Larian Studios Forums Beyond Divinity (English) Help/Tips/Tricks Hex editing - gold, experience, stat/skill points

I sincerely apologize though I implore your assistance, should such be feasible at the moment. You see, I’m playing the game with patch 1.47, though your guide seems to have been made with an earlier version; I wanted to know if your guide would still permit me to follow your instructions without complications. I wish to know this because I’m having trouble; I wished to edit my character at the very beginning of the game, though when I try to make the changes you recommend, I get absolutely no results and I can’t understand why.

I hope that you’ll be able to provide some help, as my predicament is causing me quite a lot of confusion.

Are you having a problem making the edits, or can you edit and save the file(s) fine, but after reloading the save, the changes do not show up? What exactly are you trying to edit?

These instructions still work fine with the 1.47 patch. In a game started under v1.47, you only need to make the first edit for unused stat points (with v1.42 there was a second place that needed to be changed). I just double-checked in a save near the start of the game (in the main game, without a summoning doll active) and everything worked fine.

Someone else had a problem using the file swap procedure (see here) in the battlefields, so that may be an issue with hex editing, as well. If you are in the BF, try a save in the main game.


What hex editor are you using?
The default column width in XVI32 is 17 (for some strange reason), so if you don't change that to 16 in the options, it will throw off any directions that count up or down a certain number of rows.
The freeware version of Hackman 8 has a low file size restriction, so you would not even be able to find the right places to edit (there are working links to v7 earlier in this topic).


A possible alternative to hex editing;
Actiontrip.com's Beyond Divinity Cheats - starting a new game with stronger characters



Welcome to the forum. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wave.gif" alt="" />

That very well might be the problem. I'll change the options and I'll see if I can manage to get it to work.

You have my sincere thanks for your quick reply; I really do appreciate it.

Well this is a right good find. Everyone I asked about getting a few extra skill points to explore all the skills I wasn't getting to see pointed me to the thing that showed you how to edit the stats (but not the skill points) at character selection. Unfortunately I know nothing about Hex editing. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/disagree.gif" alt="" />

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I'm using Hackman to edit and I can't seem to understand what all of that information means. Here’s what I do understand:

For example looking at what you wrote about Gold – I’m searching for a line that looks like this, “04 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00” out of countless lines that all run into one another. o.O; Is there a more efficient way to search this than clicking the down arrow repeatedly until I find the right one (And my eyes bleed)?

Once I find that line though . . . I’m lost again. What do I do with this line? I don’t understand what these numbers and letters mean or how they convert to in game numbers. Your guide looks very impressive, and it is, but it’s not user friendly – at least not for me. :\ It says tons, but none of it makes sense. It’s like watching the last two Episodes of Evangelion neon Genesis if you’ve never taken a Psych course and don’t understand a lick of the psycho-babble terminology. O.o

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What I really want to get is how to edit my skill points, and I get that I have to edit the data.000 file and look for a line like this: “44 65 61 74 68 6B 6E 69 67 68 74 00 23” and somehow that leads to the Death Knight’s information (according to the guide I’m looking for not the first but the last instance of this that doesn’t have red or black next to it? Then 6 rows up from the #-like symbol to view the skill points), which I do something with. Once again I’m lost on how to change them even if I find them. After that I’m still left to find the Heroe’s skill points which are somehow backwards (scroll up?) from where I found the Death Knight’s information “42 61 73 65 00 23” . . . and yeah I completely don’t get any of this. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

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Please tell me there’s a simpler way? There’s a reason I fail math and ace English . . . random numbers make my brain do this weird purple thing . . . Don’t ask. O.o I'm assuming that this "is" the simplest it's going to get. -_- Where's the section for illiterates with the attention span of three year olds? o.O That's my section. :P
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/disagree.gif" alt="" />

[color:"orange"]Is there a more efficient way to search this than clicking the down arrow repeatedly[/color]

Hit Ctrl-F or click on the Find toolbar icon (third from right end, binoculars symbol) to bring up the Find dialog. From there you can search for text (ASCII) or hex strings (I used spaces in hex strings for clarity in the text description, but they should be omitted in the find dialog).


