Eternity Pillars of Eternity + The White March Expansion Thread

[Maculo]

I really don't see the difference between Linear and Narrative/Chapter-driven.

If I understand correctly, then the Witcher 2 comes to mind. The chapters may be linear, but the starting points in act 2 are not.

 

[Prime Junta]

I really don't see the difference between Linear and Narrative/Chapter-driven.

Linear doesn't support backtracking. Narrative/chapter-driven does.

Consider IWD: you can't progress until you've cleared Dragon's Eye, and once you have, there's no point going back. The same applies to all the dungeons in it.

With BG1, 2, Pillars etc. you have a bunch of stuff you can do in any order in each chapter and each location often contains stuff intended for different levels, which means that you end up moving between the locations a fair bit.

As stated though, these aren't "hard" categories. The line between linear and chapter-based is a little blurry as some mostly-linear games do give you a certain amount of freedom to choose in which order you do things (SRR: Dragonfall for example). Endless fodder for autistic debates concerning specifics there.

I do contend that these general structural patterns are meaningful, even if it can be hard to classify specific games by them.

 

[AwesomeButton]

What exactly was Irenicus doing in Spellhold anyway? Just waiting for you to show up again so he can do more....experiments?

In the cutscene at the Promenade, he allowed the Coweled Wizards to "take him in" as long as they take Imoen too. I guess his plan was to take over Spellhold and lure the player there.

 

[Infinitron]

Well, that's kind of dumb since the player might have been killed at any time by one of the high level monstrosities inhabiting Athkatla and its environs, but that's BG2 for you.

 

[Neanderthal]

Raping Imoen tastefully? Sounded like she were on Rohypnol when you caught up wi er.

Suppose e were gonna get round to nobblin red wizards at some time anyway, so why not now.

 

[prodigydancer]

I don't get the love for Irenicus. The voice actor was great obviously, but other than that and his Tom of Finland fashion sense I thought he was your standard muhahaha-I-want-to-be-a-god-evil-wizard-antagonist.

Your have a tendency to overgeneralize that draws you to weird conclusions.

Irenicus isn't an evil-wizard type at all and his fashion sense could be your first clue. He doesn't command an undead/monster army. He doesn't want to destroy the world or kill/enslave everyone for lulz. He's a broken and bitter loser who wants to take revenge on the world his fellow elves. Any broken and bitter loser who would totally take revenge if only he had the means can relate, and that's why Irenicus is so likable.

What exactly was Irenicus doing in Spellhold anyway? Just waiting for you to show up again so he can do more....experiments?

Brooding and rehearsing his inevitable ultimate triumph.

 

[Prime Junta]

Any broken and bitter loser who would totally take revenge if only he had the means can relate, and that's why Irenicus is so likable.

That would explain his popularity in these parts, I suppose.

 

[AwesomeButton]

BTW, to those of you who hail the choice that PoE should not to have respawning enemies as a stroke of genius design - there actually are respawning trash mobs in TWM, at least in Durgan's Battery and Longwatch Falls, at least when you play on PotD.

I for one am actually ok with that.

 

[prodigydancer]

Well, that's kind of dumb since the player might have been killed at any time by one of the high level monstrosities inhabiting Athkatla and its environs, but that's BG2 for you.

Presumably he needed some kind of wizard lab for his soul transfusion studies. After the destruction of his own underground facility in Waukeen's Promenade he "surrendered" to the Cowled Wizards as soon as the thought of taking over Spellhold crossed his mind. Capturing only Imoen gave him a pretext to experiment on his sister first to see if the results would meet the expectations. It all took some time.

That Irenicus didn't eventually send anyone to re-capture the MC can be viewed as a plot hole but let's remember that he had already drawn much unwanted attention. We can also speculate that after his little war with the Shadow Thieves he was wary about involving any third parties.

the choice that PoE should not to have respawning enemies

I'd be OK with it if early game economy was a little more in my favor. After fully clearing Raedric's Hold you can buy 1 (one) unique item in Defiance Bay. Maybe two of the cheaper ones. That's kind of sad.

 

[Bleed the Man]

BTW, to those of you who hail the choice that PoE should not to have respawning enemies as a stroke of genius design - there actually are respawning trash mobs in TWM, at least in Durgan's Battery and Longwatch Falls, at least when you play on PotD.

I for one am actually ok with that.

