Luckmann

I always advocated putting high/low-attribute/skill interactions into all parts of a game, as well as interactions (or restriction interactions) due to low numbers as well as high ones (so that you'd actually lose something for reducing Attributes below the base 10). But nope.

Edit: Double-post.

sneakattack has no range limit. onlybackstab does (and i think its 2m or so) That's an odd inconsistency.. but fair enough, a good point. What is? Only reason I've seen to have a second melee weapon so far is interrupt, and that's a really terrible reason, because there's no drawback to shooting in melee (mind you, I think there should be; from a thematic point of view, I would prefer it if you "had" to switch to melee when engaged). Stilettos have a Interrupt time of 0.35, so.. yeah.

Penetrating Shot is worth it for practically anything. It is more important for Blunderbi because of the 5 Pen per shrapnel, but it is by no means a lightweight for any other weapon. Unless I'm mistaken (and I may be, it could've been changed) you only get Backstabs/Sneak Attacks at close range. The WElf Racial and Marksman only applies to 4m and beyond. What would I take? Hearth Orlan's Minor Threat comes to mind as a good alternative to the WElf's Distant Advantage, and not taking Marksman gives you the chance to pick up Bloody Slaughter or Arms Bearer; maybe even Quick Switch. I agree with the other post -- a ranged Rogue needs a second set of weapons if it unintentionally gets into melee, for a chance of interrupts during the fight. You'll take a lot of damage while standing there reloading a firearm, and some of that damage might be interrupted with a different weapon hitting more often. It's always painful seeing any of my party members trying to reload a firearm while getting whacked in melee, and doubly so for a Rogue since they should be in very light armor. On the pistol vs. blunderbuss choice, by the time I got into the last third of the game, I was finding so many unique pistols and blunderbusses that I was mainly choosing based on the enchantment effects. Still, pistols probably do better in the latter part of the game due to the starting DR advantage. It makes extremely little difference. You won't be able to really do any meaningful Interrupt. You are far, far, far better off just switching to your secondary firearm and shooting them in the face. Yes, it's painful, but "muh intrupts" is simply not a meaningful advantage. Remember, we're not talking about a melee-specialized rogue vs. a ranged-specialized rogue, here, we're talking about a ranged-specialized rogue vs. not-a-single-supporting-talent-for-melee rogue. There's simply no contest. Unload those firearms in their faces. If you feel you don't need it, don't unload your extra weapon slots until the enemy is in melee; save them for when someone does, and shoot them three times between the eyes. And again, if it's the Interrupt you're after, Arbalests. And before you say it, yes, they're slow, but find me a fast high-interrupt weapon. ...actually, Clubs should've had extra Interrupt chance and time as their special, not Accuracy 1...

It was directed at the post I quoted. In my post. Like. Sheesh. Sigmund Freud was a money-grubbing hack and all psychologists that value his works should be dragged into the streets and shot! *ducks and runs*

Do I have to choose one? Or can I continue to be the 'random prat who **** people around and has no friends' guy? Cause I'm good at that! Usually, it chooses you, and you'll never know. o_o

There's a difference; I never said that anyone has a duty to inform someone that they're being counterproductive, or ever set some lofty goal relating to productiveness. I was pointing out the issue with talking about such, while also doing the least productive thing anyone can do. Also, I never talked about Gromnir, I talked to Gromnir, and his recently all the more common tendency to add nothing, never engage, never discuss, deflect and evade, and put up strawmen. And when called out on it, ridicule. The fact that you felt the need to pull me into this thing, whatever it is, indicates that you're at least a little bit butthurt over something. No, it was posted here because it was an RPGCodex review. The fact that Sensuki posted it doesn't matter, and I'm convinced that he does not feel the need to use this to show that he was right or wrong. Sensuki is also a member of the RPGCodex, so it makes perfect sense. He even mentions that he doesn't agree with all of it. In fact, his criticism appears to be largely the same as yours, as it was for most people in the thread - many of the points in the review were valid, but the reasoning was often flawed, and certainly blown out of proportions.

I understand 86/100, but how's 4/5 different from 8/10? :D 4/5 is just one step away from a full score, while 8/10 is two steps away from a full score. It's a feelings thing more than anything rational, really. That's also why I'd prefer 86/100, because 86 shows that it's on the higher end of the 8. I was fighting with myself for quite some time whether it should be 84 or 86. I decided 86, because of the future potential of the game, rather than 84, which is what I felt would probably be the most honest right now.

4th rank Mechanics is nothing. There's traps down there I couldn't disarm with Mechanics 9, and I'm not even close to the bottom.

Good point, actually. A ranged rogue probably shouldn't even be a wood elf or take Marksman. Well, depending on what one wants to do, anyway.

Hŵrpa Dwrp.

What conclusions do you feel that you can make that we haven't already been able to make with the data at hand?

