Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous, Part 5

[Gromnir]

1 hour ago, Gorth said:

 

Finished the game. Some of the "set pieces" were truly horrible. Especially one where two of those Tsunami loving demons were hiding around the corner, so getting washed away, landing flat on your back was almost (not completely) unavoidable. Nothing 15 reloads couldn't fix.. In my next game, I think I would like to play a spell caster. Always fancied a necromancer. Not sure if that goes well with Lich or if I should try something all nice and good and angelic instead. Maybe turn all demon so I can hook up with some nice demon girls... That's a decision for next week (because work is a pain in the rear and working late hours this week)

 

 

necromancy is not the strongest school, but as long as you play core or lower difficulty, you should be ok. most conjuration spells ignore sr, which early in the game is a big deal for a caster. if you are playing on a higher difficulty, then the best spells and dc boosting gear is likely pushing you towards enchantment or illusion. but again, necromancy is more than viable on core or lower difficulties and our first ember build were necromancy and evocation focused and she were highly effective.

dirge bard is a kinda fun necromancer as you may spontaneous raise dead, are able to cast numerous necromancy spells, and the powerful enchantment spells on your spell list will work v. corporeal undead... including hideous laughter. the drawback for bards is after the change to guarded hearth, bard song competence bonuses do not stack with guarded hearth, which means your signature ability is gonna be useless during most boss fights. is a whole bunch o' azata abilities and spells which is gonna make your mind affecting spells particular powerful. 

a single level o' sorcerer, or all sorcerer, means you may take the undead bloodline which works similar as dirge bard secrets of the grave resulting in your mind affecting spells working on many undead, so is possible to play cleric or other class and effective get the necromancy flavour. an ecclesitheurge cleric with one level o' crossblood sorc and at least the charm domain is gonna be a serious powerful necromancer, able to cast many o' the best enchantment and necromancy spells. 

witch or wizard spell casters pair well with lich, though there is melee builds which also work well with lich. is possible to have over 1000 hp as a lich, so a few obscure melee builds become viable.

lich and angel is kinda noteworthy 'cause if you choose the combined spellbook caster route, then it is tough to build wrong as lich and angel spells is ridiculous op. the writing for lich is a bit over-the-top, but if you want to be mythic powerful, roll stomping your way through encounters as you indulge in teh evhul, then lich is a win choice... we s'pose. there is a couple companions who do not like a lich commander. perhaps counter-intuitive, it is possible to keep all companions if you go the demon path. 

am personal not looking forward to doing another lich, but it is possible to choose gold dragon after lich, which is something we wanna try in part 'cause am not certain how such is implemented and is few aspects o' the game we ain't tried. haven't spoiled self. even so, is a long haul to get through lich to gold dragon. maybe requires patience we do not possess.

is a whole lotta less than obvious pitfall choices with wotr class/ability/spell selection, so don't hesitate to ask for feedback when you arrive at a preliminary choice for your next commander. 

HA! Good Fun!

ps am knowing we linked already, but ember's good end with nocticula is the current pathfinder canon. it is in a subsequent adventure path, return of the runelords,  which has nocticula achieve her apotheosis, and obviously ember ain't the trigger, but by embracing her innermost warm and fuzzies the first succubus becomes a chaotic neutral goddess o' midnight, artists and outcasts. nocticula's redemption hinges 'pon time travel btw, so canon is no more improbable than the ember route. 

Edited December 5, 2022 by Gromnir

[Sarex]

4 hours ago, Gromnir said:

you are confusing poe2 with poe1, so, "yeah, no." am not sure how many times josh would respond ad nauseum to sensuki or others, in a single thread, trying to explain why water is wet or asking for more than feels arguments.

I wasn't that involved in the PoE2 discussion as much (apart from a snarky comment here and there) as I had given up by that point, but I do not see what difference does it make if it's PoE 1 or PoE2?

4 hours ago, Gromnir said:

am not sure the point regarding metagaming. obsidan were not trying to avoid making best classes or best abilities. how many times this point needed be made is baffling. what they did were make sure all the classes were viable and useful. the nonsense 'bout metagaming is just strawman silliness as that were never a thing... evar. heck, obvious poe and poe2 were designed with reload in mind. a few encounters were first time difficult even for Gromnir who had played the beta improbable hours. for poe, the radiant spore, raedric 1/2, anything with an ogre druid, the dragons (mowrghek ien were taking us more than one try or three,)  concelhaut, etc... all those were quite obvious designed with reload in mind.

