Ancient Kingdoms
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Hateyou
Not Great, Not Terrible
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Erenshor is much more casual friendly imo. This game there’s a lot of traveling back and forth, and it feels fairly grindy, and I’m only around 30 and haven’t tried camping specific items or anything yet. Not sure I’ll continue this one once it gets to the really grindy part but I’ll get my moneys worth either way. They’re both fun for what they are.
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Kirun
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This game really just needs better dungeon design. Like I mentioned earlier, the elemental dungeon in the early 40s is nearly flawless. It's a five-boss run with multiple paths to each area, has a bit of that Planes of Power feel, and all the loot is actually relevant for the level range.
The problem is everything else. Chasing single bosses halfway across the map is a pain, especially with no real fast travel system (outside of city portal scrolls once you grind the faction). That's exactly why the elemental dungeon works so well, because it's self-contained and efficient. You're not wasting time just getting to the content. Exploration is great in theory, but in practice, they should've reserved most of those scattered, one-off bosses for quests, bounties, or something similar. As it stands, tying meaningful loot to them just makes farming feel tedious because of how the travel system is set up.
That said, the game still scratches an itch that Erenshor doesn't, for whatever reason. I can't quite put my finger on whether it's the progression or the pacing. But when it comes to mercenaries, Erenshor is way ahead -better AI, more control, and just a smoother overall system.
The problem is everything else. Chasing single bosses halfway across the map is a pain, especially with no real fast travel system (outside of city portal scrolls once you grind the faction). That's exactly why the elemental dungeon works so well, because it's self-contained and efficient. You're not wasting time just getting to the content. Exploration is great in theory, but in practice, they should've reserved most of those scattered, one-off bosses for quests, bounties, or something similar. As it stands, tying meaningful loot to them just makes farming feel tedious because of how the travel system is set up.
That said, the game still scratches an itch that Erenshor doesn't, for whatever reason. I can't quite put my finger on whether it's the progression or the pacing. But when it comes to mercenaries, Erenshor is way ahead -better AI, more control, and just a smoother overall system.
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Chimney
Trakanon Raider
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Having put equal time into both Erenshor is better in almost every measurable way at this time if you're looking for an EQ like experience. The modding community is pretty good too if that is your thing. Also has better flexibility to play the way you want with sliders for xp, rare spawns etc.
Ancient Kingdoms is still fun to play through and see what's what and hopefully they can flesh it out a bit more by the time it's out of early access.
For the price they are both a steal though imo.
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Slaanesh69
Millie's Staff Member
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Yeah mid 40s is a bit of a wasteland. The quests I am running include: Trying to kill Water Elementals is an occasional wipe. Trying to get a 5% drop off Frost Giants is a slow grind because they have mucho hps, and you need your head on a swivel for the stupid dragon.
The Twisted Haunt, which I think is the elemental dungeon Kirun keeps mentioning, is pretty good but I get bored running it over and over (although the 3 elemental bosses give 60k+ experience at level 43).
One thing Erenshor has that Ancient Kingdoms doesn't is other groups in game like a real MMO. Trying to find a mob to kill in the noobie area is the real MMO experience. I've never gotten past the opening area of the first dungeon on the noob island, so plan to main that game when I get bored of this one.
The Twisted Haunt, which I think is the elemental dungeon Kirun keeps mentioning, is pretty good but I get bored running it over and over (although the 3 elemental bosses give 60k+ experience at level 43).
One thing Erenshor has that Ancient Kingdoms doesn't is other groups in game like a real MMO. Trying to find a mob to kill in the noobie area is the real MMO experience. I've never gotten past the opening area of the first dungeon on the noob island, so plan to main that game when I get bored of this one.
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Hateyou
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Erenshor is really cool when you get off the island. People running all over the place, big open zones, cliffs, etc.
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Kirun
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Hit 50 and Vet LVL 3 so far. Game has a LOT of really cool, but really difficult content at end game. It has been fun as fuck discovering all the new zones, bosses, etc. The Kael Drakkel (they call it "Winterforge") zone is such a badass homage - even has the AoW.
They really need to give mercs their level 40 and 50 class skills. It seems like they only get up to the level 30 class stuff, even at level 50.
They really need to give mercs their level 40 and 50 class skills. It seems like they only get up to the level 30 class stuff, even at level 50.
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Void
Yeah, and?
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I unwittingly teleported into a Fabled area with no way out. It was in the Abandoned Mines, and there were a ton of adds. I actually killed all the adds and the warrior was handling the Fabled, but he had something like 150k hps and my cleric and druid ran out of mana when it was maybe 130k. I have no idea how I'm going to suddenly get them enough mana regen to sustain a fight like that, even with adding a rogue for dps once I hit 50. Do they suddenly get a ton more stats with veteran levels or something?
On the more amusing side, the first time I fought a boss with the blind ability took me back to the good old days.
On the more amusing side, the first time I fought a boss with the blind ability took me back to the good old days.
Kirun
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Mercs only gain about 1% HP, 1% mana, and +1 damage per veteran level, so the scaling isn't that significant. Hitting 50 and unlocking the fourth merc is a huge boost, though, because you can run double healer, a tank, and a DPS (and for some fights, even triple healer). Some of the veteran abilities are also incredibly important, especially the first one that heals the entire party while restoring mana and rage. I honestly recommend just running the boss loop in Twisting Haunt over and over to hit 50. It also gives you a better chance at some early purples and the Staff of the Elements the Earth boss drops is reeaaaalllly good (over-itemized for its level IMO) for healers/casters.
It also feels pretty essential that your PC is a DPS class. Merc DPS is just awful since you can't control their stats, skills, or optimization in any meaningful way.
I almost managed to take down the Ancient Cyclops today, but I can't quite beat his enrage timer before he wipes me. I'll probably need to farm more gear - either to increase my tank's survivability or just hope for a lucky assassinate crit. This is one of the rare cases where playing a healer as the PC would actually help, since you could position yourself outside his AOE stun and keep the tank topped off. The NPCs just aren't smart enough to handle that. Once he ramps up in enrage, he hits harder while the entire party is stunned, and I can't quite keep my tank alive long enough for the healers to recover and start healing again.
It also feels pretty essential that your PC is a DPS class. Merc DPS is just awful since you can't control their stats, skills, or optimization in any meaningful way.
I almost managed to take down the Ancient Cyclops today, but I can't quite beat his enrage timer before he wipes me. I'll probably need to farm more gear - either to increase my tank's survivability or just hope for a lucky assassinate crit. This is one of the rare cases where playing a healer as the PC would actually help, since you could position yourself outside his AOE stun and keep the tank topped off. The NPCs just aren't smart enough to handle that. Once he ramps up in enrage, he hits harder while the entire party is stunned, and I can't quite keep my tank alive long enough for the healers to recover and start healing again.
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Kirun
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Finally dropped Cyclops tonight. Bitch of a long fight. Barely got him at Vet level 10.
The party/resource heal is massively valuable. I definitely recommend making that your first vet skill.
As much as I dislike the lack of good dungeon content in the 30s and 40s, the max level/raid content is fun as fuck. It definitely requires a lot of gear farming, but progressing through all the various bosses/content is fucking awesome. I wish Erenshor had the endgame this does. Soooo many end-game homages to EQ, WoW, etc.
The party/resource heal is massively valuable. I definitely recommend making that your first vet skill.
As much as I dislike the lack of good dungeon content in the 30s and 40s, the max level/raid content is fun as fuck. It definitely requires a lot of gear farming, but progressing through all the various bosses/content is fucking awesome. I wish Erenshor had the endgame this does. Soooo many end-game homages to EQ, WoW, etc.
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Slaanesh69
Millie's Staff Member
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I second the Twisted Haunt rotation, although at level 48 right now it is a bit of a slog without an XP potion. The purple gear the bosses occasionally drop is great. My warrior went from 4800 to 6200 hps fully buffed with upgrades. One of them drops a 325 base damage 2H warrior sword (item level 466!) if you want to go DPS. They also drop a blue 135 base dam 1hder (Lamentation) and a purple 150 base dam dagger. And the aforementioned staff (item level 422!) and other armor.
Treasure Hunting occasionally drops relics that you can use once a minute to purge different status effects, or be invisible, etc.
By the by, anyone run the Forgotten Altar in the fire zone? Even at level 48 the mobs are so tanky and spawn so fast that my team gets overwhelmed. It is so much harder, by like 100x, then every other altar in the game so far. And the quest is ranked level 40. I don't understand it. My team is average item level ~ 1,200 and I am 1,631 and I can't do it.
Void
Yeah, and?
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Yeah, I did the other 3 and figured why not get this quest off my list. Nope, had to run away after the tank died. This was at around level 40, but I definitely don't see it happening anytime soon. I'm 45 I think right now, there's no way.
EDIT: Although...I think maybe it scales per your level, because the rewards do. Have any of us gone back and done the "easy" ones after hitting 40? Maybe those are ass rapers too now.
Yes, they scale with level. It doesn't seem to change relative difficulty though - like the ice zone has way more mobs spawning much faster than the forest one.
Kirun
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The Molten Summit altar is much harder than the other 3. They do scale every "tier". At 30 they drop greens, 40 blues, 50 purples, and vet 100 orange. The Molten Summit one required me to hit 50 and get the last merc, as well as farm a good chunk of purples before I could do it.
The first boss in The Tower of Frozen Shadow zone is kicking my ass. She had a DoT that doesn't seem cleanseable and seems to have some kind of mana drain as well. Just don't have the throughout to keep folks healed. I need more healer gear for my 3rd healer and then I'm going to try again. Avatar of Water also kicked my ass, but I just need more health and/or cold resist for his AOE. He seems much more doable.
In the meantime, I've just been AFKing to get Ancient Cyclops respawns and farm him a bit.
The first boss in The Tower of Frozen Shadow zone is kicking my ass. She had a DoT that doesn't seem cleanseable and seems to have some kind of mana drain as well. Just don't have the throughout to keep folks healed. I need more healer gear for my 3rd healer and then I'm going to try again. Avatar of Water also kicked my ass, but I just need more health and/or cold resist for his AOE. He seems much more doable.
In the meantime, I've just been AFKing to get Ancient Cyclops respawns and farm him a bit.
