Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire - What we know so far and future updates

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What's this game all about?

Who all is coming with me on this crazy quest?
You will be joined on your quest by up to seven companions. Unlike Pillars 1, companions will be deeply integrated into the main storyline and will have complex relationships both with you as well as eachother. Depending on your choices your companions may grow to hate you and leave, respect you and eachother as friends, or perhaps even fall in love. Want to know more? Allow Joshua Eric Sawyer himself to sweep you off your feet and explain the whole thing.

Returning Companions

• Eder - Rugged good looks and a wry farmer's charm. Lover of animals. A bit racist, but unknowlingly so. Fighter/Rogue.
• Aloth - An elf with a personality for all occasions. Wizard.
• Pallegina - Noble birdwoman utterly devoted to her homeland. Paladin (order depends on her ending from the first game).

New Companions

• Xoti - Monk (Sister of the Reaping Moon)/ Priest (Priestess of Gaun)

  Xoti, a meadow folk/savannah folk priest/monk, is our seventh Deadfire companion. As a follower of Gaun, the aspect of Eothas associated with harvests, she wields a sickle and a lantern. When she was a young girl, she was one of thousands of Readcerans who came to Deadfire fleeing the devastation that followed the vorlas blight and the Saint's War. Her family, like many others, established themselves as farmers, and she fell in love with the lush jungles and bright beaches of her adopted homeland. She is intrigued by the rumors of Eothas' manifestation, but she fears what that will mean for her fellow expatriates, many of whom followed his previous incarnation into war and defeat.

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• Maia Rua - Ranger (Gunhawk). Sister of Kana Rua from Pillars 1.

  Maia Rua is an island aumaua ranger whose animal companion, Ishiza, is a bird of prey that can scout outdoor environments both in and out of combat. Like Kana, her brother, she's a loyal Rauataian of Huana ancestry.
  
  Her boldness and dedication have earned her an enviable position as a ship captain, which in turn has brought her to Deadfire as part of her country's mission to "civilize" the wild archipelago. Her duties find her working with Atsura, a courtier and representative of the ranganui, on an ambitious campaign to win the hearts and minds of the Huana people. But for all her skill as a soldier and captain, she has little experience with politics and espionage, and she must adapt to her new role quickly.

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• Serafen - Barbarian/Cipher

  Serafen is an orlan cipher/barbarian and a member of the Príncipi sen Patrena, the dominant pirate organization in the region. He was born into slavery and put to work as a rigger and powder monkey since his small size made him ideal for scurrying around ships.
  
  During those years, he discovered his talents as a cipher and used them to lure his masters' ship into the path of the Príncipi. Impressed, the pirates offered him a position as one of their infamous"ship hunters," and he in turn found acceptance and freedom among his new comrades. He worries, however, that the growing schism in the Príncipi will destroy the community he has come to love.

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• Tekehu - Chanter/Druid. No real other known information at present.

Sidekicks

Sidekicks are available party members that fit somewhere between a "full" companion and a player created mercenary. They have unique personalities, voice acting, dialogue and an introductory quest but do not factor into the full relationship system. Think of them as something like companions in the first game, or a Mazzy/Cernd level character from BG2.

• *Constantin - Mountain Dwarf Chanter
• Ydwin - Pale Elf Rogue/Ciper
• Rekka - Storm Folk Fighter
• *Facina - Ocean Folk Wizard
  • *Just guessing at spelling here since, to my knowledge, we've not seen the names in writing

What's this new world like?

Exploring the world in Deadfire will be much more open than Pillars 1. For one, you have a boat, and you can sail it around the Deadfire Archipelago as you see fit in search of uncharted islands and treasure. When you reach shore you will explore the on a world map. Random encounters are possible both on land and at sea and ship-to-ship battles are possible.

The four major factions of the Deadfire will also play a more integral role compared to Pillars 1. Described as being in the vein of Fallout: New Vegas, aligning with certain factions (or none at all) should have major implications over the course of the entire game.
What are the major gameplay changes from Pillars 1?

