God I hope there’s a POE 3. It’s a good game series. On a side note I never had bug issues with POE 2 so I have no idea what you guys are talking about.
God I hope there’s a POE 3. It’s a good game series. On a side note I never had bug issues with POE 2 so I have no idea what you guys are talking about.
There weren't many showstoppers, IIRC, but there were some immediate ones. Like if you imported a save, you didn't get Vela nor the shattered pieces of the Endless Paths. Ironically, you could only get those if you created a new save. But it was really easy for people not to know this was a bug, because people just wouldn't know it was a thing they were supposed to have.
Oh, respecs were bugged. That was a big one. Respeccing the PC would remove all perks/abilities gained from non-leveling methods. Still, some people didn't notice that either; there were posts in the Obsidian forums from people who thought their Watcher powers had been "taken" from them at some point.
There were also a bunch of subtler item bugs I and others found, but those are really easy to miss. Most people wouldn't notice them unless they were scouring the combat logs and trying to min-max/figure out mechanics. Those probably didn't have a huge impact on sales though, but are fairly common for Obsidian games. Stuff like... special weapon effects only work for one combat or whatever.
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They got Inxile too? Nice.
Someone at Microsoft knows their stuff, these are good classic RPG studios.
Someone at Microsoft knows their stuff, these are good classic RPG studios.
Who did their good, creative work because a publisher wasn't calling their shots.
It's a nice financial net for them, but their design philosophy is absolutely going to change.
True but I doubt they would have signed on if they had a choice at this point. Don't think either Inxile or Obsidian's future as indepedent devs were looking too safe.
This definitely isn't what I would have wanted. I hate console exclusivity with a passion (don't even own a Xbone for that matter) but if this keeps on the lights for them, I'll bear it. I'd rather this than them disappear.
I imagine there will be more modern-style rpgs for them, but I can’t imagine they would buy inexile if they didn’t plan to do some old school stuff too.
I also feel like Pillars of Eternity ended in a pretty good place, if they did go back to the world I would honestly rather they not continue the watcher story but go somewhere else. Poe2 and Tyranny both have the issue that there are so many possible contigurations the world could be in at the end that it would be hard to do a direct sequel.
Avellone burned the bridge with Obsidian. He's been trashing Obsidian ever since he left.
Really? I missed this.
It's an ongoing thing, he literally tweeted publicly @ Phil Spencer to get rid of Obsidian management a week ago. He's....really open and public about how he left, what they tried to pull and how he didn't have a problem with any of the actual regular day to day staff like Sawyer etc.
Someone at Microsoft knows their stuff, these are good classic RPG studios.
Who did their good, creative work because a publisher wasn't calling their shots.
It's a nice financial net for them, but their design philosophy is absolutely going to change.
True but I doubt they would have signed on if they had a choice at this point. Don't think either Inxile or Obsidian's future as indepedent devs were looking too safe.
This definitely isn't what I would have wanted. I hate console exclusivity with a passion (don't even own a Xbone for that matter) but if this keeps on the lights for them, I'll bear it. I'd rather this than them disappear.
One thing they both have in common is that they have great design and writing staffs who have been constrained to the AA space due to budgets. MS money, talent, and infrastructure can do a lot to take care of the latter.
Someone at Microsoft knows their stuff, these are good classic RPG studios.
Who did their good, creative work because a publisher wasn't calling their shots.
It's a nice financial net for them, but their design philosophy is absolutely going to change.
True but I doubt they would have signed on if they had a choice at this point. Don't think either Inxile or Obsidian's future as indepedent devs were looking too safe.
This definitely isn't what I would have wanted. I hate console exclusivity with a passion (don't even own a Xbone for that matter) but if this keeps on the lights for them, I'll bear it. I'd rather this than them disappear.
One thing they both have in common is that they have great design and writing staffs who have been constrained to the AA space due to budgets. MS money, talent, and infrastructure can do a lot to take care of the latter.
Yeah, I feel like a lot of the problems with Tyranny and POE2 were time and money issues indirectly. Things like not being able to flesh out some alternate paths in Tyranny or that the sidekicks in POE2 couldn’t be fleshed out into something closer to full companions.
