Immaculates & Ash Giants
Dec. 8th, 2020 11:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
adepslanaeI do wonder why the name "Immaculate" for a very dangerous Scourge enemy not to be trifled with. What's unsullied about them? Also, inescapable connection to Xianity and the Immaculate Conception (today being the feast of said Immaculate Conception too).
Hmmm.
Also, when I first read the name "Harmattan" on the map, I assumed the studio which developed the game was French (L'Harmattan being also the name of a famous French publisher), instead they're based in Canada. I guess the French element is still there though, as well as the more Mediterranean inspiration.
The generic mob enemies are a bit meh. Giant insects? Big angry chickens? Dinosaurs? I find them a bit childish, but the more dangerous enemies are really interesting - the various kinds of golems, said Immaculates, other Scourge boys, manticores (help), and especially the Ash Giants.
I really like the Ash Giants!
I didn't pay much attention to them when I first played the game, but last week I actually entered their village for the first time ever and took a close look at them (their appearance). It is right up my alley - the long neck with the horns and cartilage growing out of their back, the beefy legs and even the pot bellies. Also, their lore with the Dawn Weaver and the Dusk Father, and how important weaving of ash-silk and the crafting of porcelain is to them, is super interesting. (And, of course, gives me Fëanorian vibes.)
So I was trying to make friends with them with my Levant-affiliated character, but sadly I could not.
I spent 2+ hours two Sundays ago running from Hallowed Marsh to the Peninsula and then from there to Levant looking for a giant's heart, after remembering I had one at some point - I thought if I returned it, the Giants might be impressed. I had no giant's art in my possession so I acquired one by getting other enemies wandering around Abrassar to kill the giant monk that was patrolling the area next to the entrance to the beehives. It took 2-3 brigands, a few red insects and 3 of those scarab-like enemies.
The Giants were not impressed.
So I looked them up on the internet and found out there's a quest involving the giants if you choose to join Rissa.
So last Friday I created a new character and joined Rissa.
Character is named Daurin. I wanted to create a white male character (my first being a black woman) but I almost didn't because the faces are so ugly. The black and Asian male faces weren't any better so I went with the least fugly.
Over the course of a couple of days of playing I completed a good deal of the Peninsula - except the main bandit camp, the Voltaic Hatch, the Blue path and the Vigil pylon.
I'm also trying not to use as much magic as I did in my first playthrough. I am using the Flamethrower spell, because it's fun! I've learnt it works with different types of lanterns, too. When I first played last year I was playing like a wimp and I used a shield, but when I picked the game up again I realised it's not really helpful. So I'm either using a two-handed weapon or a one-handed + something in the off hand like a gun or a dagger, and maybe even try runic magic or chakram (sp?) spells...depends on how many upgrades I can get.
Oh and the wendigos...I had never heard about them before, but I've recently looked them up and it turns out they're Native American monsters. Their appearance though...they look like Cleric beasts? Or rather, Cleric beasts look like wendigos (and knowing now what wendigos represent, I'd say it's a pretty subtle way on Miyazaki's part to convey what he thinks of clerics...).
Hmmm.
Also, when I first read the name "Harmattan" on the map, I assumed the studio which developed the game was French (L'Harmattan being also the name of a famous French publisher), instead they're based in Canada. I guess the French element is still there though, as well as the more Mediterranean inspiration.
The generic mob enemies are a bit meh. Giant insects? Big angry chickens? Dinosaurs? I find them a bit childish, but the more dangerous enemies are really interesting - the various kinds of golems, said Immaculates, other Scourge boys, manticores (help), and especially the Ash Giants.
I really like the Ash Giants!
I didn't pay much attention to them when I first played the game, but last week I actually entered their village for the first time ever and took a close look at them (their appearance). It is right up my alley - the long neck with the horns and cartilage growing out of their back, the beefy legs and even the pot bellies. Also, their lore with the Dawn Weaver and the Dusk Father, and how important weaving of ash-silk and the crafting of porcelain is to them, is super interesting. (And, of course, gives me Fëanorian vibes.)
So I was trying to make friends with them with my Levant-affiliated character, but sadly I could not.
I spent 2+ hours two Sundays ago running from Hallowed Marsh to the Peninsula and then from there to Levant looking for a giant's heart, after remembering I had one at some point - I thought if I returned it, the Giants might be impressed. I had no giant's art in my possession so I acquired one by getting other enemies wandering around Abrassar to kill the giant monk that was patrolling the area next to the entrance to the beehives. It took 2-3 brigands, a few red insects and 3 of those scarab-like enemies.
The Giants were not impressed.
So I looked them up on the internet and found out there's a quest involving the giants if you choose to join Rissa.
So last Friday I created a new character and joined Rissa.
Character is named Daurin. I wanted to create a white male character (my first being a black woman) but I almost didn't because the faces are so ugly. The black and Asian male faces weren't any better so I went with the least fugly.
Over the course of a couple of days of playing I completed a good deal of the Peninsula - except the main bandit camp, the Voltaic Hatch, the Blue path and the Vigil pylon.
I'm also trying not to use as much magic as I did in my first playthrough. I am using the Flamethrower spell, because it's fun! I've learnt it works with different types of lanterns, too. When I first played last year I was playing like a wimp and I used a shield, but when I picked the game up again I realised it's not really helpful. So I'm either using a two-handed weapon or a one-handed + something in the off hand like a gun or a dagger, and maybe even try runic magic or chakram (sp?) spells...depends on how many upgrades I can get.
Oh and the wendigos...I had never heard about them before, but I've recently looked them up and it turns out they're Native American monsters. Their appearance though...they look like Cleric beasts? Or rather, Cleric beasts look like wendigos (and knowing now what wendigos represent, I'd say it's a pretty subtle way on Miyazaki's part to convey what he thinks of clerics...).