This is repost of my reddit post:
After 160h- why I dislike new armor...s the game and blocks its full potentialAt first I was amazed of how huge DOS2 is and how many skills, builds and crazy combos it has. At first with my wife I was like "ok, you go full mage couse you love them (my wife) and I will go full warrior as always (well, thats me :P ). So we jumped to Classic at first (my wife is not hardcore while I am so it was nice middle ground) and we played. Something was then off for me later when I was killing everything around like champ while she was struggling to feel useful at all.
But we finished, then I played second time alone this time. I wanted to make some original build but then in like 20h inside 2nd playthrough where I restarted game over and over I realized that:
I. Whole build/skill system is bottlenecked by armor system and its stupid elemental resistances vs no physical resistances.
II. I mean: Doing INT/STR build for Hydro/Warfare? Sound good one paper? Yes? Sounds awesome? Sure, why not, I like ice magic and swords, lets do it!
But does it work? No. Why? Armor system. If you divine your dmg between physical and magic- you basicelly waste that dmage. The first armor you break- you should just follow with CC and dmg there and finish enemy, not take yet another attempt to break his second armor.
Attacking with Warfare skill to break their armor then freezeing them and shattering with Stomp?? LETS DO IT! No? No. Why? Because both target different armor and its just no go.
III. It actually makes me not want to play game anymore. I mean in BG2 I played SHIT TONS of hours and I still go back over years. Why? The gameplay feels like you can always do something and it will work.
Cleric magic with Warrior? Sure. Thief/Mage/Warrior- of course. Mage/Cleric- go ahead. Warrior/Summoner- yeah, whats the problem? Everything deals damage so no problem.
IV. However because of armor system in the end I feel more restricted in DOS2 than in other RPGs. Lets take Skyrim- Tho Handed with Destruction- sure. Archer with Restoration and Protection- yup.
V. But here- you either go 100% physical or you go 100% elemental (I mean per character). Even per party its better although you have some mix here. There is TONS of possible builds (LIKE TOOOONS!)- yet none is really possible to work without choring yourself through fights and armor system.
Who wanted to do Rogue with Dagger and lighting magic? Well, me for example. But its just stupid. Not to mention if you don't invest in WITS you also put yourself in worse position.
VI. The armor system should be changed to ONE armor, called just Armor/Shield, whatever. To let the builds fly.
My Final Thoughts:
Right now I am just bored of creating new char/making build. Its either STR/FIN with WITS or INT with WITS and if it physical its ALWAYS: Polymorphy, Necro, Aero, Scour 1-3 points for same skills over and over or Elemental with AGAIN- poly, Necro, Aero, Scour 1-3 for support abilities becasue THAT IS ALL WHAT WE CAN DO.
Everything else is just dream that we try to make come true, but it just doesn't work well. You can play it, sure, same as you can eat raw chicken. But you still prefer to cook it well, no? Why force yourself to prepare worse dish of you can make it better?
Also you know why LW feels so broken? One of the reasons is you will pump either main stat plus WITS so dmage scalling skyrockets later. But now imagine you take Lone Wolf so you can make that FIN/INT/WITS Assassin/Aero build with dagger backstabbing and lightnings striking? Scalling would not skyrocket, yet you'd have a lot of fun. But armor system says "that is stupid, why would you do that?".
Please Larian- change that system to ONE armor type. Adjust resistances so physical is no longer king, but that dual armor system is no good. It blocks sooo many possible builds and playstyles...
Just my opinion guys, don't get hard on me. Just started to play in BG2 Thief/Cleric. Why? Cause I can.