Highlights
- The race you choose in Divinity: Original Sin 2 affects your character's abilities and strengths, allowing for diverse and strategic gameplay.
- Each race has its own racial talents that can be utilized to create powerful character builds or exploit certain scenarios.
- The racial talents in the game have varying powers and effects, so players should carefully consider their choices for optimal gameplay.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 encourages players to utilize strategic playstyles and tactics to overcome some overwhelming enemies. To that end, it's a min-maxer's paradise, where overengineering one's characters or party compositions can yield satisfying results. Such theory-crafting practice begins as early as the character creation page!
Racial selection for the player character is crucial since each race has its own set of racial talents that make them better suited for certain scenarios or instances. Players can thus build around a certain race's strengths or weaknesses to create impressive or even broken character builds. These racial talents have varying powers in Divinity: Original Sin 2, with some being more effective than others.
Updated September 12, 2023 by Ritwik Mitra: The release of Baldur's Gate 3 has led to a bunch of eyes focusing on Larian Studios and the deep, complex RPG mechanics that they've slowly refined over the course of multiple releases.
The latest game in the illustrious Baldur's Gate series may be the reason why Larian is enjoying a huge burst of fame, but fans who managed to play Divinity: Original Sin 2 are already aware of what this ambitious studio can achieve with their incredible knowledge of RPG mechanics and how well they can fit in a video game. From the very moment players create their character or choose a pre-made one, they'll have to make a wealth of complex decisions... including the race they belong to and the powers they can access.
14 Thrifty (Human)
- +1 Bartering bonus
Divinity: Original Sin 2 doesn't veer from the stereotypical traits of humans in high fantasy settings humans. Similar to their real-life counterparts, they're natural merchants and will try to get as big a discount as possible when purchasing skills, weapons, or other in-game items.
The additional point to the Bartering talent doesn't seem like much, but in the early game, it's a pretty considerable trait. Players will often be pinching pennies, especially if they're min-maxing and changing items every few levels or so. Not having it isn't the end of the world though, as the bonus isn't really that substantial in the long run.
13 Ancestral Knowledge (Elf)
- +1 to Loremaster
Elves have the advantage of being functionally immortal and thus have excellent memories. They can recall knowledge accumulated throughout their long lives, and this is reflected well in their racial bonus.
The additional point to the Loremaster talent lets players open up plenty of exposition and exploration opportunities for the party. It can be more useful than Bartering since players can get free items or even shortcuts to quests if their Loremaster traits are high enough. Conversely, having low Loremaster can limit gameplay paths.
12 Sophisticated (Lizard)
- +10% Fire Resistance
- +10% Poison Resistance
Lizards in Divinity: Original Sin 2 originally descended from dragons, making them a proud race of esteemed magical warriors. They also retained some of their ancestors' qualities, such as the thick, scaly skin that protects them from fire and fire-related damage. Their physiology also lets them tank through poison attacks.
Previously, this racial talent was something else, but the Definitive Edition changed it to something more modest. It's worth noting that the resistance bonuses aren't very substantial, so it's best not to rely on them too much.
11 Spellsong (Lizard)
- +1 in Persuasion
This racial talent is one of the reasons why Lizards are one of the most well-rounded races in Divinity: Original Sin 2. They get an early starting enhancement to their speechcraft, making them handy to have around in any of the game's social situations.
Persuasion is great for wiggling out of fights, unlocking hidden dialogue options, or getting one's way. Again, the bonus isn't much, but one additional point to a rather significant game ability is something to be thankful for, especially early on. It might just save parties from a long and messy encounter.
10 Free Digging (Lizard)
- No shovel needed to dig in sand or grass
Lizards, despite their pompous attitudes in the game, don't shy away from using their claws to get their hands dirty. Lizards have the ability to dig around for any treasure that has been revealed.
This can be a practical talent to have, especially since players usually don't know where buried treasures can pop up in Divinity: Original Sin 2. Keep in mind, for this talent to be useful, players need a character with high Wits to detect buried items.
9 Dwarven Guile (Dwarf)
- +1 in Sneaking
Dwarfs, due to their stature, get some nifty skills that make them perfect for sneaking around. The Dwarven Guile ability is one of the most important starting bonuses to have in the game because certain combat encounters are too much even for experienced players.
There's also the fact that combat in Divinity: Original Sin 2 can sometimes drag on since it's turn-based; having a large number of combat participants can be daunting. Sneaking lets players bypass this in-game pitfall. In other scenarios, having a stealthy dwarf in the party is also great for sneaking in and out of high-level areas for treasure, without entering combat.
