Recently, I completed Khrysalis Part 1. As of finishing Khrysalis Part 1, I've looked back on a lot of things that I liked and didn't like and I would like to give my own opinion on the world.
Overall, I found Khrysalis Part 1 to be a very well done story and a wonderful experience. The idea of a stranger, bug themed world is much different from what we've seen before and I like the difference. I liked many characters (Zaltanna the Mirrormask, Dyvim Whitehart, Kaliklak, Dorian Brighteyes, Queen Sabina, Captain K'torr J'rrol and Stinger Bell come out as my favorites). I enjoyed the concept of coming into the Umbra Legion's forces as an unknown spy and slipping in unseen. I really loved how the story unraveled into a lot of hidden secrets and unexpected allies. We also see more sides of Morganthe and what shes doing, which I like. I like the concept of a villian who has a plan and goes at all odds to execute it. We also see she has grown much more violent and blood-thirsty than her first appearance in Celestia. As Ambrose puts it, she becomes very dangerous when she feels trapped.
Compared to Dragonspyre, Khrysalis follows a more planned out/straight-forward objective. We have a band of characters who will help us complete our goal, which is a little more reasurring than going around a spire to the top of an abandon volcano (with no assistance present). We know what we're doing and we only have our eyes on the prize.
Music in Khrysalis is very pleasing. When we enter Khrysalis, the music revealed a deathly, all-hope-is-lost vibe. I found Moon Cliffs' theme more edgy with a techno-spin that we've never seen in prior themes. Last Wood was extremely calming and showed the vulnerability of the Burrowers and their home. Tyrian Gorge is a little more subtle, but gives the element of emptied, danger. Fort Rachias had a surprising militant sound that was a throw-back to Dragonspyre when I went through it. The Khrysalis Thrives theme, after beating the Eclipse Tower, is my favorite and shows the return of life. I appreciated the alternating battle musics and hope for more in Part 2. I also like the design and sights of each area, one being newer and stranger than the last.
The difficulty of Khrysalis starts gradually, starting with a few 3v1 fights in the Benighted Tower, but over all leveled out with mostly the usual 2v1 battles, then grew slowly to more 3v1 and 4v1 battles in the end. I'm glad the street mobs were of little consequence throughout the world. Azteca was challenging already, and from what I saw at the end of Fort Rachias, Khrysalis Part 2 will not be a cake walk. Part 1 gives a player a break between difficulties so that they can gain their wits and move out of and back into the grind. I find that a good move.
Recently, I completed Khrysalis Part 1. As of finishing Khrysalis Part 1, I've looked back on a lot of things that I liked and didn't like and I would like to give my own opinion on the world.
Overall, I found Khrysalis Part 1 to be a very well done story and a wonderful experience. The idea of a stranger, bug themed world is much different from what we've seen before and I like the difference. I liked many characters (Zaltanna the Mirrormask, Dyvim Whitehart, Kaliklak, Dorian Brighteyes, Queen Sabina, Captain K'torr J'rrol and Stinger Bell come out as my favorites). I enjoyed the concept of coming into the Umbra Legion's forces as an unknown spy and slipping in unseen. I really loved how the story unraveled into a lot of hidden secrets and unexpected allies. We also see more sides of Morganthe and what shes doing, which I like. I like the concept of a villian who has a plan and goes at all odds to execute it. We also see she has grown much more violent and blood-thirsty than her first appearance in Celestia. As Ambrose puts it, she becomes very dangerous when she feels trapped.
Compared to Dragonspyre, Khrysalis follows a more planned out/straight-forward objective. We have a band of characters who will help us complete our goal, which is a little more reasurring than going around a spire to the top of an abandon volcano (with no assistance present). We know what we're doing and we only have our eyes on the prize.
Music in Khrysalis is very pleasing. When we enter Khrysalis, the music revealed a deathly, all-hope-is-lost vibe. I found Moon Cliffs' theme more edgy with a techno-spin that we've never seen in prior themes. Last Wood was extremely calming and showed the vulnerability of the Burrowers and their home. Tyrian Gorge is a little more subtle, but gives the element of emptied, danger. Fort Rachias had a surprising militant sound that was a throw-back to Dragonspyre when I went through it. The Khrysalis Thrives theme, after beating the Eclipse Tower, is my favorite and shows the return of life. I appreciated the alternating battle musics and hope for more in Part 2. I also like the design and sights of each area, one being newer and stranger than the last.
