Larian Studios Forums Divinity: Original Sin 2 Divinity - Original Sin 2 - General I Had Trouble With Divinity 1 - Should I Get #2?

Something I'm not pleased about, but I quit Divinity 1 very early in the game out of shear frustration. I could not progress the game without a step-by-step walkthru. The game seemed to demand that very specific actions be taken, that to me seemed esoteric (I come from a console RPG background, so I'm pretty new at CRPGs).
Like finding a shovel and knowing to dig up a specific grave, finding bones, interviewing the grave digger, finding a specific page in a book, etc. It's just perplexing, and I've gotten stuck where I literally cannot do anything in the game but walk in circles in the starting village.
So I'm wondering if Divinity 2 is any different? Can I go places? Can I do things? Do I need a walkthru for a chance to see more than 1 hour of the game?
(To be fair, I'm also similarly stuck in Pillars of Eternity and Numenera.)
Thanks for helping a newbie out.

That's the kind of game these games are. DOS2 is very similar to DOS in this regard. Though, I do feel that in DOS2 the game gives you a little bit more "direction assistance" than in DOS.

Generally speaking, the idea is that you should take things slow, be patient, keep exploring, pay attention to things, think about what you find and do what you think is right or makes the most sense to you.

The journal is often a real mess though, so I would not call it better. Also the level scaling punishs you harder in my opinion. The huge difference is, that ever Act is closed of, so you get sent less all over the place with back and forth.

It is similar, though a bit more directional in it's guidance. Something I've learned about this game (could be related to the genre)...save allot and frequently. Name saves in ways that make sense to you. "pre dragon fight", or "just about to talk to golem".

This is a true RPG tactical game, very different from action or even semi-action games. This game rewards thinking and re-trying things multiple times, and not just the combat. The more you save and re-do things, the easier it gets.

So it may be worth it to do that and try it out yourself if your willing to put the time into the saves and re-tries. To be honest, half the time I save and try things multiple ways, and half the time I just google so I can move along, depends allot on my mood at the time.

Here's a few things to keep in mind to assist:
1) you can usually exit out of many conversations immediately w/o progressing them and come back later.
2) Other characters NOT in the immediate conversation can move freely. This can help you position your team while the Main convo is going on.
3) use quicksave for the conversations and discoveries (chests, dig spots, etc), and make named saves for the big ones you may want to go back to later on. Also realize that quest areas often have multiple parts (like the labrynth in Act 1), and you may want multiple saves for that area, in addition to using quicksave for the simple stuff. That way you can go back to a specific point in the labyrinth if you don't like the outcome of what you did a few steps earlier.

Hope that helps. I actually put this game aside when i first tried it out (I tinkered in beta), i ran into a similar frustration. But when I realized the nature of the save thing, the game suddenly opened up for me. I actually keep separate folders for my different games to make keeping track easier.

The journal is alot more cleaner and helpful for the Def edition, so that might be a bit more helpful, but really the game is all about taking it slow and exploring stuff, but also not fighting enemies that are like 2+ higher levels then you, especially early game. Have to pick your fights and where you go.