Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Announced

[ArenCordial]

There is going to be an annoucement today and a crowdfunding campaign on fig. Looks like one of press sites broke the news a little early.

You play as the same character and there will be save imports. Looks like Eothas is back and pissed. Plot sounds a lot like Mask of the Betrayer.

https://www.reddit.com/r/projectete...ot&utm_source=reddit&utm_name=projecteternity

Edit: Fig campaign is live.

https://www.fig.co/campaigns/deadfi...ampaign=CF17&utm_medium=featuresite#game-info

Looks like Eothas takes control of the Old Nau statue underneath your keep and goes on a rampage. Angry God with 200 ft adra statue. Looks like you track him to the Deadfire islands. Confirmed you travel by sea so a ship or island stronghold seems likely.

 

[StinkyPinky]

No brainer to back this if you're a fan of this type of game (which i certainly am).

 

[Carfax83]

Wow, they overhauled the hell out of the graphics!

I never played PoE, as it seemed a bit too retro for my tastes in the graphical and technical areas. Although I understand the appeal of nostalgia, the 90s have long since gone. However this sequel looks very modern by comparison, so I might back it.

 

[ImpulsE69]

It's only retro in the sense of the type of game, the graphics weren't. I'm guessing this is being built in the same engine as the last one and Tides of Numera

 

[you2]

That engine is unity and I suspect the new game will use the newer version of unity.

It's only retro in the sense of the type of game, the graphics weren't. I'm guessing this is being built in the same engine as the last one and Tides of Numera

 

[zinfamous]

I thought Tyranny was supposed to be the sequel?

Anyway, I'm finally trying to push myself through PoE. I like it OK, but I am stubbornly coming to the realization that these classic party-based or otherwise Isometric type pause-and-command games are just not my thing anymore. I used to love them, but I guess age happened. And also time: I really can't be bothered to sit and read hours and hours of fluffy dialogue that serves little purpose. Granted, I get it and I'm actually glad that these games are still made...just not my thing.

I hope I manage to finish PoE w/o a sudden burnout. I am liking it so far, but I just don't have the time to sit down these days and actually progress in a single session with a game that is this slow--I also set it to hard, which is part of the reason. I do like that hard is actually hard, though. Early on, at least.

 

[PrincessFrosty]

I backed, played and enjoyed the first game but never got the expansion and didn't keep up with the dev team. How was the quality of the expansion? And what are peoples expectations for this? More of the same but better/refined?

 

[ArenCordial]

I backed, played and enjoyed the first game but never got the expansion and didn't keep up with the dev team. How was the quality of the expansion? And what are peoples expectations for this? More of the same but better/refined?

The prevailing opinion was the expansions were superior in encounter design and came with 2 or 3 of the hardest fights in the game. A lot of people liked the soulbound weapons/armor for finally getting some artifact level items into the game. Generally speaking I enjoyed them. TWM Part 2 was quiet fun while the first part contains a good amound of set up in the main area but also had a pretty fun side area with some good encounters.

My expectations for Deadfire are higher levels, better encounter design after some lessons with the expansion, the inclusion of New Vegas style factions fighting for control of the Deadfire Islands. The plot seems Mask of the Betrayer-ish so I wouldn't be surprised if they borrow some ideas from that and the move to the Deadfire suggests that they are hoping to add a bit more flavor to offset main of the complaints the PoE1's setting was a bit too generic feeling. Also called it eariler, I expect a boat or island stronghold.

I thought Tyranny was supposed to be the sequel?

Tyranny was its own thing and own IP. Shorter, heavily focused on factions. The encounter design was far weaker imo but the setting was vastly more engaging that Pillars 1.

 

[Chiefcrowe]

This game looks really nice.. i really need to play the first one, just haven't got to it yet.
I love what they've done with the environments and graphics as well. Looks like it will be a winner and it's already got to the goal!!

 

[PrincessFrosty]

The prevailing opinion was the expansions were superior in encounter design and came with 2 or 3 of the hardest fights in the game. A lot of people liked the soulbound weapons/armor for finally getting some artifact level items into the game. Generally speaking I enjoyed them. TWM Part 2 was quiet fun while the first part contains a good amound of set up in the main area but also had a pretty fun side area with some good encounters.

