Monthly Archives: January 2017

Endless Space 2 – A Look at Update 1

By Jordan Hall (ApocaRUFF)

 

 

Endless Space 2 Early Access has been out for a few months now and already it has gained much acclaim. The initial launch of Early Access proved to be quite fun, and a roadmap to release has been provided. It consists of several major updates, the first of which has been made available. With Update One comes many improvements, as well as a long list of major changes that helps expand the game closer to the vision that AMPLITUDE has for the full game. In this article, I’ll be jumping into Update One, going over the major changes and improvements, and giving my opinion on it all.

 

 

Major Changes

There are many changes in this update, with the introduction of a new major faction, the United Empire, being the biggest. Along with this new major faction, there has been three minor factions added. Other notables are the implementation of the Marketplace and Era Four of the technology tree. With the way the game is being released, it almost feels like this update, rather than being a continuation of development, is a free DLC or even expansion. The changes made to the game are certainly on that tier.

 

Endless Space 2

Regal and larger than life, decked out with weaponry.

 

My favorite feature of the update is, as you may guess, the United Empire. The lore for the faction really appeals to me. I’ve always enjoyed the blind loyalty that totalitarian factions, such as the Caldari in EVE or the Terran Republic in Planetside, espouse. Of course, living in such a society would be hell, but the lore they provide is interesting. However, what makes this faction truly interesting to me is that it is, so far, the only human faction.

Endless Space 2

 

The next major change is the inclusion of the 4th Tech Era. As you might imagine, that is quite the game changer. Perhaps more-so than the United Empire. The 4th era does a lot to improve the quality of the game. More content means more fun, right? When I first played Endless Space 2 Early Access, I wasn’t so sure about making the game available with a limited technology range. But it proved to be quite fun with just three Eras, and I now find myself coming back to the game more frequently than I would have otherwise. I never really quit an Endless game, coming back to it time and time again, but these updates are fantastic incentives to dive head-first right back into the game.

 

Endless Space 2

The marketplace, should you utilize it correctly, can bring a lot of strategy to your game.

 

The last major change I want to discuss is the Marketplace. This is not too much different than the Marketplace in Endless Legend. As I mentioned in my original article on Endless Space 2, AMPLITUDE seems to really be keen on taking the fantastic features present in Endless Legend and making them work within Endless Space. Why reinvent the wheel when you already have fully designed features in another successful game, right? Needless to say, I love the utility that the Marketplace gives you.

 

 

Minor Changes and fixes

There’s a lot of minor changes and fixes added with Update 1 – too many to list. I have a link to the change log in the ‘conclusion’ portion of the article if you want to read through them all. The ones I’m most interested in are the ability to raze and pillage systems, the increase of max turn limit, and – because of lore and setting – the addition of the Eusocial Minor Culture and the switching of the Deuyivan minor faction from the Scavenger culture to the Eusocial culture. Of course, there’s tons of other neat things under the ‘minor changes’ and ‘fixes’ category, but it would essentially read like a change log, which I’ve already mentioned.

 

 

United Empire

As for the specifics of the faction, it has a couple of affinities and three traits. The affinities are Emperor’s Will, which gives a +0.1 Influence bonus per Construction spent. There is also the Raian, which is what the Empire’s people call themselves, bonus. This bonus gives a nice Influence boost and their political opinion is that of an Industrialist. The three faction traits are Diligent Workers, Expansionist I, and Patriots II. They’re all self-explanatory in what they benefit, but my personal favorite is Patriots II which gives you a large 25% bonus to the maximum manpower of the faction.

 

Endless Space 2

This intro is like a mixture of Soviet Era propaganda and Starship Trooper, “Do you want to know more?”

 

The lore of the faction is quite interesting, and in my opinion, it has the best starting intro from the Endless series yet. It’s like an animated propaganda poster, slapped on the wall of a run-down toxic factory. It truly drives home the idealism that faction has, versus the reality of its existence. And because it’s a human faction, I feel more attached to it than I do the others. Especially considering our own current reality.

 

Endless Space 2

But, as you can see, not everything is as good as the Emperor would have you believe.

 

The overall design of the faction resembles something between American patriotism, Soviet Era Russian drive, and Chinese Communist focus, all with a dash of British Imperialism to bind it together. When I first learned of the faction, I instantly wanted to learn more about its lore to figure out how a Monarchy manages to exist in an intergalactic era. Of course, the faction existed in Endless Space 1, but I never paid it much attention. This time around, AMPLITUDE has really made it enticing. Depending on what the future factions bring, the United Empire may become my go-to faction for Endless Space 2.

