Solasta: Palace of Ice DLC Hands-On Preview Impressions – Just this week, I had the opportunity to sit down and play with Tactical Adventures while discussing their biggest DLC to date, Palace of Ice. Palace of Ice comes almost 2 years after Solasta: Crown of the Magister was released with a level cap increase from 12 (if you’ve played Lost Valley) to 16, new monsters to fight, and unique Spells to try out. So in this Solasta: Palace of Ice Hands-on Preview Impressions, I’ll be talking about these changes and how they’ll affect the way you play the game, as well as give my thoughts on how much Solasta has changed years after its launch. If you’re interested to get a glimpse of what this huge DLC has to offer, then this article is for you!

Solasta: Palace of Ice DLC Hands-On Preview Impressions

• Genre: Tactical, Turn-Based RPG
• Developed by: Tactical Adventures
• Published by: Tactical Adventures
• Release Date: May 25th, 2023
• Platform: PC

Solasta: Palace of Ice DLC – What is the Palace of Ice DLC?

Palace of Ice is a sprawling DLC that will take players to an entirely new region of Solasta, specifically in the Northern part of the Principality of Masgarth. It’s a direct continuation of Crown of the Magister where your assistance is needed once again to help the Snow Alliance with their plight. Currently, the Kingdom of Gallivan is making them a prime target of a brewing invasion. So even after the concluding events at the end of the base game, you’re left to investigate how this all came to be and who’s behind the dastardly decision to raise hell. Are the Soraks still involved? Who are the major power players in the DLC?

The story of Palace of Ice is more immersive than before. Unlike in Crown of the Magister where the narrative is presented in a more linear manner, this DLC will have you choose the Quests you wish to participate in after completing the first act. It’s an interesting feature that exposes you to multiple scenarios and clans you’ll meet while at the same time, improving Solasta’s replayability. Choosing one quest over another will close the doors in other areas of the game so you need to be firm in the decisions you make.

In addition to quelling the corruption that’s prevalent in certain clans, you’ll also need to convince and reunite them to prepare for a possible threat even though they’re knee-deep in their own problems. Some examples include Bandits closing in on Dwarven Mines while the dwarves themselves remain disorganized due to the absence of a leader. However, amidst all of these issues, it’s up to you and your allies to save them from damnation. 

There are several Factions in this DLC, each of which resides in environments that are starkly different from anything you’ve seen in the past. There are the Snowy Mountains up North, the Elven Village in the West situated high up in forests, and even the remote Under Mountain where you can find Trading Dwarves. These Locations are certainly a feast for the eyes and show how far Tactical Adventures has grown since the base game was released. Not only is the overall setting more vibrant but it also feels alive given the NPC’s characterization and tiny details that represent who these clans are. So if you’ve played Crown of the Magister and you’re itching for more D&D 5E content, then the Solasta: Palace of Ice DLC should be up your alley!

Solasta: Palace of Ice DLC – Gameplay

Solasta’s Palace of Ice DLC improves upon the current gameplay system. One example is the Multiplayer Mode, which was released together with the Lost Valley DLC last April 2022. Just like before, as long as the host has access to the latest version of the game, the rest of their friends can tag along without having to purchase anything else. This time around, playing with others will have a different meaning because you’ll get to encounter tougher creatures and use high-level Spells and Powers to defeat them. Party synergy is a top priority, especially if you and your allies intend to progress through the latest DLC in the hardest difficulty! 

Level 16 & Character Balancing

One of the things we talked about is the decision to cap the character level at Level 16. If they pushed it to something as high as Level 12, why did they specifically go for 16? Why not 15, 18, or even 20? It may seem like an arbitrary and random number but Level 16 is the perfect balance in terms of gaining additional skill points, HP, and the last time at which players can increase their Ability Scores without having to further raise the number of Spells and Feats available to Spellcasters and Martial Classes. 

It’s also the ideal level up sufficiently to fight against the new creatures you’ll face since they’re difficult to go up against. In addition to the classic Soraks, you’ll face demons who are much more resistant to taking damage. Because of the threat they pose, those who teeter between Levels 10 to 16 are the only ones who can stop them. Additionally, you’ll have the choice to create brand-new characters or use the premade ones that are readily available.

Equipment

Since you can import saves from any of your previous runs (as long as they don’t involve Level 13+ characters), you continue to gain access to specific loot. But if you decide to create characters from scratch, you’ll be supplied with starting magical items such as +3 versions of the Longsword and other Armor. Furthermore, new regular sets will be made available, which can be crafted, whereas Legendary Sets are going to be quest rewards. These items will be limited to certain questlines that will push you to make hard decisions and side with a faction. 

In the Palace of Ice DLC, one distinct feature that has been implemented to further improve the importance of gear is its interaction with the environment. Since you’ll be exposed to several biomes, you’ll want to be prepared because the weather won’t be kind to travelers. For example, if you’re out in the Snowy Mountains, it would be best to wear the Boots of Winter or Ring of Cold Resistance, otherwise, you’ll end up with a status effect, which will slow you down. It’s a significant change and one that will add to the game’s complexity since gone are the days of simply traveling and fighting random creatures. Players will need to gear up to improve their survivability.

Solasta: Palace of Ice DLC – Combat

During my session with Tactical Adventures, we visited 3 environments and engaged in 2 Combat encounters with all of our characters at max level. What you see right now is our first big fight, which is located on the Northern outskirts of the Principality of Masgarth, against none other than the Soraks themselves! This particular encounter is a snapshot of what you can expect in the DLC. 

