Obsidian Entertainment’s PC Controller Support Public Test for Pillars of Eternity and Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is live now on GOG, Steam, and Xbox on PC. The studio is not talking about partial support. In its November 4 announcement, Obsidian says you can play the whole of either game with a controller, “from character creation to the end credits.”
That covers a lot of ground for two dense party RPGs. Obsidian lists exploration, conversations, the inventory, the world map, and combat in both Real-Time with Pause and Turn-Based Mode. Pillars of Eternity adds crafting, enchanting, and the Stronghold to the list. Deadfire goes all the way out to sea, with naval exploration and ship combat included, and its scheme builds on the controls from the console editions.
Controller and mouse swap at any time in patches 1.3.10.0 and 5.1.0.0
The test arrives as Pillars of Eternity patch 1.3.10.0 and Deadfire patch 5.1.0.0. Both use radial menus for quick access to abilities, spells, and party commands (Deadfire adds action bars and items), with button prompts throughout the interface. You can pick up a mouse and keyboard whenever you like, and the interface and prompts follow whichever input you touched last.
Obsidian says Xbox and PlayStation controllers are supported, along with Steam Deck and Steam Big Picture mode, including the on-screen keyboard for naming characters and writing notes. In the Deadfire notes, Obsidian specifically says controllers are supported on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
How to join the public beta on GOG, Steam, and Xbox on PC
Obsidian posted opt-in steps for all three storefronts.
- GOG: In your library, right-click Pillars of Eternity, choose Manage Installation, then Configure. Under Beta Channels, select Public Beta, then OK. Obsidian’s GOG steps name Pillars of Eternity, and Deadfire is listed among the games in the test.
- Steam: Right-click either game, choose Properties, open the Betas tab, and select “public_beta” from the drop-down. Restart Steam if the update does not appear.
- Xbox on PC: Open the Xbox Insider Hub app, go to Previews, select Pillars of Eternity – Hero Edition, and choose Join. Obsidian’s Xbox steps name only that edition.
Steam Deck needs one layout change
Steam Deck players have an extra step. Open the game’s library page, select the controller icon, open Current Layout, go to Templates, and pick “Gamepad with Joystick Trackpad” (or “Gamepad” if that option is missing). Apply the layout, then launch the game.
Deadfire’s Turn-Based Mode now runs on character speed and 35% more damage
The bigger surprise is in Deadfire. Obsidian has reworked its Turn-Based Mode using the improvements it made to Pillars of Eternity’s version. The headline changes:
- Characters no longer get one turn per round. Turns come as often as Initiative allows, so fast characters can act more than once a round, and heavily slowed ones can skip a round.
- All damage from any source is up 35% in Turn-Based Mode, on top of Deadfire’s existing lethality tweaks.
- Swapping weapon sets, drinking potions, and toggling modals are now free actions, limited to one of each type per turn.
- Intellect’s effect on duration rises from 5% to 10% per point.
- Chanter phrases now progress by elapsed initiative, and successful interrupts push the victim’s next turn back.
- Turn-Based Mode can be switched on or off mid-playthrough outside combat, from the options, a new HUD button, or the T key.
Finished Pillars of Eternity saves now carry into Deadfire
Patch 5.1.0.0 also lets completed-game saves from Pillars of Eternity transfer into Deadfire. The notes include a long list of fixes too, covering crashes, quest progression, audio, and the interface.
Bugs are expected, and Obsidian wants reports
Obsidian is clear this is a test. It says to “expect bugs,” and that the test will “run for some time” while the studio keeps updating it ahead of a full release. It has not given an end date or a release date for the final version. Feedback goes to support.obsidian.net or the official Obsidian Discord.
If you already have either game in your GOG library, switching to the Public Beta channel is the quickest way to try it.
Source: Obsidian, “Pillars of Eternity and Deadfire: PC Controller Support Public Test is Now Live!”