My expectations for Deadfire are higher levels, better encounter design after some lessons with the expansion, the inclusion of New Vegas style factions fighting for control of the Deadfire Islands. The plot seems Mask of the Betrayer-ish so I wouldn't be surprised if they borrow some ideas from that and the move to the Deadfire suggests that they are hoping to add a bit more flavor to offset main of the complaints the PoE1's setting was a bit too generic feeling. Also called it eariler, I expect a boat or island stronghold.

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it. This is something I feel like I should pick up, I've been in a odd mood with gaming and tend to shy away from commitments that require a lot of attention and ideally long play times, but based on what I've read these sound really good.

I've forgotten so much about the first game though that I might have to re-play that before I pick up the expansion, do you think that's a good idea? I have literally forgotten most of the lore and character names. (not that they're easily forgettable per se, just that's how my mind works)

 

[ArenCordial]

Some more information released

-Party size is moving from 6 to 5. They are rebalancing encounters around this because they think it makes encounters more tactical.

-Companions are going to a mix of old and new. They will have longer questlines so they develop more over the course of the game and you will have more interactions with them.

-On save importation. Some of your decisions are going to carry over. If you don't have save they are going to give you a way to pick your decisions in the game like the Witcher 3 did. Your returning companions will be affected by your decisions in the first game with them. So if a companion was left depressed and dishonored they will be messed up when you first see them. If a specific companion is dead in PoE1, they will stay dead.

-Your character is restarting at level one due to the events at the beginning of the game. They are doing this for a number of reasons. First they are making some large class changes so even veterans are going to need to adjust. Second if someone didn't play the first game it will be easy for them to pick up. Third, they don't want to explain how there are super saiyan pirates and bandits can compete with a level 16 Watcher with a horde of artifacts. No word on a level cap yet.

-On classes. They are revamping classes. Sawyer compared this to moving between editions in DnD. They are also bringing in multiclassing and 2 subclasses (think BG2 kits) per class.

-There will be factions and they will play a larger role in the game more similar to New Vegas and Tyranny than the minor allies for a single chapter of the game in PoE1. They said they are going to give the players some time to explore the different factions in the game and make it very clear when you are going to be locking in an ally.

-There are a lot of Islands in Deadfire. Some will be very inhabited from settlers or natives. Some will be pirate bases and other completely unexplored for the Watcher to visit.

 

[ArenCordial]

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it. This is something I feel like I should pick up, I've been in a odd mood with gaming and tend to shy away from commitments that require a lot of attention and ideally long play times, but based on what I've read these sound really good.

I've forgotten so much about the first game though that I might have to re-play that before I pick up the expansion, do you think that's a good idea? I have literally forgotten most of the lore and character names. (not that they're easily forgettable per se, just that's how my mind works)

Honestly that's a tough question because Pillars is a pretty long game. Definitely a game I enjoyed but its probably going to 50 hours or so to redo it and the expansions. I don't know if you backed Torment but if you did that's coming out next month and might be pretty lengthy as well. Personally I don't like to do long games right after each other and between the two that would be a lot of reading. So if you did back Torment that might affect your decision.

That said I recently restarted PoE with the announcement and am having fun. Some of the patches since I last played have changed some abilities that's forced me to develop some new tactics. They also added some level scaling to act 3 and the White March areas to keep them competitive with a higher level character so if you have any of your old saves its pretty safe to jump into them. The White March expansion ties in to the lore but its separate enough that if your foggy on the lore you'll be ok.

If you are interested GOG is has the White March expansion 50% off right now if you have Pillars there.

 

[ControlD]

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it. This is something I feel like I should pick up, I've been in a odd mood with gaming and tend to shy away from commitments that require a lot of attention and ideally long play times, but based on what I've read these sound really good.

I've forgotten so much about the first game though that I might have to re-play that before I pick up the expansion, do you think that's a good idea? I have literally forgotten most of the lore and character names. (not that they're easily forgettable per se, just that's how my mind works)

I have played through the game twice. You will have to go back to your save just prior to finishing the game if you want to play the expansions with your old party. You can't play the expansions after the final fight is over.