So I'm starting my first playthrough of PoE. It's my first game of this type. I chose a ranger with a Stag companion. Not going for anything ideal (playing on easy), but do ya'll have any tips or anything for a first timer? I'm down to watch vids, but like I said I'm not going for anything hardcore.
You should be fine, the main tip I would give is that if you run into something that seems absurdly hard (like say a bear or some drakes in what seems like an absurdly low level area, or a side quest boss fight that seems impossible, or some crazy murloc wannabes that murder you) just go do something else for a while, gain a few levels and come back. There are are few lowbie traps in the game that it doesn’t make clear are lowbie traps. Also if it asks you it you want to scale things up to your level say no unless you feel you really are crushing it and want more of a challenge. I felt some of the unscaled fights especially against the various dragons and whatnot were tough enough without scaling them up.
So I'm starting my first playthrough of PoE. It's my first game of this type. I chose a ranger with a Stag companion. Not going for anything ideal (playing on easy), but do ya'll have any tips or anything for a first timer? I'm down to watch vids, but like I said I'm not going for anything hardcore.
Ranger is very powerful if built the right way. If you have White March, I recommend building your character around the Stormcaller bow. (A unique bow that procs lightning storms per-hit.) Early on, take the rapid shot ability and focus on building your animal companion. They become absurdly powerful with the right combination of abilities. Later on, substitute the twin arrows ability and look for ways to increase your main character's damage. Emphasize Might, Perception, and Dexterity. You can drop Resolve down to the minimum value; you are most effective as a glass cannon.
EDIT: You can respec at taverns for a fee. Also make sure you pick up starting companions ASAP (Aloth outside the first tavern, Éder after you rest at the tavern and speak to the animancer, Durance by the statue on the road in Black Marsh, and Kana just outside Caed Nua when you first arrive.)
Gold initially will be very hard to come by, and then eventually you'll have so much you have no idea what to even do with it.
If you don't have White March expansion get it so you can transition smoothly into it (it takes place before final boss fight do if you beat the game and then get the expansion you'll have to dig up an older save or start over).
Thanks for all the tips! I do have the expansion so I will work towards the build you suggested and keep an eye out for companions.
I'm loving it so far. Just got to the first town, Gilded Vale I think it's called. I've always wanted to play a game like this and it's already living up to my expectations.
You should be fine, the main tip I would give is that if you run into something that seems absurdly hard (like say a bear or some drakes in what seems like an absurdly low level area, or a side quest boss fight that seems impossible, or some crazy murloc wannabes that murder you) just go do something else for a while, gain a few levels and come back. There are are few lowbie traps in the game that it doesn’t make clear are lowbie traps. Also if it asks you it you want to scale things up to your level say no unless you feel you really are crushing it and want more of a challenge. I felt some of the unscaled fights especially against the various dragons and whatnot were tough enough without scaling them up.
The main tip I have is that stats have diminishing returns and so optimization tends to follow balanced, rather than extreme stats.
In many DND games you have a very easy “maximize your damage and tank stats and dump everything else” dichotomy but this does not exist in PoE.
There are three damage stats(str, dex, perception) and if you want to maximize DPS only one of them can be ignored (but it cannot be dumped) because critical hits are additive rather than multiplicative. Perception (to-hit) is the odd one out.
So when you make a character and are thinking “I can dump that stat”... you probably shouldn’t unless you’re totally sure you’re not going to be attacked and the stat is endurance.
Unless you want a specific class hiring companions doesn’t really matter. Especially on easy. It used to be the case that there was no respec and so hired companions were generally “better” than not but this doesn’t matter anymore.
Skills are half half. Sometimes your companions can use their skills sometimes they cannot. I don’t think anything needs particularly high skills. Stealth is more a party decision. Survival (or endurance or whatever) is nice for everyone (up to the resting benefit they want) as is the one that increases second wind health.
