wanderon

I wonder if this is correct?? Under Skills: General Use During any situation where a skill is checked against a challenge’s level of diffi culty, the party member with the highest relevant skill is represented as the starting benchmark. If their skill outweighs the diffi culty score, the player’s efforts succeed.

Just downloaded the manual on GOG - wooot!

Once you get a good feel for how the game plays there is no need to min/max just to survive and be successful even on hard - there will be a learning curve but as stated above as long as you don't dump stats to extremes you will likely be fine - I'd suggest starting on normal and see how it goes - thats probably the ideal difficulty for a roleplay based run through - especially a first one and with 2/3 of the content being optional and the matter of factions and the game reacting to your decisions you are more than likely going to have additional play throughs as well. Good luck!

Then I am mistaken about that part and I apologize for it. I must have confused you with someone else who doesn't have the beta. I don't love engagement either by the way, after playing the beta, but I also don't think it's garbage or terrible, just half-baked. I would prefer it if you could move around in melee like you were supposed to be able to originally, and if more classes had engagement-breaking abilities (or if everyone had a basic Disengage ability that traded an action for free movement). But I still prefer the current implementation to "nothing" and enjoy the game fine with it as it is. I still find cynical hyperbole and non-constructive snarkiness to be extremely obnoxious but that's just me. Does this mean that non-cynical hyperbole and constructive snarkiness would be more acceptable?

It was still a toss-up for me but I don't have much experience with Steam (only the BB) and I already have several old IE games and NWN2 on GOG so Pillars will be in good company there - GOG it is!

No way man that general forum is too common for a BB elite I haven't been there is ages

Title says it all - I am interested in hearing which platform you will choose and why (just in case I am missing something) I have several games on GOG but only Pillars BB on Steam - have not really experienced any issues with either so far. IIRC tho doesn't GOG offer the option of loading the game directly to your computer (thus if your internet is down the game is still available) or am I confusing them with Beamdog?

Teenagers getting excited over romances?

Played a bit with a chanter PC dismissed the BB rogue and added my own rogue and cypher which are the three main choices I am trying to decide between (chanter, cypher,rogue) Chanter was of course a level above the others but taking that into effect all 3 were very close in where they could get mechanics and lore to (with 3 stealth on everyone which I have found in the BB to be adequate but do not know how that will play out in the game) After defeating the three adventurer parties and the Ogre (on hard) my guys were level 7/6/6. Chanter (Moon) 8/10/8/16/20/17 - soldier focus - hammer/ lg shield & arquebus (Nightrunner leathers) Cypher (Moon) 10/8/14/14/18/14 - adventurer focus - Estoc - War Bow (Fine BPlate) Rogue (Fire) 10/8/14/15/16/15 - noble focus - Rapier/dagger - rod - blunderbuss (will probably take ruffian if I use as PC) (leathers) Chanter was least fun - waiting for chants to add up - spell - wait for chants - open with gun then switch to hammer/shield (80 def currently) then get in close to use chants never went down - lowest damage of group Cypher - better fun spells available to start - then wait to return them - open w bow or spell stay back unless targeted in melee or mopping up with Estoc. 4th in damage - went down once. Rogue - also better fun - more micromanagement - highest damage done followed by BB Wizard & BB fighter - went down once (probably while I was micromanaging spell casters.) - None of them could find the hidden items in the Ogre den including Chanter with 8 mechanics (BB rogue would have had 9 by then I think and she always found it) Of these three I think chanter would still make the best PC for survival and RP checks in dialogues and scripted events and I think it's a toss up between the rogue & cypher which one might be most fun to play. Jury still out - I don't need to make a decision until Sunday which is likely the first chance I can play

Was there some social media news from one of the devs recently or what do you mean by 'now' ?Now - as in today - or as of the last BB build and/or also in previous builds the armors are/were different - they have different DRs for different damage types within the same categories as well as different DRs from one category to another - they have different recovery penalties from one major type to another (heavy vs medium vs light etc) and these differences offer people the opportunity to choose different armors for different class concepts - in fact even the min/max awesome vs useless crowd has decided there are two different choices - Plate or naked -I am not a min maxer by any means. I just want mid ranged armor to actually be a benefit of some kind to wear. As it stands it actually disadvantages you. "you can still use it and be fine" shouldnt be a reason not to make it better, especially when it could be better.YMMVWell some opinion is founded in fact and others wishful thinking. Considering all the math and playtesting that's been done by many in this thread, it would seem what I say is less opinion and more fact based off current evidence. Maybe if you would go to the same lengths to prove otherwise you could say the same. Post me some vids of in game examples, give me something to experiment with myself like the "min-max crowd" has.I have no desire to "prove" anything to you - the fact that armors are in fact different now is not disputable - it is a FACT to determine this all you have to do is read the descriptions of what each provides - whether or not you or anyone else feel the differences mean or don't mean anything to your playstyle is irrelevant to me - it's your game play or judge it as you wish to but the fact that these armors are different from one another remains along with the fact that they can be used effectively in the game if you choose to do so.Why should description be the "be all end all" if it doesnt translate noticably to gameplay? Wouldn't that mean its broken to some extent? If an object is described as being specifically "x" but yet in actual gameplay/practice doesnt resemble (or descernably so) "x" then something is wrong with it. Basically if they aren't noticably different in gameplay then it doesn't matter if its supposed to be different based on description. Differences in armor are not drastic enough to matter. I am not gonna swap plate for brigadine when up agaisnt crush because even though its described as having better crush defense you would never know in gameplay cause the brigadine bonus makes such an insignificant difference. It performs as indicated - the fact that you find that insignificant does not mean the armor is not different nor that it doesn't offer another choice - you are free to choose to use what ever you wish for whatever reasons you wish that's actually the whole point of having different armors - and that insignificant difference is just another generalization of the whole min/max it's either awesome or useless mindset - nothing wrong with that either but that doesn't mean that everyone plays that way nor that the game should be balanced like that nor that it is the only way to assess the manner in which the game works or doesn't work.So even if brigadine's bonus spares you only one point less damage vs crush (not actual difference just example) than plate then its working as intended and counts as being different? Yes - pretty simple huh?

