Ye Great but Totally Subjective 'PoE' Comparison Table

[Messier-31]

Ye Great but Totally Subjective 'PoE' Comparison Table (by Messier 31st of His Name)

Lo, and behold! I give you my subjective 'PoE' comparison table, in which I briefly describe what Obsidian did better in my humble opinion. Note that inferior/superior doesn't automatically mean that it is awful/awesome, it just means which one I liked better. 

There are also things I would like to personally see in the hypothetical third part, if it ever comes out. We know that Josh wants to learn from the low Deadfire sales and it isn't clear if we get to see a continuation anytime soon.

Super brief notes regarding a specific feature are in the right-most column but if you want to see a lenghtier explanation, then scroll down to the less interesting text part down below.

Don't discuss, as there is nothing to discuss, because my will be done, my will is law.

Sorry, got carried away there for a minute… what was I? Ah, yes, feel free to comment! Cheers!

Ye Not-So-Great 'cause Less Interesting Text-Only Part for Reference

1. That's right. I like the medieval feel, and this is why I prefer the Eastern Reach. Deadfire is a great addition to the RPG genre, but I sure wouldn't like to see another tropic regions of Eora too fast. I guess a big chunk of Aedyr is out of the question.
2. I wouldn't call the story in Pillars 'down to earth', but truth is the first game has an impact on a nation-scale, whereas the sequel decides the fates of all Eora. Aren't the stakes too high too fast?
3. Iovara dropped a huge bomb there, telling you that the gods are artificial beings made by kith. Eothas wants to do exactly what I suspected all along (destroying the Wheel of reincarnation), thus the reveal is predictable. Deadfire had better moments, e.g. the true meaning of the godlikes (they act as failsafes for the gods), or what Eothas was thinking when he marched as Waidwen toward the Evon Dewr Bridge (he was aware of the Godhammer bomb and walked into it on purpose).
4. Thaos is not the best arch-villian out there, but sure he is a memorable one. Deadfire lacks a character like him, but the story of the game clearly doesn't need a nemesis type. Hypothetical sequel could use one, though. The great come-back of Fyonlecg! Oh, and the final boss of Deadfire? In my playthrough someone took care of him for me, so that's a small disappointment.
5. The White March is not only a great story - it blends in with the main game quite nicely. The expansions to the Deadfire are really good, but some things bug me. BoW seems as an excuse to make yet another Icewind Dale shout out, SSS is an arena (and I detest arenas) with a 'meh' plot behind it, and the FS (the best of the lot) has the Cult of the Unseeing Eye (BG2) vibes. And Fyonlecg.
6. PoE companions are both good and bad. If you wanna know any better here is the ultimate PoE1 companion review (https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/94100-companions-the-ultimate-review). These companions are fine, I like the idea to finish some of their quests with a feeling of no closure. Yet it was Deadfire that gave the companions more life. They speak more often, and are not so incapacitated as in the original. I can hate Tekehu, but I must admit he is better written than - let's say - Maneha. What I really need from the 3rd game is a fully fleshed out proper dwarf companion. The DCRF will not stand idly, I say.
7. Sidekicks are a good way to spice up the roster without having to spend too much of the precious devtime. Maybe this could be a way for Cadegund, Gacgen or Bonteru to make an actual in-game return? Ekera, do you even remember Cadegund?
8. Open worlds tend to get you marooning in the dark too much, or running straight ahead to the final levels. I think that the Baldur's Gate style map and travel system looks and works better. There could be a line showing progress while traversing the land, just as it is done within the Deadfire cities. And speaking of cities...
9. First of all, I think that the Deadfire city screens are fantastic. You know, them places where you decide where to go and also see info regarding population, trade, et cetera. Neketaka is a huge improvement since Defiance Bay, but… I really want to see another Athkatla, where the background sounds of chatter and ringing bells give the best impression of a city in a computer game. Other than than that, I'm waiting for a dwarven town that hasn't been abandoned, destroyed, and/or fallen. Durgan's Battery was close in the second part of the expansion.
