Good question there, brave warrior @typo_tilly. RAWR!
I have yet to be approached to open up the White March expansion.
In terms of combat, I've only come across two difficult encounters so far in my own adventure for fortune and fame. The Lighthouse and Woodend Plains against a number of Pwgra's. Otherwise, I have enjoyed the combat that I've experienced thus far and have not found it very difficult.
Still in Act 2 exploring and doing side quests though.
I've also picked up Sagani on my way into Defiance Bay, so brave warrior @BelgarathMTH and I have a mirrored party.
There was a quest that sent me out of Defiance Bay, so I did eventually return to previously found areas.
Don't fret though! There shall be a later update on these adventures!
@Sylvus_Moonbow, @typo_tilly, honest question why do you guys use Sagani? She is really bad because all rangers are really bad and I personally felt her quest was kind of drawn out and boring.
She is suppose to fill the ranged dmg roll, but compared to say Aloth, she fails horribly. Her pet fox isn't really worth spending skill points on, so it's always going to suck.
So I just don't get it, do you guys just really like her personality or something?
Sagani has been a wonderful addition to the party, for she is a Boreal Dwarf!
Also, I haven't found that guy with the hamster yet.
No. Wait!
But with Wounding Shot, Vicious Aim and Marked Prey, Sagani is a little sharp shooter. Her stealth is pretty good too for a dwarf, and does more scouting now than I do! They've become quite close as well, especially when the party makes camp as they'll stay up and take watch together chatting about home. Lately though, the party has been in Defiance Bay, so a lot of time to relax and bond while they wash their hair, or when it's time for Itumaak's bath I help out. Kana usually soothes the fox with a song or two.
Just recently I met a Paladin with feathers for hair! How awesome is that?! I couldn't stop staring at all those feathers! It's like the two were meant to meet! After getting conned into a delivery job, I lost her patience with the fellow who hired her, and stayed out of the business that began to boil over. That's when I met this feather-haired woman.
With an offer to travel with the party, she has had a few sleepless nights in Defiance Bay wondering which one of the fellows she may have to ask to take a short leave of absence.
The thought of washing all those feathers during girls night out is just so tempting!
Sagani's fox (I had thought it was a wolf, for some reason - maybe the size of it) is one of the highest damage dealers in my party after I chose Sagani's talents to boost it. It synergizes well with Aloth's damage over time spells.
The trouble with it is that it's very vulnerable. I've made the mistake of having it rush into melee engagement. I'm going to try keeping it back and then bringing it in after Eder has engaged targets to see if I can improve its survivability. But when it gets to attack, it regularly does 35+ damage.
I also just like Sagani for her personality, and to learn about her culture. I'm not that much of a powergamer, so I like an interesting mix of characters in my party.
There's a lot of talk about rangers being almost uselessly weak, but I'm not convinced of that yet. I think they're a specialty class that a player who likes them just needs to learn how to build and use the right way. They're sort of like the bards of PoE, it seems. (Not class - I know the chanter is the "bard" - but rather power level.)
Sagani is the new Garrick, but I think she's a lot more interesting than Garrick. (Although I'm a Garrick fan, too.)
I love Sagani. I'm the kind of person that cares not for how mechanically good a character is; I used Garrick because in the BG1 NPC mod Imoen had a crush on him XD.
Anyway Sagani is like this badass but adorable tiny dwarf with an equally badass but adorable fox. They performed their job adequately well and I beat the game using the two. I still have yet to do the White Marches, though.
There's a lot of talk about rangers being almost uselessly weak, but I'm not convinced of that yet. I think they're a specialty class that a player who likes them just needs to learn how to build and use the right way. They're sort of like the bards of PoE, it seems. (Not class - I know the chanter is the "bard" - but rather power level.)
The reason rangers are considered bad is because they don't exceed at their roll, that of being a ranged sustained dmg dealer. As I stated before, a minor blights, eldritch aim, wizard with dangerous implements will far out do them in that capacity, not only that but the wizard has the versatility to disable or straight kill major threats, with spells that petrify.
It's not that rangers are unplayable, it's just that the slot used for a ranger will always be better filled with a wizard, druid, cipher or even a chanter.
I personally think some classes need to buffed, namely rangers, paladins and the druids wildshape. Paladin has the exact same problem as ranger, why ever use one, when fighters and monks exist. Druids are really really strong, but can only be played the one way, sit back and nuke. The shapeshifting is just as trash as it was in BG, having a choice of building a druid to be a nuker or a melee berserker would have been great, as it stands there is never a up side to shapeshifting passed mid game, as even just switching to normal melee weapons will yield better results.
