PrimeJunta

Ah OK, you were referring to knockdown and freeze. Yeah sure, those are abilities. But... um, isn't it kind of the point to have monsters with various ways to punch you in the nuts, so you can then figure out ways to beat them?

AMERICA Y U HAET SCIENCE?

Not the beta anymore, but what the hey. On OS X, none of the cloaks show on the characters, either in the inventory paperdoll or in the main view.

There's a priest a bit of the ways down the way towards Caed Nua too. He is entirely insane and altogether wonderful.

I was doing OK with a rogue single-wielding a fine sword with Reckless Assault against hobbled/blinded enemies. Nice crits.

Hehe, yeah dat tree. Going by what they've shown of Defiance Bay and some other places though I think the tone may not stay that way all through.

What you're doing "wrong" is poking your nose in places it's not wanted. That's a seriously hard dungeon for a less than full party of level 2...3 characters. Do something else, level and gear up, and come back later. This is clearly not a game for lawnmowing, but for nudging your way forward and coming back later to murder things that were too hard for you now. Just like BG/2, for that matter.

Writing a 10/10 BEST GAME EVAH review after clearing the starter dungeon is kinda lame IMO. I may write one, but not before I've reached the end at least once.

The 6 DT bypass is kind of a big deal against armored enemies. The arbalest does look more powerful overall though.

It's not an ability. It's the way the combat works. When you hit, you have a chance of Interrupting the enemy's action. The defense is Concentration. So, if you have low Concentration and low Interrupt and using a slow weapon, you're kind of useless in a toe-to-toe fight because you won't ever be able to get an attack in. I.e., if you want a front-line character, pump the stats that boost Concentration and/or Interrupt and/or use fast, high-Interrupt weapons.

Go to the nearest inn and ask the innkeeper if they have adventurers for hire.

Are you playing on a 32-bit system by any chance? Asking because it's rock stable for me and I've only seen some cosmetic bugs. It's possible it's something about your setup.

You don't have the badge either. Are you sure you linked your pledge to your account?

Play another copy so you can then compare notes?

:decline:

Playing on Hard. So far the "regular" encounters have felt about right -- challenging but not frustrating. I've poked my nose in a few places I probably shouldn't be at this point and had it punched hard though. I figure the best way to go on Hard is to feel your way forward and if the going gets seriously tough try something else and come back later. At least I'm not good enough to beat some of 'em without serious savegame abuse at level 2-3. In the BB I alternated between Normal and Hard as the difficulty swung between builds.

This. Is. AWESOME! Also they weren't kidding when they said some of those optional fights are pretty damn tough. I've left a few well alone until I've built up a bit of a party and got my basic combat skillz together. You have to be an RPG god to make it through on Trial of Iron the first time around, there's just so many things there happy to roflstomp you given the opportunity. Also, the AI is way, WAY better than in the BB. They don't just target whoever's closest. Aloth is getting attacked aloth. Nudist casters suddenly don't seem like such a great idea anymore. Which is great because the armor looks lovely! Capes don't seem to show up though. Maybe it's a Mac thing, I'll try tomorrow on a PC.

There, done. Trying again, still on Hard but not with Trial of Iron. Also, WOOOHOO WOOWEEE WHEEEEE THIS IS AWESOME (but pity my poor wife who's going to feel neglected for a little while).

annnnd the download has started

hooooo you are going to get such a bloody nose If you like punishment then yeah, sure. This is a game that rewards knowledge and understanding of the mechanics though. Figuring them out by trial and error is not my idea of fun, but YMMV as always.

whaddya know, reviewers actually get it I was kind of afraid of Y U NO ROTATE CAMERA HERP DERP stuff but no, they do actually get what this is all about. Nice.

I'm rocking a fresh bag of coffee and this

Some of those sound like they could have been written by some people playing the BB though. The hardest of the hard core of IE fanatics have extremely particular tastes especially regarding combat, and have not taken some of the mechanical changes well (e.g. engagement, elimination of hard counters). Others have specific beefs about specific mechanics that for some reason become showstoppers (e.g. Might affecting magical as well as physical damage). I.e. I wouldn't dismiss them as troll reviews. They can be genuinely-held opinions, even if they might strike most of us as unreasonable.

w00t looks like Obsidz hit this one out of the park :happydance: 1:43 minutes to go...