![]() ![]() Titles like Diablo 3, Wasteland 2, Divinity 2, and Sword Coast Legends have given us something to get our teeth into but, for many, Pillars of Eternity is the main event. Well, it kind of still is, actually, but now at least there’s some variety out there for the role-play fan. You can hire adventurers from any inn, customising their class and attributes as you did your own at the outset, in order to create a well-rounded party that can hold its own against a varied and lethal bestiary.A couple of years ago we were all lamenting the lack of decent old-school RPGs on current consoles, and it was all shooters and open-world action games. ![]() This is particularly true of the opening few hours, when you have yet to fill out your party, but thankfully you don't have to wait to find Obsidian's lovingly crafted NPCs to reach full strength. Try to issue commands in real time and you'll quickly get overwhelmed by enemies. You can pause the action at any time, which you'll quickly rely on in order to assign orders to your party. It means you're much less reliant on healing spells to bring your party back up to fighting strength between encounters, so you can concentrate on offensive magic and stat-boosting potions instead. ![]() Get knocked out multiple times and your character becomes maimed only able to recover a small portion of their total health and in danger of permanent death if they fall again before resting at an inn or camp fire. Survive with at least one party member still standing, however, and they will spring back up and recover their Endurance. The first, called Endurance, depletes much faster than total health and, once empty, knocks that character out for the duration of the battle. ![]() You aren't restricted to class-specific weapons or armour, meaning you can equip heavy plate mail and give spellcasters the same level of protection as your front-line warriors.Ĭombat is familiar yet different, as each character now has two health bars. Pillars of Eternity doesn't follow the traditional Dungeons and Dragons rule set to the letter, either, which is a major benefit to a party filled with mages, thieves and priests. ^ A balance of front-line fighters, archers and magic users should give you the edge in combat It's a refreshing change of pace that makes you rethink your combat strategies and how best to assign your gear. When first entering a battle, they need to get up close and personal with melee weapons to charge up their Focus once full, they can retreat and cast powerful spells from a distance. The Cipher, meanwhile, draws their latent power from enemies during combat. Unlike traditional mages, you don't need to rest between battles in order to use the spell a second time, meaning you'll always have some magic to fall back on if a battle drags on long enough. You pick the verses to recite, and as each phrase is uttered, the Chanter gains more power until they are able to cast signature spells. The Chanter is a bit like a Bard, reciting phrases during battles that either provide bonuses for your party or debuff your enemies. You could opt for the traditional fighter, druid, mage, paladin or thief, but Obsidian's new additions create completely different play styles to anything we remember from classics like Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale. It's a similar story when it comes to picking your character's profession. ^ Almost every character has a story to tell, or better yet, a quest for you to complete ![]()
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