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#4487584 - 08/26/19 07:28 PM Re: CRPGs [Re: DBond]  
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#4487746 - 08/28/19 02:15 PM Re: CRPGs [Re: DBond]  
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Earlier I mentioned how I was struggling to win battles in the early stages of Divinity Original Sin 2 playing on Tactician mode after deciding to give it another go in the wake of the Definitive Edition release. This mode makes combat far more challenging than in the Classic and certainly the Explorer or Story modes, which I've not tried. Tactician removes the shackles on the AI and they can and will deploy their entire suite of abilities. Player levels 2 and 3 seem to be the most difficult (for me anyway) as the better AI places a premium on your party's combat prowess.

By level 5 however, some of this gap is overcome, partly through attributes and skills, but mostly through gear. It's around this point that your party begins to become properly fitted out. Combat is still a true test, but the feeling of being too underpowered compared to the enemy is mitigated. Weapons, and especially armor pieces, allow you to survive the initial high level spells that most enemies fire in the opening turns.

It's about this time too that you'll escape the opening area, which brings new vendors and characters with higher level stuff. Gear in Original Sin is stat leveled, so you'll only use any particular piece of gear for a short time -- a few levels at best -- before replacing it with something better. My main is a Ranger. At level 4 I found a crossbow called the Houndmaster which was a nice step up. At level 5, after following the companion quest for Ifan, he received another crossbow called the Shadow's Eye. I stole it. This bow nearly doubled my damage, as well as granted the Chameleon Cloak ability. This sort of acquisition is a big shift, and gear in DOS 2 is an essential part of the process on Tactician. A fight which was a toss-up before now becomes considerably easier with this additional capability.

Poor Ifan. I used him for his bow. After taking it I stripped him of all his gear and dismissed him. Just room for one Ranger in this party! He now stands around the Seeker camp in his skivvies with a Toy Crossbow slung over his shoulder. Not very imposing I must say biggrin

I am really glad to revisit this game. I'll say in any RPG thread that it's my favorite, but playing it again against the recent experiences with Kingmaker, Deadfire and others, really shows how amazing it is. Those are fantastic RPGs in their own right, but for me DOS 2 is clearly the finest. It has it's weaknesses -- inventory is still a bit of a mess, the map and journal could use some work, and some combat mechanics don't suit me -- but taken as a whole, it's the best isometric RPG I've played. The graphics, voice acting, music, story, writing, quests, character building, combat and companions are all top notch. Load times are fast, fast travel is instant, framerates are smooth.

If my praise doesn't swing you, here's a 10/10 review of the new edition from Gamespot. You can even play it on consoles!

https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/divinity-original-sin-2-review-definitive-edition-/1900-6416769/



No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4488002 - 08/30/19 08:14 PM Re: CRPGs [Re: DBond]  
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Divinity 2: Developers Cut.

On sale at GOG €1,99...
Divinity 2 GOG store

Picked it up but not installed yet.


Win10 Pro(x64), i7 8700k @ 4.7Ghz, 32GB ram DDR4, Sapphire Pulse AMD RX 6700 12GB, M.2 PCIe NVMe (x2) 480GB + 960GB, 447GB SSD´s, Samsung G6 32" , Logitech G13, G502, Warthog HOTAS, CH Pedals, Simagic Alpha Mini, and Formula Extreme FX, DC Simracing DC1 pedals, GT Omega ART cockpit, TrackIR 5.0.
AUDIO: Aiyima A07 Max, Topping E50 and L50 stack, Polk Audio Signature Elite ES20 , and Shennheiser HD 560s. DAP: Hiby R3, Hiby Seeds, and iBasso IT01, Sharp MD-MT 80H Minidisc.
#4488005 - 08/30/19 08:30 PM Re: CRPGs [Re: DBond]  
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Tell us what you think of it Red, it's one I have not played, but I might actually have it from a bundle.


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4488009 - 08/30/19 09:36 PM Re: CRPGs [Re: DBond]  
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I have been playing through Divinity 2 Developer's Cut over the past year. So, what do I think?

The graphics are very nice, but gameworld-wise compared to the first one, doesn't seem to draw me in as well. The story is good, and definitely has some great sequences--especially one part where you choose minions--fantastic.

