Pillars of Eternity 2

Started by Sir Slash, May 10, 2018, 02:06:28 PM

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Sir Slash

OK. Been playing this one a little since it came out Tuesday-- don't you just hate it when you a great new game to get into and that's when the phone rings, the doorbell rings, the cat shits on the carpet, trees fall in your front yard while aliens land in your back yard? And then the cat shits again on the carpet. Anyway despite all of life's distractions, I've managed to play this a little.

I'm happy to say I'm in love all over again. It does very little new, just some changes to the UI and you don't need Camping Supplies anymore. When you camp you use whatever things you've gathered to boost your stats like food, herbs, and ingredients. Otherwise it's just a new story where typical RPG-like you've got to save the world from a new challenge after losing all the great stuff you got in Pillars 1.  :'(  But the same old easy to use UI, beautiful graphics, dungeon crawls, fights, new loot, and some new and old characters are still here. Very little new, much old and done right.

Like Pillars 1, give yourself plenty of time at start because the Prolog and Character Creation are combined into one long act and it's a while before you get to a save place. Lots of new Character choices to choose from. I also had a Screen Resolution problem where the game started in with the wrong size and in the Attributes Screen I couldn't 'X' out as the point to click on was outside of my screen. So use whatever Screen Resolution you used for Pillars 1 in the 'Options' menu.

I'll post some more opinions later but for now, Sir Slash has returned to put his steel boot squarely into Evil's Lily White Ass.
"Take a look at that". Sgt. Wilkerson-- CMBN. His last words after spotting a German tank on the other side of a hedgerow.

airboy

I'm going to finish up the White March and refinish Pillars before buying this.  I'm also hankering to play the Whites vs the Reds in Strategic Command World War 1.  Probably Pillars 2 will be purchased on sale at Christmas.

I'm delighted you are enjoying it.  Perhaps your Pug minions could write a review?

Sir Slash

Will do. I hadn't even started the game before it was trying to sell me the 3 planned DLC's coming. :o  I transferred my saved game from Pillars 1 over to Pillars 2 but it has to be an 'Act 4' save when you talk to the Deities. It didn't really matter much though because all of the choices you have, you still pretty much start out as a new character anyway. I'll post some screenies over at the Screen Shots Section.
"Take a look at that". Sgt. Wilkerson-- CMBN. His last words after spotting a German tank on the other side of a hedgerow.

acctingman

I need to finish the first one before I buy this...and play more Battletech....and paint more minis....

Damnit...not enough time, too many games/hobbies to play!

Looking forward to your reviews/comments Sir Slash

Sir Slash

I'm 26 hours in and here's my thoughts. First, I love the game. However, there are some things I'm not too crazy about. The party size is 5 from 6 now--personal peeve. And the few new things about the game aren't explained too well.
Case in point, the new 'Abilities Screen'. In Pillars 1, every other Level-Up you got a new Skill/Talent to upgrade. In Pillars 2, at every Level-Up you get one, occasionally 2 new 'Abilities'. The Ability Screen is supposed to be like a Tech Tree for your abilities that shows how and when they improve and what choices you'll have at Levels 2,3,and on and on. It works pretty well. But I was totally confused when a Priestess joined my party and her First Level Spells were listed on the Ability Screen-- I could choose 1 out of just 3 available.  :o  I want her to have ALL her First Level Spells at First Level, not just ONE?

Well I'm glad to report she did have all her First Level Spells, the ones on the Ability Screen were just additional ones I could pick.  :clap:  Problem was, this wasn't explained anywhere to me. But because I played Pillars 1, I was able to figure this out pretty quickly. But a new player might not. And that's the rub here. There's already a lot to learn with this game. The History, Factions, Countries, Deities, and all the stuff that it references from Pillars 1. Add in all these new decisions to make and a newbie player might just give-up and run back to Baldur's Gate EE. And you know me, I'm all about the 'New' guy.  Which would be a shame. Because this is a great game. Nobody should quit on it.

