I love how some of the Deadfire companions don't like each other. I love how things can get so tense between Xoti and Pallegina or Maia and Tekēhu that they boil over into a big fight with harsh words and hurt feelings. I love how Aloth doesn't get into a fight with Tekēhu but absolutely will bitch about him in an aside to the Watcher. I love how the endgame has some companions drawing lines in the sand and, depending on your choices, basically tears your party apart. I'm so invested in the Watcher's inner-party conflict, and the fact these arguments are triggered automatically after banter makes it feel like you're watching their nerves fray in real time. It's sooooo spicy, i love it so much

Xoti for the character breakdown?

thank you!! oh it's been so long since i've played Deadfire, but i'll do my best:

How I feel about this character

i really like Xoti!! I think Deadfire in general suffers from weaker character writing than the original Pillars, but i still really enjoy her as a companion. i like that she's chipper and reckless and friendly and weird. i was instantly charmed by her the first time i played the game, and she's still one of my favorite characters introduced in Deadfire

All the people I ship romantically with this character

i've actually never triggered the Maia/Xoti romance in Deadfire; none of my playthroughs happened to line up that way! but i've gotten their first couple of flirting banters, and from what i've seen, they're cute

my Watcher Miervaldis/Xoti will always be so good to me- again, i love how weird she is, and i love how these two understand and wholeheartedly support each other's weirdness! they're one of my rare 'love at first sight' ships; it's usually not my thing, but as soon as Miervaldis met this talkative, enthusiastic woman who saw creepy ghosts in her dreams, he was a goner

(Calendula/Xoti is also one of my fav ships! again, i love any ship where Xoti gets to unabashedly be herself and be loved for it)

i also think there's some untapped enemies-to-lover potential with Pallegina/Xoti. not gonna elaborate on that for now, i need to play the game again

My non-romantic OTP for this character

i do actually like her friendship with Eder. i like that they're foils to each other, that she reminds him a little of a younger, idealistic version of himself. i like that she has this awkward crush that never stood a chance, and that in spite of that they can end up in a really close friendship.

gosh i'm trying to remembers some of her good banters. i think she and Serafen had some cute conversations, too, where he's amused by her wild side and she likes hearing all his adventure stories. it's an unexpected friendship but it makes a lot of sense once they talk to each other, and they're a fun pair!

My unpopular opinion about this character

ha, does liking her count? it's still surprising to me that she's not more popular, even now there's still only twelve fics for Watcher/Xoti on AO3! i just think people could be appreciating her more

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

i think it would have been really cool if the 'Gaun as an aspect of Eothas' was explored more. we know Berath has different forms for the Pallid Knight and the Usher- does Eothas have a different form for Gaun? it would have been interesting, i think, if that part of him came forward when he interacted with oti, and i think it would have added some cool lore to her quest

give me a character

actual thoughts on eder's 'romance' (or lack of it) that aren't just 'woag that's crazy' now that i've replayed the rejection scene (if it can even really be called that either)

this is longer than it needs to be and is literally just my interpretation of his second approval scene (and surrounding banter) lol

on the one hand, i genuinely think having eder reject being in a romantic relationship with the watcher is a fascinating choice for what it says about his character. relationships with others (whether in a community or on a more personal level) is an important part of eder's character as much as his personal faith, so for him to reveal that he feels unable or is unwilling to have romantic feelings for the watcher probably due to his life after the saint's war is a really compelling turn for his character. I think it really works to show that the saint's war has impacted him drastically, and the fall out of it isn't just: eder's lost people he cares about and is sad :(. it's genuinely impacted his ability to form relationships! and considering that he saw people he cared for (including former lovers) persecuted or forced to flee because of their faith, a fate he was temporarily spared because he made the 'right' choice in the war, it's understandable that he doesn't want to start a relationship. the serafen banter he has where serafen (the mind reader) is genuinely shocked that eder rejected the watcher also feels like to me a flag that the player should at least recognise there is something more than: 'he's just not that into you' going on here. i think being able to pick up on the potential romantic readings of his relationship with the watcher is very much intended by the writers. and i've said before but i think using this as an opportunity to explore eder's trauma and how it impacts his relationship with the watcher is way more interesting than if the player was never able to address it at all and we were just meant to take his unending devotion as regular friendship and not as potentially something more.

