Divinity: Original Sin 2: Larian doesn't know what 'original' means

[Avilan the Grey]

Basically now I'm split between a Conjurer build or Enchanter build.

Edit I think I'll stick with Enchanter. I tend to be enamored by summoning classes in all RPGs and then grow bored quickly.

[Anteros]

Basically now I'm split between a Conjurer build or Enchanter build.

Edit I think I'll stick with Enchanter. I tend to be enamored by summoning classes in all RPGs and then grow bored quickly.

That's probably for the best, because summoning seems to break the game very quickly.

[Chen]

Its possible if you pick the Lone Wolf feat, but that restricts you to at most two party members (who presumably both have Lone Wolf), which becomes rather challenging since the bonus to armor types from the feat doesn't really compare to just having a second character not being CC'd or targeted.

Uh Lone Wolf is hilariously broken, power wise in this game. Even stat point and ability point is doubled (except polymorph and civil skills). You get ridiculously powerful very fast.

Also there's no need to max out the elemental schools. Yes they add more damage, but on my first run I used Fane as an all purpose mage and it worked fine. Focused on Int and Memory and gave him enough to learn all the elemental schools. I did focus more on fire in the end for extra damage but both Hydro and Aero are more about the CC than the damage so the ability points are not terribly important. If you're multi-schooling it may even be more efficient to just drop points into Polymorph for extra int once you've hit the threshold for the skills you want. Plus that gets you Apotheosis which lets you drop two 3 source skills over the next two turns (or more if you save AP or have adrenaline). Dropping Meteor shower and hail storm is going to destroy most encounters.

[Anteros]

I agree with what Chen said. Lone Wolf seems to give just enough bonus armor that the computer struggles to break it and CC you. Combine that with the fact that you basically have the same AP as an entire 4 man party, and all of your skills hit twice as hard and you end up with each lone wolf character being almost as powerful as an entire 4 man party by themselves.

[Avilan the Grey]

I'm not going Lone Wolf anyway since the whole point of party based RPGs to me is the (hopefully) well written party members.

I started as Lohse this morning. Not even done exploring the lower deck (blast you, capitalist society! Forcing me to go to work!) but I really like her.
I looked through all the options when picking her and remarkably every single choice except instrument was exactly what I would have picked for that archetype! In other words I left her completely vanilla (enchanter) because I really liked those options.

My only problem with the game so far is that I struggle a tiny tiny bit with controls: I keep trying to rotate the screen with my right mouse button instead of the wheel button. Also the dialogue screen is a bit clunky.

[Anteros]

My only problem with the game so far is that I struggle a tiny tiny bit with controls: I keep trying to rotate the screen with my right mouse button instead of the wheel button. Also the dialogue screen is a bit clunky.

It really is. You kinda get used to it after a while, but there's definitely a lot of room for improvement there. I think some people have found that using the keyboard works better for them, but I never liked it.

[factotum]

Yeah, I always use the arrow keys and DELETE/END to move the view around rather than using the mouse to do it--I just find it easier. Your mileage may vary, of course.

I just realised that I made a bit of an error on my second playthrough in making my custom main character human. I was thinking that I was already planning to have a dwarf (Beast) and an elf (Sebille), but it's too similar to the first playthrough where I was Ifan--I should have chosen lizard. (Not Undead, because it's a pain having to heal them with poison abilities).

[Avilan the Grey]

So... First combat experience:
First fight against the guards in the office on the ship... Beyond simple. Nobody touched me.
Second one against the vicious hatchlings on deck almost killed me. Mostly my fault, I should have started with freezing instead of stunning I think. In any event I still enjoy Lohse. I also still struggle with the fact that the camera rotates in the opposite direction from what I expect it to.

[Anteros]

Just be aware that you'll soon start running into enemies with armor that you need to strip before you can CC them. Make sure you're not neglecting damage entirely for CC or you'll have a bad time.

Also, wands >>> staves for casters. Especially early when dual wielding wands can give you more magic damage than most spells.

[Chen]

Just be aware that you'll soon start running into enemies with armor that you need to strip before you can CC them. Make sure you're not neglecting damage entirely for CC or you'll have a bad time.

Also, wands >>> staves for casters. Especially early when dual wielding wands can give you more magic damage than most spells.

Wand + shield seems to be even better due to the boost in survivability. Especially with a splash in warfare for that shield throwing ability. Lets you do significant physical damage if needed since it's based purely on the shield's armor (plus warfare bonus but no stat dependency).

[Anteros]

Wand + shield seems to be even better due to the boost in survivability. Especially with a splash in warfare for that shield throwing ability. Lets you do significant physical damage if needed since it's based purely on the shield's armor (plus warfare bonus but no stat dependency).

Later yes. I find that very early you need the extra damage to get through the loads of magic armor in time to CC them because you're severely lacking in options until you get some skills.

[Cozzer]

Since I'm now without a game I really want to play, I might give Original Sin 2 another go, to see the story of the other characters. I'd use a custom character this time (2-handed weapon warrior), with Lohse (my previous main) as a companion (mage-summoner this time, rather than archer-summoner), along with Beast (wand-and-shield support caster... or even weapon-and-shield support caster, using only the spells that don't depend on Int) and Sebille (pure archer). This way, I'd have a balanced party without using any of the archetypes I used in the first playthrough.

[Keltest]

Later yes. I find that very early you need the extra damage to get through the loads of magic armor in time to CC them because you're severely lacking in options until you get some skills.

If youre fighting someone with lots of magic armor, chances are they have low physical armor. There are a couple bosses that don't follow this rule, but only a couple. When that's the case, just have your rogue shank them to death and point your mage at someone with low or no magic armor.

[Anteros]

If youre fighting someone with lots of magic armor, chances are they have low physical armor. There are a couple bosses that don't follow this rule, but only a couple. When that's the case, just have your rogue shank them to death and point your mage at someone with low or no magic armor.

He's still on the boat. He probably wont have a full party for at least several fights. Besides, there's lots of times where there's literally nothing to do except strip armor or skip a turn while you wait for the other group members to kill something.

[Keltest]

He's still on the boat. He probably wont have a full party for at least several fights. Besides, there's lots of times where there's literally nothing to do except strip armor or skip a turn while you wait for the other group members to kill something.

The voidwoken on the boat don't have any kind of armor, magic or otherwise. And pyro and hydrosophist both have a few support skills you can drop on your physical hitters while youre waiting once you hit that point.

[Anteros]

The voidwoken on the boat don't have any kind of armor, magic or otherwise. And pyro and hydrosophist both have a few support skills you can drop on your physical hitters while youre waiting once you hit that point.

Yes...I know that. I specifically said he'd run into enemies soon with armor. Probably before he has a full party.

Yes, you can buff your allies if you have those spells on rounds where you wouldn't do anything. Duh. You can also strip armor so you can actually contribute on the next round.

Are you just trying to be contrary or something?

[Keltest]

Yes...I know that. I specifically said he'd run into enemies soon with armor. Probably before he has a full party.

Yes, you can buff your allies if you have those spells on rounds where you wouldn't do anything. Duh. You can also strip armor so you can actually contribute on the next round.

Are you just trying to be contrary or something?

There is exactly one combat encounter you can run into before reaching Fort Joy and all the available party members, and you can just walk past it if you don't want to fight yet. It is possible, if rather unlikely, that you could pick another fight in the fort itself before you get a full party, however you will have NPCs supporting you there.

I don't know what youre trying to prove here. You made a claim. It was wrong, or at best misinformative. Now I'm refuting your attempts to defend that claim.

[Anteros]

There is exactly one combat encounter you can run into before reaching Fort Joy and all the available party members, and you can just walk past it if you don't want to fight yet. It is possible, if rather unlikely, that you could pick another fight in the fort itself before you get a full party, however you will have NPCs supporting you there.

I don't know what youre trying to prove here. You made a claim. It was wrong, or at best misinformative. Now I'm refuting your attempts to defend that claim.

