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Pillars Of Eternity:Complete Edition|OT| The perfect chance to revisit Raedric's Hold

Sarcasm

Member
Alright, bottom of the page. Let’s see if this post gets noticed.

I ordered this on a whim. Burned out on Destiny 2 a bit and after reading the chapter in “Blood, Sweat, and Pixels” on Pillars of Eternity, I decided I wanted to try a more traditional and rich RPG with good dialogue options and what have you.

Thing is I love isometric games, but I’ve only ever played the more action-RPG stuff like Baldur’s Gate Dark Alliance and Champions of Norrath on PS2, and more recently Diablo Reaper of Souls on PS4.

Will I enjoy this? I’ve never been a PC gamer and have never been exposed to the classic, old school RPGs. I think I bought this wanting something closer to Diablo, but that might have been a mistake.

Edit: Ordered the PS4 version. Don’t have a gaming rig.


Don't need a gaming rig and amazon has it for sale - the Digital Complete PC DRM free version atm.

But I say don't get discouraged and play it on w/e.

I only played a bit of it (because I am playing divinity) and I can say it is pretty read heavy. So hope you enjoy reading XD
 

BeeDog

Member
What are the best ways to increase Prestige? I'm trying to increase it as much as possible so I can do Grand and Legendary adventures, but I seem to have plateau'd around 50-ish and always land with Major adventures at the most.

I have tried hiring Hirelings that boost my Prestige as much as possible (incl. the Aedyr Noblewoman), and I have the fort fully upgraded. Are there quests/side-quests you can do to boost it further?
 

Anno

Member
Alright, bottom of the page. Let’s see if this post gets noticed.

I ordered this on a whim. Burned out on Destiny 2 a bit and after reading the chapter in “Blood, Sweat, and Pixels” on Pillars of Eternity, I decided I wanted to try a more traditional and rich RPG with good dialogue options and what have you.

Thing is I love isometric games, but I’ve only ever played the more action-RPG stuff like Baldur’s Gate Dark Alliance and Champions of Norrath on PS2, and more recently Diablo Reaper of Souls on PS4.

Will I enjoy this? I’ve never been a PC gamer and have never been exposed to the classic, old school RPGs. I think I bought this wanting something closer to Diablo, but that might have been a mistake.

Edit: Ordered the PS4 version. Don’t have a gaming rig.

Hard to know for sure. Its definitely a good gamble if you want something with lots of characters, dialogue etc. The most divisive thing about these traditional RTwP RPGs tends to be getting used to the combat system. So probably start on easy, read up on your abilities and think about how to use them. You can always stay on the low difficulties if you like the story and not so much the combat.

The game also has a ton of loot, tweaking builds and stuff that games like Diablo have, so that can be satisfying too. It's not the same random drops, farm places style, but you'll wind up with plenty of swords and pistols and armor and cloaks and stuff to play with.
 
Hard to know for sure. Its definitely a good gamble if you want something with lots of characters, dialogue etc. The most divisive thing about these traditional RTwP RPGs tends to be getting used to the combat system. So probably start on easy, read up on your abilities and think about how to use them. You can always stay on the low difficulties if you like the story and not so much the combat.

The game also has a ton of loot, tweaking builds and stuff that games like Diablo have, so that can be satisfying too. It's not the same random drops, farm places style, but you'll wind up with plenty of swords and pistols and armor and cloaks and stuff to play with.

I’m hearing about the combat, but nobody has really described how it works. What is it comparable to?
 

Anno

Member
I’m hearing about the combat, but nobody has really described how it works. What is it comparable to?

The closest console comparison is probably Dragon Age: Origins. You control six characters, combat plays out in real time but you can pause whenever to issue orders, better line up a spell, whatever. You can set various AI patterns to handle a good amount of the base stuff like running over to a new target and attacking it, but I think a lot of people still pause pretty often when executing more specific skills and spells.
 

IvorB

Member
I’m hearing about the combat, but nobody has really described how it works. What is it comparable to?

Combat is great. It's kind of like Diablo as you do tend to get swarmed by enemies (not sure if this applies to all difficulty settings). But instead of controlling one character you control six and many have more skills than Diablo 3 characters. This makes the combat more tactical by necessity. But unlike Diablo it's too much to process it all in real time so generally you will pause frequently as Anno said or set AI.
 

Unai

Member
Alright, bottom of the page. Let’s see if this post gets noticed.

I ordered this on a whim. Burned out on Destiny 2 a bit and after reading the chapter in “Blood, Sweat, and Pixels” on Pillars of Eternity, I decided I wanted to try a more traditional and rich RPG with good dialogue options and what have you.

