Elex 2 Elex 2 - Beginner Hints & Tips (No spoilers please)

[Pladio]

I'm really enjoying this game. Every day, other than spending time with the kids and the wife, this is what I plan on doing.

I found so many fun atmospheric things:
1. The two berserkers two ran all the way to the Crater. I found them again and they decided the Crater was shit and they started running towards the Clerics. I stayed there for a bit and then they started running towards the Morkons, because the Clerics were making them do menial work.
2. I found a person who electrocuted him/herself with a toaster in the bath tub.
3. Many of the events have people speak about them around town, which makes the game feel really alive as there is lots of reactivity...

I think they did really well with this game, but I think that didn't translate well in sales because of how bad it launched performance-wise. It's a shame really as they keep shooting themselves in the foot.

I'm now level 21/22 and about 20 hours in. I feel like progression in Elex 2 is much better than in Elex 1 too, which would have won over a lot of people. Oh well.

 

[Kordanor]

Yeah, the exploration aspect in the game is great. Tons of little things to discover, as you mentioned.

There are also lots of little things which are really cool. Like if you finish a quest, there might be some "consequences" after you finished it, which in other games would have been implemented.
Like after you escorted someone, that escorted person will chat with the guys at the destination.
After you motivated someone, that person is not just saying "thanks" but after the quest is finished the person is holding a speech.
Or just out of nothing you get some kind of weird follow up event tied to a previous decision.
Things like that. It really feels like they put a lot of heart into designing the NPCs, making the world feel alive.

 

[Couchpotato]

Bad voice acting, outdated engine, and optimizing are the main reasons behind why their games aren't blockbusters. Still they have a niche audience and still sell a million copies.

Now having said that the sequel was an improvement. I hated the way the son was implemented. Like I said in another thread nothing but a plot device to set up part three.

 

[Pladio]

Bad voice acting, outdated engine, and optimizing are the main reasons behind why their games aren't blockbusters. Still they have a niche audience and still sell a million copies.

Now having said that the sequel was an improvement. I hated the way the son was implemented. Like I said in another thread nothing but a plot device to set up part three.

Yup, no idea how this little character came along all of a sudden

I assume the engine being re-used isn't a bad idea, but it probably needed to be optimised before release rather than post :O

 

[Kordanor]

I didnt finish the game yet, but I hated the son the moment he appeared. Kids in games are a bit problematic in general, but that one is not just butt-ugly but also behaves in a rather stupid way.

The voice acting on the other hand, is an interesting point. You got some examples (maybe even a video about it) regarding the bad voice acting?
As I am playing the German Version, which is the developers language, and also where they are probably most familiar with voice actors and so on, the English version might be worse off (which afaik is also the case in other games from Germany, like from Daedalic or the Drakensang RPGs).

Also one thing you might not "get" in the English version is the 3 Kids in the Berserker outpost for example. This is actually a nice implementation of kids. But this is a clear reference to a german "radio play" and book series called "???" ("Die drei Fragezeichen")

After they patched it, the engine is actually running fine for me but its behaving weird. As soon as I start recording in OBS the performance drops significantly. It's still playable. But the drop makes no sense to me, as it's not like the CPU is maxed out or anything like that.

 

[Couchpotato]

Yup, no idea how this little character came along all of a sudden

I assume the engine being re-used isn't a bad idea, but it probably needed to be optimised before release rather than post :O

On release I had bad texture pop-in and it slowed down my game in some areas. Mostly because I was an AMD user, but they fixed most of those problem in the latest patches.

 

[Shagnak]

Re: optimisation

This brings me to another tip: give the experimental DX12 branch a try.
Go into the "BETAS" part of the Steam Properties of the game and opt-in. If your experience is bad, you can always go back.

I played half the game in DX11 and half the game in DX12, so my experience is based on... experience, but yes, YMMV.
According to the developers, there are unacceptable issues with shaders etc, but I found the glitches to be minimal on AMD, and the performance improvements fantastic. Usually 50% to 75% FPS boosts, and sometimes almost 100%.

The only significant graphical glitch I experienced was that in a few areas with crystalline walls if you looked at a specific angle you could see through the wall. I found little things like that a trade off for much better performance and the game looking otherwise better (at least that was my impression - maybe the better performance allowed better low-level settings or something).

 

[JDR13]

It's funny because the things mentioned as reasons why their games don't sell more could also be said about Bethesda's games, and yet those sell great. I think it has a lot more to do with the fact that PB doesn't try to cater to the mainstream as much.

 

[Robollix]

For an easier life....get yourself a good shotgun....

