Your Party

Getting back to the topic at hand, I finished the game with my Cipher x2/Fighter/Wizard/Druid/Ranger group. The short of it is the game needs more variety in NPCs. If you go NPCs, you pretty much have little choice in who you're running. IMO, a game with NPCs as the main companions for the story needs to have at least 2-3 for each possible role in the group. A minor issue, but an issue nonetheless. It's why I ditched the recruitable NPCs back when I was still working on my game. Still, I have more than twice what PoE does ready to go, and didn't consider it near enough.

So now I'm starting in on a custom party-members only run. With the caveat that I won't use Ciphers or Wizards.

My current group is now a Savanna-Human Monk (main), big Blue Dude Fighter tank, Fire-head guy Barbarian THF squishy, Orlan Chanter squishy, Pale Elf Druid, and Dwarf Priest. Managed to roll all the way to Raederic's pretty quickly, at least once I ground out the cash to recruit the hirelings. The Chanter though has only been valuable for the mechanics, and then only because I didn't build nayone else to handle it. Most fights are over far too quickly to make use of invocations, so she ends up being primarily a trapper and poor dps.

Originally Posted by azraelck
Getting back to the topic at hand, I finished the game with my Cipher x2/Fighter/Wizard/Druid/Ranger group. The short of it is the game needs more variety in NPCs. If you go NPCs, you pretty much have little choice in who you're running. IMO, a game with NPCs as the main companions for the story needs to have at least 2-3 for each possible role in the group. A minor issue, but an issue nonetheless. It's why I ditched the recruitable NPCs back when I was still working on my game. Still, I have more than twice what PoE does ready to go, and didn't consider it near enough.

No No No No, I like it the way it is. Just earlier today I was thinking something like 'I think the # of NPC companions is perfect in this game'. I don't play the game multiple times, so I want the NPCs to be available in one run. If there are 15 'interesting' NPCs I'd miss on at least half of them (or have to shuffle back and forth).
Plus, each extra NPC adds exponential work when you consider inter-party chatter, specially when they're voiced.

Originally Posted by wolfing
No No No No, I like it the way it is. Just earlier today I was thinking something like 'I think the # of NPC companions is perfect in this game'. I don't play the game multiple times, so I want the NPCs to be available in one run. If there are 15 'interesting' NPCs I'd miss on at least half of them (or have to shuffle back and forth).
Plus, each extra NPC adds exponential work when you consider inter-party chatter, specially when they're voiced.

Oh I agree with you entirely it adds exponential amounts of work. Pages upon pages of scripts, on top of additional quest lines (with their own NPCs which require additional pages upon pages of scripts). Though I personally can do without voice acting, since I'm as likely to be playing a game while watching a movie as otherwise.

But in this case, particularly, the lacking NPCs means you are, pretty much stuck with certain characters if you want those classes. You have two choices for traditional front-liners, three casters, two of which are healers, two alternate casters, and Chanter seems to be pretty useless given most fights end too quickly to use invocations. You also miss out on being able to play with half the classes in the game.

Not playing the game multiple times still means you miss out. You will not experience a number of classes and options because of it.

Like I said though, it's a minor quibble, and I enjoyed my 30 hours playing. But when playing with NPCs, you generally want to enjoy having them in the group. The only ones I liked were the Druid and Sagani, and Eder was interesting enough that I didn't dislike him, but I didn't like him either. Durance creeped me out, to the point I finished the game without a Priest at all, Kana annoyed the heck out of me, and I actively wanted Aloth to die. The Paladin I didn't play with, but by the time I got her, I had already settled in on my group. The Mother didn't even have a personality, which is similar to me, but there was already me in the group.

I got bored with Pillars and went back to MM7. I'll revisit again someday after some patching and the expansion.

Originally Posted by crpgnut
I got bored with Pillars and went back to MM7. I'll revisit again someday after some patching and the expansion.

Yeah, I can't quite find the will to get back to it. Not so much bored as sidetracked, but I'm just not feeling it when I sit down to play it again.

I wanna like it much more than I do. The only IE game I ever finished was the Icewind Dale series. I'm just more into first person, which is why MM's work for me, even with the pathetic graphics

FP? crpgnut, do put FarCry3 as your next game to play please.
I'm interested in your opinion on it, although more about the story than about first person experience.

@joxer

I'll read up on it and see if it sounds interesting. I'm 90% fantasy, but I sneak in a Deus Ex type every once in a while.

Edit:

Okay, doesn't really sound like my thing, but it was $10. I bought it and will take a look after MM7. Pretty much hate tattoo freaks and druggies, so this ought to be good. I'll probably kill people I'm supposed to befriend

It's funny. I can imagine myself as a dude who throws fireballs, but not as a dude who would purposely inject ink into his body.

