Yeah I liked this game, but some of the writing was a little wonky.
Which if you can't tell, means that I finished the game. I'm not particularly happy... or unhappy about all the outcomes I ended up getting. Not to spoil anything, but while your choices definitely have agency, the choices seemed for the most part too complicated for me to really weigh them. Both in terms of not being sure as to what you are actually able to do and not knowing what the outcome will ultimately be when the dust settles.
This will vary wildly from player to player but I much prefer stories that do this as opposed to good option / evil canibal Satan option / token neutral option that doesn’t actually do anything. That said will have to wait till I play it to see if I actually like these choices in particular. The concept of trying to do the right things under semi real circumstance such as not being able to read the future greatly interest me.
PSA: if you plan to side with the Huana, you must first complete the quest Fruitful Alliance before going to Ashen Maw. It's bugged and you can't complete it if done in the wrong order.
I went straight from the starter ship to a junk and it was great. I went from being a scared little rabbit to destroying everything in one or two volleys.
StraightziHere we may reign secure, and in my choice,To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered Userregular
See I'd gotten really good at wrecking folks with the starter ship. Round of grapeshot or chain (depending on the ship I'm fighting), quick jibe, another round, repeat until they're dead in the water and then I can take my sweet time.
PSA: if you plan to side with the Huana, you must first complete the quest Fruitful Alliance before going to Ashen Maw. It's bugged and you can't complete it if done in the wrong order.
I actually ran into the same issue. You can get around it.
When you get back the queen will talk about all the Ashen Maw stuff and tell her you need a moment to consider. After that you can turn in that quest and it flows into the final quest for the faction.
I just board every time instead of doing ship combat
And by that I mean I enter ship combat and then do the full speed action till I can board. Pretty much never take damage
I hope they expand the ship combat. I'd love to have more piratey options like allowing them to surrender, flee (with the option to pursue based on my crew skills), give over their cargo, etc. I'd especially like to be able to free slaves from the slavers. I think there's a lot more variety and options that could be included into the system.
Phillishere on
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JacobkoshGamble a stamp.I can show you how to be a real man!Moderatormod
Has anyone figured out if boarding yields better rewards than sinking?
I've had a few glitches and I'd like the companion stories to be meatier, but the general plot I find fascinating. I find the whole interaction with the gods fascinating really.
I do struggle to tell Huana from Rautai though. At least at first. I think I get now that Huana are basically natives and Rautai are foreign invaders? But then there is also the two different shipping companies too.
I've had a few glitches and I'd like the companion stories to be meatier, but the general plot I find fascinating. I find the whole interaction with the gods fascinating really.
I do struggle to tell Huana from Rautai though. At least at first. I think I get now that Huana are basically natives and Rautai are foreign invaders? But then there is also the two different shipping companies too.
The Huana and Rautai used to be the same people, but a cataclysm messed up the Rautai homeland. The Rautai survived by developing modern infrastructure overseen by a military dictatorship, and now they are trying to conquer their former kinsmen in order to get more land for agriculture. There's a strain of moral imperative in their justifications - they are civilizing their kin while eradicating evils like slavery - but ultimately they are an authoritarian state looking for more land and resources.
The Valian Trading Company are exploiters, but they aren't really looking to take over. They are in it for the knowledge plundered from the islands' many ancient ruins and mining adra (which is basically rock made of human souls). They'll gladly push people off the land to exploit it, and they are more than willing to enter into fraudulent contracts to do so. They just aren't particularly interested in conquering for land like the Rautai.
The pirates are pirates. One side likes slavery. The other likes wanton mass murder.
It's okay, my old racist grandpa couldn't tell them apart either.
Yeah Huana are natives while Rautai are foreign imperialists. Both the Vailian Trading Company and Rautai are pretty much different flavors of the British East India Company. The Principi are pirates.
I wonder though, is a caste system wrong when reincarnation is a real thing? Assuming the whole placement into a caste based on past deeds is actually happening, and not just souls being randomly assigned.
Well no. There is a difference between a class system and a caste system.
But yes the Hauna are the only faction that doesn't have totally morally reprehensible goals.
The Hauana queen is also engaged in her own brand of colonialism. She's taking control of the other islands from their local Hauna leaders, using force and the assistance of the other powers when lesser means of coercion do not work. It is one of the reasons the chief on the starter island is building a partnership with the Valians - she is hoping they'll keep the queen from taking over.
I wonder though, is a caste system wrong when reincarnation is a real thing? Assuming the whole placement into a caste based on past deeds is actually happening, and not just souls being randomly assigned.
