As of last night, my Path of the Damned run with Pillars of Eternity+White March Parts 1&2 has inexorably come to an end. I started it back on the 5th of May and it has taken some long arduous sessions over the weekends to slowly but surely come to grips with the more challenging aspects of this difficulty level. Choosing encounters carefully in the early levels, relevant crafting and enchanting, all facets of the mechanics became important in getting ahead.
Main Party used:
Zahua (Monk. This guy is a real crackpot - quite entertaining once you get used to him. Some hilarious dialogues, especially those on hallucinogenic substances! Swapped out Eder for him after getting to Stalwart) *Greenstone Staff, Rain of Godagh Field*
PC B'Sin (Priest - I wanted to try a "duel priest" party idea, building my character as as battle-priest alongside more traditional support caster Durance) *Used Nightshroud, Lead Spitter*
Mirranda (An npc Barbarian that I built at level 2 in Gilded Vale instead of my regular Rogue. Swapped her out for Maneha in White March, then brought her back in again for the final run to Burial Isle. Squishy, but fun to build.)
** St Ydwen's Redeemer** Maneha used "The Grey Sleeper"
Durance (Still probably my favourite character from the game. Gruff, prognosticating, fire-bitten, angry, bitter and often just abstractly insane! Having two priests who can resurrect at high levels was truly invaluable. Both priests can both tank on Minor Avatar as well in a pinch. )
**Durance's Staff (with legendary upgrade), Wendgar**
Aloth (I've grown to like Aloth quite a bit. Although at first he can appear like a Khalid-ised Sand from NWN2, his psychological personal quest illustrates growth and has some nice dialogue moments.)
*used Gyrd Haewanes Steres, a soulbound scepter*
Kana (I used him for the longest ever; all the way to White March Part 2. Swapped him out for Hiravias for the two dragon fights as I wanted greater spell variety - especially Sunlance and Wall of Thorns)
Unfortunately I couldn't really find a slot for Devil of Caroc at any point and it is bit of a shame you don't get access to her until the White March. Given I'd had two-rogue parties in the past and wanted to experiment with Priests and Barbarians instead, I elected to skip her content for another time.
Some fun stats:
Party dispositions: (I tried to role-play an Aumauan Eothasian Priest, not always successfully. To be honest, it didn't quite have as many faith oriented conversations as I was hoping for. Sided with Crucible Knights as main faction.)
Benevolent 4
Clever 2
Stoic 2
Aggressive 2
Dipolomatic 3
Rational 3
Diplomatic 3
Honest 4
Deceptive 2
In game time taken: 10 months, 4 days
Real Time: 126 hours (easily rivaling IWD+HoW+ToLM in pure scale; arguably over long in fact.)
Most enemies defeated: Aloth (815) A distant 2nd is Zahua (591)
Enemy death count: 4131
Most Total Damage goes to Aloth, most hits to Durance.
Reflections on White March Part 2:
Overall, I found the second part of the White March to be not quite as satisfying to play as the first, save for a few select encounters. There's a certain repetition to the fights and similarities to specific sections of Icewind Dale II and from the main game. The Abbey of the Fallen Moon for instance reminded me too much of the Black Raven Monastery (IWD2) whilst the Iron Flail Fort felt too much like a Readceras/Raedric's Hold redux for my taste. That said, I ultimately failed to discover the diplomatic path through both of these sections and so fought the whole way through. This is definitely something to investigate in a future game. Some of the fights with the speedy monk types in the Abbey got a little tedious at times, but it was satisfying to beat it and I could minimise the tedium by playing in shorter sessions.
Whilst the frosty exploration and subtle touches of Heart of Winter found in Stalwart and the White March part 1 were certainly more enjoyable for me, there were several fantastic fights in Part 2. The first was the initial encounter with the Eyeless. I had an amazingly dramatic and absolutely desperate struggle for survival in this fight with just two characters standing at the end. The second was the loose sequel to the Concelhaut showdown - the big battle at Mowrghek Îen. I managed to win this on my second try, but the intimidation factor and the sense doom slowly coming your way is immense. The extra space the party has at the start of this fight is critical to use buffs, potions and effective positioning. Wall of Many colours was very useful in this fight and indeed in the other two dragon battles.
