In 2019, a year after the release of the old-school fantasy RPG Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire, developer Obsidian thrust players into an incredibly difficult new challenge called "The Ultimate." 5.0. 0 update added to the game, this challenge sets the game to the highest difficulty level, enables all God Challenges, forces solo mode, and allows only one save slot if that is not enough.

Since it seemed virtually impossible to complete, the studio also offered a unique reward: the first 12 players to complete the challenge would have their names engraved on a plaque that would hang in Obsidian's offices forever. Naturally, "impossible" proved to be an exaggeration, and by early 2021, 11 of the 12 had been filled.

On February 2, Obsidian's design director, Josh Sawyer, announced that if the person who won the last slot on the plaque did not use the Priest of Skaen or Blood Mage subclasses, he would dedicate it to that person with the Dolly Parton classic I Will Always He promised to record a cover of Love You. He even promised to practice.

"Priests can cast Withdraw to Vera, the child they are supposed to protect. The Priest of Skaen has the power of invisibility. Blood Mage can regenerate casting resources," he tweeted, explaining the class restrictions. All others selected for the plate completed the challenge using at least one of these subclasses, and Sawyer apparently wanted to see if they could complete it without them.

It didn't take long: just one month later, on March 2, Ricardo Novello took the last first place using the Psion Troubadour build. Sawyer seemed really excited, but of course the result had to be verified.

On March 22, the deed was verified, leaving only the serenade yesterday (April 13).

It is not certain whether Sawyer has not yet delivered his piece to Novello or is waiting to make it a truly special occasion. Either way, we hope this is not a one-time deal like Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.

The entire Ultimate Run of Psion-Troubadour can be seen in a YouTube playlist consisting of 80.