at the same time, the fact that the player is able to have this conversation which potentially raises the issue that eder is not really coping with everything he's lost and where he admits he'd have feelings for the watcher (in another life/if he wasn't traumatised) but is unable to have them, and then afaik this isn't ever really addressed again in the game is kinda frustrating and it does feel like there's this loose thread hanging here when you take this dialogue option and i do wish it was explored more in some way. because all of this stuff is right there in the text! like idk i just feel like there's too much dialogue, within this scene and around it (tekehu(?) also questioning if eder and the watcher are together is another example) that makes me feel like idk there's something here the player is meant to be picking up on, and i am! but then once i do that i'm like ok. now what?

ok how about Pillars of Eternity?

Oh PoE, how I love and miss you.

Favorite Male Character: Eder, 100%. That himbo hick is my beloved even when he says stupid shit that makes me want to strangle him a little. He's trying his best, honest. xD Favorite Female Character: Has to be Sagani. A dwarven hunter with a polar fox companion? How could I not love her? Least Favorite Character: Most of the gods and Durance. Favorite Ship: Muirin doesn't have an LI. Can I say Muirin & Eothas (platonic)? In the first game she felt that no god deserved worship but by the end of Deadfire harbored an incredible love for the god of renewal and light. Favorite Friendship: Muirin and Eder/Hiravias/Adaryc/Serafen. Lololol, too many to choose. Favorite Quote: It's actually in my bio: "The brightest souls can burn out in an instant, and even a pathetic, feeble spark can grow brilliant in time." Eothas my beloved. Worst Character Death (if any): Watching Waidwen's death in The Beast of Winter really fucked me up, ngl. Like he'd already been dead 10 years but then I had to SEE the bridge explode. Agony. This made me so happy you have no idea Moment: When Maneha made a cameo in Deadfire. Still disappointed as hell that she wasn't a returning companion. Saddest Moment: Too many to count! Favorite Location: Wherever the fuck Eothas was at any given time. 😂

[Give Me a Fandom ask game]

watcher as companion

you can find the prompts here, thank you @ariela-of-aedyr for making it!

If your Watcher, or other Pillars OC, was a recruitable companion instead of the main character, how and where would they be introduced to the main party? 

in the first game, brianna would be found in defiance bay hanging around outside the goose and fox inn and would have a side quest for the watcher involving helping her deal with bounty hunters who are after her

in deadfire, she would be found trying to help the roparu in the gullet in neketaka and she would be part of the quest to introduce a better food source to the gullet

What would their companion quest involve?

in the first game, brianna’s companion quest would involve confronting the man that killed her parents in readceras. the watcher can either try to persuade her to handle the situation non-leathally or lethally, but either way the man attacks the party and he dies. the watcher’s decision changes brianna’s disposition in deadfire.

in deadfire, brianna’s companion quest would involve confronting a cipher she had befriended in her time in the deadfire. the cipher has resorted to using their abilities to force people to do things against their will and justifies it by saying it’s for the greater good. the watcher can persuade brianna to agree or disagree.

What traits would affect their approval, positively or negatively? 

positive traits: dutiful, autonomy, anti-leaden key, kindness (especially helping those less fortunate)

negative traits: pride, racism, religious discrimination, cruelty, aggressiveness

Which other companions would they get along with, and which would they bicker with, in Party Banter? 

brianna would get along with pretty much everyone in the first game except for durance lmfao. she would probably bicker with hiravias in party banter because they don’t see eye to eye on much, but she still likes and respects him. she gets along best with aloth, eder, sagani, and pallegina.

in deadfire, she gets along best with aloth, eder, xoti, and tekehu. she doesn’t want to get involved in the warring factions at play in the deadfire so the dedication maia and pallegina show to their causes makes her wary of them. knowing the truth about the gods would give her reason to bicker occasionally with tekehu and she wouldn’t always get along with serafen and maia.

