Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a great classic RPG with an elegant cause-and-effect system. The choices players make determine the outcomes of various storylines. So it is not hard to make a decision that will come back negatively during a first proper playthrough. The game doesn't tell players what the consequences of their actions might be. Moreover, there is little foreshadowing as to those consequences, as well.
It's not just about taking a wrong route during a quest, but also about gameplay decisions that can affect the story. Some choices on this list are not that dangerous and probably won't spoil the player experience too much. However, some of these choices are also unequivocally horrible. Bear in mind that huge spoilers for the plot of Divinity: Original Sin 2 await.
Updated on July 23, 2023 by Ritwik Mitra: With Baldur's Gate 3 coming out sooner rather than later, there's no better time to check out some of Larian Entertainment's best games and figure out why they have such a massive fanbase, to begin with. The studio is beloved for the steps it has taken to make CRPGs mainstream once again, with these efforts being recognized by the masses and allowing this developer to reach new heights of superstardom.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is one of their best games, with its massive scope, riveting story, and entertaining cast of characters doing a great job of making fans fall in love with this fantasy world. However, this game is also a pretty challenging CRPG that will punish players for making choices that seem rather innocuous at first glance, but can result in some serious punishment later on.
17 Help The Doctor Ascend To Divinity
Adramahlihk is a nefarious presence who hounds Lohse at every step of the way, forging a contract with her that has tied her down with a curse that she needs to get rid of at all costs. The end of her character's quest line comes when players meet Doctor Daeva, a mysterious figure who speaks at length about how they'll help the player out as long as they help him ascend to divinity.
This choice should not be entertained in the slightest, since Doctor Daeva is Adramahlihk himself! Fighting him is one of the hardest challenges in Divinity: Original Sin 2 that can be a huge pain to deal with, and even considering this option will lead to players getting a rather undesirable ending because of the consequences involved.
16 Side With The Devourer
If the content present in the base game of Divinity: Original Sin 2 wasn't already impressive as is, then Larian Entertainment went above and beyond by adding even more content into the game that players could sink multiple hours in. This includes the many unique armor sets that players could hunt down in the game, with their function being pretty great indeed.
The Devourer's Armor is easily one of the best sets that players can check out in the game, with its ability being so overpowered that players can solo an entire encounter using this armor alone. However, getting this set can be quite a pain, with players being coerced by the Devourer to kill all the spirits attached to each piece of armor. Players should give this decision a wide berth and attack the dragon instead, which can make for a tough fight but the most ethical way for players to get their hands on this armor set.
15 Have A Meaningless Romance
The writing in Divinity: Original Sin 2 rarely shows any faults, with characters interacting naturally with each other and forming great bonds that can stand the test of time and then some. However, not all characters in the game are romanceable... but there are still many options that players can opt for if they wish to share a night of passion before the final chapter of the game.
At this moment, players should pick the person they've formed a romantic bond with as opposed to anyone else, since this raunchy encounter ends up being rather soulless otherwise. Characters like Beast and the Red Prince may be entertaining, but they're far from the most optimal partner that players can share this intimate night with.
14 Choosing A Character With No Backstory
At the very beginning, Divinity: Original Sin 2 gives players the opportunity to make their first significant choice by selecting the main character. There are six of them each with unique backstories and respective sets of missions. Moreover, while progressing through the story, premade characters are often referenced in the unveiling events and even recognized by NPCs.
In other words, picking a character with a backstory gives more weight to an average playthrough. It also helps the player feel connected to the main quest. This kind of entrenched identity can't be achieved as easily with a custom character created from scratch.
13 Investing In Perception Or Wits
Deciding on how to develop a character is also a crucial choice as it has a direct impact on gameplay. There are various primary attributes to increase that influence some of the major game parameters. For instance, Perception or "Wits" helps a player spot hidden secrets and traps. But that's not the only useful feature.
Enhanced Wits also allows for more Initiative which can prove useful in battle, but that's kind of it. Putting points in Wits is also not important at all if players develop a character in harmony with their inherent main attributes. Do not invest in Wits thinking it'll make someone overpowered in combat because it likely will not.
12 Accepting Ryker's Request
In Act 2, players are supposed to unleash their inner Source potential by studying from masterful mentors they discover. Ryker, a clearly wicked Elf, is one of several options for mentors. He can actually unlock an additional Source point for party members, but at a moral cost. However, the developers included far more teachers than the team needs.
Ryker offers his help in developing Source mastery in exchange for cooperation despite the fact that he trades in souls, blackmail, and general badness. Helping him also locks away another possible mentor (one fans really like) named Almira the Succubus.
11 Not Saving Gwydian Rince’s Family
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a game full of trade-offs. One might have to engage in a battle they could have skipped to save someone, for instance. That's exactly the case with the family of captured Sourcerer Gwydian Rince. The player encounters the family, including children, near the Blackpits about to be executed.
Players can choose to attack the Magisters on sight or try to talk them out of this heinous act. But they're essentially killing family members one by one until they "give up" Gwyd or other Sourcerers they know. Though a Godwoken doesn't need to be a hero, letting this family die for nothing is a pretty questionable choice.
10 Killing The Red Prince
The Red Prince is one of the premade characters with a serious backstory, but fans agree that he is fairly annoying. Players can either pick him as a playable hero or later meet him in the game and hire him as a companion. However, the game also allows the player to kill the narcissistic lizard if they tire of his arrogant behavior.
