Pillars of Eternity Beginner's Guide

[Sensuki]

For the record I don't think there will be major changes, the change that I hope they will make won't reallly have any effect on your character's efficacy.

 

Attributes aren't really as "impactful" as D&D. You can make a bad build if you really try, but it's a lot more difficult and even then if you're playing on easy or normal - you'll still probably be able to finish the game without issue.

Edited March 23, 2015 by Sensuki

[Fredward]

Thanks for this, it was really informative.

[pedroantonio]

(...)the change that I hope they will make won't reallly have any effect on your character's efficacy(...)

But if I make a tank by maximizing Perception and Resolve to maximize Deflection, and then they take the Deflection bonus out of Perception to put it at, let's say, Dexterity, the Deflection loss would affect the tanking potential of the character (although I couldn't say by what amount).

Edited March 23, 2015 by pedroantonio

[Sensuki]

Yeah but if you really make a Tank character, you'll probably end up with over 100 points in Deflection (a Paladin at level 4 can get more than that in the beta) so in retrospect, 10 points may not make much of a difference in the end.

 

I'm not saying they will do that, but I think they'll probably make some tweaks to it after everyone's played through it - there'll be a lot of feedback.

Edited March 23, 2015 by Sensuki

[Luckmann]

At minute 25 in the video you say that you hope that the Deflection bonus of Perception gets changed back to an Accuracy bonus as it was in the past.

 

I don't really have an opinion about which is better, but I really really hope that Obsidan doesn't change the attributes once the game is released, because the character-ruining potential of that action on a 40+ hours savegame could be huge.

 

I hope they realize this is a singleplayer game (not a multiplayer MMO, MOBA or RTS that needs to be tweaked constantly) and focus on correcting bugs, not on changing main systems. They already had enough time to design the game, what is done is done.

Well I obviously disagree, because I think that the foremost goal should be to fix issues, whether they're bugs or issues of balance, and there's some very real problems with the attribute system as it is right now. That being said, I do share the concern (as I have voiced in the past) and I would be incredibly surprised if they fixed the attribute problems post-release.

 

The fact that it's a singleplayer game and not a multiplayer game is no excuse for poor game mechanics or mechanics that interact with eachother poorly.

 

That being said, Sensuki is also right in that either way, a character is unlikely to be "ruined" in the same sense a AD&D or MMO character might be from such changes, due to how the system works, but I don't think the bellyaching would be curtailed by that.

[sparklecat]

For the record I don't think there will be major changes, the change that I hope they will make won't reallly have any effect on your character's efficacy.

 

Attributes aren't really as "impactful" as D&D. You can make a bad build if you really try, but it's a lot more difficult and even then if you're playing on easy or normal - you'll still probably be able to finish the game without issue.

How big is the difficulty jump going to hard, would you say?  If I build suboptimal characters (say, a high Perception and Resolve Cipher for my PC), do I need to drop the difficulty to compensate?

[Ink Blot]

Part 2 will take me a long time to make, I believe it will take me all day tomorrow and then some if I want to try and cover everything.

Coffee, Red Bull, whatever it takes, Sensuki. Sleep is not an option. Now... get on it!

[dorkboy]

So Expert Mode disables the [insert skill here] tags in conversations (+hides inaccessible options?), and makes the first death permanent (instead of first being a status effect), correct?

What else does it do?

 

Great video, btw! Very comprehensive. 

[Sensuki]

Yes, but you can turn off most of them yourself in the options menu in a non-expert game, I will show those in the next video.

 

How big is the difficulty jump going to hard, would you say?  If I build suboptimal characters (say, a high Perception and Resolve Cipher for my PC), do I need to drop the difficulty to compensate?

Attribute selection doesn't really make your build 'sub-optimal'. What makes a build sub optimal is doing stuff like maxing Intellect but then picking no active abilities that benefit from it - that's stuffing up your build. Your abilities, talents and items will have the biggest impact on how you play the game. I will demonstrate this in my second and third videos.

 

To get the most out of your attributes you should either pick them to support your role or play-style, as you can bend classes to play different ways, or play to the attributes you picked.

Edited March 23, 2015 by Sensuki

[sparklecat]

Yes, but you can turn off most of them yourself in the options menu in a non-expert game, I will show those in the next video.

