I am in agreement

By the way I was wrong about master skill in DOS 1 EE only available once per combat. Must have been changed for the Enhanced Edition. There is a long cool down, but not a limit per combat as I said.

I've played through both editions, but it's funny how my memory seems to be much more grounded in the non-enchanced edition. Another example of me misremembering is that when I had an extra skill point to spend I spent it on Marksman, with a view to grabbing Tactical Retreat once I found the skill book. But I didn't find it and then found out it was removed from EE. Derp derp.

I might give in and install DOS this week. Pillars of Eternity just isn't clicking with me--the characters are dry and without personality. There's lots of read, but after playing who knows how many RPGs over the years, I need more than words--I need my companions to have heart and soul.

Which PoE? I didn't click entirely with the first (partly or mostly because of RTwP), but I liked Deadfire a lot. Once they added turn-based I gave it a go and ended up having a great time with it. I like the class system in that game.

The first one where you have to hit pause, otherwise combat is over in a split second. One thing I dislike is how you cast spells--you have to pick where they land, but what's confusing is if i you click on the enemy, who's running at you at light speed, you'll miss, so you have to somehow predict where they will be by the time the spellcaster is done with their incantation and that's frustrating.

Yeah I agree, the combat didn't click with me as I said because of the RTwP. But for Deadfire they added a turn-based mode post-release and it worked great. Worth a go at some point.

I made a mistake choosing Classic for this dual Lone Wolf Run, as even with such a small party I am having no trouble. In fact, I'm level 15 now and each character has died just once, and no party-wipes. What I should have done is give Honor mode a go. This mode combines Tactician with a single save, and if the party is wiped it's game over. But that's pretty brutal to play such a long game and have it end that way. But I could have gotten the Lone Wolf achievement by having just one, and three party members. Seems do-able like that. Not sure if I'll ever give this game another go (DOS 1 EE), and the BG3 release date is to be announced in a few days. I hope they say it's imminent. It would be just like Larian to announce a release date reveal that reveals the release date is tomorrow

Finished DOS2.

The final battle turned out to be final battles (plural). The nominal final battle lasted moments -- the next one only a bit longer -- I had "bug fights" that lasted much longer. Surprisingly, the outcomes were never in doubt.

Very interesting how they ended the game. I saved after the final battle and I tried all the endings.

Final verdict: DOS2 is Excellent. However, its much more nuanced than any RPG I've played. I did not expect that depth of nuance.

Consequently, I was not excellent. I often "overlooked" or "forgot" things the game expected me to be aware of. That made it necessary to go on-line for answers at times.

My overall grade as a player of DOS2: Fail

I'll have to approach DOS1 differently -- expecting more nuance

Congrats, that's awesome! Not many actually finish a game like this. Well done Allen.

Which choice did you make when dealing with Lucian at the end? I chose Divinity, of course

I chose Divinity because I did not "trust" the other choices. I thought Lucian was BSing me -- as so many had before. I believed the other choices would not perform -- i.e. they said things would be better and fairer to "everyone" -- but, I did not believe it because so many things I had been told were lies.

After finishing Divinity, I reloaded and tried the other endings. One of them did turn out to be a lie -- I didn't pick it -- a passing grade for passing on it.

One of them turned out to be best for all (men, lizards, elves, etc). Had I known, it would have been my "pick". Since I always play using my "real life" leanings, I always work for the betterment of all. I don't even fight with those who do not attack me first -- unless I know they will attack eventually or kill an innocent if I don't "take care of them". A few beasts did not attack in the first play through -- I let them live (costs points).

Meantime, I rethought my idea of starting DOS1. I will learn more about spotting and remembering key information by replaying DOS2 -- it may better prepare me for Baldur's Gate 3 (from the same Developer).

So, I've restarted DOS2. Slightly different build. Building to play "Lone Wolf" (one companion allowed).

I'm not going "cold turkey" on mods. This play will also have some of my "convenience mods" that should not greatly affect battle outcomes. Rather, they will provide, for example, more conversation choices -- so I can experiment more with "game paths" -- and maybe cause less death. As noted, the chief reason to replay is to practice "remembering plot things I learn in-game" for use near "end-game".

Of course, MSFS2020 is coming over the horizon momentarily and will land in my Steam account. But, I won't "grind" for scores of hours as in an RPG

I broke a rule and started another new game before beating any of the other ones I've started. So far, Divinity seems to have personality that many others are missing...

I won't be giving a play by play -- just a note (by my verbose standards).

10 hours into DOS2 (according to the game clock). Lone Wolf build. Ifan partner. Have exited the "prison" part of the island, removed Collar while still in "prison", in countryside for only 20 game play minutes. I did not clear the main Fort with combat, I bypassed it with virtually no combat (cost points); however, I did virtually everything else possible to get points.

So far, my path through DOS2 is different. I'm practicing paying attention and planning my path -- it matters. The combat technique I developed on the recently ended first play through works "almost too well" when combined with "lone wolf" perks and my modifications. The mods give an unfair advantage if I use the normal battle plan. I'll have to develop another (read "fair") combat technique as part of my learning experience.

One of my first play-through early partners that I met ion this play-through threatened me (also happened on the first play through). Since I'm "Lone Wolf", I could not calm things down by offering a place in the party. We fought to the death. I did NOT resurrect.