Not everyone knows where every single party member is. I know that I personally ran into several combat encounters before I had a full party, simply because I didn't know where the people I wanted to recruit were at. The other caster in particular can be quite difficult to find if you don't get lucky or use a guide.

I made a claim that I thought might be helpful to someone new to the game. What you're doing is nit-picking my claim to the point of all meaningless and creating straw men to argue against. Why? Because you have a different play-style and don't like my suggestion? Just to be argumentative? I legitimately don't understand what you're trying to accomplish. You're not even being helpful and providing alternate suggestions like Chen did...you're just nitpicking.

And besides, even if you're right and every single person to ever play the game recruits a full party before any fights...there's still a ton of turns where you'll just be skipping on your casters while you wait for your melee guys if you lack the damage to get through the magic armor, so my point is still valid. Double wands is a very viable build...especially in the early game when you lack a lot of spells.

[Keltest]

Not everyone knows where every single party member is. I know that I personally ran into several combat encounters before I had a full party, simply because I didn't know where the people I wanted to recruit were at. The other caster in particular can be quite difficult to find if you don't get lucky or use a guide.

I made a claim that I thought might be helpful to someone new to the game. What you're doing is nit-picking my claim to the point of all meaningless and creating straw men to argue against. Why? Because you have a different play-style and don't like my suggestion? Just to be argumentative? I legitimately don't understand what you're trying to accomplish. You're not even being helpful and providing alternate suggestions like Chen did...you're just nitpicking.

You can tell any companion to be any class and they will all perform equally well at it. There is exactly one combat encounter you can run into before you walk past at least some companions.

As for my point, its that youre wrong. Completely. Enemies in the early game, by and large, do not have armor of any sort. By the time you start running into enemies that have enough to need to be burned down, you should have a full party and can strategize more than just "I have a hammer, so everything is a nail".

Using your wizard to target high magic armor foes is actively playing against your strengths. Dont do it if you can do anything else productive with your turn.

[Avilan the Grey]

Anyway.

Thanks for your advice. I will probably end up failing a,lot of social encounters due to roleplaying. So extra unnecessary fights most likely.
That said I will try to stay away from front line fighting as much as possible.

[Anteros]

You can tell any companion to be any class and they will all perform equally well at it. There is exactly one combat encounter you can run into before you walk past at least some companions.

As for my point, its that youre wrong. Completely. Enemies in the early game, by and large, do not have armor of any sort. By the time you start running into enemies that have enough to need to be burned down, you should have a full party and can strategize more than just "I have a hammer, so everything is a nail".

Using your wizard to target high magic armor foes is actively playing against your strengths. Dont do it if you can do anything else productive with your turn.

A lot of people like to keep the characters as their default class for thematic reasons. You don't seem to understand that not everyone plays the same as you do, and you're getting offended about it. You keep making these sweeping statements as if your opinion or tactics are the only viable option and that's just objectively not true. There are a lot of ways to get through this game. Your tactics are not the only ones that are viable. Nor are your tactics always the best.

Also, (almost?) every single enemy inside Fort Joy has armor, so you're just objectively wrong about that as well.

I don't know what difficulty Avilan is playing on, but there are enemies with literally 30-60 magic armor (difficulty depending) you can run into as soon as you enter the town.

[Keltest]

A lot of people like to keep the characters as their default class for thematic reasons. You don't seem to understand that not everyone plays the same as you do, and you're getting offended about it. You keep making these sweeping statements as if your opinion or tactics are the only viable option and that's just objectively not true. There are a lot of ways to get through this game. Your tactics are not the only ones that are viable. Nor are your tactics always the best.

Also, (almost?) every single enemy inside Fort Joy has armor, so you're just objectively wrong about that as well.

I don't know what difficulty Avilan is playing on, but there are enemies with literally 30-60 magic armor (difficulty depending) you can run into as soon as you enter the town.

