IndiraLightfoot

You and me both!

Indeed! And may I add that the fans of games like tabletop D&D and Pathfinder, over time, they learn about the monsters, and a pretty big number of these more experienced players gets well acquainted with the stats as well. I've been a DM for years, but a player even longer, and despite my D&D meta-knowledge, I've never really gotten tired of the game itself. It's almost a selling point when these games become CRPGs. It sure is to me, at least.

Just look at what happened with Sword Coast Legends. WotC backed that thing as well: A cool little team made a decent little D&D story, but for some bisarre reason, WotC had them simplify the rules and make a mess of it, CRPG-wise. And on top of that, they made a DM mode and a toolkit that was extremely limited and lackluster. And before that, WotC had 4th Ed Daggerdale made, an atrocity! Our only hope is that WotC has sacked all those advisors and replaced it with true PnP D&D fans, intent on linking the pretty great 5th Ed with the legendary games of the past.

Only a brief one at the start (so far), where you lay down on a couch while a colleague send you back in time, via a high-tech Illuminati thingie. This is when you chose the sex of your character, basically. Oh, another thing that they've done pretty well is that everyone is working and walking around on elaborate waypoint schedules. All the grind stones and the huge jars for olive oil and amphorae for wine, and the vineyards, it's all so very neat! And you can climb up on nearly everything and jump around, a bit like Dishonored, I guess, but here you get to bump into people. And while you're riding, you can actually do it roughshod and trample people to death, if you are so inclined. There are plenty of "evil" options in the dialogues and quests. Watch out, though, 'cause when you're running, you may accidentally push people into some brazier or ember tripod, and then they catch fire and die.

After 20+ hours, I'm really taken aback by the quality of Assassin's Creed: Odyssey: -I'm a history buff who loves Ancient Greek history, Greek Mythology, and I know my way around the Greek languages as well, Ancient and Modern. Sure, the dialect in this game has a Russian tang to it, but at least that gives it all a slightly foreign character. -Having been to Greece on numerous occasions, I do feel what they've done is pretty accurate. It's still probably depicted a bit too much on the arid side (which is the way much of recent Greece is), but before over-population, deforestation, and extensive agriculture, even many of the islands were pretty lush, actually. The soundscape is lovely, and terrain and landscape presented convincing, at least topographically, while obviously scaled down considerably. Still, the game map is ginormous - I wouldn't be surprised if it's bigger than Skyrim. And there are much more detailed underwater landscapes as well, which in Skyrim was barren lakes and an ice-cold coastline. Regardless, I just lose myself walking around in the mountains, the forests and the villages, or when I sail on the seas, and all this complete with weather and day and night. Exploration is rewarded with crafting materials and secret places and items. -They haven't gone all-in on the mistake seen in American Ancient Greek movies in the mid-1900s, where everything is white and marble, including statues and such, when in fact, buildings, etc, were much more colourful and painted in intricate patterns. They stay true to the material culture of the Peloponnesian War, including pottery, dresses, and economy. And when they present us with ruins from older times, these are painted in late Bronze Age style, including objects and even gates (like the Lion Gate), which they merrily link to the Odyssey saga (I can't complain. It's a bit of a dream come true!). And the loading screens mix historical facts with gameplay tips. This is the kind of game that can make kids of today interested in ancient history, that's for sure. -CRPG-wise, it really delivers. It's pretty low-key, in the beginning, sprinkled with laughter and reasonably natural dialogue. Some hard moral choices to make, from the get-go. The cut scenes and flashback memories are great. The story is pretty gripping. I actually get more RPG of this game than Deadfire, for instance, which is somewhat bisarre (since that doesn't need an AAA-budget). As someone who's never played the Witcher more than 2 hours, I can't really tell if it's comparable, but I hazard a guess and say that it is. -Stealth and sneaking isn't on par with Dishonored, but it's rather close, and the same goes for combat. Sure, using a controller, I immediately feel more involved (too involved, I had to turn off vibrations). -Ship battles are pretty fun, although a bit wonky (There are lots of things to consider at once: rowers, archers, javelin-throwers, sails, speed. It's way better than Deadfire's "press 1, 1, 1, 1... Victory!", and the same goes for boarding and sinking ships (and you can even dive after stuff while they sink afterwards). -The pacing is pretty much perfect the first 10 hours, but when you sail around or gets lost in forests and mountains, it gets harder, but for the most part, I feel I have myself to blame to be so dream-y and quest-disobedient. -And speaking of quests, they are story-related, and/or fetch quest-like, but very optimally embedded in the politics and Athens-Sparta conflict plus local power struggles on the one hand, and the history, philosophy, religion, and science of the Classical era -Some odd stuff. Players can take photos, and then I can enjoy them, despite my playing a single player game - they can be toggled by me as markers on the overland map, pretty cool. Certain simple side quests have real life timers on them, which unlock a rare currency, which, if amassed sufficiently and patiently, can be used to buy items by special dealers. There will also be events and constant updates of in-game quests, so that they game stays fresh. Obviously, these are ways to get people more hooked to the game, and play it longer. Personally, I don't mind. -As an AssCreed novice, I've kept most helper markers on, but in my 2nd playthrough, I'll most likely turn most of that stuff off. If you do like games like Elder Scrolls and the Witcher series, I can really recommend this game. If you happen to dig ancient greek history as well, you're in for an addictive treat!

