Tyranny

Don't forget you can change out your spells whenever you want. Being able to push the tanks out of the way so you can take down the archers and mages ASAP can make a big difference.

Also, you can't grind per se, and this won't help you without reloading a save at the point you're at now, but since you level skills by using them in this game don't forget to use all your per-encounter powers in every encounter. If you can afford it, make sure you take advantage of trainers, too— you can train 5 points per level, and those add up.

I'm thinking of starting fresh over cuz I haven't gotten too far, and I think I didn't really do a great job at character creation. A Shock-Mage that uses a War Mace? That's just dumb. Cool, but dumb.

(seriously though think about it. mace mage: his staff is also a mace)

That's perfectly doable in a freeform system like this one, but more of a long-term build. At the start of the game you'll probably want to focus on one or the other.

edited 13th Nov '16 8:58:28 PM by Unsung

I feel that I'm too far into the start of the game to focus on either one, and I'll keep getting my ass handed to me otherwise.

Really my main problem is that, once again, there seems to be almost no way to get rid of wounds from combat aside from resting.

And that's bad when you're on a time limit.

There is a fix of sorts for that: gaining a level will remove all that character's wounds. Much like how the game got rid of Pillars' Endurance meter, and only a few super moves are per-rest instead of per-encounter or on cooldown. I'm okay with this, though it's funny to me that the game where Obsidian is ostensibly going Full Evil has a less granular, less punishing combat system than Pillars, and in a year when Darkest Dungeon and Hand of Fate got big, to boot. Edgier =/= Grittier. Not that I'm knocking either.

Going to need to play through again before I can say whether I like this better than Pillars. The fact that it's basically The Black Company in video game form is several points in its favour.

edited 13th Nov '16 10:04:09 PM by Unsung

There's potions for that. You can buy or make them via various spire upgrades and recruits.

Honestly, the game is REALLY forgiving when it comes to the main character's specs. Just focus on 2 or three things. You don't need to min max nearly as much as POE did. Pick a few things you like doing and keep doing them. Talents require a bit more planning, but skills and builds are very forgiving. You can pick two skills that synergize their attributes, and while you'll start with a higher rating, since skill XP hits diminishing returns the higher the skill is, it's just an initial boost, in the long run you can achieve numbers almost as high with two divergent skills.

I made a dual wielding heavy warrior with frost magic, and I dip in subterfuge a bit and I am having a blast. Specced Barik for tanking, most of my talents are in leadership or magic. And I use Verse or Sirin to dish out range dmg and buffs/debuffs respectively.

The main thing is that you need to avoid going nuts with magic. There's WAY too many magic skills, so I recommend picking one or two. At the same time, make sure you're not fucked if you meet an enemy that immune to your element of choice.

Some skills also level up really easily. Lore goes up really fast from dialogue choices. Other skills also go up fast if you have someone skilled at them in the party. For example, Subterfuge XP is gained FOR THE ENTIRE PARTY whenever you sneak, when traps /hidden loot are spotted, and when traps are disarmed - even if another party member does the last 2. Bring Verse along, sneak a lot, disarm all the traps, and have her spot things you'll find your main character has high subterfuge in no time.

Speaking of which, abuse of stealth mode to make the opening attack in battle. You can often cripple/kill an opponent outright with the opening volley when you break stealth. There's a leadership talent that gives everyone bonus dmg for a few seconds when they break stealth.

It's more Granular than Pillars. Pillars classes are very rigid. While there's a ton of them, each one can do one or two things, and can do so very specifically. Here because the system is classless, and the ability trees are far more free, you can make whatever you want, and there's a lot of ways to reach the same goals. Similarly casters were limited to rigid spells with rigid effects.

Pillars was also sort or bad and explaining its own mechanics. Stuff like attack speeds were, before the patches, almost buried deep in the game. It made the game harder.

edited 13th Nov '16 9:58:25 PM by Ghilz

Random question: if you go to Apex in the prologue, which faction controls the garrison at Lethian's Crossing?

On my playthrough, it seemed like the merchants and Forge-Bound controlled the Crossing, but the Bronze Brotherhood was still trying to move in. I haven't gotten there on any other games, though, so that might be out of context.

Tyranny's more granular in terms of perk selection, but you have more choices overall for character creation in Pillars. Plus a larger party, the option of hiring adventurers, a more robust crafting system... Higher costs for weaker items, limited skill points per level (and per game, because of the relatively low level cap), the Endurance pool, the larger number of per-diem abilities, all the various different spellcasting economies to keep track of... The restrictions create a much more resource-driven game, whereas with Tyranny, the fact that it's more forgiving encourages you to wade right in.

Which is not a criticism, by the way— granularity isn't my personal favourite thing, and I might actually prefer the streamlined item selection. I definitely love the classless perk trees and mix'n'match magic system.

edited 14th Nov '16 8:46:31 PM by Unsung

But that's all long-term stuff. The fight I'm at right now, I can't benefit from any stealth attacks, and I'm not far enough in the game to have really gotten the most out of my Mace Mage. I guess I could try to talk them down, but that'd be showing mercy, and nobody (literally nobody) is going to like that except the people I'm showing mercy to.

