Divinity Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition

[Tigranes]

The environmental interactions are fun, but I think they went overboard with them, to the point the entire battlefield is covered in various kinds of shit. I would've preferred they be rarer, but more powerful.

Even DOS1 had a better balance. The addition of, what were they called, 'corrupt' modifier really screws the battlefield - you get all sorts of combinations that quickly render the entire place a series of rapid chemical reactions. DOS1 did make it too easy for the player to manipulate the elements, but it was very clear what each one meant for your tactical options.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Ivan]

dialogue tag system < turn based combat tomfoolery

 

[Zarniwoop]

Who cares? Lava still insta-toasts almost everything.

 

[a Goat]

The environmental interactions are fun, but I think they went overboard with them, to the point the entire battlefield is covered in various kinds of shit. I would've preferred they be rarer, but more powerful.

In the first game they were more powerful and honestly I'm happy they've toned it down a bit. The problem is as people above said in cursed fire that is far too easy to get and far too hard to get rid of.

As for the game - finished it with a bloke I know just few hours ago,

Spoiler

became GOD because that's what I am. I don't know if it's worthy of spoiler

I'd play it again on tactician(played classic) if we'd get 4 people on coop(I'd play finesse warrior/spearman because I want some crazy build; here we've rolled warrior and mage combo, lone wolves). Combat got kinda easy after while, only to have occasional harder encounter once in a blue moon. You can cheese awful lot of shit and Lone Wolf is fucking cheese heaven - my friend who played as I've said - 2h warrior - was able to kill everything in one combo(1 point for mobility spell to get close to enemy, 1 for human racial buff, 2 for adrenaline, 2 for rage, the rest for that source skill that attacks 7 times or something), I meanwhile specialised in AOE damage. That being said I enjoy the combo because I like finding out various exploits, but the obvious problems caused by initiative and other bullshit remain. Armour is imo. fine aside from the fact that it pretty much makes all traps etc. pointless, as you'll tank them with armour more often than not. Itemisation doesn't suck so much, but I assume it's partially because I've played on classic so I didn't have to minmax.

Puzzles etc. range from stupidly obvious, through annoying

Spoiler

the 3 elemental paths in Cathedral

to bullshit

Spoiler

placing the right picture on the altar...

the good ones are mostly related to some riddles and wordplay, which surprisingly got translated to potato rather decently. I like the way you can some quests by accident.

My main problems are - initiative system being wonky, pet pal still being a talent(I don't think there's a single person that doesn't pick it on 1 character, just assume that as a godwoken I can talk to fucking squirrels), nonexistent exploration(there's a GLIMPSE of it in the Arx sewers and underground in general but it's also fucking sewer level) and AI at times crapping itself.

 

[Feargus Jewhart]

Seeing the environmental/elemental systems in more games would be nice. The way initiative is calculated, magic/phys armor? Not so much.

Initiative in this game is absolute bullshit, by Arx my archer had it at 40 and still wouldn't start first. Some of the fights were absolute bullshit.
Sometimes you're forced to start the battle in a huddle, before your party gets even a chance to do anything you got three mages litting your whole party on cursed fire. Blessing it is useless, since next turn you're back to standing in a field of cursed fire as they just repeated the same spam. But, If you just get a high fire resistance the game becomes a joke.

The game was great until the Star Wars prequel reference. That's when the story started to get shit.

Spoiler

The ending is shit, it doesn't fit in the lore at all. In D:OS 1 it was established that the void was resealed into the godbox by the guardians. This would mean that someone reopened it, so what Lucian is saying with Dallis about sealing the source makes no sense especially if a)the mortal soul is composed by source, as established earlier. Also in that ending if Arhu is alive nothing happens to him and he becomes Lucian's advisor, but he's a sourceror?!? If it was sealed away *all* mortal races would lose their souls. b) in DKS source still exists. c)Are we now pretending Astarte didn't say she found a new way to guard it so it'l never be reopened? d)How is Lucian still around and not sealed like in DKS? None of the endings end up in that situation. If you choose to become the new Divine, then sure we can say Lucian was sealed away but in that case the Black ring gets annihilated. Meanwhile the Black Ring is strong only if you seal the source away, but in that case Lucian is back.

 

[a Goat]

Solution - Lucian is black

 

[Zarniwoop]

So, the latest patch that "fixes a crash for certain users". has caused not only my game to crash for the first time ever, but also Steam

 

[Zarniwoop]

Also, I never noticed this before, but turn off the music while in a dungeon/basement/story area = you are instantly back in Divinity 2: I want to be a Dragon.

