Wasteland 2 Kickstarted

[Oerwinde]

The dead librarian I think is the guy who runs a russian Fallout fan-site called Fallout Archive or something.

[Hurlshort]

I lost Rose in a pretty nasty gunfight, and decided to let it be.  She was a bit creepy anyways.  Oh and I finally found Angela Deth or whatever.  Honestly I'm struggling to find companions, but I'm having a blast with my core party of me, my wife, and my two kids.  

[Cantousent]

It's funny.  I've cleared a bunch of infected places, both the Ag center and Highpool. 

(Poor bastards in Highpool, I did Ag Center first)

  I went back to the Ag center after clearing the last infected place and discovered a safe I had overlooked for a long time.  Anyhow, searching for ways to get rid of concussion, I discovered I'm ****ed.  No way to get rid of the effect without an NPC doctor?  I've got a doctor in my party who is totally awesome at doctoring, which appears to be a more or less useless skill at normal level.  I always play games on normal first, then hard, and then bragging rights.  (For the record, I do not use 'bragging rights' as a pejorative.)  So, next run, I'll be like Grom and not build a good medic and instead use Doctor whatsherface... Rose I think... as my doctor.  Maybe I'll need to use doctorin' more than three times at the same point in *that* game.  I also did a search for exploding pod fragments.  They're white in the WoW manner and so they cannot be junk, but I have found no use for them yet.

 

I will say that I chew the hell out of everything so far on normal level, but I don't mind.  I figure this is my basic fun run where I enjoy the story.  I'll get into harder mode after I'm done.

 

This game is really kick-ass.  I've enjoyed it immensely and it gives me a lot of confidence in Numenera.  I'm really looking forward to that one.  I'm also looking forward PoE.  I think of PoE as being a little less campy and... schizophrenic?  ...But I've enjoyed the retro culture references in WL2.  Great game!

 

EDIT:  I forgot that it's spoiler not just spoil to use the tag right.

Edited October 1, 2014 by Cantousent

[Enoch]

Is it really that much of a spoiler to say that the early-game settlement you don't rescue has a bad time? 

 

I helped Highpool, but I haven't cleared out the place where those raiders came from yet.  (Hopefully there isn't some kind of time limit on that!)  Instead, I checked out the Ag Center ruins and went to the Rail Nomads' location.  Which is rather huge. 

 

It's a bit irritating that the game gives you a joinable NPC option at Rail Nomads whose non-combat skills are Lockpick and Safecracking.  I'd be surprised if anybody got this far into the game naturally without already building those skills in one of their characters.  Apparently, the Certified Powergamer strategy of choice is to run to Rail Nomads before you complete the Radio Tower, just to get this guy.  Combine that with Rose for medical and computers, and you can afford to build your own characters with a greater combat focus.  

[Hurlshort]

My doctor skill has allowed me to save a few lives in battle before they bled out, as well as cut free the researchers in the ag center.

[Raithe]

My doctor skill has allowed me to save a few lives in battle before they bled out, as well as cut free the researchers in the ag center.

 

You can also use Outdoorsman to rescue those people if you've got it high enough...

[Keyrock]

I lost Rose in a pretty nasty gunfight, and decided to let it be.  She was a bit creepy anyways.  

I originally wound up leaving Rose at Ag Center after clearing that place out for RPing reasons, but then changed my mind and put her back on my team.  I've grow rather fond of the old crow.  She gets so many skill points per level that I've had her develop lockpick, smart ass, and kiss ass, in addition to the computer, surgeon, and handgun skills she already had.  She's not great in a fight (unless you have her learn a better weapon), but she's a great jack of all trades outside of combat.  I already had a medic with some surgery skill when I picked her up, but I definitely don't mind having overlapping skills in that department.  In fact, I may have a 3rd character pick up a level or two in surgery for contingency reasons.

Edited October 1, 2014 by Keyrock

[Cantousent]

I cleared out the wreckers' place, but the place was actually small.  I should probably go back and scour it because there has to be something I'm missing.  There were a lot of bad guys, and I had to fight them all at the same time, but that was it.

