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

[Prime Junta]

10 hours

That's more than I expected. Sounds about 2/3 as big as WM1 or 2. If so, .

 

[Darth Roxor]

10 hours claimed by bubbles is probably 2 hours in practice

 

[Haplo]

Why the fuck do they keep adding small DLCs, mega bosses and other stupid stuff? Is there really anybody who'll actually replay the game because of that? And planned patches...makes me wish the game was delayed and properly released after all this stuff. I really hate how it has become the accepted norm that games are borderline unplayable at release and only become properly completed after a year of patching.

Poorly balanced, yes. But borderline unplayable? Talk about exaggeration...

 

[Safav Hamon]

Here are the BoW ending slides if you don't want to complete the game to view them. I pieced them together to the best of my abilities.

Spoiler

Neriscyrlas

1. The Dead Floe, an iceberg in the southern sea, continues to grow unchecked. As the ice spreads, so too do wild tales of a hideous dragon rampaging across the Deadfire.

2. The dragon Neriscyrlas no longer passes between Eora and the White Void, and the Dead Floe slowly breaks apart, exposing the temple long frozen within.


The Duskbringers

1. Under Hafjórn's guidance, the Harbingers of Dusk resettle within Rymrgand's temple, vowing to forever protect it from the defiling touch of outsiders

• Over time, the group becomes increasingly reclusive and fanatical, attacking any who dare approach their holy site.

2. The Harbingers of Dusk eventually resettle within and around Rymrgand's temple. Under Vatnir's leadership, the settlement flourishes, becoming a prominent port of call along trading routes to and from the Deadfire.

3. Hafjórn leads the remaining Harbingers of Dusk on a return pilgrimage to the White that Wends, and they scatter into the clans and settlements from which they hailed.

• The temple of Rymrgand falls into disrepair, home only to madmen and monsters

4. Vatnir tries to hold the Harbingers of Dusk together and, for a time, succeeds. The group resettles within and around the temple, vowing to protect it. Eventually, however, Rymrgand's godlike falters, and his followers sacrifice him to the White Void.

• The temple of Rymrgand falls into disrepair, home only to madmen and monsters

White Void

1. Having vowed to enact Rymrgand's will as his Duskspeaker, you find the god of decay and disaster a consistent presence in your life. You soon learn that there are innumerable objects, institutions, and people in need of ending, and the Beast of Winter does not hesitate in tasking you with ensuring those conclusions.

2. The chime of Rymrgand continues to pulse coldly within your breast. Though the Beast of Winter rarely intrudes upon you, the chill within your soul promises that you will return to his dominion in the end.

3. In besting the Beast of Winter, you earned the death god's mercy rather than his enmity. The deity remains characteristically unforthcoming about his decision, and you're left to wonder whether in doing battle with him in the White Void you somehow furthered his apocalyptic ambitions.

4. You rarely think of Ydwin, the toll you paid to leave the White Void. Her features and expressions, the sound of her voice, and her very name become increasingly difficult to call to mind. Even her contributions to the field of animancy fall into obscurity, relegated to a few moldering tomes tucked away in the darkest recesses of the remotest libraries.

5. Having convinced the god of decay and disaster of your usefulness, you find your return to the living world plagued by his influence. Though he makes few overt demands of you, you sense Rymrgand's hand in the troubled times that follow. With each faction you foil and enemy you overcome, chaos spreads - and with it, the legend of the Duskspeaker.

Vatnir

1. Vatnir escaped Harbingers' Watch with his life but with none of his authority. He wanders the Deadfire alone, preaching of Rymrgand's inevitable triumph while weathering the revulsion and derision of those he ministers to.

2. Having tested himself against the White Void, Vatnir does not long remain content at Harbingers' Watch. He sets forth into the Deadfire, spreading word of his god while serving in a series of wildly disreputable privateer crews.

 

[Lacrymas]

Safav does have a lot of free time on a Thursday, killing the first boss at 11:20PM and finishing it almost exactly 10 hours later. And the DLC is 10 hours according to him.

 

[Sizzle]

Didn't get the chance to play BoW much, but gave the Deck of Many Things a spin.

The items from DoMT remind me of those that were added to PoE1 v3 Stronghold Adventures - interesting little knick-knacks, most of them not particularly OP, with a couple that will probably get nerfed at some point (one of them grants Immunity to Resolve Afflictions, etc.).

 

[Lacrymas]

Helwax Mold is probably one of the most interesting items in terms of mechanics added in this type of RPG ever, so that's incline, I guess.

 

[Ziggy]

agree with most of what Safav said, except that I have no idea how this would take ten hours, 4-6 depending on difficulty level is more like it, and there's a flaw that's not really that big of a deal but

Spoiler

Durance kind of shows up and they absolutely fucked up. Bad dialogue, doesn't sound like him at all

Now, as I was drinking some terrible tea this morning, I had an epiphany. Pillars 2 is a marvelous achievement in game narrative, that won't get recognized for another decade at least, as it, probably unintentionally, explores this contemporary facet of infantilism, known as Failsons. "Massive yet fragile ego coupled with complete ineptitude" applies, to an extent, to pretty much every companion, and especially the godlikes, and then the gods themselves are Engwithian's failsons, having gained power from inheritance rather than merit, and now spend their times bickering with each other. Konstanten is pretty much the only normal person available for recruitment, and being so, he'll just shut up after that. Everyone else is a petulant child.

