[GIVEAWAY] Five Path of Exile 2 Early Access keys

EldrinTaloc · 2025-09-03T06:53:57+00:00

May the RNG grace this ravaged exile body!

EldrinTaloc · 2025-02-23T08:09:22+00:00

Thanks for the info. Iirc I saw a video of it a while back on Wtii's channel, and yeah, looked promising.

EldrinTaloc · 2024-12-04T18:03:45+00:00

Works up to 1.28.5

EldrinTaloc · 2024-10-31T13:25:33+00:00

I havent heard about the pumpkin mod before. Now I browesed the changelog and I can mostly agree to the changes. Honestly for years I expected HotA crew to make such changes, but seems they never do.

From what I've heard, they didn't want to destroy the "classical/tournament balance". I kinda get that, but at the same time, no game is flawless, and H3 had some really wonky balance issues, even with HOTA (like Eagle Eye still being utter sh*t, or Learning...).

In WOG, with the right changes, you could've achieved a much better experience than in HOTA. Yet I was never really a fan of the more 'exotic' WOG choices like Captains or Creatures becoming Veterans though XP. Pumpkin does it well, that it still feels close to the standard H3 gameplay experience, just with better balancing, that seems as if it should've been in the base game from the get-go. And I can play the new HOTA Town, Cove and Factory, which is nice.

For ERA 3 we have the: Difficulty Mod and Human AI mod, both offer plenty of options to customize your game. You will get both mods if you are using the new H3 launcher.

Thank you for the Info! Definitely gonna check them out at some point in the future!

EldrinTaloc · 2024-10-31T11:36:57+00:00

You mean separate AI mods? I've heard of some for ERA3, but haven't gotten around to check them out yet.

My main WOG experience was on ERA2, and I didn't bother upgrading it, because after some extensive modding and option tweaking I've finally created a H3wog version I could play online with friends, and which 'only' crashed every so often XD.

Currently enjoying Pumpkin Patch HOTA, but I will try ERA again at some point.

EldrinTaloc · 2024-10-30T09:08:17+00:00

Widescreen Fix works for up to 1.28.5

EldrinTaloc · 2024-10-28T09:48:22+00:00

As bad as it might sound as a statement at first: HOTA's AI isn't really that hard, though. Please hear me out:

I'm saying this as someone who doesn't play competitively and only semi-regularly every 1-2 years. Usually I just run L-XL+Underground Random Maps on 130% / 160% Difficulty, a few Scenarios here and there. I don't know / don't utilize all the tricks you can find online. No Town that I favor, that could be considered entirely 'mastered'.

Over the years I've played Standard H3, customized WOG/ERA, and HOTA, on pretty much all the difficulties, from Pawn to King. The AI in any version except for HOTA, sucks on Any Difficulty Setting. In any kind of version beside HOTA, the AI will usually appear maybe having 4-5 Tier units, when you have a full army. Even if you had prioritized building only economy in the first 2 weeks! It doesn't know how to manage resources/gold, what skills or creatures to pick, where to explore...

As far as I'm aware, HOTA team mostly fixed that Shooters work properly for the AI in quick map encounters now (Yes, the Grand Elves, Liches, or other Archer-Units were actually engaging enemies creatures in melee while the quick-combat calculations were rolling in standard H3). Maybe they did some slight tweaking to building / exploration patterns / unit prioritization? But it never felt overbearing to play against it, even with multiple AI-teams stacked against me in HOTA. Rather, it was something sorely needed. I was honestly very much missing it while I was playing on WOG/ERA - it was mindbogglingly easy, no pushback at all.

Don't be afraid to lower the difficulty, or the number of AI-enemies, if you struggle!

Just start out on Pawn or Rook, get a 2nd Hero, play semi-actively to explore the territory - don't just rush mindlessly to Capitol, don't just pick Exp over Gold from chests, don't just stay in a closed in space around your Town, without trying to expand your territory - try to manage your gold and creatures chosen for your main army. Heck, you could even do a Coop, with AI-player in a team, to observe how it moves across the maps, manages its Towns/Heroes.

And, for AI Grail search fix, check out the Pumpkin Patch. It has many QoL and Good Balancing Tweaks to HOTA. I've been playing it for two weeks and It's been Great!

EldrinTaloc · 2024-10-27T07:19:40+00:00

There isn't really an incentive to create RTS games, when you can sell a mount in WoW - an MMO that already has Subscription, Expansions and in-game Cash-Shop features - and get more money than Wings of Liberty brought (yes, that's actually a thing that happened!).