 

I'm sure surgery is something that I will use much more in higher levels, but medic is what I use now.  Maybe there's something wrong with how I'm using it, but I can't use surgery for anything other than reviving someone who's bleeding out.  Every time I try to use surgery on someone, I get the message that none of the items in my inventory will do anything, and I have sutures, pain relievers, antibiotics, etc etc etc.  Rose doesn't even have medic.  In fact, because I was so close to it already, and because my tech expert has a 10 intelligence, there's nothing other than surgery that Rose does better than anyone in my party.  I still have her strictly for RP reasons, but when I play Ranger and Supreme Jerk,  I'll either have to leave surgery and tech specifically for her, or I'll have to skip her.  I just wish I could find out what the deal is with surgery, and what I could use to remove Rose's concussion.  Maybe I'll have someone get diseased with a non quest related condition and it'll be useful then?

 

Then again, apart from alarm disarming being virtually useless, I have *never* used repair.  There has been no situation where something else hasn't even come in just as handy or moreso.  As far as I can tell, dialogue options haven't done that much either, although I did get a kickass weapon almost immediately in the game due to smart ass.  The king of the non-combat skills has been lockpicking, safe cracking, tech, and explosives.  I've had to batter down a few doors, and I've used outdoorsman once I think.  I've wasted points in things that have turned out to be useless thus far, but I'm almost not all that far into the game yet.  I've cleared about seven locations right now I think.  ...And I never know when to use spoiler tags, but I try to be cautious.  <.<

 

EDIT:  Oh, that's right, Rose did have to cut out the plant trapped folks, so surgery was useful there.  Makes it imminently more useful than repair thus far.

Edited October 1, 2014 by Cantousent

[Hurlshort]

I'm guessing alarm disabling will be more useful down the road, sounds like something you'd need when dealing with places where robots hang out.  But yeah, a couple skills could probably be combined.  Like mechanical repair and toaster repair would work better together, and really alarm disarm should just be a part of demolitions or electronics.

 

 

Still, I have a ton of fun with all the skill checks.  It might be the highlight of the game, getting a balanced party that can methodically work their way through traps and everything else to clear an area.

[Enoch]

I think you can use Alarm Disarm in place of CompSci on some locks.  As far as I can tell, mechanical repair is useful mostly in that it can fix locked items that you've jammed with a critical failure. 

 

I've used Surgeon for things other than party-healing in both Highpool and Rail Nomads. 

 

After running with Vulture's Cry a bit, I've determined that I really prefer not to have any Animal Whisperer at all.  Those little beasts get in the way in combat far too much, particularly if you recruit one that thinks it's a melee fighter.  The annoyance factor outweighs the buffs they bring. 

[Tale]

Good news, it runs on my computer smoothly.

 

Bad news is it's a bad FPS smooth and would likely cause headaches, so I won't be playing it.

[Keyrock]

I don't find animals an annoyance in battle, but it shatters my heart whenever any of them gets killed.

[Cantousent]

You're kidding me!  I can repair broken locks?  I thought that critical failures on broken locks meant you could never get the stuff!  I'm not going to hunt down broken locks behind me at this point, but that's damned good info for future.  ...And it means that repair actually has some use.

[Keyrock]

You're kidding me!  I can repair broken locks?  I thought that critical failures on broken locks meant you could never get the stuff!  I'm not going to hunt down broken locks behind me at this point, but that's damned good info for future.  ...And it means that repair actually has some use.

If it's a gate/door, you can also brute force it if you broke the lock.

[Enoch]

I don't find animals an annoyance in battle, but it shatters my heart whenever any of them gets killed.

 

It's worst when a high-CI melee opponent initiates combat before you can get into a proper formation.  The enemy is in your face, all your characters, NPCs, and animals are clustered together, and you can't walk through a tile occupied by another character.  Alternately, the enemy is far off and you're got your folks in alert mode waiting for them to get close, and that damned rat charges straight at them.

 

 

You're kidding me!  I can repair broken locks?  I thought that critical failures on broken locks meant you could never get the stuff!  I'm not going to hunt down broken locks behind me at this point, but that's damned good info for future.  ...And it means that repair actually has some use.

