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Wait a second -- I thought someone was complaining Paladin can't increase his engagement limit ? If you don't care about damage at all, and this is what tank builders do, what does it matter what kind of weapon it is ?

Do you prefer Ectopsychic Echo, or Antipathetic Field ? They're not the same level, but Echo is fortitude, while Field is reflex. Most of the big and dangerous have lower Reflex than Fortitude.

It seems that we went from "PotD is the correct way to play" to "PotD solo is the correct way to play". I wonder what comes next. By the way, there are plenty of Guarding weapons in the game. There is a rapier, a warhammer, a pollaxe at least. That's no less than 3 weapon groups.

Some weapons are always in the same place, but there are unique weapons which are found in a shop. For example the Mosquito rapier is not always for purchase in Gilded Vale. Sometimes you need to check all the shops if there's something you REALLY want.

Haha, the only thing all scandinavian trolls have in common is they're hairy and have a Big Nose. This is a troll:

I won't be surprised if patch 1.05 comes making Blunderbuss apply Envenomed Strike, cipher's whip etc only once per attack. The way it works now looks like an oversight. Your builds may soon become obsolete.

OP: It's hard to make sense of your numbers unless you know where exactly does each number come from. This weakens your argument. A very sensible suggestion. Less weapons are affected that way, otherwise you'd risk creating new imbalances. re: estoc vs flail Not all encounters are solved with raw damage. In hindsight I should have taken Adventurer on my PC druid, because flails are great for inaccurate characters and shield users. Some things you just can't hit very well. Also, flail is simply better if all you care about is inflicting a status effect - especially that you can opt to wield a flail without a shield, then it becomes REALLY hard to graze. A bigger flaw of this combat system could be DR. This is why estoc is so popular, and fast weapons avoided. At the very least, more monsters should come with 0 DR. I'd start by making all spirits 0 DR.

But weapon groups are quite different. I'm probably going to make a thread about it sooner or later. Peasant (Hatchet, Spear, Hunting Bow, Quarterstaff, unarmed) - fast weak ranged, reaching crushing two-hander, interesting choice of 1-handed weapons) Knight (Sword, Battleaxe, Morning Star, Crossbow) - choice of 1-handed, no reaching weapon, middle ground ranged (actually crossbow DPS is absolutely terrible across DR but shh...). Battleaxe is the more damaging one, sword the more flexible one. Noble (Rapier, Dagger, Scepter, Rod, Mace) - a big choice of "mystical" ranged weapons, big choice of 1-handed, no two-handers, no reaching. The accurate weapon is weak. Ruffian (Club, Stiletto, Sabre, Blunderbuss, Pistol) - huge choice of 1-handed: sabre is the most damaging one, club the most accurate, stiletto the most armor penetrating one. Shooting options are inaccurate but good both against softies and tough targets. No two-hander, no reaching ! Soldier (Pike, Greatsword, Warhammer, Arquebus, Arbalest) - Choice of two-handers, flexible 1-hander, two big ranged weapons. Choose this if you need to compensate for something. Adventurer (Flail, Estoc, Pollaxe, War Bow, Wand) - choice of 2-handers but no reaching, choice of ranged... I still find the choice much more interesting than D&D, where most weapons are either 1d6 or 2d4. And that's all. Consider the accurate weapon of each group: spear, rapier, club, dagger, flail, NONE for knight. Spear has the highest base damage, rapier is fast and piercing, club fast and crushing, dagger fast and slashing. Actually Knight might use a slight buff here, I'd give crossbow +5 accuracy on the grounds that it has the benefit of flat trajectory like arbalest, but is not as cumbersome. I'd focus on balancing each weapon within its group. If you are "one weapon type for the entire game" type of person, I can't help you. Although I would appreciate if more base weapon stats were used for attacks, for example you could factor not just base damage, but the +5 accuracy bonus into some special attacks. Knight has a much better choice of crushing weapons than Ruffian, and that's something! Crushing deals extra damage against many opponents. Knights get to choose from warhammers and morningstar. Ruffians have to do with a club.

I would prefer that designers be honest about it and just called them vampires, wights, ghuls/ghouls, banshee and elementals. They are not different enough to warrant a new name. Speaking of original ideas, do you know that the original ghouls - from Arabian myths - are not exactly undead ? Yes, they have an affinity for graveyards and are sometimes mentioned as dwelling there, but they're demon shapeshifters. They prey on travellers, deceive them and try to eat them. They can speak very well.

It occured to me that perhaps not all weapons in the game must necessarily be equally good. Perhaps they're just meant to be roughly equal, so that players can choose their favorite based on flavor and personal preference. Maybe the absolute goal of the game isn't highest DPS. But many people seem to be playing for DPS highscores. Not saying one of these weapons shouldn't be changed, though. Also, another way to balance things is to... change sabres.

