Original Sin - Ten Tips for New Players

Leviathyn editor Eric W. offers ten tips for first time players of Divinity:Original Sin.

After two months and over 50 hours I’m finally reaching the end game for Divinity: Original Sin. I can safely say it’s my current Game of the Year and many of my fellow Leviathyn writers feel similarly. Divinity is an old-school tactical RPG and although it makes some wonderful advancements in the genre and utilizes many modern conveniences, it can still be a daunting game to tackle. Making assumptions on the game flow and mechanics can be a big mistake; to that end I’ve compiled a list of ten helpful tips for new players wanting to jump into Larian’s masterpiece and be better prepared in their journey around Rivellon.

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More information.

Finally finished this today (135hrs). The 2nd act drags, but I stuck with it and am glad I did. 8.5/10

I never left Cyseal. Because I am playing with a knight and a wizard, the two companion use similar skills and I don’t like their personalities. I am waiting for the patch with the new companions before getting back into the game.

Daunting...very much. I haven't left Cyseal either, really. I admit to needing a strategy guide. ^.^;;

Arahael said:

I never left Cyseal. Because I am playing with a knight and a wizard, the two companion use similar skills and I don’t like their personalities. I am waiting for the patch with the new companions before getting back into the game.

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Is there an expected date on this patch?

RedSocialKnight said:

Is there an expected date on this patch?

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Unfortunately, no. Swen tweeted on Sept 2 that the patch was ¨in testing¨, so it will not be too long.

These tips are fun killers.
There's no need to powergame D:OS (at least on the normal difficulty level)

My tips:
Experiment with your characters as much as you like.
Explore as you like - the enemies show you where to stop
Solve the White Witch quest early - after the Cyseal map

RedSocialKnight said:

Is there an expected date on this patch?

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Swenn tweeted at September 9th as well:

Morrandir said:

Swen tweeted, that the next patch (including the new companions) is in final testing and will most likely be released this month.

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Admittedly I ground to a halt around level 4-5 in Cyseal also. I ran out of quests that I could complete, and everything was at least 1-2 levels higher than me, so I was getting killed. I had to do 3 things:

1) As mentioned in the article: Hire the 2 default NPCs (the chick in the bar and the wizard in the mayor's office). I didn't like them at all and once I got the Hall of Heroes, I got rid of them for better companions. But…. you probably need their firepower in Cyseal unless you're a hell bent on frustration.

2) Make sure you explore the map as much as possible, even if you have to sneak by mobs for now, because there is XP to be had by exploring and other things which will allow you to get over "the hump".

3) Use potions. I hate potions and never use them in RPGs, but in Cyseal I did and it helped. After that you won't need them, cept for maybe healing and invisibility.

After you get to the Silverglen area, stuff opens up quite a bit. But Cyseal takes awhile…

Will the patch require a game restart to make the new companions available?

I'm starting to think that the new companions might be next year, at this rate. Seems like its been months.

HiddenX said:

These tips are fun killers.
There's no need to powergame D:OS (at least on the normal difficulty level)

My tips:
Experiment with your characters as much as you like.
Explore as you like - the enemies show you where to stop
Solve the White Witch quest early - after the Cyseal map

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Agreed. The part holding people back was wandering into much higher level enemies.

Exploring the maps also shows enemies having an similar level than you have.

I got out of Cyseal only this way : Attacking only the enemies which had a similar level ...

But I must admit that witout companions, I very likely would have never made it out ... I just wished there had been many more companions in and around Cyseal ...

Yeah, can't say how many folks I've heard say they got to Cyseal, kicked off a few quests, and then immediately went out the Northern Gate and got completely destroyed in their first encounter. Some folks even chose to quit at that point, which is a real shame.
What's funny is the guards even say: "Are you sure you want to do that? You don't look ready yet," etc...

I just finished the starter dungeon but I think I'll restart. Fine tune my characters a bit more. While I don't like power building I'd at least don't want to hit a brick wall further down. I only will pay it once and want to enjoy it maximally.

Fwiw, there are a couple of other good starting out hints websites

For a new party, I've found that you really just need to have 2 people who can heal, two people who can deal melee damage, and two people who can do AoE from range, which can be two elemental mages or a mage/bow hybrid. Summoning is pretty useful too to even the odds in large fights.
I have a Ranger (my primary), a Cleric (my secondary), Madera (Fighter), and Jahan (Wizard). I use the Ranger for AoE arrow attacks and crowd control (charming arrows, etc.), I use Jahan for AoE spell damage and summoning, I use the Cleric as meat-shield+healer and a nice, late-game damage dealer, and i use Madera to soak up damage and hit things really, really hard. I'm in the last area and have found the game quite doable and enjoyable with this setup on Normal. I did give Madera a few points in Earth magic, so she could bring in the Spider and drop down oil slicks and gave her some rings to up her Intelligence. Gives her something to do when she's not bashing skulls.
It's not a hard game, but it does introduce new concepts with the elemental stuff. Once you get that down, though, the fights aren't bad at all.

First it is a beautiful game, one that kept me interested for over a 130 hours. By chance I was on holidays when it came out and it was rainy here so I got some serious time on it right away.

As for tips, what can I say is take your time. I didn't mind dying a few times in battle to learn what could and couldn't be done in battle. There are many ways to single out one of your enemies or better said lure one away to pick them off one by one.

Also healing is very important all through the game.