But I haven't been sucked in like I was on the original Divine Divinity. I could not stop playing Divine Divinity for weeks--which is rare. Over the past few years, there have only been a handful of games that have sucked me in: Dragon's Dogma, Prey, and so far Kingdom Come Deliverance. At best, I can hope for one game every year or two to grab my attention. Not even Witcher 3 has been successful doing that.

The only thing I'm honestly disappointed with in Divinity 2 is the dragon flight--for the most part it is nice, but I can't ascend or descend vertically using the space bar and a crouch button. The only way to change altitude is by flying forward and nose up/nose down. With a dragon, I should be able to beat my wings and have complete vertical control, regardless of momentum. I would think. But I don't, and that drives me nuts.

You don't need to play the first game to play the second. It's a pretty cool game, but the first worked better for me. Not to mention Divine Divinity has some of the absolute best 2D graphics in an RPG, especially with the widescreen fix.

I'm an Ultima 6 and 7 fan. My bar is ridiculously high for world design. Think J.R.R. Tolkein level.

For two bucks though, Divinity 2 is a great buy. Definitely worth a try.

#4488033 - 08/31/19 08:30 AM Re: CRPGs [Re: DBond]  
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That´s what I thought too, at this price it´s worth a try at least. Either way the whole saga is on sale, so one can pick there posion if so smile2 Still on the fence with DOS EE, will see. I have DOS2 DE that I havent played yet, so that why Iam still on the fence with DOS EE.

Larian Studios GOG:
Larian GOG store sale

Red


Win10 Pro(x64), i7 8700k @ 4.7Ghz, 32GB ram DDR4, Sapphire Pulse AMD RX 6700 12GB, M.2 PCIe NVMe (x2) 480GB + 960GB, 447GB SSD´s, Samsung G6 32" , Logitech G13, G502, Warthog HOTAS, CH Pedals, Simagic Alpha Mini, and Formula Extreme FX, DC Simracing DC1 pedals, GT Omega ART cockpit, TrackIR 5.0.
AUDIO: Aiyima A07 Max, Topping E50 and L50 stack, Polk Audio Signature Elite ES20 , and Shennheiser HD 560s. DAP: Hiby R3, Hiby Seeds, and iBasso IT01, Sharp MD-MT 80H Minidisc.
#4488046 - 08/31/19 01:15 PM Re: CRPGs [Re: DBond]  
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Thanks for your impressions Blastman, Very useful.

Red, I recommend both of the Original Sin games and $27 for DOS 2 DE is a great price.. I think the second one is a better game, but in some ways I prefer the combat of the first game. There were many changes for DOS 2, most for the better IMO, but some less so. For example, one thing you can drop points in is Leadership. In DOS 1 it was a great ability. It could grant +5–10 Initiative, +10%–15% Damage, +10% Chance to Hit, +2% Critical Chance, +10% Armour, Fear Immunity, +1 Willpower and +1 Bodybuilding to all party members within 5m of the leadership character. For the second game it was reworked to mean that each point would increase the bonus to party members as +2% Dodge and +3% to all resistances. Useful I suppose, but far below what it did in the first game. The upshot is that due to opportunity cost, a player will probably ignore Leadership in DOS 2. Those points are better spent elsewhere. Honestly, on Classic or below it doesn't really matter how you build your characters, it's all viable. But on Tactician you have to be more selective to have success. It's more dangerous and deadly and character builds and especially party synergy are paramount.

I'm now level 9 and have reached the second island. I am loving it. The new version isn't all that different, but it's noticable and even better now. What a fantastic RPG. And most of the rework is in the final Act, so I am looking forward to that. But not in a hurry.

I go on about how great I think the combat is, and partly it's due to how integral terrain and elements are. How you (and the AI) can manipulate surfaces, how elements can be combined and how terrain height factors in. The high ground is a real thing in DOS (if you have the Huntsman ability). It not only increases damage, but range as well, or each is decreased when shooting uphill. Since I am playing a Ranger main, this is wonderful, and makes it feel more tactical than in most RPGs. There are a number of abilities to assist me in repositioning, such as Tactical Retreat and Spread Your Wings. And if you succeed in escaping the Ghetto with the black cat who tags along still alive, he gives you a summon ability and a swap places perk. So you summon the cat. leap him to high ground and swap places with your ranger. Costs 2 AP which is nice.

