Divinity Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition

[Luckmann]

PoE PotD is literally only stat-bloat, as the number of enemies and their skill usage is the same as on hard (afaik?).

No, it includes all the enemy variations from easy/normal/hard instead of replacing them as those modes do. Some people have stated they don't like how grindy it feels as a result.

It wouldn't be half as grindy if it wasn't for the massive stat-bloat, tho.

 

[Sentinel]

Yeah but Path of the Damned is for people who really want to push themselves and the character to optimization limit. If you're just looking for a challenge go Hard.

 

[Luckmann]

Got an idea.
in character.txt,there are lines like

new entry "HardcoreNPC"
data "ArmorBoost" "50"
data "MagicArmorBoost" "50"

change it to

new entry "HardcoreNPC"
data "ArmorBoost" "-100"
data "MagicArmorBoost" "-100"

and add them to HardcorePlayer as well,maybe this will remove armor/magic armor, may need to restart, anyone willing to try it?

Because of how the game works and relies on the armor, that would make the game laughably simple. Probably easier than storytelling mode. While I do hate the armor system, simply removing it like that wouldn't make the game better, it'd just make it easier.

Yeah but Path of the Damned is for people who really want to push themselves and the character to optimization limit. If you're just looking for a challenge go Hard.

"Challenge".

 

[V_K]

So is it shit yet?

 

[Sentinel]

Got an idea.
in character.txt,there are lines like

new entry "HardcoreNPC"
data "ArmorBoost" "50"
data "MagicArmorBoost" "50"

change it to

new entry "HardcoreNPC"
data "ArmorBoost" "-100"
data "MagicArmorBoost" "-100"

and add them to HardcorePlayer as well,maybe this will remove armor/magic armor, may need to restart, anyone willing to try it?

Because of how the game works and relies on the armor, that would make the game laughably simple. Probably easier than storytelling mode. While I do hate the armor system, simply removing it like that wouldn't make the game better, it'd just make it easier.

Yeah but Path of the Damned is for people who really want to push themselves and the character to optimization limit. If you're just looking for a challenge go Hard.

"Challenge".

Yes. Challenge.

 

[Lahey]

A reminder to us all that reviewbombing is an effective method of communication.

It isnt in this case. Youre hurting a company financially in a pretty significant way that poured their heart out to make a great game because you had to wait 2 days for a goddamn translation patch.

No, I speak the lingua franca and couldn't care less about translations to dead languages like German.

Thats high-handed, petty and pretty retarded behaviour if you ask me.

Agreed. It's also effective.

 

[Lacrymas]

Yeah but Path of the Damned is for people who really want to push themselves and the character to optimization limit. If you're just looking for a challenge go Hard.

If by "pushing you to optimize the builds and stats" you mean "stack accuracy", then yes. You are given all the tools you need to pass every encounter even with shitty builds, as you can finish the whole game with the very badly optimized companions. I think that's a somewhat good thing, though.

 

[Matador]

So is it shit yet?

Yes. I find hard to believe how they have been able to mess up so much with the great foundation of the first game. They had good running engine, with developing tools, lots of assets, a sound and fun combat system and a great successful finished product serving as a guide. It was much harder to start from almost 0 like in first game.

All was pointing to a great sequel, but they spoiled the combat tactical depth and fun with stupid decisions not to be expected from experienced and talented guys with a working framework. They only had to tweak a bit some exploitable things like CC.

And also step back in other areas. What the fuck happened here? Maybe the 130 sized team was counter-productive? Probably it's better to have smaller talented team than lots of useless workforce. Pareto principle at work I guess.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle

 

[Freakydemon]

So regarding the realm of Orobas

Spoiler

Anyone know what that pressure plate rock does?

Edit: Apparently I was not supposed to get there from the gargoyle head I used, you get teleported here from another one and the switch is an exit.

 

[Abu Antar]

I got a crossbow that does piercing damage, and it seems to go through armor. Nice.

 

[anus_pounder]

There are a bunch of quests in fort joy that seem to be broken, not updating the quest log when you advance them, not closing.

The log seems to be bugged up the arse. No idea if its just the logs or if the quests themselves are fucked.

 

[Cromwell]

My biggest problem with the armour system is that it makes a lot of skills obsolete. if yomething has 100 armour and 80hp he has effectively (disregarding piercing damage) 180hp. I could use shackles of pain to get these 180 down more quickly, but I first have to bash 100 armour away, so only 80 remain which means the skill isnt needed anymore but I also cant use it against another unit because the problem stays the same. Same goes for CC effects like chicken, which I want to use against targets I perceive as dangerous to my group, but I cant because armor and after I bash through the armor its easier to just blow the target up instead of wasting cc on him. So their armor system is hp bloat with the added bonus of being forced to just brute force enemies.

