Slapstick87

I've played a lifetime of NWN due to all of it's modules and persistant worlds and stuff. Ahh, good times. I'm not sure if this will hold up as well over time (fingers crossed though!), but considering only the core game? Yes PoE is better than NWN. I'd pretty much lump this in with all the great ones, BG 1+2, NWN, DA:O, PoE - all good games. Some are better in certain areas than the other games, but they're all very much worth every dollar and every minute of playtime.

Because there has to be a way to play without a priest taking up a slot just for healing if you want to.

Really? I mean... REALLY? That is an incredibly usefull and tangible piece of information! If that is all there is to it, I just might rethink my entire team. Huh'...

Haven't noticed that myself. I play on 2560x1440 just fine. A few things might be a tad small, but I'm not exactly 10 feet away from my screen either so /shrug. I haven't thought about it at least. Maybe it's different on 4k though.

Aaaaah, no... I dislike "trash mobs" enough as it is, don't need them to respawn thank you very much. Although, kudos for coming with a suggestion. If anything "somewhere in the vicinity of this" where to be included, I'd make it part of the stronghold. Like instead of a prison you'd have a menagerie or bestiary, that you can fill with creatures you've captured. Capturing said creature should be a "quest/task" in itself, requiring you to use some sort of item gimmic on a low-health individual or whatever. When you've done so, you have access to it your menagerie. You can then have your game warden set up a "Test of Champions" or whatever you'd call it. You select which type of creatures you want to fight (pick one, many or all), size of group (small 1-3, medium 4-6, large 7-10, huge, 11-15), and how many swarms you want (each swarm increasing strength of group by 15%? Size maybe?). You can then select a random location on your land (forest, dungeon, mountain, etc.) and you'll be faced with a somewhat varied test of skills. If you die, your game warden will stop the fight, get you back to your castle, tend to your wounds and you would -not die-. This could be usefull on Trial of Iron games to gauge your strength before big fights, given that you've actually killed anything of it before. This could be expanded to include steam achievements, in-game "talents" (master of many: killed 5 swarms of 5 different creatures of medium size. Reward: +20 endurance), etc. Anyways, just throwing out some very rough ideas. But this could've been a nice addition to the stronghold

So I've started a potd game, where my main character is a melee rogue (yeah I know. I hate myself), among an all-custom group. The issue I currently have, is that when my rogue sneak attacks a target that is currently engaged and targeted by my tank, that target will almost without fail instantly turn around and stab me in my face. Which I assume is quite logical, given that my tanks are buildt for being impossible to hurt while having difficulty swatting a fly sufficiently hard to kill it. I'm just wondering if it would be different if my tanks where not fighting with foam swords? If they where effectively damaging the target, would it even matter? How much would it matter? Is there a threshold that I have to stay below before they switch target (for instance "when [char] >200% current target total delivered damage -> switch target")? Does the Might stat influence it ("dude he looks terrifying, let's kill him first"), or is it based on actual damage done? Does threat ever drop (for instance, charm?). Can a tank build threat for a while, so the target doesn't switch immediately? Does 1dmg = 1 "threat" or does it factor in things like burst and damage done in a specific/short timeframe? Etc. etc. I feel there's a lot I have no idea about how works regarding tanking and other melee characters, especially since I didn't have a melee dps on my first playthrough with more "real" characters. Any insight is appreciated!

I have played > 100 hours, and encountered exactly 0 bugs. Balance "issues" exist, but I don't mind those in the slightest. Not everything has to be equal, that's some of the charm of this (type of) game IMO.

Yes, I do skip quite a few encounters. I'm not a nihilistic slaughter-maniac out to kill everything I come across. Yet... Maybe on my next playthrough

I had previously completed the game on hard, and thought I'd give Triple Crown PotD a run. Quickly figured out I simply don't have enough cheese in my cabinet for that, and went down to Hard/Expert/Trial of Iron. After a few rerolls, I finally found what I was looking for. Melee rogue! Really fun to explode people with daggers in the back. SO I was being super carefull, got to Defiance Bay, did some quests and picked up Pallegina as my 2nd tank, and thought I'd clear the forests around Gilded Vale, and maybe attempt the Raedric Fortress. I had let most of Act 1 behind untouched, to gain some levels on the content and "stay safe". In the forest I run into A F***ING GOD OF DEATH called Gramrfrel the Wayfarer with an ARMY the size of his ego, and the c*** that is Wirtan which I had mistakenly been kind enough to let live. They have a little chat about what to do with me, and proceed to slaughter my group like a child devours ice cream on a sunny beach. I had no idea at all this could even happen, and I was in no way prepared or at all geared for it at lvl 5, with most of the loot in the game still not found nor bought. I was, after all, being extra carefull. I hate that this game did this to me. I love that this game did this to me. Let's do it again. (Anyone else got stories like this?)

If it was x2 damage, I think it would probably be fine. I'd still use it often but I wouldn't use it always. It would still be awesome but it wouldn't be well then, that's that.

I agree. Not because I want to wear an extra magical item, but because I want a cape regardless of itemization concerns. I'M A HERO, GIVE ME MY CAPE! :D

Thanks for the pointer!

