I wish there was a Core D&D Rules difficulty level too. It's something I started wishing for around my 200th hour playing EA. It took me several playthroughs of Act 1 to notice that using elevation for advantage overshadows all other tactical considerations in most fights. Or that Lae'zel does a better job if she constantly hops behind the enemies' back, which isn't how we imagine a D&D fighter behaving. Or that it's actually superfluous to position your melee characters in a way that gives your rogue sneak attack opportunities, he does better just stabbing enemies in the back. And of course mundane food items often proving as good or better than magical healing potions.
Maybe this aspect of the game isn't discussed more in online reviews because you need to put a significant amount of time into the game before noticing those patterns. But once you do, it's really glaring and omnipresent. It makes me wish I could erase my accumulated knowledge of the game's mechanics and go back to a more "beginner's eyes" state when the game's combat encounters felt more tactically rich and more evocative of D&D.
So it's good to know that it's possible to play that way and the game still works.
Last edited by agouzov; 06/04/21 12:41 PM.
