![]() ![]() The Devil of Caroc, a rogue, and Zahua, a monk, will be available to join you on your quest in The White March and will travel back with you into the base game. New companions: Part 1 of the expansion introduces two new companions you will be able to use throughout all of your adventures.These weapons gain different powers and attributes depending on the character class that binds to it. Soulbound weapons: The expansion features mighty artifacts that grow stronger over time.New areas to explore: Largely focused on the snowy environments inspired by Icewind Dale, the expansion will feature a new quest hub, and many additional quests and dungeons. ![]() The additional levels add powerful new spells, abilities and talents for all 11 classes. ![]() Raised level cap: Your party of six adventurers can now progress beyond level 12 to 14.Even if you haven't played Pillars of Eternity, now is a great time to jump in and experience the hardcore classic RPG with The White March - Part I. Along with the new quests and area content, the team at Obsidian continues to support and make improvements to the entire game, including the additions of Player Party AI and Enhanced Enemy AI. Pillars of Eternity: The White March - Part I is a large sprawling expansion pack with hours of gameplay integrated into the main adventure. For now this expansion is straightforward to recommend, but harder to absolutely rave about.Please Note: The base-game, Pillars of Eternity, is required to play. Part two may or may not offer greater revelations. The White March is up to the standard you’d expect, and largely familiar (broader combat changes aside) in its scope. It’s a bit like suddenly gaining a few extra chapters for a favourite book a welcome addition (if done well), but difficult to declare as absolutely necessary. Reconciling how well mid-point expansions like this one ‘fit’ into the overall game is an awkward task. The narrative side slots neatly into the established themes of animancy and soul-theology, and the quest-lines hold their end up, but they’re generally there to funnel your party towards more dangerous spelunking rather than any story elements distinct to this expansion. Its center-piece is a three level dungeon crawl, and many of the additions (new, tougher foes and improved weaponry) focus on the tactical fighting side of the game. Looked at mechanically, in conjunction with Pillars of Eternity being updated to version 2.0, this expansion is a decent companion piece to highlight the changes and increased challenge of combat. I also noticed my Druid’s ‘Godlike’ appearance making more (slight) differences to conversations, which was a nice surprise. NPCs (and new party members) present in the expansion are also able to comment on events outside of their own little area, so it doesn’t feel too ‘cut off’ or separate. It’s tough to say how ‘naturally’ the expansion will fit into the storyline of a new game, or for someone coming to the title fresh, but Obsidian have done a good job integrating some White March-specific dialogue for the existing party members. In addition, the optional, high-level (I did it at 12 on Normal, but it was rough going) area of Cragsholdt is a two map affair. There are wilderness maps to the north, east, and west of the main Stalwart village hub map, and those to the west and north have multi-layer dungeons in the form of some ogre caves and Durgan’s Battery itself. The White March’s opening chapter is hefty one, running to 15 hours or so in length (if you investigate pretty much everything, and happen to read at about the same speed as I do). Certain enemies in the higher-level Cragholdt area are even outright immune to particular damage types, preventing some of the more rote, spell-based strategies. Countering enemy debuffs, reacting to their positioning, protecting the back line, and making sure my party were properly equipped to their strengths (it was easy to get a bit lazy before) all came into play. I can’t really speak for the people who found the ‘Path of the Damned’ difficulty setting too straightforward (I’m not that kind of RPG stat savant), but Normal now proved to be more of a tactical challenge. The AI is quite happy to try to disengage from combat with your beefier fighters and go after that scrawny mage at the back of your group as well. When combined with 2.0’s tendency to make them actually use those spells, it can get rather tricky. More creatures in this expansion can really take a sustained pummeling, and quite a few have access to damaging spells. White March foes seem particularly inclined towards paralysing or otherwise incapacitating your party members. ![]()
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