Brand New to the Game and I Have 3 Questions

[Quantum Hog]

I have played BG 1 and 2, NWN 1 and 2, as well as a large number of CRPGs in general.  I have also played P&P rpgs more years than I want to count.  So even though it has been quite a few years since I have done any games such games in the PoE genre' I have a lot of CPRG experience; I am not a novice.

 

That being said I have done a lot of research on the character builds, etc. before purchasing this game which brings me to the following questions:

 

1. From what I can gather Patch 2.01 has had a lot of issues.  In your opinion based on experience should I hold off installing until the bugs are corrected?

 

2. If I only want to do the basic game and not do The White March is the latest patch for the basic game also causing issues?

 

3. As stated previously, I have done considerable research on character builds but I have read at a number of places that the latest patches have affected such classes as fighter and cipher (the later has been described as "nerfed") and boosting the ranger.  Are these changes significant enough to warrent further research or is older character builds that predate these patches still viable?

 

Thanks much.

[lameover]

1. It's all up to you. No "gamebreaking" bugs, but there is some UI bugs and some class abilities\spells severaly bugged.

2. 2.01 bugs all the same for base game and expansion. Furthermore, expansion positioned as middle-game area.

3. Better take a look there.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=416939844

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4UqltmSKaEeCbgMY7nx2U0kngJ77wwhX

Edited September 15, 2015 by lameover

[Quantum Hog]

Wow.  Thanks much lameover for the reply and links.  It is much appreciated.

[LaSpeakeasi]

1. If past experiences with Bethesda games are any indication, the game is never going to reach an acceptable level of QA. The game was buggy at launch, and it seems with every bug fixed new bugs arise. So might as well play it now and just hope you don't encounter any game-breaking ones (which contrary to what some say, there are many).

2. All the mechanic issues from WM will be present in the base game.

3. You said you've played the Infinity Engine games. So unless you plan to play on Path of the Damned difficulty, the game shouldn't so difficult that you can't complete on a specific class, nerfed or not.

 

Also, you can retrain your characters anytime. So if further research/actual experience makes you feel like builds need to change, you can do so any time.

 

The only exception is the wizard class. They cost about 2-3 times as much to retrain. You have to pay for extra spells and lose them all at retrain, and must pay all over again. It was pointed out to the devs the absurdity of this design but they refused to change it. So be extra careful with your wizard builds.

[Skie Nightfall]

You can either wait a bit for a new patch, or play on 1.06 if you exclude the expansion anyway.

[Karkarov]

1: That depends on if you actually want to play the game or not.  If you really want to play there are some annoying bugs but 2.01 will play just fine.

 

2: See answer 1, White March or not has no bearing on 2.01 the bugs are in the game itself not a particular area or part of the game.

 

3: Not really.  There will always be patches and changes but Cipher is still more than viable, the "nerfs" frankly were overdue as Cipher was legitimately too strong.  Fighters are fine so long as they are used correctly.  The biggest mistake people are making with front liners is that they are thinking this is WoW and all that matters is max hp and how much damage they can take.  If you make a fighter with not even "ok" dps and no utility skills don't be shocked if he kind of sucks for the most part.

Edited September 15, 2015 by Karkarov

[Rosveen]

1. If past experiences with Bethesda games are any indication, the game is never going to reach an acceptable level of QA.

This game has nothing to do with Bethesda whatsoever.

[Oralaina]

I haven't found one bug in the 2.01 steam version.  Not one.

[Gunnar.Maluf]

I haven't found one bug in the 2.01 steam version.  Not one.

Are you serious? I found many on my gog version. Can't believe the bugs only happen on gogs version, shouldnt be that different.

[Gunnar.Maluf]

You can either wait a bit for a new patch, or play on 1.06 if you exclude the expansion anyway.

This.

[Quantum Hog]

 

I haven't found one bug in the 2.01 steam version.  Not one.

Are you serious? I found many on my gog version. Can't believe the bugs only happen on gogs version, shouldnt be that different.

 

If you go to the PoE Steam Forums people are reporting issues as well.

[AndreaColombo]

2.02 is being finalized this week according to Adam Brennecke; if beta hits next week, chances are we'll get the patch the week thereafter.

[Quantum Hog]

2.02 is being finalized this week according to Adam Brennecke; if beta hits next week, chances are we'll get the patch the week thereafter.

Thanks for this information!  Btw, love the Kvothe quote.

[rputran]

Haven't faced any bugs in 2.01 so far either but I am only half way through the game.

[Oralaina]

 

I haven't found one bug in the 2.01 steam version.  Not one.

Are you serious? I found many on my gog version. Can't believe the bugs only happen on gogs version, shouldnt be that different.

 

 

Yes, I am serious.  I'm on my second playthrough of 2.01 (with WM 1), and I STILL have not encountered any bugs.  Period.

[Elerond]

 

 

I haven't found one bug in the 2.01 steam version.  Not one.

Are you serious? I found many on my gog version. Can't believe the bugs only happen on gogs version, shouldnt be that different.

 

 

Yes, I am serious.  I'm on my second playthrough of 2.01 (with WM 1), and I STILL have not encountered any bugs.  Period.

 

 

I would be so presumptuous and say that you haven't just noticed them, as most of them don't have that dramatic effects and it is especially hard to tell when there are missing voice overs or other sounds if you don't know that they should be there in the first place. 

[Oralaina]

 

 

 

I haven't found one bug in the 2.01 steam version.  Not one.

Are you serious? I found many on my gog version. Can't believe the bugs only happen on gogs version, shouldnt be that different.

 

 

Yes, I am serious.  I'm on my second playthrough of 2.01 (with WM 1), and I STILL have not encountered any bugs.  Period.

 

 

I would be so presumptuous and say that you haven't just noticed them, as most of them don't have that dramatic effects and it is especially hard to tell when there are missing voice overs or other sounds if you don't know that they should be there in the first place. 

 

 

Uh.  I don't do voiceovers.  I HATE that stuff.  So yeah, if that's where the bugs are, I'll never know about them.  Works for me.

[Teioh_White]

Well, I've had a ton of issues with both 2.00 and 2.01, but I hear 2.02 is coming soon, so I'd just wait for that. I myself have put any playthroughs on hold for awhile waiting for it too hit.

 

You could just use patch 1.06, which is pretty stable, but also missing features. I really wouldn't want to play the game again without the basic AI for the team.

 

As for reading old character builds and how they hold up now, I'd say Ciphers are probably the only one that might not hold up. They've recieved the most significant nerfs in the game so far of any class, and while still effective, if an old guide just mentions spamming Mental Binding, it's probably a bit out of date.

 

Fighters didn't have a ton of direct nerfs, just the game tried to nudge a bit away from all mobs getting stuck on one unkillable tank, which was sorta their only niche. Without that, they're a pretty underwhelming class to play. I don't mind them in the team, as they don't require the player to do anything, and do a decent job of getting a few mobs on them and not dying super fast, so you can micro manage one of the broken classes that haven't been nerfed.

 

Ranger is the opposite of Cipher, and has recieved the most buffs of any class. I would imagine an old guide would largely hold up, as mostly the numbers were just tuned up. Maybe the guide mentions not to take talents that benefit the animal companion, as they were quite weak back then, but they're pretty strong now and are worth a few talents tossed their way.

[Quantum Hog]

I am playing with Patch 2.0 and I have come across only one glitch so far and that was a ring.

owned by an NPC.

[LaSpeakeasi]

We quite desperately need a new patch. I for instance have encountered (am encountering) a game breaking bug and just dare not go forward with POTD playthru right now.

 

If I set companion AI on spellcasters will ignore orders completely. Just wouldn't cast any spell you tell them to, and choose spells that don't make any sense (like charm animals on a bunch of skeletons). Yeah. It gets THAT bad. Just to give you an idea of what to expect.