Hello backers! In today's update, we'd like to show off a few of our creatures that you might have heard us talk about in previous updates. With the end of production getting closer every day, we have some news about our backer updates, and we’re also pleased to announce a date for the upcoming Backer Beta! In our next update, we’ll get into more detail about that.
First, let’s get to the creatures.
Blight
Blights are lost souls or soul fragments that have bonded with elemental substances. They are often victims of natural disasters (floods, rock slides, forest fires, etc.). They are incoherent, confused, and full of rage, an amorphous cloud that swirls endlessly and with great violence. Within the vortex, dozens of humanoid shapes materialize and vanish from moment to moment. Faces scream in silent agony while hands desperately clutch and claw at their surroundings, as though still trying to escape their tragic fates.
Bîaŵacs, storms that can rip the soul out of a person’s body, often create blights. If souls are ripped free from their bodies and caught in the center of the storm, they may become stuck together and bonded with any other elemental substances in the maelstrom. They are pure chaos and confusion, and destroying them is considered by many to be a mercy to the souls trapped within them.
Blights have been the subject of controversial research carried out by the animancers of Eora. On the one hand, attempts at vivisection have led to promising strides in treating patients who, for one reason or another, contain within their bodies two or more complete souls fused together, which has been identified as the root cause of a variety of mental and physiological disorders. On the other, however, some groups lament that there is a lack of transparency on the methods being employed in these experiments, the general concerns being that these might be somehow inhumane or present some broader risk to the surrounding populace. There are also some who accuse animancers of deliberately trying to create blights for study, but the veracity of these claims is difficult to substantiate.
Xaurip
This hairless humanoid is about the size of an orlan. It has an elongated snout and snake-like eyes, giving it a very reptilian appearance. Its legs end in three-toed feet, while its elongated arms end in three-fingered claws.
Xaurips adorn themselves with the bones of fallen enemies - mostly xaurips from rival tribes. They also have an affinity for large feathers, which they hang and pin to their attire. Skin tones can vary from light green, to a rustic brown. Their elongated snouts (which makes speech impossible) and overly-aggressive behavior have hindered them from communicating with the more civilized races of the world. They live in secluded, tribal territories and are known for ruthlessly attacking any foolish enough to cross their path.
Xaurips revere dragons as deities and build their communities around the lairs of these powerful creatures. It is not uncommon for a small tribe to wander until it has found a wurm to worship. Once a tribe dedicates itself to a dragon, they will defend it at all costs. Elaborate rituals, in which the dragon consumes xaurip sacrifices, are normal. As a dragon grows in age and size, these sacrifices become large religious events that cost the lives of hundreds of xaurips. The power and prestige of a xaurip tribe directly correlates with the age of its dragon. The most powerful tribes have existed for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Warriors and shamans of these large tribes typically paint their bodies to resemble their draconic overlord.
Vithrack
Extremely rare, very dangerous creatures with natural cipher powers. They are mostly humanoid in shape, slightly taller and thinner than humans, but with horrific, fanged spider-like heads. Like spiders, they are capable of spinning silk, though they use it to make their own very intricate and fine robes. Males and females are indistinguishable from each other. They are primarily spellcasters and mental manipulators, like ciphers, though they will also attack with their fangs when forced into melee combat. Despite their extreme intelligence and power, vithrack are not a major force in the world due to their extremely low birth rates.
Given their arachnid appearance, it's no surprise that vithrack have traditionally used spiders as companions and minions. Though highly intelligent and socially organized, little is known about their culture as they are both hostile to outsiders and rare.
Their psionic powers allow them to communicate mentally with one another. Like many social insectoids, their society includes a variety of specific roles, including scouts and defenders. While their low birth rates are likely responsible for their hostility toward other races, they have also made the vithrack highly altruistic when it comes to their own kind. They will defend their nests to the death.
Update Schedule
Hey, everyone. Brandon here. With production moving into the finalization phase for Eternity, the team and I are hunkering down to finish up the game over the next few months. Going forward, we will be spacing out our backer updates a bit more from now until the project ships. They’ll come a bit less predictably, but you can still expect updates as we have big announcements or special news for you. This will really help us focus as much of our efforts into putting out the best game we possibly can for everyone.
