Misery

[FaT McMarlin]

So I made a promise to a try misery. Even though I didn't think I needed the challenge of a harder difficult than loper, since I'm still working on the 500 day achievement. 

I truly didn't enjoy the mode at all. It required me to think and plan and make decisions that I don't think my in game skills were ready for, and to be honest I was miserable playing the mode. I didn't enjoy any of the time spent on the run. But I had a goal of getting to the final affliction and surviving as long as possible without condition being recoverd. I somehow survived 22 days before a series of bad decisions ended the run this morning. Mixture of starvation, cold and being tired. 

Yet after hating the mode while playing, I couldn't help but smile as I contemplated another attempt at it, something I swore I wasn't going to do since I didn't enjoy the first run. I felt a small slice of aggravation with myself for the dumb decisions I made that caused me to fade. And then started another misery run. 

Anyone else have these feelings towards the new difficulty? Hate the moments you're playing it, but once you die you can't help but want to try to get further in? I never thought I was going to feel this way. I never thought I would have taken a moment to think about what I did to die and then restart this difficulty. I didn't think I would, in the end, truly enjoy the challenge that this mode brings. 

This difficulty is brilliant. So many emotions I've felt on my short journey. I'm so glad that I attempted the run. So glad I made the promise to try it out. 

To the devs who might read this, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for trying to push this game to it's limits and give your best to us. Even if something's poorly received, I greatly appreciate the efforts in continuing to build a game world that's unique and admittedly addicting to venture into. This game is really one of a kind and I really enjoy the simple but complex tools we're given to survive with.

Marlin.

[conanjaguar]

@FaT McMarlin

I think that you need to be some kind of sadomasochist to truly "enjoy" Misery. Maybe that's why I'm enjoying it .

It's absolutely BRUTAL, but because of that, beating the odds to eke out just one more day and beat your previous time is just incredibly satisfying!

16 minutes ago, FaT McMarlin said:

Anyone else have these feelings towards the new difficulty? Hate the moments you're playing it, but once you die you can't help but want to try to get further in?

I wouldn't be surprised if this is how Misery is supposed to make you feel. There's a psychological element to it that I think  @Zaknafein is better qualified to explain than I am; he is a psychologist after all! Since he was also one of the playtesters for Misery, I also wouldn't be surprised if he had at least some hand in tailoring this response...

Edited July 15 by conanjaguar

[bad_ism]

Have just passed the 50 day mark on misery - it's great. There are some elements which are a bit cruel imo - I was max condition after broken body set in - then took double damage from two sprains! You could in theory die from sprains alone if the run went on for long enough. Really though, what misery has left me wanting is a bridge between Loper and this new difficulty. At the moment you can heal from certain recipes (have heard but not tried), this is good since it gives you a small amount of hope, just enough to push to other regions to get ingredients etc. Maybe even tweak mode so condition recovery is possible but so minimal that it's still a big problem. Also making the world colder was good move - it's freshened up the game for me after nearly 2k hours. One thing I hope they fix at some point is auto select lowest condition item first, quality of life fix is needed there.

[FaT McMarlin]

7 hours ago, conanjaguar said:

@FaT McMarlin

I think that you need to be some kind of sadomasochist to truly "enjoy" Misery. Maybe that's why I'm enjoying it .

It's absolutely BRUTAL, but because of that, beating the odds to eke out just one more day and beat your previous time is just incredibly satisfying!

I wouldn't be surprised if this is how Misery is supposed to make you feel. There's a psychological element to it that I think  @Zaknafein is better qualified to explain than I am; he is a psychologist after all! Since he was also one of the playtesters for Misery, I also wouldn't be surprised if he had at least some hand in tailoring this response...

It's not that I necessarily feel the need to eek out one more day, I just feel compelled to get to the final affliction. Even if the second run is lost one day after I get broken body I'll be satisfied.  I don't think I have the knowledge to survive much beyond the final affliction but I'm going to give it my all. 

It's absolutely brutal. I got rheumatic joints as my second affliction and that I thought was going to be my downfall. Haunted mind came next and the limited sleep mixed with half condition recovery stomped me into the ground like a moose. 

