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 The Shrieker The Shrieker is a strange and unique fight in Darkest Dungeon compared to everything else in the game. The big thing to note about this fight is that you do not get to choose when to fight it; fighting the Shrieker is entirely based on town events, one of them involving it stealing 8 trinkets lying in your storage, and the other one an active hunt in order to get a unique accessory. Either way, the Shrieker tends to throw a wrench into your plans as it swoops in to ruin your day. Since the Shrieker itself is a mission you deploy for, there's an opportunity to prepare for the fight. One major thing to note though: The mission itself leads right into the fight, so packing things such as Food, torches, shovels and keys are generally worthless. Pack items such as medicinal herbs, holy water and band-aids to make the fight much easier. In terms of team-comp, this is one of the few fights where I highly recommend gearing toward the offensive: Hellion/Bounty Hunter/Man at Arms on front for a durable pointman with versatile ranges, Graverobber/Houndmaster for your high speed ranged damage, Occultist/Arbalest for a good back-row offense that can also panic heal, and naturally a Vestal because of course you bring a vestal. The Shrieker itself is a unique and threatening boss: It has high HP values, stupidly high DODGE, and the kicker being that he has three actions per turn. Because of this, Marks and Debuffs are wholly worthless since they burn out super quickly, to the point where stacking them is practically impossible. There's also a Shrieker Nest on the field, but it does absolutely nothing so don't worry about it. The shrieker itself has 5 attacks, with one of them being a devastating gimmick. His first attack is Peck, which hits anyone with a high amount of damage, a bleed proc, a stupidly high crit rate, and moves him to the front row. His second attack is Caw, which hits anyone for a bunch of stress damage. His third attack is Regurgitate, which can hit 1-2 targets at random for low damage, a Debuff that reduces ACC, and also has a 15% chance to disease you. His fourth attack, which admittedly I have yet to see, is Call the Murder, hits everyone with a chance to do mild stress damage, moves the Shrieker to the back row, and boosts his speed by a ludicrous amount. His final attack however, which will only be done as his final action on the 4th turn, is Shrieking Flight, which does a boatload of stress damage to everyone guaranteed and has the Shrieker escape from battle. Now while the fight does seem overwhelming with his action economy and huge dodge, there's one fact that the game never tells you: Victory doesn't demand killing the Shrieker. If you merely survive all the way to when he uses Shrieking fight, which is technically a punishment for not killing him, you still win the quest. Killing him also doesn't stop the mission from spawning anymore like it does with Brigand Vulf, so this mission is basically an endurance trial against a volley of devastating attacks. You don't even get a cool reward for killing such a busted boss, so there's really no incentive to killing him. There's one more nugget of information the game doesn't tell you: Remember the Nest I told you not to worry about? Well if you kill that, you get anywhere between 1-5 Puzzling Trapezohedrons after the fight. With these plot twists in mind, the real fight in a Shrieker mission is surviving the onslaught of attacks while trying to break the nest for sweet monetary rewards. As mentioned before, the two opportunities for fighting a Shrieker involve getting your stolen accessories back, or hunting it for a unique accessory. If you're lucky enough to get the shrieker accessory town event, you have a chance of getting one of 4 unique accessories, all of them sharing a theme of promoting low-torch/dark runs: Distended Crowseye: +10 ACC, +33% Disease Resist @ <75 Torch, +18% Scouting @ <50 Torch, +16% Stress Callous Talon: +5% Crit, +33% Disease Resist @ <75 Torch, +18% Bleed Chance @ <50 Torch, +16% Stress Molted Wingfeather: +10 DODGE, +33% Disease Resist @ <75 Torch, +33% Move Resist @ <50 Torch, +16% Stress Molted Tailfeather: +4 SPD, +33% Disease Resist @ <75 Torch, +33% Stun Resist @ <50 Torch, +16% Stress Shrieker missions also offer a chance at getting one of 6 unique quirks, known as Corvid's Quirks: Positive Quirks -Corvid's Eye: +8 ACC, +8% Scouting Chance -Corvid's Grace: +6 Dodge, +25% Move resist -Corvid's Resilience: +33% Disease Resist Negative Quirks -Corvid's Blindness: -10 ACC @ >50 Torch -Corvid's Appetite: +33% Chance to auto-examine food curios -Corvid's Curiosity: +27.5% Chance to auto-examine every curio Compared to the other midbosses in this game, I feel like Corvid is the easiest midboss out there and has way better rewards by comparison than the Shambler and the Collector. This may be why it only appears at random since he feels more like a prize to seek out rather than a boss that actively tries to ruin your day. Highwang fucked around with this message at 23:26 on Apr 16, 2017 |
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Apr 16, 2017 22:27
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Highwang posted:As mentioned before, the two opportunities for fighting a Shrieker involve getting your stolen accessories back, or hunting it for a unique accessory. If you're lucky enough to get the shrieker accessory town event, you have a chance of getting one of 5 unique accessories, all of them sharing a theme of promoting low-torch/dark runs: Those are four items.
