Luckmann

Out of everything, the only thing that I want people to start doing is differentiate between CNPC (Companion Non-Player Character) and NPC (Non-Player Character). But I never felt a need to shove it down someone's throat. Also, no, I'm not going to write out "Pillars of Eternity" every time while I'm on the Pillars of Eternity forums or a general board just because Path of Exile is a thing that exists. Also, I always use PoE. Not POE. Obviously. Honestly, I understand it's a joke, but that's actually pretty damn reasonable. You will never make me stop using "roll" and "rolling". I will trade you toon for rolling, I think that sounds fair. I never got the "toon"-thing anyway. I first encountered it in World of Warcraft, but "rolling" or "roll up a new character" has a long PnP history.

I've never appreciated Iron Man. Not because I can't do it, but because I'm the kind of person that tends to break questlines and find non-intuitive solutions to stuff that makes everything go terrible because apparently the developers couldn't fathom that solution to the problem and now everyone wants to kill me because a completely reasonable dialogue option wasn't included. But I'm definitely going for Hard. Not masochistic enough for Path of the Damned yet.

Waiting for the Duelist DPS Clothadin RES/PER build.

I agree, the game should have at least two portraits to have sex with.

Having played with a (replica) flint-lock pistol I can tell you the reload time with 1 hand is = ∞, unless you're willing to sit down on the ground and use your knees & teeth to hold onto things. We tried it, it was funny in a "three stooges with black powder" kinda way. I've actually shot with an old black-powder rifle, and yeah, I'm not saying you're exactly wrong. It really does take a lot of practice to be able to do that on the fly, and there's a really good argument that using two would take considerably longer to reload than just twice the time it'd take to load just one, but shut up. As a side-note, god damn early firearms were nasty, weren't they? Imagine getting shot by a solid lead ball bigger than a 20-gauge solid slug. We shot it clear through (Heh, yeah, right, "clear") a steel plate used to announce that the firing range was live. If the shot itself doesn't kill you, and the shrapnel doesn't kill you, or the ensuing infection, enjoy your complimentary lead poisoning.

Yes, but not in PoE. I think my confusion stemmed from games where Flails were two-handed.

Essentially, just because you can do something, doesn't mean it's a good idea. Which is a good policy in life.

Yeah, actually, I was thinking of Morning stars. Apparently, Morning stars are the large two handed morning stars. Flails have a Graze-to-Hit ratio. I wonder how it interacts with the One-Handed Weapon Wielder Talent.

Flails.. Interrupt...? I think. Flails are the two-handed morningstars, right? If so, Interrupt. As for Sabre DoT, I think the logic is that Sabres slash gashing wounds, so the DoT is essentially a Bleed effect by any other name.

Even as a bit of an anti-DRM fanatic, I honestly can't fault people for choosing Steam over GOG in a case like this. My main worry right now is actually whether GOG will be able to handle the early patch(es).

Oh, I'm absolutely keeping those, especially as a Paladin. The tags are great at showing you the tone of what you're saying and hinting at what your character will be attempting to do by saying that. Like, are you trying to pose a leading question, or is it really just an honest question? Without [clever], how would you know? "You better give me the macguffin." will be a completely different dialogue option whether it's tagged with [aggressive] or [benevolent].

Yeah, I think BAdler (not sure who it was, I just think it was) said something about wanting to do it but it really depends on how smooth it would be, they just don't know for sure. It could be fast with no bugs, and it could mean re-doing a ton of stuff. They'll probably look at it, and if possible, I would personally expect it for an expansion or really major patch. I would be surprised if it (or an even higher version of Unity, really) wouldn't be used for any potential sequel.

This is where I repeat my sadness that they did lose damage over time. It didn't work particularly well, but I keep thinking that if they'd just tuned the numbers, it could've worked, and I feel that it was an interesting mechanic. Just added damage is a bit meh.

No. All ranged weapons are two-handed. Unfortunately. I would not mind having twice the reload time if I could just fire two pistols, or have a pistol and a sword.

Well, first, no, there are no katanas. But second, you'll be glad to hear that building a Kensai-type character is actually extremely easy. I actually kinda want to try making a High-Dexterity Clothed (or Robed, possibly) non-Tank Fighter now. Shouldn't be too hard, and it might be nice to have a Fighter that isn't built around Knockdown. Generally though, when I think Kensai, I would think light-ish two-handed weapons (in case I'd go for an Estoc, it's like a large, two-handed rapier) or a single One-Handed weapon (in which case I'd go for a Sword for style or Sabre for power). Unfortunately, duelists are notoriously terrible when compared to two-handed weapons and dual-wielding, but it's been buffed in a patch we haven't seen yet, but it's unknown exactly how or how much. Some people really like to dual-wield though, and it would work very well, especially with sabres. While sabres have lost their Damage Over Time mechanic (which I understand, but I still think it's sad as hell, because it was interesting and unique) they now do above-average damage, so dual-wielding sabres could be a really good build.

This can be witnessed to extreme in beta. There is at least one dialogue where "hey, look at me, I'm so perceptive in the middle of a civil conversation" leads to fight out of sudden. This is one of the reasons I will hide Dialogue Qualifiers and Disqualifiers. I want responses to feel natural, not "Hey, I can take this becausae I have high Perception, hmm...". Since the dialogues you qualify for are not automatic I-win-buttons, there's no point in being informed of them in that way. So if I have extra options, cool, if I don't, I'll never know. And if I'm a smartass that gets myself in trouble, it's because I'm a perceptive smartass, not because I have a perception attribute of 16.

GOG rules, but the WItcher 3 preorder has been on and off the top spot ever since introduced but never too far away. Even Divinity Original SIn had the top spot for like a month......but yeah, never has any game shown so much ownage as PoE that even got the $90 Royal Edition to outsell everything else....seems unthinkable really but it's happening and I'm happy that Obsidian seems set for great success here. Yeah, holding not just the top position, but all three of them with a single game is amazing exposure.

See, this here is the saddest part, where you clearly haven't even skimmed through the threads before you start mouthing off nonsense about things you know nothing about. I've played extensively between BBv333 and BBv480. Before I started BBv333, I was very positive towards Engagement, I was completely sold on the pitch, and then I started playing, looking at how it functioned, considered the arguments, and then re-evaluated my position. The little backer icon isn't the end-all be-all of who has access to the beta. The only thing that stopped me from becoming a backer was rampant poverty. ^ It's a guide, not a soapbox. Also, I said he couldn't do it. I still haven't seen the video, but I will examine it with a magnifying glass to make sure.

In all honesty, while my jab at PJ was obviously in jest, I can't do stuff like that. I just can't. In Fallout 3, I once started collecting Teddy Bears for fun, and put them all on my bed in my Megaton home, because hey, why not, it's a pointless but relatively rare object. And then there's this girl in Megaton that has a bear, and I think his name is even mentioned in dialogue by her once or twice, just in passing. Anyway, I'm often a very "everything that isn't nailed down is mine" kind of guy, and this character was no different, so I snuck in, stole stuff, saw the bear, took it. I felt so bad. I just couldn't stop thinking of this child in the wasteland that lost her teddy bear from her own damn home. I actually had to go all the way back and try to place the teddy bear there and all I desperately wanted was a dialogue choice to tell her how sorry I was. It's a game, but I'm not built for this. I can murder droves of people without breaking a sweat or a second thought, and I have a mental list of real-life people that simply deserve to be put to death, but I could never drop the piglet somewhere and expect it to care for itself. I'd probably be ruined and lie awake at night.

Pillars of Eternity is now holding the full top 3 on GOG.com! PoE Hero Edition PoE Royal Edition PoE Champion Edition Fourth is The Witcher 3. Yeah, The Witcher 3 has been sold on GOG.com for a while, but currently it is 27% off and I did not expect expect PoE to snag it's top position(s) on CD Projekt's own site. And the fact that Royal Edition tops over Champion Edition is also pretty funny, but I guess it comes from the fact that those that aren't rich can't afford Champion Edition to begin with, and those that can might as well go big or go home.

