Support NeoGAF

[IDontBeatGames]

So,
I'm looking into potentially purchasing this game. I've never really played CRPGs before, but I've watched Divinity: Original Sin playthroughs on Twitch and such, this game interests me and I've heard nothing but pretty much fantastic things about PoE, I'm just worried about the loading screens. Is this something that'll make me stray away from the game? Are the load times (as said in here), really that long or is that an over exaggeration and it just feels that long?

Also, is there anything I should read or look into before purchasing this game?
Thank so much!

 

[DamagedInc]

It's not too bad, the worst thing for me is when you enter a building and it loads the upstairs separately so going in and upstairs and back out is 4 loading screens and in cities it can get a bit annoying.

But the good far far outweighs those minor irritations and you do just accept that it's part of it, I'm throughly enjoying my play through and if you like rpgs it's well worth a go.

I watched a couple of videos to see the mechanics and jumped in and with a but of advice from people in this thread it's been all good.

 

[IvorB]

So,
I'm looking into potentially purchasing this game. I've never really played CRPGs before, but I've watched Divinity: Original Sin playthroughs on Twitch and such, this game interests me and I've heard nothing but pretty much fantastic things about PoE, I'm just worried about the loading screens. Is this something that'll make me stray away from the game? Are the load times (as said in here), really that long or is that an over exaggeration and it just feels that long?

Also, is there anything I should read or look into before purchasing this game?
Thank so much!

The loading is really scandalous I reckon. I honestly don't know how a game made in this day and age struggles to load a tiny little map that's sometimes just one room. They are long and frequent. That said, I don't think it's something that should turn you away from the game that gets so many other things right. I don't think it's a deal-breaker but your mileage may vary.

 

[Staf]

I love this game. My playtime is 105 hours and i just got to

Spoiler

Twin Elms

.

 

[Staf]

Grieving mother is one of my favorite companions in an RPG ever. I just love her backstory and how she is written. The only downside is that her quest, where you get to know her more, does not give you any agency to progress it. It progresses sporadically making the pacing horrible.

 

[Staf]

Wow, just had the biggest scare ever. My newest 5-ish saves didn't show in my loadscreen. And when i tried to make a new save it didn't show. The latest save that was shown in the list was 50-60 hours ago. Fortunately this was 'fixed' by restarting the game.

 

[Anno]

Wow, just had the biggest scare ever. My newest 5-ish saves didn't show in my loadscreen. And when i tried to make a new save it didn't show. The latest save that was shown in the list was 50-60 hours ago. Fortunately this was 'fixed' by restarting the game.

Boy that would've sucked. Seems like there are a few bugs around different parts of the save system for some reason in the console release. Hopefully Paradox can get it fixed.

 

[Staf]

By the way Anno, i need help. I'm lvl 13-14 now. I went back to the Adra Dragon and it's still kicking my ass with the dragon breath. Is there any way to protect yourself from it?

 

[Anno]

By the way Anno, i need help. I'm lvl 13-14 now. I went back to the Adra Dragon and it's still kicking my ass with the dragon breath. Is there any way to protect yourself from it?

Do you have any summoning items? A kinda cheap trick is to send them in first to absorb the first breath attack. After that keep people spread out so they don't all get hit. Bulwark Against the Elements helps if you have to eat one of the attacks as it is more DR against corrode damage.

The dragon isn't immune to paralyze so buff up your wizard's accuracy and try to keep it locked down that way. Make sure your priest hits everyone with the fear-immunity buff or your accuracy will suffer quite a bit. I forget what level Ciphers get Reaping Knives but if you have that then throw it on your best melee attacker and watch the raw damage cleave through the beast if you can keep it CCed.

 

[Staf]

Yeah got two insect summoning items. I gave it a couple of more tries without success. I'll return later when i'm even higher level lol.

 

[Anno]

If you've ignored potions and scrolls up until now, which I think most people do, now is the time to get on the consumable train. They help a ton. Remember that accuracy is a single stat for all attacks so classes with naturally high accuracy like fighters are strangely good at casting spells from scrolls.

 

[BeeDog]

I am trying to save scum some of the stronghold adventures (e.g. try to get a Minor Adventure over with so I can progress with the upgrades). I have a save file right before finishing a Task (to trigger a turn), but reloading doesn't seem to trigger anything even after quite a few attempts. Any trick to this?

