Help choosing difficulty and class
 

Hello, I want to say I know nothing about the game. I didn't want to spoil myself, so I deliberately never read anything about it before I buy and play it, except some news that I considered safe, like what's been fixed in a patch.

But some tidbits I've heard, something about multiple difficulties above normal, for example, and multiple "mage-like" classes.

I always play games above normal difficulty, typically the highest, because normal usually means "relaxed", which translates into not enough need to use the tactical side of the game. As a rule, it works out, there were two games it didn't work out with for me, and those were specific cases from the horror genre, which I swear should rename their normal to hard and hard to "deliberately not designed to be the first playthrough". In RPGs I usually like to play a mage as a main character, their offensive power is most varied of all classes.

1) Is it going to work out in this case? If I pick the highest difficulty and a mage, can I get through the beginning of the game until I've gathered a party? (which is always the worst part for weaklings such as mages)

2) There are other characters with mage abilities, and I'd like to play the one with most extensive spell list and is NOT a buffer by design, e.g. like in Drakensang with its weak magic. That should be a mage, right?

3) Is there an invisibility spell? Is the spell list as varied as in BG2?

4) What's the difference between higher difficulties?

Thanks :)

1) no problem, after the intro you can avoid fighting untill you reach npc's or make your own companions

Just stick to the roads don't poke your nose into any caves :)
As for the question 3 - there is no invisibility spell and PoE's spell list is more or less as varied as in BG2 but spells are less powerful (IMO). And do be careful with AOEs spells. Even with due care and attention it's easy to nuke your own companions.
Have you considered making a druid? It's a bit OP but mages are a bit underwhelming in this game…

Don't know about the highest difficulty, but I played hard and found it quite enjoyable, with only a couple of battles that made me question my sanity. Tip for starting: In the first map after 'tutorial' area, don't assume you have to fight everything you see, you can continue to the next map where there is an inn where you can afford to create a couple of adventurers, then you can go back.
There is no 'I' in 'team'. In this game, you're only 'you' for conversations. In a fight, every party member has its role, and they're all controlled the same. So if you like playing a mage, be a mage. If you're curious about druids, hire a druid at the inn (or wait until you find the druid companion later on). So basically, create the character you want and don't second guess it.
No invisibility (the 'sneak' mode puts everybody in stealth but it likely won't let you go past enemies). There are plenty of spells, maybe not as many as in BG2 but you won't be wanting or needing more.
Higher difficulties both add strength to enemies, they're also more numerous, you have less 'camping supplies'. Someone said that some enemies have more abilities at higher difficulties, not sure if it's true.

Yep, though I'd go with Hard instead of Path difficulty. It'll let you get accustomed to the game, and use primarily NPCs in the party. Path pretty much requires you to custom make a party early on at an inn, unless you're a big fan of reloading a lot.

Correct. Mage and Druid both fit that description.

No and no. The spells are quite varied, but they lack "umph!" compared to BG2.

Easy, Normal and Hard simply adjust the number of monsters you face in any given fight. Path adjusts the stats of the monsters, making them considerably tougher.

Also, Easy, Normal and Hard affect how many times you can rest: You need camp supplies to rest, and it's limited to 2x on Hard, 4x on Normal and.. well I don't know on Easy, I haven't tried that yet. Probably 6x or 8x.

Thanks! It looks like I'll go with wizard and then add a druid to the party. It's sad that magic lacks the umph.

If I create characters in the inn, I can kick them out later, right?

Hm, are NPC companions that bad…

How does Path compare to the highest difficulty of BG2, for example? It was just right. Or is it more like Heart of Fury in IWD? You can compare it to any other well-known RPG, too, I'd be grateful.

Yes.
I don't think that's what Maylander meant. I'm playing on Hard but he meant that, for Path, you need more companions faster.

Nah, I played Hard with only NPC companions (first I hired 2 mercenaries, and when I found the 5th and 6th companions I kicked my mercenaries out). Mercenaries you kick still have their uses in the stronghold, for adventures, etc.

Do they? Really I looked after the stronghold as it was my own home. What if you didn't? or if you were the type of person that had rusty engine blocks in your front yard.

POF missed the mark with the stronghold, it could have been a really exciting.

You get most variety of spells with mages, less with Druids, least with ciphers, but I'd say the usefulness ranking is the exact opposite.

You are right but Obsidian had to release this game at some point. Maybe they will revisit stronghold issue in the future?

