Do you want more info on Deadfire? Check out this brilliant guide written by Thelee: gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/227477-pillars-of-eternity-ii-deadfire/faqs/76599
a bladurs gate game should be a real time battle, not x com BS, to break a powerful mage in real time is so satisfying... the most natural evolution for real time strategy game is real time with slo mo, like in aliens dark descent
Obsidian set a new standard in world building with Pillars of Eternity. It's incredibly deep and well crafted. Hell, it's so good, it makes reading the books you find compelling. I can't overstate how much I love exploring this game's world and learning its history.
@@quincymims2580 you won’t find disagreement here. Main story and companion quests were absolute ass, I always just skip everything and play for the combat.
Looking forward to seeing more broad CRPG content on this channel in the future, Aestus! The tactical depth from your BG3 videos has really peaked my interest in the genre.
This game is GREAT - I played it several times and I'd say this and Wasteland 3 are probably the most modern 10/10 cRPGs other than BG3. Yeah, none of them have the same production value, but they have good enough production values, great writting, player agency, etc.
@@Aestus_RPG Oh yeah, my point was from the perspective of a newcomer who just played BG3, so expecting the same production values could lead to frustration :)
@@Martin-nc7jg Sell poorly? Are you a troll or just not the sharpest tool in the box? Those are not AAA games. They sold really well and over a long period of time to the niche they were made for. AA, story focused, great writing cRPGs with as much production values as th reasonable investments allow. BG3 is an anomaly. cRPG was not a mainstream genre until really recently.
@@BoinkadelicJones The characters do not resemble real people . Their positions are not believable. Every choice of personal characteristics is filtered through an antihuman ideological framework without any consideration for the coherency of the world. I liked the first game bit, but this one jumps the shark.
@@dirtydard4870 could you elaborate a bit with an example or two? The gods are selfish and belittle kithfolk, but that is also similar to Greek mythos.
After hearing you gush about your favorite games in your QnA video I have definitely had an interest in trying this one out! it's also on sale right now so I'll 100% be grabbing it :]
I second, please produce content! Im currently playing through on my Xbox Series S (about 40hrs in), and am getting ready to start a second playthru on my Macbook (so I can play while my gf wants to watch her reality shows lol).
The Venn Diagram overlap between "Aestus RPG subscriber" and "wants something to play after BG3" is probably so large that the diagram looks like one big circle instead of two 😅
I always say this! Deadfire is also one of my all time favorites, and has one of the best class/multiclass systems ever. Incredible writing. Great art, stunning detail. So underrated.
Yes! Ended up bouncing off BG3 at release and sinking a ton of time into Deadfire instead. Finally got back into BG3 this last month and found your build and tier videos a world apart from the other stuff that gets put out. So pleased to see you give Deadfire its due praise. If you didn’t already know, Josh Sawyer has a bunch of talks going into the design of the game and systems that are really enlightening.
I played the first Pillars of Eternity and loved it. Fantastic world building and the overall story/themes were fantastic. But for some reason, i never got around to playing Deadfire . . . I need to remedy that!
Why not make some more guides for Pillars 2? Like best classes and skills for companions, best items etc? Would be usefull I'm sure. I need to replay Pillars 2 myself, as it has been a while and I don't remember all that much at this point.
Loving your pillars content mate. It's my favourite series of all time. Just doing my second playthrough now on deadfire with a Pure priest(Berath) RPGDivision build. This will be my first playthrough since 2018 mate. Love this game. Thanks for the content bro!
man... I played this game everyday for hundreds of hours back then. My top 10 game of all time for sure. Hopefully Josh Sawyer gets his 100 mil for Pillars 3
Played this one for quite a few hours last year leading up to BG3. Enjoyed myself but never picked it back up. Will reinstall and rectify that with a fresh campaign. Thanks for the reminder of this underrated game
I decided to give this game a second chance after watching this! Played it one time but got overwhelmed by RTwP, so I ended up dropping it as I looked for CRPG games.
Obsidian truly innovated with Cipher and Chanter. I think Chanter is a masterclass. The rhythm of the mechanics matching the rhythm of poetry? *Chefs kiss*. The Indian Jones fantasy of mastering ancient history and magic? Sign me up! I try to homebrew chanter into every tabletop RPG system I play, its just that cool.
Pillars of Eternity is in my top 10. It’s my most played game on switch. I just started dead fire because I didn’t have a PC until recently and I’m so exited to get into it!
Already loved the game (and thought it was such a tremendous step up from the first game), but really enjoyed the video and still learned quite a bit from it. Cheers from a new subscriber!
