Jojobobo

So here's a thread where if you could have any say in what Obsidian's creative direction would be what would you say? This is of course not saying that Obsidian even need direction in the first place, but if you'd like to direct them where would you like them to go. Think about all their projects past and present when you post, and if you have relevant experience with any that's pertinent to what you're saying that would be great. Ultimately we can be their free think-tank, any costs we can save for our lofty service then can go on future properties or developments To give a little background of their games I've played it's Icewind Dale 2, Fallout: New Vegas and Pillars of Eternity. Of their games I'd still happily play that I don't own yet - Alpha Protocol, South Park: The Stick of Truth and KoTOR 2. For Icewind Dale 2 I'll keep it short - I'd never played a DnD game before so I bloody loved it when I was young. I still haven't dipped too far into the DnD repertoire (despite having Baldur's Gate 2 and Plane of Torment available on GoG purchased and ready to play right here right now - I apologise for life getting in the way before you stone me) but having played IDW2 on Heart of Iron mode level 1 was still very damn fun. For Fallout: New Vegas - for me it's the best Fallout game hands down. As a 90's child, Fallout 3 was got me into the franchise. However FO:NV got me to first of all play it and play 1 and 2 which I loved (being an already certified Arcanum and Vampire the Masquerade ~ Bloodlines fanboy, and buying both on release). FO4 is lackluster, not to want to bash it but it fundamentally strips players of choice. If I wanted to be playing Diablo III I would be, FO4 now feels like Diablo III's and FO's unwanted love child. New Vegas was the last point where factions were meaty and bold, and had something relevant to reflect on modern society, and allowed a huge deal of player agency. It may be my favourite game of all time depending on what mood I'm in when you ask me. Dead Money has to be my favourite expansion/DLC of all time, what an incomprehensibly ballsy and yet welcome change of pace. Lastly, Pillars of Eternity by all accounts gave the company a new lease of life. But more than that, in these latest patch iterations I think it's a great game. It combines the party play of the old DnD franchises with meaty roleplaying. Considering game mechanics and more or less everything was built from the ground up, the game is a complete wonder even when you factor in the crowd-fundedness of it. Tyranny I think is solid choice and a banker, I for one will be buying it based on how polished PoE now is and that they're working with the game engine. Many other semi-hardcore gamers are going to do the same. It's a great way of re-purposing assets that are well now well established to produce the same experience for players who want it - of which there's a lot. For me now, I want them to produce some sort of AAA title to rival the big boys. They clearly have the chops given New Vegas, and whether they use Paradox's new White Wolf rights or anything else I think they have the ability to create an excellent AAA first person experience. Then, once that's in the bag, they keep on publishing those great AAA single player RPG experiences but now have money to monopolise on fantastic isometric games on the side. Thoughts and/or experiences on the existing state of the company?

I did act 1, act 2 until Cliaban Rilag, Endless Paths up to the Guardian on level 13 (too many Adragans to easily progress, and combat doesn't end when you initiate it even if you do split the group), then Cliaban Rilag and Dyrford Village, then Act 3 leaving out notable quests such as the Sky Dragon and the rescue in the ice place or whatever it is, then some of White March I but then I wanted to further optimize the character but wasn't keen on re-specing so I restarted. This was all PotD solo - places like Elmshore with level scaling I also left until later but other than that I cleared out every other area completely. Going that deep into the Endless Paths that early definitely has it's advantages. There's a lot of uncommon enemies down there so you get heaps of bestiary experience, plus having something like Drawn In Spring before you even do Cliaban Rilag is pretty damn sweet. I would have maybe done White March part I sooner, but cracking into it on solo is very hard seeing as you can't rest in Stalwart during that initial confrontation. Once you are past that however, I found much of the rest of WM I pretty easy in comparison.

As you say, the resting bonus from Caed Nua gives +2, Gloves of Manipulation give a further +2 and as omgFIREBALLS mentioned Dungeon Delver gives +1. From what I've heard you only really need 13 Mechanics to get into anything worthwhile in the game (Cragholdt Bluffs has some higher chests, but then you can just use the scrolls to break into them). So ultimately you need to hit 8 Mechanics, 10 if you don't want to back-track to Caed Nua all the time for the resting bonus (though that's an expensive choice, when you could be putting those points into the much better Survival skill. It depends whether those higher Survival levels are worth the convenience of more Mechanics). Mechanics scrolls aren't a reliable resource as finding them isn't a given - however I think it's safe to say you'll find at least one for difficult chests like Cragholdt Bluffs. Remember you have 90 skill points to spend by the end of the game so plan accordingly, I've given a little run down of how skill spending works and what you can do with 16 levels worth of points in this thread right here.

