Eternity Pillars of Eternity + The White March Expansion Thread

[NJClaw]

I think i'll just keep playing with my 2 hander build and have Eder be the tank when i get him.

My favorite setup for my frontline is to equip both Eder and Pallegina with an arquebus (or a pistol) and a two-handed sword. After all, the game throws at you so many good greatswords that it's a crime not to use them. You can get The Hours of St. Rumbalt and Tidefell almost immediately, and St. Ydwen's Redeemer is not so far in the first DLC. Then, as soon as I can, I respec Pallegina to use the Blade of the Endless Paths. "Tanking" is weird in this game: having a character completely focused on its defenses feels like a waste, so I just specialize everyone to deal more damage as possible and then adjust their survivability with items.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

The choice is clear:
Side with the tranny that demands all games have cheats enabled by default so the troon faces no difficulties
Or side with Rusty who wants prestigious RPGs that make you think before you randomly make decisions instead of choosing a random dialogue option that causes you to have your penis cut off then crying about it on internet forums

Just so I got you right it's the quick load button that you're against, not so much the quicksave?

 

[Nano]

Remove the ability to save. Return to the 70s. People who can't be bothered to finish games in one session are casual popamolers.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Remove the ability to save. Return to the 70s. People who can't be bothered to finish games in one session are casual popamolers.

The true ironman experience is a test of your personal endurance and mental fortitude as well as that of the character you've built. Anything less is a cheat that has declined the genre to cater to the weak.

 

[Lyric Suite]

I like this one better, it's much less distracting. It lets you know that the situation can go differently without telling you what that dialogue would look like.

They just copied Pillars.

Are all the resolve checks bullish?

 

[Ninjerk]

Remove the ability to save. Return to the 70s. People who can't be bothered to finish games in one session are casual popamolers.

The true ironman experience is a test of your personal endurance and mental fortitude as well as that of the character you've built. Anything less is a cheat that has declined the genre to cater to the weak.

Are stimulants allowed?

 

[Lyric Suite]

Also, Paladins are not subpar damage dealers, quite the contrary, dual-wielding sabres makes for quite a beast.

Yeah, and i just figured out why: FoD and Strange Mercy proc twice with two weapons. Muh balance lmao. My ass. It's like Sawyer wanted to please the munchkin faggots on porpuse. I can see why you were so adamant about this. That shit is so broken i wonder if it's a bug. I mean for reference the sneak attack of the rogue only procs on the main weapon, which means a rogue is the one with the incentive to use two handed weapons. Dual wielding paladins and great sword wearing rogues. Good fucking job Sawyer.

That's why i went Darcozzi instead, even as a damage dealer. Good thing i didn't skimp on Intelligence. I had no idea the Paladin auras were this small:

I'm gonna be the guy who flanks around the tank picking near death targets from behind the lines while hurling explicatives with a thick Italian accent all focused on their mothers being whores.

 

[Nano]

I forgot what a sausage fest PoE1 was in the first act. In hindsight that was kinda based.

 

[Lyric Suite]

That's not my party btw just a pic i found showing the range of the aura.

 

[mediocrepoet]

I forgot what a sausage fest PoE1 was in the first act. In hindsight that was kinda based.

What? There are 3 men and 3 women in that party.

 

[Lyric Suite]

I see what you did there.

 

[Orud]

One of the reason why FoD is better with dual wielding is because the damage of a two-handed weapon in pillars is generally only slightly higher than one-handed weapons, while also being slower. It feels like they looked at what D&D was doing with two-handed weapon base damage offset from one-handers, while ignoring D&D's additional rules for two-handers along with not compensating their damage for PoE specific rules (like weapon speed).

There were other headscratchers like that, especially at launch. For example, casters (like the Priest) had all their spell slots turned into per encounter charges as they leveled up. Since buffs didn't stack and buffs generally can be cast at long range, some classes (like Paladin) felt like dead weight (in a group) because a Priest could outbuff them, while also having more spell variety on demand.

 

[Lacrymas]

I mean for reference the sneak attack of the rogue only procs on the main weapon, which means a rogue is the one with the incentive to use two handed weapons.

There are two types of sneak attacks, backstab and actual sneak attacks. Backstabs are the ones you are talking about, i.e. only proc on the main weapon, are done from stealth and are indeed better with two-handed weapons. Sneak attacks, however, proc always when the conditions are met and can be done with two weapons. If you are going for a backstab build, having two weapon sets is advisable, but there are builds out there that make use only of a two-hander or sword and board. As for Paladins and dual-wielding, yes, they didn't manage to balance dual-wielding and two-handers, so dual-wielding is better DPS in 99% of cases. You use two-handers because they have special on-hit/crit effects, like Hours of St. Rumbalt.

 

[Ulfhednar]

Also, Paladins are not subpar damage dealers, quite the contrary, dual-wielding sabres makes for quite a beast.

