RPG Thread XX has over 100 hours of gameplay

Well, just posted my annual "best games I played in the past year" list. Spoiler alert: my top pick is Nier, and like JEKKI, I'll be playing Automata sometime this year, hopefully sooner rather than later. Maybe we'll end up playing it around the same time, just like with Nier :razz:

I also still haven't started EOV, but at least now the holidays are over, and I don't have any pressing extra obligations, so I should be able to find the time... once I've recovered from my jetlag, anyway.
 
Nier is something special. I really hope because of the success Automata had, that we'll eventually see a remaster version, maybe with the Replicant content that was Japan-only, just so more people could have the experience.

Ya'll gotta play Automata. The combat is more refined, and the soundtrack is great.

I've been pushing my way thru Valkyria Chronicles 2. Ugh. The characters are uninteresting (especially the idiot MC), some are downright terrible (again, MC), the voice acting is cringe-worthy, and the story is just bad, bad. The combat missions don't really require much strategic thought; I've found them to be kinda easy so far. I just don't like how they break up the maps into sections, but I guess that's because of the PSP's limitations? I do like how you can eventually unlock sub-classes that add a little more uniqueness to the squad members but overall, I am very disappointed in this game so far. Hopefully it'll get better as I continue, but I do not have very high hopes.

 
awww maan did anyone go to Magfest last weekend! it's so good! That convention is like video games's happy place, as long as you're not spending hours sitting there waiting for your turn in a tournament lol.

been watching AGDQ all week so havent been able to play games, but finally was able to get back into FFXV to play Episode Ignis.

except I couldnt coz the game needed to be updated and my PS4 doesnt have enough space to update it -_-...

there was an Assassin's Creed DLC tho so I played through that instead and lol... it was not very fun, but it was also very silly for all the stupid reasons that I do love FFXV.

 
whooo~!! episode Ignis done! all 3 endings, and it was as meh as all the other eps lol.

I can't beat the bonus Noctis fight tho... it's impossible. Even watching vids on youtube about how other ppl do it, it's still a dumb fight that shows how truly dumb the battle system for this game is. 

there's a multiplayer online mode to this game too... free with season pass but it apparently costs $20 standalone o_O

currently downloading it and will give it a shot this weekend just for kicks. After that, I think I'm done with FFXV.

it'll feel pretty good to delete all 80+ gigas of that game off my PS4 lol.

I aint about that Royal Edition tho... not sure what the point of it is... same game except now you got a truck and a boat.

and some new bosses and dungeons, as if I've actually beaten all the extra bosses and dungeons in the regular game o_O

 
I still need to catch up on the highlights for AGDQ. I caught the beginning of it and then promptly forgot it existed.

The multiplayer for Final Fantasy XV is kinda grindy and poorly implemented like many other Japanese games. By that I mean you're going to be repeating a bunch of the same missions and in order to 'form' a party with friends to go out, you have to create a lobby and have them search for the lobby which will auto-close in 60 seconds of creation and comes with its own issues. After you 'beat' the mission, you're forced back into the single player bit where the shops are and have to go about re-creating the lobby again. It's really awful and I have no idea why the hell so many Japanese games haven't learned how to properly create persistent lobbies/parties in multiplayer games.

My five most favorite games of 2017 can be found here (Not necessarily what I'd consider GOTY). There were some others that were close contenders, but I feel like I enjoyed those the most. I was really surprised by Utawarerumono since I'm not usually into Visual Novels. Highly recommend it, but it does have a few caveats.

Mostly been floating from game to game lately. Play a bit of one, can't really get into it and move onto another. I think one of the bigger ones that was in that bunch would be World of Final Fantasy. I just have a difficult time getting into monster/enemy collection games like Pokemon and such. Though Zwei comes out next week which I'll most definitely beat and then Monster Hunter World is releasing next Friday as well. Oh yeah there's also Iconoclasts next week, shit. Now I need to decide between Iconoclasts and Zwei.

I wonder when Pillars of Eternity 2 is releasing. I also need to play Divinity: Original Sin 2, but I need to find someone to play through the game with. The two I usually play with, one is consistently ignoring gaming with me over the last year in favor of his girlfriend which has grown rather tiresome while the other had his computer die but isn't replacing it yet.

