ELEX ELEX RELEASE THREAD

[xuerebx]

Thanks man!

Also, if I have one complaint, it's the quest markers highlighting the exact location of certain individuals who I either have no clue who they are

why would you even leave quest markers on

Didn't even know there's an option to turn them off lol. Hopefully I still manage to find my ways to the destination now.

 

[xuerebx]

The only problem I have with quest markers is that they push you towards a straight line to get to the objective. Many times turning them off leaves you clueless where to go next as the narrative doesn't give you good directions.

On the other hand I like that trainers and traders are marked as I dont have to remember the exact place in the city they are found - but they only show up AFTER you find them so my previous concern on exploration doesn't matter in this case.

 

[JDR13]

The only problem I have with quest markers is that they push you towards a straight line to get to the objective. Many times turning them off leaves you clueless where to go next as the narrative doesn't give you good directions.

Isn't the objective still marked if you go to the map screen? That's how I seem to remember it.

 

[xuerebx]

The only problem I have with quest markers is that they push you towards a straight line to get to the objective. Many times turning them off leaves you clueless where to go next as the narrative doesn't give you good directions.

Isn't the objective still marked if you go to the map screen? That's how I seem to remember it.

The map will show the objectives for quests which you specifically highlight. My comment was more of a generic observation for games in general though, not Elex specifically.

 

[xuerebx]

So, 40 hours in and around level twenty something - this is a great action-RPG. The world is definitely the best part of the game: it's big enough to make the terrain varied and interesting, but small enough that you can traverse and explore most/all of it in one playthrough (I know there are some who love HUGE worlds, but at this point in time in my life, I'd rather have smaller worlds - not too small of course) without feeling everything is condensed. The quests and quest lines are interesting, and the combat is OK. And I wish that the attributes directly improve your skills (e.g. with more strength you hit harder).

While Kingdom Come: Deliverance was more immersive, I'm having more fun with Elex.

And the jetpack is a great idea to make you explore vertically!

 

[RapineDel]

Thanks man!

Also, if I have one complaint, it's the quest markers highlighting the exact location of certain individuals who I either have no clue who they are

why would you even leave quest markers on

Didn't even know there's an option to turn them off lol. Hopefully I still manage to find my ways to the destination now.

Unfortunately this doesn't work.

Reddit for instance will say for any modern game "you can turn quest markers off! It's the perfect solution to make sure no one feels left out".

What happens though is developers design quests with the marker in mind so there's very little thought given to you naturally solving the quest by looking for clues in the game world.

It was very obvious in MMOs like WoW and LOTRO which had very obvious switches from no quest markers to having them overnight. Quest text quality suffered horribly.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Unfortunately this doesn't work.

i played this with all quest markers turned off and managed easily so i'm afraid it does work

however i played this in germano, and the germano version is significantly superior

 

[cvv]

TW3 is the perfect examaple. You CAN switch off the markers. And then some quests are doable and some are pain in the rectum because they weren't really designed for no markers. So you end up switching the markers on and off and then you just leave them all coz the game keeps busting your balls.

 

[RapineDel]

Unfortunately this doesn't work.

i played this with all quest markers turned off and managed easily so i'm afraid it does work

however i played this in germano, and the germano version is significantly superior

Sure, you can play hide and seek with quest items but that has nothing to do with the design of the quests themselves.

That wasn't the case in pre quest markers world where quest text in games like Morrowind would have to give real directions which created actual immersion.

 

[Darth Roxor]

What I mean is, in Germano you get good and accurate directions. I never had to play "hide and seek" with anything

In fact, I even mentioned that explicitly in my revio back in the day.

 

[gurugeorge]

I think Elex is well-designed from the point of view of environmental cues, so you can pretty much find your way to things. The general comment is correct though, I think, that for most modern games they're designed with quest markers in mind and don't usually have as much attention paid to environmental cues. So there are some games for which "turn off quest markers" works, and some for which it doesn't.

I don't object to quest markers if they're something that can be marked on your map by an NPC, that makes perfect sense. But the vaguer the better, it's best if you get a general area and then the area is designed for you to be able to find the person/item by searching in the virtual world.