10. No brainer, this one. PoE1 factions were interesting, but lacked significance. Once you're out of the capital, nothing about them really matters anymore. Factions from the Deadfire are so much more meaningful, like the ones in Fallout: New Vegas.
11. Caed Nua started as a joke of a stronghold, and is much better after lot o patching. I think that the idle companion adventures are a great addition, and the whole questline revolving around a certain Lord Gathbin is one of the most fun things to do in the first game. The worst thing that persists is them darn loading times, which prevent you from walking around your hold. The Defiant, on the other hand, is a much more useful thing (being a aprt of the whole travel mechanic, duh), yet nothing important happens there. Naval combat is a chore, so I just hang out and listen to the shanties.
12. The Endless Paths are serious business. You can't rush through it at the beginning, it is a memorable experience that has to be cleared in intervals. Despite the great ambition you can tell that levels are inconsistent, and sometimes boring. Also, I had a different vision of the final level at the bottom. The closest thing to a dungeon like that in Deadfire are the Drowned Barrows. Writing is top notch in this adventure, but the whole thing ends quite quickly. So the future grand dungeon should be either shorter version of the EP, or a longer version of DB.
13. Questing in the original game was simply better. More side quests were fun in PoE1 than in PoE2 in my humble opinion. The greatest thing I remember from Deadfire is exploring the Narrows and finding my way into the Delver's Row (fantastic locations). Naval battles? Don't get me started - they're a chore, and I almost always end up in direct combat. Bounties always were alright, and the addition of optional mega boss fights is a nice move.
14. Full VO and watercolour portraits do their job, change my mind.
15. Never was I a supporter of multiclassing. But given the fact that it is optional even in case of your companions and not thrown upon you/them by force, (+ the addition of great subclasses), well, it would be a setback to not give this option in a future game.
16. Skill trees are kinda standard procedure, aren't they?
17. Similar situation as with multiclassing - as long as there is choice, all is good. My preference is RTwP as in Baldur's Gate, but I don't have a quarrel with good turn-based system.
18. Dragons! (yay!) Yeah, it bugs me to see an unnamed dragon. I wonder why the name of the adra dragon (Sefyra) isn't revealed untill you venture into the Mowrghek Îen… Anyway, I can't have enought of these lizards. That is fully grown dragons, Searing Falls was crawling with them younger drakes, and it was driving me crazy, why so much spam? I also like the possibility to talk things through with dragons, because I like using diplomacy with powerful creatures.
19. Music coulda been more throneofbhaaly. I still remember "Abazigal's lair", "Amkethran", or the "Domain of the Dragon" from Shadows of Amn. I caught myself humming them the other day. Lots of Deadfire tracks blend into one, and are easily forgetable. Taverns and inns are both great, though.
20. This is such an improvement!  
21. I couldn't care less for more eye-candy in a isometric cRPG.
22. First Pillars were the last game that I've tackled on normal. Ever since I've become a father I'm playing on easy or story related modes, because of the lack of time. I'm sure there are a lot of parents who play more than me, but in my case there's just not enough time. High difficulty and big challanges were not for me to start with (I had immense trouble with Big Boss Battles on story-mode, good thing this is all optional).
23. Lack of time means I'm not going to replay the game anytime soon, but that's a nice addition.

There you have it, I like PoE1 slightly more.

And now for the Pathfinder: Kingmaker *cracks knuckles*

[thelee]

5 hours ago, Messier-31 said:

Don't discuss, as there is nothing to discuss, because my will be done, my will is law.

 

I need to end my own posts this way.

Maybe I'll just borrow from The Mandalorian.

I have spoken.

[thelee]

I actually kinda agree with a lot of your table.