 
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My final thoughts on finishing Valkyria Chronicles 2: It was okay in some aspects, but in others it was really bland. What I loved about the original game was the characters, the story, the graphics, and the fun gameplay. In VC2, the characters are rather boring, annoying, or just uninteresting. Terrible main character, which causes the story to be kinda bland. The graphics are also bland and lack a degree of polish (I understand its a PSP game, but it was the graphic aspect that made the original VC so great, and loosing it just made it feel less of a game). All that VC 2 has left is the gameplay, and while certain aspects were fine (I really liked the enhanced and varied classes), the other aspects, like reusing the same maps over and over again, wore thin. Yeah, there were a ton more missions than the original VC, but when you're reusing the same 4-5 maps all the time, it gets old fast. Nothing really challenged me strategically all that much. Hard battles were more tedious than difficult.

Anyway, the bottom line is I liked the game, I had fun playing it, but I did not enjoy it anywhere near as much as VC 1. It has some serious issues that I really hope the new 4th game will improve upon, but there's also aspects I hope they keep (like the various class structure).

I've been creeping back in to Final Fantasy XV. I played about half-way thru it not long after it came out, and then got distracted with other games and never beat it. Gonna try and finish it and probably move on to another PS2 backlogged RPG. Maybe a Tales of game. I never finished Abyss, because my backwards-compatible PS3 was not backwards compatible with the game (it froze in a certain spot about 10-hours in.). Or maybe Tales of Legendia. I've heard good things about Legendia's soundtrack.

 
Draekon said:
I wonder when Pillars of Eternity 2 is releasing. I also need to play Divinity: Original Sin 2, but I need to find someone to play through the game with. The two I usually play with, one is consistently ignoring gaming with me over the last year in favor of his girlfriend which has grown rather tiresome while the other had his computer die but isn't replacing it yet.
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While slated for Q1 2018, I'd be pretty surprised if it didn't get pushed back to the summer.

 
PG3fHvK.jpg


 
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They look like they're animals/pets from Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire. Though I couldn't find specifically where he got them from. I've mostly ignored the Backer Updates for the game. They're fairly detailed regardless though. Most animals/pets have a minimal amount of effort put in to look semi-realistic for a graphic style like this.

 
It is indeed a (semi-complete) list of the pets in Pillars 2. I'm disproportionately excited about that bit because apparently there's going to be a room on your ship where all of your inactive pets hang out and play.

 
Finally started Etrian Odyssey V! Just got to the fourth floor of the 1st Stratum and am liking it so far. It's not as boring as I found EOIV to be-- maybe because of the stripped-down approach, with none of the overworld stuff? I'm also finding it to be somewhat on the easier side, but I don't know how much of that is because I'm so accustomed to this series.

The in-dungeon food-gathering and cooking is probably my favorite new addition so far, even though there aren't many TP healing options at this point. Rover also might be the best archer/hunter-type class the series has ever had.

ETA: Played a bit more this evening, and... one thing that's weirding me out about this entry is the rare bit of swearing that goes beyond your bog-standard damns and hells. I don't remember the word "shit" ever appearing in the previous games.
 
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Finally finished FF15. The first half was great. The last half, ehhh. The ending, blech. Not sure I liked the game enough to buy any of the DLC. I will most likely just wait until the complete (royalty?) edition is cheap.

I've been trying out some other games, hoping to find something that catches my attention. I've put a couple hours into Tales of Legendia, a little bit of Xenoblade Chronicles Wii, a bit of Secret of Mana (SNES Mini version) and just started on Digital Devil Saga 2, but nothing has really interested me enough to continue very long, so I'm not sure what I'll stick with. I've got some newer RPGs I could play (South Park, Dot.Hack/G.U.), but I really want to work on the backlog more. Eh, I'll settle on something eventually.

 
oh man, did anyone see this humble bundle? There's only like 36 hrs left tho so act quick, but man $15 for all the Shadowruns, Torment Numanuma, and Wastelasnd 2! heck of a deal, and for that price it's worth having them in my backlog to never play lol :(

https://www.humblebundle.com/games/classics-return-bundle

Draekon said:
The multiplayer for Final Fantasy XV is kinda grindy and poorly implemented like many other Japanese games. By that I mean you're going to be repeating a bunch of the same missions and in order to 'form' a party with friends to go out, you have to create a lobby and have them search for the lobby which will auto-close in 60 seconds of creation and comes with its own issues. After you 'beat' the mission, you're forced back into the single player bit where the shops are and have to go about re-creating the lobby again. It's really awful and I have no idea why the hell so many Japanese games haven't learned how to properly create persistent lobbies/parties in multiplayer games.
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oh man I've been gone so long I never got to talk about this.