• Muticlassing and Subclasses
  • Deadfire will feature a broad multiclassing system most comparable to non-human characters in 2nd Edition AD&D. Class combinations are both chosen at level 1 (or upon a companion first joining your party) and level up together. Multiclassed characters rise in power level more slowly than single classed characters but, at every new power level, get to choose an ability from both of their classes. This means multiclassed characters won't gain access to the final two power levels for either class but will end up with 7 more ability/talent choices, making them much more flexible. The goal is for a multiclassed character to perform at 75-80% the power effectiveness of a pure class but have significantly more options. And of course it allows for creating and roleplaying cool new character concepts. Only a select few combinations of Paladin Orders and Priest Deity combinations will be disallowed because of conflicting Disposition requirements. Each combination of classes will also receive their own unique title. See below for the full table:
    
    
    
    • Deadfire will also feature subclasses. These act similarly to Kits from AD&D and serve to provide a baseline modification to one or both of your classes. They all have drawbacks, though, as it's intended for not taking a subclass to be a viable alternative. Here are the current subclass options and what they do.

      Barbarian
      

      • Corpse Eater - Targets unconscious enemies to devour their flesh and gain power. Powers cost more to use.
      • Berserker - Has a more powerful Frenzy, but attacks can damage friends as well as foes while Frenzied.
      • Mage Slayer - Gains spell resistance and can disrupt enemy spells, but cannot use potions or scrolls and beneficial spells have shorter durations.

      Chanter
      

      • Beckoner - Summoning invocations are cheaper and summon more creatures, but the creatures are weaker.
      • Skald - Offensive invocations are cheaper and melee crits grant phrases, but all other invocations are more expensive.
      • Troubadour - Phrase linger is 50% longer, Brisk Recitation as a modal that increases the rate of phrase elapses, but shortens linger. All invocations are more expensive.

      Cipher
      

      • Ascendant - Powers and Soul Whip are more effective when used at Max Focus, but Focus drains quickly if left at Max for long.
      • Beguiler - Illusion powers are more powerful, but Soul Whip suffers when used against targets that are not vulnerable to Sneak Attack.
      • Soul Blade - Offensive cipher that can dump Focus into a Soul Annihilation melee attack for extra Raw damage. Shred powers have reduced Focus cost. Lower Max Focus.

      Druid
      

      • Fury - Shift into storm blights and gain bonuses with elemental spells. Cannot cast Restoration spells.
      • Lifegiver - Rejuvenation spells are cast with increased Power Level but cannot cast Summon spells.
      • Shifter - Druid can shift to any animal form, once each, per combat and heals damage each time they shift back. Cannot cast spells while shifted.

      Fighter
      

      • Black Jacket - Bonus weapon proficiency, reduced Recovery when switching weapon, but lacks Constant Recovery.
      • Devoted - May only be proficient in a single weapon. Higher Penetration and crit damage with that weapon. Suffers Accuracy penalty when using other weapons.
      • Unbroken - Bonuses to Engagement and Disengagement Attacks, but lower Stride.

      Monk
      

      • Helwalker - Begin all combats with Wounds, gain Might for every Wound. Wounds require more damage to acquire.
      • Nalpazca - Drug effects last longer and Wound cap is increased while under the effects of drugs. Penalties while not under the effect of drugs.
      • Shattered Pillar - Gain Wounds by inflicting damage with melee weapons (fists or otherwise). Lower Max Wound cap, does not gain Wounds from receiving damage.

