Which did you enjoy more, Poe or Poe2?

[rjshae]

I have to say that of the two I actually enjoyed PoE a lot more. PoE2 has the better character building system, but PoE was more engaging in terms of story and characters. Well, at least until the final chapter. Plus I enjoyed the party size and the magic system in PoE more; PoE 2 combat felt a lot more skirmishy and tactics didn't seem to matter as much.

[thelee]

I've still clocked way more hours on PoE1 than Deadfire (1000+ vs ~700) though for me it's no question: Deadfire all the way. Critiques I have about Deadfire are mere quibbles compared to how much of a step up I think Deadfire is over PoE1 in almost every way: music, systems design, environmental design, story, narrative. My main grievance is that I loved Hiravias as a companion and no one in Deadfire fills in his shoes well enough. Also Grieving Mother was extremely well-written and while she wasn't exactly someone I was happy to take all the time in the way Hiravias was, I don't think there is a Deadfire companion that gets the kind of in-depth narrative that GM did. (Though at the same time, I found it a bit annoying on successive play throughs the companion quests that were basically "choose your own adventure" text reads, e.g. Durance especially; it became less about immersing yourself in the narrative than remembering how to trigger the next step and mashing through all the dialogue options.)

[juanval]

I prefer PoE 2. I love the feeling of freedom it has, the big city, the enviroment, factions, and a huge etc.

[draego]

I've still clocked way more hours on PoE1 than Deadfire (1000+ vs ~700) though for me it's no question: Deadfire all the way. Critiques I have about Deadfire are mere quibbles compared to how much of a step up I think Deadfire is over PoE1 in almost every way: music, systems design, environmental design, story, narrative. My main grievance is that I loved Hiravias as a companion and no one in Deadfire fills in his shoes well enough. Also Grieving Mother was extremely well-written and while she wasn't exactly someone I was happy to take all the time in the way Hiravias was, I don't think there is a Deadfire companion that gets the kind of in-depth narrative that GM did. (Though at the same time, I found it a bit annoying on successive play throughs the companion quests that were basically "choose your own adventure" text reads, e.g. Durance especially; it became less about immersing yourself in the narrative than remembering how to trigger the next step and mashing through all the dialogue options.)

 

so do you think in the end you will have more hours in POE2 then. I too have around 750-1000 hours in POE1 and have not finished POE2 yet. POE2 has not caught me like POE1 although i do enjoy the POE2 updates for the most part. I dont have any major issues with POE2 except maybe the main story. I feel a little lost in POE2 and my character is not as motivated to move forward. Part of this was early on i heard the main story is short so i felt stuck if i try to follow the main story the game will end but if i dont i get a lost in the world and lose motivation. Maybe its a pacing issue with the main story. I have never made it past neketaka. Im going to try again soon though. I have my doubt i will replay the game if i finish but i hope once i get more into the game that will change. Going into POE2 i was planning on doing 3 playthroughs. There are some small mechanical and itemization stuff that i liked in POE1 better. 

Edited March 11, 2019 by draego

[thelee]

 

I've still clocked way more hours on PoE1 than Deadfire (1000+ vs ~700) though for me it's no question: Deadfire all the way. Critiques I have about Deadfire are mere quibbles compared to how much of a step up I think Deadfire is over PoE1 in almost every way: music, systems design, environmental design, story, narrative. My main grievance is that I loved Hiravias as a companion and no one in Deadfire fills in his shoes well enough. Also Grieving Mother was extremely well-written and while she wasn't exactly someone I was happy to take all the time in the way Hiravias was, I don't think there is a Deadfire companion that gets the kind of in-depth narrative that GM did. (Though at the same time, I found it a bit annoying on successive play throughs the companion quests that were basically "choose your own adventure" text reads, e.g. Durance especially; it became less about immersing yourself in the narrative than remembering how to trigger the next step and mashing through all the dialogue options.)

 

so do you think in the end you will have more hours in POE2 then. I too have around 750-1000 hours in POE1 and have not finished POE2 yet. POE2 has not caught me like POE1 although i do enjoy the POE2 updates for the most part. I dont have any major issues with POE2 except maybe the main story. I have my doubt i will replay the game if i finish but i hope once i get more into the game that will change. Going into POE2 i was planning on doing 3 playthroughs.

