V Rising - Founder's Pack: Eldest Bloodline Review Summary

A gorgeous cosmetic pack with beautiful transformation skins, accessories, castle decor and statues for a unique survival MMO with friends and great combat, though the DLC is overpriced for content.

Gorgeous cosmetic pack: The cosmetic DLC includes a variety of beautiful accessories, character skins, and castle decorations that enhance personalization. Many players appreciate the aesthetic additions and the ability to look cooler than friends.

Great game overall: Many players simply state the game is great, awesome, or one of the best games of the year. It's a fun and enjoyable experience that stands out.

Beautiful transformation skins: The transformation skins, including wolf, bear, and granny forms, are frequently praised for their visual appeal and cool factor. Players enjoy the new looks without losing the original forms.

Castle decoration and statues: The DLC adds many statue types and ornaments that help flesh out castle aesthetics. Players enjoy the variety and the ability to decorate walls, floors, and more.

Fun gameplay and combat: The game offers fun and fluid combat, with a good balance between fighting and building. Players enjoy the innovative skills, movement, and overall gameplay loop.

DLC overpriced for content: Players widely feel the cosmetic DLC packs are too expensive relative to the small amount of content, which is mostly skins and lacks meaningful value.

Cosmetics lack variety and quality: The cosmetic items are considered mediocre, with too many gargoyles and a lack of variety in buildables and accessory options.

Missing content in packs: Several players note that packs are missing key items like mounts saddles, DLC skin versions for Rat and Bat forms, and other transformations (Toad, Frog, etc.).

Solo play difficulty spike: Solo players face significant challenges, especially with bosses that are much harder alone than with a group, causing headaches and walls.

Stygian bear form criticized: The Stygian bear form is considered uglier than the original, with horns making it resemble a boar rather than a bear.

Transformation skins require manual setup: Players note that wolf, bear, and grandma skins are special transformation skills that must be manually equipped via the skill menu (J key), dragged to the hotbar, and do not override original forms. The founder's wolf form, for example, is equipped through Vampiric Powers and set on the hotwheel.

Cosmetic DLC focuses on skins: Multiple clusters highlight that the DLC is purely cosmetic, adding skins, accessories, statues, and transformation appearances without affecting gameplay. It is meant for personal fun and role-play flavor.

Survival crafting with PvP: The game blends survival crafting with PvP and PvE modes, supporting both solo and multiplayer experiences. Players can build bases, craft gear from recipes found via bosses, and engage in PvP on open servers or avoid it in private worlds.

Boss fights drive progression: The game features numerous bosses, including 50 bosses and specific shard bosses, which are essential for unlocking recipes and advancing. Defeating bosses also unlocks transformation skins like bear, wolf, and grandma forms.

Castle building is core gameplay: Castle construction and decoration are central elements, with players spending significant time designing and decorating their castles. The building system includes a floor system and various decor items like gargoyle statues.

DLC activation issues reported: Players report that purchased DLC fails to activate even after reinstalling the game, reloading DLC content, and recreating characters. This prevents access to paid content and affects the overall experience.

Screen-filling graphical glitch: A black or purple hole anomaly sometimes consumes the entire screen, forcing players to exit and restart the game. It is unclear whether this issue is hardware-related or a software bug.

Purchase Mainly for Developer Support: Many reviewers state the pack is primarily a way to support the developers rather than a content-rich purchase. They recommend buying only if you want to contribute to future development, not for value.

Priced Too High for Value: Multiple reviewers find the pack not worth its price, especially as a standalone purchase. They suggest buying in a bundle or on sale, or avoiding it if you expect content proportional to cost.

Conditional or Qualified Recommendations: Some reviewers offer conditional recommendations, such as buying if you want to support the company or as a donation. Others advise caution or taking reviews with a grain of salt.

Positive Recommendations for Game: Several reviewers highly recommend the base game, with some giving enthusiastic endorsements. They highlight its appeal for fans of vampires, survival, hack-and-slash, or roguelike genres.

Cosmetic-Focused, Optional Add-On: The DLC is described as optional and focused on cosmetic options for characters and castles. Reviewers note it offers a few skins and decoration items, and is not required for gameplay.

Community fair range: $20.00 - $30.00.

Solo PvE Castle Builder: Plays solo on a local singleplayer world, alternating farming and combat, avoiding open-server PvP. Motivation: Progressing through PvE content and growing their castle at their own pace without PvP pressure. Stance: sale.

Competitive PvP Duelist: Fights on open PvP servers, raids and defends castles, builds for endgame advantage. Motivation: Competitive PvP duels and staying ahead of other players through gear and progression. Stance: buy.

Souls-like Action Veteran: Solo action-RPG runs, exploring thoroughly and occasionally speedrunning tough bosses. Motivation: Challenging boss fights and skill-driven combat that rewards mastery. Stance: buy.

Monetization: The reviews focus on paid cosmetic/vanity DLC packs and DLC price increases rather than in-game microtransactions. There is no evidence of real-money gacha, loot boxes, pay-to-win, paid convenience, or currency obfuscation. Complaints concern DLC value and pricing, but traditional and cosmetic DLC alone cannot push the score above 20.

Founder's Pack Support: The Founder's Pack is intended to support the developers and is expected to be removed at full release. It offers cosmetic rewards as a thank-you.

Cosmetic-Only DLC Packs: All paid DLCs are purely cosmetic, containing items like skins and accessories. They do not affect gameplay.

DLC Price Exceeds Base Game: Some reviewers point out that certain DLC packs are priced higher than the base game. This has been a point of contention.

Early Access Base Game: Multiple reviewers note that the base game is in Early Access. This status is mentioned consistently across several feedback instances.

Supports Free Updates: Purchasing the DLC allows the developers to release story and gameplay updates for free. This model has been praised by some reviewers.