Divinity: Original Sin

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue Nov 03, 2015 8:43 pm

That's what I'm sort of thinking now -- maybe start over (ugh) and play with a dual-wielding nimble as hell thief and some type of mage -- with the idea that I'd be picking up the Ranger and Knight in the first town. It's definitely not what I was expecting (game play). I like the combat, it's just very different than what I'm used to.

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Tue Nov 03, 2015 8:46 pm

For what it's worth I made a sword and board fighter, a ranger, along with the mage and thief NPCs. I haven't used the teleport strategy. I did give the thief the water magic skill and pretty sure I would have had issues without the mage npc. I also gave leech traits to the fighter and thief so they heal when they get wounded and are standing in blood

ColdSteel · Post by **ColdSteel** » Tue Nov 03, 2015 10:52 pm

So far the only fights I've used the pyramids on were the graveyard fights. Those graveyard mobs were all level 8 or so and I was level 4 so I felt it was justified there. I just fought the source abomination boss in the black cove and didn't need to use them. That was a pretty tough fight but the teleport spells and summons/knockdowns/stuns kept him at bay until I could kill him. He has a ton of HP and hits like a truck and causes bleeding so my fighter was taking a bit of a beating until I could get some CC going.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue Nov 03, 2015 11:11 pm

Started over with a Rogue and Battle Mage and other than a complete lack of healing, it seems to be going well. I think I'll look into that Leech traits as well to help things along as I'm sticking with the Knight and Ranger companions. One thing is for sure, not needing to figure out all the quests and locations saved me like 5+ hours. I think I am almost caught back up to where I left off with my other characters in a little under 2 hours. I even picked up a quest I must have totally missed the first time around (Fire!) because I was likely overwhelmed. So I have that going for me.

TiLT · Post by **TiLT** » Wed Nov 04, 2015 1:38 am

Jaymann wrote:I read somewhere that Larian studied the most common strategies used in the original then made it so they wouldn't work in the EE.

This is only true on the new high difficulty setting. Regular difficulty is the way it's always been.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Wed Nov 04, 2015 2:08 am

Yeah, that's tactical mode.

Cortilian · Post by **Cortilian** » Wed Nov 04, 2015 9:33 am

I have also restarted and I believe that they have significantly fleshed out quest directions in Cyseal. I can remember before it felt like you had zero guidance but Now it seems like there is much more verbiage in the log to help you with where to go.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Wed Nov 04, 2015 10:30 am

Is lockpicking a necessity in this game or can you always bash chests open? I'm wondering if I should spend a point or two in lockpicking for my main guy.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Wed Nov 04, 2015 11:25 am

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:Is lockpicking a necessity in this game or can you always bash chests open? I'm wondering if I should spend a point or two in lockpicking for my main guy.

I did and have some +lockpicking gear, seems worthwhile. Otherwise it is nice to have an indestructible weapon for bashing. On a door it can take forever. Maybe have a companion be your lock picker.

ColdSteel · Post by **ColdSteel** » Wed Nov 04, 2015 11:39 am

Smoove_B wrote:I think I'll look into that Leech traits as well to help things along

Leech has been severely nerfed in the EE so I'd do some research before picking that talent. It heals for very little now. They also nerfed glass cannon to the point it's useless. I'm not that thrilled with what they did with talents in general. I have 3 talents and there's nothing else I want or that looks any good. I was going to wait and sell the talent points later in the game for attribute or ability points but they nerfed that into being completely worthless as well. I think after I play through this game I'll just reinstall the original game. I believe it was more fun than this new version even thought they did make some nice changes in the EE.

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:Is lockpicking a necessity in this game or can you always bash chests open? I'm wondering if I should spend a point or two in lockpicking for my main guy.

