Is character visual progression still trash? Or has it been improved any?

[Mike]

I like many people I got this game early on in EA well before the big visual update and out side of the terrible performance my biggest issue was that no matter the gear you picked up the visual of the item did not effect the look of your character. So almost like in POE your character would look the exact same from level 1 to 100 even if you were kitted out in all unique.

As a player who came from classic ARPGs like D2, Titan Quest, Sacred 1-2,....etc I find it sad that something that was once a CORE part of the genre is now put on the back burner just to make more money in MTX shops (I despise POE for popularizing this). Even Grim dawn is filled with excellent in-game cosmetics with no additional cost, so that once you get the full item set your character will look the part.

From my understanding many 3d models have been made to the loot to reflect onto the character model (as it should). However to those who have played the latest updates, is there enough variation to the cosmetics outside of the MTX side of things? Does getting that cool unique really show on your character? Also since this game has the dumb MTX store does the non-MTX related cosmetics actually look decent or are you still meant to look like a hobo until you fork over some more cash for a $10-20 armor set that offers no value outside of the game?

I have been slowly buying into the hype around the 1.0 release (I already own the game so why not try it lol) and since I could never get myself to play more then 10-15 hrs due to performance, I'm hoping some of the other issues I had have been addressed for the full release.

Thanks in advance for any reply ;)

[Mike]

Originally posted by - EMPTY -:

Ultimate fashion progression in this game is aquired with real money.

So none of the 300+ uniques that they talked about in the 1.0 video have have visual appearance on your characters?

I'm not talking about MTX gear sets, I'm talking about does at least the indivudual unique gear pieces have visual appearance on your character out side of MTX?

[Aerond]

In-game equipments will affect your characters' look.

[[KAT] Araleg]

I loaded the game up for the first time in a long time.
My character still looks like a potato and all you see is "Get Points" and "Open Shop" on the appearance tab. As you said, I honestly don't see how ARPGs have got to this point.

Was always my biggest worry with this game when they stated years ago that cosmetics would be paid only. But I didn't expect it to be this bad.

Such a shame coming from Helldivers 2 where as set is £2-4 and the first I see in Last Epoch is £20 and looks of lower quality.

Hoping someone here can reassure some of us that this isn't just Diablo 4 on wheels.

[Mimoslav]

Originally posted by Mike:

So none of the 300+ uniques that they talked about in the 1.0 video have have visual appearance on your characters?

I'm not talking about MTX gear sets, I'm talking about does at least the indivudual unique gear pieces have visual appearance on your character out side of MTX?

Technically there is change in appearance as you change items but you won't be able to stand out from the crowd of other characters of the same class unless you buy paid skins.

[VDRSK]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGNB-ZuNREo&t=346s

skip to 7:04 they mention adding new items with better visuals and they do admittedly look really cool

[Mike]

Originally posted by KAT Araleg:

I loaded the game up for the first time in a long time.
My character still looks like a potato and all you see is "Get Points" and "Open Shop" on the appearance tab. As you said, I honestly don't see how ARPGs have got to this point.

Was always my biggest worry with this game when they stated years ago that cosmetics would be paid only. But I didn't expect it to be this bad.

Such a shame coming from Helldivers 2 where as set is £2-4 and the first I see in Last Epoch is £20 and looks of lower quality.

Hoping someone here can reassure some of us that this isn't just Diablo 4 on wheels.

Yeah I agree to a certain extent and this is why I personally blame games like POE for popularizing this idea specifically in the ARPG genre. Yeah there was MTX long before POE BUT POE was what created the "modern" view of ARPGs which is "only endgame mapping matters, and everything else is ok to sell for ridiculous prices in MTX shops".

I want to like this game but too much reminds me of POE which is really really don't like. At least classic ARPG players still have the Grim Dawn DLC and Titan Quest 2 if they keep it close to the original game.

[Kinja]

Originally posted by Mike:

Originally posted by - EMPTY -:

Ultimate fashion progression in this game is aquired with real money.

So none of the 300+ uniques that they talked about in the 1.0 video have have visual appearance on your characters?

I'm not talking about MTX gear sets, I'm talking about does at least the indivudual unique gear pieces have visual appearance on your character out side of MTX?

Why are you listening to someone who doesn't even own the game?

Some of the unique gear was still missing an actual unique skin last i played (a year ago) but they're addressing that in the 1.0 patch (though i don't know if they're doing it for all the remaining uniques or only some). You can see examples of the new unique looks in the dev blogs they've shown recently

[Kinja]

Originally posted by Mike:

I want to like this game but too much reminds me of POE which is really really don't like. At least classic ARPG players still have the Grim Dawn DLC and Titan Quest 2 if they keep it close to the original game.

Sadly i wouldn't put much hope in Titan Quest 2. As far as i know it's being developed by people that have nothing to do with either Crate (the original devs) nor Iron Lore (the ones who made the original expansion).

[Mike]

Originally posted by Kinja:

Originally posted by Mike:

I want to like this game but too much reminds me of POE which is really really don't like. At least classic ARPG players still have the Grim Dawn DLC and Titan Quest 2 if they keep it close to the original game.

