Where do I get started with PC RPGs? Never played any before.

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if you give a shit at all about RPGs you'll play BG2. Everything will fall into place even if it's trial by fire.

>>322859995
Should I not play BG1 first? They're story-related, right?

>>322859720
start older because newer games are made with dumbies in mind so it will be harder to go back

id rec planescape and arcanum

>>322859720
Just play Pillars of Eternity. It's like the BG games, but far more playable by modern standards. This is coming from someone who played BG when it was new, and the abysmal enhanced editions.

>>322860058
BG1 honestly is not that good and all the important shit is explained at the start of 2

>>322859720
start off with a more modern wrpg like neverwinter nights, pillars of eternity, then when you understand how it works go on to arcanum, planescape ,baldurs gate

otherwise it will be boring and confusing

>>322860925
>neverwinter nights
>modern
When was the last time you played that game? It hasn't aged well.

>>322860992
NWN2 is pretty modern

>>322860992
1 month ago, HotU is pretty good

>>322859995
I would play BG2 if it let me take my character to play with other people.

All I want is a game like it where I can queue up and do dungeons with people.

>>322861319
I'm not saying the game wasn't good. I'm saying for someone who has never played A CRPG before there are better modern examples.

Baldur's Gate 2 is the best crpgs have to offer desu, no need to look elsewhere. Skip the first game, I liked it when I played it as a kid but it's dated. plus it's low level stuff, and much less varied than the second.

Divinity Original Sin and Dragon Age Origins are actually perfect places to start, then you can move on to older games like Baldur's Gate, and also Fallout

If you're not playing the older games then there's no point. There haven't been any good cRPGs released in the past decade.

>>322859720
>Dragon Age: Origins?
Actually not a bad choice, you'll have to ignore that it's a part of a franchise though.

Also, Baldur's Gate is not older stuff, it's more like the start of the newer stuff.

>>322867583
>you'll have to ignore that it's a part of a franchise though.
Are the other games not good?

>>322860058
BG1 is great to start that feeling of adventure, it just start kind of hard if you try to play as a magician, you should play it with the tutu mod, it update the game with bg2 stuff, mostly do that for the race/classes so that you can use your bg1 save to bg2.

it's not BAD in any means, i played bg1 maybe a decade ago and i really loved the adventure aspect of this game, bg2 got you more into the plot, making you fight even more than usual with more straightforward map.

>>322870472
Not that anon, but they have been made in more recent times, after Bioware was bought by EA, so they feel different from the first game. You may enjoy them all the same though - I did, it was just a different experience from Dragon Age: Origins.

>>322859720

go older than that even mate. what about darklands, ultima, wizardry, everquest?

>>322859720
Classifying a game as an RPG would require we properly identify what they are, which unique conditions should be reached for a game to be classified as such.

Not even RPGCodex (/rpg/ incarnate) can properly define it.

>>322866208

Shadowrun, Underrail, Age of Decadence, NWN2, to name a few.

whats it like being a gigantic pleb?

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best intro to dungeon crawlers coming through

>>322859720
>Where do I get started with PC RPGs? Never played any before.
CRPG is a catchall phrase that doesn't really mean much once you get into the genre because people umbrella so many games under it just for classification's sake.

>>322862690
To be fair DOS is really not like those old CRPGs because it didn't try to be that in the first place. It's a good game, but hardly a representative of anything.

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>>322875186
it's like you want him to hate the genre. just put serpent in the staglands there and call it a day.

>>322875538
Ahahaha no.

>>322875831
for someone who would have never played one it is
>muh turn based combat

>>322875538
It was hilarious to listen to complaints.

>muh puzzles
>muh dungeon crawling
>muh story

Yeah, that's what RPGs used to be like pre-Infinity Engine games.

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>>322859720
Gothic, Planescape, Baldur's Gate 2. You can play 1 after that, once you get used to the mechanics. Neverwinter Nights, both games and all expansions. After that you might actually develop some taste and begin delving into more obscure shit like Lionheart or Siege of Avalon.

>>322875997
>Lionheart

Fuck no. That's a bad game that tarnished Black Isle's good name and record up to that point.

>>322875887
Best intro would be Might and Magic VIII: Day of Destroyer. It's simple, turn based option is there but completely unneeded, someone who knows jack shit about anything can easily get into it and beat it.

