Is it a good time to come back to PoE?

[Marceror]

For as excited as I was about this game during Kickstarter, I'm surprised that I've not yet completed any part of it (base game, or expansions). I haven't really played it since version 1.3 - 1.4 timeframe, in fact. I ran into a couple of bugs during my initial play through, and was so worried that my experience was going to be marred by such issues that I just separated myself from the game entirely.

 

So, a lot of time has passed, and a lot of patches plus 2 expansions have since been released. What is the state of the game from a stability standpoint? Am I going to see things like randomly losing extra weapon slots when my party members get charmed (happened to Kana), or have defense values, hit points, etc. randomly change values? Aloth gaining godlike intelligence and being able to cast his spells over ungodly areas of effect was fun at first, until things just became utterly ridiculous and beyond broken.

 

I'm hoping to have as close to a "pristine" run through as I can for what is, I suppose ironically, my most anticipated game of the last 15 years. Have the bugs largely been ironed out? Do the expansions still need love before they are stabilized?

 

I've waited this long, so I guess I can wait a bit longer if there's a bit more polishing up that is still needed. I've also heard that there may not be any further updates, but even if so, I'd love to get a general feel for how polished Obsidian has managed to get the game over time.

[Dinky Dino]

It is. The game feels great now across all classes. But I'd wait a few more days for 3.02. It contains 400+ fixes and is already in beta. Plus it adds a nice +4 int ring that wasn't obtainable before.

[demeisen]

I'm on my second run through now, on 3.01 + both expansions.  I haven't run into anything very troublesome.   No crashes, no major problems.  The only bugs I've noticed I would qualify as "minor".  Of course there is quite a lot to this game, and nobody sees everything, uses every item, exercises every dialog option, and so on, so experiences will vary from person to person.

 

(Not to mention there's always a few folks who will call the game totally broken and unplayable if their Sword of Smiting Groundhogs +4 only has +3 to its Induce Indigestion in Wombats Aura rather than the +4 it's supposed to have).  Point is, I'm sure there are things wrong still, but if you let yourself get into the experience, I believe you will be able to enjoy the game.  It's a lot of fun!

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​One tip I wish I had known: on my first run I played on Hard, and really wished I had picked PoD.  I'm playing PoD for my second (no minmaxing, using story NPCs, so not powergaming it in the slightest), and it's far more fun than Hard was.  I recommend it if you want fun combat.  The names of the difficulty levels over-state the case by about one level, IMHO: normal is easy, hard is normal, PoD is hard, etc, so select according to your preferences with that in mind.

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Whatever you do, have fun!  It's one of the best RPGs in ages, with amazing art wherever you look.

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[qin]

I was trying 3.01 with the hope of a good go through... until one of my unique weapons disappeared in the Raedric Castle

[Marceror]

Sounds promising. Waiting for 3.02 sounds like a plan.

[kmbogd]

I mostly did the same as you, after version 1.05 (or was it 1.06?) I decided to stop even trying because there were too many bugs that I considered to not be negligible. As of version 3.01 the game feels much better though.

Edited March 16, 2016 by kmbogd

[YaK]

Same here. Stopped before 2.0x branch. Resuming with 3.00 and 3.01. Wish i had waited a couple more weeks, 3.02 it's really promising.

[Archaven]

I'm on my second run through now, on 3.01 + both expansions.  I haven't run into anything very troublesome.   No crashes, no major problems.  The only bugs I've noticed I would qualify as "minor".  Of course there is quite a lot to this game, and nobody sees everything, uses every item, exercises every dialog option, and so on, so experiences will vary from person to person.

 

(Not to mention there's always a few folks who will call the game totally broken and unplayable if their Sword of Smiting Groundhogs +4 only has +3 to its Induce Indigestion in Wombats Aura rather than the +4 it's supposed to have).  Point is, I'm sure there are things wrong still, but if you let yourself get into the experience, I believe you will be able to enjoy the game.  It's a lot of fun!

​

​One tip I wish I had known: on my first run I played on Hard, and really wished I had picked PoD.  I'm playing PoD for my second (no minmaxing, using story NPCs, so not powergaming it in the slightest), and it's far more fun than Hard was.  I recommend it if you want fun combat.  The names of the difficulty levels over-state the case by about one level, IMHO: normal is easy, hard is normal, PoD is hard, etc, so select according to your preferences with that in mind.

​

Whatever you do, have fun!  It's one of the best RPGs in ages, with amazing art wherever you look.

​

​

 

I played on hard and was abit disappointed at how easy it was. Before midgame it went super boring i stomping anyone with the same strategy. Guess when latest patch out i may be hopping back for a PoD

[demeisen]

I played on hard and was abit disappointed at how easy it was. Before midgame it went super boring i stomping anyone with the same strategy. Guess when latest patch out i may be hopping back for a PoD

 

 

Nod - that was roughly my experience too.  It does get lot better on PoD, especially if you play along with the resting dynamic it guides you into.  E.g, try to explore whole dungeons with just the 2 camps, so you end up fighting many groups in a row without resting.  It becomes more about managing your total party resources to get as far as you can before resting.

 

Fights are still quite doable, but it becomes more important to engage the weakness of the enemies you are fighting.  E.g, are they unusually resistant to slash damage, but weak to acid?  Etc.  On Hard, you can sorta ignore all that and just stomp everything without any real consideration.  Which you can sorta do on PoD too, but it'll make you less efficient, and thus you won't handle as many fights before needing to rest.

[Rosveen]

Meanwhile, I'm here playing on Hard, getting my ass handed to me in White March and watching others finish the game with a level 1 character. I suspect the skill level of forum users isn't at all representative of the general playerbase.

[AndreaColombo]

^ what level are you? Party comp?

[Rosveen]

I'm not looking for advice and this isn't the right thread for it anyway. I know I'm playing with an unoptimized party, it was my choice. It'd be much easier with a priest (and rest spamming, but that's cheesy). But if this game was actually such a faceroll as everyone says, I shouldn't have any problems at all, should I? Yet I can't get through it just by autoattacking and throwing fireballs. Many filler battles, sure, but not all of them.

Edited March 16, 2016 by Rosveen

[demeisen]

A lot of it probably has to do with how much you end up going to places you are under-leveled for.  That can make it far more difficult.  Some games are more inclined to sort of steer you into a path where you are always appropriately leveled.  Others leave it a more open, but if you start getting rocked in location A, you can go to location B for a while, come back when your group has gained a level or two, and have another go.  That can make a big difference to the perceived difficulty of the game, especially in early and middle levels where an extra level is a pretty big deal.