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Pillars of Eternity 2 Video-Based Walkthrough by David Milward

INTRODUCTION | CHARACTERS | COMBAT RULES | AREAS
About the Walkthrough | About the Maps | About the Author
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General Guidelines:   Character Planning  |  Skills Planning  |  Resting or No Resting
Good Party (Core):   Alliria  |  Aloth  |  Eder  |  Pallegina  |  Mirke
Good Party (Ship):   Xoti  |  Serafen  |  Ydwin  |  Fassina  |  Konstanten  |  Rekke
Evil Party (Core):   Zarathos  |  Xoti  |  Mirke  |  Tekehu  |  Ydwin
Evil Party (Ship):   Aloth  |  Eder  |  Serafen  |  Maia  |  Konstanten  |  Rekke

RESTING OR NO REST RUN

It is entirely possible to proceed through most of the game without ever Resting. There are no inherent penalties for going days or even weeks or months without using the Rest option. This walkthrough has both the good and evil parties go through what amount to No Rest runs. There are pros and cons to either a No Rest Run or a Resting Run. I'll begin with the No Rest Run, as it's the approach that I use.

Pro: The Best Food Bonuses

You can gain an until Rest bonus after consuming Food during your previous Rest. The bonuses can range from minimal, to incredible, and everything in between. Each Food item offers its own unique benefits.

But enjoying the very best of the Food bonuses may not always be attainable for a Resting run. For example, the Captain's Banquet offers +20% Damage with Spells, +20% Attack Speed and complete immunity to Intellect, Perception and Resolve Afflictions. But one of its ingredients, Luminous Lobster, tends to be quite rare. It's only available in a few shops in the entirety of the Deadfire, and only 2 or 3 at most at a time until the shop restocks. Likewise Mohora Wraps offers +4 Might, -20% Recovery Time and -30% duration of hostile effects. But again, the availability of Mohora Meat is quite rare.

Hylea's Bounty offers +10 all Defenses, +2 all skills, and +25% maximum Health. But it is impossible to benefit from it in an ongoing way during a Resting Run. There's no recipe for crafting it. Only three portions of it are available at the start of the game, and only if you had fulfilled your pledge to Hylea as part of the Watcher's Pillars of Eternity 1 History.

I plan out my Food according to which will offer benefits that augment each character's build. Sometimes they're the highest-tier bonuses, but not always. For example, the Foods that the core members of the good party consume as they start their No Rest Run are as follows: The Food for the ship combatants in the good party will be as follows: The Food for the core members of the evil party is as follows: The Food for the ship combatants for the evil party is as follows:

Pro: One Time Only Until Rest Bonuses

There are a few bonuses that last until Rest, but can only be obtained once:

I postpone getting any of these until after my Food bonuses are in place.

Pro: Other Bonuses

There are other bonuses that, while not necessarily available only once, are still unlikely to be any meaningful part of any Resting Run. The reasons include either the geographical distances between them, or being so expensive as to become cost-prohibitive for regular use.

Brothel Bonus: The Watcher can only enjoy one brothel bonus at a time. Four are available on the upper floor of the Wild Mare in Queen's Berth:

Two more are available in King's Coffin in King's Coffin. They are offered by Irwena (+1 to all skills, cannot be Engaged by lower-level enemies) and the Cabin Boy (+1 Dexterity, +1 Perception, -20% hostile effects duration).

Shrine Bonuses: There are bonuses that can be obtained from Shrines. It is usually possible to obtain one of them in a way that they will stack with other bonuses without triggering a Rest. They are: Keep in mind that one Shrine Bonus will replace another. So for a No Rest Run it boils down to a choice between Ngati's Blessing or Rikihu's Blessing. I prefer Ngati's Blessing for both playthroughs. It helps Alliria make fuller use of her Blood Mage abilities by giving her a larger pool of Health to draw on, and it helps Zarathos hold on a little longer until I can set up the infinitely extended Barring Death's Door for him.

Adratic Glow: Any party member can obtain +1 Empower Points and +1 class resource (e.g. Guile for Rogues, Rage for Barbarians, etc.) by paying a fee to take a bath in the Luminous Bathhouse.

Luminous Adra Potion: A Luminous Adra Potion for each character means every party member enjoys +2 to all skills until Rest. It can be a challenge to integrate them into a Resting Run. One of the key crafting ingredients for them, Luminous Adra Dust, can be pretty scarce. And even when available, the crafting cost is 3,500cp for each Luminous Adra Potion.

Wardstones: Wardstones are actually fairly easy to integrate into a Resting Run too, as several merchants will sell them and the game often makes them available as you're about to encounter sigils that can harm party members. But they last until Rest, so a party on a No Rest Run can enjoy ongoing immunity to any and all sigils after having used each of the five types of Wardstones.

The No Rest Run can enjoy a hefty collection of potent until Rest bonuses for most of the game. And the cumulative effect of those bonuses can be such that the party can steamroll their way through most of the encounters in the game without breaking a sweat, and without having to touch the camp button. But there are some drawbacks to be aware of as well.

