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[we.are.the.armada]

Guys, please help me!

I've completed all but one from the first set of warden bounties: Nalrend the Wise. He's in some place called Elm Shore that I can't seem to find on my world map. I've just gotten to Dyrwood after finishing up stuff in D.Bay. Am I lost?

Thanks! Loving this game so much, this is the game I've needed for so long.

 

[justsomeguy]

2. How do you conclude Durance's personal quest? My journal just recommends to keep on talking to him. Is there a specific trigger to wrap it up?
.

Is it about a vision? If so there's a bug. Don't have the link to hand but the dev has pusheda fix out on the official forums (use at own risk, etc). Search for durance <quest name> bug (cant remember exact quest), should be a forum thread with a reply from a dev with a dropbox download link. Worked for me.

 

[HK-47]

You need to pay better attention to what you are accepting.

 

[infi]

Guys, please help me!

I've completed all but one from the first set of warden bounties: Nalrend the Wise. He's in some place called Elm Shore that I can't seem to find on my world map. I've just gotten to Dyrwood after finishing up stuff in D.Bay. Am I lost?

Thanks! Loving this game so much, this is the game I've needed for so long.

You get to Elmshore in act 3. It's blocked off by water until then.

 

[Shake Appeal]

Is it about a vision? If so there's a bug. Don't have the link to hand but the dev has pusheda fix out on the official forums (use at own risk, etc). Search for durance <quest name> bug (cant remember exact quest), should be a forum thread with a reply from a dev with a dropbox download link. Worked for me.

Yeah, there's an unofficial fix for Durance interactions out there. It'll be included in the next patch, I think.

I still can't figure out if mine is bugged, maybe someone can help me:

Spoiler

I've talked to him enough that on rest I had a vision of him and his glowing staff, which I then talked to him about until all options were exhausted. The game is now telling me to continue getting to know him, but I don't know if that just requires a time or quest trigger to pass or whether I need to hit some option that's buried in his dialogue &#8212; or that's missing because of a bug.

I'm at the start of Act III.

 

[infi]

Yeah, there's an unofficial fix for Durance interactions out there. It'll be included in the next patch, I think.

I still can't figure out if mine is bugged, maybe someone can help me:

Spoiler

I've talked to him enough that on rest I had a vision of him and his glowing staff, which I then talked to him about until all options were exhausted. The game is now telling me to continue getting to know him, but I don't know if that just requires a time or quest trigger to pass or whether I need to hit some option that's buried in his dialogue — or missing because of a bug.

I'm at the start of Act III.

Keep going in Act III, a part of the main story should give you more options with Durance.

 

[Nordicus]

Is it about a vision? If so there's a bug. Don't have the link to hand but the dev has pusheda fix out on the official forums (use at own risk, etc). Search for durance <quest name> bug (cant remember exact quest), should be a forum thread with a reply from a dev with a dropbox download link. Worked for me.

Aah yes, this one

Apparently it's a bug that occurs if you talk about a certain subject too soon. Or more specifically

Spoiler

talking about his staff before you get the vision of it in a dream

 

[Shake Appeal]

Keep going in Act III, a part of the main story should give you more options with Durance.

Thanks.

While I'm enjoying wading through the Durance and Grieving Mother characters, and feel that they're some of the best thematic content in the game, I can't help but wonder what Avellone's "mental dungeon" he had planned would have been like.

 

[iammeiam]

So I think I've fully upgraded the keep--nothing left to buy--but I didn't get the achievment. I'm in Act III now and have been doing every side quest I can get my hands on, so I'm kind of at a loss. Is there going to be more to buy later? Is there a quest or Endless Paths trigger I need to hit?

 

[MisterShine]

So I think I've fully upgraded the keep--nothing left to buy--but I didn't get the achievment...

As far as I'm aware it is bugged for everyone.

 

[Vamphuntr]

So I think I've fully upgraded the keep--nothing left to buy--but I didn't get the achievment. I'm in Act III now and have been doing every side quest I can get my hands on, so I'm kind of at a loss. Is there going to be more to buy later? Is there a quest or Endless Paths trigger I need to hit?

The achievement is bugged. No one on steam has it.

 

[iammeiam]

Thanks. That makes me feel better! I care less about the achievment and more about making sure I'm free to blow all my money on overpriced things, wanted to make sure there wasn't a secret upgrade I should be saving for.

