Originally Posted by sakichop
I spent about an hour with the beta, got bored and was going to go back to it and never did. The combat was just so underwhelming. I feel like i've been playing this combat for the last 10 years now in arpg's.

Felt pretty much like you around the 1 hour mark. Then it started growing on me constantly up to the 5 hours or so I played… Provided you are not in it for the combat that is but rather the real strengths of a PB game (atmosphere exploration and overall character. Gameplay seems a bit nerfed this time round).

Regarding the combat, I believe it will improve with skills you acquire. I managed to get parry, fast strikes and strong hit or something in the beta and it already improved vs NPCs (became more tactical and interesting, especially with parry. I expect riposte will make it even more so). Unfortunately combat vs Creatures is just clicking and sidestepping via moving out of the way (*)(I prefer keeping my finger on the run button. Really PB let us lock the camera and strafe again PLEASE!). All in all I am getting the impression it will be something somewhat better than CPed G3 which is adequate (so I can enjoy the rest of the game) for me…

(* Also they come in larger groups this time around to make it more interesting and balance difficulty it seems, especially with the inclusion of companions. I've also not found a way to separate groups which was possible up to Risen 1. They seem to activate almost telepathically regardless of distance, if one becomes hostile)