Itemization feels bland

[Yonjuro]

 

 

...

 If PoE doesn't have items that people remember and argue about a decade and a half later we can reconvene and agree that the items were too bland. I hope that doesn't happen and so here we are discussing how to prevent it in this very thread. Carry on.

 

A good analogy would be magic the gathering.

 

 That might be a great analogy, but I don't really know anything about Magic the Gathering so it doesn't help me. 

 

... They let you play in a completly different way and enabled new strategies. They were not more powerfull than other decks but added more options to the game. I personaly think its better to aim for the second type of awesome items.

 

 

 Wouldn't the Staff of the Magi be in that category? I mean due to the instant invisibility - that opens up new tactical possibilities. As a staff, it hits as a plus one weapon (but with a plus 5 enchantment - so it hits everything, just not very hard).

 

 Also Carsomyr to some extent (because if you weren't a Paladin you could take grandmastery in two handed swords, so Carsomyr denerfs the Paladin class in terms of it's use as a sword). The dispel on hit gives you a new way to deal with Mages. That's not hugely overpowered.  BG 1 and 2 both had arrows that did that. These items make it more viable to have a party without a Mage - that opens up new party configurations.

 

Or, if you still don't like those, make a up a weapon for PoE. What will give you new strategic possibilities?

[Iucounu]

Wouldn't the Staff of the Magi be in that category? I mean due to the instant invisibility - that opens up new tactical possibilities. As a staff, it hits as a plus one weapon (but with a plus 5 enchantment - so it hits everything, just not very hard).

I think the staff of the Magi is a bad example to demonstrate how brilliant BG2 itemization were, since it was just ridiculously op. You could go as often invisible as you like, which basically made you invincible against everything that couldn't see through invisibility. Perhaps it would have been a cool weapon for TOB endgame, but for SoA it definately needed nerfing.

Edited August 25, 2014 by Iucounu

[Stun]

Obviously people who refer to the Staff of Magi as "OP" would restrain themselves from using it in the first place.

For me it's not even an issue of restraint. I get it in all my playthroughs, then I'd equip it on my mage, then I'd...forget to use it most of the time. At best I'd use its per-day Spell trap power before a big fight. and that's about it.

 

The reason is that it's a melee weapon. Mages are best when they're spamming their spells, not spanking people with their staves. Had the staff of the magi been a sling, or some other missile weapon, that would be a different story. But it isn't. what it IS, is a weapon that invites a mage to enter the fray and take combat risks in return for its very useful Dispel power, which only one other weapon in the entire game possesses (Carsomyr), and Carsomyr happens to be *better* than the Staff of the magi. When I'm playing a paladin, Carsomyr gets used. Exclusively. In all its glory.

Edited August 25, 2014 by Stun

[Yonjuro]

 

Wouldn't the Staff of the Magi be in that category? I mean due to the instant invisibility - that opens up new tactical possibilities. As a staff, it hits as a plus one weapon (but with a plus 5 enchantment - so it hits everything, just not very hard).

I think the staff of the Magi is a bad example to demonstrate how brilliant BG2 itemization were, since it was just ridiculously op. You could go as often invisible as you like, which basically made you invincible against everything that couldn't see through invisibility. Perhaps it would have been a cool weapon for TOB endgame, but for SoA it definately needed nerfing.

 

 

 Fair enough and, in games where I've used it, I tended to get it pretty late in SoA so I have mostly used it in ToB.

 

The point of the post wasn't that these were the two best examples of weapons in BG2, it was that these are examples of items that enable new tactics as per the post I was responding to (maybe OP tactics, as you point out).

 

 I will repeat the question in my previous post: if you don't like those examples, what kind of items would you like to see in PoE to open up new strategic possibilities?

[Stun]

Strategic possibilities? Well that's pretty tough since anyone can use anything in this game. But I suppose we can come up with a list of just cool magic items.

