Eternity Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire + DLC Thread - now with turn-based combat!

[rusty_shackleford]

So it this better with TB combat or meh regardless of which combat mode you play with? And don't bother answering back, Safav, your opinion don't mean a thing.

TB is far better. RTwP is just a clusterfuck

 

[AwesomeButton]

Good luck taking down the young drake on PotD or Veteran with a party of Eder, Xoti and yourself, whether on TB or RtwP.

What are you talking about? You can easily do that combat on Veteran with yourself Eder and Xoti. Just walk up the ramp and make a choke point, use cinder bombs and few scrolls. It's not even that hard.

It just takes some bombs and scrolls to get through it on veteran, not even really that challenging.

It's doable even on POTD although after rerolling so many times I don't want to bother with it again so I just hire a druid. It's only real hard because of the boars too, which can kill Eder if he gets hit by two of them at the same time.

How come you are casting Fireball and Combusting Wounds?

I just passed that combat. 1 Fire trap, 3 Cinder bombs, 4 Stun bombs, 1 Sparklecracker, 7 Healing potions (all drunk by Eder). Xoti took down the Drake's health by concentrating on it from the start with hunting bow (whichever bow was dong 15-26 pierce/slash), but my PC (pure Wizard) finished it off with a sceptre strike.

Fucking wurms were hitting me more consistently with 42 accuracy than Eder could hit with 49 Accuracy. Eder spent most of the combat drinking healing potions

 

[Efe]

vendor sells fireball necklace. berath blessing vendor i think, which begs the question, why make the game harder than make it easier with blessings?

i was playing through potd/upscale and it hit me... I hate skyrims level scaling, why should i turn it on here?
whats the point of leveling up if everything is leveling up?

 

[Delterius]

I just passed that combat. 1 Fire trap, 3 Cinder bombs, 4 Stun bombs, 1 Sparklecracker, 7 Healing potions (all drunk by Eder). Xoti took down the Drake's health by concentrating on it from the start with hunting bow (whichever bow was dong 15-26 pierce/slash), but my PC (pure Wizard) finished it off with a sceptre strike.

Fucking wurms were hitting me more consistently with 42 accuracy than Eder could hit with 49 Accuracy. Eder spent most of the combat drinking healing potions

Combusting Wounds is available at the company vendor's spellbook in Maje, together with Chill Fog. Those two together can wreck the panthers real quick. But yeah, Wizard PC and the 2 wunderkinds are more than enough on Veteran but it was hell with my Priest.

 

[prodigydancer]

I just passed that combat. 1 Fire trap, 3 Cinder bombs, 4 Stun bombs, 1 Sparklecracker, 7 Healing potions (all drunk by Eder). Xoti took down the Drake's health by concentrating on it from the start with hunting bow (whichever bow was dong 15-26 pierce/slash), but my PC (pure Wizard) finished it off with a sceptre strike.

A 1-st level henchman costs just 250 cp. Dirt cheap. I hired one as soon as I got to Port Maje and didn't have much trouble with the drake on upscaled PotD. Panthers had permanent Robust inspiration on them from Galawain's challenge which looked a bit scary but didn't actually change much (though breaking through 10 armor this early is quite annoying - literally nothing has enough penetration).

 

[AwesomeButton]

Combusting Wounds is available at the company vendor's spellbook in Maje, together with Chill Fog. Those two together can wreck the panthers real quick. But yeah, Wizard PC and the 2 wunderkinds are more than enough on Veteran but it was hell with my Priest.

Combusting Wounds is a power lvl 3 spell. You need to be at least character lvl 5 as a single class wizard to be able to cast it. Same for Fireball, which I see in the screenshot is castable as a spell, not from an item, so it's not coming from necklace of fireballs.

How do you get to lvl 5 before fighting the Drake?

A 1-st level henchman costs just 250 cp. Dirt cheap. I hired one as soon as I got to Port Maje and didn't have much trouble with the drake on upscaled PotD. Panthers had permanent Robust inspiration on them from Galawain's challenge which looked a bit scary but didn't actually change much (though breaking through 10 armor this early is quite annoying - literally nothing has enough penetration).

The point was, I wanted to make it without henchmen.

 

[FreeKaner]

Combusting Wounds is available at the company vendor's spellbook in Maje, together with Chill Fog. Those two together can wreck the panthers real quick. But yeah, Wizard PC and the 2 wunderkinds are more than enough on Veteran but it was hell with my Priest.

Combusting Wounds is a power lvl 3 spell. You need to be at least character lvl 5 as a single class wizard to be able to cast it. Same for Fireball, which I see in the screenshot is castable as a spell, not from an item, so it's not coming from necklace of fireballs.

How do you get to lvl 5 before fighting the Drake?