I didn't really notice sagani being any more or less powerful than anyone else, though this is probably more of a testament to my attention than what's really there. I was really bad at the combat in this game. What I did like was her fox(though I thought it was a wolf?) it was nice to be able to essentially use it as a summon and send it through the front line cause it can't die permanently. Also the knock down ability usually seemed to work for me, which was really useful.
Hail and well met, brave warriors! I do hope your search for adventure, fortune and fame has been going well since our last meeting!
She has ventured across the wilderness, slaying countless beasts of legend, finding piles of pulsating, magical treasure and gained reputation while doing so. (Act 3 now - no spoilers below).
So the last time our brave girl had reached Defiance Bay. Since then, she's been out and about exploring, as well as returning to areas beyond the safety of the city walls. She had been in awe at meeting a woman with real feathers in her hair, but during her travels, she met someone else that fit the dynamics of the group quite well. She struggled at washing feathers or hearing Itumaak whine about leaving someone out in the rain.
The whimpering won, as it made me grind her teeth in annoyance, but the fit has been good for the party as a whole. Seems like Sagani has a massively wild crush on Hiravias (I still feel that he charmed Itumaak and this has played perfectly into seducing Sagani, but she needs more proof first!)
Durance is now located at Caed Nua sweeping cobwebs and dusting with a broom!
Hiravias the Druid Lockpicker! HA! Who would have thought, huh?
Here are some fun party facts, as it goes in line with the previous discussion about Sagani and her fox, overall damage and party functionality.
(individual party member damage output, plus party reputation going into Act 3)
MY PC!
Highest Single Target Damage: 54.6 Crits: 299 Hits: 681
Edér
Highest Single Target Damage: 33.1 Crits: 105 Hits: 580
Kana
Highest Single Target Damage: 46.8 Crits: 44 Hits: 224
Aloth
Highest Single Target Damage: 59.8 (spell) Crits: 187 Hits: 652
Hiravias
Highest Single Target Damage: 84.6 (spell) Crits: 82 Hits: 293
Sagani
Highest Single Target Damage: 34.7 Crits: 216 Hits: 436
Defiance Bay: Hero (Moderately Good) Gilded Vale: Hero (Moderately Good) Dyrford Village: Hero (Moderately Good) Twin Elms: Neutral Knights of the Crucible: Ally (Faintly Good) House Doemenel: Eccentric (Faintly Mixed) The Dozens: Hero (Moderately Good)
So I'm going to have to work a little more with Edér. As a fighter, I expect his damage output to be a lot more than what it is, although as the main tank, he has taken the most damage hit and is the least knocked out front line member of the group.
My PC is a beast with critical hits, has connected the most in combat than even Edér, and defeated 163 enemies vs. 82 with Edér. Sagani is second in the party, defeating 90 enemies with her bow and fox combo damage output, while Edér comes in third overall.
Sagani has the best accuracy of the group (60) followed by me (57). Her sneaking and Wounding Shot on Wilders can normally 3-shot kill them before they reach the party for engagement. Any Wilder that makes the front line, has /me/ to deal with.
GRR MOMENTS: Why oh why can one not wear a cloak AND a necklace at the same time?! Baffles me.
Until next time brave warriors, enjoy this Sagani short story!
I'm in the same boat. I got well toward the end of the game and then lots of stuff changed in the 2.0 patch. I'm also waiting for them to have it closer to finished before playing again.
Obsidian have published a press release announcing a release date for The White March Part 2 - late January 2016.
Directed by Josh Sawyer, Game Director of Fallout: New Vegas and Pillars of Eternity, The White March - Part 2 features an expertly crafted story from Eric Fenstermaker, lead writer of Pillars of Eternity and the co-writer of South Park: The Stick of Truth, and Carrie Patel, author of the Recoletta series and writer on the original Pillars of Eternity.
Coolness, let's just hope adding a "story mode" was a simple quick fix and not something that actually cost anybody any money or time. Anything over 10 mins and about 50 cents would be a waste for adding a super easy mode to a game that already has a very easy mode.
"The stronghold never really got the content it needed to make it feel worthwhile or important. During development we realized that if we had someone focusing on stronghold content, it would jeopardize other quests that we felt were more valuable. That's why the stronghold wound up being system-heavy and content-light. It's something we're trying to address with our 3.0 patch, which will be available when The White March, Part II, goes live."
So, even those who don't buy the addons, will have a chance to experience the new stronghold outlook.
- Taking for granted that there will be a "Pillars 2" eventually in the future, and using the company's experience so far as a guide and general compass, do you think you would return to crowdfunding in order to fund the possible sequel (fully, or at least partially)?
"I think it will depend on what we're looking at for our overall scope. Crowdfunding was a huge success for Pillars of Eternity and I know a lot of people have expressed an eagerness to support crowdfunding for a future sequel, but I believe we have to be careful about how we approach it. There's always a danger of asking too much of people or giving a bad impression by how a crowdfunding campaign is structured."
