing the second, I still had all the portals open, so I decided to go back in and try the Utimatum challenge. I got one-shot by... something. No idea what it was. I guess I just need more Life? I spent 5 passive points to get Born to Fight, Heart of the Warrior, and Warrior's Blood, leaving me with 11 points to spend. I also found a Saint's Hauberk and an Archon Kite Shield and upgraded them to provide a little more Life. I'll probably do the Merciless Labyrinth this weekend and get Bastion of Hope with my 5th & 6th Ascendancy Pts. I think then I might drop Glancing Blows. I was looking at Dominating Blow Guardians on poe.ninja and they all seem to have 5500-7100 Life at level 93-95, regardless of whether they also use much Energy Shield (and only 1 of them does). Maybe I should forget ES and concentrate on raising my Armor value.

 

[Sarin]

I found that focusing both on health and ES causes sustain problems as you need to get a decent replenishment mechanism for both, which means investment. On the other hand, armour sucks. It does nothing against physical damage over time and the maximum amount it can absorb from a single hit is capped at 10% of armour value, so unless you can drive it into 20k+ range, it won't do anything against the big hits.

 

[PhroX]

I've found hybrid ES/Life usually ends up as a transitional phase while you're building towards CI on ascendancies like Trickster or Occultist - both of which help your ES sustain. Of course, if you are, like me, an SSF player, that transitional phase can sometimes end up lasting a lot longer than you planned due to not getting the gear you need for full ES....

The recent changes to Inquisitor apparently make it pretty viable for a hybrid setup though - you get ES regen equal to your life regen.

And yeah, armour is basically only good if you go all in on it. Unless you've got really big numbers, it's not going to do much against 1-shots, which are what tend to kill you in PoE due to sustain generally being quite easy to obtain.

 

[r16]

only to build up posts to 7199 so that ı can use 7200 for a regular am still alive thing . Civ lll , my four science leaders debating philosophy in the capital , after ı had to use one to rush a great wonder to syncronize the deliveries of auto produced armies . Unfortunately three of the four are named Grima Wormtongue ...

 

[Birdjaguar]

Finished the third lab and now will go one to kill Kitva and go to maps. I think my tree needs serious work.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Is anyone going to try “Nier Replicant”?

 

[Lemon Merchant]

I dunno... Was Nier:Automata any good?

 

[Birdjaguar]

I dunno... Was Nier:Automata any good?

Ask and ye shall receive.

This review touches on the existence of a new story segment in “Nier.”

After almost four years, I finally had the chance to tell enigmatic and eccentric video game creator Yoko Taro about the therapy sessions he induced.

You see, in 2017 I was 36 years old and returning to therapy. At the same time, I was playing Taro’s latest game, “Nier Automata.” By the time I received its final ending, I returned to my therapist and proceeded to explain the game to her. We spent three weeks talking about the game, and how I felt about it.

So finally, I jokingly asked Taro, who can I send the invoices to for those three therapy sessions?

“Please send your invoice to the attention of 'SQUARE ENIX CO. LTD. Producer Yosuke Saito,” Taro told me. Helpful, since I may have to do this again while trying to finish “Nier Replicant.”

“Nier Replicant” is a new version of the underrated, critically-bashed 2010 prequel “Nier,” and much of the game’s level design, story and situations are the same. But there’s an all new “Ending E,” waiting for the patient and loyal. I was able to “beat” the game twice — but I wasn’t able to get to that new ending by the review deadline.

“Nier Replicant” is a new version of the underrated, critically-bashed 2010 prequel “Nier.” (Square Enix)
Like “Automata,” the older game also required three to four playthroughs to get the whole story and understand all the perspectives. And you need to understand them, because the game is constantly calling into question the merits of heroics and personal sacrifice. This new upgrade, releasing on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on Friday, is no different.

‘Nier Replicant’ is for anyone who regrets playing ‘Automata’ first

But even without knowledge of the new content, “Nier Replicant” is a must-play for anyone who loved “Automata,” a game some praise as one of the finest ever created. As I’ve written, this updated version is perfect for anyone who wishes to understand “Automata” in greater depth.

“Nier” was not well received critically and commercially in 2010. The reviews from journalists in the U.S. were not kind, calling it ugly, unoriginal and repetitive. Some of these criticisms were well founded, especially when it came to repetitive gameplay. That repetition persists in this newer version, and is actually one of the reasons I couldn’t quickly access the final ending. The game requires multiple playthroughs, and still retains an unfortunate, arbitrary inventory requirement to see its original story to its true ending.

While there are some rewarding side quests that may speed along this process, needing to buy each one of the dozens of weapons in the game doesn’t seem to serve any narrative or thematic purpose besides prolonging the play time. The 2010 reviews were harsh on these side quests, which on the surface appear to be mundane fetch quests. But the game’s themes of yearning for identity and self determination are baked into these supposedly dull fetch quests.

“Replicant” requires multiple playthroughs, and still retains an unfortunate, arbitrary inventory requirement to see the game's true ending. (Square Enix)
Fortunately “Replicant” comes with a very customizable “assist” mode, which will autoplay certain functions for the player. A player can make Nier automatically evade and attack everything, while you spin the camera around like an amateur anime director. If you want to stay more engaged, you can have Nier automatically evade, while you still attack. Or you can just focus on dodging and let everything else play for you. It makes subsequent playthroughs and the repetitive grind easier, and the assist mode will go down easier in an age where “watching a video game get played” has been accepted as mainstream entertainment.

The first “Nier” game appears to be a deconstruction of “The Legend of Zelda” and video game formula. This doesn’t absolve the game for being tedious, but it also appears to be a deliberate artistic choice — and one that is always going to frustrate certain audiences.

