Review RPG Codex Review: Darth Roxor on Disappointment, thy name is Pillars of Eternity

[Blaine]

Turns out Irenaeus was right all along. You can look forward to spine-tingling wizard battles such as these:

Oh yes, yes the typical.
Very tactical.

 

[ZagorTeNej]

I don't see what's so controversial about what Infinitron's saying. The game isn't completely devoid of complexity.

If I auto-pilot using largely the same strategy through nearly everything from trash mobs to set-piece fights is that complexity put to good use? Why should the same strategy work with near same efficiency on a Dragon, party vs party fight and a bunch of wolves and beetles?

People can disagree and laugh all they want but BG1 party vs party fights (including the end one) made me pause and think my options through, in PoE mid-game forward you start feeling far too safe going into any fight, you know you can take out the wizard right away (no danger of him pulling off a mirror image), you know your abilities are gonna work (Ooze, Dragon, humanoid doesn't matter, mass knockdown, blindness, paralyze galore), you know they're gonna glue up to your tank like flies on shit and you know he ain't gonna go down (even a poorly built one like Eder).

 

[tuluse]

Sorry, I didn't mean for my rhetorical sophistry to upset you.

What about my earlier reply to you? I think you're too eager to damn the entire system because Sawyer has let you down, so he clearly can't be right about anything. Why not try to say, do some modding and create reactive encounters using PoE's system?

If you get inflicted with blindness and see a bunch of melee guys advancing towards you, you have to react to that by running away from them. In PoE, enemies generally keep on doing their thing when they get hit with afflictions, as if nothing happened. Don't you see how this could be completely changing your view of the game? What if you had to go and chase them instead, running into their allies' defensive formations? There's so many things to take into account here before you go around deciding the core system is junk.

Blindness only affects your ability to do damage not take it. Tanks can still stand there, engage and absorb damage, and that's what they do.

 

[Irenaeus]

Turns out Irenaeus was right all along. You can look forward to spine-tingling wizard battles such as these:

Oh yes, yes the typical.
Very tactical.

I convinced those guys I was dangerous and they left me alone. Then Edér took the Dragon Egg for the hot shopseller in Dyrford

 

[Athelas]

Blindness only affects your ability to do damage not take it. Tanks can still stand there, engage and absorb damage, and that's what they do.

Blindness also makes you easier to hit.

If I auto-pilot using largely the same strategy through nearly everything from trash mobs to set-piece fights is that complexity put to good use?

It isn't? I thought that was fairly well established by now. This wasn't what was being discussed though.

 

[ZagorTeNej]

Blindness only affects your ability to do damage not take it. Tanks can still stand there, engage and absorb damage, and that's what they do.

It does both (-20 to defense), tanks are just so superhuman you probably didn't notice (and it will likely be a graze so it's lasts few second only).

 

[FeelTheRads]

It's almost as if this game is way too complex for any one person's gameplay style to characterize it with absolute confidence

You've reached a new low in sucking up. Keep it up, I'm sure the Doritos will come soon.

 

[Blaine]

Irenaeus
When characters loaded down with dank gear try to pick a fight with me in cRPGs, I usually let them.

 

[Sensuki]

Just ignore the Blindness and afflict them with stuff back as usual. Any moment you spend moving is moments you spend losing!

 

[Irenaeus]

It's almost as if this game is way too complex for any one person's gameplay style to characterize it with absolute confidence

You've reached a new low in sucking up. Keep it up, I'm sure the Doritos will come soon.

You reached a new low of edginess. Oh wait, no you didn't. You were always like this.

 

[Blaine]

Just ignore the Blindness and afflict them with stuff back as usual. Any moment you spend moving is moments you spend losing!

This is my favorite battle music from Pillars of Eternity:

 

[Irenaeus]

Irenaeus
When characters loaded down with dank gear try to pick a fight with me in cRPGs, I usually let them.

Good for you, I usually intimidate people into submission. Or maybe help the weak, if I'm feeling merciful

 

[Hatred]

When characters loaded down with dank gear try to pick a fight with me in cRPGs, I usually let them.[Rational]

 

[tuluse]

It does both (-20 to defense), tanks are just so superhuman you probably didn't notice (and it will likely be a graze so it's lasts few second only).

Blindness also makes you easier to hit.

Thanks for the correction.

I think, keep engaging them with your tanks is still the best strategy though. The worst thing you could do is give up position and cause a chaos where high damage guys get to your squishies.

 

[mastroego]

It's almost as if this game is way too complex for any one person's gameplay style to characterize it with absolute confidence

You've reached a new low in sucking up. Keep it up, I'm sure the Doritos will come soon.

Also, the simple answer to the dilemma is that the game is catering to a "wider audience".

 

[Kz3r0]

I think you're too eager to damn the entire system because Sawyer has let you down, so he clearly can't be right about anything. Why not try to say, do some modding and create reactive encounters using PoE's system?

