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RPGs by the legendary Obsidian Entertainment are renowned for their deep characters and rich storylines, and the companions in Pillars of Eternity II are no different. Each companion in the game has a full backstory, other classes to choose from, and a personality to interact with and learn as you progress through the game.
A handful of them can also be romanced, allowing players to see a new side of them and get even closer to them than they can with the other party members. So, here is everything you need to know about your romance options in Pillars of Eternity 2.
Key Info Up Front
Romanceable companions: Aloth Corfiser, Maia Rua, Tekēhu, Xoti, Serafen
Benefits of romancing: The main advantage of romancing a party member in Pillars of Eternity II is seeing a new side of their personality and unlocking new interactions and scenes with them that you would otherwise miss.
Pillars of Eternity 2 Romance Overview
Romancing a character in Pillars of Eternity 2 is not as prominent a feature as it is in other RPGs like Mass Effect or Fire Emblem. Instead, the system is more akin to The Witcher 3, where romancing a character is a narrative piece that doesn’t give the player any mechanical benefits.
To romance companions in Pillars of Eternity II, you have to increase your reputation with them. Your reputation is based on your decisions and the companion’s own opinions and preferences. You also have to complete a personal quest for the companion to help them out and learn more about their background.
Once your reputation has reached high enough, you will be shown the unique scene for that character that establishes your relationship with them and gives you more time to interact with just them.
Pillars of Eternity 2 Romance Candidates
Aloth Corfiser
Aloth is the first recruitable companion you encounter while playing Pillars of Eternity II. He is also a returning character from the original Pillars of Eternity, so players who played the first game already have a good amount of history and knowledge about him.
He is found at the Engwithan dig site, but if you don’t pick him up there, you can find him in Port Maje Harbor at Governor Clario’s Estate. However, if you don’t recruit him there either, he goes to Ori o Koīki and is ultimately killed by a Wahaki tribe. He brings unique leather armor and either a Keybreaker Scepter or Thaos’ Headdress when he joins your party.
Aloth Classes
Aloth is set up to be a powerful wizard. This positions him as one of the most powerful damage dealers in the game but also has him very weak when he takes any damage from enemies who manage to get close to him.
When he is recruited to your group, you can have him be a Wizard, a Battlemage that mixes Wizard with Fighter, or a Spellblade that mixes Wizard with Rogue.
The Wizard class focuses on allowing Aloth to react to any situation with a range of powerful spells that excel at shelling out damage or buffing their party members. The Battlemage gives Aloth more ways to stay on his feet while also making him a valuable fighter in melee engagements.
This has the potential to make Aloth a melee combatant that can give himself solid buffs, react to different enemy compositions, and can be built in a variety of ways.
The Spellblade, on the other hand, increases Aloth’s survivability by helping him avoid enemies and deal ridiculous amounts of damage through a combination of stealth tactics and powerful spells.
Aloth’s Likes and Dislikes
Aloth’s likes include Autonomy, Stewardship, and Dutiful. Autonomy means that he thinks people should have the freedom to determine their path in life while appreciating anything the player does in support of this ideal. Still, he only has this trait if he decided to dismantle the Leaden Key in the first Pillars of Eternity.
If he doesn’t have Autonomy, he has Stewardship, which means that he believes in benevolent authoritarianism that can be used to protect and guide people. Dutiful means that he likes people who take responsibility for their actions and tackle the challenges they have without complaints.
Aloth dislikes the traits of Irresponsibility, Pride, and Traditional. Irresponsibility is a trait that sees characters not taking their duties seriously or trying to avoid the things they are supposed to do. Pride is a trait that makes characters think too highly of themselves in defiance of decency and politeness.
Dislike Traditional means that Aloth distrusts old traditions and thinks that people should not rigidly follow the old ways of their people or habits.
These likes and dislikes mean that Aloth gets along well with the likes of Xoti and Maia as they are both dutiful. However, he does not get along well with Tekēhu’s carefree attitude, and Edér would have a problem with Aloth if he became the Grandmaster of the Leaden Key.
Aloth’s Companion Quest
Aloth’s companion quest is called The Painted Masks. The quest starts when Aloth asks the player’s help in eradicating a Leaden Key cabal that has managed to evade him up until now.
