Larian Studios Forums Divinity - Original Sin Divinity Original Sin - Help/Tips/Tricks Pre-combat buffing

Hello,

I kind of wanted to get some clarity about how buffs work if you cast them just before going into combat. For example when i cast fortify on my knight and then rush into combat , the fortify buff has only 1 turn left. Same for encourage etc..

Obviously this has to do with the time passing when out of combat, but i am curious to what are the uses (exploits) of this?

How does anyone else casts buffs before going into combat , if at all?

Thanks !

Each turn outside of combat lasts 10 seconds. It's almost impossible to properly buff a party before combat unless you're really quick.

Thanks.

But each buff you DO get off before combat can be seen as a kind of exploit then? Or what was the intention of it?

The cooldowns apply out of combat too. You get to start combat with full AP, but have just put your skills on cooldown for a much smaller benefit than you would have gotten had you used them in combat.

Given that the haste skills by have a specific effect that is designed to only apply when combat starts, it is pretty obvious that it is intended functionality that players can and do use buffing spells before engaging in combat - so long as they are quick about it.

The various haste skills all give an increased AP maximum, increased AP/combat round, and increased AP at start of combat. When you use them in-combat, you only benefit from the first two.

As a general rule, it is too much trouble to buff before combat due to the time limits involved, but for particularly tough fights, you should consider doing it - at least consider firing off a single haste skill, if nothing else.

Note that cooldowns still apply, so it isn't as straightforward a strategic choice as it might otherwise seem.

Imo the only worthwile combat preparation is summoning pets (or elementals).

Of course those expire too... so their use is also questionable.
I do agree haste would be the only good pre-combat buff.