It's been explained that the reason the Watcher reverts to level 1 is that Eothas drained his/her soul.

 

But Eothas didn't drain the souls of the 3 companions that return in Deadfire. They weren't even in or near Caed Nua when Eothas emerged!

 

So why don't our old buddies Aloth, Eder, and Pallegina get to stay at max level? Is there any logical lore-friendly explanation for why they have to start over at level ~1?

 

Or did the developers simply assume that nobody would notice or care?

Nope no reason particularly. That was one of many problems I had when I heard they were continuing the watchers story from level one. To be honest the writing in Deadfire isn't really up to scratch. This is just one aspect of it. I think the game is fun and great for mindless entertainment, like many open world games but unfortunately the writing ain't what I want but expected.... still enjoying the game though.

But like Storm of Zehir, it pushes the boundaries in some aspects but falls flat in others, namely the narrative.

The suckling power of Eothas is only getting stronger as time goes by. By the time the Watcher is waking up in the cabin, he was able to suckle the power of his long lost, strong souled, friends, Edér, Pallegina and Aloth ?
 

Truth be told, there is no lore explanation to it. Even in game, it is not exactly stated as such. You just barely escaped death, lose a portion of your soul, but it is not like it should affect your level overall.

It affects the power of the souls you accumulated, that is for sure, especially since you… but for the rest ? It is, it seems, only mechanical in purpose.

I think the level 1 thing was obviously for budget reasons. We got multi and subclasses though at least.

Actually, devs officially responded to op's question in one of the early streams. The answer was - because.

So, headcanon at will.

Actually, devs officially responded to op's question in one of the early streams. The answer was - because.

So, headcanon at will.

Well, that and five years isn't a short span of time. Eder's been working as a mayor/kind of drifting, Pallegina was either stuck as a drifter or doing palace duty, and Aloth was traveling far and wide. I like to think that they all get those top level skills because they're at peak performance with the Watcher and boosted by their soul. Without that, well, they lose the edge.

 

Actually, devs officially responded to op's question in one of the early streams. The answer was - because.

So, headcanon at will.

Well, that and five years isn't a short span of time. Eder's been working as a mayor/kind of drifting, Pallegina was either stuck as a drifter or doing palace duty, and Aloth was traveling far and wide. I like to think that they all get those top level skills because they're at peak performance with the Watcher and boosted by their soul. Without that, well, they lose the edge.

 

that's basically what i headcanonned.

Gameplay reasons. That's it. There's no lore reason, it's jut a gameplay thing.

And it's pretty much standard in sequels, so....whatever.

I hope we can start with fighting rats at level 1 in the sequel.

Use Berath's Blessing to start them at level 4 with fine equipment and 5k gold, makes more sense from an RP perspective imo, and doesn't really do much to change the difficulty since the starting island is a joke anyways.

 

I can just see the MC asking Eder at the beginning of the game..

 

MC:  What happened to our good equipment?  And my gold?

 

Eder:  Ah well some of it got stomped on by Eothas, the rest I tossed out because it was to much of a bother to bring along...

 

MC: You what...?

Edited May 28, 20187 yr by Climhazzard

Lore =/= gameplay. In the game's cutscenes, people can pull out a pistol and kill someone with a single headshot. That's realistic. But as is the norm for RPGs, the combat mechanics (levels, hit points) have little to do with how powerful characters are story-wise. 

 

The most immersion breaking is how Aloth can only cast simple ****ty spells, but ugh, combat mechanics take precedence.

Lore =/= gameplay. In the game's cutscenes, people can pull out a pistol and kill someone with a single headshot. That's realistic. But as is the norm for RPGs, the combat mechanics (levels, hit points) have little to do with how powerful characters are story-wise. 

 

The most immersion breaking is how Aloth can only cast simple ****ty spells, but ugh, combat mechanics take precedence.

 

 

Especially since he's been actively working to stamp out or control the Leaden Key.  Why would he go from near arch mage status back to a level 1 dude?  The other characters could use lazy as an excuse but that would be criminal for what Aloth is trying to do.

Use Berath's Blessing to start them at level 4 with fine equipment and 5k gold, makes more sense from an RP perspective imo, and doesn't really do much to change the difficulty since the starting island is a joke anyways.

i might start doing that again, however, i find the skill selections the auto-levelup system picks are fairly... stupid, and i'm not fond of wasting the coin it cost to undo it.

