Verde

I absolutely LOVE good old BG but frankly if you leave aside the ruleset (definitely an acquired taste) you have to recognize that originally the BG1 NPCs were a bit paper thin. There is a reason why the NPC mod for BG1 is probably one of the best mods for the game. The strength of Baldur's Gate was to take the fundamental fight between Good and Evil (a common trope in fantasy) and turn it into an internal conflict within the main character's soul. The struggle between Good and Evil becomes the inner struggle to embrace or reject the legacy of the Bhaalspawn. There are some nice things there, but I think that even black&white good vs evil isn't done too well, as I find it far too difficult to play as evil character - quests simply don't support it much. Sure, you can kill random NPC to balance it out, but that's not much fun. What Baldur's Gates did so well is to use gameplay loops as narrative fuel. You murder thousands of creatures and instead of it clashing with your character, BG uses it as part of the story and addresses it multiple times head on. Lack of choice works because no matter who you want to be in the end you are the Bhaalspawn. A bit of "would you kindly" there. Struggle is less with what you choose to do, but that what you do in the game is at odds which whom you probably want to be as the character. I mean you can side with the vampires and channel your inner alien...but there are issues with the reputation system. I can't think of too many RPGs that allow you to play good or evil with such a colorful cast of characters. The motivation is there too, not to just be a brain dead murderhobo, but one realizing his/her full potential as a Child of Bhaal.

Grimoire maker

That's a good pt in that it handled the ability to play good or evil very well.

Ah those tricky scoundrels!

BG2 uses the archaic D&D system, even for it's time it was not exactly intuitive, but the acting, characters, dialogue, story, quests, and epic battles are still on par or better than anything we see today in a whole package. More than anything it was inspired which is more than can be said about a majority of games nowadays.

Loved that part of SSS when we learn what happened in the Deadfire. Maybe they were better at governing themselves back them. Ah I didn't play :/ mind spoiling it for me?

Huana play the victim's card - they hate other factions but need em anyway. Remember, it was their stubborn, foolish King who let Thaos and Co. in.

Chromo Staff, Modwyr, and I'm partial to a few others like Rust's Little Dagger, Frostfall, Sungrazer, and Bardatto's Luxury. Spine of Thicket Green is good too, with cool story implications. Boeroer question for you - is Immunity to Constitution effects worth it (Luxury) or is it more of a placebo effect (i.e. it's cool seeing it listed)? Scordeos Trophy, Fire in the Hole, and Kitchen Stove are also pretty neat. I gotta give my #1 to Eye of Wael. Love that thing. And the Scepter you get from Splintered Reef is pretty good too.

Balance is happiness. Best you can do is to pursue it. But if you can't reach it will you be happy?

I think PoE2 took steps back in the attributes. Resolve is almost completely unnecessary and Might has major diminishing returns. And I do agree that Might dictating damage even on Wizards is a major turn off but that's nothing new. I think Intelligence is too powerful and having say, a Barbarian with high Int just kills immersion so I never do it Not game breaking for me, but indicative of PoE2's one step forward one step back approach.

Kill the slavers in the Crookspur questline

So how would you guys tier the new classes?

Balance is an illusion.

You mean the Machiavellian psychopath who invaded a whole country to impose his view of the world on everybody? And when that failed, he inhabited an adra statue, stomped around the Deadfire as a walking biawac killing hundreds in his wake, and put all kith and gods on a timer by destroying the Wheel? You don't mind that guy? But he has such a soothing voice... Lol came here to say this

If we get a PoE3, and it combines the best parts of 1 (main story, dark tone) and 2 (graphics, combat) that would be awesome. I enjoyed my time with both games, but I don't feel like they are masterpieces I can jump in every so often.

Principi. I think they have the best quests and characters.

I mean a no rest run is certainly not a benchmark to a measure a class.

Gorecci St earns it's place in RPG lore right under the first wolf you fight in BG.

Soulblade or Beguiler would be tremendously better imho.

The feedback isn't even bad. Just ability to turn her off and or read faster.

Bad marketing, niche genre, previews stating they were playing it safe. It didn't do much to draw in a new audience essentially. But with the game more polished and all major content released maybe we will see more sales. I kinda wish I waited.

I'm fine with it since I typically skip everything she says for faster reading anyway.

Nice try Boeroer. It's true and you know it. I think you quoted the wrong person too. I replied to dunehunter (whom I know, discuss with and tease since the beta phase of Deadfire) and I quoted nobody. What do you mean?In your reply about sub Rogues vs vanilla Rogues you quoted Andrea but were replying to me, which I didn't realize till now.I don't agree. Boeroer's post was completely discussing the context of Andrea's post originally. I think you have a grudge and need to step away from the forums for a while till you can let it go. Damn, now I got Frozen stuck in my head. Where in Andrea's quoted statement does it mention anything about Rogues or Barbs? Your statement is ironic bc whenever I post there you are; I think it's you who needs to stop following me and playing White Knight everytime I respond to something unrelated to you.

Nice try Boeroer. It's true and you know it. I think you quoted the wrong person too. I replied to dunehunter (whom I know, discuss with and tease since the beta phase of Deadfire) and I quoted nobody. What do you mean?In your reply about sub Rogues vs vanilla Rogues you quoted Andrea but were replying to me, which I didn't realize till now. Also do you really think that the Corpse Eater isn't worse than the vanilla Barb? I haven't seen anyone else support this and objectively does a +1 Rage offset such a niche ability? I think you're just being a contrarian Champion of the Downtrodden again.