A 1-st level henchman costs just 250 cp. Dirt cheap. I hired one as soon as I got to Port Maje and didn't have much trouble with the drake on upscaled PotD. Panthers had permanent Robust inspiration on them from Galawain's challenge which looked a bit scary but didn't actually change much (though breaking through 10 armor this early is quite annoying - literally nothing has enough penetration).

The point was, I wanted to make it without henchmen.

Combusing wounds is power level 2 spell, you have it at level 3. I had the necklace of fireball from berath vendor to get through the boars to get to that fight quickly, I didn't use it in that fight.

 

[Delterius]

Combusting Wounds is a power lvl 3 spell.

ni

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Same for Fireball, which I see in the screenshot is castable as a spell, not from an item

The '5' under it indicates it's from an item with 5 charges.

 

[AwesomeButton]

Combusing wounds is power level 2 spell, you have it at level 3. I had the necklace of fireball from berath vendor to get through the boars to get to that fight quickly, I didn't use it in that fight.

Ah, yes, I was wrong about Combusting Wounds.

 

[Piotrovitz]

I'm late to the party, but I've postponed my virgin run until this was reasonably patched.
And guess what, just after I've started, those jokers made an update that screwed up grimoires - now they show only jolting touch, so there's no way to know what else is in before buying them.

While shitload of things has been improved since PoE1 (exploration, encounter design, scripted events, yadda yadda), the NPCs seem to got BIOWARE'D as fuck.
Not sure if this is combo of bad writing and voice acting, or just another shift in target audience.

Maia is suppose to be tough soldier/patriot type, but she sounds more like a bored hipster, tossing oh so funny one liners every time she speaks. She's so annoying that I've actually kicked her the fuck out and replaced with hireling. Which is a bummer because the unique pet was cool, just like Ituumak in PoE1.

Xoti is on similar level to beamdawg's Neera. Kicked her out as well, especially that any priest full/multi class seems to be a waste of party slot, even on POTD.

Eder was your cool/lighthearted/stoic bro with dry sense of humor. Now he's a full time clown that can't be taken seriously.

And there's Tekehu - no comment required.

Thankfully Serafen and Aloth are much better, but overall, the NPC roster is a total decline.

What is cool is that upscaled POTD provides continuous challenge so far, unlike in PoE where you steamrolled everything once you got to Defiance Bay.

 

[AwesomeButton]

And guess what, just after I've started, those jokers made an update that screwed up grimoires - now they show only jolting touch, so there's no way to know what else is in before buying them.

They only show the spells you are able to cast, yeah. I'm not sure if this is intentional or a bug.

the NPCs seem to got BIOWARE'D as fuck.

Yeah, if you watch the GDC video that was posted two pages ago, one of the "lessons" Josh took from PoE was that people miss the more goofy companions from Baldur's Gate. I don't know how the writers were briefed on what this means, because sure as hell they did not play the original IE games, but apparently what they understood was "make everyone a flaming homo with a bipolar disorder".

Sawyer's 2016 GDC Europe talk on PoE is now on Youtube:

In this GDC Europe 2016 session, Obsidian Entertainment's Josh Sawyer looks at the origins of Pillars of Eternity, and how Obsidian aimed to update the classic PC RPG genre while paying tribute to the games that inspired it.

Edit: besides the buttons being removed, the forum css looks broken again.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

I'm late to the party, but I've postponed my virgin run until this was reasonably patched.
And guess what, just after I've started, those jokers made an update that screwed up grimoires - now they show only jolting touch, so there's no way to know what else is in before buying them.

While shitload of things has been improved since PoE1 (exploration, encounter design, scripted events, yadda yadda), the NPCs seem to got BIOWARE'D as fuck.
Not sure if this is combo of bad writing and voice acting, or just another shift in target audience.

Maia is suppose to be tough soldier/patriot type, but she sounds more like a bored hipster, tossing oh so funny one liners every time she speaks. She's so annoying that I've actually kicked her the fuck out and replaced with hireling. Which is a bummer because the unique pet was cool, just like Ituumak in PoE1.

Xoti is on similar level to beamdawg's Neera. Kicked her out as well, especially that any priest full/multi class seems to be a waste of party slot, even on POTD.

Eder was your cool/lighthearted/stoic bro with dry sense of humor. Now he's a full time clown that can't be taken seriously.

And there's Tekehu - no comment required.

Thankfully Serafen and Aloth are much better, but overall, the NPC roster is a total decline.

What is cool is that upscaled POTD provides continuous challenge so far, unlike in PoE where you steamrolled everything once you got to Defiance Bay.

tbh I agree with most of this besides your Maia comment. Take back your insult to my waifu.

Spoiler

She's not a "tough soldier", she just happened to be at the right place at the right time. She even tells you as much. She's just a really good shot.

Aloth is the most underrated companion, no idea why he doesn't seem to be liked that much. Especially considering he's two companions in one(unless you took the ABSOLUTE SHIT choice of getting rid of Iselmyr because you're a douche)

 

[Reinhardt]

Aloth is the most underrated companion

Underrated? He even got romance mod on nexus.