The difficulty of Khrysalis starts gradually, starting with a few 3v1 fights in the Benighted Tower, but over all leveled out with mostly the usual 2v1 battles, then grew slowly to more 3v1 and 4v1 battles in the end. I'm glad the street mobs were of little consequence throughout the world. Azteca was challenging already, and from what I saw at the end of Fort Rachias, Khrysalis Part 2 will not be a cake walk. Part 1 gives a player a break between difficulties so that they can gain their wits and move out of and back into the grind. I find that a good move.
Though, I should mention the negatives I found...
There aren't a whole lot of things I personally see bad about Khrysalis (it's one with a lot more pros than cons), but these are just what I see.
Soloing Khrysalis Part 1 is every possible and I've heard many wizards soloing the world with much ease. Though, when I soloed it, be prepared to be flexible with some bosses around the Eclipse Tower part of the story. While some Wizards are able to conquer bosses like Tymen Whiteflame, Ravik Dreamscape, Shadow of the Land, or Belosto Toebiter alone, these guys I found the most difficult around Khrysalis soloing. The same goes for Ghost Dog in Fort Rachias. I had a lot of trouble with him, and after 3 failed attempts, I broke down to get Henchmen. I find this strange though as I could be the two Ice and Myth bosses with 2 Storm mobs pretty easily...
Anyway, all in all I spent a little over 5K on Henchmen throughout Khrysalis (only on 4 fights (Ravik Dreamscape, Shadow of the Land, Belosto Toebiter, and Ghost Dog)). Someone with more experience than me could have done Khrysalis without spending anything on Henchmen. This is not to say, "Oh, on these fights I have to spend on Henchmen if I wanna solo." Absolutely not. These were just my experiences and my advice would be to look out for these specific fights if you're planning to solo Khrysalis.
Also Khrysalis' difficulty can be looked at rather mixedly. If you're a player who epically enjoyed the challenges of Azteca, you might find Part 1 a bit lack-luster and not as stimulating. If your a more casual/solo styled Wizard, you might not appreciate the numerous 3v1 and 4v1 fights around the world. That is all on perspective though. I think it's a good middle ground and fairly compromisable.
From a story stand point, Khrysalis Part 1 is the first world to come out to lack a history quest line. While we got some mention that because of the Hundred Year War, the Burrowers have abandoned their history, I would have liked to see the usual "go around the world and find X books" quest. Hopefully, I'm just over judging and Part 2 has plans to include this.
I can't say I'm pleased with the Gardening Quest being exclusive to Level 15 gardeners and that Baby Sunbirds is still not a trainable spell, but the higher requirements do make you want to achieve more.
Shadow Magic came about with Khrysalis. KI's decided to take it a step further in making the requirement not a 3v1 battle, but a full out dungeon. I will say that I liked that Shadow Magic is part of the main quest and not a side quest. I don't like the imbalances between the 3 spells, but that aside, I think Shadow Magic is a nice addition to the ol' spell deck. I'm more interested, now, in if we'll continue to get free Shadow spells based on our school in further dungeons.
All-in-all, I'd give Khrysalis an 8.5 or a 9 on a 1-10 scale. It's a stranger, interesting world with a character all it's own. I hope anyone who went through this world enjoyed it as much as I did and look forward to Part 2.
I'm glad you enjoyed your Khrysalis experience. I wish I could say the same for myself.
Among my friends, I'm the one who takes the bull by the horns and gets through the worlds first. Certainly not fast, as I do take my time to read the various stories, enjoy the scenery, and do all the side quests. I do have more time than many of my friends, so that's why I end up finishing first.
Khrysalis, however, is the exception. I can't seem to finish it. My Ice wizard, who has soloed the entire game and all of the dungeons, including Aquilla, can't seem to go further. I'm in the Gorge and I have no desire to move forward. I want at least ONE wizard to make it all the way through, but frankly, I'm bored to tears and can't seem to get motivated.
