[1stStrike]

I gotta admit that the I'm the RNG's bitch right now. Holy hell I can't find anything good and I've been using the same crap for many levels now. I don't know what people mean by making better gear through Blacksmithing. The best blade I've found has been made of Azurite and that won't make anything remotely better than the drops I've found already. I wonder if there's just a lot of hyperbole going on, because my experience is so completely different than what I'm reading here. I've died tons of times to damn everything, my gear is crappy, blacksmithing isn't helping any since I can't get any decent parts to make anything good. So frustrating. I'm level 21 (60 hours in) and I had to buy a blue sword from the store because nothing I've found anywhere was even remotely as good. <sniff, sniff>

If you're only getting Azurite, then you're not in the right areas yet. But, you will be soon. You'll be swimming in master and flawless raw materials, and there will be a ton of high end/top end weaponry for you to break down.

Even without perfect materials it's still very possible to break the game, though. Craft a couple sets that have + to hp/mana regen, and bolster up your phys/crit/magic damage %, and you're set.

Definitely not hyperbole. I crafted a full set of armor (still using purple drops I've found for weapons - which I have found a ton of, all very good weapons at that) and it takes 3 mages pounding me with whirlwinds/fireballs to get me to use a potion as I regen through everything else.

I'm level 39 at the moment and I'm just tearing stuff up as finesse/might. I think that once I hit 40, though, I'm going to respec to universalist (37 points in might/finesse/sorcery) for kicks.

[vatstep]

I completed the main quest last night after 24 hours of play, at level 23. Normally with open world games like this, I dick around and do everything BUT the main quest and sort of save that for last, but I thought I would go the other way around this time and save everything else for later.

It was a fun ride, even though I pretty much ignored the story. That's not really a knock against Reckoning — it's just been a long time since I've really been engaged by a story in a game. I thought the final boss battle was rather underwhelming, but the one prior was great (and the music during that battle was excellent). In fact, I didn't really like the way the game handled either of the two battles with the huge bosses (Balor/Tirnoch) — just felt far too easy and convenient.

I've really enjoyed the game and am certainly not done with it, although I'll probably start to play some other stuff again (rather than just this exclusively) while working on faction questlines and such. It will definitely earn a spot on my games of the year list in December!

[1stStrike]

Took me a while to decide what to wear (my storage is full and my inventory is almost always full too with all the purples/golds I have), but finally settled on this for my universalist.



For his other weapon I'm using the staff of sorrows with that sweet 111 lightning damage it does.

Overall, damage output is lower so far, but it's very versatile. Mark of Flame, storm bolt, ice barrage, healing surge, along with quake, lunge and smoke bomb is very nice. And, I have enough mana/mana regen to have envenomed edge, blade honing and sphere of protection all active at the same time without worrying about running out of mana.

Time to beast some stuff.

[scy]

I gotta admit that the I'm the RNG's bitch right now. Holy hell I can't find anything good and I've been using the same crap for many levels now. I don't know what people mean by making better gear through Blacksmithing. The best blade I've found has been made of Azurite and that won't make anything remotely better than the drops I've found already. I wonder if there's just a lot of hyperbole going on, because my experience is so completely different than what I'm reading here.

Are you not salvaging anything or something? Or I guess the RNG is messing with you here too. But, even with a low level Blacksmithing, I can put out something like a +10% Crit +20-ish Physical (or Piercing) damage weapon of the same material quality of the average drops. Picking the itemization means a lot.

[KoreanBarbecue]

Will I ever be able to craft weapons with a higher durability rating? Currently it seems like I can only pump out weapons with a rating of around 24-26. I'm getting sick of repairing all the time :\

[coopolon]

What is RNG?

Also, does it get more expensive to respec multiple times? Or does it get more expensive as you level up?

Also, there are quite a few accessory items I can't get rid of, either sell or put in storage. Is there any remedy for this?

[MushroomSamba]

Will I ever be able to craft weapons with a higher durability rating? Currently it seems like I can only pump out weapons with a rating of around 24-26. I'm getting sick of repairing all the time :\

Are you really repairing that frequently? I generally use the same pieces of equipment for long stretches of time, and I've maybe had to repair items less than 10 times over my 60+ hours of play.

[scy]

What is RNG?

Random Number Generator.

Also, does it get more expensive to respec multiple times? Or does it get more expensive as you level up?

Yes to both:

[256 * Character Level * Number of Respecs] = Gold Cost

[1stStrike]

Okay, one gripe that is annoying the hell out of me in Bhaile. Part of your back story is being explained to you as you run from area to area. I guess they wanted to keep you moving and give it to you as you progressed through Bhaile instead of info dumping it all at once.

