Knoebroesel

Mmh... that is an interesting point. Maybe it's more a certain thoughtlessness rather than complete lack of empathy? As Yria mentioned, he wasn't just terrible to Aloth but also pretty terrible to Hiravias, too, never truly realising how he offended them when he did with his careless actions or words. It is a large part of who Edér is, but seriously, whenever such a thing happens in Deadfire I sigh heavily because I wish he had seen *some* development in that department. Edit: One example for the Hiravias scenes is that Edér said something terribly racist in one of their dialogues. The next time, he walks up to Hiravias to say sorry, that he didn't mean it... and immediately after that asks Hiravias if he can pet him, like he was a dog. o.o It was a classic Edér, but very much highlights how thoughtless he could be, and insensitive. The buying-Iselmyr-a-drink is also another great example of what I mean.

More laid back and confident, that I see. At least in Serafen and Tekehu, considering how it seems that Edér still hasn't found what he was looking for by the beginning of Deadfire. Empathy is also not a given for all. I can see it in Tekehu very clearly, but Edér is probably the least empathic person ever (*that* Iselmyr dialogue, anyone?). A shame he didn't learn anything in that regard, as he was already that careless in the original Pillars. I'm also not sure he learned a lesson this time around, so he could certainly use a bit of character development there! I think the companions as a whole are good characters, and interesting to interact with. But it is indeed a bit of a shame that we didn't get a shady/flamboyant female companion to balance it all out better. Xoti is way off the goofy charts, though. I think of all the companions in all the games, I like her the least.

I think it's perfectly in-character for Aloth not to like Tekehu or Serafen. He's very Aedyran by nature, so I'm not surprised he dislikes the shady pirate and the flamboyant party boy. But indeed, we don't get a "shady" female companion to balance that out a bit, unless the Watcher is played as such. I can see why Aloth responds well to dutiful Pallegina and Maia, but I was always a bit surprised he approved so much of Xoti's religious fanaticism. Even though she is very committed to her cause - it's all about worshipping a pantheon that Aloth sees in a very critical light, and so I'd have expected him to dislike her religious zealotry just the same way he disapproves of Gina's belief in animancy. And I wouldn't go as far as to say all male companions are goofs. Tekehu certainly is, and Edér was never the sharpest knife in the drawer, but Serafen? He's pretty sharp and knows exactly what he wants. He just doesn't use fancy words to say it. About Iselmyr: My Watcher encouraged Aloth to live with her, and I have to say I like how that seems to play out in Deadfire. I have never seen how it goes on the suppressed path, but during my playthrough the Aloth/Iselmyr dialogue went very smoothly, indicating that they have found a certain camaraderie with each other. I also got the impression that Iselmyr mostly let's Aloth do his thing these days, and that is why he's a tad grumpy that Edér is trying to lure her out more. I never got the infamous Edér/Iselmyr scene, though. I wonder if that one only triggers as long as you are not in a relationship with Aloth? All in all, I'm really looking forward to a patch that will fix the companion interaction. I really like their interactions so far and cannot wait to see them "unbugged" and how they were ment to be seen!

The game gave me a really nice nod today in terms of acknowledging the romance between my Watcher and Aloth. I restarted the game after the first major patch where they 'fixed' Maia (to such an extend that I suspect she only gets very minor approval or disapproval points at any given time now, and so her bars barely move at all ), so my Watcher had already started the romance with Aloth when Maia reached her +1 dialogue where she usually makes a move on the Watcher. This time, though, she mentioned that she thought it was a bit of a shame that the Watcher was already taken and then moved on to a different topic. It was a short but sweet dialogue, and I wonder how many more of those are buried in the code that I might have missed? Did you find similar comments during the game regarding the romances?

I can understand your frustration, Slotharingia. But since the poor guy is bugged right now, I hope you will give him another chance after they overhauled the companion dialogue tags? I certainly hope he will be a little less judgmental then. Although I personally find it hilarious how Aloth practically hates EVERYTHING that Tekehu has to say.

I can relate to many of the things you said ( except for Durance, I loved that character! ) - Aloth has always been one of my favourite companions, and I was also certain that he wouldn't be romanceable by my Watcher for different reasons. It was a wonderful surprise when I learned that that was not the case! I have to admit I haven't finished Deadfire yet, but I was able to start his romance a little while ago and so far, it does not disapppoint! I like how subtle and low-key it is, and how much the little changes to his voice and dialogue actually speak about the development of their relationship. It seems very well in character for Aloth so far, and it also looks like there are still some nice scenes to look forward to? There is also a mod now that offers more Aloth for those who cannot get enough of him: https://www.nexusmods.com/pillarsofeternity2/mods/51 This looks well worth checking out on a second playthrough! Unfortunately, it seems his personality tags are all over the place right now and so quite a few people are having trouble to get approval or disapproval with Aloth. I hope that this will be sorted out with the next patch so that everyone can enjoy their favourite elf and won't have to grumble about it anymore!

