I'm not a good cRPG player, but I love Obsidian, and I grew up with Black Isle games. Will I be able to "finish" PoE's story?

[alb1221]

Well here's the jist of my story: Josh is a friend of my cousin and got me into PoE with his Facebook posts. I'd been a cRPG player (on easy mode) as a child. The thing is, I never completed them. I was young, and supposedly A.D.D.--but something resonated with me. Everything I did, or had my character say, or everytime a character interacted with me--it felt impactful. Each time I'd play instead of focusing on the main story I'd go to taverns and have lengthy discussions with bizarre drunkens drifters, or wander the countrysides for easier to take down mobs.

Sometimes, I'd just explore the tundra of the spine of the earth--looking for interesting landmarks and running from monsters altogether. Is the easy mode actually easy? I do not play for the combat and I have very little interest in it! I do, however, want to explore and be able to upgrade my characters looks and power and be compitent to hold my own in battle. I admitteldy lack the strategic abilities or experience to do very well in battle in these sorts of titles. Heck, I even have trouble in the dumbled down Bioware titles of late.

I can't wait to play, and I purposely have avoided the beta because I think Josh and Chris have something that really harks back to what truly got me into western RPGs. Do you think I'll actually be able to stick with this one. If so, why?

Thanks so much Obs devs/community,

Alby EF

[Sonntam]

1. Easy mode is rather easy. You still need to grasp the basics, put your tank up front and casters in the back, use abilities and focus on most dangerous mobs... but it's not rocket science. 

2. If anything else fails, there are still cheat codes. If you notice you are stuck, you can go and try to use them.

[Sedrefilos]

Well I guess you'll have to try and see for yourself

After all noone is good at any game by birth. It's not in one's DNA. As you play you get used to the game and you become better. Eventually you become good enough to the extend you want - if you play in easy you'll become good at easy etc - and be able to finish it. Unless the devs have done something broken with the scaling of the difficulty, I don't think one cannot finish a game he or she likes

[Luckmann]

From a difficulty perspective, you shouldn't have any difficulties. As someone with attention issues himself, well, your mileage in that department may vary.

[Havelok]

I'm hoping for a Save Game editor so that I can resolve any issues or bugs that prevent me from finishing a playthrough. Other than that, like most hundred hour RPGs it's just a matter of persistence.

 

Just be aware that the Easy mode takes away creatures from conflicts so you may not be able to flesh out your bestiary as much. 

[Gromnir]

perhaps it would be best to ask josh as josh knows more about the game than does any of us.

 

*shrug*

 

however, we suspect that if you couldn't finish iwd because it failed to hold your attention, poe will be less likely to keep you involved.  iwd games, for better or worse, were considered more dungeon crawl than the other ie games.  iwd were noted as an obsidian inspiration for combat and combat encounters, but less so for character interaction, quest design, story, etc.  iwd games were more focused and on-rails than the other ie games, so if you couldn't finish them...

 

even so, we suggest asking josh.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Failion]

judging from pax gameplay the game looks fairly easy. Not as cheese difficult as low and mid level adnd were you have to deal with how hp scores and hit or miss.

[Cantousent]

I suggest you think about the combat aspects of the game and try to figure out how to improve your tactics.  I'm not being facetious or snotty, just saying that the combat aspects make for a big part of the game.  Still play it on easy, of course, but don't fret over full party wipes.  Keep your cool and think about what works best and what doesn't.  Think about different abilities, items, and other party compositions.  Enjoy them.  The reason I say that is because I think combat can really punctuate the fun of exploration and lore.

 

Of course, some people really don't like the combat.  Every now and then when I've thought the story was good but the gameplay was tedious or boring, I've turned the difficulty down on even FPs to get through the combat faster and unfold more of the story.  Like a lot of guys (and frankly, a lot of women I know) I get caught up in bragging rights every now and then crank up the difficulty and whatnot.  That's not bad, just a different way to enjoy the game.