Con: Lack of Empowered Abilities

A character can choose to Empower an activated ability once per Encounter. Empower has minimal effect on activated abilities that involve Weapon Attacks, but are more meaningful for spells. And Empowered spells can be game changers (more on this below). But any character has a finite number of Empower Points that usually can only be replenished through Resting.

A drawback of a No Rest Run is that any capacity to make use of Empowered abilities is either severely limited, or non-existent. There are only two real opportunities to integrate Empowered abilities into a No Rest Run.

One is that there is a small chance for Serafen's Wild Mind Cipher subclass to replenish an Empower Point each time he uses a Cipher power. But I won't touch the Wild Mind subclass because of the real risk of also inflicting massive Shocking Damage on the whole party each time he does use a Cipher power.

The other possibility is that a character wielding Sasha's Singing Scimitar with the Refreshing Finale enchantment can use an Empowered ability once per Encounter and have that Empower Point immediately recouped. My build for Tekehu in the evil party is based on that.

Con: No Drugs

Drugs have a long duration. But the expiration of a Drug high will mean a Drug Crash, which will result in significant penalties. You can postpone it by taking another Drug after the Crash begins. But at some point the Crash penalties will be ongoing, no matter what you do or how many more Drugs you take, until you Rest to make the Crash go away. And those Crash penalties can be pretty hefty:

Drugs just don't work for a No Rest Run.

Con: No Per Rest Powers

There are numerous possibilities for powers that can be used a limited number of times per Rest. Several of them can only be used once per Rest.

Two of them are the For the Lost and the Death's Herald powers that the Watcher obtains and further develops as he or she progresses through the Main Quests.

Numerous others are available through items that can be found throughout the game. Not all per Rest powers are worth writing home about. But some of them can be real game changers.

A No Rest Run can't make regular use of these powers. That's not to say that you can't use them just once during very specific occasions during a No Rest Run. Xoti saves the Worthy Sacrifice power of a Dagger called Marux Amanth to deliver an instant death attack on one of the Mega Bosses, Hauani O Whe.

Con: Fewer Options for Quest Pathways

There are some options during scripted interactions and some Quest pathways that can force a Rest. That can restrict the options available to a party that wants to preserve its until Rest bonuses.

For example, the Vailian Trading Company Quest called Dirty Laundry will force a Rest. That's not to say that you can't secure a final alliance with the Vailian Trading Company. You can complete the Main Quest called He Waits in Fire and then return to Queen's Berth to start the Vailian Trading Company Quest called Skipping Ahead to get an alliance with the Company back on track. But that still means bypassing the Dirty Laundry and Of Like Minds Quests.

A No Rest Run is also restricted to one pathway during the Seeker, Slayer, Survivor expansion. Both The Seeking Face and The Surviving Face Quests will force a Rest, but The Slaying Face Quest won't. A No Rest Run party is pretty much restricted to an alliance with the Slayer, and can't pursue an alliance with either the Seeker or the Survivor. And that can mean missing out on items and rewards available through those pathways.

That's not to say that a No Rest Run can't be a rewarding experience. But a Resting Run can fully embrace any Quest pathways it wishes.

One more thing, having Marihi in Periki's Overlook craft a weapon from either or both of Fragments of the Blade of the Endless Paths and the Fragments of the Whispers of Yenwood will also trigger a Rest. So I actually don't set up the Food and other until Rest bonuses of the No Rest Run until after I've had Marihi craft a weapon of my choosing.

Now I'll explore the pros and cons of a Resting Run.

RESTING RUN

Pro: Flexible Resting Bonuses

As previously mentioned, a Resting Run may not be able to make frequent use of the best Food bonuses, as the ingredients are often scarce. But Resting bonuses can be obtained from either Food or Inns. The Resting party can sometimes tailor their resting bonuses to a specific upcoming fight or situation. Here's a complete list of the possible Inns, their bonuses, and may include comments on their potential uses:

Pro: Watcher Per Rest Powers

The Watcher gets two distinct Per Rest powers during the game. One is For The Lost, which is an offensive area-of-effect power that can debuff enemies, and can also buff the Watcher and his or her allies depending on choices made during the main Quests. The Watcher receives one of three types of For the Lost at the conclusion of the Stranded Quest, and it can be upgraded after completing the Quest called He Waits in Fire.

The Watcher has the Death's Herald power at the start of the game. There will come points where the Watcher converses with several of the Gods, each coming after the completion of the Stranded, A Distant Light and He Waits in Fire Quests. Those conversations present opportunities to upgrade and shape the Death's Herald power to contours that fit with your Watcher's build.