It's not because it's "too easy", it's because its dull, monotonous, boring, dreadful, has small spaces, weird pathways, unexciting graphics, and the list goes on. I play, and it's "fight this mob and this mob, then go on a sigil, fight a boss, then go back to the same mob and fight them some more, then go to another sigil for another boss" and on and on and on. There's really no variation. Also, it seems to me the small area was created to save programming/computer/server space. Less scenery details for the same reason. Azteca was hard, but the scenery was great. I realize Khrysalis is suppose to be darker, because of Morganthe ..... but, geez, it's too dull and lacks detail in plants, walls, buildings, etc, you see in previous worlds, particularly the first arc.
Friends have offered to help me and have tagged along to help me get through Part 1. Slowly but surely, I will get there, but in the meantime, I am very very disappointed on everything about Khrysalis. I am hoping beyond hope that Part 2 is better, because this may just be the final straw for me in regards to this game.
Khrysalis is really easy they don't usually block criticals.I think fort rachias was what's coming in part like what we will encounter in khonda desert and I hope the starfall sea will have enemy ships like as mobs I think there will be shadow enemys in part 2 Morganthe will for sure will be shadow class it will be unfare to death. khrysalis has great scenery I love Queen Myrtle town sugar gliders are pretty much fit awesome sauce
I'm glad you enjoyed your Khrysalis experience. I wish I could say the same for myself.
Among my friends, I'm the one who takes the bull by the horns and gets through the worlds first. Certainly not fast, as I do take my time to read the various stories, enjoy the scenery, and do all the side quests. I do have more time than many of my friends, so that's why I end up finishing first.
Khrysalis, however, is the exception. I can't seem to finish it. My Ice wizard, who has soloed the entire game and all of the dungeons, including Aquilla, can't seem to go further. I'm in the Gorge and I have no desire to move forward. I want at least ONE wizard to make it all the way through, but frankly, I'm bored to tears and can't seem to get motivated.
It's not because it's "too easy", it's because its dull, monotonous, boring, dreadful, has small spaces, weird pathways, unexciting graphics, and the list goes on. I play, and it's "fight this mob and this mob, then go on a sigil, fight a boss, then go back to the same mob and fight them some more, then go to another sigil for another boss" and on and on and on. There's really no variation. Also, it seems to me the small area was created to save programming/computer/server space. Less scenery details for the same reason. Azteca was hard, but the scenery was great. I realize Khrysalis is suppose to be darker, because of Morganthe ..... but, geez, it's too dull and lacks detail in plants, walls, buildings, etc, you see in previous worlds, particularly the first arc.
Friends have offered to help me and have tagged along to help me get through Part 1. Slowly but surely, I will get there, but in the meantime, I am very very disappointed on everything about Khrysalis. I am hoping beyond hope that Part 2 is better, because this may just be the final straw for me in regards to this game.
I will agree with you on the monotonous repetitiveness. I found that having to fight Blue Razors, Flame Legs, Hundred Leggers, and Night Flames again and again got really annoying, but after Azteca, I've become very nonchalant about repetitive quests. At this point, I've found that KI's resources for finding more varying quests is limited and can cause players to become bored. It's unfortunate, but I tend to not let such things get to me.
What you brought about the scenery, I am 50/50 on. From the get-go, Diego said to the Wizard on the Isle of Archanis that Khrysalis is a dead world. While we've met quite a numer of living creatures, much of the world is either rock, sand, burnt, or just on the verge of surviving. The Hundred Year War, unfortunately, caused for a lot of destruction on Khrysalis.
I will agree that the scenery of Azteca was bright and taming with life and lush and has some of my favorite environments. Unfortunately, it casts a shadow over Khrysalis' more rocky, dead terrain. However, the Moon Cliffs, Last Wood and Bastion&Silent Market after the Eclipse Tower all had plant life. While not that lush-jungle vibe Azteca has, it has plants...
