LadyCrimson

I don't think the image limits change. The brief approval period is just an anti-spambot measure. Just split the post into two parts, perhaps?

Hehe...Shaun Cassidy. Yup, had such a crush on him as a wee. I like Supernatural tho, even if it's a tad silly at times. Although I mostly like in binges on Netflix - 1st run commercial episodes are a terrible way to watch it. Only started watching it last year/this year.

Choices have consequences and all that, in terms of roleplay. Not all choices should still gain the same reward, imo. I've come across several minor quests where doing what I wanted to do (benevolent, rational, honest) meant getting nothing but the XP I think (I tested via reloads so know I'd have gotten something else if I'd done differently). Also, while I'm not seeing this as a spoiler thread yet, if the OP would like me to move it so it can be, I shall.

Start of previous/original thread Last page of previous thread Is hard mode "too easy" for you but PotD isn't what you want either? Discuss!

Thread post limit. Since this seems a consistently utilized topic I'll go ahead and create a part 2 shortly.

What is balance to some, is unbalance to others, including developers. Reasons aren't always purely logic/rationality based.

My personal opinion re: all games is having some XP "padding" to accommodate various or "average" playstyles and goals is ok/fine. Yes it can mean reaching the limit for certain playstyles - on the other hand, reducing it by much can mean limitations for others, and then you have complaints on the other side. This kind of conundrum happens in a ton of games, not just PoE. I haven't played a single game where there wasn't at least a small group complaining about too much XP, or the opposite. Can be tough to balance. So as I mentioned earlier, the best solution imo is to just have a "less XP" optional mode than one can check/uncheck, like they already do for some other things. Can't imagine it'd be difficult to implement. Check it, get 1/3 less XP for quests, for example. Easy peasy?

That's what "new game" is for.

I'm still not clear on exactly how far into the game people are reaching lvl12. I saw one post I think that said they got it before Act3 which *is* a bit extreme, but most seem to reaching Act around 9ish (full sized party), including me (and while I'm sure I missed a handful or two of quests and didn't finish the Paths, I'm pretty sure I've done most things, including bounties to that point). Only thing I regularly don't do is try to pick open every lock, because I'm never much of a thief. And my understanding is Act3 isn't all that long? I do think if you have less than a full party, the XP could be scaled down more perhaps, but otherwise I'm not really seeing a major issue. Being super-uber-completionist in a single playthrough vs. the average player thinking they've done "most stuff" and anything they missed they'll catch the 2nd time through are two different things, and the latter seems to be mostly ok. It's not that people obsess over being 12, it's that some fights they may go "oops, maybe I need to level more" so that's when they want some more levels, and may want to do some stuff to gain them (eg, bounties).

My guess is the limit is so you can't create a bunch of "whole different parties" to fit/overwhelem any situation and then just swap them in and out constantly as needed. The cost is negligible long long before end game.

Level 2? ...maybe, but more realistic is Level 3. Also, even if you pick up birdlady at lower level, she'll still join you at lvl 4, I've heard. Hence why I said "most." Altoh, Eder, Kana, Durance lvl2, and I thought you could pick up the ranger and druid at 2 as well but I could be not recalling correctly what clvl you're sorta "forced" to be at that point even with avoiding everything you can. Could be 3, yeah.

You can get most of the companions at lvl2 if you really want, to build them as you want. Of course that requires prior knowledge. So yeah...I think the auto-assign skills for companions wasn't the best choice. Maybe it's not as role-play-y, but I'd rather be taken to a level-up screen to assign their stuff when you first add them to your party, vs. the auto-assign.

Lvl 5? I have a feeling you're thinking about a different set of Ogres. Also, while I know the video is optional-clickable, the topic as a whole could be spoilery, so I'm moving it.

There's a "frightened villager" or something like that in the Inn. He'll mumble stuff as you walk by, which is probably meant to make you curious enough to click on him, but probably can easily be missed.

I'm not seeing anything. You mean the box that looks like a music-sheet grid? That's for Kana's chant cycles, which since he's not in battle, is empty. Edit: Cant-ninja'd!

