Obsidian Entertainment and Paradox Interactive have released a new developer diary for Tyranny. The new entry focuses on one of the party members, Eb and provides a look at her backstory as well as her in game combat role.

Eb is a member of an order of mages that study manipulation of water in all its forms, as well as spells that harness the pull of the moons, or that focus the light of the moon Terratus Grave into searing rays. Though their magic makes them formidable in battle, the School of Tides devoted their efforts to the study of the arts and cornering trade along the coasts. While these efforts gave the school prestige and acceptance, they’ve also turned the school into a peaceful order, one unready for war.

With the war taking everything from her, Eb is the last of her kind and is living a life of battle, always on the run from the invaders. Her character’s story is marked by tenacity and that helps to define how she performs in combat.

Combat Role

Eb’s combat role is focused on control and devastating enemies in numbers. She possesses Gravelight and Tidecasting magic which are defined in her game talents. She can alternate between offense, crowd control or even front line combat by mixing and matching her capabilities.

The magic she knows adds a flavor to the abilities she can use, and gives her a unique lore and gameplay flavor that show off her story even during combat. They alternate between violent offense, to mystifying control and make her a very versatile companion. These are some of the abilities she will be able to call upon and their descriptions:

• Repelling Blast: Eb raises her hand and a powerful blast of water erupts forth, pushing foes back violently and damaging them.
• Mother’s Embrace: Eb summons a globe of water around the target’s head, causing them to slowly drown, dealing damage over time and silencing spellcasting.
• Clear Mind: As long as Eb is not taking damage her mind calms, reducing her Recovery and allowing her to attack twice with each basic attack. (Taking damage suppresses this effect for several seconds.)
• Return to the Source: Channeling her tidecasting magic, Eb summons the water from the target’s blood and tissue, erupting it out of them in a violent surge and dealing extreme damage.
• Terratus’ Call: Eb raises her arms and summons a beam of moonlight to surround her target. Terratus’ magic lifts the enemy into the air and then brings them violently back to the ground, dealing Crush damage and leaving the target Prone.
• Runic Barrier: While in combat, Eb begins channeling magical energy through the runes tattooed on her skin, generating a field that protects her as if she were wearing armor. (Only activates while Eb is not wearing Heavy Armor).

Tyranny is beginning to take shape, especially with last week’s video on spell creation and is scheduled to release sometime this year for PC. With a heavy focus on story, choice and world design, the game carries on the events from Pillars of Eternity by conceiving a scenario where evil has emerged victorious. With other classic RPG games like Divinity Original Sin 2 and Torment: Tides of Numenera gaining attention, it’s going to be a full year and beyond for the genre. Thoughts on Tyranny and the new companion? Let us know in the comments!

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