Zwiebelchen

These are the most frequent checks in dialogues, in order of importance: Perception (several 16+ checks) Resolve (several 16+ checks aswell) Intelligence (from what I've seen, most checks are 14+ with only a few outliers) Character Reputation (honest having the most checks) Lore (have not seen much above 7+, though) The only classes that matter for dialogue choices are Paladin and Cipher. Most of class-related checks are for those two classes. Ciphers get checked more frequently from my experience. The only race that is often checked for in dialogue is - for some weird reason - Orlan. As weird as it sounds: godlikes have almost zero checks. Athletic seems useful on paper, but athletics checks can often be bypassed with a grappling hook. Everything else is pretty insignificant.

I have an average of 5 second loads and 2 second quicksaves with an SSD currently. Unfortunately, not all SSDs are created equal. There are heavy speed differences between the different manufacturers and models (up to factor 3!). However, loads will become slower the longer you play. The mobileobjects file suffers from heavy bloat.

Since that's a localization issue, it's more or less up to the community to fix this. I think there are community mods for this already.

Unfortunately, this is working as intended: two debuffs of the same group do not stack. The status monitor showing the second non-functional debuff is actually the bug here, not the other way round.

I think that the issues are a bit more substantial than that, because it is about a lot more than the number of effects of individual Attribute Bonuses, and has a lot to do with how they all tie together - right now it all ties into a very clear dump/pump tank vs. DPS dichotomy, and I don't think that just fixing Constitution would be a solution, nor that interrupt getting a buff would fix things. Although I agree that both of those things absolutely should happen, but with interrupt it may be enough to actually fix the Talent. But you're unlikely to see an official message on the matter, since the current bonuses have been criticized since BB435 without a word. It is clear that Obsidian is aware of the matter, because they have been altering CNPC Attributes to buff CNPC:s, meaning that they know that the game favours min/maxing and that there's a clear dichotomy, or else they wouldn't consider the CNPC:s that much worse off with one set of attributes than another, to the point where they're actively disregarding the characterization-based attributes of CNPC:s in favour of "better" spreads (such as the 1.05 switch of Intellect and Perception for Grieving Mother). If they were interested in fixing the Attribute Bonuses or unhappy with the current state of things, there would've been no better patch than 1.05 so far to fix it, but instead they choose to actively muck with the CNPC Attributes. It's clear that they don't see a problem with the Attributes nor a problem with altering CNPC Attributes to better min/max values, no matter if it makes sense for that character or not, so why would they fix the Attribute bonuses? I held onto the same hope as you for the longest time, but I just don't see a reason for it any more. Edit: And oh god, yes, I just realized which spell Mental Binding is. I keep thinking the exact same thing: "Why on Earth is this a Rank 2 Spell?" I even constantly find myself looking at the wrong spell-rank when I'm picking spells in combat, because I keep expecting it to be higher. The problem with balancing the attributes is that a rebalancing could possible break the game. I understand why the devs are very cautious about sudden changes here. And obviously, there's still bigger fish to fry, as the attributes are not broken per se; in fact, they are very functional. They are just not equally viable depending on classes. That's why it's a low priority issue. As long as it ain't broken, no hurry to come up with something better. I expect a major attribute overhaul later down the road when everything else is pretty much fixed and working. Changing the interrupt formula and increasing the interrupt %-gain would already do much to make certain characters and builds viable. In fact, Sagani and Pallegina are specced well for interrupt builds. I actually consider getting the talent on them. It's just that the %-gain per point should be a little higher. I'm not sure if the devs are aware of the popular suggestion for constitution reducing armor recovery penalty, as this pretty much came post-release. They haven't read the forums much since then or responded here. It's an easy fix and would not break anything in the game. At least this will probably come pretty soon, if we just start to nag them constantly about it.

That's not the major problem here. Have you tried traps running patch 1.05? Previously some of them were virtually able to one shot even Eder. I accidentally ran over one of them the other night and they didn't even leave a scratch on my party. Well, yes, they may have been too strong in the past, but now they're definitely too weak to do any damage. I wouldn't go as far as one user saying the mechanics skill is useless right now, since there are about ten times as many locks to pick than traps to disarm, but I liked my traps for some tactical gameplay. It takes a lot of fun out of that approach, if you know that they won't give you any noticeable advantage. It's still a better investment then all other skills. Stealth? You pretty much only need one with a high stealth skill for stealing in houses. And some points on your melees to get in position. Athletics? 4 points for everyone to keep fatigue away on 20-hour travels. Lore? Only makes a difference for non-casters. Survival? Wtf is survival?

Imho, the two health-recovering talents should imho be removed and replaced by a survival-based ability: Something like 20+survival x 5 = health restored. A character with 1 in survival has 1 use per rest and can only heal his own wounds. Then, at 5 points you unlock the ability to use it on other characters. Then every 5 points in survival you get an additional use per rest. The amount healed is lower than for the talents, but it can be used more often at higher skill levels. Would look like this: Survival score 1: 1x self cast, heals 25 health. Survival score 5: 1x target; heals 45 health. Survival score 10: 2x target; heals 70 health. Survival score 15: 3x target; heals 95 health. It even makes sense from a logical perspective that someone trained in survival is better at applying first aid help.

