Who actively uses scrolls and potions in their walkthroughs?

[Space Satan]

Baldur's Gate I and II, Pillars of Eternity I and II, Neverwinter Nights, Divinity, Mights & Magic, Dragon Age: Origins, Icewind Dale i and II and other RPGs.
In each and any of them I find that I never use scrolls or potions save for healing ones.
Lightning scrolls, potion of protection and all others - in all games I used only healing and potion of master thievery in BGII.
It seems like OCD like in Half-Life2 when you finish the game with full arsenal of precious rockets, that super gun with energy balls and full stock of crossbow arrows.
And if potions are suitable as a pre-buff, for example before fighting a dragon, scrolls are especially rare to be used. Even hard ironman for Pillars I always relied on passive healing potions but never on scrolls. I noticed that I am not the only one who plays like that and people rarely use scrolls or potion even in the most limatic battles.
To a certain extent that extends to resting. And dragging a party full of injured characters is a usual sight.
Who else ignore scrolls and non-healing potions in their playthrought ad why?

 

[Reinhardt]

Add magic arrows to the list and it's me.

 

[Space Satan]

Umm, yeah, common arrows - shitload of them. magic arrows - 4 gold EACH. Fuck that, my inner jew holds my hand each time I want to click "buy"

 

[CrunchyHemorrhoids]

RPG hoarders anonymous.

The Witcher 1 had a good solution for this (in hard mode): no magic potion/scroll drops, let the player know what kind of enemy he's facing in advance, make expensive crafted alchemy items a requirement to defeat it and make it so he has to consume the items in advance before battle.

 

[Lilura]

Depends on the game.

Depends on party composition.

Depends on many things.

 

[ArchAngel]

I used protection potions in BG, especially in solo runs. In BG2 I used Protection from Magic and such scrolls for certain fights. Also extra healing potions in some fights.

In PoE I only used food a bit.

In Kingmaker so far I have been using a fair bit of potions, wands, rods and scrolls to avoid unnecessary resting. Game is pure

 

[Delterius]

use them as soon as they drop

 

[Lilura]

The Witcher 1 had a good solution for this (in hard mode): no magic potion/scroll drops, let the player know what kind of enemy he's facing in advance, make expensive crafted alchemy items a requirement to defeat it and make it so he has to consume the items in advance before battle.

The problem is that it's too easy to make the potions. But yeah, the point is that you are forced to use them on hard mode or you will fail, and that's a good thing. Swordflight is the only other RPG I know of that strongly encourages consumable use on a consistent basis (scrolls, wands, potions, special one-use items).

 

[Cael]

Who else ignore scrolls and non-healing potions in their playthrought ad why?

Most of the time, there is no reason to use them. The game is simply too easy, and resting is everywhere. NWN is a classic example of this. Why bother drinking even healing pots when you can just rest for a few seconds and get it all back anyway? Even a vaguely optimised toon will cut through the game's mobs. A level 10 dragon disciple will just laugh at the final HotU battle.

BG has a use for pots of Mirrored Eyes or scrolls of protection from petrification, but other than that, not much reason to use consumables.

 

[Butter]

You can use your non-renewable resources (potions and scrolls), or you can keep swinging your sword until the enemy dies. You can get around this with simple anti-hoarding mechanics though. Imagine raider parties coming after you because word is you're carrying a fortune in rare goods.

 

[Reinhardt]

Black Gayser.

 

[Lilura]

You can use your non-renewable resources (potions and scrolls), or you can keep swinging your sword until the enemy dies.

Again, we need to set forth parameters in order to have a meaningful discussion. Your comment is basically as useless as the OPs because it doesn't speak of specifics.

Example: In the Witcher's hard mode (which is the recommended mode of play), you can't just keep swinging your sword at the enemy until it dies. If you try to do that then you're dead. You need potions and preferably oils/greases and Signs as well. Same in Swordflight. Haven't brought potions down to the dungeon? Not taking advantage of consumable itemization in the dungeon? Expect to die over and over again.

