1,000 Gamerscore; I guess I feel worthy enough to write a re

[Mykrowave]

So, first and foremost - with 130 hours played on my cyber defender - I thoroughly enjoy the game and would recommend it to anyone. I won't go into all the technical faults or the praises that are floating around in other reviews. Instead, I'll offer some of my suggestions for DLC / sequel that would take this game to the next level.

1) I'll start with my biggest gripe. LOOT. Sure there are a lot of different loot types and armor models, but at no time did I feel like I was collecting a set. Because there are no set bonuses (aside from the RED set which I will cover in a sec). I can throw any random orange pieces together. I don't like the fact that the stats on Orange items are Randomly generated. I think there needs to be set bonuses on some purple sets and ALL of the orange sets. Half of the glory of collecting a set is for the bonus you get when you complete it. I like the epic's set bonuses of adding to the skill tree, but i'd like to see all different kinds of set bonuses - status effects, +%'s, etc. As it stands now, we really only have ONE set to collect - the RED one.....

2) Ah the RED epic suit. YES finally got my last piece. WOOT achievement! Ok, now I'm going to let it sit in my inventory because frankly - and no offense here - it sucks. I killed faster, stayed alive longer, and just plain ol' was "mo bettah" with the suit I built while trying to get the red suit. First of all, it has stats on it (atleast for my cyber def) that don't really help at all. The only benefit it provides is the +skill points. Second of all, if you decide you like it and want to try to make use of the stats it gives, it forces you down one particular branch of your skill tree. Ouch. I rolled a defender because I wanted to look cool with a hammer and shield, but since I'm cyber my set requires a 2handed sword. So, with all that said, I felt and still feel much more happy when an Aesir piece drops. You know the ones that have one red rune already equipped. I'll be collecting those and red runes to make a super set. Maybe that was the intention.

So to wrap up 1 and 2 : More set bonuses and more sets that allow me to be any branch in the skill tree I want.

3) I love all the different stats and the way caps are handled. I just wish I could see the end result from the equip screen instead of having to back out and go to the stats screen.

4) Battlecries are awesome. I wish I got a notification(sound) when it's duration finished. I also wish I had some kind of indicator to see if my co-op buddy's battlecry was active. Also sidenote on stats - Check on Armor value. In my tests I'm showing no more damage mitigation when I go past 2,000.

5) I absolutley LOVE LOVE LOVE arenas. It's a GRAND concept. It's to the point now where they are easy mode but I still get the rush when there's a timer on em. Personally, I think all of em should have timers. Furthermore on the Arenas, as much as I like them, it doesnt seem like they reward any better loot than a standard obelisk I'd find going through the level. Maybe there is a higher percentage to get good stuff out of em, but I can't really tell. Seems to me they should be very, very difficult AND very very rewarding.

6) Charms and their quests are Awesome. No suggestions here except - Gimmie some more? :)

7) LAST but certainly not least - I beg and plea for there NOT to be buyable equipment that just shows up in the downloadable content section. If we are going to have to purchase it with MS points, fine - but please make me have to find it. That's the point of a Hunter / gatherer game, no?

Thanks for reading. If I didnt state it clearly enough, I love the game.

[Corey Waits]

Furthermore on the Arenas, as much as I like them, it doesnt seem like they reward any better loot than a standard obelisk I'd find going through the level. Maybe there is a higher percentage to get good stuff out of em, but I can't really tell. Seems to me they should be very, very difficult AND very very rewarding.


Well, the Arenas in the Ice Forest were giving me and my co-op buddy some awesome bits and pieces, much better than the obelisks that just sit around the level.

The HOH Arenas though seem to give you the dragon armour no matter what level you are, which is a bit disappointing.

So yeah, if you weren't getting any great stuff, maybe it was just some RNG hate.

