Order to Play the Game Through?

[PugPug]

Hey (you bunch of phenomenal gamers)

 

My recommended playthrough is;

 

Complete Act 1 (1v1 the bear, it is ones test to become a man/woman)

Progress through Act 2/Od Nua until character level 7

Enter the White March Pt.1 (no scaling)

Transition into the White March Pt. 2 (no scaling)

Return to Dyrford around level 11/12 to complete Act 2/Od Nua

Begin Act 3 (with scaling)

Complete the game

High five yourself for being so awesome

 

The smiles will be unlimited

-Sking

 

EDIT: I wouldn't worry about hitting all the content in Act 2. There is a lot. Splitting it 50/50 into two playthroughs will help you to 'not' pass up the EXP curve of the game.

 

Aww, you really do have our backs.

[Tanred]

 

But there is no message, no popup that would write "tada, you have entered act 2".

 

It's been quite some time since I last played the game, but I'm pretty sure there is one when you enter Defiance Bay.

 

Anyway to keep the challenge I decided to delay leveling up, so I'm going in the following order:

• Do the following but don't level up past 5
  • Act I
  • Endless Paths until it gets too difficult
• Do the following but don't level up past 7
  • All quests in Defiance Bay
  • Endless Paths until it gets too difficult
• Do the following but don't level up past 9
  • White March I
  • Rest of Act II
  • Endless Paths until it gets too difficult
• Do the following but don't level up past 12
  • White March II
  • Endless Paths
  • Cragholdt Bluffs
• Finish the game
  • Upscale Act III
  • Upscale Act IV

Any thoughts on the order or levels? On what level to do the Alpine Dragon and the new wizard? Will I be able to reach max level from level 12 full exp(level 13 no exp) in Act III and IV?

 

 

I play pretty much the same way you do. Based on my ongoing current playthrough on Hard with only 4 men party (using companions), which I estimate to be roughly on par with full party PotD, I'd recommend following order to maintain any challenge in a completionist playthrough:

• Do the following but don't level up past 4:
  • Act I areas (Raedric's Hold final fight maybe level 5)
  • Endless Paths levels 1 and 2
• Do the following but don't level up past 5:
  • Early Defiance Bay quests
• Do the following but don't level up past 6:
  • Most of the Act II areas with few exceptions mentioned in next bullet. This is a kinda dull period because there is a lot of content with no meaningful party progress.
  • Endless Paths levels 3 to 6
• Do the following but don't level up past 7:
  • Searing Falls and Pearlwood Bluff. Skaen Temple.
  • Stormwall Gorge incl. Lle a Rhemen 
• Do the following but don't level up past 9:
  • Stalwart, Russetwood (enter WM I at level to 9 in order to scale up the content)
  • Endless Paths level 7
• Do the following but don't level up past 11:
  • Durgan's Battery
  • Endless Paths levels 8 to 10
• Do the following but don't level up past 13:
  • Longwatch Falls 
  • Endless Paths levels 11 to 13
  • Scaled WM II content? (not been there yet)
  • Scaled Act III? (not been there yet)
• Remaining levels:
  • Crägholdt
  • Endless Paths levels 14 to 15
  • Scaled Act IV

Edited February 22, 2016 by Tanred

[Lychnidos]

@Tanred 

 

Much more thorough . I'm only in Act I, and have just completed Raedric's Hold with a 5 men level 4 party(I have Caed Nua and Madmr Bridge left) and also decided to not level up further until Defiance Bay. This will help with Act II, which is hardest to keep challenge in, now that there is high level scaling for III.

 

Regarding White March II. I think it's meant to start on level 9 and can be upscaled  on 12, which is done by 30% so the begging ares are also level 12.

[copperleaves]

 

Hey (you bunch of phenomenal gamers)

 

My recommended playthrough is;

 

Complete Act 1 (1v1 the bear, it is ones test to become a man/woman)........

 

OK so I just restarted playing after several months and I remember back then I found it next to impossible to solo the bear cave on PoTD difficulty when I came across it right at the beginning........has anything changed since then?

 

Because I remember I asked for advice on how to solo that cave (because at that point in the game you are by yourself) and pretty much everyone told me leave it for later, gain a couple of levels and get a party member or two and then come back and clear it.......

