Pathfinder: Kingmaker -Baldur's Gate style RPG releasing Tuesday

[you2]

I'm interested in the game but waiting for the announced dlc to be released along with patches before considering a purchase.

 

[NoSoup4You]

As a big fan of BG1 and 2, Dragon Age Origins, and Pillars of Eternity 1... I really like this game so far. It's been insanely fun, I'm only 11 hours in but it's damn near the perfect ADnD RPG experience thus far. No idea how things will play out further into the game. For the record, I know nothing of the pen and paper stuff and I'd never heard of Pathfinder until a month ago.

My favorite part so far was stumbling upon a gigantic troll early on with only a four man party... and getting wiped over and over but still feeling that if I could re-arrange my gear and buffs I might just be able to keep my tank alive long enough to kill it. I probably reloaded 20 times before things started to come together and I finally took it down. I could have just left and come back later but it's super rewarding to beat it at level 2 and I had a blast the whole time.

Regarding the spider swarms, I'm playing on Normal and I took those out with ease... my barbarian was able to hit them with her sword... not sure if that was a bug or if the devs changed something but I had no issues with them.

 

[bguile]

Here's a pretty honest review of the game. Bit of NSFW language at end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QggVaFeD-BA&feature=youtu.be

I just made it two chapter two and unlocked the kingdom building part.

 

[StinkyPinky]

I bought the game but refunded it as I found it a bit clunky. It has potential but will wait until it's half price. (which won't take long imo)

 

[Carfax83]

My favorite part so far was stumbling upon a gigantic troll early on with only a four man party... and getting wiped over and over but still feeling that if I could re-arrange my gear and buffs I might just be able to keep my tank alive long enough to kill it. I probably reloaded 20 times before things started to come together and I finally took it down. I could have just left and come back later but it's super rewarding to beat it at level 2 and I had a blast the whole time.

I did that too, and that troll massacred my entire party at second level. Came back at level 5 and my main character annihilated it by himself

Anyway, if you think the troll was hard, wait till you come across a group of Wererats

This game is truly brilliant though, and the devs are cranking out patches at a blistering speed. I highly recommend it for anyone that's wanting to find a true modern day Baldur's Gate experience

 

[you2]

Interested in it but think I'll wait a few more patches and dlc.

I did that too, and that troll massacred my entire party at second level. Came back at level 5 and my main character annihilated it by himself

Anyway, if you think the troll was hard, wait till you come across a group of Wererats

This game is truly brilliant though, and the devs are cranking out patches at a blistering speed. I highly recommend it for anyone that's wanting to find a true modern day Baldur's Gate experience

 

[Carfax83]

Interested in it but think I'll wait a few more patches and dlc.

You should definitely get it man. The amount of patches they've released so far has been staggering!

The one thing I love about this game is that it's very challenging. You have to think strategically if you want to overcome enemies. There is an encounter I had with a group of Wererats that were very difficult to take down. This is what I said about the encounter on another website:

My level 4 party just entered a random cave on the map and got ambushed and annihilated by three Wererats! If I had to guess, the Wererats were level 6 or so, two rogues and one alchemist. It took me four or five tries to kill them all, and then I tried an additional five times to kill them all without losing any party members.

So basically, the encounter was extremely challenging, yet VERY satisfying. It really brought back memories of Baldurs Gate and Baldurs Gate 2, with how prepared you have to be for difficult encounters, as well as being strategic in your execution.

Smite Evil is fantastic in Pathfinder, much better than 3.5e. My Paladin took out one of the Wererats in one hit with a critical using Smite Evil. The blow went straight through the Wererat's DR like a hot knife through butter

 

[Midwayman]

I have mixed feelings about this one. Its a truly old school game. It doesn't give you hints and you can wander into monsters completely inappropriate for your level. I found one in a cave about level 5 and it was TPK in one attack. I went back at level 9 and I lasted about 4-5 rounds. I think my main complaint is that there isn't a way to 'con' a critter. Make a knowledge roll and get its general stats and power. (or at least I haven't found it.) Instead you just have to save a lot and blunder into monsters to see what level they are. Even knowing the type doesn't help as I've run into a toll encounter and an owlbear encounter where they had wildly inappropriate stats.

It expects you to have system knowledge. I don't play pathfinder, but I am an active player in DnD 3.5 which pathfinder is based on. I'm still lost on how some of the stuff is interacting. There are a lot of things in the game that just aren't well explained, and you end up having to google on forums.

One of my bigger annoyances is not having enough quests. I visited literally every location on the map. and have run out of things to do expect maybe companion quests for companions I don't like. There seems to be a timer to the story advancing and if you don't spend time just cycling time for the kingdom events you'll out pace that timer. Most RPGs that hasn't been a problem as you generally finish them and move onto another area with more quests. The open world system makes it so you can't just goto the next zone when you're ready.

If you've played enough dnd games to know the mechanics, and you like old school games in general you'll probably like it. Otherwise its a little rough around the edges. I think a lot of people are going to give up in frustration before they figure the game out. I'm glad to see a game stick so closely to pen and paper mechanics, but it means its probably a niche title these days.

 

[OCNewbie]

TPK

Had to google this. I'm more of an RPG newb than I realized.

 

[bguile]

You should definitely get it man. The amount of patches they've released so far has been staggering!

The one thing I love about this game is that it's very challenging. You have to think strategically if you want to overcome enemies. There is an encounter I had with a group of Wererats that were very difficult to take down. This is what I said about the encounter on another website:

They patch this game pretty much every day it seems. It's getting somewhat annoying. Come home, log into steam, wait 10-15 minutes for the patch to download/install. In fact I am currently waiting on a patch to finish downloading right now.

 

[Carfax83]

They patch this game pretty much every day it seems. It's getting somewhat annoying. Come home, log into steam, wait 10-15 minutes for the patch to download/install. In fact I am currently waiting on a patch to finish downloading right now.

That's true. But these kinds of games usually always come bug ridden due to the complex game rules and mechanics. It's a good thing that they are furiously working so hard to patch it up and make it better.

 

[bguile]

That's true. But these kinds of games usually always come bug ridden due to the complex game rules and mechanics. It's a good thing that they are furiously working so hard to patch it up and make it better.

This game seems to have more than normal it seems, and they are not all very well tested. One patch bugged out my first character pretty bad with stacking bonuses. I had a DR shield on, and I guess everytime you loaded it would re-add the DR. Needless to say there is a lot of saving and re-loading in these type of games and my character ended up with some crazy high DR. I was wondering why everything started to get super easy. Though, it was helpful on the part where you have to visit a certain fey creature alone . I ended up scrapping that character anyway (because I totally mis-managed my kingdom during Act 2 and it was run completely into the ground).

I do like the game quite a bit, and appreciate the effort they are making in fixing bugs, but for right now it is still very much a work in progress.

 

[shortylickens]

in that case I think I can wait a year for updates and price drops.

Still have to complete Pillars of Eternity, start Pillars of Eternity 2, and also the Divinity games, of which I own several.

 

[Carfax83]

This game is so damn good, you guys don't know what you're missing. The gameplay on normal difficulty is pretty much perfect for me in terms of how difficult the encounters are, and the battles are damn epic believe me. This game is head and shoulders above and beyond any D&D based game released since BG2, so once again, if you're into these sorts of games, I highly recommend it.

 

[bguile]

Bumping this thread since I finally got around to beating it, and to mention that this is a really, really good game if you are a fan of the genre. Maybe the best since the Baldur's gate/ice wind dale games. For a game that took like 2 year's or so to make (and another year for the dlc/patches) it's amazingly good.

Now that most of the bugs have been worked out, and the dlc's have been released, I would highly recommend getting it, if you see it on sale. It requires quite a bit time and effort, so it would be a good game for winter break, or you have some time to kill for whatever reason.