But “Nier Replicant” is a game that will demand your attention. If you want a more frivolous game to hurry through and not read paragraphs of actual text to proceed, play another game, because this game will literally stop you unless you do so. This game asks that you understand its characters, playing directly on your emotions.

Enigmatic and eccentric video game creator Yoko Taro. (Courtesy Square Enix)
Like an ambitious pop album, “Nier Replicant” dabbles in several genres, whether it’s an isometric “Diablo” dungeon crawler or a text adventure that takes up to an hour to finish reading. It isn’t always coherent, but it’s still the same artist, the same tools and within the same work of art. It will shift tones, sometimes satirizing video game tropes, and sometimes drawing on them for inspiration.

The game’s full name is “Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139...” because Taro felt like calling it a remaster or remake would be a bit extravagant. In his message to games journalists, he said he worried about the game being compared to another under publisher Square Enix’s umbrella, “Final Fantasy VII Remake.”

“I saw that and I thought it would be terribly inconvenient to be compared to such a massive blockbuster,” Taro said. I asked Taro and the man I’m supposed to send my therapy bills to, producer Yosuke Saito, if they’re paying attention to any interesting trends in the industry. Sato said he’s delighted to see games from independent studios see global success, and that attention is slowly moving away from big-budget, AAA titles.

As for Taro, “Yes. I pay attention. Lots of young people and business persons gather in places that are trending like that, so I know to avoid it.”

I also tried to take a measure of what kind of media consumer Taro is, and what might inspire him. He is famously influenced by the classic anime “Neon Genesis Evangelion,” and I told him many players look to his work with similar reverence.

“I feel that … that watching Evangelion would be 100 times better for creative reference,” Taro said. ‘Evangelion’ is finally on Netflix. I don’t need a rewatch, because the trauma lives on in me.

But he raised an interesting example that draws many parallels to his own career path, as well as the story of the “Nier” series.

“I don’t watch very many movies or drama, nor do I read very many books,” Taro said. “But I did watch ‘The Greatest Showman’ and cried. It’s a simple story of a flawed man who gains success by hitting up the right people. And despite that, he was able to create a truly wonderful ‘show.’ That juxtaposition made me think, ‘What makes an entertainer?’”

The game’s full name is “Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139...” because Taro felt like calling it a remaster or remake would be a bit extravagant. (Square Enix)
With “Automata,” Taro finally had the team in place to construct a snappy, action-heavy video game that feels as fun to play as it is depressing to read and experience. “Nier Replicant” replicates this, all while retaining Taro’s uncompromising, unsparing original vision. If Taro was ever discouraged by the critical response to “Nier,” it doesn’t show. Instead, he took what was frustrating about the game and barreled through to make it work.

And it works in “Replicant.” The game’s pacing may not be as refined as “Automata,” but that won’t matter. For myself, Taro’s ability to write empathetic, passionate characters is enough. Any reason to spend more time with them is welcome. The brother-sister dynamic of the protagonist isn’t even the central emotional relationship in the game. Rather, it’s between the characters and the player. How far are you willing to go as a player to save a character you’ve grown to know and love?

As for “Ending E,” I’m still determined to see it through. I don’t know what to expect, but thanks to my therapy sessions, I no longer hope for any kind of closure. After all, I’m still grappling with the questions raised by “Nier” and its sequel to this day. “Nier Replicant” and its sequel aren’t interested in closure. For now, I’ll take my cues from Taro, who told me not to worry about plot details and how they tie thematically to his original series, “Drakengaard.”

“I don’t think there’s a need to go out of your way to follow it,” Taro said. “It’s no different from political dramas and pornographic movies being based on this real-life world we live in. Whatever the series, we simply work hard to constantly satisfy new users.”

The fact that this game is called “ver. 1.22 …” resonates with me. One’s work can never feel complete, because it never really is. It’s just a work in progress until it ends. For fans of “Nier,” it’s both necessary, and just enough to satisfy us.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Tonight I discovered that the Crown of the Inward Eye Prophet Crown looks to be a very cool item and it is not even new. In Ultimatum it is even cheap.

 

[AdamCrock]

hmmm... Path of Addiction(Exile) .... I need to look at that .....

 

[hobbsyoyo]

As Gorbles said, it's an excuse to replay the trilogy, perhaps with some of ME1's more tiresome features smoothed off. Better looking graphics is always a plus too.

Yeah, same, I probably would've replayed ME anyway within the year - it's been 4-5 years since I last played and I was begining to get the urge to do so again - so I might as well play go for the remaster. Better graphics and some imporvements to the first game are going to be welcome. And, if nothing else, it would be nice to get a digital copy of the games to save me having to figure out where the discs are. I think ME3 might have been the last game I bought a physical copy of.

I'm not going to pre-order or buy it immediately on release. I'll wait for some player feedback. But, if they haven't made a mess of the whole thing, I'll get the remaster.

I don't know if it was the ending to ME3, or the way that they dropped ME:A like a hot potato, but I have no desire to revisit the original trilogy (or ME:A) again. Sad

I think looking back with a decade of hindsight, it was really the simplicity of the ending of ME3 that sucked the most. Like there was this big overwhelming force devouring the galaxy that had sprung all these complex plans to launch this mega assault on everybody and....they defeated it by jumping in a light, which auto-magically killed the big baddies, and maybe sprinkled some RGB highlights on people depending on which color you picked. It was insultingly stupid, especially in light of the quality of the narrative up to that point.

 

[Arakhor]

The ending was several different grades of terrible, yes, but the stories in the first two games are worth going back for.

 

[AdamCrock]

Path of Addiction - having any ending .... does not makes sense ....

Although Diablo 2 I can understand ! Even Rersurrected !

Having any ending that Is !