Larian Studios Forums Beyond Divinity (English) Help/Tips/Tricks Starting BD again...

...and this time I really want to finish it. It would help me if I had a very concrete character guide to follow, as the sheer detail of the skills always paralysed me in planning my build.
I'm looking for a pretty easy to play, melee based, character. I don't have preferences for the Demon Knight's "class".
Can anyone please provide an outline?

Thanks in advance!

If I was going to start a new game I would begin with both characters as warriors, since the more effective spells (like Shaman magic) only become available starting in act 2, there isn't easy access to arrows very early in the game (though it doesn't take long start collecting them), and melee damage works well. Actually, in my first game I collected special arrows and weapons with the intent to switch to an opponent's weakness if I ran into trouble, but practically, I never swapped weapons and only switched arrow types once (splitting arrows work well against groups in confined spaces).

In my first game I made my hero a crossbow archer once I got through most of act 1. Before that he used a club / walking stick most of the time, and switched to a bow/crossbow for tough fights. I left the DK using a sword (two handed once they became available).
Playing again I would have my DK be a bow archer, so he could concentrate more on agility, since he doesn't need strength for armour requirements. I would have my hero be a warrior, probably using swords. Early in the game one would use crushing weapons, since that is most effective against skeletons, and the DK would switch to a bow at some point between getting access to the battlefields (to build up a supply of arrows) and reaching the citadel (past the undead opponents of the start of the act, when crushing damage isn't an advantage compared to piercing).

For an archer I would switch to power arrows as soon as possible, but otherwise stick to normal arrows (occasionally splitting arrows). A warrior can also be fine with just a conventional weapon.

For weapon expertise skills, I would highly recommend maxing the bow's Reload Time sub-skill (gives a direct boost to Speed), and putting a few into Point Blank. Other than that, in my first game I was fine just putting a couple points into the damage and accuracy sub-skills. I was trying to conserve skill points so I could switch weapon types, try out traps, etc, but never ended up doing so, and wasn't hurt by being stingy with the skill points.


There is an overview of skills in an appendix of the Beyond Divinity Strategy Guide, but not a dedicated build recommendation. Various suggestions about effective skills and techniques are made throughout the walkthrough portion, though (if you want to read up to the point you've already played, to get help or check if you missed anything). The math appendix does make some suggestions on stat point distribution, etc.

Thanks! Very thorough advice.
What's a good stat-allocation for a Warrior? Is the extra Agility needed to wield sharpened weapons worth it?
Are there spells which are worth it? I assume Heal is. Shaman Magic looks good, too. Best to focus your Archer on that?

The topic Killing Fergus contains some discussion on initial stat distribution. There are lots of different effective builds for a warrior, depending on your playstyle. You will need some agility, but Sharpen isn't essential if you don't want to go with an agility or strength/agility focused warrior. Some people love sharpened weapons; I would eventually tried it, but didn't have the agility to be able to use more than level 1 or 2 (I recall saving before learning Sharpen, and testing it out in steps, one of which added too much to the agility requirement for me to use the weapon afterwards).

If you want your archer to have a couple mage skills, then off the top of my head (and without playing a mage character) I would recommend Hammer and Insect Swarm. I had both my characters learn level 2 of the healing spell early in the game (you can find a book that teaches it after you get to the second level, past the arena), but didn't really feel the need to boost it after that.


Near the end of my game, my DK warrior and crossbow archer's stats were as below (with and without equipment bonuses). Shortly after this I switched my hero to a bow and made some permanent agility potions for an extra boost there, for the final couple fights in the game.

Actually, there are enough arrows around to make a ranger character pretty useful from the second floor of act 1. Enemies keep dropping more.

Get the heal spell, and level that about once an act as required, but leave the rest of magic alone. Shaman magic does useful damage, but it costs too much mana. You'll drain your bar on the first encounter, and there are too many encounters.

Combat is pretty easy, even without Sharpened weapons, most enemies go down really quickly. That's another reason why magic isn't useful.

Traps can be useful, although they're really heavy, require you to stock up from the battlefields, and trainers can be hard to find. The Insect Swarm trap is excellent.

So Intelligence is used only for the Heal spell. Intresting, in fact. It would allow the stats to be more "focused".
I think I'm going with a sword & shield hero and an archer DK.

Intelligence gives a boost to mana, spiritual resistance and a damage boost to some spiritual damage based weapons (barks and willows). If you are not playing a mage, the base amount of mana and equipment bonuses will be enough for healing or other occasional spells.

Thank you.