Defiance Bay is okay but I don't really like it all that much. Twin Elms feels a bit rushed and has much less content but it's also more interesting
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Pillars of Eternity |OT| You must gather your party before venturing forth.
- Thread starter EviLore
- Start date
Defiance Bay is okay but I don't really like it all that much. Twin Elms feels a bit rushed and has much less content but it's also more interesting
Atraveller
Banned
Fuck that lighthouse, reloaded several times and cleared it.
Napalm_Frank
Member
This game has really kickstarted my old love for wrpgs. Is NWN2 any good nowdays for solo play, apparently the expansion is. I have played other Obsidian games exept New Vegas but I had hard time getting into FO3. Any other good mire recent ones outside D:OS?
Kind of sucks when you hit the level cap around the beginning of Act 3. I would have preferred some sort sort of extreme diminishing returns with an extra level or two thrown in there, even if it's just for some bonus secondary talents or something, just to retain some vague sense of progression, because there's really not much going on with late game itemization either, so it loses some of its RPG luster from that point on. Main story picks up, though, which is a plus. Part of the problem is just how excessive the exp rewards for the stronghold bounty quests are. You seem to get around a half of a level for each one, for no apparent reason. I stopped doing them pretty quickly after realizing how excessive the exp reward was, but still hit the level cap too early (and then did the rest, of course).
Also, I might need to turn on PotD mode to make the combat more interesting again, or just speed to the finish line now, because on Hard-Expert I'm pretty much at the point where my rogue can just autoattack instagib entire encounters down by himself in a few seconds, and it's not much different for all of my individual party members and their styles of choice. Nothing seems to be *nearly* as hard as The Master Below. I don't mind that design decision as the Endless Paths is optional content like Watcher's Keep, but I'd prefer a lot of ultra-challenging optional bosses thrown into the mix in this sort of game, too, y'know? Everything in the game is pretty trivial at level 12.
Feels like I'm almost finished, though! Let's get 'er done.
Also, I might need to turn on PotD mode to make the combat more interesting again, or just speed to the finish line now, because on Hard-Expert I'm pretty much at the point where my rogue can just autoattack instagib entire encounters down by himself in a few seconds, and it's not much different for all of my individual party members and their styles of choice. Nothing seems to be *nearly* as hard as The Master Below. I don't mind that design decision as the Endless Paths is optional content like Watcher's Keep, but I'd prefer a lot of ultra-challenging optional bosses thrown into the mix in this sort of game, too, y'know? Everything in the game is pretty trivial at level 12.
Feels like I'm almost finished, though! Let's get 'er done.
Dalibor_San
Member
Stupid question guys, I defended my Keep from some skeletons I took the manual resolve option and while I was kicking ass the enemies dropped loot like normal.
However I can't pick them up during combat, but once I defeat all enemies It doesn't even allow me to pick it up it just fades back to the throne room, like nothing ever happened and loot is gone.
Is this normal? I cant let that loot just disappear
However I can't pick them up during combat, but once I defeat all enemies It doesn't even allow me to pick it up it just fades back to the throne room, like nothing ever happened and loot is gone.
Is this normal? I cant let that loot just disappear
texhnolyze
Banned
The expansion of NWN2 is better than the vanilla one, you should play it.
I'm also on the same boat. I'm ready to play Drakensang series after I finish PoE later. I kinda forgot how much I love RTwP combat in RPGs.
you could give him a gun, weapon specialization and marksman talents
Does your Rogue use reckless assault? Because your experience is very similar to mine and I only noticed after killing the last boss that my Rogue was bugged and was getting Reckless Assault x 4, even if it says it's suppressed.
The problem with nwn2s expansions as a standalone is that it starts you off at a high level and without any DND or nwn2 knowledge you are straight fucked.
Just don't pick a swashbuckler.
Seconded. Dragonfall is amazing. I'm finding the combat kind of easy now too. I'm kind of tempted to move onto a POTD run, really knowing the ins and outs of combat makes it a ton easier -- early on in my second run fights that would have given me a ton of trouble before gave me almost no trouble, and fights that were truly hard only required one or two restarts.
That being said, for a trial of iron run I'm definitely skipping every optional encounter with MINOR ENEMY SPOILERS
shades
Napalm_Frank
Member
I was REALLY excited when Dragon Age:Origins was released and heralded as the return of Baldur's Gate but despite loving many things about it it just felt wrong, especially the combat situations. I can't really put my finger on it since it's been a while since I gave it a chance. Tried once as a Wizard and once as a Rogue but I just lost interest after the first "real" dungeon after origin stories (which were pretty cool TBH). The top down view just felt wonky to me and 3rd person view felt like a less fun KOTOR. Thus I never gave the sequels a chance.
PoE is pretty much de facto DA:O for me. The combat os hardly what I would call great but everything just feels right.
Meh... guns feel really cheap to be honest. I already have two characters using them. I don't want to add another. I was reading extra spells for wizards are not optimal since they get per encounter for lower level spells later anyways. This the same for Druids?
I found a minor bug. Kaendra still ask me how the quest is going even though it's completed and I got the reward and everything.
How early on (area) am I able to collect a full party?
I got one before I went to the first Inn and hired an adventurer, then I got 1 more (level 2 adv.) after a while). I'm level 2 or 3 now and have only 2 other party members. Can I rent unlimited adventurers from the Inn, or do I need to wait until each time I level up?
PoE is a true successor to the IE games. I remember being excited for DA:O too, but then the game had MMORPG combat with some of the worst encounter design ever.
MotB (NWN2 exp) is a masterpiece of story/characters/role playing brought down by the awful NWN2 engine. If it was remade with IE engine it could easily rival Planescape: Torment.
same for druid, yeah. At lvl 12 you can cast lvl 1 and 2 spells for free
you could also give him a pistol or crossbow or whatever. In the IE games it was pretty common to equip mages with slings to give them something to do while they don't cast. With the right talents casters can be quite effective with ranged weapons in Pillars
texhnolyze
Banned
Yeah, DA:O is pretty much the last rtwp RPG that I've played in the past 5 years or so.
What do you mean by mmorpg combat?
I've played tons of mmorpg but I can't recall anything that resembles DA:O. I sure hope I can pause in mmorpg combat.
LurkerPrime
Member
I'd really like to know what the rationale was behind Bounty quests' XP rewards. As others have said, they seem completely out of place considering the difficulty isn't that bad.
And I'm swimming in money. Probably wealthier than the whole of Dyrwood, honestly.
And I'm swimming in money. Probably wealthier than the whole of Dyrwood, honestly.
if you completely skip bounties and Endless Paths you get to level 12 at the end of act 3, by doing all the sidequest
Nope, I don't have reckless assault, and he's not bugged as far as I know. I built him as a glass cannon, and he was really squishy for the majority of the game, but is a whirlwind of destruction now.
A level 12 party with good gear is really, really strong in this game, but the late game optional challenge encounter design doesn't seem to be there to match it. At least not in Act 3; I'm not done yet, but I have all the bounties done and (encounter spoiler)
two dragons killed
I would have liked to see a little bit more of the itemization style pulled from BG2. A hyper-expensive high profile central market of awesome stuff to sink gold into, more interesting unique items for secondary slots that do things other than give straightforward non-stackable stat increases (the three different kinds of spell bindings are interesting but not that great generally, and there aren't enough cool class-specific items), and better unique item rewards for hard optional encounters or long side quests. Stuff like, say, killing all the different kinds of dragons in BG2 over the course of 100+ hours of play and going back to the legendary blacksmith to forge awesome dragon armors that were always viable equipment options for the entire game. That stuff was like a badge of honor for your party. When you rolled into late game in a slow motion Reservoir Dogs style line wearing dragons, and stuff pulled from a giant pile of corpses of Underdark monsters and reforged into blue and purple glowing crap of +5 Going to Kill You, Irenicus would be shitting his pants. All we end up getting is stuff like
dragon parts that can be used to enchant certain strong unique items to superb quality level, but then you end up finding lots of stuff late game that starts at superb quality level and doesn't need to be enchanted so whatever, and then the sword of the endless paths which is really straightforward to obtain.
Then again, nothing really matches BG2's itemization in any CRPG ever, of course, and I'm always comparing games to it in this way. I'm setting a high bar because I think Obsidian is capable of making a game better than BG2 with the Eternity platform.
I've hated every variation of that image since it's conception but in what world is NWN2's base game the Mona Lisa?
So, I'm about 4 hours into this game and just hit the first major city (spent a lot of time in the first village). So far, the difficulty has felt just right. Are there gigantic super jumps in difficulty throughout this game? The last CRPG I played was Baldur's Gate I, which forced me to turn down the difficulty from the recommended setting due to encounters that didn't seem to have a "right" way to do them (Maybe I just didn't get the rules of AD&D2). Rules in this game have been pretty easy to grasp, and the writing is phenomenal, I'm just worried that I'm gonna hit a huge wall of difficulty and not be prepared for it.
So far, every battle has been easily won by baiting with warriors, having a mage and ranger on the sidelines, and buffing with priests.
So far, every battle has been easily won by baiting with warriors, having a mage and ranger on the sidelines, and buffing with priests.
LurkerPrime
Member
The world where DAI wins game of the year.
So, this world.
The difficulty for the first third feels spot on, I'd say. Encounters are varied in both approach and challenge. Afterwards, the balance slowly slides away for the rest of the game, at least from what I've seen thus far (to mid Act 3).
cooldowns and potion spam.