      Paladin
      

      • Bleak Walkers - Flames of Devotion (Remember Rakhan Field) generates black flames and does Corrode damage. Healing given and received is reduced. - Cannot multiclass with priests of Eothas, Berath, or Skaen.
      • Darcozzi Paladini - Lay on Hands (Flames of Darcozzi Palace) creates a flame shield around the paladin. Lower Zeal power. - Cannot multiclass with priests of Berath, Magran, or Skaen.
      • Goldpact Knights - Sworn Enemy (Gilded Enmity) creates protective gold armor on the paladin. Cannot learn Zealous Auras. - Cannot multiclass with priests of Magran or Wael.
      • Kind Wayfarers - Flames of Devotion (Sword and the Shepherd) heals nearby allies. Does less damage against enemies vulnerable to Sneak Attack. - Cannot multiclass with priests of Berath, Magran, Wael, or Skaen.
      • Shieldbearers of St. Elcga - Lay on Hands (St. Elcga's Grace) prevents the target from being knocked out for a short duration. Cannot use Lay on Hands on self. - Cannot multiclass with priests of Skaen, Magran, or Wael.

      Priest
      

      • Berath - Can learn Decay spells from the druid list, cannot learn Condemnation spells. - Cannot multiclass with Bleak Walker, Kind Wayfarer, or Darcozzi paladins.
      • Eothas - Can learn Elemental spells from the druid list, cannot learn Protection spells. - Cannot multiclass with Bleak Walker paladins.
      • Magran - Can learn Fire spells from the wizard list, cannot learn Restoration spells. - Cannot multiclass with Shieldbearer, Kind Wayfarer, Goldpact, or Darcozzi paladins.
      • Skaen - Can learn rogue offensive abilities as priest spells, cannot learn Inspiration spells. - Cannot multiclass with Shieldbearer, Bleak Walker, Kind Wayfarer, or Darcozzi paladins.
      • Wael - Can learn Illusion spells from the wizard list, cannot learn Punishment spells. - Cannot multiclass with Shieldbeaer, Kind Wayfarer, or Goldpact paladins.

      Ranger
      

      • Ghost Heart - Animal companion must be summoned as a spirit. They are not affected by Bonded Grief and the companion is more powerful, but the summon is limited duration.
      • Sharpshooter - Bonuses to Penetration and Accuracy at range, but slower actions and lower Deflection.
      • Stalker - Stalker and companion gain bonuses to Deflection and Armor Rating when close to each other, suffer Bonded Grief when too far apart.

      Rogue
      

      • Assassin - From stealth or invisibility, weapon attacks have bonus damage, Penetration, and Accuracy. All incoming damage is increased.
      • Streetfighter - Sneak Attack and crit damage increases when Flanked or Bloodied (<50% Health). Recovery is slower when neither Flanked nor Bloodied.
      • Trickster - Gains access to Illusion spells from the wizard list. Sneak Attack deals less damage.

      Wizard
      

      • Conjurer - Conjuration spells are more powerful, cannot cast Evocation or Illusion spells.
      • Enchanter - Enchantment spells are more powerful, cannot cast Illusion or Transmutation spells.
      • Evoker - Evocation spells are more powerful, cannot cast Transmutation or Conjuration spells.
      • Illusionist - Illusion spells are more powerful, cannot cast Conjuration or Enchanting spells.
      • Transmuter - Transmutation spells are more powerful, cannot cast Enchantment or Evocation spells.

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    • A new UI has been built to help layout your builds well in advance.

• Deadfire will feature a maximum party size of 5, down from 6 in the first game. This is to assist with pathfinding, make combat more readable and to account for the micromanagement requirements inherent in the Pillars combat system.
• Characters will, with very few (maybe just one) exceptions, possess only per-encounter abilities. Broadly speaking the classes fall into one of three types of ability brackets:
  • Traditional Casters (wizard, druid, priest): These classes will be limited to a small number of spells per power-level per-encounter. Right now the limit is 2.
  • Build-and-Spend (monks, ciphers, chanters): These classes will function much as they did in Pillars 1 - punch/stab/sing to build up charges, then use those charges to cast abilities.
  • Power Pool (fighter, rogue, paladin, ranger, berserker): These classes begin each combat encounter with a set amount of "mana" to use on their abilities during that encounter with no (or very few) ways to build it back up.
• The one main per-rest ability that remains is called Empower. All classes receive a limited number of Empower uses per rest and can expend only one per encounter. Doing so will either cast an ability at three effective power levels higher than normal or can be used to refill half of your per-encounter combat resources.
• Characters in Deadfire will no longer have a split health and endurance pool. Health is now a single resource and regenerates after an encounter. Should you suffer an injury in combat or through a scripted interaction, however, you will potentially lose up to 15% of your maximum health depending on the type of injury you sustain in addition to stat maluses. Your character will be killed when they sustain their fourth injury unless you are on Story Time difficulty.