That's fine, except the way it's structured is completely unacceptable. Because the voice overs outside of directly interacting with a character falls into the effects category instead of the dialogue category, it's completely drowned out when you're in combat since you can't adjust it.

So, that's fine. I turn on subtitles so I can make sure that even if I'm in combat I get the details. The next line comes up while I'm fighting a troll, and no sooner does the character start speaking it's suddenly interrupted as the character spouts some random battle chatter, and the line I was 3 words into reading is now gone for the rest of the game.

Really stupid the way this is setup. Here I am, actually interested in knowing my character's back story, and it's ruined because of shit like this.

[KoreanBarbecue]

Are you really repairing that frequently? I generally use the same pieces of equipment for long stretches of time, and I've maybe had to repair items less than 10 times over my 60+ hours of play.

Well with my long sword (that has a durability rating of 24) in constant use, I find it gets down to 12/24 in about an hour if I neglect to repair it earlier.

[1stStrike]

Just beat the game. As others have mentioned, the final boss was really easy. The only thing that threw me for a loop was that you had to be in just the right spot to trigger the QTE at the end, and it was hard to line up with the camera being pushed so far back for the boss.

The actual ending itself wasn't too bad. It wrapped it up well enough, and it's nice that you get to continue playing.

I've pretty much completed all the sidequests in the game, but there's a couple unexplored dungeons that I have to do as of yet. I think I might try out a might centric build, since I never did really go deep into that tree to try out the other moves.

Other than that, I'm just about done until the DLC comes out.

Overall, the game has issues, but it was fun and kept me entertained throughout. My total play time is 85 hours, so I definitely got my money's worth on this one. My personal rating, due to the various issues which have all been mentioned by myself and others in this thread, is a 7/10. Fun and exciting combat, but a major lack of challenge as you progress, a broken crafting system, lack luster storytelling, and various technical issues keeps it from being a higher rating in my book.

[papersleeves]

What is the max level in this game ? 50 ?

[Coercionist]

What is the max level in this game ? 50 ?

Max level is 40.

[papersleeves]

Max level is 40.

Ok Cool. Leveling appears longer since I've reached 15 or so. I assume this will take a long time until I hit the cap.

[Torraz]

Ok Cool. Leveling appears longer since I've reached 15 or so. I assume this will take a long time until I hit the cap.

The quest xp ratio vs. monster kill ratio (especially if you time reckoning mode to coincide with big groups of high xp monsters) is changing from the former being your prime source of XP towards the latter as the game progresses (and the needed XP keeps increasing).

[1stStrike]

I just ran into the most random enemy. Gave me a good laugh. Just adding the link to it below instead of displaying the image in the thread, as you can only access this dungeon after you beat the final boss.

Unexpected Enemy

Oh, and this hammer is godlike. With the amount of stuns going on I'm hitting for 2k+ regular damage. The might tree is pretty ridiculous, but fun.



Also, harpoon is pretty much the anti-mage. Works wonders for those annoying mages that try and teleport around. Just reel 'em in and smack them a couple times with the hammer.

I've tried out all 3 classes now with full points in each. Definitely a lot of fun and variation to go around. The combat still remains one of my favorite of any single player RPG, so great job there.

Edit: This review nails exactly how I feel about the game perfectly. Also, probably one of the most amusing reviews I've seen in a long time lol.

[Heavy]

where'd you get that hammer?

[1stStrike]

where'd you get that hammer?

One of the dungeons in Alabastra. There's two really good hammers I got there, but I prefer this one. The other one is slightly less damage, but has some pretty nice stats too.

[papersleeves]

Can you stun hard foes and bosses with this bad boy ?

[toastyToast]

For a Finesse centric character, Harpoon is a very useful skill to have. Initially you'll be pulling enemies to your Frost Traps, but once you get Gambit ohohoho...

Combine that with juggling action from your bow for hilarious results.

[1stStrike]

Can you stun hard foes and bosses with this bad boy ?

Yeah, quake also works great for that too. The larger enemies, like trolls, are pretty easy to stun with quake. Then I just wail on them with the hammer. But, the hammer itself does a great job of stunning them regularly.

If you combine that with an armor piece that has the gem in it that gives a +60% chance to stun an enemy that attacks you, well, it's pretty much stun city.

[H3rTz DoNuT]

It looks like it might be a good night in Amalur. Just fired up the game, loaded last save, killed the first enemy and what I get, last piece of another set :D

Lyria's set...





