Behold one of our most exciting updates so far!

First and foremost: We have a release date! September 14th 2017 is the date on which all the content and features of Divinity: Original Sin 2 will be unleashed upon the world.

We’re hard at work finishing the game, so our patch release rate may become slower. But rest assured, it’s because we’re putting all of our resources in making Divinity: Original Sin 2 as awesome as we can. We know you’ve all been eager to progress your adventure, and with this patch we’ve added… A LOT.

Two new areas will provide a huge narrative bang. You’ll help our heroes crash land in Fort Joy and explore the next stage in their journey after they escape. Players with a profound fear of giant aquatic monstrosities, be warned!

We’ve also added relationship dialogues with companions, meaning you’ll be able to poke around in Red Prince, Sebille, Lohse, and Ifan’s heads like never before. But beware: You may not always like what you find.

Character Creation and crafting have also undergone a serious transformation. Together with the fact that you can now manage the formation of your party in a brand new interface, you’ll have plenty to try out.

You may have heard rumours of our mysterious fifth origin story - a sea-faring dwarf known only as ‘Beast’. With this update, you’ll get to meet (but not recruit) him for the first time.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of stuff you’ll get to explore in this patch, so keep reading for the full scoop. (Hint: Unique origin skills!) We can’t wait to hear your feedback on these new additions, so please keep posting and pressing the send feedback button!

Savegame compatibility

This new version is not compatible with old savegames. However, if would like to continue your old savegames, we have made the old builds available on different Steam branches:

• ea_version_1 for savegames made in version 2.0.165.341
• ea_version_2 for savegames made in version 3.0.5.530
• ea_version_3 for savegames made in version 3.0.15.252
• ea_version_4 for savegames made in version 3.0.33.118
• ea_version_5 for savegames made in version 3.0.52.425

To switch to a previous build, follow these simple steps:

• In your Steam library, right click the game Divinity: Original Sin 2 and select Properties
• In the Properties screen, click on the tab BETAS
• In BETAS, click the arrow to open the dropdown
• From the dropdown, select an old "ea_version_" branch and then click Close

If you are playing on GoG, you can simply use the Galaxy version management to roll back to a previous version.

Additions

• Added the game’s starting level
• Added new Character Creation screen
• Added relationships between origin characters
• Added new region and story progression at the end of Fort Joy
• Added origin skills to origin characters and Timewarp skill to custom characters
• Added ability to manage party formations via in-game menu
• Added new loading screen

Improvements

• Updated crafting: complete overhaul. Added new crafting combinations, and fixed old entries.
• Added completely new recipe books that unlock recipes in your crafting interface: discover new ways of crafting potions, arrows, grenades, scrolls, and gear!
• Improved AI
  • Added better fallback behavior for when AI cannot find an ideal move
  • Improved positioning before casting skills
  • AI will now destroy items that are blocking its path
  • AI can handle sneaking characters better
• Companions have relationship dialogs now in which you can discuss the current state of affairs. Furthermore, Red Prince has been rewritten to fit with his updated quest design.
• Updated all player race animations
• Updated VFX on several Early Access skills
• Updated surface VFX
• Updated sound for several skills
• Updated several custom animations
• Updated several quest related VFX
• Improved interface behavior when dragging and dropping skills
• Improved visibility of coordinates on minimap
• Improved pathfinding
• Improved player feedback when trying to equip items
• Added indication of number of projectiles for several skills

Balancing and design changes

• Weapon skills should not reset cooldown when switching weapons
• Slightly increased surface damage
• Cursed water and blood now apply Decaying Touch instead of Diseased
• Heavy armour now provides small amount of Magic Armour
• Mage armour now provides small amount of Physical Armour
• Added some magic armour to Braccus armour set
• Lightning bolt no longer forks once
• Increase cooldown of Ground Smash
• You can now use Source Vampirism from wands on corpses to recharge Source Points
• Chilled status combined with burning should now correctly set Warm status
• Enabled pickpocket during combat
• Added separate status for healing by eating a bodypart
• Increased Comeback Kid heal to 20% Vitality
• All combinations of fire and poison now create explosions
• Lifesteal is now based on effective damage instead of initial damage
• Cone skills should not be blocked by movable items
• Applied statuses like burning or poisoned no longer trigger reflection damage or necromantic lifesteal
• Cone skills should no longer be blocked by movable items
• Lightning bolt can now target items
• Sucker punch no longer takes the range of the equipped weapon
• Blinding Radiance now sets Blind directly and only on targets facing the caster
• Increased damage to compensate