Got this yesterday after watching and loving this game so far! You're bg3 vids probably got an extra run or two of that game out of me, so surely more vids here? At the very least to dilute fextralife's content on this game haha
And I just started a few days ago. Perfect timing. Monks ftw! And oh playing this game in auto perfecting my script system and seeing it as it works out is so satisfying.
POE brought us the classic crpg format back, i will always be thankful for that alone. Furthermore, POE1 and the dlc despite treading too closely to the bg1&2 formula, have really heartbreaking stories and amazing characters to discover. While a lot of time i was cringing in bg3, too effing woke, i never once did with poe, still have my save, maybe i should import it.
The scripting system combined with RTWP makes it so I can breeze through a lot of the easier encounters with minimal micromanagement, which I've always loved about POE.
been playing this game after playing through pillars of eternity and absolutely love it. makes no sense to me that the game sold purely, the game is on the same level as baldur's gate 3, argueably even better. TB combat also works great if you really want to try it. I'm really excited to play avowed and experience the world of Eora in full 3d firstperson
I had no idea Avowed was linked to PoE, I tried playing PoE back in the day but I couldn’t get into the real time with pause, I love proper turn based games
Aestus, no joke just finished checking out Amon Amarth's 'somewhat' recent song "Saxons and Vikings" and I thought about your channel, several months after I asked if you would be doing Deadfire content and 19 hours after it drops here I see it after specifically searching for your channel. Almost ghostly in a way, lets get after it guys! Lavaru bion sik!!!!
I downloaded the games again and will do a new run for POE 1 and 2. It was ages since I played. However I have been thinking in the past few days since first watching this video, of why I like BG3 so much. While I agree with you about story and setting, for me I think it is the incredible systems in BG3, both in and out of combat. One example of this is the throwing mechanic. In many games you can use throwing weapons in combat, but in BG3 they built a whole system where you can throw lots of other things using the same mechanic, like potions. Potions also create a cloud when broken. You can then use this system in so many ways in combat, creating tactical depth. This is especially true when playing solo, where you really need to use all these tactics to make it. Anyway I look forward to some POE1 and 2 runs. I just need to remember how it worked :)
Ha, I watched this last night and this morning I remembered it was the steam sale. Got the whole 1 and 2 with all DLC for about $25. Now I just have to finish my leisurely walk through Baldurs Gate 3. I'm over 300 hours of play time, and I've just completed the Iron Throne. I've had it since early access, so I've played at least 150 hours up to level 5 in maaany runs. I've set it back to a save 25 hours earlier because of a plot mistake that screwed a bunch of quests. But otherwise, beyond Gortash encounter (and killing the dragon so I could get the loot), I'm about 5000 experience from level 12, and I've completed no other quests from the lower city. Sometimes it is fun to just get so OP and stumble around the map hoping that someone picks a fight with you. As a paladin, we do at least try to keep up appearances.
Tried POE once and didnt love it but since I saw this video I am now about 10hrs into POE and am gonna play deadfire right after. So far am loving the original this time around and am excited to play 2 afterwards.
If you hate grinding for money, being a weakling, you could edit your stats & money. Not talking about the console commands, that for noobs. I'm talking about manually editing the memory addresses for anything in the game, stats, money, items. Can't find the stats in 2, just the money, but in 1, my wiz was 1 shooting everything at level 1 bc he had 99 stats in everything.
I love deadfire, i really hope we get a sequel one day now that Josh Sawyer has said it did well longterm it seems less impossible. Avowed looks fun but it's not gonna be the same as POE and Deadfire.
Never played BG3 because it's not on game pass .. but this POE game is and after watching 40mins of this video I noticed it took that long to get to the game. I don't know if I want to try it now lol... Way too much to set up and understand. But it's free so I'll try it when I have a whole day.😂
This is also one of my favorites my only complaint of it was that it was too short. I wanted more. If you just go through the main story its so short ; ;. The graphics and gameplay are so much fun. Wish they made a 3rd one instead of this new game coming out.
@@Ebenezer563 I actually think there are objective measures on which games can be better than other games, just as there are objective measures on which movies can be better than other movies, etc -- and it is possible to enjoy the objectively worse things more than you enjoy the objectively better ones. Games (and movies) are not "better" simply by virtue of the amount of enjoyment they bestow upon their audiences.
@@danieljohnson270 Really! That is interesting! I've never been able to convince myself that art is wholly subjective, but I've never thought about it enough to explain where the objectivity is. Feel free to send me an essay explaining your view, I will read it.
