JFutral

Apparently not everyone. The only reason I mentioned Diablo is if you want hack and slash, you want Diablo, not Pillars. I actually like that both PoE 1 and 2 you can complete the main story line with a minimum of killing. You don't have to fight your way through everything. If you want a challenge, try that play through. Joe

I've found two good war bows. Are there any good, unique hunting bows? A simple 'yes' will suffice. Or hide the location if you think it is particularly difficult to find. Joe

What I like about this game, even as I am a compulsive "completionist", you don't _have_ to do every quest or achieve every task available. You can choose the path (aka which quests) make the most sense for your particular play through via "role playing" and it is still a viable game. That actually helps to make multiple play throughs something other than a slog allowing different options each time rather than the same options every time. I don't know about you guys here, but I feel like a number of people are playing the wrong game. As much as I like Diablo, this is not Diablo. Or not. I could be wrong. Wouldn't be the first time. Joe

I like them all. But when I am a ranger/druid I choose the same as my animal companion. Team work makes the dream work! Joe

Rogue still my favorite. My ranger/rogue "bounty hunter" (that's what I call him, the game says "scout". Whatever) is my only melee fighter in a party of four. Otherwise, I basically agree with Wormerine, Arnoldrimmer, and Sanctuary above. Joe

it's supposed to put a stop to pre-buffing. it only makes sense as a game mechanic; realistically yeah, it's hard to justify it. but the idea itself is sound i think, since pre-buffing is extremely tedious, but if you as a designer assume no pre-buffing, players who do it will find the game too easy, albeit tedious. with combat buffs only you'll at least have to choose and prioritize them more carefully. I do think there are ways to balance against it, one way devs have implemented already is in terms of making noise that gets you noticed. Or more obviously the buff won't last as long during combat if taken ahead of combat. Plus I've already been hit a couple of times by the enemy with Arcane Damper. It doesn't have to break the game. Joe

In a story based game I wish higher difficulty meant more than just bigger, stronger, or more baddies. Seems kind of 1990s to me. Joe

What I hated about consumables in PoE1 was how easily and often I could be interrupted when trying to imbibe. Made sipping a potion near impossible and most of the time pointless. I haven't had that problem so far in Deadfire, not that I can tell, anyway. I still kind of hate that I can't use them until "Combat start". That restriction still drives me nuts and makes no sense whatsoever. Joe

It really hasn't and that's what having multiple different difficulty levels is for. The difficulty of each level shouldn't need to be raised dramatically after release in line with people getting better at the game; they should be pitched somewhere close to where they're meant to be in the first place and people can select accordingly. There are three difficulty levels below the one you're playing on if you don't want the risk of wiping on a first playthrough. No, it's just fine, thank you, though. Joe It's fine for you, who wants to be able to play Veteran without the risk of dying on the first playthrough (sounds like an ego protection thing). That doesn't describe what most people think Veteran difficulty should be, or how the difficulty level describes itself at the beginning of the game, hence why the devs themselves have acknowledged they missed the mark and are addressing it. No, I'm pretty clear on what Veteran difficulty is and so are the developers. I'm pretty experienced in IE games, I've been through PoE 1 at all difficulties and even got half way through PotD solo until I just wasn't interested anymore. I played the beta for the last 6 months, so I'm already familiar with the mechanics at all levels. Veteran is just right before I really want a battle challenge so I get a good sense of the story and enough of a challenge when they are supposed to be challenging at my level of experience, both as a player and with the game itself. Have you even played the game yet? Or are you one of those who complain on here say only? I can't remember. There are a bunch of gripers and whiners here that haven't even played the game yet wasting bandwidth. Look, if you're really unhappy, just don't play the game. Go play something else. I really don't care. It's just a game. One of many. Come back when you're ready. Or don't. Joe

It really hasn't and that's what having multiple different difficulty levels is for. The difficulty of each level shouldn't need to be raised dramatically after release in line with people getting better at the game; they should be pitched somewhere close to where they're meant to be in the first place and people can select accordingly. There are three difficulty levels below the one you're playing on if you don't want the risk of wiping on a first playthrough. No, it's just fine, thank you, though. Joe

English. Worst class ever. Seriously, though, I love rogues, rangers, druids in that order. I always suck at Monks and Ciphers. I just end up using ciphers as fighters. I just do not grok them. At all. Monks, I am just not fond of the PoE version. Theologically and philosophically and maybe even ontologically the idea of self-flagellation has always been abhorrent to me, even in the Monty Python sense. Joe