No, it isn't and you should not waste points on it, IMO. You can almost always find a key to any chest and you will find a ton of equipment that gives +lockpick skill. Those points are better spent on other, more important things. Make sure you have high perception on one of your party (Wolgaff is good for that) so that you can find all those keys (and other stuff). You will find a lot of +perception gear in the game as well. If you do decide to invest in lockpicking, I certainly would not put more than a point or two in it.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Wed Nov 04, 2015 11:44 am

ColdSteel wrote:Leech has been severely nerfed in the EE so I'd do some research before picking that talent. It heals for very little now.

Ok - thanks for the tip. I was considering getting a Man at Arms slot for the Battle Mage so maybe I'll go that route instead (with whatever that bandage skill is).

Cortilian wrote:I have also restarted and I believe that they have significantly fleshed out quest directions in Cyseal. I can remember before it felt like you had zero guidance but Now it seems like there is much more verbiage in the log to help you with where to go.

As someone with no experience prior to playing the EE, I have to believe then that the original was impossible. I'm not finding the quests intuitive at all. That being said, I'm also fairly conditioned to being led around by the nose (way points) from other games so that's probably also part of the difficulty.

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Wed Nov 04, 2015 12:59 pm

I never said leech was ever going to be used as a main healing ability, just that every little bit helps and other than the Pet Talent, most of them are of limited use. Smoove gave me the impression he wanted to go non-magic, so therefore Leech was an option. It's kept my guys alive long enough to get real healing.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Wed Nov 04, 2015 1:05 pm

Smoove_B wrote: As someone with no experience prior to playing the EE, I have to believe then that the original was impossible. I'm not finding the quests intuitive at all. That being said, I'm also fairly conditioned to being led around by the nose (way points) from other games so that's probably also part of the difficulty.

I have also been a bit directionless in the first town. I have a bunch of quests but I'm not really sure where I'm supposed to go or who I'm supposed to talk to for most of them.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Wed Nov 04, 2015 7:37 pm

OK, after careful consideration, I am going to re-roll before I get too far into act II as follows:

2 Inquisitors (dual wielding wands)

One with:
Hydrosophist (for healing)
Witchcraft (for rez)
Scoundrel (for haste & invis)

The other:
Hydrosophist
Pyrokinetic (for damage)
Geomancer (for poison immunity)

Then I plan to pick up the Mage companion (for Aerotheurge) and the ranger companion (for bows)

baelthazar · Post by **baelthazar** » Wed Nov 04, 2015 9:12 pm

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:Is lockpicking a necessity in this game or can you always bash chests open? I'm wondering if I should spend a point or two in lockpicking for my main guy.

There is a companion in town that has lockpicking. With Skill boosting gear, I can get him up to 5 lockpicking skill. I basically only use him when I need something picked, then I send him back to base. You can also cast "Flame Touch" on wooden chests and doors and it will do a good amount of damage.

stimpy · Post by **stimpy** » Wed Nov 04, 2015 11:53 pm

Am I correct in thinking that the NPCs don't have actual "titles", such as ranger, mage etc?, and that the only way to tell what they specialize in is to go through all of their stats?

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Thu Nov 05, 2015 12:34 am

baelthazar wrote:
Ralph-Wiggum wrote:Is lockpicking a necessity in this game or can you always bash chests open? I'm wondering if I should spend a point or two in lockpicking for my main guy.
There is a companion in town that has lockpicking. With Skill boosting gear, I can get him up to 5 lockpicking skill. I basically only use him when I need something picked, then I send him back to base. You can also cast "Flame Touch" on wooden chests and doors and it will do a good amount of damage.

Which guy is that/where located?

TiLT · Post by **TiLT** » Thu Nov 05, 2015 3:14 am

stimpy wrote:Am I correct in thinking that the NPCs don't have actual "titles", such as ranger, mage etc?, and that the only way to tell what they specialize in is to go through all of their stats?