 

 

The Fourth Era

The fourth technology era has been added, and it brings a bunch of nifty stuff. The 4th era technology tree for the United Empire will be my focus. If you check the gallery, you can see screenshots of descriptions for most of the technology. The 4th era seems to focus on truly mind-bending advancements. They all have a bit of a parody-like back story that matches the United Empire quite well, too. Of the technology, my favorite has to be “War as a Hobby” with the flavor text for it describing the use of advanced androids and communication to allow anyone with a bit of free time to participate in war. It’s an interesting concept, to say the least.

 

Endless Space 2

I feel this certainly comes from the “American” part of the United Empire equation.

 

 

Minor Factions

There are a few minor factions included with Update 1. The Z’vali are my favorite from a lore perspective. They invented what is essentially Sword Art Online full-dive technology well before they ventured into the stars. The amoeba is interesting because of its origin and the fact that they’re super-intelligent amoeba. The last minor faction addition is the Pilgrims, which are those not content with the totalitarian and all-encompassing nature of the United Empire. The Pilgrims are my favorite from a game play perspective, especially if you’re playing the United Empire.

Endless Space 2

 

 

Conclusion

The first update for the Endless Space 2 Early Access has been a huge success. There are too many additions, changes, and fixes for me to go over them all, unfortunately. But you can find the detailed list here. Like I said, the United Empire was my favorite addition in this update, and it’s got me waiting at the edge of my seat for the next faction to be added to the game. If you haven’t already, jump back into Endless Space 2 and experience this update for yourself. You’ll regret it if you don’t!

 

This Just In: Blizzard not giving in to crying babies

Overwatch

I was reading something on another news site concerning the PTR of Overwatch. People are unhappy with an upcoming change on the Overwatch PTR servers. The purpose of a PTR server is so that players can take a look at new and upcoming changes, see how they work, and in some cases, potentially help the developers figure out if these changes are going to work. That doesn’t mean that the players have the final say. Spoiler Warning: Kaplan probably has the final say in Overwatch. There’s a change coming that have people yelling, bitching, kvetching, and throwing tantrums. I’m not crazy about it either, because I love playing D.Va; but am I going to throw firey toilet paper at their building about it, and post in all capital letters about how they’re they need a mug reading “WORLDS BIGGEST ASSHOLES”? Of course not. That’s not rational, that doesn’t make sense. But Kaplan’s end-game with the PTR isn’t to get players feedback on what they think. It’s more to make sure that shit works on servers at all! Sure, I’m sure they’re fine getting feedback, but this is the Internet. . .

His goal is to make sure stuff works, but appreciates commentary/feedback. But you know what developers don’t need? Howling buffoons, crying and throwing a fit anytime a game changing update happens that they don’t agree with. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter if a thousand players out of six million don’t agree. They have to do what’s best for their game, to keep it competitive. It’s becoming more and more of an eSports style game, which is absolutely fine. But balancing a game just around competitive play and not around casual players at all is pretty awful. But does that mean you need to visit their spots of the Internet and use all their favorite four-letter words. But I have definitely noticed that people don’t post when things are good; only when it’s a bad change. I wish more players would post their appreciation though. “Hey, that balance change was quite nice! I don’t main Mercy, but it made our teamplay a lot better in the long run. Thanks!” Maybe that’s just a pipe dream. We posted a video about this stuff yesterday, actually! They’re under no compunction to talk about it, or even discuss their changes, but they do it. The long and short of it is, it makes me kind of sad that people think just because they’re vocal, they can forge change because they don’t agree with something. That’s not how the real world is supposed to work. Discourse works best when we’re adults, coming to the developer with good, solid reasons why we disagree with something, other than “I H8 THIS!”  One day we’ll be able to have serious discussion for changes in digital content. Someday.

SMITE The Morrigan God Review: You’re Your Own Worst Enemy

By Jason Parker (Ragachak)

With the introduction of SMITE Season 4, we were told we would receive a new pantheon, the Celtic Pantheon! And while I recently wrote an editorial outlining a few of my ideas on what it could possibly hold, one of the best out of the possible bunch has to be The Morrigan. A mage, because of course, she’s three Goddesses in one. That’s why she is referred to as “The” Morrigan, and you’d do well to respect the nomenclature. But who is The Morrigan? She’s the Mistress of Fate; Anu, Macha, Badb, the three of them represent The Morrigan. Every event, war, skirmish, and every dying breath… she was there. She wears many masks, so frequently so that I cannot imagine any knowing her true intentions, or true face. But the glory of it is that she can appear anywhere, anytime, as anyone. Yes, anyone. She’s the most ambitious of the Smite Gods so far, and I have to say, my favorite mage in the game right now. Whatever you build, whatever you can do, she can do it too. Not for too long, but long enough to make you regret taking serious firepower into a battle. Her rating is “Very Difficult” and hot damn do I ever agree. The build for her isn’t exactly rocket science, but the real question is “Where does she belong in my team comp?” Instead of looking where to put her, my opinion is you should build around her. With her power to copy enemies and players, you would have to count on the enemies doing something useful. I’d rather consider which ultimate abilities would be horrific to use on your team twice.  Are there some better than others? Of course.

