Pillars of Eternity celebrates 10 years with turn-based combat 🎉🔥
It's been exactly ten years since Pillars of Eternity burst onto the world! 🎉 To celebrate, developer Obsidian Entertainment has released a new patch and announced that it's adding turn-based combat to the beloved old-school RPG.
"This new mode will arrive later this year," the studio wrote in a post on their forums. “Watchers will be able to help us test a completely new feature: turn-based combat. We’re excited to explore this new way to experience encounters in Pillars of Eternity, and your feedback will be key in shaping its future.” Obsidian promises that they will share more details on how to participate in the test “in the near future.”
This suggests it could be a while before Pillars of Eternity's turn-based combat mode is ready for its official release, meaning players will have to make do with classic real-time combat on pause until then. But the wait will hopefully be worth it: turn-based combat worked quite well when it was introduced in Pillars of Eternity 2 as part of a post-launch update in 2019, so it should be a much-anticipated addition to the original Pillars of Eternity as well.
In the short term, Obsidian isn't letting the tenth anniversary pass without offering something tangible to its fans. It's also released a brand-new update for Pillars of Eternity, officially titled Patch 1.3.8.0.87535, promising a "wide range of fixes and improvements across graphics, combat, quests, and more" that, according to the studio, should make the experience "a little smoother." You'll find the full patch notes at the end of this story.
“It’s an RPG with a design firmly rooted in nostalgia, but one that definitely doesn’t rely on it to be enjoyable today,” said Richard Cobbett of Pillars of Eternity in his recommended review ten years ago. “Instead, it’s a great reminder of why those games worked so well, and a new adventure that’s truly worth the hours (and hours!) it takes to unravel its secrets and its world.”
General Fixes & Platform Support
- Mac users can now access the latest updates and bug fixes without any issues.
- A was resolved long-standing problem where the game It would boot to a black screen on systems using the Turkish language setting and certain other non-Latin based languages.
- GOG achievements should now unlock correctly.
- Kickstarter and Backer rewards on Steam and GOG are once again properly awarded to new players.
- Steam Linux users: Support is now active and will continue with future patches.
- Epic Games Store users will now correctly receive their Royal Edition digital rewards.
- Saved games are now sorted by most recent activity, regardless of the save type (Manual, Auto, or Quick).
Visual & Audio Improvements
- Characters should now speak reliably when selected: Eder has his voice back. 🎤
- Grimoires will now correctly disappear from view when reading scrolls.
- Cinematics and maps now perform better when viewed in 4K resolution.
- Fixed oddities where characters would appear in T-pose in some cinematics.
- Removed unintentional “hitting” sounds from some dialogue.
- Act introductions and developer comments no longer accidentally echo.
- The ferry at Oldsong no longer appears to be sinking.
- Fixed visual effect alignment for multiple variants of the Woodskin spell, including the Spell Holding and Spell Bind versions.
- Restored visual and audio effects for the Delemgans, Adragan, Pwgra, and Menpwgra spells.
- Party members immune to poison will no longer complain about being poisoned.
- All animal companions now make proper footstep sounds. 🐾
- Hiravias' Spiritshift effects now play correctly when returning to his natural form.
- Taena's VO will now correctly activate in both instances where she can be heard.
Mission & Dialogue Fixes
- Resolved softblocks related to Aldwyn's services, both in Brighthollow and the Salty Mast, after hiring Lyrinia.
- Simoc in Sacrificial Bloodlines will no longer drop a duplicate quest reward if killed.
- Eliminating the High Monk after receiving Alia Braccia will no longer grant a second copy.
- A Mother's Plea now fails correctly if Ranga is killed before acquiring the potion.
- Abrecan will continue to accept the card you request, even if you already have it.
- Krivi's Od Nua rewards can now only be claimed once.
- The Anamfath leader in Twin Elms will now continue the quest The Child of Five Suns even if Vincent Agosti is dead.
- Failing Athletics or Dexterity checks while in Durgan's Battery now correctly applies the Concussion condition.
- The Tealdor's Bounty quest can now be continued later, even if you initially leave the conversation.
- Delivering the final pieces of the Blade of the Endless Paths while Dunstan is defending the castle now grants the proper rewards.
