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Post by mikegarrison on Feb 11, 2021 2:51:04 GMT -5
I had not played HZD since my last post on the subject, Feb 1. In the mean time I was working, fixing my dishwasher, watched a movie (rather rare for me these days), read some novels, and played a bunch of KSP. Tonight I decided to go ahead an fire up HZD again. I did the "Deep Secrets Of The Earth" mission where Aloy finds out that actually Project Zero Dawn did not save the world from the robot swarm. The robots won. But Project Zero Dawn rebuilt the world after.
Obviously something went wrong, though.
Then I got captured due to cutscene incompetence (always "fun") and had the standard "we take your weapons away" fight. The fight was kind of easy, really. Absolutely much, much easier than the fights I just had in the Frozen Wilds final quest. I have put a ton of modifications into my sniper bow, and it eats behemoths for lunch. Once I got it back I just had to get a few good hits on it in the critical components.
Now I'm supposed to go back to Nora lands.
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Post by mikegarrison on Feb 11, 2021 4:44:20 GMT -5
They put some dialog lines into the main HZD quest that reference the "Frozen Wilds" DLC. So if you do finish the Frozen Wilds questline, you get some extra references to it.
I think my all-time favorite for that, however, was Oblivion. In Oblivion, every daedric prince has an altar, and when you find it the prince will talk to you (and assign you a quest). (The exception is Mehrunes Dagon, for plot reasons.) But in one of the DLC add-ons, you can go to the Shivering Isles, home of Sheogorath. So the dialog when he talks to you at his shrine in the main game is replaced. If you are on a quest for him in the Shivering Isles, he asks you why you are messing around with his shrine instead of doing the quest he wanted.
But even better is if you finish the main questline in the Shivering Isles, because then you BECOME Sheogorath. And so when you go to his shrine, you hear his butler (now your butler) telling you how disappointing it is that you have been reduced to worshiping yourself at your own shrine.
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Post by Wolfgang on Feb 11, 2021 13:34:57 GMT -5
Actually, I have a lot to say about Horizon Zero Dawn, but I've been very preoccupied. I'm going out to run an errand (I have to buy some lumber) and then run 5 miles, but I'll be back for a sloppy and lengthy write-up. mikegarrison, I'm glad you're enjoying the game.
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Post by mikegarrison on Feb 11, 2021 13:47:57 GMT -5
The quest you get at the shrine of Sheogorath in Oblivion is also quite amusing. You have to convince a small village nearby that their remarkably silly prophecy of the end of the world has come true.
First you have to draw in a plague of rats. You do this by placing a particularly smelly cheese in a cooking pot over an open fire.
Then this gives you some rat poison, which you have to use to poison their sheep, which is the second sign of the prophecy.
And then Sheogorath gives you a spell to use to bring the third sign of the prophecy. The sky turns strange colors and dead burning wolves rain down and cover the ground. This causes the whole town to go wild in terror about the end of the world.
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Post by Wolfgang on Feb 11, 2021 16:42:17 GMT -5
Horizon Zero Dawn
(I've forgotten a lot of the terminology and details. I'm not going to bother looking them up because...I have better things to do with my time. It's faster to make up my own terminology based on fragments from my memory banks.)
1. I played 5-7 different playthroughs. I learned something new the first 3-4 times, but after that, it was same ol' same ol'. It was NOT boring though. Loved it each time. I may have played Dying Light more though because that game was slightly more fun.
2. The one thing I always thought about was: the ideal time to enter Frozen Wilds. I've started that DLC as low as level 15-17 and as high as 27 (I believe). I've had playthroughs where I finished the main game and then entered Frozen Wilds as well as playthroughs where I entered the Frozen Wilds as soon as possible. I didn't like it as much when I entered Frozen Wilds near the end of my main game because I wasn't able to fully enjoy all the cool weapons (shock, ice rail) back in the main game. When I got to the Frozen Wilds, I bought the two main maps (blue gleams, paint pigments) and, in my first playthrough, I traversed the entire territory looking for those things. I avoided conflict with the machine creatures because I was too low-leveled. Turns out, a lot of those bluegleams and paint pigments were not that difficult to find. Even the ones that were guarded, I was able to get them without difficulty. Patience then grabbed them then ran like hell. In all subsequent playthroughs, that's what I did -- get the maps and collect all the blue gleams and paint pigments first so that I could buy the cool shields/armors/stuff.
