King's Bounty: The Legend Thread

[Essaliad]

A wise choice; Sacred 2 is genuinely terrible, whereas KB is fun and addictive, if only for a while.

 

[JDR13]

whereas KB is fun and addictive, if only for a while.

Only for a while? I'd have to strongly disagree with that. I've been playing KB for nearly 2 weeks now, and I'm still loving every second of it. It just keeps getting even better the further you advance.

 

[txa1265]

Only for a while? I'd have to strongly disagree with that. I've been playing KB for nearly 2 weeks now, and I'm still loving every second of it. It just keeps getting even better the further you advance.

Absolutely agree - I have relegated it to the background for a bit to finish other stuff, but it is never far from my mind ... can't wait until after new years to give it more proper time!

 

[Essaliad]

Only for a while? I'd have to strongly disagree with that. I've been playing KB for nearly 2 weeks now, and I'm still loving every second of it. It just keeps getting even better the further you advance.

Yes, that's how I felt at first too. But now that I'm near the end game, I've lost all interest. The gameplay is pretty repetitive and basic (no castle management, no economy, that sort of thing). It'd be nice to have the luxury of trying out different units, but at the point I am in, though there are several places to buy/replace units, there are no garrisons and the two reserve slots can only do so much. It's "spam AoE spells, stick to tried-and-true units" or nothing. Given that the game's writing and story have never compelled me, I've no incentive to play any further.

I got plenty of gameplay hours out of it, so it's a worthwhile purchase, but the "so what? Bored now" reaction's not unique to me.

 

[JDR13]

The gameplay is pretty repetitive and basic (no castle management, no economy, that sort of thing). It'd be nice to have the luxury of trying out different units, but at the point I am in, though there are several places to buy/replace units, there are no garrisons and the two reserve slots can only do so much.

Things like castle management and economy are simply not what King's Bounty is about, and I'm not sure how they would necessarily make the game better anyways.

It's "spam AoE spells, stick to tried-and-true units" or nothing.

Huh? Nothing could be further from the truth. It's sounds to me like you might have actually bored yourself with your own style of play.

For instance, I don't even use spells unless I'm fighting a boss battle. Even though my Paladin has fairly high intellect, I choose to fight the normal mobs using only troop tactics. I've also found that nearly every unit in the game is just as good as any other when utilized properly.

 

[Essaliad]

Tip: I'm playing a mage. I sure invested three points in higher magic (ability to use spells twice per round) so I can use no spells. Okay then.

Did you read my post? At the point of the game I am in, it is no longer an option to traipse around several castles to access your gazillion stored unit types or buy your next lot of 235336 peasants to sacrifice, unless you want to backtrack a long, long way.

Things like castle management and economy are simply not what King's Bounty is about, and I'm not sure how they would necessarily make the game better anyways.

But it'd have made it considerably less basic. Tactics are nice, and maybe you can even manage to beat up "slightly stronger"/"strong" enemies with them, but ultimately if you don't have the numbers, all the tactics in the world won't help. As it is, the game's about accumulating more stats and more troops so you can kill bigger things, preferably with small casualties: much the same principle as your average hack-and-slash treadmill. Engaging for a time, maybe even engaging always for some people, but I need more to keep me playing until the end credits roll.

 

[GothicGothicness]

manage to beat up "slightly stronger"/"strong" enemies with them, but ultimately if you don't have the numbers, all the tactics in the world won't help. As it is, the game's about accumulating more stats and more troops so you can kill bigger things, preferably with small casualties: much the same principle as your average hack-and-slash treadmill.

I suggest you play on impossible setting. Here you have to use a lot of strategy in certain fights to be able to win them! It is not enough to just have good numbers, in fact you will be outnumbered a lot in many fights, I've had to win many overpowering fights, and very strong fights is almost the norm. You also have to use and combine the special abilities and use the fact like one unit can give another one better morale etc etc. If you are not good at tactics you'll not be able to complete the game on this setting.

 

[DoddTheSlayer]

I have just been looking at some screenshots for this game.
It kind of looks like Homm5. Is this just a strategy game or a mixture of rpg and strategy. Real time or turn based ?

 

[GothicGothicness]

Turn-based mix of RPG and strategy game. It is a great game, try the demo or go ahead and buy it I think you will love it!

When you ride around on the world map, the game is in real time, but no battles will take place here, however you can trick some enemies and steal their treasure.

You also get some choices and consequences ( sometimes quite surprising results )

 

[JDR13]

Tip: I'm playing a mage. I sure invested three points in higher magic (ability to use spells twice per round) so I can use no spells. Okay then.

So then why are you complaining about using magic? Obviously that's going to be a focus when you choose to play as a mage.

Did you read my post? At the point of the game I am in, it is no longer an option to traipse around several castles to access your gazillion stored unit types or buy your next lot of 235336 peasants to sacrifice, unless you want to backtrack a long, long way.

Um...yes, I did read your post, and I'm also very near the end of the game. I'm sorry, but I just don't see that as being more than a minor annoyance. In fact, you're the only person I've seen make that big a deal over it.

but ultimately if you don't have the numbers, all the tactics in the world won't help. As it is, the game's about accumulating more stats and more troops so you can kill bigger things, preferably with small casualties: much the same principle as your average hack-and-slash treadmill..

That simply isn't true though, you can win almost any battle in KB against superior forces with the right use of troop tactics and the Rage Box. It's not just about numbers, as even someone playing as a Warrior will not beat the game if he's just blindly rushing into combat.

 

[Essaliad]

I suggest you play on impossible setting. Here you have to use a lot of strategy in certain fights to be able to win them! It is not enough to just have good numbers, in fact you will be outnumbered a lot in many fights, I've had to win many overpowering fights, and very strong fights is almost the norm. You also have to use and combine the special abilities and use the fact like one unit can give another one better morale etc etc. If you are not good at tactics you'll not be able to complete the game on this setting.

I considered restarting in impossible, but I've no real desire to replay from start again. Would've been nice if I could change difficulty midway through, ah well. I'm not used to this type of game in general, so I thought I'd go with normal in case it proves unmanageable.

FANBOY RAGE HOW DARE YOU NOT LIKE THE GAME RAGE

Fix't.

 

[magerette]

I was up til 2:30 this am playing the demo(again) as a mage, and I can honestly say this is the first game ever that's challenged classics like HoMM and MOO2 for top placement in my list of strategy favorites. Obviously I'm just scratching the surface,and things may change, but this strikes me as a very well done reprise of what made the classics great mixed with some effective updating and innovation in things like graphics and interface. I'm really enjoying the mix of rpg, exploration and tactical battling.

Prior to this I've spent the last month or so playing old HoMM3 campaigns, so I have to say there is a point where tb strat does get very repetitive, where your character becomes so uber that play is the rote rinse and repeat of proven methods of winning. (You can pretty much win any battle with a Mass Haste or Prayer spell and a high troop count. ) I get around that in HoMM by upping the difficulty level, making my own maps or switching off and coming back much later.

Anyway, it's refreshing to see a developer produce a game that builds on the past so effectively and uses a lot of tried and true formulae, yet still plays like a new experience. Hopefully my copy gets here soon.

 

[Essaliad]

Yeah, the "play is rote" pretty much sums up my complaint--the game was much more fun when my mage was low-level and his spell selection was limited. Spam big area-of-effect when possible, summon demons when AOE is not practical, spam necromancer's animate dead until you outnumber enemies. Single-target debuff spells, like doom or sheep, just don't suffice when the field is riddled from end to end with well over eight enemy stacks. When it might do some good against tougher specific troop types (who happen to be immune/resistant to all the damage types your army can do at that given moment), said tough enemy troops will often turn out... immune to magic.

Occasionally, I'd throw up some variety like mass-buffing my army, but inflicting as much damage as fast as possible works better in terms of limiting casualties (and gives my necromancers corpses to animate). It's not like I can't deal with casualties--I can just resurrect them, but that becomes endlessly tedious, what with having to leave one tiny stack of enemy troops alive so I can regenerate enough mana to perform resurrections if the inquisitor's is not available. Oh, that and using the sacrifice cheese tactic.

 

[Lucky Day]

In fairness as my mage I too found I was using the handful of Mass and area spells repeatedly.

