I love Gloomwald, i think it’s a masterpiece. Both music/graphics is amazing. I like also Barrowholm and to lesser degree Ugdenbog. I think Crate did a great job in AoM. I like especially Gloomwald because I’m a bit tired of Chtonic/Aetherial conflict, sometimes it’s really annoying. In Gloomwald I have a break. Wendigo, cannibal theme is really good, it shows Cairn from different perspective, more calm, more “real” and believable. So Crate more like that please in next expansion:D
I don’t like Necropolis because it’s a bit bland and boring, don’t like it’s aesthetics, I guess it was made very early, probably at the beginning of development process, also I don’t like Malmouth and cities overall because it’s hard to navigate there.
I definitely don’t like Plains of Strife, I have some sort of PTSD from playing on a laptop with low specs and I never saw those damn mines before I blew myself up. Also the chthonic rift seems to give me a runaround every time as well. :rolleyes:
I’ve always been a fan of the Gruesome Harvest and the areas around it, I think it’s the fall vibe it has with the yellow leaves and pumpkins, it’s looks nice!
I’m pretty much came to the conclusion that Blood Grove is my least favorite area. I don’t know why but i always dread it. I guess because i like to have the whole map discovered and Blood Grove is this big, open area, i always find it a little tedious to go through.
I love the entire Act 1, it’s a pleasant (stretching the definition) stroll and it’s a nice, relaxing time before shit hits the fan in later acts.
Malmouth City is definitely one of my favorite and i was kind of worried it would be like Port Valbury. But thankfully it’s less annoying to navigate.
Love: actually almost all location (expect that I don’t), especially Gloomwald, Ugdenbog (love mire to death), steelcap district in Malmoth, all rouge-like dungeon (yes, Port are included), Pine Barrens.
Not hate, but dislike: all level 1 wandering chthonian’s rift, too plain, too waste, too similar to each other
Mourndale - same reason, too wide, Grava’s spot
I’ve always disliked the sprawling fields surrounding Homestead. It just feels like they go on forever with little diversity in scenery. This coupled with the fact that usually leveling begins to be a little bit slower near this point of the game has always made this part of the story feel like an absolute slog for me.
I also tend to dislike Aetherial areas that are oversaturated with teal fire/aether effects because it tanks my FPS.
I like rugged outdoor areas. I’ve always loved the village in the mountains on the way to darkvale gate.
I dispise valbury outskirts, oversaturated with aetherfire and those incredibly annoying homing aether patches. Those things are the worst. And the layout forces you to navigate most of it to get to the door of the dungeon proper. Nothing else in the game annoys me more, nothing even comes close.
I don’t like the Cthonian rifts or Blood Grove. My issue with these locations is that there are relatively few if any points of interest or variations in terrain, which makes navigating these places by sight alone very irritating because of how similar one section looks to another.
These places, I tend to have my map open all the time because of that.
Least - I’m not really crazy about a couple parts of Malmouth city because of all the multi elevation and crossover pathways, which makes navigating a little tedious.
Chthonian rifts would be second due to how samey they tend to look, and I need to make heavy use of my map because of it in order to keep track of where I am, and where I still need to check for that exit rift.
Most - Crypts and undercity/SoT tileset for their atmosphere
Second would be Barrowholm. There’s just a next level creepiness to a perfectly pristine village set in an otherwise “ravaged” world (lol puns). Somehow the vibe of it reminded me a little of an endgame village in Breath of Fire 2, for anyone who ever played that.
Love:
Gloomwald - great spooky haloweeny feel
Asterkarn - always been a fan of mountainous areas, and the keep portions feel very epic.
Arkovia: from the foothills to the deepest dungeons, it has the feel and vibe I look for in an RPG. Old world exploration and killing vast amounts of undead.
Early act 1 - just cause it’s easy and slow, and it’s the “intial” portion of the game. you can stil back and enjoy the story and exploration since you don’t have to avoid mobs that all can one shot you.
Dislike:
Uglybog - the theme is OK, but the mobs drive me crazy. I just don’t like the poison pukers. they make me want to punch something cute and fuzzy. I tolerate them in Gloomwald because I love the theme.
Cthonic Rifts - partially due to my bad eyes…hard to see what is going on in those places. too many like colors.
And any general area with aetherial corruption. too much green goo.
Mixed:
Malmouth. Love the theme (really reminds me of many of the steampunk survival games I’ve played in the past). the twisting paths and forced in your face gameplay is horridly one directional. I have to actually go back and look at areas I cleared because the mob density is so high that I can’t see anything until it’s dead and despawned. The theme is top notch tho.