Now that's what I call taking the initiative Pillars of Eternity is getting turn-based combat, all but demanding replays A surprising addition in patch notes for a 10-year-old CRPG classic. Kevin Purdy Mar 27, 2025 1:26 pm | 17 Credit: Obsidian Entertainment Credit: Obsidian Entertainment Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreI played a lot of Obsidian's Avowed after it came out. I appreciate that the game offers both a whole lot of world-building lore if you want it, but also the ability to skip it all if you want to get back to grimoires, guns, and scarfing food while dodging attacks. But all those gods and races and islands must have sunk in. As I neared the end of Avowed's journey, I find myself wondering about the earlier games in Obsidian's world of Eora in its Pillars of Eternity series, which passed me by entirely.The same thing happened withBaldur's Gate 3, which pulled me in deep and left me wondering if I'd dig the earlier titles. But after an hour or two in the first entry, I was done, for much the same reason as with the firstPillars: I just can't hack it (pun intended) in real-time-with-pause combat."Real-time-with-pause" has never been a perfect descriptor; technically, Avowed plays out in real time, as do most games, which also offer pausing. But look at a couple videos and you'll get the gist: Your party hacks, slashes, and casts largely on its own, but you can interject to redirect, re-equip, or force a potion on one of your crew. If you have control issues, or don't have the clicking speed you had as a younger gamer, real-time-with-pause can be a humbling experience. Game Design Foundry's video explainer on real-time, turn-based, and hybrid kinds of combat, including Pillars of Eternity. So it is that a patch forPillars of Eternity (PoE), 10 years old this week, contains a masterfully underplayed bit of great news: "Coming later this year, Watchers will be able to help us test a brand-new feature: Turn-Based Combat." There will be details on how to sign up as a tester "in the near future," with fans advised to watch Obsidian's socials and Discord.More than just rolling for initiativeObsidian added a turn-based mode toPillars of Eternity II: Deadfire in patch 4.1, roughly eight months after the game's initial release. Designer Josh Sawyer, who worked onBaldur's Gate IIand directedbothPoE games, said in a 2023 interview with Touch Arcade that the real-time systems in the PoEgames were largely a concession to the old-school CRPG fans that crowdfunded both games.Turn-based was Sawyer's stated preference, and he thinks Baldur's Gate 3 largely put an end to the debate in modern times:I just think its easier to design more intricate combats. I like games with a lot of stats, obviously. (He laughs). But the problem with real time with pause is that its honestly very difficult for people to actually parse all of that information, and one of the things Ive heard a lot from people whove played Deadfire in turn based, is that there were things about the game like the affliction and inspiration system that they didnt really understand very clearly until they played it in turn based.But bothPillarsgames were designed with real-time combat in mind, such that, even with his appreciation for the turn-based addition toPoE 2, Sawyer knows "the game wasn't designed for it," he told Touch Arcade. This is almost certainly going to be the case, too, for the originalPoE, but there could be lessons learned fromPoE 2's transformation to apply. Other games from that era might also lure folks like me back, though perhaps they, too, have a density of encounters and maps that just can't cut it for turn-based.Beyond this notably big "patch" coming to the originalPoE, the 10th anniversary patch should make it easier for Mac and Linux (through Proton) users to stay up to date on bug fixes, and for players on GOG and Epic to get Kickstarter rewards and achievements. Lots of audio and visual effects were fixed up, along with a whole heap of mechanical and combat fixes.Kevin PurdySenior Technology ReporterKevin PurdySenior Technology Reporter Kevin is a senior technology reporter at Ars Technica, covering open-source software, PC gaming, home automation, repairability, e-bikes, and tech history. He has previously worked at Lifehacker, Wirecutter, iFixit, and Carbon Switch. 17 Comments