- It have like 2-3 memorable fightsfightss
Partially due to the game awarding too much xp. Certain fights are far more memorable if you hit them 2 levels earlier.
- no hard counters/everything last 5 seconds design
I dont see the problem
Just like the IE games
- lack of abilities to mod engagement after battle starts
Incorrect
- crappy defenses for mages.
Incorrect
- weapon specializations stink in current form
Disagree. Best spec system i have ever experienced
Partially due to presentation
- main stat system is bland. Difference between low stat and superb stat is not that great.
Incorrect, stat system far better than ie games where most stat choices did nothing or were invalidated by items
1. Dude. EXP has nothing to do with it. Most of fights are literally trashmobs without any memorable leader or character or whatever. Raderic fight, end boss battle are only two ones that "felt good" and not because i was too low level or too high level but simply because they were not fucking FLANS or BEETLES or SKELETONS. Worst of all is that absolutely all mobs don't have any worthwhile abilities that can use. No one can maze you, no one can literally do anything to raise your brow with: "i didn't expect it".
edit: In BG1 if lvl1 mage cast blind on your fighter then you are fucked for next minute. In PoE you are like ...zzzz....
2. Yeah, except every spell is basically shit mmo spell that does shit for 5 seconds or 10. Only few spells are worth anything and most of the time difference between spell and nothing is literally almost nothing. You can't take out enemy spellcaster with hold spell. You can't blind enemy huge warrior with blind spell and so on and so forth.
3. At least in BG2/IW between trash mobs there were good boss fights. PoE formula comes to trash mob*10-15 * 4-6 fights on map. Still some trash mobs could be lethal as they would for example cast mentioned hold spell and those trashy archers then could easily stick their arrows in your mage before warriors will take them out. Here trash mobs are worst kind of trash mobs. MMO trashmobs. Select party click and forget.
4. You are a fag and you know it. There is no way +10 deflection for mage that has shit defense,shit armor either way will do fucking anything. They even patched it later (doubled it) because they saw how fucking shit it was. This goes for almost any defensive spell for mage. BECAUSE THERE ARE NO HARD SPELLS IN GAME AT ALL.
Why do i need frighten aura if it doesn't fucking stop people from hitting your mage ? -10 to attack ? pleaseeee...
5. Correct you mean. I give you 3 fighters without mage or any other support and tell me how you will be moving to enemy mage through trash mobs... You have 2 knockdowns (which can fail and are almost useless against high fortitude enemy) per character and you can get 1 more ability mid level + another one if your are high level.
In current form you need status effect which are not produced by fighting classes to move through battlefield.
THIS IS LACK OF FIGHTING ABILITIES TO DEAL WITH ENGAGEMENT YOLO.
Thieves... Oh snap i forgot ! ROGUES without mages are shit because they can't take hitting like warriors and they can't move on battlefield as they don't have many abilities early.
6. IT stinks because it funnels you into some idiotic archetype. Let's say i want to use longsword and sabre. I would need two specializations in game that gives you like 5-6 talents to do that between 12 levels along with other important stuff.
Again BG2 weapon specialization would be much better as it would free up important talents to something else and you could build a build from anything you want.
7. C-C-Combo ! fag+2 It has nothing to do with presentation. Unique items simply are most of the time inferior and don't have anything "unique" about them. There are only like few items that do something other than +1 constitution (+3% to life ! much wow !). Since game uses for unknown BALANCEDNOFUNALLOWED reason fast/medium/slow categorization you can't find sword that is as fast as rapier. Or Mace that is slow as two handed mace but teleports enemy on hit.
8. Or is it ? Pointing obvious shit called conversion of D&D stat system is not really good defense. 30% better at max at something is simply NOTHING WORTHWILE. Especially for stats like speed. At least D&D was PnP game to CRPG conversion and PnP setting all stats worked well (thanks to good GM) where in PoE case getting 18 in strengh vs 10 isn't that much difference. Only reason to get stats in PoE are dialogue checks (and rather rare). You can literally make all 13s character and he won't feel that much different to character with all 18s.
edit: as for conversion D&D system stats.. They were much more important than PoE ones. Max dexterity gave you more than max Speed in PoE. Max strenght gave you more than max might. Same with rest of stats.
Only really interesting things about PoE stats system is that most of stats do something for any class BUT again they are all shite so you can play mage with all 8 and he will be almost as good as other mage with all 18s.