Divinity: Original Sin (Impressions, hints, tips)

[BYU 14]

Decided to make a separate thread for this game, though I am not sure how many have gotten this, or plan to, I figured this would be a good way to share tips, ask questions and share impressions. (but mostly help each other)

Because this is a true old school RPG, there is literally no hand holding. Only a few hours in and I haven't had to think like this since playing the Bards Tale trilogy back in the 80's and I have to say it is refreshing. This game has the potential to be up there with the likes of Ultima, the original Fallout's and Baldurs gate IMO.

No markers, you have to figure out locations and solutions from dialogue, which is plentiful, and the crafting system ranges from very simple, to quite complex and also requires both thought and recipes.

The combat mechanics are very well done from what I have experienced so far, how you build your character matters and strategy can not be ignored.

Like I said, just starting, but I know already I will get stuck on some things so hopefully if enough people are playing we can share info. Just curious who has this so far or will get it?

[Vince, Pt. II]

My roommate has this and is playing co-op with his buddy. Who is chaotic neutral on a good day. Needless to say there have been many exclamations of "Why did you do that, Andrew?" "You blew us up again, Andrew." "I'd rather you hadn't killed that guy Andrew." From his room

[flere-imsaho]

LOL

[BYU 14]

That's funny, I can see the potential for some interesting co-op games.

[Grim.Reaper]

Bought it myself, even though I typically don't play RPG type games..but during the steam sale I picked up baldur gate 1 &2 so got me in the mood....really enjoying original sin so far, but haven't gotten that far yet. Certainly does seem like it will make you really think.

[chinaski]

Im hating the lack of direction so far, im basically stuck in town right now having no idea where to go and an unable to leave the city gates since the mobs outside are a few levels higher than i.

[JAG]

I have barely gone anywhere (still in tutorial, just haven't had time), but I loved the breadth of options available with the initial character building, all the stats seem important and many skills seem useful. The first combat I was in I slowed the baddies with oil then set it on fire to burn them, which was fun. I'm excited to try out more of the elemental combinations. I had a couple crashes, but I'm playing on a 7-year old machine and I didn't update drivers and such before starting. I'm away for the 4th, but I'm planning on diving back in when I get home.

One thing I didn't care for was the default camera setting. I have to play with it a bit to see if I can come up with something that makes more sense to me.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by chinaski

Im hating the lack of direction so far, im basically stuck in town right now having no idea where to go and an unable to leave the city gates since the mobs outside are a few levels higher than i.

Have you picked up your two companions yet? Once you have them you can go out the west gate (which is open) and battle those creatures effectively. Stay close to the guards as they will help you as well.

[chinaski]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

Have you picked up your two companions yet? Once you have them you can go out the west gate (which is open) and battle those creatures effectively. Stay close to the guards as they will help you as well.

Hmmm, no not yet. I have my two characters that i made at the very start, but I havent came across a way to gain 2 more companions. I swear ive canvassed the town a few times and have talked to every npc. Guess ill do another sweep, thanks for the help

[Matthean]

Here's a playlist of a co-op playthrough for those curious.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...vw8sAUmAT16fER

[Vince, Pt. II]

My roommate loves the poison + fire combination...except for when Andrew blows him up with it.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by chinaski

Hmmm, no not yet. I have my two characters that i made at the very start, but I havent came across a way to gain 2 more companions. I swear ive canvassed the town a few times and have talked to every npc. Guess ill do another sweep, thanks for the help

You bet

Spoiler

One is at the library on the 2nd floor above mayor Cecil's office and the other is in the Crab tavern where the murder took place

[Grim.Reaper]

If your stuck, a walk through guide including city map..

Only click on it if you want spoilers....

Divinity: Original Sin Game Guide & Walkthrough

[frnk55]

I have heard a lot of positive stuff about the game. Can't wait to dive into it this weekend!

[chinaski]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

You bet

Spoiler

One is at the library on the 2nd floor above mayor Cecil's office and the other is in the Crab tavern where the murder took place

Been playing nonstop since you pointed me in the right direction. Not sure how I missed the followers and the town hall. Beat a few fights so far, really fun. I can see this game becoming very strategic.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by chinaski

Been playing nonstop since you pointed me in the right direction. Not sure how I missed the followers and the town hall. Beat a few fights so far, really fun. I can see this game becoming very strategic.

Awesome, I am going to get an extended session in tonight after we get back from dinner, but I already think combat is as good as I have seen in this type of game.

