Game News Pillars of Eternity II Fig Update #51: Patch 1.2

[Infinitron]

Tags: Adam Brennecke; Obsidian Entertainment; Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

Obsidian released the second major patch for Pillars of Eternity II this week. This one seems focused mainly on user interface quality of life improvements. Notably, the game's quest log now recommends which companions you should take with you on quests to maximize reactivity. Modding capabilities have also been enhanced, with a new built-in mod manager interface to take advantage of them. With Josh Sawyer having moved on to other projects, Adam Brennecke took the helm in the new patch's accompanying Fig update:

• Inventory and Store Features
  • Your stash is now searchable!
  • Holding shift while selling things from your stash will now add items without prompting the player about stack sizes.
• Companions and Relationships
  • Reputation screen now displays the dialogue nodes that affected change with companion relationships.
  • Added UI to recommend which companions to bring on quests relevant to those companions.
• Mod Manager UI
  • User interface added that lets you track which mods you've added or turned on or off.
• Crew Injuries
  • An Injured Crew HUD is now available.
• Balance Changes
  • All 2H melee weapons now receive +1 Penetration to put them in line with the other melee weapons.
  • Several under-performing Cipher spells have been buffed while Charm has been re-tuned to break if the character takes damage from the charming party.
  • Tricksters have gotten new spells, lower penalties, and cheaper high level abilities, while Wizards have lower out of school penalties, higher power levels with specialized schools, and spell buffs. Additionally, low-level Priest spells have been buffed.
  • We wanted consumables to be valuable tools to solve problems, not be a singular factor in combat or be a crutch that players could reach for too easily and without any need for decision-making. As they were, they were too-often the only deciding factor in combat. We've re-tuned consumables to scale exclusively from skill ranks and power level bonuses and figurines will no longer have unlimited uses.
• Major Fixes
  • Fixed an issue where party members who were knocked out during a save state would be dead but still be in the party upon loading a save
  • Players no longer spiritshift (and lose equipment) when drinking from the pool at Outcast's Respite.
  • Player health in character sheet now displays properly.
  • Active animal companion abilities now properly display on the Ranger and animal companion ability bars.
  • Fixed problems with the ability bar detecting the active/queued state of modal abilities in no modal group.

The full patch notes are available here. Coming later this month, an update with details about the Beast of Winter expansion DLC and the accompanying Patch 2.0. According to the current update, a new "merchant-ship" free DLC is also on the way, while in the video Adam mentions a "Deck of Many Things" free DLC that will be released alongside the new patch. Those two descriptions don't sound like they're referring to the same thing, but we'll see.

 

[Ruzen]

I hope dlc stories are better than plotless main campaign

 

[J_C]

The Deck of Many Things is a fun little item in D&D, I hope it will be something similar in Pillars 2.

Lots of nice little improvements in the patch, I guess when I'll play the game in the distant future, it will be a much better experience.

 

[Tim the Bore]

It's all good and all, but...

• Added UI to recommend which companions to bring on quests relevant to those companions.

Jesus fucking Christ, was someone really demanding this? Why?

 

[J_C]

It's all good and all, but...

• Added UI to recommend which companions to bring on quests relevant to those companions.

Jesus fucking Christ, was someone really demanding this? Why?

Yeah, I was thinking the same. Is someone really that braindead, that not even a storymode is enough for him? No, he needs to be told which companions to take to make the game easier.

 

[Infinitron]

It's not about making the game easier, it's about extracting as much KONTENT as possible.

 

[J_C]

It's not about making the game easier, it's about extracting as much KONTENT as possible.

Are you saying that the recommended companions are those which have some extra quest, banther or connection to that quest?

 

[Tim the Bore]

I mean, it's a small thing, and non-mandatory (in "Expert" Mode - and if you are playing without it, they you're beyond any help anyway) - but c'mon, it's way too meta. You shouldn't know in advance which characters are going to say something, neither how much lines they have. Then it's just a checklist, when you're waiting for a particular character to say something. Like watching an outro before even playing a freaking game. Untasteful masturbation, I say. True storyfags wouldn't spoil their story so badly.
Besides, it's not like companions have anything interesting to say.

 

[Safav Hamon]

I agree that it's too meta, but with some companions like Teheku you will miss most of his character development and endings if you don't bring him along on certain quests.

As someone that likes to maximize content on my first playthrough, this feature is appealing to me.

 

[Invictus]

I kind of like it, one of my favorite experiences from the Final Fantasy games is how they pulled characters from your rosters in some scenarios to kind of force you not to rely on one “perfect” party mix but also to give you special storylines or plot points for particular characters, it allowed some great narrative chances as well as maybe allowing you to experience different playstyles

 

[thesheeep]

Wait... people used consumables in this game?
I don't think I've used a single potion. Only the summoning items.

