Anyone else already decided on their party?

[FlintlockJazz]

For my Cipher I have already decided that I am going to be taking the three PoE1 companions (Eder, Aloth, and Pallegina) along with Xoti (because I always wanted characters with lanterns in a dungeon, its a fetish of mine) for my current Cipher playthrough.  Playthroughs after that may branch out to the newer companions but until I get a feel for them I'mma gonna stick with ma bros from the first to maintain a sense of progression.  The Orlan Barbarian/Cipher is catching my eye however, someone may get dropped for his two-pistol awesomeness, but that depends on how his application to join my party goes, his CV looks good at the moment though.  Tekehu can die screaming falling into the pit to feed the drake as a sacrifice to the Dwarf Companion gods.

 

How about you?  Stick with the ones you already know at least for the first playthrough or has some of the new characters caught your eye?

Edited April 27, 2017 by FlintlockJazz

[Bill Gates' Son]

I'll just use everybody like I do in PoE.  I always find sticking with the same party stale.

Edited April 27, 2017 by Bill Gates' Son

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

I'm gonna rotate, but as I'm planning on a Rogue/Cipher or Rogue/Wizard probably not any with either of those classes except Aloth as a CC machine. Oh and unless she's a full companion never Ydwin.

[Andraste]

My first Watcher is definitely taking Eder and Pallegina - they never left her side during the first game, so I'm looking forward to adventuring with them again. Third companion will prooooobably be Xoti if priests are half as useful as they were in POE1. Then I'll rotate through Aloth, Maia, Serafen and Takehu until I find the one that fits my party set-up best.

[smjjames]

Do we even know if the main character is even going to BE a Watcher?

 

I'll probably try and use everybody the first runthrough, basically just explore things.

[FlintlockJazz]

Do we even know if the main character is even going to BE a Watcher?

Yes, same character as the first game and they have talked about how the Watcher stuff is gonna work in the new game (more emphasis on the ethereal world is the impression I got).

[rjshae]

My party will involve booze.

[FlintlockJazz]

My party will involve booze.

ALL parties involve booze.  It's like the law or something? 

[injurai]

Not conclusively. Leaning towards Eder, Maia Rua, and Takehu. Not sure who the last slot will go to. Split between Aloth and Xoti.

 

I'll probably be importing my Human Cipher. Not sure if I'll pick up a second class or not. Possibly Paladin.

[Messier-31]

1. THE WATCHER
2. Eder / Maia Rua
3. Aloth / sidekicks
4. Xoti / Pallegina
5. Serafen / Bonteru

Tekehu dieded.

[smjjames]

 

Do we even know if the main character is even going to BE a Watcher?

Yes, same character as the first game and they have talked about how the Watcher stuff is gonna work in the new game (more emphasis on the ethereal world is the impression I got).

 

 

 

Huh, only thing though is that at the end, the awakened stuff goes away.... buuuuttt, it doesn't say anything about the Watchers powers going away, Somehow I thought being awakened was a requirement for being a Watcher.

 

Sounds like being a Cipher (or at least having one in the party) would be an asset.

Edited April 27, 2017 by smjjames

[ShadySands]

Which was another thing they said they wanted to do, better differentiate between a watcher and cipher

 

I'll probably run with the three from the first game and rotate everyone else in that last spot

Edited April 27, 2017 by ShadySands

[smjjames]

I was under the impression that Ciphers are basically psychics (or Psionics), with telepathy (or a very directed form of it) to boot. There isn't a whole lot of Cipher related stuff outside of combat. Seems like there could be more things to do with the Ciphers. Although they'll want to have all classes have equal content to be fair.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

I was under the impression that Ciphers are basically psychics (or Psionics), with telepathy (or a very directed form of it) to boot.

Kind of, but not really. I think Ciphers requiring a target to manipulate and feed off of to fuel their abilities is quite different from any D&D psychic class from what I remember of them. There's obviously soulknife and psion elements to them, but it seems different enough to be it's own thing.

 

But they really do need to do more to explain what a watcher is, all I got from it is you could see your past lives and read others' souls, which is close enough to what Ciphers did for confusion.

[Katarack21]

I'll probably run with the three from the first game and rotate everyone else in that last spot

Pretty much, for my first two run throughs at least. For my third and further, I'll mix it up more.

[Leferd]

Keep everyone on the boat. Shore party is fluid and strictly situational.

[InsaneCommander]

Eder, Pallegina and Aloth were in my PoE 1 party. So I'll keep them. The last spot probably goes to Xoti. It'll be interesting to see her reactions to Eothas' actions.

 

My second playthrough will be with my PoE 1 evil character who traveled with Kana. So I'll choose Maia, Serafen.and the blue guy.

 

My third playthrough will be with a viking custom party. Not sure there is anything like that in Eora, but the Deadfire is huge and I'll just assume a similar culture exists somewhere.

Edited April 28, 2017 by InsaneCommander

[Sedrefilos]

I never stick to a single party composition. I swap companions by occasion/mood. With some I travel more than others (especially if they're the only tank or healer). So I'll just have to wait and see.

Edited April 28, 2017 by Sedrefilos

[FlintlockJazz]

 

 

Do we even know if the main character is even going to BE a Watcher?

Yes, same character as the first game and they have talked about how the Watcher stuff is gonna work in the new game (more emphasis on the ethereal world is the impression I got).

 

 

 

Huh, only thing though is that at the end, the awakened stuff goes away.... buuuuttt, it doesn't say anything about the Watchers powers going away, Somehow I thought being awakened was a requirement for being a Watcher.

 

Sounds like being a Cipher (or at least having one in the party) would be an asset.