Yeah hiring is essentially customizing a character from scratch like when you made your character, but they get 0 story or personality. All the people you run into that join you have actual personalities and things they'd like your help with, and interject opinions on what you are doing and saying.
So I'm starting my first playthrough of PoE. It's my first game of this type. I chose a ranger with a Stag companion. Not going for anything ideal (playing on easy), but do ya'll have any tips or anything for a first timer? I'm down to watch vids, but like I said I'm not going for anything hardcore.
If you want build advice, come ask! We're full of experience on builds. But also, you can just try whatever you want and then respec!
Itemization is actually pretty important in PoE. Read weapons, in particular, really carefully. Some of them are obscenely powerful, while others are much weaker than you might expect.
You want someone with high mechanics for traps and lockpicking. Just one. No need for more.
CAST YOUR SPELLS. There is little penalty for overcasting spells. Just gotta go back and rest, if even that.
Use slow mode! There's an option for auto-slow-mode in combat that's great, especially when coupled with...
Use stealth! Regularly using stealth on your whole party (while in fast-mode), and then tactically turning off stealth on your tanks is an easy way to get the enemies to focus your tanks at the start, which is a problem a lot of new PoE players have.
Look at the combat log! Look at enemy defenses! Many enemies in PoE have immunities to certain damage types and/or 1 really high defense. Know not to target those immunities/defenses. Hit their weaknesses.
So I'm starting my first playthrough of PoE. It's my first game of this type. I chose a ranger with a Stag companion. Not going for anything ideal (playing on easy), but do ya'll have any tips or anything for a first timer? I'm down to watch vids, but like I said I'm not going for anything hardcore.
Use slow mode! There's an option for auto-slow-mode in combat that's great, especially when coupled with...
Adding to this, fast mode is a godsend when you're backtracking through large maps. It's definitely a feature that more games of this type should have.
Just finished up my first dungeon I think. The temple in Gilded Vale.
What an absolute gem this game is. What is it about this game that makes it so...comfortable to play? I'm not even sure that's the correct word to use, but it just feels so good and enjoyable.
If you really like this, go ahead and get tyranny and deadfire and enjoy the next 150 hours of goodness. All 3 are very good in their own way. (Tyranny isn’t a pillars game technically but is the same makers on the same engine so feels very similar, just different in tone)
If you really like this, go ahead and get tyranny and deadfire and enjoy the next 150 hours of goodness. All 3 are very good in their own way. (Tyranny isn’t a pillars game technically but is the same makers on the same engine so feels very similar, just different in tone)
And keep an eye on Planescape: Torment, the Baldur's Gates, and Pathfinder: Kingmaker. There's a lot of fun to be had in the genre.
If you really like this, go ahead and get tyranny and deadfire and enjoy the next 150 hours of goodness. All 3 are very good in their own way. (Tyranny isn’t a pillars game technically but is the same makers on the same engine so feels very similar, just different in tone)
And keep an eye on Planescape: Torment, the Baldur's Gates, and Pathfinder: Kingmaker. There's a lot of fun to be had in the genre.
Right, I would add NWN2 and Dragon Age origins/awakening too. Icewind dale 1+2 are fun as well but they are more straight combat.
Edit: And maybe NWN1 and witcher 1 but they are more focused on a single pc as opposed to a party.
If you really like this, go ahead and get tyranny and deadfire and enjoy the next 150 hours of goodness. All 3 are very good in their own way. (Tyranny isn’t a pillars game technically but is the same makers on the same engine so feels very similar, just different in tone)
And keep an eye on Planescape: Torment, the Baldur's Gates, and Pathfinder: Kingmaker. There's a lot of fun to be had in the genre.
Right, I would add NWN2 and Dragon Age origins/awakening too. Icewind dale 1+2 are fun as well but they are more straight combat.
Edit: And maybe NWN1 and witcher 1 but they are more focused on a single pc as opposed to a party.
If you want to go all out, stick Fallout 1 and 2, Arcanum, and Temple of Elemental Evil on the list.
