The definitive, last Pillars of Eternity rating thread!

[J_C]

Still haven't played the goddamn game. Just say it outright already, does it suck or is it good. If its better or atleast as good as Neverwinter Nights OC I am fine with it.
Also, expansions worth it?

I am so conflicted, even the poll looks conflicted. I suddenly feel like I should go play KOTOR2 again now.

The expansions improve it a lot, so I'd recommend to buy it. And I think even the haters agree that it is better than NN OC.

 

[Sizzle]

Still haven't played the goddamn game. Just say it outright already, does it suck or is it good. If its better or atleast as good as Neverwinter Nights OC I am fine with it.
Also, expansions worth it?

I am so conflicted, even the poll looks conflicted. I suddenly feel like I should go play KOTOR2 again now.

Install it (with both expansions, if you can), see for yourself if you like it.

This is the Codex - some people really like it, many find it okay, while others claim it's the worst thing that ever occurred in the history of the universe.

As for the NWN2 OC comparison... well... it does some things better, some things worse, but it has two things going for it - no Grobnar, and nothing as remotely tedious as the Orc Caves :D

 

[Coma White]

The problem with this game are the fucking Byzantine mechanics. They seem designed to just fuck your immersion at every turn, and their reliance on percentile increases and activated abilities shoots itemization and character progression in the foot.

This game is a 6/10 for me. Absolutely baffling Obsidian billed this as a successor to the Infinity Engine games, which aside from Icewind Dale II all relied on the elegant and sensible AD&D rule set. Aside from the isometric perspective and the party-based gameplay, PoE has almost nothing in common with with those older and vastly superior games.

 

[Dedicated_Dark]

The expansions improve it a lot, so I'd recommend to buy it. And I think even the haters agree that it is better than NN OC.

That's all I needed. Thanks.

Install it (with both expansions, if you can), see for yourself if you like it.

This is the Codex - some people really like it, many find it okay, while others claim it's the worst thing that ever occurred in the history of the universe.

As for the NWN2 OC comparison... well... it does some things better, some things worse, but it has two things going for it - no Grobnar, and nothing as remotely tedious as the Orc Caves :D

I am fine with okay. Guess I'll have to play it and see how okay it really is.

 

[Parabalus]

That's all I needed. Thanks.



I am fine with okay. Guess I'll have to play it and see how okay it really is.

That's all I needed. Thanks.



I am fine with okay. Guess I'll have to play it and see how okay it really is.

Play it first before buying it. I'm a huge fan of PoE, but there is no need to risk it if you're uncertain.

It's easily the best Obsidian game to date tho.

 

[Starwars]

Real Witcher talk

I like the Witcher 1 but how anyone can find the story in that good is completely beyond me.

Witcher 2 has a good story overall but basically everything in that game is pure trash when it comes to gameplay.

 

[Roguey]

elegant and sensible AD&D rule set

 

[Coma White]

Well compared to PoE anyway .

 

[Roguey]

Well compared to PoE anyway .

 

[Coma White]

Well I can't argue with that. Instead I pose a question: why do Pillars' mechanics feel so much more convoluted to me than AD&D? Is it just my back-of-the-hand familiarity with AD&D? Or am I retardo/disinclined to learn a new system? Why does Pillars confuse the hell out of me when I can do damage calculations etc in my head for IE games?

I haven't played PoE since the original release, and I gather they've changed things practically every update. But I remember just being turned off by the whole Accuracy and Crit systems, etc.

 

[Roguey]

Is it just my back-of-the-hand familiarity with AD&D?

That's part of it.

Why does Pillars confuse the hell out of me when I can do damage calculations etc in my head for IE games?

It's because D&D had to be designed with the limitations of human beings in mind whereas Pillars's system was built with the knowledge and intention that a computer would be handling all the math.

 

[Volrath]

Is it just my back-of-the-hand familiarity with AD&D?

That's part of it.

It's because D&D had to be designed with the limitations of human beings in mind whereas Pillars's system was built with the knowledge and intention that a computer would be handling all the math.

It's because AD&D is fun, while Sawyer's autistic sperging isn't.

 

[Coma White]

That's part of it.



It's because D&D had to be designed with the limitations of human beings in mind whereas Pillars's system was built with the knowledge and intention that a computer would be handling all the math.

I think that was my problem with it. AD&D has its systemic quirks, but a lot of it is really TACTILE in a way. Rolling a d20, consulting a THAC0 chart, that's all stuff you can physically do. With PoE, it all just felt sort of... up in the air? Like the game was playing itself.

