Trashos

Oh, c'mon... I am relatively to new to RPGs, so I played both the oldies and the modern titles in the same period of my life. I still find the oldies much better in general. To cut a long story short, older games targeted different audiences to what they do today. Once you realize this, the reasons become clear. Btw, I liked PoE. But it is no BG2 by any means, especially in terms of combat (or Athkatla). It is of course a bit unfair to compare poe-1 to bg-2, so I am waiting to see what will come out of poe2. No pressure, Josh

A big thank you to the developers for all the hard work from me as well. I am deeply worried about a potentially dumbed down PoE2 though.

The proof is in the pudding. I will like Josh's system better when: 1) Character progression is not broken. Right now, it is. That's what I call it when all my derived statistics rise automatically by a huge amount on every level up. 2) Encounter design gets interesting. I haven't played the expansions (so I guess I may be a bit harsh here), but the base game's combat encounter design is far inferior to the one in Shadows of Amn. 3) Difficulty gets tuned up. It is weird to claim that the system makes builds viable, when the reality is that the game is too easy, so basically anything will work. Next time give me a challenging game in order to judge. Having said all that, I do realize the following: a) Innovation is hard work and takes time to get it just right. I respect what Josh is trying to do and I am willing to give it more time. I generally like people who try to innovate. b) It is hard to get everything right on the first version of a game. BG1 to me is just "that game that made BG2 possible". Maybe PoE2 will also be better than PoE1 in the above aspects. So. The proof is in the pudding. Give me a game that is better than BG2, and then I will like this system more.

Good and bad things can be said for all factions. Father Doemenel will be a good leader if you give him a chance. I don't see the Doemenels as completely evil, they are very human too. Their goals are similar to the other factions (more power) and they know what's good for business.

Guys, leaving the machine in working status is a risk. Some times risks pay off, sometimes they don't. In this case, it didn't. I don't find it surprising that some of you were surprised, but it does sound to me like you are in favor of holywood-type "everybody lived well thereafter" endings. But this is not that kind of game, it is more mature than that. (IIRC, Icthala also warns you that you have to destroy the machine) If you cooperate with Arnhelm, you get the option to draw power from the machine. Now that all data is at your disposal (after your 1st playthrough), you have got a choice to make. Either you draw power from the machine (and Heritage Hill goes to hell again) or you destroy the machine (but you miss the power you could draw). In my book, this is really good C&C (choice and consequence). C&C is important in RPGs so that they can appeal to mature gentlemen like yourselves, and I am sure you are eventually going to appreciate it.

Some of it I agree with, some of it I find unfair. Put them in armor and they are fine. Monks are pretty fun, imo. You have a point there. By now we know that Obsidian did not have the time on work on everything as much as they would have liked. Well, "no-handholding" is a good thing in my book. I missed that messenger on my 1st playthrough as well, but I don't mind. It was my punishment for not paying enough attention, so to speak. And it made my next playthrough all the sweeter. Anyway, I don't have a strong opinion on this specific messenger. I don't agree here. There are plenty of groups and folks that are OK. Yes, there are a lot of scumbags too, but why not? Isn't the real world like this in a way? Agreed. I didn't like the end of Act II either. You already knew that this machine had been extensively studied with little success. What did you expect? Anyway, I find this point unfair, because you HAVE the option to destroy it, you just didn't take it. See above. You don't have to want to save the Dyrwood. It is an option but not a necessity. But as Eder comes to realize, sometimes you defend a place just for the few people that you actually like.

I am happy they are using the same tech as PoE, because it means that they could focus on gameplay stuff.

It was too boring fighting the same mobs (more or less) over and over. Here is an idea for trash mob enthusiasts: After you have defeated your trash mob, reload the game and fight them again.

I am glad you found a way to optimize your fun. On the other hand, I don't agree that the game is challenging with the default companions. On my latest PotD playthrough without expansions, I had serious trouble in 3 fights total (dragons, vithrack bounty) and I am playing with the default companions. I used scrolls and food only on these 3 fights + Thaos. That's too easy for the hardest difficulty of the game. Yet, I am using a wizard (Aloth) & and a priest (Durance), and I haven't changed the XP progression (I am still capped at 12 though). So I yield that it may not be impossible to make the game challenging, but Obsidian certainly didn't design it as such.

Heijoushin, if we were talking about robots and not people, then the rational choice (both for her and her child) would have been to continue being part of a powerful family line. If we take her feelings into account, then it can be argued that it is not really a "rational" choice any more. Anyway, note that in the rational choice I am not forcing her to do anything. I am mentioning what her family's interests are and let her make her own mind up.

Yes, but that's not "siding with Lord Harond", is it? I want the option to return her to him while she is cured.

Zered, is he continually forcing himself upon her or was it only until she became pregnant? This is unclear to me, but important. Anyway, the way I think about this is the following: CRUEL: "You have no choice in this, girl, I am taking you back to your uncle." RATIONAL: "Do what you want. But I think that it is to your family's best interests that you return to your uncle and give him an heir." STOIC: "Hey, what can you do. Maybe he is a monster, but he is still your family."

Seconded! I was looking for a way to side with Lord Harond too. I don't even consider it to be an evil choice.

