New player tips?

[HadleysHope]

Do any of you fine folks have any tips for new players, things that you wish you had know when you started? I don't want any spoilers and I don't want to avoid pitfalls that are going the detract from the experience, just wondering if anyone has anything like that. 

 

If not, no worries I started on this last night and am loooovvviiinnngggg it.

[draego]

You can skip all gold plated npcs. They are all backer content and have no purpose in the story unless you like to read the backers customer stories.

[draego]

Here is a forum post on new player stuff

[HadleysHope]

Thanks, Draego.

[HadleysHope]

All spoilers, unfortunately.  I will have a look when iI am further in.  Thanks, guys.

[house2fly]

Early on the main quest directs you towards a place called Caed Nua. Try to do as few quests as possible before going there. There's a mechanic that is introduced at a certain point after you've been there, where certain items and events become available depending on what "turn" you are on, and turns are advanced whenever you progress a quest. You won't miss out on MUCH if you do all the quests you can before going there (and it can be a bit difficult so the xp could come in handy) but the completionist in me just hates leaving potential loot on the table

Edited November 16, 2017 by house2fly

[HadleysHope]

Early on the main quest directs you towards a place called Caed Nua. Try to do as few quests as possible before going there. There's a mechanic that is introduced at a certain point after you've been there, where certain items and events become available depending on what "turn" you are on, and turns are advanced whenever you progress a quest. You won't miss out on MUCH if you do all the quests you can before going there (and it can be a bit difficult so the xp could come in handy) but the completionist in me just hates leaving potential loot on the table

 Haha!! yea me too Thanks, House2fly.

[draego]

i find this game more enjoyable if you dont do completionist runs and try to roleplay what would your character do not what benefit do i get from this decision. I know in subsequent runs i would turn down quest or not finish some because i thought my character should act in certain ways and the game flowed a lot better and i wasnt over leveled for the content. (now i get that because i once did a completionist and i was able to see most all the content, it wasnt as important on other runs but still) Also there are opportunities complete stuff in an area before you leave but stuff like  Caed Nua (and you will see what content is there) is best done in bites and not trying to grind every thing in one single area. You can always come back. This game isnt designed where you have to do all content in each area and sometimes the content it just to tough or sometimes spreading out stuff flows better.

Edited November 16, 2017 by draego

[Riddlewrong]

--Intellect is probably the most important stat for conversations.

 

If you want to play a 'face' character, Int is the way to go. Resolve is also useful, but it doesn't come up as much as Int. This was one of the things that really bothered me about the game at first. I just didn't know what I needed to build in order to have a character with consistent conversational prowess.

 

--Don't spend too much time upgrading Caed Nua.

 

Get the garden and the curio shop so you can get crafting materials each turn, but after that, the only things of interest are the Warden's Lodge for bounty quests and Brighthome.

 

I think the Training Grounds bonus to resting in Brighthome is decent (+3 Might) because it makes up for some of the weak builds of the game's default companions. Specifically, it really helps Aloth actually do a moderate amount of damage with his spells, taking him from a pitiful 12 Might to a much more respectable 15. That being said, some of the pay-to-rest bonuses are better in the inns around the world, so later in the game you may not use this as much.

 

The security and prestige mechanics are pretty underwhelming, and Caed Nua is actually really inconvenient to maintain. You have to invest a ton of money into it, but the return on your investment isn't worth it at all. There are lots of threads about this if you're interested in reading a rant, so I'll spare you that.

 

Never resolve an attack on the keep automatically -- it will always result in one or more upgrades being destroyed and having to rebuild them at full cost. So yeah, if you build stuff there, be prepared to have to drop everything to travel back and fight at totally random times. It's annoying.

 

--Take Aloth, Eder, Pallegina, and Durance for at least some portion of your playthrough. 

