You get your companions at like level 1 or 2 (act 1 of the game). So you can build them up more than you can these BB characters.

Edited December 14, 201411 yr by Shevek

Although given that attributes and class type won't change, that's a comparatively minor difference and certainly doesn't mean an adventurer's hall party is closer to what will happen for most players in game than the BB characters.

 

Anyway, we're getting sidetracked from the original point, which was that if players needed four short rules to get to play on PotD, those are pretty good.

This is a tangential question, as I was thinking about PotD: The adventurers you hire from the Hall, can you level them up from 1 to N-1 ( N=your level), or do they come already leveled to N-1? I'm a sad panda if the latter is true.

If it's anything like it is in the beta, it's all the above. You pay a certain amount of money per level of custom adventurer.

AH companions are hired as level 1 characters, and then you level them up to N-1 (or up to the level you bought, you can buy a level 3 companion even if you're level 5).

Wizards can make a decent difference if used correctly though it helps to combine the effects of multiple spells be they there own or someone elses.

For example Web + Fireball tends to do 80+ damage to every one in the area of effect (I can often hit 5-6 with one FB, that's 400-500 damage). While the spell that does short term AoE paralyse, stops an enemy and turns them into a big fat target (-100 Deflection, -100 Reflex, plus other big negatives) the next few attacks from any one will be critical hits.

 

Wizards can do a reasonable amount of damage especially if you hit the enemy with what every spell they're weakest against good Def, attack Ref or Will, High Slash/blunt Damage threshold/resistance burn them etc, but it's some of there spells side effects that are particularly nasty. However you need to know what the side effects are and actively exploit them when the wizard triggers them.

If you group a bunch of enemies in a corridor and they're queuing up for your tank, the wizard can be very powerful. I had one playthrough where BB Wizard went from least damage in the party to most damage just over the course of the spider caves.

 

It's a bit misleading, however, because not only is that dps highly situational, it's also more of a "bully" dps than a key dps. The mobs the wizard exterminated with such aplomb were of very minor threat to the party, and little more damage would've been taken had the wizard been absent.

 

In the melee,the wizards AoE spells are impractical because they do so much damage to allies (rather more than the mobs do), and although the BG2 habit of leading with your most powerful AoEs evidently dies hard, practically speaking in PoE it's more effective to position your tank and off-tank and engage and then worry about dps.

Will this game reward me in any meaningful way is I play it on increased difficulty? (note that I said meaningful, so achievements are out of the question)

Ya, it rewards you with difficulty. You get to pat yourself on the back and regale your friends with stories of your exploits.

@Grotesque: Does Dark Souls reward you when defeating a difficult foe, or do you feel you accomplished something (in Dark Souls) when you defeat a foe you've struggled with? Does it matter what loot the dude had? If he was a challenge, a difficult obstacle, and when you finally defeat him, is that not a reward in itself?

@Shevek: It's not to brag to friends. Internal rewards, rather than external rewards. Instead of getting confetti in your face and some item a la "Who's a good boy?"-reward, you get to be "the boss" yourself. You take control of the doggie bone yourself, rather than having it handed to you

And after reading that @Osvir I'll be definetely playing on PotD !!!

A week ago I made a bet with the team that nobody on the team could play through the entire game under all of the following conditions: solo (no companions), Trial of Iron, Expert Mode, and Path of the Damned. I told the team I would buy the winner a dinner of their choosing.

 

I am almost certain that I will not have to make good on that bet.

A week ago I made a bet with the team that nobody on the team could play through the entire game under all of the following conditions: solo (no companions), Trial of Iron, Expert Mode, and Path of the Damned. I told the team I would buy the winner a dinner of their choosing.

 

I am almost certain that I will not have to make good on that bet.

Do I sense a challenge for someone to post their playthrough on twitch or youtube under stated conditions after the game releases?

A week ago I made a bet with the team that nobody on the team could play through the entire game under all of the following conditions: solo (no companions), Trial of Iron, Expert Mode, and Path of the Damned. I told the team I would buy the winner a dinner of their choosing.

Tell everyone attempting that that they must name their single character "The Damned."

 

A week ago I made a bet with the team that nobody on the team could play through the entire game under all of the following conditions: solo (no companions), Trial of Iron, Expert Mode, and Path of the Damned. I told the team I would buy the winner a dinner of their choosing.

