Eternity Pillars of Eternity + The White March Expansion Thread

[Verylittlefishes]

I have to try.

Game feels kinda bland right from the creation screen lmao.

Plz write about your progress like you did with Dark Souls 3, that will be fun.

Actually the first 30% of the first game seems very promising (if you won't fall into trap of NPCS WITH GOLDEN NAMEPLATES), it's just later you realize wtf is going on.

 

[adddeed]

A small sitrep, why exactly are people hating on this game again? Been playing for about 6 hours now and it feels like a very loyal successor to the BG and IWD brands.

Granted, I've never been a hardcore fan of those, always been a blobber kind of guy (Wiz, MM, DM, EoB, this sort of stuff), but from a 10k feet view PoE does feel like a true spiritual successor of the old Infinity Engine RPGs.

PoE1 and PoE2 are the best cRPGs of the past two decades.
People are hating it because theyre fuckwits.

 

[cvv]

PoE1 and PoE2 are the best cRPGs of the past two decades.
People are hating it because theyre fuckwits.

You're equating cRPG with isometric RPGs which is IMO nonsensical but so far I like PoE a lot. If it had TB combat it'd utterly blow D:OS out of the water.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

PoE1 and PoE2 are the best cRPGs of the past two decades.
People are hating it because theyre fuckwits.

You're equating cRPG with isometric RPGs which is IMO nonsensical but so far I like PoE a lot. If it had TB combat it'd utterly blow D:OS out of the water.

dumpsterfire's turn-based combat is garbage

 

[cvv]

PoE1 and PoE2 are the best cRPGs of the past two decades.
People are hating it because theyre fuckwits.

You're equating cRPG with isometric RPGs which is IMO nonsensical but so far I like PoE a lot. If it had TB combat it'd utterly blow D:OS out of the water.

dumpsterfire's turn-based combat is garbage

But that's some weird TB mutant spliced on the original RTwP system no? That's stupid, this sort of thing can never work.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Ok, so basically i need to make an high perception build.

Any class i should avoid due to overlap with the companions? I'll be taking them with me since i want to see them. Leaning towards Paladin 'cause that's how i usually roll but i'll take suggestions.

I'll go with Path of the Damned but not expert mode.

Any reason loading takes forever in this game?

 

[Delterius]

Any reason loading takes forever in this game?

The Unity engine. An SSD is recommended.

 

[FreeKaner]

PoE1's act 1, which then can be comfortably chained to white march 1 and 2 are great and Lyric Suite I hope you have that DLC if you are playing the game. Rest is very much a chore but the first part into white march alone makes the game worth it, perhaps "ideally" stop playing after completing the white march and questline for your keep.

 

[Verylittlefishes]

I'll be taking them with me since i want to see them

Be sure to take Durance and Grieving Mother, even in that heavily edited form they are Avellone's brainchildren.

and @Lyric Suite I hope you have that DLC if you are playing the game

Yes, White March is great.

 

[NJClaw]

Any class i should avoid due to overlap with the companions? I'll be taking them with me since i want to see them.

There's a companion for each class. The Rogue, Barbarian, and Monk are in the DLCs though, so you might not encounter them until very late. I would avoid Cleric and Fighter, since Durance and Eder are my favorite companions and it's nice to have them around for your first playthrough. Maybe you could go Paladin, since Pallegina is too obnoxious not to kick her in the teeth as soon as you find her.

Any reason loading takes forever in this game?

Unity. Use an SSD or find something to do while alt-tabbing.

 

[Verylittlefishes]

Any reason loading takes forever in this game?

Wait, lol, they didn't fixed it in the end? Holy shit.

 

[Desiderius]

I liked high Perception/Mechanics Rogue for MC. Durance (and Interdiction) are a must. I also like picking up Eskimo chick early as I can.

Cipher is probably most unique and powerful class so also makes good MC.

 

[Lacrymas]

A small sitrep, why exactly are people hating on this game again?

In terms of content, base game is almost unbearably bland and undercooked. It's fine until you get to the first Big City, then it's all a very steep downhill from there quite fast. In terms of combat, there are plenty of things to go "oh, that's regrettable/sad..." to. For example -

The actual problems are how the system is entirely too random (1d100, instead of 2d50 or even 10d10) and binary, and relies on ever-increasing bonuses and numbers as opposed to a more horizontal progression. It ties numerical power to levels too much (accuracy increasing with lvl for example), and it gives new abilities every two levels leading to power creep and lack of ideas. It has nonsensical design for feats because it mixes (questionable) utility and damage/accuracy increases in the same pool. On top of that, it homogenized the classes and their roles, leading to samey gameplay styles (of which there are at best 4, in comparison to 11 classes).

Any reason loading takes forever in this game?