Was there some social media news from one of the devs recently or what do you mean by 'now' ?Now - as in today - or as of the last BB build and/or also in previous builds the armors are/were different - they have different DRs for different damage types within the same categories as well as different DRs from one category to another - they have different recovery penalties from one major type to another (heavy vs medium vs light etc) and these differences offer people the opportunity to choose different armors for different class concepts - in fact even the min/max awesome vs useless crowd has decided there are two different choices - Plate or naked -I am not a min maxer by any means. I just want mid ranged armor to actually be a benefit of some kind to wear. As it stands it actually disadvantages you. "you can still use it and be fine" shouldnt be a reason not to make it better, especially when it could be better.YMMVWell some opinion is founded in fact and others wishful thinking. Considering all the math and playtesting that's been done by many in this thread, it would seem what I say is less opinion and more fact based off current evidence. Maybe if you would go to the same lengths to prove otherwise you could say the same. Post me some vids of in game examples, give me something to experiment with myself like the "min-max crowd" has. I have no desire to "prove" anything to you - the fact that armors are in fact different now is not disputable - it is a FACT to determine this all you have to do is read the descriptions of what each provides - whether or not you or anyone else feel the differences mean or don't mean anything to your playstyle is irrelevant to me - it's your game play or judge it as you wish to but the fact that these armors are different from one another remains along with the fact that they can be used effectively in the game if you choose to do so. Why should description be the "be all end all" if it doesnt translate noticably to gameplay? Wouldn't that mean its broken to some extent? If an object is described as being specifically "x" but yet in actual gameplay/practice doesnt resemble (or descernably so) "x" then something is wrong with it. Basically if they aren't noticably different in gameplay then it doesn't matter if its supposed to be different based on description. Differences in armor are not drastic enough to matter. I am not gonna swap plate for brigadine when up agaisnt crush because even though its described as having better crush defense you would never know in gameplay cause the brigadine bonus makes such an insignificant difference. It performs as indicated - the fact that you find that insignificant does not mean the armor is not different nor that it doesn't offer another choice - you are free to choose to use what ever you wish for whatever reasons you wish that's actually the whole point of having different armors - and that insignificant difference is just another generalization of the whole min/max it's either awesome or useless mindset - nothing wrong with that either but that doesn't mean that everyone plays that way nor that the game should be balanced like that nor that it is the only way to assess the manner in which the game works or doesn't work.

Was there some social media news from one of the devs recently or what do you mean by 'now' ?Now - as in today - or as of the last BB build and/or also in previous builds the armors are/were different - they have different DRs for different damage types within the same categories as well as different DRs from one category to another - they have different recovery penalties from one major type to another (heavy vs medium vs light etc) and these differences offer people the opportunity to choose different armors for different class concepts - in fact even the min/max awesome vs useless crowd has decided there are two different choices - Plate or naked -I am not a min maxer by any means. I just want mid ranged armor to actually be a benefit of some kind to wear. As it stands it actually disadvantages you. "you can still use it and be fine" shouldnt be a reason not to make it better, especially when it could be better. YMMV Well some opinion is founded in fact and others wishful thinking. Considering all the math and playtesting that's been done by many in this thread, it would seem what I say is less opinion and more fact based off current evidence. Maybe if you would go to the same lengths to prove otherwise you could say the same. Post me some vids of in game examples, give me something to experiment with myself like the "min-max crowd" has. I have no desire to "prove" anything to you - the fact that armors are in fact different now is not disputable - it is a FACT to determine this all you have to do is read the descriptions of what each provides - whether or not you or anyone else feel the differences mean or don't mean anything to your playstyle is irrelevant to me - it's your game play or judge it as you wish to but the fact that these armors are different from one another remains along with the fact that they can be used effectively in the game if you choose to do so.

Right now? As in it wasn't always so?

