The realms of Dyrwood are fraught with danger, but also ripe for adventure. Pillars of Eternity leads you through myriad quests where you encounter fascinating folk and fearsome beasts. Depending on the class you choose, your character will evolve in a unique way with numerous options in armor, weapons, and items. Your every interaction determines your fate, so here are 10 tips to help you along the way!
1. Scouting Mode: While this mode slows movement, it also conceals the party. Use it to sneak past tough enemies or to ambush them. Pay close attention to each character’s selection circle; these turn yellow when approaching a foe and red when your cover is blown.
2. Get Some Rest: No, not the kind of rest you’ll need after playing the game all night. Resting is the only way to remove aliments and is critical to restore health on long journeys. It’s easy to rest at any inn, but always have camping supplies to rest in the wild. Nobody wants to have to back track to town while in the middle of a dungeon.
3. A Little Help From Your Friends: Forming an effective party is crucial to survival. Each class has unique abilities, along with a set of pros and cons. A good mix of spell casters and melee combatants is the optimal choice. Set their formation to keep a strong close combat crew that locks down enemies while long range attackers can fight unharmed.
4. Companions: These are special characters that can join your party. Each has a unique story and quest that unfolds during the course of the game. They are not mandatory party members, but they do provide an enhanced experience compared to hirelings.
5. Exploration is the Key: Unlike many games that allow grinding against monsters to raise experience, Pillars of Eternity rewards exploration and questing. Check out every area of each map to earn more XP and receive numerous side quests and tasks.
6. Weapon of Choice: Sometimes, a weapon or spell simply isn’t well-suited to penetrating an enemy’s Damage Reduction. When the attack hits, the DR will wipe out all but a small percentage of the incoming damage. You’ll hear your characters complain about it when it happens. Take heed, and note the damage type that’s being blocked, then switch to a weapon or spell that inflicts a different damage type.
7. Do It Yourself: Throughout your adventure, take notice of a variety of strange objects with no immediate usefulness. These ingredients can be used to Craft consumable goods (e.g., potions and scrolls) or Enchantments for weapons, armor, and shields. These items and bonuses are a huge incentive to explore every area of a map and pick up anything you find.
8. Hit or Miss: All characters have four primary defenses against specific types of attacks: Deflection (physical attack), Fortitude (body attacks like poison or disease), Reflex (area of effect attacks), and Will (mental attacks). These defenses are based on the characters’ attributes, level, items, and other effects. Accuracy is compared to the appropriate defenses when an attack is made. If Accuracy is below the target’s defense, the attack suffers a penalty and it is more likely to result in a Miss. Likewise, if Accuracy is above the target’s defense, the attack is more likely to result in a Crit. The important factor is to recognizing what types of attacks work well on each opponent!
9. Pause Combat When Needed: Combat in this game uses a pauseable real-time system. Often you have to manage more than one character’s spells and abilities. In complex battles, it’s a good idea to pause the game, issue orders, and then resume real-time to let the orders play out.
10. Spells and Ability Usage: Many spells and abilities have a limited number of uses. An ability that can be used a number of times Per Encounter have all of its uses restored when combat ends. However, abilities that can be used a number of times Per Rest are restored only when you rest at an inn or use Camping Supplies.
Don’t miss out…only one printing!
This 512-page high quality Collector’s Edition book is a limited one-time printing. It’s meant to be a keepsake for the truest and most loyal fans whose names are printed in each book. The Pillars of Eternity Official Game Guide provides comprehensive training and character development strategies, complete walkthroughs, and detailed maps so that you can see and do everything! Reserve yours now, before they’re sold out!
Published: Mar 19, 2015 11:00 pm