Kingdoms is so bad...

[Neirro]

just so bad and boring bro

[Chester]

Please elaborate.

[Rak335544]

Originally posted by Chester:

Please elaborate.

Kingdoms: "Clear ~60 half-regions where 90% encounters are battles that give nothing valuable with 90% chance, where every enemy can critically kill your heroes with first hit on death's door, and those heroes, whose build progression is (90 x 90)% slower, are slowly dying by existing so you pointlessly need to change them for another team that's passively going after them in which all can be critically killed with first hit on death's door"
In Confessions RNG can end your run on a whim at any moment, but run itself is quite short, so the game is more exiting because of that.
In Kingdoms RNG can ruin your run on a whim at any moment, and after that you'll need to grind Taverns&Heroes for a looooong time to die again.

[Kion25]

I don't think Kingdom is suitable for beginners. It requires a lot of knowledge about the heroes.

It would be much better if the kingdom had no days limit.

[Neirro]

I like the game itself but waiting for a year for this gamemode just so that it's the same ♥♥♥♥ over again expect you can choose where you go it's very disappointing to say the least

[pent]

i messed around with it too and it's... the same game but with 50 more annoying steps. cool

[FizzMan]

There are new enemies and it encourages you to use more of your heroes.

[Rak335544]

Originally posted by FizzMan:

There are new enemies and it encourages you to use more of your heroes.

New enemies, that you fight in 1 battle from 20.
Encourages to use more heroes in a most boring way:
"You used one team of heroes. Cool. They are dying now. Use other."

[Connatic]

Originally posted by Neirro:

I like the game itself but waiting for a year for this gamemode just so that it's the same ♥♥♥♥ over again expect you can choose where you go it's very disappointing to say the least

It was revealed as a new game mode, not Darkest Dungeon 3, what did you expect? Personally it exceeded my expectations. I've never beat standard Confession mode (lost progress with corrupted save), so now I'm having a hard time deciding which one to focus on.

In Kingdoms RNG can ruin your run on a whim at any moment, and after that you'll need to grind Taverns&Heroes for a looooong time to die again.

i messed around with it too and it's... the same game but with 50 more annoying steps. cool

You guys make it sound like DD1

[Rak335544]

Originally posted by Connatic:

You guys make it sound like DD1

Kingdoms is really something between DD1 and DD2, but in a way that takes worst from both and don't take best.
In DD1 resource management really mattered and costant need to sacrifice food/torchers/consumables for meta-progression resources added depth to measuring risks and planning run. DD1 also was flexible in terms of heroes where you could have constant teams with 4 heroes and rotatre them, or could mix heroes into different teams. DD1 also was better at restraining use of same heroes with its stress mechanic, that's more complex than "-5% max hp".
In DD2 Kingdoms? Win battle = get a bit of resources. Using different heroes? Another 4
of heroes just riding after current team. Using same heroes will just make them die from one-shots.
Confessions in DD2 offered more condensed experience than DD1, because it's more roguelike. Fast runs without much meta-progression (but with it so you get something even if you lose). Each region between inns is a challenge, where a inn is turning point where you buy trinkets, master skills, and getting relationship that will affect 1/4 of the run.
In DD2 Kingdoms? Very looooooong. Lose? Just try again same looooong run. Regions? Just beat some encouters that you've already seen 1000 times in confessions. Inns? Where you can't even manage skills without upgrades? Without grinding they don't differ from camps.

Originally posted by Connatic:

It was revealed as a new game mode, not Darkest Dungeon 3, what did you expect?

Maybe at least something like Color of Madness or Butcher Circus from DD1? Which are not "Just make run longer and add battle with new foes every 6 half-regions"? Color of Madness was kinda like that, but it had completely different ost, locations (visually), and circumstances for battles.

[Necrophoria]

I literally just got out of getting the achievement for beating this game mode,".2 players have this achievement".

My overall thoughts are as follows.

First, this is definitely not a game mode for those who aren't familiar with their heroes. I had an overall death tally of 5 heroes. 3 of them being the duelist (never quite saw the benefit in her moveset, but I tried. She's too squishy and complicated without positioning), Runaway (another squishy one who if you try to get the best bang for your buck with controlled burn, leaves her super exposed to getting hit by enemies), and Hellion (no complaints except for the winded mechanic behind her best moves) dying as I was exploring the map. My final team was Crusader, Flagellant, Jester, and Plague doctor, of which I lost the crusader and flagellant during the final boss. I won't discuss that fight due to spoilers.

Tldr on the above; be ready to lose heroes permanently, but don't lose hope. There's items to summon reinforcement. Do not overlook the signal flares!

