11 years after launch, Pillars of Eternity’s new turn-based mode feels like the way it’s meant to be played

Pillars of Eternity turned 11 years old last month, but Obsidian just put out a transformative update for the venerable CRPG: A full turn-based mode alongside the game’s original real-time with pause (RTWP) mechanics. The mode had previously been available via a Steam beta branch since last November.

There’s a whole list of patch notes for the update, but we’re sort of “gonzo” here at PC Gamer. We do things by the gut. I loaded into an old save right before the fight with Lord Raedric to feel things out⁠—this early optional boss is the proverbial deep end for testing out new mechanics. My verdict? I loved it, and this is definitely how I want to do my next playthrough.

Pillars’ turn-based mode is generous with your movement, but stingy with actions: You only get to do one thing per turn⁠—no action point manipulation or D&D Extra Attack. It sounds limiting, but it makes every decision important. Pillars 1’s new implementation has a big advancement over the one in Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire, though: You can take multiple turns in one round.

In Deadfire, it works the old fashioned way: Initiative affects the order your characters and the enemies act in a round, with each character going once. Transitioning from RTWP, this punished certain builds while uplifting others. Ciphers, who attack with weapons to build up magic juice and cast spells, were inherently disadvantaged compared to Wizards, who can just whip out their best nukes from round one.

Since everybody has the same number of actions, heavy armor is king⁠. In RTWP, you act faster in light armor and with lighter weapons via a “recovery” mechanic⁠—basically a cooldown on every action⁠—but that wasn’t translated into turn-based.

In Pillars 1’s new turn-based mode, recovery is brought back to the fore: Better recovery translates both into acting before your enemies, as well as getting to take extra turns after they go. Ciphers get a lifeline, since they can now attack and cast in the same round, while light armor with low recovery now feels even more powerful than in RTWP. Hard crowd control like stuns or charms were already critical in Pillars, but now they strike me as even more important to success.

The fight with Raedric definitely felt easier to me than in RTWP, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing: Pillars is a difficult, complicated CRPG with a cavernous skill ceiling. Turn-based is weirdly how I’d recommend both a total greenhorn and a returning veteran play: The former for a gentler onboarding, and the latter for something fresh.

My only concern now is that Deadfire’s older turn-based mode might feel like a downgrade coming from the new hotness. But I’ll just slap on some full plate and put my beloved Cipher class on the shelf once the time comes. Hey, Deadfire’s own 10-year anniversary is coming up in 2028, maybe it can get its own fresh coat of paint then.

I, for one, embrace the turn-based epoch. Pillars’ own lead designer, Josh Sawyer, explained his thoughts on the rise and fall of RTWP to me in an interview at last year’s Game Developers Conference. More recently, Star Wars Zero Company designer James Brawley defended RTWP even though he specializes in making turn-based games⁠—he thinks innovative designers will help its star rise again, just like they already have with turn-based combat.