What's your favorite "stage" of the trophy hunt?

[dertswa687o]

With such a vague title, I should define what I mean.

 

When you're playing through a game, do you prefer:

• The beginning of the game, when everything is new and you usually get a few easy trophies.
• The mid-late game, when you're firmly entrenched in the game and understand its mechanics. Trophies may be more scarce, but you're at the end of the story.
• The postgame, when you do whatever you want and can mop up the various trophies you missed in whatever order you desire.
• The second playthrough, when you understand the game pretty well and are looking to knock out those missables or difficulty trophies.

 

Obviously those sections don't work for every game, so feel free to make up your own stages or talk more generally. And feel free to interpret the question as stage of a game in general. This is a trophy hunting site but it doesn't mean we all pick up every game with the intention to trophy hunt.

 

 

For me, I love the postgame. I love having all the tools of the game at my disposal and tackling objectives as I see fit, not constrained by the story or missables. It's satisfying for me to be able to complete objectives quickly. For some recent examples for me: yesterday I beat Uncharted: The Lost Legacy's story and I was pumped to have all the chapters available in chapter select to mop up the miscellaneous trophies and collectables. I enjoyed mopping up the map in Hollow Knight and Guacamelee 2 when I got all the abilities. The Tales of Vesperia postgame was great since I was free of the countless missables during the main story.

 

What are your thoughts?

[Itachirulz1]

I love the clean up when you've completed the game! Coz you can really see the platinum in sight!

[SnowNinjaRaccoon]

Highly depends on the game...

I mean for Star Ocean it was the beginning, since the endgame turns into crazy grind.

For games like I am Bread the endgame was way more fun once I understood what I was doing completely.

[Undead Wolf]

I'd say that the postgame cleanup tends to be my favourite part of the trophy hunt for most games. At this stage, usually the more "stressful" trophies such as any missable ones are out of the way, and I enjoy the feeling of a platinum being just over the horizon. It gives me the motivation I need to make that last push to the finish line, meaning I'll often play for much longer at this point. Nothing beats having an extra long gaming session only to be rewarded with a platinum at the end. 

[Dauersack]

I like the postgame the most in terms of trophy hunting. Cleaning up is not usually something I enjoy doing, but with the game beaten and the thrill of playing it diminished, I find excitement in getting most of the trophies I missed or have not yet grinded out, and it also means that the platinum is not too far away. I enjoy it less than being in the middle of playing a great game though. I enjoy the early stages the least in terms of trophy hunting, especially if there are missables involved. I try to get a trophy roadmap together while knowing only the bare minimum about the game or if I do not do that, I am still trying to figure out most of the game when my thoughts are occasionally interrupted by trophies. I have all these impressions on the game and try to enjoy it but also try to remember the trophy requirements for missable trophies, for grindy trophies, and it takes away from the experience a bit sometimes if I then try to adapt my usual playstyle in a way that saves grinding time later or spares me from another playthrough of an average or very long game.

 

Of course some games are so great that I do not give a single shit about missable trophies. I knew from the beginning that I would do multiple playthroughs of The Witcher 3, so I did not bother getting all the missables, grinding everything or starting on the highest difficulty, and behold I played through it multiple times, even once after I got the platinum and all dlc trophies.

[blake__306]

I usually try to get the rarest trophies out of the way first, so I enjoy near the end when I just have to knock easy trophies out of the way and pop that platinum. It's like your home free basically. 

[Evil_Joker88]

For me it's post game or even 2nd playthrough... if i understand the story and the game mechanics i can think of the best approach to get the remaining trophies... even if that means doing another playthrough but in some cases new game plus makes that easier too

[SpaceCoresDad]

It kind of depends for me. I like the mid-game area, or the "meat" of it so to speak, because I like enjoying the game and having fun playing it. That said though, in open world games and stuff, I find picking up collectibles really relaxing.

[zeit86geist]

1. the start. nothing over the first "ding" on a fresh game

2. when you finish up a 100h+ game

Edited March 18, 2019 by zeit86geist

[KingGuy420]

Everything after the game ends. I love cranking up Spotify and just grinding whatever I can.

[Yuna4353]

I feel like their two stages for me, First one is the story stage where I go through the story and enjoy the game as much as I can (while doing any side content that I can) this is just so I can enjoy the game and not feel pressure by the trophies. And then the second stage is my second playthrough where i can go through on harder difficulty and I get to enjoy the harder part of the game and get any trophies i missed

[Keen_Chriss]

I love both the beginning and postgame

 

the beginning for obvious reasons, being it’s a brand new game and the satisfaction of chasing a new plat.

 

and postgame where you can clean up the rest of the trophies and that plat is within your grasp 

[dertswa687o]

1 hour ago, Undead Wolf said:

It gives me the motivation I need to make that last push to the finish line, meaning I'll often play for much longer at this point. Nothing beats having an extra long gaming session only to be rewarded with a platinum at the end. 

