41 hours into Divinity Original Sin 2, I wish I'd broken a golden RPG rule by doing something frowned upon in Baldur's Gate 3

If you're playing Divinity: Original Sin 2 for the first time in 2026, you and I are likely on a similar path. I'll bet that, like me, you opted to make an original character. A spell-slinging battlemage, perhaps, or a deadeye ranger with poison-tipped arrows close at hand. You probably did what I did and Googled how to build your DOS2 hero, and if you're playing it off the back of Baldur's Gate 3, I imagine we both wore the same bemused expression upon learning how differently the RPG mechanics operate between the two.

You might also have reached a certain point where you realized that doing so was a very poor decision. One neither of us might have made if we'd known that so much of the game's story was lost the moment we clicked Start Game.

Warning: Spoilers for the end of Act 1 of Divinity Original Sin 2

World of warning

I neglected much of the Fort Joy map area because the Internet spoiled it for me. All I wanted to do was research my DOS2 companions to ensure I'd found them all – I'd stumbled across Fane, The Red Prince, and Sebille shortly after washing up on the prison island's beach – and I was greeted with a stark warning instead.

Thanks to Google AI and its scattershot evils, I was immediately told that all companions not recruited to my party at a certain point would perish. This means that even if I put time and effort into leveling up all six of them, speccing out and lovingly purchasing fancy new gear for my newfound friends, the four-max party limit meant that three would die no matter what.

Frankly, I was crushed. I'd heard great things about burly dwarf Beast, recalled Reddit users posting about Ifan ben-Mezd, the original Chad, and was already intrigued by conjuror Lohse's inner demons. But, learning of their impending demise so early on, I lost all excitement to even get to know them.

I felt like a fraud with this kind of metagaming knowledge. It sucked to have to tell Ifan to buzz off the first time I encountered him within the confines of Fort Joy, but when he tried again to recruit himself to my ranks later once we reunited on the ship, the guilt was overwhelming. I reminded myself how much I'd poured into my three existing adventuring companions, how hard I'd fought to get us leveled up enough to have (supposedly) killed off Bishop Alexander mere moments earlier. Not even rattling Fane's bones could shake off the misery of condemning these intriguing yet unlucky characters to a watery grave, and as soon as my elven necromancer returned from her carnal experiment, I went right back to sulking.

In a way, though, I blame her for it. If I'd selected Ifan, Beast or Lohse as my playable character, I'd have had access to a fourth game-integral tale to explore. Instead of a lovingly written protagonist with skin in the game, personal stakes, and an established backstory, I'm stuck playing as a Very Special Girl with not much to her aside from being one of four Godwoken on a path to divine ascension.

Deicide

Making my own main character is something I chose to do automatically. It was a no-brainer at the time, especially given how much I'd gotten out of Baldur's Gate 3 by playing a totally customized Dark Urge character for my first ever playthrough.

Yes, the Dark Urge had its own backstory and personal stakes, but Sweetling was still mine – and I still had access to all of the story's companions throughout my 70-hour stint. It's common knowledge that origin characters are for round two, three, or even four when it comes to Baldur's Gate 3, because no matter what, you're still getting one hell of a story.

After clicking through the character creator menu, I soon learned that DOS2's origin characters are a little less flexible than the basic archetype of the Dark Urge. So, I thought I'd play it safe with a totally unique protagonist, inadvertently trading narrative depth for a shallow puddle. In truth, it's kind of a testament to Larian's growth when you compare Tav to the Godwoken in terms of storytelling, but I still feel cheated out of so much more.

My Godwoken doesn't feel like the main character. Instead, she has main character syndrome. Much like Meredith Grey in unfathomably long-running medical drama Grey's Anatomy, everyone around her is ten times more interesting, and it's their stories I'm invested in.

Roleplaying elements come not from my character's own incentives, but those of my companions. Sometimes I pretend I really did choose Fane as my origin character, maneuvering the world as an Eternal with my player-made hero trundling along as part of the squad. But there's only so long I can keep the pretence up, and when any major plot events take place, my perspective is forcibly shifted.

Alas, having just arrived at Act 3's Nameless Isle, I've come too far to turn back. My necro-aerothurge elven cleric will have her precious divinity, and I'm sure I'll make plenty more mistakes to rectify next time around. Because of course I'm already planning my second playthrough – and when that day comes, I plan to do it right. Or at least as right as you can be in a Larian game.

Larian's new game Divinity is one upcoming RPG I can't wait to see, though it's incredibly unlikely to launch in 2026...