For those that enjoyed POE/Tyranny

[KainenMorden]

I'm going to start a run soon. I enjoyed soloing the baldurs gate and iwd series, toee, dark suns shattered lands, etc but from what I've read, POE/Tyranny a very tough solo even on normal difficulty and no matter what you need to cheese through early areas if playing solo and that's not really what I want to do. The beginning of a solo is always tough but in the games I've mentioned there is ways to legitimately overcome early adversity without resorting to exploiting any bugs or bad mechanics/ai in the game which is what I consider cheese. I don't consider pre buffing cheese and also a fighter/mage in baldurs gate pre buffed with armor and a fireball wand and arrows of detonation isnt really cheesy to me but I am the type to avoid doing that just to increase the challenge of certain battles.

Any thoughts on this? Has anyone tried soloing the games?

Also, solo or not, what classes/builds do you guys think are fun to play in these games? Just going off the manual and other things I've read online, I'm thinking about a wizard or a cipher maybe or even a priest for poe, not sure on tyranny, maybe just try to build a decent melee fighter with good social skills?

I enjoy tactical combat more than anything and not sure what classes will be fun to play in combat. The graphics, world, lore, companions, dialogues, romances, etc are not a big deal to me but I do like to get more/better dialogue options if a build will permit it even though I am a min maxer for sure.

 

[Darth Canoli]

I enjoy tactical combat more than anything

And that's why you only want to play one character.
It makes your tactics way deeper, right?

Why don't you play AoD and underrail instead?

And The Quest, Daggerfal Unity, Arena and the likes.

 

[Butter]

I don't remember if you're even allowed to play without companions in Tyranny. PoE solo isn't too bad since you can use stealth on any class. Figurines trivialize a lot of the game, but that probably falls into the cheese category. Intellect Wizards should be one of the easier builds because of how ridiculous Chill Fog is.

 

[notpl]

Soloing was only viable in those older games because they were based on systems where certain character classes were more powerful than five other characters combined, so it made perfect sense. Pillars is balanced around every class being equally competent in combat, so if you could make a character that was capable of soloing then it wouldn't be possible for it to be challenging with a full party in the slightest.

It's still POSSIBLE, mind you, but don't expect an equivalent experience to playing a solo kensai/mage in BG2 or similar. Ironically your best bet is probably still a wizard, because despite their best efforts wizards still ended up being the strongest class.

 

[KainenMorden]

I enjoy tactical combat more than anything

And that's why you only want to play one character.
It makes your tactics way deeper, right?

Why don't you play AoD and underrail instead?

And The Quest, Daggerfal Unity, Arena and the likes.

I like party play also but enjoy building one character that can tear the game up and giving all the good equipment to that character. Not saying playing the games I mentioned solo makes the tactics deeper, just different and I enjoy it. I do prefer to solo rather than micromanage parties but I'll play in a party if the game is set up that way.

Thanks for the recommendations, haven't heard of some of those. I do plan on playing age of decadence sometime soon.

 

[KainenMorden]

Soloing was only possible in those older games because they were based on systems where certain character classes were more powerful than five other characters combined, so it made perfect sense. Pillars is balanced around every class being equally competent in combat, so if you could make a character that was capable of soloing then it wouldn't be possible for it to be challenging with a full party in the slightest.

It's still POSSIBLE, mind you, but don't expect an equivalent experience to playing a solo kensai/mage in BG2 or similar. Ironically your best bet is probably still a wizard, because despite their best efforts wizards still ended up being the strongest class.

I preferred to multi class, not a fan of the dual down time but anyways, I get what you're saying, that's what I thought.

Looks like a wizard party run for me would be the best way to play.

 

[KainenMorden]

I don't remember if you're even allowed to play without companions in Tyranny. PoE solo isn't too bad since you can use stealth on any class. Figurines trivialize a lot of the game, but that probably falls into the cheese category. Intellect Wizards should be one of the easier builds because of how ridiculous Chill Fog is.

Thanks, I'll most likely go wizard.

Are there any builds you recommend for tyranny? I've found very little on the net in terms of builds for that game.

 

[Hobo Elf]

You can solo in PoE but that comes down to abusing mechanics rather than playing tactically.

 

[KainenMorden]

You can solo in PoE but that comes down to abusing mechanics rather than playing tactically.

Yeah that's what I want to avoid, I just don't like playing like that.

I'm also not sure if I will enjoy the combat or how quickly I'll be able to grasp the combat system itself.

 

[ferratilis]

This guy has done solo ultimate runs with every class in the game, so if it's doable on PotD Expert/Trial of Iron doing all bounties and dragons, it's definitely doable on lower difficulties. He abuses the mechanics, of course, but on lower difficulties you won't have to, as much. You'll rely more on consumables and figurines, though.

 

[KainenMorden]

This guy has done solo ultimate runs with every class in the game, so if it's doable on PotD Expert/Trial of Iron doing all bounties and dragons, it's definitely doable on lower difficulties. He abuses the mechanics, of course, but on lower difficulties you won't have to, as much. You'll rely more on consumables and figurines, though.

