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Mummelmann on 28 July 2024
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HoloDust said:
Mummelmann said:

It's quite complicated, but Pathfinder 1st Edition is built on D&D 3.5, which I spent over a decade playing, so I know the system very well. It has balance issues though, there are some builds built around synergies of multiclass options and feats that produce insane characters. For instance; my go-to damage dealer is capable of delivering in excess of 140 damage on a single critical hit and has attack rating in the high 60s when fully buffed. I also saw a tank build with 86 AC buffed, the system itself is broken. They changed the whole multiclass system for 2nd Edition though, which makes practically all builds viable and efficient.

Pathfinder 2nd Edition is a lot more streamlined, and focuses heavily on teamwork and party synergies. It's a shame that no PC games are being made yet with the 2nd Edition as a blueprint (there's on Adventure Path being made into a semi-game, but it's hardly a CRPG).

Ah, the fabled 3e - I always thought of it as being better as a VG RPG system, then actual TTRPG system - and one of the reasons is precisely of those min-maxer shenanigans you described. I think old D&D of players playing their roles, instead of their character sheets, died with release of 3e, to make room for best build optimizers and VG crowd, and that remains til present days, both in D&D 5e and Pathfinder 2e.

Agreed, min-maxing is still a thing, but less problematic in Pathfinder 2E. Personally, I find that D&D 5E is too streamlined, and it's prone to to ending up as a demi-god simulator past level 10-12. They probably wanted to retain that epic sense of being a superhuman hero, but that spoils much of the experience for me. From what I understand, TPK practically never happens in 5E, and even single character deaths are rare. P2E manages to keep the sense of peril, without losing the sense of progress and achievement.

One good thing with my particular group of friends when playing 3.5, was that we were all already veterans, more or less. We were also, to a man, concerned with the "RP" part of RPG, and thus avoided min-maxing in favor of strong, personality/background/motivation-driven character builds. To me, the min-maxing occurred more often with new players, looking to bolster themselves for future encounters and wanting to be effective in combat. I suppose to each his own, even the min-maxers enjoy playing, but for different reasons. With my current group, which is a bunch of autistic guys aged 18-22, I find that combat motivates them more than roleplaying, for obvious reasons.