Eternity Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire + DLC Thread - now with turn-based combat!

[Mr. Magniloquent]

Is this game worth playing? Itching for a party based, 2D isometric fantasy RPG.

The first one was a bore, though the expansions are well reviewed. All together its a large game. Deadfire I think is better, but still suffers from the same gimmicky design. They aren't bad, they just missed the mark. Worth trying if you are starved.

 

[Maculo]

Is this game worth playing? Itching for a party based, 2D isometric fantasy RPG.

Imo, yes. Deadfire is a flawed, but has worthwhile parts. There are a few important systems that are not well explained though, so it can either take time to learn or watching guides to have it explained.

The main story is short and not the game’s best quality; everything else (random dungeons, exploration) is better done.

 

[ArchAngel]

Picking spells for characters is so irritating as you cannot just change them like in IE games to try all of them. Not to mention you cannot try them outside of combat.. and they work differently for TB than for real time.
For example this game version of Haste or Slow is pretty much useless in TB (it only helps you to cast faster/slower but does not give you more/less casts or attacks).
And does not help that descriptions are often useless. I picked Confusion with Aloth but it seems to not do what it seems to say it does. What it actually does is makes their AoE attacks hurt both allies and enemies.. this is so fucking rare and then made even more useless due to its short duration.

I hate that all spells have such a short duration, even with high Int on characters. Debuffs are mostly 2 to 3 rounds base duration and those are usually minor effects like -/+ 10 to defenses or accuracy, anything that actually stops enemy like Stun is always just one turn. Funny shit, Eder (Fighter) has 2 turn "stun" with his upgraded Knockdown..

Also I am very irritated by party management UI. You have no way to easily manage all companions (level ups and inventory) and it seems they don't get any XP while not in the party so basically you are fucked if you want to have more than same 5 all the time... at least I managed to figure out how to exchange one member of the party for another anywhere in the game (which is LOL when you teleport one out and one in in the middle of a fucking dungeon).

 

[Decado]

One of these days I will seriously attempt to play this game.

 

[Roguey]

Picking spells for characters is so irritating as you cannot just change them like in IE games to try all of them.

This is what grimoire switching is for, for wizards anyway.

I picked Confusion with Aloth but it seems to not do what it seems to say it does. What it actually does is makes their AoE attacks hurt both allies and enemies.

? Works like D&D confusion. They may attack their own side, but they can still attack you.

and it seems they don't get any XP while not in the party so basically you are fucked if you want to have more than same 5 all the time

They do actually, they just get less than active members. They're maybe one level behind at most, it's fine.

 

[Yosharian]

? Works like D&D confusion. They may attack their own side, but they can still attack you.

No it doesn't lol

 

[Roguey]

No it doesn't lol

I used confusion and that's how it worked for me. I played in real-time as intended though, maybe it gets weird in turn-based.

 

[Yosharian]

No it doesn't lol

I used confusion and that's how it worked for me. I played in real-time as intended though, maybe it gets weird in turn-based.

It does what Arch said. It doesn't function like D&D Confusion at all.

Confusion in D&D has always been relatively powerful, more so in older games like BG2 though. In Deadfire/PoE it's basically irrelevant as a CC spell.

 

[Yosharian]

I remember fighting Umber Hulks in BG2 when I was a complete noob and didn't know how to protect against it. It fucking wrecked my shit lol

 

[ArchAngel]

Picking spells for characters is so irritating as you cannot just change them like in IE games to try all of them.

This is what grimoire switching is for, for wizards anyway.

I picked Confusion with Aloth but it seems to not do what it seems to say it does. What it actually does is makes their AoE attacks hurt both allies and enemies.

? Works like D&D confusion. They may attack their own side, but they can still attack you.

and it seems they don't get any XP while not in the party so basically you are fucked if you want to have more than same 5 all the time

They do actually, they just get less than active members. They're maybe one level behind at most, it's fine.

