saeran

You could say that about just any type of relationship in cRPGa, including friendship. Building relationships with companions by doing quests for them is a popular approach to writing. And a friendship can feel every bit as forced if it is not player's choice but writer's insistence. I've actually had less issues with romances (as someone who rarely plays them) because usually there is a way to turn them down. One game where I've found the approach to relationshps interesting (even if the game itself was barely finished and not that good) was Dragon Age 2, because it had both friendship an rivarly. My character ended up with very different relationships with everyone at the end of the game, and it didn't feel like simply completing the companion quests meant everyone was now best buddies.

Did the first game have full VO? Or was it just translated subtitles with English VO? I am a bit confused, because on steam both OW games are listed as English VO plus translated subtitles. I have not played the first game, so I am not sure if this is correct.

Turn based combat sounds fantastic! I have really enjoyed Deadfire in tb mode, can't wait for PoE

The tower nearby the docks has a ladder you can climb, this leads to the hideout.

You need to find the captain's poison stash and his notes.

Considering Avowed follows Deadfire but does not address the wheel situation, this would not make sense, imo. I think they are simply going yo add one or two regions (as there is place on the map) as dlc, and maybe increase the max character level. Personally, I'd like for more creatures of the fauna and flora variety to be added, as the Living Lands are not living up to their name.

Thank you everyone for putting in the work to "decipher" this system! I don't think I'd have ever figured out myself. I am an older cRPG player and for me the idea that the power of my mage's spell depends on the quality of any of her equipment is just weird. They could have made it at least dependent on mage items, like grimoires, that would make a bit more sense.

I find the shadowing beyond visual effect too much strain on the eyes. My mage now uses the brittle frost aura, with all upgrades anyone approaching in melee gets frozen. She is wearing medium armor and that is sufficient for normal difficulty, dodging not required. :D

I'd like if there was a system that let you send companions to camp so that you can play the game solo, at least the parts that don't require a companion for a quest. I find their quips and lines often immersion breaking, because the triggers are not well done. For example my character just defeated an enemy, and then walks over to loot them, and then Kai gives advice on how to approach this enemy... That is just annoying. And most of the interesting talk takes place at camp anyway.

I don't remember if there is a tutorial message, but it is in the tutorial (I think under basic info), so I knew from the beginning. I didn't find it that useful, ended up with a surplus of iron and had to buy other matierials anyway. Tbh, I am not a fan of the 'upgrade quality' system, it is just boring because of how repetitive it is. Cooking and emchanting are more fun

My wizard is wielding that axe too, it is a great combination with the frost aura and blizzard spells. I've found that food crafted from the better recipes you get from the survival perk makes a lot of difference. Helps with managing essence, because of essence regeneration, but also because the different food bonuses seem to stack, so now before tougher battles my wizard has a picnic. :D

As someone who also gets motion sickness in first person view games, what has worked for me so far is armor combined with arcane veil and high constitution. This, at least on normal difficulty, has made my mage "tanky" enough that she can cast spells in melee range without having to dodge. I think this could work with just about any type of weapons, or even perhaps weapon & shield for an even tankier character. ps. I hope Obsidian does not patch arcane veil, at least on lower difficulties. Because I really cannot play any fast paced combat with free range camera.