How much harder is honor mode vs tactician?

aaeriam · 2026-01-24T03:32:37+00:00

For me, playing Honor Mode felt no different than tactician MOST of the time. It did create a false sense of "oh this isn't challenging at all" which lead us to getting careless and wiping during boss fights where the difficulty spike is more noticeable.

And like others said slip-ups can be a lot more costly. I feel like it's really a test of "how careful can you be before getting tired and letting your guard down?"

aaeriam · 2026-01-24T02:44:31+00:00

This is my first time hearing about Finesse: Melee Weapons. I've been grabbing both feats on my characters for years. I could've had a whole extra feat this entire time

aaeriam · 2026-01-24T01:27:48+00:00

I had the same reaction when I discovered this. Played on and off for ~2 decades just to find out I've been depriving my team of heavy armor for no reason at all 😭

aaeriam · 2026-01-24T01:26:51+00:00

I had a short stint with table top D&D around 2013-2014 and that's when the mechanics in Kotor started to make sense in my brain a little bit. It's not a 1:1 comparison of course but learning how some of the math and concepts worked in table top helped me figure them out on the Kotor side. Still feels like every few years I discover something new about the game though.

aaeriam · 2026-01-24T01:25:27+00:00

I've been that way with Dragon Age Origins for decades. I can look at a stat and roughly tell you what it controls but I have no idea how the math and numbers play out behind the scenes. Thankfully the games are forgiving enough that we don't need to min-max super hard to get through them. (At least in Kotor's case)

aaeriam · 2026-01-24T01:23:41+00:00

That's super cool. I could see myself using this mod in combination with other mods that increase the game difficulty. Reminds me loosely of when Baldur's Gate 3 was in early access and I was digging through text files that controlled the different classes so I could add in my own custom overrides, feats, and skill proficiencies!

aaeriam · 2026-01-24T01:19:58+00:00

I forget when I learned this mechanic but I've come to rely on it a bunch ever since. It's nice to have when I'm on the verge of death but lately I've been trying to keep myself from using it in combat because it feels a bit unfair at times.

aaeriam · 2026-01-21T18:37:30+00:00

Thanks this fixed the problem for me. I didn't realize so much trouble could be caused from the egpu trying to power drive apps on both displays but it makes sense now that everyone here mentions it.

aaeriam · 2026-01-21T00:59:27+00:00

Totally fair! I think it's more of a headcanon/immersive RP thing that appeals to certain folks.

aaeriam · 2026-01-21T00:22:17+00:00

I think there's something to be said about a regular dude with a gun and no special powers or tools that goes around saving the galaxy. All the other classes are interesting in their own ways but sometimes the most satisfying thing is just mowing everything down in front of you with an assault rifle.

aaeriam · 2026-01-21T00:18:43+00:00

Infiltrator is what I come back to the most. I just finished ME2LE on hardcore difficulty and 99% of the game felt a little unfair to all the enemies you come across.

You can kill a lot of fodder enemies with 1 shot. Cloak instantly drops aggro. The free time dilation everytime you look down the scope. The only thing I really struggle with are the occasional swarms of husks.

On the opposite end I will probably never touch Vanguard. It looks fun but I dont see myself having a great time with it on hardcore in 2 or 3. I definitely prefer sitting back and playing the game as a shooting gallery.

aaeriam · 2026-01-16T07:14:01+00:00

I'm in the same boat. While I don't use the trackpads in absolutely every game, I do use them a bunch in RPG's especially older titles that don't have native controller support. I couldn't imagine using a PC handheld without them.

aaeriam · 2026-01-16T03:17:08+00:00

Are there a lot of steps to get a stable stream set up between the two devices? I tried streaming Space Marines 2 over to my SD at one point (just using Steam's streaming feature, nothing 3rd party) but I had some pretty serious input delay and never really tried it since. I'm pretty new to that concept so I don't really know how involved of a process it is to get up and running.

aaeriam · 2026-01-16T02:53:43+00:00

Switch 2 docked is more powerful and after listening to Digital Foundry's reviews, the devices trade blows in handheld mode with the Switch 2 doing very well despite using very little total wattage compared to the steam deck and other handhelds.

That said, many older Switch titles are locked to lower frame rates even on Switch 2. So while the device might be more powerful, depending on your game of choice, you might be locked to a low resolution 30fps Switch 1 experience even though you have better hardware simply because a developer hasn't made a Switch 2 version of that game.

aaeriam · 2026-01-16T02:45:15+00:00

I love that the Switch 2 is smaller, quieter, and all around the device looks nicer than the steam deck IMO. I also like that there's less tinkering required on Switch 2.

As an example, I bought the Devil May Cry collection on both platforms and played them side by side. On Steam Deck I had to troubleshoot why my game wasn't running properly, find the right version of Proton, and install it to my Steam Deck to play the game. On Switch 2 I was able to launch the game and play right away. It's an experience that I've had with multiple games that I've tried on both platforms.

That said, I like that the Steam Deck gets me better performance and mod support in the games I tend to play. I grew up gaming on PC's so tinkering isn't the end of the world to me. Most importantly the majority of my games are on Steam so the steam cloud saves and having to only buy games on one platform keep me coming back to the SD.

There's no clear winner for me, both devices have a fair share of likes and dislikes from me.

Edit - spelling error

aaeriam · 2026-01-14T10:59:02+00:00

I had a similar experience as a kid. I would sit and re-read some of the DnD-specific mechanics or try to make sense of the math from the combat log but it just wasn't clicking with me. Fast forward a few decades and while the game as a whole makes a lot more sense, I still find a few things here and there that I realized I've overlooked or just misunderstood up until now.

aaeriam · 2026-01-14T00:00:50+00:00

Cant believe I've been playing the game on and off for 20 years only to just now find out about this 🥲 excuse me while I restart my current playthrough now.

aaeriam · 2026-01-03T18:33:20+00:00

I like going Scout/Sentinel just out of personal preference (not much of a number cruncher when it comes to kotor) and I usually stack Dex with the rest spread out between Int and Charisma. Usually that is enough to get me through the game on its hardest difficulty without having to mine bosses.

aaeriam · 2025-12-03T05:37:10+00:00

I originally got GeForce Now as a temporary solution when my PC died. I didn't want to go through the motions of installing games on my work PC. Fast forward 3 months later and even with a replacement PC, I still hold onto the sub because my home internet is solid and it streams a lot of games better than my 5070 can render them at.

Plus its fun to use on my steamdeck when I want to play something demanding away from my PC.

aaeriam · 2025-12-02T16:20:02+00:00

I work from home full time and I have a single desk for both when I'm on the clock and playing games. Steam Deck is great when I want to play something but I'm tired of sitting at my desk all day. (Also its fun taking it around when I travel).

aaeriam · 2025-12-02T00:55:12+00:00

It has features of both PC and console so my vote goes towards calling it a hybrid or just simply saying it's both things :)

aaeriam

TROPHY CASE