I think playing solo adds some variety. Compared to a whole party, you only have so many quick item slots so you manage your use of figurines a lot more making combat a little more varied (though sure you're using the same set of figurines, you're not using the same ones every encounter, and so it adds a little something IMO to the gameplay). Further, as you're just the one guy, you need to be managing defense boosting at times of need and also your use of scrolls. In any case, I guess one guy in Boots of Speed would be good at grouping mobs while the rest of your party is strategically positioned to handle the hoard - though I'm sure you've tried that already. It does seem quite easy to split mobs in this game when the members of that mob are at different speeds, which I guess is a pain with what you're trying to accomplish.

That might be it, seeing as it was right at the start of the game I didn't have any cause to reload.

That's normally day 20, weird I didn't get it then though in the first few pages of the thread it does talk about reloading autosaves if you didn't get the right item on a particular day which I didn't try.

Speaking of Spelltongue, does it work with Triggered Immunity (from my understanding of how it works without using it - stealing duration off enemies and using it for your own positive effects)? Seems like a pretty crazy way to use it, seeing as it the right situations it makes you completely immortal (though again really only a late game option). With Ryona's Breastplate this doesn't even need to be the sole providence of a Fighter either. Top that off with Ring of Unshackling and other elements of Boeroer's Leech Build (the scrolls, etc.) and you'd be ridiculously over-powered.

Day 20 in the Gilded Vale Inn no longer gives Rymrgand's Mantle, it gives an Amulet of Health instead. If anyone can tell me if the Eothas Temple Rymrgand's Mantle is still okay I'd appreciate it, I haven't got round to clearing it out yet but I usually use the mantle to clear the Caed Nua Throne Room PotD solo (equip it, run to a spot just left of the door so the Shadow blocks the Phantoms reaching you, use a staff - usually Durance's - to hit Phantoms behind the Shadow and a ranged weapon to get their attention if one doesn't zone in to attack after another dies behind the Shadow. Rymrgand's Mantle is the only thing that can keep me healthy for such a strategy - and means I don't have to hit Stealth 5 if I don't want to like most solo people clearing the room). I'll be sad if the mantle has now been deemed too powerful for early game and taken off the act 1 lists.

No don't worry, it was the former I was referring to, thanks for letting me know plus giving an in game logical explanation!

So the idea behind this thread is to post up workable ideal skill spreads for different archetypal character builds going solo PotD. Obviously some builds aren't going to need as high a score in a particular skill that a different build (for example a Priest or other casters don't necessarily need high Lore) which is ultimately the idea behind these spreads - providing a skill framework for a particular build archetype may want to make it easier for players to allocate their skill points. In party play multiple characters can cover your different skills, so while these builds will work in party play it's probably best to min-max with skills to a larger degree. Suggesting a background that boosts the highest skill is a given, however you can also suggest items and races or talents if either are particularly applicable to the given spread plus a desired attribute focus. Feel free to make class specific skill spreads if you want, but spreads that fit a variety of classes are nice due to their applicability. These spreads shouldn't focus much on skill boosting through scrolls as they're a finite and unreliable resource. For those of you who don't know how skills level, you get 6 points per level after the first (90 total by level 16). The first level of a skill costs 1 point, and each additional level to that skill equals the cost of the last level plus 1 point. Skill modifiers modify the where you buy in that first skill level. For example starting at zero level 1 Survival costs 1 point, level 2 Survival 2 points, etc. However if you take the Colonist background (+2 Survival), level 3 is the first level and it costs 1 point, followed by level 4 for 2 points, etc. I'm sure most of you know this already, but I thought an explanation is useful for anyone a little new. So here's the one I've been working on, based in part on the Glass Tsunami class build... Endurance Recovery Tank Spread Idea: To get Survival buffable to 14 so you can get the x1.6 healing modifier bonus, but also to hit Mechanics buffable to 13 and passive Lore 8 for easier solo play. Mechanics 13 supposedly allows you to unlock anything worth unlocking, and Lore 8 gives you access to some of the juicer scrolls like Confusion, Valor, Wall of Flame and Paralysis which can be great in times of need. Background: Colonist or Explorer work well. This spread will assume Colonist for the maths. Classes: Works with all. Required skills to hit: 7 Survival (9 with Colonist), 5 Lore, 8 Mechanics (leftover points can go into Stealth or Athletics as you desire, or to Mechanics or Lore to rely less on their specific items/resting bonuses). Cost = (7 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1) + (5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1) + (8 + 7 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1) = 79 without factoring in class specific bonuses. Necessary items: Jack of Wide Waters (gives a temp +2 Survival when equipped, you can put it on before you rest then take it off after and it won't remove the bonus), Gloves of Manipulation (+2 Mechanics as needed), Viettro's Formal Footware (+3 Lore to give you the 8 passive score). Necessary Resting Bonuses: Warden's Lodge (+2 Survival), Artificer's Hall (+2 Mechanics as needed). Necessary Talent Bonuses: Dungeon Delver (+1 Mechanics, also +1 Stealth but who cares?), Rymrgand's Boon (+1 Survival). Skaen's Boon comes too late for it to be useful. Final skill point calcs: Survival = 7 + 2 (Colonist) + 2 (Jack of Wide Waters) + 2 (Warden's Lodge) + 1 (Rymrgand's Boon) = 14 Mechanics = 8 + 2 (Artificer's Hall) + 2 (Gloves of Manipulation) + 1 (Dungeon Delver) = 13 when needed Lore = 5 + 3 (Viettro's Formal Footware) = 8 Race and talent recommendations: The point of this build is endurance recovery, so my recommendation is Moon Godlike with Veteran's Recovery, then make your character build as you like. Silver Tide gives 5 + (4 x every level past 1) endurance for each heal it does (3 heals total) - hat's 195 endurance total at level 16. Veteran's Recovery gives 3 + (1 endurance every 3 levels after 1) per 3 second tick over 45 seconds, which is a further 120 endurance at level 16. With the resting bonus, you're looking at (120 + 195) x 1.6 = 504 endurance per every encounter, definitely not to be sneezed at. Recommended attributes: Might scales that healing even higher. At 20 Might you get x 1.3 additional healing, making that 504 now 655. Intellect can extend the duration of Veteran's Recovery, which as it's healing occurs every 3 seconds also boosts the healing significantly. Additional items: Belt of Bountiful Healing makes the healing more crazy, as does Shod in Faith if you're deflection is low enough to get critted frequently. Notes: To compensate for Viettro's Formal Footware being late game, other + Lore items can be used with the Library resting bonus to get you to 8 Lore when you need it. Either that, or if you have got a plus Lore scroll you can use that in a time of need. Alternate high survival spreads: At the expense of Mechanics and Lore, you can push that Survival even higher. Any class with at least 1 in Survival can hit 20 Survival with 78 of the skill points and the bonuses I've mentioned above. Druids and Rangers hit that mark at just 66 skill points - comfortably allowing one of either Lore or Mechanics to be boosted highly. That's a x1.8 healing bonus - now earning you 567 endurance per encounter without lifting a finger using Moon Godlike and Vet's Recovery. --------------------------------------------------------------------- And there we have it! I've been using this spread to make a Rogue Tank build and it works very well - but the point is you can apply the spread to pretty much any class and make it tanky. If people have other recommended spreads to cover more bases, post them up!

So I noticed if you equip something like Jack of the Wide Waters (+2 survival) or use a + survival scroll then rest and take the max survival resting bonus you can, then you unequip Jack of the Wide Waters you still retain the same resting bonus even though you no longer have the requisite survival for that bonus. Is this considered a bug or is this how it's supposed to work? I want to do a run without re-speccing my character, so I was trying to figure out how to allocate the 90 skill points before I start play - however if there's plans to patch this out in the near future then I won't use it as obviously then that would necessitate a restart/respec for the next patch.

It's worth mentioning that you can't get any of these items on solo as they're all adventure items. Obviously you can recruit a companion to do these things for you and then just not use them, but it defeats it being a solo run somewhat (and wouldn't count for one in terms of achievements).

I'll have a look, thanks very much. I did think about the Raedric's Hold pistol, but I want to try and leave the hold until I can storm in their like a badass and wipe everyone out.

Any ideas of where to guaranteed get two bits of early game turquoise (pre-Caed Nua)? I'm looking to make a Ranger using just pistols as a bit of a challenge (building towards Durgan refined Forgiveness) however in the early game I'm stuck with the Disappointer which I'm finding a little, erm, disappointing - particularly as I want to be using Swift Aim but all those knocks to accuracy are making it unworkable right now. While I could go with the Damage 1 enchantment, it uses resources for Fine so I'd rather go for Accurate 1 instead. I've got the one guaranteed Turquoise you can find at Anslog's Compass in the dragon skull's eye - however I'm having a little trouble finding another piece and wasn't sure if there was another guaranteed anywhere? Any ideas?

Moon Godlike is obvs the best. 10 endurance + 3 for every level after the 1st - meaning 45 total and procing three times. That's 135 extra endurance regardless of class. If you buff Survival to at least the level of a 40% rest bonus (not hard to get), that's now 189 extra endurance. Then if you slap on extra Might (let's say 20 - again not a hard target to get) you're looking at 245 extra endurance. When you factor in any class can now take Veteran's Recovery (8 at level 16 extra 3 seconds for 45 seconds, 218 endurance with the aforementioned bonuses), you're looking at a crap tonne of extra endurance - making pretty much any class a decent tank if you want them like that as it's easy more than half of most high Con speced classes' endurance. I'd say the new helmets on offer (retaliation Garodh's Chorus, the Maegfolc Skull or the White Crest Helm for example) are now more tasty and make non-Moon Godlike races at least now worth considering, but that still doesn't change 245 extra endurance is hard to pass up and makes it unequivocally the easiest race to play for any class.

