And the statement " extremely effective (arguably overpowered/broken) strategy" is an exact example of the problem I have with this. That's an MMO problem, not a single player problem. If I am playing a competitive game where I have an unfair edge using some specific mechanic then it can be sensibly OP/Broken/unfair. If I am playing a single player game, simply do not use the freaking OP ability in YOUR game, leave mine the fuck alone. That mindset is killing gaming for the rest of us that give 2 craps about balance.
You're absolutely entitled to nerdrage, and this is the ideal spot to do it. I don't mean to sound critical of your own playthrough tastes, the game is a means for user enjoyment, so you should absolutely go for what is enjoyable to you. As you mention, it's a single-player game and you using what I called an "extremely effective (arguably overpowered/broken) strategy" hurts no-one. I do, however, disagree with your point that balance passes only matter for competitive games. This game isn't yours, just as it isn't mine. It's Larian's. They're absolutely entitled to make adjustments if they think that they got their numbers or systems wrong on a first try, don't they? This game will be played for years to come I'm sure, it'll do well whenever it pops up on a Steam Sale. Taking all of our feedback and using that to improve the game in future patches is, overall, immediate inconveniences notwithstanding, probably for the best.
It would be wonderful for the game to have been released in a perfect (in the creators' eyes) state, but that's a pissy wishwash. Ain't happening. For a few years now, the reality of most month-1 players of PC games has been: welcome to the extended beta. I think it's still valid, and natural even, to rail against that when it causes yourself a headache, but I'd argue the practice isn't going to go away and it might be time to just get used to it. Better, more well-rounded games - overall, for the majority, or just for the creators, which is equally valid - are usually the end result.
EDIT: sorry, one last thought I forgot to include, then I promise I'll shut up :P
It's my view that when a dev puts a modding tool into their game - as Larian have done with D:OS - they then get that much more allowance to be headmistress-strict with offering their own intended designers' version of how the game is supposed to play, with the specific experience they want to provide for the player of their game. Hopefully I don't need to expound on the 'why' of that.