Would they be romanceable? Would they end up in a romance with another companion, if both were left unromanced (à la Maia & Xoti)?

brianna would be romanceable. if both she and aloth were both not romanced, they would end up together.

Would anything make them leave the party, or would they be there for the long haul?

if the watcher did something incredibly heinous and against brianna’s morals, like sacrificing a companion to the skaen blood pool. or in deadfire if the watcher hit -2 approval with brianna she would probably just peace out lmao she’s got better things to do.

The Watcher as a Companion

1. If your Watcher, or other Pillars OC, was a recruitable companion instead of the main character, how and where would they be introduced to the main party?

ariel would be found in defiance bay, in brackenbury at the doemenel manor. the first time the watcher enters the manor, they walk in on ariel having a conversation with abrecan, thanking him for some information before ariel leaves, passing the watcher and their companions on the way out with a nod and a smile. when the watcher leaves the building, ariel is waiting outside for them and approaches, bowing very dramatically in greeting. he would ask the watcher of their business with the doemenels, and if they have accepted any quests from them, ariel would ask to accompany the watcher, emphasising that hed be helpful with such tasks.

in deadfire, ariel can be found in the radiant court in dunnage, chatting with calandra and encouraging her to make improvements to her play. when the watcher approaches them, ariel will greet them with a surprised grin, glad to see they survived the cataclysm at caed nua. he asks what theyre up to in the deadfire, and will tag along if the watcher promises to help his friend calandra. during the quest, he will part of the performance and will then be a permanent companion once it has been completed.

2. What would their companion quest involve?

his companion quest would probably involve the reason hes come to the dyrwood in the first place, which is to work with the doemenels, who his mentor had strong business relations with, until the chaos in his home town had blown over. however, before ariel left old vailia, his mentor had given him a task, which was to look for an old friend of his who lived in the dyrwood. the old friend turns out to be almost impossible to find, sending the watcher on a wild goose chase all over the dyrwood. when they finally confront him in twin elms, ariel confesses to the watcher that he was to kill this man for his mentor, as he apparently ratted him out to the authorities back in old vailia. the watcher can either convince ariel to not kill him (or assist in doing so), as well as provide funds to the man to leave the dyrwood. if the man is left alive, ariel expresses disappointment, as well as fear as to what his mentor might do if he found out ariel had failed. otherwise he will thank the watcher for their assistance and tell them he will need to report back to the doemenels about his success.

in deadfire, ariel had come to the archipelago either because hes now working with the principi, or because hes hiding from his former mentor, depending on whether or not ariel had completed his mission. regardless of the outcome, ariel finds that his sister is actually in deadfire and wants to reconnect after he heard the news that his father died recently. his sister actually works for the vailian trading company as a captain, and is found trapped inside an old temple on a deserted island, the rest of her crew being turned into undead. after the watcher saves her from the island, ariel speaks with her once theyre aboard the ship, and they bond a bit over the journey back to neketaka. upon arrival, she tells him of her duty to the vailian trading company and how she cant spend much time with him because of her work, but that she would like to see him again, and leaves the watchers company. ariel tells the watcher that once all the eothas business is over with, hes going to travel with his sister, and that hes very glad they helped him find her.

3. What traits would affect their approval, positively or negatively?

dispositions that affect ariels approval positively would be passionate, clever and diplomatic. deception and benevolence would also impact him positively but only slightly so. he greatly disapproves of needless cruelty or stoicism, but wont leave the party over it.

in deadfire his likes would be: pride, lightheartedness, skullduggery and impassioned. his dislikes would be: piety, racism and slavery/servitude.