Hopefully I'm gonna have a few more sets ready tonight, I have like four sets where I"m missing only one piece for each ;)

[Einbroch]

Edit: This review nails exactly how I feel about the game perfectly. Also, probably one of the most amusing reviews I've seen in a long time lol.

7/10 is a great game?

I should look into this guy more. :D

[MushroomSamba]

For a Finesse centric character, Harpoon is a very useful skill to have. Initially you'll be pulling enemies to your Frost Traps, but once you get Gambit ohohoho... Combine that with juggling action from your bow for hilarious results.

Hah, that's pretty crafty. I like it. :)

[1stStrike]

7/10 is a great game? I should look into this guy more. :D

His reviews are all really amusing and really detailed/fair. He goes in-depth and doesn't half ass them. It takes a pretty awesome game to get 8 or above on his scale.

One of his best is the Batman: Arkham City review. Pretty awesome editing in that one.

[Luthos]

nm

[RyanardoDaVinci]

It looks like it might be a good night in Amalur. Just fired up the game, loaded last save, killed the first enemy and what I get, last piece of another set :D Lyria's set... [IMG]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7188/6906294241_36e6dec242_z.jpg[IMG] [IMG]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7050/6906294219_1d453cee73_z.jpg[IMG] Hopefully I'm gonna have a few more sets ready tonight, I have like four sets where I"m missing only one piece for each ;)

Do you farm for the pieces, or are you just lucky?

I think I've only completed Kerrod's and the Bolgan's Bane set as far as Might goes, excluding the easy ones like the Warsworn set and the one you get off a near-end-game enemy. I don't know what Mage/Rogue stuff I have, I wish the sets would group together in the Stash menu.

I have quite a few sets where I'm only missing 1 or 2 pieces; Eagonn's, Corthian, Helius, Legion, Ceremonial, Martyr, Thyrdon, Crucible.

[EDarkness]

If you're only getting Azurite, then you're not in the right areas yet. But, you will be soon. You'll be swimming in master and flawless raw materials, and there will be a ton of high end/top end weaponry for you to break down. Even without perfect materials it's still very possible to break the game, though. Craft a couple sets that have + to hp/mana regen, and bolster up your phys/crit/magic damage %, and you're set. Definitely not hyperbole. I crafted a full set of armor (still using purple drops I've found for weapons - which I have found a ton of, all very good weapons at that) and it takes 3 mages pounding me with whirlwinds/fireballs to get me to use a potion as I regen through everything else. I'm level 39 at the moment and I'm just tearing stuff up as finesse/might. I think that once I hit 40, though, I'm going to respec to universalist (37 points in might/finesse/sorcery) for kicks.

Well, I've been all over the map (pretty much) and I've gotten a couple of pieces of metal that I haven't heard of before (the green looking stuff) last night, but not much else. It's frustrating because mobs are doing a lot of damage and there's not much I can do to improve the situation. After reading comments on the forum, I built up blacksmithing, but that hasn't netted me anything because the mats I'm getting are crap. Even then I have to save and reload to get anything of real value. I'd try to add +HP/MP stuff, but I don't have any items that give anything substantial. I think I have a couple +0.1 HP things and I added a couple in some pieces I made, but it's such a small amount it doesn't do anything really.

I have this one item that has a +1 HP/sec ability, but after almost an hour of saving and reloading, I can't get it out of the armor. Not sure how it decides what we get when salvaging stuff, so I gave up on that.

I understand what people are saying, but my experience just doesn't match that. Don't get me wrong, I'm still having a lot of fun, but I'm not stomping on things due to my gear being awesome.

[Zefah]

Are there any merchants outside of Rathir and Mel Senshir where I can buy expensive and powerful items from merchants? Detyre was a huge disappointment on that front, and I don't seem to be finding any merchants in Klurikon. I have almost 3 million gold and want to spend it on something!

[H3rTz DoNuT]

Do you farm for the pieces, or are you just lucky? I think I've only completed Kerrod's and the Bolgan's Bane set as far as Might goes, excluding the easy ones like the Warsworn set and the one you get off a near-end-game enemy. I don't know what Mage/Rogue stuff I have, I wish the sets would group together in the Stash menu. I have quite a few sets where I'm only missing 1 or 2 pieces; Eagonn's, Corthian, Helius, Legion, Ceremonial, Martyr, Thyrdon, Crucible.

