In this thread, it was clarified that the epic battle with the Guardian of Ukaizo is intended to only take place in response to certain past decisions by the player. (And I also learned that a fight can be avoided through dialogue if the player is an Island Aumaua!)

 

I wanted to follow up on my response in that thread, with an idea that I hope is consistent with the devs' design, but guarantees that all players get to experience an epic final battle:

 

    1. The initial battle with the Guardian may not take place, or can be avoided through dialogue. That part is unchanged.

 

    2. But, like in Mass Effect 1, there is a surprise, second unavoidable battle with the true final boss.

 

- Upon leaving Ondra's Spire and entering the Grand Promenade, and defeating the faction leader, the player finds the path to Eothas blocked by a mystic force/barrier. The Watcher can sense that the source of this barrier traces back down to Ukaizo Harbour. At this point the various party members give their "before the final battle" speech.

 

- The Watcher enters Ukaizo Harbour...

 

(If the player did not encounter the Guardian, a sparking, injured Guardian stumbles out of the water and speaks with the Watcher like before.)

 

The Guardian's body, ruined or otherwise, rises into the air and you sense Eothas' presence in your mind.

 

"This statue of Maros Nua has witnessed many secrets, Watcher of Caed Nua. Indeed, there was another being who thought herself Master of that great keep..." The dialogue reflects whether Watcher encountered/aided/defeated/never met the Master Below in Pillars 1.

 

- The adra pillars jutting into the harbour being to dissolve; soon it is a blizzard of adra flakes. The flakes of adra adhere themselves to the body of the Guardian, in the same style as the Adra Dragon (the Master Below) from the first game. The idea is that the adra flakes heal any injuries and act as armoured scales for the Guardian.

 

- This "reborn" Guardian (Eothas' portfolio is rebirth) is an adra-encrusted version of the Guardian of Ukaizo in the same manner as the Adra Dragon. It has a sliver of Eothas within it, causing its forehead to bear his glowing sigil, like the statue of Maros in the introduction. It may not be a battle with the giant statue, but it is still a battle with Eothas in a sense.

 

- Upon defeating this reborn Guardian, the mystic force barring access to Eothas is dissolved and the player can proceed to the engame.

 

In a way, this battle would come full circle -- the Adra Dragon lay at the feet of the statue for so long, and invokes the memory of the Watcher's struggle for Caed Nua.

 

 

One thing I would like is for the non-Guardian battle to have waaay more enemies. Like the "survivor" battles in the DLC, just have animats and saints flooding out of the front gates of Ukaizo, like the city is throwing everything it's got at you

I doubt devs will be looking to overhaul the ending, but in unlikely case they do here is what I would propose:

Buffing enemy faction encounter - as of last time I played it, it was smooth ride. Using some of the mechanics developed for SSS would be delightful, especially if each faction encounter would be unique, reflecting their playstyle, with a clear involvement of the ex-companion who left you for said faction. 

 

Surely, facing someone we interacted throughout the game would be more involving that fighting new monster which showed up just to act as "the final boss". 

I like the Ukaizo sequence as it is - with very limited and optional combat (or even combat-free, if you have the Bounding Boots), there are the mega-bosses for those, who want challenge, and the DLC have the lore covered. There are games, where the final mandatory boss is a random big bad thing (e.g. The Technomancer, a nice ARPG otherwise), and it's a good thing that PoEII isn't one of them. Though, more specific faction encounter sounds interesting.

 

Edit. On the second thought, I'd like to be able to talk the rival down on the solo path.

Edited November 8, 20187 yr by Hawke64

   2. But, like in Mass Effect 1, there is a surprise, second unavoidable battle with the true final boss.

 

 

The battle in ME1 is entirely avoidable. Given the right decisions, you can talk Saren into killing himself.

And then he is resurrected by Sovereign as a robot skeleton which you can't avoid fighting

 

   2. But, like in Mass Effect 1, there is a surprise, second unavoidable battle with the true final boss.

 

 

The battle in ME1 is entirely avoidable. Given the right decisions, you can talk Saren into killing himself.

 

 

My phrasing was ambiguous, I could have been clearer:

 

I was comparing the current Guardian of Ukaizo fight (avoidable) with the first ME1 battle, avoidable, with Saren himself, which you are referring to.

 

The phrase "surprise, second unavoidable battle" was a reference to the second ME1 battle, unavoidable, with Sovereign's reincarnation of Saren.

 

I should have used a comma, "suprise, second, unavoidable battle". The adjective "second" was meant to apply only to the noun "battle", not the noun phrase "unavoidable battle".

I doubt devs will be looking to overhaul the ending, but in unlikely case they do here is what I would propose:

 

Buffing enemy faction encounter - as of last time I played it, it was smooth ride. Using some of the mechanics developed for SSS would be delightful, especially if each faction encounter would be unique, reflecting their playstyle, with a clear involvement of the ex-companion who left you for said faction.

 

Surely, facing someone we interacted throughout the game would be more involving that fighting new monster which showed up just to act as "the final boss".

Just finished another playthrough and it appears they did buff the last faction encounter, at least for the RDC. It was actually a challenge whereas before it was a cakewalk.

I'm disappointed because there is no dungeon in Ukaizo.

Just finished another playthrough and it appears they did buff the last faction encounter, at least for the RDC. It was actually a challenge whereas before it was a cakewalk.

 

This is good news. I fought them on my first pt and I imagine I will fight them again on my second, when I side with the VTC.

 

Just finished another playthrough and it appears they did buff the last faction encounter, at least for the RDC. It was actually a challenge whereas before it was a cakewalk.

This is good news. I fought them on my first pt and I imagine I will fight them again on my second, when I side with the VTC.

I am wondering if blowing up the powderhouse weakens them in someway. I didn't this playthrough.

Just finished another playthrough and it appears they did buff the last faction encounter, at least for the RDC. It was actually a challenge whereas before it was a cakewalk.

This is good news. I fought them on my first pt and I imagine I will fight them again on my second, when I side with the VTC.

I am wondering if blowing up the powderhouse weakens them in someway. I didn't this playthrough.

 

Good question. I think I didn't. But I tested all possibilities and I'm not 100% sure...