4. Which other companions would they get along with, and which would they bicker with, in Party Banter?

kana and ariel definitely get along right off the bat, as ariel enjoys kanas lightheartedness as well as listening to him recite stories and poems. the same goes for maneha and eder, he jokes around a lot with them and is interested in the raiding stories maneha may tell. he starts off neutral towards aloth and pallegina, but eventually warms up to them, enjoying pulling out aloths (or rather iselmyrs) mischievous nature, and bonding with pallegina over both of them being vailian. the only companions he really dislikes are zahua and durance, either due to being ‘boring’ or just because hes disinterested in them and their ideologies.

in deadfire he gets along well with eder, aloth and pallegina, like in poe1. at first he likes xotis company, likening her to a little sister, but eventually her pious nature puts him off entirely, choosing mostly to exchange pleasantries and nothing more. maia hes mostly neutral on, appreciating her resourcefulness, but her almost militant attitude is a turn off. he gets along extremely well with both serafen and tekehu, serafen for his penchant for causing trouble, and tekehu mostly because he finds him hot lmao but also because they can bond over art, ariel not really having any contact with many other artists.

5. Would they be romanceable? Would they end up in a romance with another companion, if both were left unromanced (à la Maia & Xoti)?

oh absolutely, but only by male watchers. he flirts a Lot with the watcher, often propositioning him but will very much stop altogether if the watcher expresses discomfort. he would flirt with all male companions but would probably end up with tekehu if the watcher hadnt romanced either of them.

6. Would anything make them leave the party, or would they be there for the long haul?

nothing huge would make him leave, very much used to dealing with all sorts of people, especially more dubious sorts. the only thing really would be if the watcher just told him to leave, which would send him back to the doemenels

Watcher as a Companion

Responding to this post by @ariela-of-aedyr.  I’m answering for Junisce, my human druid hunter from the Living Lands.

If your Watcher, or other Pillars OC, was a recruitable companion instead of the main character, how and where would they be introduced to the main party? If Junisce were recruitable in the first game, she would likely be found either in the initial area (and survive Cilant Lis), or she would appear in Defiance Bay in the Hall of Revealed Mysteries.  Either way, she came to the Dyrwood looking for a way to restart her life after a monster massacred the tiny village she used to protect and she was blamed for it.  She became (or becomes, if she was with the Watcher from the beginning) extremely disillusioned with the political bullshit choking the region, and travels with the Watcher because the thrill of hunting for answers strikes her in all the right ways. If she were recruitable in the second game, she would appear in Neketaka, probably in the Gullet, as someone who came to the Deadfire on her quest for a fresh start only to realize a shit ton of people had it worse than her.  Once the Watcher had helped the Gullet in some way, she would offer to go with them because she frankly misses exploring and being out in the open.

What would their companion quest involve? Junisce’s companion quest would involve dealing with a group of bounty hunters who is after her, hired by one of the survivors of the massacre she failed to stop.  Junisce would be torn between trying to give herself up to them because of her guilt or wanting to live and find some kind of redemption.

What traits would affect their approval, positively or negatively? She doesn’t support aggressive attitudes or either of the trading companies.  She enjoys resourcefulness, animal kindness, and a lighthearted disposition.

Which other companions would they get along with, and which would they bicker with, in Party Banter? Junisce is naturally inclined towards Eder, Hiravias, Xoti, and Serafen.  She and Hiravias often debate theology as they have similar split faith between Galawain and Wael, and are good friends.  Eder’s down-to-earth style, gallows humor, and willingness to protect people earns her favor quickly and they become easy friends.  Mostly due to Eder’s immediate interest and approval but also due to Xoti’s disposition, she quite likes her as well; and she and Serafen fall into a flirtatious relationship fairly quickly after meeting, often butting heads as often as teasing each other when they speak.  She severely dislikes Durance, Pallegina, and Maia, though she acknowledges and respects the latter two for their strength.  She and Aloth don’t get along well at first, and pushing Aloth closer to his Authority trait makes her dislike him even more.  Sagani ends up becoming somewhat of a mother figure to her. 

