Empower. Do we want it or should it go?

[Somnium_Meum]

 

 

Without Empower regenerating resources, combat would be ****, because you would have to auto attack for most of it. That's just boring. I'd gladly trade Empower for a way for every class to regenerate resources passively, but I bet my ass they won't implement such a huge change.

 

One thing I don't like is that it's not fair that some classes have no good way to use Empower offensively. Basically, other than offensive casters and single class Monk, other classes just use it for resource regen. But this is due to the fact that many abilities simply don't work with Empower at all, which is lame.

Exactly that is the problem - some classes are just screwed by Empower.

How often are you running out of resources? If you mean "i can't use spell 4 times in row" i think that's intended, because why would you use spells other than your preferred ones? But i agree, running out of resources is large problem esp. up to the point where you meet Aloth.

There IS a "legit" to regenerate resources during fight - have a Cipher. He can provide buff that restores resources, and Ascendant can quickly apply it to entire party if you set up his AI

 

 

Edit: I'd love to see "attrition" encounters that will force player to think twice about saving abilities vs spamming them, but only if these encounters are optional.

 

"Party". What is with the solo players, they only got one class and mostly not a cipher, because that is not tier 1? For some fights, the given ressources are just not enough.

 

The game simply isn't balanced around solo gameplay. I doubt there's solo build that doesn't skip encounters or abuse mechanics.

I wish Solo was more supported, but it's not and i don't think it will change.

[mant2si]

I play solo and use empower often because run out resources

[baldurs_gate_2]

 

 

 

Without Empower regenerating resources, combat would be ****, because you would have to auto attack for most of it. That's just boring. I'd gladly trade Empower for a way for every class to regenerate resources passively, but I bet my ass they won't implement such a huge change.

 

One thing I don't like is that it's not fair that some classes have no good way to use Empower offensively. Basically, other than offensive casters and single class Monk, other classes just use it for resource regen. But this is due to the fact that many abilities simply don't work with Empower at all, which is lame.

Exactly that is the problem - some classes are just screwed by Empower.

How often are you running out of resources? If you mean "i can't use spell 4 times in row" i think that's intended, because why would you use spells other than your preferred ones? But i agree, running out of resources is large problem esp. up to the point where you meet Aloth.

There IS a "legit" to regenerate resources during fight - have a Cipher. He can provide buff that restores resources, and Ascendant can quickly apply it to entire party if you set up his AI

 

 

Edit: I'd love to see "attrition" encounters that will force player to think twice about saving abilities vs spamming them, but only if these encounters are optional.

 

"Party". What is with the solo players, they only got one class and mostly not a cipher, because that is not tier 1? For some fights, the given ressources are just not enough.

 

The game simply isn't balanced around solo gameplay. I doubt there's solo build that doesn't skip encounters or abuse mechanics.

I wish Solo was more supported, but it's not and i don't think it will change.

 

The game is just not balanced for party. Don't know how much you want to increase the difficulty, because i can beat everything with a solo marauder, with 5 ppl i would not even consider to use empower, because it is so easy, even ond potd upscaled.

[Elric Galad]

I think the ressource problem is mostly a Martial Single Class problem.

Empower even makes the gap wider between Single and Multi Class.

[Dorftek]

What does balance have to do with anything? You can literally just not click the god damn button!

No need to get all worked up. Balance because every game featuring combat and especially RPG games wich allows players to make tactical decisions need a certain lvl of challange to be interesting. Obsidian should either balance everything around players using x5 empowers each fight or they should rework how empower works because that's how strong empower currently is when used correctly. Personally I choose not to play wizards with empowered spells so it doesn't really bother me personally, I simply just agreed with points made by another poster and expressed that I personally prefered the system in the first game.

[cokane]

I assume most people must have some experience from good old dnd and later the computer versions with baldurs gate, icewind dale etc etc... the "empower mechanic" as is in PoE2 didn't exist back then and yet we had great fun!

However it's just a new game feature, and especially in a single player environment the player has a choice on how his game session should progress. The gameplay should offer choices in multiple levels, so that different kinds of players can actually have fun while playing it! If someone is unhappy that this mechanic exists they can simply skip using. I know I am skipping it because that's how I enjoy my potd but that's purely personal preference.

It's a single player and not an mmo! Other players using the mechanic does not affect my own game session at the slightest!

 

PS: All this unnecessary crying and moaning only goes to show the complete intolerance and lack of acceptance, towards an entire group of players that simply wish to play the game differently from the rest, even though their actions in game have no impact on your gaming sessions at all... in the end we all hypocritically adore liberty...

 

Hmm... I get that this kind of argument sounds good on a superficial level. "Let's make a game that's suitable for everyone!" But I actually think this is really bad thinking. Games should actually be more modest in their goals. Because games that try to have an option for everyone often fail to deliver any of those options adequately. And I think that's a big part of the issue with Deadfire's design choices. For example, quests have so many solutions that they almost never seriously test a player's problem solving or reading comprehension (i.e. understanding of the world)  in any deep way. There are so many class combos that most of them end up playing similarly because there's no other feasible way to balance them.

 

While I don't think people are being productive when they call for empower to be removed at this stage from Deadfire, I do think people are right to complain that the width of new features in Deadfire has cost us players the experience of a deep RPG.

[Ophiuchus]

Also keep forgetting about it. My only big gripe is how it takes up potentially interesting passives.

[Tanlaus]

1) I like the idea of having a challenge that eliminates empower.

 

2) The reason I’m not in favor of eliminating it altogether is that the people posting on these boards is a small self-selecting portion of the overall player base. Most people just play the game without fully grasping the mechanics and- provided they’re not playing in story mode- find it challenging enough.

 

My first playthrough was on hard (or the setting below veteran is) and I wiped to things that can’t touch me on POTD now. Part of that is better understanding the mechanics and part of that is knowing what to expect every encounter since I’ve been through them more than once.

 

And I’m sure most people in this board know more about and play this game better than me.