The GWJ CRPG Club - Game 10: Divinity: Original Sin 2

Although I started a new run through of this game a couple of weeks back, I think I might restart for the club playthrough. I haven't touched it for a little while either so it'll be good to look at some of the builds etc and see what'll work or not.

I'm intending to playthrough as Fane (one of my favourite characters from the game), using the Fextralife Eternal Warrior build. I'll have a think about who else I'll include in my party and what class/skills they'll have as I go along. Should be ready to dive in later tonight!

I also forgot to mention that there are some skills in the game that you can only get by crafting them - generally by combining 2 skill books from different skill trees - or occasionally an NPC will tell you how. There is a list of them here if you are interested. They can be very powerful and useful, so I would recommend them.

Sorbicol wrote:

Although I started a new run through of this game a couple of weeks back, I think I might restart for the club playthrough. I haven't touched it for a little while either so it'll be good to look at some of the builds etc and see what'll work or not.

I'm intending to playthrough as Fane (one of my favourite characters from the game), using the Fextralife Eternal Warrior build. I'll have a think about who else I'll include in my party and what class/skills they'll have as I go along. Should be ready to dive in later tonight!

I also forgot to mention that there are some skills in the game that you can only get by crafting them - generally by combining 2 skill books from different skill trees - or occasionally an NPC will tell you how. There is a list of them here if you are interested. They can be very powerful and useful, so I would recommend them.

Yeah, there are some interesting crafting possibilities. You either need to experiment a lot or google
Example

Spoiler:

boots & nails adds immunity to slipping

Thanks Sorbicol. I wasn't aware of crafted skills. I've added that link to the first post!

I played more last night. I learned something important: Save Often. This is a previously unknown advanced RPG skill that I discovered on my own last night. How did I discover it, you may ask? Well, let me tell you!

I played for a good 45 minutes, exploring Fort Joy and making a bit of progress. After a bit I got to a vendor, and lying on the floor inside the vendor's tent was a decent helmet. I thought, "Nice, I can replace my bucket!" So I had one character distract the vendor, then had another sneak inside and steal the helmet. Nice! Except apparently there was a lizard somewhere nearby who saw the whole thing happen. I failed some sort of a persuasion test with her, and then bang, seems like the whole friggin' town attacked us. I didn't want to kill all those vendors and NPCs, so i went to load a saved game. It was then that I realized my previous save was 45 minutes earlier. "Damn," I rued. "Ohh, wait, this is a discovery! I should have SAVED OFTEN!"

Sometimes my brilliance amazes even me.

You're welcome.

I played more this afternoon. I swapped out Fane and brought in Lohse because I'm an idiot and can't remember that Fane is undead and healing spells hurt him. I keep casting restore on him and killing him in combat.

I got our party to Level 3 and outside of setting our party on fire in every battle because, well, stuff happens, things are going pretty well. I'm looking forward to getting out of Fort Joy so I can respec people. We're somewhat of a dysfunctional group. And yes, the setting ourselves on fire thing is part of this dysfunction.

Okay, well, I made it past character selection and am at Fort Joy prison. Decided to go with a two member party - Fane & Lohse each with the lone wolf talent. Figure I'll go physical damage mostly following this guide slayer knight

Godzilla Blitz wrote:

I played more this afternoon. I swapped out Fane and brought in Lohse because I'm an idiot and can't remember that Fane is undead and healing spells hurt him. I keep casting restore on him and killing him in combat.

I got our party to Level 3 and outside of setting our party on fire in every battle because, well, stuff happens, things are going pretty well. I'm looking forward to getting out of Fort Joy so I can respec people. We're somewhat of a dysfunctional group. And yes, the setting ourselves on fire thing is part of this dysfunction.

People being on fire is pretty much the baseline for D:OS2 to be honest. Wait until it's cursed necrofire. Then it gets really interesting.

More progress in Fort Joy tonight. Almost to Level 4, I feel like I'm just slow at the game right now, but that's how I felt with the first game too. I think I have to stop being concerned with the optimal outcomes for quests and just enjoy the ride more. Play more recklessly. Burn even more stuff.

I'm enjoying this more than the original at the moment. All the good stuff of the original and less of the few things I didn't like.

So made a good start last night. I’ve been taking it a little steadier and now my team: Me as Fane warrior build, The Prince as a fire-based battlemage, Loshe as a healer/summoner and the beast as a ranger/geomancer/poisoner (so I can help keep Fane on his feet) are pushing through. I’ve not played the definitive edition before and it feels a little more directed and a little less unexplained so far. Looking forward to exploring the whole island (including all the fort if I can) this time around.