Could you say how it happened? I know the Durgan's Battery map has a new combat encounter when doing WM2 content, so maybe that's it.

 

[Prime Junta]

I'd be OK with it if early game economy was a little more in my favor. After fully clearing Raedric's Hold you can buy 1 (one) unique item in Defiance Bay. Maybe two of the cheaper ones. That's kind of sad.

Pillars' economy is usually criticised for being too generous. That's certainly my experience. By the time I'm halfway through chapter 2 I've got gold all the gear I want and gold in the tens of thousands.

 

[AwesomeButton]

I'd be OK with it if early game economy was a little more in my favor. After fully clearing Raedric's Hold you can buy 1 (one) unique item in Defiance Bay. Maybe two of the cheaper ones. That's kind of sad.

Like I said:

in TWM

Pillars' economy is usually criticised for being too generous.

Depends on the player's play style really. In my first playthrough I had a house rule not to use the stash to store anything that doesn't automatically go to the stash. This resulted in me being irritated by items on the ground never decaying, but that's a different story.

BTW, to those of you who hail the choice that PoE should not to have respawning enemies as a stroke of genius design - there actually are respawning trash mobs in TWM, at least in Durgan's Battery and Longwatch Falls, at least when you play on PotD.

I for one am actually ok with that.

Could you say how it happened? I know the Durgan's Battery map has a new combat encounter when doing WM2 content, so maybe that's it.

I just returned to Durgan's Battery (the outside area) after having returned to Stalwart and one of the encounters of Lagufaeth and ice blights had reappeared. I had already noticed the same with a group of Ice trolls and (I think) ice blights in Longwatch Falls, around the spot where you meet the Gleaming Society group.

 

[Bleed the Man]

BTW, to those of you who hail the choice that PoE should not to have respawning enemies as a stroke of genius design - there actually are respawning trash mobs in TWM, at least in Durgan's Battery and Longwatch Falls, at least when you play on PotD.

I for one am actually ok with that.

Could you say how it happened? I know the Durgan's Battery map has a new combat encounter when doing WM2 content, so maybe that's it.

I just returned to Durgan's Battery (the outside area) after having returned to Stalwart and one of the encounters of Lagufaeth and ice blights had reappeared. I had already noticed the same with a group of Ice trolls and (I think) ice blights in Longwatch Falls, around the spot where you meet the Gleaming Society group.

It's your first time in Durgan's Battery after starting TWM 2, though? The two encounters you mention seem to be the same I saw (I didn't went to Russtlewood, so maybe there's some encounter there too), although I didn't know if the encounter you get in Longwatch Falls was just because I had already completed the bounty, which occupied the space of that encounter.

I think these are just new encounters added in the second expansion, I don't think they respwan.

 

[prodigydancer]

Pillars' economy is usually criticised for being too generous. That's certainly my experience. By the time I'm halfway through chapter 2 I've got gold all the gear I want and gold in the tens of thousands.

I'm talking about early game. By the time I'm halfway through chapter 2 I'm level 7 and no longer really care about what kind of gear I have. It's not AD&D where you sometimes need +X to be able to do damage. The difference between normal and superb is just +CtH/+damage - nice but not essential.

Maybe it's different in TWM zones (I've just hit DB so I'm not there yet) but in vanilla there weren't many difficult encounters in the second half of the game. And those few there were couldn't be solved by obtaining better gear.

 

[AwesomeButton]

BTW, to those of you who hail the choice that PoE should not to have respawning enemies as a stroke of genius design - there actually are respawning trash mobs in TWM, at least in Durgan's Battery and Longwatch Falls, at least when you play on PotD.

I for one am actually ok with that.

Could you say how it happened? I know the Durgan's Battery map has a new combat encounter when doing WM2 content, so maybe that's it.

I just returned to Durgan's Battery (the outside area) after having returned to Stalwart and one of the encounters of Lagufaeth and ice blights had reappeared. I had already noticed the same with a group of Ice trolls and (I think) ice blights in Longwatch Falls, around the spot where you meet the Gleaming Society group.

It's your first time in Durgan's Battery after starting TWM 2, though? The two encounters you mention seem to be the same I saw (I didn't went to Russtlewood, so maybe there's some encounter there too), although I didn't know if the encounter you get in Longwatch Falls was just because I had already completed the bounty, which occupied the space of that encounter.

