Eternity Pillars of Eternity + The White March Expansion Thread

[FreeKaner]

I just wanted a simple answer. I'm not asking for tactics.

The way DT works it's not very helpful against Dragons. It helps but minimally. You need to up your deflection, ideally anyone who is getting hit by a dragon should have over 130 deflection minimum. Also in Alpine Dragon fight specifically it's prudent to have a barbarian/fighter/paladin rush forward to be hit by the dragon and go up the cave so rest of your party can clear up the adds without getting breath ko'd. I am giving unsolicited tactics advice because you said "wrong" by the way.

Also yes he is available in WM2.

 

[Hyperion]

Isn't Alpine Dragon the one that targets Fortitude over Deflection? Or does it have the Barbarian ability that targets the lower of the two? Been awhile since I played.

 

[FreeKaner]

Isn't Alpine Dragon the one that targets Fortitude over Deflection? Or does it have the Barbarian ability that targets the lower of the two? Been awhile since I played.

Tail lash targets fortitude I think, not the standard attacks. Now that you mention it however I am not so sure.

 

[MajorMace]

Iirc dragons target every defense. Fear auras target will (and inflict a whopping -20 acc or something), breaths target reflex, claws target deflection and maybe the tail whip does target fortitude (also I'm not sure why it would, maybe the push effect does as an additional roll on hit).

 

[Ninjerk]

Isn't Alpine Dragon the one that targets Fortitude over Deflection? Or does it have the Barbarian ability that targets the lower of the two? Been awhile since I played.

Tail lash targets fortitude I think, not the standard attacks. Now that you mention it however I am not so sure.

I thought I read tail lash targets fortitude, and I'd be willing to bet Prone or w/e the effect is lowers multiple defenses.

 

[Mexi]

The simple answer is that you'd be too stupid to use tactics if they were given to you.

Don't go all butthurt phaggot on me now.

 

[Hyperion]

http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/84413-alpine-dragon/

That Boeroer guy is incredibly knowledgeable about the game, and he seems to think it ignores Deflection entirely. I recall having an easier time with Alpine than Adra* (and i think I was like level 11 or 12 for Alpine, versus 15 with Adra). I specifically waited for WM2 to start before attempting it so I could have Steadfast + Unlabored Blade on my PC Paladin for Terrify Immunity, a maxed out Faith and Conviction + Deep Faith, and Ryona's Breastplate for the Defense Proc. If you want even more defense, you can use that OP Buckler you buy from Gilded Vale in the first hour of the game that stacks with the buff from the similar shield you get from Adra Dragon's pile as well. You can also respec your character to specifically go Bear's Fortitude + Secrets of Rime for extra defense / DR.

* - I like to do Caed Nua after WM because the beginning levels are excellent places to nab kills and damage for Soulbound weapons. Even at higher levels, Adra gave me trouble because I couldn't figure out what the fuck is considered out of range of the wing slam. Its AoE is certainly larger than the wingspan, and no matter how I positioned her, or my party they would either eat the slam, or breath. There was lots of cursing, and reloads 'till I downed her with a timely Sunlance from Steadfast. Became my favorite weapon in the game after.

 

[Malpercio]

For those who complain Pillars to have trash encounter, how Bg was different?

i remember mines, fortress and forests full of same spiders\gnoll\cobolds\whatever over and over again. was that better?

Same for Dao, entire levels full of boring trash mobs over and over.

BG1, yes. BG2 has the best encounter design of any cRPG.

 

[Sykar]

For those who complain Pillars to have trash encounter, how Bg was different?

i remember mines, fortress and forests full of same spiders\gnoll\cobolds\whatever over and over again. was that better?

Same for Dao, entire levels full of boring trash mobs over and over.

BG is around 20 years old so how exactly is that comparable or excusable? Furthermore many people on the codex do in fact criticize BG 1/2 for it. Yes they had a lot of trash mobs and in BG 2 you would usually instagibb or wipe them out in a 2-4 rounds. That being said both BGs had their fair share of special and difficult encounters which required different approaches. So why was PoE not any better? In fact you can argue that it is even worse than the BG or IWD series since they could have taken a closer a look at combat encounter design from earlier games but it really looks like they just mindlessly threw in some trash encounters and moved on for the most part.

 

[Mexi]

OMFG soooo close. Lvl 11, PotD, Eder tanking. 1 fucking pip of life left. Soooo close to killing this motherfucker.

Right after, I kill the motherfucker. Fuck the tactics that tell you to stick to the right side of the map. They're fucking stupid. Eder gets stomped fast. I stuck to the bottom left in the corner. Eder drank Llengrath's Displaced Image, hit him with my paladin's reinforcing exaltation, had Kana confuse the blights on the right side, Durance hit use with prayer against fear, without touching him (someone hit him anyways), had Aloth heal with a scroll as soon as he hit us with some weird blast. That's all in the first-second turn. Had Kana and Durance confuse the fuck out of everything. Let the dragon go crazy on all the aggro. Dragon comes to our right, had Eder move there.