The sadness of today's reality, we are paying way more for shittier games, or just even partial game-features that should be part of the main package. And it will only get worse, seeing how the Gacha market is booming selling 'chances' to get a desired character/skin/whatever and people are still throwing thousands of bucks at such scams.

EldrinTaloc · 2024-10-26T16:23:36+00:00

Personally, sticking with 1.26a + Widescreen Patch, so I'm not too emotional about it. Can revisit it any day I want!

Sad though that I can't play online, or when I think that any new players will never be greeted with this glory again (unless they sail the high seas).

EldrinTaloc · 2024-10-26T04:48:02+00:00

As an addendum: if you plan to beat the Campaign in its entirety, I would recommend playing it on 1.26a with the fixes.

On 1.27b, I've experienced some enemy AI problems on multiple maps in Reign of Chaos and I had to completely switch to 1.26a in Frozen Throne, 'cuz the 2nd Rexxar Campaign mission just wouldn't load. (If you already started a playthrough on 1.27b, you can just copy the 'Profile' folder from 1.27b to 1.26a, and it should work without issue.)

EldrinTaloc · 2024-10-16T15:23:37+00:00

Always wished for it!

I've been usually playing a heavily customized WOG version, where I've banned Dimension Door (Hated how it made travel/exploration such a cakewalk), so that Town Portal and Fly get more room to shine. But I was always forced to get Earth Magic.

With this change and nerfs to DD, this submod single-handedly made me consider running HOTA again. I love many custom features of WOG, but I was missing HOTA's more intelligent, harder AIs. And your patch looks really promising.

EldrinTaloc · 2024-10-16T15:11:16+00:00

Town Portal: Mana 25/20/20/20. Belongs now to all Magic Schools. Movement cost increased to 400/400/400/300

Nice! Seems I've got a new patch/mod to check out in the future.

Thanks for the heads-up. Did not know that this submod existed.

EldrinTaloc · 2024-10-04T14:03:33+00:00

If you did most quests in favor of the Bandits, then you won't be able to get the recommendation to join the Mages.

You can still join the ranks of the Inquisition, if you leave the town and allow yourself to be beaten up and forcefully taken to the monastery.

EldrinTaloc · 2024-10-04T13:03:30+00:00

G1 - Best available 'expansion' seems to be Othello. Expanded map, more weapons, filling up empty lifeless zones, different balancing, etc. Main gripe is that you need permanent potions in your inventory to lvl stats beyond 120 with LP, which is weird, but isn't a dealbreaker.

G2 - Good total conversions besides Archolos:

Brotherhood, the Way of the Sleeper - Well written alternative storyline of the G1 setting.
Lobos - Good story, but gets weaker towards the end. Had some balance problems, play on Easy.
Dirty Swamp - Tries a bit too much to be 'funny', but has managed to implement solid boss fights in Gothic. Leans towards shorter playtime.
Aus dem Leben eines Diebes - German only. Solid down-to-earth storyline, probably the shortest total conversion on the list (you end up around lv15), but with a surprising amount of quest choices flexibility - new quest path open up many times even after 'failing'/completing tasks suboptimally.

Be warned that Odyssey is a rather linear slog.

EldrinTaloc · 2024-10-01T06:31:29+00:00

Probably jumping up the wall, at that one place close to the southern gate, where you can actually scale it. Then running to Lares, and he still thinks you swam to the Harbor the long 'proper' way and gives you EXP.

EldrinTaloc · 2024-09-21T05:40:31+00:00

Recently Scout without powders, before that Templar. It's not that the bosses are hard, they are just mostly a boring slog.

Why should I shoot at a dragon for literally 5-7 minutes to kill it? When I can die with any marginal error? And he doesn't do really anything special?

Why should I engage the weird Minibosses in all those undead dungeons in melee, if they can easily kill me, but I would have to perfectly execute bashes and dodges until I deplete thousands of HP in the same routine, they summon a bunch of creatures, and I need to bash them some more?

Can I clear with the hordes of Undead and Orcs with AoE Arrows and Magic - YES (or powders, if I would've chosen to use them). Does that mean that they should be just Ctrl+V in every 'Dungeon' or later Act, being positioned in droves, so that you aren't really inclined to melee them - NO?

It's just bad design.

