Purudaya

I'd say it's more about perspective than arguments. Certainly, you focus on rather different things than I am inclined to do in this regard. I can't speak for anyone else of course (but it seems reasonable to assume that this indeed just varies from person to person), but for me the sense of personality I get from a character is much more important than being able to somehow influence their decisions etc. And a lot of that I get from smaller things like interjections and reactions in dialogue, the brief pop-up conversations between companions, etc. That to me adds depth. The ability to steer their path in some major way is a distant second. It can certainly be a good addition as well, if done organically, but it's hardly crucial. Moreover, having that would only add anything to the extent that I am indeed invested in a character to some degree. Taking Keldorn for example, indeed there was assorted conflict and decisions there. I just never cared much about it, because I had no particular investment in the character. He never felt like much more than a collection of fantasy paladin tropes to me. And more generally I'd say, I don't see a need for all major characters to go through some major character arc or development over the course of the story. Again, if it fits well, then it can be great. But it's hardly necessary to tell a good story or to have a good character as far as I'm concerned. Often, getting to know the character over the course of a story is plenty, there is no particular need for that character to undergo some kind of major change as well. I agree that it's definitely a matter of perspective re: what players are looking for in terms of character development. In terms of influencing character's paths, I don't see it as necessary and it's not at the very top of my list, but reactivity is - I tend to prefer characters who remember my input and are *impacted* by it, if not necessarily "changed." Mask of the betrayer did an excellent job of this and it didn't even have a complex disposition system iirc. I can distinctly remember Kaelin the Dove, Gann, and Safiya's character traits because those traits came into play as I made decisions that impacted both them and the world in ways that they felt strongly about (do any of your companions even care how you choose to influence Eothas at Ukaizo?). I don't remember changing any of MoTB's characters in any core way, but the many conversations I had with them also made me feel like I played an important role in their development throughout the story. PoE2 simply doesn't have this - there are hints of character complexity and a lot of potential for exploration, but your ability to interact with your companions is just too limited to really get to the meat of any of it. I remember having multi-line dialogue paths talking to Safiya about her complex relationship with her mother; Aloth, meanwhile, has an abusive father that I can only ask to be reminded of. Granted, I get a feeling that a lot of newer players just aren't that into exploring multiple dialogues with NPCs, but that could just be me being a curmudgeon. I still think Deadfire is probably the best CRPG that I've played since BG2, but it's not because of the character work - if Obsidian would devote as much time to character reactivity and interaction in PoE3 as they have to their excellent world-building in PoE1-2, it might be able to pull off the best CRPG of all time. From my perspective

I keep hearing that BG2 characters are 1 dimensional whereas PoE characters are deep and complex, but haven't really seen a lot of good arguments to justify that. In PoE2, you can have *maybe* 2-3 dialogues with each of your companions outside of their main quests. In Bg2 you have about 30 with characters you're romancing and about 5-10 with certain characters (like Imoen and Sarevok) that you're not. You can turn them against one another, determine the direction of classes for some, and even change the disposition and ideological outlook of others (Sarevok, Viconia). There are some that exist as comic relief/to fulfill tropes (Edwin, Minsc, Korgan), sure, but others have complex backstories or inner conflicts (Keldorn) that require player sacrifices and decisions. With the exception of Eder, there is very little of this in the PoE series, especially PoE2 (which I happen to think is possibly the best CRPG since BG2 regardless). At least PoE allowed you to help each companion come to a crucial decision point in their character arc; Deadfire can't seem to figure out much for them to do outside of their side quests. You can't influence the actions or behavior of a single one iirc, especially faction characters like Maia and Pallegina who end the game with the exact same dispositions and alliances that they started with. I was *positive* that I would be able to convince Maia to reject the RDC at some point along her personal quest given her own self-doubts, for example, but no - nothing. Same with Pallegina and Takehu - only Serafen seems the slight bit flexible re: the Principi, and even then mainly through his silence. The exploration of mature themes =/= depth. And while the added interjections and inter-companion conflicts are nice, they're not enough to add meaningful growth to characters who otherwise don't have much to say and are basically immune to your influence. I'm not saying that BG2 characters are examples of brilliant writing (baby inventory item, master wraith scenes), but the idea that Deadfire is somehow better in terms of character depth ignores a lot of what made BG2 iconic. Aside from PoE1 Eder and Grieving Mother, I just don't see it.

