Zenbane

^^ out of curiosity, what spells did you try/use?

Actually, I did the whole run on a twitch.tv stream. The last few parts of the run should still be up on my channel for now, and I'll undoubtedly cobble together a highlights reel at some point. So does this make you the official world record holder? There is one for Grimrock 2; the entire game beat in 57 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5mRGRqHIjg Claim your title, sir!

True! Anything that combines real-time combat with a 'grid' is doomed to promote "sidestepping" as a primary combat tactic. The game design has to go out of its way to include elements to limit that, which we do not see very often. Speaking of - and a shameless plug - I attempt to do that in a Grimrock 2 Mod I created recently, free download for anyone who owns that game: www.Mystrock.com

I've also played those games, and other similar Dungeon Crawler RPG's: Shadow of Yserbius, Stonekeep, Legend of Grimrock. Not all of these games give magic a huge edge; Stonekeep and Grimrock come to mind, where Magic is a great compliment to the game but it is "downplayed" and can easily be ignored. Other non-dungeon crawler games that are popular have taken the same approach, such as the Wizardry series - in particular, Wizardry 8. Where magic is critical to help deal with buffs/debuffs and negating bad ailments. But again, it can be ignored and you can still be successful. RPGs like DM where Magic is overly critical to success tend to tip the balance in a way that doesn't seem to have a place in modern RPG's. The idea of "use magic or your gimp" isn't really accepted anymore, so magic works best as a utility in many RPG's, where only the highest level spells can wreak havok. Did you ever play the first Diablo game? It was all fair n balanced up until the mage acquired a "Staff of the Apocalypse" after which players wondered why the other two classes exist in the first place lol Typically if you want magic heavy gaming, you have to seek out a game that specifically delivers that as its niche.

That was asked and answered a few posts down: https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/83155-chris-avellone-says-pillars-of-eternity-was-too-linear-and-that-he-had-little-impact-on-the-story/?p=1749149

Right, I was going to link to some other threads around here talking about how there is far too much money available in the game even after all the Stronghold upgrades; but I got lazy lol Although it was mentioned that the 5,000-ish gold can be made early on, whereas players are not really swimming in cash until mid-game at the earliest. Unless WM1 gives more cash early? I haven't bought the expansion yet, I'm waiting for part 2.

There's always room to complain, that's what christmas is for! I doubt anyone really questions your life. I mean, you post about great build combo's while others post about... https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/83361-breaking-news-pillars-2-has-been-announced/ Anywho, Am I the only who avoided the Cipher class completely? When I bought PoE I read a lot about how Ciphers are very cookie cutter, so I went with a Chanter instead. But now I'm thinking of going Druid over Chanter.

If you sell everyones stuff then you are likely not keeping that NPC in your party I assume. Cause if you keep them then the cost of replacing their gear yields a monetary loss. However, if you just get rid of the NPC then the rewards for taking part in their story is also lost, which is not a good ROI, in my opinion. Also, there is a quest in Defiance Bay where one guy wants you to retrieve the family Breastplate that some other a-hole is wearing. PoE doesn't really seem like the "only usable by this NPC" kinda place.

In Wizardry 8 you could loot some NPC's when they joined your party, others would prevent you from removing any of the items from their inventory. Some NPC's are important to the story, others are not; so the loot option seemed to reflect that. Ah but then back with Dragon Warrior 3 you could recruit NPC's (soldiers), sell their stuff, rinse and repeat until you're tired of making money. Although in PoE you can kill any character so even if an NPC prevented you from taking their stuff while alive... just murder 'em. So, what's the point?

Completely agree; and I would also add that a testament to the "maturity" of an RPG resides within its ability to prevent builds revolving around all forms of bonus stacking from breaking/exploiting the games balance. PoE achieves that splendidly, and it does so while providing some of the most unique and complex build options - both individual and group - in an RPG.

Not that I disagree with the rhetorical nature of the question (I agree that food/rest is a non-issue), but I also know that some builds seemingly rely on both food and rest simultaneously to get max effectiveness. For example, the Human Fireball Barbarian Build relies on both to help increase the radius of effectiveness to its maximum potential. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=416939844

It says something bad about both of us that another potential infamous exchange between "Zen vs Sen" turned in to a murderhobo revelation. I'm not sure if I'm role playing or not but in any RPG if someone even looks at me sideways I will reload to a previous Save in order to murder them all lol.