3. There's a cool rechargeable shield you can get if you collect all the power cells. I think it's called shield weaver or something like that. In some playthroughs, I got it. In other playthroughs, I didn't. It didn't really matter either way. The shield is worthless in the Frozen Wilds because those pulsing control towers discharges your shield completely which makes you vulnerable until it recharges again. I found that a regular armor worked better. However, the rechargeable shield worked really well in the main game.
4. In two locations, one by the "Forsaken Village" (looks like a nice abandoned settlement with decent log cabins) and another far southwest of your map, you can farm for valuable Mods (purple). They're guarded by scrappers but you can take them out easily. Then, you farm their scrapper pile and if the Random number generator likes you, you'll get some really nice Purple Mods. I discovered these all by myself. Did not have to look them up on the web. Actually, I wouldn't have known to look them up.
5. In every playthrough, I made an effort to fight every machine creature I came across. I needed the parts and the Mods. It was like, "Hunting season, baby!" In many ways, it was like that in Shadow of Mordor (another game I liked a lot more than Horizon Zero Dawn). You go hunting for the baddest enemies and you get rewarded with cool mods.
6. I never rode those horses or other machine creatures that much. I can count on one hand the number of times I rode those creatures. I was picking plants and gathering other resources too often that riding those things actually slowed me down.
7. I thought the stealth part of the game was weak. However, during some playthroughs, I tried to be more stealthy when I encountered human soldiers. It was pretty cool to spear them in the back or throat from behind.
8. When you visit Rost's grave up in the mountains by your old house, there'll be a cutscene that summarizes all that you've done up to that point in the game. I went there twice and that's about it. I got tired of those cutscenes.
9. In the main game, I collected all the things that needed to be collected. Those ancient vessels, Banuck figurines, metal flowers, and vantage points. You get rewarded with level up points or some other thing. They're not that difficult to get and the rewards are useful. I think I traversed every inch of the territory trying to get these damn things. But it was worth it, despite my use of the word "damn."
There were more, but I forgot what they were...
(I'll update this post when I think of them.)
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Post by Wolfgang on Feb 11, 2021 17:22:32 GMT -5
Horizon Zero Dawn (continued)
10. Those trap weapons were very useful inside tight spaces like the Cauldron. When I went up against the final machine creatures in each Cauldron, I set traps all over the friggin' place. I mean, there were wires going everywhere! At least a dozen! Then, I released the machine creatures and watched them suffer the consequences. I still had to fight them but those traps depleted them quite a bit. Actually, the trap weapons are very underrated. Every time I used them, they were very beneficial and made my fights easier.
11. Some quests will be discovered by accident. Once when I was in the southern portion of the map, I was trying to get a collectible by climbing some ledge on a cliff. Several yards from me was some major battle going on between a couple of Behemoths and several people. I could've stopped what I was doing and helped them or I could've just continued doing what I was doing and ignored them. If you helped them, you'll have to kill those Behemoths, which then triggered the start of a series of quests. If you ignored them and walked away, well, I guess you missed those quests. It's possible if you returned later, the same thing would've happened and eventually, you'd have to face the music and kill those damn Behemoths to trigger the quests.
12. I really really enjoyed the interactions between Nil and Aloy. Nil is so unintentionally funny. Aloy is also at her wittiest and funniest when she's with him. For example, and I forgot the details exactly, but Nil referred to a particular weapon of his by a name and Aloy goes, "You name your ____?" He replies, "Don't you?" Then, several encounters later, Aloy makes reference to some other weapon by name and Nil goes, "Why would anyone give a name to _________ {that weapon}" And Aloy can only respond with, "Umm...never mind." My description doesn't do it justice. It's so funny watching and listening to their banter.
