Wartales - turn-based mercenary band RPG by Northgard developer - now with Skelmar Invasion DLC

[ArchAngel]

This DLC sound just a lot of busywork for no real payoff. Also what is this shit about being able to access it from anywhere?!

 

[LizardWizard]

Never was. It's an alternative for people who find BB too punishing and don't like procedural shit. I enjoy it for what it is though, the game is addictive and some questlines are fun.

Not to mention, the combats are shit compared to BB

Yep unfortunately have to agree with you. However it has become even more financially successful than BB, which means games coming out are going to emulate this formula and not BB...

Really? It seems when casuals talk about this game they prop up the single player MMO gimmicks like fishing and 'open world' mechanics and not the combats. Not seeing much praise for the battles in this.

Ultimately, BB was all about the combats as the overworld map was just dressing

 

[MrBuzzKill]

Really? It seems when casuals talk about this game they prop up the single player MMO gimmicks like fishing and 'open world' mechanics and not the combats. Not seeing much praise for the battles in this.

Ultimately, BB was all about the combats as the overworld map was just dressing

Interesting, haven't thought about it like that before, but you're right. It does seem like they're trying to make some kind of well-rounded sim where "look, you can also do this!"

Devs of BB on the other hand, have excelled at intentionally NOT including features, even very often requested like player stronghold, that wouldn't align with their vision for the game

 

[Feyd Rautha]

Wartales Roadmap Update! [17/07/2024]

Attention mercenaries!

We are excited to share our plans for the latter part of 2024 with an updated roadmap.

The Pits
will be released in August (next month)! This combat-focused DLC will introduce diverse and strategic scenarios where your goal is to lead your troop to victory. Confront formidable foes in 25 battles across 5 unique locations, each with its own distinct theme.

In October,
Community Update 4
will bring free content to the base game, including a new champion and new places of interest. A drop-in/drop-out co-op functionality will also be implemented, along with balancing tweaks and bug fixes.

Stay tuned for more details!

 

[Fargus]

Can't be worse than their previous dlc. They really lost the plot with that one. And they still persist with coop shit it seems, what a waste of time. Neither coop nor tavern or any other sort of tycoon\sim bullshit is something this game needs more of.

I already played enough, time will tell if they can make things interesting and worth revisiting in future.

 

[Strange Fellow]

I tried this game for the refund-allowed period and it was the most boringest shit I've ever played. Maybe it does get better, I couldn't say, but I saw no hint of anything even mildly interesting.

 

[Infinitron]

The announcement trailer for this was hidden for some reason.




https://af.gog.com/game/wartales_the_pits?as=1649904300

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1527950/view/4248670073303793181

Wartales: The Pits - out now!

Trailer

The Baron invites you to the Blackmarket Pit fights. Triumph in these themed challenges to increase your Fame and earn exciting rewards!

• Fight in 5 Pits located in different regions: First in Arthes, then in Tiltrën, Vertruse, and Ludern in the order of your choice, and finally in Grinmeer to finish.
• Each Pit offers 5 battles with unique and thematic rules. You can complete them in any order you choose.
• Your companions will not die if they drop to 0 health points in a Pit battle. Instead, they will be knocked out. Additionally, they will be revived after each battle (healing any injuries and repairing their armor).
• Once you successfully complete a battle, you can attempt it in Brutal mode.
• Each successful battle will grant you Fame, allowing you to acquire various rewards.
• If your troop does not have enough companions to enter a battle, you can hire temporary Recruits.

The Pits

Arthes

You’ll confront some true brutes here. But that’s not all—hidden traps are everywhere, ready to catch you off guard: spikes shoot up from the ground, blades spring from the walls, and the iconic Iron Maiden stands ready to keep any mercenary at bay.

Tiltrën

You'll find yourself surrounded by the infected, rats, and your opponents, all encircled by toxic clouds. In this Pit, it’s no longer about who’s fighting whom, but about not being the first to be claimed by the plague.

Vertruse

Get ready for a spectacular and scorching experience! Standing still is not an option, as the blazing ground, explosions, and blasts of flames will make your ability to move crucial for survival.

Ludern

The elements are both your allies and your worst enemies. In Ludern, they've learned that metal conducts electricity, so be mindful of where you step. With powerful gusts of wind and lightning striking from above, there will be nowhere to hide.

Grinmeer

It's well known that you can only fight what you can see. In this case, good luck—because here, light is a rare resource. Your experience in ruins might just come in handy.

Content and features

• 25 hand-made battle maps
• 5 new helmets
• 9 new weapons
• 2 left-hand equipments
• 4 uniques legendary armor layers
• 4 new belts
• 3 new cooking recipes
• 3 new oil recipes
• 1 banner resolution
• 11 achievements

Fame

Prove yourself in the Pits to increase your Fame. Each first-time victory will boost your Fame across all blackmarkets. This Fame will grant you access to secret caches, jealously guarded by the local scoundrels. Conquer the Pits to earn exclusive and unique rewards!

