Eternity Pillars of Eternity + The White March Expansion Thread

[Lacrymas]

I'd argue Pathfinder's character building isn't complex, it's bloated. On top of that, you are generally discouraged to multiclass because there's already a subclass for anything you can think of and it will just mess with your stat progression. PoE1's character building has the "choose the least shit option" problem. There's a tendency for all builds to eventually become the same just because there aren't any good choices. There's no reason not to pick up the mini sneak attack feat f.e, so everyone is multiclassed to Rogue.

 

[mediocrepoet]

I'd argue Pathfinder's character building isn't complex, it's bloated.

It was less bad in pre-DLC Kingmaker, but yeah. Paizo definitely went kitchen sink with that ruleset.

 

[Haplo]

I'd argue Pathfinder's character building isn't complex, it's bloated. On top of that, you are generally discouraged to multiclass because there's already a subclass for anything you can think of and it will just mess with your stat progression. PoE1's character building has the "choose the least shit option" problem. There's a tendency for all builds to eventually become the same just because there aren't any good choices. There's no reason not to pick up the mini sneak attack feat f.e, so everyone is multiclassed to Rogue.

I agree about bloated.
But discouraged to multiclass? Have we been playing the same game? Sure, you should be careful when multiclassing casters and pet classes should get some attention too. But multiclassing is very strong regardless, particularly for martials (including those pet classes).

I guess the progression in PoE1 was a bit too simple with fairly clear choices. I wouldn't say "choose least shit" though. Many of those abilities were very strong and cool (Priest Radiance upgrades, Barbarian Carnage upgrades for example). There just wasn't enough of those to make the opportunity cost sufficiently high. Anyway, Deadfire fixed that.

 

[Lacrymas]

The whole idea of Pathfinder 1E is to discourage multiclassing, that's why we have the bajillion subclasses. Many subclasses are straight up better versions of a multiclass. Yes, you can technically create a stronger multiclass, but you have to know the ruleset inside and out, something most people playing Kingmaker or Wrath wouldn't. Even as a veteran of 3.5E, I'm not aware of everything that is going on in those games in terms of character building. In PoE1, it depends heavily on the class whether you have good feat options. More than half of them don't have any.

 

[Jaesun]

There aren't any mods that lock the dungeon behind you? Seems like a wasted opportunity.

Not a mod but the game Dungeon Master. As soon as you walk into the front door, it closes behind you. Good luck.

 

[Axel_am]

Do get around and play Deadfire some day.

Will do. No way am I skipping that one. If I wasn't such a Dota addict I probably would have devoured it by now. With the amount of content PoE I has I was worried that starting PoE II immediately after it would be a bit too much for me. Not sure if that would have been the case as it's one of the few games I'm genuinely excited when thinking about.

On top of that I don't really enjoy playing two of the same type of games at the same time. I'm also certain I'll be playing PoE II on Path of the Damned so I wanted to give myself some time to play something else.

You guys make it sound like PoE II is somewhere in-between PF and PoE I which sounds pretty good to me. The first Pillars didn't have that much build options but it still felt like the classes synergized well with each other. Some items allowed for the usage of utility skills from other classes (Whispers of Treason, Suppress Affliction) and that was enough for me. It was really neat how you had to resort to them in order to stay alive. Not as big as multiclassing, but still a neat option.

 

[Sannom]

I'm not really sure what the deal with Sayer is. I actually gravitate to games he's involved in and find out later that he's part of the mix. If anything the guy seems to have some sort of style he is true to. Someone on the Codex wrote that they are going to buy "Pentiment" as Sayer seems to be going through something. And I couldn't agree more. I still haven't played Pillars II but it looks like the whole thing got to him in some way. This is just a comment from an outsider, haven't really fact checked anything about it.

He has been pretty open about the fact that the combination of a hard dev cycle and disappointing sales led to him and Brennecke wanting to do something different. So Brennecke got Grounded and he got Pentiment.

I guess the progression in PoE1 was a bit too simple with fairly clear choices. I wouldn't say "choose least shit" though. Many of those abilities were very strong and cool (Priest Radiance upgrades, Barbarian Carnage upgrades for example). There just wasn't enough of those to make the opportunity cost sufficiently high. Anyway, Deadfire fixed that.

PoE's Druid and Priest also suffered because the devs ditched Vancian magic but kept the idea that priests and druids had access to their entire spell selection whereas wizards didn't.

 

[Lacrymas]

I wouldn't say they suffered necessarily because very few spells are actually worth using, especially as Druid.

 

[BruceVC]

Im 20 hours into PoE and Im loving it, Im comfortable now with the ruleset changes compared to D&D and Im starting to appreciate many of the differences

Full disclosure, I decided to use a mod that lets you Camp without camping gear. I realize this goes against the philosophy of "limiting " how rest is used but its unrealistic to suggest you cant rest without camping gear or that a bedroll can be used up. So I have changed my game to make it similar to other IE games where you can rest without camping gear

But Im enjoying many things about this game and they include

• I love the lore and the narrative, the quests are interesting and worthwhile
• I really enjoy the combat and different strategies you need to adopt. It can get frenetic at times but if you slow down combat speed and use pause then you can micro-manage your party nicely if you want
• I like the classes and their abilities, I decided to be a Godlike Priest and a follower of Wael
• I also enjoy features like the Bestiary which allows you to learn about monsters the more you fight them
• I like reading peoples souls, its a pity you cant act on what you find

But so far so good, really entertaining RPG in a new world with different mechanics

Oh, one negative. No Romance at all and I only seem to have men in my party...where are the chainmail bikini armour women?

 

[Lyric Suite]

Nice bait.

 

[BruceVC]

Nice bait.

Bait? I am literally 20 hours into the game and I dont have any women in my party or maybe I haven't met them?

Im busy and completed Leaden Key quests in Defiance bay like The Man who waits and I have completed several sides quests and tasks

So my point isn't about baiting. Its an observed fact about the game so far

 

[Haplo]

Seems like you've missed the early 2?
...and a third in Defiance Bay...

Not that any of them fits the chainmail bikini trope

 

[BruceVC]

Seems like you've missed the early 2?
...and a third in Defiance Bay...

Not that any of them fits the chainmail bikini trope

Thats good to know, I will continue exploring

Without giving spoilers where are the 2 early female members? What towns or areas because I may have missed them and Im referring to permanent party members. And I dont want to use game guides because of spoilers

Its not a huge deal but it does seem incongruous to have a party with no female companions?

 

[Haplo]

The first one in Dyrford Village, below the Apothecary.
The second in the Woodend Plains, so I guess you might have not been there yet.

 

[BruceVC]

The first one in Dyrford Village, below the Apothecary.
The second in the Woodend Plains, so I guess you might have not been there yet.

I havent been to either but Im about to go to Dyrford Village as part of the Leaden Key quest

I have been focusing Defiance Bay

 

[Haplo]

Okay, but do check the Vailian company area in Defiance Bay.

 

[Just Locus]

Criticizing the game for the lack of romance options is... a strange one.

 

[Sannom]

Oh, one negative. No Romance at all and I only seem to have men in my party...where are the chainmail bikini armour women?

You should have met one of the female companions in the wilderness area just before entering Defiance Bay if I recall correctly. The chainmail bikini however only appears in White March Part 2.

 

[BruceVC]

Oh, one negative. No Romance at all and I only seem to have men in my party...where are the chainmail bikini armour women?

You should have met one of the female companions in the wilderness area just before entering Defiance Bay if I recall correctly. The chainmail bikini however only appears in White March Part 2.

Literally on my next session I met Sangani and Grieving Mother and I decided to keep Mother in my party because I dont have a Cipher

 

[Haplo]

The ranger is a really good class as well. Neat ranged damage dealer AND backline protector/flanker in one package.
Some bows are quite OP, particularly a DLC one.

 

[BruceVC]

The ranger is a really good class as well. Neat ranged damage dealer AND backline protector/flanker in one package.

I appreciate this type of feedback because its not spoilers but informative

And of course because its my first playthrough and I am still learning the best combat strategies its very useful

I always select companions based on the following hierarchy from most important to least important

• combat effectiveness and combat contribution
• companion side quests
• companion interaction that includes Romance

Anyway its all new to me and Im enjoying interacting with the various companions, thats the advantage of a new world with a new ruleset. Lots to learn

 

[Axel_am]

From my party Éder and Hiravias had the best companion quests. And I suppose Pallegina as well, tho you are so fast done with hers that you might not even realize that you've completed it. Aloth wasn't in my party last time around, but his companion quest also wasn't half bad.

I didn't complete the WM companion quests, but I think those have to be the best ones in the game. The overall quality in the expansions is noticeably higher when you enter the White March. I'd be surprised if it's not the same for the companion quests as well.

 

[Lacrymas]

None of the companion quests are particularly good. It's either all mumbo jumbo like with Sagani or Aloth or ridiculous waste of potential like the Devil of Caroc. You don't play PoE for the writing, trust me.

 

[Axel_am]

There seems to be this theme of "unresolvedness" in the Pillars writing that's pretty frustrating.

I guess world-building and writing are two different things. In that case - yeah, the writing is not the best. But the world-building is top tier.

 

[Lacrymas]

This feeling of nothing being resolved has to do with how imaginary the problems of these people are and how the solutions are equally as ridiculous. There isn't any attempt at grounding any of it and it all comes off as if for its own sake.