 

I can definitely relate to this! I was up playing Tales of Vesperia until almost 6am since I knew I was sooooo close to the plat and I was excited to have it done.

[Deceptrox]

The stage where I go after and ultimately earn the most challenging trophies of a game. This will probably fall into the postgame/second playthrough. I like all four of the stages almost equally though.

Edited March 19, 2019 by Deceptrox

[Sofa King]

I like the beginning of a game, everything is unknown and the fun is just starting. I have mixed feelings about late/post game, on one hand it's a rush knowing the end is near but I find that with games I've really enjoyed it's a little bittersweet knowing I've milked it for all its worth. Sure I can replay it, but it'll never be the same as that first time.

[Angus1343]

I like the most challenging part. It's fun to tackle, and know you got the platinum in the bag afterwards.

Edited March 18, 2019 by Angus1343

[HouraiTeahouse]

Around the middle, I suppose. Either that or when I get the plat, since getting the plat means I can finally feel relief that it's over. No satisfaction, just relief.

[Fr_0zt]

Clean up.... it's the least demanding.

[Feral]

Post-game clean up because it's the home stretch, the story trophies are done and now it's just a few miscellaneous ones. The plat is within reach.

[Carol]

My favorite stage of the trophy hunt is the final part, when the platinum is already at reach and I only need 3 or 4 more trophies to unlock it. That’s when I feel that “rush” and excitement that are so addictive. For me, this phase is like the climax of trophy hunting.

However, I also like the initial part too, when several easy trophies pop. Seeing several trophies pop very close to one another is very fun.

[Phlegeth]

I like the mid late game.  I like seeing what weird trophies I can get.  And laying the ground work for post game clean up.

[sharkyaya]

Mine is at the end when I’ve done pretty much everything and gotten most of the trophies, so the ‘last trophy stage’ basically. The relief of knowing you’re one trophy away from getting the platinum or seeing 100% next to a game, then getting it after however many hours it took you, doing multiple playthroughs, grinding or just a good old cleanup. 

 

Then again this stage could be very tedious too, as it could be that one trophy that’s evaded you for so long and stopped you getting a plat or 100%. Mine would be the ‘Challenge’ trophy in The Witness. Man, it’s been a year since I attempted to complete that game. Maybe I’ll try again soon. ?

[ObsiEez]

When it comes to games I'm really interested in (Kingdom Hearts, Persona & any other heavy story focused game) It's always the start for me & when it comes to games like that I don't even read the trophies so I don't spoil the story, only check a guide right quick to see if there are any missibles but don't really read up on them.

 

When it comes to more just gameplay focused games I'd said mid to late game is my favorite since I know how the game works by then & can enjoy the gameplay more.

 

When it comes to games I'm just playing for the platinum, my favorite part of trophy hunting for them is when the platinum pops so I can stop playing it & play something fun

[Lava_Yuki]

For it depends on the game, but so far having platinumed most of the Tales games and FFs, I quite like the post game cleanup phase where you work on things like filling up the item and monster books, clearing side quests and other misc things. The Tales games were great for post game trophy hunting, especially Vesperia, Berseria and Xillia 2. My most enjoyable plat was Lightning Returns, I really like doing side quests and extra missions, FF12 was also fun albeit tough at times with Trial mode and getting some of the enemies to appear to complete the bestiary. 

 

I hate doing second playthroughs for difficulty related and missed stuff though, so I always follow a walkthrough so to not miss anything. Im not a fan of games that need a second playthrough to platinum, like Persona 4 Golden. I much prefer the plat to be obtainable in one run, especially if the game doesn't have anything like New Game plus. 

 

I don't really pay attention to the story trophies at the start and mid game. 

[AJ_Radio]

It is extremely rare for me to love a game at the start.

 

Whether it's a AAA game like Marvel's Spider-Man, an indie game like Super Meat Boy or a niche game like Yakuza 0, it takes me at the very least a day or two to really get into them.

 

My favorite stage of the trophy hunt is around mid-stage, when I start to enjoy the game for what it is. Around mid story or when I get around half of the trophies required for the platinum is my favorite part.

 

For the end game it varies. I detested Bully towards the end because of it's grind based trophies, but really enjoyed the game during the midstage. The beginning portion left a bad impression on me because of it's dated graphics and gameplay mechanics.

 

Dead Space 2 was a rollercoaster ride and I enjoyed it best towards the end. For other games like Batman: Arkham Knight it was a test of patience and frustration because Brutality 101 among a few other trophies were the last ones I needed for that platinum. Super Meat Boy will probably be the same ordeal.

 

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt I enjoyed immensely during it's mid-stage and towards the end. None of the game felt grindy nor repetitive. Bloodborne was great from start to finish, but even so it was difficult for me to adjust at the start. Once I started to learn the parry move and knew how to play the game became a lot more enjoyable.

 

In short, it depends on the games. But generally I enjoy them the most around the mid-stage.