@@danieljohnson270 yes there are objective measures, e.g. performance. A game running at 60fps performs objectively better than one running at 20fps. From that, you can say the performance is objectively better. You can't say the game is objectively better because there are loads of other factors, many of which will not be objective. How can BG3 be objectively better when the gameplay - the most important factor for many people - is fundamentally different? You can't argue that either gameplay system is objectively better since it will come down to individual preferences. You could argue that one system is objectively more tactical, but whether or not that's a good thing is an opinion. Some people prefer less tactical gameplay. The fact that you hold the opinion that game B is better proves that game A is not objectively better.
Regarding difficulty, the main thing to mention is that the difficulty scales poorly ie. the game is much easier as you level. POTD makes Gorecci Street and the digsite in particular very hard, as is the boarding combat with Beggar Winfrith. Once you have arrived in Neketaka, however, I would consider it to be the best difficulty setting.
100% Goreccu Street was immensely difficult and it almost had me dialing difficulty back, but as you said, once you hit Neketaka it feels more realized.
I would play it if it had full voice acting. I find it hard to understand just by reading, cause it's just the way I learn. I also get a bit of a headache reading for long periods of time. Hearing/reading at same time is a massive boost. This is why I enjoy Larian games.
I liked Deadfire to a degree (and without a doubt a lot more than the first POE, which was straightup disappointing for me), but i can't really agree with the sentiment of it having the best combat in the genre. Regardless of taking as reference its original RTWP version or its turn-based variation added later, they have a list of shortcomings too extensive to claim that tile. I DO think they used to have the prettiest production value in the genre before BG3 came a thing, though. Some of the scenarios were stunning. Oh, and their multiclass system is among the best I've ever seen on a computer game of this genre. Definitely better than Pathfinder and D&D with their "piecemeal" mess. I'm also not exceedingly in love with the setting, if I have to be completely honest. They tried so hard to "move away from some fantasy stereotypes" only to replace them with not-particularly-better ones. P.S. I'll gladly watch more Deadfire/POE content if you decide to make it, anyway. I'm not complaining and I'm not saying I'm not interested.
I tried this in turn-based mode and was very disappointed. It literally was an after-thought and it shows. Maybe I'll give it a try in rtwp, even though I never could get into that style of play.
Rtwp is actually really well done in this game. I was the same, but once it clicked with me, I started to prefer it over turn based. It’s also a lot more difficult than turn based, so I can see that being a bit of a turn off.
That's really exciting, you might already have this covered but, is it worth trying to build around the spell summoned weapons at all? I'm a bit concerned that they magic item scaling looks like it could outpace the summoned weapons but I'm not sure if I grasp the system enough to say@@Aestus_RPG
The thing that's held me back from trying Pillars of Eternity is RTwP. Combat is the worst aspect of every game I've played that has it. And so many great games have it: KOTR, Dragon Age Origins, BG 1 & 2, Pathfinder Kingmaker. All of them are great games, but I feel like I only put up with the combat because the rest of the rpg elements are so strong. I've realized that maybe I don't love CRPGs because they're CRPGs, but rather in spite of the genre. It really felt like a Eureka moment when I was playing Divinity: Original Sin 2 and realized I had found a game that kept a lot of the charm and depth of TTRPGs while still being a fun video game (mechanically). I've been sitting on Wrath of the Righteous for a year now and haven't played it yet because, while I remember how much I enjoyed the role-playing aspects of Kingmaker, I also remember how much of a pain in the ass it was to learn Pathfinder and manage builds for 6 party members all in service of an unsatisfying combat system. Forgotten Realms isn't my favorite setting, and 5e isn't the best system, but it's so familiar to me that BG3 avoided most of the aforementioned hurdles. Throw in well-designed turn-based combat instead of RTwP and BG3 ended up being one of my favorite RPGs of any sub-genre. I just don't know that I can enjoy any CRPG that isn't turn-based to the same extent, and that's unfortunately most of them.
I like POE for the combat, it's pretty good as long as difficulty is high enough. The problem RTwP is that it's super boring for easy combat cause you don't have anything to do. But when battles are challenging it does have a strategic depth
You do know you could opt for turn base combat, so if you don't like RTwP, go with turn base. On top of RTwP, there's a speed slider as well. I abhor turn base, it takes forever for 1 fight. All my fights with trash mobs are done in under 30 seconds.
For some reason, I was never able to get into this game. I finished the first game a bit bored of it, and I tried to start the second 2 times, but I didn't get into the game. There is something about the combat that does not click with me, part of it I think that comes from not being too intuitive
Oh my god. I recently played through PoE2, and I had no idea the whole time that you could click on a specific location on the map screen to be taken there directly. Dang.