Have you tried running the game in compatibility mode? Also, try disconnecting/disabling any external/secondary monitors, that sometimes helps when a game is clearly running but can't open to full screen.

I'm pretty sure it's meant to be illusion - while other walls like fire and force have a physical presence, spells that manipulate light and color are typically under the illusion school (e.g. Arkemyr's dazzling lights). That said, the fact that the wall applies elemental effects gives it a physical component and complicates things - for an illusion spell, it should probably generate random illusion effects like charm or confusion rather than (or in addition to) physical damage. The whole specialist mage thing is pretty badly implemented, imo - too much cost for too little gain. I would be surprised if there aren't other questionable/debatable keywords on the spell list.

I am not running windows. I use a Mac. I may be confused here, but if you say you've got the PC version of PoE 2, how is it you're not running Windows? That was the purpose of my first question, whether you're running Windows from Boot Camp or not. If you're actually running the Mac version of PoE 2, then we're back to my original advice: since you're trying to run this on the bare minimum specs for Mac, that's probably why it's not running right. Remember that running the PC version of this game on its bare minimum requirements is causing all sorts of problems ranging from... well, let's just say they're similar to your problems. One last question: you also claimed that you've got a "NEW IMAC, NEW NEW NEW", but your own specs screenshot indicates the unit was made in 2013. Uh, that's not new... Hm, you know that is a good question. I bought this Mac 4 months ago. New according to amazon. I had no idea. You can tell how computer savvy I am. My reasoning is that if you've developed a game meeting those minimum requirements should be enough to actually be able to play the game. Thank you for pointing that Mac error out I'm not a happy camper right now. I am using the Mac version, not the windows version. Also, if the developer is going to sell a game at this price and claim the minimum requirements for that game are enough, but the game doesn't run, then give me my money back. I want to play this game. It's the PRINCIPLE of it. It doesn't work. Just give me my 60$. That 60$ refund isn't going to hurt Obsidian. Seriously. To be honest, I would see about returning the Mac if it's still possible (I think Amazon gives you up to 3 months for certain hardware? I know I once returned something around 4 months after purchase and all it took was a chat with one of their reps). Apple got some flak recently for not having updated its iMac line in years and continuing to sell machines with outdated specs as "new". You could have a high end gaming rig for that kind of money. As for Deadfire, I would contact Obsdian technical support directly as Gfted1 said. If the game doesn't run, I'm sure someone will make it right if you get into contact with a real person.

Yes, using the console will disable achievements. Instead, you can download the unity console mod from the Deadfire Nexus and add your lost abilities through the in-game overlay: https://www.nexusmods.com/pillarsofeternity2/mods/2 It hasn't yet been patched for 1.2, so you'll need the hotfix here as well: https://www.nexusmods.com/pillarsofeternity2/mods/138 It's more user friendly than the in-game console and doesn't disable achievements or alter anything else that you don't want it to.

Necroing this thread after a forum search - does anyone know if dual wielding daggers with the parrying blade modal now stacks after patches 1.1/1.2? Seems like a poorly balanced option for a lot of dagger rogue builds if both daggers get -25% damage but only one provides the +10 deflection.

Honestly they should just make all 2H weapons attack in a narrow cone AoE with the radius and range dependent on the quality/unique features of the weapon. The ability to apply something like crippling strike to two enemies in melee (and only when positioned correctly) competes with the two chances to apply it to a single enemy offered by two weapon style. That just leaves 1 handed, which you might be able to address by significantly pumping crit damage in addition to chance, or maybe adding a raw damage bonus. If it's not able to compete with other styles in applying effects/damage bonuses from abilities, then it should at least have the potential to outdo them in unmodified attack damage. Then it's just a matter of bumping HP/level for everyone to compensate for the deadlier mechanics. It might not be perfect, but it would be a lot better than what we have right now.