Spoiler

sike

 

[Lacrymas]

Yes, when the writing itself is infinitely boring and basically nothing, there is a tendency to invent your own narrative. Kinda like that "POE1 is about unanswered questions and Thaos is a Dostoyevskian character!"

 

[Ulfhednar]

”Thaos is a Dostoyevskian character!"

He is the Grand Inquisitor.

 

[Roguey]

Yes, when the writing itself is infinitely boring and basically nothing, there is a tendency to invent your own narrative. Kinda like that "POE1 is about unanswered questions

A character literally asks you "What if we can be assured of nothing?" in a scene that echoes the nature of a man.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

POE1 was about letting annoying atheist interns write the ending of your game
a game where you clearly showed gods exist but wanted to shove it into your face "nuh uh they don't"

 

[Lacrymas]

A character literally asks you "What if we can be assured of nothing?" in a scene that echoes the nature of a man.

A character literally asks you "what relationship did you have with Iovara?" in a scene that echoes Sex and the City.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

A character literally asks you "What if we can be assured of nothing?" in a scene that echoes the nature of a man.

A character literally asks you "what relationship did you have with Iovara? in a scene that echoes Sex and the City.

you're probably the only person who picked up on that

 

[Roguey]

A character literally asks you "what relationship did you have with Iovara?" in a scene that echoes Sex and the City.

That was for additional reactivity. There was no gameplay or narrative affect on the nature of a man/assured of nothing question.

 

[Lacrymas]

You are missing the point, lol.

 

[BING XI LAO]

A character literally asks you "What if we can be assured of nothing?" in a scene that echoes the nature of a man.

'What can change the nature of a man?' had many interesting answers you could give Ravel.
''What if we can be assured of nothing'' could have been just as good, with interesting answers such as upholding abstract mathematical/rational thought, empirical evidence and scientific enquiry, or the vibrancy of life and the soul, or agreeing we can't be sure of anything and saying some gnostic thing like the world is an illusion.
But IIRC, it was just played as either a rhetorical question or ''Gods aren't/are genuine''

 

[Sizzle]

A character literally asks you "What if we can be assured of nothing?" in a scene that echoes the nature of a man.

'What can change the nature of a man?' had many interesting answers you could give Ravel.
''What if we can be assured of nothing'' could have been just as good, with interesting answers such as upholding abstract mathematical/rational thought, empirical evidence and scientific enquiry, or the vibrancy of life and the soul, or agreeing we can't be sure of anything and saying some gnostic thing like the world is an illusion.
But IIRC, it was just played as either a rhetorical question or ''Gods aren't/are genuine''

"What can change the nature of a man?" was also reinforced all throughout PS:T, while "What if we can be assured of nothing?" only appears once in the last half hour of the game - thereby robbing it of any gravitas it could have had.

 

[BING XI LAO]

I do like Vithracks (even if they are merely floating illithids with less edginess), the Nemnok idea of imps growing larger when they can feed on magical items, the way the Council of Stars and White March succeeded in portraying interesting divine politics. Just felt I ought to say it for fairness' sake since i keep shitting on PoE.

 

[Jezal_k23]

Maybe putting all 3 DLCs together will be the equivalent to a TotSC-ish sized expansion.

 

[2house2fly]

"What can change the nature of a man?" was also reinforced all throughout PS:T, while "What if we can be assured of nothing?" only appears once in the last half hour of the game - thereby robbing it of any gravitas it could have had.

It's the main theme of just about every companion quest, and indeed Iovara asks a variation of it to each party member

 

[Lacrymas]

No, it isn't. Just like one of themes isn't "tradition, ritual and superstition being replaced by technology", the same way "unanswered questions" (or whatever variation) also isn't. A theme has to be explored, there is no exploration. I can say that the theme is "loss of infant life" and it will be as much explored as anything vaguely mentioned in the game.

Maybe putting all 3 DLCs together will be the equivalent to a TotSC-ish sized expansion.

TotSC isn't very big, all things considered. Outside of Durlag's Tower, it's 4 maps. The little town, the cave you get teleported to and the 2 maps of Werewolf island. I don't count sub-maps. I'm pretty sure you can finish Durlag's Tower in like 2 hours too. I'd say a single one of these DLCs are at least as big as the whole of TotSC, but I might be wrong, I'd have to play them to compare.

 

[BING XI LAO]

It's the main theme of just about every companion quest, and indeed Iovara asks a variation of it to each party member

Sheeeeeit. I never realised.

 

[Prime Junta]

A theme has to be explored, there is no exploration.

Oh come on. Lacrymas wouldn't be Lacrymas without mad hyperbole, but this is a bit much even for you. That very early quest where you're sent to fetch a remedy from Ranga? Sagani's quest? Durance's arc? Zahua's rather beautifully unfolding story that turns a comic sidekick into a tragic hero? All of that is just mentions, not exploration? Not even a little?

 

[Lacrymas]

Yes. I don't know what's up with Zahua, but Durance had his question answered, he just didn't like it. Sagani didn't have a question, she found the one she's supposed to find and quest over, big deal that she couldn't talk to it. Even if they didn't, it's still only mentioned that they didn't get answered, as opposed to something happening because they didn't get answers. They did, though, so that's moot.