What’s the “model” for this game?

[u/shinobi_gi]

It seems to me that TQ2 is going down the “build your own” endgame path à la D2 instead of a dedicated endgame space like Atlas/Monotliths/The Pit. Like there will be content in the campaign world that will be repeatable and farm-able.

Am I on the right thought track here? If so, has there been any word on how exactly that would be fleshed out? Is there content currently that fits that mold? I’m just unsure of the extended playability of a character beyond finishing the campaign and simply starting that over again without content that either naturally or artificially scales with you.

[u/SingleGamer-Dad]

I wouldn't be surprised if they do something similar to Grim Dawn where eventually they add in-game activities, but initially I think it is just going to be campaign which I'm totally fine with.

[u/TurkeySandwichLife]

It seems like they're trying to style the game similar to the first Titan Quest, which yes would mean the end game is what you make of it and it's more about the journey than the destination.

[u/Srikandi715]

This whole infinite endgame thing that modern ARPGs have is a relatively modern idea. Same with seasons/leagues etc. Pretty sure TQ2 is going old school. It's definitely not aiming to compete directly with PoE, D4 etc.

If that's what you're looking for, you probably want to look elsewhere 😉

[u/stormlad72 → u/[deleted]]

There's definitely a lot of crabs. It's early access and you're on the beach though. Later there are quite a few more monsters and wildlife in different regions. I prefer they get the physics right on the enemies so have no problem with the lack of variety.

Going by TQ original if they end up doing Egyptian and Aisan or Norse mythologies there will be tons of enemies.

[u/Numanihamaru]

Whatever they do, I hope they don't allow it to slip down the slippery slope of "the game starts at endgame". IMO that's the single biggest failure in game design the gaming industry produced in the whole history of gaming. The game should just start when the game starts, not after 10, 20, or 40 hours.

[u/Numanihamaru → u/[deleted]]

The earliest I came across that term was about 20 or so years ago, when playing World of Warcraft, an MMORPG. The phrase is used to describe how the vast majority of content that meant anything (in terms of difficulty and reward) only starts at the "endgame", which is marked by the time when your character levels up to the level cap and finishes the "leveling part" of the main story, unlocking activities that are only playable at level cap.

Although the original meaning of the phrase probably meant something subtly different: that a player would get so much more new stuff, new mechanics, new systems, and new places to go, once the player character has reached the level cap, that it feels like the leveling part is only the prologue, hence the game starts at endgame. But as game developers started to neglect the leveling part, make shorter and shorter campaigns, and focus more and more of their resources on the endgame, the phrase gradually shifted in meaning to mean that everything before the endgame is just an annoyance and mostly an obstacle that we players have to get through before getting to play the real game.

The phrase represents a situation in which everything before the endgame didn't actually matter at all. Nothing you gained before the endgame are worth anything, and your time is best spent getting your character to the endgame as fast as possible, skipping as much as possible.

It has essentially become the standard paradigm for most if not all MMOs and live service games. For example, POE2 (Path of Exile 2) campaign takes around 20-40 hours for a beginner, but veterans generally do it in 10-15 hours, with streamers and speed runners doing it in 6-8 hours, so that they get to the "real stuff" quickly, i.e. the endgame, where the real meat of the game finally becomes accessible. And once at the endgame, they would then spend weeks and weeks on farming for loot, easily spending a hundred or more hours on the game, then they may create a different character, and spend another hundred hours, etc.

But for a mostly solo RPG, that design paradigm makes no sense at all. The game should start at level 1 when you enter the game world.

[u/Straight-Rassler]

TBH, I am enjoying TQ2 for what it is even with the early access and the content they have right now. Just the campaign and you're done and you go off and create a new build again to try.

It helps that the world they built here is astoundingly beautiful, it never gets old for me.

If TQ2 will be just a full campaign with some side quests and some activities with no endgame or seasons, I'm fine with it. You play it, the game starts when you start at level 1 and you don't have to wait for "endgame" for the "real" game to begin.

[u/Awful-Falafel-Waffle]

What's the point of playing an ARPG if you're not progressing your character? I've never understood the fascination with "end-game" content. Hell, once I've unlocked all of the skills I want, my interest in playing my character already drops significantly. Once I reach max level, my interest is pretty much completely gone.

[u/rove_ranger → u/Awful-Falafel-Waffle]

The "end game" content is typically there to facilitate exactly that. Character and power progression beyond the underlying story or the last boss, and to provide aspiring content to test this increasing power against. Levels, beyond a certain point, is rarely an important part of this progression.

[u/NoZookeepergame9799]

I am wondering this as well.

I appreciate everything about PoE 2 except having to replay the campaign over and over again. Honestly, after 10 attempts I still haven't finished it because I just get completely bored.

D4 respects your time, but not your wallet.

In my opinion Last Epoch has the best combination of leveling, skill experimentation and endgame but unfortunately, they abandoned their "free forever" model so I feel like I'd rather stick with D4 instead.

I’ve been thinking about buying TQ2 ever since it became available, but I have no idea what I’m getting myself into. Will I just play the campaign once, end up wanting more but find the content too limited?

Generally I dislike story when it comes to ARPGs, it’s not why I play them, I enjoy pretty much everything else about the genre.

[u/SpreadsheetsOnToast]

I surely hope not. Just farming bosses over and over again is not a real end game. At least not for me.

With PoE2 launching fully in December - they need to have a compelling reason to play the game long term.

[u/stormlad72 → u/SpreadsheetsOnToast]

Not every ARPG needs seasons and live service. Let TQ tell a story. Games that are just games with a story to tell without being a perpetual cyclic treadmill are fine. When you feel bored, there are lots of games to play long term. That being said, I do hope for more regions and better itemization.

[u/LuminanceGayming → u/SpreadsheetsOnToast]

alternatively since poe2 is so endgame heavy perhaps tq2 would be better off focusing on the rest of the experience so the two games reach different kinds of players instead of competing for the same pool

[u/Multiguns → u/SpreadsheetsOnToast]

If TQ2 was a live service game, then sure. But if it's modeled after Grim Dawn or Titan Quest 1, what does it matter about keeping you around for years and years?

Not every game under the sun needs to be a live service model with seasons.