Urtuk: The Desolation (Band of Darkest Dungeon Brothers)

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Wintermute

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Hit early access yesterday. It's getting some pretty positive feedback and seems to be a pretty strong mix of Darkest Dungeon and Band of Brothers

 
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Khane

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Hrmm, if someone purchases this make sure to post a review here. I'm always interested in tactical, turn based RPGs
 
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Droigan

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Bought it, will give it a go.

Looked up the road map, and liked this

Early Access is just the beginning of a long and exciting road we’re going to travel with your support. Though the game is fully playable in its current state, there’s still lots of new mechanics, features and content to look forward to. We anticipate needing approximately one year to implement everything we’ve planned.

Let’s start with the most important part – what’s available in this version.
  • All core game mechanics and content is already implemented and ready to play.
  • The main story is playable beginning to end – you can finish the game and complete the final quest, and afterwards continue to roam the world if you wish.
  • There’s a total of 4 zones within the world, populated by 11 factions (Humans, Scavengers, Swampers, Necroreavers, Valdor, Revenants, Occultists, Beasts, Vampires, Werebeasts, Karwla), with 50+ classes, 200+ traits & abilities, 100+ items (common, rare, legendary), 40+ quests and missions, and procedurally generated battlefields, strongholds, fortresses and zones.
  • Furthermore, the player’s actions and exploration can trigger 15 different world events, calamities and infections.
  • The mutators system is now complete and mutators can evolve.

Roadmap is basically just adding fixes, balancing and more stuff. Quite a difference from many EA titles that barely are out of the idea stage of what the game will be.
 
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a_skeleton_05

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I like the idea of the mutators. I'm guessing that choosing which routes on the path (it's a Slay the Spire like map) to take means not only choosing what enemies you want to fight, but which ones you're willing to risk to get their powers. An easier path might not drop what you're after for your builds.
 

Kirun

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This left early access Friday and I picked it up.

Fucking awesome if you love tactical-RPGs. The mutator mechanics make things really interesting in terms of builds for characters. It has an Ironman mechanic (one save only) and characters get "injured" if they receive fatal damage. If they receive damage again before healing their injury (it takes 4 turns and a fairly rare resource), they die permanently.
 

Bobbybick

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Looks sick def picking it up. I might be pissed if I was the Darkest Dungeon team since some of the art/UI look EXTREMELY similar to the point I would have assumed they made this.
 

Hateyou

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Played for a couple hours. Fun game.
There’s so much going on with mutators and leveling up abilities I feel like I’m struggling to make the best choices/optimizing like I usually do in these games but whatever, still fun.

Is the only way to level up mutators by merging them? They don’t seem explained all that well, even after reading an explanation of them on a wiki lol
 

Kirun

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Is the only way to level up mutators by merging them? They don’t seem explained all that well, even after reading an explanation of them on a wiki lol

The weaponsmiths/armorsmiths also do it. I can't remember which one though.
 
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Bobbybick

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Played it for a bit yesterday and definitely had some fun. I think i prefer the recruiting in this over the min/maxing of Battle Bros, though the "rescue 2 units from scavengers" missions get kind of old since the rescuees have dumb as fuck AI and will YOLO into the enemy team taking all tactics basically out the window. One thing I noticed towards the end of my session is that the general learned traits like "Patience" for example seem ridiculously good and seems to encourage you powergaming them as early as possible to unlock on everyone as the benefits can be wild.
 

Hateyou

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Played it for a bit yesterday and definitely had some fun. I think i prefer the recruiting in this over the min/maxing of Battle Bros, though the "rescue 2 units from scavengers" missions get kind of old since the rescuees have dumb as fuck AI and will YOLO into the enemy team taking all tactics basically out the window. One thing I noticed towards the end of my session is that the general learned traits like "Patience" for example seem ridiculously good and seems to encourage you powergaming them as early as possible to unlock on everyone as the benefits can be wild.
I try to swap places with the AI before they die as they’re generally in a choke point. I let them and the enemy fight it out for a bit then swap places before they die. I’ve found doing it that way I’ve been a lot more successful with everyone surviving.
 

Bobbybick

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I try to swap places with the AI before they die as they’re generally in a choke point. I let them and the enemy fight it out for a bit then swap places before they die. I’ve found doing it that way I’ve been a lot more successful with everyone surviving.
Oh yeah the second I saw swap in this I remembered the lessons I got from BB and immediately took 3 of those Light Footed mutations so everyone could freely swap. As great as it currently is, they probably need to add a stamina cost to it as there's just so many applications with zero downside and makes setting up for criticals a joke as you can just keep swapping in everyone to wherever you need them to take advantage of it.
 

Kirun

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Oh yeah the second I saw swap in this I remembered the lessons I got from BB and immediately took 3 of those Light Footed mutations so everyone could freely swap. As great as it currently is, they probably need to add a stamina cost to it as there's just so many applications with zero downside and makes setting up for criticals a joke as you can just keep swapping in everyone to wherever you need them to take advantage of it.
Doesn't swapping essentially end your turn? I think that's the "downside". Or does Light Footed not make that the case?
 

Bobbybick

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Doesn't swapping essentially end your turn? I think that's the "downside". Or does Light Footed not make that the case?
Yeah the Light Footed trait makes it not end your turn and I think allows you to use it twice in the same turn, it's nuts and basically required on everyone as far as I can tell as even on ranged units being able to swap yourself out of melee zones is amazing. I'm not complaining, it's fun to use but I foresee a nerf in the near future.
 

