KickStarter Lords of Xulima

[I'm Big Into Anal]

its all subjective of course

currently 171 hours in

rolled three partys so far; am happy with my current one plus i restarted on old school veteran

im addicted i guess

lovely looking game and progression through levelling is very balanced and battles so far seem to be the right side of fun

loving the game

 

[V_K]

So I've seen a variety of opinions over the last 20 pages. What do people think now with some benefit of time passed?

I wasn't a blobber fan back in the day. I enjoyed M&MX, Wiz8 is cool, but I do find that when I go back to older M&Ms, etc. it just gets too grindy and I feel like that takes over the game experience. I imagine that's similarly the case for this, though I'm sure I"ll enjoy the first 10-20 hours?

You can play on normal and not grind at all, the challenge level then will be roughly the same as on harder difficulties with grinding. Gaulen, the main char, has a skill that allows to escape every single random combat at the cost of some mana. So as long as you have enough, you can just skip them. There's also the run option, but it has a chance of backfiring.
There are also a lot of non-combat challenges - puzzles, traps, environmental hazards. I'd say that on normal it strikes a better balance of combat to non-combat content than most games out there.
On the downside there are no unique items (though generic ones are fairly competently designed), very little story/npc interactions and writing is really bad. Also, HP bloat after a while (around 2/3 of the way) becomes unbearable. Encounter variety could be better too, although you do meet some nice enemies here and there.

 

[roshan]

Nope. I am wondering whether to buy it, hence the question. I'm OK with a grindy combat simulator if the encounter design, loot scale and character development is up to scratch. I thought M&MX was just good enough on those points to stay fun for its own length, same with King's Bounty games, so I enjoyed them.

Most of the naysayers seem to be complete bullshitters. Jagged Jimmy is complaining about lock and trap minigames but those are just alternative options, actually rogues have skills to automatically pick locks and disarm traps, the main character Gaulen also has access to those skills but at a higher purchasing cost. You can also choose to break locks physically but this takes time and therefore consumes resources. The minigames are well done, but completely optional and only there for those that don't want to invest in the skills, or to provide some variety to the gameplay.

Darth Roxor barely even played the game before being completely ass raped and bitching about it a few pages back in this thread.

 

[Shadenuat]

My first impression is that combat feels waaay too simple and monotonous. My party is Soldier, Barb, Thief, Cleric & Mage. I think game lacks decent visuals and animations to make combat like this work. It is about as simple as M&M Xeen no? Map reminds me of King's Bounty or Expeditions Conquistadore, but the latter had hexes and party banter...
Also party creation has nothing really fun about it, UI could use larger fonts and there's not much documentation on anything.

 

[TigerKnee]

I actually have the lockpicking and trap mini-games compared to a lot of other RPGs.

Though the one in Betrayal in Krondor was the best IMO.

 

[Infinitron]

GameBanshee review: http://www.gamebanshee.com/reviews/114988-lords-of-xulima-review/all-pages.html

Conclusion

I don't want to make this sound like an insult, but LOX is an okay game. It's a budget title that isn't trying to do anything too out of the box, and it mostly hits its marks. LOX is definitely a grindy game, but as long as you enjoy building up a party and fighting monsters -- and you don't require much in the way of quests or story to encourage you along -- then it can give you dozens of hours of entertainment. LOX is worth a flier at its price.

 

[Cyberarmy]

That review is spot on.

PS. I really want to see less " HAHAHAHA" in dialogs next game.

 

[SarcasticUndertones]

well I finished it.

I'm not going to spoil anything... but I've never played a game that made me feel like a dick or that I had wasted my time, before.

That ending (obviously that way because of a 'supposed' sequel, though I won't be buying it) is just a kick in the balls.

 

[miles teg]

Even if there is no proper ending, I don't think I will complain since the story it's pretty average at best.

I'm enjoying the lore though.

 

[SarcasticUndertones]

No, there IS a 'proper' ending, it's just fucking terrible.

I have to enjoy the story before I can get in to the lore, because if not then it's just a bunch of made up details referring to something I have no interest in.

 

[Cyberarmy]

Writing, dialogs and story shoul've given you some hints about taking them serious. Especially the amout of "HAHAHAHA"s and prince dialogs.

 

[SarcasticUndertones]

Writing, dialogs and story shoul've given you some hints about taking them serious. Especially the amout of "HAHAHAHA"s and prince dialogs.