 

- Sword of hobbling - a weapon that causes the hobble state on the target. Of course, the minute you give me such a weapon, I'm going to have my rogue equip it so that I can reap all the Rogue class's benefits against Hobbled targets lol. (ack! that almost qualifies as degenerate gameplay/exploit. Forget that pipe dream then. Sawyer won't allow it)

 

-Boots of Avoidance - No, not the BG/IWD series version. Something better. Make them grant their wearer the ability to freely disengage 3/day

 

-Bullet Proof shield - there are rifles and pistols in this game, so let there be a shield made of Kevlar

 

- Rod of absorption - Just like the Bg2 version

 

- Necklace of fireballs- (like the one in the beta, only make it work. lol)

 

- Ring of beetle summoning - (tee-hee)

 

-Ring/cloak/amulet of Invisibility - (have you noticed that there's no invisibility spells in this game?)

 

- Otiluke's Arcane Veil Gloves -now even your Barbarian can engulf himself in a giant, not-very-translucent sphere that deflects incoming blows for a few seconds. 1/encounter

 

-Hammer of Resolve sapping -every successful hit drains the target's resolve by 1 point.

 

- Helm of Seeing double -grants its wearer the ability to cast mirror image 3/day

 

- Staff of the Magi

+5 intellect

+5 accuracy

user can cast minoletta's missile 1/encounter

cure serious stamina wounds (or whatever that priest spell is called) 1/encounter

 

 

er...that's all for now. But I can do this all day! Thinking up magic items is actually quite a fun exercise.

Edited August 25, 2014 by Stun

[Iucounu]

 

 

 

Wouldn't the Staff of the Magi be in that category? I mean due to the instant invisibility - that opens up new tactical possibilities. As a staff, it hits as a plus one weapon (but with a plus 5 enchantment - so it hits everything, just not very hard).

I think the staff of the Magi is a bad example to demonstrate how brilliant BG2 itemization were, since it was just ridiculously op. You could go as often invisible as you like, which basically made you invincible against everything that couldn't see through invisibility. Perhaps it would have been a cool weapon for TOB endgame, but for SoA it definately needed nerfing.

 

 

 Fair enough and, in games where I've used it, I tended to get it pretty late in SoA so I have mostly used it in ToB.

 

The point of the post wasn't that these were the two best examples of weapons in BG2, it was that these are examples of items that enable new tactics as per the post I was responding to (maybe OP tactics, as you point out).

 

 I will repeat the question in my previous post: if you don't like those examples, what kind of items would you like to see in PoE to open up new strategic possibilities?

 

I guess dispell effects (or some other strong effect), on a weapon only a mage can use is a good idea, which can lead to new tactics, at least if you don't play a muscle wizard.

Something similiar to the Ring of the Ram in BG2, where you can push, or even pull enemies would be interesting and powerful imo, especially with PE's engagment mechanics. 

Since prebuffing won't be possible, an item that casts a certain buff on enemy contact, or even has a perma buff, would be especially powerful and memorable at least.

 

 

 

Obviously people who refer to the Staff of Magi as "OP" would restrain themselves from using it in the first place.

For me it's not even an issue of restraint. I get it in all my playthroughs, then I'd equip it on my mage, then I'd...forget to use it most of the time. At best I'd use its per-day Spell trap power before a big fight. and that's about it.

The reason is that it's a melee weapon. Mages are best when they're spamming their spells, not spanking people with their staves. Had the staff of the magi been a sling, or some other missile weapon, that would be a different story. But it isn't. what it IS, is a weapon that invites a mage to enter the fray and take combat risks in return for its very useful Dispel power, which only one other weapon in the entire game possesses (Carsomyr), and Carsomyr happens to be *better* than the Staff of the magi. When I'm playing a paladin, Carsomyr gets used. Exclusively. In all its glory.

 

It's not so much about giving the mage more attacking power but about the defense. You can cast a spell like fireball, than go immediately invisible, wait or keep your distance from the opponents, cast another quick spell, perhaps even debuff an enemy who has restistance spells up with the staff, go invisible again without any risk. With this tactic, melee opponents don't even have a chance to touch you. If an enemy casts true sight, it only costs you like half a second to go invisble again immediately, so it isn't really much of an effort. I guess in most playthroughs it doesn't really make much of a difference and is just a fun, and yes, memorable gimmick, but when I had difficulty mods installed and really wanted a challenge, I normally didn't use it, especially if I was soloing for some time.

