Newbie with Questions (Spoilers...?)

[NeveroddorveN]

Hey everyone! I really hope this is the correct place to post something like this, if not, I am sorry  - please let me know where my questions are more appropriately accepted, and I will follow suit! Thanks so much! I am new to Pillars of Eternity, and I wanted to start a thread here to express some of my questions. Right now, I am in Eothas's temple and am having a hard time with the shadows on the second floor. In the south-west quadrant of the map, there are three shadows that are ripping through me time and time again. I am just curious as to what strategies other players have used to make this combat go a bit easier. Side note: my main character is of a fighter build, with skills tailored for melee combat.

[draego]

for new players i would leave and go level up with other quest and get more companions either through buy adventures at inn or just finding the npcs in the are. this game is not linear per se just because you can go someplace doesnt mean you are ready for it and sometimes you just have to come back later after doing other quest. 

Edited March 29, 2020 by draego

[NeveroddorveN]

Thanks, Draego, for your response and advice! I didnt know that I could purchase adventures at the inn. Where in the inn can I do this! Thanks again!

[draego]

if you talk with the inn keeper and buy something from them or select dialogue to hire adventurer there are options to retrain you characters or hire new adventures but if you follow the story and or go look around you will find npc companions to join in the first act there are 4 companions you can get

[NeveroddorveN]

Oh cool! There are four companions total in the game? Out in the field, I mean. How many characters can I control at one time?

[Boeroer]

You don't need to fight those Shades (they are much more powerful than Shadows). They guard a valve with which you can drain a flooded area which lets you find a key for the shut door. But if you have high enough mechanics you can simply lockpick that door. 

But after the door there will wait other hard enemies. Maybe it's best to come back later.

You can do the whole area + quest with stealth and mechanics. You don't need to fight anything if you don't want to. You'll still get the full quest XP. 

Edited March 30, 2020 by Boeroer

[NeveroddorveN]

Sounds fantastic! Thanks so much for your help and advice. Another question I want to ask is how to the experience point system works. To avoid spoilers, I will not list where I am in the game - I am sure I am near the beginning though - but I have been going through tons of combat, yet my experience points are not increasing. Why is this? What am I missing?

[draego]

2 hours ago, NeveroddorveN said:

Oh cool! There are four companions total in the game? Out in the field, I mean. How many characters can I control at one time?

No there are 11 companions in game but there are 4 in Act 1. the game is broken up into 3 Acts and the DLC White March part 1/3

[Boeroer]

4 hours ago, NeveroddorveN said:

but I have been going through tons of combat, yet my experience points are not increasing. Why is this? What am I missing?

You get only XP when fighting enemies you can learn something about. If you fight shadows for the 20th time you gain no xp. You can check your bestiary in the journal: if you unlocked all data for an enemy you won't get any more XP when fighting them.

Also XP for fighting is low in general. You get way more XP from completing quests. Doesn't matter how you solve them (as long as you don't fail them). That's why you can avoid fights in the game with stealth or diplomacy or even intmidation and still get the full XP for quests.

[mr_raider]

That temple gave me headaches. Those shades are hard to hit, and can stun luck your party. Come back later. If you must do it at level 3, take in a whole six man party with at least one priest and one offensive caster (druid or wizard).

Equip every one with a one handed weapon. Defense means nothing since they can damage you.faster than a level 3 party can heal. You need to out damage them asap.

If you have aloth, have him cast bulwark of elements and beat on the spirits with concelhauts staff.

[mr_raider]

4 hours ago, draego said:

No there are 11 companions in game but there are 4 in Act 1. the game is broken up into 3 Acts and the DLC White March part 1/3

Actually you can get everyone but pallegina in Act 1. Excluding the WM companions of course.

[draego]

1 hour ago, mr_raider said:

Actually you can get everyone but pallegina in Act 1. Excluding the WM companions of course.

Oh ye i meant to say you can get 4 companions before completing Caed Nua 

[baldurs_gate_2]

On 3/29/2020 at 8:34 PM, NeveroddorveN said:

Hey everyone! I really hope this is the correct place to post something like this, if not, I am sorry  - please let me know where my questions are more appropriately accepted, and I will follow suit! Thanks so much! I am new to Pillars of Eternity, and I wanted to start a thread here to express some of my questions. Right now, I am in Eothas's temple and am having a hard time with the shadows on the second floor. In the south-west quadrant of the map, there are three shadows that are ripping through me time and time again. I am just curious as to what strategies other players have used to make this combat go a bit easier. Side note: my main character is of a fighter build, with skills tailored for melee combat.

Rymrgand's Mantle. It can be found on Day 2 in the gilded vale inn, 2nd floor, left room, locked chest. It makes you basically immune to frost damage, so you can just let your tank stand there and get hit.

https://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Random_loot

[NeveroddorveN]

baldurs_gate_2 - Thanks for the recommendation! I went to that locked chest - the patron who occupies that room was quite angry that I was there - but the Rymrgand's Mantle was not in the chest. I wasn't sure if it is random, so I tried two more times, but in all three instances, I get a minor ring of protection. I would love to have the Rymrgand's Mantle, if you or anyone has suggestions about this, please let me know!! Thanks so much!

[NeveroddorveN]

btw, sorry about the underlining and blue text in my last post, that was my fault.

[Boeroer]

It is kind of random. Based on the in-game date you'll get different gear. That's why baldurs_gate_2 said "on day 2". There are spreadsheets that tell you which item you get at which date. There are several of those "random" containers, but not too many.

[baldurs_gate_2]

6 hours ago, NeveroddorveN said:

baldurs_gate_2 - Thanks for the recommendation! I went to that locked chest - the patron who occupies that room was quite angry that I was there - but the Rymrgand's Mantle was not in the chest. I wasn't sure if it is random, so I tried two more times, but in all three instances, I get a minor ring of protection. I would love to have the Rymrgand's Mantle, if you or anyone has suggestions about this, please let me know!! Thanks so much!

There is a clock on the bottom of your screen, where you can pause the game as well. It shows how much days you played, which hour it is and which day of the month. For us it is only interesting, which day of the month and on the 2nd, the chest should have the mantle. This particuallar chest is a bit buggy, you have to save and reload once in the inn to get the right loot. There are only 20 days each month, so it can have 20 different loot tables. In my provided link is the complete list.

Edited March 31, 2020 by baldurs_gate_2