EDIT:

I know both finished Quests and Tasks trigger turns, but do Tasks trigger Adventure/Attack rolls for the stronghold?

 

[DamagedInc]

What is the point of tea people that turn up while I'm away from my stronghold looking for employment and every time I get back there they've left?

 

[IvorB]

I love this game. My playtime is 105 hours and i just got to

Spoiler

Twin Elms

.

Yeah I've been playing pretty hard this weekend again. I'm pretty hooked to be honest. I'd had forgotten how engrossing and addictive these PC games can get ha ha. Just glad to finally get the full fat experience on console.

I decided to give the Endless Paths a break when I realised I was only about half way :O. So I've gone back to the main story/quests. Randomly met a druid out in the wilderness (which figures I guess) so I swapped out the chanter for him and I think I prefer this setup. Chanter was starting to annoy me a bit to be honest. Something about his voice winds me up. The druid sounds like he was voiced by Saul Goodman though which is weird.

 

[Staf]

Hmm... The druid is the only character who is banned for life from my party lol. Couldn't stand him the little i used him. Love the other companions though, A-tier (though maybe not the chanter).

 

[BeeDog]

Does it matter which faction you align with in the capital? I usually tend to side with the faction that brings the most/best quests and best loot, and can't decide here.

 

[Staf]

Oh boy what an annoying bug i've got. Everytime i travel somewhere, i.e get a loading screen, the save-menu pops up. That is, when i arrive at the location i have to exit the save menu. Restarting the game does not fix it

 

[Anno]

Does it matter which faction you align with in the capital? I usually tend to side with the faction that brings the most/best quests and best loot, and can't decide here.

Unfortunately there isn't a giant difference either way. The biggest reward you get is a unique talent depending on who you side with. The Dozens and House Doemenel give a better talent than the Crucible Knights, imo.

 

[Saphirax]

I am trying to save scum some of the stronghold adventures (e.g. try to get a Minor Adventure over with so I can progress with the upgrades). I have a save file right before finishing a Task (to trigger a turn), but reloading doesn't seem to trigger anything even after quite a few attempts. Any trick to this?

EDIT:

I know both finished Quests and Tasks trigger turns, but do Tasks trigger Adventure/Attack rolls for the stronghold?

No trick. Not all turns trigger an adventure. You can’t save scum either. I tried and no matter what I did I’d always end up getting the same generic grand adventure.

Oh boy what an annoying bug i've got. Everytime i travel somewhere, i.e get a loading screen, the save-menu pops up. That is, when i arrive at the location i have to exit the save menu. Restarting the game does not fix it

That’s directly related to your saves not showing up until you restart the game. There’s no fix. Just an fyi but your game will most likely freeze during the last boss because the game autosaves right after he’s done with his speech.

 

[Winnie the Pimp]

I have yet to purchase any version of PoE and am kinda confused, is this complete edition ONLY for consoles then since it does say Windows as well in the OT? If it's Windows, it's NOT on Steam necessarily right? I can only find the regular one plus the different DLCs there...

 

[BeeDog]

No trick. Not all turns trigger an adventure. You can’t save scum either. I tried and no matter what I did I’d always end up getting the same generic grand adventure.

Hmm, alright. My understanding was that the game did a background roll each time a new turn is started, and there's a slight chance it will roll an "Adventure" turn, and there roll the type of Adventure you get (Minor/Major/Grand etc.).

 

[Sinatar]

I have yet to purchase any version of PoE and am kinda confused, is this complete edition ONLY for consoles then since it does say Windows as well in the OT? If it's Windows, it's NOT on Steam necessarily right? I can only find the regular one plus the different DLCs there...

The "Complete Edition" is only on console. On PC you gotta buy the game and the white march separately.

 

[Saphirax]

Hmm, alright. My understanding was that the game did a background roll each time a new turn is started, and there's a slight chance it will roll an "Adventure" turn, and there roll the type of Adventure you get (Minor/Major/Grand etc.).

That’s what I thought too. Tried 6-7 times, doing various things and no matter what, I’d get a generic grand adventure.

