I am pretty sure that initiative in TBS mode does give you extra attacks - I’ve seen scenarios where my guys went twice in a round compared to the enemies only going once, specifically a monk I was playing with good initiative. I could be wrong but I’m pretty sure it’s math based: your initiative is calculated to give you X actions per Y rounds, and if that number ends up giving you two attacks in a round, you get it.
Yeah, I think that’s true.
And I was able to confirm attacks of opportunity still happen when disengaging, too.
To get 2 attacks in a round requires a pretty substantial initiative differential - I recall my Monk had around 5 or 6 initiative and these skeletons I was facing had like 12 or so. So I wonder if it’s incremental like I thought or if you literally have to have half the initiative of the enemy to get a second attack. I just tried changing armor to change from 7 initiative to 5 and it did not affect the number of attacks against enemies with an initiative of 9-ish, at least as far as I can tell.
There is probably an incrementing/rounding issue with translating the old speed of attack system to an initiative system.
yeah I thought I saw this too, and it seems like an obvious decision…
This would be excellent. I’ll dig into it more this week, I haven’t had much time since it dropped.
I will pay more attention to this, but the first few fights in the cave I intentionally withdrew my wounded wolf and he never got attacked. Are wolves maybe immune to disengagement?
I agree about needing more levels, especially. I don’t get the same enjoyment out of the last two DLC and much of the end game because I’m level-capped already and there’s no advancement in my party. I really wish they made the DLC middle-level appropriate and had more quests that were mutually exclusive to manage the xp gain better.
But on the plus side, you don’t have to run through the main story to hit the max level, or do all the optional quests and content, you have a third option now at the end of the middle game. I played a new play through and it felt like it took awhile to get through to level 15 or 16 to hit the second DLC, and here I am 3 levels away from being able to do the Sanctum. I don’t know if I want progression to be halted more than it has been, I’m already 40 hours into this play through, and now I started over for turn-based mode.
I haven’t taken the plunge yet, but the addition of a turn-based mode certainly has my attention. Does turn-based slow things down too much?
Also, would you guys recommend the Obsidian bundle that includes all 3 DLC packs? It’s kinda pricy, but if it went on sale I’d be tempted.
Finally, what difficulty level would you recommend for a new player (using turn-based)?
I tried it out last night, created basically @Scotch_Lufkin’s Earth-Magic Godlike evoker character, except took points out of Dexterity and redistributed to everything else.
I’m already loving it! Just the act of having a turn while everything else waits for you, it makes each turn feel so much more substantial. It made me realize I don’t really understand the interface in this game. Like when am I using the staff, why do I only get 3 or 4 uses out of my magic missiles, why am I shooting bolts, how do I control that, etc. When it RTwP, I basically didn’t care about any of that, because it was just one character doing stuff in this whole mess of things going on. Just the act of one person going at a time suddenly makes me care about the fact that I don’t know the interface all that well.
Yeah, this is has been true for me, but not for lack of understanding the UI but rather for following the action and making good choices. Like, when my Rogue/Cipher takes a critical hit and nearly drops, I can make sure on her next turn she moves further back and drinks a potion. Or when my Ranger is about to pop an Imbued Magic Missile arrow I can, as a free action, first make sure I Mark the target. A lot of the game’s mechanics and rules are more interesting when they are presented directly in front of you, instead of happening “all at once”.
I am not a 100% fan of TBS but I am finding myself to love this (re)incarnation of Poe 2. I walked away from it on release distracted by work and other stuff. My problem with it was the combat. I was just overwhelmed by the sheer number of options, possible builds synergies and special abilities. Playing in slowmo mode was too boring, and I lost interest in programming the behaviour trees because it felt like work.
Turn based has allowed me to get a handle on the combat mechanics, which are supercool. Only JA, BT and my hardcore wargames provide a similar tingle on my brain. To my surprise, the pace has improved for me. I can spend easy 5 minutes reading through the in-game docs to understand the implications of using an special ability over another one, but then, as I don’t have to slow down the game, resolution of combat is faster. I also reload way less.
I don’t like the idea of randomising initiative too much, I like the control it gives on the flow of combat. I also find that getting two rounds in before the other guy is well worth the points spent on Dexterity. Spells and abilities that Hobble and Daze opponents are crucial when the odds are even, amplifying any investments in Dexterity, in my opinion.
Exactly my sentiments. Either raise the cap or they should’ve adjusted the content to mid-teens. Or staggered it a bit, because now if you do one of the DLCs you’re gonna very likely be 19-20 and still have the other two and the main game still left to finish.
I love turn-based in the games that I’ve played but turn-based always slows down the game if combat is involved enough. Or rather, it makes a single play-through take substantially longer compared to RTwP. Maybe that 80 hour game becomes 110 hours to complete?
Slowing down the game has a negative vibe to it when it really isn’t a negative when done well. If you don’t mind the pace, it’s all good. For me, I’m sticking with RTwP for Deadfire for now.
Thanks. I’ll poke around for more reviews of the turn-based mode tomorrow.
This wasn’t my experience. I finally hit level 14 so I could do the first DLC, and when I got done I was still a bit low for the second DLC (at 15), so I did some main quest stuff to hit 16, and then hit 17 during the second DLC, but I need to be 20 for the final DLC, I’ve read. 19-20 or so. Kind of lost steam when I had to go “grind” to be able to do the last DLC.
A friend of mine who is an avid rpg player but merely tolerates rtwp has been raving about the TB mode and has to remind me very hour or so on steam that this is one of the finest rpg experiences he has ever had.
The hype was enough for me to consider sidelining Pathfinder for the time being so I could go back and finish Pillars 1 and then jump straight into sequel. So I’m asking - is the game now content complete, meaning there won’t be any more dlcs coming out? And are there any big patches like Pillars 2.0 or 3.0 on the horizon that would significantly shake things up (mechanics, balance)?
The turn-based mode is just in “beta” right now. I’d expect a few patches before they finalize it.
And if I wanted to play on rtwp? Unlike my friend I have no problem with this type of combat, in fact I really enjoyed it in PoE1.
I believe it’s complete.
I agree with @John_Reynolds - I think they are pretty much done with PoE 2 outside of tweaks here and there, and most of those will be to the TB mode.
If you already like RTwP you can always play PoE 2 that way, honestly*. But I think even in it’s early form, the TB mode in PoE2 is freaking fantastic. And as someone who I know enjoys turn-based mechanics, like JA2 and Underrail, I think this is a no-brainer for you.
*I did all the way through nearly 3 times and I love it!