I had to briefly change the party to fulfill a companion quest, so my long-partnered tanky Paladin, was replaced for about 10 minutes. Her stats about how much damage she's done, most powerfull killed etc. are now *gone*. She killed the biggest meanest thing, and I can't even see it :'( Please don't erase companion stats/contributions when they leave the party. /sad

I don't think casting petrify should count as "cheesing", as it's made especially for the big bad fights as far as I can see. I was lucky with Aloth landing a 15 sec Petrify at the very start. Then I confused/charmed the adds. Then things got messy, but I got it down

I also found Kana to be lackluster. I run with two tanks though, Edér and a certain Paladin you will be able to pick up during act II. Aloth, Hiravias and myself as a blundercipher deal plenty enough damage. Durance is of course on the team as well You won't need melee damage if you don't want it.

Wizards might have fewer spells, but they are not supposed to fling them about with much abandon either. On my run Aloth does way less damage than my Cipher, but I wouldn't trade him away for anything. Because when it matters, he lays down so much crowd control that it's rediciulous. And no one except a wizard can do that to the same scale. I have a druid on the team as well. He's fine, I like him. But I don't find him as crucial for the big hard fights as I do Aloth.

Off for replayability and the feeling of "new discoveries" for my upcoming 2nd playthrough. I'll probably turn it on when I get far enough into the nr. of playthroughs I plan to have on this marvel of a game.

I'd go with spirit, simply because those are the ones that always makes me go "oh hell no" when I see them.

I was trying to avoid duplicate classes actually, but yeah - slicken... good point!

So I've been playing with this party: Tanks: Edér/Pallegina, DPS: Me(Ranged Cipher)/Aloth/Hiravias, Support: Durance on my story playthrough. Hard has been tough at times, but only because my DPS gets massacred the instant I get swarmed or AOE'd down (I f*'in hate shades and fampyrs). The tanks never ever die, they're not the problem. Gearing up for a Trials of Iron run (possibly even PotD. That would be cool), I want and need to do something different. Thought nr. 1: I dislike the tanks because they never *do* anything. They just stand there, don't die, and tie up enemies. I know that's what they're supposed to do, but it feels a bit boring that nothing ever happens around the tanks *at all*. Can't they be used for dmg as well? Thought nr. 2: I need off-tanks. I'm also a fan of using classes creatively. Thought nr. 3: I really need to stop playing PoE 24/7 So I'm considering running with 4 melee semi-tank, semi-dps characters, and 2 rear support. Or maybe 3 + 3... P.S. I don't really fancy Chanters or Rangers much. Idea: Front Wall Cipher Fire Godlike, Sanguine Armor. Gaun's Share + whatever I find, probably mace. Barbarian Fire Godlike. Medium Armor. Dual Wield Oidrecht and Azureith's Stiletto. I'll call him cheesemaster and abuse OSA :D Monk (probably moon godlike) of some sort - never played, but heard good things at the forum - suggestions welcome! Druid - Coastal Amaua? - Best available armor, shield, 1H weapon. Rear Guard Orlan Ranged Rogue - Probably Persistance or Cloudpiercer. Not sure about Hunting- or Warbow Priest (of Wael for Rod/Quarterstaff)- because duh' Backup Idea: Front Wall: Cipher Fire/Moon godlike tank Rogue retaliation/drain tank Monk Rear Guard: Barbarian glasscannon with pike Druid Wizard ------ So any comments on my ideas? I'm also wondering a) How do I build/equip a monk? b) Do I really *need* unkillable tanks for PotD? c) Anyone tried running without a healer successfully?

I prefer the focus on religious and cultural tension. Allthough it's somewhat "skin deep" in the game, it certainly feels deeper, more real and more buildt into the world than a generic "we hate these guys because EARS!".

1) Stop the party AI from a) Killing my charmed/confused/dominated party members, and b) not killing charmed/confused/dominated enemies 2) Stack all items at vendors to avoid needlessly long scrolling lists 3) Please allow me to remove enchants that I've put on weapons and armor. 4) Also very much +1 to the OP's suggestion of Encounter Design and Hard Counters Game is regardless 10/10 and best I've played in years

I wish there where a "Deus Ex Machina" mode or whatever they'd like to call it, like Trial of Iron or Expert, that allows you to customize the characters BEFORE the game starts, "blindly" and anonymously. So before starting the game you get to customize a "fighter" with no name and no picture. No idea when he'll show up, but when he does he has your customized stats and are at lvl 1 - but given xp to level up to your level. Let me do this for all characters. If I want to. Problem solved.

This game has ruined my life in one week. I don't eat or drink, exercising is dead to me, I've stopped talking to my friends, I skip work, I never sleep. Damn I hope Obsidian never puts out a game like this again. I'm addicted. In all seriousness though, yes it is an amazing game and I love it to bits!

I feel they've gotten it just about right - but it does depend a bit on how you play. If you murder, steal and rob your way through every part of the game to get all of their things, yes you will get rich. Which is one of the reasons to be homicidal maniac out to kill every living thing you encounter. But you don't have to do that of course. You can be the nice guy who kills as little as he can, never steals and doesn't accept rewards - but being a "hero" comes with a price. As it should