Is inXile better than Fagsidian? Do they make better games? Is WL2 less brain damaging than PoE?

[Background Character]

Of all the games inXile has made (2) Wasteland 2 is the best one and is mediocre at best

Fuck Numenera forever

 

[Efe]

Daggers 9-13 Slash Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) +5 Accuracy
Hatchets 9-13 Slash Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) +5 Deflection
Rapiers 9-13 Pierce Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) +5 Accuracy
Stilettos 9-13 Pierce Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) 3 Damage Reduction bypass
Clubs 9-13 Crush Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) +5 Accuracy
Flails 9-13 Crush Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) 30% of Grazes converted into Hits.
"variety"
btw a Bear (level 5) has 7 DR, a shade (also level 5) has 16 DR so good luck with that

 

[luj1]

Daggers 9-13 Slash Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) +5 Accuracy
Hatchets 9-13 Slash Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) +5 Deflection
Rapiers 9-13 Pierce Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) +5 Accuracy
Stilettos 9-13 Pierce Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) 3 Damage Reduction bypass
Clubs 9-13 Crush Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) +5 Accuracy
Flails 9-13 Crush Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) 30% of Grazes converted into Hits.
"variety"
btw a Bear (level 5) has 7 DR, a shade (also level 5) has 16 DR so good luck with that

 

[Haplo]

Daggers 9-13 Slash Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) +5 Accuracy
Hatchets 9-13 Slash Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) +5 Deflection
Rapiers 9-13 Pierce Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) +5 Accuracy
Stilettos 9-13 Pierce Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) 3 Damage Reduction bypass
Clubs 9-13 Crush Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) +5 Accuracy
Flails 9-13 Crush Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) 30% of Grazes converted into Hits.
"variety"
btw a Bear (level 5) has 7 DR, a shade (also level 5) has 16 DR so good luck with that

All these are one-handed fast weapons. Then you have one handed slow weapons, such as sabres (+20% base damage), battle axes (+50% crit damage), warhammers (1 interrupt), spears (+5 Acc.), maces (DR piercing). Then there are two-handed weapons. Then bows, crossbows and firearms. And scepters/wands. Did you notice how different weapons actually have different speeds? Sure they are grouped for simplicity, but still... that's not something the old RTwP games had. That's called progress!
And soul-bound weapons with various unique enchantments. And unique weapons dealing elemental damage, such a Slash/Corrode sabre or a Pierce/Shock Bow.

As for piercing DRs, that's what Vulnerable Attack is for. Maybe also Ryona's Vambraces if you have them. Targeting enemy DR weakness (some enemies are actually immune to certain damage types). Casting Expose Vulnerabilities. Sunder skill. Note these are base damages, without enchantment bonus (+15-60%, up to +45% for most of the game) or Strenght and other bonuses. But in general slow, heavy hitting weapons will obviously be superior vs heavy DR, rather then the lightweight arms you listed. Wouldn't make sense any other way.

Last but not least, I wouldn't say that Estoc is the best. There are more unique Greatswords with interesting effects, available earlier then good estocs, that I would rather pick a GS. And the animation on Estoc looks rather silly.

Thank you for reinforcing my conviction that weapon variety is actually fantastic in PoE.

 

[Shilandra]

Daggers 9-13 Slash Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) +5 Accuracy
Hatchets 9-13 Slash Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) +5 Deflection
Rapiers 9-13 Pierce Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) +5 Accuracy
Stilettos 9-13 Pierce Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) 3 Damage Reduction bypass
Clubs 9-13 Crush Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) +5 Accuracy
Flails 9-13 Crush Fast 0.35 sec (Weak) 30% of Grazes converted into Hits.
"variety"
btw a Bear (level 5) has 7 DR, a shade (also level 5) has 16 DR so good luck with that

All these are one-handed fast weapons. Then you have one handed slow weapons, such as sabres (+20% base damage), battle axes (+50% crit damage), warhammers (1 interrupt), spears (+5 Acc.), maces (DR piercing). Then there are two-handed weapons. Then bows, crossbows and firearms. And scepters/wands. Did you notice how different weapons actually have different speeds? Sure they are grouped for simplicity, but still... that's not something the old RTwP games had. That's called progress!
And soul-bound weapons with various unique enchantments. And unique weapons dealing elemental damage, such a Slash/Corrode sabre or a Pierce/Shock Bow.

