Eternity Pillars of Eternity + The White March Expansion Thread

[Starwars]

Yeah, I think I'm gonna go for either Paladin or Wizard this time around.

 

[Maculo]

Think I'm gonna replay this but not sure what class to use. Did Cipher and Monk, both of which I enjoyed, previously.

My pick is priest ( practically shill for it). I found it rewarding on PotD. Priests start out weak and fragile, but if you stick with it, you become ridiculously powerful. I would argue that Priest shifts from just a buffbot to a decent damage dealer and crowd-controller over the course of the game. By end game, you have Avatar, Rain of Holy Fire, an electric shock aura, which does great damage over time, multiple casts of an AoE knockdown seal, and a revive. You definitely have to rest, but you have a great toolkit of spells.

The reason I would make the main character a priest is to take advantage of reputation bonuses. Otherwise, I would make a custom character as you want to play your main character.

 

[Bubbles]

Priest is quite OP at the endgame. Not as versatile as the wizard, but at least as powerful.

 

[Maculo]

I think I need to give Wizard a try. I did not like them in beta, and I never looked back.

 

[Sizzle]

Hehe. Funny how different people have different preferences.

Part of what makes the game enjoyable - the classes feel much more different between themselves than those in the IE games.

In my next "evil" playthrough, I'm going to try playing a paladin.

 

[Infinitron]

http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/87689-303-beta-update/

3.03 Beta Update

'On Hit' weapon procs now function correctly.

Fixed multiple issues with companions auto-level up (thanks Hamskii).

Fixed an issue where characters would stay invisible when using Cape of the Master Mystic.

Added a missing hatchet (thanks nem0).

Looks like they really want to get this one right.

 

[Rivmusique]

Don't have to even turn abbey monks hostile.

 

[Sizzle]

Yeah, you can easily bluff your way inside, and have only one fight at the end. And even there you can make it easier with a few attribute-checks.

One of the best areas in the game, similar to Roderic's Keep in the regard of a variety of options you have to complete it.

 

[Sannom]

I should try the stealth option next time.

 

[Infinitron]

http://jesawyer.tumblr.com/post/145961337396/what-sort-of-name-would-someone-from-the-living

just-like-you-imagined asked: What sort of name would someone from the Living Lands have? Do they even have their own language, or would their names be just a mishmash from every other culture?

There are no known “kith” cultures that are native to the Living Lands, so the names would likely be from other cultures or amalgamations of different naming conventions as people from different places have children together.

 

[Sizzle]

Yeah, you can easily bluff your way inside, and have only one fight at the end. And even there you can make it easier with a few attribute-checks.

One of the best areas in the game, similar to Roderic's Keep in the regard of a variety of options you have to complete it.

ugh

How do you do it without getting swarmed immediately? I headed north, got jumped, swung inside, got jumped.

Spoiler

If I remember correctly (I only played it once, but this was the way I did it), you need to talk to the dwarf right at the beginning of the map and pump him for info.

Then you proceed directly to the entrance, and when the guards stop you, you must persuade them that you're the Tidebringer (or whatever title Oandra's clerics have) and that you need to talk to the head monk. Go and talk to him (if you go to certain areas in the monastery without speaking to him first, you will get attacked), recite some oath proving you're one of her clergy.

Then you get the quest to ritually drown all the old monks in the dungeons. You can either do this, or refuse, set them free, and fight the rest of the monastery. You then go to the top of the building, where the head monk will be waiting for you with some mooks, and challenge you to a fight to the death. Here you can convince some of them to back off, but you will still have to kill him.

 

[Kaivokz]

I came upon some free-time this past week and decided I'd get the ultimate achievement.

Went with a wizard using full plate+small shield. Took about 3 minutes to kill Llengrath and I lost exactly 150 health in the fight. Here are my stats. The first image is not completely maxed out; two of my food items wore off and shield/armor aren't legendary, but it is close to what I was running for all the hard fights. (Apparently greater peatsucker oozes are more powerful than any of the dragons or archmages?) Pretty fun.

 

[Maculo]

I came upon some free-time this past week and decided I'd get the ultimate achievement.

