Originally a legendary franchise from BioWare, Baldur’s Gate 3 was taken over by Larian Studios, who delivered the masterpiece we know today. This not only reignited widespread interest in “old-school” CRPGs but also in video game adaptations of the Dungeons & Dragons rule set. Before Baldur’s Gate 3, another direct descendant of BioWare’s Baldur’s Gate made waves upon its release in 2015: Pillars of Eternity. Now, ten years later, Obsidian Entertainment is rolling out a major update for this other giant of the CRPG genre.
A precursor to Baldur’s Gate 3 has received a significant update.
Following the release of Avowed, the early access version of Grounded 2, and The Outer Worlds 2, Obsidian has returned to one of its most successful games. Originally conceived as a spiritual successor to BioWare’s legendary Baldur’s Gate, Pillars of Eternity was a major success. The game adopted key elements from its predecessors, including the iconic camera angle and a real-time combat system with tactical pause. Now, ten years later, Obsidian is offering a major update to refresh the game.
The update includes a highly requested feature among CRPG enthusiasts: the ability to switch to turn-based combat. With this addition, Pillars of Eternity now aligns with other major CRPGs of recent years that have embraced turn-based gameplay, such as Baldur’s Gate 3 from Larian Studios and the Pathfinder series from Owlcat Games. In addition to turn-based combat, the update introduces the following features.
- Unbound Turns: All turns are now influenced by a character’s overall speed, improving the value of Real-Time with Pause attributes and mechanics.
- Smarter Free Actions: Actions like swapping weapons, drinking potions, or enabling modals are now free actions. Each free action is limited to one per turn per type for balance.
- Faster Pacing: Combat lethality has been significantly increased for both enemies and players to keep battles tense and impactful.
- Mode Flexibility: You can choose Turn-Based Mode alongside difficulty when starting a new game — or swap freely between Real-Time with Pause and Turn-Based Mode in the game options. We’re also investigating a direct HUD toggle for even more convenience.
Thanks to this update, Pillars of Eternity is now an excellent alternative to Baldur’s Gate 3, whether you’re new to old-school CRPGs or a fan of Larian’s title. However, it’s important to note that this update is currently in public beta, with Obsidian still refining it before deploying a full version at an undetermined date.
Source : Obsidian
