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The Dark Eye Blackguards - turn-based tactical RPG set in The Dark Eye world

eremita

Savant
Joined
Sep 1, 2013
Messages
797
LOL, ending is fucking shit. It's probably the most rushed, nonsensical ending I have ever seen. Apart from Aurelia, player's choices doesn't matter at all. No different endings (there are two which are basically the same, the "good" provides one additional mini cutscene), no epilogue, none of your choices matter. Also, the game should be like half of its length. While the combat system is deep and robust, the encounter design is mostly shit. Few great encounters are drowned in a pool of mundane fights which are boring as fuck (especially the last dungeon). They should concentrate on the quality of content, not quantity. I was playing on hard (HP boost for enemies included) so the length of a lot of battle was frustrating.

Another thing: balance is fucked up. For half of the game, you are able to debuff your enemies with pretty high chance, thus the game doesn't indicate that you should work on your spell chance. Suddenly, when confronted with Prophets and their lackeys, the spell Resistance of enemies is much higher (something like 60-70% drop in spell chance). Just like that. This is a bad design by definition.

Not saying I hated this game, but I feel like it basically got a free pass on the codex just because it's turned based with pretty complex systems.

And fuck the person who is responsible for fights with Iribar Lilies. Invariable 60% miss chance and endless tentacles taking forever to make their turn was a fucking nightmare. Endless and boring. Those fights made long for RTwP, ohh they really did...
 
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TOUGH GUY

Educated
Joined
Jan 26, 2014
Messages
63
I'm about to fire up Blackguards for the first time ever. Is it worth to go expert mode right off the bat even if I don't really remember the ruleset anymore and I'm also a bit of filthy casual who shirks away from proper challenges and frustrating scenarios in video games as well as in real life?
 
Self-Ejected

Bubbles

I'm forever blowing
Joined
Aug 7, 2013
Messages
7,817
I'm about to fire up Blackguards for the first time ever. Is it worth to go expert mode right off the bat even if I don't really remember the ruleset anymore and I'm also a bit of filthy casual who shirks away from proper challenges and frustrating scenarios in video games as well as in real life?

Play Blackguards 2 first.
 

Gord

Arcane
Joined
Feb 16, 2011
Messages
7,049
I'm about to fire up Blackguards for the first time ever. Is it worth to go expert mode right off the bat even if I don't really remember the ruleset anymore and I'm also a bit of filthy casual who shirks away from proper challenges and frustrating scenarios in video games as well as in real life?

I'd say yes. Just keep a few things in mind:
Magic ability can only be taken at the start of the game.
Iron armor affects spellcasting, so your spellsword will probably not want to use heavy armor.
Direct damage spells largely suck in TDE, they should be used to finish off hurt or clustered enemies (fireball).
Buffs/debuffs are the way to go with magic users. Some of them can be pretty OP eventually.
You'll meet a dwarf (bashing weapons) and a mage right away and they will stay with you for the entire game. A bit later you'll also meet an elven archer, but
she'll "leave" at the end of chapter 2.
Eventually you'll also meet another magic user (a witch) and a warrior (spears).
Swords are versatile, but the highest-damage special attacks require bashing weapons.
Piercing weapons should be used for their wounding special attacks, otherwise they are not that good.
You'll eventually get enough experience points to adjust you char to some degree, if you are unhappy with his skills.
 

Zombra

An iron rock in the river of blood and evil
Patron
Joined
Jan 12, 2004
Messages
11,542
Location
Black Goat Woods !@#*%&^
Make the Codex Great Again! RPG Wokedex Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Serpent in the Staglands Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
I'm about to fire up Blackguards for the first time ever. Is it worth to go expert mode right off the bat even if I don't really remember the ruleset anymore and I'm also a bit of filthy casual who shirks away from proper challenges and frustrating scenarios in video games as well as in real life?
you're not jcd
 

Telengard

Arcane
Joined
Nov 27, 2011
Messages
1,621
Location
The end of every place
I'm about to fire up Blackguards for the first time ever. Is it worth to go expert mode right off the bat even if I don't really remember the ruleset anymore and I'm also a bit of filthy casual who shirks away from proper challenges and frustrating scenarios in video games as well as in real life?
While the character sheet looks complex. it's really not; they just spread it across several pages with large icons, tablet computer style. The amount of variables on the character sheet are actually less than a lot of older games, from before feats even became a thing. If the info was actually properly organized, it wouldn't even take up a full screen.

The only difficulty in the game is if you know two standard rpg facts 1) Concentrating your xp spending is always superior to spreading it out 2) Some character sheet choices are traps, and it pays to read the descriptions, as some of the traps aren't the usual type

As for completing the game on Expert first time out of the gate. If you do the above, the difficult curve is the expected Advanced version of Normal for first half of chapter 1, then Hard for much of the second half (when you're hoarding xp points for the big top tier feat unlocks), and coasting easy for chapter 2-5. So, whether fighting the good fight on Expert is a good idea for you will depend on the dead trap of the second half of chapter 1, and how you feel about such things.
 
Self-Ejected

Bubbles

I'm forever blowing
Joined
Aug 7, 2013
Messages
7,817
As for completing the game on Expert first time out of the gate. If you do the above, the difficult curve is the expected Advanced version of Normal for first half of chapter 1, then Hard for much of the second half (when you're hoarding xp points for the big top tier feat unlocks), and coasting easy for chapter 2-5. So, whether fighting the good fight on Expert is a good idea for you will depend on the dead trap of the second half of chapter 1, and how you feel about such things.

"Expert mode" in Blackguards just means that you create your own character instead of using a premade one.
 

TOUGH GUY

Educated
Joined
Jan 26, 2014
Messages
63
Are the encounters in these comparable to the ones in Battle Isle Incubation in some way? Or are these games a fantasy UFO/JA-lite?
Many of the fights had a similar set piece/puzzle feel to them, if that is what you meant by the Incubation vibe. There were basically no "generated" fights you might find in UFO/JA with a bunch of random mooks on a map just duking it out with your band of blackguards. Obviously the amount of design behind every particular encounter varies greatly from straightforwad hack'n'slash battles to running around flamethrower turrets and pressing levers to have them rotate towards enemy gladiators and crocodiles so they burst into flames. However, I think I remember Incubation being much more "puzzle-like", about strict positioning, carefully navigating the map and the like. While Blackguards here definitely felt way more open, with the interactive environment being a useful option rather than a necessity or a key gameplay mechanic. But it was fun, dropping chandeliers, setting swamp gas on fire, kicking down stacks of crates to create barriers or having your people run into traps, trip over, and get stabbed by lizardmen.
 

Infinitron

I post news
Staff Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Messages
97,236
Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
This game's engine and assets are now like some kind of lost RPG artifact. There's so much more you could do with it.
 

Grunker

RPG Codex Ghost
Patron
Joined
Oct 19, 2009
Messages
27,386
Location
Copenhagen
Yeah... this game's Act 3 is still one of thee beet RPG experiences of the past years...

Jaedar went mental on me a month or so ago because I called it the best RPG of the last 10 years. Admittedly I said it to provoke a response, but...

This game's engine and assets are now like some kind of lost RPG artifact. There's so much more you could do with it.

Preach
 

Jaedar

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Aug 5, 2009
Messages
9,840
Project: Eternity Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Pathfinder: Kingmaker
Jaedar went mental on me a month or so ago because I called it the best RPG of the last 10 years. Admittedly I said it to provoke a response, but...
As I barely remember this, I am pretty sure it was further back in time.

Is Act 3 where the purple hordes of doom show up?
Iirc, they don't really appear in hordes until act4. A few spread out encounters in act3.
 

Doctor Sbaitso

SO, TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS.
Patron
Joined
Oct 22, 2013
Messages
3,348
Codex 2013 Codex 2014 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Grab the Codex by the pussy Serpent in the Staglands
Would have been nice for the second game to be an enhanced version of this engine with new content and quicker animations.

Has anyone looked at modability?
 

agris

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Apr 16, 2004
Messages
6,764
Would have been nice for the second game to be an enhanced version of this engine with new content and quicker animations.

Has anyone looked at modability?
It's unity iirc, so the modability is probably very poor.
 

Doctor Sbaitso

SO, TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS.
Patron
Joined
Oct 22, 2013
Messages
3,348
Codex 2013 Codex 2014 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Grab the Codex by the pussy Serpent in the Staglands
I still remember the day when the producer essentially said ~we have heard your input and have decided that it is irrelevant. Trust us it will be awesome.~

Hopefully that fucking idiot is jobless.
 

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