Codex Combatfag Compendium

[grimer]

Hello Codex! I'm currently playing through Wizardry 6-8 (just finished 6 and about to play 7 for the first time) and I'm looking for RPGs to play once I've finished the trilogy. Particularly those with a strong focus on character development and somewhat tactical combat (or at the very least strategic through careful resource management). Good encounter design is obviously important as well as a reasonably challenging mid-late game but I doubt many RPGs would satisfy these criteria. I don't mind the combat system used whether it's turn-based, action or RTwP (although my only experience with this is limited to KoTOR 1 and 2). I'm still fairly new to cRPGs please no hate on my limited repertoire.

So far I'm interested in the following games and would like to read your opinion of them in terms of the points I mentioned above.
Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar
The Temple of Elemental Evil
Gothic 1, 2 and 3
Underrail - I already own this and read the mechanics but can't decide what character to make. I seem to lack the creativity for character builds in single player non-fantasy RPGs
IE Engine RPG games (mostly Icewind Dale 1 and 2, Baldur's Gate 1 and 2)

inb4 "This is not a compendium"

This is actually just a recommendation thread I just thought the title sounded kinda nice .

 

[agris]

Silent Storm <-- seriously
Jagged Alliance 2 <--^^
Fallout 1 & 2 (all options on hardest)
Battle Brothers
Blackguards (aka Blaggards)
Expeditions: Conquistador
Underrail
Dungeon Rats
Age of Decadence
Deus Ex
Alpha Brotocol
Dark Souls

There's lots of weeb shit, but my eyes won't let me play them so idk.

 

[Thac0]

Dungeon Rats

 

[octavius]

Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 and Icewind Dale have good encounter design, and a good enough combat system if you don't hate RTwP.

Gothic is not something you play so much for the combat. Combat system is OK, but be prepared for lots of pussyfooting while you try to improve.

Games with good combat system and encounter design:
Most of the Gold Box games
Nahlakh
Disciples of Steel

Like JA 2, OpenXcom has excellent combat system, but has more enemy variety.

 

[Sweeper]

I'd leave Underrail and Kingmaker for last. If you play them now, everything else you play will inevitably seem like shit (from a combatfag standpoint).

 

[Dorateen]

Knights of the Chalice

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Dungeon Rats

Knights of the Chalice

These 2 and maybe some version of Mount & Blade.

 

[agris]

I'd leave Underrail and Kingmaker for last. If you play them now, everything else you play will inevitably seem like shit (from a combatfag standpoint).

Is PFKM really that much better than TOEE? On a scale from oh or zero to fully bettered.

 

[Sweeper]

Is PFKM really that much better than TOEE? On a scale from oh or zero to fully bettered.

There's a lot that goes into combat. Kingmaker isn't nearly as tactical as ToEE, but it has a staggering amount of character building options. I guess it depends on OPs proclivities. He said he likes both so who knows.

 

[grimer]

thanks for the suggestions bros. reading through dungeon rats steam description rn since several ppl recommended it and while the tactical combat sounds nice how is the game in terms of character build variety?

I'd leave Underrail and Kingmaker for last. If you play them now, everything else you play will inevitably seem like shit (from a combatfag standpoint).

yea thats how i felt after playing wizardry 8 (from a party building standpoint) until i played 6 which i like more because of multiclassing and less stat bloat

 

[grimer]

until i played 6 which i like more

the character system i mean. 8 is still the superior game. sry cant edit my posts yet i think

 

[laclongquan]

UFO Aftershock.
UFO Afterlight.

The latter, despite the cartoony look, feature great middle-late game section. You think your team are good? here come the matriarchs to bust your nuts. You think you have enough in arsenal? Here come a horde of alien war animals to consume weapons but leaving nothing~

 

[Lady Error]

Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar
The Temple of Elemental Evil
Gothic 1, 2 and 3
Underrail - I already own this and read the mechanics but can't decide what character to make. I seem to lack the creativity for character builds in single player non-fantasy RPGs
IE Engine RPG games (mostly Icewind Dale 1 and 2, Baldur's Gate 1 and 2)

If you still have to play all of those AND Wizardry 7, there is more than enough good stuff to last a while.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Underrail isn't a combatfag game, it's just a good game that has good combat. If you're looking for a pure combat RPG, look elsewhere.

 

[Sweeper]

Underrail isn't a combatfag game

Nah I'm pretty sure it's a combatfag game bro, that happens to have some alright quests, pretty good characters, worldbuilding and lore if you look for it.
But the focus is still on the combat.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Underrail isn't a combatfag game

Nah I'm pretty sure it's a combatfag game bro, that happens to have some alright quests, pretty good characters, worldbuilding and lore if you look for it.
But the focus is still on the combat.

If the focus is on anything, it's a buildfag game.

 

[Sweeper]

If the focus is on anything, it's a buildfag game.

Buildfaggotry is directly tied to combatfaggotry though.

 

[Atlet]

uberrail is a combat and exploration fag for fags game

 

[octavius]

Sounds like Underrail is the kind of game that will leave you all fagged out.

 

[grimer]

Underrail isn't a combatfag game, it's just a good game that has good combat. If you're looking for a pure combat RPG, look elsewhere.

if youre saying that underrail consists of more than just good combat and also contains well-crafted secondary elements such as quest design, setting and story then that is clearly preferable to a game with nothing but good combat (see wizardry 1-5 vs 6-8)

 

[Butter]

thanks for the suggestions bros. reading through dungeon rats steam description rn since several ppl recommended it and while the tactical combat sounds nice how is the game in terms of character build variety?

It's a classless system that was originally designed for the single-character Age of Decadence. It's not incredible for build variety, but it's enough to feel like your party members are all different.

 

[Hyperion]

Temple of Elemental Evil is good, but I would say borderline unplayable without Temple+ added in. The primary modder updates quite frequently right here on the Codex to boot.

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/project-temple-released.98904/

Circle of Eight is the other modpack a lot of people go for. Personally I'm a bit torn on its merits. On the one hand it's nice that they added a whole lot of content to an otherwise content-sparse game so you can enjoy high-level content if that's your thing. On the other, I hate the 'huge central hub' theme of crpg's that has been a plague since I guess BG2 with Athkatla. I'm willing to sacrifice 'open-endedness' of a big city in favor of linear streamlining like in IWD because the former feels less like an open-world and more like a checklist of things to do before continuing with the otherwise linear story. While I dislike the IE games, and RTwP in general IWD deserves praise for keeping you in the action for as long as possible, and trimming the fat in terms of making you skip through pages of mediocre dialogue.

 

[Lilura]

Silent Storm <-- seriously
Jagged Alliance 2 <--^^
Dungeon Rats

These. Also, X-COM Apocalypse and ToEE.

 

[Gregz]

Jagged Alliance 2
Knights of the Chalice
The Temple of Elemental Evil
Mount & Blade: Warband

 

[Lilura]

Mount & Blade: Warband

Especially with Brytenwalda TCM.

Hard as nails.