There is so much more to Trove than meets the eye. Beyond the bold colors, voxel aesthetics and churning content constantly updated to keep us occupied is also story. Albeit, scattered story that mainly came to life when a new biome did, as well as via items in the game. Until Now with Trove Geode.
For those who are interested in early Trove Lore, it is briefly summarized on a page at Trove Gamepedia. Over the years, like many I have been hoping for more so when news arrived that Lore would be coming with Trove Geode I was ecstatic but why am I sharing Lore at all?
Geode is a planet completely separate from Trove with its own climate and people.
A planet that was created by the Builder and inhabited by The Ancients. The Sun Goddess hid all her treasures on Geode, also hiding the planet during the Conflict of the Gods when the Builder was fighting Q’bthulhu (Q for short.) The Builder left his chisel embedded in the surface of Geode.
Time would pass bringing the Sundering, when the Sun Goddesses powers waned and she could no longer hide Geode from Q. The Ancients tried to protect Geode from his minions who arrived to harvest the planet but could not so decided to plant themselves in the planet to make it stronger which is why Geode has such rich, plentiful resources.
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The Pebbles and Boulders of Geode are descendants of The Ancients. They return always to the Builders chisel, building their last holding around it using the chisels powers to create a shield protecting what is now known as the Sanctuary.- the last safe place on Geode.
Among the Geodians are the Sun Seekers. This small group is trained in the arts of combat allowing them to bring other remaining Geodians back to the Sanctuary for protection but they knew their strength was not enough so they have assembled to recruit assistance from Trove.
You have boarded the massive Solidarity spaceship built by Rowan who came from Geode to Trove to ask for assistance. Your first task is to to get use to the gravity on Geode which is different from Trove. To do so you will aid the Pebbles and Boulders by going into the caves preparing for battle on the surface.
WELCOME TO GEODE
If I had digested this before logging into Geode on PTS it would have allowed me to be more acceptable of the pace that suits the pacifist vibes of the Geodians plus I would’ve known it is the calm before the war storm that we need to prepare for so let’s go!
The only habit I have formed yet in Geode is changing up characters often, putting on my best outfits of course knowing which class I use doesn’t matter but also knowing I will be queuing Bomber Royale that grants generous experience, in between each cave expedition. The hardest thing about Geode at launch remains to be navigating the Sanctum. Once you have this stored in your memory it’s smooth sailing as you take in the systems of Crystology which you don’t need to do straight away because you need modules but let's chat about these caves for a second that are the center of the Geode world.
Going in with others is key as you all share the resources you harvest. There are three types of cave:
- Moonglow Grotto (Purple)
- Sunken Sunvault (Orange)
- Verdant veins (Blue)
All caves have their own resources but also have one resource at different tiers that they all share. There are five tiers for you to level and the fastest way to so is to get the resources to craft your cave diving modules! There are eight different modules.
- Geodian Acclimation System (GAS) - Helps you stay in caves longer.
- N-Charge - Charges your modules so you are stronger.
- The Omni Tool - Harvest blocks/interact with critters. Upgrade to mine faster/further
- The Climbing Claw - Grapple. Upgrade to travel faster/further, stun stronger creatures
- Rocket Boots - Hover or travel upwards
- The Thumper - Makes crystal and ore visible that would otherwise be hidden.
I am still working on getting all my modules upgraded. Whoever overseen the systems for Geode is without a doubt passionate about upgrades, even critters can be upgraded! So what started as a pretty straightforward process has turned into a slap hazard juggle that’s all blended into my love for Bomber Royale and inability to pass any injured, hungry or tired critter without helping it which is giving me a decent number of crystal caches.
Reliquaries with times attached to them took a little getting use to but again I like the pace this sets so vet players cannot race too far, too fast beyond new players which is never any fun. So far I’ve only hatched two golden eggs but loved both of them, the artwork of the critters is just beyond cute making it difficult to have just one favorite.
Geode itself might seem rinse, repeat within a few months on it’s own but that’s the whole beauty of it. It isn’t on it’s own. I’m curious if Trove is still being played as much or if folks are primarily in Geode and Bomber Royale like myself. Those who know me well would also be shocked to know that I have yet to even think about building and collecting the recipes to build Geode items. I think this would change if I were able to put all the workbenches from the Sanctuary in a cornerstone or clubhouse.
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Over all Geode is a gorgeous addition to Trove that is both new and vet player friendly not always achieved well but conquered here.
My biggest concerns had been whether it would be overwhelming, monotonous or running poorly. I have had no problems with game performance playing Geode and Battle Royale since launch which is really great and my style of play makes it impossible for Geode to become stagnant any time soon. With the massive amount of content available in the entire game I found Trove often left me feeling like I hadn’t achieved anything whether I played 8 minutes or 8 hours, logging on enthusiastic but logging off ALWAYS wishing I had got a new dragon which is all many awesome Trove players want, right? Geode hasn’t had me day dream about this once which is liberating.
What I am daydreaming about is what happens if that shield comes down around the Sanctuary and when this happens will we get to meet the Builder? I look forward to finding out. Oh and whose trophies will I keep collecting playing Bomber Royale? Which is all the building I need right now.
