Info about Titan Quest: Eternal Embers:

Official game description:
Summoned by the legendary Emperor Yao, the Hero is called back into the East to deal with a demonic threat that has been ravaging the land after the Telkine was slain. Upon tracking it down, the Hero and his comrades realize that the appearance of the ancient peril, Qiong Qi, was no mere coincidence and that something much more sinister is afoot...  
**Eternal Embers Quest**  
*   A whole new epic quest line spanning 4 acts, accompanied by 15 additional side quests, playable exclusively in Legendary difficulty  
*   The player wanders through the fantastic vistas of the orient climbing to the heavens themselves and traversing the mazes of the realm of the Dragon King. From such ethereal heights to the scorching sands and temple ruins of mighty Egypt the player goes but where the path ends only destiny knows.
**New 11th mastery**  
*   Become a master of Neidan, a mystical alchemist who uses deadly concoctions and abilities to annihilate his enemies  
*   By using the legendary powers of the ancient Neidan masters, ultimate wielders of Chi, the player unlocks hidden potential of the self to the detriment of every enemy that stands in the way of the player’s destiny. The elemental powers and blessings of demigods and the will of ancient emperors stands at the player’s fingertips.
**30+ new enemies and bosses**  
*   From the exotic beasts of the Far Eastern legends to the proud and vain deities looking to test your worthiness in battle
**New weapons and gear**  
*   Find new and powerful gear, from masterfully crafted Oriental armors to weapons that could strike down the gods themselves  
*   New relics and charms to make your gear even more powerful
**Additional gameplay mechanics**  
*   7 new types of potions, to boost various stats and give you an edge in combat; all of them sharing a cooldown, independent from health/mana potions and scrolls
**Technical improvements**  
*   Improved rendering and performance  
*   Improved region loading near dungeons  
*   Gamepad support
**TQ tools improvements**  
*   The ability to scale objects directly in Editor, improved object selection, replacement and rotation tools in, fixed issues with the palette  
*   Ability to toggle collision and shadow rendering directly in Editor  
*   Improved sound and music system, new type of sound objects with dynamic range of sound distance, ability to preview of sound/music files in Editor  
*   Improved stability of the Art Manager, improvements of the UI, new and improved shortcuts  
*   Lots of small improvements

Release date: Dec 3, 2021

Categories: Action RPG, Character Progression, Class-based Combat, Exploration, Looter-driven Combat System, Endgame Content, Multiple Difficulty Levels

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 15; verdict: Fair / One-Time Purchase; summary: The user feedback focuses on disappointment with the DLC's price, grind, and difficulty gate, but contains no evidence of predatory monetization such as pay-to-win, loot boxes, or in-game cash shops. The complaints are about the DLC as a product, not microtransactions. The game itself appears to be a single-purchase title without ongoing real-money transactions.
- Steam Deck: score 10; verdict: Seamless; summary: User reviews overwhelmingly praise the controller support and new content of this DLC. The only minor issue noted is the lack of translation, but overall the experience appears smooth and compatible with Steam Deck without requiring workarounds.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $20.00 - $60.00
  - Reasoning: All reviews discuss DLC pricing, not the base game. The only explicit price mention values a DLC at $20, suggesting comparable content tiers. Since the base game offers more content, a fair price range is inferred to be higher, but with no direct evidence. Therefore, the range is highly speculative.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 22.5h
  - Story completion: 13.5h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The quotes indicate that a main story run can be completed in 12–15 hours, while a more thorough playthrough (including side content) extends to about 30 hours. The 15-hour figure is supported by multiple sources and appears typical for story completion, while 30 hours represents full completion. No explicit endgame time is provided.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The DLC has a fun start that drops significantly upon reaching Egypt, with most players finding it boring and tedious overall.
  - Stance: Fun then drops
  - Anchor: Arrival at egypt
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: Repetitive enemy types and environments; Unrewarding exploration with little purpose; Boring music and geometry issues; Loot table bugs making items unobtainable; Multiplayer bugs and instability
  - Unlock drivers: N/A
  - Conditions: Playing solo may avoid some multiplayer bugs
- Player Archetypes:
  - Hardcore Endgame Enthusiast (buy)
    - Motivation: More endgame content and new mastery to optimize builds
    - Playstyle: Grinds through the campaign multiple times to reach Legendary difficulty, focuses on level 80 achievement and build completion.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: seasoned player; hardcore gamer; Titan Quest fan; endgame grinder
    - Reference games: Titan Quest; Titan Quest: Immortal Throne; Titan Quest: Ragnarok; Titan Quest: Atlantis
  - Disappointed Veteran (no buy)
    - Motivation: Loyalty to the series, but disappointment with current direction
    - Playstyle: Experienced player who wants polished endgame but finds grind and bugs unacceptable.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: Titan Quest veteran; long-time fan; franchise loyalist
    - Reference games: Titan Quest; Titan Quest: Immortal Throne; Titan Quest: Ragnarok; Titan Quest: Atlantis
  - Casual Player (no buy)
    - Motivation: Fun and accessible progression without excessive grind
    - Playstyle: Prefers to play through content once, dislikes replaying multiple times on harder difficulties.
    - Experience: newcomer
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: casual player; non-completionist; newcomer
    - Reference games: Titan Quest
  - Co-op Enthusiast (no buy)
    - Motivation: Playing with friends in co-op
    - Playstyle: Plays through the game in a party, expects stable multiplayer experience.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: co-op player; multiplayer fan
    - Reference games: Titan Quest; Titan Quest: Atlantis