[Malekith]

 

 

 

http://kotaku.com/ho...-rpg-1625516832

 

Thats the Josh Sawyer balance article. You can read their that they did zero balance bevor the beta. The difference is that they try to balance the game.

So?

 

I can show you a 2010 interview with Mike Laidlaw where he swears that Dragon Age 2 will be a deep and compelling epic.

 

 

If you dont believe in the developers than why did you spend money on it?

 

Because Avellone, Ziets, Festenmaker. I believe the story,writing,setting will carry the game, no matter what system they use. But i believe the game will be good despite it's system and gameplay and not because of it. Something like PS:T.  But i will be thrilled if Sawyer proves me wrong.

 

If he doesn't, and since i disagree with many of his design decisions at a very fundamental level, i will back the next Obs. kickstarter only if they promise a completely diferent system and Sawyer isn't part of the game. Else i'll be happy to buy it when it comes out and i see the reviews and you tube videos.

[Greensleeve]

 

 

 

 

http://kotaku.com/ho...-rpg-1625516832

 

Thats the Josh Sawyer balance article. You can read their that they did zero balance bevor the beta. The difference is that they try to balance the game.

So?

 

I can show you a 2010 interview with Mike Laidlaw where he swears that Dragon Age 2 will be a deep and compelling epic.

 

 

If you dont believe in the developers than why did you spend money on it?

 

Because Avellone, Ziets, Festenmaker. I believe the story,writing,setting will carry the game, no matter what system they use. But i believe the game will be good despite it's system and gameplay and not because of it. Something like PS:T.  But i will be thrilled if Sawyer proves me wrong.

 

If he doesn't, and since i disagree with many of his design decisions at a very fundamental level, i will back the next Obs. kickstarter only if they promise a completely diferent system and Sawyer isn't part of the game. Else i'll be happy to buy it when it comes out and i see the reviews and you tube videos.

 

 

See this is where a lot of the disagreement comes in. Sure I backed the game because of the writing and the writers. They're great and Obsidian rightly has the reputation it has. However, the thing that has made me most consistently excited about the game since the end of the kickstarter has been Josh's design decisions and philosophy. To really see his system design in action, F:NV is the place to go. To apply this to the topic at hand, I felt that the guns and weapons of F:NV, which were to a rather large extent designed by Josh, were very varied and versatile and really felt unique. Many types of guns and a rather large variation within each gun type. Worked great, and I hope we'll be seeing something like it in PoE. 

[Danvil]

Personally I think crafting in an RPG is always more an obligation than fun... If you can craft the most powerful and unique items it feels like you have to do it because you will never be able to get that item otherwise. I prefer a system where for example you find a broken weapon and bring it to a blacksmith and he tells you to go to a specific spot and find some rare ressource so that he can fix it for you. Or you find a part of a weapon and have to search the other fragments. This is much more fun than collecting every pile of rock or pick any plant you see just in the case you will ever need it in some recipe.

[Seari]

Because Avellone, Ziets, Festenmaker. I believe the story,writing,setting will carry the game, no matter what system they use. But i believe the game will be good despite it's system and gameplay and not because of it. Something like PS:T.  But i will be thrilled if Sawyer proves me wrong.

 

If he doesn't, and since i disagree with many of his design decisions at a very fundamental level, i will back the next Obs. kickstarter only if they promise a completely diferent system and Sawyer isn't part of the game. Else i'll be happy to buy it when it comes out and i see the reviews and you tube videos.

 

I couldn't agree with you more.

[Trodat]

Personally I think crafting in an RPG is always more an obligation than fun... If you can craft the most powerful and unique items it feels like you have to do it because you will never be able to get that item otherwise. I prefer a system where for example you find a broken weapon and bring it to a blacksmith and he tells you to go to a specific spot and find some rare ressource so that he can fix it for you. Or you find a part of a weapon and have to search the other fragments. This is much more fun than collecting every pile of rock or pick any plant you see just in the case you will ever need it in some recipe.

Final Fantasy XI had this kind of system. The game had relic weapons that were useless on their own. You could improve them by collecting, difficult to obtain "special" items OR bying them from other people that had collected them. It took a HUGE amount of time and effort to upgrade said relic weapon to its full glory.

