The Legacy System and the lack of importance of the Tides

[FloatingSkull]

So I just finished this game and I have to say i'm kinda underwhelmed by the lack of influence by the tides.

On the official website of Tides of Numenera under the Gameplay tab it says:
"Your Legacy is determined by which Tides you manipulate the most.
[...]Your Legacy influences the world around you. Weapons and relics may have different bonuses for characters with certain Legacies. Perceptive NPCs and ancient creatures will respond based on what kind of person the Tides show you to be. Some of them might react positively if you reveal yourself to be a thinker or an artist, while others might help you only if you are moved by passion and power."

Troughout the game I have been attuned to the silver/red tide and I have neither had the impression that other NPCs acted according to my tides nor that my tides had any Impact on my interactions with the world and the people I met nor my tides having influenced ANYTHING.

I also haven't seen any Item restrictions according to tides or had a notification that I experienced events differently according to my tides. THE ONLY thing I have seen that even remotely mentioned my attunement to the tides was in the epilogue where a blog of text remotely told that some warriors remembered me for my silver tide. I mean even Planescape Torment's allignment system had WAY more impact on the game than this. For example you could only use certain weapons if you were righteous or you could only join a faction if you were chaotic. But this game which is selling it's allignment system as a key feature has barely anything in it.

I mean it is true that my actions have influences over the tides but my problem is that the tides have like NO influence over anything in the game.

Maybe I have chosen the wrong tides or maybe I'm blind but please tell me your experience with the tides you've been aligned to in game and whether they had any meaningful impact. :)

[Arlen Tektolnes]

Short of a great big flashing "THIS IS HAPPENING BECAUSE OF TIDE X" message, how would you know? I reckon it'd take at least two playthroughs to judge this.

[BlackKanda]

Originally posted by FloatingSkull:

I mean it is true that my actions have influences over the tides but my problem is that the tides have like NO influence over anything in the game.

Just today I found a single case where your tide influences the result, and I'm elaborating:

In the final instance, where you face the Sorrow, one of the choices you can make is to destroy the Sorrow without dying along with it. When you tell it, "Very well. I'm ready to make my choice", you are presented with a list of 6-7 choices. One of choices is to say, "I reject your authority, Sorrow. I'll use the Resonance to destroy you, and all of us will live free."

At that point, Sorrow will stir angry, ask you if you understand it, etc. Then you will need to justify your decision by giving it your reasons, and THIS is the very moment where your answer should be completely aligned with your tide in order to be able to use Tidal Surge and therefore survive.

For example, if your dominant tide is blue and you suddenly say that you care about humanity or that other Castoffs matter to you as family, you will never get a chance to use Tidal Surge keeping your Castoff alive.

[Doombringer]

Yeah.
For a game named after the tides, they sure don't seem to matter much...

[strekalalex84]

I just made a post on exactly this. The way the game seems to work, your actions influence the tides but the tides don't really influence gameplay. It's sort of just a representation of the morality of your actions to date. Except for at the very end of the game, it sort of matters. They could have benefited from having tidal-specific conversation options, additional ways to use the Tidal Affinity skill relative to your specific tides, and items that are tide-specific. It seems like the only way in which the tides matter are not a matter of consequences and options within a given playthrough, but in subtle differences between different playthroughs.

[Ichthyic]

They needed to have that "midichlorians" discussion that Qui Gon had with Annakin.

;)

[Hawke]

The dominant Tides are mentioned by NPCs, but it's hard to notice (e.g. Inkpot sees Gold, the First says something about Blue).

Originally posted by strekalalex84:

I just made a post on exactly this. The way the game seems to work, your actions influence the tides but the tides don't really influence gameplay. It's sort of just a representation of the morality of your actions to date.

The issue with any kind of "moral scale" is that it doesn't favor reflective analysis, long-term goals or complex motivations, only straight-forward approach with shouting your reasons at everyone around. Which is ironic, considering the protagonist/antagonist is supposed to be a master-manipulator. So, you pretty much game with the developers' morals and assumptions.

Originally posted by strekalalex84:

It seems like the only way in which the tides matter are not a matter of consequences and options within a given playthrough, but in subtle differences between different playthroughs.

Agreed.