Story wise, I reasonably enjoyed the White March Part 2. I'd be curious to know what other players did for the main dilemma at its end, as I understand that depending upon what you did with the White Forge pagrunen spirits, the outcome can be quite different if you chose for your character to remain. For part one of my first experience with the White March Part 1 on Hard, go here: https://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30760
On Path of the Damned, the Adra Dragon proved to be my hardest fight. I had to come back several times throughout the last couple levels before I was adequately prepared. The breath weapon is quite brutal and can wipe a party almost instantly, instigating a reload if one is unfortunate enough to get caught in it. Amusingly the dragon was dominated by Wall of Many Colours and wiped out a couple of Adragan in the process, enabling an easier time loading up on status afflictions to keep it tied down. Keeping it prone, stunned, petrified or paralysed for as long as possible was the key to winning.
On completionism and level balancing:
After three play-throughs, I've come to the gradual conclusion that the game still has some pacing challenges/problems in making the Twin Elms content more palatable to players who are more completionist than others. In both of my previous games, I've tended to run out of steam once I get to Twin Elms, making it noticeably harder to linger and appreciate the content there. This time I made it to Twin Elms by level 10 after which I chose to begin the White March. By the time this was complete, my party was already close to the level cap of 16 long before starting the Act III content. This meant that I only really did a minimal amount of content in Twin Elms before heading to the endgame; a pattern I've managed to repeat. Maybe a mod to reduce experience is the way to go but ultimately I don't know if there's a quick fix for everyone here. Sometimes the game simply feels too big for its own good!
In conclusion, I'm very happy to have undergone this epic adventure and come out the other side of it successful! The terrific atmosphere and winter laden exploration has blended rather pleasantly with the present seasonal reality where I live. Maybe I'll endeavour one day to achieve the ever elusive Triple Crown? Who knows. I was never a solo player on the Infinity Engine games (as it always felt contradictory to the banter and party experimentation I enjoyed so much in those games) but maybe this is another challenge I could explore in the future.
Cheers, thanks for reading. Comments welcome.
Main Party used:
Zahua (Monk. This guy is a real crackpot - quite entertaining once you get used to him. Some hilarious dialogues, especially those on hallucinogenic substances! Swapped out Eder for him after getting to Stalwart) *Greenstone Staff, Rain of Godagh Field*
PC B'Sin (Priest - I wanted to try a "duel priest" party idea, building my character as as battle-priest alongside more traditional support caster Durance) *Used Nightshroud, Lead Spitter*
Mirranda (An npc Barbarian that I built at level 2 in Gilded Vale instead of my regular Rogue. Swapped her out for Maneha in White March, then brought her back in again for the final run to Burial Isle. Squishy, but fun to build.)
** St Ydwen's Redeemer** Maneha used "The Grey Sleeper"
Durance (Still probably my favourite character from the game. Gruff, prognosticating, fire-bitten, angry, bitter and often just abstractly insane! Having two priests who can resurrect at high levels was truly invaluable. Both priests can both tank on Minor Avatar as well in a pinch. )
**Durance's Staff (with legendary upgrade), Wendgar**
Aloth (I've grown to like Aloth quite a bit. Although at first he can appear like a Khalid-ised Sand from NWN2, his psychological personal quest illustrates growth and has some nice dialogue moments.)
*used Gyrd Haewanes Steres, a soulbound scepter*
Kana (I used him for the longest ever; all the way to White March Part 2. Swapped him out for Hiravias for the two dragon fights as I wanted greater spell variety - especially Sunlance and Wall of Thorns)
Unfortunately I couldn't really find a slot for Devil of Caroc at any point and it is bit of a shame you don't get access to her until the White March. Given I'd had two-rogue parties in the past and wanted to experiment with Priests and Barbarians instead, I elected to skip her content for another time.