[Shevek]

Frankly, I love Sawyer's design changes. I hope they make many more games that are this forward looking (OR MORE SO). My one concern with PoE when I backed it was that it would be too much on an homage to the old games and that it wouldn't improve upon those antiquated systems. I am happy they had the balls to do this game right. 

 

They balanced the stats far better than they were in the IE games. They have a pretty balanced class system (far more balanced than the IE games). They got rid of crappy "rounds." They got rid of Monty Hall itemization. They put in an enchantment system that is loads better than the Cormwell/Cespenar crap. They put in a health/stamina system that makes sense and promotes both strategic and tactical play (and limits rest spam). They have a trait system to add character development after level 1. They made it so the casters are not the only ones who can do crap. They partitioned out the spells and abilities so that all casting classes did not simply pull abilities from 1 of 2 pools. They have an innovative difficulty setting to challenge you how yu want to be challenged. That is just what we have seen. I can't wait to see the two cities, the improved stronghold, the reputation system, the full trait options and all the rest.

 

Some people wish some of these elements were a bit better. However, their inclusion AT ALL makes the game far more deep and involving than the core design of the IE titles. I am happy that now I have a new TRUE crpg to master. Once they make combat feedback better and fix some bugs, this game will be good to go. Frankly, if all I wanted was a slight tweaking of the IE games, I would install the IE games and mod them. I've done that. I want more. Obsidian delivered.

 

Thanks Obsidian. Your game is looking good.

Edited August 25, 2014 by Shevek

[Seari]

Frankly, I love Sawyer's design changes. I hope they make many more games that are this forward looking (OR MORE SO). My one concern with PoE when I backed it was that it would be too much on an homage to the old games and that it wouldn't improve upon those antiquated systems. I am happy they had the balls to do this game right. 

 

They balanced the stats far better than they were in the IE games. They have a pretty balanced class system (far more balanced than the IE games). They got rid of crappy "rounds." They got rid of Monty Hall itemization. They put in an enchantment system that is loads better than the Cormwell/Cespenar crap. They put in a health/stamina system that makes sense and promotes both strategic and tactical play (and limits rest spam). They have a trait system to add character development after level 1. They made it so the casters are not the only ones who can do crap. They partitioned out the spells and abilities so that all casting classes did not simply pull abilities from 1 of 2 pools. They have an innovative difficulty setting to challenge you how yu want to be challenged. That is just what we have seen. I can't wait to see the two cities, the improved stronghold, the reputation system, the full trait options and all the rest.

 

Some people wish some of these elements were a bit better. However, their inclusion AT ALL makes the game far more deep and involving than the core design of the IE titles. I am happy that now I have a new TRUE crpg to master. Once they make combat feedback better and fix some bugs, this game will be good to go. Frankly, if all I wanted was a slight tweaking of the IE games, I would install the IE games and mod them. I've done that. I want more. Obsidian delivered.

 

Thanks Obsidian. Your game is looking good.

Is there a dislike function on these forums per chance?

[Malekith]

 

 

 

 

 

http://kotaku.com/ho...-rpg-1625516832

 

Thats the Josh Sawyer balance article. You can read their that they did zero balance bevor the beta. The difference is that they try to balance the game.

So?

 

I can show you a 2010 interview with Mike Laidlaw where he swears that Dragon Age 2 will be a deep and compelling epic.

 

 

If you dont believe in the developers than why did you spend money on it?

 

Because Avellone, Ziets, Festenmaker. I believe the story,writing,setting will carry the game, no matter what system they use. But i believe the game will be good despite it's system and gameplay and not because of it. Something like PS:T.  But i will be thrilled if Sawyer proves me wrong.

 

If he doesn't, and since i disagree with many of his design decisions at a very fundamental level, i will back the next Obs. kickstarter only if they promise a completely diferent system and Sawyer isn't part of the game. Else i'll be happy to buy it when it comes out and i see the reviews and you tube videos.

