Thanks for this video from a guy who, for some reason waited until 2024 to pick this game up! You're an absolute gem Slandered!

Eder is one of the most memorable companions ever... he is such a great dude... its like a golden retriever.. best buddy ever

Eder is up there with Garrus (Mass Effect) for "Best Bro" in a video game.

This is the best explanation of this game I’ve found so far. I’ve had issues figuring it out before so I just gave up, because I couldn’t advance through fights well (I think due to my lack of experience with roll dice games). I appreciate this video and the work you put into it. Keep it up man! Subbed!

Personally, I would say ranged cipher is a pretty safe bet for a main character. The lack of resource limitation really helps and cipher is probably the most impacted by stats of any class as they need to do damage to generate the resource in the first place, so being ranged and being able to dump con and resolves is very useful. You can also go elf for distant advantage.

Hell yes! I may have played this game through many times, but seeing a guide is always great to watch, regardless!

Some additions: If anyone is wondering, second most checked stat after Resolve is Perception (you know, in case it wasn't already the best stat), than Intellect. Might and Dexterity are not used often, and Constitution is absolutely the rarest stat to be checked. Btw some of stat checks are passive/invisible so dialogue option requiring X Resolve of scripted interaction with X Might are not the only cases when stats are checked. No, Lore skill is not actually checked as often as Resolve or other mental stats, but it absolutely is the most checked Skill. In fact, there are more Lore checks than Stealth, Mechanics and Athletics combined! Atlectics and Survival take second place. Stealth and Mechanics are very much gameplay-oriented skills and are rarely checked in dialogues/scripted interactions. Btw accuracy bonus from Survival 4 can be reeeally helpful on higher difficulties. I'm not a fan of traps either - in addition to things you've mentioned, player can only have one trap being set - setting another will put the first one back to inventory. Worse, most of them are bugged in a way that makes their accuracy lower than it should be, leading to grazing hits most of the time. I'm pretty sure that being an Orlan is noticed more often than being a person of any other race. And being a Human/Dwarf is barely noticed. !!!Pale Elves get flat 10 points of Damage Reduction against Burn and Freeze, not 20%. I'd say PoE Monks are pretty different from DnD too.

thank you for being so clear, concise, and thorough...nice work!

Great video. The stacking bonuses/non-stacking ones really caught me out initially without anything ever making me aware of it in-game. Once I discovered that, it made me want to start again with a fresh character and have a do-over.

You're the man, I was a little hesitant to get into this game because I have a hard time going through tool tips and retaining all that info but this has given me a solid understanding of the mechanics.

Thanks so much! I always owned pillars of eternity but hardly played it because it was so confusing. Now I'm enjoying it and the nice story!

Thanks for this overview! I played this a while back and wanted to jump back in and just needed the refresher. Much obliged!

fantastic upload mate. Nice catch up reminder for me for a new playthrough. Great game.

Thank you for this. I just purchased this game on playstation and I'm relatively new at these types of games but not incompetent so for my first playthrough I went Normal Difficulty. I've died many times. It seems challenging enough and your video has really helped me understand some things I thought I understood but I really didn't. Really enjoying it, as an action rpg fan this games change of pace is a breath of fresh air. Once again thanks and well done

Thank you for writing and producing. I've had this game on Steam and didn't really understand it until your overview. I'll install it again and begin where I left off.

Great guide. Just what I was looking for. Best concise guide on KZfaq

Thank you for this video! I'm having somewhat of a hard time with the combat in this game even on easy difficulty and this video helped me understand some of the mechanics that I did not know about before.

Wow... Thanks a lot for all the info. I would never have figured half of this stuff out without a guide like this. Very helpful.

This is a fabulous video. As a dnd player who has never played CRPG games before i was feeling lost. Thank you for a most excellent summary of the iimportant points i was missing. Subbed!

Packed with great information clearly delivered, awesome! 🎉

Great video! Thank you for the much needed help!

This was amazingly helpful, thanks.

Good video and this is gonna be a useful series, looking forward to Chanter I've always struggled with that class for some reason.

Such an excellent explanation of game mechanics! Great video, I'll watch your video on classes next. I tried playing a POE a few times but each time I dropped, but I wanna give it another try.