The combat is an ever-changing tactical puzzle which constantly asks questions of the player. Each encounter is different, and it is a lot of fun to work it out.

Another really cool thing about DOS is it is classless. Many RPGs now have multi-classing, but DOS goes further and is classless. Any character can have any ability. The class you choose at creation is simply a template (which itself can be altered at game start). Where you go from there is up to you, limited only by your imagination and the points you have to spend (and the skillbooks you have). Of course if you spread too thin you'll be versatile at the cost of how powerful you are. And from the start of the second act you can respec at will at no cost. So if you happen to find a few cool skillbooks you can simply respec a character to use them if you want, or if you regret the path you chose. It's free-form character building taken to the limit.

So Red, I highly recommend, no I implore you, to give one of the DOS games a go. If you are good with character builds and RPG combat you should play in Tactician. It's worth it. Doesn't matter which game you start with, and since you already have DOS 2 might as well start there and if you do not like it you can save the money of the first game. It would be great to discuss the finer points of the game with someone smile

And one more point....the voice acting is superb. For such a huge game, with tons of dialog, it is really amazing. There's a character called Malady that you will meet, and her voice actress is phenomenal. The narrator is excellent, well just all of it. Top shelf.




No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4489131 - 09/11/19 03:55 PM Re: CRPGs [Re: DBond]  
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Hi Bond,

Thanks for all your input above, very kind of you, and yes I belive you Bond, they are good games to play. Just not sure if your implore magic is gonna work on me yet, or maybe your magic scrolls have been cursed winkngrin ...

Because Spiderweb Software (Exile remakes by Jeff Vogel) are on sale at GOG, so here Iam again choosing one or two of them! A side from that, his new work just came out today too, Queens Wish: The Conqueror.

GOG Store Spiderweb Software sale

So many good games, so little time!

Good care,

Red

Spiderweb Software´s background:

I think Jeff deserves my money. The man has alot of merit indeed.
Failing To Fail: The Spiderweb Software Way - YouTube



Win10 Pro(x64), i7 8700k @ 4.7Ghz, 32GB ram DDR4, Sapphire Pulse AMD RX 6700 12GB, M.2 PCIe NVMe (x2) 480GB + 960GB, 447GB SSD´s, Samsung G6 32" , Logitech G13, G502, Warthog HOTAS, CH Pedals, Simagic Alpha Mini, and Formula Extreme FX, DC Simracing DC1 pedals, GT Omega ART cockpit, TrackIR 5.0.
AUDIO: Aiyima A07 Max, Topping E50 and L50 stack, Polk Audio Signature Elite ES20 , and Shennheiser HD 560s. DAP: Hiby R3, Hiby Seeds, and iBasso IT01, Sharp MD-MT 80H Minidisc.
#4489145 - 09/11/19 05:52 PM Re: CRPGs [Re: DBond]  
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Haha I need to pump more points in Persuasion smile

It's cool, play what interests you. Who knows, you could find DOS not your thing.

As for me, I'm still forging ahead in DOS 2. I'm level 16 and just finishing Act 2. Playing the Definitive Edition on Tactician is the hardest RPG I've played. The battles are ridiculous sometimes. I walked up to one witch that was hovering over a big fire surface. She threw me some shade, as the kids say, disparaging my lineage or whatever insults she hurled. But that wasn't the worst part, After PASSING a speech skillcheck she attacked anyway after summoning some nasty looking creatures. But they never got a chance to go, as her first turn one-shotted my entire party. All dead, in 3 seconds or so. Need a new plan I reckon and she was the same level as me!

I am meticulous about gear, skills, party synergy, quest order and on and on, and none of that mattered one bit as she made me look stupid. I have yet to go back to her. I might just skip her altogether. Every battle is a test. It's so hard at times that I'd love to see folks step up and take it on and see how they'd do, if for no other reason that to give me a barometer to stack myself up against. I suspect that many would just quit in disgust smile

So don't play Tactician if you just want to enjoy a romp through the game. It's a test of your RPG mettle. I'm quite pleased to have made it this far. The cool thing is it forces me to come up with all sorts of crazy strategies, using every inch of the mechanical latitude the game allows. I'd be bored playing on Classic, just using the same basic rotation through each battle. On Tactician you really need to use your noggin.


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
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