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[Anoregon]

You should have another quest given to you by Ashe, I had the

Spoiler

Burning Library

for example. After doing that he should send you back to Lethian's crossing and a new NPC will be in the forge. That's what happened with the voices of Nerat at least, I imagine it's the same.

Ok. Ashe gave me a "Into the Maelstrom" quest that seems totally unrelated to Lethians, but maybe after I finish this it will open up the path I need.

 

[Sanctuary]

Thanks guys,

as of the start of the game, my subterfuge is only 29, is that decent enough? I pumped that and lore as much as I could when creating my character

IMO, if you're trying to get all of the experience that you can from conversations and environmental feats, you want 32 starting out, but if you do a lot of backtracking in Act 1, you might be able to work it up to 47 (highest check in Act 1) from 29. There are a few conversations and locked items that require 20 - 27 or so. Athletics needs to be at 30 starting out, although you're really only missing one feat I think until you get a character who comes with 35.

Ok. Ashe gave me a "Into the Maelstrom" quest that seems totally unrelated to Lethians, but maybe after I finish this it will open up the path I need.

Unless I just somehow accidentally skipped it prior to going to Act 3, you have to make a choice between

Spoiler

the library

and

Spoiler

Lethian

when siding with the Disfavored. If you don't pick

Spoiler

Lethian (Twin Rivers)

, you will be locked out of the quests for it and a slew of ridiculous sigils, items and a whole lot of experience. On my consecutive playthroughs with different factions, I've never even ended up with the option to visit

Spoiler

the library

, but I wasn't missing much at all aside from a staff with a pretty cool relic ability. I'd much rather have the ridiculous sigils however.

 

[Labadal]

Ok. Ashe gave me a "Into the Maelstrom" quest that seems totally unrelated to Lethians, but maybe after I finish this it will open up the path I need.

Yes, you need to complete that first.

 

[Fantastapotamus]

Regarding magic: I only now started to dabble with the spell creator. (I'm at the end of Act 1)
Where or how do I find new expressions? I'm not quite clear where to get those and worry I have missed them

 

[Ordinaryundone]

Regarding magic: I only now started to dabble with the spell creator. (I'm at the end of Act 1)
Where or how do I find new expressions? I'm not quite clear where to get those and worry I have missed them

You can get most of them by buying them from merchants or looting them on the maps. There are a couple (sign of life, sign of water) that can only be gotten, as far as I know, by talking to your companions.

 

[Durrzerker]

I have two monitors and the game keeps opening on the wrong one. Any way to fix?

 

[Volodja]

You can get most of them by buying them from merchants or looting them on the maps. There are a couple (sign of life, sign of water) that can only be gotten, as far as I know, by talking to your companions.

Also about 6 of them require the knowledge of the Ancient Lore skill Lantry has (or whatever that skill is called).
They are very high level, mostly.

 

[Sanctuary]

Also about 6 of them require the knowledge of the Ancient Lore skill Lantry has (or whatever that skill is called).
They are very high level, mostly.

And they also happen to be some of the best in the game. One or two of them you can actually buy from vendors, but three of them you can't. Lantry's Sage tree is his best tree anyway after a total of two points in the Preservation tree.

Regarding magic: I only now started to dabble with the spell creator. (I'm at the end of Act 1)
Where or how do I find new expressions? I'm not quite clear where to get those and worry I have missed them

Hopefully you

Spoiler

let the vendor at the start of the Disfavored camp

stay and sell his goods. He's the only way to find the Sigil of Guarded Form AFAIK, and that sigil allows you to create damage shields as well as haste (-25% recovery, +25% movement speed). Some of them are also found via subterfuge. There are two that I know of in Act 1 that you discover from subterfuge, one of which is pretty powerful and will last a while.

 

[Register]

Speaking of magic, I found the vast majority to be not needed and unless you have Lantry or a PC mage, there is not all that much room to get fancy combinations that are also empowered. I kicked Lantry out, because

Spoiler

Sirin

is a much more interesting character. Little did I know, that NPCs rarely offer opinions or banter or unlock new topics or have dedicated side quests. Would have sticked with Lantry, if I knew that.