If you really like this, go ahead and get tyranny and deadfire and enjoy the next 150 hours of goodness. All 3 are very good in their own way. (Tyranny isn’t a pillars game technically but is the same makers on the same engine so feels very similar, just different in tone)
And keep an eye on Planescape: Torment, the Baldur's Gates, and Pathfinder: Kingmaker. There's a lot of fun to be had in the genre.
Right, I would add NWN2 and Dragon Age origins/awakening too. Icewind dale 1+2 are fun as well but they are more straight combat.
Edit: And maybe NWN1 and witcher 1 but they are more focused on a single pc as opposed to a party.
If you want to go all out, stick Fallout 1 and 2, Arcanum, and Temple of Elemental Evil on the list.
NWN1 and Witcher 1 are reeeal tough recommendations I think. They're members of well loved-franchises, but they were the weakest entries and significantly different from what came later.
If you really like this, go ahead and get tyranny and deadfire and enjoy the next 150 hours of goodness. All 3 are very good in their own way. (Tyranny isn’t a pillars game technically but is the same makers on the same engine so feels very similar, just different in tone)
And keep an eye on Planescape: Torment, the Baldur's Gates, and Pathfinder: Kingmaker. There's a lot of fun to be had in the genre.
Right, I would add NWN2 and Dragon Age origins/awakening too. Icewind dale 1+2 are fun as well but they are more straight combat.
Edit: And maybe NWN1 and witcher 1 but they are more focused on a single pc as opposed to a party.
If you want to go all out, stick Fallout 1 and 2, Arcanum, and Temple of Elemental Evil on the list.
NWN1 and Witcher 1 are reeeal tough recommendations I think. They're members of well loved-franchises, but they were the weakest entries and significantly different from what came later.
I enjoyed both when they came out, but that was a really long time ago, so they may not hold up as well from a point of view where things like Dragon Age Origins/NWN2/POE exist.
On the spectrum of infinity engine style real games they were both a big divergence from the usual, even though they were on the same engine as nwn2 and were by or had a lot of input from bioware.
If you really like this, go ahead and get tyranny and deadfire and enjoy the next 150 hours of goodness. All 3 are very good in their own way. (Tyranny isn’t a pillars game technically but is the same makers on the same engine so feels very similar, just different in tone)
And keep an eye on Planescape: Torment, the Baldur's Gates, and Pathfinder: Kingmaker. There's a lot of fun to be had in the genre.
Right, I would add NWN2 and Dragon Age origins/awakening too. Icewind dale 1+2 are fun as well but they are more straight combat.
Edit: And maybe NWN1 and witcher 1 but they are more focused on a single pc as opposed to a party.
If you want to go all out, stick Fallout 1 and 2, Arcanum, and Temple of Elemental Evil on the list.
NWN1 and Witcher 1 are reeeal tough recommendations I think. They're members of well loved-franchises, but they were the weakest entries and significantly different from what came later.
I enjoyed both when they came out, but that was a really long time ago, so they may not hold up as well from a point of view where things like Dragon Age Origins/NWN2/POE exist.
On the spectrum of infinity engine style real games they were both a big divergence from the usual, even though they were on the same engine as nwn2 and were by or had a lot of input from bioware.
A few years ago, I skipped right to Witcher 2, because I'd seen Witcher 1 on stream and the gameplay wasn't what I would have liked. But even then, it's REALLY hard to deny that Witcher 3 was a runaway pinnacle for that franchise. Witcher 2 was good. Witcher 3 was mindblowing.
I played NWN1 when it came out, and I thought it was awwwful. The single-player aspect was a huge step back from the IE games (and caused major balance issues), it was buggy, and sluggish like all hell on the computers of those days. And all we got in exchange was a really awfully paced story, not very interesting environments, and Jesus Christ, Aribeth has to be one of the worst written major female characters ever. Just uggh. I heard it got a LOT better with the expansions though, but I had quit on the game well before then.
NWN2 was... slow... then awesome... then slow again. A solid, generic RPG plot. Nothing too much stood out as exceptional to me, except that one party member you all know who I'm talking about... but then, jesus, Mask of the Betrayer was amazing.
