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| Pillars of Eternity 2 Video-Based Walkthrough by David Milward |
STACKING
Active Abilities
Class abilities are divided between active abilities and passive abilities. You can bring up a character's ability tree through the Character Menu (C as a key command), and as shown in the screenshot.
Abilities on the right side of the Tree are Passive Abilities. They become constant and inherent bonuses for a character that are always there, and cannot be dispelled or suspended by enemy attacks. The caveat to that is Chanter Phrases, which although appearing on the right side of the Chanter's Character Tree, are functionally equivalent to Active Abilities.
Active Abilities appear on the left side. An Active Ability does not take effect until the character makes a decision to use it. An Active Ability either takes effect instantly, or its effects will have a finite duration. A third type of Active Abilities is a Modal. It stays active indefinitely, but the character can turn it on or turn it off as and when desired.
Active Abilities with finite durations that provide the same benefits do not stack with each other. If one Active Ability is providing +2 Might to a character, and another Active Ability is providing +5 Might to the character at the same time, the +5 Might will take priority. The +5 Might and +2 Might bonuses will not stack together.
Besides abilities that appear on the left side of the Character Tree, Drugs, Ungeants and Potions are also considered Active Abilities and therefore will not stack with other Active Abilities.
Weapon Modals are modals that you can obtain by selecting a Weapon Proficiency for your character during every 4th level-up, and equipping a weapon that corresponds with that Proficiency. Equipping a weapon in which you are Proficient gives you the option of activating the Modal for it. Modals typically offer a benefit but also involve a penalty. For example, the modal for Swords provides +2 Penetration, but also imposes a -15 penalty on Deflection. A Weapon Modal is considered an Active Ability that will not stack with other Active Abilities.
There is also a nuance that can be taken advantage of. Sometimes benefits will overlap, but are also considered distinct. For example, the Dagger Modal provides a +10 bonus to Deflection. The Fighter's Vigorous Defense provides a +20 bonus to all Defenses. That will mean a +20 bonus to Deflection, as well as +20 bonuses to Fortitude, Reflexes and Will. But a "bonus only to Deflection" and a "bonus for all Defenses" are considered distinct from each other. The Fighter will therefore still enjoy a net +30 bonus to Deflection when using the Dagger Modal and Vigorous Defense at the same time.
But there's a caveat on this particular nuance as well. Armor is a benefit where specific distinctions won't result in stacking Armor. Let's suppose an Active Ability confers +2 Armor, and another ability confers +4 Piercing Armor. The net result will not be +6 Piercing Armor. The net result will be +4 Piercing Armor, and +2 Armor against all other types of damage.
Passive Abilities and Item Bonuses
The general rule is that bonuses provided by Passive Abilities and Items stack together. If an Item provides a bonus to Fortitude, and a Passive Ability provides a bonus to Fortitude, both bonuses will stack together.
However, items and Passive Abilities that provide Resistance to the same type of Afflictions will not stack with each other. Having more than one Item or Passive Ability that has Dexterity Resistance, for example, will still only result in Dexterity Afflictions that affect the character being reduced by one tier.
Percentage-Based
Items that confer a percentage chance of something happening have their own nuance. Any Active Abilities, Items or Passive Abilities that offer a percentage chance of the same thing happening do sort of stack, but not as a matter of straight addition.
Let's suppose an Active Ability has a 15% chance of converting Hits to Critical Hits, a Passive Ability has a 25% chance of converting Hits to Critical Hits, and an Item has a 15% chance of converting Hits to Critical Hits. It will not mean that the character will enjoy a net 55% chance of having a Hit converted to a Critical Hit. It means the character does three separate 1d100 rolls to decide whether a Hit is converted to a Critical Hit. It's a multiplicative equation, so the overall probability will be something less than 55%.
Until Rest Bonuses
A character can only enjoy one bonus obtained by Resting outdoors with Food or by resting in an Inn. No Food or Inn resting bonus can ever stack with each other, because a Rest will expire the Resting bonus that was previously in place.
A character can also only enjoy one Brothel bonus at a time. The Brothel bonus will stack with the Resting Bonus, but you can only have one in place at a time.
There are also several unique until Rest bonuses that can be acquired throughout the game, and they will stack with both the Resting bonus and the Brothel bonus.