I think it's both mate ;) I farm those sets like crazy but I also have a lot of luck I guess, cause I get them rather fast :D

[Vamphuntr]

Are there any merchants outside of Rathir and Mel Senshir where I can buy expensive and powerful items from merchants? Detyre was a huge disappointment on that front, and I don't seem to be finding any merchants in Klurikon. I have almost 3 million gold and want to spend it on something!

The next merchant are in the final area of the game but they are in a dungeon... Money is pretty much useless anyway.

[Zefah]

The next merchant are in the final area of the game but they are in a dungeon... Money is pretty much useless anyway.

I was regularly saving up and spending all my money on expensive equipment up until around level 28 or 30 or so. Since then, I haven't found any use for it and it starts pouring in crazy fast.

[1stStrike]

Well, I've been all over the map (pretty much) and I've gotten a couple of pieces of metal that I haven't heard of before (the green looking stuff) last night, but not much else. It's frustrating because mobs are doing a lot of damage and there's not much I can do to improve the situation. After reading comments on the forum, I built up blacksmithing, but that hasn't netted me anything because the mats I'm getting are crap. Even then I have to save and reload to get anything of real value. I'd try to add +HP/MP stuff, but I don't have any items that give anything substantial. I think I have a couple +0.1 HP things and I added a couple in some pieces I made, but it's such a small amount it doesn't do anything really. I have this one item that has a +1 HP/sec ability, but after almost an hour of saving and reloading, I can't get it out of the armor. Not sure how it decides what we get when salvaging stuff, so I gave up on that. I understand what people are saying, but my experience just doesn't match that. Don't get me wrong, I'm still having a lot of fun, but I'm not stomping on things due to my gear being awesome.

It really just sounds like you're not hitting the right areas yet to get the drops. You probably need to get a bit further in. Are you putting points into detect hidden and looting all the chests/rock piles and such? That makes a big difference too.

If you really go after loot it's pretty much impossible to not find good stuff. You'll want some +1 or +2 hp/mp regen stuff, even if it's rings/amulets. You can use sagecrafting to make gems that do this as well, and then socket those gems into the armor you craft.

As you progress, good equipment is inevitable if you take the time to get loot and do all the sidequests/explore the map. Here's a few I've gotten along the way:











I don't believe any of these were really hard to come by except for the hammerlord ring. That dropped from a mob after I killed it. The rest were all in chests and can probably be found by everyone. I used crafted gear for a little while, but eventually ditched it as everything I made was just way too ridiculously overpowered.

These are all mostly end game gear, but I'm 155/155 in my storage and there's purples and golds in there that I was getting throughout the game for every class. I could just as easily change over to sorcerer or finesse at this point and own just as much with all the gear I have.

Once you get to the second continent you'll start seeing a lot of the prismere items, and that's what you'll want to make the best crafted gear. It's impossible to not get this stuff, as they practically dump it on you everywhere.

But, as you can see, it's not even really necessary to craft stuff as long as you're taking the time to do sidequests and go through dungeons. With stuff like the above I'm pretty much invincible at this point. Trolls can wail on me and don't even move my health bar. You should be the same by the end of the game :)

[Luthos]

Man I wish you could make a gnome character in this game. =\

[EDarkness]

1stStrike, I understand what you're saying. I expect to be overpowered at/near the end of the game. However, I was just pointing out that I'm level 22 (now) and 60+ hours in the game and haven't had the same experience where the game is somehow broken by blacksmithing or finding crazy items that make me super powerful. I'm sure it will be once I can get to some areas with better drops, but even the purple items I've found so far haven't been things I could actually use so they just end up in my storage box.

I'm just not having the same experience as people are saying they're having in the game. Heh, I'd like to, though, since I love being super powerful in these kinds of games.

[Baconsammy]

1stStrike, I understand what you're saying. I expect to be overpowered at/near the end of the game. However, I was just pointing out that I'm level 22 (now) and 60+ hours in the game and haven't had the same experience where the game is somehow broken by blacksmithing or finding crazy items that make me super powerful. I'm sure it will be once I can get to some areas with better drops, but even the purple items I've found so far haven't been things I could actually use so they just end up in my storage box. I'm just not having the same experience as people are saying they're having in the game. Heh, I'd like to, though, since I love being super powerful in these kinds of games.

Put two or more +health gems in your gear. Game broken.

[ZZMitch]

I guess I am in the minority here, but I kind of enjoy being extremely overpowered in games. I enjoyed Crysis on easy mode just as much as I enjoyed it on delta for example. It shouldn't happen in this game I guess but I am still having a ton of fun.

[HP_Wuvcraft]

In fact, I didn't really like the way the game handled either of the two battles with the huge bosses (Balor/Tirnoch) — just felt far too easy and convenient.