The whole thread in fact deals with metagaming.

4 hours ago, Gromnir said:

as far as trash mobs, poe has far fewer than any ie game and as there is no xp reward for confronting them anyways there shoulda' been motivation to avoid when possible, but too many gamers, trained by innumerable previous crpgs, killed everything, 'cause.  'cause they would get more money even if they didn't get xp? 'cause you never know when a rando mob might have something kewl? dunno. on the wilderness maps, most o' what you could possible describe as trash mobs may be ignored. yeah, the endless paths were a mess and obsidian admitted such were a mistake 'cause they never planned on so many levels, so they kinda threw more than a few sections together w/o much design other than an attempt to minimal fulfill a stretch goal. 

Josh's excuse for doing away with combat xp and moving it to quests and bestiaries was to give choice to the player to avoid combat encounters and make them not feel like that missed out. That turned out to be wholly unnecessary as you would hit the level cap midway through the game, so it was not like you needed to hunt for xp like in BG2 to be able to hit high levels. Also it wasn't like there were that many non lethal options in PoE, but w/e I think that was maybe the least of the games issues.

4 hours ago, Gromnir said:

as for your feels about the difficulty o' a few trash mobs... *snort* 

Wut?

4 hours ago, Gromnir said:

so, what ie game got it right insofar as trash mobs? please tell. how is the feedback with owlcat going insofar as trash mobs, eh?

You steamroll Pathfinders trashmobs and pick up the loot to sell. I didn't even think about them. Of the many things bad with Owlcats games I would not rank the trash mobs particularly high.

4 hours ago, Gromnir said:

see, statements like this show you is trolling. clear the effort weren't to be convoluted. maybe you think health/stamina were too convoluted, but obvious such weren't the goal and am gonna note the system were changed for poe2. heck, health/stamina were changed w/i poe as a  response  to the beta concerns.

So they took a bad system and made it less bad, big whoop.

4 hours ago, Gromnir said:

the folks who didn't get the bg2.5 or bg3 they wanted complained endless that obsidian were unresponsive when fact were obsidian were highly reactive and involved, but the developers didn't always agree with the leave it as it is pov and the feels arguments were providing zero help.

And here I would say that you are remembering what you want to remember. There were plenty of very detailed and well explained post out there.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

19 minutes ago, Sarex said:

apart from a snarky comment here and there

You naughty Sarex

20 minutes ago, Sarex said:

You steamroll Pathfinders trashmobs and pick up the loot to sell. I didn't even think about them. Of the many things bad with Owlcats games I would not rank the trash mobs particularly high

Oh boy, in Unfair you can expect archers in random encounters to dish out 2000 damage a round in the late game. It is not a fun experience.

[Sarex]

48 minutes ago, Make a contract with KP said:

You naughty Sarex

I was young (er), what can I say.

52 minutes ago, Make a contract with KP said:

Oh boy, in Unfair you can expect archers in random encounters to dish out 2000 damage a round in the late game. It is not a fun experience.

And I will leave that pleasure to you. I play my games on normal (except god of war and IWD2 heart of fury mode). Have no interest in difficulty through inflated numbers.

[Gromnir]

1 hour ago, Sarex said:

I wasn't that involved in the PoE2 discussion as much (apart from a snarky comment here and there) as I had given up by that point, but I do not see what difference does it make if it's PoE 1 or PoE2?

*chuckle*

so complaining in spite o' not actual knowing? hardly shocking.

1 hour ago, Sarex said:

The whole thread in fact deals with metagaming.

*sigh*

so what? is not that obsidian ignored your complaint, eh?

your hyperbolic statements 'bout xp and why the degenerative aspects o' xp farming were sought  to be limited is more evidence o' ridiculous. players most certain did not hit cap midway through the game, but admitted 'cause o' the blunder with bounties, the cap were reachable before twin elms. Gromnir has pointed out dozens of times how the obsidians blundered with their xp rewards as they were so sure they had a scheme which would have completionists and critical path players reach endgame separated not by a gulf but o' a trickle.

again, so what? you diehard ie game romantics never explained why the per kill xp made the game better. the fact obsidian failed in their implementation and ended up with results more akin to bg1 is hardly some kind proof the ie games did better or that obsidian's goal were wrong. if you were reasonable and rational you would see how the complaints 'bout reaching the level cap early in poe actual supports what obsidian were trying to do. duh.

bg2 did have a solution: bioware simply made it possible to level ad nauseum 'cause the only benefit were the hit point grant. 

