ELEX ELEX II - Jax is back

[rusty_shackleford]

I can't recommend to this anyone, even as a diehard PB games fan. This is just like Gothic 3 again but even more soulles than it...

Bruh, you need to replay Gothic 3

good point, gothic 3 modded is significantly better

 

[Konjad]

I can't recommend to this anyone, even as a diehard PB games fan. This is just like Gothic 3 again but even more soulles than it...

Bruh, you need to replay Gothic 3

good point, gothic 3 modded is significantly better

Still one of the worst games ever made

 

[rusty_shackleford]

I can't recommend to this anyone, even as a diehard PB games fan. This is just like Gothic 3 again but even more soulles than it...

Bruh, you need to replay Gothic 3

good point, gothic 3 modded is significantly better

Still one of the worst games ever made

yes elex 2 is

 

[JBro]

I am still in early/mid, but game is ok, I am having fun.

lol I thought the same thing.

Keep playing.

 

[BruceVC]

So Im going to be playing ELEX 2 next, ELEX 1 was my favorite PB game of all so Im looking forward to EL2. I realise there are negative views of the game but there are also positive ones so Im looking forward to my next RPG journey

I have found this really detailed and combined mod on Nexus, it seems to cover most shortfalls of the unmodded game. Also let me know if there are other mods I should use

https://www.nexusmods.com/elex2/mods/66

 

[GhostCow]

Have they seriously still not released the dx12 update? How long has it been since that bad patch where they overwrote the normal install with the dx12 beta? Like a month?

 

[Agame]

I am still in early/mid, but game is ok, I am having fun.

lol I thought the same thing.

Keep playing.

Ok. I see what y'all mean now.

I still think its worth playing though.

 

[BruceVC]

So Im going to be playing ELEX 2 next, ELEX 1 was my favorite PB game of all so Im looking forward to EL2. I realise there are negative views of the game but there are also positive ones so Im looking forward to my next RPG journey

I have found this really detailed and combined mod on Nexus, it seems to cover most shortfalls of the unmodded game. Also let me know if there are other mods I should use

https://www.nexusmods.com/elex2/mods/66

Im 45 hours into Elex 2 and I wanted to share my experiences which are positive

But firstly dont use the mod link I suggested, I played for about 3 hours and I realized these mods end up eroding and destroying most of what makes PB games worthwhile and fun. They included

• companions can join straight away which makes combat too easy
• NPC that normally cant become companions can become companions
• you get the ability to automatically see every single item or monster like a permanent sunglass impact. It makes exploration pointless because you have no surprises because you see everything
• trainers can offer all training which means no more fun in finding specific trainers

In summary DONT use that mod link because it nerfs the game to an absolutely boring level

So my new game has been entertaining for several reasons that include

• no DirectX 12 bugs, this seems to have been addressed
• you still have the fun of random exploring and getting annihilated by strong enemies
• finding trainers is worthwhile
• I like the crafting system and how you need 3x weapons to upgrade
• I like the different factions and how you interact with them

And some criticisms

• the shotgun is far too overpowered, I stopped using it because combat becomes meh if you can defeat supposedly tough enemies easily
• there are a few cringe quests and dialogues about harassment of women and similar things, I guess PB is making up for not having any female characters in earlier Gothic games
• the overall narrative is not that compelling but its still fun

In summary, so far its been a good experience. Not excellent but fun

 

[BruceVC]

I completed ELEX 2 after 80 Steam hours

I enjoyed it, its not fantastic or as good as ELEX 1 but its a good open-world PB RPG design experience.

I give it a 65\100 on the globally respected " BruceVC game rating system ". Some general comments

• the overall narrative is close to meh but its gets better when you discover who the Skyands are
• I enjoyed the companions and there side-quests, Dex was annoying at times with some of his questions. There should have been a dialogue option with " put Dex over your knee and give him a proper spanking "
• I thought the level and attribute advancement was well done and meaningful
• I liked the crafting and variety of weapons and how they do noticeably influence combat
• The open map is always appreciated for exploration and finding hidden points of interest
• The various factions were interesting, I joined the Berserkers

So overall its worth playing and I hope they make another one because there are several unanswered questions like " when will the singularity arrive " ?