@Gromnir: That was unfortunate, to say the least. In NWN2, there weren't any respeccing offered in-game, but very soon a save game character editor was made, so in those rare case when one really needed to adjust something important statwise, you just opened that editor and changed the number(s). Very convenient. Hopefully, there is one. Otherwise, it's just a question of time.

Amazingly, patch 1.06 is already here: Hotfix 1.0.6 – October, 5th 2018 5 oktober - Hello everyone! The weekend is coming, and the team is doing its best to solve some more issues before our dear pathfinders will have well-deserved opportunity to relax and play after another long workweek. It happens we have a chance to publish one more hotfix today. Please, be aware that there are plot spoilers in the descriptions below (in the Quest, Areas and Kingdom sections)! Quests The Secluded Lodge area has an empty caption on the Global Map during the "Deal with the Devil" quest. Resolution: fixed. The option to give an Emerald Necklace to Kimo was not available. Resolution: fixed. "A Score to Settle" quest did not work correctly if the player met Ekun after Kargadd was killed. Resolution: fixed. Some quest characters did not appear at the Capital Square during companion quests under certain circumstances. Resolution: fixed. Areas In some cases, players couldn't return Bartholomew his whip. Resolution: fixed. Some players complained about a missing part of the Storyteller dialogue in the Throne Room – there was no option to sell mementos. Resolution: fixed. Flintlock Grasslands area will no longer be inaccessible after all events are completed in that location (this is to reduce the size of save files). In some cases, after the dialogue with Amiri at the end of Flintlock Grasslands only Amiri stayed under player's control - the rest of the party could go missing. Resolution: fixed. Incorrect loot icon on the Map of Old Sycamore Dungeon (no loot was available, in fact). Resolution: fixed. The wrong dialogue could start with captive Amiri at Flintlock Grasslands. Resolution: fixed. Some area elements could be loaded incorrectly during the "Burying the Past" quest at Ruined Watchtower. Resolution: fixed. Bartholomew's dialogue at Wizard's Laboratory could sometimes display incorrect answer options. Resolution: fixed. One of the options in the dialogue with Alex Covenorb was recursive and didn't allow to end the dialogue. Resolution: fixed. Bartholomew related events could become broken in case of his early death from the Troll/bandits/random monsters. Resolution: fixed. The player could miss a few important doors at the Sepulcher of Forgotten Heroes area. Resolution: the doors are highlighted to draw the player's attention. Items Save/load could corrupt items in the Baron's chest - they lost their magical features until the next save/load while they are in the party Inventory. Resolution: fixed. All items that were corrupted have been restored. There were no options to learn feats to use the following exotic weapons: Dwarven Urgrosh, Gnome Hooked Hammer, Orc Double Axe, Two-bladed Sword. Resolution: "Exotic Weapon Proficiency" feat has the corresponding choices now. Such exotic weapons as the Gnome Hooked Hammer, Orc Double Axe и Sling Staff were not counted as special weapon for gnomes, half-orcs and halflings accordingly. Resolution: fixed. User Interfaces There were issues with "Combat text", "Party information in combat", "Enemy information in combat" (so called Overtips settings) and "Dialogue" settings : 1) players did not understand that these settings are stored within the save file; 2) the value of these settings could be changed by switching "Immersion Mode". Resolution: the Overtips and "Dialogue" settings are moved to "Difficulty" page of the Options. Difficulty page is no longer available form Main Menu. Cleric couldn't be level-upped if there were no options in domain progression. Resolution: fixed. Spells from another character’s spells list could show up during a caster level-up. Resolution: fixed. Key binding for the tactical pause is displayed correctly in the tutorial message now. Kingdom The "Invincible Kingdom" option was added. When turned on, your barony or kingdom will not be destroyed even when its state drops below Crumbling. This option is switched on by default for the "Story mode" difficulty. Please note that story critical events tied to the main threat of the chapter can still destroy your kingdom! However, you will get several warnings before that happens. The artisan Bokken would come every time you get to the Throne Room with the same dialogue. Resolution: fixed. Different cutscenes would sometimes start at the same time at Throne Room. Resolution: fixed for all new save files. Be aware that the current saves may still suffer from this issue, unfortunately. Some visitors (artisans) had wrong dialogues at Throne Room. Resolution: fixed. Classes Characters lost Protection From Energy effect after load. Resolution: fixed. Misc Wrong sound effects for druid wild shape transformations. Resolution: fixed. New pack of localization fixes for FR, DE, ZH (mostly).

