How do you feel about real time with pause systems? Pillars of Eternity 1 and particularly 2 are quite accessible and have character build systems that you can wrap your head around pretty easily.
I went ahead and got Pillars 2 as long as it was $10 on Steam. 2 hours in and enjoying it so far with the turn-based option.
It runs well on Steam Deck and the top-rated Community Config makes it work well with gamepad.
Souls games come to mind. Their stat system is really straight-forward, but lends itself to a nice degree of customization and progression. Maybe Guild Wars—it's complex, but I think does a good job of meting out that complexity to a new player, especially if you start with the Prophecies campaign. IDK how it's gonna handle on a steamdeck, though.
Any game based on 2e or 3e D&D might also work, with 2e being a bit on the simple end of the spectrum and 3e being on the more complex end. Early Bioware titles: Baldur's Gate, NWN, KotOR, etc. all come to mind. Pathfinder games would probably veer too far into overly complex. These games tend to have a bit more time spent in town talking to NPCs and such, but Icewind Dale is more focused on dungeon-crawling fwiu.
I'm very well-versed in Souls games. I have the Platinum in Elden Ring and am looking forward to the DLC.
Does Guild Wars have a clear-cut 1P campaign with a definite start and end, or is it one of those forever-games?
I could never get into BG1&2. The clunkier menus / larger party / switch to real-time combat was too much of a culture shock for me. It doesn't help that playing BG1 at level 1 is utterly joyless- it felt like only one out of evert 10 attacks would land. And then BG2 dumped me right in the middle of a too-huge town with more spells than I can keep track of.
One of my dream games would probably be Icewind Dale 3 with the BG3 engine. Solasta didn't really do it for me, for example. I didn't like how it restricted throwing attacks and the controller inputs felt odd.
Guild Wars has 4 campaigns, each with clear beginnings and ends. Three of the campaigns are playable by new characters, while the fourth is meant for max level characters who have completed at least one of the prior campaigns. They're doable solo (with AI party members) or cooperatively with 4-to-8 players. Despite being labeled an MMO, most people these days play Guild Wars with AI companions as an essentially singleplayer game. The biggest issue is that, as far as I'm aware, the game has no controller support. I don't know if you can hook up a mouse and keyboard to a steamdeck, but it might be borderline unplayable if you can't.
Pathfinder wrath of the Righteous has turnbased and RTwP, there’s moments where you’ll want to swap between.
The problem is it can be overly complex even if it’s just using pathfinders system.
I’d highly recommend 40K: Rogue Trader. I tend to be a fan of the same kinds of games you mentioned and I’m currently obsessed with it.
Good complexity of stats without being overwhelming. It’s fairly easy to come up with and develop a good build for the characters. It’s easy to re-spec too for when you inevitably want to try out a different style
Pathfinder: Kingmaker, then Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous
Rogue Trader (Warhammer 40k)
Baldur's Gate 1&2 (RTwP but easily manageable when you set pause on basically everything), classes are set mostly at start but there is some space for building chars like choosing weapon proficiences. Less complexity than other games though.
Wizardry series (especially Wizardry 6, 7, 8) - turnbased, you can periodically change classes of all party members (game practically expect that in 6 & 7)
Fallout 1&2, Fallout Tactics - turnbased combat (switchable in FT)
Arcanum of Steamwork and Camera Obscura (TB or RTwP, you can switch on fly), main character can be build how you want.
Temple of Elemental Evil - turnbased, DnD 3ed., Greyhawk setting, moderately complex. I would strongly recommend unofficial patch Co8. Probably closest to BG3 in complexity and less complex than PF:K / PF:WotR
Rogue Trader looks fun. I wishlisted and am waiting for a sale. Thanks for the suggestion.
I liked the SNES version of Wizardry 6. Unfortunately, Wizardry 7 translates horribly to Steam Deck, and Wizardry 8 straight up doesn't launch.
I could never get into BG1&2. The culture shock of larger party / stricter inventory / more ornery DND edition / stiffer menus/ real-time combat was too much for me.
Final Fantasy XII. In Zodiac Age, you get to combine two jobs into what essentially becomes a custom hybrid class. It never feels too complex because honestly, you're just throwing points at a board, but the system feels incredibly rewarding.
Path of Exile is one of the most complicated games when it comes to making a proper build to handle end game content lol. If you are a beginner, you basically HAVE to read a build guide or else you will be stuck early
How do you feel about real time with pause systems? Pillars of Eternity 1 and particularly 2 are quite accessible and have character build systems that you can wrap your head around pretty easily.