 

 

See this is where a lot of the disagreement comes in. Sure I backed the game because of the writing and the writers. They're great and Obsidian rightly has the reputation it has. However, the thing that has made me most consistently excited about the game since the end of the kickstarter has been Josh's design decisions and philosophy. To really see his system design in action, F:NV is the place to go. To apply this to the topic at hand, I felt that the guns and weapons of F:NV, which were to a rather large extent designed by Josh, were very varied and versatile and really felt unique. Many types of guns and a rather large variation within each gun type. Worked great, and I hope we'll be seeing something like it in PoE. 

 

See, since i didn't like New Vegas all that much, and IWD2 was my least favorite IE game as far as combat goes, i'm not a huge fan of Sawyer. And his core design beliefs raises alarms for me.

Ironicaly, i don't have as much problem with his attribute or balanced approach like most people here, and i believe that a fun combat could be achieved even with Sawyer's restrictions. Boring itemization, micromanagment nightmare, and not a solid IE/RTS style of combat feedback instead of the NWN2 abortion are the things that would outright kill this product for me, and i think Sawyer wants to fix all that so i'm not overly conserned. I excpect to find the combat "good for what it is", and mostly ignore it.

 

But  even if the combat is fun, i would have way more fun with not unified mechanics (working on a per case way instead of Sawyer's universal applicability) hard counters galore, and balance that is a priority only as long as it doesn't infringe on things that make the game interesting (narrative, setting, itemization, interesting magic that isn't damage/buff/debuff all take priority.

So the absence of Sawyer as a Project Lead would improve the next game for me. I believe he is a good system designer on low level (if the broad core system direction isn't dictated by him), and has good creative ideas, but his core philoshophy isn't something i find particularly appealing.

 

And i believe it was a mistake to have him as Lead system designer in a IE successor, as his core design philoshophy is diametricaly opposed to AD&D,which was the core of the IE games.

His ideas would work like a charm in a turn based, classless game (which he would design if he was making his dream game), but shoehorned in a RTwP IE game doesn't work so good.( the excess micromanagement i mentioned above, the unified mechanics etc.)

Edited August 25, 2014 by Malekith

[Shevek]

 

Frankly, I love Sawyer's design changes. I hope they make many more games that are this forward looking (OR MORE SO). My one concern with PoE when I backed it was that it would be too much on an homage to the old games and that it wouldn't improve upon those antiquated systems. I am happy they had the balls to do this game right. 

 

They balanced the stats far better than they were in the IE games. They have a pretty balanced class system (far more balanced than the IE games). They got rid of crappy "rounds." They got rid of Monty Hall itemization. They put in an enchantment system that is loads better than the Cormwell/Cespenar crap. They put in a health/stamina system that makes sense and promotes both strategic and tactical play (and limits rest spam). They have a trait system to add character development after level 1. They made it so the casters are not the only ones who can do crap. They partitioned out the spells and abilities so that all casting classes did not simply pull abilities from 1 of 2 pools. They have an innovative difficulty setting to challenge you how yu want to be challenged. That is just what we have seen. I can't wait to see the two cities, the improved stronghold, the reputation system, the full trait options and all the rest.

 

Some people wish some of these elements were a bit better. However, their inclusion AT ALL makes the game far more deep and involving than the core design of the IE titles. I am happy that now I have a new TRUE crpg to master. Once they make combat feedback better and fix some bugs, this game will be good to go. Frankly, if all I wanted was a slight tweaking of the IE games, I would install the IE games and mod them. I've done that. I want more. Obsidian delivered.

 

Thanks Obsidian. Your game is looking good.

Is there a dislike function on these forums per chance?

 

No, but people have found the whining function and used it liberally.

[Trodat]

I find it interesting how much people can disagree, when they all presumably liked the IE games.

[Forlorn Hope]

I find it interesting how much people can disagree, when they all presumably liked the IE games.

Tru dat.

[AdaMusic]

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://kotaku.com/ho...-rpg-1625516832

 

Thats the Josh Sawyer balance article. You can read their that they did zero balance bevor the beta. The difference is that they try to balance the game.

So?

 

I can show you a 2010 interview with Mike Laidlaw where he swears that Dragon Age 2 will be a deep and compelling epic.

