Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Update #52 – Beast of Winter Preview

Last week, we got our first glimpse at the upcoming Beast of Winter DLC for Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire during an official Obsidian Entertainment livestream. In case you missed it, or if you prefer a quick summary and a few screenshots to an hour’s worth of video footage, the new update on the game’s official website (instead of a usual Fig update) introduces us to the DLC’s new sidekick, shares some screenshots and wallpapers, directs us to the patch notes for the latest v1.2.2 patch, and more. An excerpt:

VATNIR, A NEW SIDEKICK

If you tuned into the stream or took a look at the VOD, you may have noticed Vatnir, the sickly-looking Endings Godlike. This new sidekick has been a studio favorite since his conception, and we’ve been anxiously waiting to finally, officially, reveal him to the community.

Vatnir is a rare Priest of Rymrgand with the Condemnation domain and a focus in Famine, Entropy, and Winter. Additionally, any spells that depend upon a priest’s god and faith reflect Rymrgand’s portfolio. Vatnir can summon aspects of Rymrgand through his Spiritual Weapon, summons dual battle axes, or Incarnate, which summons a reflection of Rymrgand to fight at his side. If all else fails, he can cast the Call and the Symbol of Rymrgand to usher in the cold from Rymrgand’s realm to freeze his enemies. If Vatnir is just one too many priests to have in your party, he also has the option to multiclass as a Celebrant (Priest+Chanter), or a Zealot (Priest+Rogue).

Vatnir’s role won’t just end with the DLC, however – you can bring him on your adventures throughout the Deadfire and he will chime in where he can…If he survives what awaits him in the cold depths of Harbinger’s Watch.

[…]

PATCH 1.2.2

This week, we have a small patch with an oft-requested feature from our community! As you might know, the development team hid secretive codes throughout all of our media prior to Deadfire’s launch – some sharp-eyed community members began noticing these codes and began to search for and compile them before they even knew what they were for. Just prior to launch, we revealed the Deadfire Scavenger Hunt items, which would only be available to those who found and input those codes into our specialized site. With Patch 1.2.2, users on platforms outside of Steam can finally get their hands on the items the community unearthed together!

If you ever run across those members of the Explorer’s Society who found and collated all of the codes that made obtaining these items possible in the first place, give them a salute or shake their hand – this one’s from them.

BEGINNER’S GUIDE

We understand that the game might be intimidating at a first glance, especially for players who have never approached this kind of game before. To this end (and to make it easier on those of us who are the resident “RPG Expert” of our group of friends), we created a Beginner’s Guide. It will assist new Watchers in their adventures in the Deadfire just past the point they can leave Port Maje, so if you have any friends who might be interested in playing the game but get too intimidated by the early portion of the game, have them check it out!

WHAT’S NEXT?

In case you missed it, we were happy to announce a new community feature going forward: community-voted items! We were blown away by the level of participation last week on the World of Eternity Twitter polls, and we can’t wait to unveil a new hunting bow made of…rather unpredictable animancer technology as created by Watchers all around the world! Stay tuned for more updates regarding this cool new weapon that you, our awesome community, helped to create.