Same. Players shouldn't have to resort to using the console due to a 1.0 bug that's still somehow present in 1.2. Would be really nice if they could get this fixed by the time 2.0 drops.

Confirmed that untargetable enemies are back in 1.2. Triggers for me repeatedly when trying to attack Captain Furrante @ Balefire Beacon - they no longer attack like they did in 1.0, but they stand there invincible and prevent both combat and quest resolutions.

Never thought Xoti made much sense as a monk (narratively). A fighter or especially a paladin multi would've been so much more interesting.

Not necessarily - multiplayer games have been selling better for a while now and even AAA single player games are still being made (just look at the Witcher 3). It's all about what the core audience wants from a given IP. Sidenote: people really need to stop comparing sales from Deadfire to PoE1 or the Divinity series (double sidenote: if Divinity is the direction CRPGs are headed, the genre is well and truly ****ed). All that matters is Obsidian's internal targets and projections - direct narrative sequels generally see diminished returns and the devs likely anticipated that Deadfire would not be able to replicate the conditions surrounding PoE1 (the first major isometric CRPG produced in over a decade). PoE's sales numbers supposedly surprised Obsidian, so if their aim was to sell ~500k this time around they'll probably be fine by the end of the year if not already from GoG sales. My understanding is that PoE3 is pretty much a lock. Besides, there's nothing like remastering and repackaging a trilogy to squeeze some extra juice out of an IP.

Cipher/Helwalker is a blast now: might buffs mean more damage/focus while swift flurry + duality gives pumped casting speed and ability duration, so you can basically spam the battlefield with stun lock and charm within the first 15 seconds of a fight. At level 16 each use of dual wield+stunning surge (which refunds resources) will typically give you enough focus for disintegration, so you can replace stun/charm with constantly having 3-4 enemies melting at any given time. Easily as good as a monk/streetfighter, monk/trickster, rogue/devoted. Problem is, cipher is mainly useful as part of a multi build - take away the casting/duration bonuses and it still doesn't really hold up as a single class (not a problem unique to the cipher by any means, but still disappointing.) Not sure if they can ever balance this class to be effective as a single without then being OP as a multi at this point.

There have been a few people starting threads here insisting that the game is a bomb because of steam rankings. My understanding is that those are no longer very reliable after steam changed how it tracks sales or somesuch. It had a successful crowdsourcing campaign. But even if it did sell less than PoE1 (sequels tend to see diminishing returns), all that matters is that sales met or exceeded Obsidian's *internal* targets and projections. Long story short, nobody knows — but there certainly haven't been any hints from Obsidian that the game was a financial disappointment the way there were with, say, Tyranny (not that that necessarily tells us much). Also keep in mind that Tyranny being a financial failure didn't stop it from getting its DLC, and that game bombed hard. So yes, I'm sure all of the planned DLC will be produced (for a lot of reasons beyond sales profit). As for the length, I think one of the devs recently compared them to the Fallout: New Vegas DLCs in terms of content.

Neither do a ranger and a pet if we're going by classic CRPG/D&D standards (eh, there was the beastmaster subclass, but pet+ranged was hardly class-defining). Paladins have been able to alternate between off-tanking and solid DPS since PoE1. I would have thought that currently in terms of DPS in Deadfire: 1. Rogue. 2. Monk 3. Wizard 4.Druid 5. Barbarian 6. Cipher 7. Ranger 8. Priest 9 . Paladin I putting priest above paladin becasue they get holy fire, shining beacon You forgot fighter and I think Paladins gain most of their damage potential from multiclass (Although I guess that doesnt count) and dual wield (full attack FoD + extra if you’re bleak walker + shared flames gives party and self dmg) That's the subclass configuration I tested. One-handed or two-handed styles benefit significantly less from FoD and so traditional Greatsword/sword-and-board paladins probably do have some trouble in the DPS department. But I would argue that that's true of most one-handed/two-handed builds vs two-weapon, which is more a problem of poor game mechanics re: full attack than of paladins specifically.