That's a shame. One of the PRO points for me getting the game is the design of the bosses.

[1stStrike]

Put two or more +health gems in your gear. Game broken.

Yep. Here's an example.

I get hit a few times, and even the strong attack by the troll barely does any damage. I regen through it before the next attack even hits me.

So, I decided to try taking off all my armor and going into battle and... even with no armor at all on, with a total of +5 HP regen from an amulet and a ring, I still take very negligible damage throughout the battle and have almost regen'd it all the way back by the end.

The game seemed to have some issues with the angle I was at on the last one, though. I kept knocking the mage into the air and my character kept missing. Had to switch to the hammer to finish him off :P

[ReaperXL07]

Niskaru hunters are easily the enemies I hate most in the game, for some reason I just can't seem to get into a good groove with them.if things keep going the way they are though ill probably be pretty close to 40 by the time I leave detyre. Then ill still have the plains and the whole right side of the map to complete still.

[scy]

Well, I've been all over the map (pretty much) and I've gotten a couple of pieces of metal that I haven't heard of before (the green looking stuff) last night, but not much else. It's frustrating because mobs are doing a lot of damage and there's not much I can do to improve the situation. After reading comments on the forum, I built up blacksmithing, but that hasn't netted me anything because the mats I'm getting are crap. Even then I have to save and reload to get anything of real value. I'd try to add +HP/MP stuff, but I don't have any items that give anything substantial. I think I have a couple +0.1 HP things and I added a couple in some pieces I made, but it's such a small amount it doesn't do anything really.

For what it's worth, slotting regen is from Gems (so 7+ Blacksmithing, or socketed equipment) and not Blacksmithing itself. For the most part, anyway (there are options for it but it takes until Greater+, if I recall, for anything decent). What Blacksmithing really lets you do is customize equipment to the point that the sum of them all is far greater than each of them individually.

And it takes awhile for Blacksmithing to take off in the sense that you need to salvage a lot of equipment.

Edit: To give a better idea, Sylvanite (their models are green for the weapons) tier means you should have access to Master-tier things. There's also drops from random wildlife that are about Master-tier (+20% Health, +5% Crit come to mind).

[DeathKitten]

Had my first hard lock up on the 360 just now. Its ok because I played a little too much. I realized this after I was looking on the iPhone and seeing the blue iMessage bubble and thinking it was some good blue loot. Not even kidding haha.

[vaelic]

and no patch yet? 2 weeks too late :(

[ReaperXL07]

and no patch yet? 2 weeks too late :(

They are working on it, but I suspect atleast a portion of the team is still on vacationwhich is pretty standard after release. Id also suspect that a balance patch will take alittle while to make sure its right. When you consider that according to curt they are making an entirely new mode it will probably be alittle while longer. There is also the cert process from ms and sony, one of the many reasons I'm starting to get alittle fed up with consoles, but I lack the funds to build a rig right now.

Hoping to be able to have a nice one up and running by the time copernicus rolls around, but I'm not going to lie, going through the pc thread is really confusing at times.

[valentine71]

Getting this game in a few hours. Anything i should know before i play it?

[nonnocere]

Man I wish you could make a gnome character in this game. =\

Wait for the MMO.

[nonnocere]

Getting this game in a few hours. Anything i should know before i play it?

Play the demo of this game and Mass Effect 3 to get some useful early gear, specifically an armor set with health regeneration.

[shaowebb]

Yep. Here's an example. I get hit a few times, and even the strong attack by the troll barely does any damage. I regen through it before the next attack even hits me. So, I decided to try taking off all my armor and going into battle and... even with no armor at all on, with a total of +5 HP regen from an amulet and a ring, I still take very negligible damage throughout the battle and have almost regen'd it all the way back by the end. The game seemed to have some issues with the angle I was at on the last one, though. I kept knocking the mage into the air and my character kept missing. Had to switch to the hammer to finish him off :P

I AM IMMORTAL! I have inside me blood of Kings!
I HAVE NO RIVAL! No man can be my equal!

[ReaperXL07]

Man I wish you could make a gnome character in this game. =\

How would that even work? How does a gnome carry a greatsword for instance, it would either constantly be stuck in the ground or their movement would be hindered greatly by it dragging behind them, I also don't think they would have the strength or leverage to even swing it. ALways been a funny concept to me.

[valentine71]

Play the demo of this game and Mass Effect 3 to get some useful early gear, specifically an armor set with health regeneration.

Oh, cool. Will do that. Thank you.