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[Burt]

Patching our xaurip skirmisher stunlock would be a nice start.

I'm still bitter about POTD having

Spoiler

a xaurip at the start of the bridge so you get instantly jumped and potentially killed if you go there solo

.


Amusingly, it used to have two uses, and Obsidian couldn't stand for that:

Spoiler

It was worth a lot of money if you sold it to Heodan, and you could later enchant it which would override the Terrible quality. Now it's worth hardly anything and you can't fix the quality.

Re: the Disappointer-- I didn't find it in it's first location in the game, but

Spoiler

when I found it at the second spot, well... I think that might've been the best joke in the game.

 

[texhnolyze]

tentative 1.4 patch notes up:

https://forums.obsidian.net/blog/7/entry-180-patch-notes-104/

Nice, more fix & optimizations.

 

[_DrMario_]

tentative 1.4 patch notes up:

https://forums.obsidian.net/blog/7/entry-180-patch-notes-104/

Wow still no fix for reckless assault.

 

[Nordicus]

Welp, my Durance just got super powerful for a level 7 thanks to a bug.

I gave him a ring, Seal of Faith, that gives him +1 casts of level 1, 2 and 3 spells. I take him out of my party, and after few hours when I take him back, this happens.

Does not go away either if I take the ring off, try to waste the spells, then rest. The cap is permanently increased.

 

[hemtae]

Welp, my Durance just got super powerful for a level 7 thanks to a bug.

I gave him a ring, Seal of Faith, that gives him +1 casts of level 1, 2 and 3 spells. I take him out of my party, and after few hours when I take him back, this happens.


Does not go away either if I take the ring off, try to waste the spells, then rest. The cap is permanently increased.

I wonder if that's what caused my Aloth to have 55 level 1 spells and 62 level 2 spells. I have a ring of wizardry on him.

 

[Nordicus]

I wonder if that's what caused my Aloth to have 55 level 1 spells and 62 level 2 spells. I have a ring of wizardry on him.

That might be the reason. It also happens with bonus spell cast talents as well, people have been reporting this issue with Hiravias apparently for a while now.

 

[PetriP-TNT]

I wonder if that's what caused my Aloth to have 55 level 1 spells and 62 level 2 spells. I have a ring of wizardry on him.

I'd blame wizardry in general for that

 

[Lingitiz]

Personally I prefer only one big sidequest hub in an RPG. When I get to the back part of a game I usually just want to finish at that point. So I have no issue with Twin Elms having a lot less content than Defiance Bay.

Although I wish there was more in Twin Elms, it's probably for the best that there isn't as much there. There's plenty of content leading up to that part so better not to burn out on quests are the finish line. That certainly happened for me with Divinity Original Sin. I had been playing for 60 hours already and just wanted to see the ending at that point.

 

[Coxswain]

Triple Crown is a lot more fun to try than I thought it'd be. I had these nightmare visions in my head of running into impassable roadblocks two hours in and getting mad that I'd wasted my time, but just having a general idea from my first playthrough of how tough each place can be, and being careful about what I actually get myself into, it's been totally manageable, while still holding a good deal more tension than there ever was in my first blind PotD/Expert playthrough.

 

[aravuus]

Personally I prefer only one big sidequest hub in an RPG. When I get to the back part of a game I usually just want to finish at that point. So I have no issue with Twin Elms having a lot less content than Defiance Bay.

While I (mostly) agree with this, I wish it was clearer how small Twin Elms is when you're in the world map screen. Just going by the zones there, I assume it'd be as big as DB. I was ready to finish the game by the time I got there (and honestly, the area and its lore weren't very interesting to me) but I was still a bit bummed out by the size

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

There's this merchant in twin elms who pays x3 the money for everything. So he's my favorite NPC now.

 

[vocab]

So if a mercenary is unpaid, how do I pay him? Also, when a lord visits, if he leaves without an escort it just says he leaves, but if you pay him off you lose security and prestige. So what's the fucking point. Also, I still don't understand the taxes.

