Survey - Music

1-Grand Arena
2-Izaro fight
3-Solaris Temple
4-Highgate
5-Labyrinth Exterior

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Favourite:

Dried Lake
Highgate
Acton's Nightmare
Labyrinth
The Grand Arena

I also really liked Mystery Box (I don't remember which one, probably Solaris or dark one? Or both?) music.

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I can't stand music during Vaal fight. I know it's a machine and all but it sometimes gives me headaches in real life. I often turn off the sound just for this one moment.

Generally some pieces are too monotonous, overwhelming and sad for me, I don't even memorize them. I'd like to hear something a bit more dark and creepy.

I didn't see this survey until now, but the thread isn't locked, so here it goes...

My Top 5 Best Tracks

• 1.) Izaro's Labyrinth Exterior (dynamic, contemplative, with a touch of the orient)
• 2.) The Grand Arena (representative of gladiator career: starts slow, grows, becomes epic)
• 3.) Daresso's Dream (dynamic, flows well, great contrast, woodwinds, bells done right)
• 4.) Piety's Theme (perfect boss music: starts fast & ramps up, eerie undertones, grindy at end)
• 5.) Kaom's Stronghold (love the tribal feel, awesome vocals, dynamic, epic feeling)

My Bottom 5 Worst Tracks

• 1.) Whakawairua Tuahu (awkward, too much bell, skewed rhythm)
• 2.) The City of Sarn (overuse of echoing bell samples, boring)
• 3.) Acton's Nightmare (again bell usage, horrid, poor sampling)
• 4.) The Warden's Quarters (trying too hard, overly distorted, too much gain, clipping)
• 5.) Atziri's Influence (too busy, overplayed, enjoy vocals but nothing else)

So the lesson from my picks: less bell and more dynamic, epic-feeling music.

EDIT: Track Artists and details...

Best
1.) Izaro's Labyrinth Exterior (1st Lab area), by Kamil Orman Janowski
2.) The Grand Arena (2nd Daresso area), by Kamil Orman Janowski
3.) Daresso's Dream (1st Daresso area), by Kamil Orman Janowski
4.) Piety's Theme (2nd Piety fight), by Adgio Hutchings
5.) Kaom's Stronghold (2nd Kaom area), by Kamil Orman Janowski

Worst
1.) Whakawairua Tuahu (map), by Adam Willis
2.) The City of Sarn (1st Act 3 area), by Adgio Hutchings
3.) Acton's Nightmare (map), by Andrew Reid
4.) The Warden's Quarters (before Brutus fight), by Gautier Serre
5.) Atziri's Influence (Vaal areas), by Kamil Orman Janowski

So from that my favorite artist is Kamil Orman Janowski. I don't have a single most disliked artist, as my worst picks are from various artists.

Best

* The Crypt - Both the old and reworked version
* Chamber of Sins
* Dark Forest
* Sarn Slums
* The Sewers

Basically I'm more a fan of calm and mysterious soundtracks, music like the phrecian forest, when you first enter it after Merveil, and first area to Oak and Alira path, I really don't like it much.

Favorites

1. Lioneyes Watch (peaceful, nostalgic, music feels like the beginning of a game full of mystery and discovery)
2. Solaris temple
3. Forest Encampment
4. Labyrinth Music
5. Crypt Music

Least Favorite

Act 3 & 4 town - i dont dislike them, but they are not memorable to me, maybe not enough melody for personal taste.

Thoughts - I think my favorite soundtracks are are always ones with distinct and unique sounds from the rest of the game to give a unique sense of place while still fitting in thematically with the world. I hope towns in act 5 - 10 have a ton of variety and a few are peaceful / mystical like act 1/2.

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KamilOrmanJanowski wrote:

Thank You guys for massive feedback. I encourage you for more. It has influence on my current work !

Best:

1. Highgate: I love this song. It feels exotic, reminiscent of a far away land; its slow pace is perfect for a non-combat area, but at the same time it has a powerful sound. I really like the strings arrangement at around the half of the melody, that slowly grows before fading into a percussion interlude.

2. The Dried Lake: this one perfectly conveys emotion. The grim, sad feel when walking around matches perfectly the area itself, and really hits the point of how we're moving through a place that was once full of life but is now dead. It's a perfect match for Voll's sad story.

