Pillars of Eternity: Visions and Whispers, Aloth the Wizard, Gilded Vale, Valewood, Black Hound Inn
How to add Aloth the Wizard to your party, complete Visions and Whispers, and survive the Black Hound Inn fight in Pillars of Eternity.
You'll start off the Visions and Whispers quest by watching a cut-scene. When the vision ends, make sure you loot the nearby bodies and level up your character. Take your time and study the skills available to you, but as a general rule it's always worth focusing your skill points on areas particularly suited to your class. Keep in mind as well that a party of all-rounders will struggle compared to a group of specialists.
It's also extremely important to note that the six skill points you allot during levelling up do not carry over, so make sure you use them up every single time or you'll lose them for good.
How to complete Visions and Whispers
As soon as you're reading to get started on the quest proper, take the curving path round to the left of the screen until you reach the statues in the centre of the map. Approach each one of these four statue bodies and collect the vessel flesh you need. Once you've gathered up these items, head south-east in order to exit the World Map. Be sure to select Valewood from the World Map, and then travel there.
When you arrive, travel in a south-westerly direction, following the main path along and to the south. If you're feeling a little bit adventurous, you can head off to the east a little a fight a Young Wolf. Taking part in this purely optional fight will reward you with a Hide. You can also use your highlighting button to locate a crumbling wall. If you had a grapple here, you could climb it.
Add Aloth to your party and fight at the Black Hound Inn
When you're ready, head back in a southerly direction and then out of the World map so that you can access Gilded Vale. At this point, you'll have a chat with Urgeat which will help you find out a little more about the town. From here, head off in a south-westerly direction until you reach the Black Hound Inn. When you get there, a cut-scene will begin, after which you will have to fight three of the townsfolk. Thankfully, you're joined in battle by Aloth, and you should find the fight pretty simply thanks to the Wizard's help.
At this point you can opt to have Aloth join your party. It's worth keeping in mind that the party members you choose from this point onwards all provide side quests that are specific to their own personal story. Unlike hired adventurers, these particular characters provide valuable experience points, and they're always worth seeking out for your group.
Pick up some side-quests at Gilded Vale
When you're ready, go inside the Black Hound Inn and talk to the innkeeper Pasca. You'll be able to rest up a little for free using the common room, and this will also update your quest. Take a little time now to explore the town, talk to the residents, and pick up all kinds of tasks and side-quests.
These won't advance the main story in any way, but they can provide essential experience points which you can use to level up your character and party members. Some of the bosses you'll encounter in the main story can be seriously tough depending on your level, and having extra quests to beef your team up with is really important.
Finally, have a chat with Caldara de Berranzi at the Hanging Tree when you're ready to finish up the Visions and Whispers quest, and get started on the next one called The Old Watcher.
- Keep reading for the next part of our walkthrough, which explains how to complete The Old Watcher quest.
- Return to the index page for more sections of our Pillars of Eternity guide.