Thing is I love isometric games, but I’ve only ever played the more action-RPG stuff like Baldur’s Gate Dark Alliance and Champions of Norrath on PS2, and more recently Diablo Reaper of Souls on PS4.

Will I enjoy this? I’ve never been a PC gamer and have never been exposed to the classic, old school RPGs. I think I bought this wanting something closer to Diablo, but that might have been a mistake.

Edit: Ordered the PS4 version. Don’t have a gaming rig.

Maybe you'll like it, but besides the camera it's nothing like Diablo so is hard to say for sure. Either way is a great game and you migjt as well try it now that you already bought it.
 

Hostile_18

Banned
I've got some weird saving bug 72 hours in. Everytime I try to save it looks as of it saves, goes back to gameplay but brings up the save menu again without a prompt. The new save file it looks like its made is no where to be seen.
 

Saphirax

Member
I've got some weird saving bug 72 hours in. Everytime I try to save it looks as of it saves, goes back to gameplay but brings up the save menu again without a prompt. The new save file it looka like its made is no where to be seen.

It's a common issue. The bug will persist throughout the game, but your saves will show up once you reboot the game.
 

M.D

Member
Any guidelines for a newcomer as far as what should I put stats into and which are better spells and talents? I'm playing a Wizard and ideally I would love to just play without a guide but I thought I should ask
 

Anno

Member
Any guidelines for a newcomer as far as what should I put stats into and which are better spells and talents? I'm playing a Wizard and ideally I would love to just play without a guide but I thought I should ask

For wizards specifically? Get some Intelligence, get some Might, everything else can kinda go wherever you want. Level 1 spells that you'll use the entire game are probably Chill Fog and Slicken. Let your per-encounter arcane blast carry your damage in the early levels while your spells focus on crowd control. After that just read tooltips and roll with things.
 

IvorB

Member
It's a common issue. The bug will persist throughout the game, but your saves will show up once you reboot the game.

Woah is that something that is being fixed? I haven't had the issue but it would really suck to have to return the game if it does crop up.

Man, last night I was having real issues with these two Lagufaeth broodmothers. They were really wrecking my sh*t and ruining my day. Then I figured their Minor Avatar buff had something to do with it. After using Arcane Dampener on them they went down pretty easy. Then I googled what that buff does... Jesus. No wonder I was getting owned. Guess I need to pay more attention to enemy buffs.
 

Anno

Member
Man, last night I was having real issues with these two Lagufaeth broodmothers. They were really wrecking my sh*t and ruining my day. Then I figured their Minor Avatar buff had something to do with it. After using Arcane Dampener on them they went down pretty easy. Then I googled what that buff does... Jesus. No wonder I was getting owned. Guess I need to pay more attention to enemy buffs.

It's why high level melee priests might be the most overpowered thing in the game. They wind up with crazy accuracy and then go ham with MA.
 

Screaming Meat

Unconfirmed Member
I've read that Backstab is actually a bad choice for Rogues, is that correct?

Does Fast Runner affect sneak speed for better flanking/backstab positioning?
 

IvorB

Member
It's why high level melee priests might be the most overpowered thing in the game. They wind up with crazy accuracy and then go ham with MA.

I couldn't even keep my people alive; it was crazy. I hope his stupid pearl was worth it 'cause I almost threw my controller at the wall and ended up just squeezing it really hard ha ha.
 

Anno

Member
I couldn't even keep my people alive; it was crazy. I hope his stupid pearl was worth it 'cause I almost threw my controller at the wall and ended up just squeezing it really hard ha ha.

What level are you? That's actually a really hard part of WM1, to the point that several villagers warn you about going there. It's best done at after you've beat the rest of the first part of the expansion.
 
I couldn't even keep my people alive; it was crazy. I hope his stupid pearl was worth it 'cause I almost threw my controller at the wall and ended up just squeezing it really hard ha ha.

I've just realised where you are, I did that bit this morning, to say it was a struggle would be an understatement! I was level 9, I've decided to leave that group at the bottom left corner for a bit too, I got walloped there yesterday.
 

M.D

Member
For wizards specifically? Get some Intelligence, get some Might, everything else can kinda go wherever you want. Level 1 spells that you'll use the entire game are probably Chill Fog and Slicken. Let your per-encounter arcane blast carry your damage in the early levels while your spells focus on crowd control. After that just read tooltips and roll with things.

Thanks.

I also just realized I need to level my companions like I level up myself. Should I just level up their main stats and choose their abilities as I see fit? CC seems like a big deal so I'm guessing I should probably have a mix of DPS and CC for my party

Can you reset everyone's points and abilities?
 

Anno

Member
Thanks.

I also just realized I need to level my companions like I level up myself. Should I just level up their main stats and choose their abilities as I see fit? CC seems like a big deal so I'm guessing I should probably have a mix of DPS and CC for my party

Can you reset everyone's points and abilities?

You don't even need to worry about stats. Those don't increase with levels. With few exceptions I would say just get what sounds cool and works well within your parties needs. And yes you can respec at inns for a fee.
 
What’s the consensus on console performance? I’m playing on PS4 Pro and there’s a slight stutter to the game. Is that par for the course with this one?
 

Brandon F

Well congratulations! You got yourself caught!
I've read that Backstab is actually a bad choice for Rogues, is that correct?

Does Fast Runner affect sneak speed for better flanking/backstab positioning?

I’m using Backstab and think it’s fine, I think the community may not like it because it’s not so easy to abuse. You don’t literally need to be behind an enemy for it to proc, it is just bonus dmg for attacking in stealth(from any angle). You sort of get used to having your rogue enter combat as a scout in stealth when discovering an enemy(I have auto-pause set for enemy discovery, so the moment that happens you are given the opportunity to click L3 and stealth the rogue or entire team to ensure that initial strike before combat begins). Takes a bit of practice, but with a high stealth value, you can have your tank gather enemies while your rogue is still invisible and get an initial massive flanking+backstab hit on a foe in most encounters which feels great.

Later you have the option to learn a skill to turn invisible in combat a couple times per rest. (Plus there are a few capes you earn that remove disengagement penalties for when backstab leads to your rogue incurring enemy aggression). This gives more opportunity to backstab, but some do argue there are more efficient skills to spend your points on.

I doubt you are playing on the highest difficulty and trying some specialized play experience, so you can ignore a lot of comments and just enjoy whatever skills sound interesting to you. On normal especially, anything is fine as the game won’t feel punishing for any skills really. Respec is so cheap, so it’s an easy fix if you find managing stealth a burden.
 

BeeDog

Member
What’s the consensus on console performance? I’m playing on PS4 Pro and there’s a slight stutter to the game. Is that par for the course with this one?

Yeah, and later magic effects can completely kill the framerate when paired with lots of enemies (Pro here as well).
 

BeeDog

Member
:(

My initial impressions with the beginning of the game indicate this could be worth playing for sure, though.

It's usually not that bad at all, but the starting areas of the game are not the best indicator of how the performance will be later. Though Gilded Vale (the first town) shows the general performance level well.

Either way, this game is bloody amazing and definitely worth playing. I've played for ~50h and I'm quite far into the White March Part 1 content. A lot of game for the price.
 

Screaming Meat

Unconfirmed Member
I’m using Backstab and think it’s fine, I think the community may not like it because it’s not so easy to abuse. You don’t literally need to be behind an enemy for it to proc, it is just bonus dmg for attacking in stealth(from any angle). You sort of get used to having your rogue enter combat as a scout in stealth when discovering an enemy(I have auto-pause set for enemy discovery, so the moment that happens you are given the opportunity to click L3 and stealth the rogue or entire team to ensure that initial strike before combat begins). Takes a bit of practice, but with a high stealth value, you can have your tank gather enemies while your rogue is still invisible and get an initial massive flanking+backstab hit on a foe in most encounters which feels great.

Later you have the option to learn a skill to turn invisible in combat a couple times per rest. (Plus there are a few capes you earn that remove disengagement penalties for when backstab leads to your rogue incurring enemy aggression). This gives more opportunity to backstab, but some do argue there are more efficient skills to spend your points on.

I doubt you are playing on the highest difficulty and trying some specialized play experience, so you can ignore a lot of comments and just enjoy whatever skills sound interesting to you. On normal especially, anything is fine as the game won’t feel punishing for any skills really. Respec is so cheap, so it’s an easy fix if you find managing stealth a burden.

Nice one, man!
 

Hostile_18

Banned
Both expansions done and dusted, party at max level. Ready to take on the final boss now.

All in all an enjoyable game 7/10. I know nothing about the sequel but I'd hope for improved loading, more epic story, romanceable party member(s), perhaps a little less lore or make it a bit more optional.

Very similar to the first Baldurs Gate and expansion in that it lays a solid foundation for future games.
 

Anno

Member
Both expansions done and dusted, party at max level. Ready to take on the final boss now.

All in all an enjoyable game 7/10. I know nothing about the sequel but I'd hope for improved loading, more epic story, romanceable party member(s), perhaps a little less lore or make it a bit more optional.

Very similar to the first Baldurs Gate and expansion in that it lays a solid foundation for future games.

I think all of those things you've listed have been specifically addressed as changes in Deadfire.
 

Hostile_18

Banned
I think all of those things you've listed have been specifically addressed as changes in Deadfire.

That's good to know. Hopefully this version was a success and the second one will come to consoles as well. It been a port I wouldn't have thought the unit sales would have needed to be that high to turn a profit.
 

Anno

Member
That's good to know. Hopefully this version was a success and the second one will come to consoles as well. It been a port I wouldn't have thought the unit sales would have needed to be that high to turn a profit.

That'll be interesting to see. Paradox did all the work on the console version and are no longer working with Obsidian on the sequel so I wonder how it'll all play out. I guess Obsidian could just do something similar themselves if the sales proved it could be a worthwhile venture.
 

kmag

Member
That's good to know. Hopefully this version was a success and the second one will come to consoles as well. It been a port I wouldn't have thought the unit sales would have needed to be that high to turn a profit.

From what they've said and shown, the sequel looks a complete step up from the first game. They've said they've improved the performance, and if the White Marches is anything to go by they've already improved the two main bugbears I had with the original game (the meh itemisation and the encounter design)
 

IvorB

Member
What level are you? That's actually a really hard part of WM1, to the point that several villagers warn you about going there. It's best done at after you've beat the rest of the first part of the expansion.

Yeah tried to cross the bridge to go east and there was another gank squad of the same enemies on the other side. Noped the hell out of there after two of party died pretty much straight up. To top it off the stupid pearl
hatched into a baby one of those bastards with no option to wring its neck and hang its corpse by the roadside :(.

Just made level 10. Gonna go north instead since I've done everything west.

I've just realised where you are, I did that bit this morning, to say it was a struggle would be an understatement! I was level 9, I've decided to leave that group at the bottom left corner for a bit too, I got walloped there yesterday.

You mean the zealots? Yeah they were pretty mental too come to think of it.
 

Anno

Member
Yeah tried to cross the bridge to go east and there was another gank squad of the same enemies on the other side. Noped the hell out of there after two of party died pretty much straight up. To top it off the stupid pearl
hatched into a baby one of those bastards with no option to wring its neck and hang its corpse by the roadside :(.

Just made level 10. Gonna go north instead since I've done everything west.

Make sure to go back at some point and beat that encounter across the bridge. There's a pretty cool thing afterwards. And also down to the right of the map.
 

BeeDog

Member
What's the best way to hoard/store stuff in this game? I tend to keep all the unique items I find in this game, but my inventory/stash is constantly overloaded which slows my gaming down to a crawl. Currently, I'm using the chests in the Caed Nua Brighthollow upper floor, but they can only carry a very limited amount of items each. Is there any chest somewhere that can store more?

:(
 
Yeah tried to cross the bridge to go east and there was another gank squad of the same enemies on the other side. Noped the hell out of there after two of party died pretty much straight up. To top it off the stupid pearl
hatched into a baby one of those bastards with no option to wring its neck and hang its corpse by the roadside :(.

Just made level 10. Gonna go north instead since I've done everything west.



You mean the zealots? Yeah they were pretty mental too come to think of it.

I was thinking more the broodmothers, those things are absolute gits! I've just got the gank squad bottom right to do now, I inadvertently ran into the bounty in the battery thinking I'd cleared up there, just about managed it.
 

Sell all the junk in your stash. Sort by enchantment High to Low, then sell everything you won't ever need (basically anything that isn't 'fine' or above, or that you have more than one of). Make sure you sell junk to vendors you don't need - people in the early town, trap vendors, food vendors, etc. It takes a few minutes to get rid of it all but it's worth it.
 

BeeDog

Member
Sell all the junk in your stash. Sort by enchantment High to Low, then sell everything you won't ever need (basically anything that isn't 'fine' or above, or that you have more than one of). Make sure you sell junk to vendors you don't need - people in the early town, trap vendors, food vendors, etc. It takes a few minutes to get rid of it all but it's worth it.

Yeah, I've been selling all my fine/exceptional equipment constantly, and most other junk from the stash aside from grimoires/potions/magic scrolls etc. The problem is I'd like to store all the unique (i.e. above exceptional) equipment somewhere since I tend to hoard one-off items. The completionist in me goes for that, that is. :)

I assume anything you sell to a vendor (say, the vendor in Caed Nua) will permanently retain anything you sell to them?
 

IvorB

Member
Make sure to go back at some point and beat that encounter across the bridge. There's a pretty cool thing afterwards. And also down to the right of the map.

Oh yes, I will surely return. I never leave beef unanswered ha ha. There is a cave I think down there that I need to get to.

I was thinking more the broodmothers, those things are absolute gits! I've just got the gank squad bottom right to do now, I inadvertently ran into the bounty in the battery thinking I'd cleared up there, just about managed it.

Yeah they really are. To be fair, I went charging in and noped out of there so when I go back it will be with a more cautious and tactical approach. But after he epic struggle with the first lot I needed some down time before dealing with more of them.
 

Anno

Member
The bounty there I always found to be easier than the broodmother packs. You just have to keep the monk(s?) stunned and focused down before they get off their crazy spirit split thing.
 

BeeDog

Member
Goddamnit, I've been hit by the save bug too now. Seems the bug kicks in when you enter certain areas; for me, it's when I enter the Abbey (in WM2) or level 11 in the Endless Paths. A clear way of seeing if you hit the bug is that the save menu shows automatically as soon as you enter the area.

:( Any updates from Paradox about this?
 

Anno

Member
They've said there's a "big patch" coming in "early October" but I can't determine if that bug is part of it.
 

BeeDog

Member
They've said there's a "big patch" coming in "early October" but I can't determine if that bug is part of it.

Thanks, got any link to this comment? I was dreading they've forgotten about the console editions. Might park my continuation until this patch is out.
 

IvorB

Member
Well, Maradino's place was certainly entertaining. Why did the robot serial killer have
to be a rogue though? :(
 

IvorB

Member
That was perfect for me, 60 hours or so and I'd not got one in my party.

Yeah I didn't have one either and didn't want one ha ha. I'm deeply unconvinced on them as a class in these games in general and never use them voluntarily. Though maybe when I get out of this Battery I will have a big shakeup just to mix things up.

I have to say of all the classes I am running with right now I think the priest is pretty clearly the strongest with insane buffs, debuffs, mitigation and healing. Many of his abilities can completely change the tide of a battle.
 

Anno

Member
Priests are almost certainly the most powerful class in the game. Druids can give them a run and wizards too, but ultimately accuracy is too amazing a stat and they buff so much accuracy that it's just hard to ask for more. Then you have all the immunity spells, debuffs and good nukes. Heals basically aren't even needed. Even with stuff like Shadowflame and the various storm spells nothing quite touches Devotions outside of utterly broken high level spells like Mindweb.
 

Altazor

Member
Finally finished it (original PC version + DLC)

Took me "a bit" longer than what I expected but still, one hell of a ride. Loading times were incredibly obnoxious for me (I literally had to wait more than 5 minutes every time I booted up the game and loading my current save) so that meant playing more of a chore than it needed to be. Thankfully the game itself was still fun, so I had no real complaints (except from frustration when facing tougher battles) on that front.
I was in a bit of a quandary regarding the final decision, because I was legit torn between
Hylea (returning souls to hollowborn) and Berath (return souls to the Cycle)
but in the end I chose
returning souls to the hollowborn
. The endings I got were mostly good, IMHO, with
Edér becoming mayor of Dyrford, Aloth becoming the LK grandmaster, Kana sailing to search for more knowledge, Hiravias earning the begrudging respect of his clan but then leaving to wander the world because fuck those guys and, best of all, Sagani returning to her village, retiring as a hunter and deciding to raise her family - living in peace and eventually dying feeling loved by her children and her children's children.
Others felt much more bittersweet, like
Pallegina exiled from the Republics and, while joining the Kind Wayfarers, feeling shunned by her appearance, the Grieving Mother deciding to return to the Bell to wait for new mothers that never came, Durance dedicating himself to revenge against Magran and The Devil of Caroc leaving to wander the world and finally making it to the ocean, something she had never seen, and took her own "life" by drowning before her body completely failed her
. More good than bad, IMO, in terms of how my companions ended up.

Oh, and the final boss? Man, felt like a disappointment. I guess I was too overleved, lol. In any case, my personal highlight of the game in terms of battle remains defeating The Master Below after countless tries. God I hate those AoE attacks, lol. So, apart from the easy fight, I decided to
send him back to the cycle with the knowledge of what he did to punish him on his next life
. I honestly thought about being a bit more merciful
as in either erasing his memory and letting him be free of his shady past, or destroying his soul as a sort of mercy-killing 'cause he was beyond salvation
but in the end, decided to
punish him for a lifetime of evil deeds. He'd have plenty of time to reconsider what his previous life did, I guess :p

In the end, had a blast beyond the technical issues of not so good performance and the horrible loading times. Really can't wait for Deadfire now, hoping that it surpasses the original in every conceivable way :)
 
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