 

[ShaggyMoose]

For those who haven't played the original, its currently 80% off on Fanatical which is the lowest price I have seen.

https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/elex

 

[Rincewind]

Hmm, searching for "interlocking" in this thread yields not much...

So does it have complex interlocking quests and C&C like the first game or not? For me those were one of the main highlights of the first game.

 

[BruceVC]

Hmm, searching for "interlocking" in this thread yields not much...

So does it have complex interlocking quests and C&C like the first game or not? For me those were one of the main highlights of the first game.

I would say yes it does to a certain degree, for example you need to complete certain quests to progress further and then if you join faction A you are limited to certain things....isnt that a form a C&C?

But its more open world with quests where you can do any factions quests until you join a faction

 

[cvv]

Ok, finally finished, did everything, join Zerkers, 62 hours in total.

As I suspected, all the reservations some of our prestigious residents voiced are a bunk. The game is in no way, shape or form dramatically different/worse than Elex 1. In fact the biggest problem for me was the feeling I'm playing the exact same PB game I've been playing for the last 15 years.

I've never thought I'd say this...but I think I'm getting tired of the PB formula. You have a few companions you can recruit or run around with, you can join a faction, get their armor, rise in their ranks. There are learning points and teachers and and a tedious, boring grindfest of an endgame. Twenty goddamn years of PB cooking different soups based on the same fucking recipe.

Elex 2 is just more of Elex 1. The combat is a bit different, you have parries and ripostes now instead of combos, and you can shove your sword in mobs' asses from behind for astronomical damage which I utilized liberally. You can float and swing your sword now too. I guess it was a bit better than E1 combat? Dunno. After becoming a souls-likes fiend PB combat doesn't impress me anymore.

Graphix, sound, music....everything felt a bit worse than the first game. As if PB themselves are bored with their shit too and simply don't give as many fucks anymore as they used to. So yeah, everything is a tiny bit uglier but it's not like Elex 1 could've won any art design awards in the first place.

The best thing about the game was the new jetpack, more specifically the fact you can now jet forward. It might even be one of my favourite features in any RPG ever. I'd fuck it and marry it if I could.

The writing and story is the PB standard - very German, very functional, something any of us could write with a little editorial help. But we don't play PB games for the story and writing, do we.

Eh...so I'm not sure imma buy whatever PB is cooking next. And I've always considered myself a hardcore PB fan. But the standard PB fare just doesn't cut it anymore.

I think Kingdom Come showed the future of this style of RPG - real writing with real characters and real quests and real crime system and real NPC routines. I didn't like the KCD combat and there are no factions there but everything else is just miles above PB now. Pankratz and company got stuck in the past and they seem to be fresh out of fucks to give about it.

Embracer should let Pankratz go pursue his rock star career fulltime and hand over the Gothic IP to Warhorse. That's the only way to save it.

 

[Alienman]

I think Kingdom Come showed the future of this style of RPG

God, I hope not. A static goody-two-shoes main character that makes all that cool stuff like NPC routines, and crime void, because narrative wise Henry would never murder anyone in their sleep. And in classic Vavra fashion, the story is set in stone, which made the open world pointless, at least to me.

 

[cvv]

I think Kingdom Come showed the future of this style of RPG

God, I hope not. A static goody-two-shoes main character that makes all that cool stuff like NPC routines, and crime void, because narrative wise Henry would never murder anyone in their sleep. And in classic Vavra fashion, the story is set in stone, which made the open world pointless, at least to me.

Yeah that's not what I was talking about, like, at all.

 

[Nikanuur]

Ok, finally finished, did everything, join Zerkers, 62 hours in total.

As I suspected, all the reservations some of our prestigious residents voiced are a bunk. The game is in no way, shape or form dramatically different/worse than Elex 1. In fact the biggest problem for me was the feeling I'm playing the exact same PB game I've been playing for the last 15 years.

I've never thought I'd say this...but I think I'm getting tired of the PB formula. You have a few companions you can recruit or run around with, you can join a faction, get their armor, rise in their ranks. There are learning points and teachers and and a tedious, boring grindfest of an endgame. Twenty goddamn years of PB cooking different soups based on the same fucking recipe.

Elex 2 is just more of Elex 1. The combat is a bit different, you have parries and ripostes now instead of combos, and you can shove your sword in mobs' asses from behind for astronomical damage which I utilized liberally. You can float and swing your sword now too. I guess it was a bit better than E1 combat? Dunno. After becoming a souls-likes fiend PB combat doesn't impress me anymore.

Graphix, sound, music....everything felt a bit worse than the first game. As if PB themselves are bored with their shit too and simply don't give as many fucks anymore as they used to. So yeah, everything is a tiny bit uglier but it's not like Elex 1 could've won any art design awards in the first place.

The best thing about the game was the new jetpack, more specifically the fact you can now jet forward. It might even be one of my favourite features in any RPG ever. I'd fuck it and marry it if I could.

The writing and story is the PB standard - very German, very functional, something any of us could write with a little editorial help. But we don't play PB games for the story and writing, do we.

Eh...so I'm not sure imma buy whatever PB is cooking next. And I've always considered myself a hardcore PB fan. But the standard PB fare just doesn't cut it anymore.

I think Kingdom Come showed the future of this style of RPG - real writing with real characters and real quests and real crime system and real NPC routines. I didn't like the KCD combat and there are no factions there but everything else is just miles above PB now. Pankratz and company got stuck in the past and they seem to be fresh out of fucks to give about it.

Embracer should let Pankratz go pursue his rock star career fulltime and hand over the Gothic IP to Warhorse. That's the only way to save it.

I don't agree with some parts, but then again, I respect such a collected way of expressing an opinion. Also, gz on finishing! Let's have a tea together over Elex V one day--finally a GoTY material combat in a game where Jax is his own father and the precursor to the Alien race became his fourth wife. Together with the Dex's non-material consciousness they unify all 5 alien fractions on all 3 planets, and finally, the universe can rest in piece peace for a while.

 

[Alienman]

I think Kingdom Come showed the future of this style of RPG

God, I hope not. A static goody-two-shoes main character that makes all that cool stuff like NPC routines, and crime void, because narrative wise Henry would never murder anyone in their sleep. And in classic Vavra fashion, the story is set in stone, which made the open world pointless, at least to me.

Yeah that's not what I was talking about, like, at all.

Then what did you mean?

 

[Darth Roxor]

Combat is "a bit" different, my ass. It's completely different and a whole lot worse. Parrying is unreliable due to stupid enemy animations. Basing the combat on stamina draining is cute as hell when you then fill up the bestiary with shit that is immune to stamina damage or have humanoids be able to keep bashing you even when their stamina reaches zero. That enemy humanoid enemies have different attack animations to Jax is completely retarded too. If you don't want to play the riposte roulette you are left mashing LMB until you win. Enemies with guns can just keep shooting you in the face at point blank while you're powerless to do anything against it. There's no special ammo or firing modes. Enemies generally don't play by the rules, you can pickpocket some guy's power sword and he'll immediately draw a lead pipe and clobber you to death with the same damage as with the sword. The combat is distilled garbo with nothing positive that could be said about it other than that aerial melee is surprisingly non-clunky for what you'd expect it to be.

"Elex 2 is just more of Elex 1" yeah how about no. They absolutely dropped the ball on exploration here and forgot to fill all the places they recycled with actual cool shit. Instead you just keep walking around empty spaces strewn with crates holding lettuce and teddy bears. In Elex 1 finding a random house in the wilderness felt exciting, here they couldn't even be bothered to MAKE THE DERELICT CONVERTERS INTERESTING, I MEAN WHAT THE FUCK EVEN?

Elex 2 is just an utter shit game. No amount of 'zumg kodex konsensus edgy wrong agayn' reality bending is ever going to change this.

 

[lukaszek]

The best thing about the game was the new jetpack, more specifically the fact you can now jet forward. It might even be one of my favourite features in any RPG ever. I'd fuck it and marry it if I could.

in elex1 they added jetpack because it was cheaper than fixing bugs around player being stuck in things
in elex2 they just did it properly

 

[Cyberarmy]

Parrying is unreliable due to stupid enemy animations.

Actually I played spamming parry most of the time in early-mid game and it kinda felt good, I usually suck at parrying in games. Parry window is huge, its spammable and you can parry nearly all of the attacks types.
Or charge attack followed by a power attack but that one is tricky to pull of.
Backstab is usefull against giants.

 

[adddeed]

I think Kingdom Come showed the future of this style of RPG

Kingdom Come bored me. I appreciate it as an effort and looks like a lot of passion went into making it but i dropped it after around 12 hours or so.

 

[Grunker]

In Elex 1 finding a random house in the wilderness felt exciting

u have told many evil lies about elex but this one is certainly the most vile, the most foul

 

[Nikanuur]

Combat is "a bit" different, my ass. It's completely different and a whole lot worse. Parrying is unreliable due to stupid enemy animations. Basing the combat on stamina draining is cute as hell when you then fill up the bestiary with shit that is immune to stamina damage or have humanoids be able to keep bashing you even when their stamina reaches zero. That enemy humanoid enemies have different attack animations to Jax is completely retarded too. If you don't want to play the riposte roulette you are left mashing LMB until you win. Enemies with guns can just keep shooting you in the face at point blank while you're powerless to do anything against it. There's no special ammo or firing modes. Enemies generally don't play by the rules, you can pickpocket some guy's power sword and he'll immediately draw a lead pipe and clobber you to death with the same damage as with the sword. The combat is distilled garbo with nothing positive that could be said about it other than that aerial melee is surprisingly non-clunky for what you'd expect it to be.

"Elex 2 is just more of Elex 1" yeah how about no. They absolutely dropped the ball on exploration here and forgot to fill all the places they recycled with actual cool shit. Instead you just keep walking around empty spaces strewn with crates holding lettuce and teddy bears. In Elex 1 finding a random house in the wilderness felt exciting, here they couldn't even be bothered to MAKE THE DERELICT CONVERTERS INTERESTING, I MEAN WHAT THE FUCK EVEN?

Elex 2 is just an utter shit game. No amount of 'zumg kodex konsensus edgy wrong agayn' reality bending is ever going to change this.

I disagree and believe this is highly subjective and exaggerated. Exploration is just fine; not once have I seen things like "a skeleton in a crevice behind that strange hill with a message that leads to an item." The best unique weapons are hidden at places that are notoriously hard to clear/conquer yet often inviting--such as the highest skyscraper near Morkons; combat is a whole lot better and much more responsive than it used to be; and finally, I give you that there are some stupid designs / infringing features, such as that thing with enemees still bashing without stamina, but in general, I find it a lack of character to not be able to bear with some poor features for the sake of the whole. The former judgement feels like just another bitter for the sake of the status subjectiveness transformed into some nonsensical look-how-mighty-my-ideas-are wannabe objectivity.

 

[lukaszek]

The best unique weapons are hidden at places that are notoriously hard to clear/conquer yet often inviting

exactly, you learn early that every tall structure houses an item to be found. Much exploration, very rewarding


anyway i rate all those efforts to bait dariusz into writing review quite low

 

[Nikanuur]

The best unique weapons are hidden at places that are notoriously hard to clear/conquer yet often inviting

exactly, you learn early that every tall structure houses an item to be found. Much exploration, very rewarding


anyway i rate all those efforts to bait dariusz into writing review quite low

Strong words, if somewhat stereotypically unimaginative.