Difficulty fixed yet?

[mightyjules]

Hey there,

 

I was wondering if they finally fixed the difficulty in Poe II? I am of Baldurs Gate veteran and found on my first playthrough eternity very easy even on difficult mode. Haven’t tried potd yet.

 

I wonder if they ever intended the game to be difficult . Seems to me that they wanted to attract a more leisure gaming audience.

Edited October 9, 2018 by mightyjules

[bigbazoopa]

No it is still in ruin.

 

The first 12-14 levels are challenging on potd then after that it is very hard to die

[Boeroer]

If you are a completionist then the difficulty will drop from mid to late game. But PotD will start quite hard.

 

If you only do critical path then it's too hard. But who does that, right?

Edited October 9, 2018 by Boeroer

[bringingyouthefuture]

I have been playing PoTD with an experience reduction mod (25 percent) and it set to only scale upward, and it is keeping the game interesting so far - at about level 8 and just finished Hosango - off to Tikawara next and then beyond.  So far the battles have been really good - just playing with the NPC companions no custom characters, curious to see what happens when I hit the later levels, and where it is when I hit them   I also can't vouch but hear the expansions are really good, and the mega bosses are tough; and I played briefly the challenges and they add some more difficulty in various trade-offs.

 

(If it does pan out that the later game with the mods tend to get easy, I might also add the Deadly Deadfire mod later, I am hoping Obsidian does another pass on difficulty in PoTD - which would be really amazing!!! ... )

 

EDIT - I don't min-max or read the forums on power builds etc ...

Edited October 9, 2018 by aaronghowell

[Prince of Lies]

Meh. Port Maje on POTD without tavern companions or early ship battles are the only things I find challenging. Haven't tried Magran's Fires, though.

 

Soloing with squishy classes has much butt clenching, if you're into that.

[asnjas]

The fact they put in options means they are trying for all audiences. Casuals can play story mode hardcores can play potd.

 

The more you play the better you get. You constantly improve. However, the difficulty does not constantly improve.

 

You are one specific person. The devs must tune numbers for all players.

 

Potd is too hard then people gonna complain. Enemies do too much damage, take too little damage, instant reflexes, etc etc. Its like devs supposed to know exactly how much to tune numbers so you ge tthe exact challenege you want.

 

Plus are there not numbers out there showing how many people even finish potd? I remember it being very small.

 

The horse is dead

[Wormerine]

There is so much optional content that somewhere above level 10 you will start running into quests below your level, and challenge goes down. Scaling doesn't quite fix things. Expansions and the megaboss are great. 

I doubt it will get much better than that, unless they seriosuly rebalance XP distribution, though I doubt they would aim it at completionists. There is also a mod, which aparently makes things harder (didn't try it myself just yet). 

[bigbazoopa]

Also the current pen vs ar system is terrible. You will notice a quantam leap in difficulty drop off as soon as you suit up your tanks in legendary armour. You can get legendary armour way to early they should be rarer.

 

I’m a really big hater of the current pen vs at system cause it is way to dominant a game mechanic

[Purudaya]

The DLCs seem to be properly tuned/scaled for levels 15-20 thus far, so hopefully the devs will continue that trend when they finish balancing PotD difficulty for the rest of the late game. Even if the main quest starts to get too easy at high levels, there's now plenty of other content that offers a sufficient challenge.

[fxluk]

I am playing with Deadly Deadfire mod (was actually, when I got stupid map loading error on main quest:P).

 

For me it is quite perfect as it is. It is difficult, had to load a lot, but not to a point of frustration

You got to really prepare for some battles, and mostly it is for completionists, because you will be outleveled most of the time.

 

Because of xp reduction, mid-late power spike is happening later. 

I am playing with regular companions, so maybe with custom companions, you could install additional mods for mid-late game.

 

Deadly Deadfire has hardcore version.

Second option would be Baldur Scaling Pig Buddy, but I would rather be cautious about it, as it can be an overkill when combined with xp reduction.

It can be modified though.

[LiefLayer]

I disagree about the difficulty. I played on difficult mode and it was difficult.

the last dlc was too difficult compared to the base game.

I understand that you seek for challenge but that's why potd and iron mode exist. And if even that is not enough there are mods and you can limit youself... If even that is not enough just play something else because not everyone should be forced to play story/easy mode because you say the game is too easy (I like the middle challenge of normal/difficult mode, I don't want to play on story mode and I don't want to play on potd).

And it's normal that when you progress on a game it became easier. You learn how to play and you gain skills (that's why I don't like scale mode... I want to became overpowered when I max my level).

Finally I think PoE is not about combat (it's just a secondary thing). The story, the factions, exploring, stealth to AVOID combat, talk to npc, do quests and make choice. You dont' even get exp when you combat... that's why the last dlc was not great at all at least for me.

So please, if you want more challenge play the game to give yourself more challenge... but do not complain about normal/difficult mode, they are already perfect.

[Wormerine]

I disagree about the difficulty. I played on difficult mode and it was difficult.

the last dlc was too difficult compared to the base game.

I understand that you seek for challenge but that's why potd and iron mode exist. And if even that is not enough there are mods and you can limit youself... If even that is not enough just play something else because not everyone should be forced to play story/easy mode because you say the game is too easy (I like the middle challenge of normal/difficult mode, I don't want to play on story mode and I don't want to play on potd).

And it's normal that when you progress on a game it became easier. You learn how to play and you gain skills (that's why I don't like scale mode... I want to became overpowered when I max my level).

Finally I think PoE is not about combat (it's just a secondary thing). The story, the factions, exploring, stealth to AVOID combat, talk to npc, do quests and make choice. You dont' even get exp when you combat... that's why the last dlc was not great at all at least for me.

So please, if you want more challenge play the game to give yourself more challenge... but do not complain about normal/difficult mode, they are already perfect.

Well, we are talking about PotD, which unfortunately due to XP float and a lot of mid level optional content you will be way overleveled for half of the game. 

 

I found DLC to be really well balanced for the level they are designed for and they scale well. I played both on Veteran and they gave me precisely the level of challenge as advenrtised - keep me on my toes and pay attention to what is happening with occasional death. I hope of a much bigger challenge on my current PotD run. 

 

No one advocates increasing lower difficulties, but a more consistant challenge throuout the experience would be welcome. Certainly going to mod the game for my 3rd run. With the loose design of Deadfire I am not sure how Obsidian could fix the difficulty curve. 

[cokane]

Hey there,

 

I was wondering if they finally fixed the difficulty in Poe II? I am of Baldurs Gate veteran and found on my first playthrough eternity very easy even on difficult mode. Haven’t tried potd yet.

 

I wonder if they ever intended the game to be difficult . Seems to me that they wanted to attract a more leisure gaming audience.

 

Maybe pathfinder kingmaker will attract me more than POE II

 

Pathfinder delivers combat challenge in a way that will be more familiar to Baldur's Gate type games. Combat is fast, abilities hit hard and create moments of absolute crisis in battle. Though obviously, your own spells and abilities can be just as deadly.

 

Deadfire is only challenging on the highest difficulty, speaking for folks who are both veterans of the genre and willing to pay attention to the game's systems. In contrast, the hard battles on Deadfire tend to be long drawn out affairs. Status effects and spells aren't as decisive. Instead you're often slowly whittling down some very bullet-spongey type enemies. And there's no management of spells or hitpoints or other resources, so the challenge and feel of danger as you descend deeper into a dungeon or wild area is pretty much gone.

[Prince of Lies]

I have to say that when I first went to POTD it was exceptionally challenging.

 

Once you understand how things work and improve your micromanagement, things get a lot easier.

 

On veteran, you can get by without using a single consumable or properly buffing your party/debuffing enemies.