Would they be romanceable? Would they end up in a romance with another companion, if both were left unromanced (à la Maia & Xoti)? If left unromanced, Junisce and Serafen would start a FWB situation that *could* develop into something more in the end if encouraged by the Watcher.

Junisce could be romanced by the Watcher, as well, if said Watcher was sufficiently clever, rational, and down-to-earth.  Junisce would appreciate a partner who understands her past and helps her move forward from it, and would be excited to find one who could watch her back and support her as she does the same for them.

Would anything make them leave the party, or would they be there for the long haul? Junisce would likely leave the party in the original if the Watcher acquired a high enough aggressive reputation. In Deadfire, she would leave if the Watcher sided with either trading company because she believes their ideals to be too extreme and invasive, utterly inconsiderate of the reality of culture in the archipelago.

i think one of my biggest problems with pillars 1 vs deadfire is just finding a good party balance?

with deadfire i never felt like i was really MISSING anything in my party at any point in time despite having one less member. i pretty consistently ran with eder/xoti/serafen/tekehu my entire game aside from swapping people out for personal quests or interactions, and in dlc i replaced with serafen with aloth for more offensive magic use and that was... really it? and serafen was easily my least necessary member of that party and i still got along just fine with him there.

and i think a lot of that comes from the fact that i trusted xoti and tekehu to serve two purposes. even three, as far as xoti was concerned tbh, because i could use her for the occasional offensive magic as well as heals AND melee.

what i love about tekehu in battle is i can use him efficiently without any real knocks to his capabilities both ranged and up close. i can get off standard rod attacks to keep him away from the fray so i can preserve him for healing where it’s needed. but i can also get into the fray, and hit off foe-only aoe spells, so i can be offensive while switching off with something like moonwell for healing all the same. and i fully admit that’s kind of a cop-out, and he’s kind of OP for a reason, but it’s REALLY fucking useful.

i don’t *have* that in pillars 1.

i don’t like durance. i feel like i have to babysit him and keep him out of the fray at all times because i feel like healing is his only strong suit and even then i’m lucky half the time if i can keep him alive long enough to be useful for that.

so that leaves me with three fucking options. 

in a party of six.

which i have to cocktail in order to feel comfortable.

i can take kana, who can give me them sweet bard buffs, and also serve as a decent ranged combatant or close range combatant, but doesn’t necessarily give me any decent hard hitting healing. he also tends to plug up the field with skeletons which, i love, but it can get REALLY CONGESTED in small areas. i could going into his AI and change this shit but i really find it to be the most useful thing i have on him and it’s more just forcing myself to manually balance him out which gets DIFFICULT when this game loves to have my party just... completely scatterbrained even when i’m trying to control them because the mechanics get weird.

or i can take pallegina, who has lay on hands, and can inspire allies, but is pretty much only good in melee range.

or i can take hiravias, who.... ugh. like he has moonwell, right? he has it. and it’s great. but it’s not great because most of his usefulness to me in terms of spells are ranged. moonwell is no good to me if his squishy ass is half way across the map. nor is robust. or anything.

so if i do what i do right now, and roll with both pallegina and hiravias, i’m taking up two spots in my party to essentially fill what i’m used to being one spot.

on top of just my issues with the balance mechanically, there’s just.... too fucking many companions. i have MORE space for them and yet i feel more overwhelmed because again, i feel like i have to cocktail and take up space for certain duties. and then the dlc comes, and i have MORE companion possibilities. it’s great for questing but i don’t feel overly inspired by half these characters (especially when three of them have the same goddamn voice). i don’t feel like i should have a problem saying ‘i’m rolling with my favorites and fuck the rest’ but it just seems like there’s SO MUCH SIDE SHIT I SHOULD BE DOING WITH THESE OTHER PEOPLE.

it’s just....? i don’t know. i don’t feel like i’m making a cohesive point here.

i guess what i’m saying is i wish the mechanics felt smoother to me so i could actually care about exploring these characters instead of constantly worrying about saving before every enemy encounter even though i’m playing on fucking easy.

because there’s just too many fucking people and half of them serve me zero purpose.

and i’m probably just bad at video games but i’m really playing this game for the story elements so i can have better context for deadfire in hindsight and there’s just so many things that take me out of it despite, again, being on *fucking easy*.