The one thing that stood out in particular is soundtrack (combat music). The PoE1 combat music is a running joke in my household because it had such a repetitive and unpleasant theme (coupled with my long playtime) that my wife will just periodically go "dun dun... dun... da-da-da-dun..." to sing out the beats of Combat C. Deadfire on the other hand, is perfectly fine (and personally I really enjoy the mostly-drums battle music).

[Boeroer]

The correct term is "Lol and behold!" though.

Rofl

Edited December 13, 2019 by Boeroer

[bugarup]

1 hour ago, thelee said:

I actually kinda agree with a lot of your table.

The one thing that stood out in particular is soundtrack (combat music). The PoE1 combat music is a running joke in my household because it had such a repetitive and unpleasant theme (coupled with my long playtime) that my wife will just periodically go "dun dun... dun... da-da-da-dun..." to sing out the beats of Combat C. Deadfire on the other hand, is perfectly fine (and personally I really enjoy the mostly-drums battle music).

Ooooh, someone else who's irritated by PoE's combat muzik and loves Deadfire's. It's really so annoying I want to have a mute toggle on my headset just for it.

...and it just dawned on my why I loathed BG2's intro music since very first accord on my recent playthrough. 

I also agree with Mr Red Riding Hood on most things except for the setting. Deadfire rules!

 

 

[Messier-31]

2 hours ago, thelee said:

The PoE1 combat music is a running joke in my household because it had such a repetitive and unpleasant theme (coupled with my long playtime) that my wife will just periodically go "dun dun... dun... da-da-da-dun..." to sing out the beats of Combat C. 

My wife is like: "how much longer is this going to take? make it stop!"

[Grumbledook]

Interesting. I, for one, think PoE 1 battle music was hilarious. Also Tyranny's boss battle music. Though I can imagine why they chose more subdued combat music for PoE 2 (and overall, PoE 2 music was fine).

[Hawke64]

I mostly agree with the table or have no strong opinion about or can't articulate it clearly, except:

4. I like when there is not just one guy you need to murder to get your happily-ever-after in an RPG. Though, I appreciate that I did not have to listen to Thanos and was able to get the password from his soul. It was very refreshing.

5. SSS. It was quite pleasant to laugh at Galawain, though the DLC lacked the Watcher-first angle - there were not enough options to indicate disinterest in the contest and it being only the means to resolve the issue with the spirits at the arena. I can't say anything about it being better or worse than The White March;

8. I liked how PoEII was structured - large map with reasonably-sized locations and the ability to complete the critical path fast (until the last patch broke it). It was possible to explore completely (all/most of the locations were possible to visit from the start), there was an indicator of how much territory left to cover (clouds on the world map) and I did not have to look for a quest-starting NPC in order to acquire the quest item.

11. I prefer the Defiant. It's a ship and fulfills its main function without any optional RNG'ed fluff.

12. There were the Old City Ruins in/under Neketaka. It was just as large and difficult as I like - 3 large locations and a boss that requires some preparation.

14. Full VA was unnecessary, partial VA worked well enough and required less resources. And I mostly detest when the avatar is voiced, unless it is to indicate that it (not he, she or they) completed its action (movement, critical hit, casting, etc.) or is low on health.

18. I agree, dragons and the possibility to resolve the encounters diplomatically are awesome.

[the_dog_days]

Good list. My own would have a couple of changes.

6. Deadfire companions were more fleshed out and yet less enjoyable to me. I liked the sidekicks more because they were 'simpler' and made less hassle about what I said or did.

9. If we're talking cities with tons of quests you have to space them out properly otherwise we end up with Neketaka where I hit the city, spend 12 hours (with minimal combat) doing quests, leave and only return to turn in bounties 'cause I've done everything, though I couldn't remember half the quests.

20. I liked Deadfire combat music, I love POE's combat music. I own the soundtracks for both and still regularly listen to the entire POE soundtrack. I stopped listening to Deadfire about a year ago (in fact I mute Deadfire and put POE's sound on in the background). The only problem I have with 1's combat music is that they could've turned it down just a tad.