If it's a gate/door, you can also brute force it if you broke the lock.

 

And, if all else fails, there's always good ol' TNT. 

Edited October 1, 2014 by Enoch

[Gromnir]

wasteland 2 character generation explained via a 43 second video clip

 

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Cantousent]

Why do I get the impression *I'm* the guy choosing poorly in that video?  :rueful grin:  Anyhow, to paraphrase Niles, the only thing better than a great game is a great game with some small flaw you can pick at all evening.

[Volourn]

 People like Gromnir prefer dumded down no thinking games. It's embarassing.  He should stick to games like Mario.

 

\WL2 is awesome. I love the fact the game doesn't babysit and hand hold your hand liek you are some 6 month old.

 

WL2 > PE + DOS

 

No contest.

[Gromnir]

am thinking that if vol likes character generation in wl2, that in itself is compelling evidence that the inxile design is dumb. to make smart character generation choices in wl2 requires meta-knowledge rather than reason or intelligence. bad design. all one needs do is review this thread and see how many otherwise intelligent gamers got X hours into playing wl2 before they realized that they borked their rangers in the first five minutes, during character generation. am all in favor o' giving the player hard choices, but the fact o' the matter is that without meta-knowledge, you won't know if you "chose poorly" til fifteen hours into the game.  following developer boards to avoid bad skills or character builds doesn't make a player smart, and the fact that such a precaution is a prerequisite to avoid reasonable-but-terrible builds is a flaw in design o' the game.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Volourn]

" to make smart character generation choices in wl2 requires meta-knowledge rather than reason or intelligence. "

 

No. No meta knowledge is needed.

 

 

"all one needs do is review this thread and see how many otherwise intelligent gamers got X hours into playing wl2 before they realized that they borked their rangers in the first five minutes, during character generation"

 

You are overrating people's intelligence.

 

 

WL2 has flaws but character creation isn't one of them. Nice try though.

[ManifestedISO]

My doctor skill has allowed me to save a few lives in battle before they bled out, as well as cut free the researchers in the ag center.

 

Oh, for the love of ... christ, what else is actionable. 

[Marceror]

I do like how there's often multiple skills that can be used to solve a particular problem, or if that doesn't work you can often just shoot or blow stuff up.

 

ION, I finally made it to CA the other night. Even though I haven't done very much there yet I'm digging how this part of the game has a totally different vibe than AZ did. Los Angeles has always been an interesting area, and that apparently is no different for post apocalyptic L.A. The folks you meet around here make everyone in AZ seem boring and reserved. The crazy really took hold in L.A., t'would seem.

 

It was a trip going to "Cerritos", a fairly non-descript, "working man's" suburb of LA that I drive through every day going to and from work. I think this part of the game is going to be hitting a lot closer to home, literally.

 

And the difficultly level definitely ratchets up a few notches in CA. I hope you all invested in getting your CI up, as I suggested several pages ago!

[Hurlshort]

 

My doctor skill has allowed me to save a few lives in battle before they bled out, as well as cut free the researchers in the ag center.

 

Oh, for the love of ... christ, what else is actionable. 

 

 

If it makes you feel better, I shot one with my plasma gun and cut up another with my knife before figuring that out.  

[WDeranged]

This game keeps handing my ass to me, If I hadn't recruited Angela and dropped on a few lucky loot drops to upgrade my team's weapons I'd be totally screwed, I also picked up Ralphy to use as cannon fodder but whenever I face more than a couple of tougher enemies I get slaughtered 

[ManifestedISO]

 

 

My doctor skill has allowed me to save a few lives in battle before they bled out, as well as cut free the researchers in the ag center.

 

Oh, for the love of ... christ, what else is actionable. 

 

 

If it makes you feel better, I shot one with my plasma gun and cut up another with my knife before figuring that out.  

 

 

Makes me feel worse, actually, since all of those scientists died horribly while I watched, standing, waiting for a prompt. At least you figured out there's a skill to save them with ... I just let 'em die. Meta game ... I don't can has it.