Age of Decadence Reviews

[Binky]

Speaking of reviews:

https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198031527568/recommended/230070/

This game is very confusing and has a worthless tutorial. I couldn't figure out how to fight and the "tutorial" is just a bunch of text popups that are super vauge and confusing.

They actually have a special tutorial section of the game to train and I couldnt figure out how to practice

absolutely ridiculous. Very annoyed

That actually made me chuckle. Verily, 'tis the Dark Souls of tutorials.

 

[Funposter]

I found the game and the world far more compelling when it stuck closer to the fall of Rome inspiration, and it became weaker whenever it started dabbling in ancient evils, otherworldly powers and so on.

The lore and worldbuilding are at their very best right before you figure out what actually caused everything. Learning the answers to the questions, in AoD's case, is somewhat unsatisfying. But that's the same with most mysteries of a similar scale.

 

[thesecret1]

It does seem to me that these themes, which AOD delivered with nuance and a down to earthness almost unique in video games, get a little bit diluted. I would not have minded if there was no Agathoth or any of that, and the fevered dreams of archaeologists and their imperial patrons turn out to be Qin Shi Huang looking for his elixir of eternal life.

I agree. In some places (otherwordly beings in particular), it started yanking at my suspension of disbelief. On one hand, it added a couple NPCs and an endgame boss and all, on the other, I feel as though the same could have been achieved simply by making them a product of genetic engineering or similar rather than going into the whole supernatural shebang. Felt like a tonal clash to me with the rest of the setting.

 

[Trashos]

I didn't mind the supernatural that much. I thought of it the way I think about the vermin in Kafka's The Metamorphosis, ie as an allegory on human vices/traits/actions. In this line of thinking, the supernatural beings are the embodiment of said vices/traits/actions.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

IIRC, you get 30 arrows, which should be enough for 2 fights. Use more damaging attacks in the first fight which is easy (intro fight). You can kill them with ~10 arrows and save 20 for the second fight. Still, I'll take a look in case I remember it wrong.

Are you playing Solo or with Marcus? Use power attacks for more damage.

I was playing solo, murderous psychopath. I tried with a high INT build. Failed. Finally I abandoned any hopes that I could choose less optimal bow builds and insisted on a bow build with high STR, DEX, PER. But even then I needed to invest heavily on my bow skill in order to use regularly the power attacks. Problem is that now I was exposed with fewer points in the dodge skill. Failed again.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

On a side note, for some bizarre reason the game does not allow me to delete old save files directly from the folder. I need to delete them manually, inside the game, one by one. SAD!

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

By some sort of RNG miracle I beat the fights on solo. Problem is that by the time I killed the ant queen I'm again struggling. Very few arrows and five additional enemies. What is worse is that I need to kill the two arrow users first because I need their arrows to beat the next fight. It's over.

 

[Fenix]

men summoned beings they didn't truly understand, collared them and tried to use them as their attack dogs, hilarity ensued

I don't know if you meant that or not, but for me it clearly looks like allusion/reference/metaphor (forgive me my barbarism) on how dangerous science is, or can be - for me it clearly IS.

So it turns out I can't beat the second fight with a bow build in Dungeon Rats. Not enough arrows!

Yeah, you should finish guys un first fight with your hands or rocks, and same for second fight - finish them with melee.
I still couldn't win second fight with crossbow build - and I tried many times. I know for sure it's possible, but probbaly not for me.
I was close 1-2 times, when only one enemy left with like 5 hp, but he didn't miss and my character died in pool of his own blood...

You can kill them with ~10 arrows and save 20 for the second fight.

I managed to eliminate them with even less then 10 arrows, like 8 I think. Still for second fight that wasn't that much.

Politician for me Dungeon Rats is a small game, that I constantly returning to.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

Yeah, you should finish guys un first fight with your hands or rocks, and same for second fight - finish them with melee.
I still couldn't win second fight with crossbow build - and I tried many times. I know for sure it's possible, but probbaly not for me.
I was close 1-2 times, when only one enemy left with like 5 hp, but he didn't miss and my character died in pool of his own blood...

Vault Dweller, Dungeon Rats is poorly balanced for a solo bow-build. You don’t have enough arrows even if you make the best use of aerial strikes or power attacks. I tried everything. You have two options: a solid dodger with low bow skills that can’t make enough damage without wasting too many arrows, or a deadly bow user with bad dodge skills. I manage to get as far as Barca fight with a deadly bow user, but he always take too many hits. The only solution that I came up with is a solid dodger with low bow skills using a sword. That way I managed to save enough arrows and progress more naturally. Still, it is pretty shitty that I have to make all those sacrifices because the game is not balanced properly for a bow build. I had no problems at all using a bow user with followers. Another thing you need to consider is that the bow build is deadly, but is much more vulnerable against a group of enemies in small spaces. 90% of Dungeon Rats is like that.

 

[Goral]

Why are you talking about DR balance here instead of here: https://rpgcodex.net/forums/index.p...irst-impressions-and-general-feedback.111764/ (or some other DR thread)
??

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

Why are you talking about DR balance here instead of here: https://rpgcodex.net/forums/index.p...irst-impressions-and-general-feedback.111764/ (or some other DR thread)
??

Sorry, Goral. It's laziness. I would post again in the specific thread, but since Fenix mentioned the subject again I decided to post here again.

 

[Fenix]

Dungeon Rats is poorly balanced for a solo bow-build.

Well, not exactly. There was at least one guy I know of, on steam search somethign like Kirill_Bushido or like that, he did bow build solo just fine, and I know he said he did solo crossbow. Few monthes ago I bumped his topics, because it's quality stuff, so it isn't buried somewhere deep.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

Dungeon Rats is poorly balanced for a solo bow-build.

Well, not exactly. There was at least one guy I know of, on steam search somethign like Kirill_Bushido or like that, he did bow build solo just fine, and I know he said he did solo crossbow. Few monthes ago I bumped his topics, because it's quality stuff, so it isn't buried somewhere deep.

You mean, this guy?

I didn't see that earlier, but lo and behold, his build is identical to my kamikaze build. Notice how he invested 3 points on both crossbow and throwing to increase his attack. I did that too in the beginning and died like crazy until the RNG Gods saved my ass. You can use the most perfect tactics with this build and try all kinds of positioning. It won't help you without luck. If you think this shows the build is fine or adequate you are delusional. You can beat Age of Decadence without spending any points in dodge or block. The only thing this shows is that some people have too much spare time in their hands.

 

[Fenix]

Dungeon Rats more about tactics than luck.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

Dungeon Rats more about tactics than luck.

Then make a solo bow build using this a guideline and see for yourself. I could post images of my progress to impress people who are not masochist enough to play this build, but that would be disonest.

 

[Fenix]

When I'll have more time - sure, I'll try bows.

I man I'm now busy with Underrail testing - it isn't over for me, because I didn't get in time in Expedition content with last build.

 

[Parabalus]

You can beat Age of Decadence without spending any points in dodge or block. The only thing this shows is that some people have too much spare time in their hands.

AoD without dodge or block is a walk in the park compared to the above.

 

[Agesilaus]

The "ancient evil" contributed to AoD's greatness because it was handled so well. It was a mystery that the player didn't need to solve unless he wanted to do so. You could get involved in the attempts to unearth the past, or you could dismiss the whole project as irrelevant and focus on more practical and certain goals. Even if you decided to seek out the truth, for half of the game it remained murky and possibly pointless. There was a real chance that your reward would just be radiation sickness and some notes about how humans destroyed the planet centuries ago.

This degree of mystery and detachment from the practical realities of the game, combined with the fact that the mystery is very interesting and actually worth solving, is part of what makes AoD such a great game. If the mystery was something like "people were technologically advanced in the past, but the population was lower and ultimately society collapsed and everything was lost due to a nuclear war", the experience would be fundamentally different. The science fiction element lets the game present you with something beyond humanity. When done right it not only makes you curious about the back story (ie, a nuclear war broke out), but also makes you curious about what could still be lurking beyond the scope of our current knowledge and perception.

Maybe it also helps that my favourite Star Control race was the Orz. I hope that the colony ship game has some interesting phenomenon or lifeform that occurs beyond the confines of the spaceship, but either way it is still my most anticipated game right now and a definite day 1 purchase.

 

[Agesilaus]

Dungeon Rats is poorly balanced for a solo bow-build.

I didn't see that earlier, but lo and behold, his build is identical to my kamikaze build. Notice how he invested 3 points on both crossbow and throwing to increase his attack. I did that too in the beginning and died like crazy until the RNG Gods saved my ass. You can use the most perfect tactics with this build and try all kinds of positioning. It won't help you without luck. If you think this shows the build is fine or adequate you are delusional. You can beat Age of Decadence without spending any points in dodge or block. The only thing this shows is that some people have too much spare time in their hands.

That is from 3 years ago, there have been a fair number of changes since then right?

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

That is from 3 years ago, there have been a fair number of changes since then right?

Only if they made build weaker. I never had to adapt so much in my life.

 

[AbounI]

I remember Vince said there will be a kind of entity in the wasteland. The kind of monster of which we will have all our leasure to leave it alone or not, the kind of which we can try to defeat or not...
http://www.irontowerstudio.com/forum/index.php/topic,7540.0.html

 

[the mole]

Like the game overall, some of the early combats are a bit overtuned, for the imperials specifically, 3v5 in the first quest doesn't make much sense, also getting soft locked as an assassin just for going back to Tehran is retarded, not even a skill check saves you from that just lol here's 5 8 con fighters and they all have range. Allowing you to zone transition out of that like a 10 dex assassin would logically do would make sense.

 

[thesecret1]

for the imperials specifically, 3v5 in the first quest doesn't make much sense

It's not hard. Build a character that can fight and you'll find that quest very easy

 

[the mole]

for the imperials specifically, 3v5 in the first quest doesn't make much sense

It's not hard. Build a character that can fight and you'll find that quest very easy

I had maxed sword and shield at the point, my character had above average stats in all combat attributes, in the end the ai on your side takes care of it, 5v3 is overtuned and should not have required over 10 reloads with a combat character as your first quest

 

[thesecret1]

post screens