Obsidian Entertainment has just revealed a very exciting piece of news for RPG lovers. The much-acclaimed CRPG Pillars of Eternity, which has been around for quite some time in the gaming arena, is now getting a fresh new way to be played. The public beta will go live on November 5 for players on Steam and Xbox PC. Accompanying the new mode is a completely revamped combat system – Turn-Based Mode. You heard right! The title that gained fame for its tactical real-time with pause combat will now be slow and strategic.
This situation is a pretty big deal especially if you have never been inclined to the original combat style. The announcement from the official Avowed account did well to stir player interest, as one of them, who goes by the handle John O’Neil, remarked, “I have been wanting to play the game but real-time is not exactly my thing. The turn-based mode makes it even more interesting!” He is not the only one. Another player, FuelGohan, echoed the exact sentiment, saying, “This is my opportunity to get into it! I already have it but the current combat system is just not my thing, it’s not bad, just not for me.” Hence, this new mode can very much allure a vast number of players who prefer taking turns slowly and carefully like in JRPGs.
But wait a minute! What was I saying? Oh yes! The beta! It is an open test which means everyone who has a device on that platform can join in and try it out. There’s a lot more information in the official news post, but the main thing is that the Turn-Based Mode is here to stay at last. This is not a small tweak; it’s a totally different way to experience the original campaign. Just imagine planning every spell and every attack with no stress from the action bar that is constantly running down. For the pro players, it’s a good excuse to replay the whole story again. SilverBlack007 is one of those who see it this way and is saying, “Big thanks to @jesawyer and his team for this T-B mode in #pillarsofeternity, a long-awaited mode and another great reason to replay the game, you once again bring much joy to RPG fans!” They even mentioned fantasizing about Pillars 3, so it is pretty clear that the attachment to this universe is still quite strong.
On the contrary, the feedback was not all about the good times. The comment section turned out to be a combination of anticipation and… well, a ton of requests. A frequent concern was raised immediately: controller support. A large number of players have been asking about it. User laoshimazaki stated very openly, “My feedback without even trying the beta, NEEDS GAMEPAD SUPPORT on pc thank you very much.” Others like GrizzlyMagnum6 had simply inquired, “Can we have controller support instead?” Gensericus contributed, “Controller support for handhelds 🙏,” which, yes, indeed makes sense if you are alluding to portable PC devices such as the Steam Deck. It appears that multiple gamers prefer the option of sitting on the couch while playing this game.
Next, console gamers started to feel a bit left out. TH3MAF1A outright asked, “Will this be happening on consoles soon???” lebaverd was also interested to know, “coming to console as well?” Currently, the beta is only for Steam and Xbox PC, so players of PS5 and regular Xbox are the ones that are left out. One user, GlacierCakes, even made a more desperate plea: “Hey um… can you fix this game on console? It crashes every single time I go to a new area after you playing for 50 hours 🙏 please and thank you..” Ooooh. That is hard. This clearly shows that there are still some players who face basic stability issues on different platforms and that while new features are great, they are not enough to address the concerns of these players.
The discussion also turned towards other Obsidian projects, as it usually happens with such discussions. There were a pair of replies that completely sidestepped the news about Pillars of Eternity and immediately started asking about The Outer Worlds 2, which is the studio’s next first-person RPG. Justin0862 yelled, “Bring Avowed to Playstation 5 Pro!!!!!!” while reece_us simply asked, “avowed fall update when?” And Daniel683958414, after sharing his excitement for the beta, also wanted to know, “What about the new game+ you promised for avowed😔.” So it’s clear that the community is multitasking; they are contemplating the future while still in the present.
There were also some more specific requests that got mixed in as well. NopeNopeWhatWha brought up a common complaint: “What about patching all those totally broken achievements
