Larian Studios Forums Divinity: Original Sin 2 Divinity - Original Sin 2 - Help/Tips/Tricks 2nd playthrough (Arx spoilers)

I am currently in Arx and (already) planning my second playthrough. Right now I am an OC with Fane, Prince an Ifan as companions.

So for the second playthrough I can experience Lohse, Sebille and Beast for the first time.

It sounds easy but I have a few questions/problems.


1. Question: Play as an OC again or play as an origin character?

I really wanna choose the later option, but I would be missing the "Dome of protection". Without this skill I would probably still be stuck in Driftwood. And I have not played the big battle in arc 4 yet. I am (only) playing on normal difficulty but Divinity is my first game in this genre.
I think I would not enjoy hiring a mecrcenary just to get this skill. How do you survive without the dome?

2. Question: Lohse or Fane?

If I play as an origin character, I want to play as Lohse or Fane. I already did a good chunk of Fanes personal quest but I am really interested in his dialog options. But I don t know how much they add gameplay wise (can you join the voidwoken as Fane?). Maybe someone can share some insights on both of them (without spoilers related to Lohse).

3. Question: Is Beast worth it?

Sounds harsh but I feel like I am already doing his personal quest without him. And Justinia appeals to be an obvious villian (but I have not been to the wedding yet). So is there anything I am missing out on? Just a yes/no would be great.

Thanks for your opinions and answers!

1. The witty answer is "git gud", but really there is few reasons why you shouldn't play with one custom character if you want to. You're not missing out on much, so if you feel DOP is too valuable then just go for custom again. Two playthroughs with 3 origin characters is all the origin characters anyway.

2. Lohse is an interesting character as a companion, and probably is as a main character too. The word on the street is that Fane lets you join the Voidwoken but I don't think he's a prerequisite as you're supposed to do this via the Sallow Man. But ultimately I don't know.

3. Having played with Beast in playthrough 2 I can say the Act 1 and Act 2 quests related to Beast do barely change. I haven't seen Arx yet but I suspect unless you like Beast as a character there's no great incentive to. That said, Beast is fun and has a strong special ability so I can't say I didn't enjoy it.