I hope dlc stories are better than plotless main campaign

I've heard this often, and I think it is a false impression.
The main campaign isn't plotless, the plot isn't even that bad, but the open world nature of the game is doing it an incredibly huge disservice.
They are basically telling a story made for a linear game in a game that lets you roam almost the entire world at any point, making the parts of the main story you cross seem incredibly disconnected.
You can play for a dozen hours without touching the main story - which also of course makes worse the mistake of trying to convey urgency in a setting that gives you unlimited time for everything. And when you do touch it, you have outgrown it in levels and any sense of urgency is lost entirely.

PoE 2 should have been way less open world, only opening up certain sections and islands as the main campaign progresses.
Neketaka is basically one huge story telling mistake - at least for the story they are trying to tell.

Funny thing is that a similar plot worked so much better in BG2, because they used the blunt but at least effective device of "you need to gain this much cash to continue - now go and explore at your leisure to earn it".
Should've done the same in PoE2, maybe tying it to having to earn the biggest ship or something, it certainly took me a while to earn that much.

 

[Immortal]

Every time I read about all these updates and free content.. I get a burst of excitement - followed by the dreary realization that they are probably only doing this because the game sold like shit and they want to entice new people to it.

Ah well.. I look forward to all the free DLC / Mods / Expansions - will be nice to play the final product in 6 months.

 

[J_C]

Every time I read about all these updates and free content.. I get a burst of excitement - followed by the dreary realization that they are probably only doing this because the game sold like shit and they want to entice new people to it..

Pillars 1 also got the free updates, so it is highly unlikely that they are doing this because it underperforming. I mean, this is how it should be done, right? Supporting the game long after release.

 

[Immortal]

Every time I read about all these updates and free content.. I get a burst of excitement - followed by the dreary realization that they are probably only doing this because the game sold like shit and they want to entice new people to it..

Pillars 1 also got the free updates, so it is highly unlikely that they are doing this because it underperforming. I mean, this is how it should be done, right? Supporting the game long after release.

Oh come on.. not even close to this scale.
They have released like 3 or 4 Free DLC packages.. have one more planned and are going full tilt for supporting modding.

First Expansion already being announced and lined up with 2 more on the horizon.

Compared to what.. White March and some portraits?

Stop posting in bad faith.

 

[Infinitron]

We know there was a deliberate plan to change the DLC strategy for PoE2 well before it was released, though.

Some of the things Obsidian is doing seem like they're trying to grab attention (suddenly way more Fig updates and videos) but the free DLC may have been planned all along.

 

[Immortal]

We know there was a deliberate plan to change the DLC strategy for PoE2 well before it was released, though.

Some of the things Obsidian is doing seem like they're trying to grab attention (suddenly way more Fig updates and videos) but the free DLC may have been planned all along.

Maybe. I think MCA has just thrown that company into a more jaded light for me.

I just picture Feargus "Your Fired If PoE1 Doesn't Ship Tomorrow" Urquhart passive aggressively stomping around hallways asking when the game is gonna sell more.

 

[Erebus]

The main campaign isn't plotless, the plot isn't even that bad, but the open world nature of the game is doing it an incredibly huge disservice.
They are basically telling a story made for a linear game in a game that lets you roam almost the entire world at any point, making the parts of the main story you cross seem incredibly disconnected.
You can play for a dozen hours without touching the main story - which also of course makes worse the mistake of trying to convey urgency in a setting that gives you unlimited time for everything. And when you do touch it, you have outgrown it in levels and any sense of urgency is lost entirely.

PoE 2 should have been way less open world, only opening up certain sections and islands as the main campaign progresses.

I agree that the plot and the structure of the game don't work very well together, but I think it would have been better to keep the structure and to change the plot. Having the story focus on the conflicts between the factions - rather than chasing Eothas - would fit an open world much better.

 

[Immortal]

The main campaign isn't plotless, the plot isn't even that bad, but the open world nature of the game is doing it an incredibly huge disservice.
They are basically telling a story made for a linear game in a game that lets you roam almost the entire world at any point, making the parts of the main story you cross seem incredibly disconnected.
You can play for a dozen hours without touching the main story - which also of course makes worse the mistake of trying to convey urgency in a setting that gives you unlimited time for everything. And when you do touch it, you have outgrown it in levels and any sense of urgency is lost entirely.

PoE 2 should have been way less open world, only opening up certain sections and islands as the main campaign progresses.

I agree that the plot and the structure of the game don't work very well together, but I think it would have been better to keep the structure and to change the plot. Having the story focus on the conflicts between the factions - rather than chasing Eothas - would fit an open world much better.

Yea, it felt like a poor-man's New Vegas.. Where Eothas shoots you in the head.. but you don't have all the faction on faction interplay to prop up the side content of the game.
They should of went for a more SoZ style of game.. Focus more on the main story - reduce the world size but make the content more dense. IMO

 

[commie]

Company doesn't support game. Codex: "reeeeeee, think of the gaymers, shit dev!"
Company supports game. Codex: "reeeeeee, they only doing it cause it failed!"

 

[Immortal]

Company doesn't support game. Codex: "reeeeeee, think of the gaymers, shit dev!"
Company supports game. Codex: "reeeeeee, they only doing it cause it failed!"

Ah well.. I look forward to all the free DLC / Mods / Expansions

Bit reaching don't ya think? I'm not complaining - I will reap the benefits of their lackluster sales.

 

[thesheeep]

The main campaign isn't plotless, the plot isn't even that bad, but the open world nature of the game is doing it an incredibly huge disservice.
They are basically telling a story made for a linear game in a game that lets you roam almost the entire world at any point, making the parts of the main story you cross seem incredibly disconnected.
You can play for a dozen hours without touching the main story - which also of course makes worse the mistake of trying to convey urgency in a setting that gives you unlimited time for everything. And when you do touch it, you have outgrown it in levels and any sense of urgency is lost entirely.

PoE 2 should have been way less open world, only opening up certain sections and islands as the main campaign progresses.

I agree that the plot and the structure of the game don't work very well together, but I think it would have been better to keep the structure and to change the plot. Having the story focus on the conflicts between the factions - rather than chasing Eothas - would fit an open world much better.

Yea, it felt like a poor-man's New Vegas.. Where Eothas shoots you in the head.. but you don't have all the faction on faction interplay to prop up the side content of the game.
They should of went for a more SoZ style of game.. Focus more on the main story - reduce the world size but make the content more dense. IMO

Yeah, it is a problem with two solutions really. Either reduce the world scope to fit the plot better or adjust the story to fit the world scope.
Too bad Obsidian went with the third option.

 

[Immortal]

The main campaign isn't plotless, the plot isn't even that bad, but the open world nature of the game is doing it an incredibly huge disservice.
They are basically telling a story made for a linear game in a game that lets you roam almost the entire world at any point, making the parts of the main story you cross seem incredibly disconnected.
You can play for a dozen hours without touching the main story - which also of course makes worse the mistake of trying to convey urgency in a setting that gives you unlimited time for everything. And when you do touch it, you have outgrown it in levels and any sense of urgency is lost entirely.

PoE 2 should have been way less open world, only opening up certain sections and islands as the main campaign progresses.

I agree that the plot and the structure of the game don't work very well together, but I think it would have been better to keep the structure and to change the plot. Having the story focus on the conflicts between the factions - rather than chasing Eothas - would fit an open world much better.

Yea, it felt like a poor-man's New Vegas.. Where Eothas shoots you in the head.. but you don't have all the faction on faction interplay to prop up the side content of the game.
They should of went for a more SoZ style of game.. Focus more on the main story - reduce the world size but make the content more dense. IMO

Yeah, it is a problem with two solutions really. Either reduce the world scope to fit the plot better or adjust the story to fit the world scope.
Too bad Obsidian went with the third option.

The map is very 'purdy'.. and I like the idea that each expansion / DLC will potentially fill it out more. Same with modding.. it's very easy to add these A-Synchronous and decoupled pieces to the world as "one offs" without affecting the world state as a whole.

You could easily add some new area on X-Island that has just a fruit tree and have some reward / super hard boss fight. So I understand why they did it.. but I wish the factions were a little more.. less shit. I wanna see them interact with the world more.

 

[Tim the Bore]

Well, after the ending of the first Pillars, there was never any chance to tell a meaningful story in this world, especially if Obsidian had to at least match the scope of the first game's plot.

Spoiler

And especially if gods are involved

And it seems devs kinda knew it, because while the story pretends to be of the most urgency, game-wise everything is trying to distract you from it. IMHO I think they made the right call, allowing you to have fun, swiming to yet another island, having another, different adventure. At least it's not BG 2 situation, when the game terrorizes you with continuous dreams about your sister, while you are way, way past the required 100k and don't even remember Imoen's name.
So I think it's an unspoken agreement: we're not going to annoy you with the main quest, and you, as the player, will ignore it as well. Obviously, it would be better if the story was a little more meaningful, but given what they had to work with, it's a lesser evil.

 

[Erebus]

but I wish the factions were a little more.. less shit. I wanna see them interact with the world more.

I actually like the major factions. They have strong ties to the setting, their goals and conflicts are fairly realistic, and they interact a lot with the PC (not least because most of your companions belong to one of the factions).

I wish they'd been the heart of the plot, rather than the Jolly Green Giant.

 

[Immortal]

but I wish the factions were a little more.. less shit. I wanna see them interact with the world more.

I actually like the major factions. They have strong ties to the setting, their goals and conflicts are fairly realistic, and they interact a lot with the PC (not least because most of your companions belong to one of the factions).

I wish they'd been the heart of the plot, rather than the Jolly Green Giant.

The factions mostly sat around scratching their ass until you did their story quests. Would of liked to see more interactivity with the world.
I am now talking about game design and pacing.. Not so much the lore reasons behind what they are doing.

I want you to land on a beach and see the factions bickering with each other forcing you to take a side or be an edgy "I go my own way" boi.