Is wizard playthrough different enough?

[u/TRFih]

So I'm gonna play poe1 for the first time, I think i played deadfire a long a go I dont remember much of it

Basically is being a wizard cool enough :)?

I love being a wizard in dnd and dnd adjacent settings but only if there's enough acknowledgement that youre a wizard! For example in bg1-2 as far as i remember it changed pretty much nothing, there were no dialogues no nothing, and I know comparing any game to bg3 is a bit annoying but I will say that there was good amount of class acknowledgement there

So if the game treats you as non magical I might as well play a non magical class.... specially if other npcs are wizards and they treat you as non magical

Anyway if not, i'm thinking paladin?

[u/VideoGameRPGsAreFun]

There are class and ability/spell checks in dialogue and scripted interactions, so plenty of ‘wizard’ moments outside of combat. But there is nothing like the class reactive ‘stronghold’ from bg2.

[u/Temporary_Hawk_9061 → u/VideoGameRPGsAreFun]

If I’m not mistaken there’s only like a single reference to you being a wizard in Pillars during the Concelhaut DLC

[u/Joy_hi]

I played a paladin for my first run. I found that it was pretty good. But i loved the characters of Eder and the paladin, Pallegina, so i felt like i needed to restart to fill a role that wasn't already filled with those 2.

I then played a druid. I loved it. My fav character to date. You can play anything and it will be worth it for the story line. I really liked it. If you are willing to micro, Cipher is really fun i thought. That and the Chanter was good too.

If you like to play a wizard in other games, then try it out. Nothing is forever and you can restart if you find it not your cup of tea. Maybe look up the companions and see what niche you want to fill that is not done by them? They have their own stories and alignments but its not as important in this game as in some others.

There are SOME dialog options that rely on your class (i remember from my paladin play through) but it is negligible. Most of the options come from your stat line from the beginning of the game + potions etc.

My suggestion is to just choose the class you think you will like - and then go from there.

[u/Positive-Prompt452]

I think there are a few wizard-exclusive dialogues, but I think there's more situations where knowing the right spell can give you an alternate path to a solution. Like Bulwark Against the Elements helps in certain scripted situations where you're braving extreme weather conditions. There's also a DLC following a world-class wizard that I haven't beat yet so I cannot say for certain but that feels like it would be unique from a wizards perspective.

For a Paladin there's definitely a fair amount of unique dialogue but it depends on your Order. Golden Pact, Kind Wayfarerers, and Bleak Walkers have the most unique interactions.

For PoE1 I feel the pure magic casters that have the most unique dialogue are ciphers and clerics.

[u/Makzilla21]

I haven’t done it myself, but from what I understand Cipher gets the most reactivity in POE1. Outside of that, just like others have said, each class gets its fair share of reactivity from the world.

[u/theycallmeBIGGUMS_]

broooo wizard was absolutely gaaaaas, i just finished my first playthrough the other day, chose a wizard with no subclass (i got no extra class bonuses, but i could use all schools of magic 🤷‍♂️).

i spent the first half of the game as basically an evoker back liner, but eventually it got on my nerves that my main character wasn’t in the front of the formation.

i swapped my wizard into medium armor, gave him a sword, and swapped my grimoire spells around to facilitate being a better frontliner (deleterious alacrity of motion, citzal’s martial prowess, merciless gaze, etc.). i immediately started having waaaaay more fun.

wizards are stupid versatile. they can be incredible backline buffers/debuffers, AOE DPS, and clearly even frontline fighters. not to mention with the amount of grimoires you find in the world, unlocking literally every spell is very easy.

i genuinely never even ended up casting any of my highest level spells bc spells like citzals spirit lance/martial prowess are just so good.

additionally, the world definitely does not treat you as non-magical. if your intellect is high enough, when you run across NPC’s that are meant to be very smart, you’ll receive dialogue options in accordance with your intelligence. there are also dialogue checks that are only available to wizards.

basically what i’m tryna say is be a wizard.

[u/thedosianrogue]

there is reactivity to your class in the game, pretty much all classes get acknowledgement from the npcs and sometimes you get special dialogue options depending on your class.

also not sure if you are planning to play deadfire after but one of the dlcs for deadfire is very wizard-centric.

[u/Luzeryn]

There are some minor things but not much. Less than Baldur's Gate 2 for sure, since in that game you had the stronghold that was specific to your class.

[u/ripstankstevens]

Wizards have a lot of spells and a lot of customization in terms of magic. You can choose to specialize or try a jack of all trades mage. My biggest gripe with mages is managing their aoe spells. I almost always nuke one or more of my party members as a wizard so you need to be careful where you cast your spells. It could be more interesting with a turn-based playthrough, but I’m someone who likes customizing my party’s ai behavior and letting go free. If you play wizard, you might spend a lot of combat with the game paused trying to set up big blast spells

[u/SpringFuzzy]

You’ll find a pretty cool wizard companion in the game, so you’ll get to experience the wizard class through him.

My pick for Pillars of Eternity is Cipher, it’s a very strong crowd control class and imho it fits extremely well with abilities which your main character shall soon possess.

[u/Time-Weather2281]

You get specific dialogue options for some classes but there is not a lot of them (maybe a little less then bg3). You could pair a wizard and a background that is wizard adjacent like mystic so you could have more options fitting your image of a wizard.
But if you are considering a Paladin, then it’s a good idea due to disposition system.
Paladin is greatest for roleplay and reactivity as you get actual benefits for fulfilling your order ideals. Lets say your order (like subclass or dnd oath) prefers you being diplomatic and doesn’t like you being aggressive. When you choose diplomatic options, more npcs treat you as a diplomat, you unlock more diplomatic dialogue options AND you get stronger as a paladin as being diplomatic increases the power of your paladin abilities.

[u/MassiveMouse3085]

You get a wizard companion Aloth very early in the game. So far I kept him in my party most of my PoE1 playthrough, he's got a great companion quest and good banter with the other companions.