My traps trigger almost every time an enemy walks through them (and if not, there's usually a second enemy that will walk through). It's just that the activation radius is smaller than is suggested by the marker. Once you know that, traps trigger in almost 100% of cases.

Well that's one thing that is clearly never going to be addressed anyway. They've already acknowledged the issue and decided to work around it rather than on it, even to the point of compromising roleplay. I see no reason to think that the Attribute issues will ever be addressed. I haven't seen any official message about that yet, so I still have my hopes up. Constitution is the only stat that only has one effect and I'm sure that sooner or later Obsidian will change something about it. Possible solutions are already there (like recovery penalty reduction); they just have to implement them. In fact, the game mechanics for that are also there already (fighter's armored grace talent does exactly this), they just need to be applied to constitution aswell. If interrupt gets a buff, then all other attributes will be pretty much perfect, so I wouldn't say that all hope is lost.

Actually, the only "weak" racials are the dwarf and human ones. All others have their applications. Elves are strong (both subraces; the +10 ice and fire DR are totally underrated), Orlans are strong (though Wild orlan is significantly better than the other), Aumauas are great (extra weapon slot is always useful, especially for gunners), most of the godlikes are strong aswell. Death is a little bit underwhelming, though, but has some uses for barbarians. But none of the racials except moon godlike is a real game-changer. And I'm almost 100% positive that moon godlike racial is gonna get nerfed hard next patch.

Unfortunately, it looks like the similar bug that using a 1H weapon as an offhand and having nothing in the main weapon slot is also not fixed for 1.05 either. Fist + OH weapon applies the 1-handed accuracy bonus to both main-hand fist and off-hand weapon. Also, 1-handed weapon specialization applies regardless, while actually being dual-wield. It only matters much for monk though, because most other characters won't care for fist attacks.

Thanks for this; didn't know that! Looks like blast and penetrating blast might actually worth taking when combined with minor blights. Aloth starts with blast, so I think I'll take minor blights on him now.

It's actually the opposite. The closer you come to the end of the game, the less you actually need the extra deflection. Deflection gain through leveling ultimately trumphs deflection through talents. I misunderstood you then. And I agree. You probably won't swing your weapons much as a battle mage. Because then you could just take a fighter instead. I think he was more about using the greatsword for style, not damage. Which works fine.

Seriously, there's still a lot of unadressed issues with this game: Constitution being useless, engagement system not engaging (ba-dum-dish...), still many OP spells (just move mental binding to level 3 already), interrupt being too weak, etc. ... So far, Obsidian is doing fine with the patching.

Woof elves have the ugly character models to compensate for the powerful racial. Whenever I open the inventory, I immediately feel offended and wished I had taken human instead.

3 tanks is overkill. Swap out the second fighter for a cipher. Also, you are probably overthinking this. PotD is challenging, but you can go with way less min/maxing and still be successful.

So you're saying battle mage != tank mage? I'd disagree. The whole point of going melee mage is that you can tank AND deal damage at the same time. @TO: You can build a working battle mage without a shield. But I really wonder why.you don't want to take 1H+shield aswell? After all, you have a default 2 weapon sets. You can then freely switch weapons depending on what you're fighting. Chances are you will rely on 1H+shield much in early game, then, after reaching level 7 and getting access to the more powerful defense spells, you'll mostly use your two-handed weapons. Also, I think you are making a mistake in your concept: battle mages are not primarily about deflection (stacking deflection is still important, though), but about DR. Ghost shield, stone skin, bullwark against elements: all those spells buff your DR scores ad absurdum. Combined with a full plate or brigandine, you can pile up physical DR scores into the 30's (40's against elements). I wouldn't invest into Sword-and-Shield style for a battle mage either, simply because you won't use shields much in mid/late-game. Rather, invest into talents that work regardless of weapon choice: cautious attack, the passive +5 deflection, improved arcane veil (with the 1.05 change to veil, taking the improved veil makes you pretty much immune to deflection attacks), etc., then, when you have everything you need, invest into the +10 against status effect talents. Your insane elemental DR will take care of almost all spells; you only worry about status effects (remember that there's also a spell mirror ability. Use it and watch enemy spellcasters kill themselves!). Battle mages don't have a lot of useful talents to choose from, so you'll have some spare points at the end of the game. Remember that your weapon accuracy does not affect your spell accuracy. So weapon focus is only useful if you actually attack, instead of using spells. Honorable mention: the talent that reduces recovery when switching spellbooks. This is worth an investment! Build two different grimoires, one more on the defensive side, the other more on the damage/utility side, then switch after buffing up. Low duration spells should be on both grimoires, but stuff like spell mirror is perfect for the situational grimoire! Battles mages are pretty micro intense. I actually made 3 different grimoires for my battle mage; switching them mid-combat is nice to adapt to battle dynamics. I actually took the health recovery talent in utility at end game in my battlemage playthrough. Simply because there was nothing else that was interesting to choose and I found health to be the most problematic resource for this playstyle (good thing it was buffed in 1.05). Wait, what? They do? I'd say this is a bug, though, so I wouldn't specc into it because it might get fixed later on.

You mean, like the mod that lets you bang your sister? Leave it to someone to find one of the worst examples. Of the thousands of mods out there, that's the one you quote? No. Like various new NPC romances, Solaufein romance, Nalia romance (PPG), Valygar romance (dunno about how "good" it is), the Flirt paks, the expanded Anomen romance.. many others. To be perfectly fair: most of the Imoen mod dialogue was actually pretty decent. The campfire scene when leaving the underdark was excellent. I just disliked the mary-sue'ish rape plot (and the idea in general, but hey, it's not like incest fantasies are incredibly new or world-shattering). "Look, I have been tortured physically and mentally for weeks and had my soul ripped out of my body... but let's concentrate our discussion about how he had a dwarf ****ing me." ... seriously?

How much cheesing can you actually do with traps solo? You can only place one per character after all. I'm just saying that the majority of traps in 1.04 (that mostly deal 15-20 damage, with some rare exceptions) was only worth placing because traps critted the **** out of enemies and so also applied long-lasting debuffs. That was cool. Now with the reduced accuracy, not only the damage but also the debuffs suffer a lot. This change was uncalled for.

Traps were great in 1.04. But I really wonder why accuracy was nerfed in 1.05. It's not like traps were totally overpowered or a game-changer. They were a free spell in PotD at the beginning of combat and a great way to apply a debuff fast, but that's about it. I have 3 characters with high mechanics skill to place more than one... now I feel like I threw all those points away. I don't get it... did anyone ever complain about traps being too good?

It's really mind-boggling how Obsidian didn't implement a "hide helmet" toggle or put necklaces and cloaks into seperate slots. I mean, the former can be activated with a simple console command after all... how hard can it be to add a small checkbox to the character inventory next to the colors to disabled the helmet displayal? And why combine clocks and necklaces into one slot? With most item stats not stacking anyway, what could possibly happen that this is required for balancing? To go back on topic: Actually I'm fine with helmets not being able to be enchanted. It's good to have some truly unique items in the game that you can not gain from an enchanting job. It's already bad enough that most unique weapons and armors you can find in the game aren't that much stronger than enchanted level 1 gear.

The cipher nerfs to focus gain and starting focus were necessary. Currently, a cipher can mental-bind 3 enemies right at the beginning of each battle, fire a blunderbuss for a giant focus boost, then rush in and nail one of the mental-binding enemies with dual-wield stilettos, gaining focus to apply another round of mental binding faster than the debuff runs out. You know that a class is broken when you can stunlock multiple enemies endlessly... The way focus gain works currently is absolutely lopsided towards fast weapons and multi-hit attacks. 1.05 will push it into the right direction, basing focus gain on damage dealt, not damage events. At least now all weapons are equally viable. I'd still assume fast weapons are better for focus gain (simply because I assume that all damage events will be rounded up so that you always gain at least 1 focus per attack, regardless of damage), but things definitely get better. I don't see how halved starting focus would make ciphers any weaker in early game. It just prevents you from immediately stunlocking everything before the battle even started.

No need to wait for 1.05. Spellswords are strong in 1.04 already. I have a ton of fun with my level 7 spellsword so far. The extra boost to defenses, health and endurance is nice, but in no way necessary.

I think chanters are fine, it's nice to have a low-maintenance class in your group from time to time. I enjoyed my playthrough with both Sagani and Kana in my party because it was speeding up battles a lot with much less pause-spam and micro management. Obviously, chanters become much more valuable as the difficulty level goes up. PotD is where they really start to shine, when certain battles can take several minutes to finish. However, if I were to redesign the class, then I'd probably change the way phrases work: Instead of summons using up your phrases, they should instead just remain and stack further. This way, chanters become progressively more powerful the longer the battle goes. So, when you reach 3 phrases, you can cast a first level summon which doesn't consume your 3 phrases. At 6 phrases, you can cast a second level summon, and so on. It basicly ensures that: 1) your first level summons don't become useless in lategame (currently, any cast of first level summons in lategame is just a waste of time) 2) you won't just stand there completely idle until your high level summon is finally available 3) your chanter becomes progressively stronger the longer the battle goes... which goes well with the theme of the class 4) a possible "only one cast per summon-level per encounter"-rule could allow for some interesting new summons, like a summon that grants you two extra phrase stacks to speed up phrase gain to reach higher levels faster (obviously, at the cost of using up that summon level on this encounter) All this would lead to better flexibility and less idle combat for chanters.

There are some really good custom painted Orlan and godlike portraits in this thread if you have the patience to scroll through the endless amounts of bimbos: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/71722-the-custom-portraits-thread/