Sadly i wouldn't put much hope in Titan Quest 2. As far as i know it's being developed by people that have nothing to do with either Crate (the original devs) nor Iron Lore (the ones who made the original expansion).

So.....?, it does not have to be developed by the same people to capture the essance of what made the OG game great. The people who made the TQ expansions were not the same people who made the OG game yet I loved the expansions in that game.

I heard its being made by the people who made the spellforce games and from the little digging I have done they are trying to stay as close as possible to the TQ1 formula and not modernize it too much.

There has not been enough to see to 100% discount the game or to 100% hype up the game but I don't need the exact same devs working on a game to be interested in it. If the new devs understand what made that game special and build upon that they can make an ARPG just as good given they are passionate about the project.

[marex]

Originally posted by - EMPTY -:

Ultimate fashion progression in this game is aquired with real money.

you chose your name wisely, so are your posts

[Rampage]

You know theyre keeping the gear ugly so they can sell you nice looking sets for MTX

[JohnMiller92]

Originally posted by Rampage:

You know theyre keeping the gear ugly so they can sell you nice looking sets for MTX

i like that. better than the alternative like what poe does that gimps you out on stash space and makes your life a living hell until you bend over and buy some

[Rampage]

Originally posted by JohnMiller92:

Originally posted by Rampage:

You know theyre keeping the gear ugly so they can sell you nice looking sets for MTX

i like that. better than the alternative like what poe does that gimps you out on stash space and makes your life a living hell until you bend over and buy some

So because game A is bad we should accept a bad thing in game B? Makes no sense

[Kinja]

Originally posted by Mike:

So.....?, it does not have to be developed by the same people to capture the essance of what made the OG game great. The people who made the TQ expansions were not the same people who made the OG game yet I loved the expansions in that game.

I heard its being made by the people who made the spellforce games and from the little digging I have done they are trying to stay as close as possible to the TQ1 formula and not modernize it too much.

There has not been enough to see to 100% discount the game or to 100% hype up the game but I don't need the exact same devs working on a game to be interested in it. If the new devs understand what made that game special and build upon that they can make an ARPG just as good given they are passionate about the project.

I misspoke, it's been 16 years after all and i got the "lore" a bit mixed up. Iron Lore were the ones to develop both Titan Quest and Immortal Throne (I was actually confusing the situation with Dawn of War Soulstorm, the last Dawn for War expansion that Iron Lore made right before getting shut down). After the studio kicked the bucket, the devs got together and made a new studio called Crate Entertainment which went on to make Grim Dawn.

As for the people making Titan Quest 2, they're really not a good example of people who can stick to the original formula. Their Spellforce games have little in common with the originals besides being in the same genre and some shared story elements. They disregarded both a lot of the original lore and mechanics. Spellforce 3 while a fun game is also quite streamlined and linear compared to the originals. They also have zero experience making an ARPG.

I'll be very happy if i'm wrong and they make a great game but i have my doubts and i'd rather be surprised than disappointed.

[Mike]

Originally posted by Kinja:

Originally posted by Mike:

So.....?, it does not have to be developed by the same people to capture the essance of what made the OG game great. The people who made the TQ expansions were not the same people who made the OG game yet I loved the expansions in that game.

I heard its being made by the people who made the spellforce games and from the little digging I have done they are trying to stay as close as possible to the TQ1 formula and not modernize it too much.

There has not been enough to see to 100% discount the game or to 100% hype up the game but I don't need the exact same devs working on a game to be interested in it. If the new devs understand what made that game special and build upon that they can make an ARPG just as good given they are passionate about the project.

I misspoke, it's been 16 years after all and i got the "lore" a bit mixed up. Iron Lore were the ones to develop both Titan Quest and Immortal Throne (I was actually confusing the situation with Dawn of War Soulstorm, the last Dawn for War expansion that Iron Lore made right before getting shut down). After the studio kicked the bucket, the devs got together and made a new studio called Crate Entertainment which went on to make Grim Dawn.

As for the people making Titan Quest 2, they're really not a good example of people who can stick to the original formula. Their Spellforce games have little in common with the originals besides being in the same genre and some shared story elements. They disregarded both a lot of the original lore and mechanics. Spellforce 3 while a fun game is also quite streamlined and linear compared to the originals. They also have zero experience making an ARPG.

I'll be very happy if i'm wrong and they make a great game but i have my doubts and i'd rather be surprised than disappointed.

Ehh to each their own, I'm not some purist that needs everything to be exactly the same as I know each studio will add their own flair to their projects and TQ is old enough that a lot of tune ups would help the sequel. As long as it sticks to the classic ARPG principles like, good itemization, TQ dual class system (confirmed I believe), NO MTX cosmetic crap, replay-ability with the campaign (high diffs to go through with new tiers of gear to acquire), good visual character progression ,...etc then I will enjoy the game.

I have faith and if I end up being wrong, the classic will always be there, so its not that big of a deal to me. I just see no need of outright discounting anything when nothing has been shown to prove it will not be good, your already setting yourself up for a negative bias before anything has been shown and that will always set you up for disappointment.

I will go in with a more balanced view rather then a pessimistic view of TQ2, but hopefully we will see more soon.