Verde

There is some good dialogue, even some great (thinking of Eothos...or maybe it's just his delivery). And some NPCs come alive. The DLC had some memorable momentd. It was a lofty goal to include all VOs. I like the way BG2 handled with some voiced some not.

I hope you're joking about your fav line lol I mean, I saw people post about the line a while back ... but normally don't want to contradict people's opinion but that cat is out of the bag already so - I saw that line and it made me laugh, and choose it every time. I really liked it. It was perfect!! (call me unsophisticated if you must - but just don't call me a boat lover). I don't know ... if I had a criticism of Deadfire story and plot, it would be that there isn't more of it, but not that it is deficient but the fact that I want a huge game that plays for the entire year!! LOL which is asking too much. Even more so I wish there were more lines of dialogue to choose from, instead of five or 8, why not 10 or 15 please!!! Last thing I will say is about Star Wars ... I keep hoping they turn Timothy Zahn's books into movies - the Heir To The Empire trilogy was great!! It just seems so out of place when it's availavle. Like a teenager wrote it to be a meme or something.

Haha

I hope you're joking about your fav line lol

Because main OP idea buff Druid spirit-shifting, not only for special multi-class combinations like Streetfighter, but in General, i.e make druid class viable without multi-classing as monks, wizards, rangers ... etc Streetfighter Druid sounds like an extremely odd combination from both a RP and combat perspective.

It's about which Faction will control the Deadfire after Dr. Manhattan, oops I mean Eothos, destroys the cycle of reincarnation.

It's a really dumb mechanic that turns casters into Empower bots later on.

Pillars 1's writing is full of unnecessary complication, of the type discussed in the first link from Literarylab. It's a chore to read through endless reams of overwrought description and awkward similes. Much of it is contained within companion dialogue, which is surprising considering that the dialogue in the game is written by a variety of different authors, many of them established experts in their field, such as Chris Avellone. I suppose this point is redundant without examples, so I'll try to provide some, but it's not as if I wrote down the worst examples I saw while playing through the game or anything like that. Example: Durance dialogue/description 'Dies' into a smile? This is just an awkward verb to use here. This is from the moment where you meet Durance by the statue of Magran. 'It shimmers in your eyes' is a really confusing phrase. 'In' my eyes? How can something shimmer in my eyes? That doesn't make any sense. 'Like water catching the light weaving across the statue.' So this is an attempt at a simile. The staff is shimmering, and the effect makes the staff... no wait, not the staff, it makes it seem like there's water there... floating in mid-air? Between you and the staff? Ok, I guess... so it's as if there is water, and it's catching the the light weaving across the statue that's nearby... god, this is a confusing sentence. It's very pretty but it's quite difficult to dismantle the meaning. 'Whatever power was bled from the staff, it doesn't make it - or the wielder - any less dangerous.' Ok so this sentence is trying to create the image that, despite the power that's gone from the staff, it's still dangerous, and so is Durance. But why? This old man dressed in rags doesn't seem dangerous to me. He's more like a runty hermit with a boss eye than a deadly enemy. How would I even know how dangerous he is? How would I know what power was bled from the staff? (this is early on, before you know anything about the Godhammer and Durance's role in it) How would I know that despite the power being bled, he's still dangerous? Nothing about this exchange makes me think that this guy is dangerous. Example: general description from prologue So this is another painful pair of paragraphs, this time from the start of the game. 'dark figures' It's not that dark in this scene. The enemies here could be described in detail and it would give much better understanding to the player. 'as if from half-split logs' This is another awkward simile. Half-split logs... so we're comparing these dead bodies to.. logs? Why? Other than similar shapes, why would you make this comparison? Does it make these enemies appear fearsome, to compare them to woodcutters? 'as they prepare to add you to the sprawling pile beneath them.' I'm already reeling from the confusing attempt at a simile with half-split logs, and now I have to dismantle this... add me to the sprawling pile beneath them..? The bodies can't be a pile. Unless they brought all the bodies together to put them into a pile. The bodies would be quite spread out. So not a pile. And sprawling? Remember, the definition of pile is a heap of things laid or lying one on top of another. So, a sprawling pile? This is just a really awkward description. It's quite difficult to think of a pile of things as being sprawling. 'at the neck of the man you recognise as Heodan' Another awkward set of phrases. At-the-neck-of-the-man-you-recognise-as-Heodan. Why not use 'at Heodan's neck'? Is it really so important to add this layer of detail, and in this sentence? 'The man you recognise as Heodan' just makes this entire sentence cumbersome. Anyway, I could go on, but again these are by no means the worst examples. They are, however, representative of writing that is generally ponderous and difficult to understand. Game writing, and really, good writing in general, doesn't have to be flowery and intricately detailed in order to do its job. One choice word, description, simile, etc is worth ten flat ones. There are a few other points I could make, perhaps about some of the supporting cast, but I already wrote a lot, and Thaos and the general quality of the writing are the two main problems I have with the story, so I guess this is ok. This was a high quality post. I don't agree with all of it, but I appreciated it. I also found the literary lab link to be useful. Thanks so much. Agreed with almost all of this. As Stephen King said, never let your prose get in the way of the story. PoE1 is a prime example of that. PoE2's writing is all over the place. Some is good, most is silly, and some is straight cringey worthy. I mean, "I.Hate.Boats" are you serious lmao?

Hey all - thanks for the input. I had to take a break but I'm back and want to build this class. Gonna go with Aumaua (sheesh it's hard to type that) with high Mig and medium Con and Per. I want to avoid Berserker for gameplay and RP reasons so I'll prob go vanilla Barb. For Monk, how is Shattered Pillar? Leaning towards Nalpazca but willing to try something different. Appreciate the Helwalker shoutouts but I'd like to avoid squishiness. Lastly, what are some abilities / equipment a Ravager shouldn't miss? Any ability combinations to avoid? Thx in advance.

Rogues are very versatile and deadly so it depends on single or multi and your preferred style of play. But I'd say a given is to take the first two skills, Dirty Fighting, and Deathblows. And Persistant Distraction if you melee. The latter two are especially OP...I mean reasonable.

Your build looks solid.

I think the writing is amateurish overall.

Oops too late! Great work.

Nvm

No one's quite sure. Not even Obsidian

I give it a 7.5/10 for the polished graphics, tight combat, but woefully lacking main story and non-faction sidequests that have little effect on the world except for different slides at the end. Too much focus on a wonky disposition system and voice overs. Biggest disappointment is anything related to the Gods went from mysterious to hammy. I'll add on a .5 for the great DLC, however I'm disappointed none of the DLC focuses on Eothos. Overall the game is definitely enjoyable but shallow and wonky.

My advice is just stop taking others' advice when you settle on a build. Play it. Develop your style. You don't need an uber min maxed build down to the 5th decimal place. If you keep second guessing yourself you will never enjoy the game. Have fun and do your thing.

Theory crafting is only that when your considerations are only at max level. Build crafting is just as much about getting there. That's "why xx/xx build is so great once u get all the required end level gear and skills!" is such a silly selling pt. Ok, what about 90% of the game before then?

Devoted/Streetfighter for a beginner huh ? I can't imagine playing the game for the first time and only sticking to one weapon type...and always having to worry about Bloodied or Flanked. Plus with Streetfighter you have to abuse Blunderbuss modal...so does that mean Devoted Blunderbuss? I can't imagine a more yawn inducing first timer build haha. Anyway you could just do Fighter/Trickster for a really tanky and versatile char.

Ranger, very easy to play? That is some contrarian opinion right there. It was voted far and away worst class about a month ago. It is def viable, but nowhere near the easiest class, or the strongest. For a beginner, the sturdy martial classes make the most sense - Fighter, Monk, Paladin. And consider a Rogue multi for DPS.

Came here to say Swashbuckler

Cipher has Borrowed Instinct and can disable/debuff enemies easily. For an offtank with damage and debuff try a Trickster/Beguiler or Soulblade.

Do tell... So what's the fastest way resist the Confusion? Devil of Caroc's breastplate?

What do y'all think of this combo? Probably for Veteran upscale but potentially PotD.

I remember in PoE when Mental Binding should have been a lvl 6 or 7 spell.