[color:"orange"]What do I do with this line?[/color]

That hex string indicates the location of a pile of gold in the inventory. The numbers immediately preceding that string give the number of gold in the pile, which is what you need to edit to give yourself gold. An easier way for gold might be the file swap procedure;

For you cheaters out there (The Duplication Trick) / Inventory files


[color:"orange"]I don’t understand what these numbers and letters mean or how they convert to in game numbers.[/color]

You can use the Windows Calculator program (in advanced mode) to convert between standard decimal numbers and hex values. The hex number system is base 16, rather than base 10, and uses the numbers 0-9 and letters A-F. In hex, 9 + 1 = A, A + 1 = B, and F + 1 = 10.
A basic understanding of hex would be useful, but you can also enter a hex value into Windows Calculator in hex mode, switch to decimal, add however many extra points you want, and then switch back to hex. Of course if you are starting off with 9 or less free stat/skill points, then conversion between hex and decimal is trivial (they are the same).


[color:"orange"]but it’s not user friendly – at least not for me.[/color]

Even if you are familiar with hex editing, it still takes going through the procedure a few times to start to get the hang of it.


[color:"orange"]It’s like watching the last two Episodes of Evangelion neon Genesis if you’ve never taken a Psych course and don’t understand a lick of the psycho-babble terminology.[/color]

I bought the last 2 DVDs as a set on sale. I probably missed a lot not having seen the series, but I never saw it cheap enough to gamble on.


[color:"orange"]What I really want to get is how to edit my skill points, and I get that I have to edit the data.000 file and look for a line like this: “44 65 61 74 68 6B 6E 69 67 68 74 00 23” and somehow that leads to the Death Knight’s information[/color]

In Hackman you can hit Ctrl-F, in ASCII mode type in 'Deathknight' then switch to hex mode and add '0023' to the end of the string.


[color:"orange"]I’m looking for not the first but the last instance of this that doesn’t have red or black next to it?[/color]

Hopefully that will become clearer once you actually start searching through the data.000 file (hit the F3 button to find the next instance of the search term, or hit it repeatedly to get to the last instance).


[color:"orange"]Then 6 rows up from the #-like symbol to view the skill points), which I do something with.[/color]

If you click on the appropriate spot in the left pane in Hackman, so the skill point position is highlighted, you simply type in the value you want to use to give yourself more points (ie overwrite the current value with FF to give your DK 255 skill points.


[color:"orange"]After that I’m still left to find the Heroe’s skill points which are somehow backwards (scroll up?)[/color]

You can either hit the Page Up button a few times or search backwards for the first instance of 'Base'. The search dialog lets you search forwards or backwards from the current location.


[color:"orange"]Please tell me there’s a simpler way?[/color]

Actually, it sounds like you almost have the basics, and if you try going through it the 'random numbers' should start to make a little more sense.



Check your PM (click 'My Home' in the top menu bar, then 'Received Private Messages').

Got it and done. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Thank you very much. ^_^

[color:"#23D478"]Learning skills, or increasing the level cap of skills you already know[/color]

I tried this with several skills, and checked that one could be upgraded by a teacher after hex learning, but did not play a great deal afterwards or do extensive testing.


[*] As always, start by backing up the data.000 file (and/or the full save folder) for the save you wish to edit.

[*] Open the data.000 file in a hex editor, and search for the string [color:"orange"]SkillsV[/color].

At this point you may be able to just search for a skill to increase the maximum level, but there are possible prerequisites if you wish to learn a new one. Basically, you need to enable any skill categories for the skill in question that are not already open. For example, take the spell '[color:"#8CADFF"]Wizard, Ethereal Magic, Elder Fire[/color]'. If you start a new game and choose either warrior or survivor skills for both characters, then the Wizard category will not be available (until you learn your first mage skill). Similarly, the Ethereal Magic sub category will not be available until you learn the first such spell.

In the BD skill window, when you select any category a description will be displayed in the text box (there is a button in the bottom left to toggle between showing all skills or just available ones). If you find this description in the data.000 file you will be able to enable the corresponding category. Select the last character of the description on the text side of the hex editor, then switch your focus to the hex side. Two bytes to the right and one row down is the byte that will activate that category. Any reasonable non-zero value will work (ie just plug in whatever value you were going to use for the maximum level of the skill you wanted to learn). In practice, I think from looking at a couple skills (which may or may not be representative of all skills) that the game stores the maximum level of all the skills in the category, but it doesn't seem to mind arbitrary values (I didn't try anything larger than the highest expected skill level).

To find the warrior or survivor path, if you are at the SkillsV term you can just search for the next instance of [color:"orange"]warrior[/color] or [color:"orange"]survival[/color], respectively. From the start of the file you can search for more unique terms in the descriptions, such as '[color:"orange"]path of me[/color]' (ie melee) for warrior and '[color:"orange"]path of t[/color]' (ie thievery) for the survivor skills. However, this example doesn't require much searching at this step, since the mage path starts just below the SkillsV term.

[*] In the description "Wizard is the path of magical power", highlight the r in 'power', then focus on the hex side of the editor. Two bytes to the right and one row down, change the "00" to whatever maximum skill level you were going to give yourself for the skill you want (Elder Fire in this example). If it already has a non-zero value, you can just leave it as is.

[color:"yellow"]Note[/color]: I used "01" in the screenshot below, but it would probably be better to use the desired maximum skill level; I was checking to see if the value used had any effect (at least short term it did not appear to).






[*] Next, if the skill you want is in a sub category where you have not learned any skills, you need to enable it. In this example, you can search for '[color:"orange"]ethereal magic[/color]' to get to the start of that section, which will have a description at the beginning.

If you find an instance of your search term that does not have a category description, then you may need to keep searching to find the correct instance, or search for something more unique (ie part of the description). As long as you search for SkillsV first, though, you should skip past most references to spell or category names that are not the ones you need.

[*] At the end of the ethereal magic description, click on the c in 'magic', and on the hex side move 2 bytes right and one row down, then edit as before.

If the category only has a few skills, you can simply scroll down to find the one you want, otherwise you can search for it. A simple skill has the skill name in plain text, then a couple rows of data and then the name again in the form [color:"#8CADFF"]CNSkill_<class>_<category>_<skillname>[/color]. The maximum level for the skill is the byte just above the i in CNSkill.





If the characters have already learned any skills in the target category (ethereal magic in this example), then this procedure is simpler. You would just have to search for SkillsV (to jump past other references to skill names not relevant to this), then search for the correct skill name and change the maximum level.


For skills that have multiple components, such as weapon expertise, each component of the skill needs to be enabled, as well. These skills follow the same convention of listing the skill name, then a couple lines of data and then CNSkill_<class>_<category>_<skillname>, but following that are data sections for each component of the skill.

As an example, I will use Whirlwind. This upgrade skill for the swirl attack only becomes available late in the game (so after it would be most useful).
Search the data.000 file for [color:"orange"]SkillsV[/color], then [color:"orange"]whirlwind[/color] (enable the warrior path first, if required). After editing the maximum skill level above the i in CNSkill, look for the skill components listed following that. After selecting the last letter of each component name, turn your attention to the hex side of the editor. Look for the second non-zero byte after that; the byte just below it needs to be edited to change the maximum level for that part of the skill. If your hex editor displays zero bytes (ie '00') as blanks, the second non-zero byte should be quit easy to spot on the text side of the editor.

Below for Whirlwind, the main skill level and that for each of the 3 components has been changed to '0A' (ie level 10). Component names are in blue, while the next two non-zero bytes for each are in red.

Awesome info Raze!

It took me a few tries but I was able to succesfully edit the unused stats on my DK with the help of your guide. Thank you for doing the research!

I was wondering - is it possible to modify or create new items for your characters? That or is it viable to edit derived stats (such as Initiativ, Accuracy, etc)?

Personally I would love to load both my DK and Hero with 99 Luck each to make monster drops a bit more... exciting! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />

AFAIK, nobody has figured out the structure of the inventory files enough in BD to allow the addition or modification of items. I have not tried, since the main need for adding items is lost quest items, which can more easily be replaced by file swapping.

I never thought to try to change secondary stats directly. There is a mushroom that can give your characters a luck bonus, so there must be a base value of that stat, at least. It should be possible to edit Luck (if I have time in the next few days, I'll take a look at it). Initiative and accuracy, etc may have a base value somewhere, or could be calculated just from stats, skills and equipment (and be updated whenever any of these are changed).

Does that works for divine divinity too?