Also, I didn’t realize you had to position your characters around an enemy for it to count as flanking. Dang again. I’ll blame Wrath of the Righteous for leading me astray there.
Another dang it - did you know you could slow down combat speed with the half arc slider under the pause & fast speed buttons???? Default speed is in the middle. Far left is very slow, far right is super fast.
I tried to get into this game once, but when I got on the ship and the open world it was just way too much and it overwhelmed me. I went straight to a big capital city (where you can recruit a paladin) and there were SO many screens of the city and dozens of people to talk to on each screen, with quests, and all kinds of stuff. Just too much for me.
So back to Pac Man, Space Invaders, Q-bert then????? Just 1 screen. Or is that still too much, so maybe a text based game, like BBS (Bulletin Board System) that we had in the 90's.
I don't know why I never get caught in these games, but I think it is because I think the weakest aspect is the companions. I lost interest about halfway or so. i did only play the first one though, and I do like exploration/world building. Maybe I will put this one in the backlog. :D RTWP is definitely a + for them, I personally find that meta knwoledge thing you mentioned with difficulty to really interfere there. Turnbased is so heavily affected by meta knowledge, that it becomes a gimmick when I play games with it.
I'm considering giving it a go. Should I start with 1 or should I skip it? I played countless runs of Dragon Age Origins and BG3 but no other game like them.
Do you want more info on Deadfire? Check out this brilliant guide written by Thelee: gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/227477-pillars-of-eternity-ii-deadfire/faqs/76599
a bladurs gate game should be a real time battle, not x com BS, to break a powerful mage in real time is so satisfying... the most natural evolution for real time strategy game is real time with slo mo, like in aliens dark descent
The Pillars of Eternity series are my favorite CRPGs. Good show
Yeah being a Watcher Wizard is always one of my most classic immersions.
Obsidian set a new standard in world building with Pillars of Eternity. It's incredibly deep and well crafted. Hell, it's so good, it makes reading the books you find compelling. I can't overstate how much I love exploring this game's world and learning its history.
Deadfire perfected RTwP. Loved everything about combat in this game.
But the story sucked - great gameplay with a lame main story. IMO
@@quincymims2580 you won’t find disagreement here. Main story and companion quests were absolute ass, I always just skip everything and play for the combat.
@@AB-xe9nkProfessor Avellone was on professional leave that semester.
Looking forward to seeing more broad CRPG content on this channel in the future, Aestus! The tactical depth from your BG3 videos has really peaked my interest in the genre.
piqued
This game is GREAT - I played it several times and I'd say this and Wasteland 3 are probably the most modern 10/10 cRPGs other than BG3. Yeah, none of them have the same production value, but they have good enough production values, great writting, player agency, etc.
Great works of art transcend their production value. The PoE series is a modern classic.
@@Aestus_RPG Oh yeah, my point was from the perspective of a newcomer who just played BG3, so expecting the same production values could lead to frustration :)
Definately! I wasn't trying to disagree with you, just add to what you were saying.
No they are not good enough. And this is reason why they sell so poorlly
@@Martin-nc7jg Sell poorly? Are you a troll or just not the sharpest tool in the box?
Those are not AAA games. They sold really well and over a long period of time to the niche they were made for. AA, story focused, great writing cRPGs with as much production values as th reasonable investments allow.
BG3 is an anomaly. cRPG was not a mainstream genre until really recently.
this is one of the few fantasy games that actually has !CULTURE!
World building feels like a dying art for so many contemporary writers.
The fanstasy of this game is not appealing. This world is unbearable, well developed or not
@@dirtydard4870 Unbearable? How so?
@@BoinkadelicJones The characters do not resemble real people . Their positions are not believable. Every choice of personal characteristics is filtered through an antihuman ideological framework without any consideration for the coherency of the world.
I liked the first game bit, but this one jumps the shark.
@@dirtydard4870 could you elaborate a bit with an example or two? The gods are selfish and belittle kithfolk, but that is also similar to Greek mythos.
After hearing you gush about your favorite games in your QnA video I have definitely had an interest in trying this one out! it's also on sale right now so I'll 100% be grabbing it :]
I'd love it if you made content for the game. The current stuff on YT is very old or poorly researched
I second, please produce content! Im currently playing through on my Xbox Series S (about 40hrs in), and am getting ready to start a second playthru on my Macbook (so I can play while my gf wants to watch her reality shows lol).
