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Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning |OT| An Enemy-Pounding Funfest

If I want to keep the challenge as high as possible throughout the game, is it safe to say I should just avoid crafting all together, and just go with the drops?

Not really. Drops have bonuses on them that will negate difficulty too. To keep the challenge as high as possible you'll need to ignore any quest except the main-quest line, but I haven't done that yet so I cant tell you for sure how that works out late in the game.

And on the other end of the spectrum, I actually enjoy being able to transform my hero into an unstoppable force of destruction after full investments in both Sagecraft and Blacksmithing.

It's satisfying to see my previously limp finesse/sorcery hero can now wreck havoc on the world, hahaha.

Yeah, I can understand that, but I'd prefer the game remaining difficult on my path of progression, but allow me to be a good when I revisit past areas.
 
Feel like I have to waste a lot of points if I want to get the higher end abilities with particular weapons :/

I've been dabbling and I think I want to with Might + Arrows from Finesse from a purely Finesse sneaky person

This is a setup I got worked out which I can do right now.

Unless I waste some points levelling up daggers/faeblades I won't be able to get Blade Honing which is my shit.

Probably won't matter latter on but in the meantime it kind of sucks and even then it'll feel like a waste.
 
First time yesterday that I used a fateweaver since I am playing as the Might/Sorcery hybrid. I invested points into Quake and Aftershock in the Might tree and neglected the Faer Gorta on the Sorcery Tree. Quake is absolutely pointless. The casting time is to long and in that process you can get interrupted. I am still only at level 20 but I can not keep playing with the fact that I have an ability that is absolutely pointless in comparison with others.

Here's my future level 40 build for this: http://amalurfoundry.com/calculator?3004536056300535503500000000&000000000000000000000000000&30063660561503550035000000
 

Rokam

Member
First time yesterday that I used a fateweaver since I am playing as the Might/Sorcery hybrid. I invested points into Quake and Aftershock in the Might tree and neglected the Faer Gorta on the Sorcery Tree. Quake is absolutely pointless. The casting time is to long and in that process you can get interrupted. I am still only at level 20 but I can not keep playing with the fact that I have an ability that is absolutely pointless in comparison with others.

Yeah I found it to be terrible, but the end of that line is pretty amazing.
 
Yeah I found it to be terrible, but the end of that line is pretty amazing.

Agreed.

But a 70 point invest in 1 ability is not worth it when playing a Hybrid.

I just thought about the fact that Mass Effect 3 is only a few weeks away. Seeing as how crazy busy I am with my internship, even in the late hours, I do not think I will even be able to get that game. I can not even invest enough hours into Amalur. Even if I will finish this game up in 3 weeks from now I highly doubt I will still get Mass Effect 3 because of the fact that I also have an unopened copy of the Skyrim PS3 version since I wanted to wait for the one patch that will fix the framerate issues. According to a lot of people it has been fixed with the 1.4 patch so that is another game in the list I need to play. Life is rough when working hard.
 

derwalde

Member
For the people having trouble with the FOV/camera on the PC version. I fooled around a bit with the widescreen fix but didn't really like the results. Yesterday I read this on the official boards.



link

When you use those values it runs and looks great, no fisheye, no broken cutscenes, questlog working! I'm using those values on a 16:10 1920x1200 monitor, don't ask me why and how it works but it works :)

screenshots please :3
 

koji

Member
Can you use both keyboard and controller when dealing with the macro slots? For example have the immediate spells on the 4 slots that's accessible via controller, then add more abilities via mouse and keyboard, so when you're playing you can use the controller for abilities you need asap, then use buffs or summons that you couldn't fit on the controller setup.

I guess you can, you can swap between the two on the fly, press a button on the keyboard and the UI switches to keyboard mode, move stick on controller, back to controller mode. It's pretty nice. Playing a pure sorc myself, still low lvl though but I guess I'm going to have to use the keyboard to map extra stuff.