Review Game Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

By spreading its sails and taking the journey to a creative and interesting setting, Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire finds fertile ground for interesting and nuanced roleplaying stories. The main storyline is its biggest weakness, but Deadfire comes into its own by drawing you into the surrounding saga of its embattled islands and the distinct peoples fighting over them. This island chain offers no shortage of fantastic tactical battles, fascinating allies, and exotic places to explore.

2015’s Pillars of Eternity is a love letter to the Baldur’s Gate school of classic isometric RPG, presented in the classic sword-and-sorcery style: a dark and thought-provoking adventure with elves, dwarves, plate mail, and fireballs. Deadfire, on the other hand, strikes a bold contrast and ditches most of these tropes for a less common style. By minimizing castles and forests in favor of a beautiful ocean and boats, and the sword-and-shield aesthetic for sabers and blunderbusses, Deadfire’s 40-hour campaign almost feels like it takes place in a completely different world from the original despite the fact that it stars the same Watcher of Caed Nua character we originally played as.

You can even import your old save file or simulate one with a text-based Mass Effect-style quiz that gives you the character history you want (not necessarily the one you deserve). The consequences of certain major decisions in the original are very acutely felt in Deadfire, starting with the very first conversation as the gods themselves offer an accounting of your character’s past actions.

Gone is the static, painted overworld of the first Pillars, replaced instead by an atmospheric open ocean map upon which you sail your customizable ship freely from island to island and quest to quest. This interactive overworld is littered with scripted events and treasures to find, springs crew interactions on you at random. You can also be attacked by pirates, or privateers from rival factions, though the turn-based naval battles are so basic as to feel shoehorned in and not much fun. Those lengthy interruptions made sailing times stretch on longer than I’d like, and the expensive upgrades, like new sails for my ship, barely made a perceptible difference when it came to outrunning threats.

The main story of the voyage you embark upon in Deadfire is similarly prone to moments of feeling rudderless. You’re on a quest to chase down the newly revived god of light and retrieve your soul, something you’re given little incentive to do beyond simply being told it is necessary. The plot waits far too long to add enough context to your chase to give substantial motivation for partaking in it, considering you seem to be getting by just fine without. Fast progress, and the answer to the all-important question of “why is this important,” are gated behind enemies and areas so challenging that they demand you and your party be of a certain level that is usually far beyond where you currently are when you first encounter them.

However, that need to get stronger drove me to pursue the sidequests and tertiary plots, and this is where the writing of Deadfire truly began to shine. The main plot is surrounded by the intriguing and thoughtful open-world flavor of a region entering the crucible of historical change. At first, it was the tempting XP rewards that compelled me to seek out and explore the different islands, but after spending time among their people, appreciating the distinctive architecture of each village, learning about their different cultures, and hearing about their visions for the future of the diverse island chain, I found myself drawn into and invested in these small local problems much more than I was with the big one looming over my head.

Play more Skater Rush

123 Games

The tale of the Deadfire is the story of everyone in it, and you can encounter an ocean of stories across an expanse in a state of upheaval, with several complex and ambitious factions seeking to steer it a particular way. It isn't long before their leaders pitch you on their endgame and seek your allegiance, and the quests that arise from these calls for aid are the best in Deadfire. The Huana, the natives of the Deadfire Archipelago, seek to preserve their independence and their way of life against what amounts to the colonial intrusion of the other powers, but some caste-based aspects of the culture they seek to preserve are deeply flawed. The Valians seek to greedily exploit the potent natural resources of the islands, but if allowed to do so might bring about revolutionary progress. The Rauatai seek to unify the Deadfire islands with their nation to create a greater Aumaua empire, even if they have to do it by the sword and the cannon. If you prefer more mischief and less politics, you can always back the pirates, but even they have their own internal power struggle brewing as the older and more conservative pirate captains face off against younger reformers.

