October 2023 Random Game Thoughts Thread

[ZedClampet]

Game Sale Dates​

Steam: SHMUP Fest: Now until Oct 2, Next Fest: Oct 9 to Oct 16, Scream Fest: Oct 26 to Nov 2
Epic: Halloween Sale: Oct 17 to Oct 31
GoG: Pretty sure they have a Halloween sale, too, but GoG doesn't usually publish sale dates too far in advance.

Coming to Game Pass this Month​

October 3 The Lamplighters League
October 10 Forza Motorsport
October 24 Cities: Skylines 2
October 26 Mineko's Night Market
October 31 Headbangers Rhythm Royale
October 31 Jusant

Top Game Launches (From PC Gamer)​

Assassin's Creed Mirage | October 5
Seems Ubisoft's grown nostalgic for the age when Assassin's Creed had a few more assassins (and creeds thereof). In Mirage, become the most lethal man in Baghdad as the series returns to form.


Cities: Skylines 2 | October 24
It hasn't been long since Cities: Skylines set the current standard for city builders, but it never hurts to cement your place on the throne. The sequel touts new levels of city simulation, promising unprecedented creativity in urban planning—at least until you have to figure out traffic, anyway.


Alan Wake 2 | October 27
After cementing their own combined cinematic universe in Control, Remedy is revisiting their wretched little man as they make their survival horror debut. Yeah, Alan's been trapped in a pocket dimension of psychological torment for ten years, but I'm sure it'll be fine.

All October 2023 release dates​

The links are PC Gamer's. I'd imagine most of the games can be found on Epic, but the only the exclusives are listed as Epic.

• October 3 — Battle Shapers(Early Access) - arena roguelike FPS (Steam)
• October 3 — The Lamplighters League - Pulpy '30s XCOM-like (Steam)
• October 3 — Station to Station - Cozy rail building (Steam)
• October 5 — Assassin's Creed: Mirage - Return to stealth roots (Epic)
• October 5 — Wargroove 2 - Advance Wars-like tactics sequel (Steam)
• October 10 — Forza Motorsport - Microsoft's circuit racing sim (Steam)
• October 11 — Total War: Pharaoh - Empire-building in Egypt (Steam)
• October 13 — Lords of the Fallen - Extremely soulslike sequel (Steam)
• October 17 — Cyber Knights: Flashpoint - Heist tactics RPG (Steam)
• October 17 — Sonic Superstars - New old-school Sonic (Steam)
• October 17 — Wizard With A Gun - Co-op sandbox survival (Steam)
• October 18 — Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express(Steam)
• October 18 — Hellboy Web of Wyrd - Big Red roguelike (Steam)
• October 19 — Endless Dungeon - Tactical ARPG in Endless universe (Steam)
• October 19 — World of Horror - Junji Ito-inspired roguelike RPG (Steam)
• October 20 — Slay the Princess - Horror visual novel (Steam)
• October 23 — Moonlight in Garland(Early Access) - Big city Stardew (Steam)
• October 23 — Three Minutes To Eight - Mind-bending point-and-click (Steam)
• October 24 — Cities: Skylines 2 - Sequel to pseudo-Sim City (Steam)
• October 24 — Dark Envoy - Realtime "guns and sorcery" tactics RPG (Steam)
• October 24 — Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria - Retake the mines (Epic)
• October 26 — Ghostunner 2 - Cyberpunk first-person parkour (Steam)
• October 27 — Alan Wake 2 - Horror writer's spooky sequel (Epic)
• October 31 — Jusant - Meditative mountain climber (Steam)

Other Notable Releases​

Note: There are way too many games releasing in October for me to do this justice. I just don't have that level of ambition. Below are the games that either I'd heard of before or games that seem similar to something someone on here has played and mentioned on the forums.