I've picked up everyone I've met so far, but I'm dying to get rid of Durance… he's really getting on my nerves and I don't think I'm utilising him properly. He just keeps dying, and I still can't get my head around the fact he can't heal the party members (unless I'm missing something? At this point, all I get is that he can replenish endurance, not actual HP itself?).

Thus far my party consists of:
PC - Wizard
Aloth - Wizard
Eder - Warrior
Kana - Chanter
Durance - Priest

Reading forum posts, I think I will be keen on picking up Mother, and perhaps Pallegina? I think I may need more than one melee class, since once Eder is down, I'm pretty much doomed.

IMO you certainly need Pallegina. Eder can hold up to 4 enemies (with Hold the Line talent) but there will be some leakers. Cypher is also extremely useful. Since your PC is a wizard I would drop Aloth for Mother. And DON'T get rid of the priest. If you can't stand Durance, make a custom priest. Priest's party buffs and debuffs are extremely useful and in PoE all you can replenish with a spell or potion is endurance. Health can only be restored (and injuries healed) by resting. Once you get used to it it's not a big deal.

Mother can serve in a very useful off-tanking role, that is how I use her. Between her and Eder, they can hold a scary amount of opponents while my rogue slices and dices them one at a time.

Originally Posted by purpleblob
I've picked up everyone I've met so far, but I'm dying to get rid of Durance… he's really getting on my nerves and I don't think I'm utilising him properly. He just keeps dying

Give him a magic stick and put him in the back row. He will still die if enemies break through your lines or cause chaos, but he's safer with a ranged weapon on the back lines.

I find that Kana makes a good "melee when necessary" character. I keep him with a ranged weapon as well, but if I see someone going for Durance/Aloth, I get Kana over there with a 2-handed sword and take care of them.

Originally Posted by Fluent
Give him a magic stick and put him in the back row. He will still die if enemies break through your lines or cause chaos, but he's safer with a ranged weapon on the back lines.

I find that Kana makes a good "melee when necessary" character. I keep him with a ranged weapon as well, but if I see someone going for Durance/Aloth, I get Kana over there with a 2-handed sword and take care of them.

This is how I used him, since chanting 'ticks' don't depend on armor AFAIK he can go with a full plate and sword+shield and be a secondary tank. Also the ranger's pet can take care of another mob so my 'squishies' never had issues (except with the early game teleporting mobs).

For teleporting mobs I keep Kana on the backline using ranged, but when one of them targets a back line fighter/caster, I run Kana over to try and intercept. Usually that effort is enough to get the mob more concerned with Kana than the original target, and it helps to keep Durance and Aloth alive a little bit longer and not having to rest as often, thus saving camping supplies as well.

If multiple mobs break rank and get behind the lines, all bets are off, but at that point I switch Durance to a melee weapon as well and hope for the best. Also target Aloth on whatever is messing with the other casters and vice versa.

I've got Edar and Flialer (a custom-made monk) on the front line. My main PC is a paladin that uses a pike - stabbing from just behind the front line or acting as an additional front line character if there are lots of enemies. Durance is behind her so his radius-around-self powers can easily get everyone. A couple of steps behind Durance are Hiravias and Mother.

I had Kena in my party for a long time. Early in the game, his ability to summon skeletons behind enemy lines was super handy. Now, though, my spell casters can take care of the distant enemies. So I built a library for him in the fortress and let him study after his quest finished then got a monk.

I did precisely the same thing with Kana Zloth; once his quest in Od Nua was done, I decided to swap him out for Sigani for the additional ranger abilities from distance.
He mostly does quests for the stronghold now.

Sigani has become a wonderful scouting partner for my custom-rogue character, Cassandra. I've not really considered changing my party too much since then - although I will make greater use of Hiravias and Grieving Mother next playthrough.

I'm about level 10 now, have finished the strangely unsatisfying Endless Paths have just arrived at Twin Elms.
My party:
Edar (Good camraderie in the front)
Vastlaar PC Dwarven Fighter (Reliable defender; doesn't fall often anymore)
Durance (Fantastically sinister and enigmatic character; easily my favorite from the companions. Forms the middle line and can assist with tanking if needed. Holy Radiance becomes a very handy buff indeed. His ogling googly eye is great! )
Cassandra (Custom Rogue - the melee powerhouse of the party is also the one who has been knocked down the most. Makes me wonder what two rogues would be like?)
Sigani (I'm only three Persoq visits into her companion quest…)
Aloth (Kind of like a more repressive or secretive version of Sand from NWN2, still experimenting with spells to adjust to my style.)

It's a fine, fun game which I'm enjoying, but I do feel that exploring too long before even visiting Defiance Bay (I was level 7) has made combat a little too easy as a consequence. I'm sure Act III will return my posterior to me a few times though.

