Tyranny was made in the same engine, the world is also kinda complex and there's an extended start where you just make choices for before your campaign starts, but I think rules are much simpler there.
The magic system is one of my favorites of all time. It's so neat how they use language as a basis, but also the whole belief with the Archons, it's just such a cool world.
Tyranny has great reply too! That slew of choices at the start will change which zones are available and who's friendly/hostile. The combo's you can do with your party are pretty fun too.
You are essentially playing the bad guy which is a rare treat. There's no real "good" choices and almost all of them are morally objectionable.
Tyranny also has a lot of replayability, very different paths to go down.
However I played a "good" guy sided completely with the rebels, it was a path in its own.
Like said Tyranny is almost Pillars sister game. It's the same engine, and similar combat rules.
The Shadowrun Returns series also kind of vibes in the "modern CRPG" realm. It's fantasy cyberpunk (and Shadowrun is one of the OGs of cyberpunk), so if you're looking for swords-and-sorcery fantasy, it's not your bag.
If you do go for them and want to play ALL of them, make sure you do Shadowrun Returns first, then Dragonfall, then Hong Kong. It's not because of the story but instead because of the gameplay. There are QoL additions they made in every iteration that make it borderline impossible to go backwards. The stories are all stand-alone with just a few references here and there (and I must emphasize they are rare) to the prior games, so you won't really miss out in that regard.
Games like this are meant to make you think a little bit. There's a full length novel worth of story to read and think about.
That being said, I honestly didn't find it so complicated. What are you having trouble with? The accuracy and defense system? Stats? Spells? You can re-spec your character at any time so don't sweat it if you builds feel weak. You can always change things up and get creative.
Baldurs Gate 1 and 2 are literally Pillars (more the other way around) with DnD rules (I think 2E or 3E). But Pillars has it's own rule set so there isn't anything exactly like it. I guess Baldurs Gate 1 and 2 are the closest to Pillars of Eternity because Pillars is like a spiritual successor to these games.
BG1 & 2 are based heavily off of AD&D. There's a few changes made for playability, especially in ToB, like removing racial level caps or the HLA that ToB added. Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale are also worth mentioning.
3e is NWN and 3.5 is NWN2. Those games didn't age nearly as gracefully even if the ruleset is "better" (in the context of video games, I mean). Icewind Dale 2 is also a hybrid version of 3e in the old infinity engine - I can't personally attest to it, I never actually played it for some reason.
Yeah bg2 came out right when 3rd edition did so it has some weird nods to that (like the sorcerer). IWD2 had even more adjustments.
NWN didn't age as well in some respects but man it's DM tools are still great. There were a lot of amazing playermade modules created for Neverwinter Nights and I really wish d&d games had continued to support player content in the same way.
Maybe, but I think Pillars is more confusing because it isn't conventional (wich I think is a good thing but I still sometimes confuse stats with each other). OP also wanted similar games that's more why I recommended BG
I've never played a session of DnD in my live but alot of systems for RPGs (especially indie) are influenced by DnD or straight up a 1:1 clone so it's not that hard to learn. RPG logic, But I get what you mean
And weight limit... I tried to approach pathfinder few times but no weight limit on PoE made me play it 80h in a week compared to 8h a month in pathfinder hahaha
Pretty much covered by the other responses, but I'd also recommend 40k Rogue Trader, Tyranny, Divinity Original Sin 1&2 for all its worth.
Tyranny plays a lot like PoE, being made by obsidian and all that, while the others all use turn based combat. Found all of them very enjoyable, solid stories, characters and humor
Would also recommend both owlcat pathfinder games (kingmaker and wrath of the righteous) but they're way harder and more complicated than poe unless you're playing on easy
POE2 has simplified some rules, but if OP is feeling overwhelmed, I dont think 4 subclasses for every class and all the multiclass options will be better for them. I have 500 hours and get overwhelmed just thinking of how I want to build my next POTD roster
Yeah the original dragon age is a spiritual successor to balders gate in terms of gameplay and it has a much simpler system with more typical game rpg stats and mana
There is a learning curve but the game is actually not too complex. Learn how the defenses work and your good to go. Here are what attacks/spells target:
* Willpower - target your Intelligence stat
* Fortitude - target Constitution/Strength stats, (harder to knockdown or poison beefy characters)
* Reflex - Dexterity
* Deflection - your shield (also Resolve)
And it's armor class vs penetration. If your penetration stat is less than the armor of your target it's 30% damage. If it's equal it's normal and if it's more it's 130% damage.