 

[Shake Appeal]

I wish the economy in this game wasn't so silly. I have like 70K sitting in my inventory at the start of Act III, and I'm not exactly being frugal. Buying all the Caed Nua upgrades as fast as I can, too.

 

[Vamphuntr]

I wish the economy in this game wasn't so silly. I have like 70K sitting in my inventory at the start of Act III, and I'm not exactly being frugal. Buying all the Caed Nua upgrades as fast as I can, too.

The main issue is that you have an infinite stash with you. In one of the beta you didn't so you could not carry everything to sell it back. People complained that it wasn't fun so you have the full stash you can fill to the brim with garbage and then sell it all.

There isn't much to buy either since the best items are the superb ones you can enchant or the drops from 3rd and 4th bounties wave.

I don't get the stronghold upgrades either. Most of the store you get sell really worthless stuff anyway so they are pointless. Going to the stronghold for the rest bonus is annoying because it's far from where most of the main game takes place.

 

[RVinP]

The music at

Spoiler

Dryford Village

while you are

Spoiler

recruiting Grieving Mother

is just so....nice.

 

[Xiraiya]

The main issue is that you have an infinite stash with you. In one of the beta you didn't so you could not carry everything to sell it back. People complained that it wasn't fun so you have the full stash you can fill to the brim with garbage and then sell it all.

I feel like a good middle ground would have been to design the party inventory to be a little better or bigger per person, so that there is more leeway there to make not having the stash feel less restrictive but still fair.
I leave the stash on because I can and it's on by default. I don't really want to have to force myself to play without it if I'm not playing on expert mode, but it is way too convenient.

Personally I feel like access stash from anywhere should be a console command you have to turn on instead.

 

[LurkerPrime]

The main issue is that you have an infinite stash with you. In one of the beta you didn't so you could not carry everything to sell it back. People complained that it wasn't fun so you have the full stash you can fill to the brim with garbage and then sell it all.

There isn't much to buy either since the best items are the superb ones you can enchant or the drops from 3rd and 4th bounties wave.

I don't get the stronghold upgrades either. Most of the store you get sell really worthless stuff anyway so they are pointless. Going to the stronghold for the rest bonus is annoying because it's far from where most of the main game takes place.

It's weird that games still have this inventory problem when Torchlight answered it so perfectly. By sending one companion off to sell everything in a "junk" tab, there's convenience with a tangible cost. If they added the ability to "wait until" or make a semi-permanent camp at the entrance to dungeons for rest (which could be used multiple times), it could perfectly balance out conveience vs. reward.

As the system currently stands, there's not much reason to limit the inventory/stash use. It would just make money tight, which... wouldn't really change anything. It's not like most of the items players can buy are necessary, aside from the occasional potion or camping supplies. Also, crafting would be completely hamstrung due to a lack of mats.

 

[Shake Appeal]

I wonder how the economy would shake out if you couldn't dump things in stash and then sell 100 xaurip spears and 100 xaurip shields the second you were back in town. I guess it wouldn't really have that much bearing on your efficacy, since I hardly buy anything from stores anyway.

 

[infi]

I wonder how the economy would shake out if you couldn't dump things in stash and then sell 100 xaurip spears and 100 xaurip shields the second you were back in town. I guess it wouldn't really have that much bearing on your efficacy, since I hardly buy anything from stores anyway.

I sold very little from my stash and still ended up with a ton of money. The main issue is that there wasn't much to buy other than the stronghold upgrades and on a replay I'd probably avoid them as they don't add much to the game.

 

[Volodja]

I have bought a grand total of 2 camp supplies and 1 pike in the entire game.
Never sold anything in this playthrough.

 

[Vincent Grayson]

I sold very little from my stash and still ended up with a ton of money. The main issue is that there wasn't much to buy other than the stronghold upgrades and on a replay I'd probably avoid them as they don't add much to the game.

There's tons of cool (and expensive) unique items to buy from at least one merchant in every town, along with the merchants in each faction in Defiance Bay (assuming you do their early quests).

That's where most of my cash has gone.

 

[Ala Alba]

When I took the frontal assault approach to

Spoiler

Raedric's Hold

, the loot from all the guards added up to about 10000cp. I probably won't have to worry about money for a while now...

