What game will best teach me how to enjoy RTwP combat?

[Invictus]

Freedom Force is such an underrated game; their combat system is the best hybrid between rtwp and cooldowns because you dont have to micromanage everything with constant pausing...plus the superhero setting with it’s hammy voice acting is fantastic
I highly recommend it

Dragon Age Origins also has a good combat system, although the endless trash mobs make it kind of a pain but it is definitely the last truly good game from Bioware

Lastly, remember to try different settings in games like Icewind Dale to make sure the game autopauses how you like it; when enemies are spotted, your characters are low on HP, etc to make sure you get the most meaningful pauses.... everything else you can manage

 

[Mightmagic]

Hey, first of all I'm brand new here so if this thread is redundant feel free to direct me to answers elsewhere. I'm asking because this seems like the place where I'd get good answers but it's also probably a place people have asked similar questions before.

Anyway after recently enjoying Divinity:OS2 I've decided to kind of give myself the grand tour of cRPGs cause there's so many classic games I've been meaning to play, and now there's a whole revival movement of new games and I can feel the backlog swelling lol. For example I've never actually beaten Planescape Torment, Baldur's Gate 2, Fallout, etc.

But of course a lot of the genre is built around party-based RTwP combat, which doesn't come naturally to me because I'm 27 so I was a little too young to be playing those games when they came out. The formative RPG for me was Neverwinter Nights; I came up in the era where that formula was starting to go out of style.

I tried starting Baldur's Gate and I was frustrated by my early experiences with the combat, so I switched gears to Pillars of Eternity to see if a modern UI, etc. would provide a more comfortable beginner experience and it definitely does, but I'm still not quite convinced by the combat so I was wondering if I should just stick with it (I'm only a couple hours in) or if there's an obvious better choice for a first game to teach me and get me used to RTwP and show me how to have the most fun with it.

Especially because some of the games I want to play I know have clunky or shitty combat, and some of them I know are really deep/complex/obtuse, so I think starting with something that has accessible, fun RTwP combat to show me the ropes will help me be more familiar and comfortable before I get around to the games where the combat risks being a slog or risks overwhelming me. My hope is that picking the right order to play games in as I get started will help me get the most enjoyment out of everything.

TL;DR: To help me get started with RTwP combat, which RTwP games have the best/most fun combat, offer the most beginner friendly experience, or have a the best mix of both?

Baldur's gate series. RTWP is very good system with these games.

 

[JarlFrank]

High Calibre 7.62

This is the only good RTwP system because it isn't some unholy bastardization of turn-based and real-time, but the system is actually designed for RTwP

 

[buffalo bill]

If RTwP isn't currently your thing, and you want it to be, I'd suggest taking up boxing or some other sport where you take a lot of trauma to the head (rugby or football would also probably work). After a few years of this--maybe combined with some heavy drinking and/or drug use--I suspect you'll find RTwP far more enjoyable.

 

[deama]

Well, what's your problem with RTWP? Is it too slow? Is it too fast?

 

[pomenitul]

I assume the naysayers are mostly control freaks/OCD sufferers/sperglords who can't handle the existence of chaos.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

Chaos is fun in action games. When you're guiding several little men, the chaos feels like you're playing chess with a kid who has Tourette's and he slams the board hard every ten seconds and you have to fight the urge to abandon tactics and just fling your pieces at his pieces and hope you win.

 

[Bricker]

+1 pathfinder

 

[Jack Of Owls]

Pathfinder Kingmaker is okay and an excellent example of satisfying RTwP but Owlcat miscalculated the ideal length for the game, imo. Understandable since Josh Sawyer once said that the most difficult thing about producing IWD2 was figuring out the length of a game, and what would be too long or not long enough.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

Pathfinder: Kingmaker is probably the best choice. Icewind Dale II might be a good compromise between the old ways and new if experimenting with combat is your singular goal. If you aren't knowledgeable with D&D/Pathfinder from your NWN days of yore, Mass Effect or Dragon Age: Origins are your best bet. They will fare well with modern sensibilities. I strongly recommend sticking it out with the Baldur's Gate series though. The experience will change up by Level 3, and considerably by Level 5. It will change you.