If a system is primarily mathematical (to-hit rolls, crit ratings, etc), I need to be able to understand it, use it, in a vacuum. Maybe I'm just an autist, but as a player I crave the reward of mastering a system in itself (making it work on its own) before applying it (smashing an orc with a Quarterstaff +1, or whatever the fuck). PoE just kept telling me "don't worry about it, just go for whatever, it'll work out" -- I fucking hate that.

 

[Hyperion]

Well I can't argue with that. Instead I pose a question: why do Pillars' mechanics feel so much more convoluted to me than AD&D? Is it just my back-of-the-hand familiarity with AD&D? Or am I retardo/disinclined to learn a new system? Why does Pillars confuse the hell out of me when I can do damage calculations etc in my head for IE games?

I haven't played PoE since the original release, and I gather they've changed things practically every update. But I remember just being turned off by the whole Accuracy and Crit systems, etc.

I have never played D&D. I feel the exact opposite of you.

I downloaded IWD:EE after enjoying PoE. Spent 2 hours rolling stats for my party, ensuring all 90+ rolls before I realized EE Keeper was a thing. I then uninstalled out of sheer anger after my AC went down from putting on Splint Mail. After playing video games for over 2 decades, why in the FUCK would it make sense for my AC to go down? How does that make any sense that less AC is better?

 

[prodigydancer]

I downloaded IWD:EE ... Spent 2 hours rolling stats for my party ... then uninstalled out of sheer anger after my AC went down from putting on Splint Mail.

 

[J_C]

I downloaded IWD:EE ... Spent 2 hours rolling stats for my party ... then uninstalled out of sheer anger after my AC went down from putting on Splint Mail.

To be fair, if someone plays this ruleset in this day, and haven't played anything similar before, this AC mechanics doesn't make a damn sense. Although this is not such a big deal to uninstall the game because of it.

 

[SausageInYourFace]

You don't have to study the AD&D ruleset at all do understand basics like AC, its actually common sense, I understood it well enough as a kid. No armor, high AC, put shitty armor on, slightly lower AC, put better armor on, even lower AC.

Doesn't take a fucking genius to conclude that lower means better then, come on.

 

[Sizzle]

I downloaded IWD:EE ... Spent 2 hours rolling stats for my party ... then uninstalled out of sheer anger after my AC went down from putting on Splint Mail.

To be fair, if someone plays this ruleset in this day, and haven't played anything similar before, this AC mechanics doesn't make a damn sense. Although this is not such a big deal to uninstall the game because of it.

To be fair, he could have always tried equipping other armor to see what would have happened then.

If armor makes the AC go down instead of up, and armor is generally considered a good thing to have on your adventurer (unless you're a monk/mage), then it's not really that big of a logical stretch to conclude that lower AC = better chance of not getting hit.

 

[Coma White]

I have never played D&D. I feel the exact opposite of you.

I downloaded IWD:EE after enjoying PoE. Spent 2 hours rolling stats for my party, ensuring all 90+ rolls before I realized EE Keeper was a thing. I then uninstalled out of sheer anger after my AC went down from putting on Splint Mail. After playing video games for over 2 decades, why in the FUCK would it make sense for my AC to go down? How does that make any sense that less AC is better?

I think the key here is "after playing VIDEO games for 2 decades". Modern systems have convinced us to think of higher numbers as being better. Even D&D got on board with 3rd Edition. But really, AD&D's AC and THAC0 systems make perfect sense once you understand how to calculate your to-hit rolls. In fact, I'd argue it makes MORE sense than most systems out there today -- especially those in PoE. You might understand how it works in a general sense, but fuck if you can't test it for yourself.

 

[Hyperion]

You don't have to study the AD&D ruleset at all do understand basics like AC, its actually common sense, I understood it well enough as a kid. No armor, high AC, put shitty armor on, slightly lower AC, put better armor on, even lower AC.

Doesn't take a fucking genius to conclude that lower means better then, come on.

Obviously I exaggerated a bit, don't let the autism take over.

I played IWD:EE and BG:EE both for short periods of time. My main issue is the constant fucking missing. Battles usually take 3x longer than they should because you're standing around whiffing over and over and over. It was less of an issue in Icewind Dale because all of my character stats were well rolled. But in Baldur's Gate in a 6 man party it felt like only the PC and Minsc were able to hit anything.

