D:OS 2 - need advise!
 

So, now that I'm almost done with my 3rd playthrough with Kingmaker, I'm thinking of picking up something new. I thought D:OS2 might be a good bet but thought I will ask some questions.

I'm thinking of making a complete new character - is that possible or is it more of being able to customise a few things from one of the 6 pre-made characters?

How important is "getting the right build" in D:OS2? I read that the combat can be quite tough but I really dislike min/maxing. Would I be in serious trouble if I build my character "incorrectly" even in default setting (should I lower difficulty)?

How long is this game? I heard some finished it around 65-70 hour mark, while others say it's well over 100 hours. I'm guessing the answer will be "depending on your play style" - I tend to try finish most of quests in my first playthrough, excluding really tough or frustrating ones.

If I can only modify existing character, I will be using custom Sebille or Lohse as a base. I think I will be travelling with Ifan and Fane for sure. I can't make decision on the last one… any suggestion?

I know DArt's been saying it's really fun as a co-op. Anyone else played this as co-op? I'm thinking of maybe doing both the single and co-op run with hubby but just want to hear general impression on co-op.

Thanks in advance! :)

First off congratulations for buying Original Sin 2 as I thought you weren't going to. I'll try to answer a few of you questions, but I'm not known for long replies. So bear with me.

1. The main NPC's that come with the game each have their own original story-line to play. Each one affects the game differently. Still you can create a custom character.

2. Getting the right build is absolutely necessary as you need to balance the skills of everyone of your NPC's. Otherwise you will fail quests or die in certain battles.

3. Length depends on whether you do every quest & side quests or just do what is recommend. As later in the game you have optional quests only need to complete half.

So I'd say 30-60 hrs at least depending on how you play. Still the game is good for a few replays with a different main NPC's. So you can say 100+ or more also.

4.You can only change the class of the main NPC's but not their appearance or back story. You're free to do whatever you want to your custom NPC though.

Hope that helped a little.^^

Thanks for that Couch!

Yes, I didn't really enjoy D:OS1 so I wasn't going to play the sequel but after doing a bit of reading I concluded D:OS2 is worth giving it a shot.

Hmm… in that case I'm more tempted to make a custom main and keep either Lohse or Sebille as a party member. Do I lose story/lore much by creating complete new character rather than using one of the 6 as my main?

I'm not sure if I will be able to create right build.. so I guess I should start in lower difficulty? Is classic (default) mode easy enough or should I go explorer mode?

If you want an easy game go with story mode.:embarrassed:
For a normal game play with explorer mode.:thumbsup:
For advanced players use classic.:mean:
Don't bother with the higher levels as you will die a lot.

Link - https://divinityoriginalsin2.wiki.fe…fficulty+Modes

Explorer mode it is :)

A few comments. First the game can be close to 90 hours. Second you can change the difficulty at any time as long as you stay below tactical so I would start where you find it interesting and when it gets too easy raise it but if you go to tactical you won't be able to lower it. I played all the games on tactical (3 times) but i think it is too hard for someone who has not played much. Also the last area of the game is far harder than earlier parts so if you struggle on tactical early then it only gets worse later.
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Second for the first play I would use only pregenerated characters as they all have pretty interesting stories. The group I recommend is:
Sebille (you) if you want to play as a woman else Beast
Beast (warrior)
Lohse (caster)
Ifan (archer)
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A lot of people like fane but i would avoid him the first play and red prince has an interesting story and interactions through-out the game but can also be annoying.
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You can respect all party members (for free) after you leave fort joy (1st area) so if you 'build' things wrong it isn't a problem.
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For early game fane does allow free picking (bony fingers) and red prince has flame breath.
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luck is a critical skill - one character should have it very high and Persuasion needs to be very high on the character that does the 'speaking'.
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also if you take ifan in your party and you chat with the right guard in the very first area you will get a nice surprise when you escape the very first area.

Any reason for recommending Sebille as my main over Lohse??

I used her both ways and found her story plays better when not main, I'm not a fan of Sebille but couch like her; also sebille has a couple of interesting interactions if she is your main.

It's like sex, really.

Is that more fun alone or with a lover?

