holoz0r plays Pillars of Eternity: XXI - Charging the Battery

The party stand outside Durgan's Battery, the fortress that holds the White Forge, a thing that is able to produce incredible, amazing weapons, or so I've been told. Now that I have all the instructions on how to enter, its just a simple matter of reciting the sacred words that will let me enter the place.

It definitely looks imposing, and that one of the best things within Pillars of Eternity's world - the atmosphere is excellent throughout. The inside of the battery is just as atmospheric as the outside, with debris, ruin, and grandeur mixing perfectly.

There are a few traps along the way, and the combat is pretty easy - there's not a lot of exposition as the area is explored, save the spirits that fill the halls, muttering about events that, current to them, but past to me. There's also oodles and oodles of loot, and I make some really bad choices, triggering traps that I can't disarm with the whole party in the AOE.

I still have a lot to learn about being sneaky, which is why the leader of my party wields dual Sabres, and is a barbarian. There's an incredible amount of lore behind locked doors within the battery, and this is a shame, because I don't know if everyone likes exploring every nook and cranny in the same way that I do.

Of particular interest is a dwarf, entombed in ice.

He's got a satchel in his hands, and that means I've got some treasure that is concealed within a scripted event. Not everyone would be smart enough, especially a barbarian, to achieve that. I go further into the fortress, and the exposition increases. There's a bridge, talk of not being able to hold of vile spirits, and a bottleneck. It makes for interesting combat, with ranged characters only able to participate effectively.

It isn't the only place on this map where there's a bottleneck. It gets worse, as I travel down train tracks, below which is a descent to death. That's okay, because I won't fall - if I do, it will be in combat, not off an edge. Lucky this game isn't a platformer.

The really pleasing part of this level is balanced combat, and variety of enemies - its not the same 'scattered'mobs that are typical of the earlier game.

I find some amazing loot on an altar, and while trying to escape, almost get killed by a bunch of traps that just appeared while I was snooping. I do very, very well to just survive the ensuing battle; as some monsters have also spawned in the door way which represents the only way out.

I have to micromanage my priest, and exhaust every single AOE, Buff, heal, life steal, and recovery trick I have in my book. There's not a lot, but I somehow manage to survive. Exhausted, I camp out in the Battery for the first time. When I wake, I notice that there's a slot in the wall where something belongs. I don't have that something yet, so I need to explore some more - the battery gives way to caves, and there's further variety in the monsters - Frost Ooze, Ice Blights, and spirits all want me dead.

My weapons have other ideas. After some twisting and turning caves, I come to a spirit who has the 'key' that I seek. I wonder back to the door, going back a different way, which means that there's more stuff to fight through. There's even some Ice Trolls chilling out on this floor, representing the greatest monster diversity I've encountered so far.

Sagani's electric bow makes short work of most things, especially now that she has stun added to her attacks via another item. Except, as you see to the right, where there's another bottleneck. My melee fighters can't get through, and several of ranged combatants aren't in range.

The problem is solved via time, and time alone. The Battery Sirens are the most formidable of the groups I've been fighting within the path to the forge, mainly because they can paralyze members of my party.

Once the combat's over, there's another level on dial - 11. I'm looking like a mighty, mean barbarian, too. I level everyone, but Gherk is definitely the prettiest in terms of his killing aesthetics.

I wander onward, fighting my way through a very obvious path to a forge. There's vents on the ground, lava flowing beneath. It looks very familiar, and its an environment that now seems less imaginative than those I've been through already. There's some treasure that I am warned about, "please don't steal this." I say "Pah," and steal it anyway, and fall for the same scripted event.

Trap, and monsters. Lots of death. Lucky my priest is just capable of reviving characters who have been knocked out. Its still a long, hard slog; and the others level at the end of the fight - they all get a rest as well, before moving onward, through to the heart of the forge.

This is the first time I've been challenged in a very good way - the combat is paced well, engaging, difficult, but not too difficult. Durance, the Priest gets a heavy, heavy workout, exhausting most, if not all of his spells - I am considering another rest before facing the inevitable fight against whatever rests at the heart of the forge.

First however, I ensure that I explore every single room and every corner, so that I can take all the treasure. Eventually, I make my way to the Forge room - and place the items I've collected along the way into the dragon's mouth - which make up the forge. Then, shit hits the fan - four forge guardians, and several enraged spirits. I don't have a formation that makes sense either.

I don't think this is going to end well:

It doesn't, and the party dies. I am forced to reload a save file, and fight my way back through some more monsters, losing about 10-15 minutes of time due to the lack of save. I will ensure I am better prepared this time. I have a proper formation, I summon my little monsters, and protect Aloth, and Durance. At the same time, I make sure that I have every buff in the book on every character.

It is a slow, considered battle, with lots of pausing, prioritizing targets, reviving, and wearing down my foes. It is a long, long battle, followed by exposition, and free use of the forge.

I make myself some Durgan Steel, and get informed that I have finished Part One of the White March, before I've even finished the base adventure. That's wonderful, because that means that I now probably have stuff that is more powerful than the other areas of the game. (Or so I hope!)

I make my way back to town, sell everything, and rest, ready to face the next day, where I might return to progress the story against Thaos.