 

[garath]

The stronghold was a neat concept but seemed really tacked on. Guess it makes sense if it was a stretch goal. It could have been so much more than it is. I really liked the idea of it a lot.

I only have like 1-2 more things to buy at the stronghold then I'll just spend all my money willy nilly on the best gear from the factions and towns. I've picked up a few things but wanted to make sure I had enough for all the stronghold stuff.

 

[Truant]

I think Cinders of Faith is bugged for me. The quests says to talk to someone (presumably Wynan) in the Expedition Hall, but I don't have any dialogue options for the CoF quest. Anyone?

 

[AcAnchoa]

I started act two and went almost straight to Dyrwood, I think is time to go back to Defiance Bay and see what's in there. The battle with

Spoiler

the Skaen's priests or whatever at the end of the Skaen temple

was some tough thing, and the massive quantities os beetles and spiders in the area made me modify the audio file for Eder where he complains about being poisoned, it now has a beautiful silence.

 

[Vamphuntr]

I think Cinders of Faith is bugged for me. The quests says to talk to someone (presumably Wynan) in the Expedition Hall, but I don't have any dialogue options for the CoF quest. Anyone?

Take the map from one of the backroom and it will continue.

 

[iammeiam]

I think Cinders of Faith is bugged for me. The quests says to talk to someone (presumably Wynan) in the Expedition Hall, but I don't have any dialogue options for the CoF quest. Anyone?

I had that problem, too. I wound up cheating and just looking up the location he's supposed to give you and just going there. Was able to complete the quest that way. Not ideal, but I'm guessing I didn't miss much.

 

[duckroll]

Yeah the implementation of the Stronghold isn't all that hot, but I think it was mostly just Tim Cain designing and programming it by himself? Lack of resources I guess. Would have liked it more if it was like NWN2 where you can actually recruit people from all around the game world to settle in your stronghold in more meaningful ways. There's some of that interactivity here and there, but it just doesn't feel substantial enough.

Just cleared a bounty today though, those are fun! There's another bounty I tried but got killed pretty quickly, definitely need better AOE attacks for it, so I'll return later on with a different party arrangement.

 

[jim2point0]

I was struggling quite a bit... so I finally decided to dump all my resoures into enchanting my gear to see what kind of difference it would make. Now all of my encounters are pretty trivial. Could be that I haven't faced anything challenging yet in Act 2, but I just mopped the floor with the dweller bounty. Previous bounties beat me down to my last man most of the time.

So now I'm wondering if I should just keep going and wait for the challenge to ramp back up, or switch to hard. I just... dont wan't to deal with 2 camping supplies at a time

 

[Vamphuntr]

I was struggling quite a bit... so I finally decided to dump all my resoures into enchanting my gear to see what kind of difference it would make. Now all of my encounters are pretty trivial. Could be that I haven't faced anything challenging yet in Act 2, but I just mopped the floor with the dweller bounty. Previous bounties beat me down to my last man most of the time.

So now I'm wondering if I should just keep going and wait for the challenge to ramp back up, or switch to hard. I just... dont wan't to deal with 2 camping supplies at a time

I only had issues with camping supplies in the beginning. Same with bounties. Once you past a certain level with good gear you simply steamroll everything and rarely need camping supplies anymore.

I waited until I was like level 10 to do the bounties and I quickly got to 12 and destroyed most of them with AoE disable and nuke. One you have Slumber and Capricious Hex on your wizard and Mind Wave on your Cipher every fight becomes easy mode.

 

[duckroll]

I'm playing on hard, the limitation of camping supplies is definitely a good thing. It helps you manage and pace when you really need to rest, and brings out the best in the game design. As for the bounties, the one I just beat was the outlaw dude, but the Dweller totally wiped the floor with me because of the Earth Blights. I'm about level 8 right now, in the middle of Act 2 (could be close to the end, I don't really know). The challenge feels pretty good at this point. There are fights I can win easy, and there are those which are harder and require a more tactical approach, and some which are impossible with the wrong party configuration.

I definitely recommend hard to anyone who feels they got familiar with the game mechanics after starting on normal.

