• Category Archives DLC
  • Video Game Related » DLC

  • Tales of Maj’Eyal

    Posted on by Offkorn Comment

    I briefly tried the browser-based version of this game some time ago but it seemed overly complicated and I’m not fond of permadeath in the first place (losing 10+ hours of progress to a missclick is beyond annoying). However, after buying the GOG version on whim one day I played again and this time around it become quite engrossing.

    There’s a bunch of things to unlock/collect and with the ‘Adventurer’ option enabled you don’t have to worry about a single mistake erasing everything. That said… I would actually suggest playing on ‘Roguelike’ once you’ve unlocked everything you want to; the second half of the main campaign is nowhere near as good as the first half and it’s more fun to start a new character than slog through that mire. Getting started is really the hardest part, and this area guide does wonders to make things more accessible. You can also find immensely helpful class guides on that forum as well.

    As far as the DLC go:

    – Ashes of Urhrok is the cheapest and also adds the least to the game. The new race and classes are really the only reason to pick it up.
    – Forbidden Cults on the other hand adds quite a bit to the game. In addition to the races and classes (one of which is a pain to unlock) it adds a large number of fully integrated new areas and even a new ability line to the Wyrmic class.
    – Embers of Rage adds a sequel campaign (that’s about 30-40% the size of the main campaign) which is decent enough if you don’t mind the accelerated leveling speed and hamfisted gold/merchant situation. Its endboss is a giant difficulty spike though. What’s far more interesting is the crafting system it introduces, which is a lot of fun to play around with.

    So I’d say definitely pick up Forbidden Cults, but only grab the other two if/when you want to try something new.

    Related posts:

    1. Pathfinder: Kingmaker – DLC The Wildcards is the most obviously useful of the three...
    2. Dragon Age: Inquisition – DLC Jaws of Hakkon: This one adds a new area to...
    3. Heretic Kingdoms – The Inquisition & Hand of Fate I have not played much of Heretic Kingdoms – The...
    4. Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark That Fell Seal was ‘inspired by’ Final Fantasy Tactics is...
    5. Tokyo Xanadu eX+ & Overfall Despite being terrible at action games, I decided to try...

    Powered by YARPP.


    This entry was posted in DLC PC Video Game Related and tagged

  • Legends of Eisenwald

    Posted on by Offkorn Comment

    The turn-based tactical RPG Legends of Eisenwald is a lot like the King’s Bounty games, if they had more of a focus on questing than fighting (though there’s still a lot of fighting).

    The main campaign is pretty lengthy and spans multiple chapters, with early choices occasionally having a significant effect on later events and a possibility of 3 notably different endings. You can expect to get the protagonist to level 9 by the end of it, and also expect to have your army/inventory reset multiple times. Only your protagonist’s equipment and a few specific items (Black Necklace, Feline Mirror, Cursed Idol; if you’ve found them) are guaranteed to stick around, with you getting to keep your gold from the Windfeld map onward.

    If you have trouble solving some quests, thankfully there’s a complete guide available which covers everything that needs covering (albeit in broken English). As far as battle tactics go, a particularly useful one against Spear/Sword users is to combine a healer’s Gift of Medbh spell with the Witch’s Adhesion spell. In addition to the main campaign, there’s a few additional single-map scenarios:

    The Masquerade is pretty interesting, with a surprising number of choices and things to discover in it despite being on such a relatively small map (you can expect to reach level 5). Cursed Castle meanwhile is pure combat/conquest, just don’t count on holding anything other than castles for long since a seemingly endless stream of undead and bandits will be wandering around re-capturing everything else (expect to reach level 4 without grinding; 5 with). Each of these scenarios will take ~3-4 hours to complete.

    Finally we come to the Road to Iron Forest scenario, which has to be purchased separately. Length-wise it’s the same as the previous scenarios (expect level 5 again), but as far as content it’s something of a middle-ground between them. While there aren’t any choices, it has a strong narrative focus, there are a couple sidequests, and strategy plays a large role since you have to rebuild your army in hostile lands (be on the lookout for a Guard you can hire in one of the Inns).

    All in all the game is a lot of fun (if occasionally backtrack-heavy), nicely sidestepping King’s Bounty’s late game ‘stacks of doom’ issue, and I’ll probably either replay it (as a different class; Baroness is really good at 1-shotting archers/spiritualists but Mystic seems far more versatile) or try out Blood of November and possibly Bastard.

