God of War Ragnarok

[Thor]

1 hour ago, Hexx said:

Platiniumed get.

Not too bad to get - although the 2 final optional bosses are bonkers hard. The crucible challenges are a timesink, not difficult.

Yeah, I lost interest in the crucible stuff at 13/15. Just too grindy. The toughest boss for me was:

Spoiler

King Hrolf Kraki - the quest for Mimir's vengeance/justice.

 

[df0]

Why does the target lock not keep its lock? As soon as you lose line of sight the lock disengages which breaks combat with nimble opponents.

[Pob]

29 minutes ago, df0 said:

Why does the target lock not keep its lock? As soon as you lose line of sight the lock disengages which breaks combat with nimble opponents.

That's by design. The enemies 'dodging' to break your lock is one of their abilities. I think you might be able to to change how the lock works in the settings to keep it more sticky.

[df0]

You serious?

[Pob]

1 minute ago, df0 said:

You serious?

Yeah, pretty sure it says as much in the settings. I remember seeing it a couple of days ago.

[Hexx]

13 hours ago, Thor said:

Yeah, I lost interest in the crucible stuff at 13/15. Just too grindy. The toughest boss for me was:

  Hide contents

King Hrolf Kraki - the quest for Mimir's vengeance/justice.

 

 

Yeah the "combo" to generate encounters stuff felt like filler bollocks, but luckily the 3 pillars all have a quick option (at least if you're overlevelled)

 

Yeah that's the hardest NPC by far. I had to rejog armor to include a fair amount of passive healing. There's just too many near-guaranteed damage attacks

 

Spoiler

And I don't recall the game ever told you can interrupt a flying red ring attack with an arrow strike

 

[Jamie John]

I've only been able to put 45 mins or so into this each weeknight since it came out. I'm currently in the elf world, having just 

Spoiler

freed the big jellyfish thing.

 

It's extremely playable so far, but it doesn't quite have that 10/10 spark that the original had. I've heard that it's an especially slow burn, however, so I'm still waiting for it to wow me. I haven't read anything at all for fear of spoilers, nor watched any trailers except the initial teaser.

[Number 28]

I finished this last night. I'll try for the plat after a short break but I'll probably end up reducing the difficulty for those difficult bosses.

 

Does anyone else get massive (Ragnarök plus Elden Ring spoilers)

Spoiler

Radagon/Marika vibes from Surtr and Sinmara? I wonder if ol' George was inspired by Norse mythology. I thought Ragnarök was like the apocalypse and destined to destroy absolutely everything, but it seemed comically ineffective in the end, stabbing into a hole for a bit near the end.

 

I feel like there's a few too many unanswered questions. Like, how did Faye actually die? She knew her death was coming, so what happened? What were the panels on the back of the shrine about? Is Kratos returning to Greece? Did Sindri ever chill tf out, or is he bitter and twisted forever?

 

Oh crap, there's a second ending isn't there? I haven't done that yet. Maybe there are more answers. Presumably it's triggered the same way as the previous game?

[NecroMorrius]

Well this certainly goes some places. It’s hard not to see the first few hours as filler. 

[NecroMorrius]

On 09/11/2022 at 23:50, Hitcher said:

Why didn't you tell them to leave it somewhere safe?

I did, they didn’t come within a mile of my house, I was watching on the tracker. Cunts the lot of them

[Majora]

16 hours in and I'm preferring this to the original, honestly. It doesn't have the shock of the new and the narrative isn't as tight and focused but there's much more variety. (And honestly, I never really connected with the story in the first game anyway. I found the whole father/son bonding narrative rather pedestrian. I'm preferring the sprawling, wider focus of Ragnarok even if it is a bit self-indulgent in places.)

 

I mean, it's still an AAA blockbuster with all the edges completely sanded away so it's as easily digestible to as many people as possible, so I can't say it's particularly exciting as such. Games like this cost too much to make nowadays to be truly exciting or to have any edges. It's exactly what you'd expect from a Sony first party game in 2022, for better and for worse. But taken as a hearty slice of insanely opulent and polished comfort food gaming it's right up there.

[Capwn]

I was really excited to return to this after finishing to 'mop up' but it's really badly designed for that I think. Firstly the map is awful, moving around isn't fun as you have to mess around finding your way to warps. I've also kept trying things that are way too difficult for me even though I've finished the game, it's difficult to know which way to go in regards to take part in 'doable' parts first. So a lot of dead ends.

[joffocakes]

16 hours ago, Hexx said:

 

  Hide contents

And I don't recall the game ever told you can interrupt a flying red ring attack with an arrow strike

 

 

Spoiler

Mimir says this during the early fight with the bear.

 

[Hexx]

4 hours ago, Number 28 said:

I finished this last night. I'll try for the plat after a short break but I'll probably end up reducing the difficulty for those difficult bosses.

