Divinity 2: Flames of Vengeance Impressions

[dragonfk]

What about the promised engine optimalisation? Specifically UI.

 

[DraQ]

What about the promised engine optimalisation? Specifically UI.

I'd appreciate more than 0.5 FPS in inventory screen, yes.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Sorry but I can't comment on that. Never had problems, but I have pretty much a quadcore war machine, so maybe there are the same issues and I just don't notice them. But I think they improved something, there's a feature that let's you easily compare the stats of all equipment, eg you click on an inventiory slot and a window shows all equipment you have in the inventory suitable for that slot and you can compare stats. I could have sworn this was not in Div2. But I'm not 100% sure. What I did notice is that after a few hours the game starts to behave sluggish, so you best restart to flush the memory.

I found out that you can jump backwards from ladders btw, to reach an otherwise unreachable platform for instance.

 

[DraQ]

I could have sworn this was not in Div2.

It was.

 

[hal900x]

I will be overjoyed when the trend of the washed-out and gray "realism" color palette is dead. Must every first-person game look like Fallout 3/DA:O?

 

[Mastermind]

Div 2 is not first person. It's also pretty fucking colorful. a bloomfag paradise if you will

 

[Ruprekt]

Defintely not a serious rpg.

But I liked it a lot. Felt very retro to me for some reason, gave me the kind of buzz I used to get playing arcade games like golden axe etc. The music is great.

 

[hal900x]

Div 2 is not first person. It's also pretty fucking colorful. a bloomfag paradise if you will

I see some nice color in the cutscenes at the end of the screen shots posted, but looking at the gameplay shots, dreary as hell throughout. You seriously don't know what I'm talking about? The current crop of overly muted, "grim" color schemes? BTW, I think bloom is an effect (a shitty one), not a color.

 

[Mastermind]

I see some nice color in the cutscenes at the end of the screen shots posted, but looking at the gameplay shots, dreary as hell throughout. You seriously don't know what I'm talking about? The current crop of overly muted, "grim" color schemes?

I've played through the original twice. Some areas are dark, but that's because it make sense for caves and tombs and the like to be dark and dreary. Most of the outside areas are as bright and colorful as they can get.

BTW, I think bloom is an effect (a shitty one), not a color.

It is, but it almost always comes with an eye-raping array of colors.

 

[hal900x]

So by "the original", are you talking about this game? Or it's predecessor? Because this one looks an awful lot like DA:O, graphically speaking. Eventually I will install it myself and take a look.

 

[Mastermind]

I'm talking about Divinity 2. And it plays nothing like dragon age. The combat in this game's actually fun. I stopped playing DA early in the game and have yet to muster the will to go finish it.

 

[Twinkle]

So by "the original", are you talking about this game? Or it's predecessor? Because this one looks an awful lot like DA:O, graphically speaking. Eventually I will install it myself and take a look.

With the exception of flying fortresses and several dungeons Div2 is a pretty colorful game.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

OK, finished. I missed a bit the exploration of Div2, since almost the whole game takes place in Aleroth. Otherwise, not bad. Certainly without any tedious areas like the flying fortresses.

After being a cakewalk for the whole game the combat became extremely difficult for the endfight vs Ygerna. Holy shit. I had hit the cap for stats like INT, DEX. (with equipment) I had 66% (the max) in all resistances, 75% (the max) in all saving throws (or whatever that was) and yet this stupid chick would finish me off within a second. Drinking potions - the most important tactic available to you. And she had like 20000 HP, at the very least. What a cheese.

 

[AnalogKid]

I bet that in your last fight, Ygerna was higher level than you, right? I'm playing through Div2 now, and I love all the options and skills they give, and can even tolerate the click-click-click non-action combat (think RPG, let my stats do the work). HOWEVER, the level-scaling is really pissing me off! By level-scaling, I mean the hidden game-mechanics boost that comes with being higher/lower level than your opponent. I'm so incredibly sad that it doesn't matter what my defenses are, if I'm 3+ levels higher than the bad guy, he can't do any damage to me anyway, just because of my "level". Never mind that I could have spent those levels' skill and attribute points in making my guy more defensive if I wanted, but not necessary! I just get magically all-powerful thanks my awesome "level" stat!

I'm actually finding that I don't need any skills at all. Seriously, I mean not a sinlge skill point or attribute point invested. As long as I'm higher "level" than the opponent, nothing else matters. Likewise, if I'm lower level, nothing matters and the opponent is only defeatable via cheese (mostly ranged I-hit-you, you-hit-corner stuff). Can't let them hit me because my defenses are useless due to their higher-level super-duper-pooper-boost.

So planning your mindreads and quest turn-ins to account for the fucking level-scaled XP rewards from fighting monsters is FAR FAR FAR more important than any actual character planning or skill/stat assignments. At least there's still a meta-game puzzle element, but it's not the one they intended!

All that REALLY pisses me off, especially since they have such a good array of skills and attributes.
LEAVE THE FUCKING LEVEL SCALING AT HOME!!!!!

