Pillars of Eternity, a beloved title from Obsidian Entertainment, has received a surprising update nearly 9 years after its debut. However, the latest patch does not introduce new content but rather concentrates on resolving various bugs.

Originally launched in March 2015, Pillars of Eternity emerged during a time when CRPGs were not in the spotlight. Branded as a spiritual successor to the revered Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale series, Pillars of Eternity garnered critical acclaim and left a significant mark on the gaming industry. Its success paved the way for other prominent titles in the genre, such as Disco Elysium and Baldur's Gate 3.

The latest update for Pillars of Eternity is currently accessible through Steam's beta branch. Obsidian has shared comprehensive patch notes on its official forums, detailing numerous bug fixes. The update addresses various visual and audio glitches, user interface issues, and navigation problems. Additionally, the game's Unity engine has been upgraded to a new version.

While the unexpected update for Pillars of Eternity surprised many gamers, speculation abounds that Obsidian may be refining its older title to attract a fresh wave of CRPG enthusiasts. This move could be a strategic response to the immense success of Baldur’s Gate 3, a game that received numerous prestigious awards in 2023, propelling the CRPG genre into the spotlight.

Obsidian Entertainment is also currently developing Avowed, an action role-playing video game set in the same universe as Pillars of Eternity. However, Avowed will offer players a first-person perspective, departing from the traditional isometric view found in PoE. The game was initially announced in 2020 at the Xbox Games Showcase, with an official gameplay trailer unveiled in 2023.

It's plausible that many gamers may seek to prepare for the launch of Avowed by first experiencing its predecessors, Pillars of Eternity and Pillars of Eternity 2. Consequently, Obsidian's efforts to refine the gameplay experience of its previous titles align with the goal of offering a polished journey for fans transitioning to their upcoming title.

Pillars of Eternity Patch Notes

General:

• We have updated to Unity Version 2019.4.11.

Navigation:

• Rectified inaccessible areas in numerous scenes.
• The lake in Cayron's Scar should no longer be unintentionally traversable when submerged.

Visual and Audio:

• Addressed multiple instances of characters briefly T-posing at the start of cutscenes.
• Resolved an issue causing blurry appearances for paperdolls in character creation and inventory screens.
• Improved the reliability of the visual effects for Overwhelming Wave.
• Fixed VFX issues with the Woodskin spell rotating or attaching incorrectly.
• Ensured proper lighting of symbols in the western chamber of Lle a Rhemen.
• Rectified redundant horn audio playing after the battle of Yenwood.
• Fixed cases where dialogue audio wouldn’t play when certain nodes were re-triggered.

Quests and Dialogue:

• Ready the Cannons side quest should now properly update its objectives.
• Dialogue from Buried Secrets quest should no longer allow the player to demand their payment more than once.
• Addressed an issue causing excessive overlap of barked lines in Gilded Vale.
• Ensured Eder’s bark lines in the Temple of Eothas do not end abruptly.
• Rectified a case where Calisca could trigger the wrong bark line near the camp inside Cilant Lîs.

Combat and Mechanics:

• Earth Blights should no longer detach from their selection circles when dominated.
• Scroll of Ray of Fire should now appear correctly and behave consistently with the Ray of Fire spell.
• Addressed a case where manually resolving stronghold combat could yield no rewards.
• Ensured prone characters do not attempt to move resulting in sliding behavior.
• Concelhaut’s Draining Missiles should no longer occasionally show 0.0 damage in the combat log.
• Weapon Specialization: Peasant should reliably add its damage to unarmed attacks.
• Fixed cases where the Halt spell might confuse enemy AI, causing repeated interruptions and re-attempts of their actions.
• Removed errant untargetable Xaurip that could sometimes appear in Dyrford Crossing.
• Rectified a case where Sleafhota might teleport to an alternate location mid-dialogue before attacking the player.
• Attacking Osrya directly will now reliably engage with her revenant and skeleton minions.
• Addressed a case where all survival camping bonuses might appear after spending only a single skill rank on Survival.

User Interface and Interaction:

• Fixed a UI issue where chants could sometimes clip beyond their scrolling frame.
• Ensured correct positioning of the damage type icon on the character sheet.
• Rectified cases where assigning companions to multiple stronghold missions might cause UI issues.
• Quick loading with the crafting or enchanting UI open should no longer result in a permanent black screen.
• Fixed a typo in the description of Animal Companions.
• Addressed an issue where highlighting certain parts of a defeated enemy would not allow you to loot them.
• Improved the interaction with doors in scenes that were previously challenging to interact with.
• Rectified a case where the final pressure plate in the Temple of Woedica would not appear.
• Examining the wall trophy inside of Elm’s Reach should now be possible.
• Skipping intros when first starting the client should now be more responsive.