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| Pillars of Eternity 2 Video-Based Walkthrough by David Milward |
East Deadfire
The Red Arrow
The good party sails northwest from Splintered Reef, and runs into a Crookspur Dhow called The Red Arrow, and captained by an Orlan Rogue named Faina Short-Fur. It tries to close in on me. I turn starboard, Hold Position, and fire Grapeshot from my portside cannons. Each shot scores a Raking Hit so as to wipe out their Above-Deck Crew altogether. I close in for the boarding fight.
I continue with the same theme of holding position, and using the Wurms to shoot down any squishy enemies that are holding up my other companions and sidekicks. It's only a matter of time before I wear everything down.
Stopover in Tikawara
Now I sail a bit north and board a Huana Expert Captain without much trouble.
I dock at the town at Tikawara at #32. I don't explore it yet, that's for later. I only stop by to sell off any excess loot, and hire Pig-Sticker Rukowa as my fourth and last Deckhand. She starts off with two ranks in Deckhand and nothing else, so she'll be able to get the full four ranks in Deckhand.
The Stone Anchor
I sail northeast and then attack The Stone Anchor near an island at #20. It is captained by Oheiro.
It has a large crew, most of whom are higher-level than me. So I'm not eager for a boarding fight, at least not against the full crew.
I happened to get the initiative, and the ship itself is more than 300+m distant. So I turn portside and aim Grapeshot with Haeferic's Nose and my Iron Thunderers. The first volley takes out a few Crew Members, and starts a fire on the deck. That will tie them up trying to put out the fire.
I go Full Speed two turns in a row, Hold Position, and then fire another Grapeshot volley. That wipes out even more of their Crew. That's when I feel a good deal better about closing in and starting a boarding fight. I actually do manage to outlast the higher-level Crew Members, after almost half of their help got wiped out by Grapeshot.
The Fortune
I sail north and get attacked by a Principi Galleon called The Fortune, captained by Ond. It takes the initiative and is determined to close in on me for a boarding battle. I turn starboard, Hold Position, and get in a Grapeshot to take out two of their Crew Members while I can.
The theme of using my healing resources to outlast the onslaught while the Wurms pick off near death targets is very much in play. I manage to outlast everyone and walk away with the loot.
Rekke Joins
I sail east to #31, and accept Rekke into my party as a single-class Fighter.
I equip him with a Fine Plate Armor and the Blade of the Endless Paths.
He takes Disciplined Barrage on his 2nd level-up. It provides the Aware Inspiration for a lengthy duration. It's also a prerequisite to Disciplined Strikes.
He takes two abilities on his 3rd level-up. One is Two-Handed Style. It's a given as he'll use an Estoc as his exclusive weapon.
He also takes Fighter Stances. The Cleaving Stance modal would be a natural choice for any Fighter build that emphasizes inflicting damage instead of tanking.
He also takes Confident Aim on his 4th level-up. It provides a 30% chance of converting Grazes to Hits, which is a natural choice for any character that wants to Hit as often as possible.
He also takes the Estoc Weapon Proficiency. He will keep the Vulnerable Thrust modal active, which provides +2 Penetration with an Estoc but also imposes a -15 penalty to Deflection. But this build is based in part on encouraging Critical Hits against him.
He gains two abilities on his 5th level-up. One is Rapid Recovery. Constant Recovery will now regenerate 7 health per 3 sec.
He also takes Disciplined Strikes. It upgrades the Disciplined Barrage ability so that it now provides the Intuitive Inspiration, which means +5 Perception, a 50% chance of converting Grazes to Hits, and a 25% chance of converting Hits to Critical Hits.
He also takes Mule Kick on his 6th level-up. It upgrades Knockdown so that the target is launched into the air, and then left Prone on the ground. It amounts to an animation that results in the target being incapacitated for longer than just Knockdown.
He also takes two abilities on his 7th level-up. One is Weapon Specialization, which provides a 10% bonus to Damage with weapons that he is proficient in, and now includes Estocs.
He also takes Body Control. It provides Resistance to Might Afflictions. His numerical Defenses won't be great, especially when I allow for some penalties against them. So when I do take defensive passives, they tend to be Resistance-based.
I activate his Vulnerable Thrust modal and return to the World Map. I swap Pallegina back in for him.
*Evil* Rekke Joins
The evil party sailed straight north from Splintered Reef to #31. They hunt down the same ships as the good party afterwards. Rekke joins the evil party as a Barbarian / Fighter. Knockdown and Frenzy will be his first abilities.
He takes Blooded on his 2nd level-up. I don't hesitate to add a passive that requires the character to be near death for a ship combatant, as there will be no Injuries should the character get knocked unconscious.
He takes Disciplined Barrage on his 3rd level-up, just like he does in the good party.