 

How big is the difficulty jump going to hard, would you say?  If I build suboptimal characters (say, a high Perception and Resolve Cipher for my PC), do I need to drop the difficulty to compensate?

Attribute selection doesn't really make your build 'sub-optimal'. What makes a build sub optimal is doing stuff like maxing Intellect but then picking no active abilities that benefit from it - that's stuffing up your build. Your abilities, talents and items will have the biggest impact on how you play the game. I will demonstrate this in my second and third videos.

 

To get the most out of your attributes you should either pick them to support your role or play-style, as you can bend classes to play different ways, or play to the attributes you picked.

 

Awesome; first few times through games, I like to focus on building characters to match a personality rather than for combat, and I will be very happy if the ability/talent selection is wide enough to let me turn whatever weird class and attribute combinations I come up with into something that works at least reasonably well.

[pedroantonio]

(...) I think that the foremost goal should be to fix issues, whether they're bugs or issues of balance, and there's some very real problems with the attribute system as it is right now. (...) The fact that it's a singleplayer game and not a multiplayer game is no excuse for poor game mechanics or mechanics that interact with eachother poorly.

I agree in that all issues should be fixed, but design issues should have been fixed during the design phase of development, or at least before release. I mean, if there are problems with attributes, ok, they must correct them, but if that's the case I'd prefer them being honest and delaying the game until they are fixed.

But of course they won't do that, for financial reasons mostly.

 

Meh. I guess I'll have to get over these slight disappointments if I want to play on release. Anyway, It's not as if every CRPG ever released was perfect at launch, right?

Edited March 23, 2015 by pedroantonio

[Sensuki]

Awesome; first few times through games, I like to focus on building characters to match a personality rather than for combat, and I will be very happy if the ability/talent selection is wide enough to let me turn whatever weird class and attribute combinations I come up with into something that works at least reasonably well.

If you have a specific build in mind, perhaps I can give you an anecdote?

[ComplyOrDie]

Thank you for the videos which I will be watching shortly. Hopefully they will answer the few queries that have popped up since I bought the backer Beta yesterday as an extra show of support and to help choose a character.

 

One I will ask away, I'm used to pausing per round as per the Baldur's Gate games. Things seem a little more chaotic with the timing here. It would be pretty jarring to use auto-pause but I'm open to trying it. Is the timing something you get used to (is there a fixed timing system or is it more free form ? seems hard to tell so far). If not, are there some recommended auto-pause settings?

[Sensuki]

The combat is a little bit disjointed yeah (compared to the IE games). No denying that. You get used to it though.

[sparklecat]

 

Awesome; first few times through games, I like to focus on building characters to match a personality rather than for combat, and I will be very happy if the ability/talent selection is wide enough to let me turn whatever weird class and attribute combinations I come up with into something that works at least reasonably well.

If you have a specific build in mind, perhaps I can give you an anecdote?

 

Cheers; high Intellect Rogue and high Perception/Resolve Cipher were two of the possibilities I was considering and concerned wouldn't really work.

[Sensuki]

Intellect is good on the Rogue if you pick their active abilities such as Blinding Strike, Crippling Strike, Withering Strike and so on and so forth.

 

High Perception and Resolve on a Cipher is a little bit redundant, because they're a squishy class and PER and RES are tanking abilities, but at least you'll be a little bit harder to hit when you get attacked. It should still be quite playable on normal.

[sparklecat]

Thanks for being so helpful, buddy, and for all the time you're spending on these videos, for that matter.

[Kordanor]

Great video, looking for the following parts and hope to see them before release (no pressure!)

Especially looking forward to the skills actually, as hardly anyone talked about them so far (in my perception)

Thanks a lot for doing these videos!

 

Question about int regarding Barbarians and Rogues:

From what I can tell, the barbarian mainly profits from int due to his basic attack using carnage. So carnage covers a bigger area.

And maybe the frenzy might get some advantage as well (was Greater Frenzy buffed btw?). Well the barbaric shout my profit from it if you take it.

But besides of that, is there really anything profiting from it hugely? I guess the bonus to carnage alone is worth it?

 

Basically the same goes to rogues, though I see the advantage fron int even less there.

