You got this Mort! I am, or was, Va'exna, the number 14 Ranger/Soulblade! If you have any questions or some thoughts or things you would like to share or discuss don't hesitate to ask! Good luck, it is an amazing journey, one of the most profound journeys i've ever undertaken in an crpg!
@@nirmithra1 At the time of completion i was at around 600 hours, i think the ultimate took like the majority i think but not all. I played alot of RP campaigns and challenge runs before i did the ultimate. I think the ultimate in total took around 200 to 300 of the hours i'd say, give or take.
I did it. Without videos though so it's not official. I actually did tactician/skaen, mostly because Chris Lee-Egan has a lot of advice in the descriptions of his videos, so unlike with the others I understood exactly what to do and why. Couple of pieces of advice from me: 1 - chop the run into smaller chunks, it's much less stressful to practice 10-minute chunk repeatedly than 1-hour chunk 2 - don't use Wael's challenge in your "practice file", you'll have better overview 3 - for your "real file", hardtack is the best way to figure out how much money you have 4 - turn the Expert mode off for your "practice file", so you know what can be done in dialogue and what skills you need 5 - if you plan to use Priest's Spiritual weapon, pay real close attention to Dispositions and related dialogues (I ended up with bad dispositions and worse Spiritual weapon than Monastic unarmed training) 6 - although the dates are hidden, you can see elapsed time both on your Save file and in the Notes section if you make a note 7 - in your "practice file" enable "Explored world map" Berath's blessing - storm movements are deterministic, you can learn them, so even when your files get out of sync (and they will), you will know where the storm will move 8 - also Captian Thaenic's route is deterministic and always the same, you can time his visit to Naketaka and buy stuff from him 9 - in your "practice file" you could cheat your way to the bosses ahead of time to test your build (give yourself XP and gear you expect to have when you get there in "real file"), just be careful not to turn the cheats on accidentally in your "real file" 10 - make a list of what things you do both before the combat and at the start of the combat and stick to that list 100% 11 - Auranic is a monster and the most dangerous of all the bosses, don't go for real until you can make it several times in a row in practice 12 - Hauani can spiral out of control if one is not careful enough, but I still found it much easier and consistent then Auranic 13 - first Oracle fight can be skipped if you don't use neither Tayn's nor Lengrath's spell and if you don't steal anything in the scriptorium (only second fight counts against Ultimate) 14 - Maura fight can be skipped with 17 diplomacy 15 - if you decide for tactician/skaen too, let me know, I can provide more specifics
I am not the type to care about streaming, but if you do decide to stream this I will show support in any way i can. good luck regardless, I really hope you succeed
I'm all for more PoE2 content. Best cRPGs for me, the speed up function alone should have been standard for every cRPG since PoE 1 had it years ago. Would try POTD myself - maybe during the holidays... but solo?
It’ll be interesting to see your name amongst the plaque and have THAT as the logo to your channel. I’m still a dumbass at these games, still can’t beat the harder difficulties in cRPGs but it’d be interesting to see you achieve it and become, for a lack of a better word, the _ultimate_ cRPG gamer. Have a nice day and may you wander in wisdom Mort.
I don't know how well this video performs, but for those that are here for cool info and your great content, it's very interesting. The Holy Grail of crpg achievements! How cool is that?
YES go for it Mort! I would then love a full or partial commentary of your finished run, where you explain your thought process and strategies. I once partially watched another successful run of the ultimatte, but even though I finished PoE2, I did not understand a thing of whats going one - so a Commentary would be absolutely helpful.
Recently picked this back up for the PlayStation since ive got time while i feed my son. The Poe 2 community is excellent and still put out builds and guides.