As is managing your stronghold as far as I remember
With the buttons flashing on your interface it's rather difficult to ignore. It's also a huge amount of developent resources thrown into a glorified sidequest, that could have been better spent on the main questline or expanding the world.
NWN2 OC had a similar issue with a stronghold that felt shoehorned into the storyline, because of some developer delusion that a stronghold is something you have to have in this type of game.
The only game where I felt the stronghold actually contributed to the storyline was DA:I.
BG2 didn't have strongholds, it had class specific sidequests.
Comments
I have yet to be approached to open up the White March expansion.
In terms of combat, I've only come across two difficult encounters so far in my own adventure for fortune and fame. The Lighthouse and Woodend Plains against a number of Pwgra's. Otherwise, I have enjoyed the combat that I've experienced thus far and have not found it very difficult.
Still in Act 2 exploring and doing side quests though.
I've also picked up Sagani on my way into Defiance Bay, so brave warrior @BelgarathMTH and I have a mirrored party.
There was a quest that sent me out of Defiance Bay, so I did eventually return to previously found areas.
Don't fret though! There shall be a later update on these adventures!
She is suppose to fill the ranged dmg roll, but compared to say Aloth, she fails horribly. Her pet fox isn't really worth spending skill points on, so it's always going to suck.
So I just don't get it, do you guys just really like her personality or something?
Sagani has been a wonderful addition to the party, for she is a Boreal Dwarf!
Also, I haven't found that guy with the hamster yet.
No. Wait!
But with Wounding Shot, Vicious Aim and Marked Prey, Sagani is a little sharp shooter. Her stealth is pretty good too for a dwarf, and does more scouting now than I do! They've become quite close as well, especially when the party makes camp as they'll stay up and take watch together chatting about home. Lately though, the party has been in Defiance Bay, so a lot of time to relax and bond while they wash their hair, or when it's time for Itumaak's bath I help out. Kana usually soothes the fox with a song or two.
Just recently I met a Paladin with feathers for hair! How awesome is that?! I couldn't stop staring at all those feathers! It's like the two were meant to meet! After getting conned into a delivery job, I lost her patience with the fellow who hired her, and stayed out of the business that began to boil over. That's when I met this feather-haired woman.
With an offer to travel with the party, she has had a few sleepless nights in Defiance Bay wondering which one of the fellows she may have to ask to take a short leave of absence.
The thought of washing all those feathers during girls night out is just so tempting!
RAWR!
The trouble with it is that it's very vulnerable. I've made the mistake of having it rush into melee engagement. I'm going to try keeping it back and then bringing it in after Eder has engaged targets to see if I can improve its survivability. But when it gets to attack, it regularly does 35+ damage.
I also just like Sagani for her personality, and to learn about her culture. I'm not that much of a powergamer, so I like an interesting mix of characters in my party.
There's a lot of talk about rangers being almost uselessly weak, but I'm not convinced of that yet. I think they're a specialty class that a player who likes them just needs to learn how to build and use the right way. They're sort of like the bards of PoE, it seems. (Not class - I know the chanter is the "bard" - but rather power level.)
Sagani is the new Garrick, but I think she's a lot more interesting than Garrick. (Although I'm a Garrick fan, too.)
Anyway
Sagani is like this badass but adorable tiny dwarf with an equally badass but adorable fox. They performed their job adequately well and I beat the game using the two. I still have yet to do the White Marches, though.
It's not that rangers are unplayable, it's just that the slot used for a ranger will always be better filled with a wizard, druid, cipher or even a chanter.
I personally think some classes need to buffed, namely rangers, paladins and the druids wildshape.
Paladin has the exact same problem as ranger, why ever use one, when fighters and monks exist. Druids are really really strong, but can only be played the one way, sit back and nuke. The shapeshifting is just as trash as it was in BG, having a choice of building a druid to be a nuker or a melee berserker would have been great, as it stands there is never a up side to shapeshifting passed mid game, as even just switching to normal melee weapons will yield better results.
What I did like was her fox(though I thought it was a wolf?) it was nice to be able to essentially use it as a summon and send it through the front line cause it can't die permanently. Also the knock down ability usually seemed to work for me, which was really useful.
http://eternity.obsidian.net/news/pillars-of-eternity-surpasses-500000-units-in-worldwide-sales
It looks like there is a market for isometric RPGs in the today's world.
Hail and well met, brave warriors! I do hope your search for adventure, fortune and fame has been going well since our last meeting!
She has ventured across the wilderness, slaying countless beasts of legend, finding piles of pulsating, magical treasure and gained reputation while doing so. (Act 3 now - no spoilers below).