but yah, FFXV multiplayer was sooooo terrible lol. I can't believe ppl have to pay for that. I spent like 2 hours total on it, and I kind of get it? Like it's very carrot on stick style gameplay with constant incentive to unlock more of the map, but not very fun. Worst part is nobody plays so you always get partnered up with AI, but the daily challenges are mandatory multiplayer, which means they're literally impossible to place since nobody else is playing the game >_<

meanwhile for the last month I've put 90 hours into Monster Hunter World... backlog be damned once again!! This game is too addicting and has carrot on a stick done correctly just by virtue of the fact that it's real fun. And dang, 90 hours is more time than I've put into FFXV altogether too! But after all that time, I think I'm actually done with the game other than occasional multiplayer sessions. Like, I've beaten everything there is to unless I want to start learning even more weapons.

https://twitter.com/illusorywall/status/970001164807876608

and I saw this on twitter too. More backlog be damned, but Bloodborne actually is a game I want to play so I may consider popping it in this month. Also may play some Nier Automart alongside R.Kasahara.

I'm never gonna finish Yakuza 0 and Xenoblade X at this rate :( lol, nor will I ever start any of my Ys games backlog

 
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JEKKI said:
and I saw this on twitter too. More backlog be damned, but Bloodborne actually is a game I want to play so I may consider popping it in this month. Also may play some Nier Automart alongside R.Kasahara.

I'm never gonna finish Yakuza 0 and Xenoblade X at this rate :( lol, nor will I ever start any of my Ys games backlog
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Nier Automobiles will have to wait for me for at least another few days; I really didn't sleep well last night >_< I'll be playing on PC, and will be patching it with FAR after installing to avoid potential headaches. Hopefully that will go well.

I'm also behind on my Ys games, whee...

Meanwhile, Etrian Odyssey V has been going all right, when I've been well enough to play that. I recently arrived on the 12th floor. The little tweaks they've made to the formula continue to impress; the FOE and dungeon gimmicks in particular are very well thought out.
 
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I saw the Humble Bundle, but like usual, I own everything I'm interested in from it already.

I've been trying to play Final Fantasy XII Zodiac on PC, but man, I have some serious issues with the game between the constant cutscenes and the god awful combat. I feel like I'm not even playing a game. A cutscene happens, I move fifty feet and another cutscene happens. I then run from point A to point B not manually attacking anything and another cutscene ensues. At which point I then turn run from point B back to point A for another cutscene and then move another fifty steps from that cutscene to get another cutscene. If I remember right it lets up eventually, but my god.

Also the loading times are way too long on a PC with an SSD for a PS2 era game. I could probably load this up in an emulator and get near instantaneous loading, but this one takes like two seconds to transition which is rather absurd for my machine. If it was console it wouldn't bother me, but it feels like inflated load times for faster machines due to poor programming.

I'm not sure I'll continue that to the end yet again. Not sure if I'll ever beat it as I have trouble enjoying it mostly thanks to the combat and then the game inflates it by putting in so many damn unnecessary cutscenes that do absolutely nothing of value. I just need to find something to do until about the 20th of this month and then Ni no Kuni II, Atelier Lydie & Suelle, followed by Pillars of Eternity II.

I should probably go through the first Pillars game so I can experience the expansions and have a save fully prepared to import into Pillars of Eternity II as well as refresh my memory on events. Going through on the hardest difficulty is out of the question at this point, so I need to decide whether I go through on normal or easy. Also going to need to decide on a class for my main character.

 
White March is Quite Good.

Don't worry too much about your class, though. You can fully respec your character if you import a save into Pillars 2.

 
I like keeping things consistent if I import the same character. My first playthrough I created a rogue as there were no companions at the time who were rogues and my first playthrough I wanted to use a companion party over a created party. Normally when given the choice, I do with some kind of Wizard or Sorcerer as it's the type I usually prefer to play. I decided to just stick with what I like and go wizard like I usually do. Though I need to decide whether I stick with companions or go with a created party. I don't think companion questlines will transfer anything over for those who can be re-recruited in the second game? Just mostly the bigger quests. In which case I'll probably create a party to go with.

I did finally start my Divinity: Original Sin playthrough back up that I began a while ago with a friend on the PS4. Man does the game progress significantly slower on the console.

