Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Tips & Tricks
A beginner's guide to surviving Deadfire's old-school difficulty. Covers party composition, combat pacing, ship management, and character progression.
14 Tips · 4 categories
6 tipsCombat
Build a Balanced Five-Character Party
Include at least two frontline tanks like Fighters or Paladins to absorb damage. Back them up with ranged damage dealers and use the fifth slot for a healer or debuffer to weaken tougher enemies.
Match Armor Weight to Each Character's Role
Put medium or heavy armor on frontline tanks and keep casters in light gear at the back. Slowing down a Monk or Priest with heavy plate undermines what makes them effective.
Carry Alternate Weapons with Different Damage Types
Equip a second weapon set dealing a different damage type, such as crush or pierce if your primary deals slash. Guns and crossbows are especially effective as opener weapons for spellcasters since they don't trigger a recovery period after firing.
Pause the Fight to Issue Orders Precisely
Press Spacebar to freeze combat and issue precise orders, reposition party members, or trigger abilities. Use the combat speed slider to slow fights down when managing complex encounters, or press F to fast-forward through slower moments.
Avoid Fighting Purely in Real Time
Skipping the pause function and trying to manage encounters in real time leads to frustrating defeats on anything above the easiest difficulty. Treating the pause as a core mechanic rather than an optional crutch is what separates surviving from struggling.
Enable Party AI to Automate Companion Behavior
The Party AI toggle in the bottom left lets each companion run a behavior script matched to their class and level. Turning it on reduces micromanagement and quickly shows how different class archetypes naturally perform in a fight.
1 tipExploration
Press Tab to Reveal Hidden Items and NPCs
Tapping Tab highlights all loot and characters in the current area. Use it often to uncover rare items tucked into easy-to-miss corners and to spot quest-relevant NPCs before walking past them.
3 tipsShip Management
Feed Your Crew Better Food to Prevent Mutiny
Keeping sailors on a steady diet of hardtack and water risks triggering a mutiny, even as captain. Pick up tastier provisions like Mariner's Porridge from dockside merchants and slot them into the food column in your ship management screen.
Out-Gun and Out-Crew Your Naval Opponents
Ship combat is largely a numbers comparison. More cannons and crewmen give you a significant advantage. Keep sailors in reserve so the surgeon can treat injuries between exchanges, and bring the cook or navigator into the fight if you need extra hands.
Stay Within Cannon Range for Accurate Broadsides
Firing ship cannons outside their optimal range significantly reduces accuracy. Maneuver to close the distance and mind your ship's facing before opening fire to make each volley count.
4 tipsProgression
Upgrade Existing Abilities Before Picking New Ones
When a level-up screen appears, check whether current abilities have upgrades available before selecting a brand-new power. Passive abilities within class trees are easy to overlook but often provide significant returns for minimal investment.
Commit to a Build Direction from the Start
Grabbing flashy new abilities every level without a plan leaves you with a character whose skills don't reinforce each other. Pick a direction at character creation and keep upgrading toward it so stats and abilities stay coherent.
Prioritize Strength for Fighter and Paladin Tanks
When building a tank like a Paladin, focus on Strength and Constitution to maximize damage absorption and staying power. Adding some healing utility gives your frontliner a secondary role that pays off in longer fights.
Put Points into Alchemy and Athletics
Alchemy extends the duration of potions and drugs, making them substantially more effective than their base versions. Giving every party member a few points in Athletics helps pass party skill checks that would otherwise be locked out.
Verified: 2026-05-21 · All content is original with full credit to original creators.