The stronghold is seriously the worst part about the game for me. It just seems so half assed. At least the endless is actually really good.

I'm just gonna keep at it in db instead of over thinking the stronghold shit.

 

[Rawket Lawnchair]

So if a mercenary is unpaid, how do I pay him? Also, when a lord visits, if he leaves without an escort it just says he leaves, but if you pay him off you lose security and prestige. So what's the fucking point. Also, I still don't understand the taxes.

The stronghold is seriously the worst part about the game for me. It just seems so half assed. At least the endless is actually really good.

I'm just gonna keep at it in db instead of over thinking the stronghold shit.

Mercenaries are being paid regularly (every few days), I think the "currently unpaid" thing is a bug. Never did one of my mercenaries desert the keep because they were unpaid. My main qualm was that they are very weak in late game encounters.

You're a bit confused with the visitor thing too. There are esteemed visitors (like Thyrsc and a few others) who visit the keep, stay for a few days offering prestige and security bonuses, and then leave, without you raising a finger. The other type of visitors (drunkard, supplicant, war criminal etc.) arrive and offer penalties to prestige and security for as long as they stay, unless you pay them off or send someone to escort them off the property, in which case you lose either money or a companion for a couple of in-game days, but the penalties are negated.

At least that's how I understood it.

 

[PetriP-TNT]

Also, if you don't pay off or escort off an unwanted visition and gain negative reputation, those negatives are forgetten in a few in-game days (The message says that Twin Elms has forgotten about... and your reputation has been restored or something similar). And yeah, that unpaid stuff is a bug for sure.

I don't think that Stronghold is that half-assed but it's so low maintenance that I think that you are really overthinking about it already..

 

[aravuus]

I pretty much just decided to forget about the fortress and pay it no mind. Out of all the buildings I built there, the library was the only one I bothered visiting.. And there weren't even any interesting books there!

 

[WanderingWind]

Welp, my Durance just got super powerful for a level 7 thanks to a bug.

I gave him a ring, Seal of Faith, that gives him +1 casts of level 1, 2 and 3 spells. I take him out of my party, and after few hours when I take him back, this happens.


Does not go away either if I take the ring off, try to waste the spells, then rest. The cap is permanently increased.

At least we now know what the flame reveals. It reveals Durance as a badass.

 

[Violet_0]

so monks become a really good dps class later on. Their only problem is that they still pretty much require priest support, they need some way of healing themselves or better damage reduction

was ready to finish the game by the time I got there (and honestly, the area and its lore weren't very interesting to me) but I was still a bit bummed out by the size

different tastes, I guess. Act 3 is my favorite part of the game. Best part of the main quest, I like Twin Elms and there are much fewer enemy encounters and no long boring dungeons. Wish the rest of the game was more like act 3

 

[O.DOGG]

This game has some awesome animations. I just entered The Charred Barrel for the first time and I found this:

I got a real kick out of watching it.

 

[Arulan]

I start playing for a bit, and suddenly it's 5AM. This game... I have roughly 90 hours according to Steam, and I'm still in the first act, although I believe I'm about to start the second act now. I don't think I'll be playing anything else for a while.

 

[elfinke]

I start playing for a bit, and suddenly it's 5AM. This game... I have roughly 90 hours according to Steam, and I'm still in the first act, although I believe I'm about to start the second act now. I don't think I'll be playing anything else for a while.

I'm much the same, though on a smaller scale. 10 or 12 hours, and all I've done is decide on a character and play style!

 

[Labadal]

I start playing for a bit, and suddenly it's 5AM. This game... I have roughly 90 hours according to Steam, and I'm still in the first act, although I believe I'm about to start the second act now. I don't think I'll be playing anything else for a while.

How???

You must have restarted a few times, right?

