Inspector Gesicht

It feels something of a waste to introduce a new region to the gameworld, only for it to lack an overworld theme of its own. Reusing Stellar Bay doesn't inspire much zest for adventure despite the change in scenery. I was similarly annoyed at how the Gilded Vale theme showed up EVERYWHERE in Pillars II whenever it was night-time in a settlement.

I opted not to play the DLC of the game until both expansions were out and their steam achievements were patched in. Towards the end of Gorgon I hit the level cap without trying very hard, now there's less incentive to try out the sidequests in Eridanos for their own sake since there's no mechanical reward. In NV you were only liable to hit the Level cap of 50 provided you knocked off 95% of content in the base game and DLC. A completionist would only hit 50 after confronting Ulysses and with nothing else to do except to head into the Hoover Dam endgame. What is especially galling is the number of 150-point skill checks. These are sprinkled throughout and, in an obnoxious move, have been retroactively added into the base game. 120-point checks would have been fine but 150-point checks are taking the p**s. You only get 350 points to spend in the first place, aside from the skill-group bonus. You could fix this level cap issue by having some sort of mastery levels, where experience over the cap grants only skill points. So your level reads 36+X or something.

I've finished a replay of the game on Steam and intend to play the DLC for the first time. I'm getting the most out of the experience by earning all 48 base game achievements. However there is less incentive to play the DLC because its achievements haven't been patched in yet.

I think tinkering is a good idea; taking a piece of equipment you like and keeping it relevant by raising its level. The problem is that regardless of the item's starting level It costs more to raise a level 1 gun into a level 10 than it does to turn a level 30 gun into a level 35. The cost to tinker rises exponentially which discourages tinkering altogether. It wouldn't break the game if tinker prices were linear since you can freely pick up high-level gear anywhere anyway. Having a high Engineering skill doesn't fix the problem. I also find it odd that you use bits to tinker equipment while weapons and armour each require their own parts to repair. Surely it would make more sense to use parts to tinker, given their lack of use otherwise?

If you want to broker a peaceful outcome between the MSI and the Iconoclasts you have to speak to both leaders and then replace Graham with Zora. The thing is you have to have gained Zora's trust beforehand by completing optional objectives for her, otherwise you're screwed. You'll probably only find out you lost Zora's trust hours after the fact, which means all the groundwork like getting her file is completely wasted. You can argue this is realistic and all but it runs counter to the design of the game; which is that all potential quests are signposted, you know when you've botched a quest, and that you overcome most obstacles with a well=placed skill-check. None of that comes to play here, which means a desired ending of the game is impossible unless you're clairvoyant or lucky. Also Zora is supposed to give the Sucker Bait quest, but she's not talking.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SWywuMPIij5n56iQVji7Z5iZPtcEz0yt/view Forty hours in and Arkemyr's mansion is randomly hostile after returning from the Observatory.