>>322876139
It had a certain charm to it, I don't have many fond memories of it myself, other than Leonardo being a total bro. That and I always liked the alternate history scenarios.

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>dat feel when otherwise an amazing game ruined by level scaling

Fucking Wizardry 8, man. That party creation is great and it surprises me no one copied it to any real extent.

>yeah, we could write all these companions for you
>or we could let you create an entire party AND assign personalities/voices to them, based on which they will play off of each other

>>322875971
yeah it's a good remake type thing of dungeon master older games were a bit different though
>>322876230
M&M6 and wizardry 8 are also good they explain stuff fairly well

>>322876412
>I measure our progress in bodies!
>My ailment has abated.
>Doom lurks all around us

>>322876412
I wouldn't say ruined, but it's the opposite problem of what Oblivion has. Basically level scaling will bitch slap you instead of making everything piss easy.

>>322875656
D:OS is more like ToEE than anything else.

>>322876595
That is what oblivions problem was as well. That's what level scaling is. It doesn't make things easier, it makes everything harder as you level up

BG1 is OK. It gives you a sense of adventure but it's kind of samey until you get to Baldur's Gate. It's also fairly difficult since you start at level 1. BG2 is great though.
Planescape has great writing, atmosphere, music, art direction, characters. Basically everything is fantastic except for the combat. It's not as involved as BG2 but imo the rest of the game will make you put up with it.
FO1 and 2 are really good but it's easy to fuck up your build and combat is hard unless you cheese it. Well worth it, but you might want to read up a bit on the mechanics before you play.
Arcanum is a rough gem and really wonky but really good when you get into it. Get the unofficial patch.

BG1 is great, just because it isn't all fucking planescapey like BG2 doesn't mean that it's bad.

>>322878018

I just got tired of fighting kobolds and gnolls all the time. I think BG1 picks up after you get to Baldur's Gate. The wilderness is neat in its own way and it's something I miss in BG2 but it does get pretty repetitive.

>>322878394
It's a nice adventure, I don't mind forests at all, I was getting burned out by the time I got to Baldur's Gate and that part felt too much so I took a 2 week brake, but really only because of Durlag's Tower the game should be played

>>322860058

BG2 follows BG1 chronologically, but the story is not related. Even importing your character from bg1 is pointless, since bg2 introduced a number of options not available in bg1, like subclasses.

I recommend:
BG1/BG2
IWD1/IWD2
Planescape: Torment
Fallout and Fallout 2
Dragon Age: Origins

>>322879741
How are the stories not related?

>>322859720
Baldur's Gate will probably irritate you. Low-level AD&D isn't much fun, especially as a spellcaster. I don't know if you're familiar with D&D's magic system, but it's completely different from every other magic system out there. That's not a compliment.

I recommend Neverwinter Nights. It has a better system, with more options and classes. It also has a tremendous amount of fan-made modules that are better than the official ones. It's also cheap on GOG.

>>322880207
More on NWN: It does still use the D&D magic system, but I find that playing a sorcerer instead of a wizard makes it tolerable. Not ideal, but tolerable.

>>322880207
fuck you asshole dnd has the best spell casting system. modern games all the spells are boring as shit throw some fireball it does 20 damage type garbage. fuck you i am going to make a clone of myself and control myself and the clone and we are going to destroy your mind if you fail this save so you become a retard and stand there not fighting back as we kill you slowly with our quarterstaves

>>322859720
>Should I start with some of the older stuff, like Baldur's Gate? Or something newer, like Divinity: OS or Dragon Age: Origins?
It depends on what you're looking for.

PC RPGs are actually very diverse and they can differ quite significantly in terms of gameplay.

Baldur's Gate is rather combat centric and uses a peculiar combat system which not everyone may like, and which definitely takes a bit of time to get used to. Not to mention that the game can be rather unforgiving at the beginning and only "normalises" at the time when you get access to level 3 spells.

Other RPGs such as Torment for example are rather dialogue-heavy and involve a lot of talking to people in interactive dialogue which determines the personality of your character as well as more traditional adventure game elements.

Then you have games like the Elder Scrolls or Gothic series which are more open world and exploration rather than role playing oriented.

Not to mention FPS/RPG hybrids, such as Deus Ex or Vampire - The Masquerade: Bloodlines, the latter also involving a lot of dialogue.

