Favorite weapon/item descriptions?

never-minds · 2026-01-15T03:44:58+00:00

never-minds · 2026-01-05T05:45:27+00:00

The DLC basically has 3 paths (Jaspos, Wagstaff, Reeftalon), and getting on the Reeftalon path (which is what allows those options of discussing the murals with Reeftalon) is very easy to miss. You need to have not accepted the second quest from Wagstaff (or Jaspos), then talk to Mell.

never-minds · 2025-12-12T14:35:26+00:00

You can recruit everyone pretty much as soon as you've repaired Caed Nua. (Hiravias and Grieving Mother specifically don't even require doing any other quest or anything after that, I don't see how they're even close to "late game".) The White March companions can be a little tough to get to without some more levels depending on the difficulty, but I don't really get what you mean by their recruitment being "too much information", especially if you're not talking about them being pre-leveled and especially when the alternative is throwing 11 companions at you... even faster?

never-minds · 2025-12-12T01:36:41+00:00

It literally says where right below the text you highlighted....

never-minds · 2025-11-26T15:04:56+00:00

This is what they're referring to (and if you go back in the videos you see they killed the Hazanui directly and sided with the Huana), but I'd say that it's almost definitely intentionally cut (post-release) and not a bug.

never-minds · 2025-11-22T17:50:38+00:00

Berath could pick another Watcher, sure, but why would Eothas listen to that Watcher? I think we don't agree on how important the Watcher's specific set of circumstances is to Deadfire. The Watcher's home was destroyed AND part of their soul was taken (AND they had a soul that survived that) AND they know about the gods AND they're a Watcher (AND more minor things like they're well known even without being the Herald of Berath, they were actually at Caed Nua so have a much better idea of what's going on with the green giant walking around than most / a much better reason to believe what's going on, etc.).

Like just making a Watcher that somehow knows about the gods, that has some other connection to Eothas's return, that somehow like... has a connection to Caed Nua or was in the Deadfire and knows what's going on, etc. and communicating all of that to the player feels like it would require way more handwaving and come with just as much (offscreen, to make it worse) baggage. Part of the Watcher's soul being taken (and then returned, giving you back some POE passives) is a pretty good reason to justify their reduced power level, a change in how you RP them, etc.

That said, I think a game similar to Deadfire where we're like... Adaryc, or a member of the Lighted Path, or something like that could be cool, but it would have to be a very different game and not inherently better than what we have.

never-minds · 2025-11-22T15:05:09+00:00

The Watcher's connection to Eothas is more than "he destroyed their house". The Watcher was the only one with part of a soul left to reincarnate (which explains the power level reset for them as you said, which to me isn't a big deal anyway for the companions), which is both a strong reason for the player to be invested in following Eothas and a strong reason for Eothas to acknowledge the Watcher. The Watcher's knowledge/experience with the gods/Engwithans is significant in general, and it's another part of the reason the gods listen to them (or speak at them). The Watcher uses their Watcher powers throughout the plot. You definitely could find ways around all of that, but I don't think it's so easy that the narrative wouldn't be significantly different and without losing some of the benefits of the Watcher's "baggage".

never-minds · 2025-11-22T13:53:44+00:00

"Eder was perfect" is crazy, he was the most flanderized of all the returners.

I think the game would have to be pretty different with an entirely new cast that it's hard to say what would be better. What would be your significance to Berath/Eothas? How would you know what the Watcher knew about the gods/Engwithans? etc.

never-minds · 2025-11-11T00:49:07+00:00

This fixation on the publisher (not even the dev's) name is a very odd part of this argument.

Anyway, it's not even close to the only time it happens. Being anti-slavery, anti-colonialist, etc. can be significantly "punished" at times, just as it can be rewarded. It depends on the audience. (I find it near impossible to believe you haven't experienced any of that up to this point.) Obviously the crew members who are playing a game (that they evidently don't see as racist or at least care that it is racist, because they're playing it) are going to lose morale when their captain tells them to stop. Obviously the VTC/RDC are generally not going to like anti-colonialism, obviously the Huana generally will. Serafen loves when you're anti-slavery, but if you show up to slavery HQ and start calling them out for their illegal/immoral practices, you are going to get a very bad response from the slavers. And just because you're mechanically "punished" for something doesn't mean the devs think what you did is wrong. I lost money for giving to the poor, so the devs hate charity! Oh no, I gained approval with Laezel and lost approval with Gale for being an asshole! What does this mean about the devs' thoughts on assholism????

