Hello,
First time posting here for me. I think this discussion is extremely interesting.
I think that it shouldn't be centered around Per Rest or Per Encounter though, its a trap because the problem is the game and combat design around one or the other system. I think many people including myself were excited about the new system (no Health, few Per Rest, no more camping supplies...). The big issue here is that Obsidian changed that without changing how the combat works very much. They did half the work with so that we have to say "PoE 1 system was better". But that's not the point. The point is that the new system doesn't provide any challenge. If it did people here wouldn't have regret about the changes.
Moreover, when you have a level of difficulty called Path of the Damned, well it's supposed to be very hard and challenging and restrictuve in some ways, god damnit. If the majority of players don't have the time for that or just enjoy the story or want to have fun with abilites without worrying about micro management or ressource management or too many fights, etc : jusst play Normal or Classic and if you want a bit of a challenge go on Veteran / Hard. What we're asking here I think is to make POTD enjoyable for the minority of people playing it. Not to be annoying and mess with all other players enjoyment of the game.
Thats why the discussion can be skewed. It's just that Obsidian didn't deliver a finished product in that way. And balancing is different from changing core mechanincs after release. How can you know as a player what to expect from the devs after realease ? Usually is just bug fixing and balance, not complete overhaul, which to me IS worrying. I find it more natural to realease the game 6 months later as finished and complete.
And at last there's something important to nitice here : the game is new in many aspects (technical, graphical, sound, environment, writing) but the gameplay didn't change one bit (or at least not as new game should). all classes are the same, all spells are the same (okay 90% or so), ennemies are the same (again a vast majority), even some companions are the same, combat is the same the way to buils characters are the same. A huge part of the difficulty found in PoE 1 for PoTD was learning how to use everything and more so if you didn't recall BG or all D&D rules. Now you start the game with all this knowledge and the devs didn't bother to put a challenging and rewarding way to progress. You already know almost everything. Sop what's left to debate ? Empower, too OP dual classes, per rest or per encounter.
I. E. the issue is the game design, this feelin gof "PoE 1 in vacation in the caribbean seas" spin-off vibe
Sorry for the long post ! Cheers everyone !