In our next big update, we will discuss the upcoming Backer Beta in more detail as well as what it will entail and how to redeem your copy.
Speaking of the Backer Beta...
Backer Beta
We will be releasing our Backer Beta on August 18th. As we mentioned above, we will get into all of the specifics about the Backer Beta in our next update. Be on the lookout for it over the next month.
Documentary Reward
We also wanted to let all of our backers know about a decision we'd recently come to about our Documentary DVD/Bluray item. We were faced with a bit of a dilemma when it came to the full documentary footage. In order to provide a physical copy of the documentary when the game shipped, we would be unable to show the final leg of production in order to have time to print all of the discs and packaging. We want our backers to be able to share the entire experience of making this game with us - from the earliest beginnings to the very end. To do this, we've decided to forgo making a physical copy of the documentary, and will instead release a digital downloadable extended version. We recognize that some of you may be upset by this decision, but we hope that you'll understand our reasoning.
We will be replacing the DVD/Blu-ray with another reward though. Stay tuned for a future update to find out all of the particulars.
That's it for this update, head over to our forums and let us know what you think.
The "when the game shipped" seems kind of lame reason to remove the DVD/Bluray copy of the documentary, as that 'problem' was obvious from the start. Just ship it later, problem solved, no reason it has to be day 1. I don't personally care, and you can always burn the thing if you have the bandwidth to burn on it and burner, just seems more like a money issue they didn't want to admit.
And I kind of hope we can mod some of these names, just personal taste, but I think "Kobold" is better than "Xaurip". Though some of these names will probably grow on me. I didn't like Vithrack when I first read it, but just now typing about the Xaurip I changed my mind. :P
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-"Let's do a race of psychic hyper-intelligent humanoids with squid heads."
-"That's already a thing in D&D, though. Illithids."
-"Oh. What else has many limbs, then? Spiders. Just give them spider heads."
Give me a kiss to build a dream on; And my imagination will thrive upon that kiss; Sweetheart, I ask no more than this; A kiss to build a dream on
-"Let's do a race of psychic hyper-intelligent humanoids with squid heads."
-"That's already a thing in D&D, though. Illithids."
-"Oh. What else has many limbs, then? Spiders. Just give them spider heads."
Game that was pitched as using familiar concepts (specifically D&D due to his history) and putting new/different twists on them features familiar concepts with new/different twists.
I AM SHOCKED!
The "when the game shipped" seems kind of lame reason to remove the DVD/Bluray copy of the documentary, as that 'problem' was obvious from the start. Just ship it later, problem solved, no reason it has to be day 1. I don't personally care, and you can always burn the thing if you have the bandwidth to burn on it and burner, just seems more like a money issue they didn't want to admit.
?
I read that more as "This has been a concern for a while, but we only made the final decision recently".
Which solution to take, including ignoring the end of production, is not as obvious as the issue. And I imagine FAAAAR from a priority during development itself.
Its not the first time they have done this either. They let themselves time to make a final decision. Further stretch goals and Early Access (Which were both declined) were the same thing.
-"Let's do a race of psychic hyper-intelligent humanoids with squid heads."
-"That's already a thing in D&D, though. Illithids."
-"Oh. What else has many limbs, then? Spiders. Just give them spider heads."
I don't see this mentioned in the OP, so I'm just gonna ask, sorry if this has been answered a million times. Is this going to have BG style co-op play? Please say yes.
Nope, sorry. No multiplayer of any kind. (Ehm, except the Fallout 1 kind, which manual mentioned playing with a friend. The sit-next-to-each-other-and-discuss-what-to-do-next kind.)
Aditional Anthony Davis (Obsidian Gameplay Programmer) comments
So far it's a good interview. Excellent questions, very engaging.
The stuff about Fargo is true. Fargo has a lot of great ideas about Wasteland 2, as you would expect, and works well with his team(s).
The stuff about what a publisher can bring is also true. No matter what you think about Bethesda, if you are honest, you can't deny that they are great at marketing. Now I know for some here that being great at marketing means being great at 'lying', shrug, whatever. Also true, publishers can frequently bring resources that you wouldn't have access to if you were indie. That can be a big bonus.
The part about the owners going without pay for several months to try and prevent layoffs is 100% true.