Rumor has it that they are starting to work on second Pathfinder AP, but no one knows the details yet, and it won't be out till next year at the earliest.

My only complaint is the amount loading screens.

 

[aigomorla]

ugh i dont like the city building aspect to it....
It takes too long for that part, and your constantly running back to your kingdom every near end of the month so you dont miss any important audiences.

Other then that the game is great, however i think Divinity series is more polished, and the lack of camera rotation makes me want to rage sometimes.
On another note: I love Octavia, she's a bag of laughs in her comments, especially when it comes to kobalds.

 

[you2]

I've started the game. One thing I don't like is you can't put notes on the map like divinity (and I think poe). I've just got the kingdom (chapter 2); so i don't want to comment yet on kingdom management but initially i'm not excited by it.
-
Other than those comments so far I think the production value is quite high - my system is ssd and loading time isn't much of an issue. I notice it but it is not intolerable.

 

[bguile]

ugh i dont like the city building aspect to it....
It takes too long for that part, and your constantly running back to your kingdom every near end of the month so you dont miss any important audiences.

Other then that the game is great, however i think Divinity series is more polished, and the lack of camera rotation makes me want to rage sometimes.
On another note: I love Octavia, she's a bag of laughs in her comments, especially when it comes to kobalds.

Regarding kingdom management...I don't know how far you are but it doesn't really get much better. It's just endless. I came to enjoy it after I go the hang of it, but the artisian quests really get on my nerves after awhile. Trying to claim a land you are exploring or near where current chapter is happening helps some, that way you don't have to go all the way back to the capital. Also you can get teleport circles if your Arcane stat is high enough, which also helps. Or just turn it off all together and focus on the story.

Also wanted to mention there is a turn based mod out now. I restarted with a Monk, and it seems to be working ok. It's a different way of playing though, so it's still taking some getting used to. It does make managing the group at lot easier, and helps with keeping up with all the stuff that is going on for some encounters.

 

[Craig234]

I have my eye on this - about $40 with DLC in the summer sale...

 

[gammaray]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/640820/Pathfinder_Kingmaker__Enhanced_Edition/

7/10Steam
69%PC Gamer
73%Metacritic

 

[ArenCordial]

The enhanced edition is great. Owlcat has ironed out pretty much all the bugs that hampered the original release. If you like the old Infinity Engine games its a no brainier to me.

 

[DrMrLordX]

This game has been on sale recently multiple times. Anyone picked it up recently? I got it months ago and am on my second playthrough. It has a lot of good and a lot of bad, and contrary to what you might think, it still has a lot of bugs - albeit some fairly minor ones.

The kingdom management is actually pretty terrible though, and auto mode doesn't work automatically if you can believe it.

 

[shortylickens]

I got it and while I had fun, I didnt love it.
Was just enough like Baldurs Gate but not quite. It does look nice. I hope its success encourages more copycats, but better.

 

[DrMrLordX]

I got it and while I had fun, I didnt love it.
Was just enough like Baldurs Gate but not quite. It does look nice. I hope its success encourages more copycats, but better.

Chris Avellone notwithstanding (ugh), Owlcat has a followup title called Wrath of the Righteous. Personally I would like for them to steal some of the better engine features from games like NWN so we can have true 3D all around, pan n scan, the works. BG2 was a product of its time - the map sizes are far far far too small for modern games. The last title that really made advancements for the RPG genre engine-wise in my opinion was Dragon Age: Origins, and that franchise sadly wound up going nowhere.

If Owlcat can get enough cash together to run an engine like that, or one that's a little bit more persistent and less-reliant on a world map, then great. I don't want to see them go to a "tiny" world like Skyrim or to dumb down the game mechanics ala Bethesda, but those map sizes . . . bleh.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

I was excited for PoE way back when but when I finally got around to playing it a year or two ago I just couldn't get into it. I realized I don't find the realtime combat fun at all (yes I know you can pause). It's clunky and tedious and tends to devolve to balling up. High hopes for BG3.