Pillars of Eternity is getting a turn-based combat mode later this year

Obsidian has announced, for the tenth anniversary of its release, that their decade-old CRPG Pillars of Eternity is getting a new turn-based combat mode later this year.

The announcement came alongside an update to the game to coincide with its anniversary, fixing a smattering of issues, such as GOG Achievements not working, improving 4K resolution support and more. That’s a nice update, but the big change is with the upcoming turn-based combat mode.

“We’ve been hard at work delving deep into the code grimoire and tuning the balance of blade and spell—and today, we’re excited to share the results of that effort with a brand new patch,” the team writes in their forums. This update addresses a wide range of fixes and improvements across visuals, combat, quests, and more. Whether you’re journeying through the Eastern Reach for the first time or returning to tie up loose threads, your path should now be a little smoother.

“But that’s not all—we have something special on the horizon.

“Coming later this year, Watchers will be able to help us test a brand-new feature: Turn-Based Combat. We’re excited to explore this new way to experience encounters in Pillars of Eternity, and your feedback will help shape its future. More details on how to participate will be shared in the near future, so keep an eye on our socials and in our Discord.”

Before there was Avowed, Obsidian founded their original fantasy universe with the Kickstarter-backed Pillars of Eternity. This was a smaller budget throwback to classic CRPGs, in tone and general style.

Pillars of Eternity was a game with real-time combat and pause at launch, meaning that you could still have plenty of time to make your decisions and enact them, but with a fundamentally real-time underpinning. Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire, meanwhile, introduced an optional turn-based combat mode, which is now being rolled back to the original game. It’s sure to be a popular option, giving players that more traditional D&D-style experience and more deterministic decision-making – you’ll no longer have to factor in time for movement and tick down second on ability cooldowns.

Digging back into our own archives to find our review of Pillars of Eternity, Gareth said of the 2017 Complete Edition console port, “Pillars of Eternity is a stellar entry into its genre, but one that won’t win over people who are not already fans. It is huge and richly detailed, with more history than some actual periods of real life, and a rare amount of care and attention. It’s probably a better experience on a PC, but it’s still definitely worth playing on console if it’s your only option.”

Source: Obsidian