If you have the opportunity to play this gem with your husband - you'd be a fool not to try.

Just don't create identical characters and argue over who gets the loot ;)

Well, gaming =/= sex :P

Hubby hasn't picked up D:OS2 yet - he wants to wait till I experience the game a bit more to make sure I continue playing :P I have very specific taste so yeah.

You mean you're spoiled rotten? I can believe it :)

Anyway, I hope you get the opportunity to play the game cooperatively. It's definitely among the best coop games of all time.

Spoiled rotten by hubby and Kingmaker, yes ;)

Well, I almost hit my 2 hour limit on Steam refund and I think I will continue playing - so hubby will eventually pick it up too and try co-op :)

I really wouldn't equate d:os-2 coop with sex; one is best experienced with a partner; the other alone.

I will probably end up playing it in both SP and co-op mode :P So you guys can both be happy

Happy is a strong word :)

Can't we settle on me being pleased that you wised up and get to enjoy yourself with a great experience? ;)

If you play as Sebille, you can control her. ;)

I restarted a few hours into the game because of something party NPC Sebille did that pissed me off.

I wanted to replay the game as Lohse eventually though. I like Lohse.

I wouldn't pick a play style to make myself or dart happy; i would pick whatever play style you enjoy the most.

Whatever it is that Sebille did that pissed you off, is that programmed to happen each time? So far, I'm liking Lohse more than Sebille..

Bwaaahahahaha!

Hey, Dart… You sound like someone who's never played sex in co-op before. ;)

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/smiles/whatamireading.png

I guess I need to rephrase:

It's like sex in that it's best when it's a shared experience.

As for my own personal experiences, I can certainly say I've tried the solo experience a hell of a lot more than the shared one.

I picked Lohse for my main character. I thought she had a great story. I also very much enjoyed the red prince.

The first 2/3 of the game is GREAT but then the latter third is kind of dull unfortunately.

I'm starting to enjoy the game more even though I still think UI is quite clunky. I'm thinking of getting a mod that enables me to travel with party of 6 rather than 4. Anyone used this mod?

https://www.nexusmods.com/divinityor…sin2/mods/24/?

Nope… I did use a mod for increasing default walking/running speeds, though. I also used the Bedroll mod where you get Source points back on rest - which is a LOT more convenient than having to teleport back to the place where you get it. Both are free, but the Bedroll solution is a hell of a lot more convenient.

Oh, so how do you normally recover source? I'm still at Fort Joy with the stupid collar on.

Btw, how important is "tank" character in this game? I just realise half of my party is battle mage or mage lol.

You will see later on. But you will find a couple of areas that have permanent source recharges - you just have to travel back and forth to get them.

It's sort of like Pillars of Eternity and the supply system - where, if you were in trouble, you had to go back and buy more supplies.

To me, that's moron-level design - because naturally players will do that if they want to optimise performance.

If you want to penalize players for wanting to use their fun powers, then just make it impossible at certain stages. Don't make it a minor inconvenience and force them to waste time getting source back.

Well, on the higher difficulty levels - it's pretty important to have someone to soak up damage or provoke enemies. That said, in D:OS2 - the mechanic isn't very reliable and a lot of fights are extremely chaotic and unpredictable.

So, I don't think it's as important as being able to heal and stay safe through certain source powers.

That said, I haven't played it since shortly after release - and I know they've made a ton of balance changes.

I did not but I presume it destroys balance.

It triggers if you talk to a specific NPC with her in the party (unless they changed it in a later version). It's understandable considering her background though (she's been through some awful things).

Saying that I liked playing as Sebille.

I personally think it destroys balance. I don't know what difficulty Dart played on but I played on tactical and up to the last area the game really isn't that difficult (combat wise). There are a few areas where you can't recharge source or 'easily leave and come back' and this would hurt balance. But do what you enjoy. I personally enjoyed the challenge of combat.

Are you sure you're ok with me doing what I want? :)

In any case, I'm very happy you're so lenient with me.

Sure, there might have been one or two cases out of a thousand where it wasn't possible to go back - but I didn't notice any in the first 50 hours or so, where we played without that mod.