While it's easy to fall for the temptation to end the Red Prince's life, the game is poorer for this choice. Gamers don't necessarily have to invite him onto their team, but keeping him alive grants access to intriguing side stories.
9 Helping The Magisters
Never forget the true enemy is in Divinity: Original Sin 2 — the zealous religious guys in red robes). The magisters are responsible for imprisoning the player characters and attempting to turn them into mindless servants. Whatever the "good cause" behind the magisters' actions might be, they still embody evil in the game. But the game does present opportunities for the player to help them.
Since they are the natural enemies of Sourcerers, most players don't see a reason to help them. Players can trick the magisters, steal from them, make them do the dirty work, or clear out enemies. But some players may avoid helping them to protect relations with fellow Sourcerers.
8 Making Sebille The New Mother Tree
The subplot for Sebille is one of the most thorough and intriguing in the entire game. As the Prime Scion, the controller of all Elves, the Mother Tree, has chosen her to become the next Mother. But this means that all Elves remain subject to the desires of the Mother Tree and Tir-Cendilius.
This means that Sebille would have escaped one captor, the Shadow Prince, just to be imprisoned once more as Tir-Cendilius' puppet. There is no fate worse for someone as abused and deserving of freedom as Sebille.
7 Getting Rid Of Tarquin
Tarquin is an inventor first encountered once the player escapes Fort Joy on the magisters' ship. He is a shady and somewhat unpleasant figure with sallow skin in black robes. During the initial conversation with him, the player can take the dead-end route of eliminating this suspicious person. However, such an emotional burst will prevent them from acquiring the best weapon in the game.
If a player decides to let Tarquin live and join the crew of the ship for the rest of the game, he imparts a special side quest. The Sourcerer wants some ancient artifacts, and helped, he rewards the player with the Anathema. Besides, Tarquin is also one of the best merchants in the game.
6 Cooperating With The Shadow Prince
The Shadow Prince is a mysterious figure who leads some kind of an assassin's order in the game. He is also the master (and the torturer) of Sebille, one of the playable story characters. If players have her on their team (or even play as her), they know that the Shadow Prince is an undeniable villain with no moral obligations.
However, players can choose to work with him and agree to kill the Mother Tree, a sort of a saint ruler of the Elven kind, and end its tyranny. The thing is that the item that helps players achieve this mission with, the Wooden Box, will release the deathfog all over the Elven capital killing literally everyone there.
5 Exterminating The Whole City Of Arx
If a player fears that killing a character or two might have a negative impact on their playthrough, this choice amps that worry up to 11. Divinity: Original Sin 2 absolutely lets players commit slaughter on a citywide scale in the third act of the game.
Once in the City of Arx, players can finally sort out the storyline of Deathfog and the Dwarves' involvement with it. But more compelling is the choice to unleash the instant-death mist all over one of the most populous cities in Rivellon.
4 Releasing Deathfog All Over The Tir-Cendelius Shrine
Speaking of Deathfog, there's yet another opportunity in the game to use the awful stuff. Instead of killing the Mother Tree or having Sebille become a New Mother, the player can choose death. After all, the Shadow Prince already set up a lovely trap; why not use it? It works similarly to the substance in Arx, but only affects the shrine to the Elven god Tir-Cendelius.
The tricky bit here is that this shrine holds not just supplicants to the Elven God and the Mother Tree. It also holds Alexander and a few Magisters, as well. By this point, however, the player could have killed Alexander a couple of times. Still, the chance to exterminate everyone at the shrine stands out as a not-so-good action.
3 Swearing To The God King
Basically, the God-King is the Greater Evil in the game while the magisters are somewhat of a minor local threat. Throughout the game, players fight legions of the Voidwoken, but it wouldn't be a true Larian Studios project if fans couldn't take the side of the invaders. In other words, players can swear to the God-King and help him take over Rivellon.
Needless to say, that's a harsh and scary way to finish the main story. The world falls apart, the population of Rivellon is conquered and enslaved, and all hope is gone.
2 Committing Genocide To Save Lohse
This choice might be the most difficult one to make in the whole game. Fans will know that Lohse is the bawdy bard haunted by spirits and one particularly nasty Archdemon masquerading as The Doctor. They might also remember that, in order to help Lohse and the team defeat him, Malady gives them a terrible option.
She takes the group into the void where the demon keeps all of the spirits whose lives he took control over. There are millions of candles there, each representing a soul. In order to weaken him, Malady tells Lohse to extinguish the candles and obliterate the souls they represent. Kill millions to save Lohse, challenge an all-powerful creature, or damn Lohse to an eternity of torment as a thrall to an evil demon lord? What a choice.
1 Leaving The Quests Unfinished
This is the most frustrating thing players could do to spoil their experience in Divinity: Original Sin 2. During a playthrough, the several areas to explore are divided into Acts. Each of them contains a plentiful amount of quests connected either to the main story or to side missions. Side missions are not obligatory and players can abandon the area once the main story section is complete.
However, side quests bring a deeper insight into what is happening in the game and enhance world lore. They also offer rewards of varying value, sometimes granting the player totally unique items. Needless to say, they extend the pleasure of playing a wonderful RPG!