Pillars of Eternity has 4 possible spots to activate 'High Level Scaling'; - Entering The White March Pt. 1 - Entering The White March Pt. 2 - Beginning Act 3 - Jumping into the pit in Burial Isle Each of these require different levels for the prompt to appear. You can answer 'Yes, I would like high level scaling' or 'No, I do not want high level scaling'. With high level scaling 'ON', selected encounters throughout the area it has been engaged will be increased in level difficulty by 33%. For example: a level 3 enemy will be increased to level 4. I got your backs -Sking I am confused here. I am playing PotD with patch 3 but without the expansions. I just entered Act III (Elmshore) at level 10 and the game is asking me if I want the enemies to scale up. Questions: - Since I don't have the expansions, I expect that my level cap is at 12, right? This used to be the case with patch 2. - Does the proposed scale up understand that I am capped at level 12? Will the hard fights later be doable if I choose to scale up? Sorry to say that this design is utterly confusing, folks. Anyway, I am looking for a challenge and I am finding the game too easy, so I 'll probably choose to scale up. Hopefully Act III will still be doable with a level cap of 12.

Guys, Obsidian employees (current+recent) are directly responsible for more than half of the Codex Top 10 RPGs ever list. A couple of them have assumed the status of Deities, so to speak. If some of you are suggesting that the Codex had it coming for Obsidian, think again.

Playing PotD, I haven't found that I need food or potions that much. I usually keep a couple of Endurance potions on each character just in case. Enchanting: I have kept notes of the strengths and weaknesses of most dangerous opponents in the game and I enchant my weapons accordingly. For example, ogre druids give me trouble, but they are weak at Corrode Damage, so I enchant some weapons accordingly. Another example, blunt weapons are most useful against skeletons, some blights and animats (talking about the base game). Skeletons don't give me trouble, so I enchant the blunt weapons with vessel/shock for animats or spirit/freeze for earth and rain blights. I also have some weapons enchanted especially for dragons. For financial reasons, I only enchant the named weapons that my group are going to be using for a long time, plus a couple of substitute weapons for special occasions.

Yes, having to face the same enemies twice in a row was not only tiring, it was also a stupid time waster imo. If people feel that some maps feel empty now, I have the following suggestions to Obsidian: 1. Add meaningful fights. Slight changes to mob rosters are not enough. A mob of [2 stone beatles, 2 wooden beatles] plays more or less the same as a mob of [4 stone beetles, 1 wooden beetle]. This kind of design might work in a turn-based game, but here it won't cut it. Add fights of distinctly different flavor or don't add fights at all. 2. Instead of fights, you can add other things in empty maps. A notebook with a cool story. Some loot. Friendly animals. 3. Leave it as it is. A few maps are a bit empty as of patch 3, but it sure beats having to play the same fight over and over again. I am much happier now.

Yes, I know that the same happens with D&D, I am a BG2 fan. My main point is that a few levels in that system don't make as huge of a difference as they make in PoE. That's because your stats might increase, but you were still dead meat in difficult fights unless you pre-buffed. The default increase in stats was not very significant. That system required from you to master it, power was not cheap. In contrast, PoE requires much less. When I go somewhere and have trouble, I know that if I come back 2 levels later I am going to roll like a boss even if I haven't chosen any particularly overpowered abilities in the meantime. This didn't happen in BG2, at least it didn't happen very often. In PoE it happens all the time. I 'd be interested to see the results you are mentioning, but I don't see how they might explain the vast difference in power a couple of levels give in PoE automatically. I like PoE, but oh boy is it not disappointing in some aspects. I am currently doing my first PotD playthrough (base game, patch 3); I am level 9 and I 've never had to use any food. I have only used potions a couple of times (and I could probably have avoided them completely). I am playing the hardest difficulty of the game, and all I have to do really is choose the order in which I confront each challenge, because difficulty is too much dependent on player level.

I think the root problem is that your power increases too much with every level gained. Not only do you get new abilities (which is fine), but also your derived stats (Health, Accuracy etc) increase by default (which is NOT fine, afaic). This means that you get easily overpowered without doing anything smart ever, and the game plays itself. This is a system that fundamentally caters for the casual gamer (makes it easy for him to succeed), but it is bound to disappoint more serious gamers that are looking for a challenge. Unfortunately, the problem persists in PotD as well. I prefer systems that allow you to customize your character, style, and general strategy, but don't offer you default gifts on level ups. Anyway, what is done is done.

- The "watcher" discussions with Thaos. - Being able to choose my past relationship with Iovara. - Lady Webb-Thaos brandy scene. - Durance. - Berath & Lord Raedric VII. - Sending Icthala's prisoners to Aldhelm. - Hunter, Brother quest. - Cwineth. (I am self-restraining myself)

I still haven't understood if the bashing shields are better than the plain shields or utterly trash.

Has Stealth been buffed in 3.0? I think it has, as I was able to walk right up to a lone Outlaw and a lone young wolf in Valewood before my stealth broke (with Stealth 4, IIRC). If it has been buffed, maybe Backstabs will be an option now. Has anybody noticed anything?

"Ground" sounds like a buff against electricity damage to me. Bad choice of a keyword, imo.