If they would have just used bloated hp instead of such a shit system I wouldn feel so restricted and underwhelmed when I get a new skill (shackles in this case) and the moment I get it I notice I cant use it anyways.

 

[toro]

I don't even understand what Persuasion does. Everytime a "persuation" check shows up the options are all based on my ability scores instead of my Civil Abilities. Does it just add my Persuation Score to the Ability Score (Strength/Wits/Intelligence....) I picked or something? Doesn't even seem to work since I've been failing every persuasion attempt with my STR focused barb.

I don't know what it does but I can tell you this:

My main character has 30+ INT and no Persuation.
My fighter character had 30+ STR and 5 Persuation.

My main character fail all conversation checks even when they display the INT requirement.
My fighter character succeeds in all conversation checks regardless of the INT/STR/WIT requirements.

I think it's really retarded.

So the ability scores aren't actually checked and you can pick anything you want as long as you have points into Persuation?
Sounds retarded.

I have to correct myself: The main character finally succeeded a conversation check. But it's like fail in 90% of the cases.

I guess Persuasion is very important for these checks.

 

[HoboForEternity]

No one finds the starting city, Fort Joy disappointing compared with the one in DOS1?

Driftwood feels much more similar to Cyseal. The thing about Fort Joy is that trying to escape isn't as much fun and intriguing as playing detective in the first game.

yeah. i find it quite disappointing. when i first heard about "prison island community" i immediately think of gothic and how many adorable jackasses we find there and their interaction. turn out there arent anything interesting going on. there are loose threads that i thought will provide an interesting way to escape, like the dissenter, etc.

griff the boss turned out to be such a pussy and dont do anything besides the prisoned elf quest, the arena ended abruptly, the seeker faction just sat there, etc. going out just involve sneaking or fighting, with some exception

Spoiler

going offa boat after getting the password and save the guy who was tortured by the houndmaster

 

[Ventidius]

I like the new armor system. The first game had an excellent engine and well-designed encounters that were ultimately for naught, since the game gave you so many resources to deal with them that it ended up being rather easy. That issue was my main complaint with the first game and it seems to have been addressed(somewhat haphazardly to be sure) by the armor system.

I too would like a more detailed system of defenses, but the fact is the current one gets the job done in slowing down the pace of combat and making it more deliberate. Now you can't get away with alpha strikes and CC spam and other factors become more important than they used to be, like positioning and buffs. This makes the game more challenging, more varied and overall a better employment of the excellent engine.

People who do not like longer encounters need to remember that due to Larian's philosophy of no respawns and no random encounters, there are precious few fights in this game compared to most RPGs with a heavy combat component. There have been few, if any, encounters that I would describe as "trash mobs" so far in my run. Hence making the encounters more difficult, more deliberate, and indeed, longer, can only work to their advantage.

To be sure this was achieved, as some pointed out, by somewhat gutting the character system and the old system of defenses. But I think it was a fair trade-off for more tactical combat. Said combat was always this franchise's main selling point, and Larian was wise to build on its strengths.

To be fair, I have yet to see how well midgame and late game hold up to the level of the early game. I suspect better equipment, especially through crafting, will hasten the pace of combat greatly and make it easier as well. Already at level 5 I think the sharpest spike is well behind me due to the quality loot and skills that I have accumulated, but the game still requires me to think my tactics through and is still fun.

Apart from that, the overworld exploration was much improved as well, plenty of secret areas, shortcuts and loot. Not much in the way of resource management once you get the healing spell (and poison to hit Fane with) though. Also, I liked that there is not as much dialogue as in the first game, and that what dialogue there is is of better quality and much reduced derp. Overall seems like an improvement.

 

[Arkeus]

I'm so much earlier than all you folk, and currently being sad that I killed the scoundrel skill vendor when killing Griff

 

[Grunker]

Grunker thinking core talent mechanics hadn't been changed -> Grunker thinking "3 attribute points for one talent is a lot" -> Grunker deciding to not invest anything at all into Memory -> Grunker instead planning to pick up Mnemoic at Level 7 -> Grunker at Level 7:

Spoiler

 

[Arkeus]

What's the problem?

 

[anus_pounder]

btw, can we upgrade our equipment via anvil/forge/whatev like in the first game? I know you can do some basic shit like combining a poison potion with a weapon to give it a poison enchantment but thats aboot it.

 

[AwesomeButton]

I like the new armor system. The first game had an excellent engine and well-designed encounters that were ultimately for naught, since the game gave you so many resources to deal with them that it ended up being rather easy. That issue was my main complaint with the first game and it seems to have been addressed(somewhat haphazardly to be sure) by the armor system.

I don't mind the armor system as much as everyone seems to. Ok, just think of the enemy as of having more HP, with an added difficulty for you that to drain his health you have to do one of just two different types of damage. That's the whole minigame, and like the whole game, it's targeted towards players relatively new to the genre. What is the big deal?