Only Up! on Steam

Get set to defy gravity, leap like never before, and experience the exhilarating world of parkour in a whole new light! This isn’t just your ordinary parkour jump simulator - it’s a dynamic ONLINE MULTIPLAYER adventure that transforms your every move into a gravity-defying spectacle.

store.steampowered.com

Station to Station on Steam

‘Station to Station’ is a minimalist & relaxing game about building railway connections. Grab your conductor’s hat and bring the voxel-art world to life through the magic of trains!

store.steampowered.com

^^^This has a demo

Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless on Steam

Disgaea is back and better than ever in Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless! Join Fuji as he embarks on a perilous journey of redemption, and experience unique features new to the Disgaea series!

store.steampowered.com

Tony Hawk's™ Pro Skater™ 1 + 2 on Steam

Play the fully-remastered Tony Hawk’s™ Pro Skater™ & Tony Hawk’s™ Pro Skater™ 2 games in one epic collection, rebuilt from the ground up in incredible HD.

store.steampowered.com

Thief Simulator 2 on Steam

The door to your robber’s career is waiting! Just crowbar the lock off and force your way through the threshold. Learn skills, collect tools and become a master of the thieving trade!

store.steampowered.com

The Fabulous Fear Machine on Steam

The Fabulous Fear Machine is a narrative-driven strategy game with a pulp horror style. As the Machine's new Master, you must sow fear and expand your influence by creating Legends, harvesting resources, manipulating events, and spying on your enemies.

store.steampowered.com

Heads Will Roll: Reforged on Steam

Hardcore survival RPG with non-linear story that lets you play as a young medieval soldier who over the course of battles and adventures becomes the most formidable and respected knight of his era. Or, if he’s not lucky enough, perishes in the chaos of the Hundred Years' War.

store.steampowered.com

^^^This has a demo

Ooblets on Steam

Ooblets is a relaxing and offbeat farming, town life, and creature collection game. Manage your farm, grow and train your ooblets, explore strange lands, and have dance-offs!

store.steampowered.com

Pre-purchase SWORD ART ONLINE Last Recollection on Steam

The culmination of the SWORD ART ONLINE game series, Last Recollection features the largest roster of SAO playable characters and sub scenarios!

store.steampowered.com

^^^This has a demo

Pre-purchase Wild Card Football on Steam

Arcade Football for Everyone!

store.steampowered.com

The Front on Steam

The Front is a survival open-world crafting shooter. You play the role of a resistance fighter sent back in time to stop the rise of a tyrannical empire. Collect resources, craft tech, build shelters, and fight monsters to accomplish your mission.

store.steampowered.com

Tribe: Primitive Builder on Steam

Become an exile - the only one who knows the truth. Survive on the island lost to time, build your own settlement, reunite your tribe, explore the open world and deliver a message from the gods before it’s too late.

store.steampowered.com

Pre-purchase Star Trek: Infinite on Steam

Star Trek: Infinite is a grand strategy experience that lets you play your own Star Trek story as the leader of one of four major factions in the galaxy. Follow the specially crafted story or blaze your own trail in the first Star Trek grand strategy game.

store.steampowered.com

RAILGRADE on Steam

RAILGRADE is a train 🚂 resource management game! Construct dense vertical railroads, build cities, construct vast factory 🏭 chains with train automation! Restore an off world colony's economy all in the story driven campaign!

store.steampowered.com

Dreadhunter on Steam

Plough through hordes of deadly monsters and defeat vicious bosses in an intense fast paced shooter RPG where all items are “legendary”, levels are ever-changing and combat is razor-sharp.

store.steampowered.com

Alaskan Road Truckers on Steam

Experience life in the definitive trucker simulator. Deliver cargo to make your business a success. Get out of your truck to explore Alaska while maintaining your vehicle and preparing for treacherous conditions on the road. Have you got what it takes to become an Alaskan trucking legend?

store.steampowered.com

Furnish Master on Steam

Furnish Master is a relaxing game about furnishing apartments, houses, commercial estate and even outdoor territory! Realize your design dreams! Add to Wishlist now!