Strange there isn't a more elegant solution, everything in this game UI-wise is great.

screenshots please :3

Will try to take/upload some tonight, at work atm.

Oh, an another thing, the latest version should work with Origin, Origin KOA v1.01 is listed anyway. Playing the Steam version myself so I can't confirm.

http://widescreengamingforum.com/node/19399

Tested Version:
Steam 1.0.1 & Origin 1.0.1
 

ParityBit

Member
I decided to cancel the guide. At this point I do not think it is worth it. It's a shame because I enjoy a nice hard cover guide.

Maybe I will move grab the ME3 guide instead. I dunno.
 

ParityBit

Member
First time yesterday that I used a fateweaver since I am playing as the Might/Sorcery hybrid. I invested points into Quake and Aftershock in the Might tree and neglected the Faer Gorta on the Sorcery Tree. Quake is absolutely pointless. The casting time is to long and in that process you can get interrupted. I am still only at level 20 but I can not keep playing with the fact that I have an ability that is absolutely pointless in comparison with others.

Here's my future level 40 build for this: http://amalurfoundry.com/calculator?3004536056300535503500000000&000000000000000000000000000&30063660561503550035000000

As I have been learning, there is no reason to max out your weapon skills. You can easily increase this with +skill gems/items. This was pointed out to me here. I am currently working on a new build myself :) Might/Sorc though
 

neojubei

Will drop pants for Sony.
Finally have all the parts of the Warsworn armor. Took me an hour and half to find the gloves looking all over and finally realizing I put them in my stash a long time ago.
 

Naeblish

Member
Doubtful. I'd bet on oversight or just not knowing how to make it work. No mapping, over all elementary UI effort leads me to think it had nothing to do with memory.
It's confirmed by a dev on the official forums, skills have to be available instantly at all times, so they take up memory. Because of the memory amount on consoles, they decided to limit it to 4.

Reading all these stories about blacksmithing being overpowered, i think i'm gonna ditch it. Only created 1 greatsword so far (currently lvl 18), but i can see why it becomes OP. Gonna keep Sagecrafting though, although i have not seen one unique/set item with empty slots yet, do they even exist?
 

neojubei

Will drop pants for Sony.
Little OT, but Amazon is awesome.

I got an email this morning saying the price had dropped recently and they gave me $20 credit, I never asked for anything.

Edit: Late as usual...

I received the same email. Now i have 20 bucks off binary domain.
 

Apeboy

Member
It's confirmed by a dev on the official forums, skills have to be available instantly at all times, so they take up memory. Because of the memory amount on consoles, they decided to limit it to 4.

I know what they said, and I'm sure they are right from their standpoint. Due to the circa 1999 UI I'm just not sure the effort was made to resolve the issue before choosing the path they did.
 

Ricker

Member
I don't know about the difficulty...I am playing on normal,only Sorcery upgrades and skills and at level 7,that Widow fight with all the spiders was pretty challenging for me...so far I think normal is fine.

Why can't I socket any gems yet,I have 2 shields with sockets and I have 3 gems but I can't figure out how to add them in the shield(probably blacksmithing I guess,I have 0 points).

Loving it so far,just a few things that bother me is that even though I like the bright colors and the art style and all,on the 360,there's this little blurry,bloom like,hazy coat on everything that I would love to get rid of but oh well,still looks ok and I whish my heroine could speak,maybe not in every little cut scene with the NPC'S but once in a while or in a little cutscene would of been nice and would of made me care for her a little more.
 
Why can't I socket any gems yet,I have 2 shields with sockets and I have 3 gems but I can't figure out how to add them in the shield(probably blacksmithing I guess,I have 0 points).
Sagecrafting is the skill you need to invest in (or you can just find someone to do it for you).
 
Finally have all the parts of the Warsworn armor. Took me an hour and half to find the gloves looking all over and finally realizing I put them in my stash a long time ago.

When did you get those?

I've done their quests in 2 locations and I've got the helmet and the pants (helm first and pants in Rathir). Does that seem about right?

