Pillars of Eternity II - Review @ NerdSpan

NerdSpan reviewed Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire:

What is… Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire?

“Baldur’s Gate with a Modern Twist”

Like the first entry in this series, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire takes elements of tabletop RPGs and adapts them for the PC, streamlining away some of the less fun things for players to worry about (I’m looking at you, third edition D&D attack rolls) while keeping some of the best parts of tabletop RPGs— the wild combat, the expansive world, and the ability to immerse yourself in the role of a fantasy character.

[...]

This game is perfect for:

Players who crave a lengthy RPG that harkens back to the late ’90s, early ’00s era without becoming trapped by the excruciating shortcomings of the past.

Would I recommend it?

Yes.

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More information.

A rather terse review, like something written on the back of an envelope.

I want to play this, but I don't want to have to finish the first one which I didn't like. Does a lot of the content and story continue from the first one?

Dreadzilla said:

I want to play this, but I don't want to have to finish the first one which I didn't like. Does a lot of the content and story continue from the first one?

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No, you don't have to play the first, although you'll miss a lot of the lore background.

I didn't finish the first one. I am enjoying II a whole lot, even though I barely remembered anything from the first one, and I'm still going strong after 55 hours.

I found the first one very confusing. Hope the second one is less confusing.

Whenever I see words like "Modern Twist", I take that as a negative. Whats wrong with d&d 3e attack roles? I liked the combat far better in the infinity games than in POE. Not that I much like RTWP though either way.

Eh, 3rd edition D&D is archaic and better left in the past. The infinity engine games were 2nd edition AD&D, which is much worse.

you said:

I found the first one very confusing. Hope the second one is less confusing.

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Eh? What was confusing about it? ( outside of overdly wordy sentences)

Saxon1974 said:

Whenever I see words like "Modern Twist", I take that as a negative. Whats wrong with d&d 3e attack roles? I liked the combat far better in the infinity games than in POE. Not that I much like RTWP though either way.

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Yep, I agree well, except the RTwP comment at the end

Silver Coin said:

Eh, 3rd edition D&D is archaic and better left in the past. The infinity engine games were 2nd edition AD&D, which is much worse.

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Nope, I think both Infinity Engine (2nd ed AD&D) and 3rd ed (NWN) combat was heaps more enjoyable than PoE.

I have to admit I got very hooked into POE. Been replaying POE1 for two weeks now and according to steam have 112 played hours in it. So love the story and followers. Not to mention the game itself.

Just finished my official play through tonight (deleted all previous saves and characters) with a Druid named Fenn. Did all the DLC's and content. Was a very long game but highly enjoyable.

So with a few patches for POE2 about ready to import my Druid and get to it. I was slow to get into the game but the story really hooked me, as did the companions and overall lore, and its really moved up high on my favorite games list. It reminded me a lot of BG and IWD which was a plus.

I enjoyed PoE the first time through, but I must admit it was greatly improved with the White March expansions. It still feels like there's room for further expansion, particularly in the final chapter, although the developers probably aren't interested in revisiting it at this point.

wolfgrimdark said:

I have to admit I got very hooked into POE. Been replaying POE1 for two weeks now and according to steam have 112 played hours in it. So love the story and followers. Not to mention the game itself.

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I've made two attempts to "get into" PoE1. I really want to like this series. But like You posted, I'm just a little confused about the game. I don't really understand the stat system. In my last playthrough, I felt I wondered into an area beyond my level but couldn't find anywhere else to go. Then I figured I must just really suck at the game or maybe I don't know how to "stat" my characters. Just kept getting wiped.

TheMadGamer said:

I've made two attempts to "get into" PoE1. I really want to like this series. But like You posted, I'm just a little confused about the game. I don't really understand the stat system. In my last playthrough, I felt I wondered into an area beyond my level but couldn't find anywhere else to go. Then I figured I must just really suck at the game or maybe I don't know how to "stat" my characters. Just kept getting wiped.

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Well I am not really a big fan of combat in most games so play on easy (FO4 being the only real exception which I play on the hardest) - which I also did in POE1. That way I did not have to worry as much about stats, or classes, or min/max, or the like. I preferred to focus on the story, exploring, quests, lore, companions, and the like. Combat was for loot and some light fun without it becoming to dragged out. If I had had to spend a long time on every single battle planning everything and so on … ugg. I was the same way with Icewind Dale and BG games - if they had an option for easier combat I went with it.

That being said I slowly picked up some of the stat system but really more for dialogue and story options. I never really worried about all the various combat mechanics beyond a superficial level.

But that is my play style. My friend, who I chat with online a lot, is also playing it and he played it on Path of the Damned and with additional hard options. He loves mastering game systems and the harder the better. Somewhat the opposite of me yet he is on his third play through. We both enjoy the game a lot but have a different focus. We both love the story though and are always debating various choices in the game.

purpleblob said:

Nope, I think both Infinity Engine (2nd ed AD&D) and 3rd ed (NWN) combat was heaps more enjoyable than PoE.

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To each their own, but I'd argue that POE2's system is much deeper, concise, and interesting than the old editions of D&D. That's not saying much though.

TheMadGamer said:

I'm just a little confused about the game. I don't really understand the stat system. In my last playthrough, I felt I wondered into an area beyond my level but couldn't find anywhere else to go. Then I figured I must just really suck at the game or maybe I don't know how to "stat" my characters. Just kept getting wiped.

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The stats are balanced in a way that you can't really screw up your character without min/maxing. The best advice is to make it to the first town and hire some custom adventurers. If the game is still too hard then the problem is with your tactics.

So players who struggle despite the spamming exploit exist.

There will never be RTwP products.

Players don't struggle.
No_skill streamers milking on twitch do.