What do you want PoE2 to be like?

I got it relatively recently, and still haven't beaten it, but I hope it's a sequel that doesn't change much of anything, just makes everything better.

Maybe a normal xp system.

 

More depth and interaction with the companions.

Don't get me wrong, i liked the ones you get in PoE, but aside from a few moments here ad there, most of their plot development was quite forgettable.
All the companions have their own personality, but for most of them there's not really much that stands out, they never really seem to grow or change during their travels with my PC.
Out of all the companions, i probably liked Durance the best - i like how you get a good view on his internal conflict regarding his god during the conversations you have as the game progresses, there's a real back and forth, deep discussion you can have with him on some topics.

But, for most of them it's quite easy to help them out with their 'goal' - after which it is never mentioned again.
For example, helping Edér to find out what happened with his brother doesn't really involve a lot - find some records in defiance bay, then travel to the site of the battle where the conclusion of the quest is treated like a side-bit, since you need to go to the area for the main questline anyway.
In the end, Edér seems to resign to the fact that he'll never really learn what happened for sure and that he'l just have to move on. you can drop a line here with what you think he should do, along the lines of don't dwell of the past, etc - but that's about it.

Still, all in all PoE's companions are good - i just hope they make the ones in PoE2 great. (Let's make companions great again! )

 

1) More fluid combat. Combat in PoE is somewhat clunky, what with how engagement works I suppose. Considering the fate of the NwN series and the success of the IE games, IMO they should simply get rid of the AoO system and find other ways to implement penalties/bonuses between combatants in melee range. Seriously, whose bright idea was it to include that aspect of D&D into the PoE ruleset?
The best part of the NwN series was when you reached high levels, that way you can simply forget about AoO thanks to feats and skills which allowed you to wade into melee freely /vanish without a trace with Hide in Plain Sight/cast powerful defensive spells like Timestop, Mirror Image and Premonition.

2) Improvements to spell systems/class mechanics. PoE is already pretty solid when it comes to these, it would be great to see how they could further improve it.

3) More joinable NPCS. 2x as much as PoE's, if possible.

4) A more refined skill/perk system. This part was rather hit-or-miss.

5) More immersion, PoE lore-wise. As interesting the various cultures/peoples of the world of PoE are, most of what you learn is from dialogues/lore snippets. In the end you basically just go "Meh" and focus on the main story.

 

I think 1 companion per available class is more than enough. I'd rather see them expand further on a smaller number of companions than get slew of them without much of a personality. In other words, bring it closer to Ps:T, not closer to BG1, at least as far as that aspect is concerned.

Personally, I think that if they take everything they've learned from making PoE to heart, they should be able to make a pretty excellent sequel. I'd also like them to be on less of a deadline. I mean, they delayed the release of PoE quite a bit, but a lot of stuff was still kinda half-finished.

 

Yeah, out of all the infinity engine games, the companions from Planescape:Torment did stick with me the most.
I like how they are all flawed in a way, and have much more interesting and complicated personalities then they first let on.
Like Morte, whom you'd first dismiss as the token comic relief character, but as you adventure with him you get to know his involvement with your previous incarnations, the situation he was in with the pillar of skulls and why he still feels responsible for you and is still traveling with you after all this time in the first place.
Or dakkon, who doesn't seem to be more then another stoic/philosophical spellblade, but whom you can help understand the teachings of zerthimon, and along the way uncover a lot about his own past and also that of his people.

Even a lot of the NPC's you meet along the way are memorable, like Deiannora, a companion from another life, unable to rest peacefully in death because of her connection to your past self. Or Pharod - a greedy man, who *knows* where he will end up after dead, and is desperatly searching for a way to escape his fate, and Coaxmetal - a giant golem, or as he calls it : "Iron given purpose"; crafting weapons for the forces of Entropy. (the chaotic evil demons known as the Tanar'ri.)

Like you, i don't really care if we get a companion to fill every class, i would be satisfied to have a more limited number of them that are really unique, giving the writers the time to make them all truly interesting and special.

 

The original DAO scripting system was garbage. It had to be improved extensively with mods before it had any real semblance of usability.

I haven't experienced PoE's scripts though. Back when I played it, there were none as far as I can remember.

I think many of us would prefer to have fully customizable scripts with a presupplied set, but exposing the scripting language and writing an execution engine is usually outside the scope of most games. It's unfortunate, really, because doing so also makes the developers' job easier when it comes to scripting encounters and allows the modding community to make some awesome stuff like SCS for Infinity Games.

I do think I've heard them say that they want to expose a lot more assets to modders in the sequel though...

 

A sequel would be nice although I wouldn't mind going to one of the other countries. Even a prequel of how a country evolved.
I would like more interaction between the companions ala BG II.
I am comfortable with the combat but I haven't plaid on Hard or Path of the Damned.

 

Since I still haven't managed to complete PoE, I'm not sure I'm qualified to respond to this. But interesting to note that it is in the works.

 

The one thing I wish PoE had but lacked was multiplayer similar to BG or IWD. That was something that kept a lot of my friends from getting it because we all like to run a single player run and then do a MP run of the Infinity-like games.

 

In my personal experience, multiplayer mode isn't all that popular in games like these and I'd prefer to see them make the best single player campaign they can without wasting precious resources on a massive undertaking that is multiplayer code. It wasn't a simple thing to implement 20 years ago and it certainly isn't now.

 

I see that point and I agree with wanting a fantastic single player, I suppose it's just wishful thinking.

I just think it'd be a fun addition (that hasn't been mentioned in the thread) that'd add replayability

 

Better NPCs, still haven't played an RPG where the NPCs are on BG2's level. Mass Effect 2/3 came close.

 

BG2 was living the dream. Excellent variety of NPCs and good banter, progression, and story to go along with it.

Address the issues of the first and expand on content and I'll be content. Toss the edgy swearing that seems out of place most of the time for bonus points.

 

found it disappointing. Stopped playing at around 1/3 of the game. It missed that spark that made the BG's. Even the IWD had more spark.

Let face it, what we want is the old black isle team to make BG3 with enough budget and full D&D license.

 

Uhh, no. No, we don't. BG was wrapped up, the last thing it needs is a forced sequel. Also, I don't think you can get an AD&D license from Hasbro anymore and no one wants to play a 5E game. And to top it off, Black Isle Studios didn't make the BG series, Bioware's studio did. BIS only published it.

PoE1 felt pretty much exactly like BG1. Played a lot like it too. I don't know what kind of "spark" you think it's missing, but I guarantee you, BG1 and IWD1 didn't have "that". It's just your nostalgia talking. Granted, PoE1 is no BG2 or Ps:T, but it more than stacks up against the first IE games.

 

If BG3 were ever to happen there's not a lot of flexibility as to how it would go. I'd rather let the series rest in peace (not that Beamdog is letting that happen ).

I would, however, be extremely happy with a D&D license in the hands of Obsidian. Hasbro and/or WotC seem intent on letting the life fade out of D&D for some reason though.

They handled it with grace but I thought plot and setting could do with some work in PoE.

 

It's not that they're letting it, it's just that it's dying. D&D is being replaced by newer, better systems and by its direct competition (i.e. Pathfinder).

In what way? The plot hook is kinda meh and the main plotline loses steam towards the very end, but overall, the story is quite engaging throughout 95% of the game and the setting is one of the most complex and developed settings I've seen in a computer game to date. It certainly blows Faerun out of the water in terms what you can learn about the setting in-game.