 
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Some details from the companion questlines will carry over, but they're minor. Pallegina, for example,
will have a different paladin order depending on how her questline ended in PoE, but those differences will mostly be aesthetic (different armour) and probably dialogue-based. She keeps her Brotherhood powers even if they kicked her out as a result of your actions in the first game.
And I have to imagine the end result of Sagani's questline will come up in Deadfire, too.

Also, multiclassing is a thing now, so even if you want to stay a rogue, maybe now you want to be a rogue/cipher or something.

 
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I'll probably keep Eder and Pallegina in my party then. Aloth will likely not be in there since he overlaps with my main character. Sagani may be a mainstay as well. I suppose that leaves room for a priest/healer. I'll probably make one rather than use Durance. If I finish their sidequest, I'll probably toss them out in favor of a created character.

EDIT: Looks like Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire has been delayed to May 8th. Guess that gives me quite a bit more time to go through it since there are a few other games I'd like to play in the mean time.

 
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Looks like Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire has been delayed to May 8th. Guess that gives me quite a bit more time to go through it since there are a few other games I'd like to play in the mean time.

 
JEKKI and I have been sharing our NieR:Automata progress on Twitter; here's our conversation, if anyone's interested. Currently, both of us have reached Ending B and are taking a break from it for a little while.

As for what I think about the game so far, I like that the janky aspects of the original NieR have been polished up. The sidequests and fishing in particular are way better. The story doesn't have as much mystery to it, though, in part because the machine lifeforms are easier to understand compared to the Shades. On the other hand, it is nice to be able to enjoy the story without having to run to translated supplemental materials online (also, I like that the weapon stories are in-game this time, a la Drakengard).

A few spoilery plot thoughts:

- When I first found the giant Emil heads in the desert was a huge WTF moment. When I got the explanation for those while finishing his memories sidequest, I was a little sad that the "original" Emil seems to no longer exist (but on the other hand, he was already pretty old...). That said, I can't wait to find out what the hell is up with Popola and Devola in the next loop...
- "Emil's Memories" is my favorite sidequest so far, though I also enjoyed the Father Servo quests and the conversations with Engels. That one rewardless quest where 9S examines the headspace of a machine who ponders the meaning of life only to end up killing himself was one of the most Yoko Taro things I've seen in this game, along with the conclusion of the "treasure hunt" in the Forest Kingdom.
- Like JEKKI said in one of his tweets, Ending A was abrupt. The final battle against Eve was very well done, though 2B's fight against the whale-like machine (can't remember its name) was my favorite boss encounter.
- Thanks mainly to the aforementioned NieR supplemental materials, I wasn't all that surprised when it was revealed that human beings had long gone extinct. However, I'm glad that 9S' investigations helped make the second loop a bit more interesting in general.

In other news, I reached the 20th floor in Etrian Odyssey V not too long ago, so hoping I can wrap that up soon. The news about Etrian Odyssey X came as a bit of a shock to me, since I thought they'd be done with the 3DS by now. It sounds like it's gonna be a big celebration of the whole franchise; I'm looking forward to it.
 
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Pillars 2, wat.

Beat Atelier Lydie & Suelle. It's better than the past two Atelier games but still falls short of the previous two trilogies a bit in my opinion. Also surprised that God of War is an Action RPG and plays pretty well. I need to pick it back up to finish the last bit. There was something else I played through, but I can't remember it.

Pillars 2 will be releasing next week and the remake of Strange Journey the week after that, which I never got around to playing the original. So those will be my next two games I think.

I haven't really made any progress in Etrian Odyssey V either. Not sure when I will. Playing handhelds is difficult for me even if the game is good and I enjoy it.

 
Got Endings D, C, and E (in that order) in NieR:Automata over the past couple of days! Will reserve my thoughts on the whole thing for a blog post. In the meantime, I've ordered the artbook and a small batch of music CDs... the OST, as expected, is so damned good :hot:

As for Etrian Odyssey V, I'm on... Floor 21. So, I'm also not progressing in that one very quickly (still). It's now the only RPG I'm playing, though, so I'll try to crank through the rest soon.

Next up will be Tales of Vesperia, one of two games I have left to play before packing the ol' 360 away.

 
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Happened to also pick EO5 up again last night. Hit floor 28 by accident, while exploring 27. And finally took down the level 70->80 cap boss after 4 tries.