    Related posts:

    1. Pathfinder: Kingmaker – DLC The Wildcards is the most obviously useful of the three...
    2. Divinity: Original Sin II – Endgame Eh. Much like the prequel it stays pretty much the...
    3. Talisman: Origins This game is essentially just a limited version of the...
    4. Kingdoms of Amalur: RE-RECKONING I remember playing Kingdoms of Amalur years ago and enjoying...
    5. Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark That Fell Seal was ‘inspired by’ Final Fantasy Tactics is...

    Powered by YARPP.


    This entry was posted in DLC PC Video Game Related and tagged

  • Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA

    Posted on by Offkorn Comment

    This game improves upon Seven, which occurs after it (Lacrimosa is a mostly stand-alone tale chronologically placed sometime between Napishtim and an occasionally referenced Celceta), in nearly every way… with the notable exception of stability. Chances are if you try to play immediately after installing, you’ll start running into persistent and seemingly random crashes shortly after arriving at the island. The two main causes of this seem to be the ‘Map Shadows’ graphics option (I always disable shadows) and a multi-core threading issue (the fix detailed there fully solved the problem for me). The Version 8 patch may or may not have fixed those complications; based on the changelog I’m guessing it didn’t.

    That’s the only problem it has though: Graphics have been massively improved, the system options have been greatly expanded and can be modified from the title screen, jumping along with combo-attacking have both made a triumphant return, dodging has been upgraded to provide an effect similar to Flash Guard (which now lasts longer), you can warp at any time, the playtime has more than doubled, you now have full camera control, the Japanese voice acting is included, and (wonder of wonders) the storyline and character behavior are actually pretty decent. At least until near the end when the big world-ending-whatever makes its appearance (just how many Roots of All Existence are in this universe?).

    Finished the Epilogue boss at level 77 in a little under 50 hours with 100% completion in all areas (though I forgot to pick up the last map completion bonus), all skills maxed out, and all Suppression/Hunt missions cleared at A rank or higher (4 at S rank). The main thing to note about this entry is that, unlike many of the previous games in the series, combat actually is skill-based. This is thanks to the combined Flash Guard/Dodge systems’ invincibility window, which allows you to negate every single attack so long as your reflexes are up to timing it right. The bosses may have a lot of moves and use them semi-randomly à la Felghana (the dragon-wall thing in Baja Tower and Dana’s last solo boss being the most annoying), but they are all beatable with zero reliance on luck.

    As for the DLC, which has caused a bit of a furor, the only part of it that you can’t find in the game proper is the (100% cosmetic) costume. Nearly all of the accessories are Chapter 2 level, the potions/food are common, you’ll eventually be drowning in materials, and the (non-Tempest) Elixirs are easily craftable late game. I will say though that the Fish Bait is mildly useful and the aforementioned Tempest Elixirs can help you defeat the level 80 optional boss and ‘Never-Ending’ base defense missions the moment they become available (otherwise you’ll have to do 30 minutes or so of grinding to get up to level 70 if you don’t want to wait).

    Related posts:

    1. Legends of Eisenwald The turn-based tactical RPG Legends of Eisenwald is a lot...
    2. Dragon Age: Inquisition – DLC Jaws of Hakkon: This one adds a new area to...
    3. DISHONORED2 & DEATH OF THE OUTSIDER The sequel to Dishonored plays pretty much the same way...
    4. Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark That Fell Seal was ‘inspired by’ Final Fantasy Tactics is...
    5. Kingdoms of Amalur: RE-RECKONING I remember playing Kingdoms of Amalur years ago and enjoying...

    Powered by YARPP.


    This entry was posted in DLC PC Video Game Related and tagged

  • Hand of Fate 2 & Shadowrun: Dragonfall

    Posted on by Offkorn Comment

    The second Hand of Fate game is essentially a slightly refined/expanded version of its predecessor. If you’ve already played that then you’ll know whether or not you’ll like this, and if you haven’t then you may as well just start here.

    As for its recently released DLC… well, you might as well grab that too. While the new cards aren’t really anything to write home about, the new companion is remarkably useful.

    Similar to the above, Shadowrun: Dragonfall is mechanically just a refined Shadowrun Returns and you’re basically paying for the base campaign. Which, granted, certainly does feature more roleplaying opportunities and choices than the earlier game. What’s a bit odd though is how most of the various NPCs in your central hub have evolving storylines which don’t actually go anywhere; they’re pure flavor text.

    A few quick things about it:
    – Your PC has to be a Decker to access everything.
    – Decking and Charisma don’t need to be higher than 6 for dialog checks.
    – The Security and Corporate etiquettes are both useful for avoiding annoying fights.
    – Bonuses (such as those from cyberware) can’t raise your stats above 11.

    Related posts:

    1. Shadowrun: Hong Kong The third Shadowrun Returns game once again enhances the mechanical...
    2. Heretic Kingdoms – The Inquisition & Hand of Fate I have not played much of Heretic Kingdoms – The...
    3. Two Worlds: Epic Edition Ever played Gothic? Well this game is just like it:...
    4. Agarest War 2 – Second Generation Start So, I made it though the first generation after all....
    5. Divinity: Original Sin II – Early Game There’s honestly not much to say about the sequel to...

    Powered by YARPP.


    This entry was posted in DLC PC Video Game Related and tagged

  • Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3

    Posted on by Offkorn Comment

    Taking place a little while after the end of the second game, this third installment in the franchise is basically a combination of the first two with an overhauled combat system. Making it easily the best of the bunch (once you install the re-translation project to reduce the terribleness of the localization).

    Character-wise, with the DLC, you get access to the whole cast and don’t have to jump through any hoops or waste any Plan space to unlock characters (although Uni, Ram, & Rom don’t become available until the last chapter). Story-wise there’s only some especially cringy moments in the 6th chapter or so. And as for the re-used assets… well, there’s still a ton of those.

    The most notable improvement here over the previous games though is the revamped combat system:

    Instead of having an EX Bar that the entire party has to use (and which has to be re-filled every time you enter an area), each character’s SP pool doubles as an EX Pool. Meaning now you can pull off multiple 3-bar EX attacks in a row. Even better, the game now tells you when an enemy you’re attacking happens to be weak/strong against an element and even specifies whether an attack you’re about to use is magical or physical.

    Another new addition is an in-game achievement system. By doing things with each character like running, jumping, taking damage, switching in combat, using items in combat, and so forth, that character will get stat boosts and unlock character-specific Plans to further boost their stats or add new abilities (like a 5th combo slot).

    Really, the only flaw with this entry (besides the localization and re-used assets) is that the DLC character Events are bugged to appear a chapter earlier than they should. So if you’re only able to get one of the three games, this would be the one to prioritize.

    Related posts:

    1. Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 Huh. I sort of regret putting off playing this for...
    2. Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2 It shouldn’t be surprising, yet it is: This sequel is...
    3. ASH OF GODS: redemption When I first played the Banner Saga long ago I...
    4. Tokyo Xanadu eX+ & Overfall Despite being terrible at action games, I decided to try...
    5. The Legend of Heroes -TRAILS OF COLD STEEL- A follow-up to the third Trails in the Sky game,...

    Powered by YARPP.


    This entry was posted in DLC PC Video Game Related and tagged

  • Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2

    Posted on by Offkorn Comment

    It shouldn’t be surprising, yet it is: This sequel is in almost all ways worse than the first Re;Birth.

    The localization got worse (install the re-translation project modification to make it merely equally as bad), Nepgear is a far less engaging protagonist compared to Neptune, there’s a bunch of ecchi events straight out of an Agarest game, and the new themes are atrocious.

    No, I don’t want to be constantly lectured about how piracy and cheating is bad in this game I bought… especially when said game just so happens to include cheat items in its paid DLC.

    The only things this has going for it are giving the characters a couple extra combat abilities, Boss enemies not having any insane HP regeneration abilities, a Super EXP option which effectively eliminates level grinding (added by the DLC), and the somewhat large variety of possible endings.

    Related posts:

    1. Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 Huh. I sort of regret putting off playing this for...
    2. Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3 Taking place a little while after the end of the...
    3. Agarest War 2 – Second Generation Start So, I made it though the first generation after all....
    4. Agarest War 2 – Initial Impressions I bought this a long time ago for the PS3,...
    5. Risen 3: Titan Lords Honestly, though I know it’s not quite fair, I feel...

    Powered by YARPP.


    This entry was posted in DLC PC Video Game Related and tagged

  • Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1

    Posted on by Offkorn Comment

    Huh. I sort of regret putting off playing this for so long just because I knew it had a trash-tier localization and suspected it was extremely grindy.

    It certainly has more than its share of issues (the awful localization, it is pretty grindy, the constantly re-used assets, mind-numbing/cringe-inducing plot developments, quite a number of auto-lose battles, a host of painful side-characters, tons of trap items to waste your limited resources on), and yet there’s just so much to collect while bap-bap-bapping away at enemies that I can’t help but enjoy playing it. Some advice:

    Picking up the DLC Pack is well worth it for the two extra characters alone, as they make the early-mid game much less punishing due to being notably more powerful than the two you start with, and you should limit your Plan creations to unlocking and adding enemies to the 16mb dungeons (the ones that cost 100+ are DLC content and can be saved for a second playthrough), removing the damage cap, increasing the jump height, and unlocking two of the CPU Candidate characters (who cost 1024mb each).