 

 

maybe, maybe not. My PoE1 play time was heavily inflated by repeat solo attempts (one to get the Triple Crown Solo achievement, and the other to get Frozen Crown Solo/The Ultimate) - I have a youtube video somewhere where I recorded most of my fight against Llengrath (mostly as a personal souvenier to myself that I actually managed to not die in that fight in case I didn't actually make it to the end after that or the game bugged out and didn't give me the achievement at the end) and it's like a 1 hour video, and that was just one fight. Some of the trash fights were so grindy, probably literally like 30 minutes each just grinding down those damn sirens in White March part 1. I found doing the Ultimate a little too scarring that I'm not so sure I'll attempt it in Deadfire. So in terms of "true engagement" with the game, PoE1 and Deadfire are probably closer to parity for me.

Edited March 11, 2019 by thelee

[uuuhhii]

reading too much text in poe nearly went blind

all the cipher and watcher soul read are very annoying in both game

deadfire also have way less pointless empty wilderness map other then small bounty maps

and the attempt to simplify rules really progressed much more in deadfire though still have many unresolved issues

[Wormerine]

I enjoy playing through Deadfire more - if you were to sit me down and choose me which one to play I would pick Deadfire. I like overall system design better, it's better paced, allows more freedom in how you progress.

However, I was more satisfied upon the completion of a PoE playthrough due to a stronger overall narrative. 

[Woopee]

For me, the build variety in Deadfire makes it a more enjoyable game to replay. I've also found that I like all spells being per-encounter more than Vancian casting. 

[Jayd]

I think Deadfire is better than PoE1 in just about every way. Dramatically in many.

[Verde]

I enjoy the animancy theme and dark tone of PoE more. I was generally appalled at the tree in Gilded Vale and thought it set an appropriately dark tone. However the "revelation" still doesn't do it for me, and Fassina says it best in Forgotten Sanctum (I won't spoil it).

 

But PoE2 is infinitely more playable. PoE became a chore and I thought the White Marches were a completely mess of pacing (I think the second one got a 4/10 on Gamespot!). I'm on playthrough 5 in PoE2 bc there are little things to discover even after you think you've seen everything. Plus some of the new classes are worth playing. And a highly recommend a char with the Deadfire background, it opens up a bunch of dialogue options.

Edited March 12, 2019 by Verde

[bringingyouthefuture]

I agree, I think I like the story in POE1 more.  Other than that POE2 is better in most every way, haven't tried the turn-based but excited to give it a go.  I really like the Berath Challenges and the way you can use Berath's blessings - they turned out to be such great features.  I have had a lot of moments in Deadfire that brought a huge smile to my face, it has a lot of humor which wasn't present in POE1.  Deadfire has been a little more challenging in terms of combat encounter overall which I enjoy.  POE1 will always be one of my favorite games, but just finished Beasts of Winter and it is those stories along with so many others that really make POE2 shine

[anameforobsidian]

I like PoE better, although the DLC moved it closer.  I think PoE2 has a better character building system.  I think it has a much better main city.  I even think most of the content is better.  I should like it better, but I don't.

 

The plot never really finds its footing, but Pillars I base campaign had this problem to a lesser extent.  The real problem for me is that combat isn't as interesting.  For me, the moves to streamline combat made fights too similar, and this wasn't addressed until the DLC.  Even then, you reach max early, and then almost every fight has you using the same abilities over and over again.

Edited March 12, 2019 by anameforobsidian

[dukeisaac]

I like PoE better, although the DLC moved it closer.  I think PoE2 has a better character building system.  I think it has a much better main city.  I even think most of the content is better.  I should like it better, but I don't.

 

The plot never really finds its footing, but Pillars I base campaign had this problem to a lesser extent.  The real problem for me is that combat isn't as interesting.  For me, the moves to streamline combat made fights too similar, and this wasn't addressed until the DLC.  Even then, you reach max early, and then almost every fight has you using the same abilities over and over again.

I would highly suggest using Woedica's Challenge, it helped make fights a lot more interesting for me. I still prefer the Vancian system better (sue me) but the challenge helps bridge that gap.

[nouser]

poe1 had lots of npc companions, that was the main advantage over poe2.  but till now i think poe 2 is better.  but some things in poe2 are strange. like the priest spells. priests in poe2 were seriously nerfed.

Edited March 12, 2019 by nouser

[Boeroer]

Judging by playtime and builds I put out I must have enjoyed PoE1 a lot more.

 

I enjoy testing out build ideas. And for some weird reason there was more to try out in PoE despite Deadfire adding multiclasses. I guess universal talents played a role but also more items that do truly impactful things. For example in a per-rest casting system a sabre with 3 fireballs per rest is a lot more interesting than in a per-encouter system. Don't know. Atm I clocked way less hours in Deadfire than in PoE and I currently lose interest in playing Deadfire. PoE I only stopped because Deadfire came out.