I'm not sure if I can agree with you on the notion of lack of details on buildings in Khrysalis (especially in Bastion), but I would agree that I think main worlds beyond Azteca are getting smaller. In the first arc, you had streets stretching on and on. In Azteca and Khrysalis, many areas only hold 2 battle fields. My theory is that: 1.)KI is spending more money and time into other fixes 2.) Creating "slightly" smaller areas equals faster release time 3.) Enhanced details on scenery and creatures takes up budget or 4.) the KI Team is only so big now and cutting back on area sizes allows the Art Team to work faster between areas.
We all have are own outlooks and experiences though. I do think Khrysalis Part 2 will have it's interesting moments. We'll just have to wait and see what comes.
I'm glad you enjoyed your Khrysalis experience. I wish I could say the same for myself.
Among my friends, I'm the one who takes the bull by the horns and gets through the worlds first. Certainly not fast, as I do take my time to read the various stories, enjoy the scenery, and do all the side quests. I do have more time than many of my friends, so that's why I end up finishing first.
Khrysalis, however, is the exception. I can't seem to finish it. My Ice wizard, who has soloed the entire game and all of the dungeons, including Aquilla, can't seem to go further. I'm in the Gorge and I have no desire to move forward. I want at least ONE wizard to make it all the way through, but frankly, I'm bored to tears and can't seem to get motivated.
It's not because it's "too easy", it's because its dull, monotonous, boring, dreadful, has small spaces, weird pathways, unexciting graphics, and the list goes on. I play, and it's "fight this mob and this mob, then go on a sigil, fight a boss, then go back to the same mob and fight them some more, then go to another sigil for another boss" and on and on and on. There's really no variation. Also, it seems to me the small area was created to save programming/computer/server space. Less scenery details for the same reason. Azteca was hard, but the scenery was great. I realize Khrysalis is suppose to be darker, because of Morganthe ..... but, geez, it's too dull and lacks detail in plants, walls, buildings, etc, you see in previous worlds, particularly the first arc.
Friends have offered to help me and have tagged along to help me get through Part 1. Slowly but surely, I will get there, but in the meantime, I am very very disappointed on everything about Khrysalis. I am hoping beyond hope that Part 2 is better, because this may just be the final straw for me in regards to this game.
I also am finding this world not all that and have been only questing there once in a while - mainly so I have a wizard though the game I guess. I am still in Lost Wood area and do a quest now and then. I keep picking up all the side quests as a deterrent.
I am not sure if it's because I am done in general with the game or was it having to survive AZ and Xe bla bla to get here or what. I have battle burn out. Is it that our family no longer quests together because I took a break in AZ and they didn't want to start a new wizard? Is it that we hold our expectations too high for the game. As the game has grown I know I have not. I am still back in that first arc where I did enjoy the game play and every thing seemed more controlled.
Thanks Cunning Finnigan for a great thread. Nice analysis overall, and timely.
Overall I have enjoyed Khrysalis. I like the spy infiltrator thing, and the mouse companions. I also like being an agent of the Council of Light trying to redeem a world from Shadow. Expecially at first, I found this theme to be motivating.
Like BrynnerOfReign and Northlite, though, I have found that I don't seem to have the will to finish it. (BTW, you two are some of my favorite people in these boards, you always have a good voice for the "regular" folks who just want a good kind fun game. )
My Wizard is in Fort Rachias now. Mostly I have him parked there with a marker to port back to, but then I take him out to go farm for my other wizards and to garden. It is not that I don't enjoy it when he does quest, but I find myself more drawn to go back and play my "baby wizards" in the first arc. The first arc still has a magic that the second arc never quite captured. There is a lot of repetition in the first arc too, lots of mobs and do not collects, and so on. But somehow the first arc still seems more fresh and fun, even after doing it multiple times. The "higher" level stuff gets to be lackluster by comparison.
I think Khrysalis is a huge improvement in both storyline and playability over most of the second arc worlds, with Avalon being the exception (Avalon was a very fun world to play).
As others have mentioned though, Khrysalis is smaller and more confining. I think C. Finn. is right that KI is rushing worlds to production without fully developing their scale and wonder.
Mostly, I think they just need to Lighten Up! The second arc took the game too seriously, and thereby seriously lost the fun quotient. This started out as a light hearted game that was a bit childish, and in that light, childish way created a lot of delight and magic. Bring it back! Lighten Up!
