JerekKruger

I like this idea. Make the unlocks related to his conversation triggers so that you can't rush through them.

Ogre druids!

I really don't understand how people can call PoE a low level campaign when, by the end, you're killing dragons, very high level wizards and thwarting powerful secret societies. Sure, it starts off at low level, but I'd say the majority of the game covers Shadows of Amn level territory rather than Baldur's Gate level territory. As for epic level stuff, I prefer that to come in expansions because if I don't enjoy it I really don't enjoy it. I don't want to wait a couple of years for PoE2 and then get an epic level campaign that I don't enjoy. Ideally PoE2 will start a new story, reach higher levels in the main campaign, then have an epic level DLC that happens strictly after the main campaign in the style of Throne of Bhaal (thus bypassing wonky difficulty problems).

So Boeroer, can we expect all new class builds using these new items?

With the two expansions there is one companion of every class, and without playing through the game once to experience them all it's not possible to choose them based on personality.

Yeah, at the moment level 16 seems to be pretty damn high level. I'd say it's at least on a par with late game SoA. Personally I'd prefer not to see another expansion. What I want Obsidian to do is make a really good PoE2 and not to feel constrained to re-use the current levelling schemes. Since the ruleset is their own, there's no reason why they can't modify it, spread the levels out a little, add and remove abilities and generally improve upon it for the next game. Also I'd prefer not to see the return of the Watcher. His story comes to a natural end in PoE, let's introduce a new protagonist with a new story. I wouldn't be opposed to some of the companions appearing if it fits.

Wait, once per stronghold turn? So you can only use the ring once each stronghold turn? Are there other items that work that way currently?

I imagine it'll be for the expansion, though that's not really saying much. There's the sword Whisper's of Yenwood which is slightly cursed and has a bonus against spirits, so perhaps that'll be involved somehow. Looks like the sight of a battle, so perhaps there was a massacre involving spirits?

I'd love to see some nice sallets myself, and I agree that frog helms are lame :D

That is a shame, though not particularly surprising I guess.

Ah, my bad, I looked it up on the Wiki and saw "Azzuro" and assumed he was some killable NPC I'd forgotten. Hmm... I might have to try this out.

How do you get two Rimecutters?

Huh, I didn't know that about Cloudpiercer, I assumed you could only get it from the quest. As I understand it there are some backer NPCs in Gilded Vale which are often (usually?) killed on solo PotD games because they drop plate armour long before you could usually get it. I think that's the only sort of situation I'd bother killing NPCs i.e. when I'm playing something hard like solo PotD. Sure, items like Cloudpiercer are good, but if they're key to my build I can join the Dozens, and if not I can live without them.

They did teach me to love swarm spells though. That was kind of them.

Well whilst I'm not currently in a position to solo the game, this thread did make me feel better about one thing: ogre druids! I had assumed I was just playing badly because they seemed like such a jump in difficulty when you meet them in Od Nua (followed, in my opinion, by an easier floor afterwards) but apparently I am not the only person who hates them

Okay I now want grenades!

That's a good question regarding the Crucible Knights. I'd tend to view them as a military order rather than a paladin order, though as you mention we don't really have enough lore knowledge to know the difference. Certainly if they are a paladin order then they're similar to the Five Suns in their association with their government, although perhaps their guiding principle is the independence of the Dyrwood from outsiders. That said, if they are a paladin order then I'd say an awful lot of them are poor examples. You're probably right about the Goldpact Knights, I think I confused their lore with the Bleak Walkers. I suppose they're still different to ordinary mercenaries insofar as they they won't betray their employer if offered more gold (I think?). An order interested in seeing diplomacy given every chance to succeed, regardless of when, were and between whom? Any time a diplomatic option becomes available in a conflict they'll offer their services to protect the parties?

I think the issue as I see it is that Paladins in PoE are defined by (attempting) to follow some principle or ideal, hence unless that principle is literally "work unquestioningly for X government" there is always going to be the possibility that the government will act against the principle that the paladins follow, and hence the paladin will (if they are a good paladin) be obliged to disobey the government. It's a bit like how Goldpact aren't simply mercenaries, since after they've taken payment they'll work to complete their mission even if their employer decides he no longer wants them to. I think most mercenaries would happily not do the job if they could keep the money.

