Mechanically, it was a huge improvement over Kingmaker, although that was a pretty low bar. Your companions were actually useful in WotR, and the character build mechanics and gear options provided a huge variety of possibilities.
But story matters more to me than a lot of other gamers, and while the plot of the WotR AP is decently written in and of itself, Owlcat's interpretation left a lot to be desired. Your options for plot decisions were limited, and as much as they did their best to explore the lore, your main character's interactions with the world around him felt a little forced, as there were quite a few dialogue options and potential decisions that could easily have been added but were left out.
On top of that, as mechanically useful as a lot of your companions are, they're also completely unlikeable. All of them. There were maybe two whom I could actually tolerate, and the rest were an absolute chore to have around. My second play-through I went with an all-merc party just to avoid having those dumbfucks around, I actually built an almost-exact clone of Nenio from the ground up so that I wouldn't have to deal with her dialogue. But not having them with you or exploring tedious dialogue with them really leaves out a lot of side-quests and story, so it makes the game feel even more limiting.
Mechanically, it was a huge improvement over Kingmaker, although that was a pretty low bar. Your companions were actually useful in WotR, and the character build mechanics and gear options provided a huge variety of possibilities.
But story matters more to me than a lot of other gamers, and while the plot of the WotR AP is decently written in and of itself, Owlcat's interpretation left a lot to be desired. Your options for plot decisions were limited, and as much as they did their best to explore the lore, your main character's interactions with the world around him felt a little forced, as there were quite a few dialogue options and potential decisions that could easily have been added but were left out.
On top of that, as mechanically useful as a lot of your companions are, they're also completely unlikeable. All of them. There were maybe two whom I could actually tolerate, and the rest were an absolute chore to have around. My second play-through I went with an all-merc party just to avoid having those dumbfucks around, I actually built an almost-exact clone of Nenio from the ground up so that I wouldn't have to deal with her dialogue. But having them with you or exploring tedious dialogue with them really leaves out a lot of side-quests and story, so it makes the game feel even more limiting.
Mechanically, it was a huge improvement over Kingmaker, although that was a pretty low bar. Your companions were actually useful in WotR, and the character build mechanics and gear options provided a huge variety of possibilities.
But story matters more to me than a lot of other gamers, and while the plot of the WotR AP is decently written in and of itself, Owlcat's interpretation left a lot to be desired. Your options for plot decisions were limited, and as much as they did their best to explore the lore, your main character's interactions with the world around them felt a little forced, as there were quite a few dialogue options and potential decisions that could easily have been added but were left out.
On top of that, as mechanically useful as a lot of your companions are, they're also completely unlikeable. All of them. There were maybe two whom I could actually tolerate, and the rest were an absolute chore to have around. My second play-through I went with an all-merc party just to avoid having those dumbfucks around, I actually built an almost-exact clone of Nenio from the ground up so that I wouldn't have to deal with her dialogue. But not taking them with you really leaves out a lot of side-quests and story, so it makes the game feel even more limiting.
Mechanically, it was a huge improvement over Kingmaker, although that was a pretty low bar. Your companions were actually useful in WotR, and the character build mechanics and gear options provided a huge variety of possibilities.
But story matters more to me than a lot of other gamers, and while the plot of the WotR AP is decently written in and of itself, Owlcat's interpretation left a lot to be desired. Your options for plot decisions were limited, and as much as they did their best to explore the lore, your main character's interactions with the world around them felt a little forced, as there were quite a few dialogue options and potential decisions that could easily have been added, but were left out.
On top of that, as mechanically useful as a lot of your companions are, they're also completely unlikeable. All of them. There were maybe two whom I could actually tolerate, and the rest were an absolute chore to have around. My second play-through I went with an all-merc party just to avoid having those dumbfucks around, I actually built an almost-exact clone of Nenio from the ground up so that I wouldn't have to deal with her dialogue. But not taking them with you really leaves out a lot of side-quests and story, so it makes the game feel even more limiting.