Favorite Gods to Clone/useful for wombos:

  • Zeus
  • Poseidon
  • Fenrir
  • Vulcan
  • Ares

 

The Morrigan is incredibly tricky to use though. She’s got a full kit that does amazing things though. You can stealth/clone. You have a long range poke, a short-range huge damage poke/stun, and YOU CAN BECOME ANYONE IN THE MATCH WITH ALMOST NO ACTIVATION TIME! But you can’t just… pick her and do it. I mean, you can, but it’ll suck, your team will hate you, you’ll probably get reported, and go 0/10/0.   Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but she takes a lot of practice and much trial and error. She’s got bundles of damage, and can fit in most any team with a bit of thought and effort, but there are definitely compositions she fits better than others.  And while I do focus/specialize in Arena, she’s way better in Conquest, I can’t lie about it. One of the major benefits about The Morrigan is that you can sneak over to the enemy side of the field, clear some wards, and appear on their end as one of their team. They’ll still be able to attack you/recognize you as an enemy, but with careful planning and some surprise, that split second of hesitation will be the end of them.

Pros:

  • She Came In Like A Wreckingball: The Morrigan has damage for days. Her autoattack chain ends in a dome that does aoe damage. Her 1, 2, and even 4 can do fantastic damage. Though the 4 depends solely on who she becomes. Don’t blow it, and they’ll blow away and bow before the Queen of Fate.
  • Now You See Me…: Her 3, the decoy, can be hilarious. If they don’t see you pop it, and burn an ult because they see you running around, it’s going to make them quite salty. Then you can become them, show them how it’s done!
  • Efficient Destruction: She’s pretty mana conservative, and her cooldowns aren’t awful. Her 4 has a high cd if you use the enemy/friendly ult, but even that won’t be an issue late game if you build with CDR in mind. Even just a little will make it tolerable.

 

Cons:

  • You Think You Know Me: Her ultimate is absolutely worthless if you don’t know how the other Gods work. Sure, you can just know a few that your friends play and probably be fine, but the more Gods you know, the more powerful The Morrigan will be. It will propagate people getting out of their comfort zones to learn more to wield The Morrigan in a proper way.
  • Not So Reliable: Her 3, the decoy, is a great escape… if you know how to utilize it, that is. If they guess where you’re moving, and hit you even once, that escape is gone! So you have to really be sneaky and not perform the 3 when there’s AOE/Line/DOT damage about, or move too predictably. It could really just make you look foolish.
  • She’s Needy: She’s a mage, so she suffers from what all mages suffer from: She’s squishy. She takes hits like a wet paper tiger. She also needs some measure of survivability/sustain. Just because her spells don’t cost much, doesn’t mean much in a protracted fight with no sustain. So either murder people fast and efficient, or be ready for the long haul.
  • Master of Fate, Not Time: Don’t think you can get out of a pinch by utilizing Chrono’s Rewind Time ulti. It will just reset you back to the state in which you became Chronos, while wasting the bulk of your transform duration in the process!

 

You know what’s really popular right now? Mages in the Hunter Role. It happened a lot at Smite Worlds this year, and it really makes me think: How would The Morrigan fair in a role that is not a solo one.  And honestly? I think she’s most powerful when she can roam, IE: Solo lane/middle lane, but I’d like to see her in the duo lane. Not as a support [because you know by now, I main support], but as the Hunter! Yes, pair her with someone powerful like Ymir, Sobek, Sylvanus – something to pin them in place while she obliterates them with powerful, dark magic. Her long range poke, the ability to dip out of lane and stealth, and suddenly be the enemy carry, basically she brings huge utility to team tactics in Conquest. But it’s a lot harder than it looks to be able to see the threads of Fate. She offers doom in copious amounts, but only to someone who knows how to properly wield her.

