Dorateen
Arcane
The release of the second part of The White March, with its obvious influences from Icewind Dale, seems an appropriate time to remind players Pillars of Eternity is a game that supports full party creation. I’ve always found discussion of party composition more interesting than any single character build. This thread is to share ideas and experiences of customized bands of adventurers, whether thematic or constructed for functionality or otherwise. Here is the set-up of characters I used, which completed the end of Pillars and all of the content from White March, Part 1:
A human paladin and dwarven fighter made up the high endurance frontline warriors. The paladin started out using sword and shield, but about midway switched to a two-handed sword significantly increasing his damage dealt and enemies destroyed. For the fighter, I focused on maximizing deflection early on, so I stayed with the hatchet Hearth’s Harvest for the +5 bonus, relying on the highest level of enchantment and refining to get decent damage numbers.
After these two, I had a priest of Eothas, initially playing the role of a back row support character. Again, by mid-game, he started to show signs of being competent enough to engage in melee, while still reserving the option to hang back and fire a crossbow. Between powerful buffs and offensive spells, he proved to be a versatile and integral member of the party throughout.
Next, I used an elven ranger accompanied by a lion companion. With all the associated companion talents, the lion ended up being an effective third frontline fighter, although often he was kept back to guard weaker party members or prowl along the fringes of drawn battlelines, picking out prey to hit with devastating criticals. The ranger was pretty good, too. Consistent in dealing ranged damage and status effects, his interrupts of the enemy proved valuable.
Our party’s orlan rogue also decided early on to stick with a hunting bow. While he could have been promising as a dual-wielding little monster, he was just as potent striking from afar and being able to select high priority targets. In fact, he led the party in enemy kills. A typical encounter would be initiated by him scouting ahead and laying down a trap, then shooting an enemy to trigger the mob rush. They would give chase, haplessly unable to catch the orlan in his Boots of Speed, and be drawn around a corner right into the blades our waiting fighters.
Finally, I went with a classical high-intellect wizard since I find the concept of “muscle wizard” ludicrous as a matter of principle. While he did not land as much damage as he could have if he pumped the Might attribute, instead he had expansive Area of Effect spells and increased durations. The sheer amount of coverage he provided the party when being swarmed by enemies, made efficient work for the other characters to pick off low health stragglers, blinded or stunned or bursting in flames.
A human paladin and dwarven fighter made up the high endurance frontline warriors. The paladin started out using sword and shield, but about midway switched to a two-handed sword significantly increasing his damage dealt and enemies destroyed. For the fighter, I focused on maximizing deflection early on, so I stayed with the hatchet Hearth’s Harvest for the +5 bonus, relying on the highest level of enchantment and refining to get decent damage numbers.
After these two, I had a priest of Eothas, initially playing the role of a back row support character. Again, by mid-game, he started to show signs of being competent enough to engage in melee, while still reserving the option to hang back and fire a crossbow. Between powerful buffs and offensive spells, he proved to be a versatile and integral member of the party throughout.
Next, I used an elven ranger accompanied by a lion companion. With all the associated companion talents, the lion ended up being an effective third frontline fighter, although often he was kept back to guard weaker party members or prowl along the fringes of drawn battlelines, picking out prey to hit with devastating criticals. The ranger was pretty good, too. Consistent in dealing ranged damage and status effects, his interrupts of the enemy proved valuable.
Our party’s orlan rogue also decided early on to stick with a hunting bow. While he could have been promising as a dual-wielding little monster, he was just as potent striking from afar and being able to select high priority targets. In fact, he led the party in enemy kills. A typical encounter would be initiated by him scouting ahead and laying down a trap, then shooting an enemy to trigger the mob rush. They would give chase, haplessly unable to catch the orlan in his Boots of Speed, and be drawn around a corner right into the blades our waiting fighters.
Finally, I went with a classical high-intellect wizard since I find the concept of “muscle wizard” ludicrous as a matter of principle. While he did not land as much damage as he could have if he pumped the Might attribute, instead he had expansive Area of Effect spells and increased durations. The sheer amount of coverage he provided the party when being swarmed by enemies, made efficient work for the other characters to pick off low health stragglers, blinded or stunned or bursting in flames.
