"Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire", Part Three (Conclusion).
What do you think the expansion should bring into the game? Of course, new quests; wonderful weapons and, certainly, additional experience levels for the hero and his companions. I do not know what the maximum levels were before the addition of "[Pillars of Eternity](/games?search=Pillars of Eternity) II: Deadfire" with its three expansions, but it is currently capped at twenty. Meanwhile, only half of the game has been completed, and many quests remain unfulfilled!
In my opinion, it would have been quite reasonable to give the party a couple more levels: perhaps without gaining new abilities, but with an increase in the amount of XP. What is not there is not there: it is sad to "throw away" experience into nothingness... Alright, let's continue!
NEKITAKA
Welcome to the largest location in the game! Divided into many smaller ones. Only at the port of this island can you transfer crews from ship to ship; exchanging inexperienced sailors for more experienced ones. It is in Nekitaka that the hero can gather all the potential companions and buy or find many unique items of equipment (perhaps it would have been better to start with this island rather than leaving it "for later"?).
Is this... interesting?
In "[Pillars of Eternity](/games?search=Pillars of Eternity) II: Deadfire" there are three extremely unpleasant gaming moments. The first: upon receiving a quest (or request for a meeting), you must drop everything and immediately go to fulfill it; otherwise the completion might not occur. The second: the character you need for the quest may not be in the place you expect - he will only appear at a specific time of day; stand and wait, checking locations over time.
Gareth waited a long time for this buffoon to appear in his office.
Morning has arrived, and people rush to their workplaces.
The third: the game creators decided for some reason that the gamer should explore new territories only after receiving a quest for it; and upon discovering the needed item, immediately report back. This causes a terrible confusion: a number of quests cannot be completed for unknown reasons, and the item for which the hero is sent is not found either in his backpack or in previously searched containers.
Immediately upon arriving at "The Queen's Dock," the hero finds himself embroiled in conflicts between the local Montagues and Capulets; my protégé postponed solving this problem "for later," hurrying off to find merchants. There was no "later"; the peaceful resolution "stalled," and the combat one brought information about the weapons and armor of the opposing side.
"The Periki Heights" added even more equipment to the hero's backpack and a very rare component, never encountered before: a troll's hide.
Stealthily infiltrating Arkemir's estate (three ways!) was successful, but the visit to him by personal invitation did not happen for the same reason: it was postponed "for later," and later the owner of the house was not available.
The water mages' guild quest was completed, and upon returning after a short fight and a hint from the spirit, the party managed to access a previously blocked room.
I love the priestess Zoti: her dome would be enough for a much larger party!
Almost correct - she forgot to warn that one must start with fish.
This is important!
There are at least three ways to solve the problem, and one of them – involving splitting the dragon soul – will affect the finale. I recommend visiting the dungeon right before the game's finale: to save the game and see the consequences of your choice. (I won’t hide, I barely held myself back from a forceful solution: four much-needed scales for upgrading equipment drop immediately...)
"The Serpent's Crown" - strangely, there are no special items of equipment. However, if you complete the final quest for the ruling family and truthfully daring phrase of the hero, he will receive a helmet and bracers. (Perhaps they can be obtained in a more aggressive way, but I do not want to fight against the entire local population.)
"The Sacred Steps" - a mass of quests, including solving Zoti's personal quest; many dungeons. In "The Hanging Tombs" it is so dark that it is very useful to arm one of the fighters with a torch, Zoti's lantern will also come in handy.
This is important!
The tomb in the upper left corner contains a mini-boss; you can negotiate with him, after which it's worth attacking: for his weapon with a chance to knock down. But it's not worth informing the head of the Beras temple about the massacre, they will take away the reward.
This is interesting!
I play on minimal graphics settings to conserve a rather old laptop. Nevertheless, traveling in darkness with a torch is literally mesmerizing with the game's shadows on the walls...
And yet it would be much better if the game designers had devoted more time to gameplay instead of graphics...
"The Old Town" ("Old City"?!) – two useful finds and a mini-boss.