• Resting also receives a large change - no longer are you governed by limited camping supplies. You can rest whenever. However, each rest will consume some measure of food and rations from your stores. High quality rations that keep your characters in their top fighting shape are intended to be rare and expensive, giving you an incentive to rest as rarely as possible.
• Itemization also receives a large overhaul. Unique items can only be enchanted to increase or modify the abilities already built into them. For example a flaming weapon can be further enchanted to proc a flaming burst AoE or chain the lash to additional enemies. No longer can you just remove one property and add something else in. Unique items will also cap out in power, so the sword you found at level 1 can't be reforged over and over to be a god-killing at the level cap. This should allow for unique items to have their own defined place in the game and not feel as homogeneous. And, because items may possess truly unique abilities, you may want to hold on to them even after you've found an item with bigger numbers.
• The skill system is receiving major changes as well. You will now receive skill points for both active and passive abilities at level up.

• The game will feature a detailed AI behavior builder similar to Dragon Age: Origins or Gambits from Final Fantasy 12. Click here to watch Josh and Brian discuss how it works and see how expansive it can be.
• While accuracy mechanics remain the same, damage mechanics have changes. Weapons and abilities will now have a defined penetration value that will be matched against the opponents armor value for that attack type. If your penetration is lower than their armor value you will deal 25% less damage per point, up to a maximum of 75% less damage when your penetration is 3 points less than their armor. If you match or slightly exceed their armor value you will do full damage. Should your penetration double their armor value you will do 130% damage. These sharp break points exist to encourage weapon switching and using different abilities rather than just mashing your way through even unfavorable matchups like in Pillars 1. Going to a % based system rather than the whole number reduction in Pillars 1 also means that fast weapons are no longer inferior to slow weapons.
• Many of the buffs and debuffs in Deadfire exist within the Affliction/Inspiration counterplay system. There are 18 of each, three based on each of the six base attributes. Casting an Inspiration of a certain attribute on a party member who's suffering from the same attribute of Affliction removes that Affliction and vice versa.
  
  A character can also gain Resistance to a certain attribute of Affliction, which will demote the incoming Affliction one rank. For example, wood elves have a natural resistance to DEX based afflictions, so an incoming Paralyze Affliction would be demoted to Immobilized, Immobilized to Hobbled and Hobbled to nothing. Weakness also exists which will promote an Affliction one level higher.
• 
• Credit to MaxQuest on the beta forums, as so many things are.​

That's a lot of major changes! What are some more minor?