There are a bunch of times when you can learn that the Huana method not only doesn't actually work in the way they claim, but that it is gamed to make sure that the "right" people aren't declared unpersons. This is especially true in Neketaka, where the unpeople are shoved into slums, fed literal garbage, and are ruled with a heavy hand by brutal Haunan overseers.
The game doesn't go into it too much (to the point that it either feels like cut content or just hidden by branches I didn't discover), but there two-ish Huana factions - the independent leaders of the islands and the lands under control of the Neketaka monarchy.
I mean I don't recall ever seeing that ever happen in the game. There are even sidequests that suggest she's not doing that, and even her brasher brother makes it clear that while they are the most powerful group of huana, they don't actually have a right to speak for all of them. Even some of your party members comment on the how she's fairly non-authoritarian for an absolute monarch.
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JacobkoshGamble a stamp.I can show you how to be a real man!Moderatormod
prize-share is some straight-up hot bullshit and even huana who are super into taking care of their people kinda shrug at that particular segment of their people
now does that mean the huana deserve to be taken over? eh probably not
I don't think rauatai rule would be the end of the world for them. the rauatai aren't so much the east india company as, like, the mongols. they are definitely authoritarian, they are definitely conquerors, but they seem happy to integrate their subjects into their society and tolerate their beliefs and so forth as long as people build the highways and grow the crops and praise the ranga nui. like, I can't honestly say that I think there would be purges or ethnic pogroms or anything like that; there's no reason to suspect that the huana and their culture wouldn't survive despite losing autonomy. a consistent element of people you meet from rauatai, including non-aumana like orlans and dwarves, is that they seem pretty happy and feel taken care of. they just aren't free. is that a worthwhile tradeoff? fuck i don't know. sometimes singapore sounds pretty good compared to the US. and anyway, one's answer to the question could change if one lived in a fantasy world where the state's guns weren't just for use on other people but to fight off dragons and colossi and shit
when it comes down to a stark choice i will probably side with the huana because i find their basic motivation most sympathetic but my current playstyle right now is just to do what feels most humane and pacifistic in the moment (when the game affords me scope to pick those options, anyway) regardless of who it favors and this approach had led me on a pretty organic-feeling tour of the world and the factions
I mean I don't recall ever seeing that ever happen in the game. There are even sidequests that suggest she's not doing that, and even her brasher brother makes it clear that while they are the most powerful group of huana, they don't actually have a right to speak for all of them. Even some of your party members comment on the how she's fairly non-authoritarian for an absolute monarch.
Does it come up that she's secretly a cipher if you aren't one yourself? I know that my initial encounter, where I caught her trying to read my mind and influence my emotions, put my guard up against her.
prize-share is some straight-up hot bullshit and even huana who are super into taking care of their people kinda shrug at that particular segment of their people
now does that mean the huana deserve to be taken over? eh probably not
I don't think rauatai rule would be the end of the world for them. the rauatai aren't so much the east india company as, like, the mongols. they are definitely authoritarian, they are definitely conquerors, but they seem happy to integrate their subjects into their society and tolerate their beliefs and so forth as long as people build the highways and grow the crops and praise the ranga nui. like, I can't honestly say that I think there would be purges or ethnic pogroms or anything like that; there's no reason to suspect that the huana and their culture wouldn't survive despite losing autonomy. a consistent element of people you meet from rauatai, including non-aumana like orlans and dwarves, is that they seem pretty happy and feel taken care of. they just aren't free. is that a worthwhile tradeoff? fuck i don't know. sometimes singapore sounds pretty good compared to the US. and anyway, one's answer to the question could change if one lived in a fantasy world where the state's guns weren't just for use on other people but to fight off dragons and colossi and shit
when it comes down to a stark choice i will probably side with the huana because i find their basic motivation most sympathetic but my current playstyle right now is just to do what feels most humane and pacifistic in the moment (when the game affords me scope to pick those options, anyway) regardless of who it favors and this approach had led me on a pretty organic-feeling tour of the world and the factions
The two all-around decent leaders I ran into were the guy who ran the Gullet and the leader of the Dawnstars. I was glad to be able to put them together and was happy that the Gullet ended up being the nicest, safest place in the Deadfire when I was done.
I mean I don't recall ever seeing that ever happen in the game. There are even sidequests that suggest she's not doing that, and even her brasher brother makes it clear that while they are the most powerful group of huana, they don't actually have a right to speak for all of them. Even some of your party members comment on the how she's fairly non-authoritarian for an absolute monarch.
Does it come up that she's secretly a cipher if you aren't one yourself? I know that my initial encounter, where I caught her trying to read my mind and influence my emotions, put my guard up against her.
She's not secretly a cipher. That is literally her tribe's whole thing. Every person in the Deadfire knows she is a cipher.