Switching Grimoire does not help when picking permanent spells. Also does shit for my Priest or Druid or others.

I have yet to see anyone Confused use their basic attack on allies. And I have been casting it in almost every battle since I got it. All I got is self Confusion why it does not work like I expected.

One level behind is already a lot. Especially for multiclass characters. This has caused me to use 3 same companions (Eder, Xoti, Aloth) and just switch last one around depending on mission I need to go to.

I also wanted to complain that all companions are kind of bland in the middle people. There are no clear characters that I want to take in my good guy or bad guy run. The pirate dude is more like some Chaotic guy, Animacer Chick so far has not shown anything beyond being in the middle and blue big druid is just huge walking Ego with no real other values (well he did ask to help the poor at one point so I guess he is like one of the Californian liberals that gets out of their ass once per year to act like they care). So far Xoti has been most interesting companion. I also met some dwarf chanter or something but he is apparently not a full companion?!
I also recently got Palegina and some other chick whose portrait looks like any NPC in the town, I have yet to talk to either but I don't expect anything from them.

 

[Roguey]

Confusion in D&D has always been relatively powerful, more so in older games like BG2 though. In Deadfire/PoE it's basically irrelevant as a CC spell.

I'm impressed that Balance Man created a status effect that only applies to aoe attacks while also reducing the size of the aoe by 30%.

I guess the benefit I was getting from it all those times I used it was the -10 to will saves and the -25% to effect durations.

 

[Maculo]

Picking spells for characters is so irritating as you cannot just change them like in IE games to try all of them. Not to mention you cannot try them outside of combat.. and they work differently for TB than for real time.
For example this game version of Haste or Slow is pretty much useless in TB (it only helps you to cast faster/slower but does not give you more/less casts or attacks).
And does not help that descriptions are often useless. I picked Confusion with Aloth but it seems to not do what it seems to say it does. What it actually does is makes their AoE attacks hurt both allies and enemies.. this is so fucking rare and then made even more useless due to its short duration.

I hate that all spells have such a short duration, even with high Int on characters. Debuffs are mostly 2 to 3 rounds base duration and those are usually minor effects like -/+ 10 to defenses or accuracy, anything that actually stops enemy like Stun is always just one turn. Funny shit, Eder (Fighter) has 2 turn "stun" with his upgraded Knockdown..

Also I am very irritated by party management UI. You have no way to easily manage all companions (level ups and inventory) and it seems they don't get any XP while not in the party so basically you are fucked if you want to have more than same 5 all the time... at least I managed to figure out how to exchange one member of the party for another anywhere in the game (which is LOL when you teleport one out and one in in the middle of a fucking dungeon).

I think the core element of confuse is actually the -5 intellect debuff. That can soften the target up for further spells that roll against the stat. Not saying it’s great spell, but it’s one of those buff/debuff mechanics I glossed over initially. It would also explain the reduced AOE radius, because intellect modifies AOE radius.

I never tried, but I wonder if it is possible to stack stat debuff against a target, reducing a stat to near zero.

 

[ArchAngel]

Picking spells for characters is so irritating as you cannot just change them like in IE games to try all of them. Not to mention you cannot try them outside of combat.. and they work differently for TB than for real time.
For example this game version of Haste or Slow is pretty much useless in TB (it only helps you to cast faster/slower but does not give you more/less casts or attacks).
And does not help that descriptions are often useless. I picked Confusion with Aloth but it seems to not do what it seems to say it does. What it actually does is makes their AoE attacks hurt both allies and enemies.. this is so fucking rare and then made even more useless due to its short duration.

I hate that all spells have such a short duration, even with high Int on characters. Debuffs are mostly 2 to 3 rounds base duration and those are usually minor effects like -/+ 10 to defenses or accuracy, anything that actually stops enemy like Stun is always just one turn. Funny shit, Eder (Fighter) has 2 turn "stun" with his upgraded Knockdown..

