What game are you currently playing?

[WarChiefZeke]

I was pleasantly surprised by Digimon Story Time Stranger. I didn’t expect a Digimon game to be that good.

Some of my friends have expressed an interest in Warframe, so I’m going to try and get into that soon.

Also, yes, I am still around. I’m not as active since I got my job, but I’ll still pop in occasionally.

There are some surprisingly good Digimon games, even though I have no interest in the series otherwise.

The oldest one is Digimon World 2, a dungeon crawler RPG for the PS1. Use a team of 3 digimon at the same time just like the later games, but the dungeon crawling itself is a challenge outside of the battles since you are working with limited resources and lots of traps.

Good game, with mods to iron out its few flaws.

 

[Cahir]

I'm currently playing Kingdom Come Deliverence 2 (after finishing KCD1 earlier) and after 42h I can say it's better than KCD1 in every way and it's the most enjoyable open world I played for a while. I like the slow paced exploration, similar to Red Dead Redemption 2.

 

[Chronicler]

Fate Grand Order is a mobile game that works on an energy system. You get one energy point every five minutes. Most quests consume 40 energy points. There are items that restore your energy but you don't want to waste them frivolously, so your play time is always limited by this energy mechanic.

But the lottery events are the big exception to this. Lottery events are the most fruitful farming you can do, and you can farm them infinitely, so when a lottery event is running you can just burn all your energy restoration items without worry. Play as much as you like. They tend to happen twice a year.

There's a lottery event running right now and I'm having a lot of fun with it.

 

[O_Bruce]

My older brother encouraged me to try Alien:Isolation. So far, it is a great game - though I don't feel like playing too much at at time, since the pressure is real, even more so if the mission is hella long.

What I got to say, the game does amazing job at conveying the atmosphere from the first Alien movie

 

[WarChiefZeke]

There are only two MMO's I like, but I like them a lot, and they are both practically OG's of the genre. City of Heroes and Everquest. And I like these two because you can play them as single player RPG's with large and rather open worlds.

Right now I am playing City of Heroes. It has a summoner class called the Mastermind that is the best implementation of the class in any MMO, any RPG, or really just any game. You get about 6-10 allies, depending on your build, and your powers can come from a vast array of sources. You can run an army of mercenaries, be a necromancer who controls the undead, make dark pacts with demons, run a clan of ninjas, even be a druid and create magical pacts with animals, and more.

I chose to run a clan of ninjas and begin my journey on Praetoria, an alternate version of the original game world where all of the most famous heroes gave into their darker sides and ran the world with an iron fist. Good and evil isn't defined by whether you are a Hero or Villain but by the choices you make as either a loyalist to the Cole regime or as a member of the resistance. You can even be a double agent and work for one side while reporting into the other and sabotaging one sides goals.

Nowadays I dual-box MMO's when i'm not running group content, as I find difficult MMO's are a lot more enjoyable when you are building two characters as mutual support. You won't be defeating Archvillains or doing the best quest-lines solo without having an end-game character (though any build can do it if you're good), so this will speed me along that path.

My second character is a katana-wielding stalker who has ninjitsu as a secondary power, so he is a perfect fit as another member of the clan. I'll send him in for his massive backstab damage, send the rest of the clan in who are controlled by the Mastermind, while he runs out and goes back into stealth. Rinse and repeat. Very efficient, though the team struggles somewhat against flying enemies. Less so now that I have an Oni who is controlled by the ninja mastermind, who has magic to take them down.

 

[O_Bruce]

A bit of an update.

I am over halfway point in Alien:Isolation, in what I hear is less tense/more boring part of the game due to

Spoiler

Xenomorph not being a threat for some time

. Still, when

Spoiler

Xeno

is around, the game's excellent!

I've also got some gifts from friends and family. Street Fighter 6, One Piece:Odyssey and Monster Hunter Stories. So far, I have played Street Fighter 6 with me friend (I really enjoyed it) and focused on Monster Hunter Stories as a single-player experience - it remind me a lot of earlier Pokemon games, with some twists and different mechanics. I think I might be halway in this one also.

 

[WarChiefZeke]

Right now I am playing City of Heroes. It has a summoner class called the Mastermind that is the best implementation of the class in any MMO, any RPG, or really just any game. You get about 6-10 allies, depending on your build, and your powers can come from a vast array of sources. You can run an army of mercenaries, be a necromancer who controls the undead, make dark pacts with demons, run a clan of ninjas, even be a druid and create magical pacts with animals, and more.

I chose to run a clan of ninjas and begin my journey on Praetoria, an alternate version of the original game world where all of the most famous heroes gave into their darker sides and ran the world with an iron fist. Good and evil isn't defined by whether you are a Hero or Villain but by the choices you make as either a loyalist to the Cole regime or as a member of the resistance. You can even be a double agent and work for one side while reporting into the other and sabotaging one sides goals.