    Then on any potential NG+ playthroughs you can unlock the other character, the Colosseum, the DLC dungeons, and the highest level equipment (completely skipping all the weaker stuff, which is just a waste to unlock).

    One final thing that may be worthwhile to be aware of, is that pressing the L1 button will skip attack/transformation animations.

    Related posts:

    1. Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3 Taking place a little while after the end of the...
    2. Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2 It shouldn’t be surprising, yet it is: This sequel is...
    3. ArcaniA: FALL of SETARRIF Thoughts while playing the stand-alone expansion to ArcaniA: – Huh....
    4. Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls – Conclusion Having just beat the the main storyline with two characters...
    5. LORDS of the FALLEN This game is something of a merger between Dark Souls...

    Powered by YARPP.


    This entry was posted in DLC PC Video Game Related and tagged

  • Witcher 3 & Pillars of Eternity Expansions

    Posted on by Offkorn Comment

    Finally got around to playing though the expansions for Witcher 3 (Hearts of Stone & Blood and Wine) and Pillars of Eternity (The White March), after having touched neither game since shortly after they were released.

    Pillars‘ expansion is essentially more of the same sort of content/gameplay that you’ll find in the base game. Aside from the Soulbound weapons, which are extremely powerful, and some of the new vignette sequences, which are a bit more elaborate in that they can check for specific spells/abilities, you’ll still be exploring/looting/fighting same as always. Which if you enjoyed the base game will probably be welcome enough. If you didn’t however, then it won’t really offer anything that might change your mind about the game.

    The Witcher 3 expansions on the other hand do add something a bit different to the base game.

    Hearts of Stone extends the Novigrad half of the main world map a little to the north and a decently large amount to the east. It fills this newly explorable space with mostly the same points of interest found in the base game, the only real difference being that bandit camps actually contain useful loot here and have their own little story linking them all (and that all enemies in the area are leveled to the mid 30s). It also adds two new types of enemies (boars and giant spiders) and of course plenty of quests… which is where the trouble lies. The sidequests are fine, but the main expansion questline (which features an old friend from the first Witcher game) is filled to the brim with extremely forced sequences and questionable content. I did enjoy the Dragon Age: Inquisition reference though.

    The second expansion, Blood and Wine, adds an entirely new world map to the game (which seems to be roughly the size of the post-HoS Novigrad half of the Novigrad/Velen map). This new location is filled with both familiar and new varieties of interest points, with the most notable change being that locations near each other are often directly related. If you raid a bandit camp for example, you may find a note describing a danger lurking in a nearby abandoned location. You may even stumble into a full-blown sidequest/contract while doing a simple hidden treasure search. There are new enemies to be found here as well (banshees, barghests, a spiked drowner variety, armored moles, evil plants, panthers, vampires of all sorts, and a few of the same enemies introduced by HoS), ranging in level from the high 30’s to high 40’s, along with quite a number of new quests.

    These quests should really, really be done after you finish the main game. It doesn’t seem to matter when you do HoS, but there are quite a number of reasons to not start Blood and Wine until after the Wild Hunt is no more. Similar to HoS the main questline here re-unites Geralt with some old acquaintances, though this time around it’s characters from the books rather than the games (though a couple characters from the first game show up in a particular sidequest). Pleasantly enough these quests do not force you into arguably lore-breaking situations and give a decent amount of leeway in how you can go about resolving them. Honestly, the only negative thing I can say about Blood and Wine is that the English voice acting is extremely uneven; I suspect it may be related to the accents, but a good majority of the ambient dialog just sounds incredibly half-assed/jokey.

    Related posts:

    1. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire – Endgame At the end of the journey I find myself with...
    2. Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales Thronebreaker isn’t really much like either the main Witcher games...
    3. Assassin’S CREED: ODYSSEY This… somethingth… entry in the Assassin’s Creed franchise incorporates quite...
    4. Tales of Maj’Eyal I briefly tried the browser-based version of this game some...
    5. Dragon Age: Inquisition – DLC Jaws of Hakkon: This one adds a new area to...

    Powered by YARPP.