Also, in most cases you could simply steal source from the bodies lying around. Clearly, you're meant to be able to get source back in almost every single battle.

Once I did find the mod, though, I can remember quite a sigh of relief from all three players.

I don't think a couple of instances in a 100 hour game where we might have had source powers when we weren't supposed to is quite enough to "destroy" balance.

But I played with two other people - and that makes it a bit more annoying when you all have to go back and forth, especially when you have an extra companion on top of multiple party members. That means you have to wait and coordinate where and how - because one member never seemed to realise how the game actually worked :)

That said, we all have our own views of what's "balance destroying" - and I can certainly imagine a certain kind of person having a problem with this level of convenience.

What difficulty did you play on ? Story mode ?

If you can explain how that's relevant to what I'm saying, I'll gladly answer your question.

It is relevant but i don't really care if you answer. It is obvious that your play style is different than mine. That's fine but you don't have to toss in sarcasm to make yourself feel more comfortable with your position.

One might also say that you don't have to be so arrogant about your preferences - and narrowminded in terms of how people might be different.

But we can't have everything, can we.

@you - it sounds like you are quite upset with the idea of others playing it with mods first time around even though you keep saying "whatever you enjoy" :P

Well, I have 2 reason for wanting to try out mod that increase party size.

1. I'm concerned that I might struggle through each encounter since I have nfi how to build decent character. Btw is there a proper character sheet in game? I only saw stat summary but no info on what class each characters is etc. I think I am battle mage and I chose default class for all other NPCs (so assuming Ifan is a wayfarer, Sebile is a rogue, Beast is also a battle mage). Not sure if this is good enough party composition…

2. I want to experience most of the companion story at one go, since my second playthrough will be a co-op with hubby as two lone wolves.

IIRC, my group tried both the hardest and the second-hardest difficulty - though I honestly forget which one we settled on.

In any case, the game was pretty forgiving on that one - so if you pick an easier one, it really shouldn't be a big deal - certainly not if you go with 6 party members.

If you got through Kingmaker - a low difficulty playthrough of this should definitely be doable almost no matter what.

As for character sheet - yeah, there's definitely one in-game, though I don't immediately recall having to look hard for it. The character class is really only the starting skills and active abilities.

But each of the story characters have one or two unique abilities, IIRC.

We all created our own custom characters, though - so I couldn't tell you too much about the story characters.

I'm not upset; it just seems odd. You really don't need a proper build on the two easiest levels - they are really easy and forgiving. I would think (but haven't played) kingmaker is a much harder game.
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I can understand the draw to have all 6 companions to get all 6 stories (I think that was the purpose of the mod and one of the flaws with the original design). I also think you will likely find the game pretty easy unless the mod scales encounters.
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I wouldn't fret over a proper build unless you are playing on the hardest difficulties - the combat just isn't that difficult. For my games I tend to use one warrior, one archer and two casters - but you can build them any way you want. At the end of act 1 - as I mentioned - you can respect your characters anyway you want as many times as you want.

Hmm… guess I got overly scared about the game difficulty. I just remember reading the combat is quite tough but maybe that's for tactician only? I'm playing on explorer mode atm.

Anyway, thanks for the reply @you @Darth Tagnan

Combat difficulty is as subjective as anything else.

If you understand the mechanics and you take the time to study the system - I think it's a little too easy to abuse.

Obviously, people who're not that good at tactics and RPG systems will tend to find it much harder.

I played Kingmaker (release version) on what constitutes "Core Rules" - and that was MUCH harder than the hardest difficulty in D:OS2.

But that was a few weeks after launch. I'm sure they've changed a bunch of stuff in terms of balance - for both games.

Oh yeah, there are power builds in D: OS2 that break the game in ways Kingmaker can't really be broken. At least there used to be. Haven't played it in a while.

Personally, I actually enjoy that aspect, as the difference between the best and worst builds is massive.

At any rate, I wouldn't worry about it, @purpleblob. Already on the first island, there are a few fights that will let you know roughly where the difficulty of the game is. It doesn't really get harder. It's not like Kingmaker, which has a jump in difficulty near the end.