Bug Fixes

• Fixed looping animations on certain skill effects
• Fixed several quest updates and journal updates related to PVP quest migration
• Fixed character outlines flickering sometimes
• Fixed several cases of being unable to reach items
• Fixed issue that would make Leya only remove 1 Source Collar instead of the entire party's collars
• Fixed several dialog issues with Exter and Gareth
• Fixed several alignment issues with NPC's
• Fixed all items in the Seeker shelter still being tagged as their property even when they are all leaving the island
• Fixed highlighting for Blinding Radiance skill
• Fixed possible missing talents after loading a savegame
• Fixed issue where joining player would be blocked if he joined while the host was loading
• Fixed being able to see enemy invisible rogues in Arena if they have blessed status
• Fixed charges on items not depleting correctly under certain conditions
• Fixed a multiplayer desync issue related to dialogs
• Fixed issue with reassigning player characters that were controlling an incarnate
• Fixed issue with skills not triggering correctly
• Fixed chatlog scrolling issues
• Fixed items being usable by different characters at the same time
• Fixed several issues with combat turn order not showing up in certain conditions in Multiplayer
• Fixed not being able to select AI as a player when arriving back into lobby after playing a match
• Fixed issues with crimes continuously being investigated under certain conditions
• Fixed skills not going on cooldown in certain cases
• Fixed Camera reset after exiting a dialog
• Fixed issues with multiple crime interrogations at the same time
• Fixed visual issues with Slane the Dragon
• Fixed being able to trade with Radeka right before combat
• Fixed several outdated crafting recipes
• Fixed issue with Voidwoken not appearing if you kill Alexandar outside of combat
• Fixed being able to talk to polymorphed companions
• Fixed issue that could cause you to get stuck underneath the level when using flight skill
• Fixed crash when picking up loot containers
• Fixed arrow and grenade interactions with items (like bonfires, torches...)
• Fixed weapon skills leaving empty spaces in the Skillbar
• Fixed Smelly status getting stuck even though it had worn off

Thanks for the latest patch! Really excited!

Haven't played the latest patch yet, but it seems there's no balance changes on the physical and magic armors. Do you guys have plans to balance the physical vs magical damage in the future?

This is really amazing, thank you for your hard work guys !

Still downloading, but starting level looks exactly like I imagined it. Lady Vengeance as homebase sounds cool, implies we'll be sailing around a bunch of islands or coastal area. Formation screen looks amazing. Can't wait to see the scope of the relationships. Nice to see crafting can take several ingredients (or was that the case before? can't remember).

Balancing changes look mostly good, but also curious like waterzxc if armor is going to undergo any major changes. Still feels like some big mechanical change is needed.

Interesting news that the shapeshifter stuff will be tied to the undead race. Suppose that solves the whole "OMG it's a SKELLY KILL IT!" issue.

And yay Sep 24. Doesn't feel too far away.

Ooof, looks like I've got a lot of wikia editing to do again, though i still did...more work. XP

Downloading it now, can't wait to check it it.

Thanks for the hard work Larian, keep it up, can't wait for full release.

Anyone who can answer this question would be fantastic.

Been keeping up with the patch updates and they all look fantastic.

However, unless i have missed it the stat system still adjusts according to level?

This was a major issue for me as any point placed into a skill felt redundant when you leveled up. One needed to place your level up points in the same stats as the last level to maintain the same bonus. Preventing you from placing any points in any other skill. Limiting options.