 

  • Passive: Doomsayer [Basic Attack Stim]: The third hit of The Morrigan’s basic attack string explodes, and anyone caught in the blast is Doomed. Doomed enemies take extra damage [9% of Maximum HP] over time [3 seconds]. I haven’t seen anything about it having a cooldown, so I would be interested in seeing “Attack Speed The Morrigan” and using it in team fights for hilarious results. Nonetheless, it’s a very powerful Passive that can get her extra damage that others don’t have access to.
  • 1: Deadly Aspects [Charge Up, Crowd Control]: Upon first activation, the other aspects that make up The Morrigan appear, all pointing in a triangle formation. Activating the button again makes all three thrust their spears forward, dealing damage [80/135/190/245/300 (+80% of your magical power)] and stunning the victim [1 second]. Just look at that! 80% of your magical power! It’s short range, but hot damn it hurts!
  • 2: Dark Omen [Damage, Line]: The Morrigan fires a wave of dark energy that wounds all in the path [40/70/100/130/160 (+40% of your magical power)], does bonus damage to Minions [20/35/50/65/80 (+20% of your magical power)], and applies an Ill Omen to Gods that it hits for 8 seconds. The next time that God takes damage within that time by an ability, they take bonus damage [40/70/100/130/160 (+40% of your magical power)].
  • 3: Confusion [Stealth]: The Morrigan fires off a clone that runs straight into battle, in whatever direction it is sent. Meanwhile, The Morrigan becomes invisible for a fixed length or until she is dealt damage [4/5/6/7/8s]. The clone does no damage and just runs forward, so it can be a little telegraphed and obvious but incredibly tricky if cast while you’re running. The Morrigan also gains bonus movement speed while stealthed [20/25/30/35/40%]. But it does have its merits in a confusing situation to get the upper hand, or reposition for maximum damage.
  • 4: Changeling [Transform]: Upon activating, a radial pops up with all Gods in match. You can also pre-select a God for easy transformation. When she becomes a new God, she copies their current stats and abilities, keeps her relics, and cannot use consumables. The new God’s skill points will go where hers go [If she has 4 in her 1, she’ll have 4 in their 1, et cetera]. If she uses their ultimate, it’ll add on to her cooldown. You are in their body for 10 seconds.

 

When I play Gods like The Morrigan, I definitely go all in, balls-deep damage. I might buy one protective item a little later, but I do things a little different on her.  Normally, you’ll want to get Boots of the Magi [and I think I do in my footage], but more important are Boots of Focus. That’s right. CDR is King on the Queen of Fate. Pairing that with Chronos’ Pendant is a no brainer. It’s so damn useful on all mages, but especially her. Sure you can go with Mail of Renewal, Spirit Robe, a Shield, or something like that, but more than that, I like to be greedy and angry. For that, I need Pythagorems’ Piece. It’s a fantastic lifesteal item, which is again, something she is in dire need of to recover from the almost sure damage you’ll take getting into range for Deadly Aspects. From there, I want Rod of Tahuti, Spear of Desolation, and then something fun. Maybe Doom Orb if my clones are running circles around my frustrated foes. Maybe Banecroft. She’d be hilariously fun with some Magic Penetration too, for her powerful 1. Of course, you always want to build for the situation, but I feel like a fair amount of her build will be static, easy to remember, and suitable for most situations. Lots of magical power, penetration, stuff to make people rue the day they took against her in the lane. Just remember when you pop your ultimate, it’s their stats you’ll be utilizing not yours. But your level still matters, so the most important part is getting kills and not feeding so you stay a step ahead of your foes and unleash the most when stealing their kit.

The Morrigan is amazingly fun. She’s not easy, but she’s definitely rewarding. I have a feeling her damage might take a nerf, at least her “1”, or the Percentage Damage on her passive, but you have to work with her. Simply playing her won’t guarantee you wins, and building around her is better than just locking her in at the end of the pick phase and hoping for the best. There can always be a useful God to turn into, but I think one of my favorite things to do are back-to-back Xbalanque ultimates. Or back-to-back Ares. Oh, did they all pop beads and think they’re getting away? Odin pounces down and cages them, another ult, and then, oh no! AOE damage! I can see her doing hilarious things as a utility ultimate, by pairing her with Ah Puch or someone of that nature. That could be why you put her in the hunter role. Pair her with someone like Guan Yu or someone else that can keep her alive, just sustain, farm, and then suddenly she keeps the enemy pinned in an ult. Free money for the whole team! It’s all about teamwork; it makes the dreamwork. The best thing about her is that she can bring anything to the team. She can make up for a missed ult, she can steal the best part of the other team’s ult, she has bundles of damage, and is quite mobile. But the downside is definitely how predictable it is. You might be able to guess who she’ll be, and if you waste the opportunity with Changeling, you have a long wait ahead of you before you’ll get a second shot at it.