 

[Basileus777]

I start playing for a bit, and suddenly it's 5AM. This game... I have roughly 90 hours according to Steam, and I'm still in the first act, although I believe I'm about to start the second act now. I don't think I'll be playing anything else for a while.

I don't understand what you could have been doing for 90s hours in Act 1. There's not even many side quests in that part of the game.

 

[Arulan]

How???

You must have restarted a few times, right?

No, I've always played at a very slow pace, RPGs especially. It does seem like a lot of playtime, but slowly exploring areas, reading through as much as the game offers to, etc. adds up I suppose. I did go back through some areas more than once to see if I missed anything prior now that my Mechanics is higher. It took me ~140 hours for M&MX and ~200 for Divinity: Original Sin last year, but I don't recall how long most people took to finish those.

 

[PetriP-TNT]

You can press S to turn the slow mode off >_>

I wonder how long Act 2 will take you at that pace

 

[Arulan]

You can press S to turn the slow mode off >_>

Wait, what?

Spoiler

I know

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

No, I've always played at a very slow pace, RPGs especially. It does seem like a lot of playtime, but slowly exploring areas, reading through as much as the game offers to, etc. adds up I suppose. I did go back through some areas more than once to see if I missed anything prior now that my Mechanics is higher. It took me ~140 hours for M&MX and ~200 for Divinity: Original Sin last year, but I don't recall how long most people took to finish those.

You are the kind of player who is going to read the visions of all the yellow-named NPCs in Defiance Bay, are you not?

 

[Arulan]

You are the kind of player who is going to read the visions of all the yellow-named NPCs in Defiance Bay, are you not?

Eh, maybe not, I read the ones in Gilded Vale, and quickly realized what they were. Are the ones in Defiance Bay any better?

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

Eh, maybe not, I read the ones in Gilded Vale, and quickly realized what they were. Are the ones in Defiance Bay any better?

There are too many for me to know. I just decided to ignore them after a while.

 

[AcAnchoa]

Is there anything to do besides fighting on the Endless Paths? If it is just fighting is a no go for me even though since I replaced Kana and Aloth with Pallegina and Grieving Mother the combat has turned noticeably easier.

 

[Nordicus]

Urquhart said a bit about patch 1.05 to Shacknews.

For those not aware, we're at 1.03 now, and 1.04's improvements/fixes are locked down and coming soon.

Urquhart fully recognizes that even though the game is out there, there is still work to be done. That includes upcoming patches, with Urquhart noting that 1.05, in particular, set to introduce some quality of life improvements. This includes allowing players to change portraits, balance tweaks, and other adjustments based on player feedback.

Also, more detailed expansion news coming soon. Those who backed >$165 tiers or backed the expansion separately, will get to play it early, apparently

 

[duckroll]

Is there anything to do besides fighting on the Endless Paths? If it is just fighting is a no go for me even though since I replaced Kana and Aloth with Pallegina and Grieving Mother the combat has turned noticeably easier.

If you're asking whether there is story and quest content aside from just enemy encounters, the answer is yes. There are a few quests linked to the Endless Paths, including Kana's companion quest. It's a big dungeon, but it's not -just- pointless battles. But if you're asking how combat heavy it is and whether there are alternate non-combat options to progress, sadly the answer is no. You'll have to fight your way through lots of nasty shit and it gets nastier as you progress.

 

[danthefan]

So I made one aborted attempt at playing BG2 a number of years ago and couldn't get into it.

Having played Divinity and PoE do you guys think the game might be a bit more accessible now? How does it compare to PoE overall in terms of difficulty and understanding the systems in place?

 

[kyubajin]

Need help with Woedica Temple, since I'm a Death Godlike

Spoiler

I can't wear the mask I found on the Catacombs and I get demolished by the ritual guys inside the temple... Should I use brute force? Any recommendations for the fight?

 

[fanboi]

So I made one aborted attempt at playing BG2 a number of years ago and couldn't get into it.

Having played Divinity and PoE do you guys think the game might be a bit more accessible now? How does it compare to PoE overall in terms of difficulty and understanding the systems in place?

I would say it is more difficult, regarding encounters and mechanics (how easy to grasp so to say).

But I Think if you like PoE, you will love BG2.

 

[Purkake4]

I would say it is more difficult, regarding encounters and mechanics (how easy to grasp so to say).

But I Think if you like PoE, you will love BG2.

Read up on the basics of D&D 2e (THAC0 isn't that hard), read the spell descriptions and you'll be fine.

 

[aravuus]

So I made one aborted attempt at playing BG2 a number of years ago and couldn't get into it.

Having played Divinity and PoE do you guys think the game might be a bit more accessible now? How does it compare to PoE overall in terms of difficulty and understanding the systems in place?

BG2 is harder, some of the DnD systems, like THAC0, are absolutely terrible, the UI is obviously far worse and I really wouldn't say it's felt any more accessible now than what it did before playing PoE

But it is a bit easier to get into after PoE, and it's a great game. Def give it a try.

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

Need help with Woedica Temple, since I'm a Death Godlike

Spoiler

I can't wear the mask I found on the Catacombs and I get demolished by the ritual guys inside the temple... Should I use brute force? Any recommendations for the fight?

Door, it is always door.

I am a godlike also, haha goddamn that part.

 

[Shake Appeal]

Wow still no fix for reckless assault.

Also no fix for some abilities being permanently "already activated" (which means I can't use Aloth's Grimoire Slam), but I don't think they've nailed down what causes that yet.

 

[Alrus]

Need help with Woedica Temple, since I'm a Death Godlike

Spoiler

I can't wear the mask I found on the Catacombs and I get demolished by the ritual guys inside the temple... Should I use brute force? Any recommendations for the fight?

Played as a Moon Godlike, you can go through that whole part without a single fight.

You can

Spoiler

bribe the guard at the entrance or convince him you're supposed to be there anyway

Then you can talk to the Novice in the back to get the password phrases (tell him to practice on you).

Then when you reach the last room with the "leader" lady, you get a dialog allowing you to wear the hood even if you can't equip it, and you have to go in alone, repeat the phrases the novice taught you, and then it's just a matter of not being suspicious with the dialog.

And you're done.

 

[Coxswain]

So I made one aborted attempt at playing BG2 a number of years ago and couldn't get into it.

Having played Divinity and PoE do you guys think the game might be a bit more accessible now? How does it compare to PoE overall in terms of difficulty and understanding the systems in place?

It sort of depends which parts of BG2 threw you for a loop. If it was just the general flow of a D&D-like ruleset, in terms of the way that attacks are resolved (and the overall frequency with which things actually land), the ideas of saving throws, or the general pace of Infinite Engine style RTwP combat, then playing Pillars will have probably done a pretty good job of preparing you for it.

If it were the actual specific minutiae of 2e AD&D, and how to build and play within that ruleset in a way that's effective, then you'll probably be just as lost as you ever were. For the most part, nothing is going to help make it easier to learn how 2e works, because 2e was always a completely shitty ruleset and its only saving grace was that the sheer volume of content it supported made it extraordinarily flexible.



That said, a lot of people really love it, and although I'm definitely not one of them, if you have a copy of the game available to you and you feel like you could give it another shot, it's probably worth trying to play it just in case it does click for you the way it did with so many other people.

 

[kyubajin]

Played as a Moon Godlike, you can go through that whole part without a single fight.

You can

Spoiler

bribe the guard at the entrance or convince him you're supposed to be there anyway

Then you can talk to the Novice in the back to get the password phrases (tell him to practice on you).

Then when you reach the last room with the "leader" lady, you get a dialog allowing you to wear the hood even if you can't equip it, and you have to go in alone, repeat the phrases the novice taught you, and then it's just a matter of not being suspicious with the dialog.

And you're done.

Amazing, thanks a lot!

