More of the World of Warcraft Pre-Expansion Event. Like last week, I leveled a bunch of characters to max, just because it’s easy, even if they’ll never see the light of day again (until the next event like this).
Then, the new Diablo 4 season started, and in less than a week I’ve basically progressed as far as the whole of last season. I went with a Sorcerer this time, currently running a Chain Lightning build, and it’s a lot more fun than the Minion Necromancer last time. However, now I’m at the point where it’s not just easy upgrades all the time, but grinding for those drops to feel a real difference, so the honeymoon phase might end soon. The new season mechanic seems pretty neat, although I haven’t done a whole lot of it yet. It’s a pretty simple wave based mode in a small room, where you just get to slaughter tons of demons and a boss fight afterward. This mode has different tiers or difficulties, most of which I haven’t tried yet, so I don’t know how much things change, if at all, but considering I’ll probably only play another two weeks at most (until the Warcraft expansion release) I don’t see it getting old.
The World of Warcraft Pre-Expansion Event went live this week, and it was complete garbage. The event got changed two days later, which fixed basically everything wrong with it, and now it’s pretty good. I managed to level almost all my level 60 characters to max through the event, since it barely takes an hour each. Basically none will ever see any serious playtime though, and will just collect dust again.
Then I just finished the Solasta: Crown of the Magister - Lost Valley DLC and enjoyed it much more than the base game. The gameplay is still D&D, no changes there, but the setting is much smaller this time. You’re not on some world-saving quest or killing a god, but a very confined area, with about a dozen locations you can visit (plus sub areas like caves or dungeons). Your party gets trapped in a valley and has to find a way out. There are people living in the valley, complete with a city and everything, but there’s kind of a civil war going on, so you gotta pick a side and which faction to support. Due to my choices, the ending was kind of unspectacular, but still fine. Since there are multiple factions, who are at war, and you can’t please everyone, there’s stuff you can’t do in a single playthrough (mainly quests and dialogue, not locations I think). Since the DLC is on the shorter side, you’re encouraged to play through it multiple times, but I most likely won’t do that. I do however look forward to the second DLC campaign, Palace of Ice, which I’ll probably won’t play for a few months.
Next week, Diablo 4 Season 5 will start, which I look forward to. This time I’ll play a Sorcerer. Let’s hope it’s not another bust, like the Minion Necromancer last time.
One of my favorite games, although the second game tops it in my opinion. Sadly, I could never get my friends into the game, since I’d have loved to play it coop.
Leveling some more World of Warcraft characters. The pre-expansion patch launched, and I’ve read about lots of bugs, but since I basically just play up to level 25 in the remix mode (and then boost the characters to max) I don’t really notice anything about it. Only that low level characters appear to be weaker now, that’s it. The pre-expansion event starts this week, so I’ll check that out.
Then I finished Solasta: Crown of the Magister. The story stays kinda mediocre, and it felt like some characters suddenly lost 50 IQ near the end, otherwise some parts wouldn’t have worked. I still like turn-based combat, so I generally had a good time. The game has multiple campaigns, that were added in the DLC (plus a Dungeon Maker, to create your own campaign and share in on the Steam Workshop). The first DLC campaign is supposed to be a faster pace and shorter than the main one, even if both are level 1-12, so I started that one. I did install a mod that lets you add and change a bunch of things, although I mainly use it for some QoL stuff, plus some more spells (and maybe feats) from table-top DND, so even though I’m using the same characters, I can try out some different things.
Continuing with Solasta: Crown of the Magister. As far as I know, it’s based on 5e and level 1-4 were pretty boring, since you can’t do a lot. I’m currently level 7, and it’s better, although still not a lot to do with only one action and sometimes a bonus action. The story is pretty basic, but the characters aren’t very interesting. You don’t have a lot of freedom, at least where I am right now. You can move between specific points on a map, sometimes get into random encounters, and that’s it. Very light on the RP, with almost no choices during dialog, when you can even speak with an NPC at all (only those relevant to your current quest will talk to you). Some parts are also kinda clunky, but I still have a good enough time with the game.