Well, that would make sense since there aren't any actual character classes in this game. What you see in character creation are just easily identifiable templates for you to work with.

gbasden · Post by **gbasden** » Thu Nov 05, 2015 4:14 am

Jaymann wrote:
baelthazar wrote:
Ralph-Wiggum wrote:Is lockpicking a necessity in this game or can you always bash chests open? I'm wondering if I should spend a point or two in lockpicking for my main guy.
There is a companion in town that has lockpicking. With Skill boosting gear, I can get him up to 5 lockpicking skill. I basically only use him when I need something picked, then I send him back to base. You can also cast "Flame Touch" on wooden chests and doors and it will do a good amount of damage.
Which guy is that/where located?

He's the rogue. Wulfram? If you dig up one of the graves (that's not Dave's!) in the graveyard near Murphy and the other NPC, you'll find a passage leading underground. He's down there.

ColdSteel · Post by **ColdSteel** » Thu Nov 05, 2015 9:27 am

gbasden wrote:
Jaymann wrote:
baelthazar wrote:
Ralph-Wiggum wrote:Is lockpicking a necessity in this game or can you always bash chests open? I'm wondering if I should spend a point or two in lockpicking for my main guy.
There is a companion in town that has lockpicking. With Skill boosting gear, I can get him up to 5 lockpicking skill. I basically only use him when I need something picked, then I send him back to base. You can also cast "Flame Touch" on wooden chests and doors and it will do a good amount of damage.
Which guy is that/where located?
He's the rogue. Wulfram? If you dig up one of the graves (that's not Dave's!) in the graveyard near Murphy and the other NPC, you'll find a passage leading underground. He's down there.

Dig up the mound that's bigger than all the others in the center of the graveyard. That exposes the entrance to the cave that Wolgraff (the rogue) is in. I use him for all my stealing and lockpicking. He's great. He also makes a good archer. He starts each battle with a crossbow that can stun and then I switch him to dual daggers as needed. I gave him a point in Expert Marksman and a few good novice skills from that tree.

I finished the Pontius Pirate fight last night. Man, he's tough. Fortunately I was able to turn his own arbalest against him. Even so, I had to revive one of my party after the fight because that thing will target anyone, not just the bad guys. So beware...

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Thu Nov 05, 2015 10:20 am

I briefly played some split-screen co-op last night. We really just got through character creation and the first fight, but I can tell that it would be a lot of fun. Split-screen is handled well and the dialogue between the two main characters makes much more sense when each person is controlling what their character says.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Thu Nov 05, 2015 1:59 pm

gbasden wrote:
Jaymann wrote:
baelthazar wrote:
Ralph-Wiggum wrote:Is lockpicking a necessity in this game or can you always bash chests open? I'm wondering if I should spend a point or two in lockpicking for my main guy.
There is a companion in town that has lockpicking. With Skill boosting gear, I can get him up to 5 lockpicking skill. I basically only use him when I need something picked, then I send him back to base. You can also cast "Flame Touch" on wooden chests and doors and it will do a good amount of damage.
Which guy is that/where located?
He's the rogue. Wulfram? If you dig up one of the graves (that's not Dave's!) in the graveyard near Murphy and the other NPC, you'll find a passage leading underground. He's down there.

Lol, there are three ways to get to that guy:

1) Through the graveyard.
2) Down the well to the west of town.
3) Through a trapdoor near the bridge into town (I teleported one of my party to it).

baelthazar · Post by **baelthazar** » Thu Nov 05, 2015 2:07 pm

Jaymann wrote:
gbasden wrote:
Jaymann wrote:
baelthazar wrote:
Ralph-Wiggum wrote:Is lockpicking a necessity in this game or can you always bash chests open? I'm wondering if I should spend a point or two in lockpicking for my main guy.
There is a companion in town that has lockpicking. With Skill boosting gear, I can get him up to 5 lockpicking skill. I basically only use him when I need something picked, then I send him back to base. You can also cast "Flame Touch" on wooden chests and doors and it will do a good amount of damage.
Which guy is that/where located?
He's the rogue. Wulfram? If you dig up one of the graves (that's not Dave's!) in the graveyard near Murphy and the other NPC, you'll find a passage leading underground. He's down there.
Lol, there are three ways to get to that guy:

1) Through the graveyard.
2) Down the well to the west of town.
3) Through a trapdoor near the bridge into town (I teleported one of my party to it).