 

[Nordicus]

Out of curiosity, I killed

Spoiler

Lady Webb

to see if I could beat the game without the assistance, but the game gave me an immediate sort of "bad end" slide for it, my character ending up completely mad in the end.

Spoiler

Thaos' speech to my past self in a vision made him seem surprisingly caring and sympathetic.... for a cult leader. At the very least I can see how he got a following if he always has such a silver tongue. I look forward to finding out more about him

 

[PandaPedinte]

I think I overleveled a bit for the main quest on act 2.

 

[Danne-Danger]

Door, it is always door.

I am a godlike also, haha goddamn that part.

The fight after that with the

Spoiler

pregnant noble

(was it after?) was the first real annoying fight so far for me. Playing on Path of the Damned, I had to reorganize my party portraits since the encounter puts you in a default formation... a good tip to not have Aloth suddenly stood in the front-line.

Summoning items can really, really help in some fights, more than a door! Throwing up a couple of Shades and an Adra Beetle will give you valuable time to disable any threats.

Also:

Played as a Moon Godlike, you can go through that whole part without a single fight.

You can...

That's neat! Playing as a godlike and just thought "oh, so that's where a helmet would be handy!" at that part... too bad for those guys!

 

[Sir Garbageman]

Is someone going to make a spoiler thread? I beat the game and want to talk bout the ending.

 

[Anoregon]

Out of curiosity, I killed

Spoiler

Lady Webb

to see if I could beat the game without the assistance, but the game gave me an immediate sort of "bad end" slide for it, my character ending up completely mad in the end.

Spoiler

Thaos' speech to my past self in a vision made him seem surprisingly caring and sympathetic.... for a cult leader. At the very least I can see how he got a following if he always has such a silver tongue. I look forward to finding out more about him

(no specific spoilers, but sort of general characterization spoilers:

Spoiler

Thaos is pretty much the epitome of "ends justifty the means", but he really does believe he is working towards the greater good. When it comes to iconic villains he's no Irenicus, but he is fairly interesting.

 

[aravuus]

Out of all the ending stuff,

Spoiler

Gilded Vale's fate

was my favorite.

Spoiler

Oh you killed the evil tyrant that killed children and mothers and made the good (although sleazy) guy the new ruler? Well fuck you, zombie Raedric is here to wreck shit and you're pretty much responsible for everyone's death

I kept expecting happy or at least neutral resolutions to everything so I was actually happily surprised to see that the game had a lot of depressing and sad stuff going on. Which sounds kind of morbid, I guess, but it's nice to have sad and heartbreaking stories too now and then.

 

[Aaron D.]

No, I've always played at a very slow pace, RPGs especially. It does seem like a lot of playtime, but slowly exploring areas, reading through as much as the game offers to, etc. adds up I suppose. I did go back through some areas more than once to see if I missed anything prior now that my Mechanics is higher. It took me ~140 hours for M&MX and ~200 for Divinity: Original Sin last year, but I don't recall how long most people took to finish those.

This is how I've been playing as well. I'm close to 50 hours and am not far into Act 2.

I read all the books. Listen to all the "gold name plate" NPC stories, etc.

The writing in Pillars is so good, the lore so interesting & cohesive, that it simply demands my time.

 

[Labadal]

Is someone going to make a spoiler thread? I beat the game and want to talk bout the ending.

I made one but it's deader than dead.

 

[TheFatMan]

This is how I've been playing as well. I'm close to 50 hours and am not far into Act 2.

I read all the books. Listen to all the "gold name plate" NPC stories, etc.

The writing in Pillars is so good, the lore so interesting & cohesive, that it simply demands my time.

I will be honest. I was reading the gold name plat NPC dialogues for awhile but by time I got to Defiance Bay I had almost zero interest in continuing to do so. I might be more interested if they played a bigger part in the game, but I have far too many games on my table right now to spend 40 hours reading short stories.

Not that I'm slamming you for doing it.