Anyway, all of my people used Healing Touch (+empowered where possible) and Spectral Blur.

Spoiler

Sirin

also got and Healing Wisps (+bounce) , Surge of Glory, Rimspike (+AoE) and Lightning Spark (+bounce).

Fire and Earth and all the rest was kinda meh imo. The fireweapon buff is somewhat decent, but I found no slot for it. Surge of Glory is +30% damage AoE buff (later 42%), 20% increase for a single party member doesn't seem that useful in comparison, in particular when the first is available right from the beginning of the game.

 

[Brakke]

I took the Leadership ability that unlocks two extra spell slots for everyone in the party. Easy for your casters to work one or two schools thoroughly and dabble in another couple.

 

[Unai]

So, Eb or Sirin?

I have two monitors and the game keeps opening on the wrong one. Any way to fix?

Hold Shift and double click the .exe of the game. It will open a configuration screen where you can set your screen.

 

[Fantastapotamus]

Out of curiosity, I have

Spoiler

conquered to the first tower

how much more is there to the game? Cause it's supposed to be pretty short.

 

[mbpm1]

Out of curiosity, I have

Spoiler

conquered to the first tower

how much more is there to the game? Cause it's supposed to be pretty short.

the bulk of the game

 

[Register]

Out of curiosity, I have

Spoiler

conquered to the first tower

how much more is there to the game? Cause it's supposed to be pretty short.

After that the main part of the game starts - Act 2. After that very big act, you get a rather short Act 3 which acts as ending part. So you still have a good way to go.

 

[Basileus777]

Out of curiosity, I have

Spoiler

conquered to the first tower

how much more is there to the game? Cause it's supposed to be pretty short.

Probably 70%.

 

[JC Sera]

on my first play through the magebane helm quest didn't trigger which in retrospect I think was because

Spoiler

raetemon wouldn't let me pass so I had to kill his gang. so I did that. but, I didn't kill welby+her friends on that map (they were hostile) and I think thats what prevented the next event triggering

 

[Fantastapotamus]

Okay good. Cause a friend told me I was 2/3rds through the game and that would have been a bit disappointing

 

[Tacitus_]

So, Eb or Sirin?

Eb is a rebel and a traitor.

 

[Anoregon]

Eb is a rebel and a traitor.

 

[Sanctuary]

Speaking of magic, I found the vast majority to be not needed and unless you have Lantry or a PC mage, there is not all that much room to get fancy combinations that are also empowered.

As said above, the Leadership tree unlocks two slots for everyone. If your main character is a caster, they can have ten slots total. Slots aren't really the main issue with magic in this game, it's lore that's the problem. You have to essentially train at a trainer every single level five times to experience the good combinations. Playing on PotD would be a nightmare without magic though.

Okay good. Cause a friend told me I was 2/3rds through the game and that would have been a bit disappointing

It seems like Act 1 is 2.5 - 5 hours (depending on if you exhaust all dialogue), Act 2 15+ and Act 3 seems around the same, or even less than Act 1. You can tell the game was cut really short though with how you progress with the last

Spoiler

spires.

 

[Labadal]

Did some things that people would deem unforgivable, lol. I'm running a three man party now. Not playing nice with anyone, not that that was my plan.

 

[AcAnchoa]

I’ve left

Spoiler

Tunon’s Court

having played for just over 14 hours and I’m reading that the first act lasts more or less 5 hours and the entire game 30, so I have to ask: am I playing too slowly or is the story really so short?

In any case, I’m enjoying the game a lot, at times more than Pillars of Eternity, and may even give it another go. My only real complain is not having a better understanding of how the miss/graze/hit/crit boundaries are calculated, but is mainly because of my love for crunching numbers when I see the opportunity to do so.

 

[Brakke]

As said above, the Leadership tree unlocks two slots for everyone. If your main character is a caster, they can have ten slots total. Slots aren't really the main issue with magic in this game, it's lore that's the problem. You have to essentially train at a trainer every single level five times to experience the good combinations. Playing on PotD would be a nightmare without magic though.