That being said, I enjoyed playing the game more with the expansions installed and a fresh party. Playing the game "in order" with the White March content somewhere in the middle was more fun to me. There are some pretty decent pieces of gear to find and I like being able to use them in the regular campaign rather than only getting a short time with them in the expansion content exclusively. It is also nice to be able to pick up some of the high level talents and see how those work in the main campaign.

 

[Craig234]

They're offering the option to invest also, for $1000 per share, which will lose or make money depending how the game sales.

 

[ArenCordial]

The Pillars 2 Campaign ended yesterday at 4.4 million, beating the 3.9 million of the first game.

Here's a brief recap what they revealed and whats in.

Classes
-Class abilities are now per encounter, including spellcasters. There will be a new empower resource that allows you strengthen an ability which will be per day.
-Multiclassing is in and there will be 4 subclasses per class to choose from.
-Game's max level is level 20.

NPCs
-There will be 7 companions and a companion relationship system.
-Relationship track seems to be somewhat like Larian's pitch for DOS2. You might make a companion love you, be your best friend, fear you, or see you a rival. Not all companions will have the same relationship options and your outcome depends on your decisions with them and what decisions you make in game.
-4 side kicks (companions without a major relationship track) will also be available as well the build your own party from PoE1.
-Companions returning from PoE1 will be affected/in a different state depending on their ending in PoE1.
-Companions can multiclass as well but must start off in one or two classes that fit their background. Example Eder must have a level in Fighter or Rogue. Aloth starts as a Wizard but you can MC him to be Cipher or Barbarian or whatever you want.

Exploration/Travel
-There will be a ship stronghold as I suspected.
-There will be multiple ships the player can buy/find/steal and the player will be able to upgrade the ship, change sails/flags, and other customizations.
-The world map when traveling via your ship resembles a Fallout 1/2 style map where you can pick where to go. You can explore but obviously some areas maybe more dangerous than others.
-There will be many charted and uncharted islands to explore.
-There will be random encounters, you might run across pirates or perhaps you'll find some ship wreaked sailors, or maybe you want to be the pirate etc. So looks like both combat and non-combat encounters.
-There will be one major city this time, they felt they'd rather have a BG2 style city than do multiple cities than would stretch the content thinner.
-Replacing the Endless Paths megadungeon will be a large quest where you follow Fulvano (think PoE's Magellan or Volo) on a multi-island hop retracing his steps.

Other
-The engine looks to have gotten some nice upgrades. Characters are much more defined, the spells and abilities look majorly improved. There's are great gif of Aloth wading in the sand.
-The game will come with AI customization, think Dragon Age Origins tactics AI system.
-There will be a system where you will be able to specify the choices you made in Pillars 1 if you choose so you don't have to keep your saves. If you do though you can import those saves.

 

[Craig234]

This is releasing April 3. I have a 'deluxe' backer pledge in - they're wanting to know if I want to buy any extras like Novellas and soundtracks and such, but don't think any look needed. Boxed copy would be $14 more, extra digital keys are $30, etc.

 

[ArenCordial]

Just thought I bump this. Game is releasing May 8th after a small delay.

Obsidian announced the game will be full voice acted (minus the PC). The cast of Critical Role doing a lot of the central characters (if there are any fans).

Took a look at the beta and the graphics are surprisingly good and look modern compared to the original's very intentionally 90's-esque graphics. Most of what I have seen on the latest beta has been quite positive and the new multiclasses and subclasses allow for a ton way of building a character.

 

[Craig234]

"PC"?

 

[ArenCordial]

"PC"?

Sorry should have been more specific. Player Character not the platform.

 

[shortylickens]

Hmm, I should probably finish Pillars of Eternity 1.

 

[Stuka87]

Launch Day! Sadly, I will be at work for the next 9 hours.

 

[ArenCordial]

Launch Day! Sadly, I will be at work for the next 9 hours.

Same.

Reviews are starting to trickle in

http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/pillars-of-eternity-ii-deadfire

Seems like the general consensus thus far is its getting solid 8-9's.

The TLDR looks to be that its more Pillars with graphical improvements, larger world, better writing and narrative, and more character options.

 

[Craig234]

Darn, and my PC isn't working.

 

[you2]

Most user reviews are decent 'cept for those with technical issues.

 

[bfun_x1]

Man I didn't know this was coming out. I know what I'm doing tonight.