Sometimes employees too have volunteered to take paycuts to prevent layoffs as well.
When we bounced back, the first people the owners paid back were the employees that took paycuts.
That is one of my favorite things about Obsidian, more so than any other company I have worked for, is that we actually do feel like a family - at least as much as a business can be.
Also Chris was at Avcom
So saw Chris Q&A Panel. Was very interesting.
Chris response was that they have an unannounced game from a publisher in the works that we'll hear about in the next year.
Other questions were:
What Chris did in Alpha protocol. Apparently he only came onto the project 2 years into production, watched a lot of 24, enjoyed that the timed dialogues stressed the play testers as much as combat and that Obsidian built a mo-cap studio for the game that is now used as a place where the team has DnD nights. Said it was a learning experience.
Questioned about PoE and where pendulum swung between focus story/characters/world creation/combat. Chris response was that he feels that PoE was close to Baldur's Gate feel.
Questioned about the White Wolf license. Chris said he loves the license and he and Obsidian would love to obtain it and make another Vampire game like Troika.
Questioned about his favourite event in FTL. He said his favourite was the new race which devours ships.
Was asked about his thoughts about crowd funding and whether it had a ceiling. His thoughts were that it doesn't and we'll see kickstarters with AAA funding levels as people get more and more comfortable with crowd funding.
Question about Ulysses and the foreshadowing in the FO:NV DLC. Said he was disappointed that Ulysses didn't make the main game, and was glad that Obs was able to put him in as an antagonist in one of the DLC. Said that Obs was able to add foreshadowing to the DLC because Bethesda committed to four DLC's. Then went on to how obs had done that with kotor 2 hoping they would get a crack at 3.
Questioned about an Obs Koto3 3. Said while he and Obs would love to do it, Disney/Lucasart have their own thing/thoughts/plans.
Question about Wasteland 2. Talked about his love for the original and how WL2 reactivity and that gamers would be seeing new things in their 2nd and 3rd playthroughs.
Was asked about the DnD license and if Obs would be willing to do another one. Chris said they would love to, and would love to do it in the same way as PoE.
Things are going well at Obsidian on the Pillars of Eternity team. The artists are putting the finishing touches on the second of our two big cities, Twin Elms, and the environments look fantastic. Our designers are busy implementing narrative and quest content, in some cases returning to earlier areas to fill in cracks and flesh elements out more. The character artists are almost done taking all of our highest-priority creatures to alpha level and are starting to look at the second string of creatures and variants. Animation is right behind them, creating rigs and alpha animations as new creatures come online, and we're finally returning to our main character animations for a second pass. Programming continues to chug away at user interfaces, AI, and zany spells and many other items on our long list of features. In short, we're well past "the hump" and the game is looking and feeling better every day.
Heavy Hitters
In most RPG parties, there's a character type that focuses on dealing death to VIPs in the enemy roster. They are the heavy hitters, the characters who cut enemies down one-by-one with precise, overpowering attacks. We've previously talked about one of our heavy hitters, the cipher. Ciphers alternate between powerful mental attacks and the physical strikes used to power them. They are the only "caster" class that focuses heavily on individual enemies, in large part because their abilities all require an external concentration of soul energy to serve as a power source.
In contrast to the cipher, the rogue and the ranger are more traditional, but just as deadly. Rogues rely on the vulnerability of their enemies to inflict devastating attacks in close quarters. Rangers coordinate their strikes with the help of animal companions, creatures with whom rangers form lifelong bonds. Outside of direct combat, rogues and rangers share a skill emphasis in Stealth and are commonly the sneakiest party members. But while rogues also have a specialization in Mechanics (most often to lay traps and deal with ones placed by their enemies), rangers focus on Survival, which improves the duration of many consumable items. Though the three "heavy hitter" classes have different styles of play with different strengths, they all excel at taking enemies down in the shortest amount of time possible.
In Pillars of Eternity, the designation of a character as a "rogue" signifies their vicious, brutal style of fighting, not a propensity for theft or deception. More than any other class, rogues exemplify the adage that the best defense is a good offense. If fighters are the disciplined, reliable, well-trained units that hold the line, rogues are the shock troops that attempt to break through that line to take out vulnerable units before they can effectively retaliate. When pinned down, rogues can suffer from their weak defenses, but ideally they carry their momentum from one target to the next in short order.
