Boeroer

That is because that fight is extremely tough. Chances are that your party wasn't even bad. You can enter Gorecci Street from the other side (south), sneak past the first looters and solve the quest peacefully with only 40 bucks. Most fights after that encounter are a lot easier. Engwithan digsite is also hard, but not as hard.

No. I also think most of the ranger's passive abilities seem to be rather uninspired (or weirdly circumstancial).

Let me quickly quote myself with the Wikipedia article that says that daggers were used in combat against and by knights in plate armor to stab between the gaps and also to deliver a coup de grace. Also look at several historical art pieces where knights in plate armor carry daggers as backup weapons - maybe not because they were useless once the riding stopped and the grappling started... It's fairly difficult to fight with a two handed sword on a crowded battlefield once formations are lost. Also bad in a dense forest, while wading in water and so on. Then look again at your statement: Hm... Besides that: who said that combatants on medieval or even renaissance battlefields all wore plate armor? Also PoE/Deafire ecounters are not really battles. Bringing a dagger is fairly reasonable for an adventurer and has its pros - but also its cons of course. Mayb that's why Deadfire encourages you to switch weapons based on your opponent's characteristics. Anyway: making light weapons as slow as heavier weapons while retaining the lower damage is not acceptable in a balanced game like Deadfire.

Which was your first big fight?

Eh? Why "now"? As a player of games you always had to pay for the development of a commercial game in one way (money) or the other (looking at ads). Who else would pay for development?

Since when is crowdfunding no-profit? That's absolutely not what it is. You project will get funded, you ship the project to your backers (and are even then) - and every copy you sell after that to regular customers is your profit. It seems you romaticized crowdfunding. The act of crowdfunding ifself doesn't change at all regardless of the developer who's using it - big or small. Besides that they could also do hybrid: run a crowdfundng campain for only a fraction of the development costs - just to stay in touch (like the guys from Banner Sage described) and offer special rewards and treatment - and fund the rest with their own money. Again: like Deadfire.

Stats would look a bit like those of a rogue - although with that Rapier and Dagger you can get away with a bit less DEX than the usual rogue would like to have. Also DEX has no impact on chant speed and also no impact on the chanting pause after an invocation. Rogues don't need much MIG since they can stack a lot of additive dmg bonuses - while chanters can't. So you might want to have a bit more MIG. Also helps with Ancient Memory and Veteran's Recovery. High INT is always advised with a chanter. CON can be left at 10 - just don't try to rush in first. Play it like a flanker. Same with RES. So basically high PER, MIG, INT - CON, RES and DEX can be lower. A few points here and there don't matter much in PoE. Stats don't have the amount of inpact they had in BG/IWD and so on. Talents are not that many to pick from if you want to use Veteran's Recovery and Ancient Memory. Weapon Focus, Two Weapon Style, Vulnerable Attack (only with the Rapier/Dagger setup), Scion of Flame, Savage Attack and Apprentice's Sneak Attack. That's it. You can't pick more than that. Scion of Flame is good because it will lift your Myth Fir lash by 20% AND the burning lash on your weapons by 20%. So they turn from 25% lash to a 30% lash in both cases. Lashes are multiplicative with all your other dmg modifiers (meaning they will add 25%/30% of your complete physical damage as burn damage) but have to overcome 1/4th ot the enemies' burn DR. The higher they are the better. Mutilple lashes don't get added up to a single big lash (I wish - but no). They stay seperated and have to overcome 1/4th of DR each. So - having two 30% lashes instead of two 25% lashes is good. example: you cause 30 pierce damage, the enemy has 8 burn DR and you have two 25% burning lashes: A (w/o Scion of Flame): 30 pierce + 2 * (7,5 burn - 2 DR = 5 burn) = 40 dmg overall B (w Scion of Flame): 30 pierce + 2 * (9 burn - 2 DR = 7 burn) = 44 dmg overall

Rogue is usually consindered to be the weakest class on Path of the Damned Difficulty. But it's not a huge margin - generally all classes are fairly well balanced and you can solo with a rogue as you can solo the game with any other class on the highest difficulty. So no "gimpage" when picking Rogue. On lower difficulty settings than PotD (most new players will start on normal I presume) Rogues are actually quite potent. Generally speaking: the more enemies on the field the less a Rogue will shine (because he's focused on single target damage). Higher difficulties mean longer fights and more enemies which shifts the "balance" towards classes with Area of Effect capabilites. The Chanter class is the opposite: the higher the difficulty (the longer the fights and the more enemies) the better a Chanter becomes. So - if you are planning to play on normal a Rogue is an absolutely solid choice. Suggestions: - Rogue with Rapier + Dagger (google Sword of Daenysis + March Steel Dagger/Drawn in Spring) - Rogue with dual sabres (can't go wrong with that one) - Rogue with low INT, high stealth & Backstab, wielding Tidefall (great sword) - Rogue with Pike, attacking from second row (google Tall Grass pike) - Rogue with Hours of St. Rumbalt - Rogue with Battle Axes, aiming for We Toki (offhand) and Rimecutter or Edge of Reason or whatever axe is there. - Rogue with Belt of the Royal Deadfire Cannoneer and Forgemaster Gloves, using Firebrand as summoned weapon - Rogue with high deflection and Riposte (especially good with normal difficulty). Use a bashing shield to make use of Full Attacks (shield will hit first, applies affliction, main weapon will strike second with Sneak Attack enabled). Aim for Godanythunyr hammer + Badgradr's Barricade shield. Sturdy rogue with amazing dps (for a shield bearer). - Rogue with focus on items with Spell Bindings (items which hold spells like a wizard would use). Secret is that Deathblows works with damaging spells (giving them awesome damage) and also Deep Wounds work with spells which deal pierce crush or slash damage. YOu are basically playing a spell slinging rogue/wizard who also is great with weapons. And so on...

I would say that all the positive and desirable things I meantioned can become a reality if the developer is bound by the wish to create a game their customers like. The funding method doesn't matter at all as long as you can fund your game and then stay true to your vision/idea of the game. Example: Deadfire didn't need crowdfunding but it was done nonetheless. Was that harmful? Most likely not. Would the game be better if a publisher had funded it? Nobody knows. I'm inclined to say no but very much depends on the publisher. Hence I conclude (again) that crowdfunding is just an alternative form of funding. You can do good things with it or bad things - no matter if you are a big company or a small indie developer. So I see still no reason why Microsoft shouldn't be able to run a crowdfunding campaign for PoE3. Or why it should be questionable or dubious. The only thing I see is that some people think that using crowdfunding is somehow immoral if you have lots of money. As if it was some form of fraud or finagling alms or something. "You don't need to crowdfund, you have the money !" What I'm saying is that money might not be only reason to crowdfund a game (see Deadfire again).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rondel_dagger

I will try to alter those icons that got "mixed" feedback. First however I will create cipher's passives. It's better to come back to your work later and look at it with some distance - in order to really see the flaws. But no matter how hard I try: I can't see a violin when looking at Riposte. Divine Retribution/Disco Party: ROFL

Why not bear form? I mean if you are going for tankyness? You'll enjoy +2 AR which stacks with Gilded Enmity - even if you will be missing your shield you won't be bothered by attacks as much as in cat form while casting your PL-boosted heals. +2 AR seems to be an advantage over Cat Flurry's faster casting speed since... I guess?

That is a blanket statement with zero data or source to back it up. There are many examples where the publishers getting involved by adding their ideas made the game worse as well. It highly depends on the developer what he does with those ideas, doesn't it? Constructive input is never bad. If you can't filter it properly or don't really know what you want from your own game - that might be a problem.

Well, basically at some point it transcended its former legendary status. What mythic entails depends on the item. If my beard were a weapon it would have +5 PEN. But: is it a weapon? Is it armor? Or is it even... Super Grover???

I'd say it's overkill once you know the game better but can be useful for starters. Ranged dps: Bleak Walker/Arcane Archer with Spearcaster (unique yet early arbalest - or Essence Interrupter bow once the loot destroying bug gets fixed) is great for several reasons. The main one is very, very high accuracy right from the early stages of the game which makes a big difference in "felt" difficulty. Being able to crit rel. reliably on lower levels feels very strong. Reason is the combo of several accuracy-enhancing effects that Paladin + Arcane Archer + Spearcaster can stack. Later also the damage per shot is pretty astonishing (once you use your animal companion for using Takedown Combo). Other nice ranged dps can include Rogue, Cipher, Ranger or even Monk.

