Let's talk Elaaden and the krogans.

I hate Eos, its very boring to drive on that planet, feels like driving in the middle of a huge city.

Elaaden on the other hand, very enjoyable. They should put more effort into the cut scenes on Elaaden though. Maybe cut some stuff out of Eos.

Elaaden is pretty, atomospheric, and interesting. I can't say its my favorite of the five planets but it is....well interesting. I loved how Krogan the planet felt. Yet how not Krogan the planet felt. And being pretty much the only planet with no connection to the main story (though I suppose some could argue Havarl also qualifies), it makes sense that it should feel optional. This is this game's version of all those big maps that everyone complained about in Inquisition.

It baffles how a game with over 4 years of development time can still feel so rushed like Andromeda.

I unintentionally skipped Elaaden my first run because I got so caught up in chasing Archon who seemed a major threat that I thought I could hold off on Elaaden for a bit only to have Kandos say Elaaden won't happen during the council choice. I thought that was because I didn't do it but it seems that is his line anyway?

Elaaden was a boring desert. Reminded me of the desert we had in DAI. I was sad about that. We only get 5 planets and one is basically a nighttime jungle shoebox with no need for the nomad. One is a big effin desert that takes a while to drive across. One is a small borderline desert with a few bodies of water. One is a ball of ice that used to be parafreakingdise. One is an Ilos run but with less to see and more to drive with no stopping allowed. And the last is massive mountains with neatly carved paths between them. I call bullshit on Kadara's map because it is some lazy crap that they basically filled with a ton of mountains you can barely climb, a few caves, a few mob points, some puddles, and the thinnest of roads between the mountains. That is a terrible map. Elaaden was nothing. I mean a modder relatively new to making maps could do better. I know because I have seen it on Nexus for skyrim. Voeld was kind of cool due to some points of interest there at least.

All I am saying is they better step up their world development for the next game. The viability stuff only works once. Next time they have to have some decent maps with development and the kind like when you went back to Eden Prime in ME3 you could see a little something more than the port you saw in ME1. I want to see something like that but larger scale. I want to see all the worlds we helped with our vault work and I want to see transformation, civilization starting. I want to be in awe at changes that have started, to see life there and even the early start of cities and towns in other areas of the map. I want to go back and be like 'oh I remember this was where Resilience was and look at it now. It's like a town and they have a lake and memorial there. Or on Voeld, I want to go back and see icebergs and water and have some of the drastic shifts in weather be impacting the planet, perhaps it's got areas that are not safe while the ice melts and temperatures increase. Maybe you have some quests there and you see how the vaults helped and hurt it some, or see it partially transformed. I really hope they give us something to see the progress over time and the impact of the vaults and meridian. There's a lot they can do and they can even recycle the maps with just some additions and changes if needed.

Yes....I know this. Fact is the vast majority isn't what I would call amazing DLC! Yet everyone rode their dick as being the greatest game studio ever in the history of gaming. One could say every single piece of "free DLC" should have been included in the base game.

There were 2 quests that were on par with ME:A Tasks, and 2 that would be on par with a world quest in ME:A. Let's also not forget they never thought people would want a NG+ and had to add it via "Free DLC".


16. Alternative Look For Triss



Makes an otherwise cool character look like a hokey dork.



15. Nilfgaardian Armor Set



Cool-looking armor, but it’s from Nilfgaard. Fuck Nilfgaard.



14. Elite Crossbow Set



Not as good as the high-level Witcher crossbows. Probably useful if you don’t have those crossbows yet, though. Then again... they’re crossbows. Who even cares.



13. Ballad Heroes - Gwent Card Set



I don’t care about Gwent. I know, I know, I should play. I barely have time to play Hearthstone, okay? Anyway, if I cared about Gwent, this would probably be higher.



12. Missing Miners



A ho-hum monster contract that I’ve already forgotten about.

11. Skellige Armor Set



The man-armor can’t match custom Witcher gear, but the horse-armor is top-notch.



10. Alternative Look For Yennefer



Not horrible, but corny when compared with Yen’s basic outfit. The feathers are neat.

9. Temerian Armor



Not particularly exciting on its own, but a solid set of armor for people starting a new game who don’t have Witcher gear yet.



8. Where The Cat And Wolf Play



A decent enough quest, but the culminating showdown was an anti-climax, at least for me.

7. Alternative Look For Ciri



The best of the “alternative look” options. Makes Ciri look somewhat more ready for battle than she did before.



6. New Finisher Animations



More blood, more severed limbs, more fun for everyone.

5. Fool’s Gold



Geralt has a serious conversation with a pig. That’s really all you need to know.



4. Beard and Hairstyle Set



Look, it’s more beards and hairdos. So what if we all stick with a beard and the silver-fox longhair look? It’s nice to have options.



3. Wolf School Gear



An in-depth treasure hunt that takes you to some really cool locations, including a tour of the hidden corners of Kaer Morhen. Cool armor, too.



2. New Game+



A sturdy new mode that makes the game harder in case you wanted to go through again and make different choices without reforging all your cool gear.

1. Skellige’s Most Wanted



Easily the best of the new missions, and all the better because it actually ties in with some of the decisions you made in the rest of the game.

Morda's voice is the biggest problem with Elaaden, how am I supposed to be intimidated or even wary of anything that sounds like that?