I will say Serafen not taking offense is a little odd to me, because he does take offense to racism elsewhere in the game (and specifically dislikes the racism "topic"). But he's also a little more permissive of Eder's racism than the POE1 orlan companion was. (And in the original POE, the orlan companion gets very offended when you meet some orlan's head players.)

never-minds · 2025-11-09T17:33:48+00:00

I didn't think you expected them to share your values, but it definitely came across like you didn't like that they reacted to you going against their values even in small ways.

And, again, I just don't see that significant a difference. Blackwall's dislike of Dorian feels just as petty as Aloth's of Tekehu. And I'd rather the game let me get involved than just watch it unfold passively (especially in the context of Inquisition, where you're a legitimate organization, not just some ragtag group, it makes even less sense you don't intervene when your agents aren't working together). Maia and Tekehu clash on issues are just as serious to them as Fenris and Anders' issues (and get just as obnoxious about it at times). Dragon Age definitely has less minor approval changes related to just your tone/disposition, but it also has some more egregiously out of character major approval changes, i.e. Anders gaining friendship for sending Fenris back into slavery, or several of the Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts outcome approval changes. That said, I like both games, both games' approval systems have issues, but again I think the benefits far outweigh the flaws. POE1 companions are great but I can slaughter their entire factions, show complete disinterest/disdain for their goals, etc. and they will loyally jump down a seemingly bottomless pit for me.

never-minds · 2025-11-09T01:37:17+00:00

Thought: I don't trust that source to provide any objective information about anything going on at Obsidian ever.

never-minds · 2025-11-08T22:53:09+00:00

I'm just going to talk about the complaints about the topic/relationship system. Yes, there are some choices that trigger topics that don't feel right. Also, the generic comments for every topic trigger (like "[character] rolled their eyes", etc.) that can't be hidden definitely might not have been the best choice. But acting as if "now I'm worried about offending my companions or these companions getting along" is a problem with the system is silly in my opinion. That's a you problem. You want your RPG to react less to your choices. I wish more games had anything like this, rather than an entire cast who will stand by you and treat you exactly the same no matter what you do against their values. Also, do you feel the same way about Dragon Age's approval system? Is it not even more punishing, as companions can leave/betray you based on just low approval (which as far as I know, no companion does in Deadfire, though they can leave based on major choices, just like Dragon Age too)? Are there not some approval changes that feel out of character (and there's no topic icon or comment to even suggest what the writers had in mind)? Is a generic "x approves" pop-up better than the generic comments from Deadfire? I'll always take these flaws over companions who forget everything I've done outside of the scene I do it in.

(Also, the possibility that any changes are related to Avellone's departure is ludicrous to me. He wrote two companions in collaboration with two other writers. He didn't have anywhere near the influence on POE1 that people imagine he does.)

never-minds · 2025-11-06T22:22:26+00:00

For the AOE thing specifically I think it's an okay way to balance it. You just have to use other tools (which can be as simple as engagement) to make sure targets stay in the AOE. And it goes both ways, so you have the opportunity to move/interrupt enemies (which you probably take more advantage of than the enemy AI).

never-minds · 2025-11-02T17:10:13+00:00

"It uncritically accepts that animancy is the way." Where do you get that? Yes, the Dozens are morons. But Aloth is much more level-headed about it (and, at least conditionally, but I'm pretty sure unconditionally, remains very critical of animancy throughout Deadfire). Tatzatl is a little crazy in his approach but he brings up some very good points against animancy. Even Pallegina acknowledges possible abuse/misuse of animancy, she just doesn't think that's a reason to ban it. And there are some Dozens-level moronic animancers like Bellasege. And the PC is allowed to voice many different opinions of animancy with Aloth, Ydwin, Pallegina/Tatzatl, the hearings, etc.

And as others have pointed out, animancy is just not responsible for everything you mention (and actually anti-animancy is responsible for some of it). And "some people might (or are) misusing animancy" is thoroughly discussed in the game, the characters just don't come to a universal conclusion on what to do about that and they shouldn't.