Kirun

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Yeah the Light Footed trait makes it not end your turn and I think allows you to use it twice in the same turn, it's nuts and basically required on everyone as far as I can tell as even on ranged units being able to swap yourself out of melee zones is amazing. I'm not complaining, it's fun to use but I foresee a nerf in the near future.
Holy shit you're right. I missed the description of "use an ability after" at the end.
 

Hateyou

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I finally realized you can level up the mutators by stacking them. Not sure how I missed that. I was like wtf these are hard to level.
 

Hateyou

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Good article on mutators that explains the stuff that isn’t explained and isn’t obvious. Like absorbing a static mutator (one that only modifies HP% as it levels up.) doesn’t give you the Hp modifier, whether it’s negative or positive. However absorbing a scaling mutator that gives addition level based benefits DO get absorbed with the trait so it’s best to level those types up before absorption.

The one thing I still don’t understand is the evolution stones. I understand what the do, upgrade a mutator or trait by two levels, but I have no idea how to tell which one the stone will level up. I I just equip, check mission to see if it’s available for that character. If not, I try the next character. They either need to list what it’s going to evolve or maybe they do and I can’t figure out how to see it. Just equipping it to every character one at a time wondering if it’s going to let it happen seems really stupid.

Does it work with any (not static) scaling type mutator just most of my people don’t have one yet?

 
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Kirun

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Good article on mutators that explains the stuff that isn’t explained and isn’t obvious. Like absorbing a static mutator (one that only modifies HP% as it levels up.) doesn’t give you the Hp modifier, whether it’s negative or positive. However absorbing a scaling mutator that gives addition level based benefits DO get absorbed with the trait so it’s best to level those types up before absorption.

The one thing I still don’t understand is the evolution stones. I understand what the do, upgrade a mutator or trait by two levels, but I have no idea how to tell which one the stone will level up. I I just equip, check mission to see if it’s available for that character. If not, I try the next character. They either need to list what it’s going to evolve or maybe they do and I can’t figure out how to see it. Just equipping it to every character one at a time wondering if it’s going to let it happen seems really stupid.

Does it work with any (not static) scaling type mutator just most of my people don’t have one yet?

I think evolution stones are "random" on purpose.

It's interesting to learn about the absorption of mutators though. I had no idea they worked like that. I figured it absorbed at max level, since you only get 3 of them - sort of a bonus for using up one of your slots and "waiting". There's a ton of shit I'm learning, which will help on a hard ass playthrough - currently playing on Veteran.

I got my level 15 Warmonk killed tonight by being stupid. I was trying to get cute with his flip ability and it ended up costing me. Fucking thing sucks, as flip + jump allows for a lot of helpful tactics, especially if you have challenge focus abilities, shield ally, etc. My Bloodknight is an absolute powerhouse though. I have Repose and Angel's Pact on him, so he can take lethal damage up to 3 times before finally dying. Then I absorbed bleeding crits, leeching crits, and retaliation. On top of that, he has Leech and Vigorous as a class and I have Siphon Life, max level Blood Drinker, and Feast as mutators equipped. My current tactic with him is usually to charge in with him, use provoke focus from my spearman on him for the recovery+taunt, aegis from my priest, and just use the rest of my shitters to flank for him. Dude has 1.8k life and has so many ways to regain health/leech life/prevent death, that I've only ever seen him injured once, and that was at like level 6.
 

Hateyou

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I think evolution stones are "random" on purpose.

It's interesting to learn about the absorption of mutators though. I had no idea they worked like that. I figured it absorbed at max level, since you only get 3 of them - sort of a bonus for using up one of your slots and "waiting". There's a ton of shit I'm learning, which will help on a hard ass playthrough - currently playing on Veteran.

I got my level 15 Warmonk killed tonight by being stupid. I was trying to get cute with his flip ability and it ended up costing me. Fucking thing sucks, as flip + jump allows for a lot of helpful tactics, especially if you have challenge focus abilities, shield ally, etc. My Bloodknight is an absolute powerhouse though. I have Repose and Angel's Pact on him, so he can take lethal damage up to 3 times before finally dying. Then I absorbed bleeding crits, leeching crits, and retaliation. On top of that, he has Leech and Vigorous as a class and I have Siphon Life, max level Blood Drinker, and Feast as mutators equipped. My current tactic with him is usually to charge in with him, use provoke focus from my spearman on him for the recovery+taunt, aegis from my priest, and just use the rest of my shitters to flank for him. Dude has 1.8k life and has so many ways to regain health/leech life/prevent death, that I've only ever seen him injured once, and that was at like level 6.
I’m ok with them being random, that’s cool. I just don’t like it doesn’t tell you which random one they rolled. So you have to go through every so often and equip one to every person, swapping out their mutators, trying to figure out wth it evolves. It should just tell you which trait it randomly rolled instead.

Also yeah the bloodknight seems pretty powerful. The guys with a lot of movement and enemy movement and terrain manipulation seem much better than those without. Like the hammer guy just seems fucking useless to me. The berserker a close second. I just send all those guys on missions unless I need them while my main dudes heal up.

I didn’t care for the assassin at first until I figured out waiting is a viable playstyle. So I started creating choke points loading the area up with his target traps. Enemies walk into it then just get fucking unloaded on and die before they even get to hit me. If you can do a choke point with 2-3 melee around one hex and a couple ranged guys backing it up, lol they all just die stepping on traps over and over.
 
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Bobbybick

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Flipping an enemy with warmonk into an assassin trap that is surrounded by the rest of your units is real nutty for just making something not alive anymore. I get real sad when I forget to check enemy traits beforehand only to learn that they are immune to movement skills after the fact.