Wait, lol, they didn't fixed it in the end? Holy shit.

Nope. Only an SSD fixes it.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

I don't see how 1d100 is any more random than 1d20, as d20 is just the same scale except in 5% increments.
I agree that it's probably better to use a less swingy system in some form of a normal distribution(either directly or, if still using 'dice', through multiple dice) OTOH pillows does attempt to counteract it with grazes. But at that point, it's just trying to fix a self-inflicted problem I suppose.

 

[Lacrymas]

I don't see how 1d100 is any more random than 1d20, as d20 is just the same scale except in 5% increments.
I agree that it's probably better to use a less swingy system in some form of a normal distribution(either directly or, if still using 'dice', through multiple dice) OTOH pillows does attempt to counteract it with grazes. But at that point, it's just trying to fix a self-inflicted problem I suppose.

It isn't more random. In a previous post I said PoE fell into the same kind of traps D&D did and that's one of them. Grazes don't fix the problem, it's the same issue of the system being too random and too binary.

 

[cvv]

it homogenized the classes and their roles, leading to samey gameplay styles

That's the old problem of mages no? A mage is very powerful so in order to match other classes to him they're turned into de facto mages too. A good example is D:OS where warriors or rangers have "abilities" instead of "spells" but all their abilities are p. much pure magic. Meaning all characters are basically different flavours of a mage.

I do think though warriors, rangers, thieves etc. were handled better in the old BG and IWD games. Not sure, long time no play.

 

[Butter]

You can make mages level up slower than other classes. You can make them suck at low levels so it's an investment for later. You can treat mages like the rarity they're supposed to be by making it hard to find scrolls and other magic supplies for them.

 

[Lacrymas]

it homogenized the classes and their roles, leading to samey gameplay styles

That's the old problem of mages no? A mage is very powerful so in order to match other classes to him they're turned into de facto mages too. A good example is D:OS where warriors or rangers have "abilities" instead of "spells" but all their abilities are p. much pure magic. Meaning all characters are basically different flavours of a mage.

I do think though warriors, rangers, thieves etc. were handled better in the old BG and IWD games. Not sure, long time no play.

No, it's a different problem in PoE. The classes are designed to be able to fulfill basically any role within reason, and there's no restrictions on items at all. What that led to, however, is the creation of 4 (or 3, depending on if you think there are "tanks", I don't) roles/gameplay styles basically any class can inhabit, you just choose which color your spells are. These roles all use the same items and feats per role regardless of class. It's kind of hard to explain to a person who hasn't played it multiple times with different classes. The point is, it feels like a classless system, and a bad one at that, masquerading as a class-based one. On top of that, I don't think the classes are well designed. They are ridiculously bloated due to the very high level cap and the stupid, stupid decision to give out abilities/spells every odd level like in D&D. At one point, at around level 9-10ish, the classes have so many tools they feel interchangeable because they have very samey, if not the exact same, abilities at their disposal. Then there's the problem of Ciphers and Chanters which don't "play by the rules" and are a different can of worms entirely, but somehow still ended up being very samey to the other classes.

You can create some builds which play differently, but they are very seldom seen. I know of 4 - Rogue which uses scrolls to cast spells, Skaen Priest, Barbarian who depends on being knocked out, and 2 Ciphers bouncing their buffs off of each other.

 

[Lady Error]

What that led to, however, is the creation of 4 (or 3, depending on if you think there are "tanks", I don't) roles/gameplay styles basically any class can inhabit

3 or 4 basic roles is what every RPG has: tank, ranger, healer and mage.

And in the case of the PoE system you can come up with different synergetic effects of the different classes, some of which you mention.

So I don't know why you think it is a bad class system.

 

[cr0mag]

I'm about to give this game a go and I want to make a dual wield rogue as my PC. Will the game give me a tank, caster and priest early game?

And is it viable to play PotD blind?

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Will the game give me a tank, caster and priest early game?

these are the first three companions you encounter
in that order, too

 

[cr0mag]

these are the first three companions you encounter
in that order, too

That is promising news indeed, time to give this game a crack

 

[Desiderius]

MMOs fried their brains.

 

[Lacrymas]

What that led to, however, is the creation of 4 (or 3, depending on if you think there are "tanks", I don't) roles/gameplay styles basically any class can inhabit

3 or 4 basic roles is what every RPG has: tank, ranger, healer and mage.

And in the case of the PoE system you can come up with different synergetic effects of the different classes, some of which you mention.

So I don't know why you think it is a bad class system.

Role wasn't the correct word maybe, I was more thinking of gameplay styles that correlate to roles. The classes themselves are very samey and play the same depending what gameplay style you chose. I wouldn't say classes in the IE games were this homogenized and interchangeable.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

thanks for reminding me that int barbarians and might wizards are a thing