A lot depends on whether the game is worth having quest markers or not. You can have a game that's trash in some respects but fun enough to play, where if you didn't have quest markers that would just make it annoying, whereas if you're really into a game, really immersed in the virtual world, then finding by looking feels much better.

 

[JDR13]

You don't need directions anyways because, like I said before, the quests are still marked on the main map screen.

 

[bat_boro]

Is there any downsides to using companions in the game, like less XP from kills?
I'm 10 hours in and predictably I'm getting my ass kicked in the section near Eden, tried going into valley of the damned and was owned hard. So I decided to get Duras to help me but I'm wondering if there are any drawbacks to this.

 

[SlightlyRadioactive]

Is there any downsides to using companions in the game, like less XP from kills?
I'm 10 hours in and predictably I'm getting my ass kicked in the section near Eden, tried going into valley of the damned and was owned hard. So I decided to get Duras to help me but I'm wondering if there are any drawbacks to this.

There are no downsides, cheese the game with your companion until you are able to fight any creature that isn't pathetic.

 

[bat_boro]

There are no downsides, cheese the game with your companion until you are able to fight any creature that isn't pathetic.

Thanks bro!
Is there any chance for respec down the line? I seem to remember this was possible in Gothic via a potion, but it has been quite some time since I last played the games. Or was this Risen? I couldn't get into Risen 2/3 since I felt they fucked up the exploration big time, but I'm having a blast with Elex, I thought this was a codex meme but it's truly return to form for PB

edit: Also I currently don't have a PC and won't have one for quite some time as it seems, with the prices being the way they are. So I'm playing on a ps4pro and I have the creeping suspicion that half the sound effects are simply missing, the other ones (such as river sound effects) seem bugged to me - no increase/decrease in volume with regards to distance, just on and off.

Is this the same for the superior monocled PC version? I would guess not, but then I remember in Gothic 3 there was something quite similar going on with sounds

 

[Sykar]

Is there any downsides to using companions in the game, like less XP from kills?
I'm 10 hours in and predictably I'm getting my ass kicked in the section near Eden, tried going into valley of the damned and was owned hard. So I decided to get Duras to help me but I'm wondering if there are any drawbacks to this.

There are no downsides, cheese the game with your companion until you are able to fight any creature that isn't pathetic.

Iirc you do not get bonus kill experience if you do not land the killing blow.

 

[xuerebx]

As a Cleric, I've got a few extra ability points I can use to invest in Cleric abilities - not sure if there are any of the following which are not worth it?

Power Shield - https://elex.fandom.com/wiki/Power_Shield
Power Wave - https://elex.fandom.com/wiki/Power_Wave_Ability
Phasing - https://elex.fandom.com/wiki/Phasing
Last Stand - https://elex.fandom.com/wiki/The_Last_Stand

I'm thinking Last Stand - but are any of the other 3 worth it?

 

[bat_boro]

Is there any downsides to using companions in the game, like less XP from kills?
I'm 10 hours in and predictably I'm getting my ass kicked in the section near Eden, tried going into valley of the damned and was owned hard. So I decided to get Duras to help me but I'm wondering if there are any drawbacks to this.

There are no downsides, cheese the game with your companion until you are able to fight any creature that isn't pathetic.

Iirc you do not get bonus kill experience if you do not land the killing blow.

I think this applies only for guards or npcs which aren't in your party, at least that what I got today with Duras clearing some mobs for me vs guards near the lift to the valley of the damned doing the same - got xp in case of duras and didn't get any for the guards

 

[Haplo]

As a Cleric, I've got a few extra ability points I can use to invest in Cleric abilities - not sure if there are any of the following which are not worth it?

Power Shield - https://elex.fandom.com/wiki/Power_Shield
Power Wave - https://elex.fandom.com/wiki/Power_Wave_Ability
Phasing - https://elex.fandom.com/wiki/Phasing
Last Stand - https://elex.fandom.com/wiki/The_Last_Stand

I'm thinking Last Stand - but are any of the other 3 worth it?

Last Stand is downright OP.

Phasing is kinda fun to get some distance/breathing space.

Power Wave is a "cool" ability to point blank knockdown nearby enemies - so mostly melee. Can be fun. Too bad it can't be a part of a melee combo.

