My collected criticism on Pillars of Eternity (very minor spoilers)

[ArchAngel]

The gameplay is fine and the mechanics are fine. The game could be a bit better with enemy and encounter design to force the player to mix things up (like in that named Drake fight). Its already better than BG1 and PST in this respect (maybe even early IWD1 without HoW). I am sure the xpac will pretty much be all about adding in better AI, dungeons, enemies, etc since they have core systems already in place. This is obvious since areas created later like Raedrics Hold seem a bit better encounter and area design wise than other parts of the game.

For a first game in a franchise with a brand new engine and a brand new system, this is phenomenal work.

LOL!! YOu know nothing Shevek!

I been watching people mow through PoE on streams on hard and PotD difficulty with using no tactics or any need to mix anything up. Then I watched a guy play BG1EE first time in his life and get killed in fights vs spellcasters due to not mixing it up and just trying autoattack. Then he loads the game and mixes it up and succeeds.

Sorry, but BG1 is only worse in your good dreams.

You have been hilariously ignorant during PoE beta and you are still the same.

 

[Delterius]

Now that I think about it, BG1's content density makes for an interesting twist of the post apocalyptic genre.

 

[Shevek]

I can mow through BG1 no problem. I mowed through it in my first playthrough. EE is even easier with OP kits. If you cant mow through BG1 EE, you just suck.

 

[MrBuzzKill]

How does PoE handles Petrify? Worst of both worlds: there are no hard counters against it, it fully stuns the target AND it makes it take 4x the damage directly to his health. And it's an AoE spell, that lasts 20 seconds. Basically, a "I WIN" spell, with no nuance or downside. You can one-shot even boss battles with it.

That... sounds pretty great. Can't wait to get my hands on this spell.
Also, doesn't it defy the "uninteresting/weak spells" argument?

 

[ArchAngel]

I can mow through BG1 no problem. I mowed through it in my first playthrough. EE is even easier with OP kits. If you cant mow through BG1 EE, you just suck.

You can talk all you want, it means nothing. If you spent 1/10 of time I spent watching first timers play BG1EE on Twitch I could take you seriously.

 

[Shevek]

Yes, twitch players count as valid gameplay exemplars because when people are recording themselves and talking in a "personality" to an audience, they play the same as us.

 

[Old Hans]

I wish there was an option to respect your last talent, cause I accidently took a modal that is just a shittier version of the one I already had. Now its there forever as a reminder.

 

[Sensuki]

I actually think the health system and per encounters are causes of some of the problems the game has. You're pretty much *always* at full endurance for every encounter. You always have your per encounters. In the IE games, I was rarely ever at full health during encounters and every ability was per rest. Particularly in BG1 and IWD1 where resources were scarce.

There was some quote from somewhere (someone will know the one I'm talking about) that said that fun gameplay comes from resource management. Due to the way the Pillars of Eternity health system works, and the fact that the game uses per-encounters and stuff like that you rarely ever have to get by with limited resources. So in having full Endurance and per encounters, this facilitates the ability to be able to continuously do the same thing over and over again.

Some might argue that because you could rest spam in the IE games that it had the same problem but rest spamming is very easy to avoid doing, and deliberately playing bad or playing a shit build is not a good alternative.

Fatigue in Pillars of Eternity also kicks in too quickly, most of the time I rested because my characters got fatigued, not because I was running low on resources. I also never had to use a potion in combat. A big problem the game has is it never even lets you stretch your party to the limit, there's always something preventing you from even giving it a go, other than trying to fight while fatigued (which is dumb).

In BG1/IWD1 I had to use potions. I had to change it up because characters got wounded quite badly and I didn't have any healing resources left, or I wanted to save my potions for later. IMO this is very basic gameplay that is completely prevented/ignored in Pillars of Eternity.

The system design basically removes any sort of resource management from the game, and many tactics as well and promotes finding a strategy that works and using it repetitively. That's why I'm bored stiff of the game.

 

[ArchAngel]

Yes, twitch players count as valid gameplay exemplars because when people are recording themselves and talking in a "personality" to an audience, they play the same as us.

Certainly more than you who don't have any proof but "hey guys, I remember 15 years ago when I played BG1 for first time it was super easy and because of that it must be super easy for everyone. Trust me, I am telling the truth dur hur.."
Not to mention you might have had D&D experience when you played it.

You might notice I don't talk about my experience because I cannot be objective. I know all about D&D and IE games and I am not a fool to claim I remember that well how in 1998 my first play on BG1 looked.
But thanks to modern times I was able to spend about 100+ hours in last 6 months watching people play BG1EE on Twitch (mostly due to all modern RPGs being boring to play) and watch so many people not find the game easy or simple. And I spent almost 50h watching people play PoE for their first time in last two weeks and I seen them go through it easy on Hard of PotD diff (I got some stream open all the time on my second monitor).

 

[Hatred]

I wish there was an option to respect your last talent, cause I accidently took a modal that is just a shittier version of the one I already had. Now its there forever as a reminder.

you can although it is somewhat experimental. Download the IE mod http://www.nexusmods.com/pillarsofeternity/mods/1/?
There is a list of console commands linked on the mod page. You can use that to respec.

 

[Seari]

It was easy because he rest spams.

 

[Hatred]

I feel like a lot of people miss the point that BG1 wasn't easy the first time around. PoE is pretty relaxing the first time around on hard with a serious drop off as you level. I hear even PotD has a serious drop off too. I can only imagine what normal is like.

Edit: I'm noticing the further we get from release the worse people rate this game.