• Amulets and cloaks each receive their own equipment slot. No longer will you have to choose between function and fashion.
• With the addition of Sleight of Hand comes, of course, Pickpocketing. And even more fun, reverse pickpocketing.
• Also bombs. See above for their possible usage.
• Stealth has been overhauled - enemies now have visualized sight cones and hearing radii. Abilities have set levels of loudness.
• You can now dual-wield pistols and magical implements
• Weapon proficiencies are now their own resource, chosen every 3 levels. Proficiency with a weapon no longer provides accuracy but rather a modal ability to use unique to that weapon. The Devoted fighter subclass will only be proficient with a single weapon.
• A New Game +-esque system called Berath's Blessings will be built into Deadfire. Completing achievements will unlock points for you to spend when you begin a new game. You can use these for bonuses or to make the game more difficult. You do not need to have completed the game to restart and use these points.
• Spell times will vary far more than in Pillars 1. Some spells are incredibly powerful but, because of their cast time, offer a long period during which you're vulnerable to being interrupted. That system was also overhauled to be more reliable. Being interrupted also loses the spell cast for that combat.
• A spell retargeting UI has been implemented to help you deal with these long casting times. Any spell, AoE or targeted, can be redirected at will prior to it being cast.
• Engagement is now both much more uncommon as well as much more deadly. Engagement slots are common only to the Fighter class, select enemies and select unique items.
• Wizards can no longer learn spells from tomes they find. Tomes instead come with a set selection of spells that must be equipped to be used. Only those spells you learn at level up will always be available to you. Tomes will also function as unique items with their own modifiers for spells scribed in them that match certain keywords.
• Level scaling is in the game but completely optional. Level scaling will have a cap depending where you are in the game so not everything will always be scaled entirely to your level.
• You will be able to discover upgrades both cosmetic and functional to your ship as you adventure through the Deadfire. Or just find a new ship entirely. You will also be responsible for hiring crew members and managing their responsibilities aboard the ship. Be ready to watch your back should your leadership prove wanting.

Infrequently Asked Questions

Q: When characters cast a spell/sing a song, do the words they say mean anything?
A: Yes. The spellcasting incantations in Pillars of Eternity are all in Eld Aedyran and Engwithan. Their translations are as thus: "A ulu thenn." = To ashes. "Moeith ixi anath." = Power of my soul. "Lavaru bion sik." = Speech cuts flesh. "Brith u lichna." = Bond of magic. "Athek werthan roth." = Return (to the) Wheel. "Craeft afyllath thyr lim." = Skill/strength fills their limb "Cwethe sealmes mihtum." = I speak songs of power." "Werde bylfan an sawel." Words embolden the soul. "Cro ak ten!" = Blood and fire! "Sakrithu!" = Damned! "Ix maru!" = Of death!

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is all of this set in stone?
A: Lord no! Very little of it is I suspect. Josh and lead systems designer Bobby Null have both indicated they want a lot of community feedback in the upcoming beta(s) and will use that feedback to drive changes large and small

Q: Do I need to play the first game to enjoy this?
A: Deadfire is a direct sequel so it helps, but no it's not required. If you don't have a save to import from the first game you can instead recreate a save by making choices from Pillars 1 prior to beginning Deadfire. Starting choice sets can easily be shared with others.

Q: When does the game release?
A: May 8th, 2018.

Q: Do we start at level 1?
A: Yes. A god erupted from the ground and stole most of your soul. Who knows what happened to your companions.

Q: If I import a save from Pillars 1 can I change anything about my character?
A: Yes! You'll be able to effectively create a new character, changing your class, race, sex etc.

Q: Will the various quest talents and buffs my Watched earned in the first game carry over?
A: Some of them will, maybe not in exactly the same form.

Q: Will the game be coming to consoles?
A: Yes. Deadfire is scheduled to launch sometime this holiday season on Xbox, PS4 and Switch. The port is being handled by Versus Evil (the publisher for Deadfire) and Red Cerberus. Obsidian is focused entirely on the PC/Mac/Linux version.

Q: I heard that a lot of people donated a lot of money to fund an island?
A: Yes. Back in the Eld Times, before the dawn of this new Era, an island was indeed crowdfunded. I'll let Shao Kahn explain:

Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for bearing with the wait on what's happening with the Island.

Here are some facts:

Obsidian is aware of the situation and allegations. They want to accommodate however they can. They are locking down content and asked me during the NeoGAF outage if I'm okay with everything discussed so far.

At first I didn't mention the NeoGAF situation because I don't want to stress devs over our conflict. However I eventually emailed Katrina today and told her that the community has essentially separated themselves from the allegations and have formed a new forum, Reset Era.