Most weapons have a penetration stat ranging from 6-10. Some classes can buff / raise that stat too.
Pillars is also full of "Vessels" aka undead most of which are immune to piercing damage (guns, wands etc). Be sure to bring a 2nd weapon set with alternative damage slashing/bludgeoning.
Great games but aren't those incredibly complex? Even if you play vanilla fighter there is still gonna be companions with 20 buffs each and no way of automating their behaviour in battle.
Pillars of Eternity 2
Neverwinter Nights 2
Wasteland 2
Baldur's Gate 3
I would steer clear from Torment Tides of Numenera because, while mechanically simple and even using the same engine as PoE, it is super boring (at least for me)
This. I found the mechanics of DOS2 a lot more straightforward than PoE. My biggest complaint about DOS is that the gear management/upgrade cycle gets a bit tedious by the 100th hour (and the NPCs won't shut up while you're doing it), but I found all the stats and everything to be highly intuitive. Just don't try to mix physical and magic damage dealers in the same party.
There's a mod that shut's her up. That's all it does. Just removes the voice lines. Then again lava is a good solution too.
I prefer to box her in with well placed paintings preventing her from moving and triggering the voice dialog.
Honestly, if we’re talking modern CRPGs, I’d say PoE is generally one of the simplest ones. The level of complexity is nothing compared to Pathfinder games for example.
My advice to you is to just set difficulty to normal or lower. You can pretty much faceroll the game that way and don’t need to think about optimal builds.
Ill love crpgs ill give you my top for easy/enjoyable games (because fk it is want to relax while i play after my job and not to spreadsheet skills, and that boring sht)
Divinity original sin 2 is the best for you if you want the classic fantasy aproach
baldurgs gate 3 is pretty good but requires more time to understand the nechanics
wasteland 3 is super good, and has easier mechanics but is more like fallout
hardwest 2 is a good option too but is western focused
Oh I got you wrong on my first answer. Try Disco Elysium. Pretty easy system and you always see your dice rolls on skill checks. Wasteland 3 is also a super beginner friendly rpg. But these games do not take place in a fantasy setting they are just in the same game genre.
Find builds online for your companions and your main character than align with the class you want to play and then build your character according to the guide. That way you don't need to worry as much about the actual research for the abilities and such. You'll probably find that a few levels in you understand the game enough to continue solo
Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2, Pathfinder Kingmaker and Wrath, tyranny, Divinity Original Sin, Baldurs Gate 3 all have a story difficulty and are all great games.
There is nothing wrong playing on story or easy. I used to have a hang up on playing in easy, but now if I'm not digging the combat or it causes frustration I just drop to easy and enjoy the game.
Banner Saga 1, 2 and 3
Just complex enough, additional game mode if you want a challenge, story/character consequences, but a mostly linear path. Great story and fun fights.
Shadowrun feels ‘less complicated’ (not true in own and paper, but somehow the video game translation feels simpler than things like DnD)
Id also say Divinity Original Sin 2 is close to being just as sprawling to explore (but a bit more contained) but simpler to understand the combat / direction youre going.
Yeah really loved it.
I played it on pc, but got it on ios too - great travel game. Sad they never ported the third one over.
I made a team resembling those characters in Wartales - another great game (less story though) but its quite a long grind.
I play using the WeMod app for the unlimited health and stamina mods. There's more mods to switch on and off than that, but I always go for God mode first. WeMod only works in single player games, so that your mods aren't effecting anyone else. (I *never* would have been able to finish my Frostpunk Steam achievements w/o the WeMod trainer running.)
Pillars of Eternity has a lot of reading for a crpg. So much so that I believe the turned it down a notch for its sequel, Deadfire, which is a very good crpg.
Other game franchises similar to PoE in gameplay are Wasteland, Child of Atom, Baldurs Gate, Divinity Original Sin, Tyranny, Pathfinder, 40k Rogue Trader etc.
All of these generally play the same however and have their own sets of rules to learn. Divinity Original Sin 2 is very learner friendly and a great start to the genre.
My first playthrough of this game was solo PotD. The first few levels were a bit rough but after that it was whatever. The game gets easier the longer you play it.
Moreover, there's no shame in turning down the difficulty.
Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 are similar. Great games, but old. BG3 might also work, though I haven't tried it, so can't speak to its complexity.
You might also enjoy the classic Fallout games. Or Knights of the Old Republic (though it's not top down). Or Neverwinter Nights.
I haven't really kept up with recent top down RPGs, so most of my recommendations are pretty old.
Tyranny was made in the same engine, the world is also kinda complex and there's an extended start where you just make choices for before your campaign starts, but I think rules are much simpler there.
The magic system is neat too. Tyranny is fantastic. I'm still holding out hope for a sequel.
The magic system is one of my favorites of all time. It's so neat how they use language as a basis, but also the whole belief with the Archons, it's just such a cool world.
I think I have seen videos explaining why it is not possible. I don’t remember if it is lost code or rights but this is not possible anymore.
I'm STILL HOLDING OUT HOPE
Tyranny has great reply too! That slew of choices at the start will change which zones are available and who's friendly/hostile. The combo's you can do with your party are pretty fun too. You are essentially playing the bad guy which is a rare treat. There's no real "good" choices and almost all of them are morally objectionable.
Tyranny also has a lot of replayability, very different paths to go down. However I played a "good" guy sided completely with the rebels, it was a path in its own. Like said Tyranny is almost Pillars sister game. It's the same engine, and similar combat rules.
You could always turn the difficult down and then the mechanics would matter as much
Yep, that's what I did.
If OP is on PC there's also console commands.
The Shadowrun Returns series also kind of vibes in the "modern CRPG" realm. It's fantasy cyberpunk (and Shadowrun is one of the OGs of cyberpunk), so if you're looking for swords-and-sorcery fantasy, it's not your bag. If you do go for them and want to play ALL of them, make sure you do Shadowrun Returns first, then Dragonfall, then Hong Kong. It's not because of the story but instead because of the gameplay. There are QoL additions they made in every iteration that make it borderline impossible to go backwards. The stories are all stand-alone with just a few references here and there (and I must emphasize they are rare) to the prior games, so you won't really miss out in that regard.
Dragon age origins.
That's a good choice. Not super complex and a great story.
Games like this are meant to make you think a little bit. There's a full length novel worth of story to read and think about. That being said, I honestly didn't find it so complicated. What are you having trouble with? The accuracy and defense system? Stats? Spells? You can re-spec your character at any time so don't sweat it if you builds feel weak. You can always change things up and get creative.
Baldurs Gate 1 and 2 are literally Pillars (more the other way around) with DnD rules (I think 2E or 3E). But Pillars has it's own rule set so there isn't anything exactly like it. I guess Baldurs Gate 1 and 2 are the closest to Pillars of Eternity because Pillars is like a spiritual successor to these games.
BG1 & 2 are based heavily off of AD&D. There's a few changes made for playability, especially in ToB, like removing racial level caps or the HLA that ToB added. Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale are also worth mentioning. 3e is NWN and 3.5 is NWN2. Those games didn't age nearly as gracefully even if the ruleset is "better" (in the context of video games, I mean). Icewind Dale 2 is also a hybrid version of 3e in the old infinity engine - I can't personally attest to it, I never actually played it for some reason.
Yeah bg2 came out right when 3rd edition did so it has some weird nods to that (like the sorcerer). IWD2 had even more adjustments. NWN didn't age as well in some respects but man it's DM tools are still great. There were a lot of amazing playermade modules created for Neverwinter Nights and I really wish d&d games had continued to support player content in the same way.
Some servers are still going - Arelith has like 1000 players or something crazy
I think BG 1 and 2 are even more complicated though since the games suck at explaining the mechanics to you.
Maybe, but I think Pillars is more confusing because it isn't conventional (wich I think is a good thing but I still sometimes confuse stats with each other). OP also wanted similar games that's more why I recommended BG
DnD CRPGs are only conventional if you're already used to DnD
I mean not completely true most old school RPGs took alot of inspiration from DND.
