ForumsGamesI Can't Stand Cursed Treasure 2

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Reton8
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Reton8
3,173 posts
King

Quests, I enjoy collecting quests. I hope to soon have them all and I do feel obligated to play the games that have quests and collect the those quests. I enjoy getting quests about 91% of the time, about 8% of the time It becomes frustrating, and 2% of the time it's an absolutely wretched, abysmal chore (I based this off of real numbers).

What makes up that 2% of the time, Cursed Treasure 2. Now let me at least say this, Cursed Treasure 2 isn't that bad of a game, if and only if you don't strive to get three stars on every level (night and day). The game is probably an 8, but does suffer from a few bugs, far too long waves, and repetitive gameplay. However, those problems aren't too bad, if you are not trying to be perfect on every level.

But, I'm going for the quests. I have to be 100% perfect. Well there's absolutely nothing more frustrating than grinding through, ridiculously long waves only to have some enemy just barely, just so barely touch a gem and then die. I will be playing a level for 10 to 20 minutes and then a gem gets touched and I have to restart. Then, when you finally beat a level after 1 to 2 hours (of completely repetitive, no strategy boredom where luck decided the conclusion of the level) you have to play the same exact level again at night.

Night levels... Night levels end up being no different than the day levels at the later stages. The whole map ends up covered in towers so you build in all the same place you would in a day level. The only difference is that you can't build in all the same beginning locations. So, I have to repeat the process of watching (what seems like) endless waves enter the field, die nearly instantly, but some enemy will get close to the gems (somehow) touch them, and ruin the three star rating.

The game loses all strategy as you just end up putting towers everywhere (and yes that happens all the time in the later stages), and you then watch as almost every enemy dies instantly, thus making the last 15 waves or so absolutely boring and pointless. When you fail you think there is a strategy you can use. Barely, it usually boils down to hoping enough mana containers drop so you can use a spell on the tough enemy that is getting to close to the gems. Almost all luck.

I spent so much time, ripping my hair out, getting the quests the first time. I rejoiced when I finished, making a promise to myself never to play this wretched game again, but no, a level expansion was released and it was worse than the entirety of all the original game. They introduced Amazon enemies. These horrible enemies release a charm when they lose their armour, locking all the towers within the blast (this stops your towers from attacking). By the way, the charms blast radius is phenomenal and the game loves to send in five or more Amazonians at a time. Just sit back and watch as all your towers become locked. Now you can use the Terror spell to remove the charms, but you will never have enough mana to dispel the effect and have it be useful. Dispel the effect from your towers and another Amazonian will soon lose it's armour and lock your towers again. You can't win.

I beat those levels though and I was so happy. I thought, "I will never have to play this abysmal piece of a game ever again." I happy at the thought of not having to play such a wretched contrivance every again. But no, they released more levels and they're practically just as bad.

I can't stand Cursed Treasure 2.
________________________________________________________________

Here are some comments, from only the first three pages, of other users who also had similar complaints.

Calidron says:
Nice to see that the new levels are just as based on luck and random chance as all the others. I think I'll pass on this game from now on. The devs have suddenly gotten into artificial difficulty and a lot less into actual strategy.

TheOnlyOutsider says:
I am at lvl 18... and lost nearly 1000 times. Only won once with 1 gem left. And thine one time it was only luck that i got a potion a call a meteor.
It is impossible for me and that doesn't make fun..

tomntm says:
Please add more skills in the skills menu. The last levels, especially the 3rd one on the Pirate Land is difficult.

velocio says:
New levels boring

BojanSimoski says:
The new lvls are sooooo boring

scole86 says:
New levels are okay... Just not fond of situations where you're at the mercy of sheer luck more than anything.

Saulon says:
The new levels requires too much luck to find the correct combination of mana/coins... Not to mention the last level which disappoints me a lot because of the new ship bombing combination: that is another game! Quite bad...

c00per says:
Oh boy... It was hard enough for me to get 18 stars on levels 16-17-18, but these new levels are killing me... Anyway, thanks for new levels and reduced graphics.

jackel402 says:
The new levels are SO hard

coolmanjolly6 says:
[Ugh,] stage 18 is so hard to get 3 stars!!!!!!!!

enanon says:
It wouldn't be difficult to get three stars in the three new lvls., if it weren't for the lags during the critical moments when u want to cast spells and got delayed just because of those, resulting in your gems being touched.....frustrating

TheEvidence says:
Level 20 really seems to depend too much on getting lucky.

varanusniloticus says:
Wow, the pirate bay is INSANE. I could only get one star :O

scarstar says:
Level 18 is way too difficult. I give up.

