Summary
Realms Rebuilt brought a lot of changes toNightingaleand among them, some mechanics are just what the game needed to be bigger and better. With a total revamp of some of the older mechanics and quite a few new additions,Nightingaleis steadily taking shape as one ofthe best survival games to play.
This list is an overview of several mechanics that bring new life to the game, from better traversal and exploration to improved combat systems and more options to build our characters. Exploring the Fae Realms is better than ever with these quality-of-life improvements.
5New Climbing Pick Mechanic
Climb Like A Pro, Avoid Dumb Falls
The new secondary action of the climbing picks throws them in the direction where players aim and makes them stick to a wall, then it pushes the characters upwards and allows them to stick to any vertical surface. Ideal for a last-minute save when trying to complete an Agility Bastille or similar POIs that require climbing. While going through the innumerable dungeons that players will see across the Realms, there’s always the need to climb a wall to reach a corrupted rune, or a hidden chest, so Climbing Picks are a must.
Like any other tool, climbing picks can also equip certain Charms, Infusions, and Enchantments. Players should prioritize those that decrease stamina consumption and increase durability, to further enhance the capabilities of these incredibly useful tools.
4New Story-Driven Realms
Each New Realm Has Its Own Story To Tell
Some realms have their own settlements, and each settlement hasa series of quests that are exclusive to that realmand will allow players to experience story-driven exploration as they conquer the Fae Realms. When approaching a settlement, players will notice that several quest markers will pop up in their HuD and in the Map tab, and that means the nearby NPCs that inhabit the settlement have a story to tell: aka, Quests. These missions are mostly bound to exploration and combat and will not only allow players to unlock new technologies faster by completing them but also teach them a thing or two about the lore ofNightingale.
The best thing about this new story-driven exploration is that forces the players to see everything and talk to everyone. It is not just about mindless farming and grinding, but a full RPG-like experience, with a progression system that has been revamped to fit this new format. And this means great news for those players struggling to keep up withNightingale’smain storyline, since now everything runs smoother and players can enjoy it at their own pace while they discover new Realms, and the Realmwalkers that inhabit those places.
3Unlockables/Progression Chart
Nailed The Balance Between Story Progression And Farming
The new unlockableprogression systemallows players to have their fill of exploration while they slowly but steadily progress in Tiers and equipment using a similar system to most survival games but with some differences. Some parts of the progression chart are unlocked by completing specific tasks given by Puck, while some Fae technologies and artifacts are also bound to story-driven exploration. This means that at some point, players will feel the need to complete one of the main quests proposed by Puck since one of the specialized branches will be locked by “discoveries” triggered by the exploration of POIs indicated by the quests.
On the other hand, players should also mind finding lore fragments in Echoes and readables (letters, books, etc) that are spread throughout the many ruins they’ll encounter, since these contain important information, and sometimes, recipes that will be granted for free in the progression chart. This is another way to save up that precious Essence that is not that hard to find, but somehow players will need more and more as they progress, so better to keep this in mind.
2Better Charms, Infusions, And Enchantments
The Boons And Spells Work Better Now
The old system remains, but with a few improvements that make charms, infusions, and enchantments even better than before. With so many things to do, enemies to beat, and places to discover, players will need better stats, especially those that allow for traversal movement since they require lots of stamina consumption. For that purpose, the Charm of The Wanderer now greatly decreases stamina consumption when using Umbrellas and Climbing Picks, and that means, no more abrupt falls and broken legs. Enchantments are basically the spells in the game, so having more of them is always welcome, more so in the later stages of the game when players face mighty bosses that are not easily felled. From the simple Immolation Enchantment, which shoots a small ball of fire to the broken Summon Swarm, causing damage to enemies like a DoT effect.
Infusions provide stat boosts for equipment, like extra mobility and weather resistance, and with the improvement of how these stats stack, Infusions are more useful now. There are Charms for every purpose and need, from increasing ranged and magical damage, to decreasing hunger and energy consumption while fishing, but they mostly will offer passive abilities that trigger under certain conditions. There’s purpose in every little magical bauble, and the best thing is players get to craft these useful tools and attach them to their equipment for a small price. Of course, there’s always a chance to get them while opening chests or completing certain dungeons, and that’s alright, after all: what’s the purpose of raiding some old ruins without the chance to fill a backpack with treasure?
1Items Don’t Need Augmentations To Be Crafted Anymore
A Highly-Requested Change
Prior toRealms RebuiltAugmentations were small furniture that needed to be placed in the base near crafting stations to unlock certain specific recipes. Like the Lancaster Pistol, that needed the Saddle Rack Augmentation to be unlocked, for example. Now, Augmentations not only are not necessary to unlock new recipes in the crafting stations but also provide different benefits. Having certain augments causes certain items to have more stamina and health when crafted, while others cause weapons' critical rate, damage, and durability to rise when crafted near them. Augmentations can be unlocked like any other craftable or item in the game, through the Progression Chart menu, and are worth their weight in essence.
This is game-changing, since one of the most annoying things about the crafting in Nightingale was the need to always rotate the crafting benches' positions to make them trigger the recipe for certain objects, and the constant need to fill the room with seemingly useless decorations was not attractive at all. Now, every Augmentation has a purpose and provides a benefit to crafted gear. The per-station limit of how many augments affect them still remains, but now is more about which buffs players want to put in their gear, instead of deciding which gear to craft by moving furniture. Way to go, since the previous system was maddening.
