Worth playing again?

[Its Almost Harvesting Season]

I got some of the DLC from a gift at some point, and that alone should be enough incentive... But with Grim Dawn being so similar and having a lot more stuff added over the years, I'm wondering if this is still worth playing through in its own way.

Might sound vague, but I'm not really sure how much additional stuff Ragnarok and Atlantis added to the game besides new zones, enemies, and gear. I've also noticed the DLC's have a bit of a mixed reception and I can't help but wonder if it's because they don't add enough.

Any opinions from someone that still comes back to Titan Quest, even though you have Grim Dawn, Path of Exile, and even Last Epoch to play?

[MedeaFleecestealer]

Well, never left TQ, but both those expansions do add to the game. Ragnarok gives you another mastery to play with as well as introducing throwing weapons and Atlantis increases the mastery bars up to L40 and adds some extra skills to play with at that level.

[chris.ferrantegerard]

Grim Dawn is mechanically superior, it's a newer game with more modern features. I think I prefer TQ's mythological setting, atmosphere and enemy designs through. TQ is still a really solid and classic Diablo-clone and still quite fun to play. I've played the game a ton, finished scores of mastery combos and different build types. The devs have added a number of QOL improvements over time and extra features.


As for the DLCs, FYI:

Ragnarok adds a large new 5th act (Norse themed), a new mastery (Rune, which is a kind of a magi knight type build), throwing weapons (1h ranged weapons, faster than bow, shorter range, can be used with shield or dual wielded [Rune is best for this]). FYI, Ragnarok required items still drop in game even if you don't have it, they're just not collectable.

Atlantis adds a small optional act (kind of act 4.5, small, boring quests), an arena type dungeon (Don't really care for it, found drops kind of poor but I believe they added some exclusive drops there so it might be better now), a gambler and increases mastery levels from 32 to 40 and adds two new skills for each mastery at lvl 40.

Eternal Embers adds a new legendary exclusive post game (Act 6+) and a new mastery (Neidan).


The base AE game is still good so it's not like you will suffer if you don't have all the DLCs but the Ragnarok DLC is a very good pickup imo, so I'd recommend getting it. Atlantis isn't quite as good imo but if you can get it on sale you want to pick it up then, some of the new skills can be quite fun. Eternal Embers isn't really required unless you want new endgame legendary content or try out a new mastery.

[Aimee]

I have played both Grim Dawn and TQ, and for me TQ is the clear winner for a number of reasons.

Graphics; Titan Quest uses a stylized artstyle, meaning it never realy gets outdated in graphics. Even 5 or 10 more years, TQ will still look decent/good.
Where Grim Dawn uses a more realistic artstyle that already is showing its age. Try comparing Grim Dawn to Baldurs Gate 3 for example, both have a similar artstyle, but its pretty clear that Grim Dawn does not hold up that well.

Another thing i enjoy more about Titan Quest than Grim Dawn is the style and worldbuilding. Grim Dawn is well grim, dark, gloomy. Where Titan Quest has a lot of vibrant areas even in places that are darker in atmosphere. To me when i replay a game a lot, i rather look at something colorful than something dark.

Gameplay; Grim Dawn world, story and enemies are always the same no matter how many times you replay it. While TQ has different enemies in some locations every time you start the game up, Minibosses that spawn randomly, and even Gear that enemies wield (not just drop) that can make a mundane encounter a challenge when an enemy is wearing/wielding strong items. This does make the gameplay a bit different every time you play.
On top of that, NPC's have a lot of dialogue, and its all fully voiced. And depending who you talk to first or last in quests, or even if you talk to a quest giver before doing a quest, gives different dialogue. Its a small thing but it can add to the replayability, and feels like you find out little things about the world and NPC's every time you play.
Regardless neither game has massive changes with each playthrough, but i do find these little things TQ does, do make a difference for me personaly.

Optimisation; this is where Grim Dawn is the clear winner, its a newer game and runs smoother in general. There is less problems with running Grim Dawn on different setups, and less stutters and other issues overall. TQ does show its age here.

Gear is honnestly a point for and against both. Grim Dawn is more balanced with the gear it gives out, but its also more boring and does not influence your build or playstyle that much. Where Titan Quest is a lot more diverse with gear, and this can completely change your playstyle. However you are not guaranteed drops and drops are less balanced to your character and level, and since its so random this can also be a reason to dislike it.
You can play a mage and only get warrior items, or play a summoner and struggle to get decent summon gear. However i do feel like those times where you get that drop you realy enjoy, it impacts the gameplay and enjoyment for me a lot more than a good drop in Grim Dawn.

Overall for me the clear winner for replayability is Titan Quest, as long as it runs smooth enough without too many issues.
Ofcourse you never realy have to choose one or the other, if you plan to make your 3-4-5th character in Grim Dawn, you can also make your second character in Titan Quest and vise versa. No need to stick to one game all the time.