If you really like this, go ahead and get tyranny and deadfire and enjoy the next 150 hours of goodness. All 3 are very good in their own way. (Tyranny isn’t a pillars game technically but is the same makers on the same engine so feels very similar, just different in tone)
And keep an eye on Planescape: Torment, the Baldur's Gates, and Pathfinder: Kingmaker. There's a lot of fun to be had in the genre.
Right, I would add NWN2 and Dragon Age origins/awakening too. Icewind dale 1+2 are fun as well but they are more straight combat.
Edit: And maybe NWN1 and witcher 1 but they are more focused on a single pc as opposed to a party.
If you want to go all out, stick Fallout 1 and 2, Arcanum, and Temple of Elemental Evil on the list.
NWN1 and Witcher 1 are reeeal tough recommendations I think. They're members of well loved-franchises, but they were the weakest entries and significantly different from what came later.
I enjoyed both when they came out, but that was a really long time ago, so they may not hold up as well from a point of view where things like Dragon Age Origins/NWN2/POE exist.
On the spectrum of infinity engine style real games they were both a big divergence from the usual, even though they were on the same engine as nwn2 and were by or had a lot of input from bioware.
A few years ago, I skipped right to Witcher 2, because I'd seen Witcher 1 on stream and the gameplay wasn't what I would have liked. But even then, it's REALLY hard to deny that Witcher 3 was a runaway pinnacle for that franchise. Witcher 2 was good. Witcher 3 was mindblowing.
I played NWN1 when it came out, and I thought it was awwwful. The single-player aspect was a huge step back from the IE games (and caused major balance issues), it was buggy, and sluggish like all hell on those the computers of those days. And all we got in exchange was a really awfully paced story, not very interesting environments, and Jesus Christ, Aribeth has to be one of the worst written major female characters ever. Just uggh. I heard it got a LOT better with the expansions though, but I had quit on the game well before then.
NWN2 was... slow... then awesome... then slow again. A solid, generic RPG plot. Nothing too much stood out as exceptional to me, except that one party member you all know who I'm talking about... but then, jesus, Mask of the Betrayer was amazing.
I don’t think I ever even finished the nwn1 main plot, the OC was bad, but the expansion campaigns were much better. Still not up there with Mask of the Betrayer though.
So many game recommendations! I do own Tyranny (gift) and Planescape. I guess the question will be: after I beat PoE, do I immediately play the sequel or play one of those two?
Granted, that's not a question that needs answering for a long, long time. I have a feeling this game is gonna take me awhile.
So many game recommendations! I do own Tyranny (gift) and Planescape. I guess the question will be: after I beat PoE, do I immediately play the sequel or play one of those two?
Granted, that's not a question that needs answering for a long, long time. I have a feeling this game is gonna take me awhile.
May as well do the sequel since it imports the data in so it's like continuing the story.
So many game recommendations! I do own Tyranny (gift) and Planescape. I guess the question will be: after I beat PoE, do I immediately play the sequel or play one of those two?
Granted, that's not a question that needs answering for a long, long time. I have a feeling this game is gonna take me awhile.
Depends on if you're burned out on it or not. PoE2's story extends pretty directly from PoE1's. It takes off in another direction, shedding a lot of the old story - so don't feel compelled to play it, because it is very much a separate story - but if you really dig PoE1's story, you might want to pursue it.
The other thing is that, we're mentioning all these other games, but they are all mechanically quite different, and the balance of their attributes is different too. Planescape is great, but it's a very different game, and you might hate Planescape despite liking Pillars. (It's also an older game and its design is much dumber, despite it being remade.)
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It’s amazing how many bridges can be rebuilt if there’s enough cash involved though.
I only hope that now that they got that Microsoft money, they can go as big as they always wanted to with whatever comes next.
Really? I missed this.
This might be their way of saying that Obsidian and Inxile will remain independent of each other, and will not merge, despite their common history.
There weren't many showstoppers, IIRC, but there were some immediate ones. Like if you imported a save, you didn't get Vela nor the shattered pieces of the Endless Paths. Ironically, you could only get those if you created a new save. But it was really easy for people not to know this was a bug, because people just wouldn't know it was a thing they were supposed to have.