I thought they were a Paladin order dedicated to protecting and serving the Vailian Republics. If so, they would theoretically be bound to go against the Ducs in cases where the Ducs wishes run against the best for the republics.

I interpreted the Shield Bearers as having been formed during a military conflict, but not being part of the military any more. I don't think I am basing this off anything though. The Frermàs mes Canc Suolias are, as I understand it, essentially an arm of the Vailian Republic government I think.

This sounds amazing. You could have such a nice variety environments in such a setting and it wouldn't feel forced. Obsidian, if you're reading this thread, do this

My thoughts on each of the topics the OP named: The Main Quest: I broadly agree with the OP. The idea of it is, I think, very good and quite fresh and whilst I think the execution is good, it could be better. In particular I felt that Thaos failed to hit the mark as a truly epic villain à la Irenicus which is I think that the devs were going for. He wasn't a bad villain, but we didn't see enough of him to develop that sense of uncaring malice that Irenicus did so well. I also like the idea of some sort of tying in of (major) side quests with the main story. One thing that always bugs me is when I have to choose between role-playing the urgency of the situation (saving Imoen or uncovering the Leaden Key's plot) and being a completionist. This problem existed in BG2 as well, since usually when I finally set out to rescue Imoen I had several hundred thousand gold and many months had passed. What would be great is making it so that each major side quest has a clear benefit towards the main plot (learning more about your enemy, thwarting lesser plots etc.) but the delay caused would add an unknown difficulty to the end game. Side Quests: I agree with PrimeJunta here I think, I don't think the side quests are too bad. I particularly like the ones which pose genuinely hard choices. Stronghold: yeah, this was one of the weakest points in the game I'd say. I doubt we'll see multiple strongholds like BG2 in PoE2 but I'd like to see a better stronghold. Add some cool stronghold related quests, remove all the bean counting and the random fights. Done. Wilderness Areas: I am probably almost alone in liking the wilderness, though I am more than happy to admit that there is a lack of variety and a repetition in fights. I just like nature maps I guess. That said, more variety is always welcome, as is more exoticism. Dungeons: I hadn't thought about this much, but I agree broadly with the OP. I do think the Temple of Eothas in Gilded Vale is nicely fleshed out with atmosphere, and I love Durgan's Battery, but other dungeons do suffer a bit from being generic cave/ruins. I'd prefer fewer, more fleshed out dungeons in PoE2. Areas and Locations: I liked them, but the same caveat applies from wilderness areas. Certainly more variety and exoticism would be welcome in PoE2. Endless Paths: I think this would have been much better had it been, say, 5 floors rather than 15. A huge mega dungeon is a cool idea, but in reality unless you're going to make your game a full blown dungeon crawler you probably won't have to time to make all those floors cool, and fewer better floors will be... well better. Also I'd have preferred to see a different final boss, perhaps Od Nua, but that's just me. Reputations and Factions: I didn't mind the reputations system and certainly preferred it to classic binary reputation systems in other RPGs. It wasn't a major part of the game, but it did the job fine for me. I agree that the factions could have featured more. Also Dunryd Row should have been a faction and/or had a cool investigative quest chain. Luckily that one Dunryd dude survived so I hope he can rebuild it and have it feature in PoE2 (or have PoE2 be a prequel).

Oh I don't disagree why, I am quite willing to accept that her build is the correct one for representing her new incarnation plus her old skills and in a hard difficulty or lower run her slightly wonky build really doesn't matter all that much. It's just a shame that on PotD I'd be hard pressed to make myself take her, but then PotD does sometimes require a bit more min-maxing at the expense of role-playing.

I interpreted it as meaning the White March 2 will bring PoE to an end, and the future chapters implied future PoE games. This would be in line with what we've already heard.

Yeah, Devil of Caroc rocks, it's just a shame she's so weirdly built.