[Wormerine]

Wow, I actually disagree with quite a few of them:

1) setting - Deadfire all the way. A more unique, better realised place. 
6) companions - I didn’t care about a single companion in Deadfire as much as I did about majority of companions in PoE1. While they probably got more content, a more linear and focused quest progression meant more coherent story arcs. 
8) world map - I am torn on that - on one hand I feel that Deadfire’s map is simply more engaging then POE1 one. At the same time it hints at potential that was never quite realised. If it were more interactive with some procedural stuff it would be excellent. As it is it can feel more dead then abstract PoE1 map. 
9) cities in PoE1 sucked. Gilded Vale had barely any content in it. Major cities were under developed. Stelwart was great but that’s White March. Neketaka on the other hand is a phenomenal, deep city. Even smaller areas, are better developed then most PoE1 content. 
12) dungeons - before DLCs I agree that the game lacked a deep dungeon. However, PoE1 didn’t do great in that regard either, and Caed Nua sucked. Sorry. 15 levels doesn’t mean much, if they are boring, copy/pasted Enemies which I just fought on the surface. 
13) I wouldn’t agree that side content of PoE1 is better then PoE2 but if we purely count things listed - sure. Bounties in Deadfire only worked when fought on land, and even so, it’s far to easy to outlevel enemies. 
14) VO - Actually, I don’t have stand outs in Deadfire, in the way I had in PoE1. Perhaps it is a result of less engaging narrative and writing IMO. Actor can do far more with coherent story arc, then a small encounter. In addition, I don’t remember bad performances in PoE1, and while PoE2 is good for the most part, there are occasional bad apples. 
18) I felt that one thing that suffered from per-encounter system was boss battles. I never found big battles in PoE2 enjoyable, and while megabosses and DLCs did a decent job in raising the stakes, I never quite enjoyed them as rapid, lethal encounters in PoE1 (and IE games)

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

The PoE1 battle music was great! I wish they would have it again in PoE3, batte music in Deadifre is dull

[Gromnir]

On 12/15/2019 at 9:45 AM, Wormerine said:

Wow, I actually disagree with quite a few of them:

...

 

couple disagreements from your criticisms:

am less ambivalent 'bout the world map. didn't like deadfire 'cause it necessarily led to a multitude o' forgettable and brief encounters. am knowing obsidian worked kinda hard to make all those rando world map encounters unique. *shrug* the expansions were a saving grace for deadfire overall, as bow and fs provided a couple well developed areas which were allowing for more meaningful narrative and increasing complex gameplay options. the world map one-off encounters which boosted sense o' exploration, by comparison, were sad and anemic little wastes o' developer efforts even when done well.

am also gonna disagree with #18 and the boss-battle impressions. yeah, we did get bogged down in sss, but that were a matter o' choice. sss were akin to making the basement o' the ice temple in iwd2 an entire expansion. nobody forces Gromnir to overcome every sss challenge, but... completionist is gonna complete, yes? that said, other than a couple quibbles, we saw deadfire boss battles, in general, as much superior to poe fare.  have kinda spoken 'bout this previous, so won't dwell.

am gonna particular observe our agreement with 14 and vo observations. am knowing the vo for deadfire were a big selling point and obsidian had to pay extra to do so. having full vo meant it were much more difficult for the developers to make changes to quests, but the tragic part is the vo quality didn't even enhance our gameplay experience much if at all.

meh

in fact, am thinking the expository narration were a bit more tedious because it were vo. if we would have quick read through the text as we did in other crpgs, is likely we wouldn't have noticed how much we disliked the heavy-handed deadfire exposition. 'cause it were vo narration, we actual bothered to listen to all such... at least we did so the first time we played deadfire. eventual had our clockwork orange moment enduring deadfire narration.

no real standouts from the vo for companions, though we kinda liked serafen and am believing xoti's oklahoma bit were appropriate even if it were annoying. the sidekicks were a non-factor for us until the expansions and then only ydwin truly got on our nerves... 'cause nobody but leonard nimoy has ever genuine pulled off the vulan schtick. 

obsidian spent loads o' money on vo. developer needed embrace inherent design limits when utilizing full vo. for all such cost and effort...

meh.

what a waste.