  • 51 Replies
Reton8
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Reton8
3,173 posts
King

Never mind my last post. You must have been looking at zzxxzz3's post. he has the same armatar as me, but that's where you're getting the quote from.

zzxxzz3 said:

I have tried level 20, however, probably 30 times, and I've concluded that it's impossible.
zzxxzz3
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zzxxzz3
72 posts
Jester


Order of build and take outs:

1) Build 2 dens and 2 towers on the 4 outer places first.
2) Upgrade towers asap when gold permits
3) Build the crypt and last den on the open spots as fast as gold permits
4) Take out bottom light house first.
5) Take out top light house after
6) Build crypt on top left position
7) Take out top pirate ship
8) Build tower and den on bottom left position
9) Take out bottom pirate ship


The amount of mana required for this strategy is not realistic at ALL. In addition to all those cuts, you need 70 mana for a fear every few waves? To people who say we're "bad at games," give it a try yourself and find a way to consistently beat it...
TheEvidence
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TheEvidence
9 posts
Farmer

It finally occurred to me that there's a well-worn verb from the roguelike genre that applies here: Scumming.

It basically means repeating some RNG-driven event until the situation favors you. MMO players may be more familiar with this concept being falling under the many definitions of "farming."

That is what Saturnus72's General Consideration #1 is directing the player to do: Scum the first few waves until you get the resources needed to complete the level, because (importantly) you can't do it without them.

And I agree with him, that's pretty much the only way to do it.

1) If we assume that this is the developer's intention, then this is bad game design. In this case, they have pressed the RNG (via the restart button) into the role of game mechanic, since you MUST "manipulate" it to complete game objectives. This is a POOR mechanic since any RNG worth its salt will be, by definition, impossible to predict. There is no learning, there is no skill, there is only chance over time. (I won't bother to explain what the significant differences are between this and ex. random drops unless someone really wants to know)

-This is bad game design caused by factors beyond my ability to speculate on.

OR

2) If we assume this was not the developer's intention, then either
2.1) There exists an as-yet undiscovered high-reliability strategy (ie. requires only average "cooperation" from the RNG).
-This is good game design.

or

2.2) The developer failed to adequately test their level design.
-This bad game design resulting from laziness.

So, while we cannot PROVE the design is bad without knowing the developer's intent and exhausting the set of possible strategies, we can say that the design definitely appears bad in its absence. However, without showing a high-reliability strategy, we cannot overrule this preliminary conclusion. I would even be willing to argue that if said strategy goes unfound for a sufficiently long period of time by the intended audience, then the design is STILL bad even if the strategy exists, because it is too difficult to discover.

TheEvidence
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TheEvidence
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Farmer

we can say that the design definitely appears bad in its absence.


Too much editing, not enough proofing. "It" here meaning a high-reliability strat. Sorry for the double post.
Reton8
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Reton8
3,173 posts
King

I totally agree with TheEvidence, that was a very well stated post. : ]

Gantic
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Gantic
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King

Level 20 isn't as hard as people make it out to be (It's not impossible.), but the effect that an RNG has on earning brilliance for that level is too high.

Spuzzell
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Spuzzell
3 posts
Nomad

Well, I've read all the posts here and I don't care what anyone says :-)

I'm finding level 20 utterly INFURIATING to perfect.

If there is genuinely a strategic way to get a brilliant rating reliably I will be very surprised.

I have tried every combination of lighthouse/ship removal. In several games I have even managed to remove both ships and both lighthouses and STILL divers get through, usually coming from the upper enemy entrance.

There is no right way to play this level. The towers are decided for you and all you can do is delay running out of mana for as long as possible and hope you get lucky,

It feels VERY lame if the only way to get this level right is through getting incredibly lucky with random mana drops.

FWIW (and its worth nothing as I don't even survive halfway without one little swimming ******* making it to a gem for a second) removing both lighthouses first seems to delay the inevitable the longest.

Removing the blocking stones to the far left to place towers doesn't do anything to help with divers. Putting a temple right next to the bottom ship early on seems to help, but its always divers from the top who make it through in any case. If you remove the top ship, they just come down the normal enemy path.

I REALLY hate this level. Including randomness in game design is fine with me, but this is just poorly balanced.

Spuzzell
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Spuzzell
3 posts
Nomad

I did it, and I've done it twice in 6 attempts.

You still need luck with drops though.

Remove the lighthouses ASAP, leave the ships as long as possible, put a temple by the bottom ship, remove the highest stone on the left and place a crypt, upgrade to snipers dens around the cave not ballistas and then fill every tower space on the left up. Finally remove the ships. The flying robots will need meteoring so bear that in mind, and always be ready to use a terror on both divers and smugglers.

