Heijoushin

Played a quick game with a wizard now. When casting a spell, the power levels seem to give bonuses to accuracy and penetration, though not to damage ironically.

You know what? That's a good question. We know that the "pure" (single) classes gain power levels more quickly to reflect their focus on a single power source, but the link between power levels and individual abilities is a bit blurry. I guess I always assumed that the power levels just added a few bonus points of damage across the board. Perhaps one of the more technical minded backers could elaborate?

Okay, sure, maybe we just made do with what was available. But look at this way: if you load up an old game from the 90s, the bad graphics will probably bother you. But I doubt the lack of VO will.

All I want voiced is the narrator, because the opening scene really adds to the atmosphere. After from that, I'm not too fussed about voices. I think I speak for most of us when I say that we've been enjoying RPGs for years before voice overs became a thing.

Frankly, I was always surprised in PoE1 at just how good summoned weapons were. I mean, Concelhaut's Parasitic Staff is a game changer all on its own. But this was probably because, as thelee said, we're used to them being garbage in the infinity engine games. One other disadvantage to summoned weapons: you need to plan ahead and take a relevant weapon proficiency. Fine for Concelhaut's staff on level 1, but you really need to meta game to prepare for Citzal's Spirit Lance on spell level 5.

I see what your idea is, but it's not really necessary to program in an entire new stat (especially since the design philosophy up till now has been to get rid of dump stats). Why not just add a new ability of two? "Gambler's luck -> Increases critical damage 10% of the time". The community has been asking for more abilities after all. Also, I've never met a wizard who doesn't give a damn about damage

Another vote for them to take their time here. Thanks to the beta feedback, it sounds like they've started to debate some pretty fundamental gameplay issues. No need to rush it for March.

There was also a bug about dead people leveling up, right? Guess people in Deadfire don't know they're dead.

Reading this thread has been enlightening.

Personally, I don't need it, since I don't have any friends at the moment who would sit down and play this with me. But as a post release feature? Sure, why not. Although then you could argue that it's diverting resources from the expansion packs

Well, I was also skeptical in the beginning, but I think they stated somewhere that they chose this style because it's really quick to do. That way they can make lots of portraits for less important characters like Vektor.

Haha, thank you! I didn't even notice! Yeah, I'm sure wizards will get some love before the beta ends.

Hey Aramintai, thank you so much for doing a watercolor version of that portrait! I'm definitely going to use that for my first proper Deadfire run. You're a legend, man!

I dunno man, either I'm getting really bad rolls lately, or Deadfire spellcasters need to collectively get their eyes tested...

I really loved wizards in IWD, so I know how you feel. However, this ship has sailed long ago. Wizards in PoE are just not the little Gods that there D&D counterparts were. All in the name of this thing we call "balance", they've lost their summons and awesome defensive spells, and even their attacks are looking a little lackluster in the beta at the moment.

Just tested it. That is indeed a very sweet build. Not quite getting as high numbers as you, but still pretty sweet. The problem is indeed the frailty. Also, the martial aspect of the class makes the magic aspect laughable. I mean, it can crit almost every time with a weapon, but somehow the spells can't hit the broad side of a barn.

I really can't speak about what's powerful or not, since I haven't spent much time analyzing things in detail. The following is purely my feelings/speculations. At this point, as I think we all know, multi-classes are fun to roll, single classes are not. This might be different if we get some super powerful late game abilities that only single class characters can access, but I doubt it. Wizards 5/10 - My favorite class in most RPGs, but I'm really not feeling them now. Casting time is long, damage is low, and the sub-classes lose huge portions of their spellbook. Finally, grimoires have been revamped in an inconvenient direction. The ogre transformation ability is interesting though. Chanters 8/10 - I enjoyed playing with the Beckoner due to their ability to be able to summon a creature right at the beginning of combat. It's finally a class that might make a decent summoner build. I haven't really tried the other sub-classes. Priest 6/10 - I like that they get access to a few mage spells now. You could in theory make a nice fire-themed priest of Magran that hurls fireballs. But I think they're pretty weak for the same reasons that wizards are currently weak. Rogue 8/10 - I like 'em. I can see sneak attack being very useful in combination with other martial classes. Playing an assassin and going for that backstab is very satisfying (although often ends badly). Monk 9/10 - The might raising stuff seems pretty potent. With the right abilities and a few wounds, you can push your might up to the high twenties. I see a lot of potential there for high damage. Ranger 7/10 - Rangers are getting a lot of hate ATM, but I like the idea of a sharpshooter at least. Powerful archer character (combined with rogue or fighter perhaps?) to kill enemies from a safe distance. Cipher 8/10 - They seem like a good deal. Most of the spells aren't too useful, but the soul whip and abilities like Soul Annihilation make for a powerful martial fighter. I'm sure lots of people will want to run a Psyblade type character. Fighter 8/10 - Same as PoE1 really. Necessary but not particularly fun. Although I can see the devoted being powerful and convenient (since most people probably don't bother to switch weapons anyway). Druid 6/10 - The shapeshifter seems like it has potential in combination with other melee classes. And the lifegiver might make a good dedicated healer if paired with cleric. Paladin 7/10 - Haven't tried them much, but they seem as good as PoE1. Barbarian 7/10 - Haven't played with them much yet, but naturally they'll make good combos with other martial classes.

Amazing work! I don't suppose you would consider doing this one? It's one of my favorite portraits ever for a female character.

I think they just wanted grimoire switching to be a thing. Much like they came up with the Black Jacket fighter to encourage people to switch weapons. Personally, I'm not feeling the new system either. If they wanted people to switch spell books so badly, they should just have added unique bonuses. Examples: Grimoire of Flames: +2 damage when casting a fire spell. Grimoire of Conjuration: Allows an extra conjuration spell per level. etc. Isn't that much easier? Wouldn't that make it more exciting to loot a wizard's corpse? Glad they're working on the pen, but I hope they'll also take another look at the wizard spell system.

I would have preferred slightly more interesting bonuses than a stat point. Say, a tiny resistance to cold if you're from the White that Wends or something ocean related if you're from Rauatai. You know, just to spice things up a little. The +1 to a stat point thing isn't a problem but it just feels so... dry.

As the title says, I made a custom ranger, and then removed him from the party, but his pet remained.

I can see your passion in this post, but I'm afraid that's not really a solution. The majority of players don't want to mess around with mods. They just want to buy a finished product and play it. So it is worth discussing our ideas and the "basic variables" of the thing

I think the graphics are one department of Deadfire that has improved so much over PoE1 that it hardly needs criticism. I'm sure the head options and hopefully more portraits will be added later.

Well, keep in mind that although the Beckoner can summon faster, his summons are actually weaker (Ironic for a summoner based class), so the skeletons aren't that OP. Although IMHO it's still cooler than anything the wizard can do at this point. Indeed, while the invocations are great, the chants still need work. This was discussed in another thread, but a lot of them aren't very useful or are too situation specific. Like a chant that removes concentration. Perhaps they did that purposely so players will switch chants based on the situation.

Schutzengel! Welcome back!