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Apr 16, 2017 23:17
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Aumanor posted:Those are four items. What the gently caress is counting. good eye.
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Apr 16, 2017 23:40
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Final Update - Hell is in the Heart Victory....such as it is. As for the LP, the main updates are over, however I do have 1-2 bonus videos I hope to do before archiving this. I also plan to stream Stygian Mode later today as a bit of "celebration" for finishing this. Thanks for watching the LP everyone. Also, spoiler ban is now lifted. Go nuts. Highwang fucked around with this message at 18:39 on Apr 17, 2017 |
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Apr 17, 2017 18:13
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Highwang, I don't care what strategy you employ, if the final party composition isn't a Crusader, Highwayman, Vestal and Plague Doctor, you have no flair for the dramatic.
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Apr 17, 2017 18:51
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Good lp, thanks Wang. Although I'm salty af for not getting in at all. 
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Apr 17, 2017 19:06
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Man, what a ride. Thanks for the LP. Would you be able to compile a list of lessons learned while doing this LP? Like learning how Finale is amazing and how the Warrens aren't really all that bad. Also, will you come back for the Crimson Court?
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Apr 17, 2017 19:18
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Time to finally post a video showing how you can cheese even the final boss of the game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGsTZtH8308
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Apr 17, 2017 19:20
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Good LP, thanks for the ride!
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Apr 17, 2017 19:51
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You are doomed in the grand scale of geological time. On the personal level you can still make gains and have a victory. This is a good balance for a game.
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Apr 17, 2017 19:53
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Thanks for playing this.
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Apr 17, 2017 19:58
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What could be worse than cosmic horrors? Humans usurping said cosmic horrors. It seems like the ancestor was a bit too quick in dismissing the experiments with the Flesh as failures, even though those provided the foundation for the cult, allowed him to corrupt shamblers and to even lay claim to all life on Earth.
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Apr 17, 2017 20:18
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Man it's been a fun ride, thanks Highwang! Now I get to make suggestions to my friend playing blind. They just found out about Wilbur. 
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Apr 17, 2017 20:30
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hirvox posted:What could be worse than cosmic horrors? Humans usurping said cosmic horrors. It seems like the ancestor was a bit too quick in dismissing the experiments with the Flesh as failures, even though those provided the foundation for the cult, allowed him to corrupt shamblers and to even lay claim to all life on Earth. I'd say revealing that all along the player has been the ultimate not-strictly-evil-but-beyond-comprehension extradimensional villain loving up the universe and slaughtering thousands of innocent people for fun... isn't the scariest kind of horror, but kinda challenges one to think in mildly disquieting ways that games usually avoid doing. edit for an entirely separate point: those four bonus gravestones look rather ominous, as if just memorializing the people who died gives the Darkest Dungeon's weirdness a way to leak outside. silentsnack fucked around with this message at 20:47 on Apr 17, 2017 |
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Apr 17, 2017 20:37
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hirvox posted:What could be worse than cosmic horrors? Humans usurping said cosmic horrors. It seems like the ancestor was a bit too quick in dismissing the experiments with the Flesh as failures, even though those provided the foundation for the cult, allowed him to corrupt shamblers and to even lay claim to all life on Earth. Huh? The implication of the ending cutscene is that humanity (and probably all life on Earth) are all the spawn of the nameless horror, created to ultimately fatten it and allow it to use the Earth as a Lavos-style spawning vessel.
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Apr 17, 2017 20:47
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Man, the ancestor was right. In time, we came to know the tragic extent of his failings.
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Apr 17, 2017 21:08
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Great job with this, I'm one of the many that purchase this as a result of this LP early on. I'm glad Leppy got the final swing and I hope you show off the
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Apr 17, 2017 21:32
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For whatever it's worth, I consider the line "a perfusion of errant flesh" to mean that humanity is either an unintended side-product of the eldrich horror's growth or we have strayed from our intended purpose. Furthermore, while the Darkest Dungeon universe appears cyclical, there seems to be some form of technological advancement, given the flintlock weaponry and the cannon. In short the human species in the darkest dungeon universe tethers on the edge of destruction, but if we can keep the evil at bay for long enough ... eventually someone will build a nuke to destroy it, or we'll build a rocket and blast off of this rock. That's a massive if, but I do like the occasional optimistic ending in a lovecraft setting.
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Apr 17, 2017 22:49
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double nine posted:In short the human species in the darkest dungeon universe tethers on the edge of destruction, but if we can keep the evil at bay for long enough ... eventually someone will build a nuke to destroy it, or we'll build a rocket and blast off of this rock. That's a massive if, but I do like the occasional optimistic ending in a lovecraft setting. The crawling chaos beyond time and space v. Elon Musk
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Apr 17, 2017 23:09
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Hermetian posted:The crawling chaos beyond time and space v. Elon Musk I'm thinking more Protogen but whatever floats your boat
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Apr 17, 2017 23:26
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Thanks for sticking through this! I initially thought this game would be excessively dark and depressing for me, but you eventually sold me on it, completely. So chalk up another sale, maybe you can ask red hook for your cut now. Although, my playstyle differs radically from yours and I'm finding myself experimenting a lot more and enjoying the results.
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Apr 17, 2017 23:36
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Great LP, thanks for finishing it. Hope the LP curse didn't bite too hard.
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Apr 17, 2017 23:58
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Thank you for doing this LP, it made me better at this game and it was really interesting to get see someone else's playstyle. I'm really hoping the Crimson Court adds another healer, maybe one with religious restrictions. I've heard some rumors the new class is a vampire that fits that bill.
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Apr 18, 2017 01:29
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Thanks for the LP, was a lot of fun to watch. That being said, this LP convinced me not to buy the game. In large part from the ending. Thematically appropriate, maybe, but I like to end a game feeling like I've accomplished something. I disagree with the thought that the game does something different with the usual cosmic horror tropes, and my reaction to cosmic horror stories has always been "Okay, so why are we bothering with this story/game, then?" Darkest Dungeon does not provide a satisfactory answer to that question for me.
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Apr 18, 2017 02:53
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It's still a victory, the beast is put to sleep for a few lifetimes. I mean ,sure, it ate a few of the people we brought in to help. but for some years, the Dark Place Hamlet will know peace.
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Apr 18, 2017 02:53
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I can see from Cythereal's point of view. Sure we won, the beast is beaten, the town is safe, and mankind's safety is secured for *our* lifetime. Its a petty and personal victory that did nothing in the grand scheme of things, which is still a downer but also the best way to do Lovecraft writing because no one ever wins in those stories. From just being a person playing videogames though, I feel like beating this game is a grand victory in itself. So much can go so wrong and I'm stunned that the LP went as swimmingly as it did.
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Apr 18, 2017 02:56
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Veloxyll posted:It's still a victory, the beast is put to sleep for a few lifetimes. I mean ,sure, it ate a few of the people we brought in to help. but for some years, the Dark Place Hamlet will know peace. Except for the ending immediately showing the newest sap about to start the cycle all over again. I'd have been happier with the ending if it had made it clear that you did make a meaningful difference, if not for the world as a whole then at least for a time. Instead it gave me the distinct feeling that it's about to start all over again, and very soon. Kinda goes hand in hand with fighting every single boss three times and every zone staying exactly the same. Nothing you do matters. It's just the same pointless battles over and over again, you're not changing anything or making a lick of difference.
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Apr 18, 2017 03:01
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Highwang posted:So much can go so wrong and I'm stunned that the LP went as swimmingly as it did. It's because you're a filthy lucker, Highwang. Well done, and great LP.
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Apr 18, 2017 03:02
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Highwang posted:I can see from Cythereal's point of view. Sure we won, the beast is beaten, the town is safe, and mankind's safety is secured for *our* lifetime. Its a petty and personal victory that did nothing in the grand scheme of things, which is still a downer but also the best way to do Lovecraft writing because no one ever wins in those stories. First, good LP although I'm kinda sad I wasn't fed to the final boss. I do want to point out that this is kinda-sorta how Lovecraft's stories go in that Nyarlathotep, Cthulhu, et al are never really destroyed...but the humans who try to raise them are. No, you don't destroy the haunter of the dark but you can kill the witch in the witch house. We don't even accomplish this because the ancestor is you and you pull of the exact same plot. The other problem is that, once again, literally nothing happens if you just leave the town alone. You don't have to go into the dungeon. You don't need to fight the necromancer. I wouldn't be surprised if all these factions murder each other offscreen while you're dorking around, and the New God and Heart of Darkness are content for you to come to them instead of razing the planet or whatever. We still don't know what power the Crusader and Vestal draw on and there's a chance it might intervene to save its followers given that it hands out evil-smiting powers like candy. Sure, some schmucks are going to wander in, but you are seriously best off just paying the local bandits to collect monster bounties. Anyway, don't take my rant personally, I really enjoyed the LP.
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Apr 18, 2017 03:19
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"The great family of Man..." ... "Ruin has come to our family." Thanks for playing this, Highwang. Great LP.
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Apr 18, 2017 03:33
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I still don't think that's a good enough reason to not support the developer of this fine game. They allowed the steam workshop as well and I'm glad they're mainly just "let's give more characters heaving breasts". I would be worried if the modding community doesn't do that for a game. That would be the true cosmic horror.
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Apr 18, 2017 04:21
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uh Can someone explain why the player is the ancestor, please? The ancestor was digging ancient poo poo for the sake of power, you, the current owner, want to destroy it... Of course, somebody else will have to carry the load again, but at least you could become a friendly ancestor ghost that yells "DO NOT LISTEN TO MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER, HE hosed ALL THE poo poo UP. RECRUIT HELLIONS AND INVEST THIS AND DO THAT AND DO NOT KILL THE PIGLET."
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Apr 18, 2017 04:35
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dead comedy forums posted:uh You are. It's implied you're the ghost in the opening cinematic, and there's a relic in the Stygian tutorial where you try to warn Dismas or Reynauld. You just instantly give them 100 stress.
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Apr 18, 2017 04:38
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So do the builders demolish all the upgrades they've built or something? "Whelp, owner's dead better restore everything to how it was before"?
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Apr 18, 2017 04:41
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Genocyber posted:Huh? The implication of the ending cutscene is that humanity (and probably all life on Earth) are all the spawn of the nameless horror, created to ultimately fatten it and allow it to use the Earth as a Lavos-style spawning vessel. dead comedy forums posted:Can someone explain why the player is the ancestor, please?
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Apr 18, 2017 05:06
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Good L.p. Highwang! I find it interesting how of the four heroes the vestal is the least prepared to be sacrificed. Does anyone have the unique dialogue for all the characters? Also Highwang, derail. You mentioned Kingdom Death. Would you be willing to give your thoughts on it and expand on it a bit more? I know the general idea of the game, but I feel like your understanding of the mechanics and the lore of this l.p. would be fitting.
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Apr 18, 2017 05:09
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The Unlife Aquatic posted:You are. Just checked that, but it conflicts with... hirvox posted:They're an ancestor, not the ancestor who started it all. The rest are on cleanup duty. And if you gently caress up royally and get everyone killed, the Heart might wake ahead of schedule. Which is what I took from it at first. The ghost goes "IAAAAAAA time is an endless cycle!" and uh (again). I mean, if the game was actually making you get artifacts and search for dangerous solutions and put you into a sort of "sure lets bargain with the eldritch abomination why not it will surely work this time with no collateral" situation to beat it, perhaps that twist would be much more significant To sum up what I am trying to say: if it is an endless cycle, you should be doing the same poo poo that the OG ancestor was doing, not fixing the mess. If you are solving the problem, then you are not him. Does it make sense? (of course, you are dealing with lovecraftian-inspired stuff and it could bend time/reason/whatever, but that would be a cop out)
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Apr 18, 2017 05:21
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Good job on the L.P., Highwang. I'm glad someone was able to get through this whole thing. Shame about the ending being poo poo though.
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Apr 18, 2017 05:45
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Yeah, I don't think the player character is the ancestor. I think that the player character goes insane due to exposure to the Dungeon, sends a rambling letter to his descendants trying to warn them but mostly not make any sense because people have too many eyes!!Fnagh Cthulhu!!!, commit suicide, and the estate falls into neglect. Eventually one of our descendants will find the letter, get curious, and start digging for treasure again.
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Apr 18, 2017 06:08
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dead comedy forums posted:To sum up what I am trying to say: if it is an endless cycle, you should be doing the same poo poo that the OG ancestor was doing, not fixing the mess. If you are solving the problem, then you are not him. Does it make sense? Donkringel posted:Also Highwang, derail. You mentioned Kingdom Death. Would you be willing to give your thoughts on it and expand on it a bit more? I know the general idea of the game, but I feel like your understanding of the mechanics and the lore of this l.p. would be fitting. From a gameplay standpoint, KDM feels like a more fleshed out and dynamic Darkest Dungeon. You don't hire heroes per-se, but with each hunt and showdown cycle your characters get defining injuries, pivotal techniques, and raw stat development that makes each character you roll unique. It also does a good job at making you realize that you cannot keep using one guy; eventually the afflictions and injuries will stack up to where you just cannot feasibly keep using your starting bow guys, but you will also eventually get innovations that will allow the new generation to just start out better than the "founding four." I really like the settlement development though since there are so many different development paths you can take that make games fresh and interesting if you restart. That being said, there's definite balance issues with the Principles aspect of development, since things like "Survival of the Fittest" and "Graves" either don't offer up enough to be viable or just plain make the game overly difficult. Showdown phases are where the game shines, since the AI cards and hit location decks make it to where you try to make the best out of the awful circumstances the monster has dealt you. There's definitely a lot of neat mechanics involved, and it feels like a condensed P&P game without all the hassle of building up a narrative beforehand since the game already has that setup. The big issue people have however is with the art direction. In a way I can understand people's grievances, but it feels like people blow it out of proportion. Naturally the art's going to be dark, morbid, and kinda edgy, because this is a game where the central themes are "life is cheap and fleeting" and "everything wants you to die." The core game's art is pretty good despite the occasional titty hanging out or dick out for no real reason, and the monster designs of the game are drat fantastic. The game shines when you start looking at the cool poo poo later on where the circumstances displayed provide a great frame of the awful circumstances you're about to face. A lot of the dumb poo poo though lies in the "pin-up" models that get released, which don't affect the core game at all and imo are basically just marketing ploys to get more funding for the game. The art direction was the big draw to me initially though, and things like the inverted mountain encounter designs, the fleshing out for the White Speaker group, and also the loving hilarious DBZ homage with Dung Beetle Knight being Perfect Cell make the 1.5 kickstarter update really great. tl;dr, I like the game a lot despite the distinct flaws that make the game seem creepy or bullshit. Really hoping the group I'm playing with keeps enough interest to do the LP idea we joked about.
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Apr 18, 2017 06:29
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