Eternity Pillars of Eternity + The White March Expansion Thread

[Lacrymas]

Yeah, you can.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Right now seems like maxing might and int and leaving the rest at base is the best way to go for a defence/buff oriented pally, but i think i'll make a sub-optimal one just to raise some of the other stats and see what they do. For instance i could take perception to 14 to check out some of the dialogue options. I can change things around later if the game is stomping my face too much.

 

[Lacrymas]

Resolve is the most used attribute in dialogue options. It's not really worth it to base your build around those because they very rarely pop up and they are mostly cosmetic.

 

[Lyric Suite]

I see. So really just pump might and intelligence and play as a turtled aura bot.

 

[Tweed]

What's the verdict on the PoE DLC's? I have little interest in the base game but might finish out an character close to the end if the DLC's are any good.

The DLCs are better because they're more focused and it's really just Sawyer escaping back to Icewind Dale, when he was happy. There's still a lot of dumb shit though like the stupid barbarian and her subplot.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Talkie character i came up with:

16 12 6 14 14 15

Perception, intelligence and resolve would be then raised with items/buffs whatever for convos. Playing in expert mode i think i cannot actually see the skill check, so i would have to make sure those stats are raised before hand and cross my fingers.

Closest i can get to a shield and board pally with high charisma. I can conversely swap con for dex (so 6 12 instead of 12 6) and make it more dps oriented and go 2h instead and use the shield only when needed.

Question: how does the roleplaying thing works for pallies? I took a peek at the kind of checks you get with resolve and those seem to involve a lot of "do as i say or i'll beat yer face" which aren't very paladin like (intimidation, yes, but not thuggish), and seems like they would conflict with being "diplomatic" for instance. So far this idea i have to watch how i behave or i won't get the full pally bonus is the most interesting thing i've met while exploring this system. I guess the dynamic alignment system of Torment was the inspiration.

 

[Lacrymas]

Which order did you choose? Playing on expert without meta knowledge will fuck with your pally bonuses because you can't guess the intention behind what you are saying. In short, you have to have a reputation that matches the desired traits of your order.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Just play the fucking game

 

[Bigg Boss]

I just played the fucking game and had a good time. The ending kinda sucked but it is good. If you want Baldur's Gate go play that new Larian game.

 

[Lacrymas]

Just play the fucking game

Easier said than done when he's trying to fight the system, lol. Well, it depends on what kind of difficulty you are on. If it's something below PotD, don't worry about anything and go live that sword and board pally dream.

 

[ferratilis]

I completed the game on PotD with a paladin without dumping any stats, you don't have to obsess so much about attributes. The only difficult fights are dragons, spirits and some DLC fights, but it's manageable with summons and some trial and error. As rusty said, just play the fucking game and enjoy it. If people can beat solo triple crown, you can beat PotD even with a subpar party. It was balanced by Josh, after all.

 

[Lacrymas]

Yeah, of course you can beat the game with a subpar party, it's not that difficult even on PotD. However, you are setting yourself up for disappointment if you go with a bog standard sword and board build for your paladin as your first char. It's just underwhelming and boring imo.

 

[Delterius]

i played a priest so i kinda min maxxed that 'don't worry you can do it' dream

 

[Lacrymas]

Inb4 the "I'm fucking done with this game, my paladin doesn't do anything and the system is dumb" post. ;d

 

[Nano]

Resolve is the most used attribute in dialogue options. It's not really worth it to base your build around those because they very rarely pop up and they are mostly cosmetic.

There are a lot of dialog options for Might and Intellect, too. I dumped Perception and barely noticed its absence in dialogues.

 

[Lacrymas]

I think there was an excel spreadsheet someone had made here that listed the total number of dialogue options for every attribute and race/class. Resolve was by far the most used one and I think constitution was the least used.

 

[Lacrymas]

Yeap, here they are -

Barbarian: 2
Chanter: 1
Cipher: 12
Druid: 1
Fighter: 4
Monk: 2
Paladin: 1 + Order
Priest: 6 (3 unique - without equivalent "Clergyman" background check) + Deity
Ranger: 2
Rogue: 2
Wizard: 3

Kind Wayfarers: 7
Bleak Walkers: 6
Shieldbearers: 3
Goldpact: 2
Darcozzi: 3

Berath: 3
Skaen: 7
Magran: 5
Wael: 5
Eothas: 7

Aristocrat: 8
Artist: 4
Clergyman: 7 (4 unique)
Colonist: 9
Dissident: 6
Drifter: 4
Explorer: 9
Hunter: 10
Laborer: 8
Mercenary: 8
Merchant: 11
Mystic: 5
Philosopher: 11
Raider: 11
Scholar: 13
Scientist: 6
Slave: 7

Aedyr: 12 (5 of them with Aloth)
Deadfire: 9
Ixamitl Plains: 1
Old Vailia: 4
Rauatai: 9 (8 with Kana)
The Living Lands: 9
White That Wends: 14

Aumaua: 7
Coastal Aumaua: 1

Dwarf: 0
Boreal Dwarf: 1

Elf: 1
Snow Elf: 7 (3 with Glaswal)

Godlike: 10
Fire Godlike: 4
Nature Godlike: 2
Moon Godlike: 2
Death Godlike: 3

Human: 1

Orlan: 14 (5 with Captain Aldmar)
Hearth Orlan: 1
Wild Orlan: 1

Male: 7
Female: 12

First number shows amount of conversations where the stat is checked, numbers in brackets include multiple checks per conversation (can be slightly inaccurate):