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Beautiful map and visual design (weight 0.39): Players consistently praise the high quality of the maps and visuals, with many describing them as stunning, detailed, and well-designed. The environments and locations are considered some of the most beautiful in the entire game.
- New Neidan mastery is valuable (weight 0.28): The addition of the Neidan mastery (alchemist style) is highly appreciated, with players noting it is interesting, self-sufficient, fun to play, and brings new build possibilities. Multiple clusters confirm its positive reception.
- Variety of new items and artifacts (weight 0.26): The expansion adds many new artifacts, relics, items, unique weapons, armor, and potions. Players find these additions nice, cool, and valuable for gameplay variety.
- Great music and soundtrack (weight 0.17): The music is often noted as good, cinematic, and fitting for the areas it accompanies. The soundtrack helps capture the atmosphere effectively.
- Expansive and rewarding exploration (weight 0.15): Players enjoy the large, winding areas full of hidden areas, caves, and tombs that encourage exploration. Exploration is often rewarded with secret areas and valuable content.
- Great addition to Titan Quest universe (weight 0.15): Players consider this the best expansion ever made for Titan Quest, with more Titan Quest content that is well made and worthwhile. It is seen as a valuable and good expansion so far.
- New characters can start at higher levels (weight 0.12): Players appreciate the ability to create a new character at level 70 on Legendary difficulty, skipping the low difficulty grind. This feature is mentioned in multiple clusters.
- Gamepad support is a welcome addition (weight 0.1): Official gamepad support has been added, providing comfortable and great controller controls. This is a highly appreciated feature.
- Good value for the price (weight 0.07): The expansion is considered worth the price, especially when on sale, and is generally worth buying. It provides good value for the content offered.

Common complaints:
- Maps too large and confusing (weight 0.56): Maps are excessively large, maze-like, and lack clear direction, making navigation frustrating. Players often encounter dead ends, excessive backtracking, and meaningless empty spaces.
- DLC locked to Legendary difficulty (weight 0.51): The new DLC content is only accessible on Legendary difficulty, preventing new or casual players from enjoying it. This restriction requires finishing the base game on harder difficulties or multiple playthroughs.
- DLC feels overpriced and low effort (weight 0.28): The DLC is considered overpriced at full price, especially given its lack of content and polish. Many players view it as a low-effort cash grab not worth the money.
- Few new enemies mostly reskins (weight 0.15): The DLC introduces very few new enemy types, with the majority being recolored or retextured versions of existing monsters. This makes encounters feel repetitive and uninspired.
- Character stuck in terrain (weight 0.15): Characters frequently get stuck in terrain, textures, and after using portals, breaking gameplay flow. This bug occurs in multiple locations and disrupts exploration.
- Multiplayer plagued by crashes and bugs (weight 0.14): Multiplayer mode is unstable, with frequent crashes to desktop or main menu reported by many players. Bugs make cooperative play frustrating and unreliable.
- Lag and stuttering issues (weight 0.07): The game suffers from severe lag and stuttering, especially in large or densely populated areas. Performance issues make gameplay difficult and detract from the experience.
- Leveling too slow and unsatisfying (weight 0.07): Leveling progression slows to a crawl, with upgrades offering little satisfaction. Players feel underpowered and unrewarded for their time investment.
- Boss difficulty imbalanced (weight 0.07): Boss encounters are poorly balanced, with some being trivially easy while others are annoyingly hard. This inconsistency undermines the challenge and fun of boss fights.
- Caves tedious and overly long (weight 0.06): Cave areas are excessively long and tedious, taking up to half an hour to traverse with little reward. This makes exploration feel like a chore.
- Overcrowded enemy areas (weight 0.06): Some areas are overcrowded with enemies, with 15-20 mobs per room, making combat chaotic and overwhelming. This reduces strategic play and increases frustration.
- Final boss fight causes game freezes (weight 0.06): The final boss area is small and bombarded with spell effects, causing the engine to freeze or crash. This technical issue ruins the climax of the DLC.
- Quest markers missing or delayed (weight 0.06): Main quest markers sometimes fail to update or appear late, leaving players confused about objectives. This navigation issue hinders progression.
- Empty dungeons with no bosses (weight 0.06): Many dungeons are completely empty, lacking bosses, quests, or meaningful rewards. This wastes player time and makes exploration unrewarding.
- Level design dark and unclear navigation (weight 0.06): Level design is often too dark or confusing, making it easy to get lost, especially in cities and after NPC conversations. Narrow paths are hard to spot.

Gameplay feedback:
- DLC locked to Legendary difficulty (weight 0.37): The expansion content is only accessible after completing the main campaign on Legendary difficulty, requiring a significant time investment to play.
- China and Egypt themed zones (weight 0.3): The expansion adds Chinese and Egyptian themed areas with large, labyrinthine maps, hidden caves, and secret passages.
- New class Neidan introduced (weight 0.27): The expansion adds a new alchemist-style class called Neidan, with skills based on brews, chance effects, and potions, expanding build options.
- Large and circular map design (weight 0.27): Maps are very large and circular with many entrances and exits, but some players find them messy and lacking navigation hints.
- New potions and items added (weight 0.21): The DLC introduces 7 new potions, plus new legendary items, sets, and charms that provide stat boosts and complete sets quickly.
- New campaign with side quests (weight 0.18): The expansion includes a new campaign with 15 side quests, a final boss with multiple spell effects, and teleport points near three bosses.
- Skipping to endgame possible (weight 0.15): Players can create a level 70 character to start the expansion content directly, bypassing the difficulty requirement.
- Resistance totems and electrum (weight 0.09): Resistance totems impose penalties but increase electrum drops, a new currency that adds challenge and reward trade-offs.
- Multiclassing needed for synergy (weight 0.09): Players note that classes require multiclassing for effective builds, and some feel classes lack synergy or are limited.
- New hardcore dungeons with rewards (weight 0.08): The DLC features hardcore dungeons with exclusive legendary drops, and a developer room for exploring.
- Verticality and environment storytelling (weight 0.08): The DLC includes vertical level design and environment storytelling, enhancing exploration and atmosphere.
- Enemies with generic names (weight 0.06): Enemies of the same type share generic names like 'Skeleton' instead of detailed or unique names, reducing immersion.
- Traps in loot piles (weight 0.06): Loot piles and chests sometimes contain traps that spawn enemy groups, adding surprise encounters.
- Caves use portals for entry (weight 0.06): Caves are accessed via portals instead of regular stairs or holes, a notable design choice.

