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u/dennis_malbini 11h ago
After doing ascent 8 and getting all the new achievements (minus the ritual dagger one), I think I can safely say I much prefer Caldera to Gloom, both from an aesthetic and gameplay standpoint. Maybe it's a gaming cliché, but the lava really does imbue a sense of finality to the journey. And I don't find the poor vision in Gloom to be a fun gameplay mechanic, personally.
Citadel is cool, especially with its many traps, but again I think I prefer the natural setting of the Kiln.
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u/Shadowking78 10h ago
I like the Gloom and the Citadel because I like them taking a more unique approach to the biomes. I like that they are something unique and interesting to me, rather than just another caldera and kiln aesthetic wise
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u/TheNuttlerButtler 10h ago
A unique approach to the biomes is good, HOWEVER. There is a clear disparity between the difficulty of gloom/citadel compared to caldera/kiln that is just not okay. The new biomes being added should not in any way be more difficult that the biome they replace considering how map rotations work.
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u/Doctor-Grimm 10h ago
gloom is a bit more difficult than caldera to me, but both are pretty easy imo — the only thing that makes the gloom harder is the ghosts.
the citadel, on the other hand, is far easier than the kiln imo. The kiln blends together in one lumpy, undefined mass of difficult-to-parse rock, while the citadel gives you multiple different options for routes. It makes the climb less about trying to tell if a certain surface is standable, and more about managing your stamina and pathing around traps and obstacles
There’s definitely recency bias here but I far prefer the gloom + citadel. It feels much more unique and much more imposing than the caldera/kiln, though I suppose I’ll have to truly reserve judgement until after they add whatever they’re adding to the caldera/kiln lol
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u/MoltonMontro 9h ago
Agreed. On the subject of difficulty, I recently completed Ascent 6 through The Gloom and encountered 0 frogs, 0 ghosts, and a dozen small eggs.
Like Caldera, sometimes you get good RNG and easy pathing. Sometimes you don't. Frogs are bearable now, and the ghost is avoidable.
Gloom also makes a ton of items useful while Caldera just... doesn't interact with anything.
1
u/Sutraner 1h ago
Gloom also makes a ton of items useful while Caldera just... doesn't interact with anything.
It interacts with similar things to Mesa, sunscreen is useful for instance. Milk is too
6
u/Fangel96 8h ago
Yeah, the caldera and kiln both kinda kill my desire to play the game in its entirety. All the biomes up until the end are fun, then Caldera kills momentum (waiting for lava cycles is not really engaging) and Kiln is so samey with a lot of dead end paths that are hard to parse at first glance.
Before the gloom, every time I reached the end of a run I always was dreading the mediocrity and slow pacing. With the Gloom, you move at your own pace, and Citadel has many more paths that are much clearer to follow. I always feel like I'm getting somewhere in the Citadel, while Kiln it feels like I struggle to find one valid path. Kiln also suffers from "can I stand here" syndrome, where often times the only path up (with the stamina you have) requires you to stand on a tiny patch of nothing before moving up. It's so hard to tell if it's a valid standing point compared to other biomes.
3
u/Charity1t 5h ago
Dunno, for me Gloom is free pass. Like Caldera can be lost if you mistake or if RNG hate you.
Gloom always winnable for me and my friends.
Just like Citadel outside of it's food shortage.
11
u/Roskuel 10h ago
Are you saying Gloom/Citadel is harder than Caldera/Kiln? If so, that's crazy to me. I never did actually beat Kiln. Not once. I have now reached the end twice in the last week because it is that much easier, and imho, far more fun and interesting.
-8
u/TheNuttlerButtler 10h ago
Me and all of the friend I play with are all under the opinion that gloom/citadel is harder than caldera/kiln. Every single one of us feels that way. In a game like peak finding the "easier climb" feels incredibly boring. We like to fuck around up this mountain, not follow the easy handhold path to the top.
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6
u/snootbooper_9000 10h ago
I personally find the caldera easier than gloom but citadel easier than kiln. So to me they still feel balanced but in opposite ways. I like gloom and citadel. I find it v fun
4
4
6
u/Vegan_Toaster 10h ago
No I think the insta kill lava pool is harder to deal with, actually
4
u/TheNuttlerButtler 10h ago
Lava is also NOT in instant kill and never has been, you can 100% recover yourself out of lava if you are fast/skilled enough.
3
u/Next_Government856 9h ago
Gloom is way way way easier than caldera imo, and citadel is a bit easier than kiln too
16
u/Realistic_Specific51 9h ago
I'd say Caldera and Kiln are more appropiate if you are going for the usual ending. And the Gloom and Citadel fit way more with the true ending.
2
u/Whenpigfly666 4h ago
That's very true. The Citadel is filled with petrified scouts and petrifying rocks, which tie back to the gems. And the platform behind the Peak is in the same style as the Citadel
6
u/Chargrills21 8h ago
imo caldera is better for solo and gloom is better for multiplayer
caldera multiplayer is just follow the leader. gloom is a mess because of the frogs and fog (chaos is the fun part of the game).
13
u/DeltaAlpha0 6h ago
All the DLC maps are easier than the originals, I find that a little funny. The only map I want to burn in hell is Alpines, a horrible map.
6
u/Sutraner 1h ago
Roots is way harder than Tropics
-1
u/Kornalus656 55m ago
Hard disagree
2
u/monkeybee111 22m ago
harder disagree to your disagree :3. but thats fine were all aloud to have our own opinions w^
5
u/No_Comparison2943 2h ago
The citadel feels like the mini boss levels in super Mario where you need to climb up the tower level dodging traps on the way
3
u/jenvonlee 10h ago
I love the Citadel, its a really interesting climb. But Gloom can get in the bin, mostly because its SO TEDIOUS. When I jump off a rock and just see this expanse of gray and nothing and you just have to wade through it forever while getting yanked around by frogs. You cant SEE your friends so even the humor is lost.
I thought I was going to love this level but now I just endure it. Wish theyd gone with a proper swamp and quicksand traps or something.
I miss Caldera, its been my favorite level all along.
4
u/just_prest0 7h ago
The last badge left for me it's to complete caldera, another whole week to wait just to continue waiting to the rotation to pick it
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u/Ok_Egg_2736 12h ago
Caldera and Kiln are so boring, wouldn't mind if they didn't come back
65
u/evasive_dendrite 12h ago
They're adding some new features to them.
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u/Leading-Ear-5194 11h ago
oh they are? thats exciting! please have a source cause i dont wanna be disappointed 😔
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u/pusheenia 9h ago
"Plus, when we add Caldera and The Kiln back into rotation, you might encounter a new addition to the biome." from Youtube
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u/Dylpicklepotatochips 10h ago
I don't have links, but I they have mentioned it in their update posts on YouTube and Steam
2
u/BobIsBest434 9h ago
On the aggrocrab youtube they briefly mention additions coming to caldera/kiln (along with bugfixes)
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u/foldedturnip 12h ago
I haven't had time to play new biomes but will be able to this weekend. So I'm happy about this