Turn based playthrough, any advise ?

[Varel]

Hello,

First of all my apologies for my flawed english, I'm french and we kinda suck in languages. Most of us anyway. :/

I played poe 2 once before all DLC, and I started a new game about 2 weeks ago intending to play all DLC this time.
Overall despite some harsh tongues on how Poe 1 was better, I preferred the 2nd entry because I found the multiclass system truly epic, the gameplay, visuals, and caribbean atmosphere excellent. Some companions where great too, I enjoyed naval canon combat albeit a bit repetitive and too easy, and really, Pillar of eternity license is the first and only game ever that made me like a monk class, which is a godlike achievement in it's own.

Now I only reached Neketaka and i just discover a whole Turn based system has been released in latest patch 5.0. Oo Why didn't anyone warned me about that ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ ?

I like Turn based games. It scratches my strategist back a lot and I'm always more to take time thinking than having to react fast and furious, I have plenty of those already at work.

So here I am trying to figure out how this all works.
I'm highly sceptical tough. I know Obsidian is full of massive talents, and as I told you I like both games.

But the work required to change this game into fully implemented turn based sounds like a freaking mountain to climb. I mean adjusting every skills into turn based, dealing with casting time, the whole class system balance probably entirely changed too.

Hence my questions :
1) Is there any lightheaded guide on how to approach this mode from beta testers maybe ?

2) Any analysis on which class, unlike regular game, are performant in turn based mode ? I'm afraid I won't have the time to start over if I chose a bad set up, hence why I need basic advices.
I used to play :
Aloth Battlemage tactician (moded)
MC Monk shattered pillars
Maia Ranger
Xoti Templar (moded)
Custom creation fury druid (don't care if subclass is considered weak, fury druid is instant sell on me.)

3) How is it changing modding compatibility ? Are tweaks modes and possibility to change companions subclass (I like to use Aloth battlemage as a Tactician and Xoti teenager who wants to bang anything she sees as a templar with shieldbreaker) going to break the game or will be fine for most of them ? Mostly using some from this one : PoE2 Deadfire Tweaks(https://www.nexusmods.com/pillarsofeternity2/mods/72)

4) Any awesome and cool stuff appearing in gameplay from this ? Like new synergy or previously useless skill or even subclass being great ?

5) is it overall a good job, did they manage to do the impossible and balance it out to an acceptable level at least ?

6) Does it completely change the way the game feels and plays (I guess i'm asking for your personal opinions on this.)

7) How did they adress AOE issues coupled with casting time. Am I going to launch a spell into rocks when my ennemies would have already moved away 3 turns before ?

Don't hesitate to provide any insight you might think of. I tend to masterfully design everything in my head before starting a playthrough for this kind of game. I masterfully decided to avoid ultimate difficulty since i read what it does for example.
Don't hesitate as well to just provide a link with information, instead of full commentary if it is more simple.

Thank in advance.

[psychotron666]

Turn based was released back in January, dude.

[psychotron666]

Done 2 full play throughs on turn based, so I'll answer what I can.

1. I dont know, never used any guides.

2. All classes seem to be great. Most op class I've played yet is still probably evoker wizard

3. Never used mods, so I don't know.

4. Some abilities are much better, some are worse. Most self buff abilities are free actions, meaning you can do as many in a turn as you want (can buff 5 different spells and then attack), but this seems to be only with self buffs and auxiliary abilities (like the rogue jump ability is also a free action).

5. It's great. Poe 2 with turn based has become my all time favourite Rpg ever.

6. Absolutely. Combat will take longer for obvious reasons, but it let's you think more tactically, you don't have to micro manage rogues for sneak attack anymore, and repositioning is much easier.

7. You can pause the game at any time) even during an enemies turn), click on your character and redirect a spell as long as it's still in range, at any time up until the turn the spell goes off (which is clearly labeled in the turn order).
It's actually much easier to aim and cast aoe attacks than it is in real time mode.

[Varel]

Thanks for your reply.
I took the game back 2 weeks ago and it seems I missed the info on turn based being a thing.

Self buff being free actions is amazing. how long does they last compared to before ? Is it Like 2 turns for this buff, 5 for the one who previously last 60 sec ? smth like that ? Battlemage Aloth sounds more appealing than ever with the massive buffing possibilities.
Glad to hear on AOE and positioning too. I always avoided rogue for this reason, maybe I will try one this time.

One important question tough. Could you give a rough breakdown on how stats affect gameplay now?
Like I suppose IINT would increase number of turns for buff duration ? and still Aoe size hopefully.

Also does engagement mechanic still applies or is it all about positioning your tanks close to targets and block their paths ?

[psychotron666]

Just off the top of my head, many of the self buffs like arcane veil and spirit shield seem to last somewhere around 5 to 8 rounds, which is decently long.

Intelligence seems to be more about increasing area of effect than duration now. Dex isn't as important for tanky types who can afford to go last in a round as they'd survive the hits before their turn, but more important for casters.

The rest of the stats are about the same though.

Engagement works the same as before, so your tanks still do their job.

[Varel]

Cool, I will launch a game this evening and try to figure out new skills tree before a new playthrough.

[Furry Wrecking Crew]

I have a couple mods installed and they seem to work fine with the 5.0 patch.

[wizard1200]

I think that the Ghost Heart Ranger is amazing in the turn-based mode, because summoning the animal companion is a free action :)

[Tanyon]

Lok up Fextralife on Youtube.. he has a guide for TBC. it's pre full release but he does go over calculations as for turn orders with weapons and armor and other details like that. I never played D&D or games like that so initiative and ♥♥♥♥ are lost on me lol. .. but most people seem to get a lot out of his videos.

This is the video of his I watched.

https://youtu.be/6X2nNO9Enoo

[Varel]

Yes I watched this guide yesterday, plenty nice information altough few are outdated compared to latest patch. A bit more in his class guide for Turn based mode.

After checking every class yesterday, I'm glad to see at least it's possible to increase even 1 round buff duration. Being a fan of monk, I was surprise to see his mandatory buff, swift strike was useless since effective for a single turn and boosting a stat not needed anymore. However after a few lvls it should become useful again once you upgrade ability to do other stuff AND once it last for about 3 rounds.

I also checked a few mods. Some do not work, and I decided to delete every tweak mods that tend to mess up the tooltip. Maybe they still work in game but i'm not willing to take the chance. I kept my companions subclass mod, since I believe it it won't affect anything turn based game changed and will work. Not to mention, I want even more in turn based to play aloth battlemage and Xoti templar.
I also noted a few tweaks on monk changing abilities cost in ressource did work, and so I managed to change switf strike into costing wounds, not mortification, same for flagellant path and a few others. Also the mod on transcandent suffering is working : i get the penetration and armor rating bonus each few lvls, and I'm hoping this much will help balance lost of shattered pillar subclass for turn based and lost of attack speed for dual wield.

Shattered pillars has probably become useless in turn based, since it only works on normal attacks and doesn't produce wounds with abilities, while in turn base you want to use abilities most of the time. and it keeps it's nerf of max wound 5 and all else. Not a problem tough, I will use another subclass.

I'm going to actually use single class Hellwalker. Since this is turn based, I can position properly my monk and avoid taking too much damage. AT max wound I take 50% more damage, which is still OK to take a few hits.
Dance of death seems to be mandatory now for monk. It's actually a huge buff.

I rather play with companions if i can, so I will have maia as my ranger, and unfortunately I won't have ghost heart subclass. I hope that firearm are still viable in turn based mode. I swear to god if they put a waiting round to reload it's gonna be instant playthrough delete for me :/

[Varel]

Anyone tested frost seeker in Turn based mode ?

[psychotron666]

Actually I got a shattered pillars / soul blade build, that is extremely powerful in turn based.

With a monk you're better off with attacks than you are abilities. Swift strike with the critical upgrade can net you 4 hits in a single attack, jumping your psi points up huge, so next turn you can use soul annihilation and all your psi points into extra damage for massive hits. Extremely powerful build.

Also firearms are now the most useful range weapon in turn based.

[Hairy Coo]

I believe figher/wizard combo to be very potent - buff yourself over9000 times with free actions and then hack everything with something massive. I am trying devoted/enchanter with Whispers Greatsword, seem to be working good.