I missed a minor adventure as well and couldn’t get it even when I lowered my prestige as much as possible.

 

[Staf]

Wait, that SOB

Spoiler

Raedric is back?! I'm gonna teach that bastard to stay dead

lol!

 

[IvorB]

Hmm... The druid is the only character who is banned for life from my party lol. Couldn't stand him the little i used him. Love the other companions though, A-tier (though maybe not the chanter).

Dunno. It's early days so he might end up annoying me but his AOE game is on point so I would probably just deal with it.

So I finished Act 2 last. I'm a little confused about how the expansion content fits into all of this to be honest. Normally I would expect to go onto expansion after completing the main game but I have a lead in White March already so confused...

 

[Anno]

Dunno. It's early days so he might end up annoying me but his AOE game is on point so I would probably just deal with it.

So I finished Act 2 last. I'm a little confused about how the expansion content fits into all of this to be honest. Normally I would expect to go onto expansion after completing the main game but I have a lead in White March already so confused...

It's mostly a side story that just happens to be integrated into the overall package. Now would probably be the time to do it, narratively (and gameplay honestly) speaking.

 

[Labadal]

Wait, that SOB

Spoiler

Raedric is back?! I'm gonna teach that bastard to stay dead

lol!

This time, the fight is even more fun.

 

[Anno]

This time, the fight is even more fun.

And also quite important to a happier game ending.

 

[Staf]

This time, the fight is even more fun.

I'm level 15. I steamrolled him this time lol!

 

[GDJustin]

Any word of the console UI and controls coming to PC?

Heretical, I know, but my gaming PC is hooked up to my TV and I prefer controller. It works well for DOS II.

 

[Sinatar]

Any word of the console UI and controls coming to PC?

Heretical, I know, but my gaming PC is hooked up to my TV and I prefer controller. It works well for DOS II.

Not likely happening. The console port wasn't handled by Obsidian.

 

[Hostile_18]

It's mostly a side story that just happens to be integrated into the overall package. Now would probably be the time to do it, narratively (and gameplay honestly) speaking.

Will it not make the main campaign too easy? I'm just in Twin Peaks.. erm I mean Twin Elms at the moment!

 

[Staf]

Will it not make the main campaign too easy? I'm just in Twin Peaks.. erm I mean Twin Elms at the moment!

I did the expansion before Twin Elms. I does make the rest of campaign 'too easy'. But when you enter Twin Elms the first time it warned me that i was too high leveled and gave me an option to scale things to my level.

 

[Anno]

Mostly I just think that the gameplay in the expansion is noticeably better than the remainder of the base game so playing it at-level and making the rest of the game easier is better than the other way around.

 

[IvorB]

It's mostly a side story that just happens to be integrated into the overall package. Now would probably be the time to do it, narratively (and gameplay honestly) speaking.

Okay cool. I'll go to White March now. Thanks!

Seems like a bit of a strange way to do it though since I would assume people would have finished the main game when the expac was released.

I did the expansion before Twin Elms. I does make the rest of campaign 'too easy'. But when you enter Twin Elms the first time it warned me that i was too high leveled and gave me an option to scale things to my level.

That's good to know that option is there as I feel like I am already a little OP for the main quests and I haven't even been to White March yet.

 

[Anno]

The ending makes things potentially...complicated to do post-campaign DLC. Act 3 has pacing issues pretty much no matter what unfortunately.

 

[Lister]

Any word of the console UI and controls coming to PC?

Heretical, I know, but my gaming PC is hooked up to my TV and I prefer controller. It works well for DOS II.

No. But investing in a steam controller is likely a good idea if your pc is hooked up to your tv. It will open up games like this to couch gaming.

 

[CrichtonKicks]

Will it not make the main campaign too easy? I'm just in Twin Peaks.. erm I mean Twin Elms at the moment!

I'm assuming the console games have the same optional level scaling as the PC version. If you enter the expansions with a high level then the game should ask if you want to increase the difficulty of the expansion.

It will also do the same thing entering Twin Elms but its too late now if you are already there.

 

[Hostile_18]

I'm not a massive fan of altering the difficulty in either direction to be honest. Kind of breaks the immersion of starting out weak and becoming a hero (or not).

