Hello there, I just ended my third playthrough on this patch (Actually i'm like, 4h into my fourth) so here's some more feedback.
Stats : Strength / Intel / Finesse : I like the fact accuracy does not depend on your score in these stats anymore however I'm not sure how I feel about physical/magical armor enhancement being tied to Strength/Intel since they are offensive stats.
Strength : I really hate the fact that it does not reduce movement penalty anymore. Bring it back pls ? Tie it to constitution if you want to keep armor enhancement on strength.
Constitution : I think armor enhancement should be tied to constitution since it is a defensive stat. But with the current bonus to health it may be too strong. May be tone it down a little.
Memory : I really like what was done there. I feel like the stat is in a good spot right now. However, if magic armor enhancement was to be changed from intel to another stat, it would be memory and then it would become too strong. Returning it to one slot every two points may do the trick. (Maybe change the name too, memory does not make you more resilient to fire magic or necromancy...)
Wits : I don't know what to say about this stat. It feels really weak, yet when that crit does pop up with your crossbow shot... Ooh baby ! It doesn't help that you need a shit ton of it to get the initiative over all the ennemies in almost every fight.
Combat AbilitiesI for one am pretty satisfied with those as a whole. I wish we still had 3 points at character creation, but it didn't seem to be so bad without it. There's always a few things I can talk about tho.
Weapons : Ok, not so much to talk about here ! I like it.
Defence : It's so empty ! We need to fill this up.
Shield Mastery : An ability for shield users would be great (I would even say mandatory but, I may be wrong !). Suggestion : Increasing armor bonus from shields by a % and / or increasing blocking chance.
Leadership : This used to be mandatory in all my games. Now I don't even bother. The bonus is really strong, but 5m is far too short. Maybe it has something to do with my party composition and strategy (Lohse as Mage/Supp, Sebille as the deadly ranger, Red Prince as a suicidal Tank/Supp and my character as a death dealer hoping around the battlefield, typically a melee char.) but I can't seem to make good use of it. Since my tank is never as mobile as my melee dps, I always end up beeing deprived of this awesome buff. I really liked the older version too, but oh well. I'd rather have the bonus reduced and the distance improved than keep it in this state.
Pain Reflection : I love it. Nothing more to say. Oh actually : maybe check your loot table to avoid people getting stuff with +146 on this for free.
http://imgur.com/zODfngu SkillsFew things on the top of my head :
Like said by earlier : Hail strike went from overpowered to really weak, reducing it to 2AP may be a good idea.
The reduction in memory slot for source skills :
Thank you. Before this patch I just never used any source skills, but now with the new memory attribute and the reduced cost in slot I feel like it is worth it to take some. Btw Chain Lightning is OP (Especially when ennemies use it 8), damn you Radeka).
Walk in Shadows no longer a source kill :
Amen.
Necromancy : Love the passive, my melees liked it too. Too bad the spells are mostly boring. No more Oath ? No more summons ? I guess those will come with the summoner skill (this makes me sad).
Civil AbilitiesWe need more points. At least one more at character creation, either that or bring it back to one at level 3, then every 3/4 level. As it is right now, a rogue can either be better at sneaking than anyone else or be a thief but not both before level 4. It's a bit too late if you ask me.
TalentsSame. Previous patch we could get two more talents by level 7 (5 total, except for Ifan with Drudanae addict). Now at level 8 you don't even get a new talent (you end up with 4). It's really lame in my opinion. I don't know at which level we can pick up another one, but I hope it's not too far down the road. Admittedly, I have no idea at which level the game is supposed to end, nor how many talents you want us to have but...yeah. Me want moar talents.
WeaponsWeapon Skills : Great addition, I love them.
Cost to attack : I don't know about the change for one-handed weapon with free hands. I guess it would have been too strong with the Knock-out skill ?
As for crossbows, I think it could be a good idea if only they did enough damage to justify the cost to attack. Right now, 90%+ of the crossbows I found ended up being sold because the damage dealt to action point cost ratio was worse than that of the bows I had, most of the time. Maybe I was just unlucky.
Unique items additions : Great idea to provide some decent gear. I especially like the armor set you can steal in the ghetto and the weapons left behind by the magisters after their inevitable demise. Fort Joy is a dangerous place.
Unorganized thoughts :
Right now the game feels more difficult. For the first time in 6 or so playthrough, I died to the voidwoken on the beach. Multiple times. I'm not proud.
However after a bit of adaptation it seems ok. Fights are really slower early game because of the low damage. I don't know if I like it or not, but I got used to it so it can't be that bad.
Maybe it's because I played a lot of this game already but I haven't faced the same issues as a lot of people regarding the aligators fight. I always manage to handle them without too much trouble but then again, they don't seem to use their full potential on me ? In three playthrough they only used fear one time, and I still had magic armor. I can see the bullshit in this move since, most of the time, people won't have a lot of armor and to be feared in this fight is just a death sentence.
It does seem a bit unfair to see ennemies with so much armor compared to my characters. Early game it seems overwhelming but with the right gear you end up doing enough damage i guess.
To get good gear you need money tho and money is really hard to come by, especially if you don't want to bother with the whole paintings stealing. Thievery seems almost mandatory to get good gear right now, if you don't want empty pockets at the end of the first act anyway. It's true that I always end up with some savings but with every level 7 necklass costing 700+ gold, I wouldn't be able to gear my party if I didn't steal them. Then again, i guess we are supposed to feel deprived of gear in this first act, right ?
Regarding experience when leaving fort joy, like a lot of people, I feel like I need to wipe every magister in the castle to be confortable coming into the swamps. Some ways of escaping definitely net you less experience and I'm afraid some new players might feel thrown into the fray too soon. The worse part is that optionnal quests seem... well mandatory.
Inquisitors : I like the change ! Was it always the case that warfare skills would scale with the attribute of the weapon used ? (Here, INT for a Staff) If the answer is no then Good Job ! If it's yes, then I love this game, I always seem to learn something new !
Spears : So I wondered what it would be like after my staff wielder to play a finesse warrior/scoundrel. Felt good enough eventhough I ended up playing with a two-handed sword for a large portion of the first act. I couldn't find a good spear after Braccus'... made me wonder why I had so many points in finesse since with almost 0 points in strength I did far more damage. Obviously it is because of the low starting point and quick progression of the weapon damage. But still, I wondered for like 5minutes at least. I saw some suggestion on the board to have synergy between scoundrel skills and spears : I am in favor. Don't give them backstab though, that would be pretty broken.
Rogues do it from behind : Backstabber is Reaaally strong right now. I shouldn't say that since I love playing rogues but, they may need a nerf ?
There seems to be a bug with experience distribution ? My characters used to level up all at the same time, regardless of when they joined the party. Now my PC is slightly ahead of Red Prince (first to join) and the last two lag behind by a little margin.
In the fire slug cave, there is a chest that will always (I think?) get you a level 8 item. Is this intended ? Because having my level 5 Red Prince with 100 Physical armor and 50 magical armor with just a shield is pretty cool, but I doubt it should be this way so early in the game.
Sebille is crazy (Btw : Flesh-eating elves learning memory of the dead ? Wonderful. Their appearance and way of walking ? Not so much, but that's just me). Ifan is daddy. Red Prince is... well red, haven't played as him actually. Lohse is best girl.