I assure you this wont be well received by masses if this system is not altered.

Secondly would be interested to see the game when the harder modes come out. Game is too easy atm for me on classic. Hooray for tactician coming out!!!

P.S killing zandalor in honour mode in DOSEE after act 4 when walking through the legion base is not advised.

I think that one was changed in the patch after it.




Yeah, the idea of a ship sailing around to be your home base seems better than the Hall of Echoes (big mysterious fortress was done in DOS 1).

Formation changes are good too.




Part of me thinks it should be annoyed that the shapeshifter mask is seemingly Undead-only. But most of me just remembers that I never liked the concept of the shapeshifter mask in the first place and I swore to never use it anyway.

Sep. 24 feels too close, actually. Larian hasn't done basically anything with Talents and Racial bonuses since the beta began, and with the release date coming up and nothing on either in this patch, it's not looking like they ever will.

Hi,

some sites reports that it will be released for Windows, Mac and Linux. Is this true? Would be great to have a native Linux version. I'm a Linux Gamer and I love Divinity: Original Sin.

Regards
PixelPi

Larian has not confirmed any other ports at this time.

Stabbey is right. The only reported planned release is PC for now.

I personally really like the intro, but comparing it objectively to the first stretch of DOS1 it has a much slower windup to action which will likely not be to the taste of a lot of players. Tons of people to talk to right off the bat. That doesn't really bother me at all but what did bother me was the the Red Prince went from being a pitiable noble that fell from grace to an outrageously out of touch jerk... :-/ I'm not sure if this was always the plan or not but he is certainly a lot less likeable now and he went from being one of my favorite characters, that I wanted to know the backstory of, to someone I really don't even want in my party. All the other characters seemed largely similar in nature outside of the elf lady who went from a [[[Possible Spoilers???]]]racist against lizards to a fairly overtly sexual character who seems to have no problem with lizards whatsoever. (which is a particularly odd direction to go since people were already all in a huff a while back over the poses of the female characters last time I checked in) It's a little sad to see that change as it was an interesting point of contention and addresses a real world issue in a unique circumstance. *shrug*

I only bothered to talk to the boat people the first time. There's no need to talk to anyone on subsequent playthroughs. Still, though, I don't appreciate having to pick up tons of 1 gold junk items.

Additionally, now that a proper intro has been added, it makes the subsequent beach scene even more boring. There's too much dead air for such a large fraction of the island. It could probably use another combat encounter somewhere in it with a couple level 1 enemies.

And is Larian ever going to add in more waypoints? There needs to be one at the armory (only usable after combat ends) and one at the east end.

It looks like Braccus' armoury is meant to have its own waypoint so I guess it's just not added yet, but I agree that the east side of the island needs one. I assume that the waypoints will still be traversable once we leave Fort Joy: I hate it when I'm arbitrarily locked out of an area once it's done with...

To be fair it would make a bit of sense not to come back to Fort Joy. XD

Possibly, though there are unfinished quests, and apart from that I prefer having the freedom to come and go as I please.

Fortunately the pathfinding in OS games is best ever pathfinding in any game ever .
So you can literally click from one side of the island to another and have the party get there without a problem.

As for Fort Joy, it would be nice if we could atleast say something to the other prisoners after we killed every single magister there. Maybe they could decide to stay there anyway because they dont want to cause trouble.
maybe the elves that will maybe go there to get Sahela the Seer could collect them... but it would be nice if there was some solution and closure to it, even if it happens off screen.

I think leveling could be faster. Right now, you have to do everything to stay appropriately leveled, which is immersion breaking for me. As soon as a do a quest to get out of the Fort, I instantly stop caring about the story as soon as I find myself going back to do another quest to get out of the Fort.

Maybe put more exp than you need laying around and have a steep penalty for exp gained once you hit a threshold level?

They probably wanted to avoid the problem of the first game where it was too easy to overlevel, so they went the opposite direction. I prefer staying underleveved compared to overleveled, but not everyone will.