store.steampowered.com

^^^This has a demo

The Jackbox Party Pack 10 on Steam

Become a party legend! The celebrated franchise returns with epic drawing battles in Tee K.O. 2, chaotic type-offs in FixyText, time-travel trivia in Timejinx, hidden identity intrigue in Hypnotorious, and group music-making in Dodo Re Mi.

store.steampowered.com

^^^This has a demo

Pre-purchase HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED™ 2 - Turbocharged on Steam

The world’s raddest cars are back and taking the fun to the next level! Race over 130 vehicles with crazy new mechanics and even more vehicle types. Plus, build your tracks with stunning new environments and different game modes to have fun off and online!

store.steampowered.com

AirportSim on Steam

AirportSim is an Advanced Airport Ground Handling Simulator with true-to-life visuals and operations, licensed planes and vehicles, real airports and live weather conditions. Enjoy the many tasks alone or with friends, making this experience unforgettable.

store.steampowered.com

^^^This has a demo

Hexarchy on Steam

A fast-paced strategy game, which takes the weighty decisions of a 4X and stuffs them into an action-packed 60 minutes. Build a deck capable of founding civilizations which can develop economies, research new technologies and conquer all before you. Single-player and online multiplayer.

store.steampowered.com

^^^ @Brian Boru 's 20 year wait for a decent sale begins

Pre-purchase METAL GEAR SOLID: MASTER COLLECTION Vol.1 METAL GEAR SOLID on Steam

The first 3D title in the METAL GEAR series pioneering a new level of stealth action with live action footage, cinematic cut scenes, and innovative gameplay.

store.steampowered.com

^^^I'm just listing Volume 1. There are a bunch of these

War Hospital on Steam

Be the ray of hope among the darkness of war. Manage a British WW1 field hospital in a 3D isometric RTS where you lead the medical corps instead of soldiers. Fight for life, soul, and humanity in a world that rejected them in a unique society survival game.

store.steampowered.com

Castle of Secrets on Steam

The Castle of Secrets — a game with a deep and mysterious storyline, beautiful 3D graphics, unique gameplay and mechanics, will immerse you in a fairy tale of reality and mystery. How will this fairy tale end? It's your call.

store.steampowered.com

 

[Colif]

^^^ @Brian Boru 's 20 year wait for a decent sale begins

funny and yet true as well.

I might get https://store.steampowered.com/app/949230/Cities_Skylines_II/ in a few weeks, need something to test new CPU on.

Recommended:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows® 10 Home 64 Bit | Windows® 11
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-12600K | AMD® Ryzen™ 7 5800X
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia® GeForce™ RTX 3080 (10 GB) | AMD equivalent
Sound Card: TBC

I can do that. A few days ago... no but I had better than minimum.

 

[Brian Boru]

20 year wait

Maybe, if it morphs into a game for ghosts. I've had it wishlisted, but claims like "A fast-paced strategy game" and "stuffs them into an action-packed 60 minutes" do not fill me with joy. It's like a RTT claiming to be a RTS "but without all that nasty base building and supply line stuff". We'll see

 

[ZedClampet]

Maybe, if it morphs into a game for ghosts. I've had it wishlisted, but claims like "A fast-paced strategy game" and "stuffs them into an action-packed 60 minutes" do not fill me with joy. It's like a RTT claiming to be a RTS "but without all that nasty base building and supply line stuff". We'll see

I might check it out and that Star Trek strategy game, too

funny and yet true as well.

I might get https://store.steampowered.com/app/949230/Cities_Skylines_II/ in a few weeks, need something to test new CPU on.


can do that. A few days ago... no but I had better than minimum.

I'm pretty excited about Cities Skylines. I can't believe it's on Game Pass, but if I really get into it, I'll end up buying it anyway.

Looking forward to Forza Motorsport, too.