After keeping an eye open for hints about the Leaden Key, the player will eventually find the cabal and helps Aloth decide what to do about them. Aloth’s final decision determines how his story ends in Pillars of Eternity II, depending on whether or not he feels guilty for his actions.
Aloth will also only be available as a romance option after selecting to give him his space to process things and respect his boundaries.
Maia Rua
Maia Rua is a ranger who has returned to her aumaua people’s home region by traveling to the region of Deadfire. She departed from her family’s traditions by following a career in the military rather than the academic pursuits of her ancestors and siblings.
Through her training, she became extremely versed and skillful with firearms and saw her being used to eliminate high-value targets without bigger altercations. Maia can be found at the Kahanga Palace at The Veins of Eora. However, if you don’t invite her to join your party, she can be found again at the Imperial Command within the Brass Citadel.
However, your relationship with her can be ruined by either having betrayed Kana Rua in Pillars of Eternity and are honest about it or side with the Huana or the Valian Trading Company during the quest The Coming Storm.
Maia Classes
Maia’s abilities focus on dealing with ranged damage and targeting high-value targets you want to hit with a big burst of damage. When you have Maia join you, she can take up the classes of Ranger, Scout, which mixes Ranger with Rogue, or Geomancer, which mixes Ranger with Wizard.
The Ranger is a class that excels at ranged combat, and she has a unique subclass called the Gunhawk. The Gunhawk gives her a hawk companion and increases her range with firearms. The Scout’s combination of Rogue with the Ranger makes Maia excel at slipping into stealth and striking for high critical damage.
This class is an excellent fit for her if you want to control her during combat to take full advantage of her stealth options to avoid damage and hit specific enemies. The Geomancer adds a lot of variation to her build that allows her to react to a wider range of enemies so that she is always a valuable member of your party.
Maia’s Likes and Dislikes
Maia is a devout patriot that likes the traits of Dutiful, Lighthearted, Provincial, Pro-Rauatai, and Resourcefulness. Dutiful means that she admires people who take responsibility and are willing to do what they need to.
Lighthearted means that she gets along well with others who appreciate a good joke and don’t take what they do or the world too seriously. Liking the Provincial trait means that Maia gets along well with the more rural ways of life in the world, and she finds more simple approaches to life charming.
The Pro-Rauatai trait means that Maia has no patience for characters or decisions that do not benefit the rauatai people. Finally, the Resourcefulness trait means that Maia likes others who can act independently and figure things out.
On the other side of things, Maia dislikes the traits of Animal Cruelty and Pro-Huana. Animal Cruelty means that she hates seeing others be cruel toward animals and thinks that all living creatures should be treated with the utmost respect and compassion.
A distaste for the Pro-Huana trait means she has an intense hatred for the Huana people native to the Deadfire Archipelago.
These aspects of her personality mean that Maia gets along well with Xoti and can even enter a relationship with them if she doesn’t enter one with the player. She also gets along well with Aloth and Pallegina because of how responsible they are.
However, she does not get along well with Pallegina because of their rivaling political affiliations, but they can grow to have respect for one another due to their shared loyalty. She also does not get along well with Tekēhu because of his support of the Huana and general irresponsibility.
Maia’s Companion Quest
Maia’s quest is called The Courier’s Calling. The quest begins when Maia is given a task by her commander Atsura to deliver missives to various Rauataian operatives stationed throughout the archipelago. Maia swears to the player that they are nothing more than bureaucratic messages, but they are assassination orders.
Depending on how the quest goes, it can have massive impacts on the towns of Port Maje and Tikawara, but after you complete it and have finished the main quest, A Distant Light, you will have the option of entering a relationship with Maia.
Tekēhu
Tekēhu is a godlike marine that has glowing hair resembling the tendrils of an anemone. He is a young but skilled member of the Watershapers Guild of the Huana and is thought by his peers to have been touched by their god Ngati.
His skills make him a valuable member of any party composition, but he brings an extreme level of arrogance that has gotten him into some trouble in the past.
You can recruit Tekēhu at the Watershapers Guild, but he will permanently abandon your party and mission if you side with the Royal Deadfire Company during The Coming Storm quest.
