Salt And Sanctuary (2D "Souls" game)

[Inspectah]

I dunno, all this game does is make me wanna play demon souls again...
Boletaria here I come

 

[Ellef]

Hows the multiplayer?

 

[Slimu]

Hows the multiplayer?

I remember thay said it's local coop only

 

[---]

The coop is fun, but makes the game too easy. I suggest to play it alone.
Why this topic isn't in the JRPG section?

 

[Martius]

Because this game was not developed in Japan?

 

[GrainWetski]

Because this game was not developed in Japan?

So why is MGS in this section?

 

[Martius]

No idea. I thought jrpg section its pretty much for anything developed in Japan.

 

[Angthoron]

No no, you don't understand. This thread isn't in jRPG because it doesn't have that one important aspect that a jRPG is associated with.

Spoiler

It isn't crappy.

Spoiler

 

[Abu Antar]

So, is it any good?

Been trying it out today, it is pretty good. Very open, lots of worthwhile little secrets to look for, and it seems like it'll have good replay value with the different builds and the way the factions work. I recommend you don't start as a mage though- it's a pain in the ass trying to play one if you don't know where to get the spells/vendors, and they seem oddly stingy with the mage ones for some reason.

Mage is probably one of the most OP classes in the game. You will destroy stuff. The spells aren't that hard to find.

 

[---]

I'm playing with a paladin, I think that I will invest points into strength, willpower, wisdom (for some nice healing/buff spells) and a bit of endurance. Lots of fun, the level design especially is awesome, it's plenty of shortcuts and secret passages. I'm at the Village of Smiles, monsters are quite strong at this point, even with a tanky character like mine.

 

[Damned Registrations]

So, is it any good?

Been trying it out today, it is pretty good. Very open, lots of worthwhile little secrets to look for, and it seems like it'll have good replay value with the different builds and the way the factions work. I recommend you don't start as a mage though- it's a pain in the ass trying to play one if you don't know where to get the spells/vendors, and they seem oddly stingy with the mage ones for some reason.

Mage is probably one of the most OP classes in the game. You will destroy stuff. The spells aren't that hard to find.

Define 'destroy stuff'. I went with a 2 handed str build on a new char and have been one shotting pretty much everything I meet ever since. The range is huge, and even if I don't instagib something it's probably staggered, even bosses stagger every few hits. And I don't have to worry about my focus running out every 2 minutes.

I could see it becoming strong eventually (especially with some of the hybrid weapons that seem to scale really well off magic as backup for the faster bosses) but starting off with that shitty fire puff sucks balls, and the next couple spells you get aren't terribly impressive either by the time you get them. They do decent damage but only if you spam the shit out of them, which burns focus quickly and makes you a sitting duck. Mage is by far the most desperate for levels to make his shit work, you desperately need willpower, but you also need to unlock staves and spells, and quite possible another weapon type as well, AND you need to grab the energy vials.

Also, game is way way bigger than I was expecting for it's price and the level of detail. Fluff text everywhere, detailed levels with tons of secrets and alt routes, big enemy variety, and there's still a ton of different areas, often with more than one boss in each.

I also really like a lot of the mechanics. The thing with focus gimping your stamina is cool, poison build up works in a way that makes it an actual threat while still making antidotes effective, and the way to unlock new areas is structured well into tiers keeps the challenge fairly steady without railroading you too often. The weapon upgrade system is nice as well, and the way factions work is really cool, albeit a bit grindy in some cases (Fucking peasant ears way too rare. And bladewraith rib? Are you shitting me?)

 

[sullynathan]

even has the same UI as Dark Souls 3.

 

[---]

Also, game is way way bigger than I was expecting for it's price and the level of detail. Fluff text everywhere, detailed levels with tons of secrets and alt routes, big enemy variety, and there's still a ton of different areas, often with more than one boss in each.

Yeah, the map seems to be very big.

Spoiler

I like the fact that there isn't a map in game, getting lost in the areas and maybe finding some secrets in the meanwhile is pleasant enough

 

[sullynathan]

I beat the first boss but died three times. Yeah, I like the game. There is a lot of Dark Souls and even some Bloodborne here. It does the same stuff in which once you die, the enemy that killed you absorbs your soul. I like how if you never get killed, your soul transforms into a creature. The combat is pretty good too.

 

[Abu Antar]

Damned Registrations Magic is powerful as in you can clear the entire screen with some of the stuff you get and some spells just destroy anything in your way.

I'm doing a magic/two handed guy and it's great.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Cool. I've been finding more/powerful spells as I progress with my melee dude (including some potentially awesome cleric stuff), but can't use them obviously. I was just sick of having to fight bosses with a toothpick because I burned all my magic on the way there, and the very very early game (like, first two bosses or so) you can't even afford the shit you need to kill shit properly, it takes like 3 casts per enemy, dozens for the first boss.

I suspect some of the magic is going to be faction exclusive too, and initially thought there'd be some sort of mage faction to switch to. No dice yet though.

 

[Zewp]

Fuck, I'm having so much trouble vs the first boss. I did him easily enough on a Thief, but decided to reroll as paladin and he's just fucking me up. You need to dodge so precisely.

 

[Damned Registrations]

I highly recommend weapon buffs for fighting tough enemies. They help a ton. Also, for the first few bosses, projectile consmables (holy water, for example) can help a ton.

 

[---]

Paladin is probably the most easiest class to fight against him, imho. You have a big shield which can stop all of his attacks - just be careful with your stamina, since parrying consumes the blue bar - and the most powerful among the starting weapons. If you find difficult to fight against him, try with a hunter, who can't parry with his fucking whip
Anyway, among consumables, grenados are especially useful against him (you can find 5 bombs in the first map, even if you didn't start with a thief, who has 8 grenados in his starting inventory).

I restarted with a hunter, I didn't really like the fucking, banal paladin. His whip has a "Castelvani-esque" vibe that I really like in a game like this. Shame that he is so fucking fragile, but this aspect forces me in finding other ways to fight enemies which aren't "spam your attack on them repeatedly"

 

[Angthoron]

Fuck gravity in the Watching Wood is all I'll say. My greatest enemy so far.

 

[---]

I'm having way more troubles with those fucking venom slimes, at the moment.

 

[Angthoron]

Oh yeah, those things piss me off as well. But I'm trying to explore and look for secrets and there's that secret in the branches and I think I must've died like 5 times just on that spot.

 

[Zewp]

I went back and rolled a hunter and it's actually much easier than the paladin. I did the most damage to the Unspeakable Deep out of all the classes I've tried so far. Also got the Sodden Knight on my second try.

I don't know, I've played far past the sodden knight now and this game just feels like it relies on cheap enemies to be difficult. In Dark Souls I died a lot too, but I can't point to a lot of enemies that I thought were just plain cheap. Here every second encounter feels cheap. Projectile enemies especially feel odd because it seems like their projectiles go precisely where you just dodged to, at times. Like those three alchemists at the top of the forest who throw vials at you. I died there because a vial landed on my head as soon as I came out of my dodge. And then there are those venomous slimes, that can jump for your head and immediately after missing jump again. And they don't stop until they've poisoned you. It's almost impossible not to get poisoned if there's more than one. I got to the alchemist boss and rage quit after it spawned a second slime that proceeded to poison me.

I'll put this on the backburner for now and come back to it during the holidays when I have time to properly git gud. Right now I just don't have the patience required.

 

[GrainWetski]

Sodden Knight is extremely easy when you know his pattern. Are people really having trouble with him in second playthroughs?

You can shake off(killing them in the process) the slimes by mashing attack. I've never been poisoned by just one. Just use antidotes or the Cleanse prayer if you get poisoned, not like they're rare. You can also just attack them and they will get stunlocked.

The most dangerous part of The Mad Alchemist is towards the end when he spams the clouds that throw magical daggers or whatever. They can chain hit you to death in half a second if you don't move around. The slimes are inconsequential.

 

[Damned Registrations]

If you're having trouble with platforming, don't forget to try lowering your equip burden. Makes a big difference, in speed, jump height, and general mobility. Not just rolls. I've been running with an empty offhand I swap to when I move around and relatively light armour (the hunter set has a great stability:weight ratio) so I can get around quickly without much fuss and just pull out the weapon when it's clobbering time.