first play through since release: i'm liking the changes since V1

[demeisen]

I played through the whole game on release, and am playing again now that White March is out:

 

First play: v1, PC=Wiz, Hard, finished

Current play: v3, PC=Wiz, PoD, act 1 so far

 

I'm really liking the feel of the game now.  I mean, I liked it the first time too, but more for the story, atmosphere, and awesome artwork than the combat.  I'm pleasantly surprised: combat feels nicer now.  In V1, it felt very static for most enemy types: enemies would beat on Eder, who was effectively invulnerable, and nothing moved much past the first few seconds of battle.  Now, Eder can actually be hurt by stuff, and enemies seem more willing to break engagement and move around, so you have to react in a more dynamic way as the battles progress.  It's harder to get away with pure glass cannons now - I find myself wanting some real defence for my casters.

 

It's easy to get wrapped up in debating the minutia of this or that wee little tweak, and I haven't really kept up at that level.  But stepping back: I feel it's a superior game now.  I'm not cheesing it by trekking back to an inn each fight, but playing in a way it seems to guide you into, and it's really fun.  Each fight wears you down some.  It rewards scouting: what's in that next room?  Can I survive that fight with only 3 spells left in the wizard, 2 for the priest, and half health on the fighter?  It also rewards using the minimum spells/consumables you need to win each fight.  RPGs are at their best (IMHO) when you can't just start each fight at 100%, spell-spam, and repeat.  Even on PoD, you can get quite a ways into each dungeon with 2 camps by careful use of your resources.  There's usually enough warning of big boss fights to rest up for those.

 

I haven't gotten to the White March content yet, but looking forward to that.

 

My wish for future expansions is to have them be a little more accessible.  I installed WM and it wasn't obvious that it was hooked into the game mid way through.  So I either had to find an old save, and remember what was up with my party, or start over.  I decided to start over, but I sorta hope future games on this engine are more standalone.  Now that the engine is made and a bunch of art assets are created for monsters, I'd gladly shell out for anything else based on the PoE engine.

Edited February 24, 2016 by demeisen