All rogues start with three abilities that allow them to immediately dive into heavy-hitting: Finishing Blow, Reckless Assault, and Dirty Fighting.
Finishing Blow (Active) - Full Attack. This ability gains power the more damaged the target is. When the rogue uses a Finishing Blow, he or she makes a full attack at the enemy with his or her current weapons. The attack is made with an Accuracy bonus and does +50% damage if it hits. For every 1% under 50% Max Stamina the target has, the attack does an additional +3% damage. 3/rest.
Reckless Assault (Modal) - In this mode, a rogue's Deflection is lowered but he or she gains a bonus to Accuracy and damage with all weapons.
Dirty Fighting - 10% of the rogue's Hits with any melee or ranged weapon are turned into Crits. This occurs after the initial attack roll is resolved. The resulting shift is displayed in the combat log.
As rogues advance, they gain access to abilities that allow them to maximize the damage and afflictions they can dish out to their targets. They can also learn a variety of tricks to help them get out of trouble when the going gets tough.
Sneak Attack - Sneak Attack applies bonus damage to the rogue's ranged and melee weapon attacks when the target has any of the following statuses: Blinded, Flanked, Hobbled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Prone, Stuck, Stunned, or Weakened. It also applies to any target the rogue strikes with a weapon within the first 2 seconds of combat starting.
Escape (Active) - Escape allows the rogue to break Engagement and safely move away from their current location. The ability must be targeted on open ground to which the rogue has a clear path. When activated, the rogue immediately breaks Engagement and swiftly moves to that location. 1/encounter.
Crippling Strike (Active) - Full Attack. Inflicts extra damage and the Hobbled condition. 2/encounter.
Coordinated Positioning (Active) - You are able to instantly switch positions with one target within 1m. If this is an ally, the switch is automatic. If it is an enemy, the maneuver is an attack against its Reflexes (only succeeds on a Hit or Crit). The switch is immediate and cancels Engagement (if any) on the rogue. 2/encounter.
Adept Evasion - 50% of all Grazes against a rogue's Reflexes are converted to Misses.
Blinding Strike (Active) - Full Attack. Inflicts extra damage and the Blinded condition. 2/rest.
Deathblows - Against any target that is afflicted by two or more of the conditions that can allow Sneak Attack, rogues do additional Sneak Attack damage.
Rangers are expert sharpshooters with any ranged weapon. Though they traditionally rely on bows and crossbows, some use firearms or even magical implements. Regardless of their choice of armament, even novice rangers can strike swiftly and leave severe wounds that quickly wear down an enemy's stamina and movement. They are assisted in their efforts by their animal companions, incredibly tough and loyal creatures who share their lives (literally) with their masters. All rangers start with the following three abilities:
Animal Companion - The ranger begins the game with (and can name) an animal companion that fights at his or her direction. This companion shares Health and Stamina with the ranger, i.e. if either one is damaged, the same pool is reduced. Both the ranger and the animal companion die if their Health is reduced to zero. Animal companions have high inherent Damage Thresholds that allow them to run interference for their masters.
Wounding Shot (Active) - Only usable when ranged weapons are equipped. The ranger's shot inflicts a continuous damage effect and Hobbles the target. 3/rest.
Swift Aim (Modal) - This mode increases the ranger's rate of fire and reload with ranged weapons at the cost of an Accuracy penalty.
At higher levels, rangers gain abilities that increase the effectiveness of their attacks and the coordinated use of their companions. By tactically applying the synergistic benefits of the ranger and his or her companion, players can lock down and quickly overwhelm powerful enemies.
Defensive Bond - When both the ranger and his or her animal companion are subjected to an area effect attack, they gain +15 to the targeted defenses.
Marked Prey (Active) - The ranger can designate a single target as his or her marked prey. He or she and his or her animal companion have a damage bonus against that target until combat ends. Once designated, the target cannot be switched. 1/encounter.
Predator's Sense - The ranger's animal companion gains a damage bonus on any creature suffering from a continuous damage effect, including those caused by Wounding Shots.
Stalkers' Link - When a ranger's animal companion Engages a target, the target is automatically Flanked if the ranger has a ranged weapon equipped and is opposite the target.
