benthesodaman

You can't purchase the DLCs individualyl, but specific to this one I liked: * the addition of difficulty modifiers if you're playing co-op and wanted more of a challenge * the breadth of build options that are added with the Evocation / Ultima classes * altered and new boss move sets for existing bosses to keep fights fresher and 2 new bosses to pit yourself against. To address some common concerns: * the brutal difficulty is a result of a player not taking advantage of the RPG mechanics of the game or misallocating their stats - so if someone is saying brutal, it means they didn't realize that Strength = physical attack, Stamina = physical defense, job levels = more stats, smithy = more stats, etc. * without any RNG, the new bosses can tackled to what will feel like Hard difficulty. With more time investment with the smithy and upgrading that gear, you can bring that difficulty down to feeling like Action (normal) OR * Extra Mode has always been available to have infinite MP and break gauge (a defense gauge) * The devs have included an armor set that drops with the first DLC fight that makes you invincible during Extra Mode for players that just want to experience this first-hand and maybe want to get a few unlocks before taking - and if you're reading this now, there is an armor set that cannot be dismantled or discarded, so if you played on Story (Casual) or Story or just don't want to put more time learning the game, you have options I wasn't too fond of how little story there was - wanted more conversations with the NPCs involved and the NPC speaking a human language instead a fictional language. I was also hoping for new biomes and normal monster models, but that would have to wait until the last DLC. If this DLC had the quality of life from the later DLCs (transferring job affinities and rare item effects, duplicating pieces of gear), this DLC would have been a buildcrafting dream.

Even though you can't get the DLCs individually, specific to this one, I liked: * Addition of 17+ NPCs which have lore and a couple dialogue options to get different reactions or information. * The layer of builds that adding summon blessing effects and 600% job affinities added * Quality of life that the Fuse option added to transfer job affinities *Consumables to use at the Rift What I didn't like: * Little to no incentive to do the Gilgamesh difficulty's world map since all the story and progression unlocks are in the Rift + Gilgamesh world map has extremely rare drop rate for the better gear (e.g., a couple hours in the Rift could fill you up with the new gear, 3+ hours in the world map - you might see1 of the new gear.) * rogue-like nature of the Rift where consecutive failure or crashes or quitting can destroy your momentum, reset your perks with monsters, clear out unidentified items, and remove any gil or consumables you had in the Rift * co-op Rift progression is not preserved between sessions, so **** returns to the world map and rejoins a host, they're back at no items, gil, or unidentified items

Liked: Fast-paced action combat, a breadth and depth of build options as you progress the game, soundtrack and nods to Final Fantasy series, and three player co-op for most of the game and DLCs. The difficulty options if you just want to play story and if you invest in the RPG mechanics, even though the DLC is on a higher difficulty - you will be on even footing. Disliked: The 3rd DLC had little in the way of build expansion compared to the 1st and 2nd DLCs, UI QoL that did not get implemented, number of lingering bugs, the Rift Labyrinth's penalty system, Rift Labyrinth lacking a co-op save, story pacing, character animations during story sequences To address the DLC difficulty: The game is fair if you don't rush by neglecting mechanics. Which is what some players citing Souls NG+++ and Nioh Abyss 999 players do/did. The game gives you multiple ways to increase your stats, but a number of players only focus on one way. Use them all and you could be clearing bosses in under 60 seconds or face tanking even without grinding. And if do grind or grind efficiently, you could achieve faster clears or be so sturdy you can go pee, wash your hands, come back, and still be alive (not exaggerating, especially the wash hands part). For players that don't want to invest time learning the game, but do want to see the story first-hand, there is a lore friendly Extra Mode. You can also still practice and experience the combat in this way, but if you neglect your stats, you may have boss encounters longer than 2~3 minutes. And then as a Final Fantasy name, no other game in the franchise has as much build customization as this game. For players that love that kind of stuff, this is a dream. For players that want something more streamlined and simplified, the DLCs will be a mini-nightmare.