As for piercing DRs, that's what Vulnerable Attack is for. Maybe also Ryona's Vambraces if you have them. Targeting enemy DR weakness (some enemies are actually immune to certain damage types). Casting Expose Vulnerabilities. Sunder skill. Note these are base damages, without enchantment bonus (+15-60%, up to +45% for most of the game) or Strenght and other bonuses. But in general slow, heavy hitting weapons will obviously be superior vs heavy DR, rather then the lightweight arms you listed. Wouldn't make sense any other way.

Last but not least, I wouldn't say that Estoc is the best. There are more unique Greatswords with interesting effects, available earlier then good estocs, that I would rather pick a GS. And the animation on Estoc looks rather silly.

Thank you for reinforcing my conviction that weapon variety is actually fantastic in PoE.

Im a bit confused now. As mentioned earlier I've only played a bit of PoE but I still noticed the different kinds of resistances and such different enemies had. However isn't this sort of undermined by needing to take certain weapon feats to make weapons effective?

The way you talk about the weapons makes it sound like combat can flow by effortlessly juggling between them to make the most of an enemies weaknesses but with the feats you need to take to make the weapons effective how can that be the case? I could be misunderstanding the feats or the weapons themselves but im not seeing how its possible to properly take advantage of any weapon variety that is in the game.

 

[luj1]

PoE also has one of the worst itemization you could ever hope not to see in a RPG.

 

[Gunnar]

PoE also has one of the worst itemization you could ever hope not to see in a RPG.

I used the same weapon for several characters all the way through the game. I think I found a weapon for Eder in the first town and used that until the end. The differences are so minor you won't notice and in practice you never really have to worry about enemy weaknesses. Armor is even more retarded and boring.

 

[Iznaliu]

See you don't understand anything. You don't even understand what you don't understand LOL

It is very easy to say something. It is harder to provide evidence.

 

[Vorark]

There seems to have been a decline since New Vegas.

Agreed.

I played POE after the 3.0 updates and what I got was so drab, lacked gusto. If it was a BG-esque game, then where was the sense of adventure BG1 had? What about the storytelling of KOTOR 2 or the factions and multiple ways to solve quests NV was known about? You can tell a lot of good people left Obsidian after NV, the games that came after do not feel the same.

Never played an inXile game, so can't compare.

 

[Lostpleb]

I couldn't play PoE 1.0 or WL2 for longer than a few hours. I will say that PoE's battle and chargen systems alone had way more potential than anything in WL2.

All in all I felt like I was too old to enjoy PoE, but not old enough to enjoy WL2.

 

[Haplo]

Im a bit confused now. As mentioned earlier I've only played a bit of PoE but I still noticed the different kinds of resistances and such different enemies had. However isn't this sort of undermined by needing to take certain weapon feats to make weapons effective?

The way you talk about the weapons makes it sound like combat can flow by effortlessly juggling between them to make the most of an enemies weaknesses but with the feats you need to take to make the weapons effective how can that be the case? I could be misunderstanding the feats or the weapons themselves but im not seeing how its possible to properly take advantage of any weapon variety that is in the game.

Well, the "Focus" categories, while somewhat limiting, are rather generous. Take WF: Soldier for example. In one category you have: Greatswords (Slash/Pierce, so good in most scenarios), Pikes (Pierce with range, can attack from behind ally backs), Warhammers (blunt/pierce, so again useful in most secnarios, one handed with 1 exception), Arbalests (heavy x-bows, which can Prone on crit - Piercing), Arquebuses (firearm - Piercing). And there is generally decent variety in all categories. Note that summoned weapons use the bonus from whatever proficiency a character has, regardless of summoned weapon type (there are gloves available early which allow to summon a very mighty fiery greatsword 3x per rest). Also the White March expansions brought a slew of unique soulbound weapons, which also use WF:whatever.

