handsomenat

I used Unity Console: here. Open the character sheet and the options to manipulate dispositions will display on the right. I also checked his initial responses to every disposition and he basically has three responses: hugs you if you're benevolent/passionate, nods courteously if you're diplomatic/stoic and slaps you on the back if you're aggressive/cruel. Other dispositions change nothing and he just continues to introduce himself. (should i stop here??).

Ok just checked in game and he reacts the same way to an aggressive Watcher as well. So he's playing a rough type.

Yeah I'm not sure I get this either. Maybe only as a contrast to say, a diplomatic person? Acting like an ostensibly rough person instead? Not bowing courteously.

Cruel Watcher meets Atsura for the first time:

PoE was such a somber game. It dealt mostly with a country after war, grief, loss, questioning beliefs. It was rarely about good vs evil, but more like, about authority vs autonomy. How much freedom people should have. Do they need gods as the source of ethics. Is truth ultimately good. It gave me lots to think about and I loved talking about it with my friend. It's like an overall more mature take at a fantasy story, searching for a more intimate perspective, dealing with an universal experience of suffering and death. Deadfire has really nice things about colonization and culture. I seriously liked listening to all those conversations between Huana and Rauatai. But it lacks an emotional core. It doesn't really feel like the Watcher's story even. Watcher experienced their own death and it's not really brought up again. Also their condition as a Watcher isn't fully exploited (not sure how should I word it). You don't see that many ghosts... They could have been more connected to the main story. There isn't a strong recurring theme that could connect the big political plot with the metaphysical. Maybe it could have been more about the world before apocalypse (which you kinda get but only after revelations at Ashen Maw when every faction leader is present at the palace).

There was already a discussion about wizard robes on this forum and it looks like we might get some new models in future DLCs. I like the idea of implementing the need to sleep in some way. Helmets in combat only would be also a cool feature. And I want higher wages for the crew, maybe it could be modded. I'm not sure how I feel about health and endurance no longer being there. I think it felt a little more realistic than auto-heal after a fight.

I have seriously mixed feelings about the game. I love everything that OP pointed out, in many ways POE2 improved over the first game. AI is better, graphics are really neat, I like clothing and armors, music is good and doesn't feel boring after a while (unlike in first game, at least for me), the setting feels new and refreshing and I don't have a useless stronghold. Also, more reactivity for previously neglected races. But the plot was such a letdown. I don't want to spend more time on criticizing the game in this thread though. Still interested in DLCs, at least the Beast of Winter because it looks like we're going to learn more about Pale Elves.

The only way I was able to fight Kathrenn without harming any NPC was to wait until it was raining - she moves to a less crowded spot in the map, near the entrance to the catacombs.

To be honest the idea of him being autistic did cross my mind after a while but I didn't settle on it, since my understanding of autism is really limited (and when I thought that I stopped to ask myself why then I find him creepy - because his interaction don't come of as natural? or because he is not forthcoming and manipulating and I just don't know his motives and the whole situation is kinda uncomfortable. just thinking about my own judgment). Also I did notice his ciphers but I didn't make the connection; merely thought of them as bodyguards in case I attack him, so that's a nice catch and I like your hypothesis.

It's true that many important NPCs will react to your dispositions but I don't think anyone other than Atsura tries to... mimic them. Like not only does he argue accordingly, but he tries to behave in ways that would uh, please the Watcher. It's creepy.

Atsura is so slimy. I liked how he tends to mirror Watcher's behavior; this is where you get your reactivity to dispositions. Of course he comes of as very obviously disingenuous if he tries to look like he's benevolent (he tries to hug the Watcher... or trying to shed tears for the fallen Huana). There's one line of his description which I love. After doing some quests for him the Watcher can tell him that they still don't understand him or what he believes in and you get this line: "His careful expression falters, his eyes bulging and mouth slack. The slip only lasts a moment, but it's like seeing a curtain ripple before a gutted and scorched room." I was also taken aback when I saw that you can flirt with him? I totally didn't read the line "You seem different from the rest of RDC" and following "Come on, you know exactly what I mean" as flirting but apparently Atsura did. What. He's so terrible. I like him as a character and absolutely hate everything he represents.

After clearing out Crookspur for RDC I found Seafol again in Dunnage. When asked "What can you tell me about this place" she starts to describe Crookspur, that is, her dialogue is almost the same (except she doesn't give you the quest to free slaves).

