Verde

And the Stag form still has issues with certain spells like Nature's Balm and Woodskin so it really is a last resort.

Here's a nice thread about getting xp before fighting anything, I think you can get to 16 easily, especially if you do a few quests that have easier fights:https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/103025-guide-grow-strong-before-fighting-anything/ Oh I'm sure you can, but that would make the game utterly boring. Xp comes fast as it is. Don't really feel the need for sail around to become even more overleveled.

Unfortunately it doesn't work for all traps which is annoying. In general I'm not a fan of Perception is King in Deadfire as I stare at traps in front of me that can't be disarmed.

Yep. This is the heart of the problem, and this is why Hollywood, for instance, has been creatively dead for, what, like, twenty years at least? Nothing has been created, in terms of innovation. (And of course now, with the global market, the main audience of mainstream American movies is no longer even in America, it's in China. Way more profitable.)Jordan Peele is making some solid movies. Get Out was creepy and genre-bending and supposedly Us is like a long episode of Twilight Zone, which is a timeless show. Watch the episode Time Enough at Last and tell me what you think!

Not only can I disarm them without officially 'noticing' them, but I am noticing them a heck of a lot less. Which is currently really annoying in BoW where I can't disarm the hole-in-the-ground traps.

The Oracle of Wael is pretty damn hard imho even if you spamming Meteor Shower scrolls. Those damn Dreambeasts don't die easily!

You're right tho, she is self loathing and the decision to come crawling back to the VTC only further supports that. I hate to say it, but like an abuse victim .

So if someone disowned you and made you lose everything you'd instantly join back up with them and try even harder? I have more pride than that I guess. Then again I'm not a one dimensional bird lady.

Even if she joined the Kind Wayfarers in PoE or was exiled from the Republics ?

I can attest it's still wonky. I played with upscaling and it was incredibly difficult compared to any other area in the vanilla game.

They did. She is damn near intolerable in this one, made worse by the retconnin of your PoE decisions.

The RDC twist at the end was shocking and wild, but certainly deterred me from ever choosing them

@Monty it's something that really bothers me about Deadfire, that we still have RPGs that are released with NPCs being placed permanently in positions. Bounty Hunters for example never moving even after their contracts are exhausted. Merchants never leaving. In my opinion it's laziness at worst and inconsistency at best bc there are vendors that leave at night. It's another example of Deadfire being married to the archaic ways of old. Witcher was a game that created bustling, alive cities very well, and that was more of an undertaking since they were in 3D and much bigger. I think Obs has the ability to move this genre forward significantly, which I think they are doing or have done in certain circumstances (like item upgrades which really shine in Deadfire).

Uhh that was th point lol. How was it one of the worst? For a tank I'm not concerned with DPS at all.

The best heavy shield in PoE1 was obatained in one of the very first quests. And it was an ugly barn door.

I didn't bother trying to run Rust down. I just assumed that that was the game's way of giving the player a big bleep you. As for the crowd funding, that's just dumb. They shouldn't have allowed that outcome to even be possible. I don't care if there are exacctly the same number of unique weapons or armors of each type. But there should have been at least, say, 3-4 for each type, with any beyond that being gravy. This number probably shouldn't include pre-order items. And frankly, shouldn't include items on those "revenge ships", I think someone called them. I'm NOT fond of hiding items behind extreme corner case situations that players may never see. As for the final paragraph, honestly, I don't give a flying firetruck about weapon/armor/shield crafting systems. To me, they're a waste of time that would be far better spent on MORE of those items. Not following Rust was an incorrect assumption on your fault. It was more like the game telling you that you needed to work for the best stiletto and one of the best rogue weapons in the game. And in fact was an enjoyable sequence you missed out on. You can't blame the game for your decision. Sorry, but I will blame the game. I was willing to engage in a big nasty fight to get the dagger. But when I see a character run away like that, my automatic assumption is going to be that it's the devs flipping me off. Imagine how a one time only player is going to see it. It was a silly decision to do it this way.You were willing to engage under your terms, if it was a 5v1 easy fight. Sounds like the game outsmarted you haha.