Combat is going to be more difficult because the game assumes you already have enough experience with Crown of the Magister so you’re more likely aware of how the AI operates. Otherwise, there’s a huge possibility to fumble around unless you’re familiar with the D&D SRD 5.1 Ruleset. Nonetheless, you can toggle the difficulty settings at any time in the game, even for those who want to crank up the challenge should they find encounters a bit too easy for their taste. Even now, the tactical aspect of Solasta is what will continue to draw veterans and new players alike. 

As mentioned earlier, the Palace of Ice DLC introduces a whole new set of creatures to face in the form of demons and fiends like the pesky Vrocks and extremely tanky Glabrezu. The Vrocks, for instance, can stun most of your allies with their Screen Power. They’re also annoying to target since they tend to fly away. Meanwhile, the Glabrezu has several Extra Attacks so if a hapless Wizard happens to be near them, they’re more likely to perish within a few turns. The cool thing about these monsters is that they have a lot of resistance against receiving damage, especially from Spells. So although Wizards gain access to higher-level and supposedly powerful Spells like Feeblemind and Delayed Blast Fireball, these aren’t going to be effective unless you pair them with actions that can limit the enemy’s action per turn.

So you’re going to have to think harder and more creatively since these creatures are resistant to the usual Elemental Damage like Fire, Cold, and Poison. But together with your friends, you can make use of summons and buffs to boost damage. The new combat, Spell, and Feat implementations are engaging ways to introduce unique challenges, especially ones that would require you to think outside of the box. Compared to Soraks whom you can easily attack with Fireball, demons and fiends are here to stay and they certainly wouldn’t back down without a hard fight!

Now the inspiration behind choosing them as the main baddies is brought about by the story the developers want to tell, considering that they haven’t been introduced previously. Furthermore, these fiends are also creatively fun to make due to the liberty of visually designing them differently from their peers. From the Glabrezu to the Incubus and Hezrou you’ll meet along the way, you’ll instantly notice how eye-catching and much more devious-looking they are compared to the Soraks.

Solasta: Palace of Ice DLC – Dungeon Maker

One of the features that will receive a huge boost is the Dungeon Maker. Whereas in Crown of the Magister, you can only create a dungeon with several rooms, now it’s possible to come up with a fully-fledged campaign! Not only will you be able to make use of the new environments and monsters, but you’ll also gain access to the World Map and NPC Follower Systems. 

The World Map will allow you to link Crown of the Magister, Lost Valley, and Palace of Ice to be able to connect and integrate them with one another. This allows for a huge degree of freedom to place biomes and random events from one area to the next in order to make encounters more interesting. For example, you can have the player hunt and fight for a unique item, which will serve as a key to a magical door. Sky’s the limit when it comes to coming up with a campaign to share with others!

Next is the NPC Follower System, which will allow you to recruit NPCs you meet along the way should they say yes to your invitation. This is what the community has been asking for since they’ll get to increase their party size to more than 4 once they successfully convince an NPC to join them. Currently, the system allows for at most 10 NPCs in a group but I’m not sure how complicated this will be in combat given the volume of characters to pilot. More importantly, they’ll have their own quips and opinions to spice things up.

Audio, Visuals & Design

Solasta: Palace of Ice DLC features a total of 4 new environments, particularly the Snowy Hills, Dwarven and Elven Settlements, Dwarven City, and Mountain Caves. What’s immediately apparent as we jumped from one location to the next is the level of detail that illustrates the atmosphere of every clan you’ll encounter. For instance, the Elven Village on top of the trees is bright, serene, and relaxed compared to the claustrophobic and dark Under Mountain or City of the Central Clans, which is inhabited by Dwarves. 

Additionally, the special effects and animation of higher-level Spells like Earthquake is a delight to watch. This is specifically one of the harder Spells to implement graphics-wise because of its persistent effect where the ground continues to shake for several turns. Although it turned out well in combination with decent sound effects. However, one aspect that didn’t receive an update is the stiff facial animations and voiceovers of characters in dialogue. It can at times be immersion-breaking because of how unnatural they look and sound but these shouldn’t affect your enjoyment of the game, especially if you’re more concerned about the strategic side of combat.

Final Thoughts

Solasta: Palace of Ice is the most ambitious DLC yet with over 25 hours worth of content to sift through. From the new Races such as Gnomes and Tieflings to play to the challenging high-level encounters to engage in, you’ll always be preoccupied with the game. Plus, an enhanced version of the Dungeon Maker will be available, allowing you to create your own campaign from scratch and make use of the World Map and NPC Follower Systems! Furthermore, this DLC will follow a non-linear campaign so you’ll end up finishing acts differently based on the choices you make. 

If you want to engage in unique and challenging experiences that encourage you to think in unconventional ways in addition to exploring new locations and hunting for new Legendary Equipment, then you’ll enjoy this Solasta: Palace of Ice DLC. It’s set to be released on May 25, 2023!

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Be sure to check out our Official Solasta: Crown of the Magister Wiki and Twitch Channel if you have questions about the game. You can also refer to our Solasta Crown of the Magister Beginner’s Guide: 10 Tips You Should Know Before You Play and other Class Build Guides. What are your thoughts on this Solasta: Palace of Ice DLC Hands-On Preview Impressions? Which feature are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments below!