Some Divinity: Original Sin 2 tips will help you get to grips with an incredibly huge game, but it's worth it - there's so much to discover and do in Divinity that having a basis of understanding will set you off very well in this CRPG, racking up wins, kills and treasure of all kinds. If you want a helping hand, check out our list of the best 10 Divinity: Original Sin 2 tips and tricks to help you beat the game.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 classes | Divinity: Original Sin 2 skills | Divinity: Original Sin 2 builds
1. Find your path by looking at the monsters
While there is a critical path to follow in Divinity 2, it doesn't often make itself clear. As such, your best bet is to pay close attention to the level of enemies in the quest lines and areas. Generally speaking, you should always be the same level or one below the enemies you're fighting. If a particular fight keeps beating the hell out of you, then there's probably a quest or two hidden away somewhere else on the sprawling maps that will help you gain a bit more power before returning.
2. Be a Lone wolf if you don't like inventory management
If you're not a fan of inventory management then the idea of looking after four characters and keeping their skills, equipment, and inventory in order is probably not one you're keen on. Well, if you set your character up with the Lone Wolf trait when you’re creating them, then you'll not have to worry about that. A Lone Wolf gets double the stats as they level up, and get more actions per turn, but you can only have two in your party. Not only does this allow you to build some obscenely broken characters, but it also cuts your inventory management in half, making it a great choice for newer players.
3. Don't let the black cat go near the gates in fort joy
Early on in the first chapter, you'll come across a little black cat. This little guy will follow closely behind you as you explore Fort Joy. If he stays with you, then you can summon him as a surprisingly useful partner in fights or even for traversal. If, however, he dies, then not only will you lose that fluffy friend, but you'll be a terrible human being. The key to keeping him alive is to avoid the gate in Fort Joy that is surrounded by Magisters. One of them is an abhorrent person and will shoot the cat on sight. Simply give that part of the map a wide berth until you’ve successfully recruited the kitty.
4. Invest in Persuasion for your main character
A lot of Divinity is talking - it's a massive RPG, so of course it is - as a result, you're going to want your main character to be a smooth talker. While your choices in conversation do matter, things are much easier if you've got a high persuasion skill. This allows you to sweet-talk your way out of something fights, into some quests, and even talk your way into some great loot. Make sure you give your main character a silver tongue as they’re the one who’ll be doing most of the talking.
5. Invest in Thievery for a different character
This is another one to invest in, but for a different character. Lockpicking will you get into a wealth of places you're not meant to be and chests you aren't meant to open. It's an incredibly useful skill, and one of your characters should definitely invest in it. As a bonus point, this normally requires lock picks, but if the character in question is undead, then they can just use their bony fingers. You’ll also be able to pickpocket foes, which can be useful if you want a bit of extra cash.
6. Focus on either Strength, Finesse, or Intelligence
Minmaxing isn’t necessarily essential in Divinity 2, but it definitely makes things easier. The three attack stats are Strength, Finesse, and Intelligence. Pick the one for the kind of class you want - strength for warriors, finesse for rogues or archers, and magic for mages of all flavours - and stick to it. This will allow you to dole out massive amounts of damage and quickly take out your enemies.
7. Invest a point or two into Necromancy
The skill lines you invest in allow you to use higher-level abilities and often give damage boosts, but there's more to it with some of the abilities. Necromancy allows you to use magic that deals physical damage and even drain your enemies of their life to heal yourself. Most importantly though, it also gives you a passive buff that lets you drain your enemies just by dealing damage to their health instead of their armour. That means that if you've got a warrior that can deal huge damage but might be a little squishy, you can offset that by putting a couple of points into Necromancy in order to drain health from your opponents. It just makes keeping your frontline characters alive much easier, even if they won’t be using the dark arts directly.
8. Sell all your items to Camp Boss Griff, then kill him and take it back
Camp Boss Griff is a racist piece of trash. He's also a key player in Fort Joy and a lot of quests involve him as a result. On top of his relevance to quests, you can actually buy and sell things from him and his goons, some of which are incredibly useful. If you like the idea of getting the most out of your time with him then sell any items you aren't using to him and his crew. Then, when you’re a bit stronger, come back and pick a fight with all of them. Once the dust has settled, you'll be able to loot them for a lot of those items back. It's a great way of boosting your cash flow early on. Plus, he deserves it.
9. Don't be afraid to restart or respec
This game is massive, and no matter how much you read before starting it, you're probably going to make some less than perfect decisions, and that's okay. The good news is that there are two things you can do if you're worried you've messed up a character build. The first is to simply restart the game, of course, Divinity 2 can easily last 100 hours for a single playthrough, so that might be a bit extreme. In that case, there are mirrors dotted throughout the chapters which allow you to respec and redesign your character. You'll need to buy new skills and armour if you decide to take a brand-new class instead of a basic respec, but it saves a lot of time and it's free to do.
10. Status effects are king but take down the armour first
Enemies are at their best when they can't hit you back. That's why it's important to learn how status effects work and how you can cause them. Stunned and Knocked Down will both take an enemy out for a single turn. Most status effects can only trigger if the corresponding armour type has been depleted, so get rid of that first before using a skill that stuns or otherwise takes out an enemy.Have a read of the skill itself to find out which armour will stop the effect. It does make sense most of the time though, with things like Stunned being blocked by magic armour, and knocked down being blocked by physical armour. Of course, this applies to you too, so invest in some good armour to keep yourself safe from these effects.
Want to change things up in your game? Then check out the best Divinity: Original Sin 2 mods to level up your adventure.