I’ve somehow managed to build a team with no thieving skills though. Oops

Made it to level 4 last night before calling it an evening, will be venturing into the bowels of the prison next I think.

I'm in. Hoping to start soon.

I'm finishing up a couple of games before jumping full-on on this. Just reading about everyone else's exploits is making it hard go finish anything else hahaha.

blackanchor wrote:

I'm in. Hoping to start soon.

Welcome! We are now an even dozen.

Let us know how it goes!

I'm looking forward to playing more today. To spread things out and prevent burnout, I'm probably going to aim for about an hour each session.

My wife, my brother, and I are all in together. The ability of this game to let party members explore on their own or together as there's interest/need is just incredible. We've passed Fort Joy and are running into some greater challenges now.

Is there any kind of death penalty? We couldnt find one, resurrection seems to be fine.

Also is there a crafting guide that is not too spoilery? I'd like to learn about the system and what's possible so that I can explore it without just being told every recipe and the best things to do.

polypusher wrote:

My wife, my brother, and I are all in together. The ability of this game to let party members explore on their own or together as there's interest/need is just incredible. We've passed Fort Joy and are running into some greater challenges now.

Most excellent! I bet playing this co-op with a good group would be a ton of fun.

polypusher wrote:

Is there any kind of death penalty? We couldnt find one, resurrection seems to be fine.

No, I don't believe so. There wasn't in the first game. I've resurrected characters a few times already and no issues.

polypusher wrote:

Also is there a crafting guide that is not too spoilery? I'd like to learn about the system and what's possible so that I can explore it without just being told every recipe and the best things to do.

There is a guide linked in the first post, but I suspect it's spoilery. I tried to play the first game for quite a while without using a guide, but my crafting intuition must be a lot different than Belgian crafting intuition, because I'd combine things that I thought would make sense but pretty much nothing happened all the time. After a bit I just gave up and used a guide. I haven't used one yet in this game, so I'm going to try to wing it for a bit, but there ... is ... so ... much ... stuff. I suspect I'll abandon my effort and just use a guide after a while. So far, though, I've found a lot of recipes in Fort Joy.

You can lose XP While you’re dead, and resurrection scrolls are very expensive early game (and scarce late game). So tread carefully!

I hit Level 4 in a short session this afternoon, once again setting everyone on fire in two successive battles. Fortunately, my main character just learned rain, so that helps. I also found some water balloons, which work well in a pinch.

Crafting has been useful so far. Sebille came with a wimpy 5-6 damage bow. Just for kicks, I crafted a bow, and it does 10-12 damage. Nice!

Good gear is certainly scarce in this first area. Makes is special when you find something half decent.

Sorbicol wrote:

You can lose XP While you’re dead

Are you sure about this one? I thought that would be the case, but I've had some deaths and killed enemies when someone was dead, and yet all my characters have the same XP points.

For those who might be interested in jumping on board with the XBox One version, it's now on sale for $29.99. Even more betterer, Amazon has the PS4 version and the XBox One version discs on sale for $20. Woot!

Thanks to mrlogical for pointing this out!

I’m in guys ! I started this game after the holiday sale but am not really feeling my custom character. Was wondering if anyone had thoughts on the best premade character? Here are some of my ideas:

1. Fane as a necro
2. bin Mezhd as a ranger/summoner
3. Beast as a melee face wrecker

I think you can do what you will with the character, so I'm not sure the class is all that big of a deal. I suppose some of the innate skills would give an edge with some classes over others, but that's about it.

I'm enjoying Ifan as a cleric who I hope to add summoning.

I think Fane's story and character is rich, I just kept killing him by healing him.

I wasn't that interested in Beast, but after chatting with him at the boat on the island, I'm more intrigued.

Godzilla Blitz wrote:

I think you can do what you will with the character, so I'm not sure the class is all that big of a deal. I suppose some of the innate skills would give an edge with some classes over others, but that's about it.

I'm enjoying Ifan as a cleric who I hope to add summoning.

I think Fane's story and character is rich, I just kept killing him by healing him.

I wasn't that interested in Beast, but after chatting with him at the boat on the island, I'm more intrigued.

Good point Godzilla. From what I’ve read Ifan makes the perfect summoner since summoning makes his wolf stronger.

Godzilla Blitz wrote:
Sorbicol wrote:

You can lose XP While you’re dead

Are you sure about this one? I thought that would be the case, but I've had some deaths and killed enemies when someone was dead, and yet all my characters have the same XP points.