Yeah, I don't feel like Legolas really fit into the story all that well in The Hobbit series, except that bit to attach it to the LotR films at the end perhaps. I just mean I find him ludicrously awesome in his shenanigans. His otherworldly bowslinging, rock leaping, bounding off of enemies etc. It's ... entertaining. He should be in the Avengers.

I'm not convinced it's that they need a lot less sleep - it's that they can't stay asleep. My mother definitely needs her afternoon/evening naps, even if she does wake up at 5am. Also...they tend to go to bed earlier and earlier.

You realize you could also say "you're not forced to do bounties or pick every lock" or whatever else, too? Or perhaps the bounty xp was designed for people who didn't want to do "everything" and could gain a couple levels for the end game just doing some of those instead? At any rate, I guess I don't care about reaching max level early, because gaining levels isn't my main motivation to keep playing. That all said...if they wanted to add an optional "less XP" mode or something, nothing wrong with that.

^ Some battles do feel like "gear checks." Because of the toughness of the Ogre bounty quest, I certainly decided I wasn't going to try the (just received) Raedric one quite yet. I still haven't done much of the Paths, working on those as well as some of the regular sidequests.

I need at least 3-4 (if we're talking a longer term basis, not just a one-off) to feel ok and function "all day", but 6 if I'm to function moderately well. As I get older the line starts to extend a little, where I probably function best with 7 or 8 hours but I just get up anyway. If no alarm set, I pretty much "wake up" after 6-7 hours automatically. Meaning I usually get up, because once awake I'm awake. But sometimes I ignore that for whatever reason and will roll over and try to sleep another hour or two. I can't take "naps" (more than a 20 minute eyes-closed rest, I mean) because once I fall asleep, I am asleep and it's at least 2-3 hours before I'll wake. Sleeping only an hour I will feel much worse (the whole rest of the day) than if I didn't nap at all. I think it's something to do with the "stages" of sleep and how I cycle through and/or react to being disturbed while within any of them. Waking during REM (a dream) is fine, Stage 1 and 2 is tolerable, but waking up at Stage 3 is a no-go. Sirens could be going off outside my bedroom window and I would not be aware.

I haven't done the other two yet but the Ogre bounty was definitely tough for me (also at lvl9), because of the troll druid in the back which I didn't see until everyone was otherwise engaged. Wiped. Once I reloaded, ate some chicken, used a couple summons and focused on the druid in back it went a lot better. I didn't do any fancy positioning tactics and none of my guys are high dps either, but I did use some spells I never used before. I think one issue is getting used to using certain attack thingies most of the time, because they've "always worked so far" and then running into a situation where those aren't any good...and then not having enough to time between realizing this isn't working to almost-dead, to save the fight.

I do like the letters you find along the way, like bits of diaries of adventurer's who's luck ran out.

Now watching 3rd Hobbit movie. It's ok so far. Maybe the big battle will be exciting. Edit1 - still hate the CGI orc leader guy. Just don't like total-CGI faces, bits make me think I'm watching a game trailer. Edit2: haha, having a hug and convo in the middle of a busy battlefield. Edit3: Legolas is still totally badass Edit4: Well the last half hour was entertaining enough. The trilogy as a whole is "meh" but the 3rd movie was, for me anyway, the most watchable.

It stopped being funny to me after about the 5th time I had to listen to it. Not that I don't think it's a classic line. And I did like Boo. :D

I don't like FF either. By that I mean, I have no issue with it being in the game per se, but means more micromanagement than I prefer - even without FF the darn collision/pathing AI + engagement system makes me have to babysit party members in tiny movement increments at times, pausing every single second. I don't need more to do, at least not when playing blind and thus not knowing what's coming. I'm fine with just using the Foe-AoE's and CC spells vs. high dps spells. I can get my dps elsewhere. Early on it's limiting but once your guys are higher level the spells available become more varied/versatile to more playstyles (imo) and you can live just fine using non-FF stuff.