gkathellar

I do think you have a point, Matt, but there's another issue to keep in mind, IMO. I think it bears remembering that each level provides fairly dramatic improvement, probably more so than for most classes in the IE games. Compare BG2 - you could easily end up tackling De'Arnise hold at anywhere between 8th and 13th level, without the difficulty changing tremendously until the very end of that progression (although it would change quite a bit, don't get me wrong). In PoE, each level matters a lot more imminently. I like that, but it doesn't play nice with the open-world aspect of the game, because content has to be balanced for a party at the lowest likely level. Heritage Hill needs to be doable for a party of 4-5th level characters, because the player may get to it at that point. But they might also get to it as late as 9th, by which point they are dramatically overpowered for the area. It's not a problem with an easy solution.

Also on my wishlist: blue circles for neutral NPCs. Because srsly wtf

Well, we know that at least some of the devs are aware of this thread. Maybe we'll get really, really lucky and they'll include an option to change NPC circle colors. (No they won't.) Hey, I can dream, right? (No I can't.) Edit: I guess, on a more serious note, it may be worth figuring out whether or not there's an easy way to do "maintenance" updates, that just make it compatible, with minimal programming knowledge.

Blunderbuss ciphers are great for most fights. They have a distinct disadvantage if their target has high dr. I was getting no focus at all with the ardra dragon despite having a superb leadspitter, ruffian focus, etc. Two ways around this. a) Switch to pistols for high DR targets, since that's covered under Ruffian. b) Envenomed Strike applies multiple times for multiple hits, and it's Raw damage. This can make up the difference.

... backstab? I mean, backstab isn't worth it. But.

I don't see the problem with estocs. I actually think great swords are better overall since two damage weapons tend to be better than DR reduction more often than not. That argument makes no sense. Great swords uses the best out of Slash/Piercing depending on the enemy's DR. Estocs have a Penetration of 5, and thus ignore 5 DR. This means that the difference between the Slashing DR and the Piercing DR of the enemy has to be greater than 5 in order for the Great Sword to be better than the Estoc, while the Estoc will always do 5 extra damage against anything that has 5 DR or more - which means practically everything. There are a lot of enemies where the gap between those two DR values is greater than 5. There are a fair number, but often, the gap is in favor of Piercing. I'm not convinced there are so many enemies with high piercing DR that it really justifies using a Greatsword (especially when WF: Adventurer also gets you Poleaxes for Crush/Slash, if you absolutely must switch damage types).

uuuuguuuuuuuu Thanks, Bester. I'm sorry PoE didn't live up to your expectations.

Yes, I agree. Pokemon proved that this works decently as a balancing mechanic a long time ago - given the way PoE's Accuracy works, it could make sense to take a similar approach. /loses all credibility

The great thing about the internet is I can turn it off or find another post that is more relevant to my personal interests. So no, not really. But Lady Crimson, people are wrong on the internet! what do we do what do we do

Iconic Projection is by far my favorite priest spell. It's brilliantly designed, and cleaves to the heart of what priests in PoE are good at. Wish it dealt Burn damage, though. :/

If per-day resources were roughly tripled, that would be fine. Most dungeons are single-level, though. In fact, the only dungeon I can think of where this is a serious problem is the Endless Paths...wait. Or what about Heritage Hi...ah.

Yeah. It doesn't help that I recently persuaded my significant other to play their first IE game, and we've been playing Tutu side-by-side. I see those little cyan circles and my heart just lights up. And then I try to play in a friendly area of PoE and it turns to ash and everything is suffering.

But what are we going to whine about, if not gameplay? Hey, I resent that. *sobs quietly to self*

Yeah, they get to be durable for a whole 15 seconds, after casting two buffing spells. How ... awful? ... have you actually watched that video? Because what you're saying doesn't means what you think it means.

@Bester: Do you have anything like an ETA on an IEMod update for the current hotfix? I don't want to be pushy, it's just ... I am starting to find the game unplayable when NPCs are surrounded by green circles. It grates at me in a way I can't explain. (Yes, that's insane.)

No one's forcing you to rest. If you don't like doing it, conserve your resources better.

And more non-caster abilities should involve breaking glass and explosions! Hear hear!

@MadDemiurg / Parsong - I feel like you two are arguing two different points. MD, I think you're asserting that Wizards can make themselves reasonably durable for a short period if necessary, aye? And Parsong, you seem to be asserting that this durability is not something to be relied on for actually tanking hits. These views are not incompatible, and as both of you agree, it's situational enough that it's hardly deserving of a nerf. The draw of this is, wizards have a cool (but short-lived) durability trick. The OP overstates the point a little, but it has its uses.

Assuming it was their god. Also: all Dyrwoodans are jerks? wat

... maybe it's only 50% because it doesn't need to be any higher? (It's that.) I mean, hell, XP per level doesn't even scale in the same way between the two games. A direct comparison makes no sense. Give me a breakdown of (Encounters)/(Level increases), and then we'll talk.

fangirl squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee I am praying - praying - that those quality of life tweaks include an adjustment to stronghold mechanics, such that rebuilding happens over Turns, and events happen over Time.

Lilith's Cloak gives a +3 bonus to Perception (as well as a +1 bonus to Stealth for the whole party).

Eder's stats were not well thought-out. I wouldn't say dump both Might and Con, btw. Like you say, they're necessary for Fortitude. It's just good to focus on one or the other. Dexterity, on the other hand, you can brick, due to Weapon and Shield style picking up Reflex.

The Endurance loss or gain from Constitution is pretty minimal, and if you've stacked your Defenses sky-high as a good tank should (and like a Paladin in particular can) it ends up not mattering. If nothing hits you, then nothing hits you.

Sounds reasonable to me.