Please don't tell me I salvaged them
 

Naeblish

Member
I know what they said, and I'm sure they are right from their standpoint. Due to the circa 1999 UI I'm just not sure the effort was made to resolve the issue before choosing the path they did.
Not sure what you are trying to say here, but i thought their second point was weird. Here is the full post:

There are really two reasons why the ability selector UI works as it does on the consoles, one technical reason and one design reason.

1.) On the consoles, having more than four abilities mapped for instant use at any given time would mean having to have all the memory loaded for every one of those abilities at all times. On the PC that's no big deal, but on the consoles, memory management is tricky to say the least. We could have sacrificed memory somewhere else (by having, say, less enemy variety in each area) to make that possible if need be, but we chose not to due to the other reason, which is more design-oriented: 4 abilities accessed instantly via the trigger menu simply worked better than the umpteen other approaches we tried over the course of development.

2.) We did a TON of user testing with all manner of different UIs and control schemes for accessing abilities during Reckoning's development, from lists to radials to multi-tiered menus (at one point we even had abilities arranged in a dpad menu much like the weapon menu for Half-Life 2 on console). We tried having UIs that pause the game and UIs that didn't, etc. D-pad, triggers, bumpers, you name it. In the end of the day, this approach proved to be the most effective at being A.) Easy to learn, B.) Easy to operate, C.) Not slowing down the pace of combat, and D.) Granting the player access to enough abilities at a moment's notice so that you can employ a nice mix of magic attacks in a single fight without having to pause the game and select a new spell to make active. In short, we went with this approach because we found in practice that it works extremely well.

That said, if you find you want access to more than 4 active abilities (and you don't want to play on PC), there are three factors that mitigate the issue:

1.) As I noted in an earlier post, our spells and weapon attacks include quite a bit of depth simply by virtue of how we handle contextual combos and player input in general. Storm Bolt and Tempest, for instance, collectively require only a single active ability to be slotted rather than being independent abilities that have to be slotted on their own. In short, two weapons and four abilities doesn't mean you've only got 6 total actions you can do in combat--you could easily have 20 things you could do with that toolkit if you've unlocked some special attacks and ability upgrades.

2.) Sustained abilities can be mapped, turned on, and then unmapped to free up a slot. It'll still use up its mana cost as long as it's on, but it won't take up one of your four mappable slots.

3.) Remapping abilities is pretty speedy. Press Start, select Abilities, select the ability you want and hit X (or square on the PS3). It's not something I ever find myself doing in active combat (I never need to), but if you wanted to for whatever reason, it's not a particularly time-intensive process.

About point 2, they could have easily switched stealth to the d-pad and use L1 as second ability wheel, and put Shield on R2.
 

ParityBit

Member
Relentless Assault will not allow you to be interrupted by anything at all.

I wish we did not have to run back to all the trainers when we respec. The trained levels we should have just kept. If it was a higher level that we no longer used then it should be grayed out and activated again when the skill hits that level.
 

Ricker

Member
Unmapping the Sustained ability is a good hint,mine is the bubble I have around my character but I tend to take it off when I don't need it because the constant effect is a little annoying to me(not what it does but the look).

Sagecrafting is the skill you need to invest in (or you can just find someone to do it for you).

Oh and my sagecrafting is almost on the next set of squares in the skill menu and I still can't figure out how to socket a gem in my shield,guess I will have to find someone.
 

neojubei

Will drop pants for Sony.
When did you get those?

I've done their quests in 2 locations and I've got the helmet and the pants (helm first and pants in Rathir). Does that seem about right?

Please don't tell me I salvaged them

The boots are in the second keep ( i had to steal from a chest) the helmet and gloves you get early in the game ( i thought i sold them and started going back to all the stores I used when I realized they were in my stash). The chest piece i believe you get it when you do the faction quest for the Warsworn.

Word of advice, try saving the purple and gold items. you never know when you might have part of a set you are looking for.
 
