The story is losing me

[Chogathmainop]

For context, I just wrapped up the quests in homestead and am heading to fort Ikov next. Problem I'm quickly running into is that I feel that the story is slowly sliding off the rails. While I get the the Cult of C'thon is dangerous and needs to be handled, I went to Homestead to get food for Devil's Crossing, which seems to have been all but discarded in favor of me fighting the Cult for Homestead instead of fighting the Aetherals and helping Devils Crossing make headway into Burrwitch. This is aided further by the fact that now Inquisitor Creed is giving the orders, and John Bourbon has gone by the wayside, and any motivation the player character seems to have has been thrown to the wayside.

I guess what I'm asking is am I missing the point by focusing on the plot, or does it make more sense later on?

[powbam]

Originally posted by Chogathmainop:

I guess what I'm asking is am I missing the point by focusing on the plot, or does it make more sense later on?

Yes and no - generally diablo-likes aren't "about" the story. And yes, I know, I know - that the Diablo series has often put heavy emphasis on "the story" with their amazing cut-scenes, voice acting etc - but they can afford to do that when you're part of a multi-billion dollar corporation (and even then they still managed to damage the story in D3).

Mostly tho these games that occupy the diablo-like genre are about the loot hunt and the character building - and by building I mean the actual build construction process.

With that said, I think GD's story and lore (the lore you find around the world adds greatly to the game, I feel) are top-notch and well-done. They designed it so that you can easily ignore it if you want and focus on what really matters, looking for loot as you go from point A to point B.

--

Naturally there are many people on this planet that place great emphasis on story in their games - and that's understandable. While GD's story isn't the "greatest" thing you've ever read I feel that considering it was entirely penned by the devs it's actually pretty good, not perfect or mind-blowing but it has its moments.

In the end, story in games of this nature exist just as a wrapper to kill things, pick up shinies, and get stronger. All you need is something that points you on that path. Rinse and repeat.

[Cyanmurder]

Inquisitor Creed is the leader, he was the first blade back in ancient times, so is Ulgrim. Bourbon is just leader in Devil's Crossing, but Inquisitor is the boss. You didnt see the cut scene when monsters from Ash of Malmouth attacked Devil's Crossing? Bourbon pleaded for aide from Inquisitor Creed. Im already halfway in Forgotten Gods DLC. You will like Ash of Malmouth, lots and lots of fighting.

[DeMasked]

The overall story is about your character breaking free from possession and being thrust into an ongoing invasion and all the chaos involved in such a conflict. As you progress you will find different allies and enemies all with their own plans, motivations and interests and as the player you'll be having to juggle all these different alliances and escalations of a continuing war between humanity and the outside influence of various alien beings.

To me it's more like The Iliad rather then The Odyssey if that makes sense. While Grim Dawn's overall story isn't the highlight of the game, it does have pretty good elements when it comes to supporting lore and glimpses into history and background on various parts of the world.

edit: Inquisitor Creed was sent to Burrwitch to investigate Warden Krieg. He has higher standing then John Bourbon who essentially took over the prison as a ramshackle defense points for whatever survivors that managed to gain succor. Ulgrim is even more important then Creed in that I believe he is like the King or Emperor's personal assassin / problem solver most likely sent to Burrwitch after Creed to check things out and as such was in disguise.

Devil's Crossing trying to get more food from Homestead is unlocked once you gain a lot more trust from the Homestead faction which has it's own priorities and problems. To me it isn't that Devil's Crossing is literally starving but more or less gaining additional access to supplies as they are running low + Homestead is literally a farming town.

[powbam]

Originally posted by DeMasked:

Devil's Crossing trying to get more food from Homestead is unlocked once you gain a lot more trust from the Homestead faction which has it's own priorities and problems. To me it isn't that Devil's Crossing is literally starving but more or less gaining additional access to supplies as they are running low + Homestead is literally a farming town.

Indeed. I've seen people get weird about this questline before in the past - I think the problem is that they don't realize that it's tied to Faction Reputation to advance/finish it.

For some reason some people seem to place alot of importance on this quest line - they just need to realize that there are a lot of things happening in this world.

[midori]

Story isn't great, but the notes have some gems, this isn't a game to play "for the story" at all lol. And I LOVE this game.