The Venn Diagram overlap between "Aestus RPG subscriber" and "wants something to play after BG3" is probably so large that the diagram looks like one big circle instead of two 😅
I always say this! Deadfire is also one of my all time favorites, and has one of the best class/multiclass systems ever. Incredible writing. Great art, stunning detail. So underrated.
Yes! Ended up bouncing off BG3 at release and sinking a ton of time into Deadfire instead. Finally got back into BG3 this last month and found your build and tier videos a world apart from the other stuff that gets put out. So pleased to see you give Deadfire its due praise.
If you didn’t already know, Josh Sawyer has a bunch of talks going into the design of the game and systems that are really enlightening.
Thanks for making this. I was looking for something to play after Elden Ring and ended up picking this game. First ever CRPG
So happy to see more people putting on for Pillars. Such great games with unmatched atmosphere and world building.
Downloaded it last night. Really excited to dive in
Thank God POE is still getting love.
Deadfire is the GOAT
Decided to replay this game with all the DLC's after dropping it on release years ago. Would 100% recommend to RPG fan
Decided to give this a shot after burning out on BG3. Pretty fun and steeply discounted right now on steam.
You motivated me to give Deadfire another playthrough after marathoning Pathfinder for the last couple of weeks.
I played the first Pillars of Eternity and loved it.
Fantastic world building and the overall story/themes were fantastic.
But for some reason, i never got around to playing Deadfire . . . I need to remedy that!
Avowed and KCD2 releasing within a week of each other is nuts. I will be in heaven come February
Why not make some more guides for Pillars 2? Like best classes and skills for companions, best items etc? Would be usefull I'm sure. I need to replay Pillars 2 myself, as it has been a while and I don't remember all that much at this point.
Yes!
Loving your pillars content mate. It's my favourite series of all time. Just doing my second playthrough now on deadfire with a Pure priest(Berath) RPGDivision build. This will be my first playthrough since 2018 mate. Love this game. Thanks for the content bro!
Same dude. Poe2 is my most favourite computer game of all time. Story, world building, vibes, graphics, music all combined make it great.
Agree. Lots of fun when I have unlimited money. Unable to find the stats though, like in PoE 1, where my wizard has all 99 stats.
No way! Deadfire is my favourite CRPG too :D glad you give the series some time in the spotlight.
Thanks for the guide, going to give POE2 another shot. I'll also watch all of the companion guides as they come out!
Such an amazing game. The music, voice acting, combat.
PoE2 always did have a special place in my heart. Great video
man...
I played this game everyday for hundreds of hours back then. My top 10 game of all time for sure. Hopefully Josh Sawyer gets his 100 mil for Pillars 3
"streets ahead" I see you are a comunity fan as well hahah
Great video btw
Deadfire hive! We are here! Clear Skies, Rauatai!
Played this one for quite a few hours last year leading up to BG3. Enjoyed myself but never picked it back up. Will reinstall and rectify that with a fresh campaign. Thanks for the reminder of this underrated game
All those games with the real time pause system I just couldn’t appreciate. If they’d been tactical turn based I would have loved them
Well done. This game is a masterpiece. I pray for POE3.
POE 2 and 1 are my most played games on steam in that order. Fantastic games that i will cherish for the rest of my life.
I also love Deadfire. Thank you for making this guide!
Pillars feels like a work of literature with gameplay.... and with good gameplay! the writing on this game is insane
Pillars 2 is my personal favorite CRPG of recent memory, followed by Pathfinder WOR.
thanks, gonna buy the game
I decided to give this game a second chance after watching this! Played it one time but got overwhelmed by RTwP, so I ended up dropping it as I looked for CRPG games.
I'd love to see some build guides for this one! (Or even a playthrough)
PoE’s classes are so cool - Ciphers have my favorite flavor of any caster class I’ve come across
Obsidian truly innovated with Cipher and Chanter. I think Chanter is a masterclass. The rhythm of the mechanics matching the rhythm of poetry? *Chefs kiss*. The Indian Jones fantasy of mastering ancient history and magic? Sign me up! I try to homebrew chanter into every tabletop RPG system I play, its just that cool.
Always been a fan of Pillars! I backed the first one on kickstarter back in the day
Pillars of Eternity is in my top 10. It’s my most played game on switch. I just started dead fire because I didn’t have a PC until recently and I’m so exited to get into it!
Reminds me of the original baldurs gate....love it
I've played this one alot, very very good game!
That was very comprehensive. Thanks. Now maybe i'll get around to finishing Pillars 1.
skip it, Deadfire is much better and good at filling you in on the lore
This is an underrated classic here’s to hoping avowed is everything we want it to be
Already loved the game (and thought it was such a tremendous step up from the first game), but really enjoyed the video and still learned quite a bit from it. Cheers from a new subscriber!
A Deadfire Class Tier List video should be dropping this weekend! If you like the game, you should check it out!
Got this yesterday after watching and loving this game so far! You're bg3 vids probably got an extra run or two of that game out of me, so surely more vids here? At the very least to dilute fextralife's content on this game haha
And I just started a few days ago. Perfect timing. Monks ftw! And oh playing this game in auto perfecting my script system and seeing it as it works out is so satisfying.
POE brought us the classic crpg format back, i will always be thankful for that alone. Furthermore, POE1 and the dlc despite treading too closely to the bg1&2 formula, have really heartbreaking stories and amazing characters to discover. While a lot of time i was cringing in bg3, too effing woke, i never once did with poe, still have my save, maybe i should import it.
I still consider the Beast of Winter to be the best DLC ever made. I just wish we had Durance along for the ride.
Deadfire is easily one of my favourite, if not my favourite, crpg. Would love some build videos!
The scripting system combined with RTWP makes it so I can breeze through a lot of the easier encounters with minimal micromanagement, which I've always loved about POE.
been playing this game after playing through pillars of eternity and absolutely love it. makes no sense to me that the game sold purely, the game is on the same level as baldur's gate 3, argueably even better. TB combat also works great if you really want to try it. I'm really excited to play avowed and experience the world of Eora in full 3d firstperson
Yessssssssss criminally underrated game
I had no idea Avowed was linked to PoE, I tried playing PoE back in the day but I couldn’t get into the real time with pause, I love proper turn based games
Aestus, no joke just finished checking out Amon Amarth's 'somewhat' recent song "Saxons and Vikings" and I thought about your channel, several months after I asked if you would be doing Deadfire content and 19 hours after it drops here I see it after specifically searching for your channel. Almost ghostly in a way, lets get after it guys! Lavaru bion sik!!!!
Great video!
I love this game. I'm hoping for a true sequel to deadfire.
I would love to see owlcat, obsidian and larians crpg take on world of darkness or cyberpunk one day.
I downloaded the games again and will do a new run for POE 1 and 2. It was ages since I played.
However I have been thinking in the past few days since first watching this video, of why I like BG3 so much. While I agree with you about story and setting, for me I think it is the incredible systems in BG3, both in and out of combat. One example of this is the throwing mechanic. In many games you can use throwing weapons in combat, but in BG3 they built a whole system where you can throw lots of other things using the same mechanic, like potions. Potions also create a cloud when broken. You can then use this system in so many ways in combat, creating tactical depth. This is especially true when playing solo, where you really need to use all these tactics to make it. Anyway I look forward to some POE1 and 2 runs. I just need to remember how it worked :)
Try divinity 2 as well. The combat there is more fun than bg3 for me. The interaction between spells, environment and some elements is soooo good.
Ha, I watched this last night and this morning I remembered it was the steam sale. Got the whole 1 and 2 with all DLC for about $25. Now I just have to finish my leisurely walk through Baldurs Gate 3. I'm over 300 hours of play time, and I've just completed the Iron Throne. I've had it since early access, so I've played at least 150 hours up to level 5 in maaany runs. I've set it back to a save 25 hours earlier because of a plot mistake that screwed a bunch of quests. But otherwise, beyond Gortash encounter (and killing the dragon so I could get the loot), I'm about 5000 experience from level 12, and I've completed no other quests from the lower city. Sometimes it is fun to just get so OP and stumble around the map hoping that someone picks a fight with you. As a paladin, we do at least try to keep up appearances.
Tried POE once and didnt love it but since I saw this video I am now about 10hrs into POE and am gonna play deadfire right after. So far am loving the original this time around and am excited to play 2 afterwards.
If you hate grinding for money, being a weakling, you could edit your stats & money. Not talking about the console commands, that for noobs. I'm talking about manually editing the memory addresses for anything in the game, stats, money, items. Can't find the stats in 2, just the money, but in 1, my wiz was 1 shooting everything at level 1 bc he had 99 stats in everything.
So much better than bg3. Same for Pathfinder and bg2. ;)
I love deadfire, i really hope we get a sequel one day now that Josh Sawyer has said it did well longterm it seems less impossible. Avowed looks fun but it's not gonna be the same as POE and Deadfire.