Then I started leveling a new character in World of Warcraft. Expansion pre-patch will drop in a few days, so I’ll check that out.
Also, more Powerwash Simulator. I’m not really a fan of how the later levels are basically just made as annoying as possible, since you often need to stand in very specific spots to blast away some of the dirt, but the crappy movement and aiming really aren’t made for that.
Some more Powerwash Simulator. It’s neat, but has two super annoying issues. First is the water jet aiming, which just loves to jump around a bit on its own, because the game thinks there’s something in the way. This is basically only an issue up close, so just moving away a bit helps (although not always possible). Second you get stuck constantly, if the ground isn’t super flat, like on a roof or one of the levels is a skatepark with a bunch of ramps. That one just sucks.
Then I pretty much finished the current content in Slime 3K: Rise against Despot. It’s a Vampire Survivors-like which I usually enjoy, but I’m not really sure about this one. The current Early Access version has 10 levels, that kind of try to have a gimmick or theme, but most of them are the same. They all look the same too. The final level is definitely the most Survivors-type thing. Just tons of fodder enemies, coupled with some stronger elites, with more than enough time to get all the items you want and upgrade them. It’s not like it takes a long time to get there, but if those earlier “gimmick” levels are what the devs aim for in the finished release, I’m not a huge fan.
Next I tried Maniac, which is GTA 1 (or 2), but as a rogue-lite, Survivors-like game. It’s just you, running and driving around a city, causing mayhem to get points and try to survive for 20 minutes until you get nuked. So far, I’ve done a couple of runs and won once, but it’s not really that fun. The upgrades and weapons are also pretty boring. I unlocked a few more characters, which I’ve not yet checked out, so I’ll give it a bit more time. I just hope it’s not just a difference in starting weapon or something.
Finally, I’m really in the mood for a CRPG again, and thought about Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, but I know it’s gonna take me like two months or more to get through, and in a few weeks the new Diablo 4 season will start and the World of Warcraft expansion after that, so Pathfinder will have to wait. So I chose another game, that hopefully won’t take as long, Solasta: Crown of the Magister. I played through the tutorial a few months ago and started the game proper earlier today. I’m still at the very beginning, just left the first town, but it’s a turn-based CRPG I guess.
Leveled a few more characters in World of Warcraft. Since I’ve been basically just playing Horde for over 15 years, with only a few exceptions here and there, I’m now basically filling out my character roster with their Alliance counterparts. Since more and more stuff is cross-faction nowadays, this doesn’t really matter too much anymore, but it still gives me an excuse to level new characters with the objectively best race, dwarves.
I bought a few smaller games in the Steam sale, first RollScape. It’s a puzzle game where you roll a die to put down tiles, which give you points, and you try to get as much as possible. Modifiers increase this exponentially, so you just get more and more. It was alright for a couple of hours, but also a bit too boring and frustrating at times.
Then God of Weapons, which is basically Brotato, except you get to play Inventory-Tetris between rounds to manage your items. The inventory system is a neat gimmick, but otherwise the game doesn’t really a lot of new things. Runs can also be a bit too long for my tastes, with half of the time spent swapping items in and out, trying to fit some weird shaped item into your inventory.
I’ve only just started Slime 3K: Rise against Despot, another Vampire Survivors-like, but it’s not making a good impression so far. The game looks great, I love the pixelart design of the slime, but right now, the gameplay isn’t really doing it for me. It’s mainly the weapons, they just feel super weak and not really impactful in any way. In this game, leveling up spawns a vending machine, which you can collect and then get to buy items. These items come from a deck, that you can modify between runs, so can remove stuff you don’t like or if you want to focus on specific types items, i.e. just guns or summoning. I’ll give it a bit more time, maybe some later unlocks improve things.
Lastly is Powerwash Simulator. Seems like just a fun, brain-off type game, where I can blast dirt off of stuff, while watching streams on the side. Except that Lichen can bite me. Bullshit, basically invisible, but still count as dirty. Screw you. (Edit: Didn’t know about that button to highlight dirt, which makes it much more manageable).