 

1 hour ago, Sarex said:

You steamroll Pathfinders trashmobs and pick up the loot to sell. I didn't even think about them.

no, you don't think to criticize them in spite o' the obvious hypocrisy.

1 hour ago, Sarex said:

So they took a bad system and made it less bad, big whoop.

no, and is missed 'cause o' inane reply/quote, they did something complete different from what you describe and not at all related to your complaint. you didn't like endurance/stamina? fair. many didn't. the developers worked on endurance/stamina over the course o' two games and whether you believe it ended up better or good is an individual choice, they clear weren't implementing simply to be unnecessarily complicated or 'cause they hated the ie games. 

doesn't matter if all your complaints were either objective wrong or based on no more than feels, 'cause. just 'cause. you recall josh not responding and we show links. you recall xp divorced from reality? just roll with it. you recall endurance/stamina in a curious obtuse manner and we show link which reveals continued developer input attempting to find a better way to implement the feature. 

groundhog day.

1 hour ago, Sarex said:

And here I would say that you are remembering what you want to remember. There were plenty of very detailed and well explained post out there.

HA!

you recalled incorrect obsidian level and frequency o' feedback for poe as well as the goals and behavior re: endurance/stamina. why would anybody trust your recollects?  regardless, if were so meaningful and memorable then make those arguments. we can wait. tell us the detailed and well explained reasons for per kill xp, insta kills, pre buffing, resistance to endurance/stamina, etc.

is definite bringing back memories o' poe... the indefatigable.

HA! Good Fun!

ps apologies for the late edit. seems we accidental cut off a couple sentences in our last reply/quote exercise in silly.

Edited December 5, 2022 by Gromnir

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

39 minutes ago, Sarex said:

I was young (er), what can I say.

42 minutes ago, Sarex said:

And I will leave that pleasure to you. I play my games on normal (except god of war and IWD2 heart of fury mode). Have no interest in difficulty through inflated numbers.

I don't think I've ever played Owlfinder on normal, I usually went core or above. But I do recall seeing one of the devs post (on reddit) that they play on normal, so maybe that isn't a bad way to go.

[Sarex]

13 minutes ago, Make a contract with KP said:

I don't think I've ever played Owlfinder on normal, I usually went core or above. But I do recall seeing one of the devs post (on reddit) that they play on normal, so maybe that isn't a bad way to go.

Do you find that it adds anything except prolong the fights?

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Just now, Sarex said:

Do you find that it adds anything except prolong the fights?

It adds sublime misery, both in terms of fights and increased skill dcs. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that Unfair is unfair, but it feels more like a challenge for the spreadsheets than tactics.

[bugarup]

15 hours ago, Make a contract with KP said:

I am a quarter of my life removed from my first PoE playthrough and am not blessed with a photographic memory.

 

D'awwwww, look at this wee widdle babby, lowering this forum's age average by something like 3 or 4 years alone!

[majestic]

2 hours ago, Sarex said:

Do you find that it adds anything except prolong the fights?

Achievements, and before anyone asks, yes, I am fairly serious about that. No way I would have finished my Unfair run without them.

[Gorth]

8 hours ago, Gromnir said:

necromancy is not the strongest school, but as long as you play core or lower difficulty, you should be ok. most conjuration spells ignore sr, which early in the game is a big deal for a caster. if you are playing on a higher difficulty, then the best spells and dc boosting gear is likely pushing you towards enchantment or illusion. but again, necromancy is more than viable on core or lower difficulties and our first ember build were necromancy and evocation focused and she were highly effective.

dirge bard is a kinda fun necromancer as you may spontaneous raise dead, are able to cast numerous necromancy spells, and the powerful enchantment spells on your spell list will work v. corporeal undead... including hideous laughter. the drawback for bards is after the change to guarded hearth, bard song competence bonuses do not stack with guarded hearth, which means your signature ability is gonna be useless during most boss fights. is a whole bunch o' azata abilities and spells which is gonna make your mind affecting spells particular powerful. 