The world building in Pillars is top notch
Dude I need the full playthrough guide and build now lmao
Never played BG3 because it's not on game pass .. but this POE game is and after watching 40mins of this video I noticed it took that long to get to the game. I don't know if I want to try it now lol... Way too much to set up and understand. But it's free so I'll try it when I have a whole day.😂
“It was on the cold and stormy night..”
Ooo Pillars of Eternity 2 is a good game!
I still love this more than BG3.
Loved that game, the first one too, almost more in some cases.
Choosing between PoE1 and PoE2 is a real Sophie's Choice situation.
This is also one of my favorites my only complaint of it was that it was too short. I wanted more. If you just go through the main story its so short ; ;. The graphics and gameplay are so much fun. Wish they made a 3rd one instead of this new game coming out.
I think BG3 is objectively a better game -- but Deadfire is still my favorite. :)
That's not what objectively means
@@Ebenezer563 I actually think there are objective measures on which games can be better than other games, just as there are objective measures on which movies can be better than other movies, etc -- and it is possible to enjoy the objectively worse things more than you enjoy the objectively better ones. Games (and movies) are not "better" simply by virtue of the amount of enjoyment they bestow upon their audiences.
@@danieljohnson270 Really! That is interesting! I've never been able to convince myself that art is wholly subjective, but I've never thought about it enough to explain where the objectivity is. Feel free to send me an essay explaining your view, I will read it.
@@Ebenezer563 He knows what objectivity means.
@@danieljohnson270 yes there are objective measures, e.g. performance. A game running at 60fps performs objectively better than one running at 20fps. From that, you can say the performance is objectively better. You can't say the game is objectively better because there are loads of other factors, many of which will not be objective.
How can BG3 be objectively better when the gameplay - the most important factor for many people - is fundamentally different? You can't argue that either gameplay system is objectively better since it will come down to individual preferences. You could argue that one system is objectively more tactical, but whether or not that's a good thing is an opinion. Some people prefer less tactical gameplay.
The fact that you hold the opinion that game B is better proves that game A is not objectively better.
I've beaten this game multiple times and I had no idea there was a combat speed slider at the bottom...
Regarding difficulty, the main thing to mention is that the difficulty scales poorly ie. the game is much easier as you level. POTD makes Gorecci Street and the digsite in particular very hard, as is the boarding combat with Beggar Winfrith. Once you have arrived in Neketaka, however, I would consider it to be the best difficulty setting.
Yes, thank you. This is correct.
100% Goreccu Street was immensely difficult and it almost had me dialing difficulty back, but as you said, once you hit Neketaka it feels more realized.
Perfect timing video for me!
Very well done. Earned a sub.
I would play it if it had full voice acting. I find it hard to understand just by reading, cause it's just the way I learn. I also get a bit of a headache reading for long periods of time. Hearing/reading at same time is a massive boost. This is why I enjoy Larian games.
Its fully voice acted except for 1 convo added post release.
@@Aestus_RPG oh the 2nd one is fully voiced? I played first only and it wasn't fully voiced.
@@Masked_Official Yes, Deadfire is pretty much fully voiced. Cast from Critical Roll do many of the voices.
I liked Deadfire to a degree (and without a doubt a lot more than the first POE, which was straightup disappointing for me), but i can't really agree with the sentiment of it having the best combat in the genre.
Regardless of taking as reference its original RTWP version or its turn-based variation added later, they have a list of shortcomings too extensive to claim that tile.
I DO think they used to have the prettiest production value in the genre before BG3 came a thing, though. Some of the scenarios were stunning. Oh, and their multiclass system is among the best I've ever seen on a computer game of this genre. Definitely better than Pathfinder and D&D with their "piecemeal" mess.
I'm also not exceedingly in love with the setting, if I have to be completely honest. They tried so hard to "move away from some fantasy stereotypes" only to replace them with not-particularly-better ones.
P.S. I'll gladly watch more Deadfire/POE content if you decide to make it, anyway. I'm not complaining and I'm not saying I'm not interested.
Do you want to discuss it? What shortcomings do you have in mind?
One of my favorites
I tried this in turn-based mode and was very disappointed. It literally was an after-thought and it shows. Maybe I'll give it a try in rtwp, even though I never could get into that style of play.
Rtwp is actually really well done in this game. I was the same, but once it clicked with me, I started to prefer it over turn based. It’s also a lot more difficult than turn based, so I can see that being a bit of a turn off.
I've been trying to play this game for years but that intro has been brutal, thanks so much for this! Do you think you might make some more builds?
@@doodlejackbod yes, I'm currently working on several build videos.