Perhaps I misunderstood the things I read. Not uncommon for me lol - but totally worth it just to hear the phrase "murderhobo"

Exactly! Well, unless every hat in every RPG is nerfed to look like this: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2589829/Now-THATS-thinking-cap-Electric-hat-zaps-brain-make-smarter.html

That doesn't really apply to completing 5% of the content on easy and skipping every possible fight does it? How one beats the game most certainly applies to claims of what the game supposedly forces you to do in order to beat it.

One of my favorite dungeon crawlers (LoG) requires that your party eat, else risk starvation penalties. On top of that, there are racial foods where after eating X amount of a specific food type, the character gains a "permanent" stat increase (eg, after eating a lot of Cheese a Ratling will gain +1 Dexterity). Again, those are permanent stat increases in an RPG; and here is a thread for another RPG where folks are disgruntled over "temporary" food bonuses. It's interesting how a difference in sub-genre can create such nuance with something as simple as food.

oh so the past 6 months of some folks saying that PoE forces players to "rest spam" in order to play good isn't really true? thank heavens! Great post and badass screenshot. Congrats on the unlock.

Even brindle couldn't miss your point, and well all see how he gets without proper rest: https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/83361-breaking-news-pillars-2-has-been-announced/ So I had a choice to either mock your point or make a simple lighthearted reply that hints at the absurdity behind claiming "attribute bonuses from resting" somehow ruins immersion in a game where a Monk with a flaming head can perform a flying roundhouse kick while wearing full plate armor. And you explain your stance by claiming, "in A RPG, believability >>> ALL," in which case you very likely need a break from lovingly caressing RPG's. All we are talking about here is the perspective you have when you click on something. So when you click on the rest icon, you have a hard time understanding why your character can pick a lock better when he wakes up? In real life, being better rested grants all sorts of benefits: physical recuperation, better judgement, smarter decision making, maximum endurance, mental prowess, spiritual awareness, and it even boosts your immune system. So if all the known practical benefits of proper rest elude you, as well as the entire "sleep therapy" industry, and all you can do is feel like your immersion is being ruined when you click on a ham sandwich before resting in satin sheets... then hell maybe you're right, I am missing your point lol As for why one skill boost over another... maybe each room has different books that you read before bed. Problem solved.

Sleep on a crappy bed and then try to slay dragons all day. Then sleep on a memory foam bed with SleepIQ and slay again. Clearly one of those days will yield smarter and more crafty PvE adventuring.

You said the food should be canned... lol ew

Shadow of Yserbius is another from the Sierra network. I have it on my PC under DBox and still play it from time to time. Free download from Abandonware: http://www.myabandonware.com/game/shadow-of-yserbius-2aw fyi, the Sierra Network is in a semi-revival mode. A project to bring it back up has been going on for awhile. Not that it would every make a real comeback in its original form, but it is great nostalgia for some folks

I've never played Sword Coast Legends, but I do like roller skating monkeys.

I also enjoy starting over from scratch (level 1 rat killing madness), but I also enjoy maintaining a character connection, ala ImagiNation Network. Any Sierra fans here?

I assume anyone who can tolerate a gaming forum must have a special place in their heart for Roller Skating Monkeys, na' mean?

I agree with that assessment. Only I do not come to the conclusion that the entire game or storyline is utterly useless/irrelevant/meaningless. I just see it as room for improvement and since the base game is so fantastic, any enhancements Obsidian makes to expand the Watcher's abilities - features and storyline - will only serve to make a great game even greater. But that's my perspective of course, and the core of our disagreement. But you are correct in terms of the Watcher's consistency at certain moments. For example, when in Defiance Bay, in order to investigate Eder's brothers whereabouts, we have to enlist the help of the local Records Keepers, who won't even talk to you until your local standing in the community is higher. My first thought was, "but I am a Watcher, let me just shake this guys hand and find out some info." I see lots of room for growth, but this growth serves to enhance the fun as opposed to "saving the game from being useless" lol. Hey maybe the title of the next game could be: "PoE 2: Wrath of the Watcher" - where you go around town casting Sleep on citizens followed by your Watcher using her finger to "probe" peoples soul's in the most uncomfortable way possible. Secret quests and hidden treasure locations can be revealed only through strategic use of Watching finger probing. This should definitely be a thing.