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JacobkoshGamble a stamp.I can show you how to be a real man!Moderatormod
I mean I don't recall ever seeing that ever happen in the game. There are even sidequests that suggest she's not doing that, and even her brasher brother makes it clear that while they are the most powerful group of huana, they don't actually have a right to speak for all of them. Even some of your party members comment on the how she's fairly non-authoritarian for an absolute monarch.
Does it come up that she's secretly a cipher if you aren't one yourself? I know that my initial encounter, where I caught her trying to read my mind and influence my emotions, put my guard up against her.
When you show up and everyone else is arguing and not paying attention to you, she sends you a telepathic message that's like YO LOL I'M ABOUT TO MAKE YOU THE CENTER OF ATTENTION SORRY IN ADVANCE
I mean I don't recall ever seeing that ever happen in the game. There are even sidequests that suggest she's not doing that, and even her brasher brother makes it clear that while they are the most powerful group of huana, they don't actually have a right to speak for all of them. Even some of your party members comment on the how she's fairly non-authoritarian for an absolute monarch.
Does it come up that she's secretly a cipher if you aren't one yourself? I know that my initial encounter, where I caught her trying to read my mind and influence my emotions, put my guard up against her.
She's not secretly a cipher. That is literally her tribe's whole thing. Every person in the Deadfire knows she is a cipher.
I need to read up on that, since she seemed pretty surprised that I felt her powers and pushed back on them. I read it as they were a secret.
The stated reason for why her tribe in particular has gained a position of status in the Deadfire is that in comparison to most tribes, which base leadership on physical skills, her tribe has for many generations focused on promoting people who have psionic potential. It is pretty well known. She'd probably be really surprised by meeting a watcher who's psionic though, since even in her society they are still really rare.
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StraightziHere we may reign secure, and in my choice,To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered Userregular
Enjoyed it mostly. I did find the end game stuff between the different factions a bit abrupt. I finished the Sacred Stairs quest with the animancers, was told to go to Vailian HQ guy who directed me to his underling which turned into a meeting where I almost lost Maia. I ignored the rest after that and just went to find Ukaizo.
Despite going as far as I could with Maia her end game said that our relationship was left unfinished and we didn't have much time for each other?
I convinced Eothas to give his energy to Berath who maintained some semblance of order, and agreed that Kith would find a way forward on their own.
I'm sad there is no way to convince more of hte factions to come together like you can do with those warring families in Queen's berth. And maybe it's because I murdered all the slavers, but the pirate side of the campaign seemed pretty short.
I found the ship part kind of dull. And for some reason I installed a menagerie and a better captains quarters but this didn't seem to affect anything on the ship? I rarely had a reason to go down to the boat from the overmap anyway.
I still found some groups confusing, especially when you keep referring tot he Royal Deadfire Company who are also the Ruatai.
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BroloBroseidonLord of the BroceanRegistered Userregular
edited June 2018
So it looks like the beta patch came out, and everything is nerfed?
I beat the game two weeks ago, it was pretty good, although yeah that ending was kinda sudden and things felt unresolved.
BaidolI will hold him offEscape while you canRegistered Userregular
Minor spoilers involving an archmage's vault in Neketaka
When I got summoned back to make amends, I wore the archmage's robe. He commented on it, and I commented on how comfortable it was. We looked at each other for a bit, and then continued the conversation. It was pretty excellent.
I'm at the point where I'm cleaning up the last few side quests before potentially doing the end game stuff (I think). However, I'm hitting my "this game is really long" wall and having trouble ignoring the urge to start playing a different game.
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This will vary wildly from player to player but I much prefer stories that do this as opposed to good option / evil canibal Satan option / token neutral option that doesn’t actually do anything. That said will have to wait till I play it to see if I actually like these choices in particular. The concept of trying to do the right things under semi real circumstance such as not being able to read the future greatly interest me.
Steam: MightyPotatoKing
I actually ran into the same issue. You can get around it.
When you get back the queen will talk about all the Ashen Maw stuff and tell her you need a moment to consider. After that you can turn in that quest and it flows into the final quest for the faction.
Twitch (I stream most days of the week)
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And by that I mean I enter ship combat and then do the full speed action till I can board. Pretty much never take damage
I hope they expand the ship combat. I'd love to have more piratey options like allowing them to surrender, flee (with the option to pursue based on my crew skills), give over their cargo, etc. I'd especially like to be able to free slaves from the slavers. I think there's a lot more variety and options that could be included into the system.
And if you always board
You dont need the xp
Its a win win!
I do struggle to tell Huana from Rautai though. At least at first. I think I get now that Huana are basically natives and Rautai are foreign invaders? But then there is also the two different shipping companies too.