Was there some social media news from one of the devs recently or what do you mean by 'now' ? Now - as in today - or as of the last BB build and/or also in previous builds the armors are/were different - they have different DRs for different damage types within the same categories as well as different DRs from one category to another - they have different recovery penalties from one major type to another (heavy vs medium vs light etc) and these differences offer people the opportunity to choose different armors for different class concepts - in fact even the min/max awesome vs useless crowd has decided there are two different choices - Plate or naked - I am not a min maxer by any means. I just want mid ranged armor to actually be a benefit of some kind to wear. As it stands it actually disadvantages you. "you can still use it and be fine" shouldnt be a reason not to make it better, especially when it could be better. YMMV

Was there some social media news from one of the devs recently or what do you mean by 'now' ? Now - as in today - or as of the last BB build and/or also in previous builds the armors are/were different - they have different DRs for different damage types within the same categories as well as different DRs from one category to another - they have different recovery penalties from one major type to another (heavy vs medium vs light etc) and these differences offer people the opportunity to choose different armors for different class concepts - in fact even the min/max awesome vs useless crowd has decided there are two different choices - Plate or naked -

Armors are different now - different DR for different damage types & different recovery penalties suitable for different character concepts.

AFAIK you will not be able to choose a companion to enter the conversation (using their skill set) but the devs did say that when appropriate to their knowledge or skill or faction that there will be times companions may interject (on their own) to let you and or the target of conversation know where they stand.

Great video though it has a damage bug at 23:40 Pronounce jalepeno for me..... I still have a hard time with the Aumaua. You mean jalapeno? (hal a peen yo)

It will be interesting to see how (and when) the CNPCs will be introduced (other than the temporary ones that will be available at the start) Re: Eder and rogue abilities - it makes sense to me that if they thought about changing him to rogue during development at least part of the reason for that was likely to be the desire to provide a rogue CNPC and if that's the case then it also makes sense to me that when they decided to change him back to fighter they may have given him enough skill to fulfill the essential rogue abilities like locks & traps since they were NOT providing a rogue CNPC (except temporarily at the start) - and yes I am well aware that mechanics is not a class related skill but in order to max it out you have to give up on other skills which may not be in line with how you want other characters to develop - it does not always have to be just about the numbers...

yes, we have no rogues today. We have no rogues but Eder went from a fighter to a rogue and back to fighter during the development cycle and he is also supposed to be relevant to the plot line so I am hoping he retained enough of his roguish ways to suffice as a lock/trap man... (or that one of the other CNPCs has rogue tendencies) That said I am pretty much planning to have my character prepared to take on the rogue abilities whether he is a rogue or not.

Those are also decent stats for a Chanter tank, who you can then bump up lore, stealth, and mechanics with. My first character will probably be a chanter with those stats, with minor adjustments for Con, Int, Per, and Res, Int and Res being the highest and Per/Con trailing. While Rheingold pointed out that they are a mostly passive build, the joy will be in the out-of-combat experiences such as exploring the world and getting to know the people around it. Don't let that fool you of course, as summoning a drake into the field is awesome, and that's where your damage will come from. I fooled a bit with a chanter this week and it was somewhat underwhelming and I was thinking that perhaps it was the nerf bat that was at the bottom of it but it does seem to lend itself well to the RP concept I am looking for so perhaps it's worth another look.

I'm thinking to boost resolve, intellect, perception, and lore for RP options so an Orlan rogue is looking decent to me altho I still like the orlan barbarian too.

Theres a list on the wiki that's pretty accurate here: http://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Companion There was a nice write up somewhere else that detailed who wrote them etc but I can't find it atm

Spending some time over the next few days working out a build to play as my first character or at least narrowing down the field to a couple options I am leaning strongly towards going with one of the three classes that are not covered by companions so I will most likely be choosing between rogue, monk, and barbarian altho I like the ranger option as well and have not taken that off the table yet and then there is the fact that you can only have 5 of the 8 companions at one time so you could easily use that to open the door to a couple more class options as well so I suppose in the end there isn't really any class that I would not leave on the table except fighter since Eder is supposed to be entangled in the plot more so than most. Since there is no rogue in the game I am also considering building my character to handle locks & traps in case Obsidian has not geared a companion for those skills. (I do understand that it's not too likely they would leave that out entirely but still...) I am also MOST interested in a character that can gain the most from RP, dialoge options, scripted events etc and I have not been able to determine based on the BB exactly what attributtes and or skills will enhance those areas the most other than the semi obvious Lore & Intellect and possibly resolve and perception. I have never been fond of monks so that's probably at the bottom of my list altho I have built a couple for the BB and they did show some promise. I have played a tanky Orlan Barbarian in the BB that I like pretty well and a couple ranger builds that could work and a Moondoggie Cipher could be interesting as well as a dwarf rogue. I just tried a chanter which does have boosts to both Lore and mechanics but I was not all that impressed with him. So off to the drawing board I go - all suggestions welcome - extra credit for verbosity as usual!

But it's a SPACE piglet!