 

 

I was only able to solo the bear once, on normal difficulty, with a rogue. She did so much damage the bear didn't have time to get hits in.

 

Since then, with a Pali on hard? No go. I'm about to restart the game on PoTD and uh I don't even know if I'll try it.

[Mocker22]

To the OP. I would try not to worry to much about this really. In my opinion there is no way to make the game feel perfectly sensible from a RP perspective if you intend to do most or all of the content. I will always have that feeling of...hmmm....worlds ending....lets go help a farmer find his pig. Weird.

 

Anymore my play order has a lot to do with getting the gear I'm looking for, primarily for my PC.

[Mirandel]

Hey (you bunch of phenomenal gamers)

 

My recommended playthrough is;

 

Complete Act 1 (1v1 the bear, it is ones test to become a man/woman)

Progress through Act 2/Od Nua until character level 7

Enter the White March Pt.1 (no scaling)

Transition into the White March Pt. 2 (no scaling)

Return to Dyrford around level 11/12 to complete Act 2/Od Nua

Begin Act 3 (with scaling)

Complete the game

High five yourself for being so awesome

 

The smiles will be unlimited

-Sking

 

EDIT: I wouldn't worry about hitting all the content in Act 2. There is a lot. Splitting it 50/50 into two playthroughs will help you to 'not' pass up the EXP curve of the game.

 

Would that recommendation be the same for someone who does not care about difficulty but only the story? PoE is far (very far) from linear script but there is a logic in quests order - like, you do not feel well hence do want to get to  Od Nua as fast as you can without wandering around.

[Elric Galad]

Hey guys !

My party us level 11-12. I want to go to WMII to pick the soulbound items earlt, but I would like to play Upscaled WMII.

 

From which level can you pick upscaled option ?

[Kaylon]

You can start WM1 at lv7 but you should stick mostly to the main quest. Side quests and bounties should probably be finished too before starting WM2 to avoid losing them. Alpine dragon and the lich are lv12-14 content and should be done probably during ch.3.

[Elric Galad]

Sorry, my question was more : from which level the game propose you the upscalled content ?

 

I'm affraid if I enter WMII with a too low level, the game won't allow me to upscale, even if I come back later.

[Elric Galad]

To answer my own question : one can choose upscaled WMII at least from lvl 12.

[613 The Evil]

I started the game again, and I thought I was supposed to play the White March after I finishe the main storyline... Now I see it's not so. Well, I am in Act 3 now so I plan to stay there and wrap it up and then go to the White March stuff. Also, what about that Battle of Yenwood? I read you can get allies from White March cities etc. so it makes sense to leave it for later, yes? And Cragholdt Bluffs? I gues I'll do this one before White March. But, my real question is this. If I jump to the pit and do stuff, will the game end, without me being able to play the expanison parts? I believe there is a point of no turning back towards the original storyline. I'd like to know when I should stop to avoid rolling the credits while I've never set foot on the White March, but at the same time I want to do all the quests in the Glanfathan lands. If I simply have to leave the main quest unfinished and go play the expansion, it's fine with me. Is that what I should do?

[KDubya]

I started the game again, and I thought I was supposed to play the White March after I finishe the main storyline... Now I see it's not so. Well, I am in Act 3 now so I plan to stay there and wrap it up and then go to the White March stuff. Also, what about that Battle of Yenwood? I read you can get allies from White March cities etc. so it makes sense to leave it for later, yes? And Cragholdt Bluffs? I gues I'll do this one before White March. But, my real question is this. If I jump to the pit and do stuff, will the game end, without me being able to play the expanison parts? I believe there is a point of no turning back towards the original storyline. I'd like to know when I should stop to avoid rolling the credits while I've never set foot on the White March, but at the same time I want to do all the quests in the Glanfathan lands. If I simply have to leave the main quest unfinished and go play the expansion, it's fine with me. Is that what I should do?

 

Yes, you need to go do all the expansion areas before you jump in the pit, that is the point of no return.

[Boeroer]

Please do Cragholt Bluffs after WM I. It's very tough. Your steward (the lady who is encased in the throne) should have already told you that the Torn Bannermen and Concelhaut are not to be trifled with.

