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(No spoilers please for the benefit of others)

I recently finished Witcher 3, and to fill the void, I decided to purchase Pillars of Eternity based off the amazing reviews for the game. When I started playing it, I was disappointed. In the Witcher 3, the dialog is live, face to face, whereas POE is some text. W3's graphics are amazing, whereas POE looks retro and not that great. In W3, character creation was easy. Play as Geralt. In POE, I have more choices than a generic restaurant. Combat in W3 was amazing and real time. I could see my attacks and if quick enough could counter. In POE, I have no idea what is happening, except for a text box on the bottom. In W3, I could always see where I was going. In POE, everything is shaded, until you come right on top of something, and get attacked right away. So I feel partly overwhelmed in some areas, and vastly underwhelmed in others.

I also know it is not a fair comparison to be trying to decide which is the better game, as they are very different, but coming off W3, it is a bit disappointing. Nonetheless, I would still like to give this game a try. Maybe it was my misunderstanding of the game, and it has to be, as the reviews and support for the game is phenomenal, so it must be me.

Can someone point me to a website, guide, video, or something that I will help me understand the game better? Maybe after that, i would have a different perspective and appreciate it more.

And again, please do not take this as bashing the game. That is not my intent.

Thanks everyone.
Apples vs Oranges. i ate all my apples, and loved them. So I tried oranges. The peel of the oranges tasted bitter, whereas the apple peels had an earthy pleasant flavor to them. The smell and taste of the oranges was very acidic and tart whereas the meat of the apple was grainy and sweet. I can't figure out why I can't seem to like the oranges as much as the apples when consuming them both in the exact same manner. Can someone point me to a guide on how to properly eat oranges so I can enjoy them as much as the apples?

Not bashing the Oranges...
Thanks!
So, not the kind of game you expected.

It's hard to explain what makes a game good if the person itself doesn't see it. From the sound of it you probably need to put in some more time to get to grips with the style of game it is.

That or it's just not really your style of game, perhaps something more straightforward, and from the sound of it, action based, like Mass Effect or Borderlands would suit you more.
Post edited August 01, 2018 by Pheace
@ Paladin181: Very well thought out reply and quite funny. Thanks for the laughs!

@ Pheace: Thank you for the suggestions. I will look to those games too.

@ All: I was referred to this website: https://guides.gamepressure.com/pillarsofeternity/

Very helpful. I plan on reading it and then retrying the game.
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paladin181: Apples vs Oranges. i ate all my apples, and loved them. So I tried oranges. The peel of the oranges tasted bitter, whereas the apple peels had an earthy pleasant flavor to them. The smell and taste of the oranges was very acidic and tart whereas the meat of the apple was grainy and sweet. I can't figure out why I can't seem to like the oranges as much as the apples when consuming them both in the exact same manner. Can someone point me to a guide on how to properly eat oranges so I can enjoy them as much as the apples?

Not bashing the Oranges...
Thanks!
There are various types of apples and oranges, with differing flavor profiles. The hard banana candies you find in the store actually tastes like a type of banana that has gone commercially extinct. Essentially, it all comes down to exploring your options and determining what is best for you.

With that said, try a Durian!...you may thank (or detest) me.
Goodbye!
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Stryder2931: @ Paladin181: Very well thought out reply and quite funny. Thanks for the laughs!

@ Pheace: Thank you for the suggestions. I will look to those games too.

@ All: I was referred to this website: https://guides.gamepressure.com/pillarsofeternity/

Very helpful. I plan on reading it and then retrying the game.
That was the intent :)
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Sabin_Stargem: There are various types of apples and oranges, with differing flavor profiles. The hard banana candies you find in the store actually tastes like a type of banana that has gone commercially extinct. Essentially, it all comes down to exploring your options and determining what is best for you.

With that said, try a Durian!...you may thank (or detest) me.
Goodbye!
BOO That stinks!
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Stryder2931: (No spoilers please for the benefit of others)

I recently finished Witcher 3, and to fill the void, I decided to purchase Pillars of Eternity based off the amazing reviews for the game. When I started playing it, I was disappointed. In the Witcher 3, the dialog is live, face to face, whereas POE is some text. W3's graphics are amazing, whereas POE looks retro and not that great. In W3, character creation was easy. Play as Geralt. In POE, I have more choices than a generic restaurant. Combat in W3 was amazing and real time. I could see my attacks and if quick enough could counter. In POE, I have no idea what is happening, except for a text box on the bottom. In W3, I could always see where I was going. In POE, everything is shaded, until you come right on top of something, and get attacked right away. So I feel partly overwhelmed in some areas, and vastly underwhelmed in others.

I also know it is not a fair comparison to be trying to decide which is the better game, as they are very different, but coming off W3, it is a bit disappointing. Nonetheless, I would still like to give this game a try. Maybe it was my misunderstanding of the game, and it has to be, as the reviews and support for the game is phenomenal, so it must be me.

Can someone point me to a website, guide, video, or something that I will help me understand the game better? Maybe after that, i would have a different perspective and appreciate it more.

And again, please do not take this as bashing the game. That is not my intent.

Thanks everyone.
So Witcher 3 is the best rpg at this moment. POE is old school rpg with tons of texts. You should to try play Pillars of Eternity 2, this game better than first POE. Same thing for Divinity: Original Sin, Original Sin 2 much better for newcomers.
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NickZah: So Witcher 3 is the best rpg at this moment. POE is old school rpg with tons of texts. You should to try play Pillars of Eternity 2, this game better than first POE. Same thing for Divinity: Original Sin, Original Sin 2 much better for newcomers.
I personally don't think POE2 differs enough from 1 to recommend it over the other and he'll benefit a lot lore-wise from having played 1 first so I certainly wouldn't recommend starting with 2.

