knownastherat

Nice finds but can't enjoy bugs.

I do not think triggered traps inflict injuries on enemies, at least I have not found a trap that does.

So in NWN1 they were just junk to sell? I would not mind it really IF there was not a mechanic in place pretending they are something else. Remove the option to set traps and nothing will change. I guess what is funny and whatnot is subjective.

I find your arguments reasonable, yes.

"Reasonable objectivity" is an interesting concept While I have some ideas what is meant by it in the given context, let me just say the obvious that objectivity is a property independent of perception.

I wonder why Traps, as an offensive tool, are .. how to say this in a civilized way .. slightly sub-optimal to basically everything? Because Josh did not like the cheesy abuse of traps in BG2. Oh ok, fair enough.

I tried Wall of Draining once, some time ago, and seemed to me it did not work at all! But that is probably just wrong, it works right?

Have not tried it myself so dont know exactly but from what I've seen, high-level content encounters, enough to kill to win. 8 sec base. --- edit: Death Godlike would work well I guess, if not interrupted* too often. *I guess this is where the Veil is useful. and one can always withdraw if things do not go well.

Barring Death's Door + Salvation of Time

There was someone called Fake_TV iirc streaming solo PotD Priest of Wael on Twitch. Over-level -> BDD -> nuke. It plays like Wizard, the strongest class, without Pull of Eora and Chill Fog.

Rearrange Illusion spells. Reasoning: uneven spell distribution over PL, especially no PL VII and IX picks. Possibly adjust rearranged spells to reflect new PLs. There is so much stuff .. I wish you good luck mant2si.

I agree with OP.

In a way, this is easier to balance (not saying DA:O was balanced, which I can't because I haven't played it; also not saying Deadfire should employ the same system. I'm speaking in general.) Developers know you will always face enemies at your apex, so all encounters can be balanced expecting it. In a game that has per-rest abilities, fights need to be challenging for people at their full power while still being generally feasiblefory those who aren't (in the sense they stand at least a chance to win if they play their cards right.) It becomes a very delicate balancing act where different players' skills are no longer the only variable; you also need to account for what resources they may or may not have by the time they get to each encounter. In an open-world game you also can't tell which pieces of equipment the party will or will not have. Hard to make it all work. Just to note that encounters in DA Origins could not be balanced simply because players could bring unpredictable and hard to control number of resources into a fight, health and lyrium (mana) potions in particular. The developers, can't find the link atm, acknowledged this flaw and got control of possible damage inflicted/health restored/resources available by players in DA Inquisition. Indeed, in an open-world game, with many variables (character/party level, items, synergies, food, scrolls, potions) the developers are simply unable to control resources so players with meta-knowledge and dedication can overcome any changes to the difficulty the developers can come up with. Developers just don't have the kind of control needed to balance the game in any meaningful way. In their effort to "balance" the game they focus on what they can control like Recovery bonus from items or figurine charges which make little to zero difference to dedicated players with meta-knowledge with regards to difficulty but have potential to make some, especially let's say the casual ones (without negative connotations), players displeased.

"Stupid" build: https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/98670-a-magic-using-meele-class/?p=2026036

From my experience injuries from knockouts often cause significant maluses. As Dorftek mentioned, there are few opportunities to get a wound without significant maluses and in such case no-rest approach seems reasonable.

Maybe I was doing something wrong, I tested it very briefly with a newly made character on the beach. Actually, let me try again right now. brb --- edit: nope, does not work for me

I was trying to kill Ghost Heart companion with it when it was low on HP, to get a little extra interaction, and apparently "spirit of my companion" is not "Spirit".

Indeed Gilded Enmity does not stack with other "actives". On the other hand, it does not cost any resources with Sworn Rival. Not using Spirit Shield saves resources for - everyone's favorite, fun and fantastic - Chill Fog. Ironskin could be a backup pick for times when the gold breaks. Personally, I do not like "transferred" effects simply because they seem like bull**** and I don't like bull****.

Yeah its legit Empower Wizard, the strongest class. Hmm improve? Gameplay but besides that, maybe Pull of Eora, Lengrath's Safeguard (contingency), maybe some Arcane Reflection just in case, maybe get a wound + the headgear preventing interrupts while wounded + Vaporous Wizardry grimoire and adjust spell picks accordingly. --- edit: about of the Vaporous forgot to mention, I tried it, with Eder's armor, and it was a lot of hassle because of some wounds are pretty nasty and those which are not limit Empower.

Having solo Pale Elf sitting on level 12, not a fan of over-leveling approach, Goldpact Kight / Wizard no subclass. Goldpact for Sword Rival (+4 AR), not using Flames of Devotion at all. Its hard to hit (Chillfog, Mirrored Image, modal from staff, Minor Arcane Reflection), penetrate (Sworn Rival) and kill (Lay on Hands, Exalted Endurance, Concelhaut's Parasitic Staff), Paladin passives and other buffs from Lengrath's Martial Masteries, just it lacks AoE. Could use Scrolls or Explosives but was experimenting with WotEP and hoping to get the Lance later. Currently in Old City being able to clear a lot of content there. The Digsite, except the boars and drake, was also not too hard. No fancy combos, just good defense and beating mobs with a stick. https://ibb.co/dYEbEJ

The game, at least on higher difficulties, revolves around Armor and Penetration. If I take a guess, your party does not have enough Armor thus takes the mentioned beating. Solution; find better Armor or/and compensate by other means (spells, potions, abilities). If by "start of the game" you mean Port Maje, then yes some encounters there can be very hard. It has not much to do with melee imo though. --- edit: check the combat log to see how AR/PEN works as it's not very intuitive nor sensical.

Someone was telling me on Steam .. I have 5 Ranger/Druids, Animal Companion Bear/Spiritshfit Bear. Imagine, if they send their bears charging, shift to bears and roll in, how terrified their opponents would be. 10 bears! This I call hardcore roleplaying

If Tali is Aerie, she's like ver. 13.0786.

If you had something like "PoE Wizards: The Game," in which grimoire switching was a fundamental mechanic, it'd work. But as is, yeah, it's just an extra detail in a game where there's already a huge amount of information to absorb. It ends up as little other than a thing that some high-end builds or play strategies utilize. There are also other factors, lack of passives, two casts per PL, limiting sub-classes, unbalanced spells, switching mechanics, and encounters design. Realistically, speaking from my experience but do not see any reason why it would not apply in general, no-multiclass Wizard picks 1-2 spells per level and has another 2 from her/his grimoire. These 3-4 spells, per PL, are very likely to be the "best in slot" and used all the time anyway so switching grimoires just does not make sense, there is simply no need. Perhaps the idea behind grimoire design is not to encourage switching them but rather .. hey, let's try another Wiz with this grimoire or even hey, let's use this grimoire. From meta-gaming perspective, such idea is let's say naive.

What you call "cheese" for reasons beyond me is called strategy. Obviously, against overwhelming odds walking in and expecting to just press few buttons to win is, frankly, stupid.