That's really exciting, you might already have this covered but, is it worth trying to build around the spell summoned weapons at all? I'm a bit concerned that they magic item scaling looks like it could outpace the summoned weapons but I'm not sure if I grasp the system enough to say@@Aestus_RPG
@@doodlejackbod The summoned weapons are worth casting. The damage is solid.
Great guide! Do you have the rest of your seer build written out somewhere?
The thing that's held me back from trying Pillars of Eternity is RTwP. Combat is the worst aspect of every game I've played that has it. And so many great games have it: KOTR, Dragon Age Origins, BG 1 & 2, Pathfinder Kingmaker. All of them are great games, but I feel like I only put up with the combat because the rest of the rpg elements are so strong.
I've realized that maybe I don't love CRPGs because they're CRPGs, but rather in spite of the genre. It really felt like a Eureka moment when I was playing Divinity: Original Sin 2 and realized I had found a game that kept a lot of the charm and depth of TTRPGs while still being a fun video game (mechanically). I've been sitting on Wrath of the Righteous for a year now and haven't played it yet because, while I remember how much I enjoyed the role-playing aspects of Kingmaker, I also remember how much of a pain in the ass it was to learn Pathfinder and manage builds for 6 party members all in service of an unsatisfying combat system.
Forgotten Realms isn't my favorite setting, and 5e isn't the best system, but it's so familiar to me that BG3 avoided most of the aforementioned hurdles. Throw in well-designed turn-based combat instead of RTwP and BG3 ended up being one of my favorite RPGs of any sub-genre. I just don't know that I can enjoy any CRPG that isn't turn-based to the same extent, and that's unfortunately most of them.
I like POE for the combat, it's pretty good as long as difficulty is high enough. The problem RTwP is that it's super boring for easy combat cause you don't have anything to do. But when battles are challenging it does have a strategic depth
You do know you could opt for turn base combat, so if you don't like RTwP, go with turn base. On top of RTwP, there's a speed slider as well. I abhor turn base, it takes forever for 1 fight. All my fights with trash mobs are done in under 30 seconds.
thx for the guide . just one thing can u give us the main character build guide
For some reason, I was never able to get into this game.
I finished the first game a bit bored of it, and I tried to start the second 2 times, but I didn't get into the game.
There is something about the combat that does not click with me, part of it I think that comes from not being too intuitive
Oh my god. I recently played through PoE2, and I had no idea the whole time that you could click on a specific location on the map screen to be taken there directly. Dang.
Also, I didn’t realize you had to position your characters around an enemy for it to count as flanking. Dang again. I’ll blame Wrath of the Righteous for leading me astray there.
Another dang it - did you know you could slow down combat speed with the half arc slider under the pause & fast speed buttons???? Default speed is in the middle. Far left is very slow, far right is super fast.
Great video, I'm going to start playing soon would you be doing some build videos by chance that would be very helpful.
Try Pillars of eternity 1 as well.
I tried to get into this game once, but when I got on the ship and the open world it was just way too much and it overwhelmed me. I went straight to a big capital city (where you can recruit a paladin) and there were SO many screens of the city and dozens of people to talk to on each screen, with quests, and all kinds of stuff. Just too much for me.
So back to Pac Man, Space Invaders, Q-bert then????? Just 1 screen. Or is that still too much, so maybe a text based game, like BBS (Bulletin Board System) that we had in the 90's.
Funny enough, I stumbled upon Pillars because I enjoyed Divinity 2 so much.
I tried Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous around the same time but this was more noob friendly & combat was more enjoyable
How did I miss this?!
I don't know why I never get caught in these games, but I think it is because I think the weakest aspect is the companions. I lost interest about halfway or so. i did only play the first one though, and I do like exploration/world building. Maybe I will put this one in the backlog. :D
RTWP is definitely a + for them, I personally find that meta knwoledge thing you mentioned with difficulty to really interfere there. Turnbased is so heavily affected by meta knowledge, that it becomes a gimmick when I play games with it.
I heard Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous was the premier RPG to play after BG3? 🤔 That game was said to be better than BG3 not Pillars of Eternity.
@chika4275 Wrath of the Righteous is a great game, but a step below the Pillars games imo.
I tried it but got tired of using my mouse, I really cant go back and not use a controller
I'm considering giving it a go. Should I start with 1 or should I skip it?
I played countless runs of Dragon Age Origins and BG3 but no other game like them.
Starting with PoE1 is better, especially if you care about spoilers. But Deadfire is a better game imo. It's up to you.
Play the first one as well.