I was hoping they fixed it a bit in the expansion, especially since their own boards are full of people complaining about the same level-based auto-win bullshit.

So I guess not fixed then, huh?

 

[Monocause]

HOWEVER, the level-scaling is really pissing me off! By level-scaling,[...]

It could be done much better but it has its merits. Stats really matter when fighting monsters close to your level. I remember the game being quite challenging and skill points mattered - before, of course, I dropped a point in explosive arrow to test it and found that the skill is horribly, horribly overpowered.

Anyway, it has a bright side - being able to cut through "weaker" creatures like through butter removes a lot of tedium that would otherwise be there.

 

[AnalogKid]

It could be done much better but it has its merits.

It's just too much. If they're going to be skill/stat based, and having super-linearly increasing XP requirements for each level (which then give you skills/stats), they have all the knobs they need! There's no excuse for explicitly factoring "level" into damage equations. It just steals away player agency by making their choices impotent. Making level so explicitly important, making progress super-linear, and then ALSO rubber-banding the XP by giving more/less depending on level difference is ASSININE! Especially since there aren't re-spawning enemies (outside of a few exploits, apparently).

I pay on highest difficulty. Just after Talana, at level 6, I was getting absolutely pwned, which is apparently a normal situation. So did I try a different build? Level up a bit and try to assign some points to crucial combat skills? Look for some better gear? No. I just went and cashed in some quests, got level 8 (without spending any stat or skill points beyond what I had at 6), and then cake-walked through all the skellies and goblins that were previously unbeatable.

At one point I'm level 9, stuck in a pit with 3 Lvl 10 armored boars (you probably know where). I jump on a ledge and start plucking away with my +2 bow of uselessness, doing 1 or 2 points of damage each shot. Lucky day, though, I'm right at the threshold of Lvl 10 myself, and the 1st boar I kill gives me a *ding*! In the very next shot, I start doing 3-7 points of damage on the next boar. Without pausing, upgrading, or anything. Just *ding* triple damage LEVEL POWAH!!!!

I _really_ want to like the game, and I've spent enough time with it to say I've gotten value. But things like that are so frustrating because they shatter the illusion that I'm playing the game "well" in any sense (good twitches, good char. plan, thorough exploration, whatever).

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

I was actually higher level than Ygerna. I was 46, she 45. I assume she has some shit like lifedrain maxed. And I had *only* ~800 HP.

As for the rest you wrote, yeah. That was pretty silly but I was used to that already having played Div2. Skills are not useless though, there's a difference between a 8 dmg fireball or a 1500 dmg fireball. But defense-wise level seems to be most important.

however the whole skills thing is worse than in Div1 though, to keep skills really effective you have to keep them maxed so that their effectiveness keeps up with enemy HP whereas in Div1 having a spell like frost even at lvl1 can be a great help.

 

[Archibald]

OK, finished. I missed a bit the exploration of Div2, since almost the whole game takes place in Aleroth. Otherwise, not bad. Certainly without any tedious areas like the flying fortresses.

After being a cakewalk for the whole game the combat became extremely difficult for the endfight vs Ygerna. Holy shit. I had hit the cap for stats like INT, DEX. (with equipment) I had 66% (the max) in all resistances, 75% (the max) in all saving throws (or whatever that was) and yet this stupid chick would finish me off within a second. Drinking potions - the most important tactic available to you. And she had like 20000 HP, at the very least. What a cheese.

How long did it took you to finish it?

And if i understand correctly that bastard got away AGAIN?

 

[AnalogKid]

Skills are not useless though, there's a difference between a 8 dmg fireball or a 1500 dmg fireball. But defense-wise level seems to be most important

Ahh, there's the big difference. I'm playing melee, so my defense and his defense vs. level absolutely dominate skill effects. Plus, level = gear, so again very little importance for skills.

I do have big plans for skill combos and such, and I love the mix of permanent buffs, permanent-but-controllable charm slots, and replaceable enchantments on gear. It's by far the best system I've seen yet to let me tinker, but still have reason to upgrade if I find some awesomely buffed gear. Again, it's just too bad that none of it really matters as long as I'm a bit higher level than the baddy.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

How long did it took you to finish it?

It's shorter than Div2, maybe 30h.

And if i understand correctly that bastard got away AGAIN?

Unclear. But probably yes.

Ahh, there's the big difference. I'm playing melee, so my defense and his defense vs. level absolutely dominate skill effects. Plus, level = gear, so again very little importance for skills.

Melee isn't different, this 1000 strikes ability + lifeleech, manaleech maxed and you never need potions because you leech life and mana so fast. You out-leech the damage you receive so to speak. At least I've been told that, haven't verified it. These melee abilities aren't much different from spells and their efficiency differs as much depending on the skill level as with spells. At the end I had Fireball 15 and INT 100 and a single Fireball would frequently deal 3500+ dmg to a whole group of enemies, I bet if you max out a few melee abilities the difference will be exactly as significant.