 

[Shake Appeal]

The bounties definitely seem like harder challenges than most of the critical path so far (although I've only done

Spoiler

the outlaw and the xaurip chieftain

, the latter had me scrambling for Durance heals to keep my party on their feet at one point), which I guess is deliberate.

 

[Truant]

Take the map from one of the backroom and it will continue.

I had that problem, too. I wound up cheating and just looking up the location he's supposed to give you and just going there. Was able to complete the quest that way. Not ideal, but I'm guessing I didn't miss much.

Thanks, that did the trick. Also, fuck that cave

 

[Sou Da]

I'm playing on hard, the limitation of camping supplies is definitely a good thing. It helps you manage and pace when you really need to rest, and brings out the best in the game design. As for the bounties, the one I just beat was the outlaw dude, but the Dweller totally wiped the floor with me because of the Earth Blights. I'm about level 8 right now, in the middle of Act 2 (could be close to the end, I don't really know). The challenge feels pretty good at this point. There are fights I can win easy, and there are those which are harder and require a more tactical approach, and some which are impossible with the wrong party configuration.

I definitely recommend hard to anyone who feels they got familiar with the game mechanics after starting on normal.

Ended up having to go back to that area twice because I had an encounter with a very similar outlaw gang in the same place that I thought was my bounty and turned out not to be.

 

[El Topo]

Playing on hard doesnt seem to do much to dis-incentivise heading back to town/etc. whenever your spellcasters have blown their load, it just feels a bit backwards when theres been so much done in p&p rpg's to overcome the issue to go back to Vancian-esque magic users.

I'm sure they could've done a better job, maybe add more abilities that you can use per encounter (or give more choices), but as someone that grew up with the original IE games (and D&D) I don't really mind. It's nice though that you have to manage things a bit because you can't just rest all the time (without having to waste time going back to town).

 

[scy]

Regarding the RPG Codex post the only thing that jumps out at me after 40+ hours is the encounter / enemy design piece. I have gotten into the habit of approaching every single encounter the same way: stealth approach, tank bottle neck, AOE debuff / damage like crazy, rinse repeat.

The problem here is I'm not sure the game could handle not being an engage -> alpha strike -> CC -> clean up style of play. Targeting is sort of a mess and the only real forms of AoE anything are spells. It feels like way too late to really change some of those fundamental parts of the game. The game needs more single-target spells (which is awful in a per-rest system) or far fewer hard CC effects (which makes 2/3-to-1 outnumbered fights a hassle).

At some point, I'm going to try a no caster run and see how much it makes me hate the game.

They actually say in the dialogue that you won't be able to work for the other two factions when you accept the second quest, at least for the House and the Knights. It could be made a little clearer that it's accepting not completing the quest that locks you in though.

As far as the Dozens are concerned, the dialogue for the quest is that accepting the quest would cause both the Knights and House Doemenel to no longer work with you. It's the entirety of the pre-accept dialogue. The only way to make it clearer would have been to append that information to the actual accept line ala the Disposition or Attribute triggers. Like, make it out as actual game mechanics and not possibly-take-as-flavor.

 

[EviLore]

(Hard-Expert) For some reason I relatively easily took out the final fight in the Endless Paths on the first try when I went back to try again at level 12 instead of level 11, with mostly the same gear and the same spells. The patch didn't include any balance changes for that fight, did it? I can't imagine the regular stat upgrades for one level up would have changed things that significantly. Maybe my party stats were bugged before then, or I was just really in the zone on that attempt and the rest and time away from the game made a difference.

 

[duckroll]

Ended up having to go back to that area twice because I had an encounter with a very similar outlaw gang in the same place that I thought was my bounty and turned out not to be.

Yeah I ran into that adventuring party too. I killed them and took the guy prisoner in my stronghold, then found the actual bounty, made camp to recharge, then wiped the bounty. Lol.

 

[Volodja]

(Hard-Expert) For some reason I relatively easily took out the final fight in the Endless Paths on the first try when I went back to try again at level 12 instead of level 11, with mostly the same gear and the same spells. The patch didn't include any balance changes for that fight, did it? I can't imagine the regular stat upgrades for one level up would have changed things that significantly. Maybe my party stats were bugged before then, or I was just really in the zone on that attempt, haha.