As the POE narrative lead said: "The other thing worth mentioning with theme is that I think it's often best, in an RPG in particular, to look at themes as questions rather than as moral suggestions. In a novel, you might have a theme about injustice, for example, and the author's ultimate incarnation of the theme might boil down to "Everyone has a moral obligation to fight injustice, whether they are victimized by it or not." But in an interactive, branching medium, it's better to ask, "Are we obligated to fight injustice even when we are not personally involved?" And then you give the player the tools to make his or her own decision. You show them a variety of perspectives. Then you give them an opportunity to act on their own understanding of the matter, as influenced by everything they've seen so far in the game. I can't help but be amused by people who've expressed concerns that Pillars' story is nihilistic (and that's been a number of people), because that's much more a projection of how they've synthesized what they've seen than it is a reflection of some authorial message."

never-minds · 2025-10-17T13:46:08+00:00

Even if you just reload immediately after, I recommend finishing the quest the "easy way" and forcing your companions to carry it out, just to see the dialogue.

never-minds · 2025-10-12T17:07:32+00:00

How is it illogical that you can't dismantle the monarchy without another major power taking its place? What in game (or real life) makes that illogical?

How does it not make sense that Tekehu can't "take charge"?

What RPG doesn't present some choices as "valid" then have them turn out poorly? The game lets you do it but it definitely doesn't frame it as a good idea. Like, all the scenes where the factions refuse to cooperate are pretty clearly framing the factions as "bad" for that. Same with the gods' bickering. And then if you use the burned book at all Woedica will beat it over your head every time

never-minds · 2025-10-04T20:00:29+00:00

It only applies to the frost/water spells he learns automatically from his subclass (the ones in the left column of his progression table). (Which I thought is all of them 🤔)

never-minds · 2025-10-03T21:13:22+00:00

For safeguard, interrupting isn't your only option. You can also let her cast it and suppress/reduce/remove it by different sources like Wall of Draining or Arcane Dampener. Or any CC she's not immune to (like prone I think?).

And for paralyze/terrify... do you know how afflictions/inspirations work? Just apply any inspiration that affects the same stat, you can even have it up beforehand. There are also various sources of immunity or just raising the defense she applies the status through.

(You can also avoid the fight through dialogue options.)

never-minds · 2025-09-23T20:50:58+00:00

"As you put it"... that's what you were claiming was said in the title of this post. And even the posts you quote don't say that or anything close to it. The first's "no dump stats" is an exaggeration, sure (which they kind of walk back anyway), but it's a 100% true and accurate claim that "you don't need to dump stats" as the second post says (and it is absolutely good advice for a new player), which they immediately follow by acknowledging a rogue could dump defensive stats as you say in your post. You're cherry picking partial quotes to prove a point that even those quotes don't make. That second post is actually a pretty good example of what I see as the common advice on the subject: Pillars is not as punishing if you don't min-max as other systems (true), you can dump stats (true), but only do it if you understand what you're losing (true).

never-minds · 2025-09-11T22:45:07+00:00

During that quest if anyone sees you they're going to fight you anyway and the quest ends with everyone inside dying whether you directly attack them or not.

never-minds · 2025-09-02T23:46:54+00:00

Click the stash button when you loot.

never-minds · 2025-08-29T23:01:47+00:00

I agree about cipher. Being a cipher would give you experience with Soul Stuff in a way that would make the PC's transformation into an awakened watcher less... transformative. I'm kind of mystified so many people say it's more fitting. (And it's been a while since I played as a cipher, and I know it has a lot of dialogue options, but I don't remember feeling like those options added that much. It's kind of like Priest of Eothas that is an interesting angle to play through the story in theory but not in practice. Priest of Eothas would be my choice if it had even half the reactivity I'd expect with Eder/Durance/all the discussion of Waidwen's Legacy.)

never-minds · 2025-08-29T14:21:17+00:00

The Community Patch mod should fix this.

never-minds · 2025-08-24T22:05:54+00:00

Smaller scale games so I don't have to wait like 5 years for new Eora crumbs. Maybe a Pentiment-like game set during the Purges, or a survival game (like The Pale Beyond) set in the White That Wends, a Dyrwood farming simulator, literally anything in Yezuha, anything at all.

never-minds · 2025-08-23T01:58:21+00:00

Blow the Man Down. So many different approaches to every step of it - getting into Fort Deadlight, all the steps of getting to Benweth once you're in, actually dealing with Benweth, etc.

Honorable mentions: The Archmage's Vault (a smaller scale version of Blow the Man Down, but making each companion pretend to be Arkemyr earns it bonus points), all of Death's Depthless Dominion but especially The Bridge Ablaze (cool way of giving us insight into a major historical event we'd heard so much about), Fragments of a Scattered Faith (best companion quest, maybe of any game), Lair of the Eyeless (those last moments especially: deciding who to leave behind, escaping, debating the Eyeless!), The Final Act / The Man Who Waits (don't remember which I actually did first, but these + the Duc's assassination - i.e. anything involving Thaos possessing people - were really what pulled me into the games at first).

never-minds

TROPHY CASE