Eternity Pillars of Eternity II Beta Thread [GAME RELEASED, GO TO NEW THREAD]

[Background Character]

How's the Spellblade working out? Or the Warlock or whatever the fighter/wizard multiclass is called? Is it working out or is better to just be a pure wizard?

 

[2house2fly]

you know i still remember the name of the punk rocker party member's band from shadowrun: dragonfall, something he mentions only in passing and it's buried about 5 dialogs deep, but i never even knew godlike couldn't reproduce until right now even though i've finished PoE 13 times.

Memory's a funny thing. I can pretty much recite the entire first eight seasons of The Simpsons verbatim but I can't remember how to do long division.

 

[aweigh]

my post was meant to illustrate how good writing (SR: Dragonfall) can make anything memorable but bad writing (PoE) can make everything forgettable.

 

[2house2fly]

Oh.

 

[Ulfhednar]

PoE 2 is terse relative to PoE 1 - They shoved a lot of the lore dumps into Tyranny-like tooltips. Beta story wasn't anything to write home about, but you do get to see some of the factional dialogue choices.

Most Fighter/X multiclass combos are pretty strong, assuming you pick instacast spells. Pure casters were nerfed to unrecognizable husks of their former PoE selves.

 

[fantadomat]

I was really curious if the negress had cloaca. But i take it this will be one of the questions without an answer. The most forgettable for me was the little werewolf guy,only thing that i remember is that he had some op spells and read hear.

Most people who find Hiravias unforgettable never used him. he has some of the funniest banters in the game, especially with Eder in White March Part 2. He's kind of refreshing since all the other characters in your party (besides Eder, Zahua, and the Blue Lesbo ) are so serious personality wise.

I have him in my party every game,still he comes too late and jokes as whole are a thing thing that people forget easelly. I just found out that the shark dude was even more forgettable. Had too google PoE companions to see and remember him.He was fairly pointless character.

They're infertile, yeah. That's actually a part of her backstory; as a godlike she's unable to reproduce and so legally in her home country she's not considered female, a loophole that allowed her to join her otherwise-all-male paladin order

I was really curious if the negress had cloaca. But i take it this will be one of the questions without an answer. The most forgettable for me was the little werewolf guy,only thing that i remember is that he had some op spells and read hear.

He had a decent quest at least- he's torn between two gods and you can convince him which one he should be worshipping. There's a bit of Lore about how souls split more as the population increases, which is a slightly disturbing aspect of the worldbuilding (how much can a soul fracture and remain viable? Will people evolve to stop needing "essence" to function the way they currently do?)

Eder's sorrow and fractured feelings and disillusionment over his brother choice and ultimately death

Fun statement, but very far from meaningful. They can proclaim all the sorrow and pain in the world, but it doesn't matter if it doesn't do or change anything, nor affect the choices he makes. Durance's "flashiness" is a direct result of his experiences, it isn't random, the Watcher is also the only option he has, it's logical for him to join the party, as opposed to pretty much everyone else.

What's not logical is for the Watcher to keep him around for any reason.

Yeah it was not bad,but comes at the end. The character pacing was not good,you found him too late.

 

[fantadomat]

So, any combination of multiclassing standing out so far? What combination have you used?

This is my custom party now:

- Crusader (Unbroken/ The Shieldbearers of St Elcga)
- Liberator (Lifegiver/ Darcozzi Paladini)
- Hunter (Devoted/ Sharpshooter)
- Swashbuckler (Devoted/ Streetfighter)
- Hierophant (Illusionist/ Beguiler)

The Crusader, Swashbuckler and Hierophant are doing really great. I need to observe others better. The Hunter is melting down in almost every encounter.

Do you chose the class of your companions? Can you have a pure single class party?

I was really curious if the negress had cloaca. But i take it this will be one of the questions without an answer. The most forgettable for me was the little werewolf guy,only thing that i remember is that he had some op spells and read hear.

She probably does have a cloaca. How else would she reproduce? Or are Godlikes infertile?

Birds reproduce to mate . Also you get vag and ass sex in one,now if only it was a mouth to.

 

[Ulfhednar]

The beta assigns 4 generic single class characters (fighter rogue, priest, wizard) plus the watcher - you can console in money to hire custom recruits. None of the story companions are in the beta.

 

[2house2fly]

Yeah it was not bad,but comes at the end. The character pacing was not good,you found him too late.

I don't get how it's too late, he's on the way to Dyrford.

 

[Abu Antar]

Currently playing PoE and comparing it to the PoE II Beta is inevitable. Spells go off very quickly in PoE and you have to wait forever in PoE II. Somewhere in the middle ground should be good. Lower movement speed on characters in combat for PoE II and we're one step further to better combat.