HA! Good Fun!

[daven]

On 12/13/2019 at 11:07 AM, Messier-31 said:

1. I prefer medieval feel in general, however POE1 was more... late medieval/renaissance.
2. Main story in both were underwhelming IMO.
3. Way too much god stuff in both games, i'd have rather had more of an adventure. I don't like characters being the chosen one.
4. Prefer having a main enemy who is a person. Sarevok is a great bad guy in BG1.
5. I agree that the White March is a great piece of content. Wish the main game of both games were like that...
6. Prefer POE 1 companions.
7. I prefer the sidekicks more than the companions in POE2
8. Open world doesn't suit this style of game. Would prefer the KOTOR hub style.
9. Athkatla is hard to recreate because the whole of BG2's story is kind of based there.
10. Agree. POE1 were obvious Good/Neutral/Evil options.
11. My main problem with Caed Nua was how lifeless it felt pottering around it.
12. I liked around 70% of Endless paths. I liked coming back once in a while to tackle more of it, the lower floors just got boring and tedious though.
13. No comment
14. Full VO makes me lazy, i like the portraits. I much prefer this to all the flowery descriptive text though.
15. Never use multiclassing even in DND.
16. Skill trees aren't particularly interesting. True of most games.
17. Prefer RTWP in these kind of games, even though I still like Shadowrun.
18. Dragons are never done well in games but I like talking to them.
19. The music is pretty good in both games. I think POE 1 is trying to rip of BG2 a bit.
20. ???
21. I still like the graphics of BG1.
22. Not bothered about difficulty.
23. IDK

Like both games, probs Deadfire more. The first was a bit of a slog towards the end.

 

[the_dog_days]

On 12/18/2019 at 12:44 PM, Gromnir said:

am believing xoti's oklahoma bit were appropriate even if it were annoying.

I'm from Oklahoma and I couldn't disagree more. That was a Hollywood southern accent, which is as close to the real thing as a Hollywood dutch accent.

[Gromnir]

1 hour ago, the_dog_days said:

I'm from Oklahoma and I couldn't disagree more. That was a Hollywood southern accent, which is as close to the real thing as a Hollywood dutch accent.

not hard to see/hear xoti inspiration.

HA! Good Fun!

[daven]

13 hours ago, the_dog_days said:

I'm from Oklahoma and I couldn't disagree more. That was a Hollywood southern accent, which is as close to the real thing as a Hollywood dutch accent.

ARE YOU SAYING THAT GOLDMEMBER DOESN'T SOUND DUTCH?!?!?!

[asnjas]

Full on voice over not needed. It sounds great on paper just like each blade of grass being animated sounds great. I sont think they have unlimited resources to do either one. Just let us read. We can do it. It isnt boring. 

Also if something works ok in one game it doesnt mean we need to see it everytime. Imagine if every final fantasy  game had materia system and huge swords.

Are skill trees really that awsome? If its rehash, can we at least get skill octogons or skill little dippers? Has anyone played a video game before? Skills trees provably more common than princesses and castles at this point.

[Boeroer]

"Sounds great on paper" is actually the name of my new membranophone band.

[ArnoldRimmer]

The companions were not as good, I miss durance and the druid. PoE1 had better weapons spread... a lot of weapon groups are almost empty of good uniques in deadfire. Also that island dlc was crap, just fighting - all though Muātu trinket isn't bad, especially if you always choose to empower him, he can really kick arse if you do that...

 

They should have spent more time on something like the white march with a real story.