Takedown (Active) - The ranger's animal companion will knock the target Prone with a Fortitude attack. 2/encounter.
Defensive Shooting - When using ranged weapons against any target that is Engaging the ranger, the ranger's Accuracy is increased by 20 and his or her Interrupt rating is improved by one category.
Master's Call (Active) - When the ranger issues Master's Call, his or her animal companion will immediately move back to him or her at increased speed, gaining a +20 bonus to Concentration and defenses against Disengagement Attacks. Any enemy it comes within 1m of is automatically attacked (Fortitude) and knocked Prone if the attack succeeds. 2/rest.
In addition to the abilities listed here, ciphers, rogues, and rangers can gain access to additional class-specific abilities as well as Talents. Some Talents can be taken by any character, but many are class-oriented and can be used to distinguish or emphasize one character from another. One cipher's Talents may emphasize his or her physical attacks while another's makes his or her Focus use more efficient. One rogue may maximize his or her advantage against a specific type of affliction; another may improve the frequency with which his or her offensive abilities can be used. And while rangers can always benefit from improving their marksmanship and special attacks, investing in the durability and abilities of their animal companions can safeguard the ranger against disaster.
Pillars of Eternity's heavy hitters all differ in how they bring the pain to enemies, but we hope you enjoy the concepts and mechanics we've presented here. As always, these are our current designs and implementations, but will be adjusting them in the months to come. We will be doing three more class pair updates in the future: The Leaders of the Band (chanters and priests), The Front Line (fighters and barbarians), and The Mob Rulers (wizards and druids). Let us know what you think of today's update and please vote on which of the three class pairs you'd like to see covered next. As always, thanks for reading and for your continued support.
Thanks! I like the sound of some of those Rogue powers. In particular, I like how they can inflict conditions that allow them to do Sneak Attack damage.
So a bunch of robed dudes are sucking the purple soul-storm stuff into a giant metal cylinder? I'm gonna go ahead and guess that's a bad thing.
No doubt they want to use those souls to power whatever, but in a world where reincarnation is an actual thing, trapping a whole bunch of souls in a giant metal box might lead to a lot more people being born without souls - although I seem to remember that most soulless babies are stillborn anyway.
Stuff like that could lead to extinction. But the death of all sentient life might be so far into the future that the robed people don't much care.
I really want the devs to release an honest assessment of who the best NPCs are so I don't start a Rogue PC and end up annoyed that the Rogue NPC is the best NPC.
I really want the devs to release an honest assessment of who the best NPCs are so I don't start a Rogue PC and end up annoyed that the Rogue NPC is the best NPC.
Yeah, that was super frustrating in Divinity Original Sin.
Posts
And I kind of hope we can mod some of these names, just personal taste, but I think "Kobold" is better than "Xaurip". Though some of these names will probably grow on me. I didn't like Vithrack when I first read it, but just now typing about the Xaurip I changed my mind. :P
-"That's already a thing in D&D, though. Illithids."
-"Oh. What else has many limbs, then? Spiders. Just give them spider heads."
Game that was pitched as using familiar concepts (specifically D&D due to his history) and putting new/different twists on them features familiar concepts with new/different twists.
I AM SHOCKED!
Shocked, I tell you
?
I read that more as "This has been a concern for a while, but we only made the final decision recently".
Which solution to take, including ignoring the end of production, is not as obvious as the issue. And I imagine FAAAAR from a priority during development itself.
Its not the first time they have done this either. They let themselves time to make a final decision. Further stretch goals and Early Access (Which were both declined) were the same thing.
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
So, like the Thri Kreen.
Aditional Anthony Davis (Obsidian Gameplay Programmer) comments
Also Chris was at Avcom
http://www.guycocker.com/2014/07/20/episode-38-obsidian-entertainment/
Thanks for the post! I haven't seen it, and works blocks it, but does anyone mind spoilering a copy and paste of the Rogue update?
Heavy Hitters
In most RPG parties, there's a character type that focuses on dealing death to VIPs in the enemy roster. They are the heavy hitters, the characters who cut enemies down one-by-one with precise, overpowering attacks. We've previously talked about one of our heavy hitters, the cipher. Ciphers alternate between powerful mental attacks and the physical strikes used to power them. They are the only "caster" class that focuses heavily on individual enemies, in large part because their abilities all require an external concentration of soul energy to serve as a power source.