[Khanbei]

I completely agree with everything Mykrowave mentioned. To start off, I spent my time collecting my Elite armor and was very dissatisfied. As he stated not only does orange armor and the Aesir set allow you to counter balance your character flaws by adding health/defense to say a berserker but imo I’ve made way cooler looking mixtures of pieces that blow away the epic armor set. I just wish it had a little more flash and customization to it. In the DLC I would absolutely LOVE to see a new set if not multiple sets of class specific armor that looks off the wall with 5 empty rune slots. That to me would truly be epic and worth me playing over 110 hrs to collect. I just feel like I spent the time farming for mediocre gear that just doesn’t look like much time was spent on its appearance. Second, I am very, very big on customization and love the fact that you can dye your armor like in EQ. I just wish that it had a little more to it, maybe like a small version of paint shop like on windows where you can completely customize the color of your armor down to the little cracks and designs in them. On that note I don't understand why you can custom color the epic armor and not the epic weapons. Lastly I would be so psyched to see a much broader array of weapons in the future DLC, I just wasn’t blown away by any of the weapons in the game (appearance and selection wise). I felt like I was picking up the same weapons and armor over and over only differently leveled throughout the game. These have been my only disagreements with the game. Overall I think this game has been worth the wait and am very pleased that I decided to go out and buy it, and plan to play it many times over.

[theraytrain]

Armor bonuses would be sweet. I actually try to run with whole sets before I upgrade and it sucks that some hodge-podge looking guy is better than I am when I have a set, no matter what color level it is. And how about this for a novel concept... Why not have class dependant armor/weapons? I know we have alignment based but being able to use Defender armor on a Zerker is just flat out dumb. Lets limit stuff a little, that way the classes actually feel, look and play differently from one another.

Just a possibilty for DLC, SK

[Mykrowave]

So yeah, if you weren't getting any great stuff, maybe it was just some RNG hate.


I guess "great" is a relative term. 1-49 sure, for the most part the arena obelisks were more rewarding (especially at earlier levels). But at level 50, I don't consider 3 orange items that have random stats on it "great." We get the same pieces going through the level normally. In fact if it weren't for the Aesir pieces I'd have my salvage set to orange and hunt for red runes to put in an Altruist set which unfortunately for my cyb def is the only suit to have 4 empty rune slots. Hehe my choice though - I choose cyber.

I also wanted to add a couple more notes as I reread my post and it came off negative. I don't mean to be negative. I absolutely love the combat. [SideNote- have you guys tried to play SW: Force Unleashed Demo? I was eagerly anticipating that game as I am a whore (yes whore) for anything and everything that contains a lightsaber. Playing the demo, It felt slow - real slow. I can't help but feel Too human ruined that game for me. Thanks SK!]

I just wanted to convey my concerns of the loot system. Let's face it - sure the story's pretty cool, but the story does not contribute to replayability - everyone is playing it for the loot. Look at most of the topic titles in any forum. Most are on the subject of loot. Not "Are Baldur and Freya gonna get it on!?" If I had my way the loot structure would look something like this...

---ALL POST level 50 --------
1) Green,Blue,Purple
-common stuff, randomly generated stats, no set bonuses, pretty much what most people wear while looking for Oranges
2) Orange
-uncommon stuff, not randomly generated stats, good set bonuses(+%'s, small chance on hits, etc), static stats (orange runes) with each set having stats that make sense for a certain tree line (and not overcap), you can mix and match orange pieces but lose out on set bonuses, human alignment of course would have some empty rune slots for more customization. Completion of an Orange set should be about what the red set is now. Furthermore you can try to complete other Orange sets. Orange pieces would look cool. If you get an orange on a complete level run - it was a good run.
3) Red
-super uncommon, if you find a Red piece you are truly dedicated. Red pieces come equipped with red runes and each rune can be replaced by whatever rune you want as many times as you want. Set bonuses on red suits should be literally outrageous. I'm talking chance on hit ruiner goes off, chance on getting hit absorb all damage for 1 min, etc. Red pieces / weapons would look so outrageously huge and epic, if you had one Odin himself would be jealous. Completion of a red set would be only for the dedicated. We're talking hundreds of hours of gameplay time. Just about the time you get going on a red outfit, DLC comes out with more orange sets and more red pieces.

