FecklessFool

Yes, this is the weakest part of the main story. Any guy could do it. Unsure why you don't think there is an urgency to a god killing thousands and the whole being ordered by Berath to find Eothas. One of the god conversations has Berath essentially telling you to give answers or die, but no die option at that stage in the game. So you just get your choices locked out to telling her what you learned in Hasongo.

No it isn't. The fact that he has a piece of your soul and that your continued existence is contingent on you finding Eothas for Berath is not what I would describe as allowing you to just do whatever.

This would have easily been solved if the main quest story in this game already happened by the time the Watcher woke up. Say you were brought back to figure out how to fix the thing that happens and to find answers as to where Eothas went and why he did it. That way, it takes out the sense of urgency for finishing up the main quest, which clashes with the rest of the game's content. With a different story, they could set the pace to start of as more of an investigation, and having to deal with the factions in order to gain access to certain ports / dig sites / places where Eothas dropped by. Then towards 3/4ths of the game, once you know more, they could insert the urgency to finally rush on with the story. Or if they really wanted to keep the story, give another reason for the Watcher being in the Deadfire, like say Eder becomes a Saint because end of the day he still believes in an aspect of Eothas and that allows Eothas to inhabit him, and he has set off to the Deadfire. So now it's up to the Watcher to go after him and figure out what he's up to. Once the Watcher is more established in the Deadfire, 3/4s into the game, maybe Eothas finds a colossus there, and inhabits that which leads to the sense of urgency.

They're not really pirates. After all, they only ever attack the Watcher's ship while avoiding unaffiliated merchants. And I agree that Durance was the best written character in the first game, and he had a more interesting story than the Watcher. So much so that back when I finished POE, I just ended up wishing that we were put into the shoes of Durance as the main story. I disagree with the Watcher having skin in the game for Deadfire though. For me, their arc ended in the first game. In Deadfire, they are irrelevant to the plot, and could have easily been replaced by a rock. Deadfire would have ended the same. Just get rid of Xoti and have Durance in the game. Xoti is also robbing Eder of his spotlight. Poor Eder getting his silly side quest because of Xoti.

I agree with you. I found that this felt more like they were trying to do a Sid Meier's Pirates! RPG (which is great, I love Pirates! Gold) and they had 90% of that done, then realized that they needed to shoehorn in the Watcher because it says Pillars of Eternity II Deadfire on the title, so they squeezed in the main plot. But there is such a huge disconnect between that and the rest of the game, and it seems like not much effort was put into writing the main plot, that I feel like I would have preferred this as a Pirates! RPG set in Eora instead. Have a different main plot that factors into the powers in the Deadfire Archipelago, flesh out the faction system, make the sea more lively, get rid of the Watcher and have a privateer captain as the main character, and just call the game Deadfire: A Pillars of Eternity game. They have such a well crafted world (san retcons), that it would be a waste to just have it focus on the Watcher whose story arc already ended in the first game. His reason for being here is... well not that great really but you should finish the game first. I loved the game, would have wished more polish to the ship aspect (pirates attacking other factions and not just you, trading, working politics, maybe just make the ship battles be like regular battles except the player is a ship with a class and skills like fire broadside/port and jibe, etc), but found the main quest to be the weakest part of the game.

I really wish they didn't make everyone bisexual. I feel that sexual orientation is something that is integral to who a character is, and that it shouldn't be the players who decide. Characters should be decidedly staight, gay, or bi, but don't make everyone bi. If a player wants to romance Maia and she only likes females, well tough luck. Though I'd probably have preferred if they left out the romance. Having a romance only works if the game / story recognizes it. Romancing someone early on, only to never have it come up again is odd, and it makes it feel like the Watcher is going, "Just another notch on my belt baby."

I am late to the party but all I can say for the main quest is that it is the longest prologue ever. That is basically what it was, a prologue. The main plot could have happened while the Watcher was asleep. And then the gods wake him up telling him to ship out to the Deadfire Archipelago to sort out the thing that happened, and now he has to navigate the political landscape of the gods as he finds out where Eothas went after he did the thing and to find clues on how to fix it.