Oh and my sagecrafting is almost on the next set of squares in the skill menu and I still can't figure out how to socket a gem in my shield,guess I will have to find someone.
You need to find a sagecrafting alter to do the work yourself. It's the one with the big blue gem stuck on it.
 

scy

Member
Word of warning for set & forget sustained abilities, they do not update themselves retroactively as you add points into the skill. So if you cast, say, Blade Honing and then unmap the skill, you'll need to recast it when you raise the level of it.

Conversely, this does mean you can wear +Finesse Abilities to boost it to max (or above max: 7/5), cast it, and then change your equipment back out.
 
Word of warning for set & forget sustained abilities, they do not update themselves retroactively as you add points into the skill. So if you cast, say, Blade Honing and then unmap the skill, you'll need to recast it when you raise the level of it.

Conversely, this does mean you can wear +Finesse Abilities to boost it to max (or above max: 7/5), cast it, and then change your equipment back out.
What causes a sustained ability to go away (besides actively turning it off, obviously)? Strangely enough I haven't used any so far.

I mean, is it some kind of deal where you can activate it at the beginning of your play session and forget about it from that point forward?
 

ced

Member
I mean, is it some kind of deal where you can activate it at the beginning of your play session and forget about it from that point forward?

Activate it and forget it. You can actually just activate then reassign that hot key from that point forward, it never goes off.
 

Wallach

Member
I can't decide whether to switch over to a JoaT build or wait until my second playthrough (which would probably be with their proposed new difficulty). Part of me doesn't want to switch just because I've not saved much besides Sorcery gear (though I have kept all of that one hand-placed JoaT set that I've found), and some of the unique weapons I've vendored have since been purged from said vendors. Plus I'm curious as to how it would be to level as JoaT, since you don't actually get handed all of the free combo points until level 36.

I respecced at 32 a couple of times without saving to try it out. I have to say it seems pretty neat; my actives were mostly Mark of Flame, Storm Bolt, Lunge and Relentless Assault and I sort of felt like a boss. Edged poison and crit buffs from Finesse were my sustained (though I couldn't find points to get the poison duration in any build I liked).

Probably the only time I have felt indecisive about my character build. Having all of those free skill points and ability points is so enticing, and I like the variety a lot.
 

donarumo

Neo Member
Ended up restarting the game and I'm enjoying it much more now. Played to level 10 or 11 before restarting. First run felt aimless. I think it was perhaps the side quests pointing me in different directions but it felt like I was simply moving beacon to beacon, solving quests without much other purpose.

Now that I know more about how the map is laid out and what quests I'm going to encounter, I'm having much more fun exploring each area thuroughly, gathering as many quests as a I can and then not worrying about finishing them until I get close to a white or yellow circle on the map.

I think a gamer's response to this game can be entirely dependent on the time they take to explore and enjoy the world. Quickly moving quest to quest and skipping through dialoge seems like a sure way to ruin the experience.

It's weird but it took me a while to find the proper way (for me at least) to play this game. Kind of like walking around in new sneakers, it just felt numb and foreign until it was broken in.

Just some thoughts.
 

Wickwire

Member
I finally had a chance to sit down and play the demo last night. I really enjoyed it. Im looking foward to picking this game up when I finish a few games and have a bit more free time on my hands.
 

scy

Member
What causes a sustained ability to go away (besides actively turning it off, obviously)? Strangely enough I haven't used any so far.

I mean, is it some kind of deal where you can activate it at the beginning of your play session and forget about it from that point forward?

Nothing removes them so just set and forget. I'd recast it as you add points to the skill since it doesn't update but, other than that, you never really need to worry about them ever again once they're cast.
 

Wallach

Member
Nothing removes them so just set and forget. I'd recast it as you add points to the skill since it doesn't update but, other than that, you never really need to worry about them ever again once they're cast.

Well, it's worth noting on that topic that the Sphere of Protection upgrades are bugged and will cease working if you speak to an NPC. You'll keep SoP and the damage mitigation, but you have to change zone (or fast travel within your current zone) to get the orbiting things to come back. It's super annoying, hopefully one of the things addressed in their first patch.