Patch 1.05 out plus a new patch plan! "Dear Pathfinders, After considering the upcoming feedback we decided that it will be better to focus on releasing hotfixes with the best possible frequency rather then spending time on testing the next big version. The way we see it now we will keep preparing hotfixes during the next 1-2 weeks. The so called "big patch" with several hundreds improvements and minor fixes will be released after October, 22nd. Please be aware that there are story spoilers in the descriptions below (at Quest, Areas and Kingdom sections). Quests Tristian's dialogue may not work correctly during Saving Grace quest. Resolution: fixed. If the player skips the first quest with Bartholomew and then returns with a whip, the incorrect dialogue is triggered. Resolution: fixed. 2nd Valerie romance event may not start and lock the party in the tavern instead. Resolution: fixed. Players already trapped in the tavern need to exit it for the event to start correctly. Areas Amiri may not appear in the beginning of Flintlock Grassland area and the story events don't start in this case. Resolution: fixed. Amiri returns as not active companion after the events at Flintlock Grassland. If the player takes her into the party she may be not visible and not controllable. Resolution: fixed. There may be infinite loading after entering the portal at Temple of the Elk. Resolution: fixed. Bokken may disappear from Oleg's Tradind Post in some cases. Resolution: fixed. Chief Sootscale can't be killed if the player returns to the first level of the Old Sycamore Dungeon after the "baronation" event. Resolution: fixed. Tristian may not leave the location after meeting with Raven. Resolution: fixed. Players are unable to reach the Hunting Grounds area - required for Ekun quest - if they decided not to participate in the Noble Safari event earlier. Resolution: fixed. There may be issue with Tristian behavior at Vordakai's Tomb. Resolution: fixed. The certain cutscene may freeze during the final fight at the first level of Vordakai's Tomb. Resolution: fixed. Party may lack camp rations at Vordakai's Tomb. Resolution: camp rations are added at Vordakai's Tomb. Loot can't be picked up at Ruins of the Old Tower area. Resolution: fixed. Items The description for the Cloak of Resistance +2 stated that it gives +1 resistance bonus to saving throws despite it actually giving +2. Resolution: fixed.User Interfaces The wizard's list of spells includes spells from the previous levels during Level-Ups. Resolution: fixed. Missing description for some abilities in class progression table for example for Sage Sorcerer. Resolution: class progression table was improved. On of the Chinese character is missing in ZH localization. Resolution: fixed. There is no option to see the day of the week (required for some quests). Resolution: the day of the week is available in the hourglass tooltip. There are cases when quest's objectives are not visible in the Quest Journal, for example for Twice-Born Warlord quest. Resolution: fixed. A bunch of new unique icons added (mostly for wands and potions). The "Arcane spell failure chance" string is visible in divination casters spellbook. Resolution: the string is removed. Amiri's portrait is doubled in party selection interface. Resolution: fixed. Kingdom When the boss of the chapter is defeated on the exact day she/he is supposed to destroy the kingdom, the corresponding event that is destroying your kingdom is removed. Technic League Encampment is inaccessible during artisan's quest to get inubrix. Resolution: fixed. If Kassil was chosen as an envoy and then was killed at Flintlock Grassland he might still appear during coronation event at Throne Room. Resolution: fixed. Varnhold and Pitax settlements are not working. Resolution: fixed. Classes Jaethal is not immune to negative levels. Resolution: fixed. Feyspeaker archetype of druid previously has orisons that wrongly based their DCs on Wisdom, instead of scaling off Charisma like all other Feyspeaker spells. Resolution: Feyspeaker orisons scale their DCs off Charisma. At character creation, the game does not change stat recommendation for Feyspeaker, pointing the Wisdom as recommended and Charisma as not recommended. Resolution: Charisma is a recommended stat for Feyspeaker. Vital Strike feat does not give the appropriate usable ability. Resolution: fixed. Extra Arcane Pool feat does not increase the pool of Eldritch Scions. Resolution: fixed. Weapon Training bonus isn't shown in the tooltips of attack rolls. Resolution: fixed. Hideous Laughter requires target intelligence to be higher than 2 for you to be able to cast it. This, combined with penalties for Weak Enemies (default setting for enemy difficulty on Easy Mode and Story Mode), lead to the case that some enemies in this weakened state are too dumb to get the jokes. Resolution: fixed, the Hideous Laughter now takes only the base intelligence of the target into account. Greater Vital Strike has the same description as normal Vital Strike. Resolution: Greater Vital Strike now has correct description. Duelist Precise Strike has no description and is not visible in the class progression table and in the character ability list. It also works only for characters with a sneak attack. Resolution: both problems are fixed. Players may select Point-Blank Master, Slashing Grace and Fencing Grace while not having Weapon Focus/Weapon Specialization with an appropriate weapon. This lead to the case when they see an empty list of available selection. Resolution: Slashing Grace now requires Weapon Focus with a one-handed slashing weapon, Fencing Grace requires Weapon Focus with a one-handed piercing weapon and Point Blank Master requires Weapon Specialization with a ranged weapon. Freedom of Movement is classified as a Necromancy spell. Resolution: Freedom of Movement properly counts as an Abjuration spell now. Misc FX trails may work not correctly after multiple save/load. Resolution: fixed. New pack of localization fixes for FR, DE, ZH.System There are reports of quits to the main menu when changing scenes on rare occasions. Resolution: more logging is added and a temporary workaround is implemented (there should be no quits but area lighting may not work correctly)."