Yep, this is the main reason. The start will be way harder than BG2 otherwise, as companions are gained more slowly (unless you know where to look).

That being said, it's very nice to have a Druid with maxed Intelligence, and I seem to recall the NPC Druid not being the brightest. Also, depending on setup, it could be nice to have a second proper tank or a Rogue for single target damage.

I would play on Hard difficulty if I were to start over after playing for 88 hours or so. Normal is decently difficult and I lost many battles, but I would have liked even more difficulty. So I'd start on Hard.

As for class, I rolled a Ranger and I love my choice. My bear companion is a key element to my party, being a naturally tough defender that can also deal some damage, and having the right bond skills between Ranger and companion can really make for a deadly combination. Plus, you can be versatile, and sometimes use ranged attacks, but other times if need be, mix it up in the fray. Either way the companion bear will compliment you at all times, if you create your build to do so.

So I'd say Hard difficulty and Ranger character. :)

Oops, I just finished reading your original post. :D

Okay so, mages are cool, I like them quite a bit. They can be quite useful if utilized properly. The Druid companion is nice but I'd take the Wizard over him and leave him back at the stronghold, and I haven't even used Cyphers yet, as I've stuck with this party for the most part:

Myself (Ranger), Paladin, Ranger, Wizard, Priest, Chanter

Very versatile and very fun! :)

Good luck!

In my party the mage was the only one with decent AoE spells and he was devastating against large groups. He focused on Ice & Fire spells (+20% damage).

That's where the umph is: find out which magic type enemies are most vulnerable against, then use spells of that type, preferably with one of those +20% damage talents.

For RP I'd read through the spell list in the manual and try to come up with the type of wizard I want to play -- which damage types to focus on, which defensive spells to get etc., since you can only have 4 spells per level in one grimoire. Sure, you can switch grimoires, but who does that? ;)

One small tip though about which talents to avoid:

For those of you who played the beta, do you feel like the overall difficulty was nerfed in the final release?

I started a game today on Normal difficulty, and the combat seems much easier than I remember it being in the beta. Granted, I'm only about an hour in, but my Monk easily kills everything I've encountered so far in 2-3 hits.

Does the difficulty ramp up considerably after the first few hours?

I'll add another question: can one change difficulty when the game is already started, via some slider or option?

I still don't have the game, but soon will. So just planning how to play it. Thank you all, your replies are very helpful.

Yes, you can switch between Easy, Normal, and Hard in-game. Changing to another difficulty doesn't take effect until you move to the next map though. Path of the Damned mode cannot be changed in-game.

In beta, you start out with a full party not really knowing what you're doing.

In the full game, you're slowly introduced to fights with only a few combatants - which makes it much easier to manage.

That said, I haven't played a monk.

But, overall, I think it's the way the game starts out rather than nerfed difficulty.

You won't really get a feel for it until you have a full party with some of the tougher encounters.

I find Hard to be too easy - but I only played it for ~35 hours or so. If I know Obsidian, they'll go over-the-top towards the end, and I'm sure it would be hard again.

I might never know, though.

Uh, I attempted Path of the Damned, and those bandits (?) who came to slaughter the caravan whipped us so hard after we ran into their leader. Too many. But maybe I merely do not understand well how to play yet. My spells were out, and without spells having one single fighter against a few other fighters was never going to work out…

That brings me to a question: what is the correct way to deal with that battle? Bandit leader and his thugs after they killed everyone in the caravan. Anything I miss? I mean, early on, just one fighter vs. them all, that doesn't even sound realistic. And that other guy we saved fell unconscious from fatique real quick.

Also… Only four spells per level for wizard, seriously? Any way to increase that? In BG at least the mage had a sling. This one tries to shoot something from staff instead, but I couldn't see that working out successfully. It doesn't seem like it even hits. So without spells wizard basically just stands there.

And is there any mod to enable resting anywhere without supplies? I would love that, at least until I figure out the game mechanics.

I have played on Hard so I don't know if it relates if you have chosen PotD (I also don't remember all the actions I took) but didn't you have 3 in the party? PC + Calisca and Heodan? AFAIR Heodan is injured but he helps…

Yes, 4 spells per level and wizards can use wands, rods and sceptres which aren't totally useless (especially with Blast ability and Penetrating Blast talent) but I have equipped mine also with a pistol than blunderbuss and, finally, with arquebus (as soon as I could get them).

No…