Pillars of Eternity Hints, Tips, Spoilers

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 12:39 pm

As someone suggested, it is helpful to have a separate thread that does not require spoiler tags apart from general game discussion.

At the moment I am stuck after Caed Nua. I see no way to get past the broken bridge, and I am afraid to go to Raedric's Hold due to the game stopping bug. Is there a way to make progress, or must I take my chances with Raedric?

Hamlet3145 · Post by **Hamlet3145** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 1:04 pm

Jaymann wrote:At the moment I am stuck after Caed Nua. I see no way to get past the broken bridge, and I am afraid to go to Raedric's Hold due to the game stopping bug. Is there a way to make progress, or must I take my chances with Raedric?

Barely a spoiler but:

Spoiler:

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 3:12 pm

How the tutorial area ended...without actually saying how it ended.

Spoiler:

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 7:35 pm

A question about the seeing into people's souls: is it all just background flavor or is it possible to get quests/useful information from reading those backgrounds? So far, I haven't even been able to speak to anyone whose soul I've tapped into, but I'm still pretty early.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 8:51 pm

My best tip...go on and buy this. Dont wait. Go ahead and get her now.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 8:53 pm

Hamlet3145 wrote:
Jaymann wrote:At the moment I am stuck after Caed Nua. I see no way to get past the broken bridge, and I am afraid to go to Raedric's Hold due to the game stopping bug. Is there a way to make progress, or must I take my chances with Raedric?
Barely a spoiler but:

Spoiler:
There is a different area to the right of the bridge you need to go to. That said, not sure if it appears if you didn't do Raedric's first. For what it's worth, I did it without running into any bug that I know of.

I found it:

Spoiler:

tru1cy · Post by **tru1cy** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 8:54 pm

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:A question about the seeing into people's souls: is it all just background flavor or is it possible to get quests/useful information from reading those backgrounds? So far, I haven't even been able to speak to anyone whose soul I've tapped into, but I'm still pretty early.

You can get tips for puzzles and information for NPC interaction

Btw, this thread is labeled spoilers so why the tags?

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 9:06 pm

I guess the tags are optional, just to be safe?

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 9:17 pm

I think the tags are fine so that we can distinguish between general tips and story spoilers. If major story spoilers are intermixed with hints/tips without being hidden, I think many of us will probably just avoid this thread altogether.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 11:11 pm

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 11:28 pm

Especially since we aren't all at the same spots.

razgon · Post by **razgon** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 4:40 am

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:A question about the seeing into people's souls: is it all just background flavor or is it possible to get quests/useful information from reading those backgrounds? So far, I haven't even been able to speak to anyone whose soul I've tapped into, but I'm still pretty early.

The golden colored people whose souls you can look into, are just backers who got their character into the game. You can safely ignore those.

Stuie · Post by **Stuie** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 8:03 am

razgon wrote:
Ralph-Wiggum wrote:A question about the seeing into people's souls: is it all just background flavor or is it possible to get quests/useful information from reading those backgrounds? So far, I haven't even been able to speak to anyone whose soul I've tapped into, but I'm still pretty early.
The golden colored people whose souls you can look into, are just backers who got their character into the game. You can safely ignore those.

Thanks - that's really good to know.

So the two problems I'm having with the game are enchanting and use of food.

Enchanting: Other than looting everything in site, is there a way to gather the ingredients needed for some of the better enchants? I feel like I have two out of three required ingredients for a lot of the recipes. Am I missing something or just not looting enough?

Food consumption: Is there a go-to for buffing stats, or do I need to micromanage the food to fit the character? This is one area I'm always really bad at (as in I ignore it), and I think I'm not able to beat boss battles at the appropriate level because of this. I need a food guide I guess.

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 9:08 am

Tip: Save money for buildings in your stronghold. It's not cheap.

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 9:18 am

Jag wrote:Tip: Save money for buildings in your stronghold. It's not cheap.

Yeah it's like home improvements in the real world. Very expensive and unfortunately you can't take out a keep equity loan from the local Iron Bank of Braavos branch.

tru1cy · Post by **tru1cy** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 9:25 am

Jag wrote:Tip: Save money for buildings in your stronghold. It's not cheap.