I will have some item based CC (Overwhelming Wave, Dominate, etc.) and the character I think should be able to tank quite well in theory (Vet's Recovery plus Silver Tide is good for 500+ Endurance with my Might). Seeing as I want Viettro's Formal Footware on the build I was thinking of having a Lore of 1 so I could hit 4 with that equipped and use Defense scrolls. I guess I'll see how it goes for these tougher battles, it does seem like high survival out-weighs the benefits of investing heavily in Lore for most instances. I guess with Deep Wounds and Retaliate so long as I can keep my character alive for long enough any melee enemy will die.

So I was watching Kaylon's handling of the Alpine Dragon on solo PotD (https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/83925-ranger-solo-vs-alpine-dragon-potd/) and it got me thinking what kind of Lore do people recommend on solo play? I guess it's probably 8 or nothing, do you think 8 Lore is important for those tricky battles on solo or not? Ideally, I don't want to invest in Lore on my current build (low Dex tanky Moon Godlike Rogue with Veteran's Recovery) as I'll be getting a lot of spell uses from items (Ring of Changing Heart, etc.) and Survival on the whole has a lot more to offer. With the low Dex too, I doubt I'd be able spam the spells quick enough to stack them like Kaylon did. However, if people do think it is vital to these battles I'll reconsider. I don't want to respec, which is why I wanted to know now.

I like that Paradox have trade marked the word Tyranny.

Did not see that, thank you. Had already heard about Tyranny so it's not an update I would have even looked at.

The patch is live on GOG now if anyone didn't notice. A little weird as I was expecting an "Update 3.02 is now live" thread.

I think your assessment is good. About the PotD difficulty, in the early 1.0 patches I did start on Hard and then found I was pancaking everything with a follower based party and so since have played on PotD going solo (I've still not completed the game for one reason or another, I guess after completion I'll go PotD with followers as desert to my grueling solo main course). Once you hit act two and get some decent levels under your belt, the combat to me feels tough but rewarding. Your completely right about leaving the tougher areas, which I think is a concept which is alien to most people (and was to me at the start, used to exploring every inch of a map as soon as I see it). Now for the sake of convenience I leave most areas largely unexplored (maybe doing all of Valenwood, but that's literally it) until I get to the second act - only dipping into a map to complete a quest or get a nice item to sell (Fulvano's fine crossbow, reaching Raedric but not dealing with him and looting the castle, etc.). Then I do all of the easier Defiance Bay quests, then I clear out all the old maps and fully explore them, then I do the harder Defiance Bay quests - then move onto Searing Falls and Pearlwood Bluffs. After this every other map will be pretty easy up until you reach Elmshore with the level scaling, I got down to level 13 of the Endless Paths before even doing Cliaban Rilag - had to stop as the combat never stops on that level when you get to the boss fight and tackling him and the Adragans is too damn hard without beefy defenses. I do think Expert Mode is fine even on the first run - stuff like AoE radius can be learnt intuitively after a little play. As I said, a decent guide for a new starter. I think they'll now be slightly more hardcore gamers coming Pillars who missed the original boat and now have arrived on recommendation, this guide is perfect for them.

I can confirm I got everything I wanted on day 4 at Raedric's Hold, thanks!

That's what I thought, but I deleted my save with it. I'll go with that, thank you kindly.

From the lists, seems like Day 4 at Raedric's Hold is a gold mine for solo play. Gloves of Manipulation - Desk Chest Belt of Bountiful Healing - Bed Chest Boots of Stealth - Rooftop Chest Both the gloves and the boots can save you some nice skill points (a little Stealth is normally needed to get through Caed Nua on solo PotD) and the belt is very useful early game to make heals stronger. I've now dropped any semblance of caring for not abusing these lists, I'll save that for a more casual run where I'm not bothered about optimising my character.

I seem to remember this bonus was +1 Mechanics/Stealth but the wiki says +2 - which is correct? I tried getting the console to work myself to check but for some reason it says it is "not available at this time", I'm looking to save skill points so I can pump Survival harder (as I'm solo I still want to hit 13 Mechanics which I've heard will unlock/find all worthwhile chests/secrets even in WM II so with the resting bonus, Gloves of Manipulation and Dungeon Delver I'll need 7/8 depending). Thanks in advance.