Another Verdict inquiry

[Daffius]

I know there have been a number of feedback threads already, but I'm curious on some very specific topics. I opted not to buy the game on release. With my limited time available for gaming, I no longer buy games on release, as I tend to read up on if I will find it enjoyable enough to invest considerable amount of time in it, rather than spend the time to find out for myself.

So what are the reasons I opted not to buy this on release? Well, there were 3 of them and I would like to understand from those who were also concerned about this, how they see it. Other feedbacks are also welcome, but if you didn't have those concerns, then probably your expectations of an rpg are different and hence would not reflect my enjoyment of the game should I purchase.


1) Level scaling

I dislike the idea of level scaling. I find that it takes away my feeling of progression. Having invested hours in the game and 'in-game' money to upgrade to best gear; having to sweat to kill a goblin is just not fun. It can be done well, eg; different difficulty regions, different monsters etc.

For anyone that had the same concerns, how do you find the level scaling? Is it balanced, do you still feel progression? Or is it overboard (eg: Skyrim was overboard for me)?


2) Friendly fire

I find the lack of friendly fire disturbing. I enjoyed having to make the decision to blast or not to blast a fireball into Eder when he was surrounded. They were powerful spells and having to think about when and how best to use it, was a tactical decision that I enjoyed a lot.

For anyone that had the same concerns, how do you find friendly fire? Is it balanced or OP? Does it take away from the enjoyment as you feared or you hardly notice it at all?


3) Party of 4

I enjoy large party (probably my BG heritage) of at least 6. I find that they suppliment each other very well and also give a much wider tactical variety. In a 4 man group you are pretty much always stuck with; Tank + healer + mage + thief/ranged with only slight variations. Once again I feel this takes away meaningful decisions, as you are reduced to this or that healer choice, rather than who should fill in the slots for maximum value.

For anyone that had the same concerns, how do you find it? Is it straightforward who would be in your team? Do different party compositions still make a viable strategy?


Thanks in advance for anyone taking the time to read through and answer.

 

[tacodiscussions]

For anyone that had the same concerns, how do you find the level scaling? Is it balanced, do you still feel progression? Or is it overboard (eg: Skyrim was overboard for me)?

I was a bit angry to learn that this was in place, but I feel it rather necessary now to allow for a non-linear second act. Plus, I feel I get more out of a level up than opponents do. I solo primarily so I can't say much about the other two

 

[player1 fanatic]

1) I have not noticed level scaling. in fact game starts to get easier over time. so if it is there, it is not working well. Only thing that scales that I can see is late game gear that could start at greater quality tier if taken later in the game

2) I do not have problem with this, since lack of friendly fire applies to enemy attacks too, making them more dangerous. Also prevents accidents due to companion movement

3) I think 4 character party is better then PoE party. Unlike old Baldur's Gate games, there are many active abilitues that can be used all the time. And most of them are per encounter, with only rare combo and artifact abilities being on rest. Due to all this, party of 4 is less tedius then 6 character party. In fact, I think it is better sweet spot.

 

[whosthebestcop]

Yea 6 characters in Tyranny would be insane do to the large number of actions/talents each character gets. The Ui can't even handle the number. Its pretty insane how many actions each character can have easily 2 dozen +. And yea like said before most aren't just per encounter but all your talents are on individual cooldowns. Just between spells and talents I had around a dozen and that is all cool down time timers. Then there are a dozen per encounter ones. The other thing PoE and Infinity based games had a large aggro field and numerous enemies. You could easily fight 2 dozen at 1 time. Tyranny its like 4-6 tops.

Friendly fire spells wouldn't really work in Tyranny. Because you can cast so many spells ever encounter. They aren't limited.

Tyranny may share PoE engine but it plays entirely different. Its not like how BG1/2 and Icewidn Dale shared the same engine and exactly same rule set 2nd edt D&D. Tyranny ruleset is nothing at all like PoE. It may look the same visually but its a different beast.

 

[Xinkc]

For anyone that had the same concerns, how do you find the level scaling? Is it balanced, do you still feel progression? Or is it overboard (eg: Skyrim was overboard for me)?

Level scaling feels pretty weak to me as about a third of the way through the second Act enemies like the Bane start feeling like a joke.

For anyone that had the same concerns, how do you find friendly fire? Is it balanced or OP? Does it take away from the enjoyment as you feared or you hardly notice it at all?

Friendly fire not being a thing works out fairly well, especially because the AI opponents get it too. Not to mention that most fights become minor mosh pits which would make combat painful because the AI loves to just get in your face.

For anyone that had the same concerns, how do you find it? Is it straightforward who would be in your team? Do different party compositions still make a viable strategy?

Party size works well because of the flexibility of not having classes and the amount of choices we have for our party. While talent trees add a fair amount of individuality for characters, on top of two of the melee characters having armor restrictions, most characters can have any set up you want.

 

[Daffius]

Based on the feedback, I'll buy it.

Thanks all for your feedback. Much appreciated.