Might: 38 (42)
Constitution: 12 (12)
Dexterity: 19 (21)
Perception: 42 (47)
Intellect: 40 (55)
Resolve: 55 (81)

Stealth: 4 (5)
Athletics: 22 (30+) (only checked once outside of text adventures, by the Glanfathan Leader)
Lore: 18 (25)
Mechanics: 4 (7)
Survival: 14 (16)

Highest amount checked:

Stealth: 6 (Falanroed/Maw)
Athletics: ? (possibly 11 on Burial Isle)
Lore: 10 (lots)
Mechanics: 8 (Durance)
Survival: 12 (Sagani)

Disposition checks:

Aggressive 39
Benevolent 40
Clever 27
Cruel 52
Deceptive 30
Diplomatic 25
Honest 26
Passionate 33
Rational 30
Stoic 28

Highest unlocks are for Rank 3; Rank 4 is only used to lock options.

 

[plem]

I almost never used consecrated ground because it was difficulty to play Durance as melee. As soon as I get Kana, his arquebus goes to Durance and Kana uses a war bow for the rest of the game. That way, Durance can be set to auto attack from the back line and occasionally cast. Playing him in melee just makes him die all the time, despite some recommendations to play him like that (even with long reach weapons like quarterstaff). What weapon did you guys use on him?

he's actually very viable as an off-tank thanks to his high starting RES and CON, I usually give him the whispers of yenwood, heavy armor and shield
weapon and shield style + cautios attack + superior deflection + veteran's recovery = a very durable Durance
I'm currently going with him, Éder and Pallegina as a tank trio while Kana, Aloth and my cipher PC deal damage/CC from range
Pallegina's defensive auras combined with the outworn buckler and consecrated ground as a constant source of healing makes them nigh unkillable

 

[Lyric Suite]

Which order did you choose? Playing on expert without meta knowledge will fuck with your pally bonuses because you can't guess the intention behind what you are saying. In short, you have to have a reputation that matches the desired traits of your order.

Well, reminds when i ended up Chaotic Good in Torment because i helped the Howling dudes and didn't make the connection.

Keeping this shit in the dark is precisely one of the reasons i want to play Expert Mode.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Resolve is the most used attribute in dialogue options. It's not really worth it to base your build around those because they very rarely pop up and they are mostly cosmetic.

There are a lot of dialog options for Might and Intellect, too. I dumped Perception and barely noticed its absence in dialogues.

I was just able to confirm from a forum post that checks from stats influence disposition.

That might give me an incentive to have a broader selection of responses to keep raising the right disposition. If i play a diplomatic order, i don't want to get bogged down with thuggish responses.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Inb4 the "I'm fucking done with this game, my paladin doesn't do anything and the system is dumb" post. ;d

The companions aren't particularly well optimized either, and this is a party based game so it's not like you particularly need your main toon to be super engaging. If you pick a fighting class in the BG games you don't get to do a whole lot either but it doesn't matter because you have the rest of the party to play with.

BTW, if Path of Damn is impossible for non-power gaming characters i would actually be impressed with the difficulty.

 

[plem]

Question: how does the roleplaying thing works for pallies? I took a peek at the kind of checks you get with resolve and those seem to involve a lot of "do as i say or i'll beat yer face" which aren't very paladin like (intimidation, yes, but not thuggish), and seems like they would conflict with being "diplomatic" for instance. So far this idea i have to watch how i behave or i won't get the full pally bonus is the most interesting thing i've met while exploring this system. I guess the dynamic alignment system of Torment was the inspiration.

it's really just as simple as picking the options which agree with your order's values. your atributes and skills don't really come into play here, since a particular disposition is seldom locked behind a check. this is especially true if you're going with a goodie paladin, since benevolent and honest options are pretty much always available. just keep telling everyone you'll help them without asking for a reward (they'll give it to you anyways) and don't actively lie.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Even on Expert Mode, i doubt i'll have trouble figuring out which response to use for the right disposition. I seriously doubt this game would be more difficult than Torment in that respect.

 

[Lacrymas]

Inb4 the "I'm fucking done with this game, my paladin doesn't do anything and the system is dumb" post. ;d

The companions aren't particularly well optimized either, and this is a party based game so it's not like you particularly need your main toon to be super engaging. If you pick a fighting class in the BG games you don't get to do a whole lot either but it doesn't matter because you have the rest of the party to play with.

BTW, if Path of Damn is impossible for non-power gaming characters i would actually be impressed with the difficulty.

PotD is not impossible for non-optimized parties, far from it. It's not about whether you can complete the game, but about whether you are going to like the character you are creating. You already have the mindset that Sawyer is trying to manipulate your character concept, so going against the system will inevitably result in a subpar character that might fuel the already-present dislike of the system, especially when compared to the classes of companions who perform well right out the box. The comparison to BG is not very appropriate because you know what you are getting yourself into and you pick fighter with the intention of it being on auto-pilot. On top of that, the class/build of your character doesn't work well for the type of role you want it to fill (unlike BG's fighter). Mobs will routinely ignore your char and go for your squishies anyway.

Even on Expert Mode, i doubt i'll have trouble figuring out which response to use for the right disposition. I seriously doubt this game would be more difficult than Torment in that respect.

It's not as obtuse as Numenera, but at least half the dialogue options catch you by surprise.

 

[plem]

expert mode mostly turns off combat information about enemies' defendes and stats, so it's more annoying than anything
for the dialogue metagaming stuff, you can just turn it all off in the options menu, don't have to switch on expert mode

and the only disposition that trips me up a bit is "clever", since it really just means cheeky
it's increased whenever you make a joke or funny observation