Obsidian’s writers seem to have gone out of their way to deny us moral certainty and create meaningful decisions, because matter who you side with some people will benefit and some will get hurt. This hits even harder when you’re exposed to the consequences of your choices first-hand. The existence of the Huana cast system isn’t an simply an entry in the codex; it’s a reality for many poor and destitute Aumaua who turn to you for help. The ethically dubious land acquisition of the Vailians isn’t just something heard about in a conversational aside, it’s a problem its victims seek your aid in resolving. Deadfire’s writing of these situations is a sterling example of the “show, don’t tell” maxim. Because I was given the pros and cons of my allegiance with faces, names, and stories, the impact of my decisions was never far from my mind.

Faction quests aren’t the only place to find compelling and complicated situations in the Deadfire Archipelago. While plenty of NPCs are simply background decoration, many residents of this dangerous land are fully voiced and fleshed-out people with pressing tasks and problems stemming from the major events happening around them. Whether it’s reuniting a lost family member with his loved ones or trying to save (or condemn) a poor refugee family seeking a better life, the stories are varied and carry real emotional heft. This is aided in no small part by the tremendous feat of roleplaying immersion Deadfire pulls off; this world, and its people, have long memories, and they interact with you through the lens of a past your character may have had a substantial role in. People I helped early on either showed up later to vouch for me or sang my praises to other characters I hadn’t yet encountered. Something as simple as helping a stranded missionary fix his broken wagon early on had effects that echoed throughout my entire playthrough. A seemingly innocuous conversation about the gods that I had with another individual turned out to be a defining moment for an entire group’s worldview.

Similarly, in typical Obsidian RPG fashion, dialogue choices are heavily influenced by character stats, making which ones you choose to invest in feel like an important choice no matter how you play. My skills list and my character's reputation came up in nearly every interaction, with unique dialogue options available if I was good enough at an activity like diplomacy or sleight of hand, or had a good enough reputation with a certain group or just as an individual, or was from a particular place or race. So deep and varied are these opportunities for diverse roleplaying that they offer tremendous replayability just to see how these experiences might diverge if a totally different Watcher stars in them. At one point, I got out of a situation that seemed destined for conflict because my Watcher possessed a silver tongue and a gift for reading other people. Would a happy ending have instead turned to bloodshed if I played a crueler, more coarse character? My Watcher became adept at socializing and skullduggery, but his lack of survival skills made him a fish out of water in the uncharted terrain of Deadfire's islands. Party members can lend an assist with skills of their own, but this is usually only enough to get over a hump; it doesn’t fully compensate for a complete lack of competence in any one area. This opened new encounters and outcomes to me and closed others entirely. An encounter with a reclusive tribe of xaurips can either end in a fight, or an amicable parting with some loot. A Watcher who is unable to intimidate a group of thugs into backing down might make a stubborn enemy. Sometimes, it stuck in my craw to see a situation spin out of my control, or end in a way I was desperate to avoid simply because I’d invested in the wrong skills, but this was more than balanced out by the feeling of satisfaction I received from solving an intimidating problem with my core competencies. This is an RPG that’s unafraid to take the character you’ve chosen to build and make you stand by them.

Obsidian’s writers’ talent for writing characters is on full display once again as Deadfire debuts a handful of new party members and carries over a few from the original (assuming they’re still around in your story), all of whom are all extremely well written and developed with complex and often conflicting motivations for tagging along. Returning companion Eder is as charming and sympathetic as ever, resuming his role as the group’s moral compass, and the furry blue brigand Serafen is positively oozing with personality, always ready with one-liner or savage insult. They aren’t going to agree with every decision you make, or with each other. If tensions between party members rise high enough, fights can break out between companions, full-on arguments with “them or me” undertones. I never found myself unable to juggle the personality clashes that arose between my companions, but these conflicts were handled in such a way that I truly felt pressured to closely manage my parties’ relationships with each other, not just with me. I actually felt like the leader of this motley bunch, not because the story simply dictated it, but because I had to participate in the work of keeping a group together.

