Purpose of "shared action points"?

[Hooch]

I played the heck out of the originals (played #1 and #2 in the 80's on an Apple II), spending hours creating pen/pencil maps as I played to navigate (had to back then). So I was excited for a modern version.

But I am immediately turned off by shared action points in a modern rpg. Am I missing something? Do they serve an important function? Or is it just an arbitrary mechanic that probably serves to artificially inflate difficulty?

The game LOOKS good (to me anyway), but I don't know that I could play with such a silly, seemingly forced, mechanic. Again, that is, unless I'm just missing something important here.

[Big Chimpin]

Honestly I think they were mimicking a Hearthstone style mechanic. It's basically a CCG battle system. Definitely not how I would have designed the battle system for an RPG. At least spellcasters have their own mana.

[jmsand1]

The combat is unique enough to stand out from many other rpg's. It works for this game I feel. If you're thinking of getting the game tho, be very fond of puzzles to work thru. Lots and lots and lots of puzzles. Some are entertaining, some are difficult, but there are a LOT of them.

[Big Chimpin]

Originally posted by jmsand1:

The combat is unique enough to stand out from many other rpg's. It works for this game I feel. If you're thinking of getting the game tho, be very fond of puzzles to work thru. Lots and lots and lots of puzzles. Some are entertaining, some are difficult, but there are a LOT of them.

Thankfully the puzzles I've encountered so far haven't been overly difficult and have been solvable on my own. I don't really like it when a game has puzzles so obtuse you have to look up a guide after banging your head against it for an hour (Code wheel notwithstanding of course).

[DatonKallandor]

Originally posted by Big Chimpin:

Honestly I think they were mimicking a Hearthstone style mechanic. It's basically a CCG battle system. Definitely not how I would have designed the battle system for an RPG. At least spellcasters have their own mana.

Nothing about the game is remotely like Hearthstone. Especially the shared action points.

[Wakawaka]

The share action points and spells not taking an action point are actually quite an interesting mechanic. Hmmm I don't know think of like board games where you have an army, or squad and you only get certain number of actions per turn, it's more like that.

They battles work really well, the one thing that really lowers my evaluation of the game is the low amount of mastery slots and the fact a lot of weapons take away your masteries. I hate learning new skills and not actually being able to use them.

[Big Chimpin]

Originally posted by DatonKallandor:

Originally posted by Big Chimpin:

Honestly I think they were mimicking a Hearthstone style mechanic. It's basically a CCG battle system. Definitely not how I would have designed the battle system for an RPG. At least spellcasters have their own mana.

Nothing about the game is remotely like Hearthstone. Especially the shared action points.

The action points work exactly like mana cost to play cards in Hearthstone or any CCG. I don't see how one could genuinely claim to not see the similarities. Only difference is instead of playing cards you're using your character's skills. Sure there's more to battle than just that, but shared action points is definitely the same as a CCG mana pool.

[MC1_Judge]

I have a team of 6 and have just found the SKYHENGE . Playing on NORMAL.

My team share 4 "Action" points but with 2 Bards and an Imp using "Spell" points, I can easily get 8 or 9 shots at the enemy before ending my turn. Occasionally, when everything lines up, I can have my most powerful team member fire off their most powerful attack more than once. It's all about using skill points wisely.

To be totally honest too, it's my first Bards Tale game and I'm not a particularly good player, so I'm sure there are ways to improve on what I'm doing.