Edited January 3, 2020 by ArnoldRimmer

[Boeroer]

Real story like Beast of Winter and Forgotten Sanctum?

SSS wasn't crap if you like combat. So that's very subjective. I liked the fights and especially that you can replay it three times with different challenges if you wish. Also the treasure hunts were nice. The story was good enough for a combat-based, arena-themed DLC.

Obviously the quality of the companions was higher in Deadfire than in PoE. They had more lines, connections, interactions and quest content on average. Sidekicks in Deadfire resemble the state of companions in PoE. 
 

Edited January 4, 2020 by Boeroer

[AwesomeOcelot]

1. Neither were medieval, or both are, they're the same time period with mostly the same empires. Kind of European vs Vaguely South China Sea

2. Main story on paper is better in PoE but as told it wasn't. My opinion is the main quest line/story isn't that important as much as building the antagonists and paths to resolution.

3. I saw PoE's "twist" a mile away as well.

4. Yeah. You don't need a prime antagonist though, they can be factions as long as the ideas behind them are strong enough. It's just a shame that Deadfire's factions weren't as compelling as they could have been.

8. I've seen open world maps done better but it's way better that BG style. A million times better.

9. I can read. There's no downside to fully voiced if it doesn't effect the amount of dialogue and you can call people back. It was expensive though, not sure about now but if PoE3 had to cut its budget it would have to go.

 

[ShadySands]

On 12/13/2019 at 4:07 AM, Messier-31 said:

1. I'm hoping for Yehuza and may have slightly preferred Deadfire to Dyrwood
2. I thought the hunt for Eothas had potential in the beginning but I think it really fizzled out pretty quickly. I blame the open world nature a bit but it also seemed so bare without padding it with the other stories in the game which doesn't help either. Preferred the first game here even though it still wasn't amazazing. 
3. I think I might lean the first game for this one as the revelation was so much bigger in scope even though the second game did answer a lot of lingering questions that I had.
4. No real preference here but I kinda like the idea of the antagonist being a small cabal rather than just the one leader or whatever.
5. The White March was my favorite of the bunch but the Yoga Fire DLC made a much bigger impact on that game. Dunno if that's good or bad, I play Paradox games.
6. I liked the companions better in the first game except for maybe Eder who I liked just as much. As others have already said, the PoE2 comps had more of pretty much everything but they didn't work as well for me. They just didn't have that certain I don't know what.
7. I didn't like the sidekicks and thought they were wasted potential and would prefer a couple more full companions to having sidekicks back.
8. Preferred the first game but thought the one tiny little ship could have worked if there was some way to gate things without being obvious or ridiculous.
9. Neketaka is no Athkatla but it's metric miles above Defiance Bay and even more imperial kilometers above Twin Elms
10. Yoga Fire
11. I liked Caed Nua more than the ship in the bottle. Seriously, why are the ships so small? Scale is an issue I have with all of these games though. It's probably too high fantasy but wouldn't mind something the pocket plane from BG2:ToB or a way to teleport to it. Basically so it goes with with but makes more sense than a moving castle on land.
12. Reply hazy, try again.
13. PoE2 but with more stronghold and other stuff
14. I don't really care. about the VO. They could cut it all out and nothing of value would be lost. I do like the watercolor portraits though regular portraits would be fine.
15. Not big on multiclassing but see no reason to drop it and subclasses are a must.
16. 2 >1 but would prefer even more options as all my builds of a type start looking the same
17. TURN BASED though the option for whatever the lesser mode is called should probably stay
18. Spoiler

    

     

19. 1

20. 2

21. Deadfire was much improved. I don't mind the pretties but they're not a primary concern

22. IDC/IDK
23. See above

 

 

[Haljamar]

On 12/15/2019 at 9:19 AM, Hawke64 said:

I mostly agree with the table or have no strong opinion about or can't articulate it clearly, except:

4. I like when there is not just one guy you need to murder to get your happily-ever-after in an RPG. Though, I appreciate that I did not have to listen to Thanos and was able to get the password from his soul. It was very refreshing.