Plus with multi-damage type weapons like greatswords, swords, warhammers, a certain unique corrosive/slash sabre, a certain unique soulbound shock/pierce hunting bow, a certain unique Blunt/Pierce hunting bow you almost never need to switch them, as they will generally always target at least "normal" DR. Maybe with VERY few exceptions, such as skeletons (early on), maybe dragons and some automatons. Weapons with inherent DR pierce effect, such as estocs, stilletos, maces and firearms will also rarely require switching - only when the DR boost to their damage type is very significant/enemy is immune to their damage type.

PoE also has one of the worst itemization you could ever hope not to see in a RPG.

Not this again. I'm getting tired of this BS, so I will simply paste my answer from the Torment thread:

Stormcaller: A fast hunting bow which has a 10% chance to cast Returning Storm on hit when wielded by a Ranger, which does good damage and stuns enemies in a large radius AND attacks with this bow lower enemy resistance to Shock AND it deals Pierce/Shock damage, whichever the enemies resist less. This item is considered unfair by many and some shun using it in their games, since it stunlocks entire crowds indefinitely, while dealing high damage.
Cipher and Chanter also get strong Shock spells from their respective spellbooks on hit.

Steadfast: a sword that grants Outmanouvering passive to Fighters, Chanters and Wizards. Making them target enemy Willpower rather then Deflection (AC), if it's lower. It also gives immunity to Fear.
For other classes it may cast Sunlance on Hit, Champion's Boon (+10 Might, +10 Per & +5DR) on kill or Restore Major Endurance.

Shod-In-Faith: Boots that cast Consecrated Ground when Critically Hit: a powerful aoe heal-over-time, which mostly eliminates the need for individual healing spells.

Armor, Cloak, Shield which grant Retaliate (which stack).

The Unlabored Blade: a dagger with a small chance to cast a powerfull offensive bouncing spell Firebug on Crit. Crits happen very often though, especially for a barbarian who attacks in a huge aoe. Also +20% attack speed, some other spells per rest, up to Mythic quality.

Ryona's Breastplate: Various powerful defensive buffs, including triggered immunity, which after a powerful attack makes one immune to this damage type for 15 seconds

St. Ydwen's Redeemer: already mentioned, kills Vessels (undead) on hit. May also cast Pillar of Faith for a Fighter (damage+knockdown), Divine Mark for a Paladin (damage + AC debuff) or Despondent Blows (ToHit debuff) for Barbarians. Plus Revive 1/rest.

Abydon's Hammer: kills Eyeless on crit and many other powers.

Forgemaster's Gloves: Summons Firebrand 3x per rest. Firebrand is a flaming sword which deals purely Fire damage, has much higher base damage and +0,5 Crit damage modifier. Makes a Barbarian's aoe Carnage explode with each attack, like a human fireball. Is buffed by Scion of Flame. Note it was nerfed, because at launch the sword targeted enemy Reflex defence, rather then Deflection (AC), so was completly overpowered vs most enemies.

Many "regular" artifacts Prone on Crit, Stun on Crit and do other nasty stuff. Note Crits are much easier to achiever in PoE then in IE games. You can buff accuracy in relation to enemy (lowered) deflection by roughly 60 pts. And you have effects with 20-30% Hit to Crit conversion.

