Pillars of Eternity: The White March launches with new trailer

Pillars of Eternity: The White March Part One

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The first part of the Pillars of Eternity: The White March expansion went live today, and of course that means it's time for a proper launch trailer. Just as interesting, though, are the many changes made to the game by the 2.0 update, which Obsidian detailed on Steam.

The expansion adds a number of new areas to explore, "largely focused on the snowy environments inspired by Icewind Dale," with a new quest hub, quests and dungeons. The level cap has been increased, allowing your party members to climb to level 14 (the previous limit was level 12), and they may also now wield Soulbound weapons that grow more powerful over time and take on different characteristics depending on the class they're bound to. There are also two new companions who can join your party, a rogue and a monk, who can travel with you back to the base game once the White March fun is over.

On the more under-the-hood side of the coin, multi-class talents are now available, and Pillars now supports party AI and enhanced enemy AI. It will also now be possible to re-spec party members at any inn or tavern. "It gives flexibility for the player to experiment with the RPG systems and try out builds with the newly added multi-class talents," Obsidian said. "If you aren't completely satisfied with your character, you can now do a rebuild and start over fresh."

I'm excited about the release of update because it means I can finally get on with playing Pillars of Eternity: The expansion was announced just a day or two after I installed the game, and with so many improvements promised in 2.0, I didn't see much point in sinking my time into 1-point-anything. Pillars of Eternity: The White March Part One is available now on Steam and GOG.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.