I ageee, Lore is a real bottleneck. Do you get the option to hire a Lore trainer if you build a library on a Spire? I put a forge on the first one without seriously considering the matter, but I'm aching for a Lore trainer now.

 

[Naito]

I ageee, Lore is a real bottleneck. Do you get the option to hire a Lore trainer if you build a library on a Spire? I put a forge on the first one without seriously considering the matter, but I'm aching for a Lore trainer now.

For casters it is highly suggested to build a Library (Lore trainer capped at 75) or Infirmary (Master Lore trainer capped at 150) as your first Spire upgrade if you intend to min/max.
Lore trainers after Act 1 are only available in the Library and Infirmary. By returning to the trainer after each lvlup, I finished with a Lore skill of 240 on my character with Lantry slightly higher.
Do note also that you can use the Skycap (+20 Lore) to temporary raise your skill and allocate higher cost spells in your slots – they will be still working after the effect wears off.

 

[robotzombie]

Are you able to build up both fear and loyalty for people in order to get multiple skills? Or should you focus on one?

 

[Unai]

As said above, the Leadership tree unlocks two slots for everyone. If your main character is a caster, they can have ten slots total. Slots aren't really the main issue with magic in this game, it's lore that's the problem. You have to essentially train at a trainer every single level five times to experience the good combinations. Playing on PotD would be a nightmare without magic though.



It seems like Act 1 is 2.5 - 5 hours (depending on if you exhaust all dialogue), Act 2 15+ and Act 3 seems around the same, or even less than Act 1. You can tell the game was cut really short though with how you progress with the last

Spoiler

spires.

I've finished Act 1 with 17 hours. It took me 1.5 hours to even control my character.

That being said, I read literally everything that I can, from the dialogues to the lore texts, items descriptions, etc. I control my whole party manually without companions AI, and I also have tons to auto-pause options enabled. English is not my native language, but I don't think that's the issue, even Dark Souls 3 toke me more than 80 hours to finish and that doesn't have much text at all. I like to take my time while playing video-games and I also try to not look at tips outside the game.

 

[Naito]

Are you able to build up both fear and loyalty for people in order to get multiple skills? Or should you focus on one?

You can build up and get both Loyal and Fear combo skill.
I would focus only on a specific side if I really miss a small push to unlock the skill.

 

[Sanctuary]

I ageee, Lore is a real bottleneck. Do you get the option to hire a Lore trainer if you build a library on a Spire? I put a forge on the first one without seriously considering the matter, but I'm aching for a Lore trainer now.

There are at least two Lore trainers you can hire.
edit: Lol, nevermind.

By returning to the trainer after each lvlup, I finished with a Lore skill of 240 on my character with Lantry slightly higher.

Damn. What level was Lantry? I think the highest I ended up with last game was 190, and he was level 18. Right now he's level 14 and at 182. Oh, and thanks for the tip about the skycaps. I actually wondered if using them would work similarly to the way you could abuse potions in the TES games, but I just assumed the spells would be locked out after the buff wears off. Plus, I hate all of the consumables in this game. Most of them aren't all that useful other than the healing potions and I guess the whetstones. Yet my inventory remains full of them, because I kept wondering if I'd regret it if I sold them.

I've finished Act 1 with 17 hours. It took me 1.5 hours to even control my character.

That being said, I read literally everything that I can, from the dialogues to the lore texts, items descriptions, etc. I control my whole party manually without companions AI, and I also have tons to auto-pause options enabled. English is not my native language, but I don't think that's the issue, even Dark Souls 3 toke me more than 80 hours to finish and that doesn't have much text at all. I like to take my time while playing video-games and I also try to not look at tips outside the game.

Actually, I wasn't thinking right about my first time. I think it was closer to 7 - 8 hours in Act 1 (and I read everything...), but replays for me have been just over four, only reading new dialogue from the new choices. Total playtime the first time was 32 hours, although I missed out on a relatively large chunk of content, compared to the one I ended up with due to a choice I guess, if it wasn't a bug.