Are you trying this in single weapon mode ? Batlleaxes gain the most from one weapon wield, because their special only triggers on criticals and you want very high accuracy.

What about companions you can push to be really nasty ? How about Pellegrina ? The ambassador orders Pellegrina to reach Twin Elms and broker a new trade deal with Glanfathans. The idea is that Valians can exploit the weakness of Dyrwood, which was traditionally the main trade partner of Glanfathans, and replace them. Because Dyrwood is going down anyway due to Waidwen's Legacy and so on. She objects and thinks this is low, but it seems mostly because she thinks it would be bad for Vailian republics in the long run, and Dyrwood is going to recover. She is not sentimental, and if she feels some empathy for Dyrwood she's hiding it. Anyway, you can tell her: If you don't exploit Dyrwood, someone else will. (I don't remember the exact wording) No one ever got in trouble for following orders. These have been used thorough history to justify major war crimes and other atrocities. You can push Pellegrina to become a monster.

More seriously.... Fampyrs - Vampires Wichts - Wights Eotuns - Ettins Guls - ghouls Caen Gwhla (or something) - banshee xaurips - almost goblins (Skuldr look more similar, but don't appear in swarms) blights - elementals Lazy world building. You may as well admit you're just ripping off with a few monsters. Eotuns are mentioned in a description of a magic belt.

Not all situations allow for a compromise. What's wrong with that ? And the dragon has already destroyed a temple and killed many people. It would be predictable and boring if every single quest had a peaceful solution. The Sky Dragon is one of those quests which punishes you for being soft-hearted or cowardly. If you kill it, you get two Sky Dragon Eyes, which can enchant two weapons to Superb level. You also get to loot a nice warhammer. The dragon just felt like it can whatever it wanted, because it's powerful. She's an arrogant bitch. Some people are too dumb to reason with. . Ah, mature dragons. Then the dragon was immature. Also, what if the hatchlings inherit the mother's nasty personality ? Hmm ?

The game isn't very nice for the greedy or soft-hearted. I can think of one instance where you don't get anything for killing a person. Actually, I think the rule of thumb is: whichever takes more effort, yields the higher reward in Pillars of Eternity. If you can kill someone straight away or do a quest for him, (The ogre in Endless Paths) more reward. If you can talk someone out of something, or kill him, killing may give you more. (Sky Dragon).

This wouldn't be a problem if the boosts to other party members were strong enough. There are plenty of classes which buff themselves, there are classes which buff themselves and others, there is no class that buffs mostly others. --------- A bit more Lay on Hands could be nice. I don't think there's a danger this ability will be spammed, because it's single target and limited by Recovery. But then it would completely outclass the Flames. Many class abilities are balanced within a class by making one of them having more uses per encounter. Rogue has one Blinding Strike or two Crippling Strikes, which merely hobble, and target a more common resistance (Fortitude). I mean a buff to Lay on Hands requires a buff to Flames of Devotion. Sworn Enemy is kinda nice. 3/rest, 1/encounter, I'm not opposed to either. It's actually a powerful buff, increasing not just damage (Marked Prey) but also Accuracy. Keep in mind 1/encounter would be actually a downgrade in some ways. You can use Sworn Enemy 3 times in a single encounter ! If there's a fight with 3 bosses, you can tag all 3 with Sworn Enemy. Similarly, Ranger has a powerful debuff Binding Roots, which can be used 5 times in a single encounter. "Stuck" is -20 Reflex, -20 Deflection, -5 Accuracy, vulnerable to Sneak Attack. Roots last 30 seconds. Liberating Exhortation - I'm more bothered that there are so many effect it doesn't work on. Resistance against Charm, Confusion etc is a specialty of Goldpact Paladins so they would need to get something else. Anyway, my point is that make it AoE and all you accomplish is replicating a Priest spell. However, make it clear Charmed, Confused, Dominated and you get a WOW ability. Something people would bring up as a reason to have a Paladin in party! Reviving Exhortation should work as you say if it followed its own description! It's supposed to drain half of restored Endurance, not half of 300.

For one, it requires people to read. http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/77723-how-do-you-guys-bring-yourself-to-read/ It's a game for well-read people, or at least people who like to read. Do you want to make a point that well-read people are less intelligent than fans of action movies ? That Pillars of Eternity would be better with cutscenes instead of scripted interactions and books ? That a mature game is a game with gore and sex, gore and sex like Dragon Age 2 ?