180 hrs? Wow I didnt even realize there was that much content lol. My completionist playthroughs are about 80 hrs but I dont have SSS dlc installed. I mean you're entitled to your opinion, personally I felt similar to you on my first playthrough and then realized the upgrades really made certain builds. Now I always give Eder Bardatto's Luxury with Con affl immunity and if I'm a rogue I start out with Duskfall and eventually move onto the Flails (weird I know). Honestly it's not so much your opinion but the way you presented it

Well, if that was Sawyer's reasoning, then no wonder the loot feels so crappy.1. If you can't find a rapier that is half as good as the axe, then the solution is to create a rapier that is good as the axe or at least close to it. The solution is not to create conditionals on pretty much every item and thus multiplying "Oh ****, I am not a paldin" moments. Case and point, finding a shield in PoE2 that is great only if you have a high athletics skill, thus creating "Oh ****, I don't have a high athletics skill" moment and forcing you to respec, which I already explained why is anthithetical to the RPG genre. 2. It is not clear to me that balance is something that players are really concerned about. These types of games have never been balanced and there were always classes and items that were just better then everything else. Considering the amount of variations and possible builds, that is unavoidable, I'm afraid. Even in PoE2 there are numerous builds/combinations that are just objectively better than others, so if he thinks he achieved balance - well he didn't. He just ruined the loot system. 3. Whether catering to powergamers was a side effect or the main goal is irrelevant. That is the actual result of his design philosophy and I think it does a lot more harm than good for the genre. So what swords did you collect that feel underwhelming to the first sword you crafted?

I didn't bother trying to run Rust down. I just assumed that that was the game's way of giving the player a big bleep you. As for the crowd funding, that's just dumb. They shouldn't have allowed that outcome to even be possible. I don't care if there are exacctly the same number of unique weapons or armors of each type. But there should have been at least, say, 3-4 for each type, with any beyond that being gravy. This number probably shouldn't include pre-order items. And frankly, shouldn't include items on those "revenge ships", I think someone called them. I'm NOT fond of hiding items behind extreme corner case situations that players may never see. As for the final paragraph, honestly, I don't give a flying firetruck about weapon/armor/shield crafting systems. To me, they're a waste of time that would be far better spent on MORE of those items. Not following Rust was an incorrect assumption on your fault. It was more like the game telling you that you needed to work for the best stiletto and one of the best rogue weapons in the game. And in fact was an enjoyable sequence you missed out on. You can't blame the game for your decision.

Honestly, I'm enjoying Deadfire much more with a majority of my party custom. The NPCs just don't have much going on after the first 10 hrs (w the exception of Tekehu and ofc Eder, da boyz). Just requires some imagination

Mindstalker imho is one of the more versatile and fun builds. Rogue and Cipher synergize very well. Personally I'd go Trickster/Soulblade bc you will be generating a ton of Focus which will equate to a ton of damage. I tried Trickster/Beguiler and I kept running into issues where I had too much focus.

Even still is the Psion worth it? Genuine question, I haven't seen much about it.

LDV was made for Tekehu.

I agree that some weapon categories need more uniques, like daggers. But some only have a few and they are game changes - like Thicket Green and Chromo Staff. I feel like it's fairly obvious why Disengement Immunity is good - you can run around the battlefield freely. Now it's super heavy armor and a tank may not need it bc of Charge, but other characters, like a Druid or Priest can really benefit. Plus it has other benefits as well. It's a top tier armor for sure. Looking at robes, for example, there are only a few uniques ones but they are really powerful and can enhance a playstyle. The one with poison and Dex affl immunity is amazing with a Druid MC bc of all the Hobbling poisonous plant spells covering the battlefield. By endgame you're creating forests. You just gotta get creative.

One thing worth mentioning was how different Dragon Age Origins was on console vs. PC due to the tactical camera on PC. I know on PC it's considered one of the better RPGs but honestly on console it was pretty rough. I was never impressed with it. I'd even go as far as calling it a very average RPG.