Now about that 6th character.

 

[CptMace]

So, any combination of multiclassing standing out so far? What combination have you used?

This is my custom party now:

- Crusader (Unbroken/ The Shieldbearers of St Elcga)
- Liberator (Lifegiver/ Darcozzi Paladini)
- Hunter (Devoted/ Sharpshooter)
- Swashbuckler (Devoted/ Streetfighter)
- Hierophant (Illusionist/ Beguiler)

The Crusader, Swashbuckler and Hierophant are doing really great. I need to observe others better. The Hunter is melting down in almost every encounter.

What do you mean "the hunter is melting down" ? Did they fix Devoted/Sharpshooter ?
This combination was op when I tried it out a few days ago. Devoted didn't have its limitations active yet, so I could specialize in longbow (which should have been impossible) and actually benefit from the devoted bonus with the bow. My hunter hit for 15PEN all the time, meaning a solid +30% damage for each hit, meaning he wrecked everything.
But if they fixed it, yeah, it should melt down since it shouldn't work at all. Devoted's bonii only concern melee combat, which is the exact opposite of the sharpshooter.

 

[fantadomat]

Yeah it was not bad,but comes at the end. The character pacing was not good,you found him too late.

I don't get how it's too late, he's on the way to Dyrford.

Didin't you have to finish a bunch of quests in the city for the guilds?

 

[TT1]

Do you chose the class of your companions? Can you have a pure single class party?

I just dismissed the initial companions and hired new companions to have it the way I want. Yes, you can hire single class companions.

What do you mean "the hunter is melting down" ? Did they fix Devoted/Sharpshooter ?

My Hunter is dying in every encounter, probably because of my build (18-3-19-20-3-15).

Penetration now is 11:
Base 5
Sharpshooter 2
Devoted 3
Fine Hunting Bow 1

 

[Ruzen]

I think from a creative perspective. Characters like Durance (crazy eye person) are one of the most easily creatable characters and more easily likable.

 

[2house2fly]

Yeah it was not bad,but comes at the end. The character pacing was not good,you found him too late.

I don't get how it's too late, he's on the way to Dyrford.

Didin't you have to finish a bunch of quests in the city for the guilds?

I haven't gone through the early game in a while, but as I recall as soon as you get to Defiance Bay you can just walk right back out and explore the wilderness

 

[Lacrymas]

I think from a creative perspective. Characters like Durance (crazy eye person) are one of the most easily creatable characters and more easily likable.

Eder is not unlikable for Durance to be more likeable than him, it's not about that at all. It's about what a given character is doing in a specific story. What people are saying about Eder, that's he sorrowful and disillusioned over his brother's choice, is a character concept, not a character that exerts influence or has something "to say" in context. Durance has something to say - the gods are ultimately fickle beings and unquestioning loyalty to them will inevitably burn you, quite literally in his case. Maybe this can be extended to all kinds of authority figures that are dis-attached from those they perceive to be their underlings. This is done in a logical way in the context of the setting and its history, he was there for a pivotal moment in it. This experience has shaped him to be this uncaring, foul-mouthed and almost insane wanderer bent on trying to figure out where he went wrong, note that he never accused Magran of being responsible for the deaths of his fellow bomb-smiths before he found out she was. He tried to find meaning in his perceived failure in his mistress' eyes, so his obsession with punishment and trials by fire ultimately comes from there. This should've been explored further, but due to Obs' meddling and uncompromising butchery it was all kind of between-the-lines.

Eder, on the other hand, is simply sad about his brother's choice and death. His doubts never really go anywhere, it hasn't shaped his character in any particular way, nor does he reveal anything more around the Saint's War, the reasons for it or its aftermath. When you find his brother's trinket and can get no answers, he goes "oh, well" and that's that. It's really understated and even pointless. What do the doubts and disillusionment amount to in his case? I'm actually at a loss for words about what more I can say about Eder, his character actively resists attempts at further analysis or in-depth readings. Maybe I am missing something profound about him and he's actually way more interesting than I think, I'd love for someone to make a character analysis for him so I can see if there's something more to the love everyone has for him, apart from "he's a totally normal person and a bro!" as if that makes him a good character in a fictional story.

 

[Quillon]

Eder is not edgy enough therefore he's labeled dull and uninteresting, every bit of Durance is on the edge tis why more people find him interesting right away and MCA ball lickers tries too hard to make him more than he is. Durance = 1/3 MCA, 1/3 Efens and 1/3 his voice actor...-and the portrait artist

When you find his brother's trinket and can get no answers, he goes "oh, well" and that's that. It's really understated and even pointless. What do the doubts and disillusionment amount to in his case?

