FlintlockJazz

The only real downside of moving to an open plan office. Downside? Not at all! In fact, people like me are doing you a service for your health!! http://www.newsner.com/en/2015/11/research-your-farts-can-prevent-cancer-and-are-actually-good-for-people-around-you/ So I, and people like me, are doing you a duty (doody? *chuckles* )!

What am I doing today? Farting like a trooper at work. Seriously, I'm so full of wind today, and a lot of them have been pretty loud (along with a few silent but deadlies).

Correction: power corrupts and absolute power is a whole lotta fun!

Story mode? Colour me worried. Does sound very Biowarian, almost expect a 'press button to skip battles' option.

Yeah I noticed this, didn't really think much of it at the time, I automatically assumed it was because my mechanics character was picking it up without putting any thought into it. Now I think about it I'm not really sure if it is intentional or not, Oralaina mentions a patch note so I might look into it, as it could be either a feature or a bug...

Honestly, I think when people wanted crafting in this game this was what they were thinking, not the current system. Cespenar in Throne of Bhaal, where you bring set items and he chucks an upgrade at you style of crafting. Grinding for ingredients doesn't really gel with this system, just my thoughts do with them as you will.

I have only played with the companions, never with custom mercs, and since the Rogue companion only became available with the expansion that meant unless my main was a rogue I did not have one. Always had a mage though, but that's because except for the first playthrough where my main was a wizard I always take Aloth with me because I love the guy, and even on my first playthrough I often stuck Aloth back in for two-mage one-enemy spit-roast action.

Why does might add more passive regen? Does it improve the skill constant recovery? Might increases all damage and healing dealt. Constant Recovery is healing 'cast' by the Fighter on himself and so is modified by Might.

I like the Witcher, but you are still saving a pretty huge chunk of the world in the first one (and in fact do save the world from the Order who wants to mutate everyone don't we?) and Geralt still is pretty much a "Chosen One" trope, or at least an outsider to the society he's in. No, I'm not talkin' about killing 30 mushroom-walkers in order to get the bean soup recipe for the starting area inn keeper. I don't want to grind. That's why I like the example... I can't remember who gave the local guards militia example above, but it's perfect. The quests you undertake work towards a goal. You ask citizens about the events. You look for physical clues. Maybe you're forced to face a local group of brigands or travel to another town and face dangers on the road. Combat would be somewhat less likely, but the threat of combat, as well as the actuality, would be ever present. You *could* have side quests that range from trivial to actually quite important. For example, the threat of the brigands falls squarely in your duty as the leader of the local militia, so dealing with them is part of the main story arc (even if it's presented as outside your current investigation), but finding and returning stolen items, bringing surviving brigands back for trial, or rescuing hostages being kept for ransom could all fall under side quest material. Dealing with the overall situation is a main/major story arc. ...And, the people for whom you do small or trivial tasks would be friends and neighbors, so it would make more sense. For example, Sally, the barmaid at the local tavern where you and your guards take lunch asks that you find her kid and set him on the straight and narrow. That's a sensible request from your friend Sally. It's a little less sensible for Sally to ask a stranger who happens to come into her bar one day. To me, the Pillars story is a good low level spin on a personal matter that ends up being important to the region, but the affliction and dealing with the affliction, is personal. I liked it with one particular issue withstanding. However, I think something even more personal and with less grandiose eventualities would also be good. It's one of the reasons I loved the PS:T story. It was almost entirely personal. It mattered to you and to a small cadre of people drawn close to you by history and shared experiences. Yep, it gives the player a sense of 'ownership' to the town and it's inhabitants, and since they aren't off adventuring across the world they get to know the characters in the town, become attached to the ongoing stories there and to see them unfold. I have considered every now and again of trying to run a tabletop game in which a great dungeon or lost city or something has been found, and roving bands of adventurers from across the world descend upon it to plumb its secrets and treasures! But the players are local militiamen in the nearby town that have to keep cleaning up the messes the adventurers leave behind. The adventurers would behave in the stereotypical player way, having tavern brawls, unleashing evil upon the town by accident, looting un-watched barrels and crates, solving people's issues (often with violence) and then buggering off without care for the consequences, flood the local economy, etc. and the actual players would have to deal with the fallout. I never did do it as it would have to be done right to avoid just pissing off or boring players, but it could possibly be done (and most likely has been done by someone somewhere) successfully.

I've been jonesin' for a game like this for a long time! ...And the way your learn to use your weapon and become more skilled relative to your starting point would make a hell of a lot more sense in a game like this than starting as a farmer and ending up saving humanity and defeating all demons or some such. Don't get me wrong, I like saving the world every now and then, but maybe not *every time* between now and then. Yep, it would make saving the world more meaningful too when you finally get a game in which you did do it as well (once you have reached high level) if you have been adventuring and living in it for at least one or more game beforehand. It would give you an idea of what it is you are saving.

