dirkdivac

You might like DA2 if you didn't like DA:O. They created DA2 by turning DA:O's world from a tactical team based CRPG into a third person Action RPG. General consensus is if you like DA:O, you probably hated DA2 and vice versa.

My thought, too. I can see him thinking the game is something it's not, and then chainsawing the game by it's ankles come release. What little I've seen of him, he seems like a loudmouthed knuckledragger exemplifying the non-gamer gamer generation of self-appointed "nerds", the douchiest of the douchiest. It's not really a "personal issue with consoles"; console "gamers" and the console platform has been poisoning PC gaming for over a decade, and Ruzen is hardly alone in the sentiment. The fact that someone favours consoles (and therefore favours console gameplay) definitely warrants ignoring their opinion and all their input should be treated as suspect, at best. Just so you know, this kind of attitude is much douchier and poisonous to the "gaming community" than some guy who plays Halo or whatever arbitrary line you are drawing in the sand. If you love games then you should be happy that all kinds of people are getting into them which will lead to new viewpoints and experiences in games that we've missed out on due to the insular nature of the business until fairly recently. Remember the wise words of the philosophers Bill S. Preston Esq. and Ted "Theodore" Logan: 1. Be Excellent To One Another 2. Party On Dudes So lets all have fun playing games together and not be horrible little gremlins hiding in our clubhouses with "NO GIRLS OR JOCKS ALLOWED" signs next to the door. I can't agree any more than I do with this post. You nailed it. This PC Masterrace bull**** needs to stop.

AoW3 was a dumpster fire when it was released. I was very excited when it was announced, but after playing it at release, I was very disappointed. That being said, your response is how everyone should treat reviewers. You should find reviewers whom have the same gaming taste as you and follow them, if you find one you don't agree with, don't watch or read his content.

You should. It is people like him and his fans that will decide if this game is a limited success or a mega success. If you want to see more IE type games hit the market, you will need these "console fanboys" to enjoy and positively review PoE, creating a nice buzz and more demand. Don't go all PC Masterrace on me and for god's sake, broaden your perspective.

OP, I am right there with you. I have spent far more time reading the forums and creating characters than playing the game. It drives me crazy too. I have this problem in Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, KOTOR, etc. as well. I love RPGs, but then I can't get past the tutorial area before I start thinking this PC can't unlock chests or this PC doesn't do enough damage, etc. I have created 10+ characters and have only gotten to Gilded Vale myself. I have no idea why I am like this, I have never been diagnosed, but I suspect I do have some mental illness or another. ****...I wish I could just play the damn game.

Abolish the tank / aggro threat system and install something different. Aggro should be a simple formula based on two things; damage dealt and distance from the damage. Something like this: ((Damage Dealt) * (4 for damage on person) or (3 for damage on ally 0-4.99m away) or (2 for damage on ally 5+m away)) / (Distance from enemy * 2) = Aggro Level This formula means damage dealt will be more important than distance from enemy, but you could play with the multipliers to achieve whatever effect concerning aggro you wanted. Each enemy type could have a different aggro thresh hold that would cause them to disengage from their current opponent and aggro onto another character that is inflicting more damage to them or an ally. Lets play a hypothetical situation involving 2 NPCs (Paladin and Wizard) and 3 Orcs (2 Melee and 1 Bowman): Paladin has aggro on both melee orcs and the bowman (5m away). The wizard is 3m behind the Paladin. Paladin attacks one melee orc for 10 dmg. His aggro level using above formual to each orc is now: 1 Orc he attacked: (10*4)/(1*2) = 40/2 = 20 2 Orc ally beside him: (10*3)/(1*2) = 30/2 = 15 3 Orc ally Bowman: (10*2)/(5*2) = 20/10 = 2 Currently the Paladin has very high aggro on the 2 melee orcs and low aggro on the bowman orc. Orcs are dumb, so lets say their aggro thresh hold for disengaging an enemy is something high, say 15, meaning they won't disengage their current target unless aggro threat level goes over a 15 or the target dies. The smarter the enemy, the lower the number. Now, the wizard in all his glory fires a magic blast at the Orc ally engaged with the Paladin. He hits a critical for 25 dmg. The aggro from the orcs for him is now: 1 Orc the Paladin attacked: (25*3)/(3*2) = 75/6 = 12.5 2 Orc ally the Wizard crit'd: (25*4)/(3*2) = 100/6 = 16.66 3 Orc ally Bowman: (25*2)/(8*2) = 50/16 = 3.125 Remember, Orc aggro thresh hold is 15, meaning anytime aggro gets above 15 using my formula, they will disengage at all costs and attack whoever attacked them. This would mean the Paladin Orc and the Bowman would maintain aggro on the Paladin, while the 2nd melee orc will now disengage and attempt to smash the wizard who just blasted them into next Sunday. It may seem confusing and the numbers definitely need adjustment (I made them up in 2 minutes), but a threat / aggro system like this would not only be more realistic, but would create more strategy. It would cause the player to think, should I blow my biggest spell right now and get all aggro on my wizard or use C/C or lower damage spells for a minute until I can safely blow my load? Should I give my tanky character more might to cause him to do more damage, in turn generating more aggro? With this system, it would create a need to balance damage dealing with damage soaking because a character who did little damage wouldn't hold aggro well. It may also create a need for back line characters to actually use armor and defensive abilities because they will absolutely generate some aggro when they use their big hitters. A system like this would generate a breadth of strategy and a whole new layer of tactics not yet seen in CRPGs.