a single level o' sorcerer, or all sorcerer, means you may take the undead bloodline which works similar as dirge bard secrets of the grave resulting in your mind affecting spells working on many undead, so is possible to play cleric or other class and effective get the necromancy flavour. an ecclesitheurge cleric with one level o' crossblood sorc and at least the charm domain is gonna be a serious powerful necromancer, able to cast many o' the best enchantment and necromancy spells. 

witch or wizard spell casters pair well with lich, though there is melee builds which also work well with lich. is possible to have over 1000 hp as a lich, so a few obscure melee builds become viable.

lich and angel is kinda noteworthy 'cause if you choose the combined spellbook caster route, then it is tough to build wrong as lich and angel spells is ridiculous op. the writing for lich is a bit over-the-top, but if you want to be mythic powerful, roll stomping your way through encounters as you indulge in teh evhul, then lich is a win choice... we s'pose. there is a couple companions who do not like a lich commander. perhaps counter-intuitive, it is possible to keep all companions if you go the demon path. 

am personal not looking forward to doing another lich, but it is possible to choose gold dragon after lich, which is something we wanna try in part 'cause am not certain how such is implemented and is few aspects o' the game we ain't tried. haven't spoiled self. even so, is a long haul to get through lich to gold dragon. maybe requires patience we do not possess.

is a whole lotta less than obvious pitfall choices with wotr class/ability/spell selection, so don't hesitate to ask for feedback when you arrive at a preliminary choice for your next commander. 

HA! Good Fun!

ps am knowing we linked already, but ember's good end with nocticula is the current pathfinder canon. it is in a subsequent adventure path, return of the runelords,  which has nocticula achieve her apotheosis, and obviously ember ain't the trigger, but by embracing her innermost warm and fuzzies the first succubus becomes a chaotic neutral goddess o' midnight, artists and outcasts. nocticula's redemption hinges 'pon time travel btw, so canon is no more improbable than the ember route. 

Necromancer is a bit of a nostalgic thing more than any rational thing. My first Warhammer Fantasy general (35 years ago) was a powerful necromancer. I've often missed those "good old days", when a powerful necromancer lead an army of the dead across the battlefield, while flinging life draining magic around

I think angel could be interesting too. I'm fairly certain I could pull off playing either evil (yes, the mustache twirling, cackling laughter evil) or the mr. nice guy, self sacrificing goody two shoes. The one thing I don't trust myself to stick to is "pure" 'lawful'. Too contrarian to my real life self to be able to roleplay I think. Even as a dare.

No, I would never have thought of sorcerer domains or cleric domains of my own (much less a dirge bard). Hence why I appreciate the advice very much

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

3 minutes ago, Gorth said:

Necromancer is a bit of a nostalgic thing more than any rational thing. My first Warhammer Fantasy general (35 years ago) was a powerful necromancer. I've often missed those "good old days", when a powerful necromancer lead an army of the dead across the battlefield, while flinging life draining magic around

I think angel could be interesting too. I'm fairly certain I could pull off playing either evil (yes, the mustache twirling, cackling laughter evil) or the mr. nice guy, self sacrificing goody two shoes. The one thing I don't trust myself to stick to is "pure" 'lawful'. Too contrarian to my real life self to be able to roleplay I think. Even as a dare.

No, I would never have thought of sorcerer domains or cleric domains of my own (much less a dirge bard). Hence why I appreciate the advice very much

You know I've never actually played a necromancer. All my evil mages end up being fireball tossers or use enchantment/illusion. I've got a necromancer Lich planned, so I guess that's something new.

Anyways....if you're looking at Lich the Undead Sorcerer is probably the best vanilla choice thematically and mechanically. The mind-affecting stuff will let you use certain buff spells on your corpse gang and merged spellcasting is extremely powerful.

If you're using mods like a naughty boy, then the Undead Master Wizard and Undead Lord Cleric (Homebrew Archetypes) provide you with a skeleton companion and fit the theme like a glove. With the Spellbook Merge mod you can do a evil Cleric, Bones Oracle, or Bone Shaman merged caster to boot.

