Larian Studios Forums Divinity: Original Sin 2 Divinity - Original Sin 2 - General Ranged is more effective than melee?

I agree that it's ludicrous to try and impose realism on RPG battle mechanics, or you might as well throw more than half of this game out the window before you even get to the concept of fantasy monsters and magic. But just for kicks, Id like to point out the flaws in this assumption.

I agree a single "sword guy" running at a line of archers would never get near them, because massed arrow fire increases their effectiveness and odds of hitting something. Even if he did, what is he going to do when he gets there, with a dozen guys against one? But the game doesn't model that. It models one or two "sword guys" charging one or two "arrow guys".

Bows are not automatic rifles. They are used to wound and debilitate an army with massed arrow fire. Even if a single archer is skilled enough to hit a moving target (not a simple thing to do even with modern firearms) inside of charging distance with the probably single shot they'll have time for-- unless he gets very lucky (and despite what you see in movies), it's unlikely to be instantly fatal or crippling to that sword guy before he gets to you and shoves that wicked hunk of steel through your chest.

If you're armed with only a wooden bow and arrow, and theres a guy with a sword or an axe within charging distance of you without a line of infantry in front of you for protection, chances are you're already dead. If you're a good enough shot, you can take solace that there's a good chance that sword guy might die sometime after he kills you from blood loss or infection.

Getting back to this. I have found that it is true that is a bit boring to play archer. However, I solved most problems being a scoundrel. I can move around the battlefield easily enough and in DOS:EE going invisible and positioning yourself well would win you most fights.

Yes they are, mostly to do with not having to move. Melee's are in a big bind having to move. The Phoenix Jump helps that (and is infact, pretty much a requirement for them to have any use. Nothing says "melee" than "teleporting all over the field", doesn't it?) but it still costs you AP to move all over the field a ranger can just use to unleash death. Add that the ranger has a few 1AP skills whereas all melee are 2AP for some reason (not even to mention some 1AP mage spells) and you easily skift over the melee'ers. It's very noticable on enemy melee's, who are just complete pushovers and primarily have to rely on grenades to even DO anything.

I really think they should have taken a cue from XCOM 2 and given melee characters the ability to move and attack as a standard attack.

I think they need to add either movement speed to warlord ability points as well, OR, movement bonuses to STR OR make certain str requirements completely eliminate move penalty for heavy armor instead of the heavy armor str req to wear. So a mage with it is