Please help a noob (temple of Eothas)

[faiuwle]

I hope this is the right place to post this.

 

So, first off, I have never played a game like this before.  100% of my RPG experience is Runescape, a text-based roguelike that I enjoyed losing for a while, and MUDs.  I got this game because Paradox Interactive had a Humble Bundle with a bunch of games they had published, and I bought the bundle to get Stellaris and Pillars of Eternity came with it.  The person who made me aware of the bundle recommended Pillars of Eternity in particular, so I played it a bit.

 

My character is a ranger with a lion.  I have completed all the quests in Gilded Vale that don't require me to leave and go elsewhere, picked up Aloth and Eder, and went into the temple of Eothas.  I am having trouble with the lower level with all the shadows.  I am playing on Easy as recommended by the game, but there are still three shadows in the big room near the flooded stairs and I can see that there is something that's probably important on the wall behind them.  So far I have been sending Eder and the lion into melee to keep the enemies engaged and/or prone (I think it's pretty funny that the shadows are immune to a whole lot of stuff, but being knocked over by Eder is not one of those things), and attacking at range with my character and Aloth, but the shadows make this difficult because they like to teleport, and I can't figure out how to manage three shadows at once when I only have two melee characters.  When I leveled Aloth up I gave him the endurance siphon spell and the petrification spell, and I thought I could use the petrification spell to petrify one of the shadows, but so far it hasn't worked and it seems to take a very long time to cast, by which point the shadow has come in melee range.  Will it help to use Eder's Defender modal?  I'm not sure what the best thing to do is.

[Slack83er]

Hi there, fair enough. Problem is: you can't do it right away. This game is not linear, and this means that eventually, you'll have to go elsewhere, level up, recruit people then come back to do what you left behind. This will occur in a number of occasions, and it is perfectly normal. I play easy too, because I enjoy story, not fights. Eothas should be done around level 4 and with at least Durance in the party. Wanna be even safer? Go until Caed Nua and take Kana. 5 people plus Lion and you're good to go.

[Jaheiras Witness]

Difficult area if playing the game first time. Once you pick up basics of strategy it becomes a lot easier.

 

1) Prebuff with food and possibly drugs (do this for every fight basically). You can buy as much as you need from the inn - chicken, sweet pie, cookies, ale etc. Eder at least (and other characters if you want) should be entering fights with +2 CON, +2 DEX, +2 DR, +10 HP etc.

 

2) Send Eder in alone while other characters are stealthed outside the room. Have him fire a missile weapon and run back immediately to stand in the doorway.

 

3) Once all the shadows are engaging Eder, then your other characters can leave stealth mode and join in the attack.

 

4) Use Aloth’s arcane blasts immediately. The two blasts alone can hit all the shadows and probably kill them (raw damage). If not, it should just be a mop up.

 

5) Assume Eder is using weapon + shield? If not, he should be. Defender mode is not great (but not terrible) but you should pile as many defensive talents + abilities as possible on your tank - sword and shield style, rapid recovery, superior deflection, vigorous defence etc.

 

6) If shadows do try to attack other characters, don’t panic and don’t try to move (will just incur disengagement attacks). Stand and fight - select appropriate abilities or items (potions/scrolls) and use them. Shadows have decent defences but not many HPs, a few hits will kill them.

[faiuwle]

Thanks. I guess I'll go do some quests elsewhere and come back to this later.

 

I do have Eder using a sword and shield, and I used arcane assault to help kill the shadows I've dealt with so far. Also, it's not listed anywhere, but I take it Aloths grimoire spells are per rest rather than per encounter?

[Torm51]

Thanks. I guess I'll go do some quests elsewhere and come back to this later.

 

I do have Eder using a sword and shield, and I used arcane assault to help kill the shadows I've dealt with so far. Also, it's not listed anywhere, but I take it Aloths grimoire spells are per rest rather than per encounter?

If you follow this formula you will win all fights in the game and the Temple can be done at level 4 on any difficulty.  

 

Raise your accuracy while reducing the enemies defenses and accuracy, attack the lowered defenses.  The enemy has four types of defenses (so do you) Deflection, Fortitude, Reflex and Will.  Use abilities like a Fighters knock down and Disciplined Barrage,  a Priests upgraded Holy Radiance (called Inspired Radiance when you level up, gives a +10 Accuracy bonus for a period), a priests Spell Blessing, A Paladins Zealous Focus,a Wizards Eldritch Aim, Wizard Curse of Blackened Sight, Druid Sunbeam  for blinding in order to raise your accuracy and reduce enemy defenses.  In these temporary windows you must fit your damage and kill the enemy.   If you do not, you will be at the mercy of the dice and random number generators.

Edited February 14, 2018 by Torm51

[Jaheiras Witness]

Yes they are per rest. You don’t need to be shy about using them, you can rest as often as you need. Early on you will be resting plenty (for health restoration as much as running out of spells), as you reach higher levels it becomes easier and less rest intensive. Eventually (level 9+) mages can master spells so they become per encounter.

[faiuwle]

I got an ability for my character that allows me to fire faster at the expense of some accuracy. Is this not useful, if accuracy is so important, or is it useful in some scenarios? I thought it would be good because my character is an elf and gets more accuracy at range. I was turning it off in the temple, though, since the shadows seemed to have high deflection.

[faiuwle]

Ok, another question.  If I have a grimoire that has spells in it that Aloth doesn't know, can he cast those spells if he equips the grimoire, or do I need to pay copper for him to learn them first?