 

[Johnway]

Still playing POE, so far after a lot of grinding, i've got 16 challenges and got my eyes on the next 6 challenges. The good news is that those 6 challenges are doable, but some will require lots of grinding and/or luck to perform it. maybe a few more weeks and i'm calling quits. For real.

onto other games, i played a bit of Guild wars 2 and honestly i'm finding it pretty boring. Its early days still, but i don't know i'll play a bit more and see but i think mmos aren't my thing tbh. Its too braindead tbh.

 

[DXCHASE]

Been playing lots of Counter Strike 2. I still think im good at 37 but man trying to get a team to work right is like if i had 4 children lol. I win, i lose, i tie. I like it. I like the new smoke and fire animations but i dont like the ranking system..yet. Its now ranked based on maps, so you can have different ranks. Ive played a lot but still havent seen where i rank on anything.

I still dabble in Diablo 4 (trying to find 1 unique that just wont drop at all), Mortal Kombat, Cyberpunk 2077 and Destiny 2 all doing their neat new stuff (minus cp2077, havent gotten the DLC yet).

 

[ZedClampet]

Hometopia devs have disabled landscaping jobs while they try to figure out what is wrong. I mentioned last week being baffled by the one I did.

 

[Zloth]

Oh, Lamplighters! Oh, similar to Mutant Year Zero? Hmmm....

 

[Pifanjr]

I'm still slowly working my way through The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk. I'm missing a fast travel option though, there's too much walking involved through the same areas when doing all the side quests.

I'm also missing a feature that shows what kind of attacks each enemy can do before combat starts. I don't want to have to go through a full combat round and restart it to be able to properly prepare. I really dislike restarting combats, which is why I finished the last one with half my party downed. I didn't realize the enemy had area of effect attacks and had grouped everyone up together.

I've also been doing some missions in Vermintide 2. I mostly play on Veteran, but today I played on Champion when I stuck around after finishing a mission and it actually went pretty well.

 

[ZedClampet]

I'm also missing a feature that shows what kind of attacks each enemy can do before combat starts.

Games do that? I've never seen it before. Maybe I just didn't notice it or played the wrong games.

I've also been doing some missions in Vermintide 2. I mostly play on Veteran, but today I played on Champion when I stuck around after finishing a mission and it actually went pretty well.

Congrats. You can get better chests from Champion than Veteran. There's also a cool armor set, if you're into that sort of thing, for finishing all the missions on Champion.

It's been a few years since I really played it, so things might have changed. Was thinking about buying the relic pack DLC and firing it up again just to have fun with some new weapons and whatever is new in the game. I know there is a higher difficulty since the last time I played. Can't really count on Guido anymore, so I'd have to solo, which means I'd need to get back in practice. You can't really rely on the bots for anything in particular. They are okay, but if you start expecting things out of them, you are toast. On higher difficulties if you get caught by a special you almost might as well just exit the mission because it's very unlikely the bots can rescue you or even stay alive for the next 10 seconds without you around to kill everyone.

 

[ZedClampet]

lol. I read an article about the growing popularity of chatbots, and even though I'm not really interested in carrying on meaningless conversations with computers, I decided to see if there were any free ones and see how good they were.

To make this short, I ended up at Replika, and she said ONE thing to me and then asked me to pay for a romantic selfie.

You know, you can video chat with actual women online who will do things for money. And while I've never tried that, I don't mind saying that if I were in the market for some chatting and nudity, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't turn to AI for that. I feel like that would be the new low point in my life. Of all the jobs I expected AI to replace, sex worker is not one of them.

 

[Brian Boru]

I feel like that would be the new low point in my life

What I'm wondering is… what was the AI thinking? She could have her pick of al those perfect male bots, and yet she…

Patch definitely needed!

 

[Frindis]

Made me think of the movie Her. While I would not dabble with those naughty programs, I definitely do not mind having a conversation with a GPT4+++ and similar AIs about different topics. I can see the fun in having an AI take the persona of a great philosopher (they are starting to do that now) and use arguments from his/her books. A cool way to not only learn about them but also to get better at building sound and valid arguments myself. This could potentially work for any topic, so the possibilities could be endless.