 
Don't forget the Scavenger hunt codes if you want a few useless bonus items at the start.

https://eternity.obsidian.net/scavenger

Codes can be found here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/projecteternity/comments/7zzrvp/the_deadfire_codes/

https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/95782-the-deadfire-scavenger-codes-4555-found-lets-get-cosmo/

Just missing the last ten codes for the cosmic pirate pig pet. If you want to mass-enter them, there's probably a small Javascript insert you can put into the page somewhere in those two links.

Tales of Vesperia is pretty good. Would've been nice if we got the PS3 version, but there was probably some agreement with Microsoft. The only real issue I have with that game is the lack of being able to track sidequest type stuff. It's pretty much impossible without a guide, which is dumb.

 
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Draekon said:
Tales of Vesperia is pretty good. Would've been nice if we got the PS3 version, but there was probably some agreement with Microsoft. The only real issue I have with that game is the lack of being able to track sidequest type stuff. It's pretty much impossible without a guide, which is dumb.
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I tend to ignore a lot of sidequests in Tales games, so that isn't an issue, but good to know :)
 
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Draekon said:
Don't forget the Scavenger hunt codes if you want a few useless bonus items at the start.

https://eternity.obsidian.net/scavenger

Codes can be found here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/projecteternity/comments/7zzrvp/the_deadfire_codes/

https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/95782-the-deadfire-scavenger-codes-4555-found-lets-get-cosmo/

Just missing the last ten codes for the cosmic pirate pig pet. If you want to mass-enter them, there's probably a small Javascript insert you can put into the page somewhere in those two links.

Tales of Vesperia is pretty good. Would've been nice if we got the PS3 version, but there was probably some agreement with Microsoft. The only real issue I have with that game is the lack of being able to track sidequest type stuff. It's pretty much impossible without a guide, which is dumb.
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Yeah, I've been doing them. Not gonna get use the free cannons or food or anything, but I want that pig.

 
Looks like there are five codes missing. However when I created my character, I already had the pig. Unless he's different than the other one. Guess I'll just input the console code for the other pets (cosmic dog, bird & cat) and check back daily for the last five codes.

There also seems to be an issue with importing too. Causes a character not to show up where they're supposed to currently. Granted my save didn't show up on the import screen either, which was odd. Oh well, I just created a new character instead since I'm impatient. I'll worry about it if I do a second playthrough.

I do have to say that it still feels very weird being able to do heavy lifting as a Wizard though when it comes to stat checks.

 
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I'm finally playing Pillars. Got the complete edition on sale. It's good so far, although I'm getting blurry text no matter how I configure resolution, refresh rate, you name it.

So I'll be enjoying Pillars 2 sometime in 2022? I might cave a few years earlier... Ship maintenance is what I'm all about. Watched a few boarding engagements on a twitch stream and creamed my jeans. Looks so good.
 
There might be an option for Font Ligatures in the game options that may help with the blurry text. I didn't have that issue, but it seems to happen to a small group of people.

That said, Deadfire is definitely better than the original. I've had more than several very interesting conversations as well. Also no more backer NPCs, woo. I feel quite a bit like the Humane Society or a Pound in this game though.

 
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I don't mind the backer NPCs. By now I can ID them on site, so I don't get pulled into woozy purple screens.

I'm like you in that I naturally tend to some kind of caster for a PC. So wizard or priest. I was entirely uniformed about Pillars, so I went wizard. First hour in I'm running with goddamn Aloth.

I made it an early challenge to keep Aloth in the party no matter what, so I've got my gal going more of a CC/debuff route. I think it would be viable if I were better with combat tactics. Right now, anytime a mob disengages, I've got two squishies to manage instead of one. Usually one of them gets torched, I'm having a hell of a time getting strays to re-engage with my bigbois.

I know everyone brings up Baldur's Gate when talking about Pillars. I only do it because it's all the frame of reference I have for cRPG. Anyhow, in BG I felt like my positioning relative to mobs "clicked" more, meaning it just kinda worked out for me. In Pillars, unless I'm doing a dungeon crawl with chokepoints, I can't quite get mobs to be where I want them to be. I'm constantly dancing to get lines of sight instead of unloading on em, like I want.

It's tough out here for a wizard. Anyhow, I dig it enough to run at least 3 or 4 playthroughs if only to nail the combat mechanics. And I'm certain I won't be able to wait for the complete edition of Pillars 2.

