Pillars Of Eternity Options

[SubRosa]

It is out today. Has anyone bought it and given it a try yet? It is on my To Do list of games. But I was hoping to hear a bit more about it. The Reviews are solid. It sounds like a modern successor to the classic Baldur's Gate-style rpg games, with a new fantasy setting, an isometric view, party of characters, lot of races and classes to choose from.

[SubRosa]

I like the isometric view. It works better for strategy style games, where managing multiple characters and positioning is important. One reason I never use companions in Bethesda games is they always run in front of you when you are shooting, or they shoot you in the back. That kind of thing doesn't happen in isometric games, because you can control the actions of not only yourself, but your companions.

Since you forced me to, I created a Ranger to try out, and took a lion companion. Turns out the Lion has a roar power that frightens enemies and gives them penalties to things like their accuracy. The trouble is I am never sure if he has done it yet or not, and if I miss it he just stands around doing nothing until I realize I need to make him attack again. So I think I will create a new character with a different companion.

But I did think the ranged combat worked out well. Wounding Shot worked very well at hobbling most enemies and slowing them down. I noticed that the Rogue class gets a sneak attack on all enemies that are hobbled. So it looks like a Ranger and Rogue would be a deadly combo.

I am now wondering how a ranged Rogue would do? I think the devs intended the Rogue to be mainly a melee fighter, but it seems most of their abilities and talents work at range as well. Except I know their Backstab talent only works up close.

I just tried it out with a Hearth Orlan, and a Ranged Rogue is very powerful. All Rogues automatically get Sneak Attack, which does an extra 50% damage to enemies who are blinded, hobbled, flanked, prone, etc... It also works on all attacks in the first two seconds of combat. So a Ranged Rogue's first shot is always going to be a sneak attack.

The Rogue picks from Hobbling Strike or Blinding Strike at character creation. If either one hits it insures a Sneak Attack on all your hits afterward. Hobbling Strike seems ideal for a ranged character, as it slows your enemy down. If you have a Fighter with you (and you should!), their Knockdown will also provide you with more Sneak Attack opportunities.

The downside is that unlike the Ranger, you don't get that Animal Companion to run interference for you, and you definitely don't want to be alone with this character. The upside is Sneak Attack makes you a beast with a bow. I was dishing out far more damage with the Ranged Rogue than the Ranger. The downside is that I also drew more fire, and when I got hit it really hurt. This is definitely a great idea for a glass cannon type character.


This post has been edited by SubRosa: Aug 31 2015, 08:44 PM

[haute ecole rider]

I like the isometric view. It works better for strategy style games, where managing multiple characters and positioning is important. One reason I never use companions in Bethesda games is they always run in front of you when you are shooting, or they shoot you in the back. That kind of thing doesn't happen in isometric games, because you can control the actions of not only yourself, but your companions.

I agree with all of these points - it really helps to plan out the attack before hand and to be able to tell your companions which enemy to go for. I was able to send Calisca and Ursula (my bear) to attack a bandit chief while I took out the bandit archer. It worked well - the two of them took out the more powerful enemy pretty quickly, and I was able to redirect them against the archer, by which time he was pretty hurt.

Since you forced me to, I created a Ranger to try out, and took a lion companion.

I forced you to create a Ranger?

But I did think the ranged combat worked out well. Wounding Shot worked very well at hobbling most enemies and slowing them down. I noticed that the Rogue class gets a sneak attack on all enemies that are hobbled. So it looks like a Ranger and Rogue would be a deadly combo.

Now that give me an idea . . . I had initially considered going with a Rogue character (that or a Druid), but settled on the Ranger as that had more Might.

Thank you for all the info. This is really my first D&D based RPG - and I had never played D&D, so I'm totally unfamiliar with all the terminology and rules. But I don't care beyond having fun following the story. However I do want my character to live long enough to get through the storyline! So your information breaks it down into more manageable chunks for someone like me.

[SubRosa]

I like the isometric view. It works better for strategy style games, where managing multiple characters and positioning is important. One reason I never use companions in Bethesda games is they always run in front of you when you are shooting, or they shoot you in the back. That kind of thing doesn't happen in isometric games, because you can control the actions of not only yourself, but your companions.

I agree with all of these points - it really helps to plan out the attack before hand and to be able to tell your companions which enemy to go for. I was able to send Calisca and Ursula (my bear) to attack a bandit chief while I took out the bandit archer. It worked well - the two of them took out the more powerful enemy pretty quickly, and I was able to redirect them against the archer, by which time he was pretty hurt.

The downside to the isometric view that you might be feeling is that it feels less personal than the standard third/first person games that Bethesda does. In Sky, Ob, FO, and so on, you get up close and personal with your character. You see their face. In the games like Pillars, Baldur's Gate, NWN, and so on, you are withdrawn from your characters. You watch down from on high, like a distant deity manipulating their actions. The character portraits help alleviate that somewhat, because they give you a close look at each character's face. But for the the most part they are little squiggles on the screen. And I am sure that can be dissatisfying for many.

Since you forced me to, I created a Ranger to try out, and took a lion companion.

I forced you to create a Ranger?

That's like talking about having a great chicken salad, or pizza, or a cheeseburger. After hearing that, can anyone listening do anything other than go out and eat one themselves?

But I did think the ranged combat worked out well. Wounding Shot worked very well at hobbling most enemies and slowing them down. I noticed that the Rogue class gets a sneak attack on all enemies that are hobbled. So it looks like a Ranger and Rogue would be a deadly combo.

Now that give me an idea . . . I had initially considered going with a Rogue character (that or a Druid), but settled on the Ranger as that had more Might.

Thank you for all the info. This is really my first D&D based RPG - and I had never played D&D, so I'm totally unfamiliar with all the terminology and rules. But I don't care beyond having fun following the story. However I do want my character to live long enough to get through the storyline! So your information breaks it down into more manageable chunks for someone like me.

I have been playing D&D style RPGs since, well, since playing actual D&D! Most computer games simplify the rules, even the ones that use them. Or at least they hide most of it behind the screen so you can just play the game. Pillars is actually lot simpler than the old pen & paper D&D games.



I have talked a lot about the nuts and bolts of the game and classes and how to make a character. But one thing I have not mentioned yet is the world itself. One thing that h.e.r. mentioned is how she liked the setting. I do too. It is mostly your basic fantasy setting, with very European-looking buildings and armor and clothing and weapons and social systems. Though unlike most this is more equivalent to the Renaissance Era than the Medieval. There are firearms in the form of arabesques and blunderbusses, which from what I read are really awesome first strike weapons, but are so slow to reload they are useless after the first shot.

I will admit that the idea of any sort of firearms in a fantasy game turns me off. But the truth is it is no different than the Sengoku period of Japan, or Hideoyoshi's invasions of Korea, or good old Western Europe in the 14th and 15th Centuries, when plate armor reached its zenith precisely because it was the only thing that could stop a bullet. Movies and books set in those periods are fun, and I have to admit that playing a game set in one would be too.

Anyway, on top of the generic Fantasy world they do some really creative things with souls, and a naturally forming crystal called Adra. Adra absorbs the souls of people who have died, and in time transmits them to the Spirit World. Then after a while they return to the physical world born into new bodies. Basic reincarnation with some crystals acting as the duct work. Where it gets interesting is that there are scientists called Animancers who study souls, as well as rare people called Watchers who can actually see souls. There are also cases where souls become "Lost" and don't go on to the afterlife. Worse, there is a growing problem of the Hollowborn, babies born without souls. Sometimes the Lost Souls even find a home in these Hollowborn children.

The player character is a Watcher, and the game has some really neat stuff once your Watcher ability turns itself on. You start seeing the souls of people long dead, and reliving past events in the lives of people who are still alive. It is some very cool stuff, and it all fits together really nicely. I don't know where it is all going as I am still only at the very beginning of the game. But it really like it. It is a very welcome change from fantasy worlds I loathed, such as those of the Dragon Age and Witcher games.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Sep 1 2015, 07:46 PM