In my experience a random instance can make a whole fight spiral out of control in one sense or another
Like a stun or domination disrupts my chanter and he gets to 5 phrases 10 seconds too late and in the meantime my frontline is pierced and my backline wiped but if he doesn't get stunned, my druid gets to cast Restless and Returning Storm and starts handing out stuns everywhere and then at 20 seconds I get to summon more blockers.
At the same time a lucky roll on a prone can buy me a ton of space and make a fight seem much easier than it would've been normally.

 

[EviLore]

In my experience a random instance can make a whole fight spiral out of control in one sense or another
Like a stun or domination disrupts my chanter and he gets to 5 phrases 10 seconds too late and in the meantime my frontline is pierced and my backline wiped but if he doesn't get stunned, my druid gets to cast Restless and Returning Storm and starts handing out stuns everywhere and then at 20 seconds I get to summon more blockers.
At the same time a lucky roll on a prone can buy me a ton of space and make a fight seem much easier than it would've been normally.

Yeah, the funny thing is that all my summons were instawiped at the start of the fight accidentally since I was sort of screwing around and didn't put much care into positioning, and my whole party was hit by

Spoiler

the corrosive breath attack

at the start too but I continued with the fight anyway and won. Huh. Haha, oh well, time to seek out the rest of the big optional challenges in the game now I guess!

 

[Xiraiya]

The stronghold was a neat concept but seemed really tacked on. Guess it makes sense if it was a stretch goal. It could have been so much more than it is. I really liked the idea of it a lot.
I only have like 1-2 more things to buy at the stronghold then I'll just spend all my money willy nilly on the best gear from the factions and towns. I've picked up a few things but wanted to make sure I had enough for all the stronghold stuff.

Honestly, if you're going to integrate a "Stronghold" type system in a way that makes sense, it really needs to be in a similar fashion to Mother Base in MGS Peace Walker and MGS5.
They have a story outside of it obviously, but building up this massive structure filled with features, personnel you find and recruit and so on. That is half of the story, this is your home base, you're building this to reach your end goals etc. etc.
Weird comparison I know.

But that's the kind of scenario where a stronghold you work hard to build over time is extremely satisfying and also vital, I'd love that in an RPG.

 

[Chaos17]

Blizzard made a really cool stronghold system in Warlord of Dreaenor, wish more devs will follow their lead.

 

[EviLore]

Since we're talking about the stronghold, and I've gushed about the game a lot, I'll take some time to be critical.

The stronghold really sucks. I figured we'd get something akin to Crossroad Keep from NWN2, but there is so little interactivity in this one, the shops are completely useless, there's no one to talk to, the events are boring and bare bones, and it's even kind of annoying to rest in it because you have to go through several load screens to get to the bed, and the general merchant is kind of in an annoying spot too and sometimes randomly sells only 1 camping supply instead of 2, so it's not even a very good place to reorganize for your next expedition. The steward barely reacts to you completing major tasks related to the stronghold or the endless paths. It barely ties into the rest of the game at all. The NWN2 one you could recruit a bunch of people out in the game world for it, find ore deposits and stuff throughout the game in mines and caves that you could use as special resources to improve various things about the stronghold, you had significant story tie-ins and events, and I recall it having good merchants, too, when upgraded.

I'd go as far as to say that I would have rather not had a stronghold at all than the one we got here. Kind of a waste of time, and I know Obsidian can do a hell of a lot better on this front.

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

The stronghold in NWN2 was cool in how it fared in endgame events and helped that you had taken care of it when the main plot battle reaches it.

 

[scy]

...and it's even kind of annoying to rest in it because you have to go through several load screens to get to the bed.

It's amazing that this is probably the top of my list for the annoying parts of the Stronghold. Right next to it is how useless those buffs are compared to the ones in the cities. Especially considering how far away from everywhere in the world you end up being. I was really looking forward to free buffs that I could rotate as the situation needed but they're all +1 only and inferior to other inns. "Cheaper" sure, I guess, but the frontload cost to acquire them more than makes up for it. I guess it's good for the Endless Paths...

Everything about the Stronghold is sort of "just there" except the bounties and the free crafting materials.