Same thing when I couldn't camp unless I dragged Food Items over to each Party Member. The you can camp all you want. Until your food runs out. You get a mountain of items in this game, but you can't put almost any of them into your Belt Slot to use in combat.  :idiot2:  Instead you're supposed to 'Craft' them into items, potions and scrolls, that can be put in your Belt Slot. Nothing completely different here, just not explained well in my opinion. Fortunately the Tutorials are all available from the Options Menu and they help some.

So, if you're a Pillars Veteran, look around. Everything's there, it just maybe in a new spot or called something else. If you're a new player, give yourself plenty of time to peruse the game and don't be discouraged by all the choices to make. It'll be worth it in the end.

One part of the game that's been markedly improved is the 'Voice Acting'. I've talked to everybody in the Deadfire and haven't run across the same voice twice. Almost all dialog is voice acted now and nobody's over or under-acted any of it. It adds a lot to the game.

Pillars 1 was beautiful. Pillars 2 is drop-dead gorgeous! Wind now blows through the trees and bushes causing leaves to blow away and fires to sputter and blow cinders down wind. Torches in underground locations throw eerie long shadows of your party on walls as the pass by. Spell effects have been improved. The graphics are lovely.  And there are 'Destructable Items in the game now-- Barrels that can be smashed with your weapons and yield items. Some contain 'Gunpowder' or 'Oil' that blow-up or catch fire when ignited. Nice!

The story is OK so far, you lose everything you had in Pillars 1 and have to start-over with almost nothing- typical RPG. The Music is very good, Combat about the same with some new wrinkles. And the game will display 3 Red Skulls if a Quest or area is too tough for your Party to try just yet. Totally new is the Nautical aspect of this game. The Deadfire is largely ocean and you explore it by ship which takes the place of your Stronghold like in Pillars 1. You manage it and crew and combat enemies and explore and on and on. I've barely began this part of the game but I'll post some thoughts on this aspect of it later but it holds great promise if done well.

This is a great if complex game. Easily as good as the first and probably better if the whole Ship/Crew Management Exploration/Combat thing works. Who doesn't want to be a  :arr: :arr: :arr:
"Take a look at that". Sgt. Wilkerson-- CMBN. His last words after spotting a German tank on the other side of a hedgerow.

Nefaro

I'll be the party pooper and mention that this is the Tabletop RPG section, not Computer gaming, for future reference.  :))

I do want to see some PoE2 impressions, though.  <:-)

Sir Slash

So sorry. I thought Role-Playing covered anything RPG.
"Take a look at that". Sgt. Wilkerson-- CMBN. His last words after spotting a German tank on the other side of a hedgerow.

Rayfer

Do your characters start at level one or is it like Baldur's Gate 2 where you starting characters were level 7 (or close to 7)....?

Tpek

Level 1.
They make use of a common C-RPG cliche excuse for the reason why your character is level 1 again.

Rayfer

Quote from: Tpek on June 07, 2018, 12:30:21 PM
Level 1.
They make use of a common C-RPG cliche excuse for the reason why your character is level 1 again.

I actually prefer it that way. I didn't like starting BG2 at level 7 (or whatever it was). I like building characters from scratch.

Sir Slash

You can import a 'save game' from Pillars 1 but with all the choices to make at creation, I don't know actually what the save does. It's a total new start.
"Take a look at that". Sgt. Wilkerson-- CMBN. His last words after spotting a German tank on the other side of a hedgerow.

airboy

Thanks for the impressions.  I'm certainly going to purchase and play this one eventually.  Voice acting is very important to me.

airboy

Can you post some more screen shots?  Please?

Sir Slash

Sure thing Airboy. Here's Sir Slash's first naval victory. OK, it was only 4 guys in a boat. But... they were really big guys. And mean. And apparently carried lots of garish clothes with them. I think we just sank the Beetles!
"Take a look at that". Sgt. Wilkerson-- CMBN. His last words after spotting a German tank on the other side of a hedgerow.

bob48

Mrs.B played the first one a lot, so she's now looking at getting this as well.
'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers'

'Clip those corners'

Recombobulate the discombobulators!