3. The Grand Arena: the opposite of The Dried Lake. After areas filled with dread and despair, we reach an area brimming with hope and glory, and this song perfectly sets the tone for that. The lovely strings work is a big plus, too.

4. The Heart of Corruption: in some ways the opposite of the Highgate theme. While Highgate has a slow, somewhat melancholic pace, this one has the fast pace of a big boss battle. The song itself sounds epic, but it's not too busy - it still has ups and lows, which is nice, considering how easy it would have been to just make something too loud or too intense.

Those are the ones that I like the most. Many other songs have sections I really like - for example, the more intense part of The Warden's Quarters, the vocals from Scepter of God, and so on.

I have to say, the Act 4 soundtrack is a massive improvement over the first three acts. Congratulations for the great work!

Favourites are
1. The Crypt (new) - this has always been my favourite area because of this piece. It almost seems to be reflecting on the slaughter that happened there in the past, but it's also got that sense of mystery and peace that shows some things have changed and moved on, althought not of all it has.
2. Kaom's dream - very dreamlike and powerful. I feel that this piece blends together a great deal of mournfulness and urgency which is perfect for the area (seeing as how kaom went mad and killed all of his followers).
3. Dominus, Ascendant - It's a bit of an easy fight but the theme is just so powerful and terrifying that this is easily my favourite boss music in the game.
4. Lioneye's Watch - Great way to introduce the game. It's also got that somewhat nostalgic feel that is really nice when replaying in later difficulties.
5. Labyrinth (all of it) - it's a great soundtrack and there's a lot of unique instruments that work really well with the theme, seperating the area a bit from the main storyline.

Have to also mention Heart of Corruption, Warden's Quarters and Dried Lake as those are great as well

Not a fan of:
1. Vaal area soundtracks - A bit too slow-paced and the vocals are a bit annoying
2. The Battlefront - I think it's just my taste but it feels a bit too empty with the main sound being the occasional clash of swords in the distance (not really a 'battlefront')
3. Lunaris theme - it's an ok ambience theme, but it's way too dull considering the area is probably the most horrifying in the game. It could do with something a bit more jarring.
4. Belly of the Beast - the melody is nice but I think it's a bit too dull as with the Lunaris theme (more gritty instruments might help)
5. Highgate - it's a great theme to introduce the town at first, but the vocals become a bit too much after awhile.

The game definitely has some great music. I've done nearly 1000 hours and still listen to some of the areas' themes while playing. Looking forward to the new music coming in 3.0

Hi there.

My most favourite soundtracks in the game are :
- Lioneye's Watch -> it's the first town of the game and really fits the tone very well of what is to come. The music is both full of hope and fear. One of the most iconic musics of the game.
- The Grand Arena -> this track has so much work, it's almost weird when compared to most other areas. You can feel the historic past and the great fights the arenas must have seen through the ages.
- Exterior Labyrinth -> Perfect music for this place, it's a track full of loneliness and adventure.
- Izaro fight -> Excellent music once again, especially when you're not using an OP build that almost oneshots Izaro, because the best section is near the end of the soundtrack. You can feel a real sense of danger, but then you get sad for beating Izaro's ass because you feel some sort of sympathy for a men that spent so many years alone. Its voice actor is also definitely top notch here.
- Whakawairua Tuahu, because it really feels both original and oppressive, which really fits the map. This is currently the area with the best atmosphere in the game IMO.

Honorable mentions : Kaom's Stronghold, Belly of the Beast, Malachai fight, Guardian fight

My least favourite soundtracks (there isn't one that I truly dislike, but they feel "meh" when compared to the best ones) :
- Main menu theme...I may be the only one here, but this piece of music is really dull and weird, and does not fit at all in the game. I'm really hoping for a new main theme with 3.0. I'd be very disappointed otherwise.
- Chamber of Sins/Battlefront -> Too slow, not engaged music, and almost inaudible
- Forest Encampement/Vaal Ruins (which are too similar) -> Quite a letdown after hearing Lioneye's Watch music.
- The Den -> Unnoticeable, blank. I don't want to go there (and the quest is useless by the way).
- Ebony Barracks/Slurm -> Are we really supposed to be in a combat field ? Because the music says everything but that.