[zanzibaroz]

summed up:

. this is because the black legion holds itself in a higher regard than the people of Devil's Crossing and Homestead
. you'll get to touch on more with the whole "helping Devil's Crossing out with the aetherials" thing in AoM, when Creed decides to finally assist Bourbon because something big happens right at the start
. also the summoning of the Logghorean is pretty world-threatening so it's understandable why Creed would want to go full on

[Scrof]

Originally posted by midori:

Story isn't great, but the notes have some gems, this isn't a game to play "for the story" at all lol. And I LOVE this game.

Oh yeah, the notes are so good. I didn't expect the lore of the game to grip me so much when I started reading the notes. Especially in the expansions, beautiful writing.

[Blake]

I wouldn't worry about the plot. Its an action loot game. You kill, upgrade and repeat.
If you want a good story I suggest reading a book

[Mivo]

Haven't finished yet, but so far I feel that for a Diabloesque ARPG, the story here is better than in other games of the same genre.

But maybe my story tastes are off. People would often say that Diablo 2's story was so good, but to me it was very simplistic and not engaging at all. GD's writing isn't Planescape Torment level, but I think it's overall good. Like others, though, I don't play this type of game for the story. I play for the loot, min-maxing, monster killing, and gear-centric progression.

[DeMasked]

Originally posted by Mivo:

Haven't finished yet, but so far I feel that for a Diabloesque ARPG, the story here is better than in other games of the same genre.

But maybe my story tastes are off. People would often say that Diablo 2's story was so good, but to me it was very simplistic and not engaging at all. GD's writing isn't Planescape Torment level, but I think it's overall good. Like others, though, I don't play this type of game for the story. I play for the loot, min-maxing, monster killing, and gear-centric progression.

Diablo 2's story is extremely shallow with little to no depth at all. For it's time it was fine as I'm sure the developers were dealing with financial restraints that necessitated a more simplistic story. A simple story requires less work allowing for more emphasis on the systems of the game. Diablo 1 was exploring a Cathedral in search of evil. Diablo 2 was following the Dark Wanderer and dealing with the evil that he left in his wake with the expansion being a bit more clever yet being a repeat of Diablo 2 following the big bad guy to some destination.

There are a number of ARPGs that are about following some sort of evil force and playing janitor along the way. Titan Quest or Torchlight 2 are such examples imo. GD is different in that there isn't a start point of where you follow the evil entity but instead is more like waking up during the middle of the apocalypse and finding out there are a ton of evil entities everywhere lol.

Grim Dawn's story to me isn't designed to be super personable for the player as it is more of a sprawling tapestry with a ton of world building involved and the constant cycle of dealing with certain threats while traversing a world that is pretty much on fire.

The tidbits of information that can be found do a really good job in fleshing out said world and the past / present inhabitants.

[King Donco of Punhcistania]

you basically are thrusted in a war that has been set in motion for years between entities far more powerful than humans. however due to the nature of your character, humanity has a chance. you help out devils crossing dealing with their problems and is sent to get food from homestead but then you find homestead has its problems but then you find out that there is a bigger problem with the cult and are just as dangerous as the aetherials.

if you read the notes around, they will give some pretty good backstory to everything that has happened before you wake up and what might happen in the future.

[aqua493xd]

Read Everything. All Lore too. It pretty hard to summarize the magnitude of events in this game. In a nutshell, Aetherials possess humans and use flesh to create more aetherials. Cult of Chthon kill people for their blood to offer as a sacrifice to the Chthonians. Humanity is effed. You gotta stop them all.

Yes, the plot takes a serious twist after reaching Fort Ikon.
Want more story? gotta read it.

[Senrezu]

I am 1600 hours into the game and.... you... are... telling me.... there is a story??

What's next? Story in Monster Hunter? kek.


Also DON'T read every little lore node you'll find. Right click it for bonus XP and move on. The C'Thons are harvesting civilians while you are reading someones diary.

[powbam]

Originally posted by Senrezu:

Also DON'T read every little lore node you'll find. Right click it for bonus XP and move on. The C'Thons are harvesting civilians while you are reading someones diary.

I mean.. you're not wrong

[Shellbie]

Originally posted by Senrezu:

I am 1600 hours into the game and.... you... are... telling me.... there is a story??

What's next? Story in Monster Hunter? kek.


Also DON'T read every little lore node you'll find. Right click it for bonus XP and move on. The C'Thons are harvesting civilians while you are reading someones diary.