 

[Butter]

You can use your non-renewable resources (potions and scrolls), or you can keep swinging your sword until the enemy dies.

Again, we need to set forth parameters in order to have a meaningful discussion. Your comment is basically as useless as the OPs because it doesn't speak of specifics.

Example: In the Witcher's hard mode (which is the recommended mode of play), you can't just keep swinging your sword at the enemy until it dies. If you try do that, you're dead. You need potions and preferably oils/greases and Signs as well. Same in Swordflight. Haven't brought potions with you for a dungeon? Not taking advantage of consumable itemization in the dungeon? Expect to die over and over again.

OK, a specific example of what I wrote is Pillars of Eternity. Unless you're trying to do the Ultimate, you can safely ignore most consumables due to difficulty, and there's no mechanic that actively encourages you to use them.

 

[Black Angel]

I did in Arcanum and Gothic(s)

 

[*-*/\--/\~]

Pretty much the same, as their effects tend to be weak, short lasting and easily replicable by spells or even permanent items. Add the fact that most of the games listed throw 6000 encounters at you because of the stupid RTwP and it's suddenly too much of a bother.

 

[Ismaul]

Same here.

I started playing PoE this month (on PotD obviously), and aside from using food at low level to see if it was useful, I haven't used a scroll or potion at all yet, not even for healing. I've got Durance so. I've just finished act2 and I expect this to continue, as I now crush easily most encounters, while at low level they were more challening.

The Witcher 1 was truly the shit for combat prep / potion and oil use, because it was really impactful and useful. We need more of this. Sad that they dumbed it down in the sequels. I haven't really used combat enhancing potions in the Witcher 3, and while I did use oils their effect was pretty marginal.

 

[Ismaul]

Consumables in many games are basically just a catch-up mechanic for those that can't into tactics and party-building. If you got gud, then the benefit of using them is not worth the time and hassle to actually use them.

Man games are truly made for the lowest common denominator if, when you play on the hardest difficulty and you don't even use consumable resources, you still get through encounters like butter.

 

[The Brazilian Slaughter]

Divinity: Original Sin has me using almost every scroll I can get my hands on. Some scrolls are life-savers due to the way the game works, and scrolls allow arming every single party-member with useful spells "just in case".

 

[ArchAngel]

You can use your non-renewable resources (potions and scrolls), or you can keep swinging your sword until the enemy dies. You can get around this with simple anti-hoarding mechanics though. Imagine raider parties coming after you because word is you're carrying a fortune in rare goods.

Yea great idea. Lets add more encounters to the game where party murders them and picks up more consumable items they don't use

 

[Dorateen]

I enjoyed the AD&D rule that starting at 10th level, a thief had a chance to read from magic-user scrolls. And the Gold Box games implemented this including a notification of OOPS! when a thief character failed.

 

[Morm]

Depends on the game.

I used lots of consumables in Underrail, I wouldn't have finished the game without them. Not only heal potions, but also buffs, grenades, special ammos, ... But having only one character is probably the reason.

 

[Jacob]

I had always thought that good game itemization => I'd use potion and scrolls and grenades often.
Reading the other posts on this thread confirms that my opinion is true.

 

[Piotrovitz]

Healing pots in BG1/2, potions of superman in Wiz 8, and the fire rain scrolls I had to use on early encounters with orcs in Gothic 2 are the only ones I can remember. This, plus couple of fan of flames scrolls in early game PoE1 on PotD.

 

[SerratedBiz]

Pathfinder is the first D&D game where I've actually used scrolls and wands periodically, in most part because of the time limit which makes my inner overachiever all tingly inside. So in order to avoid resting after every encounter I need to use all resources available.

I always thought it was funny, at the end of my Baldur's Gate playthroughs, that my party had spent anywhere between 3-5 years adventuring and that most of that time was probably spent resting.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG