Pillars of Eternity is getting one of the most unexpected surprise updates in modern gaming. Ten years after the original isometric RPG launched, Obsidian Entertainment announced a public beta for turn-based combat on November 5, 2025. Game Director Josh Sawyer himself delivered the announcement with a detailed video explaining what’s changed since Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire’s turn-based mode, and the improvements are substantial enough to justify the wait.
Why Pillars of Eternity Gets Turn-Based Now
Pillars of Eternity was always designed around real-time-with-pause (RTWP) combat – a system where battles happen in real time but you can pause to issue commands. It works brilliantly for a complex party-based RPG with tons of abilities and environmental factors. But Obsidian saw how well turn-based mode resonated with Deadfire players and wanted to bring the same option to the original game. Now, more than a decade later, they’re finally doing it.
What’s significant is that Josh Sawyer explicitly acknowledged the criticisms of how turn-based worked in Deadfire. That game’s turn-based mode had real balance issues – certain builds became overpowered while others got gutted. The conversion from real-time to turn-based changed action economy in ways that broke the game’s balance. Obsidian spent months designing Pillars of Eternity’s turn-based mode specifically to avoid those problems.
The Technical Improvements: Unbound Turns
The core innovation is called “Unbound Turns.” In Deadfire’s turn-based mode, your character’s speed determined how many turns they got per round, creating a very different experience from the real-time version. In Pillars of Eternity’s turn-based mode, turns are still influenced by character speed, but the system no longer creates massive action economy swings. It’s not a one-to-one conversion – Obsidian tried that and it felt wrong – but it preserves the spirit of what dexterity should do in the game.
This matters because in real-time-with-pause, a high-dexterity character acts much more frequently than a low-dexterity character. That value proposition needs to translate into turn-based, not disappear or get inverted. Unbound Turns accomplish this by making sure the character’s base speed is still relevant in turn-based mode. It’s a seemingly small change that actually fixes one of Deadfire’s biggest balance problems.
Smarter Free Actions Save Time
The second major improvement is “Smarter Free Actions.” In Deadfire’s turn-based mode, every single action consumed a turn – even something as simple as swapping weapons or drinking a potion. This created bloated, tedious turn sequences where you’d spend ten turns doing basic resource management instead of fighting. Pillars of Eternity changes this by making weapons swaps, potion drinking, and ability toggles free actions that don’t consume your turn.
That said, there’s balance here. You get one free action per turn per type, so you can’t just spam weapon switches and potion chugging infinitely. But it stops turn-based combat from becoming a slog of administrative tasks. Josh Sawyer specifically mentioned this during the announcement – players were using mods in Deadfire to speed up the tedium, and Obsidian learned from that.
Increased Combat Lethality Keeps Battles Tense
One problem with Deadfire’s turn-based mode was that battles could drag on forever. Because everything took a turn, and you had full control over turn order, it became possible to kite enemies indefinitely and stretch a five-minute real-time fight into a thirty-minute turn-based slugfest. Obsidian addressed this by significantly increasing combat lethality for both enemies and players. Battles are deadlier now, which keeps tension high and prevents the game from becoming a turn-based snoozefest.
This is a design philosophy shift. Sawyer acknowledged that turn-based mode inherently gives players more time to think, which can feel overpowered compared to real-time. Increasing enemy damage and aggression compensates for that tactical advantage without making the game unfair. It’s about keeping battles meaningful and keeping pacing tight.
Mode Flexibility: The Real Game-Changer
But here’s the biggest improvement: you can now freely switch between turn-based and real-time-with-pause at any time, even mid-playthrough. In Deadfire, you had to commit to one mode at character creation. Miss the real-time combat midway through? Too bad, you’re locked in for the entire playthrough. This locked commitment was one of the most frustrating aspects of Deadfire’s turn-based implementation.
Pillars of Eternity fixes this by letting you toggle between modes in the game options whenever you want. Want to run through a dungeon in real-time for speed, then switch to turn-based for a challenging boss fight? You can do that. Decided turn-based isn’t working for you? Switch back immediately. Obsidian also mentioned they’re investigating a direct HUD toggle to make switching even more convenient – possibly even mid-combat.
| Feature | Deadfire Turn-Based | POE1 Turn-Based | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turn Economy | Broke balance, unequal to RTWP | Unbound Turns match RTWP spirit | Preserves build balance |
| Free Actions | Everything consumed turns | Weapon swap, potions, toggles free | Faster, less tedious |
| Combat Pacing | Battles could drag forever | Increased lethality keeps tension | Tighter, more engaging battles |
| Mode Switching | Locked at character creation | Freely swap at any time | Ultimate flexibility for players |
| Balance | Certain builds overpowered | Redesigned for balance parity | Both modes feel fair |
The Beta Starts November 5 on Steam and Xbox PC
The public beta goes live on November 5, 2025, for Steam and Xbox PC players. This is a genuine beta – expect bugs and ongoing adjustments. Obsidian is collecting feedback throughout the beta period and will continue rolling out updates as they refine and polish the system. There’s no end date announced for the beta, suggesting it could run for several months before the full release.
It’s worth noting that you don’t need to own Pillars of Eternity to participate in the beta if you have Xbox Game Pass for PC. If you’ve been on the fence about playing this classic isometric RPG, the turn-based mode gives you a legitimate reason to finally jump in.
What This Means for Old Games Getting Updates
Pillars of Eternity’s surprise turn-based mode update is remarkable in an industry where older games usually get forgotten. Most studios move on to sequels and new IPs. They don’t typically go back to decade-old games and add major features. But Obsidian, as a Microsoft-owned studio with GamePass incentives and genuine passion for its properties, has proven willing to invest in bringing an older game new life.
This isn’t just a balance patch or bug fix. This is a fundamentally new way to play a game that was designed around a different system. It required months of development, deep design work, and significant engineering effort. The fact that a studio released Avowed, Grounded 2, and The Outer Worlds 2 this year and still found resources to update a 10-year-old game speaks to something important about how they value their catalog.
FAQs
When does the Pillars of Eternity turn-based beta start?
The public beta for turn-based mode launches on November 5, 2025, for Steam and Xbox PC players. There’s no announced end date – it will run for several months as Obsidian collects feedback and makes adjustments.
Can I switch between turn-based and real-time modes?
Yes, freely. Unlike Deadfire’s turn-based mode where you committed at character creation, Pillars of Eternity lets you toggle between modes anytime through the game options. Obsidian is also investigating a direct HUD toggle for even more convenience.
What’s an “Unbound Turn”?
Unbound Turns mean character speed still influences turn frequency in turn-based mode, matching the spirit of real-time-with-pause. In Deadfire, turn economy changed dramatically in turn-based mode. Pillars of Eternity preserves the relationship between dexterity and action frequency.
Are free actions unlimited in turn-based mode?
No. Actions like weapon swaps, potion drinking, and ability toggles are free actions, but you’re limited to one per turn per type for balance. You can’t spam weapon switches infinitely.
Will battle times be longer in turn-based mode?
Combat lethality has been significantly increased for both enemies and players to keep battles tense and prevent the tedious, extended fights that plagued Deadfire’s turn-based mode. Battles should feel dangerous and properly paced.
Did Josh Sawyer explain the changes?
Yes. He released a detailed video announcement explaining the improvements over Deadfire and acknowledging the criticism of how turn-based was implemented in that game. The team specifically addressed those criticisms in this update.
Is this only available to new playthroughs?
You can start a new game with turn-based mode selected alongside difficulty. But existing saves can also toggle to turn-based mode through the options menu thanks to the flexible switching system.
Do I need to own Pillars of Eternity to test the beta?
You need to own the game on Steam or PC Game Pass for Xbox to access the beta. If you have PC Game Pass, you can participate without owning it outright.
Conclusion
Pillars of Eternity’s turn-based mode is a masterclass in how to port a real-time system to turn-based without breaking the game’s balance or pacing. The improvements over Deadfire’s implementation directly address every major criticism players had, and the flexibility to switch modes at any time removes the biggest frustration point. This isn’t just a nostalgia play for a decade-old RPG – it’s a genuine quality-of-life enhancement that could make Pillars of Eternity accessible to an entirely new audience of turn-based RPG fans.
When the beta launches on November 5, you’ll get to experience how thoughtful design can breathe new life into an old game. Whether you’re a longtime Watcher who never got into the original’s real-time combat or a turn-based purist who skipped it entirely, this might finally be your chance to experience one of gaming’s most acclaimed isometric RPGs on your own terms.