Games you are looking forward to.

[sorophx]

Melee combat in TW2 is cake. Just max out Defensive stance & Retribution and all you have to do is just block & counterattack to beat everything.

yeah? I thought that if you get surrounded blocking doesn't help. and for some reason my character fails to counter-attack 50% of the time, he gets stuck in his blocking animation. maybe it's my mouse, though.

 

I also forgot to mention that I never put any points into any stats or abilities unless my equipment choices or the game demand it. right now I have 60+ points stored in both abilities and stats. I always tend to gimp myself to get the max out of the game. so I tried melee in the beginning, then I tried ranged. I liked ranged more so now with accuracy at 50 and endurance at 25 I'm almost too weak but I still manage to win most battles with a bit of planning and skill. provides a challenge. since combat in this game is too simple. man, will we ever get an AAA game like Blade of Darkness but with a bigger game world?

Dying isn't even possible since you can always pause the game by opening the inventory and craft thousands of health & endurance potions.

I don't use potions

Edited November 28, 2010 by sorophx

[HoonDing]

Hopefully the Witcher 2 will have a similar melee system. It works really well and is fun. After Risen and now this game, I won't stand for time-based clicking any longer (not to mention, I think Reality Pump has already thoroughly beaten both CD Projekt & BioWare in the bootie department).

 

Some skills are overpowered though. A few points in Humbling blow and you can basically one-hit kill every humanoid enemy in the game.

Edited November 28, 2010 by virumor

[sorophx]

meh, even Shadow of Rome had better melee combat

[Labadal]

You guys are making me really excited! I was expecting what you described; dungeons, exploration and lots of monster slaying. Sorophx and Virumor, very interesting impressions, thank you for sharing.

 

Another questiion. How useful is magic and is it fun to use?

[sorophx]

ugh, this game has an "interesting" system for making spells. it's something similar to Oblivion in this regard, but a bit overcomplicated.

 

spells are "crafted" via a combination of magical cards. you get 2 slots for cards for each spell. one slot for the element/effect, the other for the "carrier" (ex. projectile, beacon, summon etc.). you combine these two to make a spell (earth + projectile = stone throw, fire + area = fire blast etc.) and then each slot gets 3 additional slots for modification cards. you can modify power, duration, projectile behavior etc.

 

so, most combinations produce different spells. and there's no way of knowing if your spell is going be really effective without testing it on something. also, most mobs have resistances, but the player can't cast half of his spells in the beginning (because you have to unlock different schools of magic by reading manuals, which are pretty scarce in the world, and at vendors cost a lot (10000-13000 each).

 

I didn't manage to play full-time mage at the start of the game so I can't say if it's at all possible or is worth it to keep investing in it 'til you become powerful enough. the inventory screen doesn't make it easy to make spells either. and you only get 3 slots for the quickbar, so you need to swap spells in and out for different situations. that's just too much of a hassle for me

[Orchomene]

ugh, this game has an "interesting" system for making spells. it's something similar to Oblivion in this regard, but a bit overcomplicated.

 

spells are "crafted" via a combination of magical cards. you get 2 slots for cards for each spell. one slot for the element/effect, the other for the "carrier" (ex. projectile, beacon, summon etc.). you combine these two to make a spell (earth + projectile = stone throw, fire + area = fire blast etc.) and then each slot gets 3 additional slots for modification cards. you can modify power, duration, projectile behavior etc.

 

In fact, this system is a bit broken. If you try and make complicate spells, you end up crafting spells that cost you 4000 mana, knowing that mana regen ability allow you to regen 100 mana per second. That means you need to wait for 40 sec to replenish your mana for a spell that is not even that effective.

On the other hand, if you put a spell that uses :

- projectile with empty effect, aiming, forking into 12 projectiles => no cost

- area of effect at projectile contact doing water damage => cost is only for one projectile.

That means that you end up launching 12 area of effect spells for the cost of one ==> over powered.

 

so, most combinations produce different spells. and there's no way of knowing if your spell is going be really effective without testing it on something. also, most mobs have resistances, but the player can't cast half of his spells in the beginning (because you have to unlock different schools of magic by reading manuals, which are pretty scarce in the world, and at vendors cost a lot (10000-13000 each).

Books are only a problem at the beginning. During chapter one, you will find more or less all the books exploring the island. It's as much of an issue as for ranger skills or warrior skills.

 

I didn't manage to play full-time mage at the start of the game so I can't say if it's at all possible or is worth it to keep investing in it 'til you become powerful enough. the inventory screen doesn't make it easy to make spells either. and you only get 3 slots for the quickbar, so you need to swap spells in and out for different situations. that's just too much of a hassle for me

You are not limited to the first 3 slots of the quickbar. I know it's not explicite in the game, bur you can assign your spells all the ten quickslots.

But in the end, as explained above, you end up with not so many useful spells (for offensive spells) as damage dealers : drains to recover health, elemental damages with area of effect coupled with aimed projectiles and some low level summoning (otherwise it's too expensive) used as barriers.

Of course, you can also use a heavy-mana using mage and stack on potions, but it becomes quickly boring and quickly expensive.

[sorophx]

this system is a bit broken. If you try and make complicate spells, you end up crafting spells that cost you 4000 mana

actually, that's what turned me away from spell crafting. the very first spell I made required 500 mana, and I had 120 or something

 

I'd definitely advise to stay away from magic in this game

[HoonDing]

It wouldn't fit a game like this anyway to run around like a pipsqueek in a stupid looking robe & wizard hat.

[Gorgon]

I did try get a spell or two going because it didn't involve a costume change, using a bow does.....

 

Yes, you heard right, in order to fire the bow you have to change into a Robin Hood outfit unless you want to use the starter armor, which you don't.

 

I couldn't find the missile card though much less a staff with a rq that was low enough so I gave up trying to get some kind of ranged capacity. The 3 classes at once aspect of it didn't work well.

Edited November 29, 2010 by Gorgon

[sorophx]

Yes, you heard right, in order to fire the bow you have to change into a Robin Hood outfit unless you want to use the starter armor, which you don't.

not really, so far I've seen only two armor sets that don't allow bows. it's true that most medium armor pieces negatively affect accuracy (ranged damage). I received a very good leather armor suite midway through chapter 1, it served me well up until now. and the funny thing is the best armor defense wise I've seen so far was a full plate that had like a measly 8-10% more resistance. pfft. I'll take my rhino hide over this any day.

[Gorgon]

Huh ?. Once I reached a certain level I never saw anything in the shops that didn't prohibit bows.

[mkreku]

The Rhino hide is a quest reward.

 

Right now I'm using Skirmish armour, but I can't remember if I can use bows with them on. I know they give me worse accuracy, but I don't think they actually stop me from shooting.

[Orchomene]

Sure, you can use magic without the robe and hat, but it limits you greatly when you know that robes and hat will give you in the end each +40% in magic and you will even be restricted in the effect of your spells with such bonuses. (Not entirely true, only if you go outside the "cheesy spells route").

All in all, I feel a bit deceived with the lack of balance of magic because the system itself is pretty inventive and allow on the paper a lot of possibilities. Too bad that most of the combinations end quickly as unplayable one.

 

Oh, I forgot one of the main issues I had against magic in this game : every hit you take makes you loose concentration. In some fight, you have no choice but to revert to use your staff as a direct weapon or you end dead because the enemy won't allow you to launch even a quick defence spell.

[Labadal]

Got a message From the retailer that I pre-ordered Tw2 from. Will get the game this week.

 

Shifting between Baldur's Gate II, Fallout: New Vegas and Two Worlds II will be crazy fun.

[Maria Caliban]

PC Arr-Pee-Gees for 2011

 

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Diablo III

Dragon Age 2

Drakensang: River of Time

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

The Witcher 2

 

Probably will pass on:

Two Worlds II

Arcana - Gothic 4

 

Am I forgetting any RPGs?

Edited December 2, 2010 by Maria Caliban

[Enoch]

Am I forgetting any RPGs?

http://forums.obsidian.net/index.php?showforum=80

[Guest Slinky]

Wouldn't count on Diablo 3 coming 2011.

 

Maybe Mass Effect 3?

[Maria Caliban]

Am I forgetting any RPGs?

http://forums.obsidian.net/index.php?showforum=80

 

I think we need more RPGs starting with the letter D!

 

Thanks. I'd forgotten about that one.

[HoonDing]

Am I forgetting any RPGs?

Fable 3?

[Maria Caliban]

I don't have an XBox 360.

[WorstUsernameEver]

I don't have an XBox 360.

 

It's coming out on PC too.

[Tale]

I don't have an XBox 360.

 

It's coming out on PC too.

Date still TBA. hahahahaha

[WorstUsernameEver]

I'm oh so suffering for that.

[Tale]

I'm oh so suffering for that.

I am sustained by your torment.

[Labadal]

There's also Dead State and Bastion for PC. Oh, and Risen 2, Sacred 3 and LOTR: War in the North(I think it is PC also.) I don't know when Kingdoms of Amalur releases, 2011 seems right. There is also Darkspore if you count that.

 

In other words: Great year for PC rpgs.