- Fixed an exploit related to Grynde's "wave sponge addict" accusation.
- Crothar's fate no longer influences Korgrak's quest status.
Combat & Mechanics
- Fixed a bug that caused a crash when using the Shadow Step skill.
- Shadow Step now targets the ground and is no longer considered modal.
- Swordmage will now prioritize Second Wind over Deleterious Alacrity of Motion when injured.
- Party AI will no longer waste Second Wind when Endurance is low, but health is too low to benefit.
- Party AI will no longer attack charmed/confused allies with damaging abilities.
- Movement commands now hold position briefly, as seen in Deadfire. (Watchers can still attack if possible.)
- Trap Accuracy will no longer double-apply the attack's accuracy modifier.
- Constant Recovery now scales correctly and surpasses Veteran Recovery, as intended.
- Ryona's Buckle Tenacity accuracy bonus dynamically updates with Endurance changes.
- Iron Circle's damage reduction is now correctly disabled when above Endurance's 26%.
- Killing Bolt traps now correctly target the Fortress and no longer display slashing damage.
- Chain Lightning traps now deal damage correctly.
- The Hammer of Abydon will no longer cause permanent increases in Might when reforged.
- The Lady's Hand now uses a visible trigger for easier tracking on the character sheet.
- The Black Sanctuary shield correctly applies Endurance regeneration during Retreat.
- The Royal Deadfire Cannoneer Belt will no longer cause trap recursion.
- Eyestrike and similar effects no longer trigger on beneficial "attacks."
- Powder burns and the like no longer accidentally damage allies.
- Fulvano's shotgun will now correctly charm targets when activated by a spell.
- Knock Down now respects suppression mechanics and prevents stacking.
- Characters under Crushing Doom will no longer be able to move while downed.
- Izali's Boon's stealth bonus now properly clears after resting.
- Minoletta's Leaping Ordnance and Boiling Spray scrolls now match their respective spells in description and range.
- Restore Endurance scrolls now have updated ranges consistent with the spell's version.
- Salty Mast hires now retain their bonuses when assisting in your stronghold.
- Skyward Kick no longer causes errors such as vertical launch or permanent prone states upon failure.
- Multiple Unconscious effects no longer allow movement while incapacitated.
UI & Interaction Improvements
- Culture selection at character creation is now preserved in rare leveling cases.
- Double-clicking a weapon now equips it in your first weapon slot.
- Right-clicking on creatures now opens their bestiary entries (if uncovered).
- The retraining interface no longer displays white portrait errors.
- “Best of” damage types are now displayed correctly on the character sheet.
- Vision sequences on Burial Isle can now be correctly canceled.
- Traps that trigger aggression now display appropriate warnings on the cursor when opened.
- The trapped chest in the Abbot's Quarter during The Rising Tide can now be looted after disabling it.
- Queued loot actions can no longer be exploited to loot multiple times.
- The Ancestor Pendant's Guardian Spirit no longer displays incorrect skill information.
- Invalid names at the end of character creation will no longer allow completion.
- Culture attribute bonuses are only displayed after selecting the culture.
Location
- Several Talents that previously lacked translations are now fully localized into supported languages.
Known Issues
- In rare cases, the spell cursor may display an incorrect icon. This should now occur less frequently, but further improvements are being investigated for a future patch.
In summary; Pillars of Eternity celebrates its tenth anniversary with a great new feature 🎉: the incorporation of the turn-based combat, coming in late 2024 ⏳. Obsidian Entertainment is releasing this update as part of a new patch (1.3. 8. 0.87535), which also includes multiple improvements to graphics 🎨, quests 🗺️, combat ⚔️, and stability to deliver a smoother, more polished experience.
The turn-based mode, successfully tested in Pillars of Eternity 2, promises to revamp the gameplay of the classic retro-style RPG 🎮, allowing players to enjoy strategic encounters 🧠 and receive feedback during its testing phase 🛠️. In addition, numerous technical bugs 🐞 have been fixed, the interface 🖥️ has been improved, and the localization has been optimized for multiple languages 🌍.
This celebration reaffirms Obsidian's commitment to its community 🤝, revitalizing one of the most iconic RPGs to keep it relevant and engaging for new and veteran fans ⭐.