I think i'm finally getting near the end game. I haven't read many PoE forum posts, because i did not want to spoil myself. I've been playing on hard difficulty first time and it was definitely the right choise. The early parts were quite rough, but it has gotten a lot smoother.'

My character

I've been playing human Cipher. My cipher build is more focused on melee than ranged. So I use two handed Estocs and Pollaxes most of the time. For ranged combat I use war bows. My character (Andreas) hails from Ixamitl Plains. He is a scholar by trade and backround.

I started with these stats:

Might: 16
Con: 10
Dex: 15
Int: 17
per: 10
Res: 10

As for talents I chose:

Biting Whip, Draining Whip, two handed style, Adventure weapon focus, Psychic Backlash, Savage attack

Powers:

level 1: Eyestrike, mind wawe , soul shock
level 2: Mental binding, psycho vampiric shield, Mind blades
level 3: Ectopsychic Echo, puppet master, Fractured volition
level 4: Body attunement, Mind lance, silent scream
level 5: Ringleader, Borrowed instinct, detonate
level 6: Amplified wawe, Disingtegration, Mind plague (these all three powers are just amazing)

My party:

1. Eder: Party's main tank. I just took every defensive talent basicly. Eder is like a living rock now.

2. Kana: Secondary tank & buffer. To my surprise Kana tanks actually almost as well as Eder. And since he is a chanter he supports Eder very well in the frontlines. They just make a really good team. In a tight spot kana will use one of his chanter's spells. I recommand getting summoning & paralyze spells

3. Durance: priest&gunner. i mean seriously give the guy a good rifle, choose couple of long range talents and he kicks ass. Magran priest even has a specific talent that gives +10 accuracy to swords and rifles. At close range Durance switches to sword&board set. He can't tank well though since i'm keeping him a medium armor, but in a tight spot he can hold his own for a while.

4. Aloth: At first wizzards seem quite weak, but once you start unlocking those levels and powerfull spells, there is no situation which Aloth could not handle. As for talents, I set him with: blast, penetrating blast, scion of flame, noble weapon focus, grimoire slam (great escape ability), fast running.

5. Pallegina: She is a great character and I dig her unforgiving personality. Her job is to mostly protect me and Durance and buff party. I've equipped her with medium armor so her attack speed is still pretty good (btw you can find a very nice paladin armor in the stronghold dungeon.). Since she favours soldier focus weapons, i've given he great swords & pikes. For ranged purposes she uses rifles. She & durance make a great firing team. But if things get out of control she draws her massive sword

Backup:

Sometimes i switch Pallegina for Hiravias if I just need more firepower for my team, but most of the times bringing Hiravias is an overkill. The little fella is really the master of all elements and a fun personality.

Grieving mother is a cipher and she works really well with an other cipher. I've set her to be more ranged cipher. Ruffian weapons (blunderbuss / pistol), gunner, penetrating shot, marksman etc. Sadly i haven't used her that much, because my char is a cipher. Maybe if i had chosen a rogue or a barbarian class, i'd have kept her in my main party.

As for sagani..she mostly sits in the stronghold. I really like her personality, but the ranger is quite one note class. No question about her killing abiilty. She is a beast with her hunting bow, but thats all she does basicly.

I tried but could not 'get into' chanters or ciphers in this game, even though I liked Grieving Mother quite a bit. My only magic-anything was Durance, the rest were ranged/melee.

Bottom line is I really don't like PoE's overall character system other than you can make pretty much any class do anything and be just fine. Some things I like, but most, not. But I'm a Forgotten Realms fanboy…

I've picked up last remaining 2 companions and swapped party around a bit.

Now I travel with:

Me: Wizard/range dps
Eder: Tank
Kana: Off-tank/pistol
Me: Priest/buff
Pallegina: melee dps
Grieving Mother: I will probably make her range dps

I literally just picked her up so I haven't had much chance to play around with cypher yet. I heard a lot of good things about her, so I have quite a high hopes with her both in combat and in terms of story/writing.

I'm starting to find PoE more and more tedious… nothing seems to really grab my attention. I feel like they are dumping all these lores/strange words on me and I find myself couldn't careless… hence I don't know what's going on. Hell, I don't even know why I'm travelling with half of my party members. It's more of a case, more meat-shields the merrier…. and follow the journal entry.

Oh, and I find both Durance and Pallegina really irritating…..

I went throught the whole game cheesing it up with double ciphers, cause on my Path of the Damned playthrough I'm not going to use one at all.

For most of the game, I had:

Me, a Cipher
Eder
Pallegina
Grieving Mother
Aloth
Durance

These aren't necessarily my favorites — I like Hiravias a lot, but I'm saving him for my next character to have a bit of variety.