NPC Faith and Conviction (Is it intended?)

[Torm51]

Is the fact that NPC Paladins only get one rank of Faith and Conviction done on purpose? The developers obviously know more about the game then me.  And they knew since they made the game that NPCs don't make behavior choices the PC does.  So how would it be possible for an NPC to raise his/her Faith and Conviction as they don't make behavioral choices. So do you guys think it was done on purpose and intended for PC Paladins to be more powerful as they are the PC and NPC Paladins to have that one rank.  I like having Pallegina in the party I just hate that what makes Paladins really damn good (Faith and Conviction) she doesn't get the full extent of.  Has this been stated as a bug? or working as intended?

 

I understand that the IEmod changes this.  I have not tried IE mod myself.  How is it? Is it working well with 1.06?

[HoopleDoople]

NPCs not being able to increase Faith and Conviction through disposition is definitely a questionable design choice but an intended one. It is you, the PC, making the choices that alter your disposition so it wouldn't really make sense for your companions to be forced to adopt the same disposition. Consider hiring a Goldpact Knight Paladin. Once hired they will fulfill their contract even if they dislike the actions and disposition of their employer. Thus the PC might be a passionate and aggressive individual, but the Goldpact Knight Paladin won't stop being his rational and stoic self while serving alongside the PC.

 

I assume a major consideration in implementing this system was to give players the freedom to roleplay their character without worrying about a Paladin ally accumulating penalties to Faith and Conviction. Unfortunately this forces anyone concerned with power gaming to take a Paladin as their main character if they should want one. I would love to see an added option to bind your Paladin's disposition to the PC upon hiring. Another option would be to upgrade the Untroubled Faith talent to allow companion Paladins to draw bonuses from the PC's disposition.

 

For now your best bet is the IEmod. It is working perfectly fine for me (on the steam version), though you do have to download an updated version after each patch. I mostly like the IEmod for its convenience features. I remove auto-saving to speed up loads and enjoy being able to make ability/talent choices without worrying about crippling my character. I just pick whatever looks useful or fun and try it out for a while; if it proves to be a wasted pick I can just remove it and add a new one in its place.

[Torm51]

NPCs not being able to increase Faith and Conviction through disposition is definitely a questionable design choice but an intended one. It is you, the PC, making the choices that alter your disposition so it wouldn't really make sense for your companions to be forced to adopt the same disposition. Consider hiring a Goldpact Knight Paladin. Once hired they will fulfill their contract even if they dislike the actions and disposition of their employer. Thus the PC might be a passionate and aggressive individual, but the Goldpact Knight Paladin won't stop being his rational and stoic self while serving alongside the PC.

 

I assume a major consideration in implementing this system was to give players the freedom to roleplay their character without worrying about a Paladin ally accumulating penalties to Faith and Conviction. Unfortunately this forces anyone concerned with power gaming to take a Paladin as their main character if they should want one. I would love to see an added option to bind your Paladin's disposition to the PC upon hiring. Another option would be to upgrade the Untroubled Faith talent to allow companion Paladins to draw bonuses from the PC's disposition.

 

For now your best bet is the IEmod. It is working perfectly fine for me (on the steam version), though you do have to download an updated version after each patch. I mostly like the IEmod for its convenience features. I remove auto-saving to speed up loads and enjoy being able to make ability/talent choices without worrying about crippling my character. I just pick whatever looks useful or fun and try it out for a while; if it proves to be a wasted pick I can just remove it and add a new one in its place.

 

As far as the Goldpact Knight goes I understand and its good for RP purposes (which I very much like) but his/her Faith and Conviction wont grow lol cause the NPC doesn't make behavior choices of Rational and Stoic hah!  But ya I mean I guess having +5 deflection and the base +10 (I think it is) to saves at rank one isn't terrible it just could be A LOT better.  Ya I think just automatically giving NPC paladins a rank of Faith and Conviction every 4 levels would make sense since they cant make decisions or making you pay for it buy having to buy untroubled faith in order for that NPC paladin to achieve those ranks. 

 

This is rarely a problem for me as I usually am the Paladin (not always but a lot of the time) but sometimes I want try a duel Paladin run and I am not getting the full extent of that second Paladin.

Edited June 16, 2015 by Torm51