We are witnessing the evolution of mods will fix it here.
The next step, game sucks, make your own.

 

[Irenaeus]

It's almost as if this game is way too complex for any one person's gameplay style to characterize it with absolute confidence

You've reached a new low in sucking up. Keep it up, I'm sure the Doritos will come soon.

Also, the simple answer to the dilemma is that the game is catering to a "wider audience".

Yeah, the audience of good cRPG players, not the crybabies in this thread.

 

[Infinitron]

It does both (-20 to defense), tanks are just so superhuman you probably didn't notice (and it will likely be a graze so it's lasts few second only).

Blindness also makes you easier to hit.

Thanks for the correction.

I think, keep engaging them with your tanks is still the best strategy though. The worst thing you could do is give up position and cause a chaos where high damage guys get to your squishies.

Even if gets you killed, though? Fact is, when you engage with certain enemy tanks, put a strong enough debuff on one and start wailing on him, that's often a death sentence. So why shouldn't they retreat, pull out a ranged weapon instead, something? And remember, it doesn't have to be just one tank. One defender could retreat, leaving you to deal with others.

 

[Zero Credibility]

Sounds like a stupid mage for not having meatshields of his own to stop your fighters.

Hey, don't blame the mage, that's how the encounter was designed. Even if his meat (well, bone) shields managed to intercept my fighters in time, I would have just shoot his undead ass. +3 damage resistance for 45 seconds self buff isn't going to do shit in this game. Proper mage fights need effective magical protections and better ways of stripping them than "I hit him with my axe".

Also,

The narrative is great. The whole story is leagues ahead anything I've seen in a videogame so far.

you can't be serious, right? It's one thing to say that the story in this game is great (I would disagree, but ok, you like it). But to say it's the best you've ever seen? Seriously? This story is better than PS:T or MotB or Fallout?

 

[Sensuki]

Even if gets you killed, though? Fact is, when you engage with certain enemy tanks, put a strong enough debuff on one and start wailing on him, that's often a death sentence. So why shouldn't they retreat, pull out a ranged weapon instead, something? And remember, it doesn't have to be just one tank. One defender could retreat, leaving you to deal with others.

Because they'll suffer a disengagement attack and lose action speed from moving, and then you'll just catch up to them and re-engage them anyway.

 

[Infinitron]

Even if gets you killed, though? Fact is, when you engage with certain enemy tanks, put a strong enough debuff on one and start wailing on him, that's often a death sentence. So why shouldn't they retreat, pull out a ranged weapon instead, something? And remember, it doesn't have to be just one tank. One defender could retreat, leaving you to deal with others.

Because they'll suffer a disengagement attack and lose action speed from moving, and then you'll just catch up to them and re-engage them anyway.

I'm talking about a situation where a character gets hit with a debuff before being engaged in melee, but that might be something worth thinking about, sure. I'm not a huge supporter of the engagement system as you know, even though I don't think it's that big of a deal.

 

[Irenaeus]

Sounds like a stupid mage for not having meatshields of his own to stop your fighters.

Hey, don't blame the mage, that's how the encounter was designed. Even if his meat (well, bone) shields managed to intercept my fighters in time, I would have just shoot his undead ass. +3 damage resistance for 45 seconds self buff isn't going to do shit in this game. Proper mage fights need effective magical protections and better ways of stripping them than "I hit him with my axe".

I agree that buffs need some tweaking, but I trust Sawyer to balance it.

Mages need meatshilds to protect them if they want to live. This is the same for players. Also, the game could use more gun wielding enemies.

Also,

The narrative is great. The whole story is leagues ahead anything I've seen in a videogame so far.

you can't be serious, right? It's one thing to say that the story in this game is great (I would disagree, but ok, you like it). But to say it's the best you've ever seen? Seriously? This story is better than PS:T or MotB or Fallout?

I'm dead serious. I'm only comparing to the last 10 years. And yes, the story is on par with MotB, basically leagues ahead any story in videogames we have been seeing.

 

[tuluse]

I'm talking about a situation where a character gets hit with a debuff before being engaged in melee, but that might be something worth thinking about, sure. I'm not a huge supporter of the engagement system as you know, even though I don't think it's that big of a deal.

Movement speed is just to high to remotely manage this.

 

[ZagorTeNej]

I think, keep engaging them with your tanks is still the best strategy though. The worst thing you could do is give up position and cause a chaos where high damage guys get to your squishies.

It's the best strategy no matter what they throw on your tank (he can soldier through it), It's why confusion/charm using enemies stand out so much, they're the only effects that stop him from doing his job.

 

[Irenaeus]

I'm talking about a situation where a character gets hit with a debuff before being engaged in melee, but that might be something worth thinking about, sure. I'm not a huge supporter of the engagement system as you know, even though I don't think it's that big of a deal.

Movement speed is just to high to remotely manage this.

I think movement speed should be decreased too.