Nowadays I dual-box MMO's when i'm not running group content, as I find difficult MMO's are a lot more enjoyable when you are building two characters as mutual support. You won't be defeating Archvillains or doing the best quest-lines solo without having an end-game character (though any build can do it if you're good), so this will speed me along that path.

My second character is a katana-wielding stalker who has ninjitsu as a secondary power, so he is a perfect fit as another member of the clan. I'll send him in for his massive backstab damage, send the rest of the clan in who are controlled by the Mastermind, while he runs out and goes back into stealth. Rinse and repeat. Very efficient, though the team struggles somewhat against flying enemies. Less so now that I have an Oni who is controlled by the ninja mastermind, who has magic to take them down.

What the hay, i'll update mine as well.

Working under the Powers Division in Praetoria proved to be a disillusioning experience. Praetor Baerry was too focused on his own research and hobby projects to protect the citizens from his own creations. Bobcat cared more about upsetting her boyfriend than to attending to her responsibilities as a protector of Praetoria. Praetor Tillman proved even worse, being notably insane and sinister enough that those caught and ordered to "return" to her would beg for release.

It seemed like nobody within what remained of the country after the Hamidon Wars cared at all about what happened to the people. So when the order came down to capture the Resistance Leader Vanessa DeVore so that Praetor Tillman could drain her of her psychic powers, the clan leader of the ninjas hesitated. He let her go, though he made no promises to join the resistance. Now he has been contacted in secret and invited to the Night Ward in order to see the "truth" of the regime he has been protecting for so long, a place where dissidents against the Cole regime are sent to disappear for good.

My character is level 22 now (out of 50 though there is a whole line of progression beyond that). I took a secondary power of Magic so I could apply buffing spells to my ninja summons. Notably a damage shield that constantly regens and a fire shield that harms all surrounding the one you apply it to (can cast on allies and is party friendly). The level of chaos you can start with one click of a button when you control a whole team never gets old.

 

[Chronicler]

Having a lot of the fun with the new Guild Wars 2 expansion.

Well, it was "new" in october, but it was also crazy buggy back in October. Now it's a bit older, but I can actually play it without the client crashing.

I think in the future I might be more cautious about buying these expansions on launch day. I really didn't need to be a Day 1 player if I was just gonna put the game down in frustration because of technical difficulties.

 

[OrlonKronsteen]

I think in the future I might be more cautious about buying these expansions on launch day. I really didn't need to be a Day 1 player if I was just gonna put the game down in frustration because of technical difficulties.

This is the way. Games are so buggy at launch now that it's a good idea to wait for months, if not longer to buy anything.

 

[Chronicler]

It's been a long time since I did anything on launch day.

I was prepared for a certain number of non-fatal bugs. Quests that got stuck and such.

I just wasn't prepared for all the straight out client crashes. You're doing something and then "Guild Wars 2.exe has encountered an error", have to boot up the client again, Log In, tab into your e-mail to get the confirmation code, load into character select, load into the game (tab out and browse reddit for a bit during this load, it's longer), now you're in a new instance of the map and the event you were doing is no longer in progress

It just kind of really drives all the momentum to a screeching halt every time it happens.

 

[Cahir]

Having a lot of the fun with the new Guild Wars 2 expansion.

Well, it was "new" in october, but it was also crazy buggy back in October. Now it's a bit older, but I can actually play it without the client crashing.

I think in the future I might be more cautious about buying these expansions on launch day. I really didn't need to be a Day 1 player if I was just gonna put the game down in frustration because of technical difficulties.

I'm pretty sure I'm done with MMORPG after ESO. It was really fun while it lasted, but after a while I realised I was trapped in a constant FOMO loop, spending entire morning to do all dailies, to, God forbid, not loose any daily reward. I reached a point when this feeling was unbearable, which coincided with my daughter's birth, so putting it back to shelf was liberating for more than one reason.

I loved the world and stories, but not really MMO part.

 

[Antimatter]

I think it's essential to have some mental strength to resist any FOMO that comes with a live-service game. Personally, I try to solve that by sticking to my targets. For example, I don't do daily quests just for the sake of the daily quests. Sometimes I do them just on one character, sometimes on more, because the actual rewards can drop a currency that allows for housing item purchases. I log in to check what items I sold with traders and for how much, and then put new items on sale, because, for example, I want to gain some sum of money to buy an expensive in-game item, house, etc. Or, say, there is an event going on. I only participate in it and define for how much time if the event is actually fun for me. If there is an ongoing event, but I'm interested in building this or that character, getting a difficult set for them, or upgrading their skills, I prioritize my own tasks, not the event.

I still like ESO for both the world and stories, and the MMO part. It's fun to, one day, complete a Thieves Guild story and learn the personalities of 5 interesting NPCs involved, and then, the next day, play BattleGrounds and get acquainted with a few other good PvP players.

I can see how RL can interfere, and that's totally fine. RL is better anyway (at least it should, right?)

Sorry to hear about those issues in Guild Wars 2. They sound a bit too much. With all the issues ESO has, I've never experienced anything like that when an expansion/zone launches. Hopefully, Guild Wars 2 devs learn from this situation and approach new content releases with more quality.