Performance notes:
- Frequent game crashes (weight 0.33): Players report frequent crashes to main menu or desktop, occurring multiple times per session (e.g., every 20 minutes, 5-7 times per session), especially during combat or in new areas. This is the most commonly reported issue across multiple clusters.
- Performance lag and stutter (weight 0.18): Players experience heavy lag, stuttering, and freezes lasting 5-15 seconds, particularly in large scale combat, during running, or after an EE update. Game also freezes during final boss due to spell effects.
- Improved performance in some areas (weight 0.12): Some players note improvements: flawless 4K performance, better performance during death/teleporting, reduced lag in previously laggy areas, and improved optimization in Ragnarok areas with less lag and crashes when many enemies appear.
- Portal bug not working (weight 0.1): A specific portal bug is reported where the portal does not work, and using a portal causes additional lag. This is noted in clusters 2 and 33.
- Shader and texture issues (weight 0.07): Shaders cause a slideshow in large scale combat, and texture loading bugs are present. These graphical issues degrade gameplay experience.
- Buggy foliage and terrain stuck (weight 0.07): Foliage is buggy and the character gets stuck in terrain, indicating environmental collision issues that hinder movement and exploration.
- Quest and UI problems (weight 0.07): Players encounter quest issues and a UI disappearing bug, which disrupt progress and usability.

Recommendations:
- Mixed reception for fans (weight 0.41): Clusters 1, 6, 7, 17, 21, 23, 24, 37, 47, 59, 60, 64: The expansion is recommended primarily for die-hard Titan Quest fans, genre enthusiasts, and those seeking more content. Some reviews call it an 'absolute buy' for fans, while others say it's only for true fans or masochists.
- Do not buy advice (weight 0.38): Clusters 2, 3, 4, 16, 22, 33, 34, 53: Many explicit 'do not buy' warnings emerge. Players cite boring content, low effort, crashing, and a cash-grab feel. Some even recommend uninstalling if already purchased.
- Conditional recommendations (weight 0.32): Clusters 9, 11, 25, 26, 30, 31, 38, 39, 40, 41, 44, 45, 50, 51, 54, 55, 63: Several reviews offer qualified advice—think twice, get it only for achievements, if you want more content, if you can tolerate terrible level design, or if you are a completionist. Some recommend playing before Ragnarok or warn about save incompatibility.
- Buy on sale recommendation (weight 0.17): Clusters 5, 14, 36, 58: A strong consensus suggests waiting for a sale and not paying full price. Reviewers say the DLC is worth buying when discounted, and the full price is too high for what it offers.
- Difficulty lock issue (weight 0.14): Clusters 10, 32, 42, 56, 62: Multiple reviewers criticize the legendary-difficulty-only lock, which makes the DLC unsuitable for new or low-level players. It is viewed as endgame content that alienates casuals and those seeking a fresh start.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.34): The primary causes of frustration are constant crashes, bugs, and poor performance that ruin the experience. Players are forced to complete the game multiple times on Legendary difficulty to access the DLC, which feels like a tedious grind. Map design is criticized for being oversized, confusing, and maze-like with dead ends, while damage reflection mechanics make melee combat unfair.
- Disappointment (weight 0.18): Players feel the DLC fails to meet the quality standards of the original game and previous expansions, describing it as a low-effort cash grab with recycled enemies and weak rewards. The requirement to play on Legendary difficulty excludes casual players and hinders progression, making the campaign feel joyless and empty. The high price and lack of meaningful new content contribute to a sense that the DLC does not live up to expectations.
- Anger (weight 0.07): Anger stems from broken damage models, frequent crashes, and poor design choices that make the DLC feel like a scam. Players are frustrated by Steam denying refunds despite being unable to play, and by racist voice acting and excessive backtracking. The final boss's one-shot attacks and deliberate time-wasting level design add to the sense of being cheated.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.05): Satisfied players appreciate the ability to start at Legendary difficulty immediately, accessing main content without replaying the base game. They enjoy beautiful locations, new masteries, improved itemization, and quality-of-life updates like better performance and gamepad support. The overall expansion is considered worth playing for fans, with varied areas and cinematic music enhancing the experience.
- Boredom (weight 0.04): Boredom is caused by repetitive and generic zones with low enemy variety, making the gameplay feel monotonous. Huge, empty maps with few bosses and uninteresting side quests create a sense of drudgery, especially in endless desert and cave sections. The lack of a compelling plot and the need to grind through large, labyrinthine dungeons without rewards makes the experience feel painful to complete.
- Excitement (weight 0.04): Excitement comes from the huge, winding maps that encourage exploration and the addition of a new class and story content. Players are thrilled by the ability to play Titan Quest with a controller and by the return to Egypt with storyline twists. The prospect of future expansions based on other mythologies further fuels enthusiasm.
- Annoyance (weight 0.02): Annoyance arises from small but persistent issues like massive caves with portals instead of stairs, items falling too slowly for time-limited abilities, and terrain getting stuck. Occasional unclear pathfinding and trap chests add to the irritation, while being left out if not purchasing the DLC feels exclusionary.
- Appreciation (weight 0.02): Appreciation is expressed for the wealth of content and new features, as well as the detailed visual design and atmospheric music. Players praise the developers for creating an expansion with diverse monsters, beautiful environments, and engaging storytelling that immerses them in the game world.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.02): Enjoyment is driven by frequent legendary drops, new class options, and a fun mastery system that adds variety to gameplay. Players also appreciate the nice music and French voice acting, as well as the beautiful maps and soundtrack that make the expansion engaging and pleasant to play.
- Frustrated (weight 0.02): This frustration is specifically tied to damage reflection enemies that cause unfair and frequent deaths, huge maps and caves with no clear path, and bugs and poor performance that ruin the overall experience. These issues make progression feel punishing rather than rewarding.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Confusion arises from the requirement to play in Legendary mode without clear reasoning, which feels arbitrary and exclusionary. The story also uses Eastern mythology without proper explanation, leaving players unsure of the narrative and its connections to the game's world.
- Disgust (weight 0.01): Disgust is triggered by the excessive amount of undead in the Egypt area, making it feel repetitive and dull. The DLC is described as feeling randomly generated with huge, empty locations and extremely low overall quality, which players see as a cash grab lacking effort and creativity.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Surprise stems from the unexpected release of an expansion for a 15-year-old game, especially from THQ Nordic. Many players were pleasantly surprised that the DLC turned out better than anticipated, surpassing the quality of previous disappointing expansions.
- Disappointed (weight 0.01): This disappointment is about the partial success of good intentions, where the implementation fails to meet expectations. Players note that the quality of the game collapses as more DLCs are released, making the overall experience feel worse over time.
- Amazed (weight 0.01): Amazement comes from the fact that new content is still being developed for an older game, which delights long-time fans. Players are also amazed by the boss fights, which are described as conducted in an amazing way that adds excitement and challenge.
- Relief (weight 0.01): Relief is felt when clearing a large portion of grind and realizing it is behind, reducing the burden of repetitive tasks. Optimization improvements that reduce lag and crashes, as well as pets saving players from dying on hardcore, provide welcome respite from previous frustrations.
- Happiness (weight 0.01): Happiness arises from the continued release of new expansions for a beloved game, which keeps the experience fresh and engaging. Players are also happy to finally play the game with a gamepad, which improves comfort and accessibility.
- Admiration (weight 0.01): Admiration is directed at the incredibly beautiful and varied map design, which stands out as a highlight of the expansion. Some players consider this the best expansion, praising the developers for their attention to detail and creativity in the game world.
- Regret (weight 0.01): Regret is expressed for not knowing that the DLC is only accessible on Legendary difficulty, which made the purchase feel wasteful. Players wish they had been informed beforehand to avoid the disappointment and frustration of being unable to enjoy the content they paid for.}