DragonKingReborn

Not sure about merchandise - not really my thing, but with you on the reaction to the game. Just finished the base game a couple of nights ago (I play slowly, basically once kids are in bed since my PC is out in the family room....don't ask) and I felt - there, at the end, the same need to sit back and slowly exhale that I last felt with Dragon Age: Origins nearly 6 years ago. That feeling of "Wow, I made it....", like I'd really been part of the action or adventure that my character and their companions had been on. PoE is dark and thoughtful, but with tiny sparks of hope sprinkled throughout. I really, really liked it. White March, here I come.

It's working well for me - still going on my first playthrough - and while at first I thought it was a little strange - now I'm all in on the concept. As globalCooldown said, though, would be nice if the Wizards dialogue use of Might reflected their class with a little sound and light show. Or if my rangers faithful bear, Paddington loomed up behind him to illustrate Might. That would be fun.

Had the same experience as I was starting out, and I'm still wiping every now and then. My only advice - as a total NON-expert - is smash enemy casters as fast as possible with 5 of the team, allowing Eder (if you're using him) to occupy the biggest melee hitter. It's working for me. Other than that - spend a bit of time reading the ability descriptions. It made a big difference to me when I realised that just because it looks (or sounds) impressive, doesn't mean it is doing a hell of a lot. Finding what spells/abilities work well for you will take a bit of time and experimentation. All part of the fun, though!

No that wouldn't be possible and I'm glad it isn't. That would kill the feel of the game. Ok, thanks - will live without it then. I can only think of a couple of occasions where the action was blocked by an archway or similar, so no that big of a deal.

Agree wholeheartedly. I do like the micromanagement aspect of PoE, but would appreciate the ability to tweak A.I. in companions to allow them to be left alone if I - for whatever reason - wanted to concentrate on just one or two party members in a given encounter. For future Pillars games the 'if>then' tactics that Origins and even DA2 allowed for would be greatly appreciated (although that is all I'd like to come across). It would allow me to set a companion that needed no hand holding (i.e. Eder) to do his thing, while I looked after the squishier party members, or, alternatively, tell they squishies to stay safe while I took full control of the heavy hitters. Not mandatory, of course, full micromanagement should always be the 'default' but if it were there I would consider it a highly appreciated addition. Rotating the camera would also be greatly appreciated if possible in any future game. Not sure if that would work in a fully isometric/2d game, though?

Yup, I love Origins. I like Inqusition. I wouldn't want more games to be like Dragon Age. Especially since Bioware don't seem to know what they want Dragon Age to be like. Variety is good. If you like Origins (and I won't object if you do), then just play that. PoE is exactly what it needs to be.

It's strange, I remember reading after I'd started my first (as yet, incomplete) playthrough about how weak rangers were and thinking I might need to start over, but for me, in the early levels in particular, having that ever loyal bear around as an extra body and generating aggro and dealing damage was the only thing that saved me. More than once the bear was the only 'companion' left standing in an encounter. I love the ranger...but would never say no to a buff!

Can't speak for anyone besides myself, obviously, but for me - it's because MP tends to become the focus, rather than another way of enjoying the game. It is also more open to abuse by things such as microtransactions. Look at Dragon Age: Inquisition...the developers claim that MP actually improved the SP experience, although the combat in Inquisition is - in my view - the worst of the three games in that series. Perhaps if there was story mode co-op, people here might be more receptive (I don't know that they would, but maybe). But it seems that - other than Sword Coast Legends - every game that features MP does so as a separate mode. Would Obsidian consider doing campaign co-op as opposed to a separate MP mode? Don't know, but - and while PoE is clearly running against the current of industry trends - it would seem unlikely. For me, if it includes a 'separate' MP mode, whether 'not required' - like Mass Effect 3, or 'not required, but totally preferred' like Dragon Age: Inquisition, I would be against it, merely on principle. If it includes a campaign co-op mode, which allows another way of enjoying the main story....sure, why not?

It comes down to preparation. It comes down to preparation. And that unwritten Attribute, Patience. (After you get about 3 levels ahead of the content, it gets way easier.) Thanks - don't get me wrong, I didn't want my post to sound like a complaint, and I apologise if it did...I would far rather a game that challenged me constantly than one where the only challenge in combat was learning the (awful) keyboard/mouse controls (I'm looking at you, DA:I). The game has gotten easier, as you say, with levelling and with a growing understanding of the mechanics, but I think I am still a LONG way from even considering a solo run-through. Much admiration for those that can do it.

Given how often my party wipes, the thought of someone soloing this game with any class is kind of unnerving.

Morrigan, Alistair and the 'guy' was named Shale. Though Shale is actually a girl. True story. For me, PoE is very, very good. Asking if it is 'better' than DA:O, which is a very different kind of game is a difficult question to answer...so I won't. But I love both.