[613 The Evil]

Please do Cragholt Bluffs after WM I. It's very tough. Your steward (the lady who is encased in the throne) should have already told you that the Torn Bannermen and Concelhaut are not to be trifled with.

Yeah, I know it's for higher levels. But I've already killed the Adra dragon, right after Act 3 started. Actually, I left it at that because I thought the dragonslayer that gives you that talent was somewhere in Twin Elms, stupid me. Long story short, I'm already level 13 and going, so I believe whatever the expansion can throw at me I will more or less be ready.

[Boeroer]

But WM I will already be way too easy for you. When you do Crägholt first, it will even get worse.

 

And by the way: the Adra Dragon is easy to kill if you know what to do. It's just one hefty boss with a lot of weak adds. The Torn Bannermen and the stuff Concelhaut has are all quite powerful. But it surely is doable at lvl 13. 

[613 The Evil]

But WM I will already be way too easy for you. When you do Crägholt first, it will even get worse.

 

And by the way: the Adra Dragon is easy to kill if you know what to do. It's just one hefty boss with a lot of weak adds. The Torn Bannermen and the stuff Concelhaut has are all quite powerful. But it surely is doable at lvl 13. 

Oh I killed it before level 13. To be honest I blame the game, they really messed up the difficulty curve. I am not asking for a fully linear storyline where the game takes you by the hand through gradually tougher battles and enemies, but come on, all this back and forth, even between expansion and main map... It's really not practical. Add the Endless Paths, the new quests in the main map, like Cragholdt... And let's not begin about the immersion and plausibility, you simply walk away from "saving the world" to go do a bunch of stuff in the mountains. Oh well. I'll do as you say Boeroer, I'll trust your experience. I'll leave Cragholdt for last, I am already level 14 and I just have Hiravias', Durance's and whatever business I have in Burial Isle to finish, apart from the bunjie jump. Then I'll go get me some new companions. I've already planned my party, I know I get the rogue later also, but oh well. We'll see what we shall see.

[sirensix]

A little late to the party, but for those concerned about doing things in an order that feels realistic to the story: the only place it makes any sense narratively to go randomly help out a mountain village is after you've turned in all your info to Lady Webb and you're on your way to the animancy hearings.  Logically, the hearings would be held whenever the duc wished and not at your immediate convenience.  So in my head, the Watcher looks for ways to keep busy while waiting for word about the hearings, and then several months later after you've taken all the non-urgent side detours you want (WM1 and maybe Endless Paths), the Duc finally gets around to holding them. 

 

That works logically for Part 1, which has zero urgency.  Then you can do Part 2 whenever you wish -- it becomes a matter of prioritizing two potentially world-ending things, and to be honest, ominous visions about an unstoppable army on its way WOULD take precedence over "Thaos is clearly up to something sinister," when Thaos has already been doing his thing for two thousand years before you showed up.

 

Hope that helps the story-driven folks like me who are coming at this more from a narrative/logic perspective than optimizing combat challenges. 

[tarmangani]

A little late to the party, but for those concerned about doing things in an order that feels realistic to the story: the only place it makes any sense narratively to go randomly help out a mountain village is after you've turned in all your info to Lady Webb and you're on your way to the animancy hearings.  Logically, the hearings would be held whenever the duc wished and not at your immediate convenience.  So in my head, the Watcher looks for ways to keep busy while waiting for word about the hearings, and then several months later after you've taken all the non-urgent side detours you want (WM1 and maybe Endless Paths), the Duc finally gets around to holding them. 

 

That works logically for Part 1, which has zero urgency.  Then you can do Part 2 whenever you wish -- it becomes a matter of prioritizing two potentially world-ending things, and to be honest, ominous visions about an unstoppable army on its way WOULD take precedence over "Thaos is clearly up to something sinister," when Thaos has already been doing his thing for two thousand years before you showed up.

 

Hope that helps the story-driven folks like me who are coming at this more from a narrative/logic perspective than optimizing combat challenges. 

 

I actually came here to make the same post. Yes, the animancy hearings naturally halt the game's progression. My party retired to Caed Nua until the duc held the hearings in which my characters were scheduled to appear. Kana encouraged the exploration of the dungeons below, in the meantime, until discovering Gabrannos' tomb, at which point he, so disconsolate over those troubling findings, returned above ground. This fortuitously means that my party avoids the brutal fight at the end of Level 7, too, a nice side effect when doing TC. And so they sit, in this narrative, until venturing to White March...