[Grim.Reaper]

Has anyone figured out what changing the difficulty level does to impact the game? Wasn't sure how it made things easier or harder. Does it give you more stuff? Make fights easier? Gives bonus to the ai?

[BYU 14]

From what I have read it mainly affects combat, with easy reducing the tactical element and damage and hard described as "stabbey" mode, which I guess means you better pack lots of healing potions.

[Grim.Reaper]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

From what I have read it mainly affects combat, with easy reducing the tactical element and damage and hard described as "stabbey" mode, which I guess means you better pack lots of healing potions.

Thanks....I'll likely stick to normal for now but good to know if I need to change things up.

[Grim.Reaper]

Originally Posted by Grim.Reaper

Thanks....I'll likely stick to normal for now but good to know if I need to change things up.

I did find this information on the official forums to further describe the differences.


"The difficulty level gives a HP modifier (+60/+15/-25% for easy/normal/hard) and the hard difficulty modifies chance to hit (you get -10%, opponents +20%)."

[JAG]

Finally got to play some more and still enjoying. I'm not sure what bugged me about the camera before, this morning I had no issues at all.

It's been a humbling beginning thus far, I haven't left the opening city and I've already lost two arguments (companion set to random AI), failed one quest, have an obstacle I can't figure out how to get beyond (yet), and am second-guessing another decision I made.

[Blackadar]

Divinity is a wonderful game and also an epic failure at points. I love it.

The combat is awesome - probably the best RPG combat I can remember. The classes, spells, characters all are wonderful. The story so far is ok

However, it really is an epic failure when it comes to providing direction. I'll put these in spoilers:

Spoiler

One was in the Black Cove where you have to find a switch behind a painting. Except you can't move the painting. So the only thing to do is "attack" the painting. And if your characters don't have a high perception skill, they won't notice anything special about that particular painting. I finally had to ask on the Steam forums or I would have never have figured it out.

Another is in the forest. To remove the shield you either have to find a scroll hidden on part of the map (again, requiring a very high perception check) or you have to kill the two mushrooms around the house. Yet in the dialog with the 'shrooms, there's no indication that they have ANYTHING to do with the shield. It's someone else who put it up and the 'shrooms have been there for a long time.

Both of these solutions are so unintuitive it's nothing less than a total failure on Larian's part. Essentially, if you don't gimp a character and pour every point into perception, there's no way to continue the main quest without looking it up online!

[BYU 14]

I had a frustrating moment with the directions part as well. I love the fact that you have to really think and pay attention, but you are right there are a couple of bugs they need to fix to make sure the directions pay off, so you're not banging your head.

Good part is patches can easily fix those couple of quest issues and the combat is incredible. Still think this will be up with the legendary RPG's when fully patched.

[Grim.Reaper]

Some decent tutorial videos, especially the one about creating characters and such....

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...yhaQZaa-YWd3VZ

[BYU 14]

I will say this, they are addressing all issues that come up quickly, nearly an update a day.

Have you played lately Blackadar, they indicated they fixed the few buggy quests people found.

[Peregrine]

Really interested in this game but think I will hold off for now since I am still very busy with the Steam Sale-acquired Kingdoms of Amalur:Reckoning

[JAG]

The level of challenge is pretty high (not a bad thing, just an observation). Getting my characters to level 5 was not an easy task and there are still a number of quests and puzzles that I haven't been able to figure out yet.

[Groundhog]

Played this a bunch yesterday. Definitely in the BG-style, and quite challenging. I wandered out of the city with my level 3 characters and promptly had my butt handed to me. I don't have the same sorta free time I had back when I played through BG and BG2 though, so I wonder how I'm going to find this game... Seems pretty deep.

[Eaglesfan27]

After hearing people rave about this game (in this thread and other places), I know I'm getting this game. However, I've been debating on waiting a month or two for the bugs to be ironed out while I play another RPG. That being said, I keep hearing more and more about this game and am thinking about buying it tonight. Are there any bugs that really annoy you in the game or impair your enjoyment?

[Groundhog]

I've played it a good deal of hours now. Most annoying bug I've discovered is that I lost one of my party in a fight with a particularly large robot earlyish in the game, but the (invisible) body of the robot ended up covering their corpse, which prevented me from resurrecting them. I found a workaround (there is an teleport function in the game, which even works with dead party members' bodies). This is the only real bug I've seen so far - there have been a few other things pop up, but I don't know if they're by design (invisible mines near the orcs to the left of the harbour? I can see them only before they enter my character's POV, afterwhich they vanish).