And amendment following Paraballus' good suggestions:
Spelltongue: a rapier that steals enemy buff durations to extend your own, as well as steals enemy speed (stacks with other speed buffs) plus allows to cast an aoe endurance draining spell

Acuan Giamas: Morningstar which has a 25% chance to steal 3 enemy spells on hit and allows you to spam them for the duration of the effect plus has wounding DOT

Silver Flash: a Blunderbuss which has a chance to cast Divine Mark (lower deflection + solid damage) or Blind on hit (which with 6 BB projectiles is like always)

Golden Gaze: a rod which fires 2 projectiles instead of one (at a lower base damage) and has a chance to cast Expose Vulnerabilities on hit

Binding Rope: a belt which causes enemies hitting wearer to become Stuck (–20 Deflection,–20 Reflex,–5 Accuracy,–2 Dexterity; Immobilized) and boosts constitution

The Wind's Arm: a pollaxe which lowers the Concentration of near enemies and allows casting of Cleansing Wind (heals allies, pushes back enemies)

Bittercut: the aforementioned Corrode/slash sabre, lower resistance to poison and allows casting of Vile Thorns and Infestation of Maggots.

Twin Sting: Crossbow with two bolts, shoots twice before reload, deals additional Venom Raw damage, frightens on kill, allows cast of DAoM (haste), casts Merciless Gaze for Rogues/Plague of Insects for Rangers/boosts Focus generation for Ciphers

Iverra's Diving Helmet: +20 Defense against Poison attacks; +35 Defense against Dragon Breath attacks; -1 Perception

Lavender Wreath: helm (more like floral circlet), Immunity to Sickened; Irritating (Characters hitting Self: Sickened for 4.0 sec)

Tempered Helm: Bloodthirst: +3 Might for +20 sec per kill, + 5 Damage Reduction for +20 sec per kill, -5 Deflection for +20 sec per kill; Freedom: +25 Defense against Hobbled, Stuck, Paralyzed attacks;
Defiance: +25 Defense against Charmed, Confused attacks, +10 Defense against Dominated attacks

Crossed Patch: helm (eyewear), -2 Accuracy; Immunity to Blind; +10% Damage to Flanked targets

Executioner's Hood: Coup de Grace: +20 Endurance per kill, +5 Melee Accuracy for +5 sec when missed by an attack; Grants Intimidating Presence (Speed: Average, Area of Effect: Foe Target + 2.0m Radius from Caster, Effect: Foe AoE: Frightened for 3.0 sec | Accuracy (-10) vs Will) (Passive)

Mourning Gloves: Denial: +5 All Defenses for +20 sec per kill Anger: +10% Attack Speed for +20 sec per kill Bargaining: +10 Concentration for +20 sec per kill, +15 Interrupt for +20 sec per kill Depression: -1 Resolve for +20 sec per kill Acceptance: +15 Endurance per kill

Celebrant's Gloves:
Spelldefense: Holy Meditation: 10% chance to cast Holy Meditation (big buff to Concentration + Will defence) when hit or critically hit; Overseeing: +10% Ability Area of Effect

These, while some of the most interesting equipment pieces, are just the tip of the iceberg. I've barely touched categories other then weapons.
Anyway, the old IE games have NOTHING on PoE equipment variety after WM.

I used the same weapon for several characters all the way through the game. I think I found a weapon for Eder in the first town and used that until the end. The differences are so minor you won't notice and in practice you never really have to worry about enemy weaknesses. Armor is even more retarded and boring.

Your loss, really. Pity about Eder, though. So much wasted potential.

 

[FeelTheRads]

You can see for yourself the pros and cons of all the weapons at this site. Some are fast meaning they do a lot of weak attacks, and some do slow but very powerful attacks, so there's a lot of variety to choose from. The weapon selection seems very elegant and well thought out if you take the time to look at it in detail.

Wow yeah, slow weapons that do more damage than fast weapons. Such amazing selection, never seen this one before.

This is a system designed so you can take ANY weapon/item and finish the game with it. That's not something that can ever be good or fun. To say it provides variety too, is just lol

 

[Haplo]

Yeah, only the older games had NO slow weapons, all did the same number of attacks in the same time frame (except for x-bows, I guess).
You equipped the heaviest weapon your class allows, with the biggest damage, unless you want a shield or dual-wield, then you use an appropriate one-handed weapon. Sometimes you switch to a blunt for a skeleton or to slash for a zombie. How was that for complexity?

In PoE all characters can use all weapons, with no class limitations.

 

[aweigh]

poe has good itemization. it's one of the best examples of such that i've seen in recent (i.e. last 20 years or so) RPGs. it's certainly not on the level of the type of mathematical spreadsheet itemization found in a Wiz-clone, but for a mainstream RPG meant for casuals it is very good.

and this is coming from someone who loves Wiz-clones above all else and actually knows wtf itemization is... which most people who use this term when talking RPGs do not.

EDIT: OTOH, Wasteland 2 has terrible, terrible itemization. Amateurish at best.

 

[ArchAngel]

See you don't understand anything. You don't even understand what you don't understand LOL

It is very easy to say something. It is harder to provide evidence.

That would be like giving you a quest compass. It is not a Codex way. Get your paper and pencil out and start drawing.

 

[Chris Avelltwo]

You can see for yourself the pros and cons of all the weapons at this site. Some are fast meaning they do a lot of weak attacks, and some do slow but very powerful attacks, so there's a lot of variety to choose from. The weapon selection seems very elegant and well thought out if you take the time to look at it in detail.

Wow yeah, slow weapons that do more damage than fast weapons. Such amazing selection, never seen this one before.

This is a system designed so you can take ANY weapon/item and finish the game with it. That's not something that can ever be good or fun. To say it provides variety too, is just lol

When you say you can use any weapon all the way to the end of the game, that is kinda true, but you would have to spend the resources to upgrade the quality and/or enchant the item to make it more effective. Spending thousands of coins and the rare items it takes to get a entry tier weapon upgraded all the way up to legendary requires as much if not more investment of resources as buying a weapon that's already that good, so I don't see the problem with that personally. And maybe this isn't true for everyone, but I tend to get sentimentally attached to things and don't want to just throw them away, so being able to upgrade them to keep them viable is something I quite like, honestly.

Tyranny did that as well, where you had to use the copper and iron ingots and other things to get stuff upgraded. In fact, this was the only way you could improve Barik's armor at all since it was fused to his body and irremovable. Anyway, upgrading equipment is a really nice game mechanic, and lots of games do it these days. I don't see why it's a big deal. Then again, is an upgraded weapon still technically the same weapon? It's the ship of Theseus paradox.

They're changing that in Deadfire, though. I seen a video on youtube where Josh was talking a bit about the weapons and he said you won't be able to use them all the way to the end like you could in POE1. I don't know if that means they're getting rid of the upgrading mechanic, or nerfing it, or what. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

 

[Zero Credibility]

They both suck ass, and so does everyone and everything else. Obsidian hasn't made a good game since New Vegas, and InXile since... well, ever.

 

[Haplo]

You can see for yourself the pros and cons of all the weapons at this site. Some are fast meaning they do a lot of weak attacks, and some do slow but very powerful attacks, so there's a lot of variety to choose from. The weapon selection seems very elegant and well thought out if you take the time to look at it in detail.

Wow yeah, slow weapons that do more damage than fast weapons. Such amazing selection, never seen this one before.

This is a system designed so you can take ANY weapon/item and finish the game with it. That's not something that can ever be good or fun. To say it provides variety too, is just lol

When you say you can use any weapon all the way to the end of the game, that is kinda true, but you would have to spend the resources to upgrade the quality and/or enchant the item to make it more effective. Spending thousands of coins and the rare items it takes to get a entry tier weapon upgraded all the way up to legendary requires as much if not more investment of resources as buying a weapon that's already that good, so I don't see the problem with that personally. And maybe this isn't true for everyone, but I tend to get sentimentally attached to things and don't want to just throw them away, so being able to upgrade them to keep them viable is something I quite like, honestly.

Tyranny did that as well, where you had to use the copper and iron ingots and other things to get stuff upgraded. In fact, this was the only way you could improve Barik's armor at all since it was fused to his body and irremovable. Anyway, upgrading equipment is a really nice game mechanic, and lots of games do it these days. I don't see why it's a big deal. Then again, is an upgraded weapon still technically the same weapon? It's the ship of Theseus paradox.

They're changing that in Deadfire, though. I seen a video on youtube where Josh was talking a bit about the weapons and he said you won't be able to use them all the way to the end like you could in POE1. I don't know if that means they're getting rid of the upgrading mechanic, or nerfing it, or what. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Sure, you could. But you'd miss on lots of great weapon effects/properties/passives that later weaponry carries. For some examples see above. It would work, but certainly would be neither highly effective nor most fun.

And yeah, in Deadfire upgrades are supposed to be limited to 1 step "up" only, and only for property already existing on weapon (so a weapon with Flame Lash could be upgraded to aoe flame burst or have a stronger lash for example, but a weapon without an elemental effect cannot gain a lash).

 

[Iznaliu]

That would be like giving you a quest compass. It is not a Codex way. Get your paper and pencil out and start drawing.

I have played PoE 3 times, so I have seen it all.

nerfing it

This is what they are doing. Upgrades are now limited by the inherent properties of a weapon; e.g. you can have a flaming sword and make it flame more, but you can't make a flaming sword spew lightning.

 

[MrBuzzKill]

Spoiler

Im a bit confused now. As mentioned earlier I've only played a bit of PoE but I still noticed the different kinds of resistances and such different enemies had. However isn't this sort of undermined by needing to take certain weapon feats to make weapons effective?

The way you talk about the weapons makes it sound like combat can flow by effortlessly juggling between them to make the most of an enemies weaknesses but with the feats you need to take to make the weapons effective how can that be the case? I could be misunderstanding the feats or the weapons themselves but im not seeing how its possible to properly take advantage of any weapon variety that is in the game.

Well, the "Focus" categories, while somewhat limiting, are rather generous. Take WF: Soldier for example. In one category you have: Greatswords (Slash/Pierce, so good in most scenarios), Pikes (Pierce with range, can attack from behind ally backs), Warhammers (blunt/pierce, so again useful in most secnarios, one handed with 1 exception), Arbalests (heavy x-bows, which can Prone on crit - Piercing), Arquebuses (firearm - Piercing). And there is generally decent variety in all categories. Note that summoned weapons use the bonus from whatever proficiency a character has, regardless of summoned weapon type (there are gloves available early which allow to summon a very mighty fiery greatsword 3x per rest). Also the White March expansions brought a slew of unique soulbound weapons, which also use WF:whatever.

Plus with multi-damage type weapons like greatswords, swords, warhammers, a certain unique corrosive/slash sabre, a certain unique soulbound shock/pierce hunting bow, a certain unique Blunt/Pierce hunting bow you almost never need to switch them, as they will generally always target at least "normal" DR. Maybe with VERY few exceptions, such as skeletons (early on), maybe dragons and some automatons. Weapons with inherent DR pierce effect, such as estocs, stilletos, maces and firearms will also rarely require switching - only when the DR boost to their damage type is very significant/enemy is immune to their damage type.

PoE also has one of the worst itemization you could ever hope not to see in a RPG.

Not this again. I'm getting tired of this BS, so I will simply paste my answer from the Torment thread:

Stormcaller: A fast hunting bow which has a 10% chance to cast Returning Storm on hit when wielded by a Ranger, which does good damage and stuns enemies in a large radius AND attacks with this bow lower enemy resistance to Shock AND it deals Pierce/Shock damage, whichever the enemies resist less. This item is considered unfair by many and some shun using it in their games, since it stunlocks entire crowds indefinitely, while dealing high damage.
Cipher and Chanter also get strong Shock spells from their respective spellbooks on hit.

Steadfast: a sword that grants Outmanouvering passive to Fighters, Chanters and Wizards. Making them target enemy Willpower rather then Deflection (AC), if it's lower. It also gives immunity to Fear.
For other classes it may cast Sunlance on Hit, Champion's Boon (+10 Might, +10 Per & +5DR) on kill or Restore Major Endurance.

Shod-In-Faith: Boots that cast Consecrated Ground when Critically Hit: a powerful aoe heal-over-time, which mostly eliminates the need for individual healing spells.

Armor, Cloak, Shield which grant Retaliate (which stack).

The Unlabored Blade: a dagger with a small chance to cast a powerfull offensive bouncing spell Firebug on Crit. Crits happen very often though, especially for a barbarian who attacks in a huge aoe. Also +20% attack speed, some other spells per rest, up to Mythic quality.

Ryona's Breastplate: Various powerful defensive buffs, including triggered immunity, which after a powerful attack makes one immune to this damage type for 15 seconds

St. Ydwen's Redeemer: already mentioned, kills Vessels (undead) on hit. May also cast Pillar of Faith for a Fighter (damage+knockdown), Divine Mark for a Paladin (damage + AC debuff) or Despondent Blows (ToHit debuff) for Barbarians. Plus Revive 1/rest.

Abydon's Hammer: kills Eyeless on crit and many other powers.

Forgemaster's Gloves: Summons Firebrand 3x per rest. Firebrand is a flaming sword which deals purely Fire damage, has much higher base damage and +0,5 Crit damage modifier. Makes a Barbarian's aoe Carnage explode with each attack, like a human fireball. Is buffed by Scion of Flame. Note it was nerfed, because at launch the sword targeted enemy Reflex defence, rather then Deflection (AC), so was completly overpowered vs most enemies.

Many "regular" artifacts Prone on Crit, Stun on Crit and do other nasty stuff. Note Crits are much easier to achiever in PoE then in IE games. You can buff accuracy in relation to enemy (lowered) deflection by roughly 60 pts. And you have effects with 20-30% Hit to Crit conversion.

And amendment following Paraballus' good suggestions:
Spelltongue: a rapier that steals enemy buff durations to extend your own, as well as steals enemy speed (stacks with other speed buffs) plus allows to cast an aoe endurance draining spell

Acuan Giamas: Morningstar which has a 25% chance to steal 3 enemy spells on hit and allows you to spam them for the duration of the effect plus has wounding DOT

Silver Flash: a Blunderbuss which has a chance to cast Divine Mark (lower deflection + solid damage) or Blind on hit (which with 6 BB projectiles is like always)

Golden Gaze: a rod which fires 2 projectiles instead of one (at a lower base damage) and has a chance to cast Expose Vulnerabilities on hit

Binding Rope: a belt which causes enemies hitting wearer to become Stuck (–20 Deflection,–20 Reflex,–5 Accuracy,–2 Dexterity; Immobilized) and boosts constitution

The Wind's Arm: a pollaxe which lowers the Concentration of near enemies and allows casting of Cleansing Wind (heals allies, pushes back enemies)

Bittercut: the aforementioned Corrode/slash sabre, lower resistance to poison and allows casting of Vile Thorns and Infestation of Maggots.

Twin Sting: Crossbow with two bolts, shoots twice before reload, deals additional Venom Raw damage, frightens on kill, allows cast of DAoM (haste), casts Merciless Gaze for Rogues/Plague of Insects for Rangers/boosts Focus generation for Ciphers

Iverra's Diving Helmet: +20 Defense against Poison attacks; +35 Defense against Dragon Breath attacks; -1 Perception

Lavender Wreath: helm (more like floral circlet), Immunity to Sickened; Irritating (Characters hitting Self: Sickened for 4.0 sec)

Tempered Helm: Bloodthirst: +3 Might for +20 sec per kill, + 5 Damage Reduction for +20 sec per kill, -5 Deflection for +20 sec per kill; Freedom: +25 Defense against Hobbled, Stuck, Paralyzed attacks;
Defiance: +25 Defense against Charmed, Confused attacks, +10 Defense against Dominated attacks

Crossed Patch: helm (eyewear), -2 Accuracy; Immunity to Blind; +10% Damage to Flanked targets

Executioner's Hood: Coup de Grace: +20 Endurance per kill, +5 Melee Accuracy for +5 sec when missed by an attack; Grants Intimidating Presence (Speed: Average, Area of Effect: Foe Target + 2.0m Radius from Caster, Effect: Foe AoE: Frightened for 3.0 sec | Accuracy (-10) vs Will) (Passive)

Mourning Gloves: Denial: +5 All Defenses for +20 sec per kill Anger: +10% Attack Speed for +20 sec per kill Bargaining: +10 Concentration for +20 sec per kill, +15 Interrupt for +20 sec per kill Depression: -1 Resolve for +20 sec per kill Acceptance: +15 Endurance per kill

Celebrant's Gloves:
Spelldefense: Holy Meditation: 10% chance to cast Holy Meditation (big buff to Concentration + Will defence) when hit or critically hit; Overseeing: +10% Ability Area of Effect

These, while some of the most interesting equipment pieces, are just the tip of the iceberg. I've barely touched categories other then weapons.
Anyway, the old IE games have NOTHING on PoE equipment variety after WM.

I used the same weapon for several characters all the way through the game. I think I found a weapon for Eder in the first town and used that until the end. The differences are so minor you won't notice and in practice you never really have to worry about enemy weaknesses. Armor is even more retarded and boring.

Your loss, really. Pity about Eder, though. So much wasted potential.

Thanks. This list made me wanna give PoE another try. Btw, how did you like Torment itemization? I thought there were quite a few very interesting items like that (the pinnacle probably being Bloom Armor).

Spoiler

By the way, are you a fan of the Death Gate books by Weis & Hickman by any chance?

As for the topic, I liked WL2 "Directors' Cut" better than PoE, but Torment felt empty and underwhelming overall. I recognize PoE is a very polished game that a huge amount of work went into, but I just found it to be boring so far - the combat, the endless throwaway items, the story, the companions... In order to properly answer this question we will have to wait until Wasteland 3. So far it's kind of a tie. But not "which studio is better", more like "which is less bad".

 

[Hobo Elf]

Which is less shit and why? This is how desperate and pathetic the Codex has become.

 

[Haplo]

To be honest, I have only played the Torment intro. I put it down in order to... replay PoE. Well, it's the first time I'm playing with the White Marches. Loved Part 1 (level scaled).
Now I'm going trough Part 2 and it's a bit on the easy side so far. But I may have shoot myself in the knee by making a revisit to Stalwart to finish some business soon after WM1 ended. I think that triggered the beginning of WM2, without level scaling. Meanwhile I did some Act 3 content and gained like 3 levels before diving back in to WM2.

Not sure I'd call myself a fan... after so many years. More like a childhood memory. But yeah, the name comes from them. Quite a cool concept with runic magic written on skin and based on completing the circles/symbols. And obligatory Zifnab character

 

[HeatEXTEND]

In fact the system should be designed so that the player can make different items usable (not necessarily in the same amount) through playing with the system

I dunno, that sounds kinda esoteric and vague.

Oh wait, what's that over there ?

Thats right

 

[Haplo]

In fact the system should be designed so that the player can make different items usable (not necessarily in the same amount) through playing with the system

I dunno, that sounds kinda esoteric and vague.

Wait, you mean something like Iverra's Diving Helmet, which can be found as one of the possible outcomes from a small sidequest and/or from one of the stronghold text miniquests and later can be used in a nasty situation in a CYOA section?

 

[luj1]

weapon variety is actually fantastic in PoE.

You literally use almost the same weapons until the end of the game , you deluded mongrel. The differences are miniscule