 

Does anyone else get massive (Ragnarök plus Elden Ring spoilers)

  Hide contents

Radagon/Marika vibes from Surtr and Sinmara? I wonder if ol' George was inspired by Norse mythology. I thought Ragnarök was like the apocalypse and destined to destroy absolutely everything, but it seemed comically ineffective in the end, stabbing into a hole for a bit near the end.

 

I feel like there's a few too many unanswered questions. Like, how did Faye actually die? She knew her death was coming, so what happened? What were the panels on the back of the shrine about? Is Kratos returning to Greece? Did Sindri ever chill tf out, or is he bitter and twisted forever?

 

Oh crap, there's a second ending isn't there? I haven't done that yet. Maybe there are more answers. Presumably it's triggered the same way as the previous game?

 

Spoiler

The panel showed Kratos journey - including his future where he’s worshipped and loved by the population. 
it tying in to lots of Odins taunts about what kind of god are you, who worships you etc 

it’s suggesting a very different future path for him than angry lone wanderer.

 

For the extra bit of ending - breadcrumbs started when I talked to Lunda at any forge 

 

[Stanley]

After doing so many side quests and stuff I almost forgot about the main quest I have just just reached 

Spoiler

Asgard.

That whole sequence leading up to it is breathtaking with some incredible views. The developers seem to have taken the movie 

Spoiler

Free Solo

As inspiration there. And then when you get there there is so much going on in the scenery, and the characters, very impressive. Every inch of the screen just basically says ‘blockbuster’. 
 

also 

Spoiler

Thor and Odin 

are great in this, I love their designs and characterisation. 

There are some rock hard bosses, lots optional and one I’ve had to walk away from for now until I develop some sort or strategy for or upgrade stuff further. 
 

Spoiler

The tower one in the desert which comes out when you’ve found the missing keys. 

I still mostly favour the axe in combat but I enjoy how the game encourages you to use the blades as well, once you learn how to mix them up Kratos is a proper death dealing machine. 

[Thor]

10 hours ago, Capwn said:

I was really excited to return to this after finishing to 'mop up' but it's really badly designed for that I think. Firstly the map is awful, moving around isn't fun as you have to mess around finding your way to warps. I've also kept trying things that are way too difficult for me even though I've finished the game, it's difficult to know which way to go in regards to take part in 'doable' parts first. So a lot of dead ends.

Sounds like you whizzed through the main story without doing any side stuff, and so you're underleveled a bit? I was level 8 going into the final part, and would have been 9 but for a missed upgrade to the axe. 

[Number 28]

Omg, I'm so sick of

Spoiler

Freya shouting basic fighting instructions at me during battle whilst she can't even fire her sigil arrows at the correct enemy when I tell her to. Imagine if this were real life, there'd be no way you'd maintain a coalition to defeat Odin.

 

I finished at level 6 btw. Isn't everything a cakewalk at 8 or 9? I thought I had done a lot of the side content as well...

 

  

8 hours ago, Hexx said:

  Hide contents

The panel showed Kratos journey - including his future where he’s worshipped and loved by the population. 
it tying in to lots of Odins taunts about what kind of god are you, who worships you etc 

it’s suggesting a very different future path for him than angry lone wanderer.

 

For the extra bit of ending - breadcrumbs started when I talked to Lunda at any forge 

Thanks, I'll ditch my current frustrating battle and get onto that I think.

[stir fry]

I'm cleaning up berserkers but I'm still only level 6 lol. I think 8/9 is for endgame big bois

 

9 Berserkers down (No Mercy). This one was really difficult. The boss was the camera.

 

Spoiler

 

 

Think when I'm done with the Berserkers tho I might call it quits. Some of the trials and challenges stuff isn't a lot of fun. 

[Yuujiin]

What shield is that in that video??  I swap between the Guardian or Stone one.

 

Not took down one berserker yet and I'm level 6. 

 

Spoiler

Took me an hour to take down the first dragon in the crater . 

 

[stir fry]

I've not changed my shield yet, it's the parry one you get at the start. I wasn't sure if the other shields even have a parry.

 

I prefer the shield system in the first game tbh, here they seemed to take the unarmed skills in 2018 and turn them into weapons

[Benny]

On 17/11/2022 at 17:11, Number 28 said:

This just went up...might be interesting.

 

 

I have not played Ragnarok yet, but just as a commentary on those GMT videos:

 

I find them very hit and miss. I enjoyed the one about the Nemesis system in Middle Earth: Shadow of War - it goes a lot into the mechanics of the system and how it works and just generally the history around it. But I find sometimes the general commentary on game mechanics is sometimes built on occasionally seemingly faulty assumptions about design intent.

 

This was evident for me in one about Elden Ring's world design: it was very critical of "copy and paste" design when it comes to crypts and enemies. It kind of glossed over the fact that in order for From to do the kind of world they were creating, some repetition would be necessary even just from a budget perspective, despite the game being vastly more rich and packed with wonders than what has come before.

 

It also missed that the way this "repetition" was handled actually tied into the design of the world itself and the way you encounter enemies and dungeons repeated in different places is actually purposefully doing a bit of subtle reinforcement in the background to condition the player and empower them. This works later to achieve mastery of the encounters, and also makes it more effective when those expectations are subverted, which does happen. 

 

It made me glad that the way From did things was so different to how some people thought open worlds "should" be created, and partly why it was so amusing to see some designers taking its mere existence as some sort of insult to their profession. They didn't "get" it, and that meant it surely needed to be improved.

 

Now, I'm not saying the way characters "spoil" puzzles in Ragnarok is necessarily a good thing, and I have not watched that video yet to avoid spoilers, but I can understand why with earlier areas they might want to ease the player into a more progressive and painless kind of experience, as God of War has always been about spectacle.

 

Maybe that's what the video is about I don't know... I think I just wanted to respond to their Elden Ring video somewhere, outside of context, in the God of War thread, on an unrelated forum....

 

...

 

Carry on.

[Stanley]

Funny thing is with some of the more difficult puzzles they don’t say anything, not that any of them are real head scratchers though. 

[Kevvy Metal]

As not all games are made for hard-to-please disgruntled 40-something year olds, the banter that occurs in-game around the puzzles is purely in the first few hours while the game is teaching you the puzzle mechanics, you know… like a tutorial. 
 

…by the time you get to

 

 

Spoiler

The mines

and beyond, the hints stop and you’re left to work them out with the knowledge of the mechanics you’ve learnt. Only if you’re really stuck they might hint you should literally get a better angle or something to that effect. 
 

I also often find GMTK infuriating, as so much seems to whoosh over his head. 

[Pob]

This is pretty easy on No Mercy. I’ve just arrived at the

Spoiler

elf realm

and am smashing these light elves without much resistance. Thinking about trying the hardest mode but I’d have to start again to access it. Not sure if it’s really much easier or if it’s just my training in GOW2018. 

[CrichStand]

52 minutes ago, Kevvy Metal said:

As not all games are made for hard-to-please disgruntled 40-something year olds, the banter that occurs in-game around the puzzles is purely in the first few hours while the game is teaching you the puzzle mechanics, you know… like a tutorial. 
 

…by the time you get to

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

The mines

and beyond, the hints stop and you’re left to work them out with the knowledge of the mechanics you’ve learnt. Only if you’re really stuck they might hint you should literally get a better angle or something to that effect. 
 

I also often find GMTK infuriating, as so much seems to whoosh over his head. 

I’m 30hrs in and it’s still spoiling puzzles. With quite a few of them it basically tells you what to do before you’ve even had chance to do anything, sometimes before you’ve even approached the puzzle itself. It makes little to no sense in places as, what’s the point of designing and placing a puzzle in the game if the game just tells you how to solve it?

[Bingox]

Just an option to stop the companion backseating would be welcome. While none of the puzzle are really hard I still felt like I was robbed of the satisfaction of solving some of the puzzles. It hasn't completely gone away as new puzzle concepts are still being introduced - but it does get better. 

 

I love most of everything else though - combat is satisfyingly meaty, story good so far [I am intrigued as to what will happen], and exploration decent.

[Thor]

I genuinely didn't have an issue with the puzzles and companions helping. I do now wonder if there's perhaps a bug where the AI is giving aid from the moment you are within the vicinity of a puzzle instead of giving a bit of time. It honestly was not an issue for me at all. For me the "maybe a better angle" comments were coming when I was already trying a different angle, which is arguably too late. 🤷‍♂️

[NecroMorrius]

14 hours ago, Kevvy Metal said:

As not all games are made for hard-to-please disgruntled 40-something year olds, the banter that occurs in-game around the puzzles is purely in the first few hours while the game is teaching you the puzzle mechanics, you know… like a tutorial. 
 

…by the time you get to

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

The mines

and beyond, the hints stop and you’re left to work them out with the knowledge of the mechanics you’ve learnt. Only if you’re really stuck they might hint you should literally get a better angle or something to that effect. 
 

I also often find GMTK infuriating, as so much seems to whoosh over his head. 

They don’t stop here, I put in a giant five hour sesh after I left this area and it carries on at about the same pace the whole time. Thor’s right, it almost feels like a bug. I don’t suppose they based the timing on framerate ticks or something like that… Before you’ve even panned your camera to the latest silly contraption your companion has told you how to solve it. 

[Kevvy Metal]

If there is some sort of bug around then maybe it’ll get fixed. 
move noted a complete drop off of them from the bit I prior mentioned. 

[Girth Certificate]

anyone else think that Mimir had started to grow shoulders when he was sat on a sandbag at the start. That would've been pretty funny.