You know, I usually try to blow through Test Realm. Experiencing the entire world, figuring out new boss cheats, and providing KingsIsle with useful feedback were my primary motivators for doing so. However, I did things a bit different this time around. When my friend, TheArtOfWarlord, asked me to stream the new world with her ... I thought it would be fun. And it was! Although our progress wasn't as fast-paced as some others (due to needing to match schedules), we had loads of laughs, ran into some cranky - but entertaining - people, and overall had a good time.
So with the official live realm launch of Empyrea, we decided to do it again. In the process though, I've discovered that I ... um ... am not as "capable" as I usually am. When doing a livestream, I tend to be so focused on TRYING to be entertaining and interacting with the chat that I just start throwing away efficient game decisions. Apparently, multitasking is not one of my strong suits.
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Empyrea Livestream Struggles that Really Shouldn't be Struggles
- Wait, this is a cheating boss? Since I'm usually done with a new world early into Test Realm, I have the time to document and figure out new cheats. That didn't happen this time, but that's okay! I still try to be prepared and look up cheats ... once I actually figure out that the boss cheats. Because of my inability to multitask while streaming, my discovery of cheating bosses has been something like this:
*Starts battle*
*Starts casting spells*
"Hmm, my blades are gone? Enfeeble or maybe bugs?"
*Starts casting more blades*
"Okay, gone again. Maybe this guy cheats?"
"Yep. DEFINITELY A CHEATER."
*Looks up his cheats*
"Alright, new plan. With less dying this time hopefully."
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It's weird going into fights blind after being over-prepared for so long. Not the most efficient way to get through a world, but it has been interesting. It's worth noting that I do plan to cheat test some Empyrea bosses and create guides for them, but that won't happen until I finish questing it.
- I forgot to change x again. Whether it's my deck, a pet, or a piece of gear, I just can't ever seem to change what I want to when I intend to. Maybe it's because I get too excited, maybe it's because I'm trying to keep up with chat, or maybe I'm just forgetful. I don't know! What I do know is - I'll say, "I'm gonna change my deck after this fight" and then five fights later I still haven't changed the deck. Whoops.
Empyrea hasn't been all mishaps though. I'm really enjoying the world and all of its geeky references. Though I've never been a Trekkie, I can appreciate a good Star Trek reference when I see one. And all the Batman elements ... with one of the main characters being "The Bat," a bit on the nose, don't you think? My superhero heart lives for this type of stuff.
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The difficulty is what I expected after KingsIsle's KI Live statement on the matter. To paraphrase, KingsIsle is aiming to make storyline content on the easier side to allow people to get through it and advance to future worlds. On the other hand, side content is where they intend the real challenges to be. That's not to say that Empyrea is completely easy though. There are a few tricky battles that might catch unprepared teams off guard.
Overall, I'm looking forward to questing the rest of Empyrea on the live realm. What are your thoughts on the new world? You can check out the full list of new updates here.