In all honesty, I also don't think I could do pure Lawful in this game. Not only is it against my instincts, but the WotR Lawful is just a deranged no fun fascist anyways....so you may as well play villain while you're doing it. My Aeon game is definitely going to be played with going to Devil in mind.

[majestic]

I don't know, only 'true' Aeons can do the special Aeon ending. I guess you could fix that with a mod or two.

[Gromnir]

1 hour ago, Gorth said:

I think angel could be interesting too. I'm fairly certain I could pull off playing either evil (yes, the mustache twirling, cackling laughter evil) or the mr. nice guy, self sacrificing goody two shoes.

it is possible to play a necromancer cleric who chooses angel, and angel may be lawful neutral. wotr lawful neutral is easily achieved by choosing lawful options a majority o' the time in dialogs, and as often as not the lawful dialog choices is kinda on the cruel and bloodless end o' the spectrum. an angel necromancer cleric will maintain an untarnished halo while raising the dead and casting necromancy spells such as slay living and bone shatter. your angel sees mercy and kindness as cancers which need be cut out to save the crusade, with you acting as the God's chosen surgeon? is ok in wotr.

converse, is nothing wrong with playing the goody two shoes angel and embracing necromancy simultaneous... 'cause that is how wotr rolls.

is maybe one (or two) good necromancy spells available to arcane casters not available to clerics, and loremaster fixes that problem as you are able to select spells from spell books otherwise off limits to your chosen class.

unfortunate, if you go combined spell book angel, then chances are you will find yourself casting angel spells during every difficult encounter, making your necromancy largely pointless. 

also, is no question lich has access to the best necromancy spells, and is not even a close call, but is nevertheless other ways to achieve a viable necromancer build including an angel cleric. 

HA! Good Fun!

[Sven_]

One last ado re: BG1 vs BG2 (and player feedback).

Had the likes of Ultima 7 ever went through focus group testing or anything like that, it would have never existed. Whereas modern games are carefully tested to have an "addicting" reward loop (at least 20 levels to level up into, plenty loot, every map being a carefully crafted combat parcours to entertain the player), Origin didn't give a ****. As a result, during your first major travel say from the starting town Trinsic to the capital, all you may face in U7 may be a wolf or two. Characters carry on their own "life" rather than being vehicles that give the player his/her next quest.

 

And nobody at Origin thought much about implementing an  addicting "loot system" either -- as if picking up stuff were a slot machine to tune. (The game too, actually has crafting -- but in a more natural way, as opposed to a Crafting System, Capital C, Capital S: You can pick up stuff and logically combine it. Actually, NPCs do so to. The city's baker dumps flour on the table, swishes it around, adds water and uses a rolling pin. Voila, a bread is born). In Ultima 7, the world alone was to be plenty enough.

U7 is basically a world simulation at least as much as an RPG. That's why games such as U7, despite their clunky combat and dated controls, still stick in the memory to this day. As said, KCD was the last game that reminded me both of BG1 as well as U7 -- even though BG1 never went that far. In the making of video of Kingdom Come Deliverance, the devs actually acknowledged that risk. That for plenty players the idea of traveling "pretty forests" but "nothing happening" for a big chunk of the game's playing time might be deemed "boring". And as we know by now: Much of that in BG1 wasn't actually intentional. Beneath a Starless Sky: Pillars of Eternity and the Infinity Engine Era of RPGs | Shacknews

Bioware simply didn't have time anymore to cram more stuff onto their maps (or like in Owlcat's case: Place another enemy mob wherever there may still be an empty spot).

On topic: Once I'm finished with SOlasta's Lost Valley DLC, I'm finally back to WOTR. I still have at least a Drezen to conquer, btw. 
 

Edited December 7, 2022 by Sven_

[Gromnir]

wotr feats

am posting 'cause am not sure when lunge were added. one o' the recent patches? however, we don't see anything in any patch note offering.

regardless, even w/o a reach weapon and size bonuses, the payoff makes this a worthy consideration for any wotr melee focused party. attacks of opportunity happen so much more frequent in wotr than pathfinder pnp, and is so many ways to exploit. the outflank feat, aeon's gaze and the aforementioned reach weapons, along with high level parties who have multiple pets making a trigger o' outflank all the more likely, is just a few ways o' generating boss killing attack of opportunity events. lunge is a not insignificant way to increase attack of opportunity potential. 

d&d and pathfinder bad maths is your gain as each additional 5' o' reach radius represents a significant increase in total reach area.

anyways, lunge is worth considering if you got a melee party and an available feat. the -2 ac penalty is a minor price to pay for extra reach.