 

[AwesomeButton]

Arcanum

I was going to say Age of Decadence, but this is actually a better option.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

Arcanum

I was going to say Age of Decadence, but this is actually a better option.

This is crazy talk. I like Arcanum, and prefer RTwP (generally), but combat is the worst part of Arcanum--especially when in RTwP mode. Even if your'e a solo mage spamming Harm. The OP wants to learn the virtues of RTwP combat, not hate it.

 

[AshWednesday]

Thanks to all the people who gave actual recommendations! I think I have some pretty good ideas now.

Seems like a handful of you also just came here to relitigate a 20-year-old argument about whether RTwP or turn-based is better haha, not that I didn't kind of expect it. I hope you're having fun at least.

Also big thanks to the people who have said both that only autistic people like RTwP and that only autistic people don't like RTwP, as an actual autistic person now I can be like schroedinger's cat I guess

 

[Saduj]

Global Thermal Nuclear War

Spoiler

 

[Neanderthal]

Jagged Alliance 2 and Temple of Elemental Evil.

 

[Swigen]

The only thing you’ll learn to enjoy playing RTwP gaems is save scumming.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

"RTwP: We looked at turn-based combat and real-time combat, then devised something worse than either!"

 

[Catacombs]

The only thing you’ll learn to enjoy playing RTwP gaems is save scumming.

This. The first I always look for when starting a new game is the quick save key.

 

[DemonKing]

Play Pools of Radiance 2 without a speed mod - RTWP will seem like a dream afterwards.

 

[newtmonkey]

I would suggest going back to Baldur's Gate 1 and turning on a bunch of the feedback options so that combat is constantly pausing, and then turning those options off as you get used to the flow.

The vast majority of combat in BG1 is against mobs of boring monsters where all you do is keep an eye on your HP and react accordingly. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, though I know a lot of people here hate "trash mob" combat meant only to slowly sap your resources. It's not meant to be a tactically-rich experience, it's meant to be a simulation of playing Dungeons & Dragons, which means it's a game of exploring while managing limited resources (granted, most of the maps are completely empty other than trash mobs, and being able to rest basically anywhere means your resources are hardly limited...)

 

[sser]

As mentioned, Freedom Force. Or really Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich. It is the gold standard of RTWP.

I'll throw out a somewhat niche/underrated RPG in Of Orcs and Men, which uses a quasi-RTWP w/ action queues very well, as does the Game of Thrones RPG.

 

[AwesomeButton]

Arcanum

I was going to say Age of Decadence, but this is actually a better option.

This is crazy talk. I like Arcanum, and prefer RTwP (generally), but combat is the worst part of Arcanum--especially when in RTwP mode. Even if your'e a solo mage spamming Harm. The OP wants to learn the virtues of RTwP combat, not hate it.

Then it would have taught you that either can be done badly.

Personally, the PoE games made me convinced that RtwP is generally worse than TB. But I wouldn't say that any TB is better than every RtwP. That's what D:OS2 taught me.

 

[anvi]

Dragon Age Origins is perfect for you. Just don't play the sequels. With Dragon Age Origins you can win easier fights without having to pause at all. If something goes wrong you reload and you can pause mid fight to use potions and things as you need. On hard fights you can pause every 1 second, literally, which lets you make sure every character is doing everything perfectly at every second of the fight. You can't lose if you pause that much because even in a really tough fight you can just drink a big bunch of potions on your tank while you blast some stuff to death and then it gets easier. Good game, codex is a bit retarded when it comes to that game and RTWP in general. RTWP isn't really any different than a turn based game, you just control the turns yourself with the spacebar.

 

[anvi]

As mentioned, Freedom Force. Or really Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich. It is the gold standard of RTWP.

I like those games but I don't think they are a gold standard of anything. They are repetitive and simple.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

RTwP is not RTS-like: it requires no twitchiness and fast reaction whatsoever. There is zero action element in it and there is no rush to do anything. By this logic, CK, HoI or Victoria share appeal with Starcraft or Warcraft.

There are some RTwP games where gameplay is pretty much centered on dodging telegraphed AOEs.
Masquerada and Aarklash: Legacy for example.