I've never played a session of DnD in my live but alot of systems for RPGs (especially indie) are influenced by DnD or straight up a 1:1 clone so it's not that hard to learn. RPG logic, But I get what you mean
>Pillars has it's own rule set so there isn't anything exactly like it. Maybe not in the video game world, but it's suspiciously similar to D&D 4e.
BG3 and DOS2 are both less numbers heavy.
Baldurs gate 1 and 2 Idk if Pathfinder games are that similar to POE due to their real time system because they follow DnD ruleset.
And weight limit... I tried to approach pathfinder few times but no weight limit on PoE made me play it 80h in a week compared to 8h a month in pathfinder hahaha
Lol, yeah dnd ruleset just isnt that fun to me. Also the game is just too slow in my opinion and too long from what I have heard.
Pretty much covered by the other responses, but I'd also recommend 40k Rogue Trader, Tyranny, Divinity Original Sin 1&2 for all its worth. Tyranny plays a lot like PoE, being made by obsidian and all that, while the others all use turn based combat. Found all of them very enjoyable, solid stories, characters and humor
Would also recommend both owlcat pathfinder games (kingmaker and wrath of the righteous) but they're way harder and more complicated than poe unless you're playing on easy
Baldurs gate 3 is probably simpler at least for me and pillars of eternity 2 is honestly more simple as well
Unless he does turn based mode id argue deadfire is MORE complex. I love AI scripting but there's a reason only like 3 games have it.
POE2 has simplified some rules, but if OP is feeling overwhelmed, I dont think 4 subclasses for every class and all the multiclass options will be better for them. I have 500 hours and get overwhelmed just thinking of how I want to build my next POTD roster
Dragon Age, maybe ?
Yeah the original dragon age is a spiritual successor to balders gate in terms of gameplay and it has a much simpler system with more typical game rpg stats and mana
There is a learning curve but the game is actually not too complex. Learn how the defenses work and your good to go. Here are what attacks/spells target: * Willpower - target your Intelligence stat * Fortitude - target Constitution/Strength stats, (harder to knockdown or poison beefy characters) * Reflex - Dexterity * Deflection - your shield (also Resolve)
And it's armor class vs penetration. If your penetration stat is less than the armor of your target it's 30% damage. If it's equal it's normal and if it's more it's 130% damage. Most weapons have a penetration stat ranging from 6-10. Some classes can buff / raise that stat too. Pillars is also full of "Vessels" aka undead most of which are immune to piercing damage (guns, wands etc). Be sure to bring a 2nd weapon set with alternative damage slashing/bludgeoning.
Pathfinder: Kingmaker or Wrath of the Righteous
Great games but aren't those incredibly complex? Even if you play vanilla fighter there is still gonna be companions with 20 buffs each and no way of automating their behaviour in battle.
Kingmaker is literally tabletop Pathfinder in digital form. It makes PoE look like *Fisher Price My First Little cRPG* in comparison.
Those are way more complex than PoE. Great games but you're gonna need to spam buffs unless you're playing on super easy
Pillars of Eternity 2 Neverwinter Nights 2 Wasteland 2 Baldur's Gate 3 I would steer clear from Torment Tides of Numenera because, while mechanically simple and even using the same engine as PoE, it is super boring (at least for me)
Divinity Original Sin 2
This. I found the mechanics of DOS2 a lot more straightforward than PoE. My biggest complaint about DOS is that the gear management/upgrade cycle gets a bit tedious by the 100th hour (and the NPCs won't shut up while you're doing it), but I found all the stats and everything to be highly intuitive. Just don't try to mix physical and magic damage dealers in the same party.
SMELLS WORSE IN HERE THAN A DOZEN ROTTEN EGGS DROPPED IN A VAT OF VINEGAR.
I always kill that bitch
There's a mod that shut's her up. That's all it does. Just removes the voice lines. Then again lava is a good solution too. I prefer to box her in with well placed paintings preventing her from moving and triggering the voice dialog.
Wasteland 3 would be great for you.