I honestly would not mind a low-level campaign focusing on something low-key like a bunch of militiamen investigating a murder in a village. I've saved the universe enough times now that it's actually old hat, and having my ego stroked by sycophantic companions actually irritates me now.

More or less what JES said in this podcast: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/82986-josh-sawyer-on-darkstation-podcast/ I should pay more attention to the podcasts, keep forgetting to watch them, and my workplace seems to look down on me watching them there, I know they are strange people. Will have to make the conscious effort to remember to look for and watch them when I get home and am not trying to get some actual gaming in. :D

I've been playing the game fine, but I see there being two major reasons why they keep patching so much. 1. As others have already mentioned, it being on Kickstarter has caused them to listen to the fans, arguably a bit too much. I still think they would have carried on fixing things due to point 2 below but it probably would not have been anywhere near as much if they had stuck to their own design vision rather than changing things due to people (not players, I'm talking about back when they were still designing the game systems and the early beta) complaining that X sucked and should be changed (despite never trying it out), which they did and then that caused Y to become unbalanced, so they had to fix that which then caused Z to go hilariously out of kilter and so they had to take that out completely... Most people don't know what they are talking about, but they know that they want Mages to always be this and Wizards always be that because Change is Horrible apparently and you can't possibly expect people to at least try it out first right? 2. They are using the opportunity to get feedback on the patching for Pillars 1 in order to sort out the system in time for Pillars 2. Baldur's Gate is often held up as a classic and awesome game series but that was in no way perfect, even the second one had serious problems, and that was with the use of a pre-existing system (AD&D 2nd Ed.). Obsidian had to build a system from scratch and I get the feeling they are using Pillars 1 to test out ideas for Pillars 2. Bioware put out one or two patches for Baldur's Gate 1, but didn't make any big changes until BG2, which resulted in many issues still not being sorted out or sorted out badly, Obsidian may be trying to avoid this or maybe the fact that they own the game system and setting themselves they see the opportunity to build and refine it in ways using something like D&D wouldn't let them. Is this a good or bad idea? I have no idea I am not a designer but it is what I think is happening. Just some thoughts of mine.

Happy Belated Wishes from me to the evil murdering scum!

My behaviour here might not always support this... Personality: INFP ("The Mediator") Variant: Turbulent Role: Diplomat Strategy: Constant Improvement

Honestly I think they should have just told everyone to shove it and done what they wanted. I backed them to make the game, not random backers who shouted the loudest, and I wanted to see the game they wanted to design, not some compromised version. Sure, it might have come out absolutely terrible, but at least it won't have been based on some kneejerk reactionary response to change amongst people who may have ended up liking the original proposed system if they would have just given it a chance.

I gotta ask: am I like the only person who found the lightsabre fights in the prequels to be boring? Seriously, I hear people going "Well the film was bad but at least the lightsabre fight with X was good" and I'm like "Really?" They just seem to go on forever, full of special effect jumping around, set in places that just don't evoke anything (and quite often I have no idea what the place they are fighting in is meant to be), etc. I mean, Revenge of the Sith improved a bit but they still weren't that great. My reaction to the Obi-Wan/Anakin fight went like this: Yay! This is actually quite cool! The fight down the corridor is great! Okay, getting a bit dragged out now. Lots of Dragonball Z fighting going on now... Did I phase out there for a moment? Okay now the building is falling over... Jumping around on boxes, so dramatic...not. Stop yabbering about how you are gonna jump and jump! Wow, that was anti-climactic, my boner's gone... Seriously, too much reliance on special effects caused it to go all Dragonball Z and there's no tension. The fight between Luke and Vader in Empire Strikes Back is still the best duel in the franchise, it showed Jedi powers while not going over the top with the special effects, and each bit felt meaningful to the film. And this isn't nostalgia talking: I am for instance perfectly aware that the lightsaber fight between Obi-Wan and Vader in A New Hope was pretty much Geriatric's Fighting in the Old People's Home while the fight in Return of the Jedi never got going, they just teased you with some foreplay and then had like two seconds of fighting, though Return also had the issue that they basically pussified Vader anyway, turning him from a badass who Force-Choked half his command staff in Empire to some mopey ****, so there wasn't much to hope for anyway.

I have to say I liked the crossbow, as the_dog_days says it's a CC weapon not a damage weapon, you use it so that you can bring down griffins and other flying enemies so that you can then damage it with your sword. Bombs may have been better for CC but the crossbow used cheaper and more plentiful ammo.

If you are planning on using implements (wands/sceptres/rods) I would recommend the mage-specific implement talents, as they are a bit naff without them. Arcane Veil wasn't worth it at release but has been buffed significantly since then, and is now a good "Oh crap" button. The elemental talents I don't really bother with since most of the spells I use are not element-based or I use them more for the CC, but you may play it differently.

