Couple gripes with this game (balance/gameplay, not quality or content)

[merkmerk73]

Some stuff I was hoping would get addressed but doesn't seem to have

 

* The Priest spell system - having to pick and choose one at a time as you level up (sometimes two at a time) just feels janky coming from PoE1 - especially considering that so many priest/druid spells are situational. I may want autumn decay or woodskin, but there's so many things competing for points

 

I don't think the transition here was well done - for example, interdiction is now a level 1 spell with a long cast time? Blech.

 

* The heal spell system - I totally get the whole "make it one spell that gains power" - but it's a level 1 spell now competing with other level 1 spells which devalues other level 1 spells. The old system remains in scroll form. 

 

Perhaps it would have been better if there was just a heal at every rank that you were automatically assigned - like your normal spell loadout for each spell level + priest automatically had minor/moderate/heal/major/super at those ranks

 

That way varying strengths competed with eachother, instead of the 'catch all' scaling one being a lvl 1 spell.

 

* POTD balance - noob island POTD difficulty is just completely out of whack with the rest of the game. And I mean literally the rest of the game - as soon as you leave noob island, it's like an entirely different game - challenging, but manageable

Noob island can be literally impossible with certain PC character/class combinations + using only companion characters - especially if you're playing Trial of Iron

 

Grocery street for example - you'd think this was supposed to be a 'teach you to use stealth' area - and I think that may be what they were going for since the looters won't aggro. Or it could have been the bear cave moment, except you can't get really get much stronger and come back - at best I think you can hit lvl 4 and then you either do the ruins or grocery street - and the ruins with 3 skull boars/drakes/etc. are just as bat**** as grocery street.

 

As soon as you leave noob island, it completely changes. Tons of hard, challenging fights - but nothing as ridiculous as those 2 areas.

 

* Janky abilities carried over from PoE1 that still suck. Fighters Into the Fray for example.

 

 

[InsaneCommander]

I agree with you. Priests and Druids should have more spells since Wizards get Grimoires.

 

And Holy Radiance shouldn't be a Lv 1 spell. Or maybe it could be a spell in each level, stronger as you choose a higher one.
 

Grocery street for example

 

[Boeroer]

Grocery Street gained it's rightful place right beside Rodriguez' Hold, Buttercut, Wuthering Strikes and Direballs.

 

Fair points.

 

I would really really like to see priest-specific trinkets that do something with their spell portfolio. Doesn't need to be like Grimoires, but maybe give a bonus cast for PL X or give one additional spell to use or 1 per-encounter-ability that's in line with the trinket's origin or a trinket that alters the mechanics of priest spells you already have or whatever. Druids have the same problem.

[Ensign]

It'd be worth it to give druids and priests 2 free spells of each level, and put a lot of emphasis on cross class skills. Their limited spell selection and the relative narrowness of their spell lists is a pretty big limitation of those classes - I find myself usually preferring another wizard to a priest or druid.

[Gromnir]

have been beating the priest spell catalog issue to death since beta

 

old post from may.

 

https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/99362-what-is-your-worst-single-class-in-deadfire/?p=2022103

 

repost:

 

am admitted only level 12 as haven't been playing overmuch, but ciphers actual strike us as needing a bit o' a nerf.  after beta 4 changes to both cipher specific and general penetration mechanics, the capacity for a cipher to build focus quick is erasing focus generation concerns-- no wonder there is sudden so many ascendent builds being suggested by the powergamers, eh? our blue monkey companion were gonna be a witch, but we decided straight cipher would be the way to go and we don't feel as if we made a bad choice.  charming is indeed powerful, but am not having difficulty finding other useful abilities.  amplified wave is no longer a You Win button ability, but aoe is enormous, does decent damage and interrupts.  as we level, more foes have concentration and echoing shield is becoming a go to ability. secret horrors, borrowed instinct, mind blades, etc, is all useful to us. the only ability we took so far which has disappointed is pain block, but even pain block is useful in our party as am playing a helwalker contemplative.  

 

am thinking am doing something wrong with rangers, 'cause our maia is underperforming compared to other stiker kinda characters.  dunno. had this issue in the beta as well. 

 

priest?  *sigh* is a handful o' sooper powerful buffs and abilities for a priest, but much o' the divine spell catalog is filled with highly situational inspirations and spells which almost nobody in their right mind will choose given how few power choices a player has available.  litany for the body is a single-target, second tier inspiration and a 4th level spell. who takes this save for some specific multiclass build... and even then am having a difficult time imagining usefulness.  sure, is gonna be times when fighting critters who spam constitution afflictions and a priest is gonna likely wish they had litany o' the body, but what percentage o' encounters?  wizards also have many situational useful spells, but they got grimoires so not need actual take such spells at levelup and may instead swap grimoires for particular battles.  holy radiance is a nice ability, particularly 'gainst vessels.  the spiritual weapons are also powerful, but extreme limiting as one needs build a character 'round the specific weapon type to get real use from it.

 

 

am suspecting folks is gonna soon discover just how powerful a few priestly buffs is and is gonna once again be difficult to have a party sans a priest.  salvation of time, when cast by a priest with high int is impressive... most impressive.  am getting an extra 19.5 second duration on beneficial abilities... which may not sound op until one considers how such impacts abilities such as monk swift strikes, eh?  those ten second buffs begin looking a bit better when one considers the impact o' salvation o' time. is only one example of many. am guessing priests once again become quasi-essential.  even so, we suspect single-class priests is gonna be extreme limited in build diversity.  deity choice will be the only meaningful choice for a single class priest.

 

one simple change which would improve priests is, much like poe did for priestly favored weapons, offer two spiritual weapon options per deity.  wael priests would, for example, be able to choose rod spiritual weapon or staff, or even both if the priest were so inclined to spend two talents.

 

is genuine baffling to us how original deadfire priest plan, with the first beta, had 'em suffer "school" prohibitions. if deadfire were pnp, we would have all kinda options for improving the curious limited priest spell options.  pnp changes is so much easier to implement than pc game. example:  in addition (or alternative) to the one deity-specific "free" spell per talent/ability level, we would designate an open spell slot per talent level which could be changed with every rest opportunity.  our suggestion would make the highly situational spells worthy o' use beyond as a scroll cast.  return the free spells to the priests general general catalog o' options if such a thing is too unbalancing.  unfortunate, am predicting such a feature would be prohibitive implement, particular post release.  perhaps for an expansion the developers could work on a priest "trinket."  each class were original 'posed to have a trinket as does wizards, no? prayer beads or vade mecum or medicine bag or some deity-specific object which performs a similar but lesser role as does the wizard grimoire. 1 spell per talent level imprinted on the trinket.  'course the trinket could do something complete different and such would be grand, but am specific considering ways to improve lack o' priest casting options.

 

etc.

 

is not difficult to come up with imaginative ways to improve the priest and ranger, though am suspecting most suggestions will tend towards munchkinism... as is the case with most fan feedback.  am thinking the biggest problem is finding a way to improve classes which is not gonna be resource intensive, cause at the moment, developers is gonna be bug hunting.  after bug hunting is no longer dire, then we expect rebalancing o' potd.  address ranger and priest issues is thus more o' an expansion/sequel fodder, no?  such a recognition is terrible for Gromnir as we see priests as being particular relevant in a game such as deadfire. 

 

end repost

 

got similar priest-focused posts from us all over these boards.

 

...

 

is still utter mind boggling to us that priests initial had spell prohibitions in addition to a spell catalog filled with numerous situational useful spells.  how developers got to beta thinking such were balanced compared to wizards with grimoires has us more than a little puzzled even today.

 

 

am agreeing with port maje difficulty observations, but am always reminding our self we are able to hire a couple o' mercs if need be.  difficulty drops considerable with full party.  *shrug* developers constant remind us how the higher level difficulties is NOT balanced, so fact encounters at such difficulties ain't balanced should come as no surprise.  caveat emptor and all that. eh? even so, even the port maje battles is beatable, particular if we were to hire mercs or personal play a tank... neither o' which happens often. regardless, we got the developer warning 'bout unbalance... rest is on us.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[bringingyouthefuture]

I agree! Make the rest of the game as hard as the thug and animal fight   but in no way make this early section of the game any easier

especially since you don't even have to fight these fights ...

!!!!!

 

I enjoy impossible fights because it makes you do the impossible

[Verde]

Gorecci St earns it's place in RPG lore right under the first wolf you fight in BG.

[InsaneCommander]

Legend says they once considered making a Gorecci Streetfighter subclass. But it was so powerful they couldn't nerf it, so they cut it out.

[Archaven]

i feel the whole system is unfair. some classes can have infinite resource generating and some just 2 casts. mix of per rest and some per encounter.. i don't really like much. 

[Ancelor]

do you guys feel that druids/clerics are still in such bad place?

[Nights86]

I wish druid/priest/wizards just had spell slots like 5e. Use a spell slot to cast whatever you want, with the accompanying powerlevel boost from casting at higher level. I mean the power level mechanic is already in there.

 

It's just bad design to have 2 casts of iconic abilities like xoti's harvest. Or to have entire fights rely on your 3 combusting wounds not missing

[merkmerk73]

I like what they were going for with the 'per encounter' system, and the power up options. I think with Wizards it mostly works fine - there's still some carry over jank you'll never use because it's not worth one of your 2 (maybe 3) casts for that level

 

But it really hurts with Priests - some of the buffs are relatively small (litany...which I guess can be used as a cure in a pinch)

 

But even that would be forgiven if they weren't having to straight up choose their spells when they level up

[ArnoldRimmer]

Yes, having to choose a spell sucks. Obsidian may as well remove most if them as they are situational or specialised that they will rarely ever get picked

Edited December 21, 2018 by ArnoldRimmer