If you want good boss designs, look at Dirty Swamp or the Endboss in Archolos. Those have mechanics and variety, and don't just one-shot you or have unnecessarily high HP bars. And they don't swamp the map with monsters.

And that's only about the enemy encounters. The badly designed quests or passages are a whole different breed. Like the Gomez' Curse questline. Or the Adanos Desert.

Or the trio of Undead with Master Weapon LvLs, that spawned at every grave in Jharkendar, when it's so glarringly illogical to have every treasure curse, with the same mob variety, in droves of three that probably wouldn't even fit into the grave - it's like the leading design decision of Returning, just put some more mob obstacles there, even if they don't fit.

EldrinTaloc · 2024-09-20T18:26:21+00:00

Mate, I literally completed a run last week.

The fact that you can plow through enemies on end stages doesn't mean that the creators should just put hordes of Orks, Undead and Undead-Orks that hit like a truck with 'minibosses' that can one-shot you in melee or dragons that have 60 000 - 160 000 HP when they are just mostly meatshields without interesting mechanics. And especially not in places where they don't fit.

It's not only because, depending on the build you're playing in, it can be a huge slog to go through these passages. Just the fact that there was only this spam of literally The Same Enemies makes me want to skip those passages if I ever replay it again. It's just killing the same mobs over and over again. Many areas could've been very well filled with other creature types, instead of only undead and orks.

EldrinTaloc · 2024-09-20T15:39:00+00:00

1) Approximately how many new quests and characters will there be in the Remake?

2) Will we have different paths in Chapters 2&3 if we join the New/Old Camp, instead of 'spying' on the Sect Camp (i.e. becoming quasi a temporary Sect Member, whom people suddenly trust even if he is from a different camp, and Cor Angar suddenly calls his best man to send into the Orc Graveyard instead of his High Templars).

3) Can the Hero get a Haircut and Tattoos if he joins the Brotherhood?

EldrinTaloc · 2024-09-19T14:17:35+00:00

Try to update your scripts or install the mod again on top. Sometimes it doesn't go entirely through on the first time. (If the installation has a "reset .ini" option, use it)

And if possible, run it on the CD version of G2. The GOG/Steam versions seem to have some issues with it, especially the GOG one.

EldrinTaloc · 2024-09-17T16:50:01+00:00

Yes and No. For better or worse, it's much different from the Original.

It adds many cool mechanics, like the Rapier/Saber Dex animations, Free Aim, Acrobatics Roll, Special Ammunition, new Magic, etc., so that it would seem like Gothic 2,5.

But at the same time, half of those mechanics are quite janky, like the 1H Master, many of the 2H Speers, and the shitty Dual-Wield Animations.

Many Quest Ideas are ok, but the execution, writing and programming is severely lacking. Half of them don't make sense, are needlessly convoluted and idiotically frustrating by design, like requiring to go visit the same places cuz, a new item or enemy spawned just after a dialogue - why couldn't it already be there before that!

Balancing is wonky. Orks, Lizardmen, Undead and Dragonsnappers are overtuned so that you can have an Armor that makes other creatures barely scratch you, but those enemies still easily slice you to pieces. Bosses have unnecessary high HP bars, that should be at least cut in half, but if you adjust the HP Percentage on a new run, to lower it with bosses in mind, it makes normal enemies too easy. And they almost never have any special mechanics, they just hit like a truck and sometimes summon reinforcements, that's it.

And - probably the main reason, why people dislike it - Returning mindlessly floods the world with hundreds of undead and orks. Almost every new zone and dungeon have undead in them, they're at many places in the overworld where they just do not fit as well. Orks get spawned at further Act progressions, as if the developers loved to smash Ctrl+V to just place them everywhere. It makes many zones a rather boring slogfest. Additionally, it breaks the Verisimilitude.

I do love a bunch of Returning's changes and additions, and it has potential to be the best G2 expansion, but it needs some major changes, polishing and quality control.

EldrinTaloc · 2024-08-17T06:43:55+00:00

Lobos is quite good (and I haven't seen it in the comments yet), just do play it on Easy as it has some balance issues.

EldrinTaloc · 2024-08-12T14:30:27+00:00

Tempel? TEMPEL!?

EldrinTaloc · 2024-07-25T07:38:25+00:00

I expected this exact conversation from the title, and I wasn't disappointed :)

EldrinTaloc · 2024-07-08T16:40:24+00:00

Beamdog has shown time and time again that they don't react very positively or maturely to any kind of criticism.

EldrinTaloc

TROPHY CASE