Bronze Brotherhood have the crossing in my playthrough.

Overall, I think [Hunter], [Lawbreaker], [Warmage] and [Soldier] would have the best dialogue choice. I had a [Guild Apprentice] playthrough which was pretty dissatisfactory concerning new dialogue, as well as a mid-way abandoned [Diplomat].

I'm thinking of running either a [Hunter] or [Warmage] next.

Also, I didn't manage to get to Vellum Capital on my Rebel playthrough somehow? I never had the change to travels there.

edited 14th Nov '16 1:32:56 AM by pblades

You seem to be given an option between two destinations at one point, the capital is one of them, whichever you don't pick you never go to.

Ya know, one thing I noticed about this setting that I found interesting... For a bronze age period, people are oddly non-religious. I don't think I've found a single religious mention, unless you count some of the ways people refer to Kyros - though I don't really see those as religious, no one seems to pray to Kyros or stuff like that. Even the people who oppose Kyros seem to be devoid of religions of their own so it's not like Kyros' been stomping all faiths (Not counting that there's nothing in Kyros' law about religion).

Maybe Obsidian felt they shouldn't tap religions again after Pillars of Eternity?

Yeah, I'm gonna restart my playthrough. Still sticking with magic because I like the spellcrafting, but otherwise I'm going to have a different second-training to better compliment a mage.

[Diplomat] seems like it might not get as many dialogue options, but it often cropped up near the end of quests, during major decision points. It might help create peaceful solutions where none might otherwise be available. Which could be fitting. My first playthrough was a [Lawbreaker], but a reformed one: I tried to appear as though I was a good and loyal servant of Kyros, even if that meant lying, while trying to build alliances with everybody. I ultimately had to fight everybody except Tunon, which I thought was appropriate. I started a [Diplomat]/Rebel playthrough, though I might work on a [Pit Fighter]/Loyalist playthrough with the Disfavored next.

It seemed to me that the Overlord and Archons occupied the space that gods would occupy in people's minds. Who needs gods, when powerful, immortal leaders literally walk among you? Like Dragon Age's Evanuris, the idea might be that we're at a point in history when gods and legends are still being made.

Something that Lantry says when you take the Ocean Spire— the Sages always wondered how far you can sail before reaching the end of the sea. Seeing it from atop the spire, he wonders if maybe it doesn't just go on forever. It doesn't seem to have occurred to any of them, the most learned people on Terratus, that the world might be round (of course it might not be, since this is a fantasy setting). I love that.

edited 14th Nov '16 11:35:26 AM by Unsung

Ugh, Obsidian's enabling flat-earthers?

In my Diplomat playthrough, Diplomat came up very rarely (like 3 times), and I think only once it was a choice where it actually ended up having some sort meaningful impact.

That makes sense for followers of Kyros' empire. But Tiersmen had no Archons and they sure as hell didn't worship Kyros either. and thats without going that Archons are just people and don't really know or answer any of the questions people might have.

edited 14th Nov '16 11:34:56 AM by Ghilz

I've been able to use a War Mage option like once, I think?

But they were refugees escaping the coming of the Empire, and despite what Kyros would have them believe, there are still Archons s/he doesn't control. Ultimately we don't know why they don't seem to have any other religion— much like a lot of the past 400 years. History begins and ends with Kyros, and there's only so much they would have you know. Our knowledge of this setting is piecemeal at best.

For instance, when talking to Lantry about Edicts and your newfound power over them (which the interface already spoils, but I won't), he points out that there are no more antelopes left since the Edict of Dust. One of your responses as a player is 'Antelope? Is that some kind of animal?' ...To which Lantry can only tell you that the he believe it was 'a kind of mute beastman...that walked on all fours' based on skeletons the Sages have had to piece together. It's Kills-in-Shadow, with the Beastmen's oral record, who comes to the rescue with a description of an antelope that we as players would actually recognize. History is written, or censored, by the victors. So I'm inclined to think that the reason Terratus has no gods is in part because Kyros doesn't want people to have them, and because the Archons are around even if they're not on your side.

One other thing— the Tiers don't have gods, but they've only been around, what, 200-300 years? What they do have are the legends of the Five Wives. People still think of them as humans, albeit legendary, possibly mythical humans, but tell me that doesn't sound like it could've been the start of a religion.

edited 14th Nov '16 6:12:32 PM by Unsung

Repurposed for what?

It's had the "Obsidian's New Game" thing cut from the title.

That's not re-purposed, that's re-titled. What's the new purpose? :-P

This thread has been re-purposed. All posters will now fight in the pit. The survivors will join the Chorus. By imperial decree!

Can I join the Disfavored instead?

Nope. You need to be a descendant of the families who fought with Ashe during the rebellion.

Disfavored don't recruit.