Help in getting trough tough beginnings :)

[DivineKataroshie]

Hey guys ! as a newcomer to the series and someone new to pillars of eternity, I have some questions 

 

- Since I'm only playing on normal (since not searching for anything challenging) what are the fundamental things that will help me complete the game ?

I'm around 3 hours in. All enemies from sidequests and further story steps just crush me. My party is currently Eder, Aloth and my Druid. I feel kind of lost and everything starts to get confusing. What should I do/know ?

 

Perhaps mechanics/combat tip/party re-arrangement, or buying gear ?

 

- I found some guides on this subforum : https://forums.obsidian.net/forum/91-pillars-of-eternity-characters-builds-strategies-the-unity-engine-spoiler-warning/ but I can't apply most of them, since I can't find skills or traits that are on this list. What am I doing wrong ?

 

It was this same for bloodborne, but I kept playing and finally understood the basics flow in completing quests/areas. I've heard pillars have this same tendency of making the first parts of the game difficult, and then you kind of understand what to do next, but for now, I just need some basic tips and advice

[draego]

The beginning can be tough. One easy way to make it easier is to find / hire more companions. You can have 6 party members. You will eventually find some but you can also hire them at an inn. Another thing to remember is that you can come back to tough areas. Sometimes you can only go so far in an area or dungeon and may need to wait until you level up and get stronger. You dont have to complete every map before moving on. For instance there is a dungeon in the first town that i usually wait until i get the first 3 companions or so. You can find 4 companions in the first act with some levels. Also hint once you get those first companions i would go southward and complete areas and quest moving that way.

 

As far as abilities i would be on the look at for hard CC / debuffs . So for instance wizards get a great first level debuff chill fog which blinds enemies . blind is a great debuff. CC and debuff and for you counter to debuff and buffs is a big part of the game. Early on you dont have tons of choices but you have some.

Edited September 20, 2018 by draego

[InsaneCommander]

Go visit as many areas as you can. Find as many companions as possible (4 in act I) and hire one adventurer to have a full party.

 

If you find enemies that are too powerful, you can always reload a save (there will be an autosave once you enter a new area) and come back later. Each time you level up things will be easier and you can try again, until you get more levels and explore every area available.

 

Once you have a bigger party, more items and abilities, the game will be easier. Versatility helps a lot.

[Ieldra]

 

Hey guys ! as a newcomer to the series and someone new to pillars of eternity, I have some questions 

 

- Since I'm only playing on normal (since not searching for anything challenging) what are the fundamental things that will help me complete the game ?

I'm around 3 hours in. All enemies from sidequests and further story steps just crush me. My party is currently Eder, Aloth and my Druid. I feel kind of lost and everything starts to get confusing. What should I do/know ?

 

Perhaps mechanics/combat tip/party re-arrangement, or buying gear ?

 

- I found some guides on this subforum : https://forums.obsidian.net/forum/91-pillars-of-eternity-characters-builds-strategies-the-unity-engine-spoiler-warning/ but I can't apply most of them, since I can't find skills or traits that are on this list. What am I doing wrong ?

 

It was this same for bloodborne, but I kept playing and finally understood the basics flow in completing quests/areas. I've heard pillars have this same tendency of making the first parts of the game difficult, and then you kind of understand what to do next, but for now, I just need some basic tips and advice

 

I recommend starting on Easy until you have learned the systems. My first game was on Easy and I didn't consider it easy at all at the time. Then I did another playthrough on Normal, and found it actually easy. The amount of useful stuff you don't know about when you start the game for the first time is rather astonishing. The learning curve isn't necessarily steep, but it is very long.

[dreamrider]

Don't try to do everything in the early going with just your char capabilities.

- Every character can make and use scrolls

- Every char can make and use potions

- Shooting and kiting may not feel "macho", but they keep your character alive...and every char can be equipped to shoot.

- Find ways (Abilities, Potions, gear, whatever) to be slightly faster than most opponents.  If you are slower/even, they will chase and chase and chase, giving you little opportunity to use kiting, shooting, scrolls, potions, choose your own targets, etc, etc, etc.  If you are slightly faster, most opponents will reach a territorial limit, and turn away, allowing you to control the pace of the fight, and to kite effectively.

- Recon slowly, gently, in stealth mode … every time!

- Use doorways, gateways, narrow passages, pinched corners of rock formations, corners of the map, etc to restrict the approaches and frontage of your party, so you are fighting fewer enemies at any instance of combat, and so some of your enemies are stacking up just out of melee range...where they are ripe for AoE damage from scrolls and casters.  But you have to recon the area in stealth first to set this up and pick your spot(s).

- try to choose final fight postions where even teleporting, jumping, and unengaged 2nd line enemies cannot get behind you.  Getting surrounded and immobilized is death.  This is the reason why, sometimes, corners are better than doorways, especially vs kith mobs that include rouge-types.

- BE PATIENT!  REST OFTEN if you don't feel comfortable with the fight mechanics and your powers yet.

- Review your powers, over and over again.  Then review them again before the next fight.  Experiment on lesser fights to learn how to use each one.  Then...try to use them ALL, smoothly.  (There is a stage beyond that, where you make a conscious decision to not waste action time on certain class powers, except in most special circumstances, but you are a long ways from that yet.)