4) Black
-So uncommon that if you completed a Black set, a SK developer would have to come to your house and cook you dinner. I would prefer the guys/gals who came up with the idea to put assault goblins on those ledges in helheim so I can stand on my kitchen counter and throw darts at them while they peeled potatoes. JK don't need a black set :)


If it was setup like this - I don't think I'd put another game in my 360 - ever. Well, maybe Rock Band :)

[fertilemike]

I guess "great" is a relative term. 1-49 sure, for the most part the arena obelisks were more rewarding (especially at earlier levels). But at level 50, I don't consider 3 orange items that have random stats on it "great." We get the same pieces going through the level normally. In fact if it weren't for the Aesir pieces I'd have my salvage set to orange and hunt for red runes to put in an Altruist set which unfortunately for my cyb def is the only suit to have 4 empty rune slots. Hehe my choice though - I choose cyber.

I also wanted to add a couple more notes as I reread my post and it came off negative. I don't mean to be negative. I absolutely love the combat. [SideNote- have you guys tried to play SW: Force Unleashed Demo? I was eagerly anticipating that game as I am a whore (yes whore) for anything and everything that contains a lightsaber. Playing the demo, It felt slow - real slow. I can't help but feel Too human ruined that game for me. Thanks SK!]

I just wanted to convey my concerns of the loot system. Let's face it - sure the story's pretty cool, but the story does not contribute to replayability - everyone is playing it for the loot. Look at most of the topic titles in any forum. Most are on the subject of loot. Not "Are Baldur and Freya gonna get it on!?" If I had my way the loot structure would look something like this...

---ALL POST level 50 --------
1) Green,Blue,Purple
-common stuff, randomly generated stats, no set bonuses, pretty much what most people wear while looking for Oranges
2) Orange
-uncommon stuff, not randomly generated stats, good set bonuses(+%'s, small chance on hits, etc), static stats (orange runes) with each set having stats that make sense for a certain tree line (and not overcap), you can mix and match orange pieces but lose out on set bonuses, human alignment of course would have some empty rune slots for more customization. Completion of an Orange set should be about what the red set is now. Furthermore you can try to complete other Orange sets. Orange pieces would look cool. If you get an orange on a complete level run - it was a good run.
3) Red
-super uncommon, if you find a Red piece you are truly dedicated. Red pieces come equipped with red runes and each rune can be replaced by whatever rune you want as many times as you want. Set bonuses on red suits should be literally outrageous. I'm talking chance on hit ruiner goes off, chance on getting hit absorb all damage for 1 min, etc. Red pieces / weapons would look so outrageously huge and epic, if you had one Odin himself would be jealous. Completion of a red set would be only for the dedicated. We're talking hundreds of hours of gameplay time. Just about the time you get going on a red outfit, DLC comes out with more orange sets and more red pieces.

4) Black
-So uncommon that if you completed a Black set, a SK developer would have to come to your house and cook you dinner. I would prefer the guys/gals who came up with the idea to put assault goblins on those ledges in helheim so I can stand on my kitchen counter and throw darts at them while they peeled potatoes. JK don't need a black set :)


If it was setup like this - I don't think I'd put another game in my 360 - ever. Well, maybe Rock Band :)

you sir are dead on...i wish it was as you describe

[KefkaForKing]

Good ideas - I also agree with everything you wrote.

I'm on the cyber-defender Epic loot grind now... and yeah I really wish I had sets to collect earlier. The ONLY set I have ever had and worn was the dragon set back at lvl 7 or something, and that came off after 4 levels.

I've spent 40 levels and tens of hours wearing a (sometimes cool) mishmash of pieces. I would love to start with a new char now, but I really want to finish the epic set. That's a good thing, but I'd rather not spend another 100 hours doing it.