Sometimes(or all the time) you have to make do with what you got after you tried everything you could think of Would it have been better if there was a crystal clear answer to all of his doubts and he emerged on the other side a different, more confident person after we did his loyalty quest? "Yeah ShepardWatcher, I'm focused and ready for anything! *brofists*".

 

[Iznaliu]

It's about what a given character is doing in a specific story

If your characters are just tools to exposit more layers of the story and don't have any aspects which don't end up in convenient plot revelations, that isn't something to be proud of.

 

[Magnificate]

Are you still able to rename multiclass names? Can I have, say, a Blade Singer rather than a War Caller?

 

[Prime Junta]

Are you still able to rename multiclass names? Can I have, say, a Blade Singer rather than a War Caller?

Since all the data is in XML files I've no doubt that's very easy to mod.

 

[2house2fly]

Eder, on the other hand, is simply sad about his brother's choice and death. His doubts never really go anywhere, it hasn't shaped his character in any particular way, nor does he reveal anything more around the Saint's War, the reasons for it or its aftermath. When you find his brother's trinket and can get no answers, he goes "oh, well" and that's that. It's really understated and even pointless. What do the doubts and disillusionment amount to in his case? I'm actually at a loss for words about what more I can say about Eder, his character actively resists attempts at further analysis or in-depth readings. Maybe I am missing something profound about him and he's actually way more interesting than I think, I'd love for someone to make a character analysis for him so I can see if there's something more to the love everyone has for him, apart from "he's a totally normal person and a bro!" as if that makes him a good character in a fictional story.

He is not "simply sad" about his brother. This is what I mean when I say you people should just say the game isn't compellingly written enough to make you pay attention and leave it at that, because when you try to get into specifics you just talk nonsense. How about his final decision between material things and abstract ideas and how it relates to a setting where technological progression threatens to one day leave the gods behind, or his quest to find out why his brother made his decision, ending in him not getting the answers and closure he seeks which connects him to the core theme of the game. Not every facet of his character is bent around one central premise, but frankly it doesn't have to be. A guy can just like animals (though it seems natural for a rural farmer who's a follower of the god of the harvest to like animals...) and be friendly (though a worshipper of the Nice Guy god might well end up being a nice guy himself...) because it makes him entertaining to interact with.

 

[Lacrymas]

Ok, what about that final decision? Go into more specifics, why is that important in the context of his character, the setting or the story? There is no underlying discussion about technology advancement leading to abandonment of the gods, where are you getting that from? Also, what "core theme" of the game? There isn't a plot, let alone a theme.

 

[aweigh]

PoE comps are just like real world:

it is much better to be likeable (eder) than interesting (durance) !!!111

discuss!

 

[Cross]

Eder's sorrow and fractured feelings and disillusionment over his brother choice and ultimately death - of course will not resonate with a pampered man-child that will always be drawn to the flashy and almost comical characters like Durance.

Flashy? Eder is a hell of a lot more forthcoming and on the nose with his issues than Durance, whose personal anxieties are hidden beneath layers of sanctimonious speechifying.

Execution is everything. Eder's sorrow and unresolved doubt over his brother's fate might be compelling in theory, but it's the writers job to sell me on that, and the fact that the most vivid memory I have about Eder's companion quest is not about Eder himself, but how Grieving Mother used her cipher powers to solve it speaks volumes. I never remotely believed Eder was in danger of being persecuted for his belief in Eothas or that his brother's actions were some great mystery that left him restless.

Most characters in PoE simply do not feel like believable products of their environment. They are written too mechanically and come across like bland receptacles of lore rather than distinct individuals (the fact that Eder's class was changed willy-nilly during the beta speaks volumes; something like that should be an essential part of a character's identity, not some throwaway detail). I believe Sawyer said as much in an interview: with PoE, one overarching goal they had with the companions was to use them to represent aspects of the setting, like having each race represented by one companion.

Durance and the Grieving Mother obviously stand out when compared to the otther companions. It's not that the writing for these characters is perfect, far from it, it's that these characters actually feel like they belong in this world. Unlike the other companions, Durance and the GM don't just talk about aspects of PoE's world, they embody it, not just through their words, but through their voice, their methods, their appearance, their class, etc.

 

[TT1]

Are you still able to rename multiclass names? Can I have, say, a Blade Singer rather than a War Caller?

Since all the data is in XML files I've no doubt that's very easy to mod.

I want to implement that Animancer class that JS said, about constructs;