Edited September 21, 2018 by dreamrider

[InsaneCommander]

I recommend starting on Easy until you have learned the systems. My first game was on Easy and I didn't consider it easy at all at the time. Then I did another playthrough on Normal, and found it actually easy. The amount of useful stuff you don't know about when you start the game for the first time is rather astonishing. The learning curve isn't necessarily steep, but it is very long.

 

This is a very good idea. The op seems like someone who will like the game even more with time, so definitely invest the time to learn and test different abilities. The worst case scenario is that you will want to restart with a better built character on a higher difficult.

[Ophiuchus]

Some misc. pointers:

Opening fights from Stealth gives you some big advantages in the earlier stages of combat: you can throw sparkcrackers/cast Dazzling Lights (Wizard/Trickster) to ball up nearby enemies, give yourself time to scout ahead, and adjust your party formation accordingly. Using abilities while in stealth mode also significantly reduces recovery - beneficial effects don't break stealth so you can stack Priest buffs or chug potions faster.

Barring a few exceptions (certain passives and gear), Weapon Specializations only grant modal abilities (certain ones may or may not be good for your build) so don't be afraid to rotate your arsenal from time to time.

Traps are downright useless other than for occasionally luring enemies. They're also a good source of income and exp early on.

Always have a character with high perception and mechanics for spotting and disarming traps. They don't have to be on the same party member, though this makes it more convenient.

If you have spare cash, make a habit of buying consumable and upgrade ingredients whenever possible since they're typically sold in small numbers. Shops also reset their inventory once per day so you can get around this with some patience. In that vein, I'd avoid selling ingredients.

Hirelings always start off at a maximum level one lower than your main character. If you decide to hire a mercenary, try to do so immediately after leveling up, and always select the closest level. This will ensure they stay as close to your level and exp as possible - you don't want them to lag behind.

Edited September 28, 2018 by Ophiuchus

[InsaneCommander]

you can throw sparkcrackers/cast Dazzling Lights (Wizard/Trickster)

 

Weapon Specializations only grant modal abilities

 

Always have a character with high perception

 

This the PoE1 thread.

[Ophiuchus]

 

you can throw sparkcrackers/cast Dazzling Lights (Wizard/Trickster)

 

Weapon Specializations only grant modal abilities

 

Always have a character with high perception

 

This the PoE1 thread.

 

D'oh. That's what I get for subclassing Nalpazca again.

[asnjas]

Why do people over think?

 

Set the difficulty to easy or story. Then you can play whatever you want and have no problems. You can learn the game while you advance though it.

 

Why you need numerous specific tips and tricks when you can simply lower the difficulty setting in one simple click. Why make this more difficult than it needs to be.

[neotemplar]

Eder is a good tank, Aloth is a good DD, progress them in this direction

Druid is very durable in Beast form, sometimes my bear druid remained the only one standing and finished off all enemies

Travel to Magran's fork and get Durance the Priest

 

Some sidequests are tough, some are easy. Save and load to get the optimal order.

It's really hard to answer you question, for it is very broad.

 

I usually open the game in this order:

Get to Guilded Vale in stealth, ignoring everything. Get Eder and Aloth. Go to Magran Fork, recruit the priest. Use roads, don't try to clear the map. Get back to the first rural location (where you start). Save the cook, kill wolves, kill xsaurip camp, don't try to kill the bear in the cave. Get back to the village, do all "social" quests (where you talk and don't fight). Find Caliska's sister, go for a cure for her, wipe the Compass shore map (the cave there is also hard), take blacksmith quest to find  lost cargo, do it, get a cool shield, then approach the bear. You are druid, you can charm him. Then clear the temple, get good items. Then you are levelled enough to clear all previous maps or do the Raedric castle OR even go straight forward to Caed Nua

[Xsanf]

Well, a couple of general tips.

 

1. Read carefully descriptions of stats, abilities, weapons/items properties, tooltips which popup on the right side of the screen (about combat, health & death, grimoires and chants, etc.) If you have all the proper information and a bit of logic, you can guide yourself through the game quite well - guides, builds and walkthroughs are usually needed for Veteran and PoTD difficulties.

2. Read your journal if you're lost or misunderstand something - it can reveal information you missed in other words.

3. Know your enemy. For me it's a huge pain to watch, for example, a streamer who uses a vs. Will spell against an enemy with high Will, fails it, then whines: 'tis game is toooo difficult! So pay attention to enemy's defenses and abilities.

4. Two general tactics: abusing doorways and Benny Hill style kite. Only occasional battles with bosses require solid planning.

 

Druid can be built as a shifter or pure caster, these are quite different approaches, with different attributes and skills arrangement. Eder is usually built as a pure tank, Aloth as a half-controller/half-DD (his stats in PoE 1 are pathetic for a DD-wizard, but it's compensated by his versatility and importance for the story plot).

Edited October 22, 2018 by Xsanf

[InsaneCommander]

4. Two general tactics: abusing doorways and Benny Hill style kite. Only occasional battles with bosses require solid planning.

 

One of my favorite tactics is to cast Rolling Flame, then  Lightning Bolt and run behind a corner/through a door where my party is waiting and buffing. Place some traps well and it can make a significant difference.