    This entry was posted in DLC PC Video Game Related and tagged

  • Dragon Age: Inquisition – DLC

    Posted on by Offkorn Comment

    Jaws of Hakkon: This one adds a new area to explore (that looks a bit like a cross between the Arbor Wilds and Crestwood) that contains a ton of tier 3 materials (some new some old), a few new tier 4 materials, a new ability for the Inquisitor that deflects projectiles, various new schematics slightly more powerful that what’s found in the default game, Astariums to unlock, skull shards to collect, a few War Table missions and agents, more Fade Rifts to close, and new Skyhold decorations to buy. It’s got a lot of stuff and for the most part fits into the rest of the game seamlessly, with the only real oddities being the tons of loot you find when closing Rifts and there being silverite scattered around instead of stormheart. Word of advice: Don’t take Sera with you when doing the quests here, as many are spirit-related and she does not like spirits.

    The Descent: This adds a new underground area to explore that’s not really anything like anywhere else which just so happens to have two immediate annoyances. The first it that using some (any?) texture mods causes the cutscenes that happen here to freeze the game, while the second is that to actually start exploring the Deep Roads Cullen cannot be assigned to any current War Table mission. That’s because there’s a special War Table in this area you have to use to unlock areas and do missions down here, and only Cullen can be assigned to the first one (you’ll need 64 power to eventually open all the side areas). Other than the new War Table, the area has some new enemy types, new schematics more powerful than the ones in the previous DLC, and a series of mugs to collect (like the main game’s bottle collecting). It does not have any new materials though, with just the same resources that you’d find in the Storm Coast scattered around spiked with a bit of silverite.

    Trespasser: The storyline portions of Trespasser remind me quite a bit of the Witch Hunt DLC for the first Dragon Age game (i.e. a sequence of somewhat forced events that ends rather abruptly). Thankfully, there’s more to this DLC than just the epilogue it tacks onto the main game (the new ending slides aren’t even narrated). The actually useful additions are the new ability upgrades you can switch between, the new Sigil loot that can be attached to most armor, and the extremely welcome upgrades to various quest and Wartable rewards; all of which have been inserted into the main game. Also possibly of note is that the ending makes it appear the next game will take place in Tevinter.

    So, are any of these worth the $15 price tag? No, not really. Jaws of Hakkon comes the closest probably due to sheer amount of content (repetitive though it may be), but you’re best off just buying the Game of the Year edition which comes with all three (along with some weapon/armor packs) for $40.

    Related posts:

    1. Dragon Age: Inquisition – Progress Report At about 90 hours in now and some things have...
    2. DISHONORED2 & DEATH OF THE OUTSIDER The sequel to Dishonored plays pretty much the same way...
    3. Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 Huh. I sort of regret putting off playing this for...
    4. Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA This game improves upon Seven, which occurs after it (Lacrimosa...
    5. Dragon Age: Inquisition – First Impressions Having just started playing this game on PC, the largest...

    Powered by YARPP.


    This entry was posted in DLC PC Video Game Related and tagged

  • Tales of Zestiria – Conclusion

    Posted on by Offkorn Comment

    Unfortunately, the main storyline never gets any better. It actually gets worse as it progresses and the inconsistencies in the timeline start to really make themselves known (the dragon-creation segment and final confrontation are both pretty good though). The exploration aspects also start to lose their luster around the point you reach the desert area, making the final stretch something of a slog.

    Note that if you plan on doing a NG+ it would be a good idea to get all the Lords of the Land up to level 11 or so (the increased treasure rarity boon) so that you have enough Grade available to cover all the item/skill/stat importation options and have a decent amount left over for some enhancements.

    As for the Alisha DLC… well, it mostly consists of a lengthy ruin exploration (12 floors) that would be completely insufferable were it not for the Increased Movement Speed Boon. It’s still pretty annoying and the experience is capped off with a gimmicky boss fight where you have to kill both creatures at the same time to win. Storyline-wise it’s less an epilogue and more a continuation, seeing as how it goes and resurrects someone only to leave their plot-thread dangling with a ‘to be continued’. At least the character interactions it contains are pretty good.

    Related posts:

    1. Tales of Zestiria – Delayed Impressions Having now cleared the miasma from the second town I...
    2. Baldur’s Gate 2: ToB Ascension I only, just now after years of having it installed,...
    3. Pathfinder: Kingmaker – Final Chapter The game’s optional concluding chapter turned out to be both...
    4. Tales of Berseria – Midgame In Act IV now, having returned to Loegres post-Temple. The...
    5. Tales of Berseria – Conclusion When your game world has 4 methods of increasing travel...

    Powered by YARPP.


    This entry was posted in DLC PC Video Game Related and tagged