Really boils down to one question: Would you rather be able to play the game now in it's current state or wait another ?60? days or so for quality Q&A to ensure a mostly bug free experience? If you are the former, then you are happy. If you are the latter, then you are pissed. The bug issue is quite complicated because we don't know what financial state Obsidian was in when they released the game. Is it unimaginable to think Obsidian was out of money and could not properly bug test the game, instead, decided to release it to get the revenue stream flowing in the right direction so they could properly fix whatever bugs popped up? Not making excuses, just saying making broad generalizations about Obsidian's competence or lack thereof can't accurately be done by anyone outside the company because none of us know why they decided to release when they did without proper Q&A.

Let's be honest with ourselves here instead of picking sides and getting the flame throwers rev'd up. The truth of the game is this: PoE is a buggy game, but it is NOT a buggy unplayable mess. Now, I don't pay much attention to bugs/glitches when gaming and even I have found 2 or 3 bugs in the first 4 hours of playing that caused me to reload a save and do something different to stop it from happening again. That being said, every time I had to reload, I easily found a work around and went on my merry way. I understand YMMV, but from my perspective, it is a good game that just needs a few patches to iron out the wrinkles. If the bugs are "bugging" you (pardon the pun) enough to ruin your gaming experience, I suggest you put it down for a few months, find something else to do and come back after it has been thoroughly patched.

Dirk, you're wrong. The economy is designed on the assumption of an unlimited stash. 'nuff said. Can you prove that? I don't think the devs would design the game under the assumption that every player will pick up everything not bolted down and sell it. That is as much of a waste of time as micro managing your inventory. That being said, if you can prove it, then you are right.

I like encumbrance. I don't like having a bottomless magical box where every single little thing I pick up goes to. Why not just have the PCs auto pick up everything that isn't bolted down as well then? I like making difficult choices about what to pick up and what to leave behind. It seems most people here don't like it and I respect your opinions as well, but it just feels like the Stash as it is currently constructed destroys inventory management and the ingame economy. Being able to pick up and sell everything with zero repercussion creates a game world where money is essentially limitless and meaningless because wealth is so easy to create. I think everyone is getting caught up on the wrong issue when discussing the Stash. It isn't the inventory management or lack thereof that is creating problems, it is the effect the Stash has on the in-game economy that is creating an issue in my opinion. I don't understand design choices like limiting the number of times the party can rest, but then creating a limitless Stash and source of money. I feel you either create a game world with very rigid - strict rules all around so the player has to make hard choices or create a world where anything goes and the game experience goes as far as the player's imagination takes them. Doing a little of both creates a game that frustrates players because some mechanics have no rules and some mechanics are very rigid.

I know momentum is swinging towards grabbing our pitchforks and saying "Let's all bash the immersion breaking NPC/tombstone/etc. names created by backers!" and trust me, I get it. Some of the **** created by the backers is complete and utter nonsense. That being said, we should all keep in mind, without these wonderful, benevolent backers, there would be no game - the immersion you all are bitching about losing wouldn't even exist. I look forward to PoE 2 because I am hoping the success of the first will allow them to make it without Kickstarter and will allow them to create it exactly how they want without having to cater to every person who throws a $100 dollar bill at them. So to the upper tier backers: I tip my glass to you in thanks, because without you I would have nothing to bitch about. Without your hundred dollar bills, there would be no immersion to break, no NPCS to hate and most importantly no game to love. Thank you for contributing to my entertainment! Salut!