 

[Pifanjr]

Games do that? I've never seen it before. Maybe I just didn't notice it or played the wrong games.

I think it's more common in games where you have to pick a team at the start of each battle. I think every Fire Emblem game for example lets you see all the stats and equipment/attacks of enemies before the fight starts.

Congrats. You can get better chests from Champion than Veteran. There's also a cool armor set, if you're into that sort of thing, for finishing all the missions on Champion.

It's been a few years since I really played it, so things might have changed. Was thinking about buying the relic pack DLC and firing it up again just to have fun with some new weapons and whatever is new in the game. I know there is a higher difficulty since the last time I played. Can't really count on Guido anymore, so I'd have to solo, which means I'd need to get back in practice. You can't really rely on the bots for anything in particular. They are okay, but if you start expecting things out of them, you are toast. On higher difficulties if you get caught by a special you almost might as well just exit the mission because it's very unlikely the bots can rescue you or even stay alive for the next 10 seconds without you around to kill everyone.

I always play with randos. There don't seem to be that many people playing any more who have no idea what they're doing, so it goes pretty well most of the time. Every so often someone will take off on their own to explore or you get split off in two groups and you miss the option to just yell at them to get back, but even then it usually works out unless multiple specials happen to spawn at that time.

 

[neogunhero]

Thanks to @Pifanjr ‘s recommendation, I’ve been using the Enhanced Experience mod for Starfield over the weekend and it works great. Not exactly what I wanted, but getting a small XP boost is always helpful too. I’m using the 50% increased XP, 75% is recommended but I was getting way too much XP for basic stuff. 50% is a good middle ground of not leveling up too fast but just a tiny bit faster.

I also realized how big of a mistake I’ve made rolling around with the Adoring Fan most of my playthrough. Yeah he has a huge carrying capacity, but he sucks at combat and doesn’t have any special dialogue other than yapping out random lines of admiration for you. I took on Sam Coe instead because he has much better combat stats, and I was very surprised to see how talkative he can be when in dialogue with other NPCs. Even doing random side missions that don’t involve him, he may have some lines to say, or shares thoughts about some throwaway side quest I’m trying to complete. It’s really cool and I’m sad I missed his input on some of the major events I did without him.

I’ve also been making MAJOR bank lately. I have become a little burnt out on doing so many dialogue and story heavy missions, I just wanted to get into some action, so I been doing a lot of contracts from the mission boards. My money making loop is to clear out these enemy outposts and grab any loot that is valued over 5000 credits, this way I don’t fill my carry capacity with low value stuff. Then I go to Neon first to sell all my junk. I start by traveling to the Core then hitting up basically every store I can, starting with the weapons store next to Trading Authority first since they only take weapons, that way I don’t run TA’s credits out too fast. I started this weekend with maybe 75k credits, I’m not close to 300k. I’m starting to consider buying an apartment and just stashing all my junk there.

---

---

I played some more Counter-Strike 2 over the weekend. I’ve come to the conclusion that I am trash and I can’t keep up anymore. It’s a fun game and I still enjoy online multiplayer shooters but I’m also starting to see that I’m not as good as I used to be. Also given this specific game, it requires super fast reaction speeds, and that is where I’m having troubles. I can’t react as fast anymore. Besides I want to play a game where I do good and feel good about it, not die every 10 seconds. Even in Casual I barely get any kills before getting sniped from across the map. Needless to say I won’t be playing competitive mode anymore. For some reason this is making me want to play Day of Infamy again. What a great game, but no one is online anymore…

 

[ZedClampet]

I think it's more common in games where you have to pick a team at the start of each battle. I think every Fire Emblem game for example lets you see all the stats and equipment/attacks of enemies before the fight starts.

Hmm, you know, I'm not sure if Guido took his Switch to college or not. I read that the Vesteria (??) games were made by the same guy who made the first few Fire Emblem games, but I can't deal with those graphics.

