Secchan's Corner: I needed more Eora after Avowed so I played Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2

Like the title says and like I said in my post on Avowed: after playing it for 2½ times I still didn't feel done with Eora, so I went and got Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2.

Pillars of Eternity is more in the old style of RPGs, but that has never been an issue for me. More TTRPG, more point and click, and more storytelling and narrative. More tactical and less hack-and-slash combat is also a major positive for me.

As always with a new game there's some confusion at the start. I was not prepared for Calisca and Heodan to die first thing lol. But okay so now I'm a Watcher and Awakened and I'm off to find Thaos to make him revert whatever he did.

The first time I entered Gilded Vale it cast a really dark vibe with the tree full of hanging people and finding out about the Hollowborn "plague" was grim. Babies born without souls.

Gilded Vale is also where I got my first two companions: Edér and Aloth, and I immediately fell for Aloth, after which I was so disappointed there wasn't even any minor romance in PoE1. I also liked Pallegina, Kana and Sagani. Durance never grew on me, Hiravias was simply crude and cringe, and I could never really get a grip on Grieving Mother. Yet I completed all of their companion quests.

I really enjoyed uncovering the maps and fixing up the stronghold, Caed Nua. I even went as far to complete the Endless Paths (omfg that was so long). And having a soft spot for war table mission, I had a lot of fun with the stronghold adventures I could send companions on.

I wish the faction quests in Defiance Bay were longer, or that there were simply more of them, like fullblown faction questlines rather than one introduction quest and then you’re involved and here's another quest to piss the other guys off. I ended up going with the Dozens because I didn’t realise I'd get locked out of the other fiction simply by accepting the second quest. I thought I'd have to complete it to state my allegiance, but no. The subsequent riot and the agenda against animancy were both intetesting and appropriately gasp worthy story sequences.

The battle at the Yenwood was way more difficult than it needed to be because I messed up a few quests that could’ve given me allies and instead I had to do the fight mostly alone. That was... wow. Another fight that was way more difficult than it needed to be was the siege of Crägholdt and the Concelhaut fight. That was just omfg so much trial and error ._. But eventually I got through it! Having Concelhaut's skull as my pet was a perk I didn’t expect but it was so amazing lol.

Then finally the descent into Sun in Shadow and omfg the revelations. NOW THE GODS' REACTIONS TO SAPADAL MAKE SENSE!!!

As soon as I was done with PoE 1, I ventured into PoE 2, and immediately I recognized a bunch of things I had been told of in Avowed. Eothas wreaking havoc in the Deadfire, the storms of Rauatai...Thanks, Kai. AND OMG LÖDWYN!!

I loved the ship mechanics. Sailing the world is just such a vibe, whether it’s Assassin's Creed Odyssey, or Total War, or PoE 2 it’s just really enjoyable. I love the sea shanties! I could just sit around and listen to them :3 I also liked the increased importance placed on food and drink in Deadfire.

I was so happy to see Edér and then Aloth and Pallegina again. Hello, my friends :3 But for the new companions in PoE 2 I really came to like Tekēhu, Ydwin, Rekke, and Fassina. I wish I liked Serafen, but I bought a slave to infiltrate the slavers and he blew up at me even though I freed the damn slave after I bought him and brought him aboard as a paid member of my crew. Serafen still talked to me like I was despicable, and I just sat there like what else do you want from me? Xoti was too religious, I don't like that in any context. Maia was cool, but she only served to remind me of Kana and I missed him.

I love the romance in this game, as sparse as it is. Once you get to a certain point your followers will initiate dialogue and you'll have dialogue choices that settle whether you’re friends or romantically involved. Like I said, I fell for Aloth already in PoE 1 so when he stammeringly confessed to caring for my Watcher I just dropped all pretense told him same and kissed him on the spot. After that there were party banter from everyone else talking about how Aloth would stand very close to the Watcher or noting how they’re spending a lot of time together lately and I just \*w*/

At the end of one of the DLCs, Llengrath asks what my Watcher plans to do next and one of the dialogue options is dead-ass just "Aloth." So I picked that and Aloth just sputtered "W- Watcher!!" and I giggled like crazy. Love it!

There was a lot of really cool exploration in Deadfire. I ventured to land on every island and take what I could from it, but every tim I stumbled upon one of the Mega-Bosses I'd slowly back away. As max level, just before heading off to face Eothas, I decided to give one of the mega-bosses a shot. I did better than I thought I would, but it still wiped my whole team.

Then off we went to fight Eothas and holy shit... SO MUCH MAKES SENSE NOW WTF.

I thoroughly recommend playing Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2 if you liked Avowed, and vice versa.

And the comment when the Kraken showed up again in PoE 2: "Didn’t we already kill this guy?" Yes, yes we did. In the White March, but do you think the gods care? :P