Jump in difficulty in the Ark; too much? (spoilers)

[Cuckoorex]

I've been playing two characters, a lvl 23 warrior and a lvl 22 rogue, Hirge as the companion for both. I found the 2nd level of the Maze and the Sunken Citadel to be a good challenge, as well as the new cave in the Southern Dragon mountains; the new equipment was definitely needed and I found myself making some narrow escapes and numerous reloads after being killed, and that's all good. But MAN, going through the Ark (and forced to go solo, at that) seems near impossible! Am I missing something? I know David has been saying that the game is designed to be finishable by a level 20 character, but I can't imagine trying to tackle the Ark on a lower level. Yikes!

 

[The Lichemaster]

I agree somewhat. The essential thing is electrical resistance spirit resistance and lots of potions. Initially you may also have to farm batteries. Once you get your hands in ark armour/weapons it does get easier. However on casual mode it's far easier than normal mode because you can save. I must have replayed the last "level" for 3 + hours for my warrior(normal mode)mainly because of stun attacks. Chitin shield is a must. My rogue archer sailed through thanks to her bloodied scarf (stun immunity) I could focus all my efforts on elec res. The ion bow is awesome.

 

[VDX_360]

Part of the challenge in balancing difficulty of the area is the massive amount of players with characters that have been around for a long time, building levels and getting top tier equipment. Those--for a lack of a better term--superbuilds have a much easier time of the area while more recent characters in the 18 to 20 level range with only a modest amount of top tier equipment and potion reserves struggle.

The developer does a pretty good job of trying to make the new area doable by Level 20 characters, but less skilled players (or less optimal builds) may need a few more levels to compete in the area. In that regards, the new area serves as a crucible for a lot of builds for their combat abilities. But keep in mind, making a combat focused build might hinder a lot of the side quests and optional secrets. So it comes back to players choice about character build.

 

[Mr.Suspense]

The ion bow is awesome.

what is it? where i can find it?

 

[Grim Rapper]

I've been playing two characters, a lvl 23 warrior and a lvl 22 rogue, Hirge as the companion for both. I found the 2nd level of the Maze and the Sunken Citadel to be a good challenge, as well as the new cave in the Southern Dragon mountains; the new equipment was definitely needed and I found myself making some narrow escapes and numerous reloads after being killed, and that's all good. But MAN, going through the Ark (and forced to go solo, at that) seems near impossible! Am I missing something? I know David has been saying that the game is designed to be finishable by a level 20 character, but I can't imagine trying to tackle the Ark on a lower level. Yikes!

I don't think it difficult tbh, since it's the FINAL quest of the game and giving the obelisk as a nice way to grind up (both XP and Gold)as to preparing yourself against one of the (THE) hardest Boss of the game with a little twist at the beginning of the Ark (Which the player also need to adept to it). Also when the whole game is finished, you'll have more time and place to grind up way before you'll comfront the Ark

tbh I'm pretty surprised that The Citadel and the Dragon Cave is WAY MORE easier than the rest of the dungeon, since it's only consist of High-damage enemies and not really a mechanical design to trap you to death, considering it's really near the Ark (and this game supposed to be hard to the first place)

 

[DavidBVal]

TBH I consider it about as hard as Firedancer Itharrak at level 4 or Lady Xidar at 9. You need the right preparation and tactics, I completed it at 20 with each class and I'm pretty terrible at action games

 

[Grim Rapper]

TBH I consider it about as hard as Firedancer Itharrak at level 4 or Lady Xidar at 9. You need the right preparation and tactics, I completed it at 20 with each class and I'm pretty terrible at action games

If that's what you called as "pretty terrible"?

How's me then?

 

[Cuckoorex]

Here's what I think is making it so difficult for me; pretty much the entire game, I've been making a build and gathering equipment for the most common enemies and bosses that are encountered, and saving materials for what I think will be needed... BUT the switch to shock-based pretty much EVERYTHING caught me way off-guard. I don't mind that it took a sci-fi turn at all; in fact, it reminds me of one of my favorite old-school RPGs, Wizardry 7: Crusaders of the Dark Savant. So yeah, I dig that aspect. But things like the sudden switch, having the companion strategies taken away (I feel sorry for archer builds that no longer have Gris or Hirge to tank and keep enemies occupied) and things like suddenly needing 40 large emeralds and 10 diamonds when they had no other purpose throughout the game means I have to go back to heavy-duty grinding again, which is what I had been doing pretty much for the mast couple of months waiting for V.1 to be released.

What could make it better, for new players at least? Utilize the Tavern Rumors to drop some hints, maybe. No need to create new dialogue for NPCs, really, just some new Tavern Rumors. Something about how legends tell of heavily armored beasts who attack with lightning; something about a legendary blacksmith who used to make incredible weapons with diamonds, and then maybe something like when you talk to the emerald guy in Jabal, if you pass an Int or Awareness check the game advises you that there must be a good reason he's paying so much and maybe you should hold onto them instead of selling. (Granted, if you pass a real life Int check you probably could put two and two together on that last one.)

Point is, I feel like there are some ways to steer the player in the right direction without dropping spoilers or making them run to the Wiki too much.

All that being said, I've played this game like crazy ever since I downloaded the demo version and no doubt will continue to play like crazy; it's a great game, David, and you should be rightfully proud of it.

 

[Grim Rapper]

opinion that's too long to quoted, yeah...

I mean, if you play it before v. 1.0, you'll see some vague hints on what will happened based on different hint (the legionnaire near the Mercian capital, each of the guildmaster conversation, item description, etc) and unless you want a boring game that tells everything for you right at the start, then the enjoyment of RPG where exploration is the main elemebt will be ruined

Also, the only times I surfed the wiki is to find out is there any weapon left to discover, I NEVER see the quest hint, NEVER see the reward and NEVER ask about it in this forum, because that'll ruin this game in the first place. Why do you even play the game in the first place when you can just read the ENTIRE thing in the wiki (story, step-by-step direction) and that's why I always gives hint (even the most vaguest hint) when ao.eone is asking about a quest, because that's the point of playing a good RPG (but some people just ruined it)