[STEAM] Over a Decade After Release, Obsidian's Pillars of Eternity Gets Surprise Patch to Add Turn-Based Mode

[Steam 0]

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is the surprise recipient of a patch to add turn-based mode, developer Obsidian has announced.

Fresh from releasing Avowed, Grounded 2, and The Outer Worlds 2 this year, the

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-owned studio has gone back to its isometric, party-based fantasy RPG over a decade after it came out with a fresh update.

Obsidian announced a new public beta for Pillars of Eternity opens on November 5 for players on Steam and Xbox PC, which adds the turn-based mode. The reveal comes alongside a message from game director Josh Sawyer (last seen directing Pentiment), with his thoughts on what turn-based mode means for Pillars of Eternity.

“Fans who enjoyed experimenting with turn-based mode in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire will find familiar ground here, but with key improvements shaped by your feedback,”

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. More details are below.

How turn-based mode works in Pillars of Eternity:

• 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.

As this is a public beta, please expect bugs and ongoing adjustments, Obsidian warned. The beta will run for “some time” as the developer continues to roll out updates and prepares for a full release.

IGN’s

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returned a 9/10 back in 2015. We said at the time: “Obsidian (and its Kickstarter backers) have done it: Pillars of Eternity is one of the best RPGs since Baldur's Gate.”

Obsidian followed PoE up with

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in 2018, before

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. Obsidian went on to release the likes of The Outer Worlds and Grounded, and has become one of the most prolific Xbox Games Studios developers

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has on its books.

Will there be a Pillars of Eternity 3? Sawyer has commented on the prospect in the past. In 2023, for example,

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.

"I think if it truly was an unlimited budget, I think I would try Pillars 3 because I know what the budget was for Deadfire, which was not a whole lot and I have heard from multiple people what the budget was for Baldur’s Gate 3, and I’m not gonna talk about numbers, but if I got that budget, sure, I’ll make Pillars 3,” he said.

Sawyer added that if he were to make Pillars 3, he would employ a turn-based combat structure. Obsidian has yet to announce its next game.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on

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at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld.

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