VahnXIII

More variety is great, but I'd also like the music to fit the setting. For the Deadfire Archipelago, how about having music that captures the essence of adventuring on the open sea and exploring islands? Pillars of the Caribbean anyone?

Forgot to add --- I'd like to see..err...hear more ambiance sounds. For example, while walking around the village of Gilded Vale, you don't hear any village chatter or random NPC sounds (like they had in Baldur's Gate). It's simply music and the sound of your party's footsteps. I can SEE that I'm in a village but I would like Hear that I'm in a village as well.

I wouldn't mind a sheathe / unsheathe button. Worked just fine in Divinity Original Sin...

I thought the camping system was done well for the most part. You're a group of adventurers out on the road or in a dungeon. It makes sense to bring camping supplies and rest when appropriate. I do miss the "You've been waylaid by enemies and must defend yourself" from the BG series. It made sense that as your party is snoozing away, a group of hobgoblins or whatever resident baddies may attack. (thinks back to having a desperate party with no potions then being ambushed by wolves).

All the wonderful backers helped ensure most of my "want" list will be implemented into the game (go us)! However, there are always a couple of things I can add: Meaningful, explorable areas - most areas in POE1 were empty once you killed the wildlife. I'd like to see more areas packed with content and quests. Cities stuffed to the brim with content - think Athkatla and Baludurs Gate. Defiance Bay was a skeleton in comparison. Bigger variety of animations - especially those used for combat. Much larger pool of recruitable companions - perhaps companions that are more "evil" in nature. I always liked how the BG series had a wealth of companions to choose from based on what alignment you were.

PC (in no particular order) Morrowind Pillars BG2 SOA JRPG Rogue Galaxy Xenogears Final Fantasy 12

Nice work to those above! I'm also concerned about custom portraits. They've been critical in my play throughs of these types of games as the default portraits available simply don't capture the characters I create. PoE2 could create a market for artistically skilled editors if PoE2 uses portraits far different than those used in previous isometric cRPG titles. I know I'd pay a buck or two if someone took my custom portrait and edited it to fit the art style of the game.

One of the things I didn't like all that much about BG2 was that there weren't many wilderness areas. It was really interesting to wander through some of these in BG1, and you met quite a few people there too, with quests and other stuff going on. PoE had a good balance here tbh, though there could have been more quests in the 'wilderness' areas, at least for my taste. It would have given us some more options for taking a break from Defiance Bay to go elsewhere for a little while. I felt the pacing in the early part of the game was better, and it got a bit overwhelming or messy once in Defiance Bay. I was really excited when getting there the first time, imagining maybe it would be like getting to Baldur's Gate. Although BG city could be pretty overwhelming and confusing too (with a million buildings), Defiance Bay simply didn't work as well. A minor point maybe, but for such a big-ish city, it's odd that it's only possible to recruit one companion there. Most of the districts don't have all that much going on either, mostly just a few buildings with liberal littering of backer NPCs. Perhaps we shouldn't look back to BG so much, but it's such an easy thing to do since those games worked so marvellously well. Also, cake is awesome! I too was a little disappointed in Defiance Bay. The intro mentioned the streets were packed with refugees and nervous guards while the dozens were busy riling up the populous. I thought for sure I was going to see just that....nope. You get some merchants, a plethora of static "backer NPC's" and maybe 1-2 random NPC's walking about. That's it. Even the inns seem desolate. It was quite the letdown. Athkatla was done much better -- hell Baldur's Gate was done much better. Hopefully POE2 will do a better job of creating a true bustling city. Please note this is me nitpicking as I absolutely love the game. I just tend to get upset when I see potential that wasn't capitalized on.

Welcome to the club! I personally use a dual sabre build and focus on dex/int/per. I typically play him like a rogue. Buff - go in and dish damage - cast mental binding - resume slashing - then whatever sounds fun. This is probably one of my favorite classes in an RPG. It allows me to RP as a swashbuckling, spell slinging Sherlock Holmes. Brilliant.

I agree with everything except this. While I have no experience with how this was in BG (shame on me), for me wilderness areas are those places between interesting places, where anything that moves wants to kill you for reasons and you are sent to to compplete sidequests you are given in more interesting areas. I think a game with more centralized locations focusing on a single solid city and the lands around it would make for a better paced narrative than the arbitrary travelling going on between the Acts in PoE. I guess I want to have my cake and eat it too. BG2 did wonderful with Athkatla and the surrounding wilderness areas whereas BG1 had sprawling wilderness between each important location. Though I did like the area with the Ankhegs, the Friendly Arm Inn, Beregost, Gilikin, Nashkel, and of course the city of BG itself. I thought the areas were well done and provided content instead of areas that were simply populated with enemies. POE could have done better in that area I think.

