PC Gamer - Best RPG 2018: Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire

[gloomseeker]

 

 

The problem is that you can't judge a game on its potential if it consistently fails to deliver. 

 

Need I remind you that Deadfire had a huge overhaul patch shortly after its release? We were playing a different game every two months or so. That was maddening.

 

 

It was nothing compared to the first Pillars though. 

 

Besides I did play Deadfire at release and completed it and didn't experience any game breaking bug. 

 

I wish I could say the same about Pathfinder Kingmaker (which hopefully will live up to its potential once it's fully patched). 

[bringingyouthefuture]

Amazing, I second here is fingers crossed for POE3 !!! I probably will skip the new one, can't do first person games anymore - reminds me too much of Wolfenstein 3D ... which I played way too much ...

 

Now if they remade Wing Commander .... nah nevermind.

[Armanz]

So nice to hear, they deserve any praise and publicity they can get.

[Verde]

If we get a PoE3, and it combines the best parts of 1 (main story, dark tone) and 2 (graphics, combat) that would be awesome. I enjoyed my time with both games, but I don't feel like they are masterpieces I can jump in every so often.

[White.Kelevra]

Congrats

My body is ready for POEIII

[Starwars]

Congratulations to the Deadfire team, well deserved as far as I'm concerned.

 

Though as always, I can't help but roll my eyes a bit when one of the people motivate the choice with the fact that PoE1 was apparently hard to get into and now that Deadfire has the little lore highlights, he can now enjoy what's being presented on-screen.

 

I mean, I like the lore highlight feature, but... sometimes I fear this chase of player convienience will end up with games that require no effort from the player itself. Even in games like Deadfire which are all about the player.

 

Feel kinda the same about the "recommended companions for this quest" feature. I mean, sure... it's nice and helpful, I can't deny that. But... for each feature like this included I think they kinda take away from the whole "exploring the mystery of the world" if that makes any sense. There is something to be said for games that just drops you in the game without constantly going "psst, we recommend this" or "pssst, here's some additional help with that".

 

But I digress... congrats to Obsidian for this.

Edited December 20, 2018 by Starwars

[Manveru123]

 

 

 

The problem is that you can't judge a game on its potential if it consistently fails to deliver. 

 

Need I remind you that Deadfire had a huge overhaul patch shortly after its release? We were playing a different game every two months or so. That was maddening.

 

 

It was nothing compared to the first Pillars though. 

 

Besides I did play Deadfire at release and completed it and didn't experience any game breaking bug. 

 

I wish I could say the same about Pathfinder Kingmaker (which hopefully will live up to its potential once it's fully patched). 

 

What do you mean nothing compared to the first Pillars?

 

Well, to be fair, me neither. On my very first playthrough there were some bugs but nothing that could stop my progress. Got lucky I guess. So it was smooth sailing buuut suddenly balunz!

 

Unfortunately I feel like the Kingmaker crew couldn't afford proper QA (or underestimated how neccessary it is), but I strongly believe they will learn and don't make this mistake in their next game.

[SonicMage117]

 

 

 

The problem is that you can't judge a game on its potential if it consistently fails to deliver.

Need I remind you that Deadfire had a huge overhaul patch shortly after its release? We were playing a different game every two months or so. That was maddening.

It was nothing compared to the first Pillars though.

It was horrible... Even igf it was nowhere near as bad as the first Pillars, they are still both incredibly worse than any game on the market when it comes to this.

 

The balancing was experimental and still isn't quite right.

[gloomseeker]

I literally stopped playing the first Pillars because of all the rebalancing that was ongoing at the time it came out. That alone is the reason why it took me years to go back and finish the first game (that and the pathfinding issues which are just a bad memory in Deadfire). 

 

Personally I don't see the point of balancing a single player game and frankly having to deal with updates turning things upside down so that the build you've been working on turns out to be a complete mess is just a nuisance. 

