Despite being out for years, Divinity: Original Sin 2 is still a popular game. New players have been drawn to it for its strategic combat system, fun missions, and wide range of character options. Being new to the game can be a little tough.
Divinity offers so many options for players that it can be a little overwhelming. Combat can start off being confusing from the many skills that players can access and the effects that can come. New players will have a lot to deal with, but there are some things that they should always be aware of.
10 Watch For Barrel Types
There are a lot of barrels that can be found on different battlefields. New players fill first notice these barrels on the tutorial ship. These barrels come with various markings to show if they are oil, water, or poison. New players should watch for these barrels whenever they appear on the battlefield and try to use them to their advantage. Oil barrels can easily explode if hit by a fire attack. Water barrels are useful for extinguishing fires whenever they may happen. Poison barrels can help out undead allies by healing them or can be used to poison enemies.
9 Set Allies Up For Victory
Before many battles in the game, players will be caught up in conversation. Whichever character is being played will end up talking to an enemy in the area. In some instances, combat can be avoided, but most will end in battle. During the time that a conversation is happening with a character, players can switch to their allies and place them around the battlefield. Doing this will allow a player to gain a little advantage before the battle begins. Once all their allies are set up in a comfortable position, end the conversation and start the battle.
8 Be Diverse With Skills
While each of the skill trees offers a good range of skills they will all be centered around what the tree focuses on. It is important for players to be diverse and set up their characters with focuses on different skill trees. An Enchanter focuses on using Aerothurge and Hydrosophist skills so players will want to choose something different for another ally so they have something for every situation. A good mix of ranged and close combat allies is important so there is diversity on the battlefield.
7 Always Bring A Healer
Having a healer on the team is always important. Throughout the game, players will encounter tough enemies that can easily beat down the health of their characters. Without a healer, a player will be forced to have their characters waste action points using healing potions.
Having a healer will help keep a player's characters alive on the battlefield. The easiest way to heal other players is with the Hydrosophist skill tree. It provides multiple healing abilities that are useful in battle.
6 Read The Skills
New players should always be aware of what spell or skill they are using. Many abilities in the game can hurt allies. The skill Battering Ram states that it specifically hits enemies, but spells like Supernova state that they hit everyone. Being aware of the wording of spells and skills will help make sure that there are no unintended casualties. Players should also keep aware of the area of effect that skills and spells have. If the area of effect is too close to an ally, they may end up getting caught in the attack.
5 Know The Difference Between Green And Yellow
Many battles in Divinity will have NPC allies that fight beside the player that. These allies are marked on the mini-map with yellow and green dots. The characters on screen are also outlined with green or yellow. New players should keep aware of the difference between these colors. Green means that the NPC is an ally and can't be harmed by some attacks. Attacks that hit all characters will still harm these NPCs but they will not turn hostile. Yellow means that the NPC is a half-hearted ally. This means that if they are damaged by one of the player's characters they will turn hostile. These allies can also be hurt by more spells and skills. Than their green counterparts.
4 Always Keep Armor Up
As players go through the game they will get better armor. As combat gets tougher, this armor becomes more and more necessary. Players should always remember to keep upgrading their armor so that it doesn't get taken down as easily. Remember that physical armor blocks physical status effects like decay and knockdown. Magic armor prevents status effects like frozen, stunned, and suffocation. Without the right armor, players will be left suffering as status effects take over.
3 Consider Shields For Casters
Characters that specialize in intelligence and magic skills have a few options when it comes to weapons. They can use a staff, a single wand, or they can dual-wield wands. Many casters tend to only use their wands at the beginning of the game when skills are limited. Later on, these weapons become less necessary as skills begin to accumulate.
Players should consider giving their casters shields to boost their physical armor. One of the downsides of a caster is the poor physical armor they receive from armor. Giving them a shield can help boost their physical armor by hundreds later on in the game and can mean the difference between life and death in some instances.
2 Specialize
Along with being diverse when it comes to character skills, players should try to have each of their characters specialize in one or two skill trees. Skills are primarily upgraded by adding points into the respective skill tree. Skills like Searing Daggers gain increased damage each time a player puts a point in the Pyrokinetic skill tree. Specializing in only a couple of skill trees will allow a player to maximize a character's damage potential with the skills they use.
1 Remember To Use Buffs
There are many skills that buff allies in DOS2. These range from increasing player speed, increasing strength, or even allowing an ally to survive death. Players should always keep aware of what skills buff allies and which ones can hinder foes. Remember that the rules apply to the enemies as well. Causing status effects that remove action points will limit the actions of enemies. Each skill tree has something that can cause status effects on enemies. Players should always use these skills to their advantage.