Some fun stats:
Party dispositions: (I tried to role-play an Aumauan Eothasian Priest, not always successfully. To be honest, it didn't quite have as many faith oriented conversations as I was hoping for. Sided with Crucible Knights as main faction.)
Benevolent 4
Clever 2
Stoic 2
Aggressive 2
Dipolomatic 3
Rational 3
Diplomatic 3
Honest 4
Deceptive 2
In game time taken: 10 months, 4 days
Real Time: 126 hours (easily rivaling IWD+HoW+ToLM in pure scale; arguably over long in fact.)
Most enemies defeated: Aloth (815) A distant 2nd is Zahua (591)
Enemy death count: 4131
Most Total Damage goes to Aloth, most hits to Durance.
Reflections on White March Part 2:
Overall, I found the second part of the White March to be not quite as satisfying to play as the first, save for a few select encounters. There's a certain repetition to the fights and similarities to specific sections of Icewind Dale II and from the main game. The Abbey of the Fallen Moon for instance reminded me too much of the Black Raven Monastery (IWD2) whilst the Iron Flail Fort felt too much like a Readceras/Raedric's Hold redux for my taste. That said, I ultimately failed to discover the diplomatic path through both of these sections and so fought the whole way through. This is definitely something to investigate in a future game. Some of the fights with the speedy monk types in the Abbey got a little tedious at times, but it was satisfying to beat it and I could minimise the tedium by playing in shorter sessions.
Whilst the frosty exploration and subtle touches of Heart of Winter found in Stalwart and the White March part 1 were certainly more enjoyable for me, there were several fantastic fights in Part 2. The first was the initial encounter with the Eyeless. I had an amazingly dramatic and absolutely desperate struggle for survival in this fight with just two characters standing at the end. The second was the loose sequel to the Concelhaut showdown - the big battle at Mowrghek Îen. I managed to win this on my second try, but the intimidation factor and the sense doom slowly coming your way is immense. The extra space the party has at the start of this fight is critical to use buffs, potions and effective positioning. Wall of Many colours was very useful in this fight and indeed in the other two dragon battles.
Story wise, I reasonably enjoyed the White March Part 2. I'd be curious to know what other players did for the main dilemma at its end, as I understand that depending upon what you did with the White Forge pagrunen spirits, the outcome can be quite different if you chose for your character to remain. For part one of my first experience with the White March Part 1 on Hard, go here: https://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30760
On Path of the Damned, the Adra Dragon proved to be my hardest fight. I had to come back several times throughout the last couple levels before I was adequately prepared. The breath weapon is quite brutal and can wipe a party almost instantly, instigating a reload if one is unfortunate enough to get caught in it. Amusingly the dragon was dominated by Wall of Many Colours and wiped out a couple of Adragan in the process, enabling an easier time loading up on status afflictions to keep it tied down. Keeping it prone, stunned, petrified or paralysed for as long as possible was the key to winning.
On completionism and level balancing:
After three play-throughs, I've come to the gradual conclusion that the game still has some pacing challenges/problems in making the Twin Elms content more palatable to players who are more completionist than others. In both of my previous games, I've tended to run out of steam once I get to Twin Elms, making it noticeably harder to linger and appreciate the content there. This time I made it to Twin Elms by level 10 after which I chose to begin the White March. By the time this was complete, my party was already close to the level cap of 16 long before starting the Act III content. This meant that I only really did a minimal amount of content in Twin Elms before heading to the endgame; a pattern I've managed to repeat. Maybe a mod to reduce experience is the way to go but ultimately I don't know if there's a quick fix for everyone here. Sometimes the game simply feels too big for its own good!
In conclusion, I'm very happy to have undergone this epic adventure and come out the other side of it successful! The terrific atmosphere and winter laden exploration has blended rather pleasantly with the present seasonal reality where I live. Maybe I'll endeavour one day to achieve the ever elusive Triple Crown? Who knows. I was never a solo player on the Infinity Engine games (as it always felt contradictory to the banter and party experimentation I enjoyed so much in those games) but maybe this is another challenge I could explore in the future.
Cheers, thanks for reading. Comments welcome.