Soyongdori
Member
What's the purpose of npcs visiting then?Don't worry, you can't recruit characters that visit the stronghold
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Pillars of Eternity |OT| You must gather your party before venturing forth.
- Thread starter EviLore
- Start date
Nope.
Don't worry, you can't recruit characters that visit the stronghold
?
from the wiki:
Chance Hale
Member
Have any crazy people done triple crown solo yet? Do you get any kind of special gear like in the Witcher 2's dark mode?
So, 26 hours in, on Hard-Expert, and deep into Act 2's quest options. I haven't had time to really post any impressions at all, since I've just been playing 24/7, but...
It's really everything I could have possibly wanted out of an Infinity Engine successor. This is Baldur's Gate III, but better than anything Bioware could've figured out as a followup to their own games. Mainly because Obsidian did this without the D&D ruleset and without the D&D setting. The game is better for it.
Mechanically, everything just works. The classes all feel good. It's all intuitive, with just enough D&D-style familiarity but without using it as a crutch. DR makes perfect sense, the speed percentage penalties for armor make perfect sense (and it's a great risk vs reward choice), all the saving throws and hit calculations feel right. The itemization is solid. The stash is a great idea. The separate health and endurance bars work great, as does the limited camping system. A long dungeon can really stretch your resources thin; it's not just progression busywork.
Challenge is right where I want it to be on Hard-Expert, and I've found myself really pushing things to the limit with coordinating the full party to just barely eek through a really difficult encounter, or stubbornly doing some encounters I probably shouldn't be just to prove that I can.
UI is the ideal evolution of infinity engine. Fast mode for map traversal, stealth mode for dungeon crawling and fight setups, and slow mode for difficult fight management, it's all brilliantly thought out. Love the little hand-drawn interactive cutscenes. So many roleplaying skill checks (which are invisible on expert mode, haha, but I know they're there).
The game hits these perfect nostalgia beats, too, like Act 2 opening up in much the same way Baldur's Gate 2 does with an overwhelming number of quests, or "shit just got real" when your wizard dings level 5.
It's legitimately an honor to play this game with my likeness as my main character, to have NeoGAF be represented in such a cool way (the inn is subtle but implemented with love and attention to detail, and in a perfect location, it's awesome), and to even have my own in-world biography in there. Could not be happier.
Obsidian destroyed it. GOTY.
It's really everything I could have possibly wanted out of an Infinity Engine successor. This is Baldur's Gate III, but better than anything Bioware could've figured out as a followup to their own games. Mainly because Obsidian did this without the D&D ruleset and without the D&D setting. The game is better for it.
Mechanically, everything just works. The classes all feel good. It's all intuitive, with just enough D&D-style familiarity but without using it as a crutch. DR makes perfect sense, the speed percentage penalties for armor make perfect sense (and it's a great risk vs reward choice), all the saving throws and hit calculations feel right. The itemization is solid. The stash is a great idea. The separate health and endurance bars work great, as does the limited camping system. A long dungeon can really stretch your resources thin; it's not just progression busywork.
Challenge is right where I want it to be on Hard-Expert, and I've found myself really pushing things to the limit with coordinating the full party to just barely eek through a really difficult encounter, or stubbornly doing some encounters I probably shouldn't be just to prove that I can.
UI is the ideal evolution of infinity engine. Fast mode for map traversal, stealth mode for dungeon crawling and fight setups, and slow mode for difficult fight management, it's all brilliantly thought out. Love the little hand-drawn interactive cutscenes. So many roleplaying skill checks (which are invisible on expert mode, haha, but I know they're there).
The game hits these perfect nostalgia beats, too, like Act 2 opening up in much the same way Baldur's Gate 2 does with an overwhelming number of quests, or "shit just got real" when your wizard dings level 5.
It's legitimately an honor to play this game with my likeness as my main character, to have NeoGAF be represented in such a cool way (the inn is subtle but implemented with love and attention to detail, and in a perfect location, it's awesome), and to even have my own in-world biography in there. Could not be happier.
Obsidian destroyed it. GOTY.
Three to four hours in the game at this point. Just recruited
.
Game is pretty much everything I hoped for. It honestly feels like I'm 12 all over again. It' just so good to play a game like this again.
Worst part is I'm already feeling like this game is distracting me from important assignments I should be attending too.