It's hard to give a recommendation where to start due to the games being significantly different from another.

>>322859720
Answer the following questions, OP.

Do you want the game to involve a sizeable amount of combat or are you more into dialogue and adventure gaming?

Do you want combat to be tactical and turn-based, tactical and real time or action based?

Do you want a party or would you prefer to run around with a single character?

Do you want the game to be more story focussed or more non-linear and open-world?

>>322881106
But why bother with all that roundabout shit when you could just throw a fireball and kill lots of people at once?

I just like playing a direct damage spellcaster, and D&D's magic system kind of hinders that playstyle.

>>322882153
>I just like playing a direct damage spellcaster, and D&D's magic system kind of hinders that playstyle.
Not at all. You just need to use your spells wisely, rely on scrolls and wands, etc.

Not to mention that in Baldur's Gate 2 you have a fuckload of spells as a high level caster. Especially if you use spells like project image you can literally run around and nuke everything with time stops and horrid wiltings like there's no tomorrow.

>>322882353
Maybe so, but "spells per day" just feels awkward and wrong to me. Something about it just gets to me on some basic level.

>>322881106
You just explained why D&D has the worst spellcasting system.

>>322883512
I really dislike it when mages are reduced to human artillery. Magic should be decisively strong, but it shouldn't become all too commonplace. In most mana or endurance based systems magic is usually just another type of ranged attack which is launched over and over at the enemy until he's dead. The spells per day system makes the player reconsider whether it's the right time to unleash his most deadly spells.

>>322880095
I agree everything except with anomen and keldorn.
Keldorn should be high tier and anomen middle.
Once youve done his paladin quest (or something like that, was years ago) hes quite usefull. But still erased by keldorn.
Viconica middle tier too.

I would install the big world mod and go in from release order

>>322883512
I find it rather refreshing.
If youre out of spells you can sleep anyway.
Sleeping doesnt affect gameplay (but I believe there were some time limited side quests)

>>322860058
Bg2 is Bleach and Bg1 is Cowboy Bebop.
If you want to feel very flashy and be powerful go for bg2, but if you want to start with a more grounded story go for bg1.
Either way skip EE.

>>322859720
If you start with Baldur's Gate you'll never be able to enjoy modern video games. Spare yourself that pain.

Or don't, I dunno.

>>322882153
what? maybe early in the game but the fireball spell and others are highly destructive
the only thing you have to take care of is that you don't fucking eradicate your whole party.

man that fucking lighting bolt can go horribly wrong

>>322883771
I get what you're saying, but what if I want to be human artillery? That should at least be an option.

>>322884219
play a sorcerer they have more spells

>>322884219
>>322884285
or diablo/wow for that matter, maybe it is not your type of game

>>322884030
Having to sleep all the time is part of what makes it feel awkward.

>>322881932
Not OP but just to see what you say.

A little more to the combat slide

Tactical Turn based

Group

Non linear Open world

>>322884373
>he doesn't have simulacrums / project images cast wish over and over until full rest for non stop murder

>>322884219
>That should at least be an option.
Not if magic doesn't work like that in the setting.

In AD&D magic is powerful and can make or break a fight. It's to be used in a more considerate fashion rather than spamming the same spell over and over at your enemies.

>>322884285
I do. It does help. I also like their fluff better, and using Charisma for spellcasting means I can boost my persuasion skill too. Not a perfect solution, but better than wizards for sure.

>>322884552
charisma is a pointless stat except to get cheaper shop prices.

>>322884373
ok I have to agree with that, if time actually matered anything for the most part of the game it would be much better

>>322884085
So BG2 is trash for teenager weeaboos and Bg1 is a decent if overrated but also comfy series?

>>322884520
I just don't see why having more options is bad. Just let me choose between world-changing magic and blasting magic. That's all I'm asking.

>>322884614
what?
this is not fallout 4

>>322884717
>So BG2 is trash for teenager weeaboos
I wouldn't go this far, but it's definitely inferior to BG1.

>>322884480
>A little more to the combat slide
>
>Tactical Turn based
>
>Group
>
>Non linear Open world
Mostly older games come to mind here. Realms of Arkania, Dark Sun, Ultima series, etc.