I think these are just new encounters added in the second expansion, I don't think they respwan.

If you go back to Longwatch Falls now (on PotD at least), there should be three Ice Trolls and various other enemies near the river, on the western side. However, I don't know what the situation was there in TWM1, if they were there or if they respawned or not.

 

[Maculo]

I tried to install Part 2, and I am experiencing a weird issue. When I go to install the patches and TWM 2, it does not register on the game screen. It still states that I am playing 2.0 with only TWM I installed.
I am going to follow the steps again, but I am at a loss. I never had this happen. Granted, I have to bring the patches and downloads via USB as opposed to downloading it directly.

 

[Infinitron]

The seventh in our series of videos showing the East Connection Music Recording Company perform music from Pillars of Eternity. In this video, the company performs the encampment theme.

 

[agris]

What exactly was Irenicus doing in Spellhold anyway? Just waiting for you to show up again so he can do more....experiments?

Isn't it Imoen's soul/spirit/essence for Bodhi, the CHARNAME's for Irenicus, with the bonus that Imoen is the bait that drags in the player? Also Spellhold had the right equipment to support the soul extraction, since Chateau Irenicus was destroyed.

Lhynn since he has played it recently.

 

[Florian Gheorghe]

things I like better in Pillars then BG2 :
- graphics;
- animations;
- more zoom in level closer to PS:T;
- sounds;
- scripted interactions;
- interface ( ability to compare items and the overall layout );
- reputation system;
- stronghold with the changes made in 3.0;
- classes and stats;
- crafting.

 

[AwesomeButton]

Dammit, on the second level of the Durgan's battery dungeon (mines), shade-like and beetle encounters respawn within the party's line of sight, if they cross through the same place again.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

I tried to install Part 2, and I am experiencing a weird issue. When I go to install the patches and TWM 2, it does not register on the game screen. It still states that I am playing 2.0 with only TWM I installed.
I am going to follow the steps again, but I am at a loss. I never had this happen. Granted, I have to bring the patches and downloads via USB as opposed to downloading it directly.

I had this as well with the GOG version. Downloading and installing the 3.0 installers for the base game and WMp1 allowed pt2 to install correctly. Pain in the ass, but the only workaround I could find.

 

[tdphys]

I tried to install Part 2, and I am experiencing a weird issue. When I go to install the patches and TWM 2, it does not register on the game screen. It still states that I am playing 2.0 with only TWM I installed.
I am going to follow the steps again, but I am at a loss. I never had this happen. Granted, I have to bring the patches and downloads via USB as opposed to downloading it directly.

I had this as well with the GOG version. Downloading and installing the 3.0 installers for the base game and WMp1 allowed pt2 to install correctly. Pain in the ass, but the only workaround I could find.

ditto

 

[Lhynn]

What exactly was Irenicus doing in Spellhold anyway? Just waiting for you to show up again so he can do more....experiments?

Isn't it Imoen's soul/spirit/essence for Bodhi, the CHARNAME's for Irenicus, with the bonus that Imoen is the bait that drags in the player? Also Spellhold had the right equipment to support the soul extraction, since Chateau Irenicus was destroyed.

Lhynn since he has played it recently.

Havent played it in years but its an easy one.
Irenicus kinda sets it up so you go to him, meanwhile he prepares all the necessary equipment and materials to do what he had planned to do from the start with you. His lab being in ruins and everything.
He was most likely keeping track of all your movements through bodhi and saw no need to go fetch you. The fact that saemon was in his pocket is pretty telling that this was his plan all along. Its even strongly hinted that he was using signals to communicate with bodhis ship every night during the travel.

 

[Hegel]

Plus the teleporter to the Underdark and a bunch of magic imbued guinea pigs.

 

[Prime Junta]

Pillars' economy is usually criticised for being too generous. That's certainly my experience. By the time I'm halfway through chapter 2 I've got gold all the gear I want and gold in the tens of thousands.

I'm talking about early game. By the time I'm halfway through chapter 2 I'm level 7 and no longer really care about what kind of gear I have. It's not AD&D where you sometimes need +X to be able to do damage. The difference between normal and superb is just +CtH/+damage - nice but not essential.

Uh and the game would be better if you were able to buy everything you want earlier... how?

Being poor early-game and saving up for that thing you want is a big part of the fun.