Yeah, and i just figured out why: FoD and Strange Mercy proc twice with two weapons. Muh balance lmao. My ass. It's like Sawyer wanted to please the munchkin faggots on porpuse. I can see why you were so adamant about this. That shit is so broken i wonder if it's a bug. I mean for reference the sneak attack of the rogue only procs on the main weapon, which means a rogue is the one with the incentive to use two handed weapons. Dual wielding paladins and great sword wearing rogues. Good fucking job Sawyer.

That's why i went Darcozzi instead, even as a damage dealer. Good thing i didn't skimp on Intelligence. I had no idea the Paladin auras were this small:

One tradeoff is that there is no saber that can knock someone prone, add engagement slots, or straight up delete certain enemy types (vessels, eyeless). Adding Int to a Paladin can boost their aura radius AND make their crit-prones from Tall Grass or St Rumbalt last a long time.

 

[AwesomeButton]

Even the writing in Icewind Dale was better.

Even? IWD has great writing. Partly because they didn't try concentrate on it, and make what they deemed "good writing".

 

[AwesomeButton]

I am a pretty young guy and I like a lot of stuff that people on this site generally deride as vapid and banal, so keep that in mind. I really enjoyed Pillars. It wasn't the top of the class or anything. It was a couple years ago where I played BG1, then BG2, then Pillars all in a row, all for the first time (for reference, I was a toddler when BG1 released). I liked BG1 the most of the three but still greatly enjoyed both BG2 and Pillars. The spirit of the games all felt very similar to me, and I wanted to play Pillars after finishing Throne of Bhaal because I was very taken with the RTwP gameplay. (Throne of Bhaal sucks, btw, did not care for it at all, minus the HLA which were kind of cool, but not cool enough to discount how trash I thought the rest of ToB was)

My point is this: Pillars is a more than decent game. Yes it has its issues, but dissecting a game to the autistic level that many on this site do will sap enjoyment from almost any of them. There is a lot of charm to PoE. There are also a number of issues. I think it just depends on if you're willing to let yourself get absorbed into the game and its setting.

It was a similar situation when my wife played BG2 after playing PoE and proclaimed it much better by the time she took a first stroll around Athkathla.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Also, Paladins are not subpar damage dealers, quite the contrary, dual-wielding sabres makes for quite a beast.

Yeah, and i just figured out why: FoD and Strange Mercy proc twice with two weapons. Muh balance lmao. My ass. It's like Sawyer wanted to please the munchkin faggots on porpuse. I can see why you were so adamant about this. That shit is so broken i wonder if it's a bug. I mean for reference the sneak attack of the rogue only procs on the main weapon, which means a rogue is the one with the incentive to use two handed weapons. Dual wielding paladins and great sword wearing rogues. Good fucking job Sawyer.

That's why i went Darcozzi instead, even as a damage dealer. Good thing i didn't skimp on Intelligence. I had no idea the Paladin auras were this small:

One tradeoff is that there is no saber that can knock someone prone, add engagement slots, or straight up delete certain enemy types (vessels, eyeless). Adding Int to a Paladin can boost their aura radius AND make their crit-prones from Tall Grass or St Rumbalt last a long time.

Right, and in fact what i think i'm gonna try to do is stack items with trigger effects, either prone on crit, or frenzy if i get crit (that Sanguine armor) etc. I saw there's a few of them that i can play around with.

 

[AwesomeButton]

Here's the thing with D:OS - you can play them co-op. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.

There are many shit games you can play co-op, so what?

 

[Haplo]

I mean for reference the sneak attack of the rogue only procs on the main weapon, which means a rogue is the one with the incentive to use two handed weapons.

There are two types of sneak attacks, backstab and actual sneak attacks. Backstabs are the ones you are talking about, i.e. only proc on the main weapon, are done from stealth and are indeed better with two-handed weapons. Sneak attacks, however, proc always when the conditions are met and can be done with two weapons. If you are going for a backstab build, having two weapon sets is advisable, but there are builds out there that make use only of a two-hander or sword and board. As for Paladins and dual-wielding, yes, they didn't manage to balance dual-wielding and two-handers, so dual-wielding is better DPS in 99% of cases. You use two-handers because they have special on-hit/crit effects, like Hours of St. Rumbalt.

Yep. And backstabs, requiring Stealth, are not very practical, outside of some niche builds and soloing or maybe sometimes as opening moves.
The vast majority of rogues will benefit more from dual-wielding. Nearly all of the rogue special moves are Full Attacks - use both weapons.
Yeah, Paladin signature moves are Full Attacks also. Particularly important for Kind Wayfarers, who heal 2x more with dual Full Attacks.

Classes more oriented on single weapon are classes with "Primary" moves - fighters, monks. Plus Barbarians - damage wise duals might be better, but because of Carnage aoe transmitting on hit/crit effects, two-handers rock for them due to generally superior and earlier weapon effects.

 

[Decado]

You can get The Hours of St. Rumbalt and Tidefell almost immediately,

I'm curious -- how can you get Tidefall "almost immediately"? You need 10 Mechanics skill to find it, and you can't access Searing Falls until Act II, at least. To say nothing of the fact that you have to kill a dragon.