After you do the quest for RDC in Cignath Mór the coral in Sayuka will be removed. But I noticed that it still casts a shadow on the sea, like seen on the screenshot below:

Another aesthetic improvement would be more portraits for both kinds of aumauas. Currently female Coastal aumauas have only one portrait, men have three. Female island aumauas have two (one being color-swapped version of the only coastal protrait) and men only one. It's a little jarring in a setting where this race seems to be majority (and then it looks like my Watcher and her crew from Sayuka are triplets). I know from experience that portraits are rather time-consuming and theoretically I could paint some myself (I tried) and that it's not top priority or even the most important thing in the game but still it would be nice.

That's might be beside the point but in my game it was Xoti who started conflict with Pallegina. Immediately calling her featherhead heretic and accusing her of blasphemy. So I don't really expect Pallegina to be all understanding and reaching out if the other party is pretty aggressive towards her.

More customization options for Wild Orlans. I don't have high hopes that it would ever happen, but one can dream hah.

You don't meet them in person, you hire them like most of any other crew offered by other port cities by clicking on the buy supplies button below the watercolor map of the port. Then on the left there are tabs where you can shop, retrain your party or hire new crew members.

Yeah it does feel like Pallegina has been through all kinds of hell and I personally hoped that her life would go in a direction where she gets to have something nicer for her own sake. Like, i don't know, that hint of relationship with Maneha in White March for example. Or finding that life isn't all torture all the time or devoting yourself 100% to your country. Seeing how terrible initially was her relationship with another godlike, Tekehu, was kinda painful. The only good thing is that she eventually understood that he wanted to befriend her and she even shares some of her private thoughts with him. But other than that... her whole thing in Deadfire is being 100% committed to the Republics with no space for herself as a person. Personally I'm disappointed in what the writers did for her in this game. Tekehu really feels like he's changing and developing; I like his personal arc. Plus he's a really kind person, if somewhat obnoxious. He became my favorite companion.

Using game's save editor I created a legacy where my Watcher never recruited Eder. When talking to Rekke about companions I could still ask him his opinion on Eder (with PoE1 icon) even though my Watcher never met him. I'm using the 1.1 patch.

I actually would love it if we could capture enemy ships. Well, at least some of them, else we'd end up with an armada bigger than Rauatai navy. Somehow I thought it was supposed to be in game and was disappointed too.

Handsome Eliam died for my orlan and pale elf Watcher too. Curious to know what's the correlation in this event.

This problem has been on my mind for some time; how to marry an open world with a pressing main quest. Can't say Deadfire does it well. I don't have any solid answers but I agree with some of the ideas mentioned here. One, mentioned above by Purudaya: throw obstacles in player's path. Two, restructure the whole chase so that the player is largely in the dark and has to figure out the course rather than them knowing where to go and then stalling because I guess Eothas will just patiently wait for them to catch up. After the first quest in Engwithan Ruins I thought next steps would be more like a puzzle. Investigate more Adra Pillars and from that figure out Eothas' course or something. I've been also thinking about Fallout New Vegas and what exactly did it do that it felt okay. And I guess it boils down to player's agency and their actions being connected to factions/antagonists actions. Some things wouldn't take place without player's action first. The Platinum Chip might have been a MacGuffin at first, but turns out it has its uses for either Mr House or the Legion. So what the player will do matters to the involved parties. The overall tempo is different than in Deadfire though; the final conflict is slowly but surely approaching. It's nothing like chasing a god. And there's the whole question of what a mortal can do when confronted with a god (turns out not much) so I'm not sure if the same approach would work well in Deadfire too. I'm not sure if gods not taking action is actually a weakness. It might be a theme. Though of course if something dramatic was to happen the whole game would be much more interesting. I really liked how it's resolved in BG1. I haven't played Witcher 3 yet, but it looks like I need to give it a try.

My Watcher could hold Tekehu's hand (twice even) and they weren't in a relationship.

Orlan peddler from the Brass Citadel greets a fellow orlan with "It's always good to see another furry face". Some merchants like the blacksmith from Periki's Overlook reacts to an orlan watcher by saying that they don't usually make armors in such small sizes but they can work out something. There's also one rather funny option in Tikawara when you ask for baby lagufeaths to be released. If you play as an orlan you can choose "Please take mercy, no one that small should be put in a cage". There are rare remarks reserved for Pale Elves too. Usually people react by saying that they never seen one of your kind this far north. Udita from Dunnage (pale elf who gives you bounty tasks) also reacts to a fellow pale elf but I don't think Ydwin does? I played as a pale elf and still could tell her that she doesn't seem to get much sun. It was a weird option and I didn't pick it so I have no idea how Ydwin reacts to that coming from another pale elf. I think death godlikes get some reactions too (finally).

The Leader of Wahaki.