Over a Decade After Release, Obsidian's Pillars of Eternity Gets Surprise Patch to Add Turn-Based Mode

Pillars of Eternity is the astonishment recipient of a spot to adhd turn-based mode, developer Obsidian has announced.

Fresh from releasing Avowed, Grounded 2, and The Outer Worlds 2 this year, the Microsoft-owned workplace has gone backmost to its isometric, party-based phantasy RPG implicit a decennary aft it came retired with a caller update.

Obsidian announced a caller nationalist beta for Pillars of Eternity opens connected November 5 for players connected Steam and Xbox PC, which adds the turn-based mode. The uncover comes alongside a connection from crippled manager Josh Sawyer (last seen directing Pentiment), with his thoughts connected what turn-based mode means for Pillars of Eternity.

“Fans who enjoyed experimenting with turn-based mode successful Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire volition find acquainted crushed here, but with cardinal improvements shaped by your feedback,” Obsidian said successful a blog post. More details are below.

How turn-based mode works successful Pillars of Eternity:

• Unbound Turns: All turns are present influenced by a character’s wide speed, improving the worth of Real-Time with Pause attributes and mechanics.
• Smarter Free Actions: Actions similar swapping weapons, drinking potions, oregon enabling modals are present escaped actions. Each escaped enactment is constricted to 1 per crook per benignant for balance.
• Faster Pacing: Combat lethality has been importantly accrued for some enemies and players to support battles tense and impactful.
• Mode Flexibility: You tin take Turn-Based Mode alongside trouble erstwhile starting a caller crippled — oregon swap freely betwixt Real-Time with Pause and Turn-Based Mode successful the crippled options. We’re besides investigating a nonstop HUD toggle for adjacent much convenience.

As this is simply a nationalist beta, delight expect bugs and ongoing adjustments, Obsidian warned. The beta volition tally for “some time” arsenic the developer continues to rotation retired updates and prepares for a afloat release.

Pillars of Eternity present has turn-based mode. Image credit: Obsidian.

IGN’s Pillars of Eternity reappraisal returned a 9/10 backmost successful 2015. We said astatine the time: “Obsidian (and its Kickstarter backers) person done it: Pillars of Eternity is 1 of the champion RPGs since Baldur's Gate.”

Obsidian followed PoE up with Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire successful 2018, earlier Microsoft bought the institution aboriginal that year. Obsidian went connected to merchandise the likes of The Outer Worlds and Grounded, and has go 1 of the astir prolific Xbox Games Studios developers Microsoft has connected its books.

Will determination beryllium a Pillars of Eternity 3? Sawyer has commented connected the imaginable successful the past. In 2023, for example, Sawyer said helium would emotion to make Pillars of Eternity 3 — nether the information the crippled receives the aforesaid fund arsenic Baldur's Gate 3.

"I deliberation if it genuinely was an unlimited budget, I deliberation I would effort Pillars 3 due to the fact that I cognize what the fund was for Deadfire, which was not a full batch and I person heard from aggregate radical what the fund was for Baldur’s Gate 3, and I’m not gonna speech astir numbers, but if I got that budget, sure, I’ll marque Pillars 3,” helium said.

Sawyer added that if helium were to marque Pillars 3, helium would employment a turn-based combat structure. Obsidian has yet to denote its adjacent game.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].