13. Because of my many playthroughs, I was able to see what would happen if I chose one option over another. For example, in the final mission in Frozen Wilds, they told Aloy she could go up and stealthily move past to the next section or she could zipline down to tackle some heavy machine creatures. You get rewarded more by taking on the heavies. In the piles of junk and bones, there are some seriously valuable mods there. I did the stealth option once and I can't remember what I collected (if anything).
14. The Cauldrons...oh yeah...they appeared to be a pain in the arse but I learned to love them because you can find some great Mods there. You just have to take your time and explore all the different paths, caves, corners, etc. At each Cauldron, I walked away with 2-3 great Mods, IIRC.
15. Speaking of stealth, in a couple of my later playthroughs, I tackled the Proving mission differently. At the very end of the Proving, the kids are invaded by the bad guys and I usually sniped from where everyone (Vala, Bast) was located. In my later playthroughs, to change it up, I quickly ran over to where those soldiers were sniping, up on the upper terrace area. I stealthily came up behind them and took them down one by one. Then, I'd snipe from up there to the soldiers who were down below. It turned out to be easier.
16. The game is designed such that you would eventually have to kill multiples of the same machine creatures. I can't remember the count but there were roughly 6 or so missions (could be 9) where I had to kill thunderjaws. This may be intimidating at first but you will eventually figure out what outfit to wear for the battle, what weapons to use, and what strategy to employ for each and every one of those creatures. For the thunderjaw, I first take out their disc launchers. Then, I tie them down with my rope weapon thingy (forgot the name). I run to the disc launcher and start firing discs one by one. (In my first playthrough, I couldn't find the disc launchers to save my life!) You have to be patient and aim properly. Don't start pressing the trigger in a panic. Aim, press the trigger, watch the disc get launched toward the thunderjaw, lather rinse repeat. In many playthroughs, the thunderjaw was a walk in the park. I would go to the thunderjaw farming site where I always found two thunderjaws. I'd take them down and harvest the Mods, which were pretty substantial. Same deal with some of the other creatures. You take the weapon on their back and use it against them.
17. "Maybe my focus can pick up something..." got annoying after awhile.
18. I remember my very first playthrough as I slowly but surely revealed the map. I was taking it slow. I was so deathly afraid of those Watchers until I realized I could take them down easily. Also, the fight with the Sawtooth was tough but do-able. In later playthroughs, with the trap weapon, the Sawtooth was a piece of cake.
19. The final five daemonic fireclaws in the Frozen Wilds were not that bad. My only two weapons I used were the ice rail and trap weapons. I also put on my fire resistant outfit. During the battle, I ran while shooting traps all over the place. The traps not only damaged the fireclaws but also whatever other creatures joined the fight. Annoying f*ckers. When there was daylight, I got my ice rail and sprayed ice all over them. Once frozen, I unleashed the deadly ice rail shot. Lather rinse repeat. That ice rail took a long to time to load but if you're able to get a shot off, they're deadly.
20. You meet those three idiots from the Frozen Wilds again in the main game if you go to that wall fortress (forgot the name). The place you go to talk to that reasonable commander about that evil Zaid slaver dude who kept that girl hostage. I never met that girl again anywhere in the game after we said our farewells even though she said to look her up.
21. (continued...)