I disagree, that is what they like to think but when you have Codexers dictating to others how things should be because "that's how it was decided by the community" like I have seen then reality does not match up with their fantasy. They also try to be edgy and scandalous in order to get attention, in typical meme fashion, which is why this is going to be my last post on them as I've realised that I have fallen for it myself. They tend to remind me more of the crowd in the "Yes, we are all individuals!" scene of The Life of Brian. All those words, and all I hear is "Our hivemind is different". Which hivemind is that? Whichever one you favour. I don't think the RPGCodex's goal was ever to persuade. People that feel that they need to be persuaded need not apply. It's also funny that you see a "community problem", while the actual community that is being discussed really do not care, and has no problem.

It does in a way. The Wood Elf racial and the talent Marksman don't work in melee and seeing how most melee weapons are good at interrupting while most ranged weapons are vulnerable to interrupts, there is a sort of built-in drawback to having a gun in your hand when someones flails at you violently in close range Removing a conditional bonus is not the same thing as imposing a penalty. The conditionals imposed to Woodie racials and the Marksman Talent are balancing factors, not circumstantial penalties. Also, this still means that there is no difference between shooting someone at point-blank range and to get out your melee weapons. Once engaged, you have lost those bonuses, anyway (and, indeed, did so as soon as the opponent was within 4 metres) and you gain nothing by switching to melee weapons - which was the point I was making. If you are specialized for ranged combat, the idea that you will switch to melee weapons for added Interrupt appears positively pathetic, judging by trade-offs. Interrupts are rare and ****ty, either way, and it won't make a difference to you in the end. Then you might as well switch to an Arbalest instead and it's 0,75 sec Interrupt, if that's what you're after. He'll want Penetrating Shot either way, but I agree that it's more important for Blunderbi than for Pistols.

I disagree, that is what they like to think but when you have Codexers dictating to others how things should be because "that's how it was decided by the community" like I have seen then reality does not match up with their fantasy. They also try to be edgy and scandalous in order to get attention, in typical meme fashion, which is why this is going to be my last post on them as I've realised that I have fallen for it myself. They tend to remind me more of the crowd in the "Yes, we are all individuals!" scene of The Life of Brian. All those words, and all I hear is "Our hivemind is different". I once googled a quote, too. Cool beans.

Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people. Since it's apparently my duty, I must inform you that the most counterproductive thing there is is to discuss people and personas, rather than issues and ideas. It is not a productive pastime to engage in ad hominem. I may not agree with everything Sensuki have proposed at all times, but everything he has ever suggested has been in the best interest of the game, and he's always discussed the issues sensibly and judged them by their own right. I don't think there's anyone else anyone can make that claim for.

First, KDubya is correct. It will depend a bit on what you're facing, and other aspects to your character as you grow. Generally, I would personally favour the Pistol, but if you get Penetrating Shot, Blunderbuss will probably win out. There's a Blunderbuss called Lead Spitter in the game that, with Penetrating Shot, will absolutely shred through the enemy Damage Thresholds. But second, more importantly, for that note on your Stiletto backups, Pillars of Eternity does not have any penalty for shooting in melee, for some daft and utterly bizarre reason. So you will likely never be in a situation where you'll need to switch over to another weapon set. So my suggestion would be to carry both a Pistol and a Blunderbuss. Either to initiate with the Pistol for Backstabs and then switch to the Blunderbuss, or to initiate with the Blunderbuss (when not backstabbing) and then quickly switching to the Pistol. Or just taking two Blunderbusses (Blunderbi?) or two Pistols, and switch between them to get quick shots off at the start of combat. Switching rapidly between firearms works great in PoE, and without penalty to shooting while engaged in melee, there's no reason not to.

I think confusion is actually OP the way it works now. First, it seems that instead of acting randomly (as one would expect from a confused person), confused targets become your allies, for all intents and purposes. And what makes it superior to charm/domination is that they don't snap out of it if you attack them, so you can finish them off with complete impunity. our experience is different. as often as not, the confused will wander aimlessly or stand stationary doing nothing. aside: confusion and domination does make our use o' long duration aoe spells more rare as it can lead to quirky results. our summoned adra beetle gets confused by... whatever. our beetle then walks through our wall of fire. our summoned beetle is no longer confused but is genuinely and open hostile towards us. the graze/hit/crit mechanic is unforgiving and it may lead to oddly anti-climactic encounters. petrify need only be effective for a second or two to make a host o' other spells near guaranteed hits or crits. am understanding why many do not like the approach, but our solution would be to address encounter design rather than the mechanics. "What's that? Nothing? Not a single example? None? Two pages dug into a hole, posed with the request to substantiate, even in part, a single one of your claims, yet nothing? Shocking, Gromnir. Simply shocking!" not need to do so as you still haven't gotten over your logic/reason hurdle yet. am not so generous that we would allow you to ignore your silliness in trying distinguishing ie from d&d insta kill and/or hard counter mechanics, and why on earth you think the difference is significant. HA! Good Fun! Hmm, you might be right about confused enemies acting randomly. Perhaps I got the idea of a full allegiance flip because former allies start attacking them immediately. As for grazes being equivalent to full hits, I still disagree. Most (possibly all) hard stuns target either fort or will, but don't lower it, so successive stunning doesn't become easier. They do lower reflex and deflection, but lowering deflection for a short time is obviously not an insta-kill, and reflex spells are not particularly deadly. I can only assume that you are not using the IEMod, meaning that confused enemies show up as green, I suspect? The IEMod has a setting that makes Neutral NPC:s show up as cyan (just like in the IE-games), and if you turn it on, you'll see that the Confused enemies show up as cyan (neutral), not green (allied). The state is still pretty damn broken, but it's an important distinction (that the game has no intention of informing you of by itself). That's what your mom said.