He takes two abilities on his 4th level-up. One of them is Accurate Carnage. This is obligatory as it increases the probability of Static Charge from Lord Darryn's Voulge sticking to multiple targets.
The other is Fighter Stances. The Cleaving Stance is still a natural choice for any Fighter build that emphasizes inflicting damage instead of tanking. But it takes on special meaning for Rekke in the evil party as it increases his ability to spread the electric-Carnage love (i.e., Static Charges) around through his Lord Darryn's Voulge.
He takes Two-Handed Style on his 5th level-up. It's a given as he uses a Pollaxe as his exclusive weapon.
He takes Confident Aim on his 6th level-up, just like he does in the good party.
He gains two abilities on his 7th level-up. One of them is One Stands Alone. It adds +20% Damage when near 2 or more enemies, and at least 3 enemies are needed to force the Flanked condition on him. It's pretty much an obligatory choice for Barbarians.
The other is Disciplined Strikes. It upgrades the Disciplined Barrage ability so that it now provides the Intuitive Inspiration, which means +5 Perception, a 50% chance of converting Grazes to Hits, and a 25% chance of converting Hits to Critical Hits. The last benefit is particularly relevant, as increased chances of Critical Hits means increased chances of detonating any accumulated Static Charges that his nearby foes will have accumulated.
He also now equips a Plate Armor, Lord Darryn's Voulge and the Boots of Stability.
*Evil* The Fortune
I sail a little northwest and get attacked by The Fortune. In this instance I got that 1% shot that sinks it instantly.
The Reckless
The good party sails west and boards a Principi Expert Captain, and outlasts them with the usual methods.
They continue west and attack a Royal Deadfire Company Expert Captain. A boarding battle can be tough, so I avoid it unless I can get a distinct advantage (i.e., reduced Crew Members through Grapeshot). They take the initiative and bring themselves closer. So I oblige by turning starboard, and sinking them with Vailian Hullbreakers and Dyrwoodan Hog Noses.
I go back east and board a Principi Expert Captain.
I continue east and board The Reckless, which is captained by the Vithrack named Veen. I outlast them with the usual methods.
The loot includes two Exceptional Plate Armors. I have Pallegina equip one as an upgrade, and have Rekke equip the other.
*Evil* The Reckless
The evil party sails north until it closes in on The Reckless. I whittle his crew down a bit with upclose cannon fire, and then board.
A theme that often works for ship battles is to let your ship combatants or your own tank worry about their tanks, and go around the perimeter taking out the squishier Rogues and Sailors and spellcasters. The enemy tanks will eventually be left to themselves. I also repeat the theme when I later board a Principi Novice Captain.
*Evil* The Stone Anchor
I come back south and then zero in on the Rauataian Junk called The Stone Anchor, which is captained by Oheiro. It has a large crew, some of whom will be higher-level than my characters, so I'm not eager for a boarding fight.
The ship itself is not well-equipped for long range naval combat. It only has two Royal Bronzers as long-range Cannons. It has four Dyrwoodan Hognoses, but their optimal range doesn't go past 400m.
So I jibe and go full sail until I'm 500+m distant from it. I then turn portside and begin firing away with my Haeferic's Nose and Aedyr Channel Gun. The other ship gets off two volleys, but with penalties on the distance they frequently miss.
I then go into a cycle of firing, going Full Sail for three turns, and then firing again. Note that I usually don't even bother to Hold Position prior to firing. I simply fire once I've reloaded. The reason being that the Enemy AI often won't fire until you yourself Hold Position, especially when its own Cannons will have significant penalties. I eventually wear it down, and then deliver a fatal shot before it can flee.
*Evil* Silver Winds
I go west a little and start a fight with a Principi Expert Captain. I triec to bombard it up close, but it became aware of my Magranite Flamethrowers and boarded me. I won the boarding fight, but it is always something that can happen with this particular ship build.
I travel south towards Tikawara. I then board a Huana Voyager called Silver Winds, which is captained by Hurangi. I take out the Priests first, and then the Bog Druid or Sailors depending on who I can reach.
*Evil* Stopover in Tikawara
Now I stop off at Tikawara, which is on the island at #32.
I've obtained some Exceptional-tier equipment during my fights, so now I take the chance to upgrade. Zarathos upgrades to an Exceptional Brigandine. He also holds onto a pair of Exceptional Rapiers and an Exceptional Breastplate for when Konstanten joins. Tekehu equips an Exceptional Sabre in his main-hand. Aloth equips an Exceptional Scepter so that he has one in each hand. Serafen equips an Exceptional Battleaxe in his main-hand, but keeps The Whispers of Yenwood in his off-hand. Mirke and Rekke both upgrade to Exceptional Plate armor.
Zarathos also advances to his 8th level. He selects Bloodlust, which provides a 20% boost to Action Speed for 10 sec on killing an enemy. Its duration can be prolonged by Salvation of Time.