It was just about passable (meaning not entirely shit) until the ending... that shit came out of left field

 

[ghostdog]

So I'm starting the game with this party:

Front Row:
Arcane Soldier : sword
Gaulen :
Thief : sword

Back Row:
Mage: polearms
Bard: polearms
Cleric: polearms

Anything specific I should have in mind ? Arcane soldier has been improved after the latest patches, hasn't he? Any general tips ?

 

[Snorkack]

Bleeding sucks compared to wounding/stunning. you might want to send either AS or thief to the backline with a bow, and you replace someone for an axe soldier/barbarian.

 

[ghostdog]

Really ? I thought that especially Thief with shurikens + bleeding was OP.

 

[SarcasticUndertones]

Bleeding sucks compared to wounding/stunning. you might want to send either AS or thief to the backline with a bow, and you replace someone for an axe soldier/barbarian.

Stun is mostly instant win.. My final boss didn't even get a combat round in.

 

[Snorkack]

Really ? I thought that especially Thief with shurikens + bleeding was OP.

Yes, shuriken are OP indeed because they cause massive bleed stacks. But the regular weapons' bleed stacks take far too long to stack up to a noticeable level. you are better of incapitating enemies with wound stacks or chain stuns.

 

[Cyberarmy]

2 swords and 3 polearms a bit overkill, give someone on from axes for wounds and if anyone can use maces go for it too (not sure if thief or AS can use them) and give bard a bow.
Shrukiens are more than enough for bleed effects, just max them asap.

 

[ghostdog]

What does the codex think about the Learning skill ? The guide in steam forums says it's pretty much mandatory for all characters, but isn't it better for skill-heavy characters, like Gaulen or a bard or a thief, to skip it and have increased skillpoints instead ?

 

[SarcasticUndertones]

What does the codex think about the Learning skill ? The guide in steam forums says it's pretty much mandatory for all characters, but isn't it better for skill-heavy characters, like Gaulen or a bard or a thief, to skip it and have increased skillpoints instead ?

it's certainly not mandatory. Only one of my chars had it, the thief, and although she had a few more levels than the rest by the end, she was still crap at combat (until I gave her a 2-handed claymore and started using quick strike, then she because a culinard, but that wasn't due to the levels.)

 

[Cyberarmy]

What does the codex think about the Learning skill ? The guide in steam forums says it's pretty much mandatory for all characters, but isn't it better for skill-heavy characters, like Gaulen or a bard or a thief, to skip it and have increased skillpoints instead ?

Not mandatory at all.Just take one level of it if you want a minor boost, you can use +XP gear if you really want to be ahead.
Skill points wasted on it can be used on other useful skills which is better than a few HP/PP.

 

[valcik]

Skill points wasted on it can be used on other useful skills which is better than a few HP/PP.

I'm not so sure about this. Don't forget the character's attributes raised on each level-up! 10-12 points in Speed makes a huge difference, for instance.

 

[Snorkack]

What does the codex think about the Learning skill ? The guide in steam forums says it's pretty much mandatory for all characters, but isn't it better for skill-heavy characters, like Gaulen or a bard or a thief, to skip it and have increased skillpoints instead ?

Unless you're going for Hiscore, you can skip on learning. Especially for skill-starved guys like gaulen or the cleric.

 

[Cyberarmy]

Game becomes easy after a point (30 for me thanks to me Banshee Bard) so it does not really that matter.
And that speed won't matter if your characters keep on missing because of low weapon skills.

 

[Jaesun]

What does the codex think about the Learning skill ? The guide in steam forums says it's pretty much mandatory for all characters, but isn't it better for skill-heavy characters, like Gaulen or a bard or a thief, to skip it and have increased skillpoints instead ?

If you are playing on normal, ignore it. If you are playing the higher difficulty then use it.

Front Row:
Arcane Soldier : sword
Gaulen :
Thief : sword

Back Row:
Mage: polearms
Bard: polearms
Cleric: polearms

This party will be fine. Personally I'd replace the Arcane Solder with Paladin, but that is just me. Also give all your frontline warriors 2 handed weapons, as soon as you can find some. There is NO reason to use single handed melee weapons+shield at all. For me I did: Paladin - Mace, Thief - Sword and Gaulen - Axe. Worked just fine for me.