I know what you mean about Khrysalis being a bit boring but I loved that I could solo again or use my two accounts to take on a boss without having to drag in 3 other wizards. And I actually liked the dark trails, moving through grass and brush like a mouse or bug. The perspective is more "on the ground", as you spy and stealth about. But now I am stuck because I am on a quest called Eggs on the Side in the Tyrian Gorge, where your friends can't port into the dungeon. I am Storm and no way can I beat a mob of Death diggers and then go directly into battle with a Storm Boss (22,000 health) with 3 Myth minions. Really frustrated. If any of you fought this dungeon solo (hatchery cave) and defeated Sekar SickBlood the Storm boss and his minions, let me know how you did it.
I will agree with you on the monotonous repetitiveness. I found that having to fight Blue Razors, Flame Legs, Hundred Leggers, and Night Flames again and again got really annoying, but after Azteca, I've become very nonchalant about repetitive quests. At this point, I've found that KI's resources for finding more varying quests is limited and can cause players to become bored. It's unfortunate, but I tend to not let such things get to me.
What you brought about the scenery, I am 50/50 on. From the get-go, Diego said to the Wizard on the Isle of Archanis that Khrysalis is a dead world. While we've met quite a numer of living creatures, much of the world is either rock, sand, burnt, or just on the verge of surviving. The Hundred Year War, unfortunately, caused for a lot of destruction on Khrysalis.
I will agree that the scenery of Azteca was bright and taming with life and lush and has some of my favorite environments. Unfortunately, it casts a shadow over Khrysalis' more rocky, dead terrain. However, the Moon Cliffs, Last Wood and Bastion&Silent Market after the Eclipse Tower all had plant life. While not that lush-jungle vibe Azteca has, it has plants...
I'm not sure if I can agree with you on the notion of lack of details on buildings in Khrysalis (especially in Bastion), but I would agree that I think main worlds beyond Azteca are getting smaller. In the first arc, you had streets stretching on and on. In Azteca and Khrysalis, many areas only hold 2 battle fields. My theory is that: 1.)KI is spending more money and time into other fixes 2.) Creating "slightly" smaller areas equals faster release time 3.) Enhanced details on scenery and creatures takes up budget or 4.) the KI Team is only so big now and cutting back on area sizes allows the Art Team to work faster between areas.
We all have are own outlooks and experiences though. I do think Khrysalis Part 2 will have it's interesting moments. We'll just have to wait and see what comes.
I sincerely hope that Khrysalis 2 bumps up my enthusiasm for the game, but I'm not going to get my expectations up too high. I think it's the whole Morganthe storyline. To me, it's always been without rhyme or reason, bouncing here and there without any real direction (in the writing/storyline).
I do understand that Khrysalis is a type of grotto .... a sort of dead area with some life as well as dullness because of what's going on there. I play other games that start off bright and cheery, and as you hop from area to area, the colors are not so bright as the enemy takes over more and more of the world. In these darker areas, it is still beautiful because of how the graphics were designed and the color choices ..... and I can honestly say, they are darker and more foreboding than anything Morganthe has done to the worlds she has 'visited'. I'm not saying the graphics have to be top-of-the-line, but there are still ways to make it exciting and draw you in even though the world might be dying.
I'm still dragging my wizard slowly through Khrysalis ..... and I have to fight the Night Flames ..... AGAIN, for what seems like the hundredth time.
I think W101 needs to enhance their formula for the game. Instead of mob/boss, mob/boss, mob/mob (rinse and repeat for what seems like eternity), perhaps W101 can add different things to do in the game. Remember some of the puzzles we have? How about hunting for stuff without fighting mobs? Work our way through a maze? Find secret rooms behind that large painting on the wall? The list is endless.
At this point, I don't mind waiting a bit longer for new areas to be released if W101 takes the time to really think about the writing, design and graphic,s to make the game exciting to play again.
I sincerely hope that Khrysalis 2 bumps up my enthusiasm for the game, but I'm not going to get my expectations up too high. I think it's the whole Morganthe storyline. To me, it's always been without rhyme or reason, bouncing here and there without any real direction (in the writing/storyline).