Edited May 28, 20187 yr by Casper

 

Use Berath's Blessing to start them at level 4 with fine equipment and 5k gold, makes more sense from an RP perspective imo, and doesn't really do much to change the difficulty since the starting island is a joke anyways.

i might start doing that again, however, i find the skill selections the auto-levelup system picks are fairly... stupid, and i'm not fond of wasting the coin it cost to undo it.

 

You can turn off auto-level and level them up yourself.

 

 

Use Berath's Blessing to start them at level 4 with fine equipment and 5k gold, makes more sense from an RP perspective imo, and doesn't really do much to change the difficulty since the starting island is a joke anyways.

i might start doing that again, however, i find the skill selections the auto-levelup system picks are fairly... stupid, and i'm not fond of wasting the coin it cost to undo it.

 

You can turn off auto-level and level them up yourself.

 

i've been looking for an option to do that for ages. now, i feel like an idiot myself for having to ask... but, how would i do that?

Gameplay reasons. That's it. There's no lore reason, it's jut a gameplay thing.

 

And it's pretty much standard in sequels, so....whatever.

 

It may be common but that doesn't make it good.

 

An example of good is the progression continuity between Baldur's Gate 1 and Baldur's Gate 2.

 

 

 

Use Berath's Blessing to start them at level 4 with fine equipment and 5k gold, makes more sense from an RP perspective imo, and doesn't really do much to change the difficulty since the starting island is a joke anyways.

i might start doing that again, however, i find the skill selections the auto-levelup system picks are fairly... stupid, and i'm not fond of wasting the coin it cost to undo it.

 

You can turn off auto-level and level them up yourself.

 

i've been looking for an option to do that for ages. now, i feel like an idiot myself for having to ask... but, how would i do that?

 

In-game, not in the loading screen, hit escape and select "Difficulty" from the options. Then on the left-hand side, second option from the top.

 

In-game, not in the loading screen, hit escape and select "Difficulty" from the options. Then on the left-hand side, second option from the top.

i have been looking everywhere for that, and i'm fairly sure i checked there as well... how did i miss it? *sigh*

 

well, thanx.

Edited May 28, 20187 yr by Casper

Well you can get a lv 20 Pallegina if you recruit her at level 20.

 

It's just a gameplay mechanics, don't think too hard about it.

They got lazy and forgot their fighting skills during those five years, as Tagaziel said. However, during the course of the game they remembered everything very quickly. I was level 9 before I knew it - with just a few battles Try to accomplish this if you are really starting from scratch!

Edited May 28, 20187 yr by wih

Pallegina probably lost two levels for every sun scratched off her breastplate.

Pallegina probably lost two levels for every sun scratched off her breastplate.

yea, that sounds about right.

It's been five years since the events of PoE - our former companions have been slacking, skipped leg-day, went twice to bring the groceries in... you get the picture.

It's been explained that the reason the Watcher reverts to level 1 is that Eothas drained his/her soul.

 

But Eothas didn't drain the souls of the 3 companions that return in Deadfire. They weren't even in or near Caed Nua when Eothas emerged!

 

So why don't our old buddies Aloth, Eder, and Pallegina get to stay at max level? Is there any logical lore-friendly explanation for why they have to start over at level ~1?

 

Or did the developers simply assume that nobody would notice or care?

 

to be honest they don't have a good reason at all and i think it doesn't need one. why? it's fantasy and it's just a game. do you really think a few humans (except the watcher with supernatural abilities) can beat dragons, ogres let alone big cats? go throw a few humans in a cage with a lion and see how it turn out

Edited May 28, 20187 yr by Archaven

 

It's been explained that the reason the Watcher reverts to level 1 is that Eothas drained his/her soul.

 

But Eothas didn't drain the souls of the 3 companions that return in Deadfire. They weren't even in or near Caed Nua when Eothas emerged!

 

So why don't our old buddies Aloth, Eder, and Pallegina get to stay at max level? Is there any logical lore-friendly explanation for why they have to start over at level ~1?

 

Or did the developers simply assume that nobody would notice or care?

 

to be honest they don't have a good reason at all and i think it doesn't need one. why? it's fantasy and it's just a game. do you really think a few humans (except the watcher with supernatural abilities) can beat dragons, ogres let alone big cats? go throw a few humans in a cage with a lion and see how it turn out

 

Well if I could use my soul-power to send an ogre flying and speed-dash 25m in half a second then yeah, sure. I'll take that bet.