Assault on Summerfield...recommended for you?

[knightgf]

Introduction

I gotta admit, when the first series of the Lordsmarch Chain came out, I thought it was really good for the time. The storyline was good, we got to meet a new race, new enemies...but the one thing that stands out in my mind was it was F2P. For something that was F2P content, it was actually really good. But, here comes Assault on Summerfield, and you might wonder if its good or if its bad, since its P2P. Is it any good, you ask?

The short and quick answer: Yes, its good, but not as good as the first chain. Buy it when its on sale, 25% at the bare, 50% preferred.

A bit of detail(Warning: Spoilers Abound!)

After the end of the first chain, doom seemed inevitable for stormreach. The Drooam army was on their way, and with them, blood would be spilled on the streets of stormreach. The first quest of the series pits you in the Summerfield District of stormreach. The quest itself is interesting much like the first quest in the first part of the series. Here, you pit yourself in the summerfield district, under siege by the might of the Drooam army. The one thing that kinda disappointed me was that the monsters came in portals, and not by spontaneously appearing or catapulting(Crazy, I know, but its still better!) into the district. While this may happen later on, at this stage, it just doesn't make sense. If it were a outsider creature or some other creature that would make relevant sense, I wouldn't mind it. But portals? Really? Plus, if they could open portals, why the summerfield district? Why not all over stormreach, where they have the best chance of taking the city by numbers and force?

I thought though that the first quest would be a bit better. Sure, it is a bit interesting, since you go through stores, kill all the monsters, kill the monsters that show up in the portal, go through the sewers, go back for a counterattack, exc., exc., but I think that it could be better. If I could redo it, it would be similar to a korthos-type defense, where the whole area turns into a warzone. Monsters jump the walls from all over, and you've gotta defend yourself and the few remaining guards. However, you can use the environment to your advantage, such as using crossbow mounts to fire at the enemy, using explosive barrels, exc. And once you've defended from a wave of vicious Droaam attackers, you'll be able to perform a immediate counter-attack(Kinda like in the original quest) and stop more reinforcements from coming by firing a crossbow mount tipped with explosive bolts at a few Drooam supply carts, among other attacks. If I could redo the current version, its probably what I would do.

The second quest in the chain is somewhat simple, and interesting. The Drooam have their naval forces by the harbor, and your goal is to sabotage some of their ships. One thing that I thought was kinda sad is that you can't board the ships through the hatches on the bottom; its a one-way exit for the ship. Perhaps if the design of the quest was a bit different, maybe it could have been facilitated to go through that way...at a cost. Other than that though, its a fun quest. Running around planting bombs, blowing up ships and assassinating captains is a fun thing to do. Plus, for all of you stealthy types out there, there is the opportunity to put your skills to the test, which is a really nice change for once. There's not too much to say about this quest, and sometimes I ponder if it is a essential quest in the series.

The third quest in the chain gets away with a interesting start, fallowed by another attack from the Drooam! This time, they've decided to use a old trick from Part I of the Lordsmarch chain to try and attack stormreach; Too bad the Drooam don't have a fraction of their brains as they do brawns, because the attack is thankfully thwarted on your behalf. Once you've delt with them, you will immediately counter-attack by heading into the tunnel they burrowed and slaughtering foes along the way. This quest is quite interesting, since you fight probably the largest elemental you'll ever see in your life(Although the fight could have been more interesting) and the minefield part was very interesting. A funny moment that I had was when someone mentioned the 'jumping' part of the minefield, I thought they meant, "Jump through the minefield as fast as you can without getting hit too much", and the next thing I knew, I jumped in, got hit by a bunch of mines, feel down, and was taunted by, "Your doing it wrong" from one of our party members. Oh, and a certain movie reference would have been funny...if I didn't die by some wierd force that extends 20 ft. out of the fatal trap.

The last quest in the chain was pretty unique when you compare it to the other quests. While I have given things away, what I can tell you is to watch your step, have some knowledge in satanic rituals, and enjoy the last boss battle. It's a boss unlike any other you've seen. You may need someone a bit experienced to deal with the last boss, as the puzzles they make you solve tend to be a bit tricky. But otherwise, its fun. And this time, the portals DO have relevance in this quest, so its all good. Oh, and the XP isn't bad either, I might add.

The 'other' stuff

Now, as for the other things, I'll break it down for you: The XP I suppose isn't bad, but the last quest is pretty good for XP. The named loot that drops in this quest isn't bad either, and with the right ingredients, you can merge loot to make some unique things. I think its a bit better than the first Lordsmarch chain, since not only is some of the loot better by itself, but it can be good, or at the very least, the same when you merge it. One thing that really ticks me off is that for the one-time end reward, rather than just giving you a full list of the named loot for you to pick one of, they dillute it with vendor junk and even potions of cure light wounds! I feel insulted that one of the quest rewards I get was a 5-stack of cure light wounds! If it was serious wounds, I wouldn't be as sore, but really? On the bright side though, at least I have all the non-bound loot I want, so if I need any bound loot, I can just buy it and volia! I'll be happy. The favor is just coin lords favor; if you have enough high level packs or certain low level ones, you should still be able to hit 400 coin lords favor no problem without this pack. While players may find it difficult to run at higher settings, hardcore vets and such shouldn't have too much trouble.

Overall:

It could have been done better when compared to the Lordsmarch Chain, but it still has some great features about it, and the storyline isn't bad. I say buy it when it goes on sale, and you'll have something else to do besides Gianthold if you have it, or some ok mid-level content if you don't. If you want to investigate further, I highly recommend going to the DDOwiki and checking it out: Especially for the loot and a few other things.

[arjiwan]

I definitely agree with you regarding the spawning of portals. It is more of an easy-way-out-design rather than I don't know, story-wise? It is easier to just spawn it somewhere rather than place a AI waypoint for the Droaam Troops to attack.

The thing is, when I first stepped in Kobold assault / Archer's Point (not sure if this is the quest), the feel of swarming of monsters is overwhelming and fun.

The district could have that feeling, but honestly, the portals ruined it for me.

[EpiKagEMO]

Ohohohoho... dude everyone should have this pack right after they get gianthold and vale...
Undermine+Haste+Sprint boost+Acrobat+High saves=no ROFL(literally)! instead, you'll have a firework show!
or
Undermine+betrayal :3

I wish it was longer. nice story

[sirgog]

The Orc Warmage right at the end of the final quest (just before the shrine) is the most impressive looking mob in this game. Pity that awesome model wasn't put to better use.

[voodoogroves]

And he's on the splash screen for it too, swinging that Shining Crescent clone-thing