Finally managed to kick my current World of Warcraft addiction, or at least massively cut my time with the Remix mode. I did level a new character yesterday, just to get them to max level, but that was pretty much it. There are a few more I plan to level, but I’ll take my time with those, maybe one a week. XP needed for max level is supposed to be slashed soon, because of the new expansion, so the already short level time should be even shorter.
I’m also done with the Diablo 4 season. I didn’t enjoy playing Minion Necromancer at all, and couldn’t be bothered to grind for a different build. Just like the last few times, I finished the Season Journey, and killed one of the new giga versions of the bosses (Tormented Duriel), although I needed help with that. The next season is supposed to start soon-ish (4-5 weeks or something), so I’ll take a break until then and hopefully choose something I enjoy more.
Went back to Dave the Diver, did just one dive, but didn’t really feel it. My extended break with the game really killed my enthusiasm. I might try again here or there, but who knows. There are so many other games I want to try, this might just be it for Dave.
Started Crab Champions, a roguelike shooter, based on the Crab Rave song (I guess). It’s in Early Access, fun for a couple of hours, but lacks variety, so it can get boring relatively quickly. I’ll wait for some more updates or the full release. This game also has multiplayer, so I gotta convince some of my friends to get it, since that’s always more fun.
Once again, I played far too much World of Warcraft Remix this week. I do have three more maxed characters now though and all achievements for the mode. I found Frost Mage to be surprisingly fun, after I totally hated it (my old main) and completely abandoned magic DPS altogether at the beginning of Shadowlands. This time I’ll definitely take it slower and will try to only play my Druid. It went so well the last two weeks.
Depending on how much I get into the new expansion, The War Within, Balance Druid and Frost Mage are definitely some I’ll consider taking a look, although my Windwalker Monk will most likely stay my main.
Then, more Diablo 4. I’m almost level 90 with my Necromancer, Minion build is still boring, but I’ll keep it at least until level 100, and I’ve checked out more endgame stuff.
Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in! When I was almost done with the Remix mode in World of Warcraft, Blizzard adds a buff, that massively speeds up your power gain (or buying cosmetics, if you’re into that). This makes playing and gearing alts actually not terrible, so now I have to equip a few more chars, just to see how they play with ridiculous stats. My main, a Druid, is pretty much done, and I’d need to do some massive grinding, to see any real increase from this point. I’ll still play the char here and there, because it’s fun, but less than before. I’m currently equipping two other characters, a Warrior and an Evoker, both should take a couple more days, but I don’t think I’ll play them as much as my Druid before. There are a few more classes I want to level, although just to get them to max level, not to really play this mode.
Now I’ll finally get more into the current Diablo 4 season. I just made it to World Tier 3 today on my Necromancer, minion gameplay is still pretty boring, but I’ll wait until I’m closer to max level to decide if I want to switch builds.
Still blasting through World of Warcraft Remix mode, but it’s slowly losing its grip on me. Playing my main, a druid, is still super fun, since everything just explodes in seconds, but my two alts are kind of boring in comparison. Buying all the cosmetics should take me another week, so after that I might focus more on gearing my other chars. I really hope Blizzard adds something to make gearing alts easier, since I’d really like to give other classes a shot, but I’m not interested in slogging through the slow-ish gearing process for all of them.
I’ve also started playing Diablo 4 again, leveling a Necromancer in season 4. Currently, I’m using a minion build, but it’s pretty boring, since you don’t really do much.
Apart from my “main”, a druid, I’ve now also leveled a priest and warrior to 70. I didn’t enjoy playing the priest at all, and just spent all the event currency once I hit max level and won’t touch that character again. The warrior was actually fine, and I’m still playing a bit here and there at max level. On my druid I’m still clearing all the raids once per day, it’s still generally fun, but I’ve switched to tanking for a change of pace.
Man, I couldn’t get into the game at all. I just found it really boring and a chore to play most of the time. This is one of those games, where I don’t get what others see in it at all.
After all the trouble I had with Horizon Forbidden West for a couple of days (endless crashing), it’s been great since then. As if nothing ever happened. So, I’ve just been exploring, killing, and looting.
Then, I also started Dave the Diver. It’s a great game, even better than I thought it would be.