5. SSS. It was quite pleasant to laugh at Galawain, though the DLC lacked the Watcher-first angle - there were not enough options to indicate disinterest in the contest and it being only the means to resolve the issue with the spirits at the arena. I can't say anything about it being better or worse than The White March;

8. I liked how PoEII was structured - large map with reasonably-sized locations and the ability to complete the critical path fast (until the last patch broke it). It was possible to explore completely (all/most of the locations were possible to visit from the start), there was an indicator of how much territory left to cover (clouds on the world map) and I did not have to look for a quest-starting NPC in order to acquire the quest item.

11. I prefer the Defiant. It's a ship and fulfills its main function without any optional RNG'ed fluff.

12. There were the Old City Ruins in/under Neketaka. It was just as large and difficult as I like - 3 large locations and a boss that requires some preparation.

14. Full VA was unnecessary, partial VA worked well enough and required less resources. And I mostly detest when the avatar is voiced, unless it is to indicate that it (not he, she or they) completed its action (movement, critical hit, casting, etc.) or is low on health.

18. I agree, dragons and the possibility to resolve the encounters diplomatically are awesome.

Obsidian should have put more dragons in Deadfire. Poe 1 had dragons out the ass, and it was awesome as hell to have them all have different elemental breaths and abilities. I'm disappointed they didn't throw in spellcasting onto the dragons in PoE 2

[wingedchocolatecake]

9 hours ago, Haljamar said:

Obsidian should have put more dragons in Deadfire. Poe 1 had dragons out the ass, and it was awesome as hell to have them all have different elemental breaths and abilities. I'm disappointed they didn't throw in spellcasting onto the dragons in PoE 2

Didn't Neriscyrlas use magic? And I'm pretty sure none of the dragons in PoE ever used spells.

[thelee]

12 hours ago, Haljamar said:

Obsidian should have put more dragons in Deadfire. Poe 1 had dragons out the ass, and it was awesome as hell to have them all have different elemental breaths and abilities. I'm disappointed they didn't throw in spellcasting onto the dragons in PoE 2

 

3 hours ago, wingedchocolatecake said:

Didn't Neriscyrlas use magic? And I'm pretty sure none of the dragons in PoE ever used spells.

 

I'm very confused by @Haljamar post. There was the adra dragon in the endless paths, there was the alpine dragon in white march, there was the sky dragon in twin elms, and the two dragons with llengrath.

Deadfire has the water dragon, the fire dragon, two fights with the dragon lich, and an adra dragon (if that's what you want to call it). By my count both poe1 and deadfire have equivalent numbers of dragon encounters (counting the two dragon lich fights as one). and like @wingedchocolatecake suggests, I don't recall the poe1 dragons using any spells whatsoever - they had lots of breath attacks and such, but the only magic i can recall come from adds (e.g. the xaurips along with the adra dragon, llengrath). by contrast, neriscyrlas is semi-notorious for its magic use (high AR and defenses from llengrath's safeguard plus concelhaut's siphon = hard to damage; similarly the guardian of ukaizo has lots of magic-like special effects). In my recollection, the dragon fights are a little more differentiated in deadfire than in poe1 to boot (in poe1 it was the same ol' same ol' except for llengrath, who was a fight unto itself).


edit: in general, i would say in the above that a significant improvement of deadfire over poe1 was in encounter design--i think in addition to all the hover-over stuff, encounter design is another improvement they picked up from in tyranny. poe1 really had the feeling that they were just tossing a bunch of enemies together onto a level (like adra dragon is the adra dragon and a bunch of xaurips and adragans), whereas in deadfire you have multi-phase fights, positioning concerns, or other technical aspects (thinking of how the water dragon has those protective spheres, or how the guardian has multiple phases and can punish melee badly if you don't have interrupts)

Edited January 23, 2020 by thelee