You can also get him by:

Spoiler:

ColdSteel · Post by **ColdSteel** » Thu Nov 05, 2015 3:51 pm

baelthazar wrote:2) Down the well to the west of town.

Spoiler:

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Thu Nov 05, 2015 4:23 pm

baelthazar wrote:
Jaymann wrote:
gbasden wrote:
Jaymann wrote:
baelthazar wrote:
Ralph-Wiggum wrote:Is lockpicking a necessity in this game or can you always bash chests open? I'm wondering if I should spend a point or two in lockpicking for my main guy.
There is a companion in town that has lockpicking. With Skill boosting gear, I can get him up to 5 lockpicking skill. I basically only use him when I need something picked, then I send him back to base. You can also cast "Flame Touch" on wooden chests and doors and it will do a good amount of damage.
Which guy is that/where located?
He's the rogue. Wulfram? If you dig up one of the graves (that's not Dave's!) in the graveyard near Murphy and the other NPC, you'll find a passage leading underground. He's down there.
Lol, there are three ways to get to that guy:

1) Through the graveyard.
2) Down the well to the west of town.
3) Through a trapdoor near the bridge into town (I teleported one of my party to it).
You can also get him by:

Spoiler:
Finding the secret passage in the locked and defunct general store (one of the first buildings on the left as you enter town from the dock stairs). Note, this leads to a bunch of trapped chambers that eventually take you to the tunnels below town.

I knew about this (going the other way) but couldn't get in.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Thu Nov 05, 2015 9:51 pm

I love my re-rolled party. At level 4 I took out "Dave" with a flawless victory.

ColdSteel · Post by **ColdSteel** » Sat Nov 07, 2015 9:38 am

Got my party up to level 9 now and working on the quests east and northeast of Cyseal. This game is so awesome.

morlac · Post by **morlac** » Sat Nov 07, 2015 12:58 pm

Smoove_B wrote:I guess I'm rather particular about how I play CRPGs and having a fighter (or thief) rush in for an attack then teleport back to the party while they pepper the the enemy with ranged weapons just feels...wrong to me. I'm a classic D&D kind of dude.

I'm the same way and have been playing just fine without the teleport tactic. You do need to be careful rushing head in at first. I tend to use the natural synergies of the spells and environments to weaken my opponents and then send in my melee. My ranger has Geo (that spider spell is a godsend in the early game , just use him as a meat shield) so grease plus the mages fire = field of fire. Rain + lighting or snow equals crispy or frozen. Poison cloud plus fire = dead. There are other combos and just about all of them can be triggered with arrows instead of spells. Note : pick up the barrels and have plenty of arrowheads and shafts to make your own special arrows, almost an unlimited supply this way.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Sat Nov 07, 2015 1:40 pm

I've run into a few niggling bugs on the ps4 so far. I'm not sure if it's a bug actually but the sound mix is really strange. There are very few if any sounds in combat which is sort of throwing me off. Also, just had a big battle and one of my companions disappeared. At the end of the battle I switched to him and he was no where close to my party. I have no idea what happened.

Despite these small issues I'm really liking the game, despite repeatedly getting crushed by skeletons.

ColdSteel · Post by **ColdSteel** » Sat Nov 07, 2015 7:12 pm

I just finished the fight with Sexy Rexy and his 3 little friends which wraps up everything in Cyseal. I'm now into the forest to the north. This about where I stopped playing the original version to wait to the EE to come out, so everything from here on is new.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Sat Nov 07, 2015 7:23 pm

ColdSteel wrote:I just finished the fight with Sexy Rexy and his 3 little friends which wraps up everything in Cyseal. I'm now into the forest to the north. This about where I stopped playing the original version to wait to the EE to come out, so everything from here on is new.

