LuccA

God, just leave them out of the main game and introduce them completely in the expansion... This is a mess.

The real question is: When will we be able to play the game that feels like a finished product? You know, after at least a few patches for bugs and balance. I would say last quarter of 2018...

I've played the game a fair amount of times now, enough to know what parts of the dialogues are voiced-over (at least up until Dyrford). After starting some new games, I began to notice that some dialogues that were definetly voiced-over at the first couple of playthroughs began to miss the voice-over, like it was simply a non voice-over dialogue. For example: the first dialogue with Kana that has voice acting, where he says something like "Killing time, if I'm honest. I've already walked the perimeter twice (...) There are names scrached upon the bricks just there (...)" Also, if I ask Edér what will he ask Maerwald: "Just somethings about the past. About the war." Those are just the examples that pop into my head. The problem with noticing even a few of those missing voice-overs is that it makes me wonder how much I am actually missing. There is also the voice-over that I don't remember that was there in the first place and all the voice-over from Dyrford onwards, which I haven't gone through yet. =s Has anyone else noticed this? p.s.: This may sound like nit-picking or perfectionism, but it is just that I think voice-over is an important part of the game, and it bothers me that I might be missing some gems and great acting work due to some bug. p.s.: I have the last patch installed (3.05 I believe) and both expansions

I have one which I am willing to give away, but it is 33%

As an additional note to the thread: I also hated how enchanted weapons against a type of enemy (like additional damage against kith) glows orange like it is fire-enchanted. Actually, if you start enchanting the weapons in your party, it starts to look a little silly, almost MMO-like, with a bunch of obvious visual effects glowing from every weapon. It would definetly raise everyone's attention in a crowded city for example. I think the effects could have been done more subtlely, following the more grounded aesthetic of PoE. They could have made the weapons more shiny when enchanting for additional damage against kith, or maybe glow a little white or something... The elemental enchantments could have also been done more subtlely, maybe glowing and sparkling more only during combat.

Here in Brazil: Buying Tyranny with the 33% coupon on Paradox site: US$ 29,69 or ~ R$ 92,54 (with current Dollar-Real ratio) Full price of the game on Brazilian Steam or GOG: R$ 81,99 Yeah, this coupon is a joke for anyone outside the US. Rather wait for a GOG sale. If anyone wants it, just PM me... [Edit]: Just saw it might be a good deal in NZ...

I like Sagani, but one of the best? I like her character and her personal journey, but I thought the way her story played out was kind of dull, and she acts like a mere acquaintance than a friend to you (there no development between her and the watcher). I can think of MANY companions in an RPGs that are more interesting, especially from PoE1. I disagree, of course. I loved where her story went, and I don't think she was kept distant from the protagonist (more to this perhaps on The White March too). I'll quote the review I did for the game over at the "now playing" thread (linked here in case anyone else would want to read it), where I give my thoughts on her and Edér... Sure enough, the game’s a serious experience with few moments of levity scattered across, but throughout it are also many scenes that have awed me, that have touched me and moved me in ways I haven’t felt for the medium in a long time. Much of this relates to the companions that eventually join us in our travels: some may respond to the themes above in a more interesting yet impersonal fashion, as with Durance, one of the twelve engineers of the Godhammer bomb, or the Grieving Mother, a midwife and cipher (a kind of psychic) who has to come to terms with her actions upon first encountering the Hollowborn plague; yet others, like Edér and Sagani, are treated with a worldliness and naturalness seldom seen in such games, and come across as the emotional anchors that so perfectly complement the 'freaks' that accompany us. Touches like Edér’s love for animals or Sagani’s casual, maternal insight offer a break of relatability in what may otherwise be a very grey-mattered affair: a lovely moment comes when, upon being asked of her people (the Naasitaqi, a loose equivalent to the Eskimo in this setting) and her past, Sagani says she’s up to answering anything and adds that if she doesn’t know an answer, she’ll “make something up”. It is this relatability to her that lends her quest such gravitas, so that by the almost Miyazaki-like revelation at its end I was subjected to one of the most hard-hitting, memorable and devastating moments in any game I’ve so far played. Dude, no spoilers here...

This thread is very on-point and important. Nicely done! Two things I am also not very sure/ maybe it could be explained better in the game: - Is every percentage bonus in any stat applied to the base value of that stat? - Most of status effects are applied to an attribute and something that is probably affected by that same attribute. Let's say "Dazed" causes a penalty to the Resolve and the Will defense (I'm not sure). The penalty to resolve will also generate a penalty to Will. Is that on top of the penalty directly to Will or is it already included in it?

