wanderon

Maybe we should just do away with XP altogether - after all its a single player game - no one to beat - no need to keep score

If it was a really cool quest it would not have been exploration xp - it would be quest experience we already have that - exploration experience is experience gained by exploring the game world - finding new maps - opening doors to new areas - some are simple some are not - all require exploring the world presented to you whether it means entering a building you have never been in before or discovering a hidden passage deep in a cave.

Depends on why he walked through the door and what he had to do to get to that point and while on the subject it might be noted (again) that there are likely many things about the BETA build that will not apply in the same manner in the final game - once again this is not a demo it's three areas cobbled together with larger chunks of experience designed to allow people to level up much more quickly than normal in an effort to allow testing of more gameplay functions with this small slab of the game world. But then you knew that already.

You are entering houses for sole reason to get XP. Perhaps you are only entering without knocking/getting permission simply because the game offers no way to do so. Surely there will be some quest information , quest solutions, and quest givers to be discovered by locating and entering buildings, houses and other places and since we don't know which buildings or other places those are doesn't it follow that it may be worthwhile to enter many buildings over the course of the game seeking assistance, answers, criminals, monsters, ghosts, quest givers, etc whether or not any experieince is rewarded or not? If so how does it follow that if experience is given when you discover something pertinent by entering a house or cave or building that the only reason you do so is to get said experience? Maybe you are just doing so to further the games plot and side plots - you know like adventuring??? smh

Indeed why should exploration be limited to outdoor areas isn't it likely to be just as important (if not more so) to discover places and things in towns, buildings, dungeons, etc...

I'm an ex entertainer I always like it when someone likes my stuff...(it doesn't matter why) I am also a smart ass and should usually not be taken too seriously unless I really get my dander up (which doesn't happen as much since the hair started to wander off). I am somewhat opposed to respec - I think it cheapens the RP nature of the game and for me it's not a necessity so I am not a supporter but it wouldn't be the end of civilization as we know it if it was snuck into the mix - but I probably wouldn't use it.

I see once again I forgot to add the sarcasm tags -my bad... indeed that's not the only thing that gets forgotten at my age! Actually "bad build" is almost never going to be a reason for me to restart - I sometimes specialize in bad builds just because I can (not always tho) - no the reason I restart is almost always because I had another bright idea for a new and different party or character that I just can't wait to get started on and that I have come to appreciate the bonuses involved in being a chronic restarter when it comes to a games replay value. For instance I played the hell out of BG2 (somewhere between 20-40 hours most weeks) but it was about a year and half after I started (at game release) that I finally completed the game the first time and at that point a good half of the game was entirely new to me (almost everything beyond rescuing Imoen) so while much of the early game I knew by heart there was still oodles (technical term) of content I had yet to see and every once in a while I still find something new after all these years. (I did however get tired enough of Chez Irenicus to eventually install Dungeon B Gone but that was just a few years ago.) Thus the respec option means little or nothing to me I see it more as a function for people only really interested in doing one playthrough who can't be bothered to start over - frankly I'd rather see it as a mod myself (but I really don't care) - However it's bad enough keeping up with all my restarts without having PCs changing horses in mid-stream as well. I normally wouldn't want to change a character I had just really begun to know into something different and even if I did I probably wouldn't want to start in the middle of the game with it I would want to start at the beginning (because my OCD likes things in order). As for the time I spent getting to where I am I would never consider that wasted it was play time enjoying the game. You see for me just like life its all about the journey regardless of how far along the road I go - getting to the end is mostly unimportant to me - there's plenty of time for that somewhere down the road.

Yup, stealth is both stealth and search. I can see why you would be better at searching in stealth mode - moving slower watching closely - but it seems to me that it should be possible for someone with a high enough "search skill" (whatever that's based on) should be able to discover some of the hidden items - unless the stealth effect just adds an insane bonus vs not stealthed

don't you have to be in sneak mode as well to find both traps and hidden objects

Couple things I noticed yesterday - a bug I had not seen for a while where weapons/shields become attached to PCs or NPCs - one of the backer NPCs at the inn had an ax protruding from the top of his head altho upon further review this is actually stuck into the wall near his head and may be part of the inn decor??? something I had not seen before - my combat log stopped working - right after a slowdown (due to a plethora of spells/effects?) at the Medreth battle and it was still stopped after going past beetles and adventurers and Dragon Egg - when I reloaded the game today the combat log was extended up (as I left it) but had shrunk from side to side almost to the edge of the screen - still there (not removed) but almost completely closed and could not be opened - this was the solid one so perhaps it still has some issues. EDIT: changing back to normal instead of solid brought it back

Absolutely not! As a chronic restarter (with no desire to change) the part of the game that appeals to me the most is the point at which I come up with yet another brilliant idea for a character/party concept and am able to abandon my current game and return to my favorite place - the character creation screen and begin anew - new PC new party new player options it's a whole new world - the last thing I need is a way to change my character on the fly and miss out on the best part of the game - the restart & do-over! NO! NO I SAY!

Just had the Medreth fight slow to a crawl not sure why - but suspect it was a "seal" from the BB priest with an AoE from the BB wizard in the area of the Paladins aura - let it go on auto pilot and the battle was eventually won but it was like watching a series of still shots and finally after the loot was gathered things got back to normal - saved - quit and restarted puter.

And particularly ornery companions could call out the wizard/priest/other responsible after the battle and maybe do a little knock down or similar action?

Well you could have one of each class over the course of the game by swapping them out and using adventurers to fill any gaps.

Considering the game is not supposed to be level scaled (with the possible exception of some parts of the main quest line) I wonder if we are going to find traps similar to those in the BB where if you could not disarm them after locating them you had the choice to trigger them (didn't try this) or simply make your way around them (carefully - one character at a time) since they did not cover the entire pathway.

...again.. uhm.. Why? Too short to see over the dashboard!

As I recall this is not good for kittens... or was it puppies?

Got it thx! Looks good

Is this build (435) supposed to have the solid UI? I'm not seeing that - still have 3 separate pieces ??

Indeed this is the main reason why I am hopeful that at least one companion can handle the stealthy rogue duties so I can construct my PC to get the most out of the RP factors. Of course I am also assuming we will have full control over leveling up companions and also hoping my non-rogue rogue companion is among the first I encounter so I have as much control over their skill choices as possible.

I'm really hoping a companion will fill that gap - the way classes are set up hopefully it will not be too difficult to adapt a companion to handle the mechanics of locks & traps if you don't want to make a PC rogue or take an adventurers hall stick figure rogue that gets 0 personal reactions from anyone.

I'm thinking with less than 8 weeks to release classes are pretty much finished and that what we see in the final beta build is going to be pretty much what we get.

Maybe it depends on your class only. and/or your weapons perhaps?

So I just started looking into the companions trying to get an idea of what my first party might look like and make some tentative decisions on what class to play first when I realized there is no rogue companion available. (gasp) Now I understand that any class can boost mechanics which is I suppose the only essential rogue skill needed but I'm thinking my main character is probably going to have other skills I am more interested in boosting for story/RP reasons (lore I'm looking at you here) so the next thing that comes to mind is perhaps one of the other companions may be able to fill our mechanics role. Has there been any indication that any of the companions might already be geared up to fill this slot? Does it seem odd to anyone else that they are not supplying a rogue companion?

So then it is attached to what exactly?