 

[Haplo]

I'm late to the party, but I've postponed my virgin run until this was reasonably patched.
Xoti is on similar level to beamdawg's Neera. Kicked her out as well, especially that any priest full/multi class seems to be a waste of party slot, even on POTD.

Yeah, the NPCs are often cringy. But I strongly disagree with the priest statement. They are great to have in a full party. Basic Devotions of the Faithfull remains a majorly usefull buff, despite the heavy nerf.
Salvation of Time is absolutely fantastic for characters which rely on time-limited durations (Cipher Ascendant Ascension, Fighter Unbending, Tactical Barrage and the defensive buff, Monk's Thunderous Blows and Flurry and many other).
Barring the Death's Door is great for characters who like to live on the edge (say, Streetfighter multiclasses, but also many others).
Champions Boon helps with Penetration issues. Triumph of the Crusaders can make some characters immortal. Circle of Protection is a major defensive buff and Despondent Blows also helps. Plus the various specific buffs/affliction counters.
They even have usefull offensive spells. Beacon, Pillar of Holy Fire, Holy Storm. Try Spark the Souls with a Beckoner summoning a ton of summons...

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Just noticed the journal has a "Recommended Companion" section for quests.

 

[Piotrovitz]

Yeah, if you watch the GDC video that was posted two pages ago, one of the "lessons" Josh took from PoE was that people miss the more goofy companions from Baldur's Gate. I don't know how the writers were briefed on what this means, because sure as hell they did not play the original IE games, but apparently what they understood was "make everyone a flaming homo with a bipolar disorder".

Seems like poor and half-assed justification of cashing in on the biowarization market trend, masquareded as throwback to lightheartedness of oldschool rpgs. What a load of bullshit.

tbh I agree with most of this besides your Maia comment. Take back your insult to my waifu.
Aloth is the most underrated companion, no idea why he doesn't seem to be liked that much. Especially considering he's two companions in one(unless you took the ABSOLUTE SHIT choice of getting rid of Iselmyr because you're a douche)

I genuinely tried to like her, especially that ranger/rogue multi and the hawk pet are awesome, but the bored and jaded delivery of her one liners are too much.
Agree on Aloth though. Voice acting is top notch, and the personality itself seems to be more refined than in PoE1.

But I strongly disagree with the priest statement.

With the party size cut down do five, taking a buffbot priest doesn't sound much fun, but maybe it's just personal preference.

Multiclassing gives so many possibilities, that the buffs no longer seem to be that useful, like in PoE. Right now I'm rolling with rogue/soulblade MC, Eder swashbuckler, Pallegina herald, Aloth pure wiz and hireling scout, and the rogue attacks alone provide shitload of debuffs left and right, not to mention chants/invocations. Dunno, it's just that priest seems to be the least fun class to play, and doesn't seem to mix well with other classes (except chanter, which goes well with almost anything).

 

[Piotrovitz]

Btw. soul annihilation ability is OPd as fuck, did the Balanced Man forget to nerf it in his xxx patches?

 

[Butter]

Btw. soul annihilation ability is OPd as fuck, did the Balanced Man forget to nerf it in his xxx patches?

Everyone and his brother rolled a Soul Blade/Assassin in 1.0 to casually one-shot bosses, and then they changed Soul Annihilation to deal less damage in an AoE instead of single target. From that point it seems like most people no longer wanted to play Soul Blade and discovered Ascendant.

 

[Safav Hamon]

Priests are more effective in turn based, and can be used as more than just support bots. You're going to want a support bot anyways when you reach the DLC and megabosses.

 

[2house2fly]

Seems like poor and half-assed justification of cashing in on the biowarization market trend, masquareded as throwback to lightheartedness of oldschool rpgs. What a load of bullshit.

what are you talking about? People complained in their hordes that the Pillars 1 characters weren't likeable enough. And there was an RPG quote thread around here a while back that was full of stuff like "boo go for the eyes"

 

[rusty_shackleford]

People here cry about 'biowarization' anytime a companion does more than say 'hello'

 

[Butter]

People here cry about 'biowarization' anytime a companion does more than say 'hello'

Part of what made IWD such steep incline was you don't have to waste a single second with annoying stock companions.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

People here cry about 'biowarization' anytime a companion does more than say 'hello'

Part of what made IWD such steep incline was you don't have to waste a single second with annoying stock companions.

Some of us aren't interested in playing murder hobo simulators

 

[Piotrovitz]

what are you talking about? People complained in their hordes that the Pillars 1 characters weren't likeable enough. And there was an RPG quote thread around here a while back that was full of stuff like "boo go for the eyes"

This just shows how low standards people have.

Pillars 1 had genuinely decent npc roster, but some drones won't admit it because it's so edgy here to pour piss all over this game.