It's just nostalgia

I am hoping Maia Rua will be an interesting character and very tied to the main story. It's the first guaranteed in my party (after Edér). Serafen also looks cool. For some reason I've grown to hate godlikes in general, so Takehu (it's been confirmed that's not how his name is spelled, but anyway) is definetly out of my first party. The sidekicks (including Ydwin) are still a main concern for me. It is almost obvious they will just leave people wanting more... and that's not a good thing. If Ydwin gets incorporated as a full companion, I hope she blends well with the other 7 and doesn't end up feeling kinda like a last-thought-companion.

I am almost getting a Mass Effect vibe from this game. With the ship hub holding your companions, open world exploring and possible uncharted islands etc...

I already have the feeling that the game won't be finished in Q1 2018...

The 5 person party is another reason why the +4 half-made companions was a bad idea... instead of sticking just with the 8th companion... The developers already stated several times that there would be fewer but deeper companions in PoE2 comparing to PoE1. They coudn't have raised more false expectations... Now with 7 companions (probably 8 if there is indeed a stretch goal coming), there is already more options considering the 5 sized party. And the +4 sidekicks thing is the total opposite of "fewer but deeper"... I also hope they undo this somehow.

Tokehu? T'Kehu?

Carrie confirmed in the last Q&A that there will be a chanter companion named Takehu, written by Paul Kirsch. (~21:45 in the video)

I'm pretty positive they said they are keeping the 'make-your-own-hired-adventurer' option as well. Agree. I would love to still have hope that they can pull out that stretch goal. It felt like a rushed decision to me, =s.

Well, that makes they blend in a little more for sure. Still not 100% sold on the idea though. There is still a huge chance of getting disappointed by their lack of depth, specially when they all seem to have a lot of potential... =s. I can already see the post-launch comments like "Oh, I loved that sidekick! I wished I could have had a deeper relationship with him/her and see him/her develop more throughout the story!" ...and that's not a good thing. It feels like wasted potential. And now after watching the last Q&A session with Josh and Carrie, there was a small hint of a possible 8th companion stretch goal. It makes this sidekick stretch goal even more unnecessary.

It looks great actually!

Haer' Dalis had interesting interactions with Jaheira and Aerie (he coud even fight the main character over her), Yoshimo was kind of important for the plot at the end and one or two quests of his own and Misnc had at least entertaining interactions with almost every other companion. By what I understood, the PoE2 sidekicks will be almost like hired adventurers made by the developers with special voice sets and background and a starting dialogue. They would feel out of place even in BG2. Take for example how the new companions added in BG:EE feel in comparison to the original companions. It just feels weird in the whole roster of companions, stitched up... But honestly I have some hope that Obsidian will manage to blend in the sidekicks in a way that doesn't feel too "meta" (for lack of a better way to describe it). Maybe do something like with Heodan and Calisca, where you can recruit them for a certain part of the game.

I wonder how the tutorial will be: "So, these guys here are actually sidekicks, they won't be taking much of your time like the other companions, they just don't like to talk as much. You can see them as human pets"

I admire Obsidian's will to please every type of player. With the sidekicks, we'll have options for everyone: 1- Hired adventurers for people who like to make their entire party IwD style and don't care about the lack of interaction or like to imagine their personalities; 2- Companions if you like characters full of life and reactive to the story; 3- Sidekicks if you think hired-adventurers are too lifeless, but also don't wanna worry too much about relationship "mini-games" or if you really wanted that dwarf or pale elf companion. Now, although the will is admirable, sometimes the result of trying to please everyone is not, =/. It worries me that this kind of approach generates a frankensteinish game, where these features are all stitched up together, but don't form an organic whole. If we are gonna have all three options, they should feel natural somehow. Why does this sidekick doesn't speak to me like Edér or Aloth do? I know it might be silly, but I would prefer an answer like: "because he doesn't speak the common tongue or had his tongue cut out" or "because he is really stoic or shy" than just "oh, because mecanically he is not a companion, but a sideckick, as the developers didn't have the time or resources to do more companions, that's why". I don't know, just don't make the sidekicks look like they were stitched up to the game unnaturally, like PoE1's stronghold felt in the beggining, or the backer NPC's feel until today. Make them have a reason of existing other than "because it was a strecth goal".

I f*cking hated the sidekick concept. It will just feel out of place or like unfinished companions, which is worse. If they will try to give them nice concept and background but have no interactions, it will just be... disappointing.

But there are non-human godlike in PoE 1 as well. When you choose the body type, it is like choosing your main race I guess. Keeping godlike as a separate race is propably better for gameplay purposes, as they get special skills due to their origin.

It is not the "Watcher". I think one of the developers confirmed in another thread that it is the 6th companion, saying it his favourite companion concept. Hoping they make it right, but I hate seeing too many godlikes walking around, =s. The backer NPCs left me with a bad taste for those types... Looking forward for mountain dwarf and pale elf companions in the expansion...

Oh, I expected a pale elf, I was curious to know one . If the Watcher is another godlike, it will just look silly three godlikes walking around together...