 
Yeah, if you only use companions then a Wizard is going to be a rougher start. Though if you fill in your party with temporary created adventurer's at the inn, then it's not so bad. Thankfully in Deadfire it's better if you go the companion-only route. It doesn't take too much time to acquire all the companions if you follow the main story and check out buildings and named NPCs. Though depending on choices in the first game if you import, you may not be able to acquire all of the companions.

And yeah, it's not quite the same feel as Baldur's Gate. Its been a very long time since I've last played it though, I can't specifically comment beyond that. Although I see a lot of people referring to Deadfire as the Shadows of Amn equivalent. With more into these games Crotch is than me, I'm surprised he hasn't really said anything since the game launched.

Thankfully though, if you die in Deadfire it isn't quite as painful/annoying as it is in the first game. In the first game you need to manage camping supplies if I remember correctly. The second game does away with those and uses food to heal injuries when camping. The same food you use to feed your ship crew, which can also provide you with buffs/debuffs depending on the food.

 
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I'm not really going to get the chance to sink my teeth into Deadfire until August, unfortunately. Work reasons. From what I've played: bugs bad, ship combat bad, dispositions/reputation kind of off but there's a lot of potential, everything else really good. Really liking the AI customization and the overall smoothness of the combat. Dialogue and exposition seem a lot less stiff, without sinking into Larian-esque goofiness. Not a fan of the narrator, but at least she doesn't pop up very often. Gotta say, didn't expect "crazy southern religious lady" as a companion, but I'm digging it.

Boring ship combat is disappointing, but not surprising. Two large, unwieldy objects firing slowly-reloading salvos at each-other is kind of hard to make fun unless you're Skies of Arcadia. Boarding lets you skip that, but hoo boy be careful boarding a big enemy ship until you have a full crew. Those galleons full of arquebusiers can get some real brutal alpha strikes.

Draekon said:
And yeah, it's not quite the same feel as Baldur's Gate. Its been a very long time since I've last played it though, I can't specifically comment beyond that. Although I see a lot of people referring to Deadfire as the Shadows of Amn equivalent.
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In a lot of ways, yes. Higher level cap/power curve, less traditional fantasy setting (the original BG was a standard Europe-ish setting, BG2 had more MENA influences), subclasses/kits, plot based around a powerful entity popping up, wrecking your shit, and stealing something important from you, etc.

dothog said:
I don't mind the backer NPCs. By now I can ID them on site, so I don't get pulled into woozy purple screens.

I'm like you in that I naturally tend to some kind of caster for a PC. So wizard or priest. I was entirely uniformed about Pillars, so I went wizard. First hour in I'm running with goddamn Aloth.

I made it an early challenge to keep Aloth in the party no matter what, so I've got my gal going more of a CC/debuff route. I think it would be viable if I were better with combat tactics. Right now, anytime a mob disengages, I've got two squishies to manage instead of one. Usually one of them gets torched, I'm having a hell of a time getting strays to re-engage with my bigbois.

I know everyone brings up Baldur's Gate when talking about Pillars. I only do it because it's all the frame of reference I have for cRPG. Anyhow, in BG I felt like my positioning relative to mobs "clicked" more, meaning it just kinda worked out for me. In Pillars, unless I'm doing a dungeon crawl with chokepoints, I can't quite get mobs to be where I want them to be. I'm constantly dancing to get lines of sight instead of unloading on em, like I want.

It's tough out here for a wizard. Anyhow, I dig it enough to run at least 3 or 4 playthroughs if only to nail the combat mechanics. And I'm certain I won't be able to wait for the complete edition of Pillars 2.
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How far in are you and what's your party? Early on, heavy armour is disproportionately valuable, so don't feel bad about sticking even your back-row people in sturdy gear. Late-game armour has trouble scaling to match damage output, and you get more ways of boosting up your defences, so you typically strip down a little as you get higher level. If you're having trouble with the Temple of Eothas, don't bash your head against the wall: it's a very hard (and entirely optional) dungeon. Feel free to move on, grab a couple more characters, and come back with bigger party (and an anti-spirit sword).

 
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While you're putting it on hold for your usual summer job, I'm tempted to put it on hold for a while myself. I seem to crash occasionally, which has been rather frustrating despite its frequent auto-saves. Also have some weird bugs here and there that I've run into as well. Nothing that has impeded progress, but should probably wait a few patches until things get ironed out. Disappointing for sure, but Strange Journey Redux shipped out last Saturday so I should get it in a day or two. I just noticed there wasn't release date delivery, so it'll probably end up arriving on Wednesday unless UPS is feeling generous.