I know, right? It's so damn catchy!

I voted for "Roll the Old Berath's Wheel along" because I do like it best, but they are all awesome! When Berath's Wheel or Aim'Spirente are being sung by my crew, I just idle in the harbour and only dock once they are finished.

For all who are worried their game might be bugged: It also took me forever to gain reputation with Aloth, but in the end I DID get him to Rep 1! I started playing on TUE and was also afraid he might be bugged, considering how everyone else was at Rep 1 already, but eventually enough Rep was earned and more dialogue with him appeared. I'm also in the honest/diplomatic/benevolent boat, and my Aloth is an Anti-Leaden Key, co-hosting Iselmyr save import. So don't dispair - there might still be some kind of bug, but his Rep might still progress with more time nonetheless! It's also worth noting that I took my time exploring and while playing a lot of side locations and quests, I haven't scouted all of Neketaka yet or advanced the main quest past the first step in Neketaka. So it is also possible that his Rep and dialogue might be gated to certain quest completions or time-spent mechanics that we cannot see.

If you want to really suffer the wait and have bought the game on GOG, you're getting a timer that counts down the remaining hours, minutes and seconds. Watching it crawl down is true agony!

Alright, let's do this! <cracks knuckles> - I expect to enjoy combat a lot more this time. I am also 100% certain that my Ranger/Cipher multiclass will be terrible and underperform dramatically, but I want it for RP reasons so I will suffer through it no matter what. But that won't matter too much since my wolf companion (and his new animations) will be the bestest thing ever! - I will miss Durance, because he was awesome. I don't think old companions outside of the trio will play much of a role in Deadfire, but I do expect some cameos or proper mentions at least. - I have high hopes regarding the companions, not only for romance but simply for being way more active, chatting with both the Watcher and each other. Although I have tried to temper my expectations in this regard, I fear OBS might fall short on that end because I really want the companions to feel alive and that might not be possible on a regular development budget, so my expectations might be a little unfair. - I am 100% certain that the romance option I'd like the most for my Watcher will not work out, because then I will be pleasantly surprised if it miraculously does! - I expect to like so many of the new companions that I will agonize over who to put in my party and have to switch them all the time to try and get all their dialogue and finish their quests in the most efficient way, and it will annoy me to no end that I cannot have them all in my party at once and OBS even forces me to choose. - I fully expect to detest the gods of Eora even more after this game than I already do, but I bet Eothas will make such a convincing case at the end about whatever plan he has I will actually go along with it, even though I have detested him all the time up to this point, too. - I expect to love the music, sound design and new environments, even though I'd prefer a pretty forest to our new tropical setting. Lighting and weather effects will awe me on a regular basis. - I will probably not like ship combat that much but will learn to love it with a bit more experience. - It will take me forever to see everything, and to actually finish the game. All in all, I suspect to like Deadfire a lot more than Pillars 1, and I will replay it regularly in the years to come!

I have high hopes for Deadfire! I couldn't take part in the beta but I watched 'Let's play!'s and every video or article about it that I could find, and so far I have a very good feeling that Deadfire will indeed deliver on the promises it made. I hope it will improve on Pillars in the same way that Original Sin 2 improved on Original Sin - all the building blocks are there, and now it will be interesting to see what Obsidian did with them. I cannot wait to play it and see for myself! ... a shame that GOG users cannot preload, though.

Good question! In PoE, I ran with Aloth, Edér, Durance, Pallegina and my Watcher, who was a ranger. The last companion slot always got changed accordingly to advance and finish everyone's personal quests, so I guess I usually had a good balance between melees and casters. I had no chance to partake in the Deadfire beta so there will be some trial-and-error for me, but for my first run my Watcher will go Ranger/Cipher. I think Edér and Aloth will be in my party most of the time, so I have one fighter and a wizard/rogue. I will multiclass Aloth simply because he always managed my traps and locked chests back in PoE and I feel a rogue multiclass works perfectly with that history. I'll have to see how it works out, though - he might be stronger as a pure wizard. That leaves two more spots in my party. I need someone to heal, so I think Xoti or Tekehu will become a regular. Since I really like the idea of multiclasses, I suspect most of my companions will turn out as one to see how it goes. So I assume that all-in-all, I will have a lot more melee/range/caster hybrids on my hands once Deadfire goes life.