The mixed emotions are different. Only after the run ended did I think to myself I need to try again. I was dead set on one and done. I never thought while I was playing that I'd have started a second run minutes after I faded. I was really looking forward to getting back to my loper run and getting myself the 500 day achievement, but yet, here I am trying to get the broken body.

[FaT McMarlin]

7 hours ago, bad_ism said:

Have just passed the 50 day mark on misery - it's great. There are some elements which are a bit cruel imo - I was max condition after broken body set in - then took double damage from two sprains! You could in theory die from sprains alone if the run went on for long enough. Really though, what misery has left me wanting is a bridge between Loper and this new difficulty. At the moment you can heal from certain recipes (have heard but not tried), this is good since it gives you a small amount of hope, just enough to push to other regions to get ingredients etc. Maybe even tweak mode so condition recovery is possible but so minimal that it's still a big problem. Also making the world colder was good move - it's freshened up the game for me after nearly 2k hours. One thing I hope they fix at some point is auto select lowest condition item first, quality of life fix is needed there.

50 days is awesome!!!!!

I wouldn't say there needs to be a bridge between the two. Misery is really supposed to be a challenge for the most veteran of veteran players. I however am not. I think we're supposed to struggle against the preset conditions. I know there are some who have the skill to reach into the years survived in this difficulty but that's not the majority of players. 

I do enjoy the fact that there's a clear difference between loper and misery. I like the incredible difficulty difference I feel between them. I love that it's been a breath of fresh and horrible air all at once. I think naming it misery was the perfect choice.

[bad_ism]

Thanks - am gunning for 100 +... Agree that it could be seen as just a challenge mode but for me it's the best part of the DLC so far and glad others are enjoying it too! I guess I could just play NOGOA, but I prefer to stick to the set difficulties. Wildlife refresh and cougar will ramp up Misery further down the line as well which will be interesting. One thing I really like about it is that the cold is your main enemy, and every small move has to be thought about - also the travois and thermos really come into their own in this mode - maybe they could add random spawn at some point..

[FaT McMarlin]

4 hours ago, bad_ism said:

Thanks - am gunning for 100 +... Agree that it could be seen as just a challenge mode but for me it's the best part of the DLC so far and glad others are enjoying it too! I guess I could just play NOGOA, but I prefer to stick to the set difficulties. Wildlife refresh and cougar will ramp up Misery further down the line as well which will be interesting. One thing I really like about it is that the cold is your main enemy, and every small move has to be thought about - also the travois and thermos really come into their own in this mode - maybe they could add random spawn at some point..

I'll be happy if I'm able to get to 50 days lol.  I consider myself a loper noob still lol. I kinda wish the weather system they applied to the new region was moved to the whole island. The higher you get, the colder you get. I think that's one of my favorite little features of the new region and this dlc. I haven't found a single thermos yet. Didn't even think any the travois. I kinda really like the same spawn point. It gives the difficulty a challenge feel and really does allow the community to either come together and share tactics or compete amongst friends. I like that it starts in PV since it's such a brutal cold region and the weather has always been nasty. I think the location we start in presents us with a few choices that each of us must choose from. 

[bad_ism]

1 hour ago, FaT McMarlin said:

I'll be happy if I'm able to get to 50 days lol.  I consider myself a loper noob still lol. I kinda wish the weather system they applied to the new region was moved to the whole island. The higher you get, the colder you get. I think that's one of my favorite little features of the new region and this dlc. I haven't found a single thermos yet. Didn't even think any the travois. I kinda really like the same spawn point. It gives the difficulty a challenge feel and really does allow the community to either come together and share tactics or compete amongst friends. I like that it starts in PV since it's such a brutal cold region and the weather has always been nasty. I think the location we start in presents us with a few choices that each of us must choose from. 

Good call about the weather - make summit and higher AC more dangerous! I can see why they spawn you at PV - Backpack / Summit run is good idea imo. I don't use the moose satchel in favour of x2 insulation for accessory slots, so back pack is necessary early doors - then use travois to counter the burden of hauling stuff about - also post broken body tea is life, so thermos is really handy, if a bit cumbersome to use. On reflection I'm not sure summit is really needed - I guess if you find half decent clothes at plane crash you could skip and go forge earlier which might be better option. If I started again I would harvest tons of mushrooms early on as they give best heat boost vs other plants, running low sucks - it costs coal and teas to pick more, but one circuit of FM and you got 100s..