 

 

It's more you find a resolution to your past life's issues rather than put it to sleep again.  The sleep it mentions is that you are able to actually sleep once more without the nightmares of your past life disturbing it.  It implies it may only be a temporary thing though, "but for now" you get some peace.  The past life is still awake, it just isn't angsting over its question any more.

 

 

I was under the impression that Ciphers are basically psychics (or Psionics), with telepathy (or a very directed form of it) to boot.

Kind of, but not really. I think Ciphers requiring a target to manipulate and feed off of to fuel their abilities is quite different from any D&D psychic class from what I remember of them. There's obviously soulknife and psion elements to them, but it seems different enough to be it's own thing.

 

But they really do need to do more to explain what a watcher is, all I got from it is you could see your past lives and read others' souls, which is close enough to what Ciphers did for confusion.

 

Yeah, from what I have read and seen, they have said that they plan on defining the differences between Ciphers and Watchers better, that it was something they had issues with understanding themselves in PoE.  They have said that the main difference is that Ciphers can interact with "housed" souls (those in bodies or objects) while Watchers can see "unhoused" souls (Lost Souls and others that are on their way to new lives) and the etherial plane.  Watchers can also see Past Lives whereas Ciphers apparently are not supposed to be able to do that (that whole thing about soul lineage in the Crucible Knights was a boo boo apparently, or at least should not have been done by Ciphers).

 

EDIT: Here's the post from MaxQuest that filled me in on this:

http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/91913-alchemist-class/?p=1895545

 

 

What we know precisely is that ciphers can interact only with housed souls, while watchers can see all of them.

Are ciphers able to see the past of a soul, is a bit unclear. I will quote two questions from the last two Q&A streams:

 

Stream #3 Transcript:

Q: What's the difference between a Watcher and a Cipher? In Pillars 1 a Watcher felt like a weaker and less versatile Cipher.

CP: So, this is something we've discussed a lot in the team as well. A Watcher is someone who can—a Watcher can do a lot things that literally no one else can do. I'm trying to stay out of things that are new to this game that we're not talking about yet. Watchers can see the histories of souls, and they can specifically see past lives.

Ciphers can still interact with housed souls, which would be like a soul in a person. They can not see a free-floating lost soul like the Watcher can. They can't see into the tween, which is... you have a...the body has perished and the soul is moving into the beyond. A Watcher can see that...a Cipher cannot. [the recording was garbled for the end of this question]

 

Stream #4 Transcript:

Q: In the third Twitch Q&A stream Carrie answered the question on the difference between Watchers and Ciphers by saying Watchers can see the histories of souls and they can specifically past lives, and ciphers cannot, presumably. But it's a plot point in Pillars 1 that the Dunryd Row Ciphers check the soul lineages of Crucible Knights.

JS: Just confusion among writers. Just an error. That was a reason why people were asking that question. People were like, "It doesn't seem clear which is which", and that's something in the beginning of Pillars 2 I said: okay, let's sit down and talk about exactly what people can and can't do, so that moving forward we don't confuse things.

 

Edited April 28, 2017 by FlintlockJazz

[Silent Winter]

First run:
Human Druid Watcher imported from PoE1 (maybe going shapeshifter sub-class if it looks cool)

Eder

Aloth

Pallegina

Xoti (Priest)

 

Second run:
Dwarf Rogue Watcher imported from PoE1

Bonteru

Ydwin

Maia Rua

Serafen

 

Third:
Who knows?  Probably using the other sidekicks but rotating more.

[rheingold]

My first play through always tends to be a role playing one, so it would have to be based on which companions are most closely tied to the story. The problem with that idea of course, is that it can be quite difficult to figure that out first time anyway....

Having said that I have 3 main watchers so I'm going to need 3 playthroughs to start anyway.

I also have a fondness for certain classes so: non negotiable classes are Druid, barbarian, chanter.

Monks and rogues are also high up on the list, particularly if I can get a good old fashioned mage/rogue multi class.

So I guess it also depends on how flexible the multiclass system is going to be, as some of the npc's are classes I wouldn't normally take.

 

It's complicated!

[Wormerine]

Considering multiclassing I have no idea what I will do. I will play as my first character, orlan range cypher. I will probably continue tradition of Eder for tanking, and Aloth for spellcasting. Fellow orlan might be welcome to balance Eder's rasism. Pallegina was part time in my first playthrough so we will see. It all probably depends on whom I will find first, with whom I will get along with (hopefully the companion system will actively support roleplaying rather than a fluff mechanic.)

[Katarack21]

Got a cipher orlan, you see? Played with Aloth, Eder, Pallagina, you see? Gotta see it all the way through. Can't give up on it now.

Party size has dropped, however. So.

1) Me. Cipher. In the back, casting. Escaped orlan former slave...from the Deadfire.

2) Aloth, hanging out with me, casting in the back.

3) Eder. Tanking up front, taking hits for me.

4) Pallagina, doing the same.

5) This was Durance in PoE 1, here I don't know. On a second playthrough, maybe Ydwin? But on a first playthough, I'd want somebody with a storyarc of their own. Right now, I have no real clue. Just...somebody new.

[Karkarov]

So for me after thinking about it this is likely how it will be...

1: Watcher, not sure what class I will go yet.  Maybe fighter, maybe cipher, maybe a fighter/cipher.  Who knows.

2: Eder as a fighter, I never saw the guy as a rogue.  Definitely tanky type.

3: Aloth, he will be doing Aloth things

4: Xoti, definitely as a priest not monk

5: TOSS UP!  It will either be a DPS focused Paladin Pallegina, or a DPS focused Serafen as a Rogue.

[DigitalCrack]

1st run.

 

Watcher-soulblade(cipher)/ghostheart(ranger)

Xoti-priest

Takehu-either

Aloth-wizard

Eder-fighter

 

may change once more subclasses are revealed.

Edited April 28, 2017 by DigitalCrack