The Huana and Rautai used to be the same people, but a cataclysm messed up the Rautai homeland. The Rautai survived by developing modern infrastructure overseen by a military dictatorship, and now they are trying to conquer their former kinsmen in order to get more land for agriculture. There's a strain of moral imperative in their justifications - they are civilizing their kin while eradicating evils like slavery - but ultimately they are an authoritarian state looking for more land and resources.
The Valian Trading Company are exploiters, but they aren't really looking to take over. They are in it for the knowledge plundered from the islands' many ancient ruins and mining adra (which is basically rock made of human souls). They'll gladly push people off the land to exploit it, and they are more than willing to enter into fraudulent contracts to do so. They just aren't particularly interested in conquering for land like the Rautai.
The pirates are pirates. One side likes slavery. The other likes wanton mass murder.
Yeah Huana are natives while Rautai are foreign imperialists. Both the Vailian Trading Company and Rautai are pretty much different flavors of the British East India Company. The Principi are pirates.
Every other faction also has a caste system, they just don't call it such (nor feel any moral obligation to look after the lowest caste)
But yes the Hauna are the only faction that doesn't have totally morally reprehensible goals.
The Hauana queen is also engaged in her own brand of colonialism. She's taking control of the other islands from their local Hauna leaders, using force and the assistance of the other powers when lesser means of coercion do not work. It is one of the reasons the chief on the starter island is building a partnership with the Valians - she is hoping they'll keep the queen from taking over.
There are a bunch of times when you can learn that the Huana method not only doesn't actually work in the way they claim, but that it is gamed to make sure that the "right" people aren't declared unpersons. This is especially true in Neketaka, where the unpeople are shoved into slums, fed literal garbage, and are ruled with a heavy hand by brutal Haunan overseers.
The game doesn't go into it too much (to the point that it either feels like cut content or just hidden by branches I didn't discover), but there two-ish Huana factions - the independent leaders of the islands and the lands under control of the Neketaka monarchy.
now does that mean the huana deserve to be taken over? eh probably not
I don't think rauatai rule would be the end of the world for them. the rauatai aren't so much the east india company as, like, the mongols. they are definitely authoritarian, they are definitely conquerors, but they seem happy to integrate their subjects into their society and tolerate their beliefs and so forth as long as people build the highways and grow the crops and praise the ranga nui. like, I can't honestly say that I think there would be purges or ethnic pogroms or anything like that; there's no reason to suspect that the huana and their culture wouldn't survive despite losing autonomy. a consistent element of people you meet from rauatai, including non-aumana like orlans and dwarves, is that they seem pretty happy and feel taken care of. they just aren't free. is that a worthwhile tradeoff? fuck i don't know. sometimes singapore sounds pretty good compared to the US. and anyway, one's answer to the question could change if one lived in a fantasy world where the state's guns weren't just for use on other people but to fight off dragons and colossi and shit
when it comes down to a stark choice i will probably side with the huana because i find their basic motivation most sympathetic but my current playstyle right now is just to do what feels most humane and pacifistic in the moment (when the game affords me scope to pick those options, anyway) regardless of who it favors and this approach had led me on a pretty organic-feeling tour of the world and the factions
Does it come up that she's secretly a cipher if you aren't one yourself? I know that my initial encounter, where I caught her trying to read my mind and influence my emotions, put my guard up against her.
She's not secretly a cipher. That is literally her tribe's whole thing. Every person in the Deadfire knows she is a cipher.
When you show up and everyone else is arguing and not paying attention to you, she sends you a telepathic message that's like YO LOL I'M ABOUT TO MAKE YOU THE CENTER OF ATTENTION SORRY IN ADVANCE
I need to read up on that, since she seemed pretty surprised that I felt her powers and pushed back on them. I read it as they were a secret.
Despite going as far as I could with Maia her end game said that our relationship was left unfinished and we didn't have much time for each other?
I convinced Eothas to give his energy to Berath who maintained some semblance of order, and agreed that Kith would find a way forward on their own.
I'm sad there is no way to convince more of hte factions to come together like you can do with those warring families in Queen's berth. And maybe it's because I murdered all the slavers, but the pirate side of the campaign seemed pretty short.
I found the ship part kind of dull. And for some reason I installed a menagerie and a better captains quarters but this didn't seem to affect anything on the ship? I rarely had a reason to go down to the boat from the overmap anyway.
I still found some groups confusing, especially when you keep referring tot he Royal Deadfire Company who are also the Ruatai.
I beat the game two weeks ago, it was pretty good, although yeah that ending was kinda sudden and things felt unresolved.
Steam: MightyPotatoKing
Late game: