Jordan Mazariegos

*READ BONUS/PS AT THE END* So far I find the game to be good. Love the combat mechanics, the archetypes, and the maps/environments. All issues I’ve had with the functionality so far have been patched very fairly in the last 2 patches. Developer listens to the players. Awesome stuff there at least! The only things I still have issues with really aren’t part of the literal functionality of the game, but the classes and weapons. The people who made this were, very obviously, super fans of rangers. And it seems to be across the board. Rangers are the meta in this game, while Warrior is the opposite. Half the weapons aren’t in the game either but the skills for them are still on the passive tree. So don’t plan on mapping any builds out or you’ll be very disappointed, particularly if you want to mix and match certain weapons with certain classes. You are pigeon holed into using only certain weapons for certain classes. Since Warriors miss constantly, you need more dex/accuracy. Wanna know who gets that naturally? Rangers. You wanna know who does the most damage as well? Rangers. Wanna know who has evasion naturally for trials??? Rangers. Wanna know who’s immune to most boss mechanics?? You guessed it… Rangers. Wanna know who has the most perks for poison (that bypasses all shields and armor/BEST ELEMENT)? Dem Rangers! Wanna know who everyone plays to avoid frustration or a challenge? RANGERS. The mega, super, Ranger club 5000 is ridiculous. But if you want to tap dance through this whole game without a hitch, I recommend Ranger. They are inherently better at literally every aspect of the game, even from a base level of how it’s been developed and programmed. They are the chosen ones. This is what happens when a whole group of Legolas fans make a game. Bonus: Tried to go against the grain to make a Ranger who used daggers. Skill tree is there and even says that daggers poison people. Was like, dope. No daggers in game, but you can waste points on the skills for it. One of the worst ideas I’ve ever seen a dev make. Absolutely destroys customizability. Making people wait for other classes just so they can use your skills that are already there is absolutely horrible. It also really makes the advertisement of “1200 passive skills!!” or whatever it was just a straight up lie. Maybe more like 600 - 700? But hey, a lot of companies lie and exaggerate things to make money. Nothing new really. This is why I DON’T RECOMMEND PAYING FOR EARLY ACCESS. You will inevitably have to wait for full release to even use most of the weapons or skills. So if you pay now, you’ll be punished for it. Just wait, play it for free, and get everything later with the rest of the world.

I tried it for a few hours last night on release and half of my day today. I’ve returned it and received a refund. Very few, controllable variables (including skills, play/build style, and even cosmetics). Hollow game. It feels unfinished. And Elden Ring is one of my favorite games. Devs made strange choices with this one.

Edit: Changing my review but will leave original opinion below. Matchmaking is terrible. The healing system is terrible and absolutely meant to accommodate loot goblins & trolls. Patch information was late, as such many YouTubers and journalists were hyping the patch. The patch ended up being for PC only so I can’t even invite my console homies. This defeats the cross platform feature. Massive L. Was sooooo beautiful. Absolutely beautiful game! 80 - 90% from me straight up after playing the early access. I think most things are good with regard to the features and gameplay. Even found a controller scheme I liked (with dodge on B) so it felt a little more familiar. Love the armor customization and the fact that guns have skill trees rather than attachments. I also LOVE how the cosmetic variants of the guns have different stats and aren’t just for looks, but the look alone can still be altered. Roadmap looks excellent. Excited for private PvE lobbies this month and Horde mode in 2025!