I mean, if you* choose to run around with four wizards or four warriors or whatever, that's your prerogative, but if youre doing that then I think youre a ways beyond us giving you any meaningful tactical advice. The fact of the matter is, dual wielding wands can be somewhat helpful for setting up surfaces and combos (water into air for stun, for example) but outside of the extreme early game where you have nothing else, wands and staves in general for mages are fairly meaningless, and you certainly don't want to go around trying to take on a high magic armor enemy with them if you have any choice.

*you being a hypothetical person doing some sub-optimal party combination, not any specific individual in this thread

[Anteros]

Ok...but we are talking about someone in the extreme early game. I already said a shield is better later.

Also, 4 warriors or 4 wizards is way more tactically viable than a mix. It breaks the game. One of many ways. Not as fun though.

Anyway, can we just drop this and move on?

[Avilan the Grey]

Ok...but we are talking about someone in the extreme early game. I already said a shield is better later.

Also, 4 warriors or 4 wizards is way more tactically viable than a mix. It breaks the game. One of many ways. Not as fun though.

Anyway, can we just drop this and move on?

Four of one thing breaks basically any fantasy RPG, for some reason. Probably because of the lack of an adaptive Dungeon Master.
ESPECIALLY four wizards. But I have seen games where four (or 6) BARDS goes through everything like butter. So much for the "Fighter / Cleric / Wizard / Rogue is a must have".

[Chen]

Ok...but we are talking about someone in the extreme early game. I already said a shield is better later.

Also, 4 warriors or 4 wizards is way more tactically viable than a mix. It breaks the game. One of many ways. Not as fun though.

Anyway, can we just drop this and move on?

Taking the shield earlier exactly removes the issue of having to wait and do nothing if the foe has extra magic armor. Everyone should have SOME capability of doing a bit of other damage, just to finish off foes. Getting something like Medusa head or Chloroform on your melee characters is also very useful, just like getting shield throw for your mages is. Both on normal difficulty and tactician I've very little need for basic wand/staff attacks except to actually trigger some sort of elemental effect (shocking water or igniting poison for example)

[Avilan the Grey]

The fight you all mention above, the one where tutorial teaches you about line of sight, was as simple as the first. I guess it has more to do with distance, the voidlings on the upper deck starts off closer to you.
Anyway this was a simple exercise in zapping and freezing until dead. Handy with ppl standing in conductive liquid...
I really like Lohse so far.

Next stop: Fane.

[factotum]

Next stop: Fane.

He can be quite hard to find when you get to Fort Joy. Remember to stock up on poison bottles, since that's one of the few ways you can heal him!

[Chen]

He can be quite hard to find when you get to Fort Joy. Remember to stock up on poison bottles, since that's one of the few ways you can heal him!

Just have your highest Str char carry around a poison barrel. Poison potions just limited by empty potion bottles which are plentiful. Remember to combine two of the smaller ones into bigger ones and keep doing that until you have ones that heal you to full for your current level. You can also use some sort of talon thing (forget the name exactly) to make your poison potions (its much lighter) but you can't poison your bladed weapons with that like you can with the barrel. It also helps if your undead chars have Geomancy since they can use that to give themselves armor and heal themselves with poison dart or contamination.

[Keltest]

Just have your highest Str char carry around a poison barrel. Poison potions just limited by empty potion bottles which are plentiful. Remember to combine two of the smaller ones into bigger ones and keep doing that until you have ones that heal you to full for your current level. You can also use some sort of talon thing (forget the name exactly) to make your poison potions (its much lighter) but you can't poison your bladed weapons with that like you can with the barrel. It also helps if your undead chars have Geomancy since they can use that to give themselves armor and heal themselves with poison dart or contamination.

Geomancy works well with Pyro and warfare anyway. Unless you make him a rogue (undead don't need to carry lockpicks!) its a good skill tree to have on him.

[Chen]

Geomancy works well with Pyro and warfare anyway. Unless you make him a rogue (undead don't need to carry lockpicks!) its a good skill tree to have on him.

Lock picking doesn't involve anything but the Thievery skill, so you can give it to your mage anyways.