Also put about 45 minutes into DOS1 -- finished the first battle. Playing un-Modded, so far. Its enough different that I'd have to play a few hours to "get the drift" and then restart with new hero buiilds. My first surprise is how fast ranged attacks lose accuracy as the distance increases.But, having only the first battle (no doubt designed to let the player win), its hard to tell how "random" this will make the "fights".

Which game? DOS 2?



I used the term binary when discussing this earlier. In DOS 2 things either work or they do not, and you already know this before taking the action. In DOS 1 it's much more traditional, with more of a dice-roll feel, with saving throws and hit percentages. I like the unpredictability of the combat in DOS 1. It feels more RPG-like, but both work well and the combat is great in each game.

DOS 1.

It's the Enhanced Edition?

It's a bit of a slow start. You really need to be at least level 4 before heading out of town (go west in to the rain first). So you'll spend a lot of the early game in town following the murder quest. But once you hit level 4 and can venture out of town it begins to pick up. I've just done this as I am replaying that game (now level 15 in a dual Lone Wolf run).

And by the way, the release date announcement for BG3 is tomorrow. It will go EA first it appears.

Yeah, the enhanced edition. I don't mind the slow start, as I'm finding many similarities or tributes to the Ultima games here. I'm not sure what you mean by "lone wolf" run.

No spoilers plz.

Lone Wolf is a talent you can take. It gives the character an additional 70% vitality, two additional action points per turn and an additional skill point per level, but means you cannot take a companion. If you give this talent to each of the mains, then no companions can be taken, so you play with just the two characters (or three if Lone Wolf is only on one of the mains).

Hmm, interesting. I'm not sure I'd take that perk because I love party dynamics and the random crap they say. In the Ultima games I would have 7 - 8 player parties. I think in Baldur's gate I had 6. So far DOS has what Pillars of Eternity was desperately missing--personality and charm. There was none of that in the 10 - 12 hours of Pillars I've played so far, but plenty in DOS. I met a talking clam, I encountered and adventurers guild pyramid scheme, and a talking polymorph cat!

The last time I encountered a talking animal in a RPG of any consequence was Sherry the Mouse in Ultima 6 in 1989...


I don't need personality in all my RPGs. Dungeon Crawlers are mostly exempt from this as they are first person combat focused, but any time a 3rd person view party is involved, it is a huge bonus.

Right, agreed. I wouldn't want to do that for a first run, but it's a neat thing to do on a subsequent run. If nothing else, it sure makes gear easier to manage as you only need to worry about half as much, and makes the build more important, as each character becomes half of your firepower. But for a first run, I want the full party vibe, and get to know some of the companion characters.

I've played this game quite a few times, in both the standard and EE versions. I do it like this

First run : Classic difficulty, full party
Second Run : Tactician difficulty, full party
Later runs: Mix of Tactician/Lone Wolf and other house rule settings to keep it challenging

Tactician is the thing I like best, because honestly, after the opening stages, DOS is not a hard game. There comes a point fairly quickly where a well-built party starts to seriously outstrip the AI. Tactician helps to offset this and keep the challenge level up so that it's satisfying and not too easy. Once you've experienced the story and quests, and solved the puzzles, the thing that remains compelling is the combat, provided of course you're not just walking right over the AI. Tactician increases the number of enemies, all of their stats as well as improves their AI, giving them access to more skills and spells. I don't recommend it for a first playthrough, but it is ideal for a second, once you've mastered the systems and builds.

I like your comments about the NPCs you are meeting. if you don't have it, take the Pet Pal talent and you can get this sort of interaction throughout the game. Pet Pal is less important in DOS 1 than 2, but it can open up new quests and reveal helpful tips (rats always seem to know what's what! But they are maddening to click on as they scurry around. It's better in DOS 2)

A 20 GB update dropped today for Pathfinder:Kingmaker. I played this one for about 100 hours a year ago before shelving it for a while. Should be worth a revisit with such a big update. It released as RTwP, but I used a turn-based mod. With this update, it appears turn-based is now an official option. PoE 2 did the same thing, released it as real-time and later added a turn-based mode. I'm nearing the end of my DOS 1 EE run, on the final map, so maybe I will give PK another go when done.

Larian announced BG3 release date today. It goes EA on September 30. I saw interesting stats comparing how much bigger the game will be at EA launch than DOS 2 was, but my plan is to wait until full release, which is what I did with both of the DOS games. But maybe at some point I will do it anyway. I have never purchased an early-access game.

As noted above, I had started a DOS2 replay. After about 10 game hours, I stopped. Its just too fresh in my mind to replay. I just picture it all, figuratively speaking. I used the short play time to change my approach to DOS games.

Started DOS1 in earnest. Started clean (ignored my quick look start). Less than 10hrs of game play. Two women in "Lone Wolf" (my Wife and a Grandchild -- their real life characteristics fit the role -- I see myself as their Guardian Spirit). They're at level 3. They've been to the in-game "heaven" area. Still in original city solving the crime. Seem nearly done solving (know at least one name for sure -- that one is on the run) -- but, who knows -- DOS games twist and turn in the plot.

Findings: I had to get used to the older graphics -- okay now. I've literally not looked "on line" for anything -- my goal is to do it all myself, period. DOS2 taught me the DOS games are just more nuanced/complex and the "fun" in DOS is to "find the correct path". As usual, I did make mods that have had little effect on combat actual-outcomes but increase my choices (e.g. conversations, equipment) to allow a "fuller experience" on one play through.

Have MSFS2020 -- but, its on the "back burner" today.