Farther in now, the Pandora environment is a masterpiece, amazing, the first game where I don’t mind taking the time to harvest items from the environment.
Grind- Compared to a base building game like
Conan Exiles or
Ark Survival Evolved, this is no comparison, not grindy at all. But you may spend time trying to find stuff. Example, I wanted to upgrade my heavy bow and I needed a ‘canopy root’. They’re not that common. I spent several sessions while playing the game taking the time to look up in the trees for the item, couldn’t find it. It’s a large map with many biomes. So I broke down, found a post online, which told me exactly where to go, and there they were.😋
Rookery Desination
Up to the Rookery
One part of climb looking down. At the top, the ground is very far away.
- I finally got my wings, having to climb up to the Ikran rookery. This vertical space amazed me. The experience of nabbing a Ikran as your own is not as difficult as in the movie. You don’t have to wrestle them, but one significant element of the game design is pathfinding puzzles, and climbing for this purpose is no exception, although the puzzles are not overly difficult, they are definietly not straight forward. The journey up is beautiful and impressive.
Many elements of the game including finding
Tarsyu plants a connection to Eywa, that gives you skill points, and
Bellsprig plants that give you permanent health buffs, you can see a dot on the map, but when you get there where is it? It’s either underground, or up on top of that cliff you're standing at the bottom of.
The tarsyu sapling is an immature tarsyu plant. Unlike mature tarsyu, saplings can occasionally be found in small groups within the Western Frontier, such as the cluster of three saplings on Wing Mountain in the Upper Plains. Connecting to a tarsyu sapling via tsaheylu rewards the player...
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The Bellsprig (Na'vi name: sìltsyurasyul) plant can be found throughout the regions of Pandora. At the top of the plant, many teal bulbous appendages stick out (which glow a bioluminescent seafoam green in the dark) and they resemble digitalis (foxglove) on Earth. The branches are dark purple...
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Regarding this, when you get your wings, vertical challenges become much easier, but realize you may loose your intimate connection to the surface. I’m finding that I use the Ikran for long distance, when fast travel is not available. Fast travel is available to every base and most facilities, like field labs that you visit. Most of the time, I try to stay grounded, but vertically, the Ikran is a huge convenience.
Combat
Obviously, you use your Ikran for aerial combat with
Scorpions which I’m still a new comer at. It’s definetly not as dynamic as in the movie, the camera follows behind you, a key allows for a free camera to look around. A skill allows you to do barrel roles, but these are small maneuvers designed to avoid incoming fire, not large arcs that would change your angle of attack upon an enemy. I suppose, this is a limit of the game engine. I imagine pulling my Ikran up and over an enemy ship in a large arc, shooting down into the cockpit while upside down, but you can’t do that. Bullet time would make that feasible! 😄
Anyway, you can shoot them with arrows which are effective like sending 4’ inertial energy missiles at them, but the heavy automatic rifle, you’ll inevitably pick up finishes them off quickly.
Many bases have
Anti-Air Turrets so aerial assault is not the best in this case. And I’m running into combat situations with many AMPs present, where stealth is better. Inside a base, if there are 3 AMPs in close proximity to each other it can be difficult because where one is easy to kill, others who will make it difficult. Out in the bush, it’s a lot easier to run around and avoid fire.
The Mitsubishi MK-6 Amplified Mobility Platform, also known simply as the AMP suit or AMP Assault, is a distant descendant of the first military exoskeletons used on Earth in the mid-21st century. It was improved during military service in a myriad of combat theaters – from arctic to jungle to...
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This is not a routine strategy, but in one case I found when I started shooting enemies at a base, I actually lured many of them away, circled around to the gas, drilling, environmental-rape facility, with the time to sabotage it, which results in an explosion and in the plant being abandoned. Pandora quickly retakes ownership. BTW, that’s one of your goals in the game is to reduce the pollution levels by destroying.
Gas Plant destroyed and being reclaimed
I also have run into several circumstances where when combat is initiated say 15 dots pop up indicating enemies, then I kill three or four and suddenly all the rest have disappeared. I’m not sure what that’s all about. It might be a game design or glitch. I don’t see it as the enemy running away so it’s a puzzle for now.
My character I don’t even have a name. Not given the opportunity to name myself, when others see me they just call me Sarentu which is the name of my tribe, apparently my dead clan. I’m not happy with my character’s appearance. Inevitably, I run into locals who are more attractive than myself, this is partially because they are animated and talking. The only glimpse I see of myself is with a glum look on my face, Sure, for a selfie, I can apply an emote, which is mostly designed for co-op, but I’m not happy with this element of the game.
Photo System- Ok so I can take selfies outside, but not inside. Why? I don’t know. I’m not really thrilled with the selfies I do take, so that’s one disappointment of the game. I noticed something similar in
Starfield. So far the best photo system is in Cyberpunk 2077.
Toying with best haircut. May switch to pulled back and braided.
Notice the blouse acquired in game. No real need to buy at the Ubisoft store
When you buy the game, at least when I bought it, I spent an extra $7 for the deluxe version and got an included outfit for myself and my Ikran. That was reasonable, although I hate the blouse, it’s way too fancy, looks ceremonial. I think it’s labeled Sarentu traditional, or something like .They’ll try to lure you into buying more cosmetic items. In game you’ll be rewarded with gear clothing designs. $7 was reasonable, but other than that, I suggestso be patient and save your $10 or $25. You’re hardly going to see yourself anyway.
Romance? There is none. Disappointed, although the conversation you do have with NPCs are heartfelt, as they have distinct personalities.