Haha... Well - there are not that many melee options with a dual wielding "Blade" chanter. Since it's called Blade I would presume you'd like to use blades (and not maces, hammers etc.). I personally would use sabres because: a) there are several good unique ones that have enchantments that fit b) they fit best thematically c) chanters don't have a lot of additive melee dmg bonuses so they tend to have problems with enemies' DR if they use light weapons as rapiers and dagger - while sabres have good base dmg and come with their own 20% dmg bonus which helps with enemies' DR. THis also includes lashes (mnore on that later): fewer high lashes do better against DR than a lot of small lashes - because DR bypass doesn't work with lashes(!). While it helps a lot with fast weapons like stilettos and daggers and such to be able to penetrate with the primary damage type it does zilch for your attached lashes and that will make you lose a lot of dps IF you don't have any means to lower enemies DR. d) There's a sabre in the game which has two different dmg types (Bittercut) which helps to circumvent the problem of single damage type weapons But... IF you have means of lowering enemies' DR (e.g. you make frequent use of the Hel Hyraff invocation and/or a party member Wizard who can cast Exposed Vulnerability) another good alternative would be a certain Rapier + Dagger setup: Main hand: Sword of Danysis Offhand: March Steel Dagger (later Drawn in Spring) Those weapon can be obtained quite early and combine some very nice enchantments: forst of all the rapier is rending (+3 DR bypass) and has speed. Speed, besides wounding, is the most powerful enchantment when it comes to weapon dps. The March Steel Dagger has speed as well. If you combine this with dual wielduing and Two Weapon Style you will become lightning fast with your attacks. At some point you can use Vulnerable Attack without loosing attack speed. This not only helps with dps but also with having high reactivity. Since your recovery will be very short (or non-existent) you can react very quickly with an invocation. Thinking about it more, I think the Rapier + Dagger in combination with Hel Hyraff would be nice. -5 DR, combined with DR bypass and lashes is nothing to sneeze on. Concerning your abilities & talents, I would go for a fast yet sturdy setup which relies on passive self healing and self (and party) buffing. Your main chant would be Aefyllath Ues Mith Fyr to gain the burning lash on your and your party's weapons. You will enchant your own weapons with a burning lash. You could take Veteran's Recovery, Ancient Memory, Weapon Focus Ruffian, Two Weapon Style, Vulnerable Attack, Scion of Flame, Apprentice's Sneak Attack, Savage Attack.

Ah-ah-ah! My beard is mythic by default.

Whoohoo! We got back the square avatars (with dem rounded corners). Finally I can see my ears again! Thanks a bunch! Now please reintroduce BBCode mode! PS: what about the background profile picture (cover art or something)? Will we be able to change that in the future?

Exactly my thoughts. Very nicely explained.

Getting a reward for backing a project is not preorder. If the reward is the finished game then the outcome is the same though. Of course a crowdfunded project can go wrong andf then you get nothing. But especially if you have such a heavyweight like Microsoft in the background there is a very very small risk of that happening. So basically you back and get the game as reward (and more if you opt for it). Crowdfunding has another aspect that can work in favor of the player: there generally is more influence and feedback from the backers' side since they are the ones who fund - and not a publisher. This doesn't automatically mean that's good for the game itself, but usually players will get more of what they want with a crowdfunded project. There are pros and cons for crowdfunding. Of course the main motivation may be that nobody else is willing to fund a certain project. But if you take away that "problem" (e.g. if you are owned by a big company) there are still benefits left. Backing a project generally entitles you to expect more frequent updates on the progression. Often you can opt in for certain "tiers" which might be nice to have (create an item, create an NPC etc.) which you normally don't see in games which are funded by a publisher). I personally like those things. I brought us some nice stuff in PoE and Deadfire. Some people think that those rewards are just shiftng work from the developer to the backer - but I think it connects you more to the game and gets you more involved. Microsoft could indeed fund PoE3 themselves. Money is not the problem. But then you (as a potential future customer) will not see much of the development process, there will be no backer items, not much involvement. You'll simply wait till the game is ready and then play it. In that case, there's especially low influence from the customers' side and Microsoft's ability to "keep the creative integrity" is even more important than without crowdfunding, isn't it? The only problem here is the perceived "immorality" of crowdfunding a project even if you have the money to fund it yourself. I simply think that's nonexisting problem. Since Pillars now has a (short) history of getting successfully backed and feels a bit like a community project I think it would be somewhat fitting if Obsidian also used crowdfunding to (partially) fund the next one (if there's one in the first place). But I'm not desperately calling for this. I simply think that Microsoft crowdfunding the game wouldn't be good or bad per se. For the game it doesn't make any difference if it's crowdfunded or publisher-funded. It's important that it gets funded in the first place. Maybe Obsdian could do something of a hybrid: let Microsoft fund the project but still put out stuff like "backer" rewards (not that you have to give money, maybe as a result of raffles or competitions, hunts or surveys and whatnot) as a marketing tool. Maybe "fan rewards" or "community rewards" would be a better term.

The difference you mention is in the motivation to start a crowdfunding campaign. What I meant is: why is a crowdfunding campaign itself worse if the owner of the developer is Microsoft? The outcome for the player would be exactly the same no matter who owns the developer. You, as a backer, give money and receive the game as reward. It's not that you are giving alms. So why would it be a questionable decision from Microsoft's side if they opt for a crowdfunding campaign? It's just a different way of funding. Less risk, sure, but also a lot more work (campaigning is hard work). I would argue that crowdfunding works even better (for the backer) if there's a big company with experienced people and backup cash in the background.

Very nice.

Yes, it was patched. Beguiler + Draining Whip is very strong now.

I can't see how crowdfunding with Microsoft as owner is any different from crowdfunding with Obsidian as owner.

Sorry @MaxQuest, but the last quote about boring HP pools was from Erik Galad, not me.