 

[SlightlyRadioactive]

Is there any downsides to using companions in the game, like less XP from kills?
I'm 10 hours in and predictably I'm getting my ass kicked in the section near Eden, tried going into valley of the damned and was owned hard. So I decided to get Duras to help me but I'm wondering if there are any drawbacks to this.

There are no downsides, cheese the game with your companion until you are able to fight any creature that isn't pathetic.

Iirc you do not get bonus kill experience if you do not land the killing blow.

I think this applies only for guards or npcs which aren't in your party, at least that what I got today with Duras clearing some mobs for me vs guards near the lift to the valley of the damned doing the same - got xp in case of duras and didn't get any for the guards

You also don't need to worry about loosing XP like in previous games since new enemies always spawn in a few days

 

[xuerebx]

I'm pretty sure I'm close to the end of the game now. I've also realised why my cold level is important, but I think it's too late.

Spoiler

My cold has always been neutral (I chose dialogue options which both increased and decreased cold, only because I chose dialogue options which I thought makes sense in the context of the conversation) but now in chapter 4 I am locked in only choosing options which sort of "serve the Hybrid". I'm trying to lower my cold level by doing the few remaining quests in Tavar and choosing the appropriate dialogue which is 'emotional'. Not sure if there are enough quests left to lower it beyond neutral, but I'll try. I don't want to serve the Hybrid.

Anyway, I am finally a killing machine! Feels good to kill stuff in a few hits (few can range from 3 plasma shots to 30 shots). :D

 

[Rafidur]

Depending on your cold level, I've seen 3 endings. Details might be a bit off because that was a while ago.

Spoiler

Full cold: serve the hybrid, the hybrid is great, let's suck his dick, woo hybrid
Neutral: beat up the hybrid until it becomes less of an asshole, then spare it and team up with it to prepare for what is coming
Warm: kill hybrid in anger

 

[xuerebx]

Rafidur - I haven't finished yet so I will read your post in a few days' time.

However, in case anyone gets stuck like I was - I was able to turn my cold level to "intuitive" by just doing the Tavar quests. I had finished all other companion/side/Cleric/Berserker quests with my cold level being neutral since I never really cared for it + I drank loads of Elex potions, yet still finally managed to drop my cold level.

It went down to "intuitive" exactly on the last dialogue option where I was able to choose an emotional response (Scrappy I think, the guy stealing the chems) - couldn't find another such dialogue option in Tavar. So, this was lucky.

Now to finish off Chapter 4 this evening :D

 

[xuerebx]

Finished the game yesterday - 50 hours, loved every minute. The lore and gameworld are definitely its strong points. I really enjoyed finding tidbits of information around the world learning what happened to Magalan, who the Hybrid was, learning about the god Calaan etc - very well presented.

I enjoyed the combat too, moreso the fact that combat is challenging throughout the whole game, even at the end. I mean I was kicking ass, but if I got ganged up I still got killed easily.

Recent reviews on Steam are "mixed" and it only has around 8k reviews - shame because it's actually really good.

Depending on your cold level, I've seen 3 endings. Details might be a bit off because that was a while ago.

Spoiler

Full cold: serve the hybrid, the hybrid is great, let's suck his dick, woo hybrid
Neutral: beat up the hybrid until it becomes less of an asshole, then spare it and team up with it to prepare for what is coming
Warm: kill hybrid in anger

Spoiler

Thanks - I was at "intuitive" cold level when I went up against Hybrid, injected some mana in him and made him my bitch. :D

 

[Pegultagol]

I agree, the game is pretty good in a way. I do appreciate it more because it seems like a good intro to the Gothic series of RPGs...I have Risen on my short play to list because of this game.

The Jetpack is a stroke of genius and perfectly balanced imo. It's the star of its rocksteady dedication to deterministic gameplay system (like a breath of fresh Edan air), all the deaths by chickens and mutants and mutant chickens are on my unsteady hands. Speaking of enemies, I appreciated the scaling based on creature types and initially confined to specific areas, almost hand-placed qualities to them.

I think a lot has already been said of the game since its release but it checks all the features of C&C, multi-part quests, exploration and reward, progression, etc. Story kinda falters in places though, especially with the Alb side of things, and the Outlaw's master plan of blowing up Clerics struck me as especially dumb, but still pretty engrossing throughout.