I guess the closest I've gotten to Fire Emblem was XCOM or maybe Banner Lord, and now I can't remember if the recent XCOM's did that or not. I seem to remember knowing what I was going to be going up against, but I don't know how I knew that. It may have just been experience gained from learning the various mission types @Zloth ??

 

[Johnway]

Path of exile. 21 challenges completed... I'll get my 22 eventually, the problem is we're either got a long grind and/or luck based or its going to be an end game boss fight that I'm totally not ready for.

I'll try the most likely one of corrupting maps. if i buy a load of cheap tier 16 maps i could probably strike lucky eventually and get that vaal map. I have plenty of resources. I just need to spend them. I mean, 200+ chaos orbs and 6 divine orbs should be more then enough to get what i want done. Hell, i probably should have spent all of it rather then hording as it doesn't do any good sitting there. But being a careful money sort of guy, the prices of the stuff in trade is taking the piss.

 

[Zloth]

I'm running into far more solar systems that have already been discovered in this playthrough. I suppose that makes sense. I think everyone starts out in a band toward the outer edge of the first galaxy and the game doesn't encourage you to go seeking the center anywhere near as hard as before.

I'm still slowly working my way through The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk. I'm missing a fast travel option though, there's too much walking involved through the same areas when doing all the side quests.

So, by now you've seen the stinky option? Take the -4 charisma hit OR lose your chance at getting a special achievement? Like the one that *I* did get? Not that this has to be a competition or anything... because, well, if you don't treat it as such then I win by default.

Hmm, you know, I'm not sure if Guido took his Switch to college or not. I read that the Vesteria (??) games were made by the same guy who made the first few Fire Emblem games, but I can't deal with those graphics.

Yeah, me either.

I guess the closest I've gotten to Fire Emblem was XCOM or maybe Banner Lord, and now I can't remember if the recent XCOM's did that or not. I seem to remember knowing what I was going to be going up against, but I don't know how I knew that. It may have just been experience gained from learning the various mission types @Zloth ??

Errr, are you asking if you can see enemy stats/abilities in XCOM? I don't think so, other than HP and armor. But you face them over and over so, once you get over the initial surprise of having your squadie mind controlled, you're ready for it from then on.

 

[Pifanjr]

Hmm, you know, I'm not sure if Guido took his Switch to college or not. I read that the Vesteria (??) games were made by the same guy who made the first few Fire Emblem games, but I can't deal with those graphics.

I guess the closest I've gotten to Fire Emblem was XCOM or maybe Banner Lord, and now I can't remember if the recent XCOM's did that or not. I seem to remember knowing what I was going to be going up against, but I don't know how I knew that. It may have just been experience gained from learning the various mission types @Zloth ??

You don't get to see the enemies at all before starting a mission in XCOM: Enemy Unknown I think, but most enemies are fairly predictable or easy enough to adapt to. I do remember being surprised when I first encountered the Chryssalids and a Sectopod. I suffered heavy losses in both encounters.

I haven't played XCOM 2 yet.

So, by now you've seen the stinky option? Take the -4 charisma hit OR lose your chance at getting a special achievement? Like the one that *I* did get? Not that this has to be a competition or anything... because, well, if you don't treat it as such then I win by default.

I have seen the stinky option, but I wasn't aware that it had an impact on charisma nor was I aware there was an achievement tied to it. I'm not sure I've been getting achievements at all honestly, it's not something I pay attention to.

I'm not sure I'll actually end up finishing the game. I'm not bored of it yet, but it has lost its new game shine and there's a lot of games left in my backlog...

 

[Pifanjr]

I played a bunch of Vermintide 2 today on Champion difficulty and it generally goes pretty well, but I really need to be more careful about getting hit. I keep blocking or dodging attacks just a little too late or I get blindsided by an enemy coming up from behind. It doesn't help that players on Champion go after grimoires much more often, which means my max health is only 1/3 of the normal amount for a lot of the match.

