Grimo88

If your only requirement for a dungeon is ‘subterranean chamber’ then sure. The Shipwreck graveyard, the imp-cultist place, the archmage’s house, the crypt under the temple of tangaloa, the old city... these are all dungeons.

Is this intended? If a skeleton passes another skeleton in turned base, he will push that skele into another position. I know it isn’t grid based, but it is jarring, and when it happens to your characters it can really mess with positioning.

I just want to express my love for Obsidian here. I’m not even a turn based guy, but I just adore that the work has been put in to provide this to fans. I am playing now, and the slower pace has just let me appreciate every spell, every detail, every crafting option more than RTwP did. Totally new game. Think about this - they have our money already, and they’re putting this much effort into completely changing their game for a portion of their audience a year after release. What other studio would ever do this? I love these guys so much. It’s also so exciting to see a community give so much good beta feedback. These games really are a partnership with the community. Just so good to see.

Short answer: no. PoTD difficulty has not been made easier.

Hated Defiance, loved Neketaka. Had an Athkatla vibe but less overwhelming. Matter of taste, though. More discerning amounts of combat might be a better way of putting it. Varied challenges like SSS but out in the world. Not the same combination of mobs I’ve pulled 3 times already. Think of a good dungeon flow in a good PnP module.

Remove pen system. Ditch stronghold entirely. It has been nothing but tedious busywork in two iterations. Another city like Neketaka. Loved it. Less trash and combat encounters in general. Less monsters with bloated HP that feel like a chore to grind down once you’ve stripped them of their allies and defenses. No sidekicks. I just don’t get it. Back to the old DLC model of one big expansion (pleeeeeeaaaaase). No ****ing romances, please. You had this right the first time.

Hence why I said it was a flawed gem. Most of those problems come from it being rushed. The combat was the best of the 3 Dragon Ages, vs. the plodding combat of DAO and the watered down DAI. Also the best story of the three. If it had been given a year more in development, I think it would be one of the true classics. It ranks right there with Nier as the most underappreciated game of that era, at least for RPGs. The combat was absolutely the best of the three. Very solid, simple system. But it was completely wasted on the same tedious wave-based encounters. I keep a save file just before the Legacy DLC starts so that I can skip the awful base game and go straight to the DLC, which actually makes wonderful use of encounter and dungeon design.

Don't get me wrong - BG1 and 2 will always be my favourite games. But POE1 and 2 have very much replaced them as my go-to CRPG itch to scratch. The combat in particular in BG2 I just found unbearable in my latest play through fresh off the wonderful Forgotten Sanctum.

I agree - my post was largely a response to the many ‘BG2 is still better’ posts I see here and on the subreddit constantly.

I've had some time lately and did back-to-back runs of both BG2 and POE2. I have to say, BG2 holds up, but I think it's insane to think that it's still better than POE2. Greater, certainly, but only in the sense that watershed games like this occupy a context in history that allows them to be great. 1) Story. Ok, yep, I think the story is better in BG2. Only because the stakes are more personal and you're pitted against a peerless archvillain who, at least for me, is one the best villains in fantasy fiction. That's not to say I don't love POE2's story. I do. But I think BG2's expertly balances hexcrawl-style exploration while guiding the player along a linear narrative. 2) Choice and RP. POE2, by a long-shot. There are very few RPing situations in BG2, and they often simply occupy a good and evil binary. Even then, I can't just choose to discard Imoen's rescue. There are no choices carried from BG1 (this system was in its infancy, here, so not a fair comparison). There are no stat or skill checks, and dialogue is very limited and unaffected by your class or race. POE2 trounces BG2 in the RP department without breaking a sweat. 3) Combat I honestly think POE2 has a more refined system. I think BG2 relies far too much on hard counters. Most encounters involve buffing my muscle and sending them off like wind-up dolls, with the occasional counter thrown in. Thieves are useless for anything but traps and the occasional backstab, which is why, I suppose, most of them are multi-classed. Many mechanics, such as level drain, are just speedbumps that take up space in your spellbook. One thing I will say is that BG2 is largely free of the HP-bloated punching bag fights that are all too common in POE2, and that BG2 is far better at pacing out encounters. There is far too much trash in much of POE2, in my opinion. 4) World and Exploration I honestly think they're quite equal here. BG2 is great at providing diverse dungeons and environments of an unprecedented scale, and with the DLC included, POE2 pretty much matches it. I love BG2s setting, and I've never seen the FR done better, but Eora just has so much more meaning to it. There are distinct cultures and a coherent religion, as opposed to the make-it-up-as-you-go plethora of gods and demons and Hells and whatnot in FR (not a fan of the setting, probably a matter of taste). Eora feels like a real place, with the FR feels like a pastiche theme park. Anyway, that's my breakdown. Thoughts? Counters?

Thanks all, I got ‘em! Now I’m stuck on the Oracle. Yeesh, this expac gives me some ToB flashbacks in a good way.

Using the Wael Titan actually affects the ending of the game a little!

Absolutely raking me over the coals again and again. Prioritizing moon spider because it heals and luminary because they can oneshot a couple of your party with that one goddamn spell, but by the time I've whittled them and the brutes down the spiders spawn. Absolute end of my tether.

Heaps. My advice would be to check the Fig updates which very neatly chronicle every change.

Jesus I thought I was the only one. I just thought... am I crazy for thinking this game is hugely overrated? Maybe it’s just not my style?