Oh, respecs were bugged. That was a big one. Respeccing the PC would remove all perks/abilities gained from non-leveling methods. Still, some people didn't notice that either; there were posts in the Obsidian forums from people who thought their Watcher powers had been "taken" from them at some point.
There were also a bunch of subtler item bugs I and others found, but those are really easy to miss. Most people wouldn't notice them unless they were scouring the combat logs and trying to min-max/figure out mechanics. Those probably didn't have a huge impact on sales though, but are fairly common for Obsidian games. Stuff like... special weapon effects only work for one combat or whatever.
Someone at Microsoft knows their stuff, these are good classic RPG studios.
Who did their good, creative work because a publisher wasn't calling their shots.
It's a nice financial net for them, but their design philosophy is absolutely going to change.
This definitely isn't what I would have wanted. I hate console exclusivity with a passion (don't even own a Xbone for that matter) but if this keeps on the lights for them, I'll bear it. I'd rather this than them disappear.
I also feel like Pillars of Eternity ended in a pretty good place, if they did go back to the world I would honestly rather they not continue the watcher story but go somewhere else. Poe2 and Tyranny both have the issue that there are so many possible contigurations the world could be in at the end that it would be hard to do a direct sequel.
It's an ongoing thing, he literally tweeted publicly @ Phil Spencer to get rid of Obsidian management a week ago. He's....really open and public about how he left, what they tried to pull and how he didn't have a problem with any of the actual regular day to day staff like Sawyer etc.
One thing they both have in common is that they have great design and writing staffs who have been constrained to the AA space due to budgets. MS money, talent, and infrastructure can do a lot to take care of the latter.
Yeah, I feel like a lot of the problems with Tyranny and POE2 were time and money issues indirectly. Things like not being able to flesh out some alternate paths in Tyranny or that the sidekicks in POE2 couldn’t be fleshed out into something closer to full companions.
Ranger is very powerful if built the right way. If you have White March, I recommend building your character around the Stormcaller bow. (A unique bow that procs lightning storms per-hit.) Early on, take the rapid shot ability and focus on building your animal companion. They become absurdly powerful with the right combination of abilities. Later on, substitute the twin arrows ability and look for ways to increase your main character's damage. Emphasize Might, Perception, and Dexterity. You can drop Resolve down to the minimum value; you are most effective as a glass cannon.
EDIT: You can respec at taverns for a fee. Also make sure you pick up starting companions ASAP (Aloth outside the first tavern, Éder after you rest at the tavern and speak to the animancer, Durance by the statue on the road in Black Marsh, and Kana just outside Caed Nua when you first arrive.)
If you don't have White March expansion get it so you can transition smoothly into it (it takes place before final boss fight do if you beat the game and then get the expansion you'll have to dig up an older save or start over).
I'm loving it so far. Just got to the first town, Gilded Vale I think it's called. I've always wanted to play a game like this and it's already living up to my expectations.
@Jealous Deva
The main tip I have is that stats have diminishing returns and so optimization tends to follow balanced, rather than extreme stats.
In many DND games you have a very easy “maximize your damage and tank stats and dump everything else” dichotomy but this does not exist in PoE.
There are three damage stats(str, dex, perception) and if you want to maximize DPS only one of them can be ignored (but it cannot be dumped) because critical hits are additive rather than multiplicative. Perception (to-hit) is the odd one out.
So when you make a character and are thinking “I can dump that stat”... you probably shouldn’t unless you’re totally sure you’re not going to be attacked and the stat is endurance.
I noticed at the inn I can hire party members. Is that with doing or should I just pick up whoever the game gives me?
When putting points in Skills, what’s the best thing to focus on? Donmy companions skills count for dialogue options (like lore options)?
Thanks for the help all.
Skills are half half. Sometimes your companions can use their skills sometimes they cannot. I don’t think anything needs particularly high skills. Stealth is more a party decision. Survival (or endurance or whatever) is nice for everyone (up to the resting benefit they want) as is the one that increases second wind health.