This worked twice for me and I thought it had a third time but someone must have JUST touched a gem.

You will need luck with drops early on, but its doable.

Spuzzell
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Spuzzell
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Nomad

http://sdrv.ms/187uwL2

Placa
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Placa
5 posts
Farmer

I feel like celebrating for getting brilliant on every level, day and night.

As to the topic at hand, luck is really going to be a necessity on these levels, especially level 20. But after wrecking my mind playing level 20 over and over, I checked to see if someone posted a video about level 20, and sure enough, there was one. The thing that struck me as odd is that the player broke the middle sacred stone for the treasure first. This interesting first move has since been my opening move and has helped me devise my strategy for this level. (It's modified from the video's strategy since it destroys ships first. That was incredibly lucky of that person to get brilliant destroying ships first)

1. Destroy the middle sacred stone for the cash.

2. Build all towers in the available spots. (The spot for a demon tower at the very bottom-right of the map is optional for day, but not an option for night)

3. As soon as upgrades are possible, upgrade.

4. Start to whittle down the bottom lighthouse keeping in reserve around 140 mana for new waves. You might need terror spells as some divers and pirates may get to the interior of your territory pretty quickly.

5. Whittle the last lighthouse with the same strategy as number 4.

6. Build up mana for the champion that carries animals, use terror on him, and pray that you won't have to use more terror spells on the mobs.

7. Take down the top sacred stone, clear some of the forests when mana is available, and build towers; especially a crypt (remember to keep around 140 mana in reserve at all times)

8. Save up mana for 2 meteor spells for the golem. You will not get brilliant if you don't take out the golem quickly. Trust me.

9. Whittle down the top ship with the same strategy as the lighthouse.

10. Whittle the last sacred stone, then build towers, clearing necessary forests if mana is available.

11. Whittle the last ship with the same strategy as the lighthouse.

12. Keep mana in reserve for 2 meteor spells for the last golem.

And that's how I did it.

cerealcreeper
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cerealcreeper
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Jester

i have the same feeling about this game...

when i play kingdom rush i really have the impression that the way i place my barracks next to my large effect zone artillery is crucial!
at the base Cursed Treasure 2 is kinda based on luck but with this random drop thing it's just ****** up!

EagleOfFire2
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EagleOfFire2
125 posts
Shepherd

I can't believe that some people who actually don't like the game care enough about whining to come here and whine that they don't like... The game they don't like?

Seriously?

Cursed Treasure 2 is an extremely easy strategy game. I can't stand Kingdom Rush. It's one of the worse game I ever played. Felt more like a RTS than a strategy game. Cursed Treasure IS a strategy game, meaning what you do in what order and the decisions you take IS crucial.

And those decisions actually start with your build. I myself went blue towers first. That skill which give you a small percent chance to insta kill anything? Yeah, over powered. That single skill got me out of so many bad situations it's not even funny. And yeah, that % chance is quite low... But then again that's what playing strategically by the numbers mean.

I can also see that most of the sarcasm and vitriol is aimed at the last few levels. HELLO? Those levels are extremely end game and require a very high level of play to complete. Otherwise, _why would they be the last levels_? If they were too easy then people would rightly complain that they should not. What's the point of being level 50 if you can't actually use those skills for anything?

And before someone stupidly complain that "if you're so good with that game, why didn't you complete every single levels already?": my computer is almost a decade out of date. The game run fine by day but by night it lags so much it is not interesting to spend so much time finishing a level. Not that I actually care about finishing the game anyways, as it is so easy there is barely a challenge... The challenge I had to do it for myself by trying to win levels far sooner than the game want you to. Skipping all night levels sure helped in that regard.

Reton8
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Reton8
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@EagleOfFire2

Its not that Cursed Treasure 2 is horrible or anything. Its a game that should be a lot of fun, but it fails in a few ways that ruins the experience. It could be great but its not.

nightbaron36
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nightbaron36
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Nomad

Here level 20:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI4ADuIN-0A&feature=youtu.be

By me

EagleOfFire2
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EagleOfFire2
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Shepherd

Its not that Cursed Treasure 2 is horrible or anything. Its a game that should be a lot of fun, but it fails in a few ways that ruins the experience. It could be great but its not.


That's your opinion. I myself like a challenge and I think the game deserve a better rating than what it has right now.

But that's true of 98% of all the games I give a good rating to too. Most people simply don't understand what a real strategy game should be about.

Best example of what a strategy game should be? Chess.

You don't like chess? What the heck are you doing playing strategy games? -_-
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