 

I am almost certain that I will not have to make good on that bet.

Do I sense a challenge for someone to post their playthrough on twitch or youtube under stated conditions after the game releases?

 

 

Oh, I am sure someone will do it. I just don't think anyone on our team can do it. (That's right... I am calling them out publically)

 

 

A week ago I made a bet with the team that nobody on the team could play through the entire game under all of the following conditions: solo (no companions), Trial of Iron, Expert Mode, and Path of the Damned. I told the team I would buy the winner a dinner of their choosing.

 

I am almost certain that I will not have to make good on that bet.

Do I sense a challenge for someone to post their playthrough on twitch or youtube under stated conditions after the game releases?

 

 

Oh, I am sure someone will do it. I just don't think anyone on our team can do it. (That's right... I am calling them out publically)

 

 

We shall see.

Oh, I am sure someone will do it. I just don't think anyone on our team can do it. (That's right... I am calling them out publically)

I don't think that's doable. I don't think anyone did that in the IE games, where the equivalent is: no reloads, insane diff (2x damage from enemies), solo. And those games were much more solo-friendly than PoE is. Two out of three, yes. All three, no.

 

But I would be kind of happy to be proven wrong.

 

Oh, I am sure someone will do it. I just don't think anyone on our team can do it. (That's right... I am calling them out publically)

I don't think that's doable. I don't think anyone did that in the IE games, where the equivalent is: no reloads, insane diff (2x damage from enemies), solo. And those games were much more solo-friendly than PoE is. Two out of three, yes. All three, no.

 

But I would be kind of happy to be proven wrong.

 

I did it, I just can't prove it. 

It shall be done!

 

*Scurries off, hell-bent on sacrificing the precious remainder of my lifespan just to prove it*

I don't think the game is designed to be played solo

 

Oh, I am sure someone will do it. I just don't think anyone on our team can do it. (That's right... I am calling them out publically)

I don't think that's doable. I don't think anyone did that in the IE games, where the equivalent is: no reloads, insane diff (2x damage from enemies), solo. And those games were much more solo-friendly than PoE is. Two out of three, yes. All three, no.

 

But I would be kind of happy to be proven wrong.

 

I don't think the game is designed to be played solo

 

I've had moments in the BB where it has felt doable but... I haven't succeeded. Close calls, on Hard (not on PotD with Expert or Trial of Iron). Had a Solo Wizard and on another one a Solo Barbarian. Barbarian stood no chance, but the Wizard had potential.

 

What I'm saying is that, I think it can be doable if you count the math right, sneak past the right enemies, complete quests, compare stats with opponents, and determine already before you begin the battle if you will win or lose. If a group of enemies have a total of 200 HP and you only have damage for 150 HP, then you can determine that "Well, I've lost" before even jumping in.

 

EDIT: It also depends on how docile NPC's react to fighting I think, like in Friendly Arm's Inn you can get some backup from the guards there when fighting Mr. T (don't remember his name, but I remember it started with a "T", Tannosh, Tan---... Tar---? ... *shrug*). Point is, if, say, Lord Harond's Guard would help out in the fight if you bait Medreth's group into the village... such things would make a Solo play more doable too.

Edited December 21, 201411 yr by Osvir

I'll probably try it with a pacifist run. In F:NV if you max out skills like Sneak and Speech you can play through the whole game, with completing most of the side quests, without killing any people. I think you can also avoid killing any animals as well, but I'm not as certain about that. The final boss you can trash talk until he cries and runs away. If PoE is set up similarly and you're very, very careful I'm thinking PotD will be the most doable that way as long as you have patience. I'm excited to find out! 

You might be able to pull of quests without combat but that might end up a very conflicted personality and involve just letting the badguys do what they want.

Even if some bandits slaughter a bunch of women and little baby children, my conscience will be clear knowing I did not murder anyone even if that decision resulted in said bandits murdering a bunch of innocents I could have protected!

 

I typically try to do pacifist runs through a game because I enjoy that particular challenge. I'll be the first to admit that when it comes to some people, NOT killing them does more harm than good. I just like to see how things play out if I don't kill anyone. To quote Batman, "I'm not going to kill you, but I don't have to save you." With a more adult theme to this game I'll be very interested to see where pacifism takes you.