izigame.me

Early in December of 2021, Titan Quest fans received some great news. A wholly unexpected new expansion called "Eternal Embers" released just in time for the holidays. When I checked out the video and reviewed the screenshots, I thought to myself "Hmm... looks like they've set most of the content in the far East. Seems pretty unappealing," and I left it at that. For whatever the reason, I've always hated Act 3 of the original game that was set in the Orient; consequently, I didn't think that I would enjoy playing an expansion that included another heaping helping of adventure in the far East.
That was then. After continuing my new play-through of the game over the course of December and January, I finally found myself at a point where I could really use some new Legendary-level content for my top characters, so I went and bought "Eternal Embers." The expansion pack certainly offers a lot more Titan Quest, and it appears to ascribe to the maxim: "more is more." You want more walking across vast areas and killing hordes of monsters that are mostly just like the monsters from the previous expansions? Oh, yeah, you betcha! The expansion will give you LOTS of that. You want a plethora of new level 62-75 drops that are thoughtfully crafted/accessorized to suit the needs of Legendary-level characters? Mmm... not so much... It's surprisingly common to find a new legendary item that is level 62-64 without major resist bonuses and other somewhat baffling affixes. Players will find themselves thinking: "Oh, this seems nice, and I think I'll put it to use... hmm... never."
I started putting my time into this expansion after the first major update, and after reviewing the patch notes, I'm glad that I did, for the game is stable now. However, I'm hoping to see more out of this expansion that just stable operation and a vast swath of new territory to explore. The team needs to add quite a few new quests to help break up the monotony of trekking over vast areas without purpose. At least 8-10 new quest givers are needed for the wilderness areas, and some of the "Hero Monsters" with brown names need to be changed to mini-bosses (purpose names) that tie in to the new quests. These new wilderness quests should be just the start, for the towns need at least 5-7 new quest givers as well.
The teleportation circles to enter and leave certain underground areas also need to go. Just animate stairs--I doubt it's that hard. Also, there are these tomes of wisdom on pedestals that players can activate, and they tell a fully voiced backstory. Why aren't these pedestals people--I mean, they are talking to me. Seems like an odd design choices. Furthermore, in order to keep the new expansion set feeling separate and truly Legendary, decrease the drop rate of legendary items from the previous game and expansions to 15%; they're too low-level anyway. At least 85% of the drops from the Eternal Embers areas should be new magical items appropriate for the player's level. If that means that the team needs to create new legendary drops to meet the needs of the level 70+ players, then so be it. If the Eternal Embers team can get all of this accomplished in time for their next major update, then I'll recommend this expansion unreservedly.