There we go, finally finished the game. Can definitely see why an expansion is required, you get so much good loot in Act III that you never have a chance to actually use.
For anyone who's still behind me and just entering Act III, I'll note it's very worthwhile doing the Edict Research and say nothing more.
There we go, finally finished the game. Can definitely see why an expansion is required, you get so much good loot in Act III that you never have a chance to actually use.
For anyone who's still behind me and just entering Act III, I'll note it's very worthwhile doing the Edict Research and say nothing more.
The Edict of Malediction you learn gives +15 to all skills in the area and +10% on Hit and Graze Precision, gives the reverse effect on all enemies, and has no detrimental effects on your own skills/abilities.
Plus as an added bonus, it can be used for the final choice at the end as a non-destructive Edict to use on the North if you're roleplaying in that fashion.
Pillars of Eternity kept crashing for me whenever I selected new game and Obsidian support never contacted me back. Wonder if I would actually be able to play this one...
I went in blindly. I was told a dual wielding storm mage was a very bad idea. I beat the game on hard with that character. I guess what I am trying to say is that you should do whatever you find fun.
If you want the best boost to non-combat skills, pick a Diplomat as your background. Pump points into Lore & Subterfuge as much as you can for creating better spells and unlocking chests, as well as special dialogue options.
I never found a non-dialogue usage of Athletics higher than 60.
Otherwise, go mad with what you'll enjoy playing as.
Pillars of Eternity kept crashing for me whenever I selected new game and Obsidian support never contacted me back. Wonder if I would actually be able to play this one...
The setting seems cool (Better than PoE, because my first though there kinda was WHY ARE YOU JUST NOT USING D&D THEN) but this Conquest mode is super weird. Am I supposed to select a side? I know nothing of these people!
The setting seems cool (Better than PoE, because my first though there kinda was WHY ARE YOU JUST NOT USING D&D THEN) but this Conquest mode is super weird. Am I supposed to select a side? I know nothing of these people!
I've been taking it slowly, and played around 30+? hrs and still in Act 2. Still really enjoying it. The lore/worldbuilding is still topnotch. Edicts, spires, archons - it's all great. The combat is not super deep, but I also quite enjoy the spell creation system. Everytime I gain some more lore or get new spell crafting sigils/modifiers, I like to just toy round and readjust and tinker with all the spellcasters' arsenals. I also really enjoy the missive correspondence with other Fatebinders.
I was initially a bit let down by the feeling of railroading in Act 2 because of some previous choices.
But once I was fed up with being a Disfavored pawn (and I guess being perceived as such, which explains the Unbroken and Bronze Brotherhood's reaction to me), they reacted quite violently, and it seems I've ended up on the Anarchy path with Bleden Mark, which seems pretty neat so far.
So yeah, enjoying this. The other playthrough I'd be interested in trying out eventually would be the
I've been taking it slowly, and played around 30+? hrs and still in Act 2. Still really enjoying it. The lore/worldbuilding is still topnotch. Edicts, spires, archons - it's all great. The combat is not super deep, but I also quite enjoy the spell creation system. Everytime I gain some more lore or get new spell crafting sigils/modifiers, I like to just toy round and readjust and tinker with all the spellcasters' arsenals. I also really enjoy the missive correspondence with other Fatebinders.
I was initially a bit let down by the feeling of railroading in Act 2 because of some previous choices.
But once I was fed up with being a Disfavored pawn (and I guess being perceived as such, which explains the Unbroken and Bronze Brotherhood's reaction to me), they reacted quite violently, and it seems I've ended up on the Anarchy path with Bleden Mark, which seems pretty neat so far.
So yeah, enjoying this. The other playthrough I'd be interested in trying out eventually would be the
Yeah, I've also been taking it slowly and love the world building so far. Even with the encyclopedia there's a lot that you learn as you go and it's all pretty fun. Magic (although not spells) feels weird and suitably powerful in the world.
Finished my third playthrough yesterday on the Anarchy side and was curious to see what happens if you (late game spoilers)
go against Tunon in the final trial and I loved it. Bleden Mark showing up saying "Hey Tunon, I'm killing you" and Tunon being like "Yeah, sure" and then totally annihilating Mark. Absolutely not what I expected would happen.
Yeah, I've also been taking it slowly and love the world building so far. Even with the encyclopedia there's a lot that you learn as you go and it's all pretty fun. Magic (although not spells) feels weird and suitably powerful in the world.
Spells (if built right) are extremely OP in the game. I was fighting five Beastmen and I used Rimespike with Power IV, Frostfire and the sigil that adds bouncing to spells. I insta-killed all five.