4 / 5. I would've preferred saying 8/10 or 86/100, but alright.

It is the first time I've been blown away by the game in terms of reactivity, truth be told. Completely blindsided me. That and running into an old face at Magran's Fork after I told him to get out of Gilded Vale, best parts so far.

I kinda wish that the map would've been bigger/the map marks smaller, to give a better sense of scope and added potential in terms of expansions and so on (like adding lots of wilderness areas). The sizing gives it a bit of the wrong idea in some ways (but the right one in others, depending).

Are you saying the Codex is responsible for developers being reluctant to make old school rpgs because developers think the Codex will declare it the worst thing ever? Literally. Worse. Than. Hitler. I love that the RPGCodex is probably the most successful anarchist project I've seen online, yet it weathers near-constant accusations of fascism from self-appointed liberals and leftists, while the actual fascists are like "Hey, cool beans."

Oh! Oh! Ooooh! You're right! I had completely forgotten about that.

am understanding if you feel pitty for luck, but such empathy is not useful. honestly, luck is actual claiming, reduced to literal spamming no less, that those who advocate the ie games use o' insta-kills and hard counters can be meaningful differentiated from advocating d&d use o' insta-kills and hard counters. ... wacky. HA! Good Fun! What's that? Nothing? Not a single example? None? Two pages dug into a hole, posed with the request to substantiate, even in part, a single one of your claims, yet nothing? Shocking, Gromnir. Simply shocking! Yes please. Dominate/Petrify grazes are totally OP right now, both when used against your party and when you use them against bosses. Your idea would fix that. I haven't gotten into this discussion, but I absolutely love the idea of variant results for Graze/Hit/Crit effects from spells. Would definitely solve the whole "Grazes aren't hits but eh, close enough, I guess it sorta hit"-issue. Tie it into a robust, thematic, Immunity/Resistance system, and we're halfway there for interesting combat. I still have no idea how we're going to solve the Accuracy vs. Deflection issues, though, with tanks being Full-Deflection-or-Bust and it all rapidly degenerating into swingfests, and vice versa for everyone else. I think confusion is actually OP the way it works now. First, it seems that instead of acting randomly (as one would expect from a confused person), confused targets become your allies, for all intents and purposes. And what makes it superior to charm/domination is that they don't snap out of it if you attack them, so you can finish them off with complete impunity. I think Confusion as it actually works right now is broken. Everyone turns neutral and suddenly your people are running crazy all over the place, your tank abandons his post, and then everyone dies because no-one is containing anyone. It's havoc, and moreso for the player than the enemy. Confusion only has two results: considerably liability or absolutely overpowered. When the player gets Charmed or Dominated, the biggest danger is to the Charmed or Dominated character itself, as Durance turns around and shoots him in the head like he's a psyker going crazy, and Durance is the commissar. Enemy targeting also seems extremely consistent and predictable. They've always targeted my Aloth, 9 times out of 10. I hate that the enemy appears to be prescient as to my allies' defences. And even so, they'd be better served with one successful Charm or Dominate of Edér, than any of those charms or dominates they've targeted at Aloth (who always loses ~80% of his health as he is invariably targeted by my other backliners).

talk of deflection. insta-kills and hard counters is not your ambiguous "most arguments." the ie games used d&d mechanics. the hard counters and insta-kills in the ie games are directly the result o' the use o' d&d mechanics. am admitting that your irrationality on this matter does surprise us. is rare to see somebody so unapologetically obdurate in spite o' a clear error. HA! Good Fun! And there you go again. Deflect, Evade, and when possible, try to contribute as little as possible. When at all possible, when defenceless, ridicule. It's pathetic. There's a huge difference between the Infinity Engine games and D&D. The IE games used the D&D ruleset, but most arguments involving - very warranted - comparisons to the Infinite Engine games has absolutely nothing to do with D&D. And you know this, because despite your intellectual disinclination, you aren't completely devoid of thought. Which just makes it all the more pathetic that you choose to create these strawmen, as if you have something relevant to add. You're a waste of space and time. Now, again, find me one that has been arguing for more D&D on a serious level. What's that? You can't? Oh, what a surprise! Bring out the streamers and the bubbly, oh, no, wait, it's just another day at the Obsidian Fora with Gromnir, nevermind.