Tekēhu’s Classes
Tekēhu is unique in that players can have him take either his particular Chanter subclass of Stormspeaker, his Druid subclass of Watershaper, or a Theurge that combines both of them. The Stormspeaker subclass modifies the Chanter class to give him more elemental invocations at the cost of not being able to take any that summon minions.
This makes him a strong support character who can buff the party up for any situation and requires the party to have a strong tank, which can be him since there won’t be any summons to take hits from enemies.
The Watershaper class modifies the Druid class with more water spells while removing any access to fire and creature spells. It also allows him to shapeshift into a shark unique to the subclass and is immune to afflictions that impact his Dexterity.
Tekēhu’s Likes and Dislikes
The traits that Tekēhu likes are Progressive, Pro-Godlike, Piety, Pro-Huana, Lighthearted, and Pride. He has a long list of likes, which helps him get along with most party members. Progressive means that Tekēhu likes characters and decisions that are willing to question the old ways and reform society.
His origins as a Godlike Huana also make him like those with favorable opinions towards those peoples and cultures and think that they positively impact the world of Eora. The trait of Piety means that he thinks everyone should show respect for the gods and religions, even if they don’t personally subscribe to them.
Lighthearted means that Tekēhu likes to make jokes about things and enjoys being around companions who don’t take things too seriously. Liking the trait of Pride means that he likes others who feel that they are worthy of something and are comfortable being open about it.
To balance his likes out, Tekēhu dislikes the traits of Anti-Huana and Pro-Rauatai. These mean that he dislikes people who support the Rauatai or Royal Deadfire Company while liking those who support the Huana people and way of life.
These preferences mean that Tekēhu gets along well with Xoti very quickly but has an entirely negative relationship with Maia Rua because of their different cultures.
Tekēhu’s Companion Quests
While Tekēhu doesn’t have a personal quest like other characters in the game, he instead is romanceable after completing the questline related to the Huana. The two quests that you have to complete are Trade Secrets and The Shadow Under Neketaka.
Once you finish those quests and resolve the fate of the Huana people, you will have Tekēhu available as a romance option as long as you have a good enough reputation with him.
Xoti
Xoti is a female human that worships the aspect of rebirth, Gaun. Her early life was defined by the impacts of the great Saint’s War and the vorlas blight that desolated entire communities, leading to her wanting to worship an aspect of Eoras not decimated by the Godhammer.
She was then led to the Deadfire Archipelago by dreams and can be found at the Dawnstar camp in Port Maje. If you don’t get her to join your there, you can still find her in Neketaka at the Temple of Gaun. She also comes with the unique gear Xoti’s Sickle and Xoti’s Lantern.
Xoti’s Classes
When Xoti joins your party, she can take the Priest subclass Harvester of Gaun, the Monk subclass Sister of the Reaping Moon, or the combination of the two called the Contemplative. The Harvester of Gaun subclass gives Xoti proficiency with hatchets and more protective spells, and plant-based Druid-like spells.
The Sister of the Reaping Moon subclass changes the Monk class proficiency with buckles and increases the wounds she generates per kill by three and the cost of her wound abilities by one.
The Contemplative combines these two to make Xoti a powerful melee combatant capable of buffing herself and other party members with powerful spells and skills.
Xoti’s Likes and Dislikes
Xoti’s history led to her liking the traits of Pro-Eothasians, Lighthearted, Impassioned, and Worldly. Pro-Eothasians means that she likes other followers of Eothas, while Lighthearted means that she gets along well with people who make jokes and don’t take most things too seriously.
The Impassioned trait means that she is a very passionate person and responds well to others who have something passionate. Finally, the Worldly trait means that she appreciates people who learn about multiple cultures and live accordingly.
The traits that Xoti does not get along well with are Antireligious, Irresponsibility, and Skullduggery. That means that she thinks negatively of anyone who thinks poorly of religion or derides those that believe in it, who do not take their responsibilities or duties seriously, and anyone who is deceptive or dishonest to get their way.
These all mean that she gets along well with Maia and can even enter a relationship with her while also getting along well with Edér. She is captivated with Edér upon first meeting him, but he keeps his distance from her because of her religious beliefs unless the player advises him otherwise.
Xoti’s Companion Quest
Xoti’s companion quest is called The Lantern of Gaun. It sees the player agreeing to help her lead the souls of the dead into the lantern that she carries with her at all times. However, the lantern becoming burdened with more souls also takes a heavy price on her, which you’ll have to help her deal with.
Once you complete the quest and your relationship with her is high enough, you’ll unlock more intimate dialogue options that can lead to you entering a relationship together.
Serafen
Serafen is a unique romance option in Pillars of Eternity II. The player cannot enter a relationship with him but can have a single romantic encounter after finishing his quest. He is a male orlan that is one of the most revered ship hunters in all of the Deadfire Archipelago.
He was born to enslaved people and became an enslaved person from birth until liberating himself and taking over a ship he had been sold to.
Serafen can first be recruited into your party after you meet him when intercepted by the Gentlemen of Leisure ship. If you don’t take him, then you can find him outside the dungeon in Fort Deadlight and add him then.
Serafen’s Classes
When you recruit Serafen, he can be either a Barbarian, his unique Cipher subclass called the Wild Mind, or the combination of the two called a Witch.
Barbarians are powerful combatants that draw on their powerful emotions to aid them in combat, which effectively increases their physical capabilities and makes them proficient in dealing with groups of enemies. The Wild Mind Cipher adds randomness to the class by giving his abilities a chance to trigger random effects that can benefit or harm Serafen.
The Witch combines both to make a powerful warrior capable of unleashing incredible power if they are lucky and having the attributes and grit to survive if they are unlucky.
Serafen’s Likes and Dislikes
Serafen’s upbringing as a slave and then success as a shiphunter led to him appreciating the traits of Skullduggery, Lighthearted, Impassioned, and Worldly. Skullduggery means that he is willing to do whatever it takes to reach his goals, and he likes when others are willing to.
Lighthearted means that he never takes things too seriously and likes to laugh, while Impassioned indicates that he wants others who care deeply about something.
Worldly standards that Serafen has traveled around to different cultures and peoples and found aspects to admire in all of them, and wants others to try and incorporate those aspects into their lives.
However, his dislikes include the traits of Anti-Principi and Racism. Not approving of those who are Anti-Principi means that he supports the pirates of the Príncipi sen Patrena company, and he automatically thinks negatively of anyone who acts against them.
Being against Racism is obvious and means that Serafen thinks very poorly of anybody who thinks one’s race or background determines anything about them or who they become later in life.
These dispositions toward the traits mean that Serafen automatically gets along very well with Xoti. However, that relationship can be spoiled if Xoti follows the darker path throughout her companion quest, which allows Serafen to see her nightmares and impacts his view of her.
Serafen’s Companion Quest
Serafen’s companion quest is called A Sorcerer and a Gentleman. It starts with Serafen asking the player to help him track down a pirate associate of his by the name of Remaro. He wants to find Remaro because the pirate company accused Remaro of mutiny, but Serafen doesn’t believe the accusations.
So, the player then has to help him investigate what happened. After doing so, the player can have a romantic encounter with Serafen for one night before returning their relationship to how it was before.
FAQs
Question: How Many Endings does Pillars of Eternity II Have?
Answer: The main storyline of the game has three primary endings, but each character’s end is also impacted based on your decisions and actions during the game, meaning that there are dozens of possible combinations.
Question: How Many Companions are there in Pillars of Eternity II?
Answer: There are seven companions total that you can recruit, with five of them being romanceable by the player.
Question: Do Romances in Pillars of Eternity II Change Based on Your Character’s Gender?
Answer: No, you can romance any option regardless of what gender or race your character is.
Conclusion
Romances in Pillars of Eternity II are not nearly as impactful on your gameplay experience as in many other titles with similar mechanics.
However, this allows them not to feel compulsory for every player to do and instead lets them come more naturally for players who do appreciate a particular character and want to get to know more about them or think that they are a good match for the character they have decided to roleplay during their playthrough.
The romances are also helped by Obsidian Entertainment’s phenomenal writing and the studio’s ability to make characters as profound and exciting as others in the industry.
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