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[UncleSporky]

When I beat the game I'm going to have to look through every wizard's spellbook I got and make sure not to choose most of those spells in future playthroughs, unless they're really useful and you only get them later in the game.

Just being sure to pick the spells that aren't in any spellbooks.

EDIT: Actually...RIGHT NOW I could hire an NPC wizard, one level below me, and pick all the spells that Aloth doesn't have as I level him up, and then hand Aloth his spell book to copy. That's a nice exploit.

 

[joshbob1985]

I didn't know Slicken was so good, and I can't find it anywhere.

I think you find it somewhere in act 1. Can't remember where though.

 

[Pancakes]

Per-encounter level 1 spells once you get a level 9 wizard is ridiculous. slicks and fire aoes for days. Same with priest, defense+crit buff every encounter.

Huh, I must have missed this somehow. Aloth was level 11 and he still only had that arcane spell on per encounter. Is it a level up talent?

 

[UncleSporky]

Huh, I must have missed this somehow. Aloth was level 11 and he still only had that arcane spell on per encounter. Is it a level up talent?

I think they just don't make it obvious. Presumably you just cast those spells and the cast number goes back up to full after every encounter. They really should highlight the icon in some way.

 

[Shake Appeal]

I didn't know Slicken was so good, and I can't find it anywhere.

Slicken is worth taking at any level. Next time you level up, grab it.

Whoa, I didn't know that. But yeah, it would be a waste.

Worth pointing out that this applies to other classes with tiered powers, including Ciphers.

I think they just don't make it obvious. Presumably you just cast those spells and the cast number goes back up to full after every encounter. They really should highlight the icon in some way.

The icon should change color, I think.

 

[UncleSporky]

The icon should change color, I think.

Granted I'm not at that point yet, so I have no idea. I've read a lot of people who got past level 9 and are all like "wait, what?!" so I assumed any indication must be very subtle, if at all.

 

[GordonHalfman]

Slightly exploitative but I think you can make an adventurer wizard, level them up and steal their spell book if you really want a spell asap.

 

[Atraveller]

Slightly exploitative but I think you can make an adventurer wizard, level them up and steal their spell book if you really want a spell asap.

This works too, will try.

 

[jtb]

Yeah, I'm not big on the complete elimination of combat XP. I think it's better to just give significantly larger XP rewards to finishing quests (ie. Torment), rather than eliminate it entirely—or even work into the quest that if you do it without getting caught (for example) or killing a guard, you get an XP bonus. You can still encourage role-playing without eliminating combat XP, especially when it's such a huge part of the game. Like, if combat doesn't give you XP, then lock picking and disarming traps shouldn't either. It's got good intentions but it's not really doing a whole lot right now.

 

[Xiraiya]

Yeah I found it a little odd killing creatures such as the deer in the first area gives you no XP, I like the idea of objective based XP but at the same time I wish there was a way to figure it out so that maybe more combat oriented classes naturally benefited more from killing creatures than doing quests and vice versa.

That seems like a tricky middleground to find, but right now it's not like it's a broken system, just kind of odd when you have a character who was all about hunting and killing.

 

[GDJustin]

It's a really good feeling when you only have rhe option for the default dialogue option with 2+ locked behind stat checks, and you put on a stat-boosting cloak or eat some food that just pushes you over the edge and lets you select a better option.

I know the stat-locked options aren't always superior, but in this specific instance (Act 2 sidequest)

Spoiler

helping the old man figure out what to do with the locket his Love's soul is trapped in

it's absolutely a superior choice. The default was very unsatisfying.

 

[Truant]

Playing on Easy and I'm still getting rekd during some encounters. I feel like I'm playing the game wrong, somehow. My BG2 wizard made that game into easy mode, but my cipher just isn't cutting it here. Maybe I need to change my companions.

 

[CrichtonKicks]

Yeah I found it a little odd killing creatures such as the deer in the first area gives you no XP, I like the idea of objective based XP but at the same time I wish there was a way to figure it out so that maybe more combat oriented classes naturally benefited more from killing creatures than doing quests and vice versa.

That seems like a tricky middleground to find, but right now it's not like it's a broken system, just kind of odd when you have a character who was all about hunting and killing.

That's the whole idea of the system- if you resolve quests through hunting and killing then you get the same XP as the person who resolves it through talking their way out of it. You play the character the way you want to and still get rewarded for it.

 

[LurkerPrime]

That's the whole idea of the system- if you resolve quests through hunting and killing then you get the same XP as the person who resolves it through talking their way out of it. You play the character the way you want to and still get rewarded for it.

People that kill everything feel punished because they don't get more XP for their efforts than those namby-pamby diplomatic types, I think.

 

[Almighty]

I must admit I am a little surprised that people are attached to combat XP. Even more so since in most games like PoE that I have played the XP you get from combat becomes pretty much meaningless by the halfway point that they might as well remove it. Personally I think Obsidian didn't go far enough with all the things they did to try and meet the dissenters half way(give XP for bestiary entries, disarming traps, picking locks).

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

Playing on Easy and I'm still getting rekd during some encounters. I feel like I'm playing the game wrong, somehow. My BG2 wizard made that game into easy mode, but my cipher just isn't cutting it here. Maybe I need to change my companions.

Where are you in the game? Who all is in your party? Some early areas have some tough areas in them, and you either need to leave and come back after you've leveled up a bit, or hire some party members from a tavern. Stick with the Cipher though, they are pretty overpowered.

 

[CrichtonKicks]

People that kill everything feel punished because they don't get more XP for their efforts than those namby-pamby diplomatic types, I think.

Yeah, that's the flaw in combat based systems. It is often inherently advantageous to fight through an encounter than talk your way through it because you get more XP with the former.

 

[ACE 1991]

Playing on Easy and I'm still getting rekd during some encounters. I feel like I'm playing the game wrong, somehow. My BG2 wizard made that game into easy mode, but my cipher just isn't cutting it here. Maybe I need to change my companions.

I'm with you there, brother! Honestly the difficulty is in a good place for me, there are some challenging encounters but nothing I can't tackle after a few tries. If I bumped the game up to normal I know I would be fucked.


Also, I'm up to Defiance Bay but most of my companions are sorely lacking in the gear department. Where should I go to pick up better armor?

 

[LurkerPrime]

So I think I finally figured out how an armour's DR works.

10 DR - 5 Piercing, 15 Crushing means that every DR is 10, EXCEPT for Pierce/Crush, which are 5 and 15 respectively.

Anyone know if this is correct?

 

[CrichtonKicks]

Also, I'm up to Defiance Bay but most of my companions are sorely lacking in the gear department. Where should I go to pick up better armor?

There are quite a few gear vendors throughout Defiance Bay. If they don't have what you are looking for then you should be able to enchant your gear up quite a bit yourself.

So I think I finally figured out how an armour's DR works.

10 DR - 5 Piercing, 15 Crushing means that every DR is 10, EXCEPT for Pierce/Crush, which are 5 and 15 respectively.

Anyone know if this is correct?

Yep, that's correct.

 

[infi]

So I think I finally figured out how an armour's DR works.

10 DR - 5 Piercing, 15 Crushing means that every DR is 10, EXCEPT for Pierce/Crush, which are 5 and 15 respectively.

Anyone know if this is correct?

yeah that's correct

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

So I think I finally figured out how an armour's DR works.

10 DR - 5 Piercing, 15 Crushing means that every DR is 10, EXCEPT for Pierce/Crush, which are 5 and 15 respectively.

Anyone know if this is correct?

Sounds right to me. Pierce away.

 

[LurkerPrime]

Thanks everyone!

Up until this point I thought DR 10 was some weird averaged figure of the listed DRs, and that every other DR was 0. Then some armours with "DR (no specifics)" threw me for a loop. But now I know.

 

[xrayregime]

The problem I've had with being diplomatic or talking my way out of combat in most cases will usually lead to lying or deception - which is fine, but if you always want to take a "good" path, combat is inevitable. I wouldn't mind getting some extra xp for getting into fights I never would want to begin in the first place.

 

[iammeiam]

Playing on Easy and I'm still getting rekd during some encounters. I feel like I'm playing the game wrong, somehow. My BG2 wizard made that game into easy mode, but my cipher just isn't cutting it here. Maybe I need to change my companions.

I had this problem early on, but by I think mid-Act-2 I'm just absolutely slaughtering everything with minimal effort and am debating bumping the difficulty up since easy has become... Really easy. The biggest thing that helped me early on was adding a tank character to my party since running around with a bunch of squishy characters was just insta-RIP. Having a guil who can take some hits is huge b

 

[Kinthalis]

The problem I've had with being diplomatic or talking my way out of combat in most cases will usually lead to lying or deception - which is fine, but if you always want to take a "good" path, combat is inevitable. I wouldn't mind getting some extra xp for getting into fights I never would want to begin in the first place.

I think that makes sense. Taking a "good path" is bound to rub certain people the wrong way. It's not realistic to have one solution that always results in the same outcome. Soemtimes, for some people and in some circumstances, you need to try another tactic.

 

[LurkerPrime]

I think that makes sense. Taking a "good path" is bound to rub certain people the wrong way. It's not realistic to have one solution that always results in the same outcome. Soemtimes, for some people and in some circumstances, you need to try another tactic.

Food for thought: if Bioware can do it why can't Obsidian?

Spoiler

I had this problem early on, but by I think mid-Act-2 I'm just absolutely slaughtering everything with minimal effort and am debating bumping the difficulty up since easy has become... Really easy. The biggest thing that helped me early on was adding a tank character to my party since running around with a bunch of squishy characters was just insta-RIP. Having a guil who can take some hits is huge b

I actually had a similar experience. In Act 1 I was struggling to win, but by early Act 2 I bumped it up to hard and haven't looked back.

I'm really glad that it's so easy to switch difficulties.

 

[Ourobolus]

I really need to make a list of all quests in which you can avoid combat.

 

[HK-47]

I must admit I am a little surprised that people are attached to combat XP. Even more so since in most games like PoE that I have played the XP you get from combat becomes pretty much meaningless by the halfway point that they might as well remove it. Personally I think Obsidian didn't go far enough with all the things they did to try and meet the dissenters half way(give XP for bestiary entries, disarming traps, picking locks).

I dont understand why lock and traps give XP. I was surprised when I saw this.

 

[garath]

Yeah, I still haven't decided who to back.

As I said earlier in the thread, it's such a realistic setting: in politics you are forced to decide which option is least distasteful.

I accidentally made the choice. I completed a quest about a breast plate and suddenly the other factions don't like me anymore. Whoops. Guess I made my choice

Yeah I know, but it's too late for me. I removed Kana from my party but loading already takes forever. I really hope they can fix this as soon as possible.

Someone was able to fix it by editing save files to remove all those, but I don't know the details.

In any case I'm not using that chant and my save and load times are still increasing like everyone else. It might be sort of normal, though, based on everything I've seen and done and bits of the world I've modified etc.

Are you guys continually adding save files or overwriting old ones. I've had kana in my party the entire game, and I haven't had any major increases in save time. Quick save is still a few seconds. But I'm only maintaining around 10 save files. Many games have issues if you continually add files over and over.

 

[Spehornoob]

I really, really like the objective based XP system in the game. I don't have to worry whether making the choices I feel my character would make will negatively influence the amount of XP I get.

 

[Ourobolus]

Are you guys continually adding save files or overwriting old ones. I've had kana in my party the entire game, and I haven't had any major increases in save time. Quick save is still a few seconds. But I'm only maintaining around 10 save files. Many games have issues if you continually add files over and over.

I have yet to place a single trap and my save file is up to like 3MB. Loading still takes a long time for me, including quicksaving.

 

[kamineko]

35 hours in and having a blast. This game is scratching an itch I didn't even realize I had. Don't think I've gotten far into the story; I'm just taking my time.

I'm kind of thinking of starting over though. It seems like dialog options for my character just kind of suck. There are always a lot of red options in important conversations, but that's it. Seems like Cipher gets a great deal of extra dialog--at least compared to my Rogue. I regret not investing in lore at all. Or resolve. I rarely get something useful from Perception. Obviously my bread & butter dexterity and mechanics never have anything to do with anything.

Just got

Spoiler

to the confrontation in the temple during Blood Legacy, and everything comes down to either snapping her neck or letting her go. I mean, that's it? I know not every quest can turn out great, and there's no pleasing everyone. I'm actually fine with that. But my Watcher is supposed to be a resourceful dude. I can do some crazy assassin move, but I can't just knock her ass out? Shouldn't my fantastic dex help with this dialog, if none other, ever? I just loaded an old save and walked out. Seriously, fuck that. My character wouldn't do either of those things.

Am I going to keep getting shoehorned into decisions because of my class and skill choices? I enjoy dialog and it feels like I've got the wrong build for it.

 

[megalowho]

Not sure if some quests are bugged or if I'm just not finding the right trigger to move them along, but not being able to complete fairly meaningful sidequests (and the XP that comes with them) is kind of souring me on the experience. Spent a few hours last night trying to see if I was missing anything, swapped party members, nothing worked. Really don't want to go back to old saves, would lose about a dozen hours of progress on other fronts.

 

[Shake Appeal]

Patch update:

The patch is currently being crunched on by QA. If everything checks out, then you'll probably get an update by end of day tomorrow.

Just in time for my debauched weekend of all-day Pillars.

 

[Nordicus]

People that kill everything feel punished because they don't get more XP for their efforts than those namby-pamby diplomatic types, I think.

Bah, I'm satisfied with just getting crafting ingredients from monsters and that kith drop everything they have equipped

 

[Violet_0]

I finally made it through that Act 1 location on solo expert path of the damned, but the sad part is I both had to kill stuff (

Spoiler

One guard on the roof and a bunch of stuff in the dungeon

), and didn't even get level 4 out of it. Now I'm at an annoying situation and not sure how to resolve the quest:

Spoiler

Both sides want me to assassinate the other, in the middle of a ton of guards.

not quite correct

Spoiler

the priest only wants you to free the prisoner, not kill the animancer

The problem I've had with being diplomatic or talking my way out of combat in most cases will usually lead to lying or deception - which is fine, but if you always want to take a "good" path, combat is inevitable. I wouldn't mind getting some extra xp for getting into fights I never would want to begin in the first place.

my favorite thinking-outside-the-box moment was in act 3 when you are tasked with

Spoiler

restoring the temple of Hylia, that was attacked by a dragon which killed all her worshipers, by the goddess herself. But when you get there, it turns out the Dragon is trying to find a safe hiding place for her welps, and with Hylia also being the goddess of childbirth my character came to the conclusion that she would be honored if her Nest was being used as an actual nest and let the dragon be. Now a giant winged lizard is going to terrorize the area for years to come and take countless lives and it turns out Hylia is absolutely okay with that.

 

[UncleSporky]

Are you guys continually adding save files or overwriting old ones. I've had kana in my party the entire game, and I haven't had any major increases in save time. Quick save is still a few seconds. But I'm only maintaining around 10 save files. Many games have issues if you continually add files over and over.

The problem isn't having Kana, the problem is using the rime and frost traps, which are a level 2 chant that you don't get until later on, I want to say like level 6 maybe.

In any case that particular bug is getting squashed tomorrow probably.

 

[DTKT]

I really love

Spoiler

Grieving Mother

. The idea behind the character and the lore is quite unique and somewhat weird. I just wish there was more of the kind of stuff. I just love how you can go :

Spoiler

"No, what you did was wrong and here is why"

It also highlights how writing can be an amazing tool for atmosphere and tone.

 

[adj_noun]

35 hours in and having a blast. This game is scratching an itch I didn't even realize I had. Don't think I've gotten far into the story; I'm just taking my time.

Yeah, I'm 29 hours in and just baaaaarely scratched Act II.

I love that the Endless Paths are always hanging around if I get a hankering for some spankering.

 

[xrayregime]

@Violet - I'm still in Act II, but the things that I am thinking of are the

Spoiler

Dyrford dungeon quest, the catacombs quest, and to a lesser extent just flat out lying to a bunch of people to get out of combat.

I was attempting originally to be a "good" character, but I realize that's not going to work fully, and have Deceptive 1 rep. The nuance of morality in the game is not a bad thing, and maybe the fact that I end up killing people I think deserve it says more about me than the game mechanics.

And I'm not exactly happy with many of my resolutions.

Spoiler

For instance, all of House D is dead.

 

[UncleSporky]

I should go back and slaughter House D for loot. I guess maybe I'll wait until later in the game in case anything interesting turns up.

 

[kamineko]

Yeah, I'm 29 hours in and just baaaaarely scratched Act II.

I love that the Endless Paths are always hanging around if I get a hankering for some spankering.

I did... Maybe a couple levels of Endless Paths. Looks to be a great romp but I need some levels before pressing on. Things escalate quickly

Should be great added flavor for a long time

 

[Stantron]

So I had Aloth learn a level III (fireball) spell from a grimoire spell book I acquired, then I equipped it his grimoire, but it's not showing up in the combat hud. I'm not back at home to check, but is this because I can only have two levels of spells at a time? Maybe I need to un-equip either level I or II spells to have the level III show up?

 

[Ourobolus]

I should go back and slaughter House D for loot. I guess maybe I'll wait until later in the game in case anything interesting turns up.

I went ahead and did it. Got some decent stuff, including a diamond!

 

[Violet_0]

@Violet - I'm still in Act II, but the things that I am thinking of are the

Spoiler

Dyrford dungeon quest, the catacombs quest, and to a lesser extent just flat out lying to a bunch of people to get out of combat.

I was attempting originally to be a "good" character, but I realize that's not going to work fully, and have Deceptive 1 rep. The nuance of morality in the game is not a bad thing, and maybe the fact that I end up killing people I think deserve it says more about me than the game mechanics.

And I'm not exactly happy with many of my resolutions.

Spoiler

For instance, all of House D is dead.

lying or being deceptive are not necessarily "bad" traits. I think you're going for a lawful good-type of character but keep in mind that sometimes being completely honest to everyone will not give you the best results, like in real life. Regarding the Dryford quest

Spoiler

when you have Grieving Mother with you in your party you can heal the girl.

 

[Pancakes]

I should go back and slaughter House D for loot. I guess maybe I'll wait until later in the game in case anything interesting turns up.

Had a funny thing happen to me in there.

Spoiler

Basically I stumbled on to the thieves hideout because I like exploring shit and invading people's homes without their permission. I end up killing them and taking their plans but I neglect to take it to the victims house to let them know. INSTEAD I manage to take it to house domenal and basically gave him the plans saying "I just killed all your thieves and ruined your little heist, my b." Of course I didn't realize at the time what was going on so when he tried to get to finish the heist my good two shoes paladin obviously said no and I thought I would just walk out no problem. I was wrong.

Long story short I basically had to murder the mans entire family which sent my reputation with their family into rock bottom. Good thing I was cool with the dozens or else I would've had a hard time finishing up those series of quests.

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

Slightly exploitative but I think you can make an adventurer wizard, level them up and steal their spell book if you really want a spell asap.

never thought of that, hahaha

 

[Ourobolus]

So I had Aloth learn a level III (fireball) spell from a grimoire spell book I acquired, then I equipped it his grimoire, but it's not showing up in the combat hud. I'm not back at home to check, but is this because I can only have two levels of spells at a time? Maybe I need to un-equip either level I or II spells to have the level III show up?

You might not be high enough level to use Lv 3 spells. Same thing happened to me.

 

[Stantron]

You might not be high enough level to use Lv 3 spells. Same thing happened to me.

Ah, ok. Makes sense. It would be nice if they had some kind of indicator letting you know this.