Deadly Deadfire - Increased POTD Difficulty (better scaling, more HP, less XP)

[CarrO]

https://www.nexusmods.com/pillarsofeternity2/mods/43/

 

Hello guys, I released the first version of my mod, aiming to increase the challenge on POTD.

 

I would love it if you could give me feedback on whether things work the way they are supposed to.

 

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DEADLY DEADFIRE v1.8
 

 

New optional weapon balance tweaks!

New HARDCORE version of the mod has been added!

New modular mods have been added for maximum customization!

 

Changelog:

 

NORMAL VERSION:

v1.8 - Adjusted XP reduction to -28%. I finally found the perfect value.

v1.7 - Increased XP reduction from -20% to -30%.

v1.6 - Fixed duplicate files in download directory.

v1.5 - Fixed Player Character Health getting buffed by the mod.

v1.0 - Release

 

HARCORE VERSION:

v1.0 - Release

 

WEAPON TWEAKS:

v1.2 - Fixed uniquely named weapons not being afffected.

v1.1 - Fixed spears and sabers not being affected.

v1.0 - Release

 

 

This mod is for all those that want to be challenged more by the combat encounters in this game.

The devs have already said that the game is not difficult enough when played on Veteran or Path of the Damned, and this mod wants to fix those issues without breaking the feel of the game.

 

*** THIS MOD IS MADE FOR POTD / VETERAN DIFFICULTY WITH LEVEL SCALING (UPWARDS ONLY) ***

 

WHAT DOES IT DO:

 

1. Level Scaling

- In vanilla enemies only scale upwards a maximum of 4 levels. If you are level 15 and find a level 5 enemy, he would be scaled up to level 9 but not any further.

- This mod increases the scaling limit to 9. That enemy would now scale up to 14. (not quite this simple with location levels etc but you get the idea)

 

2. Named Enemies

- Important Named Enemies will now scale an additional 2 levels higher than a normal enemy. If you find a level 8 named boss at level 10, he will now scale up to level 12, in an effort to keep even previously-missed lower level boss fights challenging. (again location levels matter too but this is the idea)

 

3. Increased HP

- Enemy health has been increased by around 30% across the board. This is an attempt to stop a single empowered spell from halving the opponents right at the start of combat.

 

4. Reduced XP

- Experience from quests and combat has been reduced by around 25% and 20% respectively. This is not really noticeable at the start but it will help with the over-levelling issue in the lategame.

 

 

HARDCORE VERSION:

 

I recommend starting with the normal mod, which already makes the game quite challenging. Then, if you feel like the game is still too unforgiving, or if you feel like the difficulty drops off during the latter part of the game, you can switch to the hardcore version.

 

This hardcore version is very punishing, especially in the early game when you are lacking accuracy. Therefore I don't recommend it for a new game.

 

WHAT DOES THE HARDCORE VERSION DO:

- Further increases the scaling bonus levels and scaling range, for both normal enemies and even more for bosses.

- Further reduces the experience gains up to a total of 35% and 30%.

 

You can switch from normal version to hardcore version without problems. But keep in mind that enemies are generated when entering a new zone, so if you upgrade to the hardcore version, only areas you haven't visited yet will get the increased stats.

 

 

WEAPON TWEAKS (OPTIONAL MOD)

 

I have added a new optional mod called "Weapons Tweaks".

- It reduces the penetration of all one-handed weapons by 1.

 

Many have asked for this and I agree it makes sense.

Now two-handed weapons have a purpose. In addition to dealing more damage, they now have more penetration compared to 1H weapons.

 

 

HOW TO INSTALL:

 

1. Go to the Pillars of Eternity 2 folder (Pillars of Eternity II\PillarsOfEternityII_Data\) 

2. Look for or create an "override" folder in Pillars of Eternity II\PillarsOfEternityII_Data\

3. Unzip the mod inside the "override" folder.

4. The path to the mod files should look like this: /PillarsOfEternity2_Data/override/DeadlyDeadfireModX.X/gamedata/

5. Launch the game.

6. The mod should work on existing savefiles, but only for areas not yet visited. 

7. A new game is recommended.

 

 

COMPATIBILITY WITH OTHER MODS:

 

This mod changes these files:

 

characters.gamedatabundle 'MaxLevelAdjustment'  property changed;

 

characters.gamedatabundle 'MaxHealth' and 'HealthPerLevel' values changed;

 

progressiontable.gamedatabundle 'ExpectedCharacterLevelAdjustment' arrays expanded and 'AdjustedLevelAmount' values changed;

 

global.gamedatabundle 'QuestXPMultiplier'  and  'CombatXPMultiplier'  values changed.

Edited May 25, 2018 by CarrO

[AWizardDidIt]

I've installed your mod and am starting a new run now. I'll provide feedback as I play through. Might be a bit slow.... unfortunately a busy week for me. But so far this looks quite promising! 

[CarrO]

Updated to 1.8 with a lot of changes, enjoy!

[DaKatarn]

Ty for your work, it's a good way to fix the lack of difficulty.

[GuyNice]

Been playing with this for a while, including your 1-hand weapons rebalance, and you really brought the fun back to the game for me, at least until we see what Obsidian can do in the next patch. Thank you for making this.

[AWizardDidIt]

Just wanted to post here to let you know I'm about 20 hours into a game with your mod and I'm having a TON of fun that I was missing playing vanilla. Lots of really tough fights. Sometimes the balance gets a bit wonky... I picked up a quest in the main city that caused me to get ambushed by pirates that had double my party's defense and were casting high level spells but besides that everything's felt pretty good and tense. It's definitely a good stop-gap till Obsidian's own changes.