Why do people focus on combat and statistics in this game?

[Churd]

Reading through the forums, the majority of people seem to talk about game mechanics and statistics. Does anyone play for the story/roleplay of it? Are your choices for the numbers on paper, or what they represent? Does everyone just focus on what is best to "beat" the statistics? Isn't the whole point of an RPG like this so we can get away from the statistics and competition of other games like Diablo and Path of Exile and actually enjoy a good roleplay experience?

I personally hate thinking about DPS, min/maxed stats, and all that nonsense. It completely breaks immersion. It turns it into a number-game instead of a role playing game.


EDIT: Fantastic post from Gloomseeker:

引用自 Gloomseeker：

These days so many games get an RPG tag it's not surprising most people can no longer tell what a "real" RPG should be about.

Some people who play pen and paper may focus more on the paperwork and the numbers but in the end what really matters for a pen and paper RPG is having a good Game Master (or Dungeon Master) who can tell a good story in a way that the players are immersed in the game world.

The point being that the rules are just there to help with the actual roleplaying and not hinder it.

If you value the rules and all the number crunching more then you are probably better off playing some sort of tactical wargame (which is the experience provided by many computer games labelled as RPGs).

When it comes to computer games it's much easier to focus on numbers because the quantifiable stuff is purely mechanical and can be put down on paper with some mathematical formulas.

That's why it's easier for people to talk about stats and builds instead of taking the time to explain why a certain character they've been playing has been so enjoyable because of a particular concept and an effort on the player's part to get involved in the process of making a character come to life (so to speak). If anything most of the negative and disheartening comments in this thread would be enough to prevent someone from posting about the roleplaying experience itself because it's a very personal thing that would probably be better shared with friends who would appreciate the storytelling.

You may be able to share the story of your character but roleplaying is deeply personal and it can't be reproduced or copied just like a build listing stats and skills because it relies on a person's vision and it is meant to be experienced as such. At best you can draw some inspiration from others but to make things interesting you can't rely on a template that can be copied and you have to make up your own story.

Imagination is still the greatest virtual reality system and what is roleplaying if not the expression of an individual's powers of imagination?

role-play·ing
ˈrōlˌplāiNG/
noun
noun: roleplaying
1.
the acting out or performance of a particular role, either consciously or unconsciously, in accordance with the perceived expectations of society with regard to a person's behavior in a particular context.

[Trench Rat]

If your "numbers" suck, you wont get much done in the game.

[Terra]

Because I need numbers to kill dragons.

You can't talk a dragon to death.

Don't be crazy.

[sheep from hell]

its a game forum and not a book club?

[Churd]

引用自 sheep from hell：

its a game forum and not a book club?

Pillars is supposed to be an in-depth role playing experience, and most of the development time was spent on the delivery method of the story and roleplay elements.

[Dorok]

Discussion on roleplay? That's pretty rare, and very boring. :-) Only discussions about combats and stats? Common there's many on trans too.

More seriously, I saw spoilers thread about story elements, end of story, more. There's few because it's not the problems involved by the game.

Discussions in forums are mainly are about problems players have, and what you quoted reflect the game challenges, mainly combats and character/party building. Not much threads about tricks, problems to solve, puzzles, quests managements, locations, more, because the game doesn't challenge the player on that.

[Mormacil]

引用自 sheep from hell：

its a game forum and not a book club?

So? Games have text, just a part of the package like audio and animations.

[Gregorovitch]

I'd say because the new combat and character development system is the biggest difference betwee PoE and the IE games, so it's a naturual talking point, like or no-like etc.

[AzureTheGamerKobold]

Best answer is... i can have a solid character, has good statistics and still enjoy the story? i pretty much make answers based on my character, but i also try and build them so they aren't going to be lame...

[sheep from hell]

引用自 Churdington：

引用自 sheep from hell：

its a game forum and not a book club?

Its supposed to be an in-depth role playing experience, and most of the development time was spent on the delivery method of the story and roleplay elements.

its still mainly a playing experience. additional i think not to many people interested in the story have already finished the game, and in talking about the story there are always spoilers involved. so even if i would discuss the story i would stay away from threads discussing about it

[Churd]

引用自 sheep from hell：

引用自 Churdington：

Its supposed to be an in-depth role playing experience, and most of the development time was spent on the delivery method of the story and roleplay elements.

its still mainly a playing experience. additional i think not to many people interested in the story have already finished the game, and in talking about the story there are always spoilers involved. so even if i would discuss the story i would stay away from threads discussing about it

Ya, that makes sense.

Its just that the way people talk about this game on the forums, especially on reddit, is as if they're not even into the experience of the game, just the numbers. Seems like they view their characters like spreadsheets instead of protagonists in a story driven world.

[Jámez Bondo]

The aswer is preference. PoE is a great basis for both roleplaying and party/character building. People are discussing statistics because that's what they like about the game.

[sheep from hell]

引用自 Mormacil：

So? Games have text, just a part of the package like audio and animations.

dont see to many people discuss about audio and animations too ;)

but seriously, many havent finished the game already, so talking and reading about the story is not the smartest thing to do.

[a]

It's like you think having characters with optimized stats and enjoying the story are mutually exclusive.

[givemeanamedammit]

TBH, while certain cRPGs have made great strides away from railroading players like they used to, they're still not a patch on a good GM, a bag of dice and some PnP.

[G The Glamorous]

I haven't yet to play this game, but you seem to missed the point of classic RPG. This is not your typical dumbed down RPG that you get too see on the market today.
Statistics is important in a RPG game, even some modern day RPG games like Dragon Age Origins or KOTOR still have stat-depend combat, it just doesn't harsh like the classic RPG. In games like Skyrim, your level up progress is pretty much statistics assignment without number, and as in all REAL RPG games, if you don't assign your stat properly, you won't be able to enjoy the combat, and the game itself overall. If there is one thing I love about games like PoE, it's that it makes you to make use of your brain, even if it's somewhat complex at times.
Does it breaks immersion? I don't think so, I'm not sure if you even understand the concept of immersion in a video game either. But whatever the case is, if you don't enjoy it, you should stick to easier, less calculate RPG games like Skyrim, Fallout or similar. But know that you also won't be able to enjoy a lot of amazing RPG with combat similar to this game, a lot of people still able to find immersion in this genre and there is no reason why a complex combat system would change that.