 

[KePoW]

I'm neutral on the Stronghold because it's basically totally optional. I only criticize game parts if I'm forced to do them and they still suck

But I'm not one of those gamers who need to do every side thing. In PoE I skip probably 30% of even the story dialog, I don't really play RPGs for that either

I love the RTWP combat, I find that very fun and all the different classes/abilities

Great environment graphics too, those are the things that should be important in games

 

[Xiraiya]

Since we're talking about the stronghold, and I've gushed about the game a lot, I'll take some time to be critical.

The stronghold really sucks. I figured we'd get something akin to Crossroad Keep from NWN2, but there is so little interactivity in this one, the shops are completely useless, there's no one to talk to, the events are boring and bare bones, and it's even kind of annoying to rest in it because you have to go through several load screens to get to the bed, and the general merchant is kind of in an annoying spot too and sometimes randomly sells only 1 camping supply instead of 2, so it's not even a very good place to reorganize for your next expedition. The steward barely reacts to you completing major tasks related to the stronghold or the endless paths. It barely ties into the rest of the game at all. The NWN2 one you could recruit a bunch of people out in the game world for it, find ore deposits and stuff throughout the game in mines and caves that you could use as special resources to improve various things about the stronghold, you had significant story tie-ins and events, and I recall it having good merchants, too, when upgraded.

I'd go as far as to say that I would have rather not had a stronghold at all than the one we got here. Kind of a waste of time, and I know Obsidian can do a hell of a lot better on this front.

At the very least, there is still a lot of potential to make it into something much more worthwhile and fitting with the rest of the game via expansions, but I guess we'll see.

But I'm not one of those gamers who need to do every side thing. In PoE I skip probably 30% of even the story dialog, I don't really play RPGs for that either

Oh man, that's... rough.

 

[Volodja]

Since we're talking about the stronghold, and I've gushed about the game a lot, I'll take some time to be critical.

The stronghold really sucks. I figured we'd get something akin to Crossroad Keep from NWN2, but there is so little interactivity in this one, the shops are completely useless, there's no one to talk to, the events are boring and bare bones, and it's even kind of annoying to rest in it because you have to go through several load screens to get to the bed, and the general merchant is kind of in an annoying spot too and sometimes randomly sells only 1 camping supply instead of 2, so it's not even a very good place to reorganize for your next expedition. The steward barely reacts to you completing major tasks related to the stronghold or the endless paths. It barely ties into the rest of the game at all. The NWN2 one you could recruit a bunch of people out in the game world for it, find ore deposits and stuff throughout the game in mines and caves that you could use as special resources to improve various things about the stronghold, you had significant story tie-ins and events, and I recall it having good merchants, too, when upgraded.

I'd go as far as to say that I would have rather not had a stronghold at all than the one we got here. Kind of a waste of time, and I know Obsidian can do a hell of a lot better on this front.

The loading screens issue for the resting spot is a big one for me.
I've decided to simply go back to the Salty Mast even when I was already in the Stronghold because it was the same amount of loading screens and the bonuses I could get out of it were just far better. In general the rest bonuses for Brighthollow are pretty unimpressive, just +1 on a single stat isn't worth the trouble.
I don't know why they didn't just put the resting spot in a section of the main hall.

 

[kamineko]

I agree the stronghold could have been better. I think they probably struggled with how much, exactly, management it should require. I mean, some players probably don't want to manage it at all, which should be fine.

It mostly just sits there, though. Sometimes some bandits drop by and tear down two fucking walls because I don't have two and a half days to spare, round trip, to kill a trash mob. That

Spoiler

ogre

I hired seriously should have been able to kill them all himself. It feels like the few choices I have made don't really impact much.

& why does the merchant only have one set of camping supplies? I've got all these people working for me and nobody can find a few tents, or whatever?


I'd love to see it become more relevant in the expansions. I think just a little more sense of agency would go a long way, here. I know the game is a party-based RPG, not SimKeep--a few small tweaks could make a huge difference.

 

[iammeiam]

I expected the Stronghold resting bonuses to stack, so was pretty disappointed to realize I had to just pick one. +1 to everything would still be semi-useless but less useless than +1 to one thing. It's also be nice if the Endless Paths shortcut exit dumped you out inside the building you rest in, instead of a useless outdoor exit.

It's the only thing I've run in to that feels incomplete. There's a lot of stuff going on there and the introduction and start felt fairly strong, but they forgot or ran out of time to make any of it matter. Maybe the expansion could flesh it out; I hope they have plans for it.