How is such vitriol helping either your plight or mood? It seems to me you're making yourself miserable over one mechanic decision and letting it ruin any possibility of satisfaction from playing. Additionally, by posting such emotional reactions you move to effect others, either souring their moods or forcing them to shrink away from you and your cause. "broken piece of trash" - This won't help your cause, the developers, your influence, the reader nor anyone else. Get a hold of yourself man! You must've missed all the countless threads where this was reasonably discussed. I was commenting specifically on the video and how it actually made me want to like the Engagement system again, on an emotional level, despite me knowing on that it's a broken piece of trash as a reasoning individual. One of those fun dualities of man. I thought that was clear, but apparently not. Nor will this make me miserable "over one mechanic decision and letting it ruin any possibility of satisfaction from playing". I'm not even sure where you got that from. Engagement being a broken piece of trash doesn't do that, nor does acknowledging that Engagement is a broken piece of trash. My statement was one of tiredness and melancholy, not of world-ending sorrow and wailing. Calling a system you don't like a broken piece of trash, whether as some sort of "zinger" or as "a rational response to your emotional opposite response" does not make you look clever. It makes you look like a bitter, petty child trying to be edgy to impress other edgy children. I'm not the mewling manchild whining about edgyness and other people's preferences. There's countless of posts in countless of threads where all of this is reasonably argued, and you'll see me on the side of being positive towards Engagement in the beginning of some of them. It was not intended as a "zinger" nor "a rational response to your emotional opposite response" (I have no idea what you even want to say with that). It was intended as exactly what I said, in the way I said it. I still want to like the idea of the Engagement mechanics. That's the whole point. It still sounds like a good idea, and that pitch was what originally sold me on it. It resonated with me and appealed to me, it makes sense when it is put that way. Repeat it, and I still go "Hey, that sounds pretty good" and "That's a good idea". And that video reminded me of that, which is actually quite annoying, when I look upon how the Engagement system actually works in practice, and make judgements upon how it works in the actual game. And it's a mess. I call it a broken piece of trash because it's a broken piece of trash. There's countless of logical arguments if you want to pick a fight about it, it's a bit silly to start attacking someone one of the few times when they express themselves emotionally about it. The mechanic itself is terrible, yet there's this part of me that still feel that it's a good idea or ideal, which probably explains why Sawyer is holding onto it so strongly come hell or high water, no matter how much criticism is levied against it, no matter how much it can be exploited, or how much it detracts from tactical mobility, despite the fact that Sawyer has been almost neurotic about rooting out other "exploits" left, right and centre stage. And I can actually understand that, to a degree. I think the only one here being a bitter and petty tryhard that is trying to look clever is probably you. I derive zero pleasure out of looking "3 edgy 5 u", whereas you seem to be driven by the urge to attack other people because they don't play with the same toys the way you do, or because they express a loose differing opinion about them. If you actually had an interest in the topic, you would've raised an actual argument around it, or reviewed the discussion. But no, you're just here to pick on easy targets that had no relation to the factual discussion to begin with, nor was ever intended as constructive feedback, but merely an expression of fatigue and lamentation (for lack of a better word). I still wish it would've turned out better. I'm still looking for a way that this could work, simply because I like the idea, I just can't find a way to reasonably do it.

I have to ask Luckmann. Why is having a talent you plan to make no use of at all must have for your character? You aren't going to make any use of it and weapon focus represents extensive training with a given set of weapons. Not having extensive training with weapons you don't use kind of makes sense from a roleplay point... just saying. Personal preference, really. I envision him as having extensive training as a Nobleman and as a Knight, even if he favours the Rapier. And since there is no cheat in the cheating, so to say, I don't consider it cheating, since it'll most likely never be a factor at all.

An idea I saw recently, and tried out, is a chanter-tank. So max out PER and RES, tertiary INT and don't tank CON. Works pretty good (the Moon-Godlike heal has good synergy) because the chants go well with front lining. The spell-effects won't be maxed out since you're not focusing on MIG and INT but if you focus on CC, buff/debuff and summons, you can get good spell results as well as a good tank. Chanters are well-known amongst Beta Backers to make excellent tanks. Sounds weird, but they're great.

Hahaha, oh wow. I just noticed that Pillars of Eternity Royal Edition has snagged #2 from The Witcher 3 on GOG.com. GOG Top 5 is: PoE Hero Edition PoE Royal Edition The Witcher 3 PoE Champion Edition Neo-Scavenger (it's part of a special promotion sale, so that explains that).

Honestly, in a case involving the Weapon Focus talents, it's probably the only context where I'll actually say this; just cheat. Yes, there is a very clear potential abuse in that, in that you will have a much higher weapon flexibility than you should have, but honestly, I think all of the weapon groups deliberately (and boringly) covers all the damage groups and whatnot anyway, making it more or less purely a flavour decision, and if you know yourself and restrict yourself, and purely roleplay that you want to use those two specific weapons exclusively anyway, just cheat. Give yourself the extra Talent and a pat on the shoulder. It's not going to make a difference one way or another in terms of actual difficulty, except you won't feel like an idiot halfway through the game. Despite the fact that I've already decided that I'm going to exclusively use rapiers, I'm going to give myself both Weapon Focus (Noble) and Weapon Focus (Knight). Why? Because I'm an Aedyr Aristocrat and a Bleak Walker Paladin. No other reason. And I'm not burning 1/6 of my talents just for that. Also, on the topic, I'd pump the hell out of Might and Intellect, and any points that doesn't go into those, would go into Dexterity. Personally, from an RP perspective, I'd probably prioritize Dexterity over Might, but that's just me wanting to stab stab stabbity stab, I say a-stab, stab, stabbity stab.