Ink Blot

From what I understand, GOG often gets patches as fast as Valve does. They just take time to test it out with their installer to make sure it works. And Origin? Believe it or not, for my purposes, I like it better than Steam.

Thing is, it's no secret that patching on Steam is much easier for the devs to deliver, so if you've bought from GOG, at least, you're delusional if you think you're going to get patches as quick as Steam users. *edit* But I don't mind the wait, as it gives me an opportunity to see what, if anything, the patch borks up as sometimes happens. So then I can decide whether to apply it when it becomes available or wait for the hotfix.

Indeed, this seems nothing more than Steam fanism at work. I've got the GOG version and, oddly, I don't feel bad for me. World's not going to end just because I may have to wait a couple more days for a patch.

There's no pleasing everyone. I grow weary of the 'hardcore' gamers on the upper end of the bell curve constantly whining about games being too easy and then condescending to people that aren't in their group of gaming elites. *shrug* Not that I think the game's too hard mind you. I'm finding Hard mode about right for me, at least. Note I have no opinion on the Slicken spell or Mind Blades as I've not used either one in my run through the game, but it does seem from what I've read that they need a bit of nerfing.

From what I've played (not too far into it yet), I'd say if you follow the critical path you'll probably be okay with a full party. Side quests and random exploration will likely get you into trouble though.

Just checked my backer portal and they've added a Hero Edition key to my Products page. I backed at the $500 tier, so check your backer portals, folks. Looks like Obs is giving out extra keys. THANK YOU, OBS!

Probably will be after the next patch. One of the patch notes is that they added some missing backer names.

Well, woo hoo! Just got my collector's edition.

Use the console to force rest without camping supplies. You'd have to enable cheat mode though, so if you're into achievements, they'd be disabled.

Amentep posted the correct command. And yeah, agreed, there should be a Wait button/command.

You can always use the console to move time forward.

If neither the GOG nor the Steam version work, I'd be inclined to believe it's something to do with your rig. Are your drivers up to date? What OS are you using? Are you running the game as admin? What are your system specs? You should post in the Tech Support forum with as much info as possible. Someone may be able to help you get it running.

I don't know. I like the idea of no kill XP, but so far in the game, in most areas, I'm finding you still have to kill almost everything on the map because you need to get by the mobs to resolve quests - or in order to fully explore the map, you're forced to do battle or you can't find out what's there. Sure, that's a reason to kill them, but it means you're still on a slaughtering spree.

Even though I know it has some kind of accumulated effect in the game, I don't worry about the tag associated with a response. I just choose the one that I feel is closest to what my character would actually say/do and roll with that.

One of the Obs devs pointed it out in a thread here, but I don't recall which thread it was. They really should have posted an info thread in the Announcements forum addressing these concerns though.

No idea. I asked whether the other tiers would also get an extra key, but got no answer.

Maybe your Eder was hit with the 'stacking' bug? If you save and reload in the area where you recruit an NPC, any buffs or enhancements to abilities/defenses are stacked as a permanent buff. This can happen multiple times so that eventually the NPCs stats are way overpowered.

A bit of info for you guys: Shipping from the USA to Paradox in Europe (and elsewhere) was delayed due to strike action at the shipping docks in California. They did ship the materials just before release via air to Paradox in Europe though. They gave out extra keys to the 140 dollar tier (beyond the one that came with that tier), and I thought they were doing the same for the 65 dollar tier as well, but I've seen some of those pledgers report they didn't get an extra key. No other tiers were mentioned as getting an extra key. I'm in Canada and haven't received my box yet, although I did get an e-mail notification that it has been shipped.

Well, no. You only read it once. You hear it once. Anyway, as I said, it works for me.

Aaaaand I just got bit by the black screen on transition in Raedrick's hold. *sigh*

Um... spoilers, guys.

I listen to it first, then read it after. Hearing the voice gives me the flavor of the character as well as the info, of course. Reading it after gives me the visual imagery and helps with the context. I find this works very well for me. The key is not being overly impatient to read what's up on the screen.

Indeed it is. This is basically my biggest gripe against people that complain Hard mode is too easy: they tend to make it seem it's really a lot easier that it actually is. I ended up down there as well with my party the same way you did and got thoroughly stomped by the drake and his minions. Honestly I think I could have taken the drake and a couple of the xaurips, but the addition of those priests wiped me out. I admit I'm by no means an uber player, but I do understand the game mechanics reasonably well. I tip my hat to you guys that find these types of battles a cakewalk. I tend to have a lot more trouble with major battles than many of you guys are reporting. To me, hard mode is pretty much spot on. I get waxed every now and then and have to rethink my strategy. That's pretty much the way I expect hard to be. Honestly, how you guys are reporting that you're waltzing through all the battles on hard mode is beyond me.

Since you know there are some bugs with it, why not take a peek at what they are and then decide from there. As far as I'm aware, almost all of them can be avoided once you know how they occur. So yeah, if you're armed with that knowledge, there's no reason why you couldn't play the game now.

Why is it always attack the poster and not the post? On the one hand, he has a legitimate point that the encounters in any given area can be all over the map, as far as difficulty is concerned. On the other hand, one needs to step back from the design of games from recent years and look at PoE with a different eye. It's much more 'old school' (and I grow weary of this term, but it fits here) in that you really need to stop and assess what you're encountering: can I really take on these bears solo at level 2? Probably not. Might be prudent to get a couple companions and come back later. Step back, take your time to assess the encounter, and don't be afraid to admit that it just may be too tough for the time being. Coma back later when your character and/or party is stronger.