Finished my third playthrough yesterday on the Anarchy side and was curious to see what happens if you (late game spoilers)
go against Tunon in the final trial and I loved it. Bleden Mark showing up saying "Hey Tunon, I'm killing you" and Tunon being like "Yeah, sure" and then totally annihilating Mark. Absolutely not what I expected would happen.
I'm really happy to see this |OT| jump to the front page periodically as it has been on my radar for the last few weeks. I am definitely interested in picking it up (and luckily have the amount for it on a gift card to do so) but was looking for some sure-fire recommendations after a lack of Black Friday discount. Given the nature of the people that are likely coming into this thread, I wanted to be 'that guy' and ask how this stacks up against PoE and what the key differences are that you enjoy most.
... Given the nature of the people that are likely coming into this thread, I wanted to be 'that guy' and ask how this stacks up against PoE and what the key differences are that you enjoy most.
Right after I finished Tyranny I REALLY wanted to play more of it, then I decided to go back to PoE for a third run-through with the expansion (Triple Crown Solo!) so I feel I can give a good opinion on this.
Combat is a bit less complicated in Tyranny for a few reasons, thought they are very similar RTWP systems. In Tyranny you have 4 party members (including you) and in Pillars there are 6 members. There are many more spells in Pillars, and each class has their own set. For tyranny, you put together your own spells from different options and assign them to your party. Instead of the immense talents/feats in Pillars, you just have simple skill trees to look over in Tyranny so it is considerably easier for new players to build their characters. Pillars also has a ton of enemy types, monsters, various sentient races, dragons, etc. Tyranny is pretty much only human enemies and a handful of 'magic' creatures, which can make it feel a bit more repetitive?
For the story/lore aspect, it is a bit of a wash. I think the main story of tyranny and how it is told is much more interesting than Pillars, but Pillars has lots of great side content (and the expansion) and fleshes out the world a ton. Tyranny is pretty focused on that one area of the world, BUT, it has these wonderful mouse-over text options that remind you of previous actions, various bits of lore or characters to remind you of... Replaying Pillars now makes me really miss this feature. Pillars also has a cool reputation/personality feature that is missing in Tyranny, but Tyranny makes up for it by being much more replayable by having four distinct 'routes' through the game. For companions, they're fine in Tyranny but I like the Pillars crew a lot better. They barely even have sidequests.
That's all I can think of at the moment. Hope this helps.
Right after I finished Tyranny I REALLY wanted to play more of it, then I decided to go back to PoE for a third run-through with the expansion (Triple Crown Solo!) so I feel I can give a good opinion on this.
That's all I can think of at the moment. Hope this helps.
Thanks very much for this- it is very useful. I hasten to add that I finished the core Pillars game and got a fair chunk into White Marches Part I but just haven't been able to find the time to get back in and tick it off. I really enjoyed it and (with Baldur's Gate II being one of my favourite ever games) found that it scratched an itch that I had had for a number of years.
I think I expected most of what you said- and in no way view any of it as a bad thing (i.e. repetitive human enemies) so I think my mind is made up it is just about whether or not you felt that the experience was justified by the price tag. Something that I, frankly, feel pretty ashamed about as I am sure I have spent a lot more on a lot less.
I'm really happy to see this |OT| jump to the front page periodically as it has been on my radar for the last few weeks. I am definitely interested in picking it up (and luckily have the amount for it on a gift card to do so) but was looking for some sure-fire recommendations after a lack of Black Friday discount. Given the nature of the people that are likely coming into this thread, I wanted to be 'that guy' and ask how this stacks up against PoE and what the key differences are that you enjoy most.
Tyranny is a solid game. Good atmosphere and interesting setting. Some average writing (BioWare level) mixed with very solid writing. I like that there are factions and your character influence change depending on your choices.
The game is more streamlined than Pillars of Eternity when it comes to exploration and combat. There isn't much enemy vareity. You have 4 instead of 6 characters and they use a cooldown system for your spells/abilities.
Equipment is mostly boring, except the unique stuff you find.
I think the game is solid, but overall, I prefer Pillars of Eternity.
I second the 'Bioware-level' writing claims. This is a negative in most ways, but a positive when it comes to Companion dialogue/VA. They nailed those.
The main thing the companions are missing are sidequests and content that explores them.
... so I think my mind is made up it is just about whether or not you felt that the experience was justified by the price tag. Something that I, frankly, feel pretty ashamed about as I am sure I have spent a lot more on a lot less.