 

[Arnust]

So my Normal difficulty coop playthrough with a single buddy and just two characters is going pretty swimmingly as we dropped Lone Wolf in Act 1 with a mod, but remained being two (not like there’s much of a point after Act 1 as you can’t use the origin characters you didn’t pick anymore because <spoiler>) with several non obvious little buffs, so it’s pretty balanced now. Enemies beat our ass like bongos but it’s doable.

Also, I never noticed this before, but turn off the music while in a dungeon/basement/story area = you are instantly back in Divinity 2: I want to be a Dragon.

What do you mean, the music changes?

 

[Zarniwoop]

So my Normal difficulty coop playthrough with a single buddy and just two characters is going pretty swimmingly as we dropped Lone Wolf in Act 1 with a mod, but remained being two (not like there’s much of a point after Act 1 as you can’t use the origin characters you didn’t pick anymore because <spoiler>) with several non obvious little buffs, so it’s pretty balanced now. Enemies beat our ass like bongos but it’s doable.

Also, I never noticed this before, but turn off the music while in a dungeon/basement/story area = you are instantly back in Divinity 2: I want to be a Dragon.

What do you mean, the music changes?

The music is off, just like it was in that game (or at least it wasn't very noticeable), which leaves you with just the ambient sounds, resulting in a nostalgia flashback as its clearly the same Larian sound design jeeeezus do I have to spell out everything for you millennials these days?

 

[drgames]

I am interested in this game. Since I did not play the first one, is it worthy to play?

 

[Harry Easter]

I am interested in this game. Since I did not play the first one, is it worthy to play?

Yes. Good characters, good story and if you don't care about that, you can just fool around with the system as much as you want. The second act is big enough to be a whole game, so you get a lot for your money.

 

[Gunnar]

I am interested in this game. Since I did not play the first one, is it worthy to play?

The first one is better than the second one.

 

[drgames]

the combat is shit?

 

[Stavrophore]

I am interested in this game. Since I did not play the first one, is it worthy to play?

Yes. The story is fun and it doesnt take itself very seriously, albeit the humour is much better than in DOS1.

 

[Gunnar]

the combat is shit?

It's just that everything is level locked and you get sucker punched from dialogue all the time, the new armour system makes the combat tedious, the cursed elements make the surface enchantments annoying, the initiative system has your team and the enemy team taking turns like you're in kindergarten, and you have to keep replacing your gear so often it's ridiculous, there are too many trash items, all the interesting skills are front loaded to the first 3 hours, and attributes do boring shit like +5% damage. There's other problems I could go on about too like stupid retarded story and companions but maybe that's more subjective. It's also way too long, by the time you get to Arx you will be in an agony of boredom if you are human. I enjoyed the first one though, it was worth a play through.

 

[TemplarGR]

The first one is better than the second one.

Both were mediocre but nice graphics can get you far in this industry. People may claim they only care about gameplay but deep down ALL GAMERS ARE GRAPHIC WHORES.

I suppose people liked the presentation and production values for a modern isometric CRPG and overlooked most faults. I enjoyed POE FAR MORE and i strongly believe it was a much better game than DOS after all dlcs and patches landed, but it did have less fancy graphics and less vocalization, so people didn't like it as much.

Still, both DOS games are worth a playthrough. It is not like good crpgs fall out of the trees these days. DOS games are still better than most shit releasing today. I just hate to see all this hype for games that a few years ago we wouldn't give a damn about. The industry has fallen so low these days with major publishers going after multiplayer only microtransaction heavy fad games.

 

[Feargus Jewhart]

I am interested in this game. Since I did not play the first one, is it worthy to play?

Both were mediocre but nice graphics can get you far in this industry. People may claim they only care about gameplay but deep down ALL GAMERS ARE GRAPHIC WHORES.

I suppose people liked the presentation and production values for a modern isometric CRPG and overlooked most faults. I enjoyed POE FAR MORE and i strongly believe it was a much better game than DOS after all dlcs and patches landed, but it did have less fancy graphics and less vocalization, so people didn't like it as much.

Still, both DOS games are worth a playthrough. It is not like good crpgs fall out of the trees these days. DOS games are still better than most shit releasing today. I just hate to see all this hype for games that a few years ago we wouldn't give a damn about. The industry has fallen so low these days with major publishers going after multiplayer only microtransaction heavy fad games.

>games that a few years ago we wouldn't give a damn about.
Oh yes a few years ago, all the RPG-element heavy games such as Mass Effect 3, Dragon Age : Inquisition, Fallout 4 and other classics for the TRUE and HONEST roleplay connoisseurs. The only noteworthy RPGs from the last few years was Age of Decadence and MAYBE D:OS. I am not disagreeing with you entirely, but we have in the last 2 years gotten more good RPG games than we did in the entire decade before that. Like, did you know the ending in Mass Effect 3 s so diverse, that the story ends up with Shepherd being a racist and seeing color and picking his favourite one. That's why everything goes to shitter, if Shephard had just said he doesn't see colour all would have been fine! A few years ago everyone here would have jizzed in their pants if we had had two games as good D:OS2 and KCD come out within a span of half a year. We have had years where even one game as good as either one would have caused many to weep.