People who do not like longer encounters need to remember that due to Larian's philosophy of no respawns and no random encounters, there are precious few fights in this game compared to most RPGs with a heavy combat component. There have been few, if any, encounters that I would describe as "trash mobs" so far in my run. Hence making the encounters more difficult, more deliberate, and indeed, longer, can only work to their advantage.

Given Obsidian's promises, I hope we see something similar in Deadfire.

Apart from that, the overworld exploration was much improved as well, plenty of secret areas, shortcuts and loot.

Can't compare to the first one, but I also thought the exploration here is great.

Not much in the way of resource management once you get the healing spell (and poison to hit Fane with) though.

You don't even need that. Take a bedroll lying on the ground on the way from your starting position towards the fort ghetto. Double click it while it's in your inventory to instantly heal the whole party and give them a buff for 2-3 game turns (or 15-20s in real time). Once you learn the schematics for potion of healing/poison (minor), you just have to find the 5 or so mushrooms in the area around the fort, and buy as many empty potion bottles. There is a character outside the fort, on the western beach which will give you as many restoration scrolls as party members speak to her and just keep giving answer number 1.

Also, I liked that there is not as much dialogue as in the first game, and that what dialogue there is is of better quality and much reduced derp. Overall seems like an improvement.

Some quest dialogues I saw were positively derpy and childish, but I guess that's the style they were going for. Contrast with the Dostoyevsky stories that dogs tell you. Best-written dogs in the industry, no competition.

 

[toro]

Be undead, get diseased. JE Sawyer is proud.

I don't mind the armor system as much as everyone seems to. Ok, just think of the enemy as of having more HP, with an added difficulty for you that to drain his health you have to do one of just two different types of damage. That's the whole minigame, and like the whole game, it's targeted towards players relatively new to the genre. What is the big deal?

The fact that, constantly, a single enemy can blow through 90%+ points of armor in one go thus opening you up to being CC'd thus making it so that only the AI has the advantage of armor reducing everything to a matter of the fastest way to cheese this shit?

edit:

What level are you? I recognize the witch battle. It was retarded. It took me 2 hours to get pass it.

 

[AwesomeButton]

Be undead, get diseased. JE Sawyer is proud.

I don't mind the armor system as much as everyone seems to. Ok, just think of the enemy as of having more HP, with an added difficulty for you that to drain his health you have to do one of just two different types of damage. That's the whole minigame, and like the whole game, it's targeted towards players relatively new to the genre. What is the big deal?

The fact that, constantly, a single enemy can blow through 90%+ points of armor in one go thus opening you up to being CC'd thus making it so that only the AI has the advantage of armor reducing everything to a matter of the fastest way to cheese this shit?

Maybe I am not very advanced in the game, but my characters have pretty low armor ratings. I don't think anyone has an armor rating above the teens in either type of armor. The party is level 3, currently in the fort dungeon. I expect my armor ratings will rise in the future as I find better gear.

However, even now, I don't feel my low armor ratings make combat especially more difficult. I have only reloaded one battle, when I went into the arena vs lvl 3 enemies while my party was still lvl 2. All other encounters, I've passed from the first attempt, at Classic difficulty. Those being:

Spoiler

Turtles, protect elf woman from shakedown, fight Lohse to make the demon let go its control over her, crocodiles, assassin guy (lvl 4), arena fight, a fight to protect the dreamer lizard from an assassin, one fight in the fort dungeon

So, I don't see truth in the complaint that differentiated armor handicaps the player, and I don't see truth in the complaint that it oversimplifies combat. After there was no armor types in D:OS I don't see how their addition can make combat more simple.

 

[V_K]

edit:

Well, she does look like a stripper.

 

[GrainWetski]

What level are you? I recognize the witch battle. It was retarded. It took me 2 hours to get pass it.

I managed to do it by CCing her to death and completely covering the path on the right with fire while standing up there with all but my tankiest character. The zombies refused to go through the fire because they take a ton of damage from it. Soothing Cold and Armour of Frost very recommended since the beetles or whatever do magic damage.

It was rough, though.

 

[himmy]

why did I take the pet bro trait, fuck. there are sad dogs everywhere. I can't, my princess mononoke heart breaks hearing them since they apparently also have best voice acting compared to other characters. (
a-and all their stories are so SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD

Holy shit, yes! Also, there's this black cat that you can chat with a bit on the beach and she starts following you, which was really nice. And then, in fort Kill Joy I got too close to the gate to the actual fort and some asshole guard fucking sniped it on the spot with his crossbow. At first I thought he tried to attack me for getting to close to the gate, but then he actually said "bad luck if one of those things crosses your path".

WHAT THE FUCK, LARIAN?