Pathfinder: Wrath Of The Righteous is the second video game based on the Pathfinder tabletop RPG developed by Owlcat Games. It's a step-up from its predecessor, Pathfinder: Kingmaker, in a number of ways, making it a better entry point for the series. Those who enjoy Wrath Of The Righteous should still check out Kingmaker, as it's a great game in its own right, especially to those who are familiar with the Pathfinder rules.

Wrath Of The Righteous starts with all hell breaking loose. The player is an adventurer who arrives in the city of Kenabres on the day its Wardstone fails, and a demon army, led by the demon lord Deskari, invades the city. While searching the ruined city for allies and survivors, the player is granted the powers of a Mythic being, giving them the strength to fight back against the horde. They found the Fifth Crusade, and begin to gather an army that can banish the demons for good. Pathfinder: Kingmaker isn't quite as action-packed at the beginning, but it still has a story with an epic scope. The player has been sent to conquer the Stolen Lands, which is a region overrun by bandits and monsters. They eventually form their own kingdom and must wage war against supernatural beings from another plane.

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It's easier to get into Pathfinder: Wrath Of The Righteous than Kingmaker, as it has an explosive start that draws players in, and its more limited scope gives the player more of a chance to learn the rules of the game and make critical choices that have direct repercussions. In contrast, Kingmaker is a much more open game, which can be off-putting to those who prefer a solid objective. The fans of Wrath Of The Righteous should play Kingmaker once they have the chance, however, as it has a lot to offer fans of the genre.

Pathfinder: The Stolen Lands Vs. The Worldwound

Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous Aeon Cover

It's advised that players who are curious about the Pathfinder video games should try Wrath Of The Righteous before Kingmaker. This is because of its more linear structure, higher stakes, and solid goal that is set within the first few hours of the game. Wrath Of The Righteous has a more focused story than Kingmaker, which is a good thing, as it keeps the player moving at a steady pace with a list of short-term goals that need to be met. This means it's a more linear game, with the game gradually opening in small chunks. The more manageable approach means that Wrath Of The Righteous is better for teaching new players the ropes than Kingmaker's looser style.

Once Wrath Of The Righteous has been conquered, Pathfinder players should try out Kingmaker's more open world. The player is given free rein of the Stolen Lands early on in Pathfinder: Kingmaker, which can be a little daunting for new players. The fact that they'll soon be building cities (with their own management system) and completing quests on a schedule can be off-putting, especially for those who just want to raid dungeons. Those who are familiar with the easier systems and more structured story of Wrath Of The Righteous should have an easier time coming to grips with the world of Pathfinder: Kingmaker. It also helps to read some beginners guides, in order to avoid missable content. Players should also install Pathfinder: Kingmaker's turn-based mod, as this was part of Wrath Of The Righteous, but isn't in the base version of Kingmaker. It takes a little more engagement to conquer the Stolen Lands, but once the player has gotten to grips with its rules, then the journey can be just as fun as Wrath Of The Righteous.

Pathfinder: Varied Enemies Vs. Demons Everywhere

Main heroes and enemies in Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous

Wrath Of The Righteous involves demons invading the world of Golarion in droves. The entire point of the Fifth Crusade in Pathfinder is to smite the fiends wherever they appear and send them screaming back to their home plane. This means that the bulk of enemies the player will face in Wrath Of The Righteous are demons, which can be frustrating. For one thing, demons have baked-in spell resistance, as well as tons of elemental/status effect resistances, making it extremely frustrating to play a spellcaster, as many effects simply won't work against demonkind. The fact that Pathfinder's demons are such a constant threat means that there is little reason to specialize in facing anything else, as they make up the bulk of the opponents in the game.

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Pathfinder: Kingmaker features a much more varied roster of enemies. The main opponents in Kingmaker are fey, but players will be facing all kinds of monsters throughout the game. This means there is more room to experiment with class options that aren't focused on dealing with one specific threat. A demon slayer main character is going to have a huge leg up in Wrath Of The Righteous, while everything else will feel underpowered. The Stolen Lands of Pathfinder are filled with all kinds of threats, and the ruler of the land can meet them in a number of different ways.

Pathfinder: Stable Vs. A Work In Progress

Pathfinder Kingmaker Amiri

By far the biggest issue with Pathfinder: Wrath Of The Righteous is the current technical state of the game. Wrath Of The Righteous is an incredibly buggy game and has received several massive patches since launch. This is to say nothing of the balance issues with its difficulty, especially in regards to the Crusade Mode. It's easy to recommend Wrath Of The Righteous to fans of the RPG genre, but it's also just as easy to recommend waiting until the game is in a better condition. Console versions of Pathfinder are arriving in 2022, and those should be more stable. Wrath Of The Righteous has a lot of different elements and story paths, and nothing ruins a run quicker than an unexpected bug that prevents something critical from triggering, which is an unfortunate reality of playing the game at launch.

Pathfinder: Kingmaker launched in a similar state and also took a lot of patches to get up and running. Things have changed over the last few years, and Kingmaker is in a much better state now than it was at launch. The Kingmaker - Definitive Edition on consoles and the Enhanced Plus Edition on Steam includes a number of fixes and content updates, as well as the DLC content that was released after launch. Not only is Pathfinder: Kingmaker in a much better technical state than Pathfinder: Wrath Of The Righteous, but it also has lots of additional content that can be explored, including a rogue-like dungeon mode, where players can test out different party compositions and strategies. Wrath Of The Righteous has the potential to be an amazing game, but the technical issues are still a concern, which means Pathfinder: Kingmaker can help tide players over until the Fifth Crusade runs a little smoother.

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