Are you blind? Have reading problems? As mentioned in this thread and all throughout the forums and even before the game was released - The game is not even balanced yet, especially on Vet and PotD. I repeat, the game is not balanced yet. You have had no party wipes in Deadfire, because the game is not balanced yet. For anyone else that complains about it being too easy currently - the, game, especially, the, higher, difficulties, is, not, balanced, yet. It has nothing to do with the new per encounter combat system. For about the 5th time, they apparently had to choose between bugfixing or balancing the difficulty before release - guess which they went with. So they are apparently having to balance the game post-release - which is why i haven't even got it yet (i don't want to ruin it by having it be a faceroll and would rather pay for something that's actually finished, instead of encouraging otherwise.) TL:DR Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, has not been balanced properly yet. Any problems or arguments about it being too easy, currently, are invalid (annoying af) They are working on the balancing and should announce when it's done in the next couple weeks/months. Pillars has been balanced just fine for its opening salvo. I know I don't like being wiped my first play through. As a matter of fact I hold off on PotD and usually start off at Veteran so I DON'T get wiped often. Getting wiped more than a couple of times interrupts the flow of the game and it's story. This is an RPG, not a point and shoot side scroller. If all you play this game for is the fights, yeah maybe you should hold off a year or two until playing. I really doubt they will "announce" balance. I wouldn't. Not if balance means "constantly being party wiped". That's a different game. I kind of like this iteration of health. I am still dumb-founded by injuries my priest can't heal. Even my three gold-star surgeon on the ship seems to be taking his time with a couple of my pirates. Go figure. Joe

I like their conversations with each other more than I like their interactions with me. I've enjoyed Serafen a whole lot more than I thought I would. When I first came across him I really didn't like any of the class options for him. He doesn't strike me as a barbarian and I hate ciphers. But he has been fine as a barbarian. I also feel like the companions make a greater difference with interactions than in PoE 1. I like that. But sometimes there is value in peace and quiet. Joe

I'm agnostic about the whole thing. I do like this implementation vs PoE 1. I rarely feel like I have to rest. In PoE 1 it was necessary to stay up to snuff against anything that might come (for the first play through or two) or (later after I learned the whole game) just when I knew it was going to be important. I like not needing camping supplies. The Food screen needs a slight UI tweak o two (too big, it wasn't clear the first time through what it was for, and how to select food for each character needs a bit of help). But I do like this implementation of resting. Although, with resting an intrinsic part of PoE, I am still baffled how I can go so long without resting. Some kind of resting is obviously implied but never articulated. I think. I mean, I don't really think my party actually goes for days without sleep. I could be wrong. I also still don't understand undead being affected by Cipher skills or similar spells. But I accept it as part of the narrative of the game. Personally, I think traps are more superfluous and pointless than resting in PoE. But, tradition, as Wormerine says. Joe

Either I am just running into a bit of tough RNG luck or this is a plot device that I haven't figured out yet, but I cannot find or find to buy a grappling hook and rope. Where the heck are these things? I found one at the beginning and haven't seen one since. Thanks, Joe