Perhaps they can tame Hex in the same vein as later iterations of Wish in D&D got more statistical, and in some cases, also random-table-like, which at least fit a CRPG somewhat? Otherwise, I already really like the Witch class from what you described here.

What will get next if the Owlcats are successful enough? Carrion Crown adventure path, pretty please!

Aw, this really warms my old D&D heart: NG, CN (I usually pick CG) and LE - a neat display of varied character interests alignment-wise. Cool!

My char and my party was almost ridiculously CN in Act1, with a few N and one or two NG choices picked...

@Slotharingia: Yeah, that was what happened during my first Stag Lord takedown. And as far as I can tell, I met the guy for the first time… .

I hadn't played Borderlands 2 until this summer, and when playing, it really struck me, almost like a premonition, that this is what D4 will be like: in 3D, obviously with updated funky graphics, and just as multiplayer-friendly, but with even more breadth and cunning monetization.

Yeah! I want moar! Deadfire is a fantastic game, but the replaying CRPG devil inside hasn't begun calling me yet, but some day…

@daven I agree 100%, but Jackjonez was very specific, so I tried to address that.

The same telemetrics that show most people don't multicass and most players never even finish one playthrough, not even by a longshot?

Yeah, if you liked builds like that ( I almost call them Boeroer builds), then Deadfire has far fewer of them, and on top of that the combat system + classes, abilites, etc have undergone pretty dramatic changes. Things might be rearranged again, though, but I suspect that it will take a year or so, for some huge patch 4.0 or something.

Yes, for starters, at least, on almost everything. And perhaps it's a necessity here, showing this kind of pics on a reasonably public forum and all...

I switched to my xBone controller, and hey presto! This turned into a wonderful experience. Then I simply picked those alternate controller settings, which really fit my playstyle to a tee, and I haven't looked back. 3 hours into the game, and as a graecophile who's never played AssCreed, here are my first impressions... -Imagine Skyrim 2018, but set in the Classical period of Ancient Greece, and you have an eye in the sky in the form of your lovely eagle Ikaros. The total map is supposed to be huge. 130 square kilometres, apparently much larger than its predecessor Origins -Music, the sounds, the landscape, the VOs (locals actually speak Greek, and NPCs have this wonderful accent), and even all the RPG bits of it all, the lot is simply top-notch -You can very soon run into enemies higher than yourself. I was lvl 1, and even stumbled across lvl 5 and such -The three classes are Hunter, Warrior and the stealthy Assassin. I haven't made up my mind yet -Lots of loot, along the Diablo classification: common, rare, epic, legendary, plus heaps of dismantling and crafting -If you do too much illegal stuff, you'll get Mercenaries hounding you -I use Exploration Mode - really nice! -You can dive for sunken treasures and temples -Naval warfare, some politics -And I read about the 2nd expansion: Atlantis -Greek Mythology heavy. Need I say more? *Swoon!* I mean, come on??? Wow. This, plus Pathfinder: Kingmaker, will keep me busy for months to come. See you after X-Mas! Some screenies to whet your appetite: I picked the grey horse.

Owlcat Studios official word on difficulty after the initial complaints: The game difficulty: Vision of the studio. Hail to the Kings and Queens! Lately, we’ve received a lot of questions from you regarding game difficulty. Our bad – we should have realized sooner that our view on the matter may differ significantly from what some of you are used to. A lot of games tend to use the “normal difficulty” label for their casual mode which requires minimal input from the player. Knowing this, many players choose “hard” or higher by default every time they start a new game just to make their experience at least a little challenging. Well, this isn’t quite how things work in Pathfinder: Kingmaker. We decided to be honest with our players from the start, so in our game “normal” really is what you’d expect from “normal”: a bit of challenge and a fair amount of Pathfinder experience. It is a mode that you can play on and not feel that the game is playing itself for you. Still, it is also a good choice for those getting their first taste of the game, as well as for those who are yet not familiar with the Pathfinder system but would like to dig in. The “hard” mode is literally hard – expect many tries, a lot of saving and loading, get ready to feel anger rise in your chest as your persistence is put to the test. The game will require you to think long and hard on your moves and to use potions, scrolls, spells and abilities wisely. You’ll have to learn about your foes’ weaknesses and use them. And as for the “unfair” mode – well, enough said, it IS unfair! It is for the most hardcore of gamers, for those who enjoy a real freakin’ challenge. Do not expect it to be just hard. Expect it to be soul-crushing. “Story mode” is for those who enjoy the game world and the storyline more than they do fighting, tactics and min-maxing. So, please, do not rush to choose the hardest difficulty level right at the start. We expect you to be the wise and provident ruler of the Stolen Lands. Measure your skill, have a proper taste of the game first, and whenever you’re ready – feel free to switch to a more challenging level. Or an easier one, if that’s what rocks your boat. And if the existing difficulty levels are not enough, remember you can always tailor the rules to your individual taste in the options menu. We are also currently working on even more deep and detailed difficulty settings to make sure you can set the gameplay to your liking. Nevertheless, we really appreciate your comments about certain unbalanced encounters. We're not planning to lower the whole difficulty level of the game, but we constantly note all your requests and are doing our best to fix all the problems and adjust the balance (some of them are already fixed - check out the Hotfix letters). Thank you!

Yeah. C'mon, Obsidz, spill the beans already! 'Nuff tenterhook time for us. We're dying here!!

I'm like everything you said and a combat nerd as far as tabletop PnP and computer RPGs go, and even worse, I'm a grinder and something of a masochist in this context, expecting and appreciating grating resistance and quite the degree of frustration and disadvantage on behalf of my party. I want to get crushed and die (although not over and over ad nauseam), and get back at it, using new tactics and approaches, if needed or if I feel like it. It certainly is a weird taste, and an acquired one at that. As you can tell, I really like a game like ToEE, for instance, while Tides of Numenera was pretty hideous, and the combat system in Sword Coast Legends almost an affront. This means, combat is more than just one aspect of gameplay to me in a CRPG, for the most part, but it's not something sacred, not even for its replayability (as long as the game provides me with sufficient reasons do play it all differently yet again). Deadfire was great as a casual party-combat-clicking-come-along, speaking here of the very early build, I haven't played it any later, since I'm patiently await all the DLCs and balance patches, before I get back to it. In a way, that's a quality in itself. No pressure, you get to enjoy the rest without to much worry about how your build your characters and how you conduct yourself during all your encounters. But usually, and pretty soon, in my case, I begin to wish for more: combat that challenges me and my party that I've assembled. And it is there I reckon PoE1 was much more on par with at least NWN2 OC, whereas the systems in Deadfire really hadn't infused/brewed long enough, to really satisfy my taste in CRPG combat, a taste hopelessly lopsided towards D&D in its various iterations, so I'm a tough customer, set in my ways.