I will say this though, either I'm terrible or this game is just freaking difficult. It's very rare that I make it through a battle the first time without losing multiple party members or dying outright. There are some battles that have taken me hours and many combinations of tactics... I'm at level 5 and I still haven't managed to beat the Orc boss left of the Harbour. I've also found myself buying a ton of scrolls, especially summon spells. This is something I never did in BG.

The AI is pretty good at countering what you do and most parties you encounter will have a good combination of healing, archers, and brutes. They also know better than to wander into the elaborate magic oil traps that I've also tried to set.

[Groundhog]

dola

If I started again, I'd have an archer build as one of my initial party members, that's for sure.

[JAG]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

dola

If I started again, I'd have an archer build as one of my initial party members, that's for sure.

I had the same thought. My party is at level 8 and 9. I've been accumulating stuff for a while and I need to spend some time going through all the stuff and do some crafting / selling / buying because there are a couple boss fights I can't handle with my current equipment / skills.

EF27, no bugs of note I've encountered with the most recent patch. Even with the first version I played there was nothing I can remember that detracted from the game. Just my two cents.

[Capital]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

I've played it a good deal of hours now. Most annoying bug I've discovered is that I lost one of my party in a fight with a particularly large robot earlyish in the game, but the (invisible) body of the robot ended up covering their corpse, which prevented me from resurrecting them. I found a workaround (there is an teleport function in the game, which even works with dead party members' bodies). This is the only real bug I've seen so far - there have been a few other things pop up, but I don't know if they're by design (invisible mines near the orcs to the left of the harbour? I can see them only before they enter my character's POV, afterwhich they vanish).

I will say this though, either I'm terrible or this game is just freaking difficult. It's very rare that I make it through a battle the first time without losing multiple party members or dying outright. There are some battles that have taken me hours and many combinations of tactics... I'm at level 5 and I still haven't managed to beat the Orc boss left of the Harbour. I've also found myself buying a ton of scrolls, especially summon spells. This is something I never did in BG.

The AI is pretty good at countering what you do and most parties you encounter will have a good combination of healing, archers, and brutes. They also know better than to wander into the elaborate magic oil traps that I've also tried to set.

I bought the game during the Steam Sale but haven't fired it up as of yet. What level are you playing?

[Eaglesfan27]

I am very early into the game (3 hours or so) but am enjoying it immensely. I can see that I'm going to be playing this almost exclusively during my free time for the next few weeks (months?) Glad I took the plunge last night. Despite the recommendations above to have an archer, I started with a Knight (controlled by the AI personality) and a Wizard.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Still haven't gotten into it myself, but my roommate complains that characters who are strictly melee are pretty screwed (which seems fairly typical of strategic games like this).

[JAG]

Maybe your roommate is farther than me, but my melee folks are indispensable. The Man-At-Arm skills are really good (a big heal, CC, mobility+minor CC among them) and they dish out a lot of pain compared to my wizards.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Capital

I bought the game during the Steam Sale but haven't fired it up as of yet. What level are you playing?

The default.

I went with a melee and a wizard, but I've found the wizard to be largely useless with the beginning spells, especially when going up against folks resistant to fire.

[bhlloy]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

The default.

I went with a melee and a wizard, but I've found the wizard to be largely useless with the beginning spells, especially when going up against folks resistant to fire.

Big +1 on this. Haven't touched it in a while but I think when I go back to it I may restart with an archer instead of a wizard for this very reason. Tough when you are in a fight and your wizards best two or three spells are essentially useless

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by JAG

Maybe your roommate is farther than me, but my melee folks are indispensable. The Man-At-Arm skills are really good (a big heal, CC, mobility+minor CC among them) and they dish out a lot of pain compared to my wizards.

He's pretty far into it, but he claims the utility of spellcasting and ranged attacks offer so much control that the melee only guys are reduced to essentially just damage soaking meat shields.

[Blackadar]

I'm not sure if this is the lousiest great game ever or the best worst game of all time.

I really dig Divinity. The combat is just sooooo good and the environments are cool. It's a game I'll play again just for the tactical battles. I don't have an archer or a backstabbing thief in my party this go-around and those should be a blast to play.

But the puzzles...oy vey the puzzles are soooooooo screwed up. I seriously don't know how anyone could complete this game without a ton of help from the web or a strategy guide. Some of them make no sense whatsoever to solve and/or devolve into pixel hunts to find something. It's like Larian didn't play test this with any kind of focus group, because in all the years I've been playing PC RPGs (since Wizardry 1 back in like 1980) I have never seen more shitty obscure quests than I have in this game.

Still, I love it. 62 hours in and I don't think I'm close to finishing.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

I'm not sure if this is the lousiest great game ever or the best worst game of all time.