 

 

If you dont believe in the developers than why did you spend money on it?

 

Because Avellone, Ziets, Festenmaker. I believe the story,writing,setting will carry the game, no matter what system they use. But i believe the game will be good despite it's system and gameplay and not because of it. Something like PS:T.  But i will be thrilled if Sawyer proves me wrong.

 

If he doesn't, and since i disagree with many of his design decisions at a very fundamental level, i will back the next Obs. kickstarter only if they promise a completely diferent system and Sawyer isn't part of the game. Else i'll be happy to buy it when it comes out and i see the reviews and you tube videos.

 

 

See this is where a lot of the disagreement comes in. Sure I backed the game because of the writing and the writers. They're great and Obsidian rightly has the reputation it has. However, the thing that has made me most consistently excited about the game since the end of the kickstarter has been Josh's design decisions and philosophy. To really see his system design in action, F:NV is the place to go. To apply this to the topic at hand, I felt that the guns and weapons of F:NV, which were to a rather large extent designed by Josh, were very varied and versatile and really felt unique. Many types of guns and a rather large variation within each gun type. Worked great, and I hope we'll be seeing something like it in PoE. 

 

See, since i didn't liked New Vegas all that much, and IWD2 was my least favorite IE game as far as combat goes, i'm not a huge fan of Sawyer. And his core design beliefs raises alarms for me.

Ironicaly, i don't have as much problem with his attribute or balanced approach like most people here, and i believe that a fun combat could be achieved even with Sawyer's restrictions. Boring itemization, micromanagment nightmare, and not a solid IE/RTS style of combat feedback instead of the NWN2 abortion are the things that would outright kill this product for me, and i think Sawyer wants to fix all that so i'm not overly conserned. I excpect to find the combat "good for what it is", and mostly ignore it.

 

But  even if the combat is fun, i would have way more fun with not unified mechanics (working on a per case way instead of Sawyer's universal applicability) hard counters galore, and balance that is a priority only as long as it doesn't infringe on things that make the game interesting (narrative, setting, itemization, interesting magic that isn't damage/buff/debuff) all take priority.

So the absence of Sawyer as a Project Lead would improve the next game for me. I believe he is a good system designer on low level (if the broad core system direction isn't dictated by him), and had good creative ideas, but his core philoshophy isn't something i find particularly appealing.

 

And i believe it was a mistake to have him as Lead system designer in a IE successor, as his core design philoshophy is diametricaly opposed to AD&D,which was the core of the IE games.

His ideas would work like a charm in a turn based, classless game (which he would design if he was making his dream game), but shoehorned in a RTwP IE game doesn't work so good.( the excess micromanagement i mentioned above, the unified mechanics etc.)

 

 

I agree. I feel like PoE is being designed as a turn based game that has been awkwardly shifted into "real time space".

[Shevek]

Haha, oh man...

 

...I feel like PoE is being designed as a turn based game that has been awkwardly shifted into "real time space".

 

 

Actually, you may be confused. The IE games are the ones that tried to shoehorn things like "Rounds," "THAC0," "Attacks Per Round," "Initiative" (as "Speed"), "Vancian Magic," Die Based Damage, etc etc etc into RTwP. PE was designed from the ground up as a RTwP title.

[Mayama]

Haha, oh man...

 

...I feel like PoE is being designed as a turn based game that has been awkwardly shifted into "real time space".

 

 

Actually, you may be confused. The IE games are the ones that tried to shoehorn things like "Rounds," "THAC0," "Attacks Per Round," "Initiative" (as "Speed"), "Vancian Magic," Die Based Damage, etc etc etc into RTwP. PE was designed from the ground up as a RTwP title.

 

Afaik they wanted to make BG a turn based game but the producer forced them to make it real time.

[AdaMusic]

Haha, oh man...

 

...I feel like PoE is being designed as a turn based game that has been awkwardly shifted into "real time space".

 

 

Actually, you may be confused. The IE games are the ones that tried to shoehorn things like "Rounds," "THAC0," "Attacks Per Round," "Initiative" (as "Speed"), "Vancian Magic," Die Based Damage, etc etc etc into RTwP. PE was designed from the ground up as a RTwP title.