In contrast to the cipher, the rogue and the ranger are more traditional, but just as deadly. Rogues rely on the vulnerability of their enemies to inflict devastating attacks in close quarters. Rangers coordinate their strikes with the help of animal companions, creatures with whom rangers form lifelong bonds. Outside of direct combat, rogues and rangers share a skill emphasis in Stealth and are commonly the sneakiest party members. But while rogues also have a specialization in Mechanics (most often to lay traps and deal with ones placed by their enemies), rangers focus on Survival, which improves the duration of many consumable items. Though the three "heavy hitter" classes have different styles of play with different strengths, they all excel at taking enemies down in the shortest amount of time possible.
In Pillars of Eternity, the designation of a character as a "rogue" signifies their vicious, brutal style of fighting, not a propensity for theft or deception. More than any other class, rogues exemplify the adage that the best defense is a good offense. If fighters are the disciplined, reliable, well-trained units that hold the line, rogues are the shock troops that attempt to break through that line to take out vulnerable units before they can effectively retaliate. When pinned down, rogues can suffer from their weak defenses, but ideally they carry their momentum from one target to the next in short order.
All rogues start with three abilities that allow them to immediately dive into heavy-hitting: Finishing Blow, Reckless Assault, and Dirty Fighting.
Finishing Blow (Active) - Full Attack. This ability gains power the more damaged the target is. When the rogue uses a Finishing Blow, he or she makes a full attack at the enemy with his or her current weapons. The attack is made with an Accuracy bonus and does +50% damage if it hits. For every 1% under 50% Max Stamina the target has, the attack does an additional +3% damage. 3/rest.
Reckless Assault (Modal) - In this mode, a rogue's Deflection is lowered but he or she gains a bonus to Accuracy and damage with all weapons.
Dirty Fighting - 10% of the rogue's Hits with any melee or ranged weapon are turned into Crits. This occurs after the initial attack roll is resolved. The resulting shift is displayed in the combat log.
As rogues advance, they gain access to abilities that allow them to maximize the damage and afflictions they can dish out to their targets. They can also learn a variety of tricks to help them get out of trouble when the going gets tough.
Sneak Attack - Sneak Attack applies bonus damage to the rogue's ranged and melee weapon attacks when the target has any of the following statuses: Blinded, Flanked, Hobbled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Prone, Stuck, Stunned, or Weakened. It also applies to any target the rogue strikes with a weapon within the first 2 seconds of combat starting.
Escape (Active) - Escape allows the rogue to break Engagement and safely move away from their current location. The ability must be targeted on open ground to which the rogue has a clear path. When activated, the rogue immediately breaks Engagement and swiftly moves to that location. 1/encounter.
Crippling Strike (Active) - Full Attack. Inflicts extra damage and the Hobbled condition. 2/encounter.
Coordinated Positioning (Active) - You are able to instantly switch positions with one target within 1m. If this is an ally, the switch is automatic. If it is an enemy, the maneuver is an attack against its Reflexes (only succeeds on a Hit or Crit). The switch is immediate and cancels Engagement (if any) on the rogue. 2/encounter.
Adept Evasion - 50% of all Grazes against a rogue's Reflexes are converted to Misses.
Blinding Strike (Active) - Full Attack. Inflicts extra damage and the Blinded condition. 2/rest.
Deathblows - Against any target that is afflicted by two or more of the conditions that can allow Sneak Attack, rogues do additional Sneak Attack damage.
pe-eder-low.jpg
Resident heavy-hitting rogue, Edér.
Rangers are expert sharpshooters with any ranged weapon. Though they traditionally rely on bows and crossbows, some use firearms or even magical implements. Regardless of their choice of armament, even novice rangers can strike swiftly and leave severe wounds that quickly wear down an enemy's stamina and movement. They are assisted in their efforts by their animal companions, incredibly tough and loyal creatures who share their lives (literally) with their masters. All rangers start with the following three abilities:
Animal Companion - The ranger begins the game with (and can name) an animal companion that fights at his or her direction. This companion shares Health and Stamina with the ranger, i.e. if either one is damaged, the same pool is reduced. Both the ranger and the animal companion die if their Health is reduced to zero. Animal companions have high inherent Damage Thresholds that allow them to run interference for their masters.
