Sir Newbie

In the first levels you never had that problem when you started BG1 ? never ? really ? I mean it takes a bit of time before obtaining a decent spellbook or even to get to level 3. Invulnerable in the first levels maybe for a veteran gamer but i would never put a low level mage in the front line, my fighters are here for that so my mage only have to cast protection spells against other spells and projectiles. "Also I don't see anything wrong with enemies trying to bypass the front line to get to the squishies." I am talking about a goblin who i don't know how succeed to pass between 3 fighters to get to your mage without any retaliation. First playthrough that problem was a huge pain in my back. I admit it's a common tactic but it infuriated me to see a goblin (BG1 no goblin i know but at least i spell it right) walk casually between my fighters, no damage although my fighters were targeting him (and yes i use right weapons) and get to my wizard. Now with the engagement mechanics it will not be possible and you will have the feeling of controlling the battlefield. Enemies will need to knock you back, to have special abilities to break through your line of fighters without retaliations. In american football, think about a grandpa who walk casually with the ball in his hand, "break"/bypass/walk through a front-line of defense of pro-players and score a touch-down... If trash mobs break my formation or bypass it, i want it to be because of poor tactics from me or good AI from them. With PoE the grandpa need to be younger faster and to use a special abilities to knock back, evade, flank etc the front-line defender to score a touch down. I agree plenty to the idea of adding more options to the fighters (i will learn to multi-quote) and rogue. But still i like the progress from the old DnD rule-set. It is more efficient ? I don't know. Perfect ? no without a doubt. Perfectible ? surely. Maybe it has flaws, but it felt nice and fresh to me. I like the general directions of this system.

Why is there so much hate or at least distrust ? At this time the game is still too buggy to give it a fair critic. But people can at least admit that now fighters will do their job at holding the line. Does anyone remember having to make his wizard run like in a Benny Hill's sketch because a trash mob bypass a front-line of 4 fighters ? Anyone ? Just for that the developers deserve a bit of trust. At least they will have a bit of micro-management before the level 20 (or any first high-level with peculiar abilities) or before obtaining magical items. I don't know about boring but at least they have more options than the fighters in BG1 enough with the hypocrisy (or "mauvaise foi"). Maybe they need a bit of tweaking or 1/2 skills to make them competent at ranged fighting i don't know but at least it's an improvement (no more Benny Hill's wizard !!) The rogues are a different matter but the idea of inflicting sneak attack under any advantageous conditions and a true evading skill add a lot of tactical options. Just my humble opinion.

My only concern : why is this thread not pinned yet ?

Please tell me that isn't true. Damnit ! Please someone tell me if you can or cannot : - fully equip your party members ; - fully manage the level progression of your party (argh, Arcanum i detest you for that).

Why not makes this thread about unorthodox build, it's a bit early because of the unsolved bugs and blance issues but still be a good idea. I would love to heard from the beta-backers about character like genius barbarian/fighter (like in the previous demo), clumsy ranger, weak-spirited paladins...

As much as i approve the idea of implementing sub-forums for me readability , to many of them and it can have the opposite effect. Maybe, just maybe : -First, general impression on the game, story, dialogue and other; -Classes, build, balances + combat ; -U.I + options in-games -Graphics/animations + sound/music instead of 8 sub-forums, for a newbie like me that would be perfect (idk about others though). Thanks to you for making this thread i feel i bypass a lot of interesting post in this forums because of a sheer number of topics.

Damn can't edit my post so i make another one. Everyone loves them but won't say it out loud : ego-stroking features in-game like a hall where you can expose your trophies, your own blazon/coat-of-arms/flag, a bard who will chant your exploits (Fables anyone), a statue at your effigy and so on...

Giant monsters : leviathans, kraken, giants (the ogre is awesome really but still not a giant), dragons-like creatures (but no dragons please let PoE be original in their own way), basilisks. If i am wrong please feel free to spoil me ! ah! Naval battle, conquest of a stronghold or of a castle (i know there is one in the game but do we need to take it by force ?), pitched battle (think about your team enrolled in a war, fighting against phalanx).

I will give my two cents on this subject. I like the minor attributes bonus from race and culture and i don't want them to have any more importance. I feel it's necessary for making all the builds viable and the story immersive. Players can then create all kind of character without being worry about their effectiveness. Cultures (i don't care much about races except for Godlike, interesting concept) should have more impact in the dialogues and the story than the attributes.

Taverns brawls.

Hello to all the members, i'm new to this forum, not a backer but anticipating this game since a long time. This kind of thread worry me and you don't seem the only one to want another upgraded copy of Baldur's Gate. It pains me to see so many players being frisky or having cold feet with the novelties of Pillars of Eternity now that the beta is out. I hope the majority doesn't want that. I really like to see a system where all kind of builds are viable, a system that is intuitive without being simplistic, without requiring an encyclopedic knowledge of the rules. I appreciate the changes in the skills and attributes systems (i didn't play the beta but i did watch a lot of game-play video). The fighters are now active and can really hold a line of defense. i see myself again and again in Baldur's gate 1 having to move my wizard, to make him run like in a Benny Hill's clip video because a freaking trash moob (it's too embarrassing to say which exactly) success to bypass a ranger, a cleric/warrior (my pc), a druid/warrior, a warrior !! (You can easily guess the name of the 6th character). Thanks obsidian for that engaging melee mechanic (not sure of the name)! The stamina/health mechanic and the per encounter/abilities need perhaps some balancing but the objective of these rules (not having to rest after each fights and make each rest a strategic decision) is a great improvement and make exploration more challenging. The godlike are a fresh touch (maybe more choices for the faces) and daring too, it brings character to this game. I couldn't agree more. The spirit of the old games are here, a new system always requires some testing and some boldness (bad engrish i know) let's not shy away from the novelties. I want the developers to persevere in that direction, an original set of rules that will bring a new breeze to this type of game (tactical view, an all team to manage, an immersive story you know the pitch). Mr. Sawyer says at day 2 of Gamescon they (the developers and him) don't want that type of CRPG to die out and hope that PoE will mark the rebirth of that genre by appealing to a new generation of players. I almost cry when i heard him say that (i am joking). For me and that's my very humble opinion the only game that come close to Baldur was Planescape (even if the fights were easy even for a new player like me). Arcanum and the Fallout series were obviously great but you couldn't manage all the aspects of your team. Icewind dale serie and Temple of Elemental evil were great games too from the other's perspective but don't have an immersive stories and i cannot bring myself to like this set of rules. I want that genre to reborn : a full team to manage, interactive and immersive story, 3D isometric, tactical combats, puzzles to solve. I don't think it will be possible if every time something new is inserted in the story, the settings, the game-play we start complaining and asking to go back in the past. The beta needs some balances but it is in the right direction This type of game is old (at least for a video-game) and if a new lifting can be done without betraying the spirit of the IE games let's welcome it !