kaiki

I really wish Butcher had been an option under Labourer :\ "I realized kith and beasts weren't that different in taking apart..." "Plague hit the village's livestock, not much work from then on." "I realized there had to be more to life then wadding ankle deep in blood." Great work on the research as well :D

Documentary is just about the project. I've never seen any announcement or indication that it was a comprehensive documentary on the company as a whole. Obsidian has stated that they have different teams at the company, so it reasons that while all the PoE stuff was going on the SP:SOT team was chugging right along.

The voice actor for the main villain is also the barkeep in Dyrwood Village. At least that's what my hear tells me.

Depends on the definition of what a god is. The characteristics of the PoE gods are similar to pantheons found in Earth cultures. Limited in power, limited in knowledge and wisdom, able to be killed, etc.

So far I've seen the higher your mechanics vs the level of the trap the farther away you'll spot it.

Ciphers use the mana system. Part of why they are such a powerful class. But to use that system for the other casters...I enjoy the system being different from dragon age. I don't view one as better then the other, just different.

There isn't indication that existentialism or nihilism exists in this setting, other then Iovara, so I don't find it that surprising that mortals define themselves and their purpose through their relationship with their god(s).

They can't really post here and agree with people who don't like the game. Also they can't really post here and argue with their customer. I mean they can but it wouldn't be wise. Best for them to take notes and improve the next title or deliver a better experience with the DLC. "Thank you for buying our game and expressing your opinion...but you're wrong in every way. In fact just unplug your PC right now since you obviously so bad at games you probably should work on your other life skills before you move on to complicated things like tactics and comprehensible thoughts." - I kinda wish I could see this happen just one time from an Obsidian dev. On the other hand I'm glad that they don't post on the boards

(1)I like the bestiary xp as is, if only during my solo run I needed that xp to level up as I skipped a good amount of content that I couldn't complete at the level I was at. (2) I disagree, as it is already for most of the encounters where there is a boss you can talk to before you begin combat I position my party and throw my big aoes down to start the fight. I regret missing out on the dialog but the positioning that happens in order to talk to the bosses is too much of a penalty. (3) The AI has some problems with the engagement system. On the enemy and friendly sides that needs work, as to your main point...I would like it if it depended on the specific enemy. Just as some mobs aren't supposed to break engagement while other mobs do, it would be interesting if some mobs would never attack charmed allies and other would if under attack. I do agree that mobs shouldn't target charmed allies if they haven't been attacked. (4) YES! (5) YES! The "leashing" along with some other mechanics game PoE a slightly "MMO" feel that gave me a bad taste in my mouth. This is one of those mechanics that shouldn't have been included in PoE.

As long as someone jumps through the air firing dual pistols while doves fly through the air, I agree with this sentiment.

I have a slight disagreement with your idea that Thaos is a reference to Dostoevsky as I believe both cases of the title "Grand Inquisitor" are references to the real life historical Grand Inquisitors, probably the Spanish Inquisition in particular. A minor point as it's still an insightful critique to compare the two works. I'd also offer that there is more nuance to option (1) then the reality is Lovecraftian horror. I believe the way that Thaos describes "pre-god Eora" harkens to a Hobbsian "state of nature". Without the mortals of Eora believing in infallible perfect beings judging and guiding them throughout their lives all the horrors that were commonplace in that time of Eoran history would instantly return. Mortals need control in order to protect themselves from their own dark nature. That would be my take on (1).

The last game, that I can remember off the top of my head, that had a time limit was Fallout. The problem with time limits is that they create an incentive to skip content. Especially since you can hit level 12 by the time you reach Twin Elms time limits could create a game where you'd feel pressured to skip all the side quests from that point on in the game (or the point once you hit max level). Also, the time limit would change class balance away from wizards and druids. Since their class resources are regenerated around resting there would be that incentive to drop those classes. Even if it isn't a strong incentive there would still be that pressure to finish the game quickly. Since some members of the team were around for Fallout 1 which did have a time limit and Fallout 2 which did not, I'd be interested if there were conversations about the merits/drawbacks of such a system.

it occurs just before the end of the game. You can't miss it. - no matter what.

Thanks :D I didn't use Fan of Flame that much due to targeting issues, friendly fire (har har) and all that. If Grimoire Slam helps with that I'll try it out.

They define the market and market defines the game. So yes, players do in fact define the game. It also works in reverse. The developers define the games that define the market.

So much editing D: Will the documentary be a pre-order bonus for PoE 2 at this rate? I hope not :\

Are you sure? Wael stopped me while I was walking in the final dungeon and told me his offer despite the fact that I had already accepted a boon from Hylea. I kept my word, but the option to do things Wael's way was there. Not the option to do Wael's ending, but the boon talent he can give.

I ignored the wizard class talents and boosted his accuracy with arbalests, as most of the time Aloth wasn't casting spells, just auto attacking.

Both of those statements are inaccurate. In order to get Wael's boon you can't have already accepted a god's boon in Council of Stars. As for Skaen I've gotten the offer with multiple backgrounds that were not dissident. So far as I know you always get both of their offers. The only thing you can miss is the opportunity of Wael's boon if you have already taken a god's boon.

I disagree with the posit story companions need to be min-maxed in order to be useful on Hard or PotD. The initial stat distribution of characters don't have that much of an impact compared to how you build the characters as they level and what gear you place on them. Players can happily run through PotD using only the story companions and succeed. I do agree that a custom priest with the stats you listed may be superior to Durance the gulf between the two characters isn't nearly as wide as you infer. If you want to have every possible ounce of advantage then yeah custom characters are the way to go, but if you want to run PotD with only story companions it won't seem like the companions are a huge liability. At least, those were my experiences on my runs.

I'm playing through D:OS right now. The problem I have with the system is the feeling that every reputation type is good. Because you get the perks while PoE seems less "gamey". I do like your example of "dishonest > 2", exactly what I hope will be in PoE 2. The only issue I could see with that type of system is when I did my run through with reputation tags off in the dialog window I ended up with 1 of every type, even though I thought I was playing a simple compassionate & passionate guy. I think they'd need to telegraph the actions that would create negative consequences beyond what PoE does, otherwise I want it.

I like the backer NPCs. They make the world seem alive. It wasn't until I got to Defiance Bay on my first play through that I even found out they were backer NPCs, they blended in with the setting that well for me.

I thought House Doemenel was the lesser evil since the Crucible Knights, unless you do their second quest, seemed enthusiastic on enslaving souls to power their mecha-troops. For the murder, crime and back stabbing House Doemenel seemed too subtle and low-key to get onto that level of evil.

No romances in game just gives us license to write Aloth x Durance shipping.

You don't get it in the actual chamber, it occurs just before the end of the game. You can't miss it.