Second, I really enjoyed the kingdom management mechanic. It has that hamlet mechanic from the first game where you gather inn materials in order to upgrade them and unlock better facilities for your heroes. During the early game, you definitely need to swap them heroes out and station them where needed, since you likely wont be able to reach every inn in time with just the carriage alone, and trust me, you'll want to keep all your inns for the benefit of the upgrades alone. The upgrade that helped the most was maximizing the trainer, since they have stat buffs not present in the base game (especially the buffs to limiting fatigue).

tldr on the second paragraph; Focus on upgrading inns to what you need in the immediate moment at first, but save specializing them for the late campaign/final escalation. Upgrade the defenses to the level of escalation, but keep heroes stationed for that additional backup. It was really fun when compared to base confessions. If you miss the hamlet, there's parts here that call back to DD1.

Third, and probably my least favorite, is the riddle mechanic behind each quest item. Often they require you to seek out roadside events like hospitals or creature dens to fulfill them. This was pretty neat and innovative, BUT they do take up a slot on your carriage and inventory, and sometimes more than 1. It deprives you of well earned buffs from beating bosses in lairs. Neat, but not without challenge.

Those complaining about getting one shot on their heroes just need to consider different comps. I definitely used the bounty hunter mainly for the protection ability to keep the backline safe, since the beastmen with the axes love to pick on the backline when they are positioned in the back.

Speaking of which, here's a hint. Wherever the beastmen are, that's the "segment" of your line they'll aim for. I.e. if the beastman is in position 1 or 2, they'll hit the frontline only. If in 3 or 4, they'll hit the backline.

tldr for those struggling:
"On and on. Over and over. Until the truth is laid bare, and you are finally free."

also,
"Learn what can be taught, that you may stand just a little taller at the end."

[Necrophoria]

Originally posted by Kion25:

I don't think Kingdom is suitable for beginners. It requires a lot of knowledge about the heroes.

It would be much better if the kingdom had no days limit.

Tbh, I had plenty of time leftover. Just rotate heroes at first, but at the end focus on just one squad, using the trainer building upgrades for the stat boosts. Deathblow resistance and fatigue limits are a game changer.

I'd say the days limit is a mechanic that barely adds any pressure, and this is coming from someone who grew up with the calendar system in persona.

[calderon]

Originally posted by Necrophoria:

First, this is definitely not a game mode for those who aren't familiar with their heroes.

Thousands of hours of dd2 development were lost, though not nearly all is lost . Dd2 envirnonment is ready so RH could polish Kingdoms fairly quickly.
This above mention problem could be solved by delaying the flood of beasts and adding hero shrines for new players.
Old players with saves from confessions could skip those stages.

[Necrophoria]

Originally posted by calderon:

Originally posted by Necrophoria:

First, this is definitely not a game mode for those who aren't familiar with their heroes.

Thousands of hours of dd2 development were lost, though not nearly all is lost . Dd2 envirnonment is ready so RH could polish Kingdoms fairly quickly.
This above mention problem could be solved by delaying the flood of beasts and adding hero shrines for new players.
Old players with saves from confessions could skip those stages.

Ehh. Since you need to unlock memories to utilize their full skills, I would say that playing confessions is pretty much required.

I havent been able to confirm this, but I believe you'd be limited to base skills without unlocking memories, which would make for a VERY painful experience. Not to mention, given that you are exposed to multiple biomes, the practice from confessions also benefits the new player experience.

Adding hero shrines to this game mode would deprive you of destinations that provide inn materials. It would definitely need balancing to not break a campaign, which the game is stingy on resources as-is.

[Pablo]

I don't think it's boring. For me it's a very interesting concept and I like it better than Confessions. However, I think it's terribly unbalanced when it comes to difficulty. Confessions had the same issue at the beginning, before they patched it and made it more enjoyable. I really hope they will patch the difficulty for Kingdoms as well, because there is a very thin line between game being challenging and irritating/frustrating/unfair.

[Brainssss]

Originally posted by Pablo:

I don't think it's boring. For me it's a very interesting concept and I like it better than Confessions. However, I think it's terribly unbalanced when it comes to difficulty. Confessions had the same issue at the beginning, before they patched it and made it more enjoyable. I really hope they will patch the difficulty for Kingdoms as well, because there is a very thin line between game being challenging and irritating/frustrating/unfair.

This too. Unless you play with main heal/jester + stucking poison/fire it's like 3 times harder.

Also, why did they leave bosses as they are. You have 0 motivation to fight them, save brick your 6 hours long run and start over.