That's a nice simple idea. Doesn't need to be too much more easy experience, but reducing XP for defeating underleveled enemies could make sure that doesn't make it too easy to overlevel.

Like in Divinity 2 iirc.

There are pros and cons with that approach though - you may find yourself overthinking whether it is better to fight some battle (or turn in quests) just before or after levelling up - I did anyway.

hm as a sidequest-aholic i have a hard time not being overlevelled in alot of the fights and having the xp reduced for underlevelled enemies will make me find a workaround XD. Easiest way to exploit it would be to do the highest xp fights for that level before you cross the threshold of overlevelled. I usually just rely on game difficulty to drag me through the mud rather than go through the mud by myself though admittedly i've never finished DOS: EE tactician because of all the randomness and chance in that game but since thats gone im looking forward to 2's tactician mode.

The effects of that mentality are extremely minimal, (a fairly minimal experience advantage that will last only until the next level) especially if each zone is created with the same approach. Not to say it doesn't have problems per say, but I don't think that is a serious consideration.

I don´t know if someone pointed it out but, when you recruit Ifan, if you you don´t follow the automatic class and change him into another class ( I tested with ranger) he automaticly gains a pet talk talent, Maybe it´s not correct, cause he comes with 4 talents, is this right? the normal should be 2 racial more 1 start level talent. ^^ Just here to help ^^

looking forward to release! great work!

So Sept 14 is the big day...! Looking forward to it! Nice to finally see a release date.

Just gotta say, before even starting to play this new version (last I played was a few months ago) - character screen looks magnificent! The added hairstyles, faces, etc. look amazing.

It's funny that there isn't a scripted sequence for if you decide to murder the first magister you encounter in the tutorial. They all just attack you xD

I just bought the game this week after finally finishing DOSEE... in my defense I never finished DOS because at the time I was playing it, I was having major surgery, and it kind of had bad memories associated with that period in my life.

But now I am doing better, so I gave DOSEE another try and just lost all track of time. It was so much fun, and I was in the process of restarting that when I finally gave in and bought the EA for DOS2 on Steam.

Lo and behold I was flabbergasted to find I could play... for some reason I thought EA was starting on the 15th of September, and not the full release... I know I know, if only I had kickstarted it.

Man I wish... all I can say is even at the full price, which I gladly paid after seeing Game Master Mode, that THIS game exceeds all my expectations, and I just finished Act 1 tonight and loved every hair raising minute of it.

Having less talents to get made this much more of a challenge, and I pushed my party to level 9! I played a dual wielding rogue, until I got that first amazing shield, and then I was basically a single weapon fighter the rest of the way.

I kept Ifan as a ranger/rogue, Sembille as a Summoner, and the Red Prince as my 2 Handed Wpn Tank... all warfare, all STR, all day!!! Did I steal all the large paintings I could carry? You bet your sweet bippy I did! He was so unbeatable! Anyway, I can't wait to play perhaps 1 more patch before launch, and come launch day, I am going to be on strict DO NOT DISTURB, except for dinner and sleep.

You guys built a fantastic game, yes it's better than DOSEE, and yes your few videos for Game Master Mode have me chomping at the bit. I bought Legends of the Sword Coast hoping to make dungeons in their engine, only to find that it was just not intuitive, or fun. A complete waste of time and money...

I hope you make an Enhanced Edition of this some day with full voice acting... that will be a thrill to own, play again, and give to my friends as gifts. Thank you for all the hardwork, can't wait till September!

Release date on 14th of september in which time zone? I am wondering if I should take a day off, or if it will become available in the evening (GMT/UTC +2 here).

Thanks!

Never thought of that; I guess Valve's habitually tardy time explains why its release date is rather unusually a Thursday, so that it's actually ready in time for the Friday...

I actually would like to know this too :p Not that I am planning to take a day off, but am wondering whether here in NZ I'll be able to play next Thursday evening or if I'll have to wait until Friday since we're almost a day ahead of Larian HQ.