Recently I've discovered the joy of CRPGs, having previously only dabbled in them without spending any significant time on the genre.
With Baldur's Gate 2 just around the corner, which I'm sure many of us are hyped for, I wanted to try a similar CRPG to get a feel for whether I'm going to want to play it. Enter DOS2; this game is made by Larian Studios, the same studio making BG2, and is an absolutely incredible game.
From the graphics, which are stunning even 6 years on from release, to the combat which makes you think about your moves in a manner similar to how you might do in a game like chess, and best of all stories which are for the most part genuinely interesting. I frequently found myself surprised at events / characters / quests I found throughout the world, even small things like hearing someone screaming nearby then discovering they had been torn to pieces by voidwoken.
I recently just finished Act I and just started Act II but wanted to share a bit of love for this game as it is an absolute masterpiece with a well deserved 95% positive rating with 144k reviews on steam.
Please share your experience with DOS2 and whether or not you have fully completed the game!
3 friends and I played this. They all liked it I did not. It felt like a shopping simulator.
How quickly gear became obsolete in DOS2 is a super valid criticism. No loot, no matter how unique, ever felt special because you knew as soon as you leveled up there'd be better at the merchants.
Since Baldur's Gate 3 is built on a framework of D&D 5e, however, there should be a lot less shopping - upgrades are rare in 5th edition and almost always found while adventuring instead of bought from stores. Good news for anyone who hates shopping!
I felt the same, it´s really frustrating to find a cool piece of gear but having to replace it after just a few level ups. Because of that I activated the Sorcerous Sundries giftbag that allows you to increase the levels of items (for a hefty price that increases every time) and it completely fixed the issue. I can now use epic gear as long as I want in a run because I can upgrade it every few levels instead of buying/looting new stuff. Is there a reason you don´t want to use Sorcerous Sundries?
Both of my playthroughs were completed before that feature was added.
I see. Next playthrough when?
Gonna have to wait until after BG3!
Understandable, glhf :)
It's not just the shopping part of it but also the way unique items with unique effects get deprecated so fast you barely get any use out of them. It's a damn shame.
I felt the same, it´s really frustrating to find a cool piece of gear but having to replace it after just a few level ups. Because of that I activated the Sorcerous Sundries giftbag that allows you to increase the levels of items (for a hefty price that increases every time) and it completely fixed the issue. I can now use epic gear as long as I want in a run because I can upgrade it every few levels instead of buying/looting new stuff. Is there a reason you don´t want to use Sorcerous Sundries?
I was playing it co-op with a friend and he was adamant on not using any giftbag stuff because he felt like it was cheating.
I'm not even sure he read through the whole thing but I didn't want to argue, so I guess didn't either. I don't think I realized the item upgrade function was in there.
If I ever go back for a solo playthrough I'll be using it. Does it work on Unique items too?
The wish to be able to keep using cool unique items once I found them was the main reason to turn Sorcerous Sundries on, so yes it does work :) There are many different gift bags, some are just little quality of life improvements that should have been in the base game if you ask me, others really change the game balance. Saying gift bags are generally like cheating is nonsense. Before the next playthrough just check each giftbag and decide which you like, start a run, check them out in practice and if you don´t like one you just restart and turn it off. The item management improvement giftbag for example did not work for me at all while the giftbag that gives you a respec mirror in ACT 1 is mandatory for players learning the game so they can mess around and try different builds from the start imo.