How is this Easy?

[Williaal2]

Been playing pillars for 2 years now, sadly even in easy mode combat is impossibly hard, when compared to bakdurs gate 2 for example. For example I spent 3 hours trying to beat the shades in the lighthouse , and had to give up and turn on story telling mode because easy mode is impossible.

 

Why given the impossible difficulty of easy mode is it called easy? As someone who as finished both baldurs gate games on normal, easy should be renamed impossible.

[Wormerine]

Really can't say without seeing you play. Baldur's Gate in certainly on easy side, compared to other D&D games. There are certainly some tough fights in BG2, but it's biggest issue is being obtuse. No matter the difficulty they are always easy to cheese. 

Never played Pillars 1 on anything below Veteran. I found this difficulty just right, with a power creep on later levels. I came into PoE1 right after playing through Icewind Dale2. 

 

Are you sure you understand the mechanics? I found my 2nd playthrough on PotD somewhat easier than my first one as I knew what I was doing. For example it took me a big chunk if playthrough before I realised that you can't stack item buffs (stronger buff to the same attribute will cancel the weaker one, instead of adding up), which immediately made my characters more effective. Make sure you target weakest defence and that enemy armor doesn't eat up all your damage.

I do remember shades to be particularly annoying early on, with lighthouse being somewhat tricky. They like to go for the squishy targets. 

[Boeroer]

Most people find Path of the Damned to be too easy.

I also played most of the D&D CRPGs on normal. I started PoE on normal and restarted on Path of the Damned after some hours because it was way too easy. And at that point I had no idea about combat mechanics and so on. I can't imagine what you have to do so that easy seems to be impossible.

Different people, different skills I guess. I'm sure you are good at something at which others suck. Baking for example. Or ice-skating. Man I royally suck at all those winter sports...

So all in all I don't think we should rename easy to impossible. We also wouldn't want to lower standards for getting a driver's license because you aren't able to drive straight for more than 5 meters.

Maybe Obsidian could introduce a difficulty setting "Nigh Impossible: Wilkiaal2" that's slightly below easy.

Edited December 9, 2018 by Boeroer

[Williaal2]

I’m just annoyed, trying to complete the lighthouse quest, get ambushed by shades and both my mage and priest die before I can respond. After happening 20+ times in a row, despite trying everything I can think off, it gets frustrating,

[Boeroer]

I can only guess but I suspect you are simply way underleveled.

 

I mean if you have made it to Defiance Bay the hardest part of the game lies behind you. And that's not a joke.

 

Just come back later and you'll see it can be easy. The tower is not really low level stuff. There are plenty of other quests you can try first. PoE is kind of "partly open world" - it is possible to run into encounters that are too difficult for you. If you get your stern slapped it's most likely that you discovered such an encounter. Just return later. One char level can already make a big difference.

 

In case you own The White March: don't go to Craigholt Bluffs first (although your steward told you it's way above your paycheck)!

Edited December 10, 2018 by Boeroer

[Vitriol]

Have you tried a workaround, using petrification scrolls on those Shades? Easier to kill them. My first playthrough was on Veteran and it was a good balance between challenging and enjoyable.

[Katalmach]

Don't know if you're still struggling, OP, but wanted to hop in and try to help 

 

Pillars is a wonderful game very dear to many of us, but like any RPG, understanding the mechanics can really help. Having a firm grasp of how deflection, fort, ref, and will stats work will help you stun lock and over power your enemies. Once you understand the game well enough, you can look at an enemy's state line and know if it's going to be too hard for you to kill. 

 

Generally, if your accuracy is 10 points lower than an enemy's defensive stats, expect a tough fight. 20 points lower, expect it to be nearly impossible to land anything but grazes. 

 

In the lighthouse, you have to set up your team in a way that the shades won't insta-gib your casters. On the first level, put them in the left corner near the door with your front liners surrounding them. You can send a rogue (if you have one) over to pop the door, then Escape back to safety. It really pays to have 4 melee guys, and keep them in front of your casters

 

Use your priest to cast aoe heals and heals over time, while your mage puts ups a chill fog or two to blind the shades. If the blind isn't working, your'e probably just too low leveled to beat it.

 

Easy mode should be doable with a single character. If you're party can't take them, come back later  

[Zaedar]

OP,

This truly saddens me. It seems that you are not alone. From my readings on the matter it appears that there are many others in the same state. I wish I could derive an answer in just a few short words but this game waaaaay harder than a simple hack and slash. If I could give one piece of advice it would be to backtrack your steps leading you to the Tower and clear everything. Do all the quests you can in the other areas leading up to this epic battle in order to level your party and have an easier go of things.

 

All,

I know most of you are pros but I am wondering what you think would be the response to a Combat Guide (not a walk through, not what is termed a Strategy Guide). I am so in love with this game that I would love to be able to construct a guide that would allow others the joy that it brings me. I have been playing this type of game since Wizardry I and the time when D&D Red Box was black and find myself on the other end of the spectrum (wishing there was less OP'd in the game).

 

Zaedar's Golden Rule #2 - Leave no stone unturned

 

Zae

[AeonsLegend]

Shades have high stats and hit hard with Ice attacks. Perhaps you're simply underlevelled. Getting some more DR vs ice will help if that's what's killing you. It's been too long ago since I played PoE to know what the recommended level is.

 

Also party setup will make a difference. If you have no Paladin, I recommend getting Pallegina and give her the Zealous Endurance AoE buff. That will make all your characters more tanky.

[CybrSlydr]

OP isn't the only one.  

 

Apparently I have 69 hours in this game on Steam and I can't seem to get this thing to work.  Even on Easy - like the fight at the Charred Barrel.  Absolutely facerolled.

 

So I thought, I'll go back and try and complete other quests.  Nope - next part for the chick with the wolf has me going to some geyser place and we get facerolled by Drakes and stuff as soon as we get there.  Next part for the Crucible Knights has me facing the rogues and I'm getting facerolled there too.  That first Adra dungeon with swamp people?  Facerolled.  Etc.

 

No wonder I kept giving up on this game - it's no fun getting constantly facerolled.

[AeonsLegend]

OP isn't the only one.  

 

Apparently I have 69 hours in this game on Steam and I can't seem to get this thing to work.  Even on Easy - like the fight at the Charred Barrel.  Absolutely facerolled.

 

So I thought, I'll go back and try and complete other quests.  Nope - next part for the chick with the wolf has me going to some geyser place and we get facerolled by Drakes and stuff as soon as we get there.  Next part for the Crucible Knights has me facing the rogues and I'm getting facerolled there too.  That first Adra dungeon with swamp people?  Facerolled.  Etc.

 

No wonder I kept giving up on this game - it's no fun getting constantly facerolled.

Certain parts of the game have a minimum level. The Drake area and the one beyond is one of those. I wouldn't try it untill you've levelled up a bit. It's been a while since I played, but you can complete most side quests in the early areas at around level 5 inlcuding Raedric's Hold. I wouldn't really head into the endless paths until you're level 8 or so. There's plenty to do in defiance bay. If you want you can pick up Grieving Mother (Cipher) and Hiravias (Druid) after you get to Woodend Plains to pick up Sagani. You can pick them up without fighting if you avoid combat. Hiravias is in a high level area, but if you just follow the path that curves south midway through the map you can avoid all battles.

I usually complete some of the Dyrford Village quests (Ogre quest and Egg quest) after picking up Grieving Mother. The battles are really tough, but doable. The ogre quest can also net you one of the best weapons in the game. You should also be able to complete Cat and Mouse quest there. It can be done without fighting, but you get better rewards if you decide to kill stuff .

[CybrSlydr]

I think I might just start over (again) and try to be a little more... thorough with my questing.

[draego]

I think I might just start over (again) and try to be a little more... thorough with my questing.

 

You can always go back and poke around. This game is designed with that in mind that you will travel back and forth to cities.

[AeonsLegend]

If you're having a tough time and not playing a Paladin yourself you can really make your party stronger by having a Paladin there with Zealous Endurance upgrade. That will help you in the early game. You could also head to Defiance Bay as quickly as possible and pick up Pallegina there.

[Xarlina]

I took a cipher and play on max difficulty. It`s hard and takes a lot of time to win just one battle but it`s worth it, so I strongly recommend you don`t give up) I`d started 5 times before finding the best way how to play my character. Maybe you need to reconsider the skills that you choose?