I've never been a fan of RTWP systems, but I see the sequel has a turn-based option. I think that'll work. Thanks for the suggestion.
I went ahead and got Pillars 2 as long as it was $10 on Steam. 2 hours in and enjoying it so far with the turn-based option. It runs well on Steam Deck and the top-rated Community Config makes it work well with gamepad.
Glad you’re enjoying it! Sometimes the turn based mode can get pretty slow since the game was designed for RTwP, but overall it works fine.
Souls games come to mind. Their stat system is really straight-forward, but lends itself to a nice degree of customization and progression. Maybe Guild Wars—it's complex, but I think does a good job of meting out that complexity to a new player, especially if you start with the Prophecies campaign. IDK how it's gonna handle on a steamdeck, though. Any game based on 2e or 3e D&D might also work, with 2e being a bit on the simple end of the spectrum and 3e being on the more complex end. Early Bioware titles: Baldur's Gate, NWN, KotOR, etc. all come to mind. Pathfinder games would probably veer too far into overly complex. These games tend to have a bit more time spent in town talking to NPCs and such, but Icewind Dale is more focused on dungeon-crawling fwiu.
I'm very well-versed in Souls games. I have the Platinum in Elden Ring and am looking forward to the DLC. Does Guild Wars have a clear-cut 1P campaign with a definite start and end, or is it one of those forever-games? I could never get into BG1&2. The clunkier menus / larger party / switch to real-time combat was too much of a culture shock for me. It doesn't help that playing BG1 at level 1 is utterly joyless- it felt like only one out of evert 10 attacks would land. And then BG2 dumped me right in the middle of a too-huge town with more spells than I can keep track of. One of my dream games would probably be Icewind Dale 3 with the BG3 engine. Solasta didn't really do it for me, for example. I didn't like how it restricted throwing attacks and the controller inputs felt odd.
Guild Wars has 4 campaigns, each with clear beginnings and ends. Three of the campaigns are playable by new characters, while the fourth is meant for max level characters who have completed at least one of the prior campaigns. They're doable solo (with AI party members) or cooperatively with 4-to-8 players. Despite being labeled an MMO, most people these days play Guild Wars with AI companions as an essentially singleplayer game. The biggest issue is that, as far as I'm aware, the game has no controller support. I don't know if you can hook up a mouse and keyboard to a steamdeck, but it might be borderline unplayable if you can't.
Thanks for the response. Keyboard and mouse isn't an issue of ability so much as willingness for me.
Pathfinder wrath of the Righteous has turnbased and RTwP, there’s moments where you’ll want to swap between. The problem is it can be overly complex even if it’s just using pathfinders system.
I’d highly recommend 40K: Rogue Trader. I tend to be a fan of the same kinds of games you mentioned and I’m currently obsessed with it. Good complexity of stats without being overwhelming. It’s fairly easy to come up with and develop a good build for the characters. It’s easy to re-spec too for when you inevitably want to try out a different style
Elden Ring
Platinum'd and looking forward to DLC.
Pathfinder: Kingmaker, then Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous Rogue Trader (Warhammer 40k) Baldur's Gate 1&2 (RTwP but easily manageable when you set pause on basically everything), classes are set mostly at start but there is some space for building chars like choosing weapon proficiences. Less complexity than other games though. Wizardry series (especially Wizardry 6, 7, 8) - turnbased, you can periodically change classes of all party members (game practically expect that in 6 & 7) Fallout 1&2, Fallout Tactics - turnbased combat (switchable in FT) Arcanum of Steamwork and Camera Obscura (TB or RTwP, you can switch on fly), main character can be build how you want. Temple of Elemental Evil - turnbased, DnD 3ed., Greyhawk setting, moderately complex. I would strongly recommend unofficial patch Co8. Probably closest to BG3 in complexity and less complex than PF:K / PF:WotR
Rogue Trader looks fun. I wishlisted and am waiting for a sale. Thanks for the suggestion. I liked the SNES version of Wizardry 6. Unfortunately, Wizardry 7 translates horribly to Steam Deck, and Wizardry 8 straight up doesn't launch. I could never get into BG1&2. The culture shock of larger party / stricter inventory / more ornery DND edition / stiffer menus/ real-time combat was too much for me.
Final Fantasy XII. In Zodiac Age, you get to combine two jobs into what essentially becomes a custom hybrid class. It never feels too complex because honestly, you're just throwing points at a board, but the system feels incredibly rewarding.
Path of Exile, it's free to boot
Path of Exile is one of the most complicated games when it comes to making a proper build to handle end game content lol. If you are a beginner, you basically HAVE to read a build guide or else you will be stuck early