(Maybe it wasn't worth venturing into the mini-boss’s domain: later I received a quest to find an item in his hall; the artifact was not there.)
"The Ruins of the Old Town": a unique sword with a soul locked within it (I'll tell later) and access to two quest locations.
"The Rotten Row" - many shops with goods; not everything can be extracted from chests even with stealth of twenty-six units.
This is interesting!
Why complete all these quests if the party has reached the maximum level; why not head directly to the finale? I tried with the best sailors at that time – and the ship sank. The entire crew must consist of veterans; the hull and sails should be maximally reinforced.
In "The Brass Citadel" you can also buy and borrow some necessary items for the party;
some equipment is also available beyond the walls of Nekitaka.
GORNE
I previously mentioned that the hero "got stuck" in one of the expansions, unable to proceed to the mini-locations that were supposed to hold the quest resolutions.
However, an exit was found, literally an exit: from the central hall towards unexplored territory.
Perhaps the path is blocked by forest, so that some gamers do not trespass early and do not "break" the quest completion? (It later turned out that this obstacle did not serve its purpose.)
Almost at the entrance stands Karitta – the third and final merchant, from whom you can steal something a bit more serious than lockpicks or a single cracker.
We pass the first trial in the arena, to pass the others we need to obtain three artifacts. We exit to the other side past the merchant Engari and start our poorly controlled adventures...
Crossing a simple bridge results in injuries to three of us! Food and sleep? After it, the enhancement effect from shark soup will vanish, and the supply of this dish is extremely limited! Moving on – the number of injuries is rising! Had to eat and sleep, not just once.
The artifacts were obtained, we return. Earlier I mentioned that, according to the game designers, upon obtaining the first artifact, the hero should rush back – through the tedious loading screens, risking to run into injuries again? Of course, Gareth did not return until he gathered all; he tossed the first artifact he found onto the altar and engaged in battle.
After victory, Engari presents the hero with an axe with a spiritual connection, which requires… to fight in the already completed trial for enhancement!
What on earth were the game designers thinking when creating such an item enhancement method? There is no answer...
Gareth and his companions become arena champions, but that’s not all: a mini-boss appears on stage,
and Engari issues a total of nine quests for searching artifacts in previously explored places.
Naturally, the artifact parts were not found at the locations... (I still did not manage to find out what kind of enemy is depicted in the splash screen for this expansion?)
Only the third mega-boss remains to settle accounts with, lurking on the island at the very edge of available territories.
Earlier Gareth already "visited" Oranika, and each time shamefully retreated due to the obelisk of horror: not only did his companions, but he himself began to run around the cave chaotic, instead of destroying the cursed obelisk! No means helped...
Driven to madness, the hero decided to prepare the rarest dish – "Captain's Banquet," with components enough for only four servings. It helped!
While the captain, shrieking in terror, ran around the cave, his four companions destroyed the obelisk and reached its mistress.
The best dishes and potions. More components would be appreciated...
This is interesting!
Almost at the very beginning of my exploration of the islands, I "encountered" the fourth boss, a giant slime. But I couldn’t find him with a fully developed and equipped squad! Honestly, for the stone that drops from the bosses and is necessary for upgrading weapons to "Mythical" level, I wouldn't mind paying a hundred thousand coins. But they are not for sale, along with other high-level components.
Should I go for the final battle? The ship’s crew is too weak... Gareth bought a junk, significantly increasing the number of deck sailors and gunners, as well as the hull and sail strength. During the next boarding, he ordered his companions to shield themselves and not to engage in combat, let the sailors fight – it worked, the crew's XP gain accelerated!
Forward, into the closed area! Several boardings, a breakthrough through the storm: here it is, Ukazo!
A short duel with a pair of slow engvitanians sentries,
The sneering mockery of the game designers: these components are needed AT THE START of the game, not before its finale!
disabling the mechanism, and – final meeting. How did it end? There are many variants, all depend on previous conversations with gods and the final dialogue.
That's all. At least for now. Good luck to you all!