HA! Good Fun!

[xzar_monty]

9 hours ago, Sven_ said:

Whereas modern games are carefully tested to have an "addicting" reward loop

Are they? Have any more info on this?

[Sven_]

8 hours ago, xzar_monty said:

Are they? Have any more info on this?

There's a few articles on gamedeveloper.com etc.  Psychology and Destiny's Loot System (gamedeveloper.com) Certainly more modern games feel different to me like some oldies. In a lot of games I grew up with, loot was simply the stuff whatever enemies / NPCs were carrying, plus maybe a few gold. Years later I got my first modem in 1999ish, but only visited RPG specific sites occasionally too look for news mostly, including the then BIS/Interplay product sites. It was interesting for me to find out much later that, as far back as BG1, IWD et all (even with its deliberately limited inventory+carry weight), players would pick up all they could and sell it, even though that naturally meant travelling to the next shop and back over and over (which was actually perceived as a "game flaw" despite the game clearly not being balanced to require yo to do such -- alongside the lack of supposedly "unique" loot in BG1). I'm sure there is plenty discussions on these boards regarding whether PoE1+2 would have enough of that too.

CRPGs might still not be quite like Diablo. But they've taken a lot of cues since, including the fast-paced level ups, oft with 20 levels total (in Deadfire you're barely past tutorial island and have already leveled up a fistful of times). That's not a dig, I like Deadfire. Even if that doesn't come directly from Diablo, Diablo has influenced much since. As arguably did MMOs (cooldown effects, classes all being somewhat "balanced" and "equal" in their options even in party-based games, and so on).

If somebody were to play Realms Of Arkania today, that may come as a bit of a shock. It's an entire trilogy of games. But by the end of it, your characters will be no more than level 8-9ish, you may aquire some of the best gear the game has on offer directly upon startup if you have the money as a lot of stuff is simply available from the next vendor -- and it's such a slow-burner compared to modern games in general. (Naturally, things weren't as evolved back then too, so maybe parts of that were a bit of an accident as well). It's probably still telling that the main designer calls BG a "light role-playing game".

Edited December 8, 2022 by Sven_

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Polished up off the South eastern areas before doing Leper's Smile. I've always used Sosiel for the bait squad because a guy who can heal seems like a no brainer here, I guess that Regill and Irabeth don't fare nearly as well and that Nurah's knowledge provides questionable benefits at best? Anyways looks like we're marching to Drezen right now, Daeran will end up waiting for his party so I can see what happens when the gang is all there.

[Gromnir]

24 minutes ago, Sven_ said:

There's a few articles on gamedeveloper.com etc.  Psychology and Destiny's Loot System (gamedeveloper.com) 

article doesn't say what you claim it says. same with the bg article previous. got an article from somebody described not as an expert in field o' psychology but rather as "blogger," who does reference a study in the article you link, but that linked article is not claiming there is careful testing to achieve the correct addition level o' loot drops.

in the future, quote the articles you link.

a big complaint for bg1 were indeed loot, but were less 'bout frequency than the stoopid, though frequency were a factor if you didn't indulge meta. you could find one o' the best weapons in the game, a +2 electrical war hammer, extreme early, and there were a ring of wizardry in a bump in a log on the friendly arm inn map? ok, but what if you had chosen morningstar as your weapon of choice? +1 is the best you are gonna get after +100 hours of gameplay. with metagame, you could build your character correct and have access to swell gear, but if you didn't rely on meta, or were just unlucky, you were often cursed to discover loot useful to some other player but not you. 

bg were NOT pnp, but the developers had some kinda brain fart and didn't consider or care what would happen in a game which rewards specialization then fails to provide meaningful rewards for all those options. in pnp, a dm tailors the loot rewards so is appropriate to the people playing. in a crpg, the obvious solution is to make every option available, and in a game with a ridiculous number o' options you end up with ridiculous amounts of loot which also contributes to the excess money problem 'cause is obvious players is gonna sell the stuff they cannot make use o' personal.