 

[Brakke]

For casters it is highly suggested to build a Library (Lore trainer capped at 75) or Infirmary (Master Lore trainer capped at 150) as your first Spire upgrade if you intend to min/max.
Lore trainers after Act 1 are only available in the Library and Infirmary. By returning to the trainer after each lvlup, I finished with a Lore skill of 240 on my character with Lantry slightly higher.
Do note also that you can use the Skycap (+20 Lore) to temporary raise your skill and allocate higher cost spells in your slots – they will be still working after the effect wears off.

Thanks for this. I've definitely used the well-rested +5 and eating fruit I think it was to fudge an extra few levels during spell-assignment.

 

[Labadal]

I finally beat the game. Clocked exactly 40 hours. I'm known to complete games very slowly, though.

I sided with the Scarlet Chorus. Acted like an ass to almost everyone else. I did help the beastmen, though. I ran through the game with Lantry, Verse and Barik. I tried the other characters briefly, but I might as well save them for another playthrough, was my thought.

The game is solid but has some flaws. The writing is great at times and less so at others. Combat got repetitive, there's no way to say anything else. I don't mind that you almost only fight humans, it's just that you can mostly use the same tactic for most of the game.

In general, I have to say that Pillars of Eternity is the better game. I was playing on hard and some of the enemies were sponges. Less number of enemies to fight and yet fights still dragged. Thank god for fast mode!

I need to play it again to see how choices matter, but I won't do that for some time.

In a way, this game made me feel like they were trying to ape BioWare in some ways.

 

[MartyStu]

Holy shit you guys, Kills-In-Shadow is really good. She definitely needs another melee character with her in order to keep aggro together though.

I finally beat the game. Clocked exactly 40 hours. I'm known to complete games very slowly, though.

I sided with the Scarlet Chorus. Acted like an ass to almost everyone else. I did help the beastmen, though. I ran through the game with Lantry, Verse and Barik. I tried the other characters briefly, but I might as well save them for another playthrough, was my thought.

The game is solid but has some flaws. The writing is great at times and less so at others. Combat got repetitive, there's no way to say anything else. I don't mind that you almost only fight humans, it's just that you can mostly use the same tactic for most of the game.

In general, I have to say that Pillars of Eternity is the better game. I was playing on hard and some of the enemies were sponges. Less number of enemies to fight and yet fights still dragged. Thank god for fast mode!

I need to play it again to see how choices matter, but I won't do that for some time.

In a way, this game made me feel like they were trying to ape BioWare in some ways.

In a lot of ways actually. I just do not think they quite had the budget to have it land like Bioware can land the few things they do really well.

I will pay good money to see this game get meaningful expansions and updates. It is still a fairly good game.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

So I beat Act I in about 4 hours.

I'm assuming that Acts 2 and 3 are longer.

 

[robotzombie]

Couple questions:

Should I be worried about selling stuff? I have things like blood rubies (?) or whatever that don't have any description and just look like they sell for a lot.

When I get those magic page things, do I just teach them immediately to whoever, or are they only for that specific person, so I need to make the right decision giving the right spell stuff to different people?

Should I buy equipment from stores, or am I going to get better stuff out in the world?

How the hell do I get my lore up, I'm at like 31 and it's screwing me because I keep missing lore opportunities

 

[Brakke]

In the inventory you can filter to only show Weapons, Armor, Key Items, Usables, etc. The last tab on the list is "junk to sell".

Lore is tough. Most magey characters have a "boost to Lore" ability in one of their trees. PC's is in the Magic tree. Also there's tips about Lore trainers on this very page. Otherwise, pick Wits on most level ups I guess.

Read magic rune scrolls ASAP. In the spellcrafting tab, you can use a rune as many times as you like in different combinations even.

I've done pretty well with mostly scavenged gear. Eventually when you get a base, you can install a Forge which can craft rare and enchanted gear, plus upgrade whatever you've found. Personally, I'm saving money primarily to buy rune scrolls (which can be pricey), and then the occasional enchanted piece of gear.

 

[Basileus777]

So I beat Act I in about 4 hours.

I'm assuming that Acts 2 and 3 are longer.

Act 2 is. Act 3 is even shorter.

 

[robotzombie]

Question about time, does it only move when traveling on the world map? Also, should I be worried about the 8 day time limit for the edict? I went backwards to re-explore the first area, that won't screw me up time wise right? (I ended up meeting and talking to a new character by doing so)

 

[Basileus777]

Question about time, does it only move when traveling on the world map? Also, should I be worried about the 8 day time limit for the edict? I went backwards to re-explore the first area, that won't screw me up time wise right? (I ended up meeting and talking to a new character by doing so)

You're given so much time that you'd have to deliberately screw around to violate the limit.

 

[Sinatar]

Question about time, does it only move when traveling on the world map? Also, should I be worried about the 8 day time limit for the edict? I went backwards to re-explore the first area, that won't screw me up time wise right? (I ended up meeting and talking to a new character by doing so)

If you do every side quest, rest after every fight, travel back to town between every quest and generally be a slow inefficient putz , you'll have 5 days to spare. It's literally impossible to take 8 days without trying to on purpose.

 

[robotzombie]

Awesome, glad I don't have to worry about that! Now I don't have to feel bad about going back for subterfuge and lore crap I couldn't grab the first time around.

By the way, this game is so much fun and I'm not even doing any combat yet, I never thought I would enjoy just talking to people around camps so much haha

 

[Fahzgoolin]

So as a big fan of Pillars for it's party characters and dialogue choices/writing, will I find this game as satisfying?

 

[Sinatar]

So as a big fan of Pillars for it's party characters and dialogue choices/writing, will I find this game as satisfying?

Yea definitely, this is much more story heavy then Pillars.

 

[Fahzgoolin]

Yea definitely, this is much more story heavy then Pillars.

awesome! thank you =)

 

[Labadal]

What level were you guys when you beat the game?

 

[MartyStu]

I have just started the last leg of Act 2, and my levels range from 15 (me) - 18 (previously mothballed KiS).

 

[Labadal]

I have just started the last leg of Act 2, and my levels range from 15 (me) - 18 (previously mothballed KiS).

I beat the game at level 15. Seems strange how low level I was.

 

[peakish]

I'm proceeding really slowly in the game since I've been swamped with work this week. Just finished act 1 in ~8 hours and it was pretty good. Combat is pretty confusing though even with just four party members. So many skills and so many of them (spells in particular) feel like they lack weight. They don't even fit in the damn hotbar, lol.

There's been some terrific evil moments so far, too. Hail Tynon.

 

[Sanctuary]

If you do every side quest, rest after every fight, travel back to town between every quest and generally be a slow inefficient putz , you'll have 5 days to spare. It's literally impossible to take 8 days without trying to on purpose.

If you're going back to the trainer each time someone levels up (in an inefficient way I guess), and rest at least once you can get as low as three days. I did that on my last playthrough, but due to the exploit that lets you bypass the timer, it didn't care.

What level were you guys when you beat the game?

15 (Barik), 16 (PC), 14 (Eb), 16 (Lantry)
15 (Barik), 15 (PC), 17 (Verse), 18 (Lantry)

I beat the game at level 15. Seems strange how low level I was.

If you ever decide to try PotD, you'll probably end up with 3+ more levels. I don't know if this game gives experience towards a skill based on the damage you inflict per hit, or if it's simply based on whether or not you crit, hit or glance perdiod, but it seems like not using as many damage buffs as before, the characters on my third game are closer in level, and also higher in general.

 

[Labadal]

I doubt that I will try PotD. The enemies were already sponges on hard. We'll see, I guess.

I'm more interested in a solo run, to be honest.

 

[robotzombie]

Okay, so I'm in the first act, and I have two main quests with different places to go, one is echocall crossing, and the other is some woods or something. Is this a choice between going one or the other, or am I going to be able to do both?

 

[peakish]

Okay, so I'm in the first act, and I have two main quests with different places to go, one is echocall crossing, and the other is some woods or something. Is this a choice between going one or the other, or am I going to be able to do both?

You can do both.