Athletics to 4 for everyone is also nice
If you want build advice, come ask! We're full of experience on builds. But also, you can just try whatever you want and then respec!
Itemization is actually pretty important in PoE. Read weapons, in particular, really carefully. Some of them are obscenely powerful, while others are much weaker than you might expect.
You want someone with high mechanics for traps and lockpicking. Just one. No need for more.
CAST YOUR SPELLS. There is little penalty for overcasting spells. Just gotta go back and rest, if even that.
Use slow mode! There's an option for auto-slow-mode in combat that's great, especially when coupled with...
Use stealth! Regularly using stealth on your whole party (while in fast-mode), and then tactically turning off stealth on your tanks is an easy way to get the enemies to focus your tanks at the start, which is a problem a lot of new PoE players have.
Look at the combat log! Look at enemy defenses! Many enemies in PoE have immunities to certain damage types and/or 1 really high defense. Know not to target those immunities/defenses. Hit their weaknesses.
Just landed my first two companions and I'm exploring the destroyed church in Gilded Vale right now.
Adding to this, fast mode is a godsend when you're backtracking through large maps. It's definitely a feature that more games of this type should have.
What an absolute gem this game is. What is it about this game that makes it so...comfortable to play? I'm not even sure that's the correct word to use, but it just feels so good and enjoyable.
And keep an eye on Planescape: Torment, the Baldur's Gates, and Pathfinder: Kingmaker. There's a lot of fun to be had in the genre.
Right, I would add NWN2 and Dragon Age origins/awakening too. Icewind dale 1+2 are fun as well but they are more straight combat.
Edit: And maybe NWN1 and witcher 1 but they are more focused on a single pc as opposed to a party.
If you want to go all out, stick Fallout 1 and 2, Arcanum, and Temple of Elemental Evil on the list.
NWN1 and Witcher 1 are reeeal tough recommendations I think. They're members of well loved-franchises, but they were the weakest entries and significantly different from what came later.
I enjoyed both when they came out, but that was a really long time ago, so they may not hold up as well from a point of view where things like Dragon Age Origins/NWN2/POE exist.
On the spectrum of infinity engine style real games they were both a big divergence from the usual, even though they were on the same engine as nwn2 and were by or had a lot of input from bioware.
A few years ago, I skipped right to Witcher 2, because I'd seen Witcher 1 on stream and the gameplay wasn't what I would have liked. But even then, it's REALLY hard to deny that Witcher 3 was a runaway pinnacle for that franchise. Witcher 2 was good. Witcher 3 was mindblowing.
I played NWN1 when it came out, and I thought it was awwwful. The single-player aspect was a huge step back from the IE games (and caused major balance issues), it was buggy, and sluggish like all hell on the computers of those days. And all we got in exchange was a really awfully paced story, not very interesting environments, and Jesus Christ, Aribeth has to be one of the worst written major female characters ever. Just uggh. I heard it got a LOT better with the expansions though, but I had quit on the game well before then.
NWN2 was... slow... then awesome... then slow again. A solid, generic RPG plot. Nothing too much stood out as exceptional to me, except that one party member you all know who I'm talking about... but then, jesus, Mask of the Betrayer was amazing.
I don’t think I ever even finished the nwn1 main plot, the OC was bad, but the expansion campaigns were much better. Still not up there with Mask of the Betrayer though.
Granted, that's not a question that needs answering for a long, long time. I have a feeling this game is gonna take me awhile.
May as well do the sequel since it imports the data in so it's like continuing the story.
Depends on if you're burned out on it or not. PoE2's story extends pretty directly from PoE1's. It takes off in another direction, shedding a lot of the old story - so don't feel compelled to play it, because it is very much a separate story - but if you really dig PoE1's story, you might want to pursue it.
The other thing is that, we're mentioning all these other games, but they are all mechanically quite different, and the balance of their attributes is different too. Planescape is great, but it's a very different game, and you might hate Planescape despite liking Pillars. (It's also an older game and its design is much dumber, despite it being remade.)