Cant wait to see your winning run Mort, thanka for the heads up glad youre finally going to give it a real go especially after hearing you mention it in the last few videos ive watched 👍
pillars 2 definitely my fave crpg combat system in recent years. I've about 300-400 hours in the game. Actually challenging fights without being boring. Good luck with the challenge
I devised my strategy to beat it but never able to do it myself lol, the key is, for me, is to get Brilliant inspiration and priest is best because of barring death's door, for my duo playthrough I usually get a Cipher to cast Ancestor memories, but solo? either getting that 1% cape proc brilliant *or* wit's of the herald (which is unreliable, at least for me). Good luck, Mortym, don't forget to upload the entire run!
Good luck Mort You can do it! Look Forward to you celebrating getting that patch in the future! It is a insane challenge but if anyone can do it I am sure you can .
People that complete these kinds of challenges in games have a level of patience and determination I could only dream of! I gave up trying to beat Pantheon of Hallownest in Hollow Knight. This seems exponentially more difficult! I keenly watched people attempt Deep Dip 2 in Trackmania earlier this year but I have no incentive to attempt it myself. I lack the time and energy. Good luck Mort! I hope you come through with your sanity intact!
LESGOOOOOO I'll be cheering for you here while I start my Pillars journey in preparation for Avowed. Good luck Morty, can't wait to see you finishing this challenge!
Great news Mort(!), hope you make it out alive at the first try 😅 A wish a bit before Christmas, would be a couple or just one, highlights-video of the ups and downs would be awesome, even if you don't make it. Best luck to you! 👍
This is far outside of how I would play a CRPG but some of the challenges seem like really neat ways to modify gameplay. I'd love to see more games have some of those as difficulty options you can choose when starting a new game.
I remember when they announced this and I assumed some hardcore players would knock out all the top 50 spots within a month or so, guess it shows the level of difficulty that only this many have done so. Granted, some may have just done it privately and not bothered sending in the proof.
Not that it isn't difficult, but the fact that it isn't a terribly popular game AND they require you to send in a complete video is going to vastly reduce the number of people that try to do this.
I suspect people underestimate how much of a difference the video requirement makes. I'd expect at least a factor of ten, if not more. I mean, it'd still be just 100-200 players, but looking at the insane challenges people do just for the heck of it, and compare it to one that is nicely laid out like this one, yeah, there's going to be a bunch of people who have done it.
Your constant PoE vids inspired me to actually pick up PoE. Almost done with 1 (working my way thru White March) and its so amazing. Up there with Divinity for me!
Go for it, Mort! It would be really interesting if you put out some sort of theory crafting video behind why you are making certain decisions in your playthrough.
Feel like this is one of those "I've been training for this my whole life" kind of things for you, Morti! Can you REALLY say you've 100%'d Pillars, if you don't do this Challenge, teehee... Godspeed, Sir.
Was debating buying this game yesterday cause it's on sale but bought Drova instead... just bought it now because of this video, loving the character creation and challenges, thanks!
Stream it with engagement hidden! You don't have to obviously, but it would be really fun to watch the journey, even if you don't have mic/face cam/chat going along with it. Having it all recorded (even the failures) would be such a great for-prosperity project.
You showing that little girl gave me ptsd from keeping the squirrel knight alive in DOS2. Damned thing would always go into fire. But best of luck with the challenge!
Best wishes for a success and have fun! Consider doing a post filming voiceover for the successful playthroughs. I find it more entertaining to hear verbal explanation of the reasoning behind choices while watching the execution of strategies. Especially when overcoming significant challenges.
You could live stream with commentary and a chat feed, to keep things fun, and your sanity. Be sure to number each attempt: "Mortismal's PoE2 Ultimate Challenge - 3rd Attempt", for example (or similar). Each attempt might contain crazy, hilarious, or epic feats.
I did the Ultimate for PoE with a Dragon Thrashed Chanter. I had another non-ironman save running alongside so I could rehearse each section in safety. But PoE2 Ultimate is so insanely hard that I realized I'm never going to be able to beat it. It's a shame as I would've loved to do it, but it's not possible.