Went with a wizard using full plate+small shield. Took about 3 minutes to kill Llengrath and I lost exactly 150 health in the fight. Here are my stats. The first image is not completely maxed out; two of my food items wore off and shield/armor aren't legendary, but it is close to what I was running for all the hard fights. (Apparently greater peatsucker oozes are more powerful than any of the dragons or archmages?) Pretty fun.

I definitely will look into this build when I try the expansion content.

What do you generally cast in combat? I have zero clue what to do with wizards. In beta, I just spammed slicken on Aloth.

 

[Prime Junta]

What do you generally cast in combat? I have zero clue what to do with wizards. In beta, I just spammed slicken on Aloth.

Slicken got a big nerf, thank goodness. Now it's basically an area knockdown. Still powerful but not the win button it was in the beta.

There isn't a simple answer to that question. Most wizard spells are good. You just have to know when to use them. Generally spamming straight-up direct-damage isn't a great idea unless you've softened them up first with some status effect. Gishy spells (defensive self-buff + summoned weapon) are really strong in the early game and again in the late-mid to late game, but there's a big stretch where they're a bit wimpy.

So it's more a question of how you want to use your wizard. I guess CC is the most obvious use, but but you can also gish (cast defensive self-buff, summon a weapon, optionally some offensive self-buff, then go to town) or area debuff + direct damage.

Read the spell descriptions, figure out the synergies, and have fun, basically.

 

[Kaivokz]

I definitely will look into this build when I try the expansion content.

What do you generally cast in combat? I have zero clue what to do with wizards. In beta, I just spammed slicken on Aloth.

Since I was playing solo and on trial of iron my spell choices were focused around that. The general strategy was to (1) be as durable as possible; and (2) pump spell accuracy as high as possible (at the end, the accuracy of my Gaze of the Adragan was ~130). I also switched stuff around for various encounters depending on enemy weaknesses and composition.

I'll give you a quick run-through of the spells I found most useful. There are some spells introduced in the expansion that you can't learn at level-up. I'll put those in spoilers incase you want to discover them yourself.

Level 1
Spirit Shield - +3DR and 30 concentration is great when you're getting hit a lot. Which you are if you're playing solo. I mastered this one.
Chill Fog - Long duration. High damage. Blind on hit. Lots of enemies weak to freeze.
Eldritch Aim - Seems very lackluster early on, but when you're fighting something tough, +15 accuracy on a Gaze of the Adragan or a heavy nuke is nothing to scoff at. It can be the difference between a 4 second petrify and an 11 second petrify.

Others: Fan of Flames is okay early on, and maybe worth spamming at creatures with low fire DR, but not incredibly noteworthy. Concelhaut's Parasitic Staff is amazing early on. With high might/dex/per/int you can trounce entire encounters with one casting of this: massive damage and endurance-drain. Later you have better things to do with your time, and can't really afford losing your shield bonuses (if you're taking hits on PotD). If you're playing in a party, it also has reach, so you can stand behind someone more durable and crush the enemy.

Level 2
Bulwark Against the Elements - +15DR vs freeze/burn/corrode/shock is nothing to scoff at either, even late game. It's elemental plate armor for your caster with a long duration. Use it against blights, mages, oozes, and so on.
Concelhaut's Corrosive Siphon - This is bread and butter for staying power. Massive corrode damage even mid-late game, all restored as endurance. It can even keep a squishy no-shield wizard alive. Downsides: targets fotitude, short range.
Merciless Gaze - Anything that converts hits to crits is great; it helps your damage and your control, and merciless gaze has a very long duration. I mastered this one.

Others: Ray of Fire does a lot of damage, especially to enemies with low fire DR. Mirrored Image is good until you get level 3 spells, then it becomes obsolete. Infuse with Vital Essence is nice for self-healing and absorbing some damage. Curse of Blackened Sight can be great: targets will, huge accuracy debuff to enemies, lowers deflection, and lasts a long time. If you want to provide some support to your party, use this.

Spoiler

Concelhaut's Draining Missiles are strong: raw damage and healing. But they do less damage than corrosive siphon, even vs. a single target, so it's almost always more beneficial to use siphon unless you're trying to punch through DR or are targeting something immune to corrode.