I mostly play as the Waystalker and picked talents that boost her passive healing, but I should probably change that since the passive healing doesn't do much when your max health is much smaller.

 

[ZedClampet]

I played a bunch of Vermintide 2 today on Champion difficulty and it generally goes pretty well, but I really need to be more careful about getting hit. I keep blocking or dodging attacks just a little too late or I get blindsided by an enemy coming up from behind. It doesn't help that players on Champion go after grimoires much more often, which means my max health is only 1/3 of the normal amount for a lot of the match.

I mostly play as the Waystalker and picked talents that boost her passive healing, but I should probably change that since the passive healing doesn't do much when your max health is much smaller.

Rarely played the waystalker except to get her to max level, so I have no advice there, but you can get a stat on some items that is called Curse Resistance, which lessons the negative impact of grimoires. You can also increase your health. Both of those are good things to have. I don't remember much about the Waystalker, but a lot of builds people like, like the crit builds, are actually pretty terrible. If you are moving up to Champion, you might want to go back through all your options and make sure you are really benefitting from your current setup.

Also, people should always go for the grims. I considered it a waste of time if we left a level without them, the tomes and at least one dice. If I was soloing and a bot lost a grim or a tome, I'd usually quit and start over.

 

[Zloth]

I have seen the stinky option, but I wasn't aware that it had an impact on charisma nor was I aware there was an achievement tied to it. I'm not sure I've been getting achievements at all honestly, it's not something I pay attention to.

There's a lot of fun still to be had! The new skills/powers you learn change up the tactics a lot, and the game is pretty good at giving you just-challenging-enough enemies.

 

[Frindis]

Been enjoying CS2. Still got the traditional banter from squeakers and people without the cognitive ability to turn off the "open mic", but at least the game looks better now. Now if we could only get those new case drops so I could earn a quick buck or two, I would be even more grateful, Valve

 

[Pifanjr]

Rarely played the waystalker except to get her to max level, so I have no advice there, but you can get a stat on some items that is called Curse Resistance, which lessons the negative impact of grimoires. You can also increase your health. Both of those are good things to have. I don't remember much about the Waystalker, but a lot of builds people like, like the crit builds, are actually pretty terrible. If you are moving up to Champion, you might want to go back through all your options and make sure you are really benefitting from your current setup.

Also, people should always go for the grims. I considered it a waste of time if we left a level without them, the tomes and at least one dice. If I was soloing and a bot lost a grim or a tome, I'd usually quit and start over.

I got the Waystalker to level 30 today and switched some of the talents around. The biggest thing is that at level 30 you can pick the Piercing Shot talent, which changes her class skill from three homing arrows to a single piercing arrow that flies in a straight line and which recharges instantly if you get a headshot with it. Which is amazing if you hit and terrible if you miss. I'm not entirely sure it's worth it yet at my skill level. On one hand I did kill two Chaos Warriors in a row, but it's a lot less useful for quickly taking out specials.

 

[ZedClampet]

I got the Waystalker to level 30 today and switched some of the talents around. The biggest thing is that at level 30 you can pick the Piercing Shot talent, which changes her class skill from three homing arrows to a single piercing arrow that flies in a straight line and which recharges instantly if you get a headshot with it. Which is amazing if you hit and terrible if you miss. I'm not entirely sure it's worth it yet at my skill level. On one hand I did kill two Chaos Warriors in a row, but it's a lot less useful for quickly taking out specials.

She was even better in the first Vermintide, had some awesome bows that they dropped for V2. I always stuck with the more melee focused characters, but she's not bad at that, either.

Do you play random levels or do you have a favorite level or two that you are grinding for chests? I think the bell level is the shortest, and you usually get two bosses for dice. Grims and tomes are pretty easy to grab, but there is some parkour involved. Probably wouldn't want you carrying much as the Waystalker. Leave that to Bardin, Kruber and Saltspier.