So the last time our brave girl had reached Defiance Bay. Since then, she's been out and about exploring, as well as returning to areas beyond the safety of the city walls. She had been in awe at meeting a woman with real feathers in her hair, but during her travels, she met someone else that fit the dynamics of the group quite well. She struggled at washing feathers or hearing Itumaak whine about leaving someone out in the rain.
The whimpering won, as it made me grind her teeth in annoyance, but the fit has been good for the party as a whole. Seems like Sagani has a massively wild crush on Hiravias (I still feel that he charmed Itumaak and this has played perfectly into seducing Sagani, but she needs more proof first!)
Durance is now located at Caed Nua sweeping cobwebs and dusting with a broom!
Hiravias the Druid Lockpicker! HA! Who would have thought, huh?
Here are some fun party facts, as it goes in line with the previous discussion about Sagani and her fox, overall damage and party functionality.
(individual party member damage output, plus party reputation going into Act 3)
MY PC!
Highest Single Target Damage: 54.6
Crits: 299
Hits: 681
Edér
Highest Single Target Damage: 33.1
Crits: 105
Hits: 580
Kana
Highest Single Target Damage: 46.8
Crits: 44
Hits: 224
Aloth
Highest Single Target Damage: 59.8 (spell)
Crits: 187
Hits: 652
Hiravias
Highest Single Target Damage: 84.6 (spell)
Crits: 82
Hits: 293
Sagani
Highest Single Target Damage: 34.7
Crits: 216
Hits: 436
REPUTATIONS
Benevolent: 1
Clever: 3
Stoic: 1
Aggressive: 1
Diplomatic: 2
Passionate: 4
Rational: 2
Honest: 2
Deceptive: 2
Defiance Bay: Hero (Moderately Good)
Gilded Vale: Hero (Moderately Good)
Dyrford Village: Hero (Moderately Good)
Twin Elms: Neutral
Knights of the Crucible: Ally (Faintly Good)
House Doemenel: Eccentric (Faintly Mixed)
The Dozens: Hero (Moderately Good)
So I'm going to have to work a little more with Edér. As a fighter, I expect his damage output to be a lot more than what it is, although as the main tank, he has taken the most damage hit and is the least knocked out front line member of the group.
My PC is a beast with critical hits, has connected the most in combat than even Edér, and defeated 163 enemies vs. 82 with Edér. Sagani is second in the party, defeating 90 enemies with her bow and fox combo damage output, while Edér comes in third overall.
Sagani has the best accuracy of the group (60) followed by me (57). Her sneaking and Wounding Shot on Wilders can normally 3-shot kill them before they reach the party for engagement. Any Wilder that makes the front line, has /me/ to deal with.
GRR MOMENTS: Why oh why can one not wear a cloak AND a necklace at the same time?! Baffles me.
Until next time brave warriors, enjoy this Sagani short story!
http://eternity.obsidian.net/media/stories
RAWR!
Directed by Josh Sawyer, Game Director of Fallout: New Vegas and Pillars of Eternity, The White March - Part 2 features an expertly crafted story from Eric Fenstermaker, lead writer of Pillars of Eternity and the co-writer of South Park: The Stick of Truth, and Carrie Patel, author of the Recoletta series and writer on the original Pillars of Eternity.
They'll add a BGEE-style "Story Mode".
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/pressreleases/259460/SECOND_PILLARS_OF_ETERNITY_EXPANSION_TO_RELEASE_THISWINTER.php
"The stronghold never really got the content it needed to make it feel worthwhile or important. During development we realized that if we had someone focusing on stronghold content, it would jeopardize other quests that we felt were more valuable. That's why the stronghold wound up being system-heavy and content-light. It's something we're trying to address with our 3.0 patch, which will be available when The White March, Part II, goes live."
So, even those who don't buy the addons, will have a chance to experience the new stronghold outlook.
- Taking for granted that there will be a "Pillars 2" eventually in the future, and using the company's experience so far as a guide and general compass, do you think you would return to crowdfunding in order to fund the possible sequel (fully, or at least partially)?
"I think it will depend on what we're looking at for our overall scope. Crowdfunding was a huge success for Pillars of Eternity and I know a lot of people have expressed an eagerness to support crowdfunding for a future sequel, but I believe we have to be careful about how we approach it. There's always a danger of asking too much of people or giving a bad impression by how a crowdfunding campaign is structured."
http://www.ragequit.gr/specials/item/josh-sawyer-obsidian-interview-ragequit
NWN2 OC had a similar issue with a stronghold that felt shoehorned into the storyline, because of some developer delusion that a stronghold is something you have to have in this type of game.
The only game where I felt the stronghold actually contributed to the storyline was DA:I.
BG2 didn't have strongholds, it had class specific sidequests.