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Post by mikegarrison on Feb 11, 2021 18:36:17 GMT -5
13. Because of my many playthroughs, I was able to see what would happen if I chose one option over another. For example, in the final mission in Frozen Wilds, they told Aloy she could go up and stealthily move past to the next section or she could zipline down to tackle some heavy machine creatures. You get rewarded more by taking on the heavies. In the piles of junk and bones, there are some seriously valuable mods there. I did the stealth option once and I can't remember what I collected (if anything). That is actually one of the very few non-linear quests in the entire game, and it's only non-linear in that one specific place. I thought maybe I would try both routes. But first I sniped at the big guys down below. Unfortunately for this idea, I hadn't realized they had a ramp they could use to get up to where I was. So I was waiting for their "who shot at me" cooldown to time out, and suddenly one had run right up and melee attacked me. Well, after that it was mainly run, hide, shoot, run, hide, and if I had to just swing my spear wildly. Anyway, killed them. I never did try going back up and seeing if I could also do the upper route. This fight was nowhere near as hard as the two big fights -- the thunderjaw and the fireclaw.
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Post by mikegarrison on Feb 11, 2021 18:39:18 GMT -5
11. Some quests will be discovered by accident. Once when I was in the southern portion of the map, I was trying to get a collectible by climbing some ledge on a cliff. Several yards from me was some major battle going on between a couple of Behemoths and several people. I could've stopped what I was doing and helped them or I could've just continued doing what I was doing and ignored them. If you helped them, you'll have to kill those Behemoths, which then triggered the start of a series of quests. If you ignored them and walked away, well, I guess you missed those quests. It's possible if you returned later, the same thing would've happened and eventually, you'd have to face the music and kill those damn Behemoths to trigger the quests. You actually have clues that would lead you to that spot. It's the prison that Nil went to for his war crimes, so he mentions it by name. And I think there may be some other pointers that also suggest you should go there. Plus, as you say, the collectible leads you right to it also.
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Post by mikegarrison on Feb 11, 2021 18:47:37 GMT -5
7. I thought the stealth part of the game was weak. However, during some playthroughs, I tried to be more stealthy when I encountered human soldiers. It was pretty cool to spear them in the back or throat from behind. It is simultaneously kind of bad and also OP. If you are careful you can often stay in stealth and kill almost anything that the game doesn't force you to melee. But it can get a little tedious, especially if you are taking down something like a thunderjaw one arrow at a time. Each time it starts a "?" cooldown. If you wait for that, then you can take another shot and get another "?". But if you shoot it while that "?" is active, it immediately breaks all stealth and the enemy knows exactly where you are, even if you are hidden in some grass on the opposite side of the valley or whatever. So if you want to play full stealthy sniper, you can have some loooong fights where you ever so slowly whittle down the health bar of the enemy.
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Post by Wolfgang on Feb 11, 2021 20:39:59 GMT -5
Horizon Zero Dawn
(continued)
21. All the hunting grounds were okay but not crucial. In earlier playthroughs, I got some Blazing Suns and some Full Suns. I was able to improve my weapons considerably. But ultimately, they didn't matter because in my later playthroughs where I just skipped the hunting grounds (or only got Half Suns), my weapons were just as effective. Maybe not as powerful but they still did the job. It's not going to impact your survivability much. It's like that shield weaver outfit. Good to have but not crucial. I actually preferred to change outfits depending on the strength of the enemies.
22. I remember I had finished the Frozen Wilds DLC so I had the stormslinger shock weapon. I brought it back to the main game and did the Zaid slaver mission. After releasing the girl, I went outside where I encountered Zaid and his men. I just unleashed my stormslinger and those guys were fried in seconds. That was the quickest end of that particular mission I had ever experienced. LOL! In fact, the stormslinger was a badarse multipurpose weapon. Well, I got myself fried a few times, but I just dusted off and got back up again.
23. After I got the ice rail, all those creatures that were weak to ice were a breeze. This included the rockbreaker and the bisons (forgot the name). Killed them easily. I also enjoyed using the ice rail and the stormslinger on humans. Super over powered but frikk! really satisfying!
24. There's a weird quirk in the game where, sometimes, you encounter a low level watcher that you can't kill. It happened to me in the Forsaken Village. No matter what I did, I couldn't kill that f*cker. Best thing to do is give up and run.
