I just played the game for the first time over the past two weeks. I really enjoyed the main storyline for most of it. Everything was vague but interesting, the Chosen One main character was just some guy swept up into grand events, and all of it felt like the character was unraveling thousand-year-old mysteries.

But then the Void derailed everything. The revelation with Arronax and the bait-and-switch were welcome surprises, but the final villain felt empty and meaningless. His exposition seemed alien and did not relate to much of anything the rest of the game cared about. The guy really could have been an out-of-world alien. The fight itself was disappointing, too. Just an HP-bloated blob.

Am I (low-spoilers) missing something with the ending? I enjoyed the atmosphere of the game, some of the characters, and the quests. But the combat is so mediocre, half the NPCs are either gated by alignment or say nothing, and the ending I got was a let down.

Why do people love this game?

So, you've finished the game once. Congratulations. :) Now you know, I daresay, twenty, maybe twenty five percent of the game content, if you did most of side-quests available for your character. Try a different character. And another one. And another.

That's why people love this game.

Play as a dumb half-ogre, or use the Idiot Savant background (which enables dumbspeak as well). You'll laugh out loud at how you get treated at some points... including right at the beginning with Virgil.

Play as a pacifist, and let only your party fight as necessary. Protip: you'll need to max out Persuasion for this to work as it should in the endgame.

While you're at it, max out Charisma and fill your party with companions that actively hate each other. Their commentary can be illuminating, while their bickering can be hilarious.

Talk to some of the Dwarves in the Wheel Clan common area. One of them offers what appears to be a simple quest, which if you follow all the way through, will reveal some more backstory about Arcanum and the Big Bad. Another quest is incredibly complicated, but if you have both Magnus and Loghaire with you at its end, there's an unexpected surprise.

Do the hidden Gods' Quest. Not only will it take you to landmarks you haven't seen on first playthrough, but if you do it correctly all the way to the end (there are spoiler hints online if you find you need help) your reward is to become pretty much a God mode version of your character.

Play as a pure mage. A dwarf. A thief. Choose the path of evil at least once. All of these options open up quests and dialog trees that otherwise wouldn't have been triggered.

Or do none of the above. Your choice. Arcanum has some very devoted fans, myself included, but no game is for everyone. Peace.

Surely if's still the same game next time through.

That depends on what you mean. Different characters, who make different choices as the game progresses, will have very different experiences as they play through the game, including finding things to do that other characters never found. Arcanum is far better at providing variety when players choose to roleplay different characters than most role-playing games.

Sure, it's still the same game, with the same combat system and whatnot. But there's a lot more to see than is possible with a single playthrough.

All right, side quests it is then. I did enjoy what I did, an elf warrior with the son of a hero background with max melee, dodge, and persuasion. I really liked the Dragon Knights backstory. My character also fucked Raven, which was some good elf on elf. I didn't pay too much attention to the lesser lived vermin's stories.

I also really hated that the somewhat interesting companions were locked from me. Who gives a shit if my guy is a hero, he just saved you from an eternity of dust and bone, mediocrity, or boredom. Give him the benefit of the doubt.

My biggest gripe was killing myself over and over and over from critical misses.

You should listen to Lorerunner's 1-hour video Rumination Analysis on Arcanum: Of Steamworks And Magick Obscura, especially the end. He explains quite well the end boss's reasoning.

Indigo Gaming's 19-minute video Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura | Troika Games Retrospective 1/3 (timestamped) visualizes what TwoHandedSword explained.

The spoiler warning should probably have been in the title, mate. :/

Also, by not attacking with something rated beyond your current strength. Even if you hold the rank of master, you can still fumble from not having the MSR (minimum strength required) to wield your weapon of choice.

Going pacifist? Check this guide!

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=784831574