vikland valley general feedback

I posted a couple bugs in the bug forum but wanted to have a post for general feedback too....

I liked the chime puzzle. Took me a while to figure it out and since I move slow there I felt like there was barely enough time for me to complete it, but I made it up the elevator!

Leaving the building and entering the valley gave a nice contrast, well done.

I feel like there should maybe be a way to get the crystals inside the valley, even at a low drop rate. If they already do then I didn't notice because I brought a bag of most colors with me. But I forgot to bring purple and I didn't have an extra yellow. I believe that in Vikland you can only get one of each color (I had more since I put them in the bank). If I am correct about that then maybe you should be able to get two or three of each color because you need multiples of some colors in the valley. It may be that the intention is to require you to use the teleporter to go back to get more crystals but that only works if you have the runestone with you, and I don't think people will want to go back to main Vikland if they showed up with one of each color crystal.

Thanks for the good work!

 

I checked out the new Vikland area with Gwendolyn Obscuro last night. We kiled a lot of stuff, but as far as I can tell, we never got a vikland crystal or a runestone or a key to drop while in the new area.
I decided to run around in there again this morning.
However, when I ran around the new area this morning, the "Enduring Pale one" enemies dropped an orange vikland crystal and they also dropped a vikland runestone.

So I suppose, we just got unlucky last night. So far, I have not found the key for Eye guy's door .

 

I suspect the reason we didn't have crystals and runestones drop is there yesterday and the reason you were only getting the yellow crystal from the piles outside is that we already had crystals in our inventories and it seems you can only loot colors you don't have currently. Maybe if we had killed more last night we would have eventually gotten the yellow and purple crystals we still needed to open the chests (though we killed quite a few while neither of us had the yellow). I will go back later today and do some more testing.

 

also, the lich witch dropped a blue vikland crystal for me today, and also dropped a Blueprint: Stone Dungeon Room (Lich Boss) - i am not sure if that is a unique drop or not.
Some of the chest locations are randomized.
Also, you can fish in the pond near the waterfall

I do agree, it would be nice to be able to hold more than one of each crystal in the inventory. That way you can hunt here for a while, and then go open everything up.

 

I wonder if you have all but one color in your inventory are you more likely to get that last color runestone or is the chance for each color still the same but if you have one you don't loot it (if that makes sense). If already having the other colors increases your odds of getting the last color you need I can understand the not looting repeat colors but otherwise I think you should be able to have two or three of the same color.

I had multiples of most colors yesterday because as I had gathered them previously I had put them in the bank and then I took a pile with when I headed to the scene knowing I would need some. (but I must have missed purple and only got the yellow I needed to go in since that was newly added) I am not sure if having a color locked to your inventory prevents you from looting another (haven't gotten any yet) but if it does maybe that could be changed so we have a way to get more than one of a color without using the bank (but without interfering with the original reasoning)

 

this is only a guess: encouraging grouping? you can have each party member go in with a full complement. also might help with the chime puzzle if that requires hitting multiple places quickly.

 

In the chime puzzle room, (to me) it feels like the respawns there could be toned down a bit, while we try to observe and figure out the logic of the chime puzzle.

 

I am wondering if the drop rate for the crystals has been decreased, at least in the piles near the cave. I had accumulated several of each color in the bank knowing they would have some quest use and in case I wanted them for deco and those are the crystals I used to explore the new region. I found most of those in the piles while looking for smilodon bait for the panther wave battle, and the end of the day I would just put they crystals in the bank.

Yesterday I put all of my crystals back in the bank to see how long it took to get them again for this quest and to see if locking them allowed me to get a second of the same color. The yellow crystal is found right away the pile as long as I don't have one in my inventory (locked or unlocked doesn't matter, I don't get a second) but I have not found any more in the piles after several rounds of searching. I did get one off of an elf but only one off of a couple dozen elves at least. It might be that I am getting unlucky drops but especially with the limit of one jewel per color in inventory (which I think should be two of each) I think the low drop rate of crystals might discourage players from searching out enough to unlock the various areas of the new part of the zone. If the elves are meant to be the primary source of crystals maybe there should be an area with a much higher elf respawn rate- they seem to be sprinkled in the scene in groups of 2-5 elves but you end up fighting or avoiding a lot of bears, boars and panthers in between groups of elves and I don't think the animals drop crystals.

 

I just saw this in Gwendolyn's post, where erling says regarding the crystals: "If you lose them, I don't have any replacements. You'll have to sort through corpses and break open chests if you want to find replacements."

I don't ever recall seeing that phrase. I looked thru my chat logs and it was never told to me. The statement in the pic below was the only thing Erling told me about the crystals (which had nothing to do with where to find the crystals). SO, i think there is a problem in which the "where to find the crystals" hint is not being displayed unless some specific circumstance is met (@Sannio). Also, now that i have completed the quest, Erling still does not tell me where to find new crystals (still tells me the statement in the pic below). I think if you ask erling about crystals (at anytime before or after getting the quest), Erling should give tell you where to find them: "If you lose them, I don't have any replacements. You'll have to sort through corpses and break open chests if you want to find replacements."

Also, after looting every NPC dead body (skeletons, floating dead bodies, and vikings), looting every non-treasure hunt chest/barrel/box, looting the poo piles many times, looting two of the treasure hunt chests, and looting the loose stone , I got no crystals. Maybe they are not in the loot table in the main part of vikland (i did see them rarely drop in the new valley).

Addendum: i finally got a yellow crystal from a poop pile, looted them about 40-50 times, and that is the only crystal i got. (note: i have already completed the Erling quest, opened the obsidian cave door, and gave erling the amulet). This seems like the crystal drop rate is too low, or maybe I am looking in the wrong place?

 

Since you seem to be getting difference responses than I did I posted my entire conversation with Erling in my bug report post. I think saying 'Erica' a second time may have advanced the conversation. It is mentioned in the log to ask again to learn the full story so maybe that is what changes the answers to the keywords (and exposes the references to being given both crystals even though we are only given the red one).

 

Well i obviously cannot fight that one ghost down by the Pale one.....depleted my potions and everything...ran around the corner...killed a spider and the door locked on me...couldnt get out. Luckily i had gotten a Vikland runestone from the poop pile and was able to start the teleporter only to leave and get killed by two yellow ghosts on the obsidian dock......Yeah i need to work on that a bit more

 

One other thing, possibly a minor clue for the chime puzzle. I spent a little bit of time and got the general overview. And I think there’s an audio clue possibly as well. The logic part is escaping me. But I’m sure I’ll eventually figure it out (I would rather figure it out myself).

Curios what others might think as well.

 

Yeh, i think the link between chimes and the solution (and the quest) is rather esoteric (assuming that I understood the intended link ).
I did not see anything that I would classify as a hint....for me, the info that I assume was meant to help you solve the puzzle seems too obscurely linked to the puzzle, such that it seems unrelated to the puzzle. I think most people will just brute force the solution by trial and error, which to me is less fun than having to formulate a solution from some recognizable clues. But i guess i coulda missed the intended clues.
(I was purposely vague so as not to give any spoilers. )

 

Bring a spare Red Vikland crystal!