>>322884085
>Bg2 is Bleach and Bg1 is Cowboy Bebop
this is the dumbest analogy I've heard in a while
basically bg1 is fairly boring, and you aren't missing much at all by going straight to bg2 which is actually a fun game. the story isn't very complicated at all

>>322884724
It's bad because it devalues the whole thing. Not to mention: as a high level mage you can spam magic missiles at everyone.

In the D&D 3.5 games you have Warlocks which essentially do that sort of thing.

>>322884994
>It's bad because it devalues the whole thing.

Well, I just don't see it that way. Not much point in arguing further, because this is really just a matter of personal preference.

>>322884876

Thanks, Ill have a look at them

OK, heres one for you all.

I am trying to remember a RPG from around 99-01 ish

Oriental theme,
start with 2 members (from memory) and gather more as you go, an Archer a warrior and a mage are some of the characters

Setting is running through building levels clearing the floors and going up

Skeleton warriors as enemies

Be fucked if I can remember the name, and I cant find it (im still searching right now though)

>>322859720
BG1 is good for beginners because it won't overwhelm you (you start at lvl 1), but it can be rather tough at the start if you don't know anything about D&D.
BG2 is much better if you know what you're doing and then the better overall experience.

>>322884762
All Charisma does in BG is shop prices and NPC reactions and npc reactions barely matter at all and you get the 18 charisma ring as soon as you get out of Irenicus Dungeon so dump that stat hard.

>>322859720
Just play Arcanum, senpai. It's impossible not to get into it from my experience.

>>322885415
It's much more useful in NWN. Lots of persuade checks.

>>322885252
The only major RPG I know of with an Oriental theme is Jade Empire.

>>322885415
I am rather sure that you can't learn spells without natural charisma with a sorcerer

>>322859720
The Witcher 3
Arcanum

that's all. everthing else is shit.

>>322885635
In baldurs gate? you absolutely can. Sorcerers have no main stat in BG. They have absolutely nothing tied to ability score.

>>322883771
>I really dislike it when mages are reduced to human artillery.
That's hilarious because that was the Wizard's original role in Chainmail and it stayed viable as an option until D&D 3E functionally destroyed blasting by making the same spells compete against monsters with twice to three times as much HP.

>>322885415
Isn't charisma needed for the leader of the group in BG (top character portrait)? I think there was some shit about moral that having a low cha leader would do.

>>322885706
well shit on me, you are right. I have never played sorcerer in bg, but that is ridiculous

>>322885979
It is, but you get a ring which gives you 18 cha.

>>322875538
I wish it was turn based and not a dancing simulator

>>322884480
jagged allience 2

>>322885252

Dungeon Siege?

>>322875186
Not him but
>Shadowrun
the first two are total shit only the third one is passable

>Underrail
a game that looks, feels and plays like garbage, it's a combat-centred game where the combat isn't even that good. stop shilling this fucking trash.

>Age of Decadence
very good

>NWN2
really good too

>>322878394
Boo likes the forest.

>>322887409
>the first two are total shit only the third one is passable
Hong Kong's good

For someone who has never played Baldur's Gate should I go with the original ones or with enhanced versions?

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>>322885252
Throne of darkness.

>>322887684
Enhanced without question. The older games have more modding potential but the EE takes a lot less work to have in a good state right away. Also most of the mods that only work with the original version are garbage.

>>322887684
I played EEs and there's nothing wrong with it.

>>322887772
not that guy but those portraits triggered some serious nostalgia even though I fucking hated the game

>>322887838
Alternatively, there's also a remake of the original Baldur's Gate for Neverwinter Nights 2.

>>322887772
But it's just Diablo for weebs.

>>322887684
As someone who's playing BG2:EE as his first ever BG game, I'd say go with the original. Some of the new characters, quests and dialog are just awful. What's worse is they try to shoehorn the new characters into the main quest and it breaks immersion at times.

What's worst of all though is the protagonist's dialog in these new encounters. Every single dialog option is either sarcastic or snarky. I haven't even played the original BG2 but it is BLATANTLY obvious what parts of BG2:EE are new and what parts are original.

>>322887990
Yes, and?

>>322888042
So enhanced version adds also additional content? I thought it was only for graphics/compatibility

>>322887684
Original.
EE is fanfiction and you'll come across characters that do not belong in the story if you play EE.

If you really want kit classes from bg2 in bg1, then go with the bg1tutu mod.
Makes a game throughout the series smoother, but I prefer bg1 as a simpler story without half-orc or the kitclasses.

