Larian Studios Forums Divinity: Original Sin 2 Divinity - Original Sin 2 - General What's the use of sneaking/guerilla in combat?

Granted, we've haven't seen all skills but how is sneaking supposed to give you an edge in combat? A lot of encounters trigger from enemies that are initially pacific, and if your character is sneaking at the time, he will not be part of the combat.

To me sneaking feels like a way to steal stuff primarily but that would defeat the purpose of guerilla, a skill that just adds 50% of damage on an attack you're highly unlikely to land in the first place due to the nature of how combat is initiated and how sneaking characters aren't even included in it once it starts.

Thoughts?

Well you can go back into sneak during a fight.
Also once the combat starts you can select your character who is in sneak and not part of the fight. Position him in real time while the combat is frozen and get a free backstab.

All that being said, I will point out that if your character does enter the combat later, he will not be part of the initiative track until the next round which can mess you up and feel unsatisfying.

Some skills now do extra damage if used when sneaking. Being outside of the combat is actually very good because enemies freeze once combat starts and an allied turn comes up, letting you position your rogue at will. That's half of the benefit of using Guerrilla.

Because of AP costs, once in combat, Guerrilla is only particularly worthwhile when dual-wielding. When single-wielding, Sneaking is only useful as the final action in your turn (and that relies on enemies not turning around to look for you).

Sneaking in combat is very strong, especially if you're the only one alive. Aside from the few that seem to naturally see through sneak, enemies will just stand in place if you're in sneak. Investing in sneak is only worth it, though, if you plan on investing in it very heavily. One or two points isn't going to make much of a difference in the width of sight cones. However, once you start getting above 4 you'll really start to notice the difference.

I use sneaking on my 2-Handed Elf Warrior. Buff the crap out of her and teleport everything into a group within her range. She then jumps in kills everything with Warlord talent procs if there is anything remaining I put her into a sneaking position to stay safe until next turn to clean up anything that is still breathing.