 

[Sensuki]

The game drops off when you get to level 4 or so, on any difficulty I imagine.

 

[KK1001]

Dr. Sawyer on PoE: "The operation was success, but the patient died."

 

[LizardWizard]

You might notice I don't talk about my experience because I cannot be objective. I know all about D&D and IE games and I am not a fool to claim I remember that well how in 1998 my first play on BG1 looked.
But thanks to modern times I was able to spend about 100+ hours in last 6 months watching people play BG1EE on Twitch (mostly due to all modern RPGs being boring to play) and watch so many people not find the game easy or simple. And I spent almost 50h watching people play PoE for their first time in last two weeks and I seen them go through it easy on Hard of PotD diff (I got some stream open all the time on my second monitor).

I don't give a shit how much of your life you wasted watching Twitch. Vanilla BG was/is easy as fuck.

 

[Shevek]

Yes, twitch players count as valid gameplay exemplars because when people are recording themselves and talking in a "personality" to an audience, they play the same as us.

Certainly more than you who don't have any proof but "hey guys, I remember 15 years ago when I played BG1 for first time it was super easy and because of that it must be super easy for everyone. Trust me, I am telling the truth dur hur.."
Not to mention you might have had D&D experience when you played it.

You might notice I don't talk about my experience because I cannot be objective. I know all about D&D and IE games and I am not a fool to claim I remember that well how in 1998 my first play on BG1 looked.
But thanks to modern times I was able to spend about 100+ hours in last 6 months watching people play BG1EE on Twitch (mostly due to all modern RPGs being boring to play) and watch so many people not find the game easy or simple. And I spent almost 50h watching people play PoE for their first time in last two weeks and I seen them go through it easy on Hard of PotD diff (I got some stream open all the time on my second monitor).

Modern gamers being confused by games that benefit from reading manuals and having a deep understanding of the nuances of arcane rulesets is not a surprise. It certainly is not evidence of good encounter design.

 

[Whisper]

I am curious if you even have different spells for each wizard or just the same grimoire copied over more or less ?

Same, of cause.

But i *chose* different spells at level-ups, so i could share them between both wizards, basicaly doubling amount of spell choices at level-up.

 

[Whisper]

Lol, wizards. Ok, I'm curious too: has anyone here ever actually bothered switching grimoires at all? And if yes, why? I just pick 4 most useful (or least useless) spells per level and run with that.

Didnt switch.
Why bother?

 

[Hatred]

Dr. Sawyer on PoE: "The operation was success, but the patient died."

I feel like this should be the official review.

 

[Whisper]

-after all that talk about balance and "all the rpgs do it wrong" crap, attributes ended up being banalshitboring max con res per on tank / max might dex int on dps. con fuckign gratys sawyer, amazing design, 10/10.

So true.

 

[ArchAngel]

Yes, twitch players count as valid gameplay exemplars because when people are recording themselves and talking in a "personality" to an audience, they play the same as us.

Certainly more than you who don't have any proof but "hey guys, I remember 15 years ago when I played BG1 for first time it was super easy and because of that it must be super easy for everyone. Trust me, I am telling the truth dur hur.."
Not to mention you might have had D&D experience when you played it.

You might notice I don't talk about my experience because I cannot be objective. I know all about D&D and IE games and I am not a fool to claim I remember that well how in 1998 my first play on BG1 looked.
But thanks to modern times I was able to spend about 100+ hours in last 6 months watching people play BG1EE on Twitch (mostly due to all modern RPGs being boring to play) and watch so many people not find the game easy or simple. And I spent almost 50h watching people play PoE for their first time in last two weeks and I seen them go through it easy on Hard of PotD diff (I got some stream open all the time on my second monitor).

Modern gamers being confused by games that benefit from reading manuals and having a deep understanding of the nuances of arcane rulesets is not a surprise. It certainly is not evidence of good encounter design.

I see you still think you got anything of worth to add and that somehow your own experience beats real arguments. You do know that these same people also play PoE? What does that make PoE than?!
I am not even sure you know what you are arguing anymore. We started by saying that PoE has no mixing it up and that BG1 did. This post of yours just proves what we said.

 

[ArchAngel]

You might notice I don't talk about my experience because I cannot be objective. I know all about D&D and IE games and I am not a fool to claim I remember that well how in 1998 my first play on BG1 looked.
But thanks to modern times I was able to spend about 100+ hours in last 6 months watching people play BG1EE on Twitch (mostly due to all modern RPGs being boring to play) and watch so many people not find the game easy or simple. And I spent almost 50h watching people play PoE for their first time in last two weeks and I seen them go through it easy on Hard of PotD diff (I got some stream open all the time on my second monitor).

I don't give a shit how much of your life you wasted watching Twitch. Vanilla BG was/is easy as fuck.

Go continue standing in front of White House and screaming that humans never walked on Moon.

 

[Shevek]

ArchAngel:
Now its when you choose. Will you be a shitposter or will you write things people actually read? Take your time before you make your choice.

 

[Morkar Left]

In the end it doesn't even matter how "easy" BG was. What matters is that PoE is exceptional easier than BG.

 

[Arkeus]

In the end it doesn't even matter how "easy" BG was. What matters is that PoE is exceptional easier than BG.

This makes no sense. PoE so far has been much harder to me than BG ever was (without mods to enhance the difficulty).

Now, the big problem is that in BG you were expected to kill Saverok at level 5/6 when you could be level 7/8, but in PoE it seems that you can get to level 12 when the areas are designed for level 9, which, huh, makes things toward the end rather easier.

There is still difficult fights in other parts though, but yeah, the end does make it a stroll.