Eternity Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire + DLC Thread - now with turn-based combat!

[Shadenuat]

That and there is a fat looking cat that gives extra +1 more fire levels.
Also named character Lina Inverse for +500% extra bonus damage.

Question is is Cipher worth it as single class, like barbarian who plays really well, or not. To me all the abilities except lvl1 Charm seemed meh.

 

[Lacrymas]

I have Serafen as a single-class Cipher and I'd say he's kinda weak compared to my other custom characters.

 

[Haplo]

Well, I'd say worth it - mainly as Ascendant. But it may be a bit bumpy road. As reaching max Focus without multiclass active ability support can be a little tricky. It should be significantly easier starting with PL V and Borrowed Instinct. And you're rewarded with Super Saiyan mode if you persist till PL VIII and Time Parasite. From there there's pure ownage. Spam-cast Disintegrate with minimal Recovery... or apply Death of 1000 custs and spam mind-blades....

Cipher and Monk actually have the most interesting high-level abilities.

 

[Shadenuat]

So basically for majority of playthrough that matters it sucks.

 

[Haplo]

Well, I wouldn't say it. He's a really useful party member, effectively debuffing and CC-ing the battlefield. Can easily make the enemies turn on each other. Has the best single-target heal over-time too (that he can spam as an Ascendant).
Ectopsychic Echo is really cool... and Mind Blades are a really nice spammable damage spell... quite potent under the right circumstances (preferably 2-3 enemies). Most of his spells are fast-cast (prior to the big nukes), so spamming them under Ascension is really cool.

It's just the damage potential prior to Disintegrate is not great. I did multiclass my Ascendant to increase the power/duration of his spells and reach Ascension quicker. I won't have those awesome high-level powers though (and get the important ones, like Borrowed Instinct or Desintegrate, much later).

Single class could get Borrowed Instinct at level 9 and Desintegrate at level 11. Well, you can reach level 9 almost without combat. Perhaps I should have gone pure?
... well at least it's more versatile this way.

I'd definately always multiclass a Soulblade and Beguiler though.

 

[Safav Hamon]

Serefan is fun because of his Wild Mind subclass. I wish it was available to players without modding.

 

[Lacrymas]

A class which has only 1 viable subclass and has to be built around very specific spells doesn't sound very good.

 

[Shadenuat]

Has the best single-target heal over-time too

I admit that's the only spell I just spammed ignoring most other stuff (well except Charm). Because why not have it on almost everyone all the time. Had no dedicated healers in party though.

Debuffs I tried, they all seemed as worse versions of what standard casters could do in masse. It's also infuriating how hard it can be to land debuff that is supposed to debuff defence over enemy defence that turns it into miss or graze so you try landing it like 5 times until it works lol. Really random even with Borrowed Instinct, even with very high accuracy (on PoTD that is).

 

[Haplo]

Well, I would disagree. Sure, Wizard's Rymgrim's Terror is currently probably the best CC spell. But it's PL V, you get all of 2 casts of it (3 with Vaporous, admittedly maybe more with Empower if you use it). Meanwhile you could want to use something like Spirit Lance or Llengrath Safeguard instead.
Then there's Curse of Blackened Sight, which, sure, is much better then Eyestrike. Except the aoe is MUCH smaller and again, it competes with other great spells.
Duration is an issue on PotD.

Cipher can cast without limits, even in lenghty encounters.

So far, I've had great success landing spells. But if it's a priority target I will often prep it with Tenuous Grasp first (-20 Will for 10 Focus, enough if it grazes to make a "breach"). Maybe even use the club Bewildering Blows modal if my tank is engaging the enemy (-25 Will). Could go nuts and also apply Psychovampiric Shield (another -20 Will). Yeah, -65 enemy Will means you will often crit.
It also helps that you tend to cast the most under Ascension and that's +3 Power Levels.

Fortitude is a bit more tricky (and more enemies have it as a high save). Some nasty damage spells are Fort. But most of your CC spells are Will (except Eyestrike). Eventually you also get +10 Accuracy on Will spells.

 

[frajaq]

Sorry to keep posting these but I think this one post is worth it

 

[Shadenuat]

Well, I would disagree

It's all a very complicated and not very reliable way of stripping defences with debuffs that can run out before you apply another one. I mean, lol clubs. (sure they changed that legendary sword to club but come on)
While you waste rounds and accumulate focus on all that shit I think other classes would just kill enemies outright.

Could go nuts and also apply Psychovampiric Shield

That one is ok, due to being low level.

 

[Haplo]

Well, at level 16+ sure. But then the Ascendant Cipher can do so as well (again, starting level 13). I'm talking stuff you can do at PL 3. When you still don't rolfstomp everything, not on PotD.

And debuffs (even grazes) don't come out before you apply the next one, because most have 0,5 second cast time.

 

[Shadenuat]

or I set up to be told in a poor manner

I think this one is accurate.

What is "dealing with implacable gods"? Because it's mostly reading their nicely animated text screens. As everyone knows you can just stay silent during their bickering and it works perfectly.

 

[Grunker]

Sorry to keep posting these but I think this one post is worth it

A perculiar rationalization from a man who, as Roguey has quoted many times, believes that it's wrong for video games to "ape" other media, and who knows the value of gameplay. I don't know shit about Deadfire 'cause I ain't played it, but if people are complaining about lacking gameplay-solution to the story, then Josh' rationale, by his own logic, isn't sufficient.

I.e. if he wanted a culmination less about confrontation and more about revelation, is that reflected in the gameplay? If not, his argument is faulty.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

Oh suck a cock, Josh. I didn't expect to fight Eothas by myself. I was working with entire fucking pantheon of other gods, remember? There were many options to set up a cool story without falling into cliches where Watcher becomes an omnipotent, unstoppable, chosen one kind of protagonist.

One option is to have player negotiate some alliance of gods and defeat Eothas while working with that alliance and then have player pick up the pieces

Another option is to set up a twist where Eothas is a good guy, but he dies in a volcano, and finale has you cut the ties with the gods and deal with faction conflict.

The main story may have been good for a fantasy novel, but it's shitty for a video game. Player agency is a thing, muthafucka. You set up a main quest where players has no agency.

 

[fantadomat]

Safav Hamon is really draining my brain power with every post. Percentages don't just work by adding to each other you retarded kid,finish 9th grade before posting here.


I do believe that BG2 does have better itemisation than PoE games,it is far more clearer and to the point. Also you get to construct some of the best weapons. While Deadfire's weapons do have all those pointless percentages that only work on different enemy states etc etc.It looks like clusterfuck of pointless information,when all they do is pulverise the enemy before their magic shit could do something.

 

[Mortmal]

That's still a better system than that one designed by sawyer, when each level brings nothing to be enthusiastic about .Plenty of feats , that just bloat the action bar with dubious to mininal effects.The encounters are all similar for my party once, again, i send ender the invicible tank ahead, he tank, party spank. Theres no need of crowd control, nor giving priority to any target , everything works.There's no need to be carefull with your build , its all wasted time.

Umm, try setting higher difficulty then Story mode? On PotD I'm getting plenty of challenge and tactics - at least till level 12.
Also dubious to "minimal effects" of feats? You're kidding, right?

Itemization ? my backpack is full of legendary item , all of them similar ,upgradable in the same way, nothing unique except the talking lesbian sword wich is a nice touch . Once again its bloated with details and stats but they means nothing.

True, the nerfs from the last patch went a bit too far IMO and some previously very interesting pieces of equipment were reduced to like 10% activation chance or 3-5% effects. But it's still WAY better then the holy BG.

Higher setting than story mode, of course i do, and there's nothing hard at all. Was a bit more harder to play divos 2, that without using breaking building using time spot and lonewolf summoners. In poe 2 there's no need to use a broken build to have thing easy. Diddnt even know such things existed, thanks to the thread i do now.

 

[Lacrymas]

Anything below PotD is a mistake and invalid.

 

[fantadomat]

Anything below PotD is a mistake and invalid.

By that logic PoE3 will sell 10,000 copies,only try hards play on the hardest difficulty.

 

[santino27]

Sorry to keep posting these but I think this one post is worth it

So basically, he was the wrong person to be in charge of Deadfire. Got it. If there's a POE3, (and at this point, that's far from a given, I think), hopefully they'll find someone more interested in providing an entertaining game than a repudiation of fantasy story arcs and the need for player agency in video games.

 

[aweigh]

Don't you know that subverting subversive subversion is the new cool. When you can't write you resort to doing the opposite of what's good.

 

[Shadenuat]

I can't but wonder what a great story we missed which was experienced by Durance instead. He was manipulated by implacable gods TM, whom he believed, into killing a living miracle. Now that probably was an awesome choice to make.

then again

BELLS RING
- Hoi! Is the bomb ready yet??
- No I am grinding fampyrs to test my cleric build
- Well you better go and collect those things and make that bomb!!

 

[Lacrymas]

This is a mistake a lot of amateur writers make, the most interesting story is actually in the past or not happening to the protagonist and they only hear of it on the side. The best conflict by far in the whole lore is the Saint's War, while we are stuck babysitting the gods and doing side tasks for clowns. It's interesting how they kinda stopped with the whole lore thing, I don't think we learn anything of past conflicts or the past in general in this game. Where's my Deep Lore (tm), man?

 

[fantadomat]

Sorry to keep posting these but I think this one post is worth it

So basically, he was the wrong person to be in charge of Deadfire. Got it. If there's a POE3, (and at this point, that's far from a given, I think), hopefully they'll find someone more interested in providing an entertaining game than a repudiation of fantasy story arcs and the need for player agency in video games.

That ones should have been obvious by the end of PoE. But the bosses at obsidian thought that the game sold well therefore he was done a good job with the project. And that was as far as possible,as the sales show it,if there is a third game it will move a half of what deadfire moved. That man killed any chance of this becoming a franchise,but the greater fault lies with bosses at Obsidian. They didn't chose the right man for the job and let him do what ever. It is like choosing a vegan to write a game/story about a stake house. Josh made it clear many times that he only have destain for such type of games.

 

[Lacrymas]

Most of the incline moments were his doing, so it's unfair to bash him for the low sales. He should've known better about the story, but seeing as he doesn't have any writing talent working at Obs atm, it's a tall order.