PoE vs PoE 2 - The most important changes Pillars Of Eternity 2 Guide and Walkthrough

Pillars of Eternity 2 Deadfire has evolved when compared with the original game. Below, you can learn about the most important changes done to the gameplay. More detailed information about each new individual feature and gameplay improvements can be found on separate pages of this guide.

• Huge changes in Pillars of Eternity 2
• Other changes

Huge changes in Pillars of Eternity 2

The sequel revolves around the aspect of exploration. Your team has their own ship onboard of which they can explore different corners of the world.

1. Multiclass - Your character and other members of your party can have two main classes. This opens a possibility of using abilities available to both classes. However, multiclass characters are developing slower and they won't be able to use highest level abilities.
2. Subclasses - Each class can now choose one from a few available subclasses (this isn't mandatory). Remember that besides various profits and bonuses to stats they can also give you penalties or limits. Think really hard before you decide to choose a subclass.
3. Party that consists of 5 characters - In Deadfire, your party can have only five characters (previously six). However, the game allows you to "join" animal companions and pets.
4. No stamina - from now on, during a battle, health is the most important parameter! Temporary damage is gone and the combat system is more transparent.
5. Injuries - Whenever one of your allies falls in battle, he or she receives the "injury" status. Injuries inflict negative statuses (stats penalties). Moreover, if a character is defeated 4 times without a rest in between, he or she dies permanently.
6. Abilities - The abilities you could previously use once per rest can be now used once per battle. Thus, you have much more freedom in using all the abilities.
7. Unique Power Sources - each class has its own unique Power Source it uses to activate certain abilities. For example, a warrior's Power Source is discipline while for a barbarian it's rage.
8. Rest - now you do not have to use resources to set up a camp. In campsites, your characters use food to remove injuries. You can still visit inns.
9. Traps - characters use the perception ratio to uncover hidden traps. You can miss a trap if this attribute is too low.
10. Group rolls during different tests - Throughout the game you can have multiple Perception, Dexterity, Mechanics or Diplomacy rolls. In Deadfire, each character adds a certain percentage of that particular skill to the party's overall pool. For example, if a hero has 2 points in Mechanics and your allies add another 3 then you will be able to open a level 5 lock.
11. Ship - You now have access to a ship and your own crew. This ship is used for travelling around the world but you can also experience unique adventures on the sea (battles, random encounters). Pillars of Eternity 2 Deadfire has an option to change and modify your ship (position of your crew, placement of cannons, etc. in the available slots).
12. Random encounters - when traversing the in-game world, your team is bound to encounter random events. Many of these events are played out as a scripted interaction. They can go differently and have different outcomes - this depends on your decisions (avoiding or causing a fight, wounding a party member, receiving a special reward etc.).
13. More advanced party AI - From the very beginning, your party can use default AI mechanisms (independent selection of targets to attack and of skills). Also, you can define how your party members are supposed to behave - there are predefined scripts of behavior ( e.g. aggressive, cautious behavior in combat) to choose from. Also, you can define your own scripts.
14. Crafting and items enchantment - You can brew potions, create scrolls, make food, drugs or poisons. You can also upgrade your weapons, armors, shields etc.
15. Changeable combat speed - you can slow down time if you want to control a harder fight in greater detail. On the other hand, you can speed up easy battles, to avoid losing time on watching weak monsters being slain.
16. New experience level cap - each of the party members can now reach level 20. In the campaign mode in the first installment (save mission packs) you could only reach level 12.
17. Soulbound items - This is not exactly an innovation, because such items could also be found in White March. These are powerful items that can be upgraded as you play the game, thanks to which they gain new properties and higher statistics. Thanks to this, they do not become useless as soon as you have leveled up.
18. Indicator of relations with other characters - many decisions that you take in the game affect your relation level with party members (e.g. they may either like your behavior, or be disgusted). Also, you can strike romance with some of them.
19. Large factions in the game world - Each of the main factions has its own HQ and quests (in the case of factions hostile towards each other, they may be mutually exclusive). Just like in the case of party members, decisions you take and ways to solve quests affect your opinion among large factions.

Other changes

1. How to import your saves/events from Pillars of Eternity - It is possible to import your main character and your progression. If you do not have them, it is possible to establish all the key events of the first installment and its mission packs (e.g. choices you made in given situations, or who died.
2. "Graze" effect has been eliminated (weakening the attack, making the abilities last shorter, etc.) from the set of general attacks. From now on, "graze" appears only with given abilities.
3. Stealth mechanics have been altered - now, it is easier for the characters to detect rogues when facing them.
4. Noise - each attack, spell, etc. has a predefined noise level and can e.g. lure the nearby enemies.
5. Armor-piercing ratio vs armor stats - the dependency is as follows Piercing<Armor = 30% base damage, Piercing = Armor = 100 base damage, Piercing (minimum double the armor) = 130% base damage.
6. Unique items - from now on unique items feature unique modifiers, features, and are rarely similar to one another.
7. Spell Books - (grimoire) they allow the mages to cast additional spells, however, characters casting spells cannot learn anything from the books.
8. Dynamic switching between targets, while casting spells - you can now switch to another target during the process of casting spells. This is useful when there has been an unexpected change in the situation on the battle field.
9. Better collision detection - characters on your team now step aside from one another and there should be no situation when they get stuck.
10. The option to name locations - You can now name some of the isles that you find, on condition that these are uninhabited and have not been discovered yet.