D:OS 1 has the better story in my opinion and is more interesting, but D:OS 2 has more actual choices and roleplay elements. The world is also more fleshed out in D:OS 2 than in D:OS 1. The biggest flaw that makes me like D:OS 1 more is that D:OS 2 starts on a high note but crashes and burns by Arx very quickly. A few story elements translate over from D:OS along with a few characters, but that's about it. The games don't really acknowledge each other either, since the characters that do carry over don't even really reference the first games events. It's totally fine to play D:OS 2 without playing D:OS1 first, but it will give more context In the long run.

 

[LESS T_T]

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonia-gallego-mora-1b33aa175/

Team lead comic artist
Company Name Larian Studios
Dates Employed Sep 2018 – Present
Employment Duration 3 mos
Location Remota

I work as a Character artist, Colorist and Team Lead Artist in a comic adaptation of thevideogame "Divinity: Original Sin 2". I am in charge of planning the layout composition for thecomic, pencil art of the characters and elements, inking those characters and elements, leadingthe rotulation artist and the background artist and colouring the characters, elements andbackgrounds.

So last year's advent calendar comics was not enough...

 

[Infinitron]

Oooh cool - official The Dark Eye module for Divinity: Original Sin 2. Too bad it's multiplayer-centric.

The Official Dark Eye GM campaign is heading to Divinity: Original Sin 2 Game Master mode
Prison of Shadows GM campaign will be available for free on Steam

19th November, 2018 - Ghent, Belgium - Having won over 200 awards (including a 2018 BAFTA) across three platforms, and selling more than two million copies, independently-developed Divinity: Original Sin 2 – Definitive Edition is receiving a special update that includes an exclusive GM campaign for Game Master mode.

Larian Studios has joined forces with Ulisses Spiele, creators of the hugely successful Dark Eye tabletop RPG, to bring Divinity players into a new world of magic and mystery. Written and designed by Ulisses, with cooperation from Larian developers, the Prison of Shadow GM campaign brings a comprehensive set of the tools that will allow every Game Master and their team to dive into the thrilling and dangerous world of The Dark Eye.

Prison of Shadows is a brand new adventure suitable for Dark Eye newcomers and veterans alike, designed for a Game Master and 3-5 players. In the adventure, heroes enter an abandoned dwarven city in search of a dangerous artifact. There, they will fight a desperate battle against cultists of the Nameless God.

Revisiting The Dark Eye setting takes Larian back to its roots in tabletop roleplaying, which has always been at the heart of the studio’s design philosophies. Developing the Prison of Shadows adventure involved bringing the past to life, and a camera crew was on hand to document the process. Their final footage, delivered to Larian in an envelope sealed with an unknown arcane symbol, can be seen below.

This Game Master adventure will be automatically included in the Divinity: Original Sin 2 Steam update on 21st November 2018, and is designed for both new and experienced Game Masters and their parties.

Divinity: Original Sin 2’s innovative Game Master Mode bridges the gap between the creativity and improvisation of a tabletop role-playing campaign, and the immersion of a computer RPG. This system was created with a single goal; to empower the Game Master so they can tell great stories and lead up to four players through a world of their own creation.

Prison of Shadows will be streamed live on the 21st of November, at 7pm CET, on the official Larian Studios Twitch channel https://www.twitch.tv/larianstudios and Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/broadcast/watch/76561198810986181

During the stream, hosted by developers from Larian Studios, fans will be able to chat and ask questions about the Divinity: Original Sin 2, Game Master Mode, and The Dark Eye.

 

[Farewell into the night]

nice armor Sven

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Mebrilia the Viera Queen]

Uh Sven a man i would marry.

 

[Tigranes]

The first one is better than the second one.

Both were mediocre but nice graphics can get you far in this industry. People may claim they only care about gameplay but deep down ALL GAMERS ARE GRAPHIC WHORES.

I suppose people liked the presentation and production values for a modern isometric CRPG and overlooked most faults. I enjoyed POE FAR MORE and i strongly believe it was a much better game than DOS after all dlcs and patches landed, but it did have less fancy graphics and less vocalization, so people didn't like it as much.

Still, both DOS games are worth a playthrough. It is not like good crpgs fall out of the trees these days. DOS games are still better than most shit releasing today. I just hate to see all this hype for games that a few years ago we wouldn't give a damn about. The industry has fallen so low these days with major publishers going after multiplayer only microtransaction heavy fad games.

Nice graphics, you say