8 Undead Physiology
- Poison healing
- Regular healing damage
- Free other racial talent
All other races simply pale in comparison to the roleplaying capabilities and the versatility of the undead. Playing as an undead in Divinity: Original Sin 2 can be an acquired taste and is fiddly at first. Most NPCs will fear the sight of these characters, and regular healing is deadly to them.
Once players get the hang of it though, undead characters can be more interesting and dynamic than any other. As a bonus, they also get the racial trait of whichever their secondary race is, such as undead human, elf, etc.
7 Ingenious (Human)
- +5% Crit Chance
- +10% Critical Damage
While the human race's first ability is a little bland, they made up for it with the combat-focused talent Ingenious. Previously, before the Definitive Edition, they got +2 Initiative and +5% Crit Chance, but this likely proved a little too advantageous.
The Definitive Edition thus removed the Initiative bonus and replaced it with Critical Damage, which did nerf the humans a bit. However, the Crit bonuses are still good, especially since that kind of damage scales well in the late game.
6 Free Lockpicking (Undead)
- No lockpicks needed
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a game with stealth mechanics. Thus, it also has lockpicking, one of the oldest mates of sneaking in RPGs. Lockpicking is a little tricky though, as players can easily run out of lockpicks, and running back and forth for them is tedious.
That's why having an undead in the party can be a godsend for lockpickers. Their thin, bony fingers mean that the undead can pick any lock without a problem. This is great for stubborn locks or doors and can open many windows of opportunity.
5 Sturdy (Dwarf)
- +10% max Vitality
- +5% Dodging
Dwarfs, on top of being sneaky, are also tanky thanks to their Sturdy racial talent. They get a significant boost to their health as well as a dodging bonus, making them suitable frontline characters, particularly when used with physical armor types.
This does lock the dwarf into a specific playstyle, but players can still safely ignore the talent if they wish. It will still be there and it will still be beneficial, even if the dwarf in question picks a more mage-inclined progression path. Regardless of the situation, this talent is a lifesaver and can determine whether players waste a resurrection scroll or not.
4 Encourage (Human)
- AoE support ability
- +1 to Strength, Finese, Constitution, and Intelligence
Most people may consider playing as a human to be one of the most boring things to do in the game, but that isn't necessarily the case. After all, Larian Studios has made it a priority to make each race in the game just as exciting as the others, and humans share a notable space in the rich and diverse landscape of Divinity: Original Sin 2.
They also have access to a great friendly AoE early on in the game that can turn the tide of battle, which is very much required in a place like Fort Joy that doesn't hold the player's hand at all. Encourage boosts the stats of party members lucky enough to enjoy the benefits of this ability, making them slightly more effective in combat.
3 Petrifying Touch (Dwarf)
- Petrify enemies in melee range
Enemies in Divinity: Original Sin 2 can be pretty tricky to handle, making it a pain to try and figure out how to reduce their damage potential. Status effects help out a lot in this regard, and players who manage to deplete a target's Magical Armor can stop them in their tracks with Petrifying Touch.
As long as a dwarven character is within range of an enemy, they can use this move to petrify them in their tracks and prevent them from unleashing any damaging attacks. It's a pretty nifty move that does wonders if players are bombarding enemies with magical attacks and want to be rewarded for their efforts.
2 Flesh Sacrifice (Elf)
- +1 Action Point
- 10% damage boost
- Inflicts a Constitution penalty on Self
Managing Action Points and saving them for more devastating effects in later turns is a huge part of what makes Divinity: Original Sin 2's combat so tactical and engaging. This is why Flesh Sacrifice is one of the most coveted abilities in the game.
Elves start out with this ability, inflicting a Constitution penalty upon themselves to get a minor damage boost and an extra Action Point. The sheer number of ways this move can be combined with others to unleash a rain of destruction on enemies makes it an excellent move to have throughout the game, giving players an edge in tough combat encounters where being effective in each turn is crucial to success.
1 Corpse Eater (Elf)
- Let characters eat body parts to gain knowledge
With this talent, the Elves stay true to their racial specialization. In addition to having reliable amounts of Loremaster in their stats, they also get the Corpse Eater talent. It's one of the most handy abilities to have, particularly regarding exploration and unlocking some level paths.
The Corpse Eater lets parties unlock passwords, skills, and hidden locations, to claim some secret treasures. There are plenty of instances in their grand adventure where players will be grateful to have an elf or a Corpse Eater talent in the party. There are just too many corpses to eat throughout the game, after all!
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is currently available on PC, macOS, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch.