re: Pillars of Eternity discussion thread (so Breesus doesn't go postal)

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How does this game differ from Diablo?

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Well, for starters its not nearly as action-y. You aren't plowing through 100's of enemies every screen. Attacking must be very well thought out and planned. Where as Diablo uses a very basic rule set for damage (Weapon Damage + Primary Stat), PoE uses a much more dynamic rule set akin to the first Dragon Age game but more in depth.

All attacks in Pillars of Eternity go through the same attack resolution system. Each attack can result in Critical Hit, Hit, Graze or miss. The likelihood of each outcome is based on the difference between the attacker's accuracy vs target's defense values and can be effected by various abilities.

An attack roll represents your attempt to strike your opponent and resolved by a single d100 roll(a number between 1 and 100). The attackers chance to roll Critical Hit, Hit, Graze or miss is determined by the difference between his Accuracy value and the relevant defender's defense: Deflection (direct melee and ranged attacks), Fortitude (body system attacks like poison and disease), Reflexes (area of effect damage attacks), and Willpower (mental attacks).

The Default ranges for an attack roll are:

01-15 = Miss (attack has no effect)
16-50 = Graze (-50% damage or duration)
51-100 = Hit (standard damage and duration)
101+ = Critical Hit (+50% damage or duration)

Certain class are capable of shifting those default values.

You also have to rest between numerous encounters as fatigue will set in upon your character. Fatigue is bad news if not settled quickly as the stat penalties are almost insurmountable in tougher battles.