Edér, upon realizing you are actually suppose to talk to one of those hanged bodies in the vale
Game is pretty much everything I hoped for. It honestly feels like I'm 12 all over again. It' just so good to play a game like this again.
Worst part is I'm already feeling like this game is distracting me from important assignments I should be attending too.
Tips please! As mentioned before in previous posts I've had some difficulties with it and I've yet to try what other Gaffers have suggested but I'd prefer to beat it instead of side with him.
Chance Hale
Member
I ended up siding with him but I plan on going back later on to end his life and completely fuck the region over.
I've only invested 8hrs in to it but I haven't had a game drag me away from other social responsibilities like this one has in a long time. The back-stories and the lore make me weep with joy. I keep finding a nugget of information only for it to lead to further questions and answers and even more questions. Obsidian have truly crafted something magical right here and that's without me even complimenting the battle system intricacies.
Completely agreed. Getting out of the shackles of D&D caused the game to take further leaps and bounds.
It took me an hour to create my character.
Completely agreed. Getting out of the shackles of D&D caused the game to take further leaps and bounds.
It took me an hour to create my character.
I just ran straight back down and into the bedroom and positioned my tanks in the doorway. First try win on hard.
I don't think I'm good enough to give advice, heh. I used a fighter and a barbarian to hold up the left and right flank, positioning my priest and spell casters behind them. I placed a fire ball trap up front to get some extra damage in and initiated the fight with my priest, immediately darting back behind the front line after the conversation.
The rest was somewhat up to luck. My priest put down restoration and blessing to keep my fighters alive. My wizard focused a lot of spells on blinding and dazing the opponents, they are so many that I figured DPS-decreasing the lot of them would have a larger effect than removing some of their health, but I don't know how the math works out. I had a scroll of entanglement which I used to decrease their speed, too. It was a really difficult fight, and if my two tanks hadn't been kept alive for as long as they were I would die really quickly, so that's what I focused on.
Tertullian
Member
EvilLore has spoken.
Rerolled for the second time and I think this will be final.
I made a mage because it has access to AoE spells early while my poor hunter was mono target.
I wouldn't have minded this if I didn't encounter pack of 3 to 5 mobs almost all the time whenver I follow main story or do side dungeons.
Even with a priest, my tanks couldn't handle easely those packs without being knocked out.
Depend if you want to recruit someone.
Lvl 1 mercery suck hard in in level 3 party, so better hire the highest you can, imo.
I made a mage because it has access to AoE spells early while my poor hunter was mono target.
I wouldn't have minded this if I didn't encounter pack of 3 to 5 mobs almost all the time whenver I follow main story or do side dungeons.
Even with a priest, my tanks couldn't handle easely those packs without being knocked out.
Depend if you want to recruit someone.
Lvl 1 mercery suck hard in in level 3 party, so better hire the highest you can, imo.
[Stoic][Ignore him.]
How are people clearing the Temple of Eothas with only three characters? I'm on hard and have to advance very slowly with five characters. I can barely damage the skuldr kings. I tank them and hope that Aloth's spells do enough damage. The improved defender talent was a godsend.
Did anyone do it with only 3 characters on hard? I had a difficult time with 5 (3 level 3 characters and 2 level 2 adventurers).
No, I like "engrossed" more.
Cool! Just like Wasteland 2 then
Next question: where's to find the best portraits?
Count of Monte Sawed-Off
un33dab@dpu$$y
Don't worry about creating new party members. They're pretty cheap to make so if you really want to use them for just one area it's not that big of a deal.
The NPCs are alright, the only one I'm really like personality wise right now is Eder. Class wise though, the Chanter and Cipher are awesome.
edit: Also, after playing this it's becoming hard to recall why exactly I liked Dragon Age: Inquisition so much.
Warning to Cipher users: Do not equip the "Drinking Horn of Moderation" neck accessory that you can get from a side quest in Defiance Bay. It will permanently wreck your incombat Focus generation and persists between saves.
More details:
http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/72...ently-disabled-by-drinking-horn-of-moderation
More details:
http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/72...ently-disabled-by-drinking-horn-of-moderation
I've read it a few times. Also people soloing the bear cave.
Basileus777
Member
Ouch, that's a nasty bug.
Give Aloth that first level oil knockdown spell and just spam it.
