Players of Divinity: Original Sin 2 know just how immersive Larian Studios' acclaimed RPG can become in a single playthrough. After all, characters can interact with most environmental elements and have different reactions to various in-game situations. Moreover, players can tinker around with a majority of gameplay elements to turn battles to their favor. However, DOS2 seems to have more than meets the eye when it comes to gameplay quirks.
Granted, the game makes quick work of helping the player realize they can manipulate a majority of the game's items and environments. However, players can actually take it up a notch and make their playthroughs crazier than they anticipated. Here are some ways to do it:
10 Tap Into Racial Quirks
Players who want to maximize their DOS2 experience may have tried diversifying their party combination by trying different races for each of their party members. As such, aside from custom characters, characters like Sebille (Elf), the Red Prince (Lizardfolk), Fane (Undead), Ifan (Human), or even Beast (Dwarf) can trigger different interactions that show a bit about their culture and society.
Moreover, these characters also get special Skills and Talents based on their race. However, players might find it interesting for certain races to have in-game "quirks" that benefit the entire party. For instance, Elves can eat the limbs of dead people to gleam things about their past and learn exclusive Skills. Meanwhile, Lizardfolk won't need shovels to dig special patches of land. In addition, Undead won't need lockpicks to try picking locks.
9 Get The Bedrolls
Early on in the prologue, players might realize that there's a ton of items in DOS2 that they can interact with. Interestingly, most of them end up not being super useful. As such, players end up skipping out on getting portraits, utensils, or even scattered bedrolls. However, players who do see bedrolls early in the game - or even later in the game - might want to keep them.
Thanks to bedrolls, players can instantly heal their entire party and grant them the Rested status when they use this item outside battle. As such, Rested characters not only regenerate health but also get a boost for their primary attributes. Additionally, Rested character gains protection against being Knocked Down, Crippled, Blind, and Muted.
8 Everyone Is A Vendor
In today's age where everyone can be a seller, people in Rivellon pretty much observe the same phenomenon. Unlike in other RPGs, almost everyone in Rivellon has something to sell. Most NPCs have simple items in their inventory, but most sellers actually have interesting equipment and items players would want to take note of. Moreover, donating items to NPCs can increase favor with them and may even affect quests.
In addition, players should regularly check vendor NPCs whenever they level up. Most NPCs actually shuffle their inventory whenever the party levels up, further diversifying their offerings. As such, players should also mind whenever they avoid buying that tempting Legendary or Epic item, as they might disappear upon a level up.
7 Teleporter Pyramids Rock
Players soon find Teleporter Pyramids all around Rivellon throughout their adventures. At first, just having one Teleporter Pyramid seems weird. However, a party with even just two Teleporter Pyramids can experience a ton of relief in their adventures. After all, players who use their Teleporter Pyramids can instantly go to where other Teleporter Pyramids are - whether they're in another backpack or laying somewhere else in the game world.
In essence, Teleporter Pyramids become mini-Waypoints - giving players yet another way of moving around the map without having to walk around or use a Waypoint "too far" from their intended destination.
6 Smashing Works
Most RPG players know they can only interact with most environmental elements in the game only if they're important. In turn, game devs instinctively make doors, walls, and other environmental objects indestructible. Not in DOS2, though! A lot of players don't realize that they can interact with most environmental elements in the game. As most objects in the game have HP, "interact" may also mean strike and even smash.
For instance, a locked door with HP can become an inconvenience if a party doesn't have the right key, a lockpick, or even an undead with skeletal fingers. However, players should remember that they can just as always attack a door until it's destroyed.
Take note, though, that melee weapons break when they hit too many hard objects like doors and chests. As such, it's best for ranged weapons to attack these items instead.
5 Barrels For Traps
A lot of areas in DOS2 contain traps - be it explosive traps or poisonous gas. Unfortunately, these traps become extremely inconvenient for exploration and severely irritating when in combat. However, players can actually avoid pesky traps by making other objects trigger the traps instead of them. For instance, players can levitate and throw barrels, chests, and crates in traps they discover so their characters can stay away from the AOE.
Moreover, sneaky players may want to Teleport enemies into traps so they can get that sweet damage. On the other hand, players out to kill certain NPCs may want to throw them in one of these traps for their inconvenience.
4 Move Things Around
Players who end up losing in some battles should remember that DOS2 actually encourages them to turn the tide of combat to their advantage. In most instances, players will be capable of moving characters and objects around in order to get the upper hand in battle. Most of the time, players can move objects such as heavy crates to provide efficient cover against ranged attacks and magical damage.
Interestingly, players can also try moving enemies around before engaging in combat with them. In most relevant encounters, players trigger a short conversation before beginning combat. As such, players can use this window to try teleporting NPCs in conversation to convenient locations. Players should take note of distance, though, as teleporting NPCs too far and damaging them too much can trigger combat prematurely.
3 Luxury Still Sells
Players who roam around houses and establishments in Rivellon will often find usual items that people use and display. These include artworks and ceramics, various cutlery and food, as well as random trinkets and tools. In the case of the latter, players can use these items for their crafting needs.
However, for the former, players may want to grab them and sell them to vendors for extra gold. For instance, paintings and expensive-looking cutlery can actually sell for a lot when offered to vendors. As such, players should keep an eye out for items that people usually think are expensive. After all, they usually are expensive in Rivellon.
2 Play With Elements
Various environmental elements litter Rivellon that can become quite an inconvenience while exploring. Unfortunately, in battle, these elements can become quite irritating as well. After all, just the wrong distance between an oil barrel and a burning surface can surround the entire battlefield in flames. However, players can actually play around with the elements to their advantage - even if they don't have overpowered Talents.
Typical combinations include water on a fire to produce smoke. Meanwhile, triggering an explosion inside a poison cloud can produce poisonous flames. Interestingly, applying Curse will create debuffing surfaces, while Blessing surfaces will help them grant different buffs to people inside them.
1 Never Go Wrong With Chicken Claw
Ah, Chicken Claw. Players with just a single level in Polymorph can get this Skill to irritate the crap out of their enemies. After all, casting just this spell can transform enemies into a Chicken for two turns - which is actually pretty long enough for players to dish out a counter-offensive against a strong enemy.
And yes, Chicken Claw can work on bosses as well. Players should invest in using Chicken Claw as much as possible, as this provides them with an easy way to shatter enemy ranks.