25. The toughest human-vs-human combat was the bandit camp in the Frozen Wilds. The dude with the forgefire weapon. Forgot his name. Holy crap! That took me a long time. But ultimately, all my trap wires did the trick as the wires slowly but surely damaged my enemies. The forgefire was another cool weapon but I didn't find it as powerful as the stormslinger and the ice rail.
26. Oh yeah, to make it easy on myself in the Frozen Wilds, I disabled all the control towers first and foremost. Other missions will occur near those control towers so if you don't take care of those control towers first, all the machine creatures near it will constantly regenerate strength and your fight will last a frikkin' long time. Disable them first, then take on missions. They're easy to disable stealthily. Also, your rechargeable shield weaver armor (if you have it) will be useless near the control towers.
27. I also discovered that if you fight your enemies from the location where you first spot them, the fight isn't that easy. When I moved around to different locations in the battle space, I found the fight to be easier. The AI can't seem to handle a mobile Aloy that well. For example, in the Maker's End mission, you walk into an open area and suddenly encounter bad guys plus a gigantic Deathbringer. Many people (I'm assuming) will stay on that one spot and fire away, taking cover when necessary. However, if you move to a new location, the bad guys get very confused. You can take out various snipers on scaffolds or sometimes the Deathbringer will kill them for you.
28. The power cells you need to get the shield weaver armor. I hate it when there's no way to discover things for yourself unless you look it up on the web. There's no way to know in advance that you have to find these power cells strewn about the map, some inaccessible because they're part of a mission. The game should provide the clues. You shouldn't have to look it up on the web. So, needless to say, I found out about the power cells and the shield weaver via the web. I also couldn't have found those power cells without the web. They're really really tricky to find. Some, if you don't get them during a mission, you may never get them...ever.
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Post by mikegarrison on Feb 11, 2021 20:44:25 GMT -5
Horizon Zero Dawn (continued) 21. All the hunting grounds were okay but not crucial. In earlier playthroughs, I got some Blazing Suns and some Full Suns. I was able to improve my weapons considerably. But ultimately, they didn't matter because in my later playthroughs where I just skipped the hunting grounds (or only got Half Suns), my weapons were just as effective. Maybe not as powerful but they still did the job. It's not going to impact your survivability much. It's like that shield weaver outfit. Good to have but not crucial. I actually preferred to change outfits depending on the strength of the enemies. 22. I basically never change outfits. Always the "Master" stealth outfit that I bought from the Banuk, loaded up with three good mods.
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Post by mln59 on Feb 11, 2021 21:41:43 GMT -5
made more progress tonight in hollow knight. i've purchased a bunch of new stuff including a lantern (needed for dark areas) and i've collected 4 mask shards (gave me a 6th life) need to continue earning money so i can buy a key. bought the key. doesn't do much for me right now, but it might in the future
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Post by mln59 on Feb 11, 2021 22:05:17 GMT -5
i believe i have purchased everything i can. have to advance the game to unlock more stuff
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Post by Wolfgang on Feb 11, 2021 22:07:50 GMT -5
F*cking hell, now I want to fire up Horizon Zero Dawn...
LOL!
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Post by bbg95 on Feb 11, 2021 22:41:15 GMT -5
Yakuza: Like a Dragon has a business simulation minigame that's pretty fun (though parts of it, most notably the board meetings, aren't particularly well-explained by the game itself). I was mostly doing this to recruit an optional party member, which I did when I cleared the first milestone (get in the top 100 companies on the stock exchange). Once I hit the second milestone (top 50), my angel investor insisted that I move downtown. I had never explored this area of the map, so I ran up to an enemy to start a fight, expecting them to be level 20 or so (my characters are all between level 14 and 17). It turns out that these guys were level 38 (!), so I immediately reset the game. Fortunately, the enemies are fairly easy to avoid if you're careful. I also discovered some very high-end equipment in some of the shops, but it's rather pricey. Good thing I had accrued 1.5 million yen through the minigame, and I can always earn more.
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