>>322859720
If you like scifi, I'd say start with fallout I + II and then move to the modern ones. If I + II are boring for you then start newer and work backwards.

>>322880095
Minsc God Tier? Why?

>>322888302
what the fuck is a kitclass
fucking p&p rules

The Baldur's Gate games are overrated as fuck. The Icewind Dale ones are better.

>>322875997
Why would you suggest playing BG2 before BG1? BG1 is way easier and less overwhelming if you are not familiar with AD&D.

>>322887684
EE

No reason to play vanilla version anymore.

>>322888254
No, they just made up some shit in the EE

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The best way to get into cRPGs is to start playing any game in this list
Completely disregard tiers, just play them all

>>322884804
Big disclaimer, this opinion is WILDLY different from 99% of people on here, and should be taken with a pitcher of salt.

>>322888254
It adds new characters and those characters have related quests. As another anon pointed out, it feels like fan fiction. I didn't even know that the new characters were added by the EE until I noticed a huge tone inconsistency between interactions with these characters over the original characters. The dialog options were also a big give away.

Regardless, it is possible to avoid these new characters if you want in the EE. I suggest you do for your first playthrough. Don't make the same mistake I did, 100 hours in and invested in these shitty new characters.

>>322888519
subclasses.

Thief Kit Classes: Assassin, Swashbuckler, Bounty Hunter

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>>322888689
>BG2
>God tier
good joke anon

What do you think of Beyond Divinity
It's been ages since I played it but the beginning was total bullshit
>go out of village's gates
>orcs slap my shit
>explore catacombs like I'm supposed to
>works well for about 3 floors, then big skeletons kill me in one hit

>>322888689
What the hell are Diablo games doing there?
Was this made by a teenager?

>>322888689
>gothic 2
>deus ex 1
>alpha protocol
Move them to great tier. G2 is a better and more interesting RPG than DE, but DE is overall a better product.
>diablo 2
lol
>DE:HR, New Vegas
Move to god tier

>>322887684
>Enhanced Edition
>Saerileth is not officially included

What a scam

>>322888992
>>322888984
>>322888975
every goddamn time
why do I even say "disregard the tiers"

>>322888751
Which ones are the new characters?

>>322889073
I don't think >>322888984 's
comment was about quality, but rather the fact that diablo is a different genre.

>>322888975
That's not joke, anon. It's literally the best rpg, i think only one thing close to it - adwr for nwn.

the best cRPG is EYE: Divine Cybermancy

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>>322887772
>Enemies respawned after changing maps
>Every teleporter is surrounded by Mages and Archers alongside a Commander
>Immediately shot to death when teleporting back to a previous map

Fuck Throne of Darkness.

I do really like how each Faction had different character models and portraits though, along with different castle designs.

>>322876470
>That hurts more than when they tell you how much they love their wives.

>>322888519
it's kind of like an alternative ruleset for a class. Slightly alters the way it plays.

>>322889092
I've encountered Hexxat, Dorn and Neera so far.
Neera's alright actually. Dorn is a great character but your interactions with him are all so fucking snarky you'd think he was designed by a sales assistant at Urban Outfitters. Hexxat is absolutely shit despite being the only lesbian which is why I keep her in my party. Her quests, her bi-polar temperment, just fucking annoying. The other party members can talk shit to her all they like. But you say ONE thing she doesn't like and she's all "You don't fucking know me or my life, dickhead" which is doubly annoying when you're trying to lick her ebony poontang.

>>322889536
>Hexxat is absolutely shit despite being the only lesbian which is why I keep her in my party
I did the same, you will be disappointed

>>322859720

JA2

This should be easy: what's the best cRPG?
Not "oh this one does story best but this other one has the best combat"
What is the overall best cRPG?

>>322889536
Only that monk Rasaad is ok amongst them.

>>322889703
bg2

>>322888551
BG2>IWD1>BG1>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>IWD2

If you want to start talking about overrated games go look at IWD2.

>>322889703
>>322890124

>>322889703
>>322889234

>>322890360
>>322890293
>>322890124
only serious answers please

>>322889703
>>322890124

>>322888980
That's Divine Divinity not Beyond Divinity.

>>322890479
So it is, my bad
Guess I just confused them because BD is supposed to be bad and I was talking about how DD is bad

>>322859720
Start with divinity. Not divinity:os.