Now you've said that...... maybe not. I do know that you didn't gain any XP that the rest of your party earned while you were incapacitated, I would assume this is still the case. but then again I played the classic version, this is my first real run through of the Definitive edition.

Solid progress tonight. I'm playing on tactician's difficultly and yeah - planning out how and when you're going into combat changes from being useful to being outright essential. You need the range buffs for rangers and mages from having them up high if you can. This has been a learning curve as it took me a couple of encounters to figure out how to

Spoiler:

Defeat Griff and his Cronies if you aren't prepared to give up the Lizard, and also the Arena of One.

Still I've also found a few more vendors than I remember there being before, and also some how managed to kill more than one of them - although not really intentionally. This has turned out to be very useful as they'll drop whatever skillbooks they were carrying, and also anything you've previously sold them - including any gold. So now I'm out of the courtyard and getting into the fort proper. I'm thinking I might go full psycho on the Magisters and give Orivand what for this run through, but we'll see.

Remember to chase up and complete each quest you come across. You tend to get little rewards at the end of them (I don't always remember that happening my original playthrough) and it makes a big difference.

Sorbicol wrote:

Now you've said that...... maybe not. I do know that you didn't gain any XP that the rest of your party earned while you were incapacitated, I would assume this is still the case. but then again I played the classic version, this is my first real run through of the Definitive edition.

I haven't been paying too much attention, but I think my dead characters are gaining experience in fights, if only because all my four characters are at the same XP level. I'll keep any eye on things going forward.

Sorbicol wrote:

Remember to chase up and complete each quest you come across. You tend to get little rewards at the end of them (I don't always remember that happening my original playthrough) and it makes a big difference.

I've picked up some sizable chunks of XP from things like entering certain rooms, and talking to certain people about something that somehow is connected to some journal entry that I totally forgot about. So yeah, the game definitely rewards you for interaction and exploration.

jdzappa wrote:

Good point Godzilla. From what I’ve read Ifan makes the perfect summoner since summoning makes his wolf stronger.

Oh, ahem. I knew that, of course I did. --> That was actually a totally random decision for me, but I'm glad it could turn out to be a good move.

I hope to dig in more this afternoon.

This is on sale for AU$52.50 on the Switch eShop until 19/4, at least in Australia. I might get on board now after all.

malking wrote:

This is on sale for AU$52.50 on the Switch eShop until 19/4, at least in Australia. I might get on board now after all. :)

Oh, that's a good deal, yes. I checked the US store, and unfortunately it's still $49.99 here.

Nintendo Switch eShop (UK) has 30% OFF
£44.99
£31.49

Tempting. The PS4 would offer a better resolution with improved textures. It's not on sale, though, and I've got some free time right now.

Purchased! Downloading!

RnRClown wrote:

Purchased! Downloading!

Woot! That's a good deal too.

Haven’t started yet - hoping the controller interface for PC is better than the first game, because I’ll most likely be playing it on the couch.

I didn't realise this was being played for a game club until someone mentioned it in another thread. I started 2 months ago but put it on hold while I got up to speed with FFXIV and...Uni assignments. Not in that order, I swear...!

I'd just escaped the first section which was wonderful if a bit challenging! I might have to jump back in and join you all on this adventure. It's a marvelous game.

I took Fane as my starter character with the intent to make a cool necromancer. Though I'm starting to think I'd rather him as a summoner. Just having those extra bodies during combat is so helpful.

Most excellent, welcome Unicycle! I just finished up a session and was coming here to say that I'm finding the Fort Joy dungeons pretty challenging as well. I think things will get easier when I get more skills and can respec characters to something more in line with what I want.

I just spent a good chunk of time trying the Kniles the Flenser fight. I got mauled the first time, but the second time tried a more patient strategy and things worked out okay.

I'm enjoying the combat as much as I did in the first game, but feel like I'm rusty. There are so many ways to use things and spells and skills that I'm just not coming up with yet. Must. Think. Harder.

Anyway, I'm almost Level 5 now and am deciding whether to go upstairs to the main section of the fort before heading out. If I can hit Level 5 I think I might go for it.

Good times.

Yeah. So. I spent two hours on character creation. I was adding this, subtracting that, changing whatnot, and then went off to read or watch more on character creation. Ha! I somewhat regret the lost time that could've been spent actually playing. I also like digging into said intricacies, though, so it's not a total loss.

*still hasn't settled entirely on character creation*