Actually, there's a point you can make a great deal of money for upgrades

Spoiler:

Hamlet3145 · Post by **Hamlet3145** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 11:49 am

Stuie wrote:Food consumption: Is there a go-to for buffing stats, or do I need to micromanage the food to fit the character? This is one area I'm always really bad at (as in I ignore it), and I think I'm not able to beat boss battles at the appropriate level because of this. I need a food guide I guess.

For what it's worth, my characters are level 6 now and I've yet to eat anything.

Cortilian · Post by **Cortilian** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 12:06 pm

Note on enchanting - You can't add damage types to an item. I thought that adding the burning enchant would make my nifty rapier now do some fire damage it does not. It would only modify existing fire damage. Wasted mats and am now a sad cutpurse.

tru1cy · Post by **tru1cy** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 12:51 pm

Cortilian wrote:Note on enchanting - You can't add damage types to an item. I thought that adding the burning enchant would make my nifty rapier now do some fire damage it does not. It would only modify existing fire damage. Wasted mats and am now a sad cutpurse.

DOH!!!!!!

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 12:52 pm

tru1cy wrote:
Cortilian wrote:Note on enchanting - You can't add damage types to an item. I thought that adding the burning enchant would make my nifty rapier now do some fire damage it does not. It would only modify existing fire damage. Wasted mats and am now a sad cutpurse.

DOH!!!!!!

Same.

I was leaning on starting over, and that confirms it

Zurai · Post by **Zurai** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 12:57 pm

Cortilian wrote:Note on enchanting - You can't add damage types to an item. I thought that adding the burning enchant would make my nifty rapier now do some fire damage it does not. It would only modify existing fire damage. Wasted mats and am now a sad cutpurse.

Pretty sure that's not true. It uses the exact same language as weapons that deal elemental damage (like Durance's staff). It also does add particle effects to the weapon. If it's not working for you, that sounds like a bug.

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 1:01 pm

I'm guessing he's not seeing anything in the combat log. I will take a look later to see if I see any fire damage on my enchanted sword

Edit: Yeah, Zurai is correct. I just took a look at my combat log. I saw I did 18 damage, but when I click on it to get the details it did 14.7 Slash damage and 3.7 Burn

Cortilian · Post by **Cortilian** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 2:14 pm

IceBear wrote:I'm guessing he's not seeing anything in the combat log. I will take a look later to see if I see any fire damage on my enchanted sword

Edit: Yeah, Zurai is correct. I just took a look at my combat log. I saw I did 18 damage, but when I click on it to get the details it did 14.7 Slash damage and 3.7 Burn

Oh thanks. I'll check when I get home. I was certain because I saw no particle effect on my sword. Happy cutpurse!

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 2:21 pm

Cortilian wrote:
IceBear wrote:I'm guessing he's not seeing anything in the combat log. I will take a look later to see if I see any fire damage on my enchanted sword

Edit: Yeah, Zurai is correct. I just took a look at my combat log. I saw I did 18 damage, but when I click on it to get the details it did 14.7 Slash damage and 3.7 Burn
Oh thanks. I'll check when I get home. I was certain because I saw no particle effect on my sword. Happy cutpurse!

That's weird if you're not seeing any particle effects, as I see it on mine

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 2:38 pm

IceBear wrote:That's weird if you're not seeing any particle effects, as I see it on mine

Might be related, but I've noticed I don't see particle effects on weapons in the inventory screen preview, but I do in the main game.

Cortilian · Post by **Cortilian** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 6:55 pm

IceBear wrote:
Cortilian wrote:
IceBear wrote:I'm guessing he's not seeing anything in the combat log. I will take a look later to see if I see any fire damage on my enchanted sword

Edit: Yeah, Zurai is correct. I just took a look at my combat log. I saw I did 18 damage, but when I click on it to get the details it did 14.7 Slash damage and 3.7 Burn
Oh thanks. I'll check when I get home. I was certain because I saw no particle effect on my sword. Happy cutpurse!
That's weird if you're not seeing any particle effects, as I see it on mine

I have confirmed that it does add the damage type. I do not have the particle effect in the inventory or main screen. The item I enchanted is a flail - Guan's Share which already has several other effects on it but no visual effect so that may be it. I then enchanted a rapier - Guarded Restrain and did get a visual effect.