The final nail in the coffin for BG was the fact that every time you clicked on an ally they would scream out something really fucking stupid. After the 45th GO FOR THE EYES BOO, I couldn't take it anymore. I think you can shut the voices off, but I simply didn't enjoy the game enough as a whole to even warrant that.

I think the key here is "after playing VIDEO games for 2 decades". Modern systems have convinced us to think of higher numbers as being better. Even D&D got on board with 3rd Edition. But really, AD&D's AC and THAC0 systems make perfect sense once you understand how to calculate your to-hit rolls. In fact, I'd argue it makes MORE sense than most systems out there today -- especially those in PoE. You might understand how it works in a general sense, but fuck if you can't test it for yourself.

I think the main difference is really that the numbers for AC and THAC0 were smaller. AC was always between -10 and 10, and THAC0 got smaller as you leveled but was almost never larger than 20, making the calculations even easier.

PoE uses much bigger numbers, so calculating for someone with a Deflection of 126 requires a much quicker brain. In reality, we've just gotten too old and stupid to do it

 

[Jaesun]

Joined: Jul 1, 2016

 

[Hyperion]

Joined: Jul 2, 2016

FTFY.

 

[veskoandroid]

What the hell are you on man? All those reasons you give are nonsensical and idiotic for someone who says he played games for 2 decades. So did I, so did many others here, even longer im sure, bg is one of the very few series of crpg i return to. All the things you complain about that are idiotic, to me those very complaints sound idiotic. Those MAKE BG what it is. AC lower when armor on? Boooohooooooo! :'(
Well yeah, you could read the rules if you haven't already. Read them? Accept or move on.
Minsc warcrying? If anything else, that is one of the most iconic things in BG. Its ok if you don't like it, but, man, its stupud to bitch about it like the world ended.

I didnt like poe, but it was good in some ways, im not turning into a melodrama queen because of it. -_0

Go hit some bags or pillows, and come back.

Sent from my Xperia ZR using Tapatalk

 

[Hyperion]

Those MAKE BG what it is

Which....I...didn't...like. It is possible for people to have differing opinions from you, you know. If I don't like the things that MAKE a game, why in the Nine Circles of Hell would I like it?

bg is one of the very few series of crpg i return to

Right, so keep playing them. I'm not telling you not to. How is this pertinent at all?

AC lower when armor on? Boooohooooooo! :'(

I already said it was an exaggeration, which means it's half-sarcastic. I also didn't include that my introduction to D&D was actually the ToEE computer game. AC worked in the 'normal' way I'm used to in that. I also said I don't play D&D, so 2.5 vs 3.5 (which is apparently when they overhauled things) really means nothing to me. I really can't believe how hung up on one simple fact you are.

Minsc warcrying? If anything else, that is one of the most iconic things in BG.

How is it stupid to bitch about something that irritated the absolute living Hell out of me? Sadly, it wasn't the worst of them. The Evil mage you get before him screams, "QUIT TOUCHING ME!!!!" like a 5 year old when you click him. Khalid screams when you click him. It's not a singular incident. It's a lot of little things that irked the shit out of me.

I obviously had Minsc and a full 6-man party, which basically means the Mage he's looking to protect. I did quite a few side zones and quests. I hit level 3 with quite a few characters due to constant respawning enemies (which also bothered the shit out of me), and as far as I'm concerned, played enough to form the opinion that it isn't for me.

When it comes to RPGs, I find the most fun in the starting aspect of them - not having money, gear, or supplies and needing to scrape by. I also love the idea of building my characters and watching them become powerful. BG managed to somehow make it not fun for me. I can't believe I have to spell all of this out in every single word lest I get attacked by a frothing mob of half-literate dipshits incapable of processing a contrarian thought.

im not turning into a melodrama queen because of it

THAT wasn't melodramatic? I would really hate to see you when you do get sand in your vagina.

 

[Sensuki]

Hyperion

IE games had lots of options for UI and menus. Obsidian were basically like our way or the highway when it comes to that stuff T_T.

I personally like the sound sets in the BG and IWD games. Games of the time tended to have comedic selection lines and whatnot. The game I first encountered it in was Warcraft 2, and Baldur's Gate was built on an RTS engine to begin with, so the BGs and IWDs clearly borrowed from that style.

Games back then were aimed at a younger audience, and when you're 13 or whatever that kind of stuff is super cool. Now that we are older, a lot of us probably want something a bit less cheesy.

Pillars selection lines and voice sets are pretty garbage IMO. Understated and inoffensive? Certainly. But a solid 3/10 for effort/quality.