How to get better at CRPGs?

[CVDE]

I'm excited for Tyranny( I'm also excited for the price ), but man do I suck at CRPGs! I always get a headache when I see things like:

"-.5 graze + .5 sneak_attack = 1x damage modifier and NOT 1.5x halved for .75x damage modifier"
( I rip this from a PoE build to get my point across )

I have no friggin clue what any of this stuff means XD, but I would like to get better at understanding on how to. I wanna play games like Tyranny at the highest difficulty, I wanna know what type of player I wanna build and how to build his/her party around them, and overall i just wanna have fun and not get frustrated cause my character sucks.

So I know it sounds silly, but if anyone could recommend any guides at getting better at games like these I would be grateful.

 

[GC13]

"-.5 graze + .5 sneak_attack = 1x damage modifier and NOT 1.5x halved for .75x damage modifier"
( I rip this from a PoE build to get my point across )

I have no friggin clue what any of this stuff means XD, but I would like to get better at understanding on how to.

This part is simple mathematics. What they mean to say is that percentage bonuses and penalties are added together so they don't compound in a serious way (in the above example a +50% and a -50% stack together for no change, and four +50% bonuses would mean three times normal damage rather than five times normal damage).

Really though, don't feel inadequate if you're not the kind of person who can delve into the stats and find the optimum builds: it's a very specific kind of person who can do that (and enjoy it). If you want to improve, just think about the math that's being explained to you in those kinds of posts so it becomes more familiar to you, then apply that math to character builds. If you're thinking stuff like "fire mastery only gives +25% damage to one kind of spell and it's the most common immunity in the game, so a -10% cooldown reduction would be much more beneficial overall" then you'll know you've made it.

 

[Navarre I]

I found this guide interesting to learn how the mechanics in PoE work:

https://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/687020-pillars-of-eternity/faqs/72035

And there's always the wiki, it's not up to date on everything but you can read about the mechanics there too:

http://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Combat

Once you've got the basics, experience does the trick, you become better at it by playing it. Every CRPG is different, even those that look very similar, so you have to learn each one when you play it.

 

[CVDE]

Thanks a lots guys, you both were very helpful and @Navarre I I will study the list above and research. Thanks again!

 

[Navarre I]

You're welcome.