However, later in the game they clearly weren't as effective, especially with Black Dragons, Unicorns and other creatures that are strong and resistant to magic.

Often I would find disabling some creatures, like 500 zombies, with blind to be absolutely necessary because there was no way you could deal with them and Ancient Vampires at the same time. But with blind you have to make sure they aren't attacked unlike Sheep which costs a fortune in mana.

I think the devs have deliberately nerfed many spells. I've noticed spells like Bless become Mass only at 3rd level. But there's not enough gemstones and crystals to max out all your skills or max out your spells to their highest levels.

This goes true for monsters. You'll routinely find there's not enough castles to garrison your troops and reserves, welcome relief they are, quickly enoucnter the same problem without them. There's simply not enough space.

But this is exactly the point. This game is not Diablo - this game is all about resource management. There is simply not enough to do everything that you want. You have to pick and choose and you have to focus and and hope you've made the right decisions.

Sometimes you are going to have to drop armies completely. You can't keep holding on to them.

Some armies, like Barbarians, are tough but just plain suicidal. Your unicorns can't be resurrected and they are hard to find. Do you sacrifice a couple hundred Lake Fairies for 7 Unicorns back? Are you running out Lake Fairies you can pick up?

You can only cast so many times? A different strategy instead of Blizzarding all your enemies let them attack your Lake Fairies all day then rez 200 of them.

You are down to 1 enemy. Hypnotize them and rez your casualties. Hopefully he won't get himself killed and you'll have to find more armies, and maybe mroe cash for them.

As for economy, just you wait. If you think you have more money than you'll ever need and don't know what to buy, just wait until the resources run out. The treasure has all been found, the armies hired and all the good stuff taken - where are you going to get monsters you need and resources to increase your skills? Suddenly you find them and suddenly you are scrambling for gold again.

Its a great economy, because you you can't have everything.

 

[JDR13]

I'm just one of those people who feels the need to complain about any ticky tack detail in an attempt to bring a game down, because my standards are so much higher than yours.

...Fix't.

 

[BlueSalamander]

Hi, I tried the demo last night. The game is extremely well polished and there's a strong focus on colourful graphics. I enjoyed the turn-based battles on the hexagonal grid. However, as a strategy game I would say Heroes 3 is better, and as a RPG, Neverwinter 2 is better.
The main thing I didn't like was the 3D world map. Being 3D means having to constantly turn around and fight with the camera (at least that's how it is for me), and you can't cross long distances with just a single click. Also there are small goodies everywhere and again, treasure would be much easier to spot on a 2D map.

--
Knights of the Chalice 2D RPG

 

[GothicGothicness]

The main thing I didn't like was the 3D world map. Being 3D eans having to constantly turn around and fight with the camera.

I was really annoyed by that in the beginning too! But you'll get used to it, acctually it is not so bad after you played for sometime! you can also press M at anytime. I do not think I missed a single goodies even if I didn't use much time to rotate the camera. But I also had a big problem with it in the beginning.

However, as a strategy game I would say Heroes 3 is better

The chest of rage and wife's and the rune system to increase the skills adds something heroes didn't have, and the living items. All in all I would say the battles had some more strategy than heroes, but of course the entire castle building / resource management / heroes recruitment etc is missing.

 

[Essaliad]

I whine incessantly when people say the least bit negative thing about a game I like

Fix't! :')

and as a RPG, Neverwinter 2 is better.

An interesting comparison, given that the NWN2 OC is pretty terrible.

 

[JDR13]

Some trolls just don't know when to quit. :lol:

. However, as a strategy game I would say Heroes 3 is better, and as a RPG, Neverwinter 2 is better.

Haven't played too much of Heroes 3, but I'd say it just depends on what you like. If you enjoy the extra micromanagement, then HoMM is definitely your game.

I'd have to agree that NWN2 is a better RPG, simply for the fact that King's Bounty obviously isn't a full-fledged RPG. It's a TBS game with some RPG sprinkled in.

 

[Alrik Fassbauer]

simply for the fact that King's Bounty obviously isn't a full-fledged RPG. It's a TBS game with some RPG sprinkled in.

Obviously, obviously. Someone who says it's an RPG doesn't know HOMM, or Age of Wonders, for example.