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 8:39 am

More a statement/question, but a spoiler in it's way.

Spoiler:

Other than the bugs, it is a great game.

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 9:05 am

I don't see a downside to killing everyone that is red to you. For example, in Raedrics castle, I was told that stealth is better than combat, so I only killed half the castle. I'm not sure if it affected my quest XP, but I made a ton of cash from the armor. I wish I had killed everything before I finished the quest.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 9:07 am

The downside is you can lose reputation and therefore some quests / ideal quest outcomes. But since many actions will impact one faction's rep positively and another negatively, I don't think it's worth trying to min/max it. Play your role, then play through again if you want to see things from another side.

My view, anyway.

Mr. Fed · Post by **Mr. Fed** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 10:11 am

Took the

Spoiler:

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 10:13 am

Mr. Fed wrote:Took the
Spoiler:
character in the first town, and then used the inn to make a cleric to back up my main character monk.

I gather that, as in Bioware games, if you don't take a particular NPC into your party you may miss some side quests and dialogue but you won't mess up the main quest.

Yep. And I think you can swap your characters when you get to the limit at your stronghold or the Inn as needed for side quests. I have not gotten over the # of NPC's allowed in my party so not sure how long that they stick around if not in your party, but I think they stay forever.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 10:22 am

RMC wrote:And I think you can swap your characters when you get to the limit at your stronghold or the Inn as needed for side quests. I have not gotten over the # of NPC's allowed in my party so not sure how long that they stick around if not in your party, but I think they stay forever.

True statements. They will hang out and be available to swap in/out from your stronghold or any inn.

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 10:37 am

Still very early in - I'm trying to find Nonno in Guilded Vale. I've been to every house with no luck. I thought the innkeeper could provide some information, since I was successful with the cook situation, but there isn't even an option to ask.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 10:39 am

tgb wrote:Still very early in - I'm trying to find Nonno in Guilded Vale. I've been to every house with no luck. I thought the innkeeper could provide some information, since I was successful with the cook situation, but there isn't even an option to ask.

Nonton?

Spoiler:

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 10:47 am

I say Nonno, you say Nonton. Po-tay-to, po-tah-to. Thanks anyway.

dbemont · Post by **dbemont** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 11:18 am

I'm going to start soon, and I'm avoiding most information about the story, tactics, etc.

However, I know that I like to play a game like this with NPC characters in my party who have their own stories, quests, and so on... but I am frustrated if that means my main character duplicates the classes of the most interesting NPCs, especially the ones you meet fairly early in the game.

For those who are in a ways, I'd appreciate a very narrow spoiler. Of the classes I am considering:
Priest
Rogue
Wizard
Cipher
Druid
Ranger
Paladin
Should any of these be scratched from my list of possibilities, because I'm soon going to want to include a similar NPC in my party for story/quest reasons?

Thanks!

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 11:21 am

I'm only about 4 hours in, but Priest and Wizard are two NPCs I've already discovered from your list.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 11:22 am

dbemont wrote:Should any of these be scratched from my list of possibilities, because I'm soon going to want to include a similar NPC in my party for story/quest reasons?

Spoiler:

Not sure on the other two, but I'm through Act 2 and haven't come across them yet.

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 4:05 pm

Zaxxon wrote:
dbemont wrote:Should any of these be scratched from my list of possibilities, because I'm soon going to want to include a similar NPC in my party for story/quest reasons?

Spoiler:
Priest
Rogue
Wizard
Cipher
Druid
Ranger
Paladin
Not sure on the other two, but I'm through Act 2 and haven't come across them yet.

The only classes you don't get as a companion are:

Spoiler:

Hamlet3145 · Post by **Hamlet3145** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 4:31 pm

dbemont wrote:For those who are in a ways, I'd appreciate a very narrow spoiler. Of the classes I am considering:
Priest
Rogue
Wizard
Cipher
Druid
Ranger
Paladin
Should any of these be scratched from my list of possibilities, because I'm soon going to want to include a similar NPC in my party for story/quest reasons?

Thanks!

Of that list you are probably going to want to go with the rogue.