 

I'm having trouble finding another plausible time to revisit the White March, though. I agree that the Eyeless would take precedence over Thaos, provided we understood what that whole story entailed. But there's no credible reason for why the MC wouldn't push right through to Thaos and then, assuming they survived the experience, handle whatever's troubling Stalwart afterward; ominous dreams are not, by themselves, sufficient motivation to drop everything. I'd imagine that it might have something to do with Twin Elms not accepting any visitors--perhaps the leader who lets you in isn't there.

Edited June 3, 2018 by tarmangani

[Mangamina]

All of the side quests in Ondra's Gift must be accomplished first before the ACT II main quests, otherwise you will miss out on them, they will be lost forever.  Also in ACT II, you'll miss out on each of the 3 factions' quests if you picked one faction and completed all of their quests without visiting the other factions.

Edited June 3, 2018 by Mangamina

[Baron Pampa]

What's your opinion on White March difficulty with and without scaling? I'm considering entering at level 5/6 without scaling, or at 8/9 with scaling enabled, and I'm curious about opinions and experiences.

[Mangamina]

What's your opinion on White March difficulty with and without scaling? I'm considering entering at level 5/6 without scaling, or at 8/9 with scaling enabled, and I'm curious about opinions and experiences.

 

Depends on your difficulty (Hard or PoTD)?  That's about right for a real challenge but doable on Hard difficulty.  However, Cragholdt Bluff (which doesn't scale) is very difficult if you are not level 12 or higher.  I did Cragholdt at level 10 on Hard and reaped immense rewards but most find it impossible below level 12.  Note that the loot does not scale, it's always the same (with randomness for similar items).   Check out this thread in this same board:  https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/81361-appropriate-level-for-cragholdt-bluff-white-march/

Edited June 6, 2018 by Mangamina

[Absolum]

On 2/20/2016 at 12:41 AM, Sking said:

Hey (you bunch of phenomenal gamers)

 

My recommended playthrough is;

 

Complete Act 1 (1v1 the bear, it is ones test to become a man/woman)

Progress through Act 2/Od Nua until character level 7

Enter the White March Pt.1 (no scaling)

Transition into the White March Pt. 2 (no scaling)

Return to Dyrford around level 11/12 to complete Act 2/Od Nua

Begin Act 3 (with scaling)

Complete the game

High five yourself for being so awesome

 

The smiles will be unlimited

-Sking

 

EDIT: I wouldn't worry about hitting all the content in Act 2. There is a lot. Splitting it 50/50 into two playthroughs will help you to 'not' pass up the EXP curve of the game.

Dunno how you guys are doing WM1 at level 7, i am level 7 and my 3 tanks die in like 10 seconds, dunno if it's realted to the "scaling" stuff, i don't see any option to tweak that.

[Boeroer]

Lvl 7 is way too early imo (esp. for not-so experienced players). I'd def. recommend to not go sooner than lvl 8 (and that's also pretty difficult).

[Absolum]

15 minutes ago, Boeroer said:

Lvl 7 is way too early imo (esp. for not-so experienced players). I'd def. recommend to not go sooner than lvl 8 (and that's also pretty difficult).

I see, thanks for the reply, yeah i've left WM, i've tried a couple of times and my tanks definitely get destroyed as they were wearing robes, ahah.

[Boeroer]

I'd say it's mostly likely your defenses that are not high enough to evade cannon ogres' fire often enough - and your accuracy might be too low to reliably land CC effects, too. Robes don't help I guess - but the effect of DR might even be negligible.

It is all doable from lvl 6 on maybe - but then you really need to know all the obscure stacking tricks and the ideal approach for the initial fight and so on. And although the following map is a bit easier then you'll still get your ass kicked by way more difficult enemies in the adjacent maps around - so I would just level up more before coming back.

What immensely helps in the following maps in the WM is to first go to Twin Elms in the main game and obtain a small shield named Aila Braccia. Not mandatory by any means, but it really helps in some of the harder fights in WMI.

 

Edited March 20, 2023 by Boeroer