 

How can I be confused about my feelings? You may be confused though.

[J.E. Sawyer]

So far the only enchatments we have seen is simple numerical values, and percentages, which feels boring. BG2 had weapons that had more varied effects, from (bleeding,stun,life stealing,slow) on hit, to passive buffs and protections(mind shield,negative plane Protection, haste etc.)while equiped, to active abilities and spells.

 

This isn't true.  If you look at the enchantment list, you will see that many of the things you mentioned are in the list (e.g. Wounding, Stunning, Draining are all in the weapon list -- only "slow" from your list isn't) and more.  Though there aren't currently recipes for them, there are also Spellbind effects for weapons and armor (allow you to cast specific spells while the item is equipped) and Spell Holding for shields (go off when the holder is hit with a Crit).  While the core list of effects are likely to remain accessible via the enchantment system, many of the Spellbind and Spell Holding effects are more likely to remain unique properties.

 

We also have to build up to a BG2 level of power.  PoE is not in the same "power band" as BG2.  It's more comparable to somewhere between BG and IWD.

 

Strategic possibilities? Well that's pretty tough since anyone can use anything in this game. But I suppose we can come up with a list of just cool magic items.

 

- Sword of hobbling - a weapon that causes the hobble state on the target. Of course, the minute you give me such a weapon, I'm going to have my rogue equip it so that I can reap all the Rogue class's benefits against Hobbled targets lol. (ack! that almost qualifies as degenerate gameplay/exploit. Forget that pipe dream then. Sawyer won't allow it)

 

There is already a property available in the Backer Beta called Overbearing that inflicts Prone, which also allows your rogue to gain Sneak Attack bonuses.  The Stunning property would also do that, though either can be combined with Vicious to gain additional bonus damage.

[Fluffle]

 

 The Stunning property would also do that, though either can be combined with Vicious to gain additional bonus damage.

 

 

See Stun, they even included a property named after you. What's more to wish for?

 

I wish there was a property or effect named after me

Edited August 25, 2014 by Fluffle

[IndiraLightfoot]

Ring of Sparky Fluffle: For every Deflection within 20 feet radius, in your party and among the enemies, an electrical jolt embraces whatever enemy that is farthest away from the one wearing the ring.

[AdaMusic]

 

So far the only enchatments we have seen is simple numerical values, and percentages, which feels boring. BG2 had weapons that had more varied effects, from (bleeding,stun,life stealing,slow) on hit, to passive buffs and protections(mind shield,negative plane Protection, haste etc.)while equiped, to active abilities and spells.

 

This isn't true.  If you look at the enchantment list, you will see that many of the things you mentioned are in the list (e.g. Wounding, Stunning, Draining are all in the weapon list -- only "slow" from your list isn't) and more.  Though there aren't currently recipes for them, there are also Spellbind effects for weapons and armor (allow you to cast specific spells while the item is equipped) and Spell Holding for shields (go off when the holder is hit with a Crit).  While the core list of effects are likely to remain accessible via the enchantment system, many of the Spellbind and Spell Holding effects are more likely to remain unique properties.

 

We also have to build up to a BG2 level of power.  PoE is not in the same "power band" as BG2.  It's more comparable to somewhere between BG and IWD.

 

Strategic possibilities? Well that's pretty tough since anyone can use anything in this game. But I suppose we can come up with a list of just cool magic items.

 

- Sword of hobbling - a weapon that causes the hobble state on the target. Of course, the minute you give me such a weapon, I'm going to have my rogue equip it so that I can reap all the Rogue class's benefits against Hobbled targets lol. (ack! that almost qualifies as degenerate gameplay/exploit. Forget that pipe dream then. Sawyer won't allow it)

 

There is already a property available in the Backer Beta called Overbearing that inflicts Prone, which also allows your rogue to gain Sneak Attack bonuses.  The Stunning property would also do that, though either can be combined with Vicious to gain additional bonus damage.

 

 

To those of us who dislike enchanting and crafting, how much focus has items with "personality" (i.e. history focused items) been given?

 

I tend to skip crafting and enchanting in all RPGs where roleplaying is in focus.