 

I can't stand Durance. I still think you should take him. He's by far the most fleshed out character in the entire game, and he has very important information about the main plot. He's pretty much a walking exposition dump. If you don't talk to him or bring him with you, the story won't have nearly as much of an impact on you, and that's just a fact. His quest takes almost the entire game to complete, is very annoying, and talking to him is frustrating because he keeps cutting you off after a certain number of dialog lines (requiring you to rest in order to be able to talk to him again). Even so, he's just too important to ignore, so don't do it.

 

Aloth is one of the few companions in the game who consistently interjects his opinion into dialog. Most others are pretty silent by comparison. Aloth returns in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, so getting to know him now isn't a bad idea.

 

Eder is a really cool dude. His story has connections to the main plot, which is a bonus. He's also coming back in the sequel.

 

Pallegina is probably the best all-around companion in the game from a combat/utility perspective. She fills multiple party roles very well. Her personality takes some getting used to, but she's worth it. In addition to Eder and Aloth, she is the third and final character from PoE1 to return in the sequel, so you will be seeing her again.

 

The other characters have their own strengths and weaknesses, but at the end of the day, they feel a lot more like incidental traveling buddies than fully fledged party members. Because of this, you shouldn't be too concerned with missing out on things by taking a couple custom created characters with you.

Edited November 18, 2017 by Riddlewrong

[demeisen]

Pretty spoiler free I think:

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​Don't click on the backer tombstone things.  They're out of character for the game world and sort of break the immersion.  Plus, they do not relate in any way to the game - they were just a backer perk.  A lot of them are pretty juvenile.  ("PeteTehHAMMER ROCKS!" and the like).

​

​Otherwise... let's see.  The game gets much easier as you go.  The first act is the hardest.  ​Don't be afraid to come back to things that seem too hard when you get to them.  Sometimes you can come back after a level or two of doing other things, and that makes all the difference in the world.

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​If you plan to play the White March expansions, which I highly recommend coz they're good, buy it first since it couples itself into the middle of the game.  It's best experienced as a natural part of game progression.

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​Enjoy the RPG!  It stands up alongside the all time classics.

​

[Bob Hope]

Oh yeah, here's one that might be too late:

 

There are three main factions in Defiance Bay: The Crucible Knights, the Dozens, and the Doemenels.  Each of these factions will offer you one quest; complete that quest and they will offer you a second. Taking the second quest automatically means that you side with the faction, so be careful accepting any quests at the headquarters of any of these factions.

[pillarplayer]

Hey these are helpful for a newcomer, thanks.  Another I would add is don't spend much if anything on equipment upgrades (swords etc) early on - you'll obtain more than enough in your early quests and you'll want to save up money (which is so scarce early on) for camping rests, maybe add a hired hand to your party etc.  Really I thought they were overly stingy with money early in the game.

[pillarplayer]

I forgot to add definitely try to get anyone you meet to join you.  Acting like a "leave me alone" jerk only gets you alone and I seriously doubt you can get very far in this game alone.  At least I couldn't!

[Tigranes]

Just play, smell the roses, and relax. There are very few things that you will do in the first few hours that will severely hamper your enjoyment or cripple your characters in the long run. 

 

One thing I guess is learning how the system of accuracies v. defences work. This is simple, but it's easy to just play and not pick it up. Knowing to look at the bestiary or the combat log when you are having trouble with a creature, working out that they are weak to Reflex, and then making sure to use Reflex-targeting spells to attack them, can make a big difference in higher difficulties between being frustrated and enjoying the challenge.

 

The Stronghold, it's up to you. Beelining for it then fussing over it and maximising it will get you a bit more gold, XP, and items, I guess. But you also end up with more gold, XP, and items than you need by mid-game, and will be swimming in it thereafter. My point is that you can choose - if you don't want to bother with it, you can just do minimal upgrades whenever you have some spare cash, and not really worry about it; if you want to, you can go back to it all the time. Don't feel like you're forced to.

Edited January 7, 2018 by Tigranes