 

[vanedor]

It's funny because the things mentioned as reasons why their games don't sell more could also be said about Bethesda's games, and yet those sell great. I think it has a lot more to do with the fact that PB doesn't try to cater to the mainstream as much.

Bethesda games feel far more polished, I have to admit. Unlike Elex, they have "dungeons" and a lot more option for character creation and development. They have a lot more production value. As far as Storytelling goes, they both aren't on the same level as some games such as Cyberpunk 2077, but I would say that Fallout/Skyrim is way above Elex.

 

[bkrueger]

Also one thing you might not "get" in the English version is the 3 Kids in the Berserker outpost for example. This is actually a nice implementation of kids. But this is a clear reference to a german "radio play" and book series called "???" ("Die drei Fragezeichen")

In fact this is originally an US series (The Three Investigators - Jupiter Jones, Peter Crenshaw and Bob Andrews) marketed by Alfred Hitchcock (among others). We discussed this easter egg in another thread...
(Edit: I wrote this already yesterday but for some reason it didn't seem to appear?)

 

[JDR13]

For an easier life....get yourself a good shotgun....

Indeed. Shotguns are a little OP imo.

Bethesda games feel far more polished, I have to admit. Unlike Elex, they have "dungeons" and a lot more option for character creation and development. They have a lot more production value. As far as Storytelling goes, they both aren't on the same level as some games such as Cyberpunk 2077, but I would say that Fallout/Skyrim is way above Elex.

I can't agree with most of that.

Fallout 3/4 and Skyrim were buggier than Elex, and the voice acting is easily as bad if not worse. The engine is arguably worse too. The only saving grace is the moddability. The storytelling is more subjective, but I can't imagaine how anyone could think it was good in those games.

 

[bjon045]

As someone who has played Fallout 4, Skyrim and Elex in the last 12 months I would also agree that F4 is far buggier. Skyrim is a little bit buggier as well. Fallout 4 actually needs mods to make it work properly on a host of modern pc's.

The only real difference when it comes to the writing/story in my opinion is that the writing in Elex 1/2 feels like a translation job rather than being something that would have been written by a native english speaker. There is still a lot of german humour and style in there and that might not go down with the unwashed masses.

I think it might be a mix of that and the difficulty of the combat at the start of the game which makes it less accessible. Less marketing etc. The wierd mix of sci-fi and fantasy may not resonate well with the general gaming market, although that doesn't explain why Risen didn't sell millions of copies. I wonder if the Gothic remake will be more successful?

 

[JDR13]

I wonder if the Gothic remake will be more successful?

I'm very interested in seeing how that turns out, but don't forget that it's a different developer not Piranha Bytes.

 

[Pladio]

I've now done almost all quests I could find except the companion quests and a few minor quests.

I've had another nice moment.

Going up a high cliff, my companion mentioned that just below were a couple of islands called Troll Islands. Lo and behold, going down to them I see two trolls walking with a massive pit of human bones nearby.

I'll probably continue tomorrow. Really loving it though. Hope they can do Elex 3 still and improve on the other elements.

 

[Shagnak]

Going up a high cliff, my companion mentioned that just below were a couple of islands called Troll Islands. Lo and behold, going down to them I see two trolls walking with a massive pit of human bones nearby.

That's actually a location for gathering some stuff for a Berserker quest (you had to have joined their faction though).

 

[Pladio]

So I've been playing a lot more and I'm now in chapter 2 as a Morkon.

Still loving it but the one thing i am finding a negative is the way and the amount of companion quests.

All of a sudden I return to Bastion and I have 6 people running at me at the same time telling me how their world has changed and they need my help.

The triggers are too simultaneous and it feels very off.

Other than that, the game is still a blast.

I'm planning to do the companions' quests and then move on with the Morkon storyline.

 

[JDR13]

I agree about the companion quests. I often found the timing of them annoying, and the difficulty was all over the place. Some were no challenge at all while others were "Wtf?!".

 

[bkrueger]

I agree about the companion quests. I often found the timing of them annoying, and the difficulty was all over the place. Some were no challenge at all while others were "Wtf?!".

Obviously the difficulty for the companion quests is based on the assumption that you meet some companions much later than others. For exploration-triggered people (and most PB lovers probably are of that kind ) this assumption doesn't hold, because we try to find everything as soon as possible...

@Pladio: There is no need to do all companion quests ASAP, you can portion them as you like.

 

[JDR13]

Obviously the difficulty for the companion quests is based on the assumption that you meet some companions much later than others. For exploration-triggered people (and most PB lovers probably are of that kind ) this assumption doesn't hold, because we try to find everything as soon as possible...

What they should have done is have the quests trigger when you've reached an appropriate level.