Or even pets being influenced by character origin, like Sagani's arctic fox. Joe

I agree with most of this actually. I just don't agree with the conclusions. I think the ranger is a great deal of fun. So, play a ranger. If you don't enjoy it, don't play it anymore and don't expect it to become something it obviously is not intended to be, such as a non-pet class. That's just silly to expect that. It's not an archer, it is a ranger. That's like complaining about swimming because you get wet. Pointless. However, I do think part of the problem is the devs overbearing philosophy of "balance". None of the classes are truly specialists in anything, they just get a few extra perks that others don't. Anyone can be a spell caster, you just need enough Arcana to read a scroll. Anyone can be a "thief", You just need enough mechanics to pick locks and set/disarm traps and enough athleticism to climb. Anyone can wield a sword. Now, every class has their own "mana" pool for skills that I would think should be intrinsically available always because, that's what a Barbarian does, yell. All those things that make particular classes special get ironed out to near oblivion. I really want a spellcaster that is a specialist at spell casting. I don't need my wizard to have to choose weapons to fill in when their spells run out. I need them to be able to cast spells like no other class can. I get the whole benefits/malus philosophy, even if I don't agree with it, or at least I don't always agree with how it is implemented. So, I agree that throwing in a malus on something that is supposed to be the whole point in specializing makes zero sense. In a very real sense, PoE already had multi-classes when all the classes could crossover without penalty. That's part of what makes soloing possible in this game. You don't _have_ to have a thief in the party to pick locks and deal with traps. You don't _have_ to have a wizard to cast magic missiles or a priest to cast bless. I get it that the devs want a game that anyone can play regardless of experience in either RPGs, CRPGs, or even the whole fantasy genre. But there should be some switch for those of us who don't have a problem with that beyond just making the fights and enemies harder to kill. When I could play PoE 1 with a party with all their stats at 10, that showed me there really is no specialists. This has been my major complaint about PoE overall. So when PoE has a class that actually has something that makes it unique against all the other classes, in this case the non-optional animal companions, I'm cool with that. At least there is something that it has that no other class has. I think this is a large part of the draw of PoE Ciphers and Monks. At least they have abilities or skills that other classes can't co-opt. I just wish I liked playing ciphers and monks more. But since I don't like them, I just don't play them. It really isn't hard. But I really agree that the malus for a subclass ranger should not come at the expense of their specialty. Think about what makes a sharpshooter a better shot. Maybe they can't wear bulky armor (In this case, I really like the DnD idea of a ranger having restrictions). Maybe they can't wear certain helmets. You get the idea. There are other ways to balance things out that make more sense. That's all I have to say about this any more, because I really do enjoy the ranger. It is still one of my top three classes of choice, druid and rogue rounding that out. Although my affection for rogue is still more sentimentally about wanting the rogue to be a thief specialist, which it clearly isn't in this universe. Joe

And yet people are merrily rolling and rolling along with a ranger. Happily so, even. And killing things. Go figure. Joe

Yeah, that whole wounding shot/rogue ability overlap makes me scratch my head, although then I don't have waste a skill on wounding shot (or the other way around) when I multi-class ranger/rogue, which is what I'm playing at the moment. I love the pet. Wounding shot, Marked Prey, and all the ranger/pet synergies is still one of my favorite strategies. And ranger (stalker)/druid with the same spiritshift form as my animal companion is a lot of fun. When I do that I don't even bother with ranged. I do agree that the ranger has been nerfed from PoE1, but then I haven't had a chance to play higher than 9th level so I'll have to wait and see beyond that. Joe

You shouldn't buy or play PoE, then. You won't be happy. Buy and play a different game. You should be happy. Joe Or I can play POE and make my considerable displeasure know as I see fit. Life's too short. Find something that makes you happy. No need to be miserable. Joe

Is this new/different from PoE1? I don't remember any of those bounty confrontations cropping up until I accepted them. Joe

So I was just tooling around the islands, you know, like you do with a boat. I came across a fight with a couple of wilders and a Drake. Killed them all. Now I have Purakau's head in my stash. I have only accepted one bounty and this ain't it. Is this a bounty bug or do I find a reason for this later on? Joe

You shouldn't buy or play PoE, then. You won't be happy. Buy and play a different game. You should be happy. Joe

I don't forget the pet, however the discussion was about the ranged damage potential... And right now the ranger should be considered the pet and the animal your main. But the animal companion is part of the damage a ranger deals. So with Marked Prey, Stalker's Link, + animal companion, the ranger is fairly lethal. I've always considered the animal companion a sort of ranged weapon, part of the ranger ethos. That said, I do wish the ranger had a boost or two with ranged weapons. You know, that whole "range" part of "ranger" thing. Or at least reduce some of the malus effects of the talents/skills. Still one of my favorite classes and an effective multi-class choice. Joe

As long as you could keep your magic user alive until he could cast enough spells to make a difference, DnD MUs are great... for DnD. I've always felt under either system in PoE1 or 2 that wizards can contribute long after they have spent their "Magic Missiles". I can have a ranged Wizard that isn't a sling shot. I can have a Wizard who can wield a sword without penalty. I can have a Wizard who can wear armor (that's the biggest good part to me). I do appreciate that the PoE devs agreed to speed up some of the spell casting though. It was ridiculously long in beta. And I was constantly "Interrupted". Much better now. Yesterday I actually ran out of spells before a fight was over. That used to never happen. Joe