All these tests are conducted at level 15 and scale breaker is used in every fight.
Both expansions are installed and all chars are well equipped with many uniques and soulbounds mostly upgraded.
Difficulty is normal mode, except where specified.

Adra Dragon fight:
It still does massive damage with breath and claw attacks, but is now generally manageable with scale breaker.
If anything, this fight is now too easy because this dragon doesn't have many hps compared to the others in the game.

Blue Dragon fight:
This fight is about the same as the Adra dragon now and really, this should've been the baseline for dragons, including all expansions.
A fully equipped party at level 15 can waste this dragon easily, meaning at level 12 this would've been challenging.
This dragon is perfect.

White Dragon fight:
This dragon is supposed to be sick, vulnerable and weak, yet is the MOST powerful single dragon in the game!
Design fails STILL in this battle include the dragon regenerating a massive amount of it's endurance(whatever monsters have), making it more powerful then the adra dragon both in hps and in attacks and last but not least, spawning minions... right behind the player.
This battle is still impossible on normal mode; I had to turn the difficulty down to the lowest level to have any chance to beat this one.

Double Dragon + Sorceress fight:
This one is really irritating and shows off the power creep of the game because you are supposed to be fighting two young dragons and an ancient(sort of) sorceress.
Instead, you are fighting dragons that are each equivalent to the blue dragon from the main game AND a caster equivalent to Cancelhaut from the first expansion!
The sorceress should've been the only real threat here, with both the young dragons being moderate obstacles that distract you from her; they also should've cast actual low level spells, which I saw none of.
This battle is not fair or even doable on normal mode; I had to turn it down to the lowest level to beat this one too.


My conclusions are these....
Dragons should have: high endurance(or whatever they use), moderate breath damage with long cooldown, high single target bite damage, moderate area claw damage at close range(swipe), the ability to cast some spells relevant to their type and most of all should fit with what the lore of the game says they are(I'm looking at you 'weakend' white dragon).

Dragons should not have: minions in the same room with them, spawning minions, constantly regenerating endurance.

In other words, you think those fights are too difficult for you and therefore should be easier. People beat all of them on Path of the Damned - if you can't cut it, just avoid them, there's a reason why they're optional.

I have to disagree. Also optional contents have to fit logically in the game's world. I think the strength of this game
atmosphere and believability.:
A wounded white dragon being much stronger than the unique thousands of years old ancient Adra-dragon and able to control other critters could easily conquer a kingdom if not the world or at least loot it's treasures and would not sit in an ice hole waiting for some adventurers to slay it).
A mercenary's field chest with a lock level of 12, in my point of view, is an impossible thing . Such a lock must be magic (as it exceeds the worlds normal maximum 10) would be bought by a king or high level wizard for tons of money and the mercenary would not have to risk his life for money. Otherwise if locks of such high level were easily available most locks would be similarly hard. (putting such a high level lock on Concelhaut's personal chest would be ok)

I don't want to play a fantasy combat simulator but experience a good believable story.

Good luck

Spoiler warning, by the way. Actually, while there's no doubt that Adra Dragon is more powerful than Alpine Dragon, it's not in direct combat. Adra Dragon was sitting on its ass for thousands of years, using its powers to observe and influence events above ground - Alpine Dragon spent <we don't know how long period of time> hunting down other dragons and absorbing their power. I think it's safe to say that in a duel between Adra Dragon and Alpine Dragon, the latter would be a winner.

That is not to say there aren't inconsistencies in Pillars of Eternity - but this one is certainly not one of them.

The Adra dragon was not a fit and healthy specimen of its kind.

It got not exercise at all, and the heavy Adra growths on its wings were weighing it down.
That's why it asks you to help it jump into another body so it can leave and find a life elsewhere.

You are wrong.
First off, the game tells you that the adra dragon is vastly more powerful then a normal dragon because it's been feeding on pure adra... the condensed magic of the world.

Second the white dragon is NOT growing more powerful as it slays it's soul brothers.
Contrary to the player's druid companion, the white dragon is WEAKENED each time it kills one and requires time to recover; the game also tells us this directly.

The adra dragon is more powerful both magically and physically, according to the in-game lore. The adra dragon IS fit and healthy; it is just stuck.
It has nothing to do with exorcise, but rather those scales being hard as adra means that it should be nigh invulnerable... at least lore wise.


@Phantasma Thank you for being the one other person who replied, that actually paid attention to what the game tells us. :-)

SPOILERS First of all, adra is not some sort of "Condensed magic of the world", I'd really like to know where did you get that information - it's used as more of a soul conduit, which is exactly where Adra Dragon got its power. Secondly, yes, Albine Dragon is weakened every time it kills, I never said the contrary - but it also tells us directly that its goal is to gain power. Alpine Dragon also directly suggests that its 'illness' is comparable to an upset stomach, not exactly something that'll massively decrease its combat performance when fighting for its life (this should also show you just how powerful exactly it is).

You're saying that the game contradicts the lore it has established, but that's kinda what you're doing right there - majority of the most powerful beings got powerful by absorbing soul essence. Adra Dragon by absorbing it from adra, player character can get a lot of power by absorbing souls, Thaos lives and breathes on soul manipulation, gods are more or less powered by soul essence. Given that, a dragon absorbing soul essence of other dragons is going to be extremely powerful - definitely significantly more powerful than an ordinary dragon and clearly more powerful than Adra Dragon - after all, it's a lot more difficult to beat in combat, isn't it? And it makes a lot of sense - it can fly, it's more agile, more mobile, and it spent its entire life defeating humans and other dragons. The adra covering Adra Dragon is a pretty shitty armor and it only slows it down.