Pillars of Eternity: 10 Important Things to Know

This game could catch you off-guard


A few things to help you when starting out in Pillars of Eternity

Pillars of Eternity is the latest in a line of attempts to replicate the old-school RPG genre - and it delivers! You can see our review here. However, it's a game that takes some time to adjust too. I have to admit, even I was a bit put off at points and felt the game to be bland. Then, it managed to surprise me with some incredible not-so-obvious gems that really launch it over the top.

1. Proud to be a Kickstarter game

Impressive stats for a Kickstarter project.

Obsidian was definitely overjoyed with the many backers it had. Not only do they constantly remind us they had over 77,000 backers on Kickstarter, they also pay tribute to them in many ways. You will find their names engraved in various crypts with some fun flavor text, you will find NPCs with gold names who have a story (I'm assuming they represent the stronger backers) and they even get a VIP room with a special merchant later in the game.

Those of you who didn't back the project, or don't have access to the VIP room, you'll be glad to know that there's nothing incredibly overpowered in said merchant's inventory. Yes, there are some fun "artifacty" weapons and armor, but nothing you won't find a superior replacement for in time.

2. Forget everything you know about character creation

This kind of stat distribution actually makes sense in the game.

One of the first mistakes I made in Pillars of Eternity was going by traditional character creation habits. If a character is melee with light weapons, you usually give him dexterity right? If you have a mage, he needs intelligence right? Might is only for barbarians and other burly melee fighters...right?

Wrong! Obsidian promised to open up character creation and make it more versatile. Boy, did they deliver. The biggest example is the way might works in Pillars of Eternity. It controls damage - ALL damage. That's right guys. Having a mage with a decent might stat isn't a bad thing at all. Their fireballs can rival meteors if you boost the might stat. Who would've guessed right?

That's not all though. There are so many things done differently that it's a good idea to read through the descriptions and take them to heart. If it says intellect grants higher AoE and duration effects to skills, it means exactly that. So, a Barbarian with a bit of intellect might actually be useful. Don't go ranting about it straight away though. Once you get used to the system, you'll find it's a great solution.

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High standards & easily bored. Good luck
Gamer Since: 1992
Favorite Genre: RPG
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