I really dig Divinity. The combat is just sooooo good and the environments are cool. It's a game I'll play again just for the tactical battles. I don't have an archer or a backstabbing thief in my party this go-around and those should be a blast to play.

But the puzzles...oy vey the puzzles are soooooooo screwed up. I seriously don't know how anyone could complete this game without a ton of help from the web or a strategy guide. Some of them make no sense whatsoever to solve and/or devolve into pixel hunts to find something. It's like Larian didn't play test this with any kind of focus group, because in all the years I've been playing PC RPGs (since Wizardry 1 back in like 1980) I have never seen more shitty obscure quests than I have in this game.

Still, I love it. 62 hours in and I don't think I'm close to finishing.

The complexity of some of these reminds me a lot of Bards Tale 2 back in the 80's, which I finally needed a strategy guide to finish.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

The complexity of some of these reminds me a lot of Bards Tale 2 back in the 80's, which I finally needed a strategy guide to finish.

I wouldn't mind complex as long as there are reasonable hints. Divinity relies on either blind luck of having the right stat or are entirely illogical altogether.

[JAG]

There is one puzzle I had to deal with around (what I think is) mid-game where I had to look up a solution because it was just too frustrating. I'm not sure if there was detail I was missing due to being at very low settings but judging by your post, maybe not. That's the only one where I just gave up and searched for the answer. I still have a couple things I haven't figured out. I'm skipping a major chain of quests (presumably) at the moment because I can't find something that would let me solve the quest the way I want to rather than the easy way. I may have to give in soon though because I've got nowhere else I can think to look.

So far my favorite parts of the game are the tactical battles (one super battle took me three tries, the first time my party was practically destroyed before I got a chance to take an action, second time was better but still made some sub-optimal moves, third time I went all out with one-time use things and figured out a really satisfying amd clever use of terrain to help win it), exploration (I made it through nearly half the game before I sorted out some of the stuff I was carrying because it was so enjoyable to just wander around accumulating things), character development, and the dialogue. Main irritation is that sometimes in combat it's hard to click on the enemy to attack them if they're near your own party or clumped together. Scrolling in helps, but it's a little annoying. The companions seem a bit lackluster in that they don't really grab me (it is nice they do comment about things that happen). I think it would help if there were quests involving them to flesh them out more and make them more interesting. I'm also regretting picking "random" AI at times, I doubt I would do that again, though maybe one of the newer AI options would be worthwhile.

[BreizhManu]

Originally Posted by JAG

Main irritation is that sometimes in combat it's hard to click on the enemy to attack them if they're near your own party or clumped together.

You can click their picture on the top of the screen to select them.

[Eaglesfan27]

I feel like I wasted a skill point or three on overlapped skills (such as crafting at 1 in two different characters.). Do skill points become more readily available at higher levels? Debating on the merits of restarting as I am not too far into the game yet...

[JAG]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I feel like I wasted a skill point or three on overlapped skills (such as crafting at 1 in two different characters.). Do skill points become more readily available at higher levels? Debating on the merits of restarting as I am not too far into the game yet...

Yes, you get 2/L at L6 or so and then 3/L at L10 or so.

[BreizhManu]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I feel like I wasted a skill point or three on overlapped skills (such as crafting at 1 in two different characters.). Do skill points become more readily available at higher levels? Debating on the merits of restarting as I am not too far into the game yet...

You can respec at some point (around level 10 or so) when opening a new room at the end of time

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by BreizhManu

You can respec at some point (around level 10 or so) when opening a new room at the end of time

Thank god. At this point I see no use in smithing or crafting, think I'm going to invest all of those elsewhere.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by BreizhManu

You can respec at some point (around level 10 or so) when opening a new room at the end of time

Thanks so much! I was going to restart tonight after the family goes to sleep, but now I will continue with these characters.

[BreizhManu]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Thank god. At this point I see no use in smithing or crafting, think I'm going to invest all of those elsewhere.

well it is useful to spend points there because at high level the best objects you can get you get them like that, but probably not on your main character.

from what i read, usually the advices are :

- don't spend many points on weapon mastery (1 is considered enough) simply because at some point you switch to tenebrium weapons (when you finish brandon's quest in luculla forest) and then those points are the ones being used to calculate damage then.

- don't put points in lockpicking and pickpocketing those 2 are useless

- hire low level guys at the hall of heroes (cheap) and fire them asap, when you rehire them they're at your level, you can use those guys as specialists, usually for crafting


That being said i didn't follow any of these advices myself