Have played both PoE and while I did enjoy them, overall the DOS games flowed better and weren’t quite so static/stiff. I own Torment, but haven’t played it and from what I read its rather dreary and not much “fun”. Only played the beginning of Mass Effect 1, so can’t speak for the series, but I don’t think its the same sort of game type, as that series (& Dragon Age) devolved into an over shoulder action game. Haven’t played Tyranny but its the same studio as PoE so I’d throw it in with those games.
So yeah, just based on your examples I reckon that Larian has the best basis / requirements to tackle BG3 currently and I’m looking forwards to it, even if it might not quite sync up with my memories of BG 1&2.
Andromeda is nothing like the others - its not an RPG like Baldurs gate is. Pillars is obtuse, as is Torment and Tyranny and have nothing on either Divinity games.
Each of these studios have pedigree over the past decade or two for releasing popular products. And during this same time frame even Larian has released a few stinkers.
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Personally, I don’t feel a need for a BG3. Why dig the the series out of its grave? What people remember of BG1 and 2 are the characters and narrative more so than gameplay, and both DOS and DOS2 were lacking in this regard IMO.
Ok, I guess its all a matter of opinion, as I didn’t have any issues with it?
A “host of” problems seems excessive though, I know lots of people had issues with the armour / magic damage separation, but apart from that I don’t even know what issues with itemization & power gaps refers to.
Its been a year since I’ve played it so its possible I’ve just forgotten any problems? (though I did sink about 200hrs into it…)
If you fell behind with even one gear level in act 2 and onwards you could really feel it in every single battle. Loot was randomly generated for the most part so you could go a while before you found suitable pieces for your party.
As for other issues, inventory management was a nightmare, especially when it came to solving some puzzles. And puzzles in general, at some point enough is enough, I signed up to play an RPG not a puzzle game. Especially with how out there the solutions for some were, it was like being back in the 90s. And the constant shuffling of characters around to use a particular skill, or being able to rob every mechant blind…I could go on.
The game was high quality, but I found it an absolute chore to play in anything that wasn’t a battle mode.
I’m excited about BG3, and I’ll play it day 1. But I’m disappointed no one has mentioned the true spiritual successor to the BG series. And in my opinion, it has eclipsed BG. (For point of comparison, I have ~1000 hours in BG1, 2, and ToB.)
Wow, couldn’t disagree more. I tried to get into Pathfinder: Kingmaker but it’s been a struggle from the start to get up the urge to play it again (I have about 8 hours invested). Now I feel I’ve slipped away to play other games and may never go back (similar to what happened with Bard’s Tale IV and ME: Andromeda).
While I’m keeping my expectations normal for BG3, I’ll be pleased if it hits all the right notes. I’d love for it to be such a hit that the series takes off again.
As an aside, hoping we can keep a spoiler thread for early access play away from this general discussion thread.
I’d be really curious to hear your reasoning behind this - can be here or PF topic, I don’t care. Like @Equisilus it was also a struggle for me getting to PF, and I never got further than midgame-ish. I feel like I never gave the game an honest chance so I’m curious what makes it so appealing to someone with 1000h across BG games.
I really enjoy D&D 2nd Ed. core rules, and I find I enjoy the 3.5 Ed. rules, from with Pathfinder is based, even more. I love planning out builds and leveling up my characters. Sadly for BG, this is possible with the main char only (unless you create a custom party), whereas in PFKM, you can do it with each character. Each character is actually capable of a wide variety of interesting builds. And of course, in BG you can’t really do this. In BG, you can only dual class humans, and it’s rarely a good idea. It’s not even in the same ball park.
I get an idea in my head for a build, or I stumble across some ridiculous build, and another PFKM run-through is set in motion. This can happen in BG as well, but the variety is lacking compared to PFKM. PFKM has over a dozen classes, and each has an additional three archetypes, so you’re looking at over 50 “classes.” It’s dizzying.
I love leveling up and getting stronger. I love getting new and more powerful gear. The world in PFKM is larger than BG, and I think there’s a little more variety of loot. PFKM does lack BG2’s epic loot like Carsomyr and Crom Faeyr, which is disappointing. They tried… but it’s nowhere near the same.
The level curve in PFKM is linear, and everyone levels up at the same rate (usually, unless you game the options). The max level is 20, but you’ll probably finish the game around 17-19. In BG, of course, each class has different XP requirements, and by the end of ToB it’s kind of ridiculous what level you are with tons of epic abilities but you usually only use one or two. It’s fine, but, I enjoy the PFKM ride more.
The story in PFKM is very strong, with a good variety as to how to you can respond to each event. There’s a lot of different ways the main story can go. I was 800 hours in before I discovered the secret, best, “canon” ending, though that’s probably on me. The companions are all pretty interesting and have excellent quests. More-so than BG.
I love how in PFKM skills are important. Perhaps, too important. They don’t exist in BG.
Of course, I love BG. But I just think PFKM does everything BG does, but a little better. I’m not sure how someone could love BG but bounce off of PFKM. Their original Kickstarter includes this blurb -
I think they succeeded.
And of course, when you beat the game it has one of the best Fallout-style recaps I think I’ve ever seen.
I second that Kingmaker is the true BG1/2 spiritual successor, particularly with the latest updates that fixed the bugs and balance. Turn based is coming soon, which should further spice things up.
Your post really highlighted for me what it was - the ruleset. I’m just not familiar enough with it so instead of enjoying the complexity I spend an hour so googling the optimal choices at every level up, for every character, which makes me anxious I’m making suboptimal choices.