 

Finally, while Sawyer will undoubtedly be the best source right now, after the game ships there will be a huge number of people trying to find out ways to improve tactics, exploit game mechanics, and otherwise stomp monsters.  Come back here and ask questions.  Seek help and people will oblige you.

[archangel979]

My best advice it to get Skyrim instead. You can wonder through ice areas there and run from combat. 

[Sonntam]

My best advice it to get Skyrim instead. You can wonder through ice areas there and run from combat. 

 

Skyrim is boring as hell, though.

[archangel979]

 

My best advice it to get Skyrim instead. You can wonder through ice areas there and run from combat. 

 

Skyrim is boring as hell, though.

 

I don't think OP cares what you think of that game  

By his description, Skyrim is perfect for him.

[Gromnir]

 

 

My best advice it to get Skyrim instead. You can wonder through ice areas there and run from combat. 

 

Skyrim is boring as hell, though.

 

I don't think OP cares what you think of that game

By his description, Skyrim is perfect for him.

 

dunno about that.  the genesis poster liked all the side stuff, but at the same time, he/she couldn't finish the game and thought ADD might be an issue.  spine o' the world were an iwd location, so we took that as a cue in responding. if the genesis poster were unable to maintain focus in a game such as iwd, then skyrim might not be a better option after all.

 

*shrug*

 

when making poe, the obsidian developers drew inspiration from the old ie games.  one suspects that if a player couldn't finish the ie games, there is some cause to suspect that the player will find poe to be equally difficult to finish. but as we already noted, josh could answer better, particularly if josh alb is able to get at the particulars o' what prevented him/her from finishing past ie games.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Kal Adan]

I do like your approach to combat, because it underlines the importance of all aspects that are outside of combat and that's something worth consideration in an RPG.

 

I think you don't need to be afraid of it though. Even if you're more of a thinker than action player there is active pause in place to stop game and make all important tactical decisions before unpausing. This alone should help you a great deal (it surely helps me, as I am a bit more on thinking side myself).

[ryukenden]

When I first played BG2 (my first IE games), It kicked the crap out of me. Took me two days to get out of the first dungeon area.  I then found out about "shadow keeper", I modified the stats, give my party cool items, and played the game. I enjoyed it a lot. Plus using the shadow keeper didn't ruin my experience in the game because enemies are tough. 

[Nonek]

Endure, in enduring grow strong.

 

Learning the rules, adapting them to ones situation and overcoming challenges is for me a very important part of any game. I don't wish to be merely entertained or rewarded, I wish to also be punished, challenged and forced to innovate and improve. There is a bloody minded satisfaction in this, and it is quite exhilarating for me at least.

[etagloc]

Well here's the jist of my story: Josh is a friend of my cousin and got me into PoE with his Facebook posts. I'd been a cRPG player (on easy mode) as a child. The thing is, I never completed them. I was young, and supposedly A.D.D.--but something resonated with me. Everything I did, or had my character say, or everytime a character interacted with me--it felt impactful. Each time I'd play instead of focusing on the main story I'd go to taverns and have lengthy discussions with bizarre drunkens drifters, or wander the countrysides for easier to take down mobs.

 

Sometimes, I'd just explore the tundra of the spine of the earth--looking for interesting landmarks and running from monsters altogether. Is the easy mode actually easy? I do not play for the combat and I have very little interest in it! I do, however, want to explore and be able to upgrade my characters looks and power and be compitent to hold my own in battle. I admitteldy lack the strategic abilities or experience to do very well in battle in these sorts of titles. Heck, I even have trouble in the dumbled down Bioware titles of late.

 

I can't wait to play, and I purposely have avoided the beta because I think Josh and Chris have something that really harks back to what truly got me into western RPGs. Do you think I'll actually be able to stick with this one. If so, why?

 

Thanks so much Obs devs/community,

 

Alby EF

put it on easy mode and enjoy the story....

yes easy mode is really easy