Ooooh I was waiting for this!

Great video! This explained a bunch!

Thanks the eloquently delivered information. I just downloaded this to play it for the first time and needed some pointers.

I came for your thorough Pathfinder guides to have a bit more of an idea of how the one BILLION classes and subclasses work, but seeing Pillars on the channel makes me super happy. I've beaten both games recently, and Deadfire was the first cRPG I beat on a difficulty higher than normal. Absolutely love the content, will be binging over the weekend. Not sure if you have any vids for Kingmaker explaining all the kinds of mechanics and stuff, but I feel like the WotR vids will give me a feel for the previous title too. Though ever since I got Nok Nok I feel like any difficulty is no challenge >:D

Been wanting to get back into Pillars for a solo run, nice refresher here! i've been playing RPG's since 2000 when I was 10 years old, and Pillars are probably in the top 5 for me. Looking forward to your class vids!

thank you for this video, i have own this game for a long time but i have always had a difficult time deciding what to play, mostly because the game don't tale you anything about what you can expect from your class as they level up, this video has given me some idea what i want to play as (a wizard), with i didn't thing was really worth it the 5 or 6 times i have started the game before, as you get a wizard companion so early in the game. I really look forward to the video/videos where your go through all the games different classes :)

This guide is absolutely stellar. Subbed.

Excellent guide, thank you!

This is my first time playing classic party based rpg. I love challenge so I went on choosing POTD on my first playthrough. First 20 hours was rough. But managed to learn the mechanics and having an easier time now. The challenge is so rewarding. Don’t be scared to play on the hardest difficulty,you will learn the game better with the challenge it provides.

Even after beating this game there are still a lot of things I didn't know about. Thanks!

This game through me for a loop when I first played it, thinking Int was the primary needed stat for wizards. Having to readjust my thinking to having very buff wizards for damage spells was a learning experience.

What an outstanding video. This is helpful for new and veteran players. Thanks.

Awesome guide. Makes me want to pick up the game again for a new playtrough. Will there be a part 2 about spells, companions, etc?

Fantastic guide, thank you. I've tried SIX times to get into PoE and I fail to understand the gameplay every time. Maybe this is the one!

Thank you for this, i just recently bought pillars on sale and having a rough time with most encounters I am trying to learn the game.

Got back into this game after just dabbling into it till I was at Defiance Bay way back in 2016. Enjoying it with the MC as a Monk.

Hey there Slandered! Thanks for the great content, glad to see people still playing this in 2023! I'm about to start a new run and wanted your opinion on what class you think is consistently good across both games? I've never tried Cipher but heard its great in the first and sub par on the sequel...ideally id like to keep exactly the same character in one full playthrough across both POE games!

once i ran through the custom content for shadowrun hong kong that i got from the steam workshop, i got to tackle this game next

I appreciate the art direction you go with, it's refreshing to see some color on these sprites

i've actually been needing this. i get hit with character creation paralysis in this game harder than any other crpg

This probly best pillars guide i found on youtube.

Path of the Damned difficulty is manageable (but not recommended unless you've solid knowledge of how combat in Infinity Engine games work). The only exception is the last boss who reflex save throws and deflects like some ungodly buffoon and there's no tomorrow. Took at least 8 separate attempts to get the dude down to his last health bars.

Cool guide! I'm on my second playthrough. But it's been a while since I last played it and I definitely didn't finish it.

for years I felt like I was the only black person to enjoy these games.

Best CRPG ruleset i've ever played in my 27+ years of RP gaming career, bar none. Once you truly understand engagement, formations and attack-defenses, there are no truly bad builds as long as you know how to use them. Intelligent fighters? No problem! Mighty Mages? We got you covered! Resilient rogues? Why didn't you say so from the start!!! I love it to death. Too bad the second one flopped (and reduced party size, reducing the role of formation composition). We are not likely to get any sequels now...

Cipher and chanters were always my favorite classes in the series. Hell I always multiclass them in 2

Very nice.

I have played through to the keep at least 5 times, each with a different class. I keep dropping and restarting. I look forward to you class guide, as I like what I've played, but can't settle on a class with mechanics that click for me.