I sell off what I don't need and recruit two new Crew Members. One is Ponamu Bird-Scorned. He already comes with three ranks in Boatswain, so that will be his role. He may not be able to get four ranks like Luca, but he's a viable second-best alternative.
The other is Pig-Sticker Rukowa. She rounds out the Deckhands for my ship, and she'll be able to get a perfect four ranks in it like the others.
*Evil* Static Charge
The evil party sails near Neketaka. I start to attack Deadfire Merchant Ships. One reason being that it'll recoup my ship supplies.
But more importantly, it helps me obtain the next upgrade for Lord Darryn's Voulge. The Merchant Ship Crews will always have a Plate Armored-warrior among them. Plate Armor has a penalty for Shocking Damage. I therefore have Rekke zero in on him for attacks, which will cause Shocking Damage instead of Slashing Damage because of the penalty.
Rekke inflicts at least 250 points of Shocking Damage over the course of two such battles. That fulfills the prerequisite for the Static Charge of Lord Darryn's Voulge.
Note that if you intend to keep a Companion or Sidekick as a ship combatant for the most part, they won't be able to fulfill any Soulbound upgrade requirements while participating in ship combat. They have to be in your core party to fulfill upgrade requirements. That's why I have Rekke subbing in for Ydwin for the time being.
Stopover in Neketaka
The good party sails west after defeating Veen. They board several ships along the way, including a Principi Novice Captain, a Huana Expert Captain, a Principi Expert Captain and a Deadfire Merchant Ship.
I dock in Queen's Berth, as almost all of my characters are ready to advance to their 8th levels.
Rekke takes Fearless, which provides resistance to Resolve Afflictions.
Ydwin takes Riposte. It's a passive that provides a chance of a Full Attack as a counter attack with a Melee Weapon, after an enemy has made a Melee Attack against Deflection and Missed. Fully realizing this passive to its best potential requires maximizing Deflection to the greatest extent possible, and a bashing shield in the off-hand that increases in Accuracy and Penetration. Tuotilo's Palm combined with Monastic Unarmed Training fits the bill.
Serafen takes Barbaric Blow. It's a Full Attack with +20% Damage, +50% Damage on Critical Hit, a 30% chance of converting a Hit to a Critical Hit, and a +50% area of effect for Carnage. Any concerns about expending Rage points can be mitigated when it gets upgraded to Barbaric Smash.
Xoti takes Enduring Dance. It now requires three hits to end a Dance of Death. If her AI has her use the Dance during ship combat, Enduring Dance will give her a real chance to strike some blows with improved Accuracy.
Pallegina takes Combat Focus. Some of her abilities, especially her summoning Invocations, have significant casting times. So taking this passive, which provides +1 Concentration at the start of each fight, is really helpful.
Mirke takes Stunning Blow. It spends two Mortification to inflict Stunned (-5 Might, cannot Engage, -4 Penetration, cannot take any actions) on its target on a Full Attack. By itself it is not a big deal yet. The ultimate point is to upgrade it to Stunning Surge, when it does indeed become a linchpin for her.
Eder rounds out the shoring up of his Defenses with Bull's Will (+10 to Will).
Aloth continues to bolster his Defenses with Bear's Fortitude, which adds +10 to Fortitude.
Alliria takes Brand Enemy. It upgrades Sworn Enemy so that it inflicts 4 Burning Damage every 3 seconds on its target. It is keyworded to Fire, so that Burning Damage will be increased by the bonus Fire Power Levels that Alliria accumulates through several of her items. The alternative, Sworn Rival, has a certain logic to it as it will recoup the 1 Zeal spent when the enemy dies. The problem is that by the time I defeat the bosses that I use the ability on, combat is either over or almost over by then. That makes the recouping of Zeal pointless by then. Although I recognize that Sworn Rival can accommodate a playing style of burning through lower-level mooks and recouping each time to use it again on the next mook. But that style would require a LOT of micromanagement, or some good scripting. My preference is still Brand Enemy, especially as it benefits from her bonus Fire Power Levels.
Sailing for the West Wakara Reef
The good party continues to sail towards the southwest corner of the World Map, attacking Deadfire Merchant Ships, Vailian Expert Captains and a Vailian Novice Captain along the way.
The battles against the Vailian Expert Captains in particular take a fair amount of time, so they showcase a theme in Alliria's build. Cast Infuse with Vital Essence. Use Blood Sacrifice. And as I've only used a 2nd-tier spell, Blood Sacrifice is guaranteed to recoup that spell. Use Arcane Veil. And use that Blood Sacrifice to recoup that 2nd-tier spell again. Use Arcane Veil again when it runs out, rinse and repeat to keep the +50 bonus to Deflection going.
Now it's time to sail for Fort Deadlight.