 

[Decado]

I mean for reference the sneak attack of the rogue only procs on the main weapon, which means a rogue is the one with the incentive to use two handed weapons.

There are two types of sneak attacks, backstab and actual sneak attacks. Backstabs are the ones you are talking about, i.e. only proc on the main weapon, are done from stealth and are indeed better with two-handed weapons. Sneak attacks, however, proc always when the conditions are met and can be done with two weapons. If you are going for a backstab build, having two weapon sets is advisable, but there are builds out there that make use only of a two-hander or sword and board. As for Paladins and dual-wielding, yes, they didn't manage to balance dual-wielding and two-handers, so dual-wielding is better DPS in 99% of cases. You use two-handers because they have special on-hit/crit effects, like Hours of St. Rumbalt.

Yep. And backstabs, requiring Stealth, are not very practical, outside of some niche builds and soloing or maybe sometimes as opening moves.
The vast majority of rogues will benefit more from dual-wielding. Nearly all of the rogue special moves are Full Attacks - use both weapons.
Yeah, Paladin signature moves are Full Attacks also. Particularly important for Kind Wayfarers, who heal 2x more with dual Full Attacks.

Classes more oriented on single weapon are classes with "Primary" moves - fighters, monks. Plus Barbarians - damage wise duals might be better, but because of Carnage aoe transmitting on hit/crit effects, two-handers rock for them due to generally superior and earlier weapon effects.

I found that DW fighters were more effective than DW rogues. Their abilities seem better suited and they hit harder, plus they have more survivability. The first time I beat PoE was with a DW fighter, using Rimecutter and Sheathed in Autumn. With a fighter's battlefield control abilities (chiefly knocking dudes prone) he was a real ass-pulping machine.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

That's my experience as well, Fighter's natural tankiness allows you to build for damage more easily. It's more efficient than doing it in reverse, using a squishy high damage class and building it for some tankiness so it can survive on the front. Eder works beautifully equipped with Tidefall, for example.

 

[Lacrymas]

Rogues have sick DPS when dual-wielding axes that I don't think fighters can top. Iirc, one of the more powerful solo builds is a rogue with two axes.

 

[NJClaw]

You can get The Hours of St. Rumbalt and Tidefell almost immediately,

I'm curious -- how can you get Tidefall "almost immediately"? You need 10 Mechanics skill to find it, and you can't access Searing Falls until Act II, at least. To say nothing of the fact that you have to kill a dragon.

By the time you begin act 2 and do some minor quests in Defiance Bay, you easily reach level 7 and can both kill the dragon and make that Mechanics 10 check (just by maxing the skill on Aloth and resting at the Black Hound in Gilded Vale), with still 70-80% of the game in front of you. This playthrough, as soon as act 2 started, I beelined to Dyrford Village and I reached level 7 without even touching any major questline (apart from the sanitarium one). I guess "almost immediately" isn't the most accurate term, but the time you spend before level 7-8 is nothing compared to the entire game.

 

[TedNugent]

Well, i can already tell the main problem with this game: death by a thousand papercuts.

What i mean is that if one looks at the over all, it seems like a fairly competent RPG in the tradition of the old IE games, and on some level it probably is. However, it's the little things that eventually wear you down. A retarded dialog line here, a stupid backer insert there, some particular retardation in the combat system, and on and on until you are sick of it and quit in disgust.

That's what my tingling spider senses are telling me at the moment.

The first advise I'm going to give you is that all of the backer bullshit seems to be clearly indicated by highlighted nameplates that literally do nothing other than give you a Watcher flashback with a wall of text.

I learned early on to ignore those yellow nameplates. The combat system is honestly fine so far. The dialogue isn't terrible, and there are highlights and lowlights. I have issues with some of the systems, but I'm not going to blow them out of proportion because I'm fundamentally enjoying it. The criticisms I have are fairly small and mostly not related to the combat system. I'll go through the trouble of writing a review when I finally finish WM2 and the base game.

As far as combat, I honestly prefer this game's systems to D&D 3.5 or 5.0, as somebody that was sperging aggressively about 5.0 to the point where it's the only reason I won't touch BG3.

A few things that I really like:
A) distributed saves across all attributes
B) accuracy/deflection and separate DR system inbuilt into character core stats for all weapons. Imperfect but careful weapon type balance.
C) different close combat damage types, interrupt/concentration system
D) damage types are all relative to the type of armor, and not by and large magic. Magic damage and effects are equally enmeshed as physical damage in the same system.
E) No spell prebuffs removes a lot of the prepull headaches and makes each encounter feel like more of a puzzle

There's a lot of hit that I don't like, chiefly I despise the permanent stat buffs and I find the prebuffing from food, resting, camp resting bonus, and prostitute bonuses to be entirely unnecessary. I would have appreciated if all of these were simply cut from the game and a balance pass made to compensate. A malus system for being poorly rested or hungry would have even been better as an alternative. I don't like the buff stacking all of this shit allows for.