Level 3
Deleterious Alacrity of Motion - Start almost all hard encounters by casting this and become a rapid fire magical artillery.
Llengrath's Displaced Image - +25 deflection, +20 reflex, and 50% of hits CONVERTED to grazes. Use this plus the small shield Aila Braccia to wreck mages and archers. I mastered this and used it every encounter.

Others: Crackling Bolt is your best shock-damage nuke for a long time. Harder to use in a party. Kalakoth's Minor Blights do loads of damage and work with talents that affect implements--combine with deleterious alacrity and dangerous implements for a damage powerhouse. Minoletta's Bounding Missiles are good for punching through squishy targets with low deflection (mages and the like).

Level 4
Maura's Writhing Tentacles - These are great when you first get them; they do loads of damage and take a lot of hits, but only last ~15 seconds. Later on they are not as effective, and I didn't use them much past part 1 of WM.
Essential Phantom - This summon is less spectacular when you first get it, but it stays solid throughout the game and lasts for 30 seconds. It also benefits from any spellholding items you have equipped (e.g. Shod-in-Faith).
Flame Shield - use this against anything that does lots of freeze damage. The retaliatory strikes scale with your damage and use your accuracy (so will crit). The damage is nothing to scoff at, and the 10 frost DR helps, too.

Others: Confusion is situational, but can be very good. I don't like using it, since it messes with spell targetting and wizards benefit from having enemies clumped up tightly. Minoletta's Concussive Missiles can do a lot of damage to enemies weak to crush; not bad to have memorized just in case you run out of others options and need to burst something down.

Spoiler

Ninagauth's Shadowflame is fantastic; loads of damage and a pretty long stun. I mastered this one and opened many encounters with a shadowflame from stealth. Both of Llengrath's Shields are good, but by the time you get them you won't have any use for 'em.

Level 5
Blast of Frost - This is where the wizard starts to do a lot of damage. If you're in a party, you can either aim from the side, or catch your party members in the yellow (extended) area. On petrified targets this can crit for 200+.
Llengrath's Safeguard - If you're in the thick of it, this spell makes you much more durable. +10 DR and +20 all defenses can turn you from a sort-of-well-fortified-bunker to a fortress. Long duration once it triggers.
Ninagauth's Bitter Mooring - Does loads of damage. It targets fortitude, but even if the initial roll misses, the beam will still be there. Good for enemies with lots of health.
Torrent of Flame - This isn't a very interesting spell, but it is better than blast of frost if you've been surrounded and can't target in a line. Fast cast time means you can spam out all four of these very quickly and take down most low fire DR creatures, if you get in a bind.
Ryngrim's Enervating Terror - Targets will and lowers fortitude, that alone makes it worth it. Lots of strong enemies are immune to weaken and terrify, but this is a great debuff.

Others: Call to Slumber can be good, but since it has so much competition at this level, I never used it. Citzal's Spirit Lance high base damage, reach, burst, very good paired with two-handed weapon talent, pike focus, and someone to tank for you. My main strategy was to blast of frost or torrent of flame petrified enemies, and Citzal's requires losing your shield bonus, so I never used it.

Level 6
Gaze of the Adragan - I've been mentioning this spell a lot, and that's because it's very strong. Area targeted petrify--petrify lowers deflection and reflex by 40, sets dexterity to 0, and causes the enemy to take double damage. Bump your accuracy as high as it can go, cast this, and then cast a few high damage spells. Whatever you're attacking will die quickly (I killed level-scaled Thaos and one of his guardians in the duration of a single petrify.)
Minoletta's Precisely Piercing Burst - Bypasses 10DR, fast cast time, area around caster, foe only. Cast this on a petrified group of enemies and most of them will die.
Ninagauth's Freezing Pillar - Does damage in an area over time like chill fog, but is foe only, so you can drop it right on yourself or your friends. It also hobbles, if you have a rogue to sneak attack with.
Citzal's Martial Power - This is pretty great for making you into a killing machine and bumping up your fortitude save. You can't cast spells, but you can use arcane barrage and watcher abilities. Pairs well with alacrity + citzal's lance or caedebald's blackbow (a level 7 spell).