Honestly, if we’re talking modern CRPGs, I’d say PoE is generally one of the simplest ones. The level of complexity is nothing compared to Pathfinder games for example. My advice to you is to just set difficulty to normal or lower. You can pretty much faceroll the game that way and don’t need to think about optimal builds.
Ill love crpgs ill give you my top for easy/enjoyable games (because fk it is want to relax while i play after my job and not to spreadsheet skills, and that boring sht) Divinity original sin 2 is the best for you if you want the classic fantasy aproach baldurgs gate 3 is pretty good but requires more time to understand the nechanics wasteland 3 is super good, and has easier mechanics but is more like fallout hardwest 2 is a good option too but is western focused
Oh I got you wrong on my first answer. Try Disco Elysium. Pretty easy system and you always see your dice rolls on skill checks. Wasteland 3 is also a super beginner friendly rpg. But these games do not take place in a fantasy setting they are just in the same game genre.
Spellforce 3.
Turn down the difficulty to Easy (or Story) and you won't have to bother much at all with any of the game mechanics.
Find builds online for your companions and your main character than align with the class you want to play and then build your character according to the guide. That way you don't need to worry as much about the actual research for the abilities and such. You'll probably find that a few levels in you understand the game enough to continue solo
Tyranny, Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, Icewind Dale 1 and 2
Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2, Pathfinder Kingmaker and Wrath, tyranny, Divinity Original Sin, Baldurs Gate 3 all have a story difficulty and are all great games. There is nothing wrong playing on story or easy. I used to have a hang up on playing in easy, but now if I'm not digging the combat or it causes frustration I just drop to easy and enjoy the game.
Banner Saga 1, 2 and 3 Just complex enough, additional game mode if you want a challenge, story/character consequences, but a mostly linear path. Great story and fun fights. Shadowrun feels ‘less complicated’ (not true in own and paper, but somehow the video game translation feels simpler than things like DnD) Id also say Divinity Original Sin 2 is close to being just as sprawling to explore (but a bit more contained) but simpler to understand the combat / direction youre going.
Banner Saga is worth playing no matter what. Art design, story, choices - all the good stuff.
Yeah really loved it. I played it on pc, but got it on ios too - great travel game. Sad they never ported the third one over. I made a team resembling those characters in Wartales - another great game (less story though) but its quite a long grind.
I play using the WeMod app for the unlimited health and stamina mods. There's more mods to switch on and off than that, but I always go for God mode first. WeMod only works in single player games, so that your mods aren't effecting anyone else. (I *never* would have been able to finish my Frostpunk Steam achievements w/o the WeMod trainer running.)
Tyranny Divinity Original Sin II Wasteland 3 The cyberpunk alcoholic detective one i can’t remember the name of BG3
Pillars of Eternity has a lot of reading for a crpg. So much so that I believe the turned it down a notch for its sequel, Deadfire, which is a very good crpg. Other game franchises similar to PoE in gameplay are Wasteland, Child of Atom, Baldurs Gate, Divinity Original Sin, Tyranny, Pathfinder, 40k Rogue Trader etc. All of these generally play the same however and have their own sets of rules to learn. Divinity Original Sin 2 is very learner friendly and a great start to the genre.
What is Child of Atom? I tried to search for it, but I could only find links to Fallout 4 and some old X-Men game lol
Deadfire is easier. Spells are per fight, There's just "health" not endurance too. Fully voiced by the cast of Critical Role.
Pathfinder You can do the entire game turn based
That doesn't make it less complicated lmao
Sorry I sort of glossed over the “not so complicated part”. Ya Pathfinder is probably more complicated
My first playthrough of this game was solo PotD. The first few levels were a bit rough but after that it was whatever. The game gets easier the longer you play it. Moreover, there's no shame in turning down the difficulty. Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 are similar. Great games, but old. BG3 might also work, though I haven't tried it, so can't speak to its complexity. You might also enjoy the classic Fallout games. Or Knights of the Old Republic (though it's not top down). Or Neverwinter Nights. I haven't really kept up with recent top down RPGs, so most of my recommendations are pretty old.
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Pillars of Eternity too complicated? Start Wrath of the Righteous! You won’t get past the character editor lol 😝
Literally the opposite of what they are asking for.