 

I've played IE games for years. Everybody kept ranting about how certain classes and multiclasses were OP in Baldur's Gate 2 Throne of Bhaal. Many would be going on and on about Kensais dualled into Mages or Thieves at higher levels and how broken they would be (choosing by the way to ignore the fact that a low level Kensai is just a liability -but I guess most people never bothered playing one under level 7). There was no question of balance and yet it did worked. In AD&D2 at high levels a Fighter is nothing more than a bodyguard for a flamethrower (i.e. a Mage) but in order to get there the spellcaster has to be incredibly patient and very careful about his actions (let me remind you guys that a level 1 Mage had only one spell per day). That's how things used to balance themselves in these games.

 

Sure, in good old BG2 there were some classes and kits that looked less powerful like for instance the Beastmaster but others just had an untapped potential like for instance the Jester (overshadowed by the Blade but in all fairness Jesters have the best song in the game) and in the end it was just another way of adding some challenge to the game (and then finding out some new tricks out of necessity).  

 

I don't think a single player game should strive for absolute balance because it only brings more hassle for players who have to try and keep up with patch notes to find out whether or not some abilities they've been focusing their builds on have been nerfed.

 

At the end of the day it's just no fun at all but that's only my opinion so you're more than welcome to disagree.

[Manveru123]

You are quite right. Just make sure to take an umbrella, because retaliation for a post like that will be swift.

[house2fly]

They don't strive for perfect balance between classes, they're trying to keep the game challenging but also avoid making it impossible to beat depending on your build

[Triple - A Foxy Lad]

Personally I don't see the point of balancing a single player game and frankly having to deal with updates turning things upside down so that the build you've been working on turns out to be a complete mess is just a nuisance.

 

I've played IE games for years. Everybody kept ranting about how certain classes and multiclasses were OP in Baldur's Gate 2 Throne of Bhaal. Many would be going on and on about Kensais dualled into Mages or Thieves at higher levels and how broken they would be (choosing by the way to ignore the fact that a low level Kensai is just a liability -but I guess most people never bothered playing one under level 7). There was no question of balance and yet it did worked. In AD&D2 at high levels a Fighter is nothing more than a bodyguard for a flamethrower (i.e. a Mage) but in order to get there the spellcaster has to be incredibly patient and very careful about his actions (let me remind you guys that a level 1 Mage had only one spell per day). That's how things used to balance themselves in these games.

Different times, different standards bruv. What games and systems could get away with then is far more than now. Internet is bigger and angrier than before. Certain level of qol and balance now expected or moan moan moan moan moan moan.

 

Bg2 would get ripped a new arsehole for its foibles if it dropped as a new game now. I loved ad&d but at its worst is oblique nonsense. Back then most of audience for bg was vaccinated against it. Is not case now.

 

Like u just have to look at the general reponse to knigmakers cavalier attitude re: balancing etc to see what would happen.

 

As for balancing the game, im all for it. I appreciate not being funnelled into one build/comp every single time.

[Achilles]

They don't strive for perfect balance between classes, they're trying to keep the game challenging but also avoid making it impossible to beat depending on your build

Or, conversely, one "correct" build that may or may not include your favorite race or class

[SonicMage117]

Congrats to Obsidian, there wasn't much competition this year but still pretty nice to know somebody acknowledged them. Nobody else did.

[Boeroer]

I did

[gloomseeker]

 

Personally I don't see the point of balancing a single player game and frankly having to deal with updates turning things upside down so that the build you've been working on turns out to be a complete mess is just a nuisance.

 

I've played IE games for years. Everybody kept ranting about how certain classes and multiclasses were OP in Baldur's Gate 2 Throne of Bhaal. Many would be going on and on about Kensais dualled into Mages or Thieves at higher levels and how broken they would be (choosing by the way to ignore the fact that a low level Kensai is just a liability -but I guess most people never bothered playing one under level 7). There was no question of balance and yet it did worked. In AD&D2 at high levels a Fighter is nothing more than a bodyguard for a flamethrower (i.e. a Mage) but in order to get there the spellcaster has to be incredibly patient and very careful about his actions (let me remind you guys that a level 1 Mage had only one spell per day). That's how things used to balance themselves in these games.

Different times, different standards bruv. What games and systems could get away with then is far more than now. Internet is bigger and angrier than before. Certain level of qol and balance now expected or moan moan moan moan moan moan.

 

Bg2 would get ripped a new arsehole for its foibles if it dropped as a new game now. I loved ad&d but at its worst is oblique nonsense. Back then most of audience for bg was vaccinated against it. Is not case now.

 

Like u just have to look at the general reponse to knigmakers cavalier attitude re: balancing etc to see what would happen.

 

As for balancing the game, im all for it. I appreciate not being funnelled into one build/comp every single time.

 

 

Fair points. 

 

There is no denying that BG was pretty confusing for people who didn't play pen and paper AD&D back then. 

 

As a guy who had a great time playing a Beastmaster and decided to play one just because it's considered to be the least powerful class I can relate to what you're saying but I also believe that it's also up to the player to step away from the beaten path and experiment with builds that may not look like powerhouses but which may turn out to be quite fun. 

 

I don't envy the devs who have to cater both to fans who want to be challenged and wish to push the limits and the general public who expect to be able to go through the game without giving any thought about a build. 

 

With that perspective it becomes rather easy to understand why Diablo 3 is what it is and why it's been streamlined so much. 

 

Different times indeed. 

[Lord Brunitius]

Congrats obsidian!

[Verde]

Balance is an illusion.

[Manveru123]

 

Like u just have to look at the general reponse to knigmakers cavalier attitude re: balancing etc to see what would happen.

 

Except that game - like BG - is using a PnP system, so it tries to follow the rules. The initial outrage was caused by the fact that nobody really knew Pathfinder, and the difficulty threw them off. Now? People keep coming up with more and more "solo unfair" builds, and do you know how many balance patches did the game get? NONE.

[bringingyouthefuture]

 

 

Like u just have to look at the general reponse to knigmakers cavalier attitude re: balancing etc to see what would happen.

 

Except that game - like BG - is using a PnP system, so it tries to follow the rules. The initial outrage was caused by the fact that nobody really knew Pathfinder, and the difficulty threw them off. Now? People keep coming up with more and more "solo unfair" builds, and do you know how many balance patches did the game get? NONE.

 

 

Hey!  I would be interested in a build that gets through the Prologue and Chapter 1 on unfair / hard on solo, can you post some links:  (Sorry I know this is a POE2 forum)

 

Edit - saw the Vivisectionist one but that is all I could find

Edited December 21, 2018 by bringingyouthefuture

[Manveru123]

Find a guy called "Mithrals" on YouTube. He has a few. With gameplay and tips.

[Triple - A Foxy Lad]

 

Like u just have to look at the general reponse to knigmakers cavalier attitude re: balancing etc to see what would happen.

 

Except that game - like BG - is using a PnP system, so it tries to follow the rules. The initial outrage was caused by the fact that nobody really knew Pathfinder, and the difficulty threw them off. Now? People keep coming up with more and more "solo unfair" builds, and do you know how many balance patches did the game get? NONE.

 

 

oh very good. looks like my business plan remains viable. im off to golarion to found a vivisection college. i swear pathology is the equivalent of national service over there. got to make sure every child gets their mutagen and 1d6 sneak attack so they can contribute to society.

[Manveru123]

I hope that college also has a Lawful Good course which teaches the importance of Monk/Pala dips :D

[gloomseeker]

It is heart warming to see powergaming is not a lost art.

[Triple - A Foxy Lad]

I hope that college also has a Lawful Good course which teaches the importance of Monk/Pala dips :D

 

perhaps, but id have to outsource that. im too depraved and lazy for such.