Eternity Pillars of Eternity + The White March Expansion Thread

[rusty_shackleford]

I wonder if the dungeon slowly unlocking as you progressed through the game instead of through difficulty would have made it more well liked.

 

[Bigg Boss]

I kinda thought it did that since I played it like that.

 

[Grunker]

I wonder if the dungeon slowly unlocking as you progressed through the game instead of through difficulty would have made it more well liked.

it would still be a shit dungeon

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

Like someone said, Od Nua can be a lot of fun if go there relatively early and try to complete it all in one go. There's strategically placed camping supplies on every other level so you can push through surprisingly hard if you just get after it.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Mmmh, i can try do it in one go. I got Kana now, is there's another party member nearby i can get before doing this Old Nua stuff? Or should i hire a mercenary.

If i'm gonna try make it in one go i want to make sure i have six.

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

Mmmh, i can try do it in one go. I got Kana now, is there's another party member nearby i can get before doing this Old Nua stuff? Or should i hire a mercenary.

If i'm gonna try make it in one go i want to make sure i have six.

By that point in the game you should have about 8 I think; You, Aloth, Eder, Durance, Sagani, Hirvias, Kana, Grieving Mother.
You can get Bird-Lady later, in act 2 iirc.

 

[Lyric Suite]

BTW, is it me or are spells much more effective in this game than they were in the IE games?

Maybe it's just an impression but i remember spells failing a lot more in Baldur's Gate and company.

 

[Butter]

You can't get Hiravias, Sagani, Grieving Mother, or Pallegina until after Maerwald. You have to hire a merc if you want a full party at this point.

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

You can't get Hiravias, Sagani, Grieving Mother, or Pallegina until after Maerwald. You have to hire a merc if you want a full party at this point.

My mistake then, I got the time line messed up.
Although I could have sworn I had Grieving Mother at Raedric's Hold.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

iirc you don't do the keep part until later in the game

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

Really? I remember doing Lord of a Barren Land before doing Caed Nua.
I remember returning to the hold during act 3

Spoiler

To put down undead Raedric and his posse of Vampires

but I remember doing the hold really damn early.

 

[Ulfhednar]

You have to beat Maerwald to get past the first floor of Endless Paths (it's blocked otherwise). After which you get the keep, and after doing the repair to the southern wall you get access to all of the remaining map areas and pre-WM companions. So basically, once you get access to EPs, you can take any of the original companions you would like if you're willing to track them down first.

 

[Lacrymas]

You can rush and get pretty much everyone from the base game after Maerwald, but I wouldn't try to complete the entirety of Od Nua in one go with 5 party members. As for whether it's a good dungeon, it's really not. It's a collection of ideas one after the other, with a coherent story only starting on the penultimate level. I can remember a few fights from there, so it's not a complete dud, but it's no Durlag's Tower (even though this is a strange comparison).

 

[Grunker]

- can remember fights from od nua
- can't remember high abbot kaoto

i believe these are signs of the early onset of dementia

 

[Lacrymas]

Lower level fights are always more memorable, especially in this game. The high levels ones blur together because you use the exact same tactic on everything and nothing gets the chance to make an impression.

 

[Blutwurstritter]

Is there a game that has solved the "pre-buff problem" in a good way ? The buff orgies in the infinity engine games, especially in the later parts of BG2, are bothersome and get old quickly but I didn't like the way PoE handled it either. I don't think there was any reason given within the games logic why we can't cast buffs outside of combat so it does stand out as purely gamey mechanic to prevent pre-buffs. It also didn't remove "degenerate" gameplay completely, since there were still some buffs that I casted always at the beginning of combat, pretty much every time. It begs the questions if it was just a failure of fine tuning opportunity cost vs buffs or if a different approach should be taken.

 

[Lacrymas]

PoE handled it fine. It doesn't matter that it's gamey when it works. Buffs that are so good you cast them automatically at combat start should be removed, though, imo.

 

[Ulfhednar]

Lower level fights are always more memorable, especially in this game. The high levels ones blur together because you use the exact same tactic on everything and nothing gets the chance to make an impression.

Raedric and ... what... ? The bear? The lighthouse? Eothas temple is tough early on, but I wouldn't exactly describe any of those encounters as memorable.

On the other end you have Concelhaut and Torn Bannermen, Llengrath, dragons, bounties, Abbot Kaoto, The spore, Eyeless crater, Grey Sleeper cursed waterfall and Durgan's Battery forge fight.

It's tougher getting started in the beginning, but last half of the game is a lot more memorable than the first.

 

[Butter]

Is there a game that has solved the "pre-buff problem" in a good way ? The buff orgies in the infinity engine games, especially in the later parts of BG2, are bothersome and get old quickly but I didn't like the way PoE handled it either. I don't think there was any reason given within the games logic why we can't cast buffs outside of combat so it does stand out as purely gamey mechanic to prevent pre-buffs. It also didn't remove "degenerate" gameplay completely, since there were still some buffs that I casted always at the beginning of combat, pretty much every time. It begs the questions if it was just a failure of fine tuning opportunity cost vs buffs or if a different approach should be taken.

King of Dragon Pass.

 

[TedNugent]

The combat is interesting because buffing all the time is gay and boring. I'm not sure how great it is in the end but it is something. I am glad it exists. Then again I am not a Dungeons and Dragons fanboy.

Sure, but at the same time we lost the ability to use invisibility outside of combat. Want to cast an invisibility spell to steal some shit right in front of someone or get into a better position? Not possible.

Same with kiting or laying more than 1 trap. It might be lame, but people should be able to tackle a fight the way they want (or add mechanics that do not allow reloading while moving for example). In PoE however, it's not possible since enemies will reset to their original position if you kite them far enough.

I've kited a lot of mobs. For one thing, although they do reset if you do nothing but run, you most certainly can maintain aggro if you have a toon with speed boots attacking them while kiting. If you attack them, they will keep chasing you. Usually I would start running, attack them, keep kiting, attack them, etc. Could lure them into choke points like doorways this way or even split pulls in certain rooms.

I've also had a few mobs chase me across the map.

 

[AwesomeButton]

Enemies' health rapidly recovers to full if you somehow break out of combat though.

 

[Lacrymas]

Raedric and ... what... ? The bear? The lighthouse? Eothas temple is tough early on, but I wouldn't exactly describe any of those encounters as memorable.

It's not only specific fights but the experience as a whole that make some of them stand out. The ones from WM2 you mentioned are memorable (let's assume that uncritically) because the story or environment hyped them up. I remember Concelhaut and Llengrath because they have entire areas dedicated to them, not because they were particularly tough. I one-shot both these fights because the party is just that powerful at that point (or maybe Priest buffs are that powerful). I really had no idea who Kaoto is until I looked it up after Grunker mentioned him. I'm not going to praise base game because it's all dross after Maerwald, but I do remember two fights from Od Nua - the ancient vampire king and the drake at the bottom of the pit. However, WM1 is terrific and the best content PoE has to offer. It is that because the party is not at a ridiculously high level and every victory feels earned.

 

[Roguey]

Is there a game that has solved the "pre-buff problem" in a good way ? The buff orgies in the infinity engine games, especially in the later parts of BG2, are bothersome and get old quickly but I didn't like the way PoE handled it either. I don't think there was any reason given within the games logic why we can't cast buffs outside of combat so it does stand out as purely gamey mechanic to prevent pre-buffs. It also didn't remove "degenerate" gameplay completely, since there were still some buffs that I casted always at the beginning of combat, pretty much every time. It begs the questions if it was just a failure of fine tuning opportunity cost vs buffs or if a different approach should be taken.

The Tyranny solution was to only allow one buff of each kind, no endless stacking.

Characters may only have 1 beneficial enchantment spell of each of the following types: Focused Intent, Material Force, and Guarded Form. Casting a second of the same type will replace the first.

 

[Ulfhednar]

the ancient vampire king and the drake at the bottom of the pit.

meh... not exactly the highlights of the game...

However, WM1 is terrific and the best content PoE has to offer. It is that because the party is not at a ridiculously high level and every victory feels earned.

IF you charge in at level 6 or 7... most players probably don't jump right in after leaving Caed Nua, although the opening no rest fight is quite memorable.

 

[Lacrymas]

Not going in at lvl 6-7 is robbing yourself of some of the best cRPG content out there, so do yourself a favor and go in early ;d Such a tragedy, though, I wish PoE as a whole was as good as WM1.