 
Unfortunate, but not a surprise. Pillars 1 launched in a similar state. I've mostly been playing the big Stardew Valley beta patch (which has been fairly stable and bug-free if you avoid the multiplayer).

 
I want to play the Stardew Valley Beta, but mostly for the multiplayer. I'm holding off for a few patches before I try the beta unless the stable version releases before then. The main reason I'm holding off, besides the bugs, is that my friend doesn't have a copy yet. We're just waiting for a sale on it, which may take as long as the Steam Summer Sale that begins on the 21st. The new content interests me, but I've mostly held off playing more than a few hours in hopes of playing multiplayer (mostly) fresh with a friend.

Man, with the resurgence of indie games in the last five years or so it's been way too hard keeping up with everything.

 
I'd give a rhubarb joke, but my worldly knowledge is lacking in that area. That said, you've got a ton of rhubarb.

Strange Journey arrived though, so time to give Deadfire a back seat for a few patches and bash some demons. However I wish there was something like the Super Gameboy for the Switch or Wii U to play 3DS games on my TV.

 
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And that was the day of the egg festival, too. It was literally impossible to replace the rhubarb harvest with strawberry seeds I bought at the festival in four hours.

 
I just want to reaffirm that I hate Hama and Mudo spells in Megaten games. Later on they're not as bad, but early on they're absolute bullshit. I think I died five times in Strange Journey because they always were casting it first turn on my main character who would die like 60% of the time which resulted in a game over. Because the last crafting ingredient wasn't dropping, I couldn't make the insta-death immunity armor and I ultimately ended up finally buying the sub-app that causes the game to not game over when the main character dies but other demons are still alive. Now that I've bought that, I haven't seen those assholes use Hama or Muda once. I feel like the games AI as taunting me. I swear this happens to me in pretty much every Megaten game.

EDIT: Also Macca Beam sucks. I lost like 70% of my wealth in a single fight because there were like five enemies that all had the skill.

 
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Draekon said:
Yeah, if you only use companions then a Wizard is going to be a rougher start. Though if you fill in your party with temporary created adventurer's at the inn, then it's not so bad. Thankfully in Deadfire it's better if you go the companion-only route. It doesn't take too much time to acquire all the companions if you follow the main story and check out buildings and named NPCs.
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First playthrough is Easy. Companions only in this party. A party that doesn't stop, you all, because it's Easy. No teamwipes, no real issues other than getting engagements set exactly the way I like. It's boring but it's fine, I want to read and I want to learn the mechanics as best as I can. There will be multiple playthroughs.

The Crotch said:
How far in are you and what's your party? Early on, heavy armour is disproportionately valuable, so don't feel bad about sticking even your back-row people in sturdy gear. Late-game armour has trouble scaling to match damage output, and you get more ways of boosting up your defences, so you typically strip down a little as you get higher level. If you're having trouble with the Temple of Eothas, don't bash your head against the wall: it's a very hard (and entirely optional) dungeon. Feel free to move on, grab a couple more characters, and come back with bigger party (and an anti-spirit sword).
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I'm knocking around a lot. I'm on the cusp of the animancy hearings but I'm doing any and all side/character quests I can dig up. I'm stalling on animancy because I don't like what the narrative is doing, I'm getting pushed into a Decision on animancy. There's a lot of goddamn story, souls and gods and ruins and lots more souls.

I feel like I'm fairly far along (lvl 9), but I'm playing sloooooowly so I don't have a sense of main story playtime vs side quest goofin. I have intentionally avoided the internet for tips, etc., I'm reaching out to CAG as a trusted source.

Party is currently Farmboi tank, Balletina and Kane Train offtanking, Firepants Doorantz supporting frontliners with ridiculous buffs (so ridiculous), Underwhelming Inuit Deeps with Nonthreatening Off-Foxtank, and Confused Wizard (hi that's me) trying to figure out if she's (A) debuffing and spamming slicken or (B) waiting for a chance to flank the line and light em up.

I'm slowly understanding the deal in combat. My tactics are very conservative (self-evident). We form a tidy line, with wizard on the weak side for flanking once a makeshift line is established. Engagements take a while to resolve as I lack real power. The factors I understand that contribute to a lack of power: (1) my party composition (2) my unwillingness to go full-on angry mage with my main (3) I'm mostly unsure of how my enemy debuffs improve my squad's damage output.