Honestly, if an Obsidian RPG just doesn't make you throw your money at the screen and you didn't LOVE Pillars, maybe wait on a sale for this one. One playthrough is 25~hours only for 45 bucks. And while the replayability is definitely there from a story perspective, you're still going to basically all the same areas and doing the same basic things. I'd wait for the christmas sale where you'll probably get a decent 20-30% off.
Tyranny is obviously a game much smaller in scale and ambition, but for that I think the result is outstanding. It does a few things even better (setting, reputations, spellcrafting, choices, replayability, dialogue UI) and is in general a lot more memorable and not nearly as generic as POE. I think all things considered I enjoyed it more and if I had to choose, I'd rather have a Tyranny sequel than a POE sequel, but why not both.
Honestly, I don't remember, but you can recruit Barik at the Disfavored camp and Lantry at the Chorus camp. I remember there were one or two encounters early on that are really stacked against you though, those might have been some of them.
It's a pity that Paradox didn't/couldn't do a push as big as Pillars of Eternity because so far this game is outstanding. Obsidian have learnt a tonne of lessons from PoE and applied it to Tyranny.
I've just finished Act 1 and I'm already planning my second playthrough. It's also inspired me to go play the White Marsh expansion.
Finished my third playthrough today. Did the two alliances then the anarchist path. I've yet to do the Rebels one. Anarchy is the best path so far. More freedom to do things as you wish, Bleden is an interesting character, and you get all the dungeons and all the loot in the order you want.
This time I tried a two handed melee PC with decent spellcasting (for guarded form and volcanic accent), it's awesome. I also went leather for melee/cloth for casters and I feel like the AI doesn't target the casters as much when everyone is in light armor. I never felt the need for a tank but maybe that's because I know the game a bit too well. So my advice is to kick Barik out.
I'm enjoying this more than PoE, but boy, do I wish they found a better way to deliver the lore. Sometimes I feel like I'm talking with giant encyclopedia rather than NPC.
Itemization is also eugh I suppose, but I expected that.
Did anyone else find it stupid that if you decide not to kill the baby the entire rebellion disowns you? Sure, you can pass a skill check (which I did when I reloaded) but why would the entire rebellion be pissed and not just the Unbroken?
Did anyone else find it stupid that if you decide not to kill the baby the entire rebellion disowns you? Sure, you can pass a skill check (which I did when I reloaded) but why would the entire rebellion be pissed and not just the Unbroken?
Beat it. The ending came very suddenly. I didn't really want to, eh, favor the Disfavored so much but beyond straight up betraying them it didn't seem possible to maneuver lot in their quest line. When I replay it I'll probably side with the rebels.
A thing that stuck out was that the companions are pretty bland in this. It was super easy to max out both fear and loyalty with them (as it was for many factions and archons) and they didn't really stand up against what they thought you did bad. In a sense it can be seen as you corrupting them, but their allegiances didn't really feel exciting. Somewhat of a miss.
On the other hand I liked how the game slowly pulls you towards normalizing evil actions. Maybe it's also because the characterization wasn't the best but I kind of started thinking about how opponents deserved whatever they got for standing in your way, or refusing "peaceful" deals, etc.
Unless I had found that loophole I would have killed a child because I had to carry out Kyros's will, although I was thinking that it seemed very grim.
Just finished the game. This first playthrough had me go with Scarlet Chorus (Disfavoured were just too rigid for me, I'm more of a pragmatist).
In Act 3, I decided to
go with both the "peaceful" result, and reloaded to kill all the Archons for that one achievement. After taking down Papa Smurf, I went to kill Bleden and Tunon, and saved Nerat for last. Bad idea - Nerat is a super big pushover in comparison to the other 3 archons, at least it seemed that way. If you go for the achievement, I recommend saving Tunon for last, because he puts up a really good fight.
Anyway, game is great. I love it. Sadly it's a bit prone to crashing for me, especially on the world map. :s
I think the game is a lot better and more captivating than PoE as well, which was pretty good as well. Especially the combat feels less clunky. I also like starting in an actual position of political power rather than being some asshole from a farm or some other nobody, like just about any other RPG is doing (including PoE). I definitely heavily enjoyed the prologue decisions you can make, as well.
That said, I feel like the game also was a little railroading. You have the choice between committing entirely to either of the 2 main factions, or the rebel/anarchist options if you wanna go with neither. Playing pragmatically, completely neutral, or just as an agent of the Court without favouring one of the three sides or being neutral-asshole, is sadly impossible.