Bl@de
Member
Why? Spelling mistakes or general bad translation? Didn't jump in yet. Will wait half a year until a couple of patches release and it gets cheaper, so I hope it's just spelling mistakes like in Wasteland 2. I usually prefer german in text heavy RPGs without lots of voice acting (especially in fantasy settings).
Shake Appeal
Member
Wow, combat just got dizzyingly deep now that I have
. So many buffs and synergies.
Durance
I had to go back with four to kill some of the Shades, but I killed everything else (and completed the quest) with three on Hard. Slicken and Sneak Attack, yo.
texhnolyze
Banned
Yes, just like Wasteland 2.
People shared imgur albums of portraits every now and then in both here and the beta thread. You might want to check the beta thread first, it's on the last pages.
I wouldn't agree with him at all. The German translation is alright.
Shake Appeal
Member
Things I dislike about Pillars of Eternity:
-Pathfinding is often bad, especially in tight spaces
-Some of the voice-acting (some line reads completely whiff the right emphasis)
-Can't turn down barks without turning down other voice
-A few quirks and bugs
-A few typos
...
That's all I got.
-Pathfinding is often bad, especially in tight spaces
-Some of the voice-acting (some line reads completely whiff the right emphasis)
-Can't turn down barks without turning down other voice
-A few quirks and bugs
-A few typos
...
That's all I got.
Bl@de
Member
It's kind of a split situation. Some say bad, some say good. The gamestar review says it has a good translation. spelling mistakes can easily be patched (if obsidian will look into it. Inxile did a good job in that department)
People leaving an arid desert and people just off a lavish banquet will look at a puddle of mud quite differently.
I'm only about 3 hours in, the start of a long weekend with this game. It is fucking marvelous so far, perfect. It's like they took everything about the old IE games and improved upon every single aspect. It's just a joy to play, and the story is engrossing. This IP has a bright future I think.
I am digging Cipher, feels like a proper warrior mage.
I am digging Cipher, feels like a proper warrior mage.
I usually play nothing in German and I am sticking with it. That has to say something.
Count of Monte Sawed-Off
un33dab@dpu$$y
True enough.
I just ran straight back down and into the bedroom and positioned my tanks in the doorway. First try win on hard.
Thanks for all the help - I managed to overcome him by initiating with a bow and backing off into the door to the left. It kind of feels like I cheesed it but I don't care, hats off to those of you who fought in front the throne.
*Edit* Did everyone go on a loot raiding mission of the entire fort afterwards? ;p
Fantastapotamus
Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
Now, not to get too OT with this but I think in most games the "evil option" is just incredibly boring. It's mostly something like "No, I will kill you and take the money you saved for your starving child muahahahaha"
I'd love a game were the evil option would be something more....elegant. Where you use lies and deception to get what you want. Where you trick people into doing bad things because they benefit you. I want to be an evil mastermind, not just an asshole.
How is this game for the people that never did actually get into the old isometric D&D RPGs?
I was way more into JRPGs back then and try as I may, I couldn't get into the D&D ruleset when I tried to play Baldur's Gate and a few of the others. Haven't picked them up again now that I've got more into WRPGs. So, how do you guys think this game would play for someone who has played and liked the more modern Bioware games (all the Dragon Ages and Mass Effects), and somewhat liked some of the Bethesda WRPGs.
I was way more into JRPGs back then and try as I may, I couldn't get into the D&D ruleset when I tried to play Baldur's Gate and a few of the others. Haven't picked them up again now that I've got more into WRPGs. So, how do you guys think this game would play for someone who has played and liked the more modern Bioware games (all the Dragon Ages and Mass Effects), and somewhat liked some of the Bethesda WRPGs.
Count of Monte Sawed-Off
un33dab@dpu$$y
If you liked the original Dragon Age, you'll probably like PoE. PoE is much more difficult though and takes some getting used to. I could tear through Dragon Age on Nightmare difficulty, and I'm finding some challenge on PoE just playing on normal.
Bl@de
Member
I probably exaggerated. Spelling mistakes mostly, so nothing major. My mistake, sorry.
Good to hear. Spelling mistakes can always happen in such a text heavy title.
Basileus777
Member
Anyone far enough into this to speak to the difficulty curve? I'm curious if this is yet another game that is at its most difficult in the early game.