Challenging encounters/areas

[Emerwyn]

This would be more a question for developers, but due to time constrains I've not been reading everything they've said and I have missed something others haven't and can actually shed some light on.

 

I just saw the post about different stages in the life of a dragon in PoE from wurm to adult dragon, and had to ask if Pillars of Eternity will have high challenge-high reward optional areas/encounters. Normally very large, dangerous encounters/enemies that really have no major impact on the storyline but those who seek to test their party to the limits can try to tackle for the thrill of challenge and achievement. We used to see those a lot in the Final Fantasy games, and even Baldur's Gate saga toyed with the idea (who didn't love/hate Firkraag in BG2?). More recently, Dragon Age has also offered the opportunity to tackle optional high challenge-high reward encounters, though it's fair to say that most if not all of those encounters could be beaten within the main game's context (meaning that it didn't require extra investment beyond the main storyline as in some Final Fantasy games, where beating the toughest challenges was almost a game of its own and definitely much more difficult than beating the actual end boss of the game). 

 

So that's the idea, and the kind of thing I'm asking and very interested on. Can we expect to find some really -really- tough challenges off the beaten path in PoE?

 

While answering keep in mind we're in the spoiler-free forums. 

Edited March 6, 2015 by Emerwyn

[MasterPrudent]

They haven't gone into much detail on this but Josh Sawyer did say in a recent interview that the most challenging content was not on the critical path. in addition the game has an optional massive dungeon that probably contains some of the game's harder fights.

[Emerwyn]

They haven't gone into much detail on this but Josh Sawyer did say in a recent interview that the most challenging content was not on the critical path. in addition the game has an optional massive dungeon that probably contains some of the game's harder fights.

 

 

Oh yes I do remember the stretch goal dungeon that reached I think 14 floors? I had almost forgotten, that's probably the kind of thing I'm after.

 

That quote from Josh Sawyer sounds promising too.

Edited March 6, 2015 by Emerwyn

[Luckmann]

This would be more a question for developers, but due to time constrains I've not been reading everything they've said and I have missed something others haven't and can actually shed some light on.

 

I just saw the post about different stages in the life of a dragon in PoE from wurm to adult dragon, and had to ask if Pillars of Eternity will have high challenge-high reward optional areas/encounters. Normally very large, dangerous encounters/enemies that really have no major impact on the storyline but those who seek to test their party to the limits can try to tackle for the thrill of challenge and achievement. We used to see those a lot in the Final Fantasy games, and even Baldur's Gate saga toyed with the idea (who didn't love/hate Firkraag in BG2?). More recently, Dragon Age has also offered the opportunity to tackle optional high challenge-high reward encounters, though it's fair to say that most if not all of those encounters could be beaten within the main game's context (meaning that it didn't require extra investment beyond the main storyline as in some Final Fantasy games, where beating the toughest challenges was almost a game of its own and definitely much more difficult than beating the actual end boss of the game). 

 

So that's the idea, and the kind of thing I'm asking and very interested on. Can we expect to find some really -really- tough challenges off the beaten path in PoE?

 

While answering keep in mind we're in the spoiler-free forums. 

 

I wouldn't actually consider Firkraag (props for spelling it right) optional high-risk/high-reward, but the latter parts of Watcher's Keep definitely is. It's pretty much a tacked-on super-dungeon that is completely optional and contains some of the best loot in BG2/ToB, as well as a mountain of experience.

 

So yeah, while it's hard to give specifics right now, like has been said, there are definitely optional areas in the game, plenty of them, even, and they're not tied to the main story itself (but certainly to side-stories and sidequests) and.. whatever, the answer is pretty much yes, to your actual question.

 

That being said, I'm not sure how challenging they'll be. Firkraag-level? Certainly some. Demigorgon-level? Eeeh, I wouldn't be too sure.

 

But the game also features a pretty hilarious difficulty system that will definitely favour those that like it hard (or those that like it really easy), and it's certain to make those "really" (I use "really" very loosly, because I have no idea how hard they are) significantly harder.