It was rewarding to see my influence bleed over into my relationships with my companions and then see the changes I had wrought in their worldviews and personalities play out with each other. When one character who possessed a tremendous faith in the gods had a heated religious argument with another companion I’d steered away from their faith in the first Pillars, it struck me that the dialogue choices I clicked had real consequences. It was this exchange that gave me the sense Obsidian’s writers are on the verge of something truly special with writing these characters and fitting them into its stories.

They fall just short in Deadfire, though, with the lack of control afforded to you over the timing of these revelatory moments of character development. Too often, important conversations would begin immediately following another conversation in a way that felt awkward and unrealistic — or, in the worst cases, right after a major fight when the entire party was severely injured and/or in the midst of a dangerous eldritch dungeon, making a confession of growing affection or a heated debate about metaphysical ethics come off as entirely inappropriate, even humorous. I was left painfully aware that, no matter how artfully it was done, the companion relationship system was still reducing my relationships with my party members to a number that existed outside the context of anything that might be going on.

Those dungeons, islands, and luminous other machines sure look pretty, though. Deadfire is a very, very good looking isometric RPG, presenting a gorgeous fusion of 3D and 2D elements to create memorable scenes of a quality you don't often find in games that use this perspective. The monster design is fantastic, from smooth and oily-looking krakens to the gorgeous and varied elemental dragons. The water textures and lighting are some of the best I've seen in isometric RPGs, and the jungles and deserts are so well done that when my companion character complains about sand getting into unmentionable places, I believe them. I was never jarred out of my enjoyment on entering a new area by low texture quality or a graphical hiccup, which is often an issue in similar engines.

Deadfire's pausable real-time combat is its most fun, challenging, and energetic element. Enemy parties and the opponents themselves present almost a puzzle of sorts — a maze of resistances, proficiencies, and damage types that you and your party must navigate in order to effectively counter them. A key tool in doing so is the single best quality-of-life fix that Deadfire introduces to the established Pillars formula: the extensive AI scripting allowed for each character. Reminiscent of the system from Dragon Age: Origins, you can set up a complex list of AI priorities that ensures that your companions and even your own character respond the way you want them to when a given situation arises in a fight. Though combat can always be paused in order to click from character to character and give orders, battles feel much smoother, and are much more fun, when you can count on your priest to deliver timely healing or your wizard to unleash his most devastating spells you’ve been saving for a tight spot, instead of forgetting to perform said actions and watching a winnable battle end in defeat.

Though the scripting does have some notable limitations — I couldn’t figure out a way to script a Cipher to build up enough focus for some of their best optional subclass abilities, which seems like a significant oversight — it adds a new layer of depth to an already smoother, better balanced, and better animated combat system, making each encounter a treat to take on. In many cases, I didn’t mind losing a particularly tough battle because it gave me the chance to make any number of tweaks to strategy, scripting, and loadout in an effort to alter the outcome. Replaying a tough boss battle became less a chore and more of a charm.

The Verdict Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire improves upon the Pillars of Eternity formula in nearly every way, creating an RPG loaded with both strong combat and important, character-defining choices that frequently have an impact on your numerous and deep side-story adventures. A refreshingly different island setting makes it feel dramatically distinct, though travel can be laborious because of unavoidable and repetitive nautical encounters. From a long list of quality-of-life upgrades to a new and impressive attention on companions and their relationships and an astonishing commitment to immersive storytelling and roleplaying, this sequel takes a strong step forward past its predecessor and presents exciting possibilities for the genre going forward.