What was the non Vancian casting alternative there?
well ... nothing comes close to the (not really a spoiler)
Endless Paths
the game gets pretty easy after act 1, aside from a few standout enemy encounters
Basileus777
Member
Potion spam is in the IE games too.
Much more limited though, since it was limited to health potions and you had far more combat options.
Wasn't the potion spam people complained about in DA:O health potions too?
Cool! My quest list is almost empty so I'll power through to Act 4 soon.
Good point, did you finish the
Endless Paths
Everything so far has felt like a great challenge on the default difficulty. These games usually intimidate me after a certain point in the game (I think Divinity last year was the only one I've ever finished), but I'm pretty invested in this world. The writing is so well done! Thanks for the info. By slips away, you mean your characters get overpowered?
yep, but
the boss got stuck in place. It's sort of an unfair fight in my opinion
LurkerPrime
Member
Yeah, that's what I've felt - that players get a bit too strong as the game goes on. But I've been thinking this while playing on Hard, so maybe it's just a playstyle thing.
Normal was plenty tough in the beginning for me, but around ten hours in I bumped it up to hard and never looked back... aside from one battle in a certain keep where I was dearly tempted to.
Se7enSword
Banned
You can collect a full party from the first inn if you wish to. Custom adventurers can be created by hiring them from any inn. You can create 8 adventurers at a time, and then cannot create anymore until one of them dies. However, you should be able to recruit 1 more companion member for free since you're close to the first inn.
There are 8 companions who join your party, and they have more personality than adventurers you create/hire. They each also have their own quests, arcs and will also voice their own opinion sometimes in encounters or important decisions.
There are 8 companions who join your party, and they have more personality than adventurers you create/hire. They each also have their own quests, arcs and will also voice their own opinion sometimes in encounters or important decisions.
Gotcha, gotcha. I'll just try to keep up on sidequests then and really take my time. I've never gotten through one of these without feeling underpowered or like I'm playing wrong about halfway through.
Lanrutcon
Member
MotB was absolutely insane. Evil path done right and all that.
LurkerPrime
Member
Wow, I never thought of it that way. You're absolutely right.
justsomeguy
Member
No way dude. Those merchants have bottomless money pits. Unlike skyrim.
The loot is in a chest in top right corner of the great hall, game picked it up for you.Stupid question guys, I defended my Keep from some skeletons I took the manual resolve option and while I was kicking ass the enemies dropped loot like normal.
However I can't pick them up during combat, but once I defeat all enemies It doesn't even allow me to pick it up it just fades back to the throne room, like nothing ever happened and loot is gone.
Is this normal? I cant let that loot just disappear
I could never put my finger on it either, but DA:O combat just rubbed me the wrong way, I was constantly waiting for the game to just end. Had the same issue of trash mobs as PoE, might've been even worse.
ThoseDeafMutes
Member
I'm having trouble getting reputation in (early city)
.
Anyone got tips? I didn't pay attention to what quest resolution was giving me earlier on so I don't know if I unintentionally lost reputation from something. But I've done a bunch of quests in a "good guy" way and I'm only at "faintly good".
Defiance Bay
Anyone got tips? I didn't pay attention to what quest resolution was giving me earlier on so I don't know if I unintentionally lost reputation from something. But I've done a bunch of quests in a "good guy" way and I'm only at "faintly good".
Did you do the
Fragments of a Scattered Faith
Creating your own turns is far superior to being forced to use a uniform turn rate. With the amount of combat encounters in PoE my playthrough would probably be 4 times as long with a turn-based system, and the game wouldn't gain anything from it. Not to mention that it's far more tactically interesting to manage everyone's movement at the same time.
You are basically saying RTwP is a bad mechanic because you need to pause. That's like saying turn-based is a bad mechanic because it has turns.
ThoseDeafMutes
Member
I'm trying to complete that, but part of what I need to complete it involves
having a good reputation so that they let me see the archives. That's the only reason I really care about getting it higher lol.
Rawket Lawnchair
Member
Some stronghold adventures also provide reputation.
I didn't know the
archives
Actually, I have no idea why I wrote that, I meant a completely different quest. Well, I do have an idea, because they both end on
"Faith"
Cinders of Faith
Nah, I still haven't decided on a faction (because they all suck) and I was allowed to do it.
DA:O is more or less just a series of long dungeons filled with same-y enemy groups. Most the PoE dungeons aren't that great either, they do kinda remind me of NWN2. Personally, I have a strong dislike of overlong dungeons with lots of trash mobs - I much prefer short ones with a few well-designed enemy encounters and some interesting puzzles
Bananajama
Banned
Wee bit tougher than I thought. Have to manage my party more than anticipated.
More so than BG2 I think? That long since I played.
Not a criticism though. Love it
More so than BG2 I think? That long since I played.
Not a criticism though. Love it