I told her that we fully support Obsidian's vision and they are allowed to add or remove any content, or tell whatever story they want to tell, whether they decide to submerge the island or come up with an awesome story. Most of the game content is done. They will be able to share some details in the next few weeks regarding the Island, and ask for feedbacks.

She did state one thing: The names can be changed.

Now I'm not sure if she meant the name of the Island or the name "Erol of Levi". However, if she response with a go ahead, I'll ask the donors and everyone else alike whether they would like to change the name(s) or not.

TL;DR: The Island is under full formation (that include it's image, the main story line, etc). In a few weeks, we will get some solid update from Obsidian. If we get a choice to change certain names, I'll keep you all posted. For now, things are concrete.

P.S. I have requested (upon discussion with Obsidian) one mere small gesture towards this community, but I can't share that info yet. Nothing big, just a small gesture.

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Let me know if I missed anything or if I messed up any of the formatting above.

Heckler456 said:

Yeah, speaking of, any news on that front?

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See the final FAQ above.

Enduin said:

Killer OP. Really great job compiling everything and making it so easy to read.

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Thanks. The scary thing is I know I missed or didn't spend a lot of time explaining tons more. Deadfire is looking to be a massive evolution of the first game.

Dmax3901 said:

Did we end up going with the name I suggested? Believer's Bluff I think it was which... Jesus that takes on a whole new meaning now doesn't it :/

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Yeah I guess it does. Hopefully Obsidian have time and the inclination to sort it out a bit. Hopefully Erol of Levi washes up on some far shore mostly eaten by various sea life.

Mudo said:

I bought Pillars on PS4 Pro about a month ago and have about 20 hours into it. I kickstarted the original and only had about 6 hours played on PC. Bought PS4 so my man could watch me play, and the whole controller thing. Loving it so far. I did not kickstart the 2nd (is it too late to pitch them money?? probably) but am very excited for it as I'm having a blast right now with the first.
My only complaint is the stats system was very, verrrrrrry complex and multilayered to the point that I still don't know what will, focus, fortitude etc etc all do! Been staying alive regardless, and it does give me BG2 vibes. Not as great as BG2 was, but the closest damn thing I've played to it since. Thanks for this OP, I read through it and the changes sound very positive overall. Hoping for a release before fall 2018. I'm assuming they won't hit Q1 but I'll be happy if they do!

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It's actually not too late to back this game. I put a link to be slacker backer campaign at the top of the OP. If you know you're going to buy it you can save I think $10 by "preordering" through a pledge and/or choose from some other backer goodies.

And certainly feel free to ask questions about the first game. This could function as a home for all things Pillars for now. Will/fortitude/reflex are just your defense versus attacks that target them, like deflection is for normal melee attacks.

Thanks as always for coordinating the island, Shao Kahn. I'm glad that Obsidian is aware of the shitty situation. Maybe they can make small changes to help.

Mudo said:

Also, off topic: Your Eder avatar is a really close 2nd in OMG SO HOT behind Yosuke. Eder is the best I love him already in Pillars 1 =)

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I think pretty much everyone (with a soul) likes Eder. Dudes never left my party in like 150 hours of game time.

Yeah Durance works only because everyone recognizes how shitty he is as a person. There's always a good quip at hand anytime he gets mauled by lagufaeth or something.

He's my third favorite character behind Eder and Sagani.

Ronik said:

I'm probably gonna need a post-game save to import my decisions into this, right? I've played White March on my Act 3 save and didn't play through the last dungeon again after finishing WM, so I should probably do that before PoE2 is out.

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Yeah you'll need to finish the game again to get a new save to carry over. That or I guess remember all your choices and recreate them when Deadfire launches.

Also, now that I look through them again, the penalties for the various Paladin orders are pretty hardcore. And it's hard to really judge the ability upsides aside from the Shieldbearers. The powers must be significantly improved.