It would be really cool if you toke maybe notes during the challenge, so that, if you manage to complete it (in bocca al lupo!), you could then use them to add some voice over to the recorded footage in post-production. Just sparse lines for encounters, for example, when you explain a bit of what you're doing and what difficulties you had to face. I know, from your own words in previous videos on the topic, that the voice over recording procedure is the one that feels more like you're working a regular job, i.e. the least pleasant part of your dream job of playing and talking about video games for a living. So let me stress that this is just a lighthearted wish I'm expressing, not some kind of "request" which carries expectations, and possibly disappointment on its tail. I'll happily watch the video/s anyway, if and when you end up publishing the results of your PoE2 Ultimate Challenge. Thanks for your videos!
Whether you achieve it or not, you HAVE TO release content for this challenge after this video. You cant leave us hanging now. Btw, I bought PoE1 & 2 a few weeks ago and will start my first playthroughs during Xmas holidays.
Good luck. After Avowed previews made me yearn for more Pillars I started my 4th PoE2 playthrough, but won’t be coming anywhere near the challenge. I don’t enjoy single characters run, not to mention the insanity of the Ultimate.
I did it in PoE 1 and I went mad multiple times. Had to put the game away for a while in between. When I saw PoE 2 was even harder I knew I'm never even going to attempt it xD
You got this Mort! I am, or was, Va'exna, the number 14 Ranger/Soulblade! If you have any questions or some thoughts or things you would like to share or discuss don't hesitate to ask! Good luck, it is an amazing journey, one of the most profound journeys i've ever undertaken in an crpg!
Legen.... DARY
A walking god amongst men
How many hours do you have in the game?
@@nirmithra1 At the time of completion i was at around 600 hours, i think the ultimate took like the majority i think but not all. I played alot of RP campaigns and challenge runs before i did the ultimate. I think the ultimate in total took around 200 to 300 of the hours i'd say, give or take.
There's a derth of PoE content, 1 and 2. Honestly I think a niche series on the games would be really cool.
Love how you plan to take a "much needed break" by tackling the hardest challenge in the genre. All the best!
I'd say the hardest challenge in the genre is wizardry 4 secret ending. And the second hardest is wizardry 4.
Other people when going through midlife crisis: join gym, buy a sports car.
Mortismal: Pillars of Eternity 2 Ultimate run.
I have neither the talent nor the temperament to even attempt this. You, I have faith in.
I did it. Without videos though so it's not official. I actually did tactician/skaen, mostly because Chris Lee-Egan has a lot of advice in the descriptions of his videos, so unlike with the others I understood exactly what to do and why. Couple of pieces of advice from me:
1 - chop the run into smaller chunks, it's much less stressful to practice 10-minute chunk repeatedly than 1-hour chunk
2 - don't use Wael's challenge in your "practice file", you'll have better overview
3 - for your "real file", hardtack is the best way to figure out how much money you have
4 - turn the Expert mode off for your "practice file", so you know what can be done in dialogue and what skills you need
5 - if you plan to use Priest's Spiritual weapon, pay real close attention to Dispositions and related dialogues (I ended up with bad dispositions and worse Spiritual weapon than Monastic unarmed training)
6 - although the dates are hidden, you can see elapsed time both on your Save file and in the Notes section if you make a note
7 - in your "practice file" enable "Explored world map" Berath's blessing - storm movements are deterministic, you can learn them, so even when your files get out of sync (and they will), you will know where the storm will move
8 - also Captian Thaenic's route is deterministic and always the same, you can time his visit to Naketaka and buy stuff from him
9 - in your "practice file" you could cheat your way to the bosses ahead of time to test your build (give yourself XP and gear you expect to have when you get there in "real file"), just be careful not to turn the cheats on accidentally in your "real file"
10 - make a list of what things you do both before the combat and at the start of the combat and stick to that list 100%
11 - Auranic is a monster and the most dangerous of all the bosses, don't go for real until you can make it several times in a row in practice
12 - Hauani can spiral out of control if one is not careful enough, but I still found it much easier and consistent then Auranic
13 - first Oracle fight can be skipped if you don't use neither Tayn's nor Lengrath's spell and if you don't steal anything in the scriptorium (only second fight counts against Ultimate)
14 - Maura fight can be skipped with 17 diplomacy
15 - if you decide for tactician/skaen too, let me know, I can provide more specifics
Great post. Hope Mort sees this,.
It is my toxic trait to believe that I could complete this and keep my sanity lol
Stop boasting and do it
@Mystra do it
@FinneousPJ1 I don't think you know what the phrase toxic trait implies. In no way is this boasting.
@truelostboundless5154 Maybe, but it definitely wouldn't be because any youtube comments are telling me what to do. Unreal entitlement.
Same. Lol.
First, hat’s off to you Mort
Second, god damn dude, what the actual hell? I’ve thought the mode was put in as a joke
I believe you can do it, Mort 😌
I am not the type to care about streaming, but if you do decide to stream this I will show support in any way i can. good luck regardless, I really hope you succeed
I'm all for more PoE2 content. Best cRPGs for me, the speed up function alone should have been standard for every cRPG since PoE 1 had it years ago.
Would try POTD myself - maybe during the holidays... but solo?
I love PoE2, it's a masterpiece and if it was the first PoE game it probably would have done a lot better.
Best of luck with the challenge!
This was too hard for me to handle despite finishing the game on PoTD so the difficulty is no joke, good luck
Keeping fingers crossed! I'd love to see you complete this, good luck!!!
It’ll be interesting to see your name amongst the plaque and have THAT as the logo to your channel.
I’m still a dumbass at these games, still can’t beat the harder difficulties in cRPGs but it’d be interesting to see you achieve it and become, for a lack of a better word, the _ultimate_ cRPG gamer. Have a nice day and may you wander in wisdom Mort.
If Im not mistaken the plaque has been filled out, but they still offer patches for the first 50 to beat it.
@@oceanstone5223 You are correct.
If anyone can do this, it's you! 💪
Long time lurker, but coming out of the shadows to say I believe in you Mort! Excited to see your name on the plaque!
May RNGsus bless you.
I don't know how well this video performs, but for those that are here for cool info and your great content, it's very interesting. The Holy Grail of crpg achievements! How cool is that?
Good luck Mort!
YES go for it Mort! I would then love a full or partial commentary of your finished run, where you explain your thought process and strategies. I once partially watched another successful run of the ultimatte, but even though I finished PoE2, I did not understand a thing of whats going one - so a Commentary would be absolutely helpful.
you can Dooo it! Good luck mort and pretty excited to see more on this
Recently picked this back up for the PlayStation since ive got time while i feed my son. The Poe 2 community is excellent and still put out builds and guides.
Don't know if it's feasible, but would love to watch a stream of this if/when you decide to give it a go
I'm so on board with this. Please upload as much as you can!
Cant wait to see your winning run Mort, thanka for the heads up glad youre finally going to give it a real go especially after hearing you mention it in the last few videos ive watched 👍
Doing a challenge like this is WAY beyond my level of skill, and available time!
But I wish you much success in achieving this!
Crazy how I just happened to see this a minute after you post.
DO IT! Just take your time. Don't run yourself ragged.
I look forward to it, Mort! I love your videos, man.
Leggo! Still watching the video but I think I'm getting talked into replaying this game 😂
Glad to hear you talk about this. I cant wait to see you complete this challange!
pillars 2 definitely my fave crpg combat system in recent years. I've about 300-400 hours in the game. Actually challenging fights without being boring. Good luck with the challenge
I wonder how it compares to Pathfinder:WOTR on unfair + last Alzanti + solo + every optional boss + sadistic game design.
I devised my strategy to beat it but never able to do it myself lol, the key is, for me, is to get Brilliant inspiration and priest is best because of barring death's door, for my duo playthrough I usually get a Cipher to cast Ancestor memories, but solo? either getting that 1% cape proc brilliant *or* wit's of the herald (which is unreliable, at least for me).
Good luck, Mortym, don't forget to upload the entire run!
Best of luck! We'll be rooting for ya all the way
Good luck have my fingers crossed for you! I'm downloading Deadfire now to do another run thanks that for. May you wander in wisdom
Good luck Mort You can do it! Look Forward to you celebrating getting that patch in the future! It is a insane challenge but if anyone can do it I am sure you can .
People that complete these kinds of challenges in games have a level of patience and determination I could only dream of!
I gave up trying to beat Pantheon of Hallownest in Hollow Knight. This seems exponentially more difficult!
I keenly watched people attempt Deep Dip 2 in Trackmania earlier this year but I have no incentive to attempt it myself. I lack the time and energy.
Good luck Mort! I hope you come through with your sanity intact!
LESGOOOOOO I'll be cheering for you here while I start my Pillars journey in preparation for Avowed. Good luck Morty, can't wait to see you finishing this challenge!
I'd love intermittent updates on your progress. It would be super interesting to learn about the progression of a challenge like this in real time.
Awesome, definitely looking forward to these videos.
You can do it Mort!
Great news Mort(!), hope you make it out alive at the first try 😅 A wish a bit before Christmas, would be a couple or just one, highlights-video of the ups and downs would be awesome, even if you don't make it. Best luck to you! 👍
Good luck Mort, and cant wait the videos about it.
This is far outside of how I would play a CRPG but some of the challenges seem like really neat ways to modify gameplay. I'd love to see more games have some of those as difficulty options you can choose when starting a new game.
Agreed. They took the criticism and did some really interesting stuff with it.
So cool and so exciting! Hope you're able to get it done :) Good luck Mort!
Best of luck ! Looking forward to watching you beat it !
I remember when they announced this and I assumed some hardcore players would knock out all the top 50 spots within a month or so, guess it shows the level of difficulty that only this many have done so. Granted, some may have just done it privately and not bothered sending in the proof.
Not that it isn't difficult, but the fact that it isn't a terribly popular game AND they require you to send in a complete video is going to vastly reduce the number of people that try to do this.
I suspect people underestimate how much of a difference the video requirement makes. I'd expect at least a factor of ten, if not more. I mean, it'd still be just 100-200 players, but looking at the insane challenges people do just for the heck of it, and compare it to one that is nicely laid out like this one, yeah, there's going to be a bunch of people who have done it.
Your constant PoE vids inspired me to actually pick up PoE. Almost done with 1 (working my way thru White March) and its so amazing. Up there with Divinity for me!
Good luck Mort, you can do it! You can be THE ULTIMATE!
Good luck, If anyone can pull this off, it's you!
You got it Mort! Excited to watch the completed run
Me dropping Divinity down to Explorer: Yeah, have fun lol
That would be Awesome!
Go for it, Mort! It would be really interesting if you put out some sort of theory crafting video behind why you are making certain decisions in your playthrough.
Feel like this is one of those "I've been training for this my whole life" kind of things for you, Morti!
Can you REALLY say you've 100%'d Pillars, if you don't do this Challenge, teehee...
Godspeed, Sir.
Do it! Bring new meaning to the term "Mortismal"!
I would say good luck but I know you got this 👍. Can't wait to see the full gameplay video.
Good luck Mort! Looking forward to watching you try.
Was debating buying this game yesterday cause it's on sale but bought Drova instead... just bought it now because of this video, loving the character creation and challenges, thanks!
Drova is amazing, definitely worth playing
@milkweedreflections indeed, not to take anything away from Drova, I'm very happy with both 👏
Exciting! Good luck and enjoy :)
Best of luck, you got this!!!
I'm so excited for this!
I wish you good luck and godspeed. I have never had the guts to try this.
I’m never attempting this challenge as I enjoy my sanity but this video actually convinced me to buy the game!
Stream it with engagement hidden! You don't have to obviously, but it would be really fun to watch the journey, even if you don't have mic/face cam/chat going along with it. Having it all recorded (even the failures) would be such a great for-prosperity project.