Also I am very irritated by party management UI. You have no way to easily manage all companions (level ups and inventory) and it seems they don't get any XP while not in the party so basically you are fucked if you want to have more than same 5 all the time... at least I managed to figure out how to exchange one member of the party for another anywhere in the game (which is LOL when you teleport one out and one in in the middle of a fucking dungeon).

I think the core element of confuse is actually the -5 intellect debuff. That can soften the target up for further spells that roll against the stat. Not saying it’s great spell, but it’s one of those buff/debuff mechanics I glossed over initially. It would also explain the reduced AOE radius, because intellect modifies AOE radius.

It is completely useless since you can attack Will saves to Frighten them which actually does disable enemies. It only does not make them attack their own like I hoped.
And for pure debuffs there are better spells.
With Wizard you want to CC or DPS.

 

[Maculo]

Gotcha, I think those type of spells fall under the cipher’s toolkit. Whisper of Treason? Ciphers are great, but you have to jump through a few hoops.

Just wait until you get the summoned weapons on Aloth (staff?), that thing fucks.

 

[Yosharian]

If the main purpose of Confusion is to inflict a Will penalty, then why call it that at all. It's just... confusing. *cough*

Call it, I dunno, 'muddled' or 'befuddled' or something clever. 'Bewildered', maybe?

 

[ArchAngel]

I was just summoned to Arkemyr after I raided his house, looted everything and killed all his servants(Imps) and protectors(Golems).
He is now hilariously passive agressive. Obsidian writers had good fun writing these dialogues.

 

[Yosharian]

Yeah that bit is actually entertaining. There are some good moments like that

 

[roshan]

Yikes, reading the replies just reminds me of how terrible the combat system was of the original Pillars of Shitternity. Might just try Black Geyser or something.

 

[ArchAngel]

Yikes, reading the replies just reminds me of how terrible the combat system was of the original Pillars of Shitternity. Might just try Black Geyser or something.

TB is pretty decent. RTwP is terrible. Even worse than Pathfinder RTwP. At least in Pathfinder you can buff up before battle and just autoattack to victory, in PoE2 all classes have micromanagement. Fighters have less than wizards but still too much.

 

[Lacrymas]

Pathfinder's RTwP is the worst ever, PoE's is a hug from heaven in comparison.

 

[ArchAngel]

Pathfinder's RTwP is the worst ever, PoE's is a hug from heaven in comparison.

Lol. Why? if you like that much micromanagement play TB and if you just use AI scripts to have the game being played automatically for you then play one of those autobattler games.

 

[Lacrymas]

Pathfinder's RTwP is the worst ever, PoE's is a hug from heaven in comparison.

Lol. Why? if you like that much micromanagement play TB and if you just use AI scripts to have the game being played automatically for you then play one of those autobattler games.

Positioning is basically impossible in PF's RTwP because all characters rush towards the enemy in a straight line and somehow converge on one of them. I've honestly never experienced such wonky controls in any RPG ever, to the point I haven't seriously begun even Kingmaker yet. PoE isn't as micromanage-y as PF and that's saying something.

 

[Roguey]

*keeps buying active abilities instead of passives*
"Why do I have to micromanage?"

 

[ArchAngel]

Pathfinder's RTwP is the worst ever, PoE's is a hug from heaven in comparison.

Lol. Why? if you like that much micromanagement play TB and if you just use AI scripts to have the game being played automatically for you then play one of those autobattler games.

Positioning is basically impossible in PF's RTwP because all characters rush towards the enemy in a straight line and somehow converge on one of them. I've honestly never experienced such wonky controls in any RPG ever, to the point I haven't seriously begun even Kingmaker yet. PoE isn't as micromanage-y as PF and that's saying something.

So you are using AI in both games. Tnx for confirming I can ignore your opinion on everything from now on.

 

[ArchAngel]

*keeps buying active abilities instead of passives*
"Why do I have to micromanage?"

Please, don't act like they are same power and it is only a matter of gameplay preference