Game News Solasta: Crown of the Magister Sorcerer Update

[Infinitron]

Tags: Solasta: Crown of the Magister; Tactical Adventures

You may recall that the Kickstarter campaign for Solasta: Crown of the Magister fell several thousand euros short of its final stretch goal, which would have added the Sorcerer class to the game. Despite this, when the campaign concluded Tactical Adventures promised that they would add the Sorcerer in a post-launch update. That promise was fulfilled today with the release of the game's first major update. Like the other classes in Solasta, the Sorcerer comes with three optional subclasses - the Draconic Bloodline (an original SRD subclass), the Mana Painter (an expert at draining magic) and the Child of the Rift (which draws its power from the portal through which the humans and their gods came to Solasta). The new update also adds an Ironman Mode, three new environments for the Dungeon Maker, and plenty of other improvements and bugfixes. Here's an overview video with more details:

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The full patch notes for the Sorcerer update are available here. So what happens now? It seems that Solasta has sold fairly well, so I'd expect to see more updates. In fact, last month Tactical Adventures quietly announced that they'd opened a new studio in Lyon to create a new tactical RPG in the Solasta setting. The 5th Edition D&D hype is real.

 

[Dr Schultz]

I`ve REALLY enjoyed the vanilla game despite its lackluster narrative.
I think one of these days I will have another run with Solasta but only after (if) they add the other missing classes. I want some bardic or some druidic fun, not a boring Sorcerer.

 

[jerfdr]

I`ve REALLY enjoyed the vanilla game despite its lackluster narrative.

Is the narrative as lackluster throughout the game as during its first hour? I played it for about an hour after the character creation and had to drop it due to completely lacking any interest to proceed. On the other hand, Kingmaker felt pretty generic and boring at first too, but ended up being my favourite CRPG since BG2. Should I give Solasta another chance (if the narrative is important for me)?

 

[NJClaw]

Should I give Solasta another chance

Yes.

(if the narrative is important for me)?

Sadly, no. The narrative is bland and uninteresting, it's there only because a videogame is expected to have one. There's only a single interesting point at the end, where they acknowledge certain D&D mechanics that are usually ignored and build the plot around them. However, that's not enough to redeem the rest of the story.

 

[Dr Schultz]

Is the narrative as lackluster throughout the game as during its first hour? I played it for about an hour after the character creation and had to drop it due to completely lacking any interest to proceed. On the other hand, Kingmaker felt pretty generic and boring at first too, but ended up being my favourite CRPG since BG2. Should I give Solasta another chance (if the narrative is important for me)?

Yes.

Sadly, no. The narrative is bland and uninteresting, it's there only because a videogame is expected to have one. There's only a single interesting point at the end, where they acknowledge certain D&D mechanics that are usually ignored and build the plot around them. However, that's not enough to redeem the rest of the story.

Sadly NJClaw is totally right. If the combat system and the encounter design aren't enough to keep you interested in Solasta, I suggest you to drop the ball. This isn't the right game for you.

 

[Dorateen]

I hope they increase the party size for this new tactical RPG they are working on.

 

[Dr Schultz]

I hope they increase the party size for this new tactical RPG they are working on.

I gotta be honest, I didn't feel the need of a bigger party during my playthrough.

This is mostly for 4 reasons:
1- The way skill checks and backgrounds work in 5E doesn't require you to have a dedicate rogue in the party.
2- The way healing works in 5E doesn't require you to have a dedicate healer in the party.
3- Encounters are already long enough with 4 characters and a proportional number of enemies.
4- There are a bunches of sub-classes in the game that basically allows you to multiclass (kinda).

In short, combat in Solasta has the right length/pacing as it is and during my run I never felt obliged to create a mandatory "tank, rogue, mage, wizard" party.
So, in the end, I think they made the right call limiting the party to 4 members (not counting summons, animal companions and various NPCs that follow you during certain quests).
What I really missed was more classes to experiment with...

 

[Dorateen]

I hope they increase the party size for this new tactical RPG they are working on.

I gotta be honest, I didn't feel the need of a bigger party during my playthrough.

This is mostly for 4 reasons:
1- The way skill checks and backgrounds work in 5E doesn't require you to have a dedicate rogue in the party.
2- The way healing works in 5E doesn't require you to have a dedicate healer in the party.
3- Encounters are already long enough with 4 characters and a proportional number of enemies.
4- There are a bunches of sub-classes in the game that basically allows you to multiclass (kinda).

In short, combat in Solasta has the right length/pacing as it is and during my run I never felt obliged to create a mandatory "tank, rogue, mage, wizard" party.
So, in the end, I think they made the right call limiting the party to 4 members (not counting summons, animal companions and various NPCs that follow you during certain quests).
What I really missed was more classes to experiment with...

I would not say it's mandatory, more of a personal preference for a style of play I enjoy. But consider one of the exceptions you mentioned: the various NPCs who join and fight with the party. Almost immediately, in Caer Lem, the game throws a pair of companions for a brief stint with the party. Then there is a fairly extended adventuring sequence with Kayathalea, which expanded the size to a five character team. In those moments, as well as fighting alongside other NPCs, I found those battles fun and it made me wish I could have just created the extra party members.

Anyway, I would like their new project to me more tactical, less scripted and cinematic.

 

[Dr Schultz]

I did enjoy the biggest battles in Solasta as well but, given how the campaign is structured, I'm glad that every battle wasn't that big.

While playing, my only fear was that, with 4 characters only, there wasn't enough room to diverge from the classic D&D party composition. But it was an immotivated fear in the end.

Ps: I agree that the cutscenes were a gigantic waste of money for this game. With a bunch of full body portraits a la Fire Emblem they could have saved lots of money/time/manpower while having a more aesthetically pleasing result.

 

[jac8awol]

Every time I see this Sorceror update thumbnail on Steam I do a double take to make sure it's not Adolf Hitler. The hair parting, the shadow that looks like his moustache, the clothing that looks vaguely like a nazi uniform with trenchcoat. Love it.