iwd, btw, is a special case for the ie games. am recalling a developer for that title lamenting, after the fact, 'bout feargus urquhart's contributions to a few o' the rando loot tables. other developers were trying to come up with kewl and unique items, and then feargus would add the stuff like the static +4 two-handed sword, which not only were +4 and did electric damage, but it stunned targets 25% o' the time. wtf? iwd loot was so not the result o' careful testing so much as it were one guy, feargus, deciding that more than unique histories and novel but balanced powers, iwd loot should be diabloesque and perhaps you can argue feargus were correct, but that ain't the point. 

poe2 provided another more recent example o' the lack o' careful testing. deadfire backers could, if they contributed enough cash, design a weapon or magic item which would then be available in deadfire. with the pirate theme o' deadfire it were perhaps less than a surprise just how many people wanted their own unique pirate cutlass, or sabre as the closest pillars weapon group. seeing as how obsidian had already taken the money o' the contributors, they didn't believe it would be fair to deny backers their chosen weapon, which resulted in a disproportionate number o' sabres in deadfire. deadfire developers removed the weapon specialization bonuses, so players weren't penalized for failing to be a sabre wielder. even so, not every player wanted to wield a sabre and so after the game release, the developers found ways to add a few not sabres to make options a bit more diverse. predictable after-the-fact kinda errors led to excessive sabres, and players complaining 'bout lack o' diversity results in an ad hoc solution. so complete not careful tested to achieve some kinda addiction response.

also, the kinda development schedules you recognized previous kinda precludes some kinda careful manipulation o' loot cycles by crpg developers. content is added or cut 'cause o' time restraints and technical reasons and the developers is working a ridiculous number o' hours for months on end in an effort to reach milestones. sure, these guys got general kinda guidelines 'bout loot and leveling progression but they is so not careful testing the perfect frequency o' kama or spear drops to keep the skinner rats returning for the next food pellet. 

HA! Good Fun!

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Well I'm now a Trickster and in Act 3. Have to say that I was disappointed by the dice flag reveal but let's see how this Trickster goes, if it sucks then I guess it's a solid Legend path for a guy who ends up fighting his god. I think next game is gonna be Lich or Demon. The current run will be the 2nd Good guy in a row and it's time to see how ridiculous those "I don't like you. Die!" options can be.

[uuuhhii]

On 12/12/2022 at 3:29 AM, Make a contract with KP said:

Well I'm now a Trickster and in Act 3. Have to say that I was disappointed by the dice flag reveal but let's see how this Trickster goes, if it sucks then I guess it's a solid Legend path for a guy who ends up fighting his god. I think next game is gonna be Lich or Demon. The current run will be the 2nd Good guy in a row and it's time to see how ridiculous those "I don't like you. Die!" options can be.

remember perception 2 trick is the best

[kanisatha]

19 hours ago, uuuhhii said:

remember perception 2 trick is the best

May I ask what is this trick?

[majestic]

4 hours ago, kanisatha said:

May I ask what is this trick?

Access to special Trickster feats, including Improved Improved Improved Improved Critical, which requires Improved Improved Improved Critical, Improved Improved Critical and Improved Critical, as well as the Completely Normal Spell metamagic feat.  

CN reduces spell level by one while the Improved Critical line of feats gets you to 11-20 crit ranges, depending on your weapon of choice.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

1 hour ago, majestic said:

Access to special Trickster feats, including Improved Improved Improved Improved Critical, which requires Improved Improved Improved Critical, Improved Improved Critical and Improved Critical, as well as the Completely Normal Spell metamagic feat.  

CN reduces spell level by one while the Improved Critical line of feats gets you to 11-20 crit ranges, depending on your weapon of choice.

 

On 12/12/2022 at 1:41 PM, uuuhhii said:

remember perception 2 trick is the best

So I'm using the Tabletop Tweaks mod and it turns Perception 2 into bypassing critical hit and sneak attack immunity and then increases critical threat range by a flat 2 (so only 13-20 without the feat line). That isn't Improved Improved Improved Critical Improved good, but it's still incredible for a crit or sneak attack focused build. Maybe it still unlocks the special feats or maybe Knowledge World 3 does that, I know Completely Normal Spell gets put with the UMD 2 Trick, or maybe TTT cuts them out. I can probably be naughty and test it out later tonight.