In DD, the general procedures are similar, but iZakaroN created an editor (or from Kiya's site, with description) to make changing stats, skills or experience points much easier. I never bothered trying to hex edit gold in DD, since there is an exploit (fixed in BD) that can give you unlimited amounts of any stackable item (gold, potions, etc); see your other topic about that.

After the editor was done, Destruct figured out a few more things (Some more hex offsets...), which would have to be edited manually.

[color:"#23D478"]Skill and Experience Points section - other stuff[/color]

Once you find the right place to edit your experience and skill points, there is more stuff you can change. I have not done a screenshot for this, but you can see some of these values for the hero in the screenshot in the original post (though not highlighted / noted, and some covered by text).


Hex edit the data.000 file, and search for the hex series;
[color:"orange"]44 65 61 74 68 6B 6E 69 67 68 74 00 23[/color]

You can enter most of this in text, then add the [color:"orange"]00 23[/color] in hex; the first part is "Deathknight" and the next two symbols look like (but are not) a space and '#' sign, ie
[color:"#8CADFF"]Deathknight #[/color]

There will be several instances of this. Keep searching until you find the last one (there will be no 'Red' or 'Black' in front of it, and it should have a block of square and other symbols in the 2 rows above it.


Starting 11 rows below the 'D' in 'Deathknight' there is a series of data values for primary stats, some secondary stats and resistances. Each value is 3 bytes, and is separated from the next value by a single '00' byte. As with skill and experience points, the hex number pairs are listed in reverse order; most or all of these values will be low enough to only use a single byte (ie 255 or less).

The values for the primary and secondary stats represent the base values, so depending on your equipment or skill bonuses, will probably be a little less than what is shown in the characters' stat lists. Resistance levels are capped, so entering a value higher than the cap is not going to help.

In order, the values correspond to the following;
Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Speed, Survival, Constitution, Luck, Regeneration, Fire Resistance, Earth Resistance, Water Resistance, Air Resistance, Poison Resistance, Spiritual Resistance, Ethereal Resistance, Armour vs Piercing, Armour vs Crushing, Armour vs Slashing, Bone Resistance, Shadow Resistance.



From here search backwards in the data.000 file for the first instance of the hex series;
[color:"orange"]42 61 73 65 00 23[/color]

This looks like [color:"#8CADFF"]Base #[/color] (you can also just do a text search for 'Base'). The appropriate spot should only be a couple 'pages' above the Death Knight's values (though it will be more if there is a summoning doll active).

The data series for the hero starts 11 rows down from the 'B' in 'Base', and 7 bytes to the left.


Specifically for Luck, the Deathknight's value is listed 12 rows below the 'g' in 'Deathknight' while the hero's value is 12 rows below the 'a' in 'Base'.


I tried changing some of the data values before and after this section, but did not find any other changes in the stats window. There may be base values stored somewhere for the other secondary stats, but I didn't make any further attempts to find them.

this post is the best ever xD! ^^

Good Evening All,

Is it still possible to Hex edit the Data.000 files? Bought this game via GOG, it has good points and bad points. Trying to test out various skills and raising levels takes forever.

Main issue I seem to be having is an invalid agent after attempting to edit skills.

Thanks for any replies on this. Btw tried XVI32 and Hex Workshop 6, very likely an operator error but

There were no changes made specifically for the digital download version (it is the same as the patched CD/DVD version, v1.49), so the hex editing procedure should still work fine.

What do you mean by 'invalid agent', a crash trying to load the edited save?

What skill were you trying to edit? Are you adding a skill that you do not know yet, or increasing the level cap for one you do?


XVI32 defaults to a display 17 columns wide, rather than the standard 16 (which is what I assumed in any instructions that give relative position as being a number of rows above or below a certain point). You can change the number of columns in the options.


Check your messages (click 'My Stuff' in the top menu bar, then 'My Messages').


Welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the heads up.

Error Windowas follows: Bad Version : instead of AgentClassesV1.0 16-03-2004, the game progress bar for the game save loads about 1/4 of the scrollwork then freezes.

That is strange; the AgentClassesV section is before the SkillsV section of the data.000 file, so I wouldn't have thought a problem editing skills would cause an error there...

Can you restore the original, unedited data.000 file and load the save properly?
If so, then try the hex edit procedure again, being more careful. If not, then the problem happened before the editing started, so you should check your next most recent save, to see if it loads ok.