Others: Arcane Reflection is pretty good, but if you use Aila Braccia it isn't really needed, otherwise use it to reflect necrotic lances and laugh while the enemy mages kill themselves. Chain lightning can also be good vs. low shock DR enemies, but you usually have better options at this level.

Level 7
Tayn's Chaotic Orb - There aren't a lot of great options at level 7, but this one is pretty good. Bounces to a lot of targets and inflicts various status ailments. Unfortunately, at least in 3.03, it ends prematurely if it kills something.
Delayed Fireball - This spell is pretty sad for being level 7, but you can set up a combo with it and gaze. Delayed Fireball -> Gaze -> other burst spell. That way both spells will get double damage, even with a short petrify timer.
Substantial Phantom - I didn't use summons too much in my run, but this one is as good as they get: solid damage, and can cast arduous delay of motion.

Spoiler

Archmages turn level 7 from lackluster to pretty great. Concelhaut's Crushing Doom is fantastic; it builds up in accuracy and can knock down the toughest enemies in the game without trouble. Cast it on a mage and forget about them, or use it to finish off a tough enemy. Llengrath's Siphoning Image is displaced image on crack, but you won't have access to it for much of the game unless you take on Llengrath very early.

Level 8
Kalakoth's Freezing Rake - Massive damage, +5 bonus accuracy over most other spells, big area of effect, long range. Petrify + 3 freezing rakes = most enemies in the game will die, including dragons and scaled Thaos.

Others: Llengrath's Superior Elemental Bulwark is useful if you need to negate a lot of elemental damage, but usually you're better off using a freezing rake. Major Grimoire Imprint allows you to take three spells from an enemy and use them as many times as you want for the long duration. This is actually really great against some enemies, but is very situational.

 

[taxalot]

Sooo...

I have finally come around to play the game. I just unlocked Twin Elms, and so far, I do not understand why the global dislike on this game. I can agree that it feels inferior to Baldur's Gate in terms of writing and general atmosphere, as well in scope and difficulty but this is far, far from the terrible echoes I have heard from this place.

My only "frowns" so far are that the game is too easy on Normal so far. Still, because the game warns you that changing difficulties keep the enemies on that level when you get a new map, I haven't dared to adjust the game difficulty level because I always fear "unfair" difficult spikes in those games. I guess I will have to replay it eventually from the start if I want a proper challenge. Also, so far, quality of armor and weapons have been greatly inconsequential in my battles.

Besides this nitpicking, I am really having a blast.

 

[Prime Junta]

I haven't dared to adjust the game difficulty level because I always fear "unfair" difficult spikes in those games.

Rather ironically, the difficulty spikes are bigger on Easy and Normal than Hard. This is because difficulty level (other than Path of the Damned) doesn't change enemy stats, only enemy group composition. The upshot is that if you're playing on Easy, you'll fight smaller, lower-level mobs, but the bosses will be exactly the same as on Hard. I.e., if you pick a fight with a dragon, it'll spike much higher from Easy level than from Hard level -- even if on Hard the dragon will have more and nastier minions.

(Yeah the game is easy. Compared to the IE games, PotD feels maybe a hair harder than Core Rules, and that only because some of the mobs are unreasonably big. Hard feels like Core Rules minus. Normal is Easy, and Easy is... well, really easy. Although apparently not easy enough for some, since they put in Story Mode.)

 

[taxalot]

Also : should I play White March before or after completing the main quest ?

 

[Prime Junta]

Also : should I play White March before or after completing the main quest ?

By definition before, as the game ends when you complete the main quest. IMO sweet spot is somewhere around level 7-8. Or then wait until you hit 10+ and level scale it.

 

[Maculo]

I started another game on PotD with a priest (accuracy buffs galore), two wizards, and Eder. My opinion on wizards has changed drastically. The only drawback being the need to rest more often.

 

[Kaivokz]

I started another game on PotD with a priest (accuracy buffs galore), two wizards, and Eder. My opinion on wizards has changed drastically. The only drawback being the need to rest more often.