Strategically I am building each character with as many relevant passives as possible. I take no "per rests" skills/talents. Frontliners are shielded up. It's a real no-nonsense party, we're not a flashy bunch.

Again, I'm playing on Easy. A "bad fight" is one that doesn't end with me feeling in full control -- I don't mind things going "wrong" provided I resolve it cleanly. My one almost-teamwipe was a vampyr on Od Nua Lvl 8, I finished his quest, then replied "Attack" when he got sassy without having my party composed before initiating chat. Turns out he's a charmer. Nearly charmed us to death.

Your tip on armor is noted. I had been avoiding plate for my paperdolls but you've provided the push I was needing to armor up. Although, am I too far along to benefit?

I'm looking forward to advancing to a tougher difficulties. One thing I really like about the AI is that mobs seem to have no difficulty identifying my damage dealers, as I noted earlier.

Oh, and I ditched Aloth. Who can only be Aloth, he doesn't get a pet name. The beagle I picked up along the way gets a name ("Ralph"), Aloth doesn't. I was very happy to take him down in the Sanitarium and push his character quest far enough along that I felt like, Okay, it's time to ditch this punk. Ditched him hard, went Underperforming Deeping Inuit, haven't looked back.

 
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I like how that Vesperia remaster is announced after I get 40+ hours in on the original :lol:

It's all good. However, I do think I'm done with Tales games after this. I enjoy the stories and characters, as anime as they are, but they're all quite long, I've never been a big fan of the battle system, and certain other aspects which are important to my enjoying a JRPG (dungeon design and music, mainly) are usually not to my tastes. If I get through the mountain of other JRPGs currently in my backlog, maybe I'll pick up a Tales game again, but that seems to be rather unlikely.

I just got back from vacation, so I'll have to refresh my memory of where I'm at in the story, but I'm guessing that I only have about 1/4 to 1/3 left to play now.

Speaking of which, I started the 6th Stratum of Etrian Odyssey V while I was away. (ETA: It was my first time picking it up again since beating it last month.) I've never completed a 6th Stratum in any of these games, and I don't think this one will be an exception, but I'm looking forward to seeing how far I'll be able to get. Currently on the 27th floor and haven't hit the level cap with my party yet :razz:
 
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I'm having a hard time playing Strange Journey because I've previously played SMT IV and Apocalypse. It honestly feels like the exact same structure as both of those games with only a slightly different theme plastered over it. Granted this one came out before those two, but still. I wish they'd do something besides the Evil/Neutral/Good system they've been using. It's especially annoying with how much summons cost to call from the compendium and you're wanting to merge some new demons. It feels like it's significantly more expensive than the last four or five Megaten games I've played. It's like they're forcing you to always go out and capture more constantly or grind for a metric ton of money. Not a big surprise considering how they're constantly giving you more slots to hold more I guess.

Deadfire received its 1.1 patch a week or two ago that may get me to dive back into it. I haven't touched Etrian Odyssey V in a long time.

 
R. Kasahara said:
I like how that Vesperia remaster is announced after I get 40+ hours in on the original :lol:

It's all good. However, I do think I'm done with Tales games after this. I enjoy the stories and characters, as anime as they are, but they're all quite long, I've never been a big fan of the battle system, and certain other aspects which are important to my enjoying a JRPG (dungeon design and music, mainly) are usually not to my tastes......
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I have several Tales games in my backlog and just cannot get back into the games either. I think I got burned out on them after pushing thru Symphonia 1&2, Graces f, and Xillia 1&2 in such a short time. I guess that's why the Vesperia remaster doesn't excite me all that much.

Draekon said:
I'm having a hard time playing Strange Journey because I've previously played SMT IV and Apocalypse. It honestly feels like the exact same structure as both of those games with only a slightly different theme plastered over it. .....
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When I played the DS version, I found Strange Journey to be a bit boring compared to SMT IV. I honestly don't see them changing much about the structure for SMT V, but I'm disappointed there hasn't been much news about it at E3 this year. I'm guessing it won't be out until late 2019.

 
I played Strange Journey a couple years before SMT IV, so I actually thought SMT IV was a little boring.

Strange Journey was supposed to have been IV, which is probably why they're extremely similar.

 
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