I do understand that Khrysalis is a type of grotto .... a sort of dead area with some life as well as dullness because of what's going on there. I play other games that start off bright and cheery, and as you hop from area to area, the colors are not so bright as the enemy takes over more and more of the world. In these darker areas, it is still beautiful because of how the graphics were designed and the color choices ..... and I can honestly say, they are darker and more foreboding than anything Morganthe has done to the worlds she has 'visited'. I'm not saying the graphics have to be top-of-the-line, but there are still ways to make it exciting and draw you in even though the world might be dying.
I'm still dragging my wizard slowly through Khrysalis ..... and I have to fight the Night Flames ..... AGAIN, for what seems like the hundredth time.
I think W101 needs to enhance their formula for the game. Instead of mob/boss, mob/boss, mob/mob (rinse and repeat for what seems like eternity), perhaps W101 can add different things to do in the game. Remember some of the puzzles we have? How about hunting for stuff without fighting mobs? Work our way through a maze? Find secret rooms behind that large painting on the wall? The list is endless.
At this point, I don't mind waiting a bit longer for new areas to be released if W101 takes the time to really think about the writing, design and graphic,s to make the game exciting to play again.
This.
K1 was a lot of nothing. Gauntlet, gauntlet, boss, repeat... Lame, lame, lame. I couldn't even appreciate the artistry, because I was too busy focusing on forcing myself to complete the monotonous grinding mob battles.
I have 3 wizards in Khrysalis at the moment: 95 balance/death and 93 storm.
My storm wizard is in Tyrian Gorge. All she's done so far is jump back and forth between the myth and death mobs in that area, occasionally talking to someone before repeating the whole mess over... I haven't been playing as much recently because, frankly, I'm bored.
I've resorted to questing in Mooshu with my fire wizard (and I hate Mooshu) because I've reached a point where I would rather deal with the memorably-awful Cave of Solitude than the grind-y monotony of K1. The quality of writing has seriously tanked since the introduction of Morganthe, so I'm not getting my hopes up for K2.
I will say, however, I really hope that this is the end of the second arc. The "or is it?" at the end of the news bulletin makes me uneasy, because I really don't think I can tolerate Morganthe and her childish antics for yet another world. I'd rather have teeth pulled.
K1 was a lot of nothing. Gauntlet, gauntlet, boss, repeat... Lame, lame, lame. I couldn't even appreciate the artistry, because I was too busy focusing on forcing myself to complete the monotonous grinding mob battles.
I have 3 wizards in Khrysalis at the moment: 95 balance/death and 93 storm.
My storm wizard is in Tyrian Gorge. All she's done so far is jump back and forth between the myth and death mobs in that area, occasionally talking to someone before repeating the whole mess over... I haven't been playing as much recently because, frankly, I'm bored.
I've resorted to questing in Mooshu with my fire wizard (and I hate Mooshu) because I've reached a point where I would rather deal with the memorably-awful Cave of Solitude than the grind-y monotony of K1. The quality of writing has seriously tanked since the introduction of Morganthe, so I'm not getting my hopes up for K2.
I will say, however, I really hope that this is the end of the second arc. The "or is it?" at the end of the news bulletin makes me uneasy, because I really don't think I can tolerate Morganthe and her childish antics for yet another world. I'd rather have teeth pulled.
Sigh, -von
I totally agree with your hope that this is the end of the second arc and of Morganthe. She has been a very lame, Saturday-morning cartoon kind of enemy. And the whole second arc has been a very disjointed storyline. Time for something new and fresh, and better thought out.
I have seen other people suggest more spin-off worlds to the first arc -- taking off from Wysteria into Mirage for example. While Wysteria was a little silly for me, I think Mirage could offer a lot of potential for creative story, puzzles, etc., as Brynner of Reign suggested. Genies, illusions, puzzles, old Arabian nights themes like magic lamps, etc. But whether this, or something else, it is time for a new direction in this game.
Definitely it is time to put Morganthe and the second arc to rest. They are over-cooked, like squishy green beans wilting in a cafeteria steam tray, not even much good for compost anymore.
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