Excellent read and I 100% agree with Jeff -- especially for the RPG genre. Once you've mastered an engine, don't change! Just make fantastic games with engaging stories and RP elements! It seems Obsidian is following that strategy with the Unity engine for Tyranny and POE2. Good for them. Larian is doing the same thing with their engine as well for D:OS 2. It's good to be an iso RPG gamer these days.

I admit to not reading every post in this thread, but I'll add my list anyways: 1. Deep NPC's and more of them -- have them react to the PC's choices, even if that means leaving the party. 2. More immersive city or cities -- Athkatla esque. Defiance Bay seemed painfully empty and lacking content outside of the docks district. 3. Larger wilderness maps to explore with more content -- even BG1 had this. I remember running into random bounty hunters, random quests (like a little dog turning out to be a menacing demon was awesome), more "secret areas" that become available if your skill is high enough to spot them. 4. More "choose your own adventure" story times -- not sure what they're called but I like them and find them immersive. 5. Stronghold options -- much like BG2 with the castle, planar sphere, guild hall in the city, etc. 6. Improved ambient sounds -- the tavern sound bit is short and on loop so we hear the same rowdy laugh every 30 secs or so (you know the one I'm talking about). Overall quality could be improved. 7. Weather -- not just by region. 8. No backer NPC's please. 9. Increase overall depth -- POE is phenomenal and now that the Unity Engine is solidified as the platform to use, please please please focus on rich, engaging content and overall depth of the game. As POE = the "spiritual successor" of BG1, let PO2 = the "spiritual successor" of BG2. I dare you. Thanks for the wonderful work Obsidian.

Read everything. Build an understanding of what each stat/skill/attribute/etc. does. You'd be surprised. For example -- did you notice might is not only a good attribute for warriors, but for spell casters as well? Read and think.

To be honest, I like the options approach BG2 had. For POE: If I'm a fighter type, I get a keep/fort populated with soldiers of all shapes and sizes (plus benefits, etc.). If I'm a caster type, I get an arcane school of sorts populated with arcane practitioners of all shapes and sizes (plus benefits, etc.). If I'm a sneaky type, I get an underground hideout completed with tunnels and secret doors, populated with sneaky types of all shapes and sizes (plus benefits, etc.). If Obsidian scaled down the whole keep concept and really focused on creating rich, engaging content, we could have these options based on the type of character created. They may not be as large as a Caed Nua, but they would be engaging and add an appropriate amount of flavor without stealing the show.

1. Yes. I also try to use items that are +Might and +Dexterity for more power and action speed. 2. Focus on mechanics / stealth with a few points sprinkled in athletics and survival. Mainly mechanics and stealth though. 3. Myself, Aloth, Eder, Durance, Kana and Sagani. Eder and Kana tank and Sagani's fox (Itumaak) is a DPS/offtank. Aloth, Durance cast spells/heal while Sagani does her ranger thing. My PC casts spells then dives into the fray. If things are bad, I switch to my ranged weapon. Usually a single shot and an amplified thrust get my focus back up. 4. Right now, you can use Amplified Thrust to generate focus. It is a level 2 Cipher spell that requires 20 focus to use. The cipher will basically cast an energy ray of some sort at your companion. It then bounces off of your companion and hits a nearby enemy. The damage is huge and it also generates focus. There are many times you can simply spam this one spell until there are no more enemies left. However, this isn't fun and it doesn't help other companions that may be in trouble, so I'll typically open with amplified thrust, cast CC spells if needed and return to killing things however I want. I also recommend using sabres. Stilletos are another good option. The reason I like sabres is due to the raw damage and crit damage they can put out. Ciphers not only generate focus based on how many hits you get in, but also on the magnitude of the damage done. Sabres do a lot of damage especially when enchanted with secondary damage types. Couple this with Ruffian weapon specialization, two weapon fighting and vulnerable attack and you have a heavy hitter that will hit often. End result is excellent focus replenishment with a couple swings of your blades. After a couple of swings, I dive right back in to my arsenal of spells. Cipher doesn't have to be your mechanics-focused character. I sacrificed lore for mechanics/stealth mainly for RP reasons. My PC is a traveling cipher that works as an item-finder or detective for hire. Of course this calls for a good level of subterfuge and the ability to get into places you're not supposed to. The blades/spells are mainly for when he runs into trouble....which tends to happen more often than not... Anyways, hopes this helps a bit. I'm by no means a Boeroer or other master of Pillars.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=416939844 Prince of Persia Blue Edition Build.

Circling back. Using a build similar to Wolken's above, and I can say this build is extremely viable. Currently using sabres and a pistol/blunderbuss backup weapon set. Padded armor has been working just fine - fast action speed and take a hit or two. As Boeroer suggested, I play this build a little more rogue-like than anything else. By no means am I rushing to the front lines. It's important to be constantly aware of how you're positioned in relation to your companions as you use them for many spells. For encounters, I typically start with amplified thrust (after starting with 20 focus). This generates focus (probably a bug still). At that point I'll either cast a mass CC spell if companions are in trouble or find creative ways to kill targets. Once I'm low on focus, I'll take two swings with my blades and start the process over. Of course if things are looking hairy on the front line, I'll switch over to my firearm to get a spike in focus gain. This build has been a ton of fun so far. Weaving in and out of the fray casting spells, using crowd control, buffing and swashbuckling has been a blast. Exactly what I was looking for in a PC build. Cheers!

2/22/2016 - I noticed my Cipher is generating focus with Amplified Thrust. It was great as it got me out of a hairy situation, but now it seems like an abuse when using it. Is this working as intended? I see this was reported back in October 2015.

Oh and for RP purposes, I went with human, deadfire, drifter. Played as an opportunist with plenty of run ins with pirates. After a particular fiasco, it was time to skip town and travel to a place with no connections...The Dyrwood of course.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=416939844 Rogue - Prince of Persia Blue Edition This is a great build to get started with. Things die very fast. Served me well until I decided to reroll Cipher for 3.0 + WM expansions.

Haha, it is definitely something I'll be trying out. Not sure why I'm obsessed with the dual-wielding idea. Guess it's always something I liked since I started gaming many years ago. This type of build reminds me of my DW Fighter/Mage from the Baldur's Gate series. It was a ton of fun to play. From an RP perspective, I'm attempting to build a swashbuckling Sherlock Holmes type of character. Cipher/Investigator for hire that tends to get into troublesome situations. Both spells and blades come in handy at those moments. I'll be giving this a try and will keep this thread updated with my findings. Let's keep it going! Thank you,

Thank you very much for this! I was thinking along the same lines but just wasn't sure. Now that I think of it, it makes sense to open with a gun shot - cast a buff or disabling spell - switch to melee and go to town. That is of course if I'm not trying to stealth in and open with a charm spell to get things going. Well, I am a serial re-roller, so I can't comment on good uniques or the subtleties of high level skills. On armor, I generaly go for something a bit heavier than padded. Hide armor is what I generaly feel confortable with, for a melee char. And since dual-wielding has a naturaly shorter recovery period, armor penalty is not felt as heavily. For weapons, I generaly either use pike+arquebus or sabres+pistol, depending on my party. I generaly use guns as openers instead if a backup proper, but if you want to have slightly greater flexibility, I would suggest sabres and pistol, because the other two weapons require either penetrating shot or vulnerable attack. With a free talent slot, you can grab Gunner so you are less gimped if you are forced into ranged. I thought Reaping Knifes summoned a weapon for an ally. So unless you wish to have a multi-cipher madness (which sounds awesome), it would be something to allow youbto cast without stoping to attack, which would be more useful for a Cipher focused on dealing damage with spells, although with high DEX, INT and PER, less than awesome MIG doens't matter that much if a barbarian is giving you infinite focus to spam to your heart's desire. I didn't realize you could only give allies the Reaping Knives. That kind of stinks. Wizards get 3 types of summon weapons (2 staves and 1 wand I believe). Kind of takes a way from my vision of my character. At least the Defensive Mindweb should apply though I'm not sure at what level that power will be available. Either way, I appreciate the input! Please keep it coming for myself as well as other players looking into dual-wielding Cipher builds for 3.0. Cheers!

Good to hear that at least someone is playing this type of build. To expand on this, could you elaborate on how you built your stats, which weapons/armor you focused on and also your play style? It may be premature, but I'm looking at building a cipher that dual wields stilletos or sabers with a blunderbuss/pistol as a ranged backup. To have quick casting/attack speed I would wear padded armor. For playstyle, I would focus on casting mental binding then hacking away with the dual blades. Later, I would love to cast Defensive Mindweb + Reaping Knives and go to town. Not sure how that would play out. Stealth is also something that would be important for this build. Nothing like casting a charm spell out of stealth to get fights going in the right direction. Thank you in advance for your input!

Am I crazy or would Defensive Mindweb + Reaping Knives = amazing melee Cipher build whilst fighting near your tank/paladin?

Hello everyone, At release, it was viable to have a Cipher dual wielding stilletos or sabres. In fact, if you look at the Zealot Fenix build in http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=416939844 , it shows a build I had in mind. However, 3.0 is now released and there have been many changes across the board. Has anyone created a viable dual-wielding build for the Cipher class? If so, can you please share? Thank you in advance!