Thanks I'll look into it. Again I'm not dead set on soloing and I just want to play on normal to get a feel for the game.

If I have to abuse mechanics I think I should just play in a party. I'm going into it optimistic but I have read quite a few opinions on the game and I doubt I'll ever replay it so I might as well get the full experience with companions anyways.

 

[nimateb]

I also love playing solo, havent tried Tyranny solo ( I actually liked playing with companions in that game on max difficulty) but I went pretty far with a barbarian before i got bored. It was ok and at least motivated me to learn that inane combat system.

 

[Darth Canoli]

You can solo in PoE but that comes down to abusing mechanics rather than playing tactically.

Yeah that's what I want to avoid, I just don't like playing like that.

I'm also not sure if I will enjoy the combat or how quickly I'll be able to grasp the combat system itself.

You just need to stop everything you're doing and play Age of Decadence right now, it's exactly what you're searching for.
And when you're done, go for Dungeon Rats, and then Colony Ship.

 

[Utfärd]

For those that enjoyed POE/Tyranny

KYS

 

[KainenMorden]

You can solo in PoE but that comes down to abusing mechanics rather than playing tactically.

Yeah that's what I want to avoid, I just don't like playing like that.

I'm also not sure if I will enjoy the combat or how quickly I'll be able to grasp the combat system itself.

You just need to stop everything you're doing and play Age of Decadence right now, it's exactly what you're searching for.
And when you're done, go for Dungeon Rats, and then Colony Ship.

I'm sure you're right and I will probably enjoy those more than pillars but I just want to experience pillars for myself since I'm such a big fan of similar games.

I haven't played any of the so called "modern classic" crpgs and just want to see what the fuss is about but I don't expect them to be as good as the IE games.

 

[KainenMorden]

For those that enjoyed POE/Tyranny

KYS

Was expecting this at some point.

Thank you.

 

[KainenMorden]

I also love playing solo, havent tried Tyranny solo ( I actually liked playing with companions in that game on max difficulty) but I went pretty far with a barbarian before i got bored. It was ok and at least motivated me to learn that inane combat system.

Well one big reason I want to play pillars is to see this pseudo dnd combat system at work. Just reading about the combat kind of triggers me but maybe it won't be that bad. I'll give it an honest shot

 

[perfectslumbers]

Well one big reason I want to play pillars is to see this pseudo dnd combat system at work. Just reading about the combat kind of triggers me but maybe it won't be that bad. I'll give it an honest shot

POE combat is boring but functional. It's basically Baldur's Gate but with all the the fun edges sanded off for a monotonous experience.

 

[KainenMorden]

Well one big reason I want to play pillars is to see this pseudo dnd combat system at work. Just reading about the combat kind of triggers me but maybe it won't be that bad. I'll give it an honest shot

POE combat is boring but functional. It's basically Baldur's Gate but with all the the fun edges sanded off for a monotonous experience.

Yeah I read comments like yours and they make me think I'll never bother to replay the game on a higher difficulty. I do respect and appreciate the other aspects of a crpg experience unfortunately most say those suck too.
If I start a run it will have to be truly terrible for me to abandon it and I doubt I'll feel that strongly about it but we will see.

 

[Tigranes]

There's plenty of fun solo options for POE/2. I've done stuff like solo wizard with a ton of protection, rage barbarian, etc. Chanter is obvious though a bit boring for me.

Tyranny combat isn't really any fun no matter what you do, so I'm not sure it's worth it.

 

[plem]

Also, solo or not, what classes/builds do you guys think are fun to play in these games?

in PoE, Cipher is the most unique one and has tons of specific dialogue for it. Priest and Paladin are also fun for the MC since their class features are boosted by roleplaying options.

in Tyranny, I like going for a full party of mages. just blanket the entire map with nuke and control spells. the spellcrafting system and neat visual effects make committing magical war crimes extra fun.

 

[KainenMorden]

There's plenty of fun solo options for POE/2. I've done stuff like solo wizard with a ton of protection, rage barbarian, etc. Chanter is obvious though a bit boring for me.

Tyranny combat isn't really any fun no matter what you do, so I'm not sure it's worth it.

Would you mind sharing a wizard build?

 

[KainenMorden]

Also, solo or not, what classes/builds do you guys think are fun to play in these games?

in PoE, Cipher is the most unique one and has tons of specific dialogue for it. Priest and Paladin are also fun for the MC since their class features are boosted by roleplaying options.

in Tyranny, I like going for a full party of mages. just blanket the entire map with nuke and control spells. the spellcrafting system and neat visual effects make committing magical war crimes extra fun.

I appreciate your input, I'll keep this all in mind.

 

[KateMicucci]

You end up with a full party of mages in Tyranny by midgame no matter what because everyone can cast spells. It has a unique skill system. Yeah the combat isn't fun, the fun is in the dialog trees.

 

[KainenMorden]

You end up with a full party of mages in Tyranny by midgame no matter what because everyone can cast spells. It has a unique skill system. Yeah the combat isn't fun, the fun is in the dialog trees.

Noted