ad. 2) because that's how special attacks work in this game. If you think paladins need special treatment in this regard, try to think why. I've been thinking about Paladin and it occured to me that many other classes get something interesting and more active even on level 1. In addition to an activated ability choice: priest: Brilliance druid: Spiritshift wizard: Arcane Assault monk: --- ranger: animal companion fighter: endurance regeneration barbarian: carnage cipher: --- rogue: --- chanter: --- Monk: see Rogue. Cipher: see Rogue. Technically, paladin does get something on level1, but it's passive and basically assures that nothing happens. Fighter's ability is similar, but it sounds interesting by comparison, and it's nice to see the endurance bar fill up. Rogue gets no additional ability, but almost all their abilities are activated and do something. Chanter is frequently accused of being passive, but he gets an aura-like ability every two levels and a powerful active abilty every two levels. Also, he has many abilities to choose from: 14 Phrases (!!!), 19 Invocations (!!!!). Only two abilities count as talents (ancient memory and beloved spirits - both regenereate endurance of allies). All others are a bonus. Also, on level1 Chanter gainst THREE abilities: two phrases and one invocation. That may be a reason why some consider Paladin boring. Many of his abilities are passive, and those that aren't generally prevent stuff from happening. They just let everyone keep using auto attacks. Faith&Conviction: reduces chance that Paladin will be affected by a special effect. Flames of Devotion: an attack with some extra damage Lay on Hands: an ally can keep fighting Auras: they are fine, but you'll be hard pressed to afford more than one. Inspiring Triumph: when Paladin kills an opponent, his allies get a reduced chance to be influenced by special effects Liberating Exhortation: removes some special effects from an ally Deprive the Unworthy: removes special effects from an enemy Sworn Enemy: the Paladin is encouraged to do nothing but auto attack for something like 10-20 seconds Reviving Exhortation: Lay on Hands mk. II. An ally can keep fighting and using auto attack. Reinforcing Exhortation: an ally can keep doing whatever he's doing. Lay on Hands mk. III Coordinated Attacks: Paladin and an ally are encouraged to make auto attacks. Hastening Exhortation: An ally is encouraged to perform auto attacks. Moral of the story: if you don't want anything special to happen in combat, Paladin is for you.

It sounds like you want less situational humor and more one-liners and funny gags. Eder is the resident clown of the party. Sagani has funny comments. Aloth is funny sometimes. Durance is a caricature. Hiravius is funny in a gross way, I love his battle cries. Kana has a strange concept of stealth. Fulvano is a joke. Many item descriptions are humorous, for example Jenna's Lance, Mosquito. There are puns like Edge of Reason. Names of Chanter phrases and invocations crack me up.

So basically pacifism is making others do the killing ? So Stalin was one of the best pacifists!

As well as bad for companies in general. There are a reason why things like NDA and copyright law exist. There's a reason why newbie writers can't just pitch a Batman story to a DC Exec at a personal lunch. The wise man never heard of Linux, which powers at least half of the internet, or Android. He never heard about Firefox, VLC, or OpenOffice. That's because he's not a wise man at all. And yet millions of people are writing fiction containing cyclops, hydra, chimera, gorgons, harpies, minotaurs, sirens, satyrs, manticores, centaurs(Greek), ghosts(everywhere), dragons, goblins, vampires, dwarves, elves (Tolkien) werewolves(Slavic), trolls(Nordic), golems(Jewish), Angels(Jewish), witches... This is possible because of NO copyright on those. On the other hand, people still can't use hobbits in their fiction because Tolkien estate is strict about that. That's why we have halflings. Open-sourcing a game can also lead to ridiculous fragmentation. Very few DooM source ports can actually play the demonstration demos we all know from the main menu. Heroes of Might and Magic III has tons of settings for WOG mod, and they're all incompatible. At the end of day they probably can't open source this game because it has too many proprietary parts.

In my first party, where Itumaak had 1.00 stats(all stats at 10), saw the fox suffer greatly from Confusion, Charm, Domination. The fox was usually the first to be targeted and to fall. That was with Sagani's "Faithful Companion" talent, which gives +15 to those saving throws. Now in 1.03+, all companions except Boar and Wolf have an even lower average of Intelligence and Resolve. They are even easier to charm. This makes me think that perhaps Faithful Companion should be changed. Maybe +30 to saving throws, maybe halved duration, or completely immune to one charm per encounter. Animal Companion damage stats on Ranger 'Character' page would be grreat !

I think all fantasy and sci-fi games are going to lose anyway. Skyrim has just been overtaken by GTA, hasn't it ? Counterstrike won against Quake, Call of Duty won against Counterstrike. Fantasy/futuristic setting and fictional game worlds need a minimum of imagination, and this is rarer than you think.

Let me explain: restoring some health lets you adventure for a bit longer before resting. I use this ability all the time, so it's not completely useless. But the benefit is very limited, and not a very good use of talent slot. Rumor has it Field Triage and Wound Binding was backers' idea, and added against designers' wishes.

Version: 1.03, but I don't see it in patch notes. I don't feel like downloading several GB from GOG at the moment just to test this. The description of Ranger's Wounding Shot ability says the shot is defended with Deflection, while the Hobbled effect - with Deflection as well. Examining combat logs I see that the Hobbled part is actually a roll against Fortitude.