And it was an awesome run. I had been waiting at Homestead for 1.0 before I pushed forward (and playing other characters in the meantime). I had already enjoyed what I had played, but that didn’t prepare me for how amazing the second half of the game was going to be. The journals scattered around really painted a Grim picture. The cultists infiltrating areas, stories of people trying to survive, that poor family caught in the cold, etc. It has been a long time since a game really drew me into the lore like that.
The artists and level designers have really outdone themselves. Cthonic Rifts that felt more like hell than Diablo 2, especially the Obsidian Throne (so awesome), the sprawling Necropolis, the ruins of a mountain village, the last hope of Fort Icon, and the last two areas…wow. The slow introduction of that Lovecraftian monstrosity was fantastic. I still need to do the Bastion of Chaos, and I’m looking forward to that. I also have to mention the amazing facelift to Acts 1 and 2, I can’t believe how good these areas look now.
Balance-wise, I’d say the game is solid, at least from the characters I’ve been playing. For this character, I’m using a Spellbreaker caster that is focusing on Cold damage with some splash of Lightning, that is also dual wielding some nice +Cold weapons (though I never engage in melee). My resistances could be better (of course), but I’ve always been on the knife’s edge in combat. If I play my cards right, I do very well; if not, I die (and that’s how I like it). The final boss did get me twice as I was learning the encounter, but I was able to back off and deal with the adds, then run in and get a few hits in, then rinse and repeat.
I think the only thing that I think could have been done a little better was the impact of the choice between Kymon’s Chosen and Death’s Vigil. Yeah, you fought alongside one and killed the other, ran a few quests, but the outcome (at least for Death’s Vigil) was a little lackluster and didn’t seem to have a lasting impact (of course, this could have a much larger impact in the expansion). That said, I love the faction system in general.
Overall just an awesome experience. Kudos Crate! Job well done, and thanks for the fantastic game and memorable journey from Alpha to Launch. Time to push into Epic.