Aloth hits him with torment, terror, and miasma of the dull mindedness. Then had durance hit up Crowns. Finally, Aloth hits him with petrify, petrify, while my paladin did that sworn enemy. Killed with with no party members lost.

By the way, huge "fuck you" at the end. Shitty loot and a quest that ends in a cliffhanger.

 

[FreeKaner]

There is no cliffhanger, if you talk with the Dragon he explains to you what the ordeal is.

 

[Mexi]

There is no cliffhanger, if you talk with the Dragon he explains to you what the ordeal is.

I think you have to explain to him what the ordeal is. He did try to put "heaviest armor" on Eder.

Worked in the end, fuck-head. That's why I don't take ask for strategies. Last thing I need is a bunch of cucks telling me their brain-dead ideas.

 

[Mexi]

There is no cliffhanger, if you talk with the Dragon he explains to you what the ordeal is.

It ends with something like "He's walking..." then it says you can no longer follow or something. I don't know the specifics anymore.

 

[2house2fly]

Wait the alpine dragon? Whenever I've fought him all I remember is killing him and the essence flying out of him. Was there meant to be something else there that was bugged for me?

 

[FreeKaner]

If you talk to the dragon (there might be a stat check I didn't have them on), he explains to you the guy that you found the journal of and followed was his soul twin. The Alpine dragon was born with "split souls" with his siblings or some such, and killed them all at birth, over the years these souls kept reincarnating and he killed them too because it's both source of pain and making him weaker. So when the guy that you are following got into his cave, dragon killed him and absorbed his soul. You can also assert that he looks weak from joining of souls but he assures you he can still kill you. It's kind of like hiravais story, basically. Split souls of same root, Alpine Dragon's case was though it made them weaker and they could tap into memories and emotions of each.

This conversation also completes the quest, without having to kill the dragon.

 

[PulsatingBrain]

I'm replaying PoE since getting White March 1 and 2. I'm a little into chapter 2 of the main quest and I have a White March quest. I'd assumed WM stuff was generally late game, but now I'm not sure.

Does WM content fit anywhere in particular?

 

[Roguey]

I'm replaying PoE since getting White March 1 and 2. I'm a little into chapter 2 of the main quest and I have a White March quest. I'd assumed WM stuff was generally late game, but now I'm not sure.

Does WM content fit anywhere in particular?

Level 7 or so. It's mid-game content, though Concelhaut is late-game.

 

[aweigh]

what even is trash combat anyway? does this include random encounters?

 

[Jasede]

It's Codex being stupid.
They mean "non-meaningful combat encounters" like meeting 8 no-name skeletons in Baldur's Gate vs. meeting a party of adventurers with unique names and spells.

Obviously that's as old as the genre itself and perfectly normal, but since we live in the millenial "I am speshul" generation every combat has to be unique and non-boring, which ends up making combat less unique (as the actually unique fights in a game no longer are emphasized) and more boring (when every fight is special, no fight is).

 

[Delterius]

(when every fight is special, no fight is)

Now that sounds kinda stupid.

Handcrafted encounters with interesting enemies don't become less or more unique because of the hundreds of exp bags you've grinded in between, on fast forward wizardry mode.

 

[Roguey]

Obviously that's as old as the genre itself and perfectly normal, but since we live in the millenial "I am speshul" generation every combat has to be unique and non-boring, which ends up making combat less unique (as the actually unique fights in a game no longer are emphasized) and more boring (when every fight is special, no fight is).

They can still be unique and interesting as long as each one has something that sets it apart from all the rest.

 

[Jasede]

(when every fight is special, no fight is)

Now that sounds kinda stupid.

Handcrafted encounters with interesting enemies don't become less or more unique because of the hundreds of exp bags you've grinded in between, on fast forward wizardry mode.

I disagree.

Imagine a game where every fight is a boss fight. Now no boss fight is a boss fight - they all just feel like 'encounters' because nothing distinguishes them from- ah heck, if you get what I mean you get it and if you don't you don't.

 

[Strange Fellow]

Imagine a game where every fight is a boss fight.

Shadow of the Colossus?

 

[aweigh]

SotC really needed something else to do besides boss rush. Game got boring super fast.

 

[Roguey]

Imagine a game where every fight is a boss fight. Now no boss fight is a boss fight - they all just feel like 'encounters' because nothing distinguishes them from- ah heck, if you get what I mean you get it and if you don't you don't.

Everyone loves Cuphead for the bosses and not the few tacked-on levels that they put in because some people wanted/expected non-boss levels.