Recruits
The black markets provide Recruits for adventurous warriors who lack the manpower to face the challenges of the Pits. For a few Krowns, these brave recruits will put their lives in your hands, hoping to make history and join you in becoming legends.

Brutal Mode

Each time you triumph in a Pit battle, you unlock the option to replay that battle in Brutal mode. In most cases, this means fighting with one less companion, while all enemies will have a +30% increase in Armor, Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Movement. Many will also gain additional positive status effects, and some combat skills and passives will become more challenging. Successfully completing a battle this way earns you extra Fame, bringing you closer to a total of 50, where the best rewards become accessible.

 

[Barbarian]

The game has potential. I'm not sure but all the updates and dlc might make this quite a large game in the end. For good or bad.

Haven't played it for over a year, so I don't know if they are just adding clutter to the game or actual worthwhile content(new enemies, strategies, and etc). Seemingly both?

 

[Fargus]

As it is with free updates the game is quite worth it and fun. The dlcs are not however, they are overpriced and crappy.

 

[Grunker]

Whenever I look at reviews or feature lists of this game it sounds like a dream, yet everyone on the Codex hates it :hmm:

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Whenever I look at reviews or feature lists of this game it sounds like a dream, yet everyone on the Codex hates it :hmm:

I can't say I had a bad time with this, but I do not see it having the emergent narrative entertainment of stuff like Mount and Blade or Battle bros.
It has nowhere near the weapon variety, and factions are by and large restricted to picking one of two competing factions per region. Maybe the combat gets harder in the later areas but I do not see it getting better.

 

[lycanwarrior]

Fun game, but has WAY too many battles. Anybody complaining about Owlcat or AAA games being too "repetitive" haven't seen anything yet lol.

 

[Fedora Master]

"KEEP THIS CHARACTER ALIVE!"
*character immediately runs into a lightning strike*

 

[Fargus]

You can make ally characters you can't control in battle stand their ground. There is a toggle for that.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

Whenever I look at reviews or feature lists of this game it sounds like a dream, yet everyone on the Codex hates it :hmm:

Game looked promising with tons of post-launch support planned, but they're just adding stuff for the sake of checking boxes. Typical cargo cult design, there's no coherent vision behind any of it.

 

[Lhynn]

Whenever I look at reviews or feature lists of this game it sounds like a dream, yet everyone on the Codex hates it :hmm:

Has too many women fighting (One would be too many).

 

[Fedora Master]

It feels extremely slow to get off the ground with a party.

 

[Fedora Master]

After playing some more, this feels oddly unsatisfying. You're always doing SOMETHING but eventually all the mechanics just become tiresome.

 

[Barbarian]

After playing some more, this feels oddly unsatisfying. You're always doing SOMETHING but eventually all the mechanics just become tiresome.

When I played it about a year ago it was a lot of grindy fun - to build camp gear, level up your guys, loot and forge weapons and armor, etc.

But yeah every single bit slowly became tiresome. There was no overarching purpose or goal. The region quests were banal and once you finished them that was it.

 

[jackofshadows]

This seems as one of those games which is great on paper but inadequately dull in practice.

 

[Mortmal]

After playing some more, this feels oddly unsatisfying. You're always doing SOMETHING but eventually all the mechanics just become tiresome.

Exploring was also punishing, as you had to pay your mercenaries' rent far too often, and the way to pay them was by engaging in repetitive, boring combat with no challenge that you had already done before.

 

[Infinitron]

So I heard you wanted a bigger DLC:





https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1527950/view/4474984202298720668

The Skelmar Invasion: Reveal and Release Date
Greetings Mercenaries,

We are delighted to reveal that our second major expansion for Wartales, The Skelmar Invasion, is set to release on December 10th.

Ormance, an Edoran county, is a war-torn land designed to immerse you in a struggle for liberation, as you navigate a landscape occupied by the fearsome Skelmars. With its fortified villages, imposing strongholds, and treacherous countryside, Ormance offers a grand stage for you to shape the fate of Edoran itself!

We will showcase some of the new content and features, like the Skelmar faction, the Liberation mechanics and its siege battles! The new crossbowman class is also coming for free and for all Wartales players.
Stay tuned for our upcoming Steam blog posts for more details during the run up to the release day.

Don’t forget to join our Wartales community on Discord, Reddit, as well as follow us on BlueSky, Twitter and Facebook to stay up to date with the latest news.

- Shiro Games

 

[Fargus]

So far looks like this could be their least shitty dlc. Other than broken ass overpriced Pirates of Belerion, the rest was just low effort cash grab. But they could have picked something more original than "totally not viking faction" invading shit. Looks like their imagination is only enough for vikings and pirates, rehashing and adding mechanics you wouldn't even need in such game (tavern management lol). And french people without imagination are like porn actors without genitals.

 

[MrBuzzKill]

Death by a thousand turns

 

[Modron]

Death by a thousand turns

Probably just do what AoD with that border fort defense, have you fight waves at a time while animated combat on the periphery sets the mood.