[Consumables & limited stuff] Old habits die hard

[Silvaren]

I played Infinity Engine games for years since the 90's. I never used consumables other than healing potions. I saved all those Potions of Cloud Giants Strength, scrolls, wands and other stuff "for the rainy day" (idioms - in my country we say literally: "for dark hour"). The need never comes.

 

Every time I start a new game in Pillars 1 & 2 or Tyranny I promise myself that I will use consumables in most fights. It never happens. I'm playing on PotD difficulty only. I'm just finished Forgotten Sanctum DLC. There is one last quest for Ukaizo. Throughout entire game I used some healing potions (during SSS DLC and Forgotten Sanctum), bombs and some Empower charges (mostly during those two DLC). Other than that I used in some situations few per day / per encounter activie abilities from my gear which I find useful. Forgotten Sanctum forced me few times to use Withdraw scrolls (yeah, my illusionist with Arkane skill over 20 didn't use much scrolls during entire game). I keep all consumables "for the rainy day". The need never comes.

 

Most of the time I don't see it to be worth. Take Pallegina for example. Put on her Blackened Plate Armor or new iteration of Sanguine Plate. Long recovery and rather low Dextirity are slowing character so much that I don't thing it's valid to lose action for drinking potions which will last only 20 sec (I'm talking about characters without Alchemy skill). Often I don't want to lose action even for use of Sworn Enemy.

 

I was using consumables often only in solo plays and Ultimate Challenge in the first game but while playing with party it feels like waste of time. I rarely use Empower and never give much atention to resting bonuses from food (I'm resting to heal injuries).

 

I feel that consumables and other limited items along with Empower mechanic can add fun to the game but I'm constantly skip those options of customisation. Help me change my mind and cure old habits.

 

I would apriciate any advice.

[Boeroer]

Keep it like that. I'm the same (with a party) and it's great.

 

Consumables are just tedious. Open the bag, click on that potion/scroll/whatever, wait for that animation... meh. Sure, during a solo run it's inevitable and ok since I only have to manage one guy. But with a party? Please...

 

I had to make that dedicated PoE-scroll-rogue build "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" in order to force me to use scrolls.

 

I don't hesitate to use per-rest abilities and Empower though.

 

And with a Nalpasca I will use drugs.

 

So if it's part of the char/class concept it's fine. If not? Pfff...

Edited December 20, 2018 by Boeroer

[MaxQuest]

I keep all consumables "for the rainy day". The need never comes.

 

...

 

I rarely use Empower and never give much atention to resting bonuses from food (I'm resting to heal injuries).

My first playthrough is always like that.... Hoard all the consumables, cose... well I may need them in some fight later in the game. And then you see the ending slides.

On the second and subsequent runs it's easier. I usually plan apriori what gear I want, and go get it ahead of the curve. So I save the consumables for those fights.

 

But still... I keep forgetting to use empower.

I love the food bonuses though. And try to keep those Captain's Banquets, Wraps and Skewers for as long as possible.

 

 

P.S. Most of the time potions are tedious. And I echo the sentiment regarding too long recovery.

But there are situations when you have little to lose, and they become really great.

> Potions of healing are an auto-include. And I often set them for the AI to use them as a last resort when they are getting low.

> Luminous Adra Potion - are good if you had to resurrect someone several times in a single fight and want to get rid of injuries.

> Potion of Final Stand - is good for a Blood Mage.

> Potion of Spirit Shield - +3 AR, nuff said.

 

 

P.P.S. I'm mostly having hard time to find an efficient use for poisons. The enemies I really would want to use them against... are either immune to it, or have really high defenses.

Edited December 20, 2018 by MaxQuest

[gkathellar]

I tend to be the same way (and like you, I always have been), and I agree that the whole recovery-time structure of Pillars makes the tendency even worse. So does the heal-over-time aspect of potions, come to think of it - I used healing potions when I needed to in BG, but much less in PoE where I click the button and then nothing happens. I'm much more into per-day and per-encounter consumables for this reason, but even there it takes an act of mental effort for me to remember to use them.

[Silvaren]

My first playthrough is always like that.... Hoard all the consumables, cose... well I may need them in some fight later in the game. And then you see the ending slides.

All of my playthroughs looks like that xD Maybe it's like that because of prebuffing being locked. Tyranny didn't have that featire and consumables were instant - but even then I didn't use much of those in case of cooldowns which could block use of healing potions.

 

I always thought that you guys are using all consumables to the extend and I'm doing something wrong because of playing mostly without them.

Edited December 20, 2018 by Silvaren

[Frak]

I was that guy. Then they amped the difficulty on POTD with the aggro-bug and I HAD to use consumables to kill the boars and drake at the Engwithan Digsite. Now, I use them liberally, You can alway buy more if a particular nasty fight comes up. It's great fun to use them, once you get used to it. Eder throws explosives like no other.

[Dorftek]

I always used cosumeables when I played this too. I've never played this with a party tho and I am sure I wouldn't be using consumables on all in a party because it would be too tedious.

[Baldiedash]

I keep telling myself that consumables are a part of the game mechanic, and that I should at least use them in Boss fights, but somehow I never seem to get in the habit. So things pile up, but I still keep scrounging. I look in every container, steal anything I can get away with, and I keep hoarding supplies to the point where had there been a weight mechanic in this game I would have rendered my party immovable with paper weight alone (you can never get enough scrolls).

 

I plan my equipment to reduce unnecessary enchantment expenditure. I plan my character builds to be efficient enough to take on anything the game throws at them and more. To be able to do that I've spent hours upon hours in forums and wiki's (Hi Boeroer and MaxQuest! Your work has been invaluable). And to what end? To end up with a ship so loaded in unused detritus that had it been real I would worry it would spontaneously combust (at some point all that magic has to reach critical mass).

 

It not actually being real is quite possibly the thing that hurts the most. It's one thing if the effort of hoarding and planning had gone into something productive, but no, it had to be effort which goes entirely unrecognised, since I don't share my results or builds (there are probably already "better ones" out there), and therefore is ultimately a giant waste.

 

But then again, what isn't, ultimately?

 

So I cheer myself up by playing the ending sequence of Life of Brian, and after a period of humming and whistling my life has meaning again.

 

Going through all that, I just wish that I would learn to use consumables appropriately. But that will probably never happen.

 

Because -- when it comes down to it -- if you have gone though the entire game, and cleared all the hardest boss fights, without using parts of the games mechanics, you obviously didn't need those parts. For you it is non-essential. And the reward? It's all of Eora's loot in one ship. And bragging rights. That's what the challenges are for. So I guess all I can say is: brag away, and make all that hoarding meaningful

 

Or, do as I do, hum along 

and all will be well again Edited December 22, 2018 by Baldiedash

[Baldiedash]

Just like to say that I'm also a hideous save-scummer. I'm trying to get over it. Not because of some weird anti-cheating scruples, but because it actually takes some enjoyment out of my gaming. Since enjoyment is why I play games it is a bit stupid to do stuff to diminish that enjoyment to the point of tedium. And, that is the actual reason why it might be a good idea to use consumables: it might make the game a bit more fun and spontaneous.

 

To be quite serious though, it might also be a good idea to not go to wiki's and forums, because figuring stuff out for yourself really is more fun. So perhaps just try switching off some of the meta-gaming stuff except the fact that limited use items doesn't need to be kept forever, and just dive into the game without too any preconceptions (or conceptions (if that's an applicable word)).

 

So relax and allow yourself to ****-up once-in-awhile. Your run doesn't have to be perfect and figuring out how consumables might be useful after all might be just as fun as trying to do without.

 

 

 

 

 

 

At this point I really don't know if this is adressed to anyone else but myself though

Edited December 22, 2018 by Baldiedash

[brasilgringo]

I'm with the OP.  I find consumables tedious.  I'm much more of a face-tanker.  One of the things I liked about games like SWTOR is you could face-tank a ton of mobs and still do good damage.  The problem with POE2 is that it's hard to do on POTD (facetank, esp solo, and do *good* damage) without using consumables, and now after the patch (or at least during the patch) much harder on veteran.  You end up needing consumables to stay competitive.  I recognize what can be done with them (inc. scrolls - look at Electric Dyslexic build) but I don't have the patience for it.  Hulk smash!