My first ritual was ended by a big man with two morningstars swinging round him in a circle. Suppose the fingers of a clock — one brief, one lengthy — however spikier and far, way more lethal, and equally inevitable as time, no less than to the novice. I used to be enjoying a Barbarian that run; I didn’t perceive what I used to be doing but, or learn how to keep away from them. My dodges weren’t dodging. I’d accomplished fairly properly up till that time, however he chewed by way of my lives like a canine with a bone, after which I used to be useless, my ritual incomplete. However I’d gotten someplace, earned some upgrades, had a greater thought of what I used to be doing. Time to strive once more.
Conquest Dark is a wierd beast. It clearly owes so much to Vampire Survivors, however its inspirations don’t give up there. It’s additionally pulling from stuff like Conan the Barbarian — your characters seem like they will bench press a automobile however begin with little greater than a loincloth — and a few cosmic horror, as a deal with. There isn’t a lot story in Conquest Dark, however the precise setup is cool. After the arrival of one thing referred to as The Black Planet 237 years in the past, humanity stands on the brink of annihilation. Undead armies have laid waste to the nice human kingdoms. The Cosmic Gods have fallen. The Primordial Ones have awoken from their lengthy slumber. Solely Kharathia, The Metropolis of Legends, nonetheless stands, one final hope for humanity. In a final, determined effort, individuals of all stripes — heroes, criminals, devotees of previous gods, these looking for glory — full Dark Rituals to summon the undead hordes and fallen heroes to achieve energy, hoping to make use of it to uncover the secrets and techniques of the Black Planet and reclaim what they will.
It’s a cool conceit, however Conquest Dark isn’t one for exposition. Most of that is delivered as textual content, and it’s as much as you to sew issues collectively. You see it in the little particulars. The named bosses, like Lord Commander Urien, who seems outdoors Kharathia. Who was he earlier than? A protector of the metropolis, now turned towards it in undeath? What about Witch Smeller Mzawi in the Shifting Sands? How do you scent witches, and what do you do if you happen to catch a whiff of 1? What occurred at The Chasm of Fallen Heroes? Who was S’hes, why did she hunt Titans, and what particularly did she do to have an order of hunters named after her? What’s the Black Planet? The place did it come from? I don’t understand how fascinated by answering these questions Conquest Dark is, however each time I went to a brand new place, noticed what was there, or discovered a bit of bit extra from an outline, I used to be intrigued.
Dark Rituals, Large Decisions
In observe, Conquest Dark is fairly easy: you go to an space on the map to begin a Dark Ritual. When you’ve chosen the place you need to be, it’s time to determine who. You’ve received a trio of characters to pick from, and you’ll reroll these choices as many occasions as you want. You solely have one race (Human) and two courses (Hunter and Barbarian) from the soar, although you’ll shortly get extra. I received’t spoil the further races, however the new courses like the agile Thief, paladin-esque Oathkeeper, and the spellcaster-flavored Acolyte of Kuu, all do precisely what they sound like.
However let’s begin from, properly, the begin. The Hunter is quicker and extra nimble and naturally inclined in the direction of bows and ranged assaults, whereas the Barbarian has extra well being and bleed resistance, and thrives up shut and private with melee weapons, however what is perhaps extra attention-grabbing are the randomly generated proficiencies they get proper from the soar. An additional 5% crucial hit harm, 2.5% bonus well being, or 5% decreased bleed price could not seem to be a giant deal, however it may possibly outline who you need your character to be, and the way you improve later. I notably like you could reroll your three beginning decisions as a lot as you need, at no cost, or go away an space completely without charge if you happen to resolve this isn’t the place you wanna be.
When you’ve received your man (or gal), the enjoyable begins. First, you choose an origin. Veteran of the Warfare offers you Heavy Armor, Shields, and 25% Bonus Well being, whereas Hunter’s Apprentice provides Brief Bow proficiency, Survival, and 0.5 Projectile Pierce. It’s vital to notice you could double-up right here. For those who’re enjoying as a Hunter, you most likely shouldn’t take Hunter’s Apprentice, as an example, as a result of you have already got two of these proficiencies, however it could be nice for a Barbarian that desires to play the ranged sport. For those who play issues, proper, you’ll be able to basically multi-class: Oathkeepers are already arduous to kill, but it surely’s much more tough while you take the Stargazer origin, which supplies you the Acolyte of Kuu’s barrier. When you’ve received an origin, the video games start. Irrespective of who you choose, your character begins with nothing greater than a loincloth and their fists. That doesn’t final lengthy, although.
After you smack your first undead again to the afterlife, you get your first main alternative: your weapon. A few of your choices may not appear all that vital. Take a Hunter’s opening decisions. Shortbow versus longbow’s not likely that essential, proper? Incorrect. Shortbows shoot sooner, however do much less harm per shot and have much less vary, whereas longbows take a bit of extra time to fireside, however hit more durable and farther. When you’re received your killing instrument of alternative, issues escalate. The primary few waves are small, simply so you’ve gotten sufficient time to get used to issues. Like Vampire Survivors, you don’t really management a lot in Conquest Dark; simply the place you progress and while you dodge. Attacking occurs robotically. As a substitute, your focus is nearly completely on positioning. The place to be, when to dodge, preserving monitor of when talents will activate, and being ready to capitalize on that massive shot or massive swing.
I Ain’t Acquired Time to Bleed
As you stage up, you’ll make extra decisions. What to equip, what talents to improve, when to re-roll a range you don’t like or skip it completely for extra forex for re-rolls later. There’s a ton of construct selection right here. I gravitated to builds with large crucial hit harm and excessive crit probability with the Hunter, however the Barbarian works properly with AoE harm and by growing the probability for enemies to drop well being. Choosing early and specializing appears to be key.
Your actual purpose, except for placing collectively a construct that works, is staying alive so long as you’ll be able to. See, you get 10 lives on every run. For those who lose one, you begin bleeding. The extra lives you lose, the extra you bleed. The primary time you die, you begin shedding 1% of your well being each second. The second time, that jumps to 2%. The third time makes it 3% and so forth. There’s no option to cease bleeding when you begin, however you’ll be able to cut back it by speccing into well being regeneration, decreased bleed price, and the way probably enemies are to drop well being. Surviving lengthy sufficient to finish a Ritual means staying alive after enemies cowl each inch of the display screen, and also you begin dying. The longer you’ll be able to stave it off, the higher, however the distinction between a failed run and a profitable one is how lengthy you’ll be able to grasp on as soon as issues go sideways and the bosses begin displaying up. Such as you, they’ve a number of lives, they usually can get fairly nasty, swinging morningstars or not. They’re powerful, but when it bleeds, you’ll be able to kill it. I’ve had the most success as a Hunter, Oathkeeper, and the Acolyte of Kuu (I like standing distant from issues and taking pictures them), however I like how completely different every class feels and the way they pressured me to method fights in distinctive ways in which performed to their strengths.
Whether or not you succeed or fail (and by the approach, you die regardless; even if you happen to succeed, a military of unkillable ghosts sweeps in to break your day. Oops), you’re going to unlock rewards, after which it’s again to the map to spend them to assist future runs. Possibly meaning heading to the Stygian Archive in Kharathia, the place you can’t solely see every thing you’ve unlocked, but in addition improve particular person abilities, weapon units, talents, and so forth with the Soul Cash you get on every run. Or possibly you’re off to the Altar of Energy to spend crystals for elevated harm, or the Altar of Toughness to take a piece out of that pesky bleed harm, or the Altar of Souls to ensure you can gather souls (expertise) from farther away. After which there’s the Factions, like the aforementioned Order of S’hes, which rewards you with buffs for all courses for slaying issues as a Hunter. And then there’s the Obelisk of the Moon, the place you’ll be able to ramp up the issue of performing Rituals for elevated rewards by providing up Shards of the Black Planet. Then it’s again to a Ritual. Stay, die, improve, repeat.
Stay, Die, Improve, Retry
Conquest Dark doesn’t cease and clarify how all of this works off the bat, although there’s a detailed sport information there if you wish to do some gentle studying earlier than you set off. Principally, you be taught by doing, and I like that. Put me in, coach, I’m able to play, win or lose. And when you begin unlocking extra stuff, the wheels begin turning. ‘What can I do with this class? How do I construct round this factor? What if I attempted taking this origin with this class? What can I do?” And as soon as they begin, they don’t actually cease.
This preview’s written, Lord Commander Urien (the dude with the morningstars) has been despatched on his approach, and I’ve seen a number of hours of Conquest Dark at this level. However I can also’t cease interested by it, both. What I would strive subsequent, how I would improve sure issues, what courses I need to discover. The moment-to-moment gameplay right here is remarkably easy. You simply transfer and dodge (or use dodge-based talents that may double as assaults), however there’s an magnificence to it that I admire, and it saved me coming again with new concepts. Upgrades could also be what put you over the high, however the magic occurs while you step into the enviornment, in the moments between life and demise. You’re going to die; that’s a given. The query is how far you may get (and what number of horrors you’ll be able to vanquish) earlier than you do.