Edited March 12, 2019 by Boeroer

[the_dog_days]

The only thing I liked more in Deadfire was the graphics and music. On everything else, I vastly prefer POE (even if it has Concern Trolling As A Character, aka, Grieving Mother). Everyone talks about the difference in writing, but for every one step forward Deadfire takes in gameplay, it takes two steps back. Adds multiclassing, cuts down on single class build diversity. Adds more skills, makes getting high skills too easy. Adds penetration system, turns armor/pen into god stats. Cuts down on universal talents, kills even more build diversity. Removes vancian magic, greatly reduces the number of spells. There is a crispness to POE's character progression and combat that Deadfire doesn't quite live up to. Turn style mode is the only gameplay advantage I see in Deadfire, and it's in beta.

Edited March 12, 2019 by the_dog_days

[xzar_monty]

Deadfire all the way. It's so much better in essentially every respect there isn't even a comparison.

[Boeroer]

I'd call that extreme hyperbole.

 

For example Deadfire has worse naval combat.

 

I wished Josh & Co weren't forced to design a class based system since I prefer classless ones for obvious reasons (being addicted to charbuilding). RTwP vs. TB: I don't care that much. Per-rest vs. per-encouter: I prefer the first but it's not that important. Both work well. If they only didn't introduce other per-rest abilities through items...

 

I both cases (class based & RTwP) PoE had to live up to the "spiritual successor" claim. I would have liked to see Josh's classless idea for PoE.

 

The universal talents were a nudge towards classless. Maybe that's why I miss them so much in Deadfire and was so outraged when I saw that they got removed in the open beta.

[baldurs_gate_2]

Deadfire

 

I like, when you can get high end level gear, in the beginning, if you know the game. And you can level up very quickly.

[Verde]

Judging by playtime and builds I put out I must have enjoyed PoE1 a lot more.

 

I enjoy testing out build ideas. And for some weird reason there was more to try out in PoE despite Deadfire adding multiclasses. I guess universal talents played a role but also more items that do truly impactful things. For example in a per-rest casting system a sabre with 3 fireballs per rest is a lot more interesting than in a per-encouter system. Don't know. Atm I clocked way less hours in Deadfire than in PoE and I currently lose interest in playing Deadfire. PoE I only stopped because Deadfire came out.

What was that playtime, 2, 3k hrs?

[xzar_monty]

I like, when you can get high end level gear, in the beginning, if you know the game. And you can level up very quickly.

 

Couldn't think of a better way to demonstrate how differently people approach these games. Here's a metagamer whose intention is powergaming, plain and simple. I couldn't think of a more displeasing way to play -- if the intention is to be as powerful as possible, why not simply rig stuff in your favor? And if the intention is to metagame, why play at all? I mean, you've already ruined all the surprises the story may have, so why bother?

 

Again: no blame or criticism intended in any of this. I think it's just lovely that our approaches to the same game are so diametrically opposite.

[Boeroer]

What was that playtime, 2, 3k hrs?

PoE: ~4800

Deadfire: ~2100 (including open beta)

 

But a lot of that is idle time (don't know how much) because I tend to leave the game running in the background when I have errands to run. Sometimes I forget to switch off the computer over night and so on. Anyway - since I don't think that I will play Deadfire a lot more now I guess it shows that I seem to have liked PoE roughly 2.3 times more than Deadfire.

[abaris]

I enjoyed POE Deadfire, especially the exploring and ship combat, but after replaying POE, I have to say it's the much richer game. Both in terms of original story as well as DLCs.

[Wormerine]

PoE became a chore and I thought the White Marches were a completely mess of pacing (I think the second one got a 4/10 on Gamespot!).

Ha! Actually, now when you mention it White March is my favourite piece of content in the whole PoE frenchise so far. Pacing is excellent, combat is satisfying by being challenging but not frustrating. It provides just enough freedom while still providing strong narrative with revelation that is foreshadowed throughout the adventure. I think the balance of dark themes, adventure and humor is perfect - something that wasn't achieved in neither of base games.

 

Durgans battery is an excellent dungeon, and Ondra's sanctum was brilliant. Deadfire topped it in term of gameplay complexity, but I thought it is still the most interesting location in the series.

[Verde]

That's crazy Boeroer lol but I guess there is idle time

Edited March 12, 2019 by Verde