P.S. One note about ESO: going forward, they are actually decreasing the FOMO, removing daily endeavors, and giving a lot of in-game options to get crown-store limited items previously. This is not meant to persuade Cahir; I get his family/gaming priority situation, but just FYI.

 

[Cahir]

This is not meant to persuade Cahir; I get his family/gaming priority situation, but just FYI.

Don't worry, I'm not coming back to ESO regardless of their updates. This chapter is closed. It's good they are reducing FOMO, though, I think it's for the best.

 

[WarChiefZeke]

I decided to go another Dragon Age trilogy run. I've only done a full trilogy run once. Why not do it differently given it has that heavy choices-carry-over mechanic?

Last time I was a Dwarf Noble, female, Ranger, romanced Alistair, let him keep the throne, kept the relationship going, and survived into Inquisition where I later met Alistair again and got an update on the Warden's travels. This has to be a decade ago or more.

This time i'm a Human Noble, male, Templar, romanced Leliana, dumped her to become King of Ferelden (oh, i'm sorry, "Prince Consort") by marrying Anora and letting her take the throne. I let Alistair run off crying and kept Loghain around. I was very tempted to kill Leliana and Wynne after corrupting the ashes because I think how they handled that in Inquisition is very interesting. Some call it a cop-out but I think it's even better than that.

I just beat the first game's OC, going to at least do Awakening before going on to the much-beloved DA2. Somehow I ended up much more wealthy than last time. I purchased just about every expensive end-game item there is. Evon the Great's Mail, The Spellward, Lifegiver, and Ring of Ages. Couldn't afford even one of these in my first playthrough. Combined, I fall to nothing.

I refuse to acknowledge the existence of any sequels to the trilogy.

 

[Cahir]

I decided to go another Dragon Age trilogy run. I've only done a full trilogy run once. Why not do it differently given it has that heavy choices-carry-over mechanic?

Last time I was a Dwarf Noble, female, Ranger, romanced Alistair, let him keep the throne, kept the relationship going, and survived into Inquisition where I later met Alistair again and got an update on the Warden's travels. This has to be a decade ago or more.

This time i'm a Human Noble, male, Templar, romanced Leliana, dumped her to become King of Ferelden (oh, i'm sorry, "Prince Consort") by marrying Anora and letting her take the throne. I let Alistair run off crying and kept Loghain around. I was very tempted to kill Leliana and Wynne after corrupting the ashes because I think how they handled that in Inquisition is very interesting. Some call it a cop-out but I think it's even better than that.

I just beat the first game's OC, going to at least do Awakening before going on to the much-beloved DA2. Somehow I ended up much more wealthy than last time. I purchased just about every expensive end-game item there is. Evon the Great's Mail, The Spellward, Lifegiver, and Ring of Ages. Couldn't afford even one of these in my first playthrough. Combined, I fall to nothing.

I refuse to acknowledge the existence of any sequels to the trilogy.

Wait, do you consider Inquisition as a part of trilogy, or do you consider DLC for DAO as a second part and DA2 as a final part?

 

[WarChiefZeke]

Wait, do you consider Inquisition as a part of trilogy, or do you consider DLC for DAO as a second part and DA2 as a final part?

Awakening can nearly be considered another campaign with the amount of content it has, but no Inquisition is the third. Your choices carry over, after all. I want to see the ultimate fate of this Warden, even if its only mentioned in passing or in a short meeting with a companion.

I miss this kind of long-term game design that Dragon Age and Mass Effect employed. What a shame they dropped it, it's a fantastic idea and it was implemented decently well both times. It could have been improved on.

 

[BelgarathMTH]

@WarChiefZeke , who slept with Morrigan in your current playthrough-timeline? Did you do the deed yourself or make Allistair do it?

 

[WarChiefZeke]

@WarChiefZeke , who slept with Morrigan in your current playthrough-timeline? Did you do the deed yourself or make Allistair do it?

My Warden did it twice, first with Morrigan when starting a budding romance before I broke it up for Leliana, again for the ritual. I also slept with the elven girl in the Dalish Camp. He even flirted a bit with Zevran. Yeah, my Warden was a bit of a dog this time.

In hindsight maybe I should have let Loghain do it, I wonder how that would have turned out.

 

[Cahir]

So, after finishing Kingdom Come Deliverence 2 (and KCD1 before) I wanted to play something different and decided to come back to a game I hold dearly in my heart - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2. This time I played it heavily modded, with the core element being Restoration Content mod. I'm just 15 hours in, but I'm having a blast. With upgraded textures game looks much better than I remember (even if it won't look like a 2020 game) and restored content already kicked in couple of time making the whole story more refined. It seems I need to play on my nostalgic notes from time to time, to not forget where my gaming roots come from.

 

[WarChiefZeke]

KOTOR and (to a lesser extent) Neverwinter Nights had those incredible rtwp combat animations that were a treat to watch. What happened to that? Modern games have devolved in so many ways