I'm always glad to see more people still playing this game :) Have a like. I look forward to the class ranking, through I kinda wonder how exactly do you plan to rank them? I mean, say, Cipher is very good in party but becomes MUCH worse on his own. Monk is OP on his own and IMO is the best class for getting solo achievements, but doesn't bring much (if anything) teamwork-wise. Wizard is absolutely the strongest class in the game (for both solo- and party-play) - but only if one is willing to constantly rest... Will you try to get some average score so to speak or just rank them with beginners and "default" setup (Normal difficulty, party-play) in mind?

Never considered dumping resolve. Time for a new play through.

I'd like to see a mod that allowed bonus stacking. I mean, who doesn't want a 40 might, 40 perception crit DMG number

you reminded me I need to go and play through poe2

I'm going to save this video for when I get around to playing POE!

will you ever make a video about Tyranny?

Might is actually one of the worst offensive stats amongst stats that contribute to offence (ie. not constitution or resolve). Firstly, it doesnt scale very well. The percentage bonus is additive, not multiplicative, and by the time you account for all the other sources of percentage damage increase, its effect is a lot weaker than it would appear at first glance. Secondly, it does nothing to help durations of debuffs. Its actually a better stat for healers where perception doesnt matter.

Can we also have an update for Deadfire classes?

Love the video. So happy someone's making more beginner content for this game there's so little available on KZfaq.

I don't like how perception is linked to the Stealth skill. When I played the game, I never knew when to use it.

Can you do a pillars of Eternity two guide

I may play it again and do a no magic run.

👍🏾👍🏾🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

i just reinstall the game and is looking for a guide. i played a short while 5 years ago but i was such a bad player, i dont get the game at all LOL thanks for this new guide!

PoE made druid class really really good, jack of all trades but powerfull

I absolutely hate the combat in this game, so I quit a few times. But I heard the story is amazing, so I'm thorn. Should I blast trough the game in story mode to blitz through combat or just watch a let's play?

I really prefer the first one, the second one its good, but i cannot tell you why, i ejnoy a lot more the first one

Ha, all the mechanics are so complicated. I promise to new players, unless you're playing on Path Of The Damned you can pretty much vibe it out to start with and absorb all the details as you go! Fond memories of getting this game having never played a CRPG before purely because it was by the Fallout New Vegas guys, and spending 20+ hours completely out of my depth

Oh awesome, thank you for this! I got PoE for my birthday, but I'm a little daunted to load it up. Pathfinder WoTR has pretty much eaten my entire brain, and I don't know if I can handle more than one obsession at once. PoE content is to me the equivalent of a murderous siren telling me that the water's fine. I... Am tempted.

Slight correction. You get a Shark Godlike, the avan is his sister in the 2nd game, who you get.

Bullying furries is a moral imperative.

I never liked this game's attribute system. To me merging physical and mental prowess as might for example is weird - it feels shitty to have a grand mage and my dump stat is to be resolve hence my will should be abysmal... Dex is action speed and reflex - ofc. Constitution is life and enduance and fort saves - sure. Might is.. damage.. and healing.. and fortitude saves? wtf.... Might and resolve are the only weird ones tbh but it just makes it feel weird to build a character. I CAN minmax it, or make a RP character, but at points it just feels wrong - like if you want an aoe barbaian with splash damage you need... intelligence? uuuuuum yea those guys are.. famous for their godly intelligence... great game though and it is worth playing especially for the story.

Path of the damned is really not similar to heart of fury which is a new game+ mode essentially. Path of the damned is significantly harder than other modes, but its nowhere near is dramatic as heart of fury. It should also be noted that outside of the early game, a handful of boss fights and spectres that teleport on top of your squishiest party members, this game simply isnt very hard. Hard should be default for anyone who has played isometric RPGs IMO, and path of the damned for anyone who would consider themselves good at such games.

No guide needed. Just pick Cipher as MC. Boom, game won. Cipher best class. Cipher4life. (also awesome to see you still putting out Pillars stuff! Hope you're well!)

Ahh pillars 1. Good game. 2... Not so much.

Hell yeah! I was about to play PoE so this guide comes in amazing time.