I'll just start the expansion tonight and make the final boss hurt lol. Although maybe I shouldn't be so confident as there is a field east of my castle where I keep getting wiped out!

 

[Altairre]

That moment when two random looters approach your party and are all like "you guys ain't shit, we're gonna fight you". Seriously guys? You have a sword and a fucking crossbow. My entire party is decked out in unique enchanted armor and a bunch of upgraded soulbound weapons. I was just about to go past you and this is the fight you wanna pick? I just let Maneha jump in and kill them by herself.

 

[Staf]

I've played like 120 hours now. I like the combat but i'm kind of glad that i can steamroll through most encounter after so many hours. Few combat systems is engaging for that many hours. The story, characters is as interesting as hour 10 though!

 

[Altairre]

I've played like 120 hours now. I like the combat but i'm kind of glad that i can steamroll through most encounter after so many hours. Few combat systems is engaging for that many hours. The story, characters is as interesting as hour 10 though!

Yeah I absolutely have no problem being overpowered in the final stretches of an RPG. Dragon Age Inquisition has a lot of flaws but the part that I always enjoyed was figuring out broken ass builds that let me almost one shot most enemies later in the game.

 

[IvorB]

The ending makes things potentially...complicated to do post-campaign DLC. Act 3 has pacing issues pretty much no matter what unfortunately.

Ah okay. So no more.

I'm not a massive fan of altering the difficulty in either direction to be honest. Kind of breaks the immersion of starting out weak and becoming a hero (or not).

I'll just start the expansion tonight and make the final boss hurt lol. Although maybe I shouldn't be so confident as there is a field east of my castle where I keep getting wiped out!

I like the feeling of growing more powerful but I also like a challenge.

Sooo... how do I get to this Stalwart place? Probably a dumb question but I can't see the way...

 

[Anno]

Ah okay. So no more.

I like the feeling of growing more powerful but I also like a challenge.

Sooo... how do I get to this Stalwart place? Probably a dumb question but I can't see the way...

Go back to Caed Nua and speak with the Steward. She should tell you about a request from Stalwart and some other stuff after which you can travel there towards the top of the world map.

 

[Staf]

Puh, that was the toughest fight i've done so far, dragons that kill you in 5 seconds withstanding. Crägholdt is officially pest/wizard free!

 

[IvorB]

Go back to Caed Nua and speak with the Steward. She should tell you about a request from Stalwart and some other stuff after which you can travel there towards the top of the world map.

Oh I had to press 'square' for White March. I had the quest already but I failed to read the screen.

Seems like I'm too high level for this also so I bumped it up.

 

[Shinypogs]

Puh, that was the toughest fight i've done so far, dragons that kill you in 5 seconds withstanding. Crägholdt is officially pest/wizard free!

Cragholdt, the master below, and the special fight in white march part 2 are the best combat content in the game.

 

[BeeDog]

Nearing what I assume is the end of Act 2, and loving this game badly. How could I sleep on it?

One odd thing that stood out though (act 2 major spoilers):

Spoiler

Why doesn't the game/journal acknowledge that I was just talking to Thaos' soul in the sanitarium? It refers to him as a "Leaden Key operative" when the dialogue clearly states that people know it's Thaos.

 

[Raven117]

I picked this up last week and totally digging....however, this is my first real attempt at one of these CRPGs.

I am terrified Im going to make an ineffective build. Should I just pick what skills sound interesting and move on? Every time I level up, Im basically paralzed from picking something.

I have a hard enough time with my cipher, when My wizard levels up...eff...I don't want to keep looking up guides every few seconds

Is there any general advice you guys have that may help a beginner like me?

 

[Mulgrok]

I picked this up last week and totally digging....however, this is my first real attempt at one of these CRPGs.

I am terrified Im going to make an ineffective build. Should I just pick what skills sound interesting and move on? Every time I level up, Im basically paralzed from picking something.

I have a hard enough time with my cipher, when My wizard levels up...eff...I don't want to keep looking up guides every few seconds

Is there any general advice you guys have that may help a beginner like me?

Just pick a theme and run with it. if the going gets tough just turn down the difficulty. You can crunch numbers on another play-through. This method of playing RPGs has made them way more entertaining for me, and I finish them much faster.