For example, you could obtain a very potent version of the power called Wit of Death's Herald if you prioritize dialogue choices that are categorized as "Sassy" during all three conversations with the Gods. Wit of Death's Herald would then provide the Brilliant (+5 Intellect, +1 Power Levels, recoup class resource every 6 sec) Inspiration. Blood Mage is a convenient Mage subclass that allows taking Raw Damage in order to recoup spells. But how about playing an Evoker, who has a 15% chance of an offensive spell triggering twice with one casting? But playing Evoker means no Blood Sacrifice, and can run out of spells quickly. The Wit of Death's Herald power can mean having your cake and eating it too. You get the 15% chance of an offensive spell triggering twice in one casting, and the Brilliant Inspiration will recoup a spell every 6 sec. And you can prolong Wit of Death's Herald with a well placed Wall of Draining.

Likewise, prioritizing "Diplomatic" replies can lead to a version of Mien of Death's Herald that provides the Intuitive (+5 Perception, 50% chance of converting Grazes to Hits, 25% chance of converting Hits to Critical Hits) Inspiration. That could be useful to a class or build that thrives on Critical Hits, like a Barbarian or a Monk.

Pro: Item Per Rest Powers

Many items in the game provide per Rest powers. Not all of them are worth writing home about. But some of them are worth thinking about, or are even game changers.

An obvious example would be the Stone of Power, which provides +1 Power Levels per Rest. It would be an obvious choice for a Monk or a spellcaster.

Another example is Nemnok's Cloak. It triggers Spirit Shield when the wearer reaches 75% Health, Ironskin at 50% Health and Barring Death's Door at 25% Health. It can be combined with other items that grow more powerful as the wearer loses Health, like the Reckless Brigandine and either The Undying Burden or The Maker's Own Power. In fact, it might have been the perfect cloak for Zarathos had I been willing to do a Resting Run with him.

Another possibility is the Cloak called the Shroud of the Phantasm. It provides a once per Rest power that summons 10 illusionary clones of the wearer. They're the equivalent of the Essential Phantom and Substantial Phantom spells. The difference being that the cloak's power provides 10 clones of the wearer instead of just one, but in exchange for a much shorter duration. But just like the Phantom spells, the clones inherit the items and weapons of the wearer. And having 10 of them provides interesting tactical possibilities. For example, wearing The Maker's Own Power when using the Shroud's power means each of the clones will obtain the -85% Damage Reduction and Health regeneration when they're reduced to 25% Health or less. That can amount to a really solid wall of meat shields that the enemy forces will have a hard time cutting through. Another possibility is the wearer equipping either the Mantle of the Seven Bolts or the Cape of the Falling Star as a cloak, One Dozen Stood as the armor, and the Great Sword called Effort as a weapon. Those 10 clones become 10 kamikazes you can hurl with abandon at the enemies.

Pro: Can Do Any Quest Path

As previously mentioned, a No Rest Run party has to be careful to avoid quest paths or scripted interaction choices that can end up forcing a Rest. The Resting Run party has no such reservations, and sometimes that can be quite beneficial.

As previously mentioned, a No Rest Run is pretty much restricted to an alliance with The Slaying Face during the Seeker, Slayer, Survivor expansion. The Seeking Face pathway can be very beneficial to a Resting Run party. And the fact that The Seeking Face Quest will force a Rest won't matter to a Resting Run party.

A weapon that is available through that pathway is a Pike called Ngati's Tusk. Adding the Hunter of Hunters enchantment means that the weapon will apply a -4 penalty for all Defenses besides Deflection to all enemies within a radius surrounding the wielder. And that -4 penalty increases in proportion to the wielder's Survival skill. A character who has Survival as a class skill (e.g. Barbarian, Druid, Fighter, Ranger), and who puts all passive skill points into Survival, can turn Hunter of Hunters into a really powerful debuff.

The Crimson Panoply armor available in the Forgotten Sanctum expansion provides a 10 point reduction shield against all Damage whenever the wearer activates its Frenzy power. An enemy scoring an Attack that causes 10 or more points of Damage will dissipate the shield, but the shield will have reduced the Damage by 10 points. The 10 points reduction increases by 2 points for every point of Survival the wearer has. And the Optimistic Presence enchantment means everyone in the party will gain the Damage reduction shield when the Frenzy power is activated. A character with very high Survival can combine Ngati's Tusk and Crimson Panoply together to tremendous effect. It admittedly won't happen until quite late in the game, but worth thinking about.

Con: Fewer Until Rest Bonuses

As previously mentioned, the Resting Run is less able to integrate until Rest bonuses, and some of those are quite potent. It certainly can't take meaningful advantage of the one-time only until Rest bonuses. And it's very difficult to make frequent use of others such as the best Food bonuses because of the scarcity of the base ingredients, or others like Luminous Adra Potions because they can be cost prohibitive. Others may be difficult to integrate because of immense geographical distances, and the probability that a Resting Run party will want to take Rests while traversing those distances.

It is not to say that one is better than the other. A No Rest Run is my preferred style, party because I spend less time micromanaging what Food I'll eat or which Inn I'll sleep in each night. But I readily acknowledge that there is just as much merit for a Resting Run, and that it will be the preferred style of other players. It's up to you.


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