Neither do a ranger and a pet if we're going by classic CRPG/D&D standards (eh, there was the beastmaster subclass, but pet+ranged was hardly class-defining). Paladins have been able to alternate between off-tanking and solid DPS since PoE1.

I dunno, being able to drink at the same bar where you ordered the drink seems pretty fundamental. What you mentioned can at least be justified in the name of balance. This is just wonky design.

you think ? Yeah trickster beserker looks like being a sick build now 1 Guile for Replusive Visage... what do u think Yeah no need to do a spelblade anymore I've actually tested a trickster monk against both a spellblade and a sage and the trickster now outperforms both with this ability alone due to spammability and faster casting/recovery time. A trickster shouldn't be able to cast a spell better than a wizard; or if s/he is, it should at least cost 2 guile.

Paladins are great damage dealers (sworn enemy + flames) and are still the only class than can reliably regenerate its resource throughout combat (and yes, gaining zeal on every single kill was ridiculous and needed to be nerfed). The auras are solid and also apply to the Paladin, so s/he can switch between passive self-buffs modally without any zeal cost. I'd say once sacred immolation is fixed they'll be about equally matched to a fighter, they just serve a different role. As for nerfs more broadly, they were badly needed as multiple abilities were single-handedly making other classes irrelevant. Did you ever try using charge/flagellant's path through a crowd of enemies with mob stance/swift flurry (or BOTH) enabled? It was basically just an instant fountain of gore. I don't like some of the nerfs (backstab) and think others could still use slight tuning (persistent distraction, stunning surge, maybe the resource cost of enduring dance), but to say that that's all the devs are doing is objectively wrong: several classes just got a much-needed round of buffs, and this probably won't be the last round of balancing in either direction. And even if you or I don't agree with some of the individual changes, the game as a whole is moving in a better direction for them - unless...does anyone actually think 1.0 was a more balanced and well-rounded experience than 1.2? I'm having way more fun strategizing with the new trickster and cipher multis than I ever did wiping the entire board with a fighter/monk or proccing infinite zeal as a paladin/streetfighter. It's not about being "selfish" and killing your fun, it's about wanting a game where all classes are equally viable. It's not there yet (by a long shot), but it's a heck of a lot closer than it was at release.

edit: double post

Yeah, that makes sense (I always assumed that the inn resting bonus came from a combination of food, drink, rest, entertainment, etc.), but the mechanics are still kind of silly. You can walk up to the bar and buy a drink, but you can't drink it. At the bar. I understand having the need to feed/water your crew, but making all alcohol no longer an at-will consumable was a big mistake, imo. I've seen multiple players say that they find it immersion-breaking that they can't just have a drink in a tavern, and rightly so.

I agree with some of OP's points, but the idea that Neketaka was somehow lacking makes me feel like we must have been playing different games. I haven't enjoyed a hub city this much since BG2's Athkatla, and that's saying a lot - there was so much to do that I think I spent like 6 consecutive levels there before finally heading back out to sea. Totally agree about the romances, though; those were totally botched - I'd rather have a heavy-handed Bioware romance than a relationship written by people who seemed to absolutely hate writing it. I think I remember Sawyer or other devs saying at some point that they'd never seen cprg romances done well, and the alternative was apparently to give us...this. I don't mind playing a game without romances, but I really miss crpgs where you could have multiple (10+) unique conversations with your party members as their character arcs developed throughout the game. In deadfire they don't offer much outside of their personal quests - might be less than in PoE1, even.

The one ability that really needs nerfed is persistent distraction. Because it automatically causes two afflictions, you automatically proc deathblows from the point you get it onward. There's no need to set up afflictions the way you had to in PoE1 because all the ones you need are applied passively, which kills the main strategic element of the class.

Scripted encounters where the main character finds him/herself surrounded have been a feature of every CRPG ever made.

Yeah, 3 charges is a little low; 5-8 seems more reasonable. Most of the summons don't do much more than act as engagement soaks so it's not like they're overly powerful outside of standard encounters. Also, does this apply on all difficulties? I thought I remembered reading somewhere that charges are only added on PotD...