Edit - scy, show me some cool daggers and faeblades and greatswords and longswords! I can't decide whether to go JoaT or wait until they release a new difficulty and do it on my next playthrough.
 

ced

Member
Well, it's worth noting on that topic that the Sphere of Protection upgrades are bugged and will cease working if you speak to an NPC. You'll keep SoP and the damage mitigation, but you have to change zone (or fast travel within your current zone) to get the orbiting things to come back. It's super annoying, hopefully one of the things addressed in their first patch.

Good point. I never messed with mine and the orbs would return eventually without zoning, but it was definitely buggy and didn't seem to correspond to a timeout or anything, just random. They also impact terrain and get killed.
 

scy

Member
Edit - scy, show me some cool daggers and faeblades and greatswords and longswords! I can't decide whether to go JoaT or wait until they release a new difficulty and do it on my next playthrough.

I'm at work so I can't :|

Off-hand though, the Valor Greatsword reward is probably the best GS I have. Faeblade/Dagger wise, I had to Blacksmith up a decent pair due to some atrocious luck on the drops (and because I wanted Fire/Bleed damage as a priority for my builds).
 
Finished the Warsworn set and damn is it pretty. The clipping makes me a sad panda.

I mentioned it earlier but I went and respecced from a total rogue to might + bow. The game seems considerably easier.

Relentless Assault without the damage resistance penalty is so wrong :lol
 

itwasTuesday

He wasn't alone.
Really enjoying the game so far. Went full sorcery and ranged skills + wand were destroying everything. Switched to fighter/mage mix for more up close combat.

Does anyone else feel blink has too long of a startup? Playing a chakram + greatsword hybrid and so far blink is getting me killed. I downgraded my fate card so I can still use the faster roll.
 
Does anyone else feel blink has too long of a startup? Playing a chakram + greatsword hybrid and so far blink is getting me killed. I downgraded my fate card so I can still use the faster roll.
Nope. I've been playing a might/sorcery hybrid the entire time (42 hours so far) and I love blink. The timing does take a little getting used to but now it's rare for me to get hit because it didn't activate fast enough.
 

ElyrionX

Member
Really enjoying the game so far. Went full sorcery and ranged skills + wand were destroying everything. Switched to fighter/mage mix for more up close combat.

Does anyone else feel blink has too long of a startup? Playing a chakram + greatsword hybrid and so far blink is getting me killed. I downgraded my fate card so I can still use the faster roll.

There's a startup delay to blink so you can't really blink on reaction to attacks. You need to anticipate attacks about half a second to a second in advance in order to be able to blink and avoid damage successfully.
 
Reporting a quest-killing bug for "The Widow's Wrath" that renders it uncompletable.

Once you enter the dungeon, you're confronted by the widow who asks you to kill the townsfolk. If you refuse her, she should disappear to her boss chamber where you'll fight her later. However, in my case, she remains standing at the entrance, and cannot be interacted with.

I figured I'd fight through the dungeon in hopes that things would sort themselves out when I got to the end. When I entered her boss chamber, her final dialogue is initiated, and a fight begins. However, instead of taking place in the boss chamber, the game teleports you back to the entrance where she was waiting. You can continue to fight her there for a moment, but after a bit she'll randomly disappear and respawn inside her rightful place in her boss chamber. The catch? The "arena fields" are up in the room - the ones that normally prevent you from leaving the arena now prevent you from entering, and finishing the fight. All entrances inside are blocked, and you'll never be able to reach the widow. End of quest.

In my attempt to debug the quest, I rendered my last autosave useless after it was tainted with this bug, too, so this is a quest I won't be completing until my next playthrough. I suggest everyone create a second save before attempting this quest, as I'm not sure what triggers the bug. Can anyone tell me what reward there is for finishing this quest, so I know what I'm missing? Thanks.
 
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