You showing that little girl gave me ptsd from keeping the squirrel knight alive in DOS2. Damned thing would always go into fire. But best of luck with the challenge!
Yes, do it. I started pillars 1 last week for the first time.
I'm looking forward to watching your recording of beating this challenge!
You got this Mort. We are rooting for you!
Best wishes for a success and have fun! Consider doing a post filming voiceover for the successful playthroughs. I find it more entertaining to hear verbal explanation of the reasoning behind choices while watching the execution of strategies. Especially when overcoming significant challenges.
How about a video diary on the progess!! We neeed it!! Good luck on the challenge
You aren't just the crpg guy to me Mort! You are the man who finishes the quickest! Hahaha good luck will love to see the final run! 😊
I would love to see that. Best I have been able to pull off is a solo run but not with any of those challenges on lol good luck.
BEST OF LUCK AND HAVE FUN!
i didn't know about this challenge! good luck. can't wait to see you name of the board :)
Very fun video ! Thanks for the info
You could live stream with commentary and a chat feed, to keep things fun, and your sanity. Be sure to number each attempt: "Mortismal's PoE2 Ultimate Challenge - 3rd Attempt", for example (or similar). Each attempt might contain crazy, hilarious, or epic feats.
Sawyer quote-tweeted video this on Bluesky, cool of him to notice!
I did the Ultimate for PoE with a Dragon Thrashed Chanter. I had another non-ironman save running alongside so I could rehearse each section in safety. But PoE2 Ultimate is so insanely hard that I realized I'm never going to be able to beat it. It's a shame as I would've loved to do it, but it's not possible.
Fingers crossed that Mort will finish this challenge! Then we can start calling him Mort the Ultimate!
It would be really cool if you toke maybe notes during the challenge,
so that, if you manage to complete it (in bocca al lupo!),
you could then use them to add some voice over to the recorded footage in post-production.
Just sparse lines for encounters, for example,
when you explain a bit of what you're doing and what difficulties you had to face.
I know, from your own words in previous videos on the topic,
that the voice over recording procedure is the one that feels more like you're working a regular job,
i.e. the least pleasant part of your dream job of playing and talking about video games for a living.
So let me stress that this is just a lighthearted wish I'm expressing,
not some kind of "request" which carries expectations, and possibly disappointment on its tail.
I'll happily watch the video/s anyway,
if and when you end up publishing the results of your PoE2 Ultimate Challenge.
Thanks for your videos!
Best of luck! I hope you have fun! 😀
14:52 do post commentary. Like a movies directors cut. Maybe invite a relevant guest host to commentate with.
I wish luck with completing your quest. I really need to play these games before avowed comes out.
Whether you achieve it or not, you HAVE TO release content for this challenge after this video. You cant leave us hanging now. Btw, I bought PoE1 & 2 a few weeks ago and will start my first playthroughs during Xmas holidays.
This would be nuts
Would love to see you do this! If not, may you still wander in wisdom as well!
Best of luck! If I tried to do the Ultimate, I'd end up throwing my computer out the window at some point in frustration. 😂
This is a huge throwback to Activision giving away patches back in the 2600 days.
Good luck, Mort!
Best of Luck ! Go forwand ! ;)
Good Luck. Go get 'em.
Good luck, hope you can get it done.
I love deadfire so much but I'd never even consider attempting this. Good luck man.
Good luck. After Avowed previews made me yearn for more Pillars I started my 4th PoE2 playthrough, but won’t be coming anywhere near the challenge. I don’t enjoy single characters run, not to mention the insanity of the Ultimate.
Good Luck Mortismal, I hope you beat it. I think it would be really cool if they added your name to the wall.
In the process of trying to get the ultimate achievement for pillars 1. The achievement is quite difficult.
Good luck! (you'll need it)
Would love to see a guide of PoE2 stuff. It's an older game sure, but I think some folks would appreciate it.
I did it in PoE 1 and I went mad multiple times. Had to put the game away for a while in between. When I saw PoE 2 was even harder I knew I'm never even going to attempt it xD