Wounding Shot (Active) - Only usable when ranged weapons are equipped. The ranger's shot inflicts a continuous damage effect and Hobbles the target. 3/rest.
Swift Aim (Modal) - This mode increases the ranger's rate of fire and reload with ranged weapons at the cost of an Accuracy penalty.
At higher levels, rangers gain abilities that increase the effectiveness of their attacks and the coordinated use of their companions. By tactically applying the synergistic benefits of the ranger and his or her companion, players can lock down and quickly overwhelm powerful enemies.
Defensive Bond - When both the ranger and his or her animal companion are subjected to an area effect attack, they gain +15 to the targeted defenses.
Marked Prey (Active) - The ranger can designate a single target as his or her marked prey. He or she and his or her animal companion have a damage bonus against that target until combat ends. Once designated, the target cannot be switched. 1/encounter.
Predator's Sense - The ranger's animal companion gains a damage bonus on any creature suffering from a continuous damage effect, including those caused by Wounding Shots.
Stalkers' Link - When a ranger's animal companion Engages a target, the target is automatically Flanked if the ranger has a ranged weapon equipped and is opposite the target.
Takedown (Active) - The ranger's animal companion will knock the target Prone with a Fortitude attack. 2/encounter.
Defensive Shooting - When using ranged weapons against any target that is Engaging the ranger, the ranger's Accuracy is increased by 20 and his or her Interrupt rating is improved by one category.
Master's Call (Active) - When the ranger issues Master's Call, his or her animal companion will immediately move back to him or her at increased speed, gaining a +20 bonus to Concentration and defenses against Disengagement Attacks. Any enemy it comes within 1m of is automatically attacked (Fortitude) and knocked Prone if the attack succeeds. 2/rest.
In addition to the abilities listed here, ciphers, rogues, and rangers can gain access to additional class-specific abilities as well as Talents. Some Talents can be taken by any character, but many are class-oriented and can be used to distinguish or emphasize one character from another. One cipher's Talents may emphasize his or her physical attacks while another's makes his or her Focus use more efficient. One rogue may maximize his or her advantage against a specific type of affliction; another may improve the frequency with which his or her offensive abilities can be used. And while rangers can always benefit from improving their marksmanship and special attacks, investing in the durability and abilities of their animal companions can safeguard the ranger against disaster.
Pillars of Eternity's heavy hitters all differ in how they bring the pain to enemies, but we hope you enjoy the concepts and mechanics we've presented here. As always, these are our current designs and implementations, but will be adjusting them in the months to come. We will be doing three more class pair updates in the future: The Leaders of the Band (chanters and priests), The Front Line (fighters and barbarians), and The Mob Rulers (wizards and druids). Let us know what you think of today's update and please vote on which of the three class pairs you'd like to see covered next. As always, thanks for reading and for your continued support.
Also Familiars for Wizards might make a return in patches/expansion. We'll see.
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/07/24/pillars-of-eternity-seems-to-push-all-the-right-rpg-buttons
http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/news/a584735/pillars-of-eternity-beta-to-focus-on-side-content-exclusive-to-backers.html#~oKWv6IkNaVFfum
http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2014/07/24/to-infinity-and-beyond-with-pillars-of-eternity/
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/pillars-of-eternity-baldurs-gate-and-toeing-the-li/1100-6421268/
http://www.gamesradar.com/pillars-eternity-returns-classic-rpg-adventuring/
http://www.strategyinformer.com/pc/projecteternity/1141/preview.html
Seemed alright.
No doubt they want to use those souls to power whatever, but in a world where reincarnation is an actual thing, trapping a whole bunch of souls in a giant metal box might lead to a lot more people being born without souls - although I seem to remember that most soulless babies are stillborn anyway.
Stuff like that could lead to extinction. But the death of all sentient life might be so far into the future that the robed people don't much care.
http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/114102-pillars-of-eternity-gameplay-footage-previews.html
Reception has been generally very positive.
Edit:
And RPS Preview
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/07/24/freedom-and-fantasy-pillars-of-eternity-interview/
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