As for Divinity Original Sin, great games, both of them. However, they're turnbased which is a far step from Witcher 3 style gameplay.
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Stryder2931: ... I also know it is not a fair comparison to be trying to decide which is the better game, as they are very different ...
I cannot point you to any good guide/review that explains why Pillars of Eternity could be a good game, so just a remark:

They are not only different in style but also in production budget with Witcher 3 being some order of magnitude more costly. That alone may explain some of your observations.
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Pheace: ... It's hard to explain what makes a game good if the person itself doesn't see it. ...
Is it really? I thought that is exactly what fan reviews are good for. Explaining why a game is good or not good. Ultimately, everyone has to decide for themselves, but as I understand the original poster he just wants to know how and why others enjoy Pillars of Eternity in the hope that this gives him a new angle and maybe more understanding.
Post edited August 01, 2018 by Trilarion
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Trilarion: Is it really? I thought that is exactly what fan reviews are good for. Explaining why a game is good or not good. Ultimately, everyone has to decide for themselves, but as I understand the original poster he just wants to know how and why others enjoy Pillars of Eternity in the hope that this gives him a new angle and maybe more understanding.
I guess I should've included 'when playing it themselves' :)

To me it doesn't sound like he (currently) has the patience for a slow paced game RPG like Pillars because he just came from Witcher 3 and is looking for a similar experience. While Pillars/Divinity are amazing RPG's, they're incredibly slow experiences in comparison.

The games I mentioned above, or Dragon Age, or Fallout series, Skyrim or heck even Saints Row perhaps. Granted none of those will likely compare to Witcher 3's experience, but they'll be easier to step into than a game like Pillars.
Post edited August 01, 2018 by Pheace
TBH they are both pretty meh. W3 is an open world action adventure, and has the dull repetitive world of every other open world game out there. Combat was ok, but mainly dodge hit, dodge hit. Couldn't figure out if there was a story. Gave up on it, twice. Shame as witcher 1 was a pretty good game.
PoE, well this is more of an old school rpg. Lots of character and party build options, old isometric viewpoint, heavy on the storyline and lots of text. But at the end of the day after two aborted playthroughs (one 2/3rds the other halfway) again I gave up on it. It's just bland and uninteresting. Can't put my finger on why. Graphics are good, just didn't seem to grab me. Not played the new one.

Me, I would go dragon age 1, baldurs gate, maybe oblivion. Although currently I am playing mount and blade with prophesy of pendor mod, again (7th time through and this time I will conquer pendor!!!). That is well worth playing (so are other mods, perisno, and the two game of thrones mods, brytenwalda is also there, though I didn't like a couple of mechanics).
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nightcraw1er.488: Me, I would go dragon age 1
While I personally put DA1 a mile above it's successors I think gameplay wise the latter games would probably be more the OP's style because of the game moving more towards an action based system. I loved 1 because it was way more strategic/tactical when playing, I paused all the time to give commands, whereas in the latter games that's really not needed nearly as much. Especially Inquisition with it's open world design. That said, it's kind of like playing a single player MMO, flaws of open world design included, but there's a good amount of story as well at least. Whether you'd like it is another matter xD
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nightcraw1er.488: Me, I would go dragon age 1
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Pheace: While I personally put DA1 a mile above it's successors I think gameplay wise the latter games would probably be more the OP's style because of the game moving more towards an action based system. I loved 1 because it was way more strategic/tactical when playing, I paused all the time to give commands, whereas in the latter games that's really not needed nearly as much. Especially Inquisition with it's open world design. That said, it's kind of like playing a single player MMO, flaws of open world design included, but there's a good amount of story as well at least. Whether you'd like it is another matter xD
Well, I would never recommend DA2, that was truely awful in all senses. DA:I was better, however it suffers from all the same open world issues as all of those games, endless repetition be it in quests, locations, enemies. I actually gave up on that about halfway through as well. Still, it was ok. But DA2, nope, no redeeming features at all.
Pillars of Eternity (along with most of isometric RPGs) are not about living the story of the game; they're about player character, your choices and your actions.

Witcher 3 along with other RPGs with established characters are about living the story; your choices matter to a very small degree on a small scale (whether they matter a lot on the small scale in isometric RPGs). Dialogues help you to learn about your character in story-driven ones while in PoE-like it helps you establish character (that's why you often see an option to say same things but one is with [LIE] in front; it's to establish your creation.

Fights in isometric ones are about your skills as a tactician (more of immersing yourself as player character) to prove you can beat anything even against the odds (hint hint, Adra dragon, hint hint), whether in story-driven RPGs they're supposed to immerse you more with the world and the story of the game; that's why such games very rarely have "unnecessary fights" which are going to be major part of isometric ones.

To put it all short; in Witcher 3 you're experiencing a story. In PoE you're creating a story.
Neither of them is better than others - those are different types of games for different types of people.
PoE1 is also maybe the weakest game (story wise and immersion wise) i have ever played. And I usually like cRPG's honestly had a MUCH better time with it by kicking all those useless companions out and doing my own party, made my own story, basically. And that right there is why reative00 has it right. PoE only gets good when you create a story to accompany you and YOUR party, when you have characters in mind that do things, where you give meaning to those things (because the game sure isn't), then the game shines.

If you however want to be immersed in a told story, then Witcher 3 is superior to PoE1 in such a way that it really isn't even comparing fruits, it's like comparing the moon to a cat.

Finding what genre you enjoy playing is a fundamental part of life too, there is nothing wrong with you if you just "don't like" PoE after trying it. It's not about how you play, because there is no right or wrong way to play something. You decide what the right way is, and if that is no fun to you then skipperino that game ;)