WebShaman

Great post @SSH83 I agree with all your points 100%!! I would suggest giving one a slider option for the spell AoE, that goes between max and min. One can then place it as one wishes. Should have a remember function, so that it "remembers" the last adjustment given (so one doesn't have to adjust it from "norm" every time).

Hmmm...my opinion of the Combat System seems to be at odds with most here. I use the S and D keys to slow down and speed up things (also in combat), so it all seems a bit different to me in terms of speed (though @Sensuki is correct about the recovery thing IMHO). I started the game on Easy (I think this is a no-brainer, one is getting used to a new game, so start on the easiest settings until one gets familiar with things, right?). I have not died once in combat. I had heard that the bugs were bad, but I didn't find that to be so. I found the poison that they dealt to be bad (had to go rest to get rid of the effects), but actual combat was very easy IMHO. I use the DA:O tactic of meatshields with ranged - and a scout up front. Scout (here the D key really comes into use!), hit enemy, retreat. Fire up the Wiz with magic. Let loose with the ranged. Hit the S key. Now position the meatshields so that they will intercept the incoming enemy at the point. Activate some Priest status spell (I assume it is like Bless, Chant, whatever). By now the enemies (on S) will be somewhere within melee range. Click and combat with the meatshields, and fire up the Wiz with MM (Magic Missle). Send in the Priest, wailing away! Now hit the D key (or just tap the S key, for normal speed). Kills stuff quickly, and with very little damage to my Meatshields. As meatshields, I use my Dwarf and my Bear (animal companion from my Godlike Ranger). The Ranger is an Archer, so stands back. Everyone in my party has Heavy or Medium armor - and except for my Ranger, use firearms as ranged weapons. Using this relatively easy tactic, I have reduced combat to a fun endeavor that is not deadly - even some of the really tough encounters went down quickly enough (Bear, Magic, Firearms seems to be the ticket, combined with heavy armor to absorb damage). I normally use the Dwarf's ability to defend to reduce even more damage - the Bear seems to just shrug damage off. The only time I tend to have problems is when the enemy overruns my meatshields, to get at the "softer" party members. Then I hit S, do some adjusting, and it is back to the original tactic. Since I use S and D so often in combat, it really has introduced me to a great way to do the combat in PoE. I really wish DA:O had this (or the upcoming Inquisitor)! IMHO, being able to affect combat speed (without pausing) is a godsend! It allows me time to "rest" when I feel overburdened without having to stop things (which really doesn't help, because as soon as you unpause, you are back in confusion land again!) But in PoE, I can S-L-O-W things down, get a breather, actually SEE what is going on, and react accordingly. As such, the recovery times just do not come into factoring for me.

I am stumped. I always assumed (I know, I shouldn't have, but I did, go figure) that peeps playing a beta would first look at all the available options first, key binds, yadda yadda yadda. Apparently not. For combat, I have found the S and D keys to be PARAMOUNT for good tactics. With these keys (and, of course, the space bar), one can speed up and slow down the movement, actions, etc! Need some extra time? Hit S. Everything instantly S-L-O-W-S down. Now you can see what is happening, and plan accordingly. When you are done, hit D for lightspeed mode to finish things up. BTW - if you hit the same key again, it "reverts" back to normal speed. Why are these not being used by those criticizing the combat system? By using these methods, combat is sooooo easy! I love it! So much better than anything else I have ever seen! I often go into Scouting mode, hit D, and fast movement, yeah! Come to a creature, hit S, and attack, then run back to the group (hit S again, or D, dependingly), lead the enemies to them. Hit S again, and pummel the enemy to their knees! So my take on the game so far : I like the graphics, they match how the game is made. It reminds me a lot of The Temple of Elemental Evil - which is a good thing IMHO. The animations are fine, I have no problems with them. I like the dialog system (still figuring out how it works, though). I have played a Godlike Ranger with a Bear companion. And I can tell you that we tore up everything. That bear (Bruno in my game) was whacking things apart! It is a bit slow to attack, but the hits do HUUUGE damage to everything! I really liked the little "dialoge shows" included when one moved the Statue (for the Crypt run) and the rope across the cavern. Really cool! So, now to the negatives : As has been criticized, the inventory is a horror. It is just sooo clunky, unwieldly, and horrid. I don't know what is what, everything is very small, and there are limited spaces (besides the Loot chest) to put stuff. I soon lose track of everything. I have no idea which weapons are better than the others, and only a bit of info for armor. It is very difficult for me to tell which armor is what, being that the icon is so small, meaning I have to constantly right click to see what stats it has. No comparison function, no "equip best" or any other type of helpful stuff. I can't even sort according to condition X (or type or whatever). It is painful drag-n-click, again and again. Don't even get me started with accessories, trading, etc. The whole inventory system is negative IMHO. I would suggest scrapping it and going with something else. Doing spellcasting in combat is very confusing for me at the moment (perhaps this will change?). I do not know what most of the spells do (familiarity, but also pretty much a total lack of description on how magic works, etc). Damage spells seem pretty self-explanitory, but some of the status stuff, and special abilities are like...WHA?! There is as mentioned very little in the way of informative feedback in combat (I see some graphic effects, I see some red, etc, but I don't really know what it MEANS). What I would prefer are indicators that immediately inform me of what is happening (did I hit, miss, or what? That strange graphic effect on my peeps, what is it doing? Is it good, bad, what?). I do like the little blue dots (HPs, I think) that reduce when taking damage, but they are really small. Thankfully I can slow things down with the S key to see them. Looting (picking stuff up) seems to have a problem near Icons (like doors, map edges, etc). It is impossible (for me, anyway) to pick stuff up that falls in such places! Either I end up closing/opening the doors, or exiting/entering a map area! The same problem with targeting enemies by such icons - it is impossible! I once had a Wolf attacking my party that I could not directly target because it was at a map edge under the icon. I had to move the entire party away (and take hits) so that it would follow to a place where I could target it. That about rounds up my Pros/Cons. All in all, I really like PoE. Keep up the good work!

"You're a fool if you believe I would trust your benevolence. Step aside and you and your lackeys will be unhurt." Says Gorion before...yeah. He died.