Rogues don't have any AOEs, so no profit there. You have a blinding strike, a crippling strike, withering strike and Fearsome strike. All applying debuffs for 10s. Is increasing this debuff time to 14s (with 18 int) really worth the 8 talent points?

 

What about the Rogue ability "Deep Wounds" (additional Dot Raw damage) and the Barbarian Heal "Savage Defiance"? Increasing the Time here would actually weaken the ability. Is this inverted there? Are these skills not affected?

 

While it's not really fitting this topic - did you see any major changes from the beta to the press version? Like with the skills you considered being bugged before? (I think it was Bloody Slaughter, Barbarians "Blooded" and maybe some others)

Edited March 23, 2015 by Kordanor

[NikoBolas]

My favorite character from Game of Thrones is Oberyn Martell. Sensuki, do you have experience playing a 2-h long weapon fighter with light armor? I don't have the beta but I'm picturing a fighter with skills more focused on active abilities and damage rather than passive abilities and defense. Any advice would be great

[kozzy]

Nice work dude

[Sensuki]

Carnage is the main reason you would want to take Intellect on a Barbarian yes, but it's only good if you use it correctly (e.g., try and hit a target in the middle of a group so it hits all of them).

 

They have lots of other abilities that benefit from it as well - Frenzy, Barbaric Yell, Bloodlust, Barbaric Blow, Threatening Presence and Barbaric Shout.

 

Basically the same goes to rogues, though I see the advantage fron int even less there.

Blinding Strike, Crippling Strike, Withering Strike, Shadowing Beyond and Fearsmome Strike.

 

Blinding Strike and Crippling Strike are per-encounter so you will benefit every encounter.

 

What about the Rogue ability "Deep Wounds" (additional Dot Raw damage) and the Barbarian Heal "Savage Defiance"? Increasing the Time here would actually weaken the ability. Is this inverted there? Are these skills not affected?

Deep Wounds I think is currently a bit underpowered (it used to be overpowered) and it's not affected by Intellect. Neither is Savage Defiance - Might influences both of them.

 

While it's not really fitting this topic - did you see any major changes from the beta to the press version? Like with the skills you considered being bugged before? (I think it was Bloody Slaughter, Barbarians "Blooded" and maybe some others)

Bloody Slaughter is currently OP as hell, but in the full game it will work correctly, and make you really good against low endurance characters only (instead of everyone).

 

My favorite character from Game of Thrones is Oberyn Martell. Sensuki, do you have experience playing a 2-h long weapon fighter with light armor? I don't have the beta but I'm picturing a fighter with skills more focused on active abilities and damage rather than passive abilities and defense. Any advice would be great

You raped her, you murdered her, you killed her children.

 

Yes, an Oberyn Style Fighter is very good. I would recommend my favourite High Intellect build for that - pick Knock Down, Bonus Knock Down and Disciplined Barrage and go to town.

Edited March 23, 2015 by Sensuki

[Fredward]

Intellect is good on the Rogue if you pick their active abilities such as Blinding Strike, Crippling Strike, Withering Strike and so on and so forth.

 

High Perception and Resolve on a Cipher is a little bit redundant, because they're a squishy class and PER and RES are tanking abilities, but at least you'll be a little bit harder to hit when you get attacked. It should still be quite playable on normal.

 

What kind of attribute spread would you suggest for a Cipher? Also, since I like playing talkers more than fighters, if I wanted to focus on stats like perception, intelligence and resolve does that kind of setup lend itself towards any one class in particular?

[Sensuki]

Intellect, Might and Dexterity for Ciphers IMO.

Edited March 23, 2015 by Sensuki

[Lazarus]

Great video, cant wait for another one anyway Sensuki, do you have any attribute tips for decent melee oriented priest?

[Sensuki]

Priests all have Deity-specific talents that give them an accuracy bonus with two different weapons, which effectively gives them the same Accuracy as a Fighter (I think, unless they changed it). I think the Priest of Skaen with dual stilettos is pretty fun.

 

I'd just roll with an Intellect, Might and Dexterity build if you're being offensive. I wish they kept Accuracy on Perception because then it would have been a more difficult choice. Maybe they will bring it back.