I don't remember that fight, can you give me a spoiler?

ColdSteel · Post by **ColdSteel** » Sat Nov 07, 2015 9:37 pm

Jaymann wrote:
ColdSteel wrote:I just finished the fight with Sexy Rexy and his 3 little friends which wraps up everything in Cyseal. I'm now into the forest to the north. This about where I stopped playing the original version to wait to the EE to come out, so everything from here on is new.
I don't remember that fight, can you give me a spoiler?

Sure.

Spoiler:

It's a tough fight.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Sun Nov 08, 2015 11:11 pm

Oh yeah, did that one. The "Rex" part threw me off.

ChuckB · Post by **ChuckB** » Mon Nov 09, 2015 10:36 am

I have had the original version of the game and never got past arriving at the first town. Now I'm planning to pick up the EE and I'm feeling my usual "RPG character anxiety" ....

I understand that all chars/combos should work generally (and that there are no real classes anyway). Normally in RPGs, I play ranged characters but understand that magic chars are especially great in this game.
I read around a bit and thought about the following, would be great to get some feedback from the pros here:

I consider starting with two wizards, one with Air/Earth, one with Fire/Water (the idea being that by "crossing" the elements these two can generate some interesting combos in the same turn.
I read that early on you get the choice between some companions, which should cover the gaps the two mages would have - adding a tank and either a ranged char or a rogue.

Again, I'm not trying to min/max but looking for a fun combination that gets me well through the game.

Thanks!

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Mon Nov 09, 2015 10:50 am

I think that combo will work fine. I am now a big fan of witchcraft for the summoning and the charm.

Cylus Maxii · Post by **Cylus Maxii** » Mon Nov 09, 2015 10:52 am

Two Magi is a good starting point. Cyseal has a ranger, thief, mage and heavy fighter available as companions. You can switch out companions as you go too.

I am running with two dual wielding wand magi with the elements split between them. My other members are the ranger and thief. I am also keeping the heavy geared up in case I need her. So far it's big fun, but I'm kind of stuck between two possible boss battles that unlock the level 6ish areas. I'm level 5. I'm playing on classic.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Mon Nov 09, 2015 11:15 am

I just got past the big fight for the Jake's murder quest (

Spoiler:

). I was got my ass kicked repeatedly until I tried funneling them through a doorway. It didn't help that my main mage has lots of Fire spells but not many powerful air or water spells. But I did learn that teleporting explosive enemies is fun.

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Mon Nov 09, 2015 12:27 pm

ChuckB wrote:I have had the original version of the game and never got past arriving at the first town. Now I'm planning to pick up the EE and I'm feeling my usual "RPG character anxiety" ....

I understand that all chars/combos should work generally (and that there are no real classes anyway). Normally in RPGs, I play ranged characters but understand that magic chars are especially great in this game.

Bow users are actually really good in Original Sin. You get tons of magic arrows early on that can easily fulfill a large portion of your magic requirements. It also gives you a good opportunity to familiarize yourself with how the magic schools interact without wasting valuable skill points in skills you don’t like.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Mon Nov 09, 2015 6:49 pm

I have started hoarding the oil barrels and dropping them near a teleporter for quick access. The funny thing is that I have only actually used them for one boss fight so far:

Spoiler:

ColdSteel · Post by **ColdSteel** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 12:00 pm

I finished up the Hiberheim area last night at level 12. I'm really enjoying this game. The combat is just so much fun. The equipment though I think leaves a lot to be desired in general. It looks like they've locked down what stats can appear on boots/gloves/chest/helm/weapons/rings/etc. so much that you get the same thing over and over. Pretty underwhelming to say the least. I have found a few good uniques though, including the Sword of Holy Flame, an awesome 2 hander.