Nah man, it’s really well done. I thought it was bugged with 5-foot steps, but nope, I didn’t understand the rule (you can’t do anything that moves you if you take one, so no edging around a blocker to get a charge off).
My goodness, this is lightyears better than RTwP. It plays so much better I’m a little shocked the latter got through early prototyping. The systems feel clearly built for turn-based.
The time I’ve spent playing TB mode since restarting has shown just how good TB mode is in this game, and I’m always a RTwP player if it’s available. Just being able to focus on all the nuances of the combat pivots the game to something I’m enthusiastic about. TB made a hugely positive difference and I recommend it.
Turn based for this game has catapulted my interest in its sequel, no doubt.
You can use the person at Olegs, but that can’t change level 1 choices, so most people use a mod to make the companions have better stats and/or classes.
Be aware that some characters, particularly Harrim and Tristram I believe, can cause later bugs if you don’t let them have at least one level of their starting class - unless the mod fixed this since I last played. Also, some classes/abilities (like Harrim) are unique to them and can’t be picked at normal character creation, iirc.
Even on the hardest difficulty you can get away with having one level off so it’s not required if you know early enough what you want to switch a companion to.
Definitely got back into this with the turn based combat, really impressed with how they have bolted it on. I struggle a bit with RTWP as I have no interest in deeply learning the ruleset and min-maxing builds so never really understood what was happening. Turn based means I can now get through combat efficiently with much less resting afterwards.
Any recommendations for a PC? Last time I played with a Paladin if I remember correctly (no kit) and felt like it was an underpowered fighter.
Class guides for companions on TB mode would also be greatly appreciated.
Here’s my PC recommendation from Feb 2019 in this thread:
My Paladin didn’t feel underpowered to me. Good combination of dps and utility. Maybe things have changed since then.
Slayer is pretty insane for a PC so far. Max STR, dual wield, murder everything. It’s not unusual to hit for 30+ at level 4 between main+offhand attacks. Been much happier since switching to light armor - trading off one AC for the improved movement is a huge win.
Dammit - that sounds way too interesting! I have so many builds and classes I want to try out, that it is insane!
I was all set on an Eldritch Archer because the name sounds cool (Yeah, thats how I roll!), or a Monk, but this? Arrggh!
Right now I am just waiting for them to fix controllers, so that one of their two major additions to the “Definitive Edition” actually works :-D
Yeah, Slayer is really “what if Fighter/Rogue, but like super overpowered?” It’s just absurdly strong for a pure damage dealer. I love that they implemented Full Attack properly, where if your first hit kills your target, you’ll point remaining attacks at any enemies in range.
Whoever suggested (@Balasarius ?) turning Octavia into a sneak-attacking Arcane Trickster was right on. She’s quite effective now, and once she gets tricksy it’s just going to get better.
2H Fighter for Amiri is vastly superior to Barbarian IMO. Mostly you want her to Hit Things Real Hard, and 2H Fighter is much better suited to that. At level 3 you can have Power Attack + Cleave + Cleaving Finish, which gives her a solid role in mowing the lawn. Her single level of Barbarian ain’t bad even, she gets the bonus move (which doesn’t suck), some rage, it’s all good.
Harrim’s okay. He’s not completely incompetent at melee, and giving him Shield Homies along with Valerie turns him into a credible tank who locks down the front line pretty effectively with her. And heals. You just need the heals, man.
Linzi…well, Linzi twees her way through life, occasionally landing some moderately useful crossbow hit and giving the ol’ Inspire Courage to the actual adventurers around her. She sure does spoil the heck out of a Hearty Meal, though!
Val’s a damn truck. She parks, she very rarely gets hit, she just clogs up the lane while doing moderate-low damage. A little better now at 4 that she has Weapon Specialization, but still. If doing damage is analogous to shooting free throws, she’s Shaq.
Turn-based combat mode makes everything so much easier (and more fun, because I get to actually use my characters properly). I might have to bump the difficulty. It’s a whole new game.
Anything that gives you Sneak Attack is good. Any class that has Animal Companions is good. Pre-planning and using most Teamwork skills is good. In fact you can go Frankenclass and make a pretty disgusting Dragon Disciple. Your real limiting factor is your feats, these should be considered your most valuable resource. This is why I don’t particularly think cleaving is all that great but YMMV.
A little tip for those who are just coming to the game. If you purchased the DLC’s there is a point where you inject another character into your main game (Spoiler: @ the beginning of Act 3). It is a good idea to stop sometime before that and make this character and play through it’s story beats as it relates to the main game. This is nice because you get to play a new character between 3-9 with 3 custom built companions that you make. There are 2 other NPC teammates however you should create a balanced party between the 4 as if they were not in the party.
The story is actually good and there are a number of fun fights and puzzle-ish activities. The main driving reward for this is having access to a vendor with a number of good items that you may want later in your main game. I would estimate 5-9 hours of additional game play are added with it depending on how you play.
I can’t believe I never thought of this - I have always bashed my face into the screen with her as a Barbarian, and they aren’t a super interesting class, even at high levels, it turns out. I’ll take this advice next time with her. One level of Barbarian for a little Rage is cool, but I’ll sink the rest into 2H Fighter.
You forgot a single level of Vivisectionist! Unique Strength bonus that stacks and some Sneak Attack. GO BIG OR GO HOME!
Yeah, I had started down the Slayer path with her and have liked it better than plain Barbarian. I might have to try her out as Fighter instead.
Oh, that sounds hot, I love it.
Might be chucking her for Regongar or conceivably Jaethal after this dungeon anyway though.
Both Regongar and Jaethal can be made into monsters. I would say Regonar in particular gets a lot from Turn-based mode and scything away with Jaethal is all good. :)
I discovered something I only knew subconsciously about myself yesterday when I was looking at builds for the NPC’s linked earlier - I think it’s super dumb to have more than two classes. I just don’t like it. It’s the kind of munchkin gaming that drives me crazy, and it’s easily the worst thing about Pathfinder Kingmaker and trying to play on Core or higher difficulties - if you don’t min/max the shit out of your party and you leave even a single +1 attack or a point of AC on the table you’re doomed. Drives me crazy.
I think that’s why I prefer Pillars of Eternity 2’s character system - you are one class or a blend of two classes that created a third, versatile class but you are never anything other than one of those two states.No “I’ll grab a level of this and 3 levels of that to get to this crazy bonus with my main 7 levels of X”. No thanks.
Not to diminish your excellent suggestion, it just reminded me I just don’t want to deal with that stuff. “Oh, you’re missing out on a unique bonus to STR by not taking a level in this obscure class you’ve never heard of!” is just about my kryptonite, I think.