Ways to make the combat more enjoyable?

[guywiththehair]

Hi All,

 

I never bothered to finish PoE (combat and story felt like a slog),  but I am willing to give it another go (especially because, well, I backed the thing).

 

Is there a simple list of mods which tweak the combat? Or maybe a suggested main character class build that, I dunno, suits or allows you to deal with the PoE combat mechanics well?

 

Its hard to explain, but I suppose if I recall the main annoyances where the combat movement/aggro mechanics, and the damage/graze etc system.

I'm used to the IE style games with passable AI, but if there is anything that modified that too I would be interested.

 

I did recall enjoying PoE2 more (but I did not bother finishing that either, different reasons). Are there specific twekas/changes that get PoE to feel more like PoE2?

 

[Boeroer]

During the early game/low levels combat feels especially tedious because you will miss and graze so much.

My advice is to focus on accuracy a lot more than on damage numbers. Also always flank enemies if you can (attack an enemy from opposite sides in melee). This makes the combat a lot easier in the early parts of the game. Later the ratio of your accuracy vs. enemies' defenses becomes higher and the fights become less of drag.

In general I would favor casters over weapon users. Casters start pretty weak but become a lot more potent later on than your usual fighters, rogues etc.

A Priest is extremely valuable because he can buff up the party's accuracy like no other support class. That directly translates to smoother fights. If your accuracy gets boosted by 20 points or so it's much easier to land debuffs and CC spells that reduce the enemies' defenses. At that point the fight is already won most of times.

PoE [edit]Deadfire[/edit] did some major changes in order to make the combat less of a tedium. I don't kow about any mod that tries to put those things into PoE. But you coud try if disabling the engagement mechanic (game options) does anything for you?

Edited January 15, 2023 by Boeroer

[Chaospread]

I think that in POE 1 there's no disabling engagement option, you have to install IE Mod: https://www.nexusmods.com/pillarsofeternity/mods/1.
Maybe this answer your question.
Other things to consider are whether you play solo or in party, and in the second case adjusting ai behaviour of other members could simplify combat.
 

Edited January 18, 2023 by Chaospread