Pillars of Eternity

Turn-Based Mode arrived in Pillars of Eternity, adding an alternate combat system that could be toggled outside combat. Speed-based turns, revised initiative, free-action weapon and potion use, and a 35% global damage increase substantially reshaped how encounters played.

• Turn-Based Mode systems: Character Speed influenced turn frequency, the new initiative formula used real-time recovery values, and weapon-set swaps, potion use, and modal toggles became once-per-turn free actions. Players also received TBM keybindings and a HUD toggle.
• Combat rules and balance: Turn-Based Mode applied a 35% damage increase across all sources, added a three-point initiative delay to Prone, and corrected Spiritshift duration, ticking Traps, pulsing area-of-effect spells, Wall of Thorns timing, and Radiant Sporelings’ revival limits.
• Encounter reliability: Adra Dragon encounters no longer stalled when a Xaurip Priest cast Holy Power from fog of war, and Xaurips consistently aggroed the party. Grimoire Imprints no longer locked combat, firearm reload animations waited until the end of the turn after free actions, and the Sacrificial Pit encounter progressed correctly.
• Combat readability and controls: Turn-Based Mode added warnings for unreachable targets and combat-mode switching, improved the End Turn button and current-turn indicators, and displayed when abilities had already consumed an action. The Twin Stones area-of-effect preview, Cipher Focus HUD effects, and Wall of Thorns sound timing also worked correctly.
• Additional support: The combat-start banner gained a console-controlled disable option, while the Korean localization was updated across versions and Polish translation errors for Wizard’s Wall of Draining were corrected.

Turn-Based Mode arrived in Pillars of Eternity, giving the RPG a new combat structure while more lethal combat pacing reshaped its fights. The update also tied turns to character speed, classified several actions as limited free actions, and added alternate main-menu art support.

• Turn-Based Mode: Added a new combat experience to Pillars of Eternity, built around turns rather than the original real-time-with-pause flow.
• Combat rules: Turn-Based Mode tied turn influence to character speed, increased lethality, and made weapon swapping, potion use, and enabling modals limited free actions. It also fixed a Class Behavior issue that could prevent player-controlled characters from attacking.
• Pillars of Eternity presentation: Added support for changing the main-menu art through the base-game and DLC icons, while Fast Mode could be enabled without first disabling Slow Mode.

No verified content drop for Pillars of Eternity was captured; the period’s largest tracked release, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, was a separate sequel rather than an update to the original. Deadfire launched on May 8, 2018, with the Deadfire Archipelago, ship management and combat, multi- and sub-classes, and fully voiced dialogue.

• Original game status: No verified patch, DLC, or feature update for Pillars of Eternity appeared in the tracked sources.
• Separate sequel launch: Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire launched with open-world exploration across the Deadfire Archipelago.
• Deadfire additions: Ship Management and Combat, Multi- and Sub-classes, Fully Voiced Dialogue, and Dynamic Lighting and Enhanced Visual Effects were introduced in the sequel.

Pillars of Eternity: Definitive Edition launched on November 15, 2017, bundling the original RPG with its expansions, Royal Edition bonuses, and new Deadfire Pack content. It gave returning players a consolidated edition with new equipment, portraits, locations, companions, and quests.

• Definitive Edition: The package included the base game, The White March: Parts I & II, and all Royal Edition premium content, including the soundtrack and digital collector’s book.
  • The White March: Parts I & II: Added their complete set of locations, companions, and quests.
  • Deadfire Pack: Added new in-game items and portraits inspired by Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire.
• Deadfire Pack equipment: The free release added four soulbound items—the Company Captain’s Cap, War Club of the Mataru, One-Eyed Molina’s Gold-Fingered Spike-Finger, and Belt of the Royal Deadfire Cannoneer—alongside the Helmsman’s Uniform, Deckhand’s Uniform, Boatswain’s Uniform, Sabre of the Seas, and Fulvano’s Blunderbuss. It also added official character portraits based on Deadfire backers.
• Pricing rollback: Paradox Interactive rolled back recent pricing changes after community feedback, with the previous prices returning after the Steam Summer Sale.

June 2016’s combat rebalance was Pillars of Eternity’s biggest shipped change, substantially reshaping class abilities, weapon interactions, and defensive mechanics. The November 2016 update followed with further combat tuning, AI changes, reward adjustments, and corrections to long-standing quest and ability problems.

• Class balance: The June overhaul significantly changed several core builds.
  • One-Handed Style moved from graze-to-hit conversion to hit-to-crit conversion and stopped working with shields.
  • Barbaric Yell, Barbaric Shout, Heart of Fury, Echoing Shout, One Stands Alone, and Thick-Skinned all received meaningful changes to recovery, targeting, triggers, or bonuses.
  • Escape, Smoke Cloud, Shadow Step, Adept Evasion, Fearsome Strike, and Withering Strike gained stronger or more flexible effects.
• Combat systems: Engagement broke when characters were knocked back, while charming every enemy no longer reset combat. Party AI also stopped chasing undiscovered enemies, and Skeleton Wizard’s Necrotic Lance became a ray spell.
• November balance pass: Torment’s Reach stopped proccing from every enemy hit, Wall of Draining no longer permanently increased beneficial spells, and Unlabored Blade’s Firebug proc rate fell from 10% to 3%. Sabre damage shifted to 11–16 with a +20% damage modifier, while Kraken gained 8 Damage Reduction.
• Quest and ability corrections: The Brighthollow transition and party-manager problems involving Durance, Hiravias, and Rod of Wind and Thunder were fixed retroactively. Powder Burns, Psychic Backlash, Seal spells, Iconic Projection, Infestation of Maggots, and Phantom Foes were also corrected, while Stalwart Village autosaves and the Elmshore adra pillar stopped producing progression-breaking behavior.