You're also able to poke the aforementioned 30 feet tall dragon to death with daggers. Also, you're somehow avoiding being flattened by his claws, which are likely heavier than your tank is. In addition, you also seem to be able to survive after he breathes fire directly on your face. Alternatively, you're such a good fighter that you can dance between his legs so well that the dragon missteps and ends up out of balance ( which, as a level 12-14 fighter is entirely believable. You're probably one of the top fighters in the whole world ), your rogue is so good that he can find and exploit a gap between the dragon's scales and actually damage him, and when the dragon tries to hit you with his claws or tail, you dodge out of the way at the last second and survive. "Crap" is subjective. Just because you dislike something and can't be bothered to find a believable explanation, it doesn't mean it makes no sense. PoE is a fantasy rpg, half the stuff that happens in combat could be labeled as "crap", by your standards. Have obsidian documented anywhere what immunities they have implemented? My understanding of it is you can no longer blind enemies with one eyes or charm enemies without brains. If this is the case I don't see the problem with it. These changes will effect spell casters the most obvisouly. It's called change people. Get used to it because this game changes more then I change my pants Nope, the spellcasters have all the tools they need to play around immunities. Adding immunities actually makes the spellcaster's playstyle more engaging, because while they're forced to find a different way to handle an opponent that's immune to, say, knockdown, they still have a plethora of debuffs at ther disposal. Martials are the ones who're more likely to see their tactical options reduced, simply because they have fewer options.When you're a fighter and your opponent is immune to knockdown, what do you do instead? Nothing, you stand there and auto-attack him to death. In the end, games revolve around making the right choice ( and getting rewarded by the game's mechanics ). The kind of gameplay that this change enforces makes the spellcaster's playstyle more tactical, and the martial's more dull. This. Not all change is good, when my wizard can't affect something with a spell he uses a different spell, when Eder can't knock something down he realises yet again that he chose the wrong class in life.

Well White Wolf seemed to think Underworld was enough like their games to sue them... http://www.geeknative.com/3773/rpg-news-white-wolf-sues-sony-for-underworld-echoes-13/

When you say High Elf your mean Wood Elf right? Or Pale Elf? For a spellsword type, I would say Cipher, a melee wizard is viable but the Cipher gets a funky looking glow on their weapons while they build focus (which they do by hitting things), plus as melee wizard I would recommend taking the spells that summon weapons as they are rather cool and you would be missing out on not using them but at the same time they are staves and pikes and you seem to be keen on using swords for aesthetics. Weapon choice, I personally would go two-hander over one-hander as the bonus accuracy you get from one-hander doesn't stay viable at higher levels, what with the advantages from talents and items, but there's really no need to choose right at the start as you can happily swap between weapons with no drawback until you start choosing talents like Weapon Focus and fighting styles anyway. See which one you like the best or go with one-handers for the accuracy boost until you get a few levels under your belt. I personally like to avoid lowering a stat below 10, so I don't know if 8 con will be enough, depends I think on difficulty, but if this guy is supposed to be on the front lines you might want to up it a bit. Perception is good but it might be more worthwhile to stick in other more defensive stats if this guy is going to be directly on the front lines which he will be if he's using swords as he won't be using the reach weapons that let him fight behind another. Intelligence would be good especially if you go melee wizard, but a Cipher could use it if you choose powers that control people, debuff or buff people, or have an area of effect. Might will boost the damage of both your melee attacks and spells, dexterity will enable you to act more often but if you are wearing armour (which again if you are on the front lines you will need it unless playing on lower difficulty, especially since you are not using a shield) it will be affected by the recovery penalty of the armour. Resolve is good, and it is also used a lot in dialogue checks, something to consider if you want to be able to talk your way through things. EDIT: Just wanted to add that this is all my own personal experience, and may or may not be based in reality.

I enjoyed Redemption for what it was at the time, don't think I'm hating on it or anything, it was a fun vampire romp and I might actually go and load it up again after I finish work as you have given me a hankering for it now, damn you! It just played exceptionally fast and exceptionally loose with the whole setting, to the degree that I think you could have put a different name on the box and it wouldn't have made a difference. The 'love story' of the main character is also Twilight-level I have to say.

I'll back it. Pillars wasn't perfect but they did a damn good job and nuffin is ever perfect anyway, even Baldur's Gate 2 (waits for the screaming to stop). I will probably back it for even more than I did last time but that's more I know what to expect from them in this regard and what I'll be getting (previous backing was based on previous work but not knowing what they would turf out under a kickstarter, now I know what kind of work to expect and that it will be a game that I personally will like I will be willing to put up more).

Think that was the point they ran out of money heh.