You can remedy this early-game in a couple of ways: (1) If you take the talents Blast and Penetrating Blast, then your wizard will do a good deal of area damage simply by attacking enemies. There are also some nice implements later in the game that inflict status ailments and every enemy hit by the blast can be affected (iirc there is one that inflicts prone on crit, and one that has a chance to inflict expose vulnerabilities on hit). (2) Take two-handed weapon style and give them a pike or a quarter staff. Both weapons have reach, with offensive stats they'll do a lot of damage, and if you take the related weapon focus then it affects your summoned weapons as well (Concelhaut's Staff or Citzel's Lance (actually a pike)).

Later in the game you have other options like mastering certain spells (e.g. parasitic staff, concelhaut's siphon/merciless gaze, and llengrath's displaced image for a melee focused wizard, or chill fog, siphon/gaze, and minor blights for a ranged one) and using rings of wizardry.

 

[Maculo]

Thanks for all the tips. With my wizards, I am trying to play them slightly differently. With my first wizard, I intend to use him to initiate combat from stealth and follow-up with Adragan's Gaze (the petrify) followed by elemental blasts. On the other, I am leaning towards summoned weapons with interrupting blows and alacrity of motion (I forgot the spelling of it). Either way, I like the variety of defensive spells, such as arcane veil and elemental bulwark. It lends a degree of flexibility I did not achieve with my prior characters. Finally, I added a Priest to max accuracy and to give more durability with defensive buffs and heals.

I am enjoying the run so far.

 

[Prime Junta]

Sounds like you're having fun.

Paladins are a very good support alternative to priests BTW. Two paladins can pretty much replace one priest + one frontliner. Lay On Hands is great of course but the Exhortations and Auras is where it's really at. If you have two, you can have Zealous Focus on one, and switch between Zealous Charge and Zealous Endurance on the other, depending on what you're doing. (Only Zealous Charge is really 'required' though IMO; the extra mobility it gives you is huuugely helpful.)

 

[Maculo]

I have not experimented much with paladins to be honest. Something always turned me off to them, but then again, I was the same way with wizards. Once I push into the endless paths, I may replace Eder with one.

I need to look into the AI settings for companions. Currently, I have them on auto-attack/self defense only. Yet, I have noticed some strange behaviors, such as randomly breaking formation to chase into a packs of enemies, which causes a painful amount of deflection attacks. I also have noticed that sometimes when I cast a spell over an area that my wizard will instead run to that location (watching my wizard run to several Skuldr Kings was humorous).

 

[Kaivokz]

Sounds like you're having fun.

Paladins are a very good support alternative to priests BTW. Two paladins can pretty much replace one priest + one frontliner. Lay On Hands is great of course but the Exhortations and Auras is where it's really at. If you have two, you can have Zealous Focus on one, and switch between Zealous Charge and Zealous Endurance on the other, depending on what you're doing. (Only Zealous Charge is really 'required' though IMO; the extra mobility it gives you is huuugely helpful.)

Paladins are good supports, but if you really want to drive two wizards through the roof, a priest is probably better. Devotions for the faithful is a whopping +20 spell (and melee) accuracy for a pretty long duration and +12% damage. Champions boon is a 30% damage boost & +10 base accuracy (from perception, so it stacks with devotions). Alternatively, crowns of the faithful is +30% duration on summoned weapons/buffs/debuffs, +6 accuracy, +25 deflection (and +62 will save)--good for the melee-focused wizard. Dire blessing is slightly better than merciless gaze, if you can cast it on both wizards. It does require more micromanaging and set-up than two paladins, though.

I need to look into the AI settings for companions. Currently, I have them on auto-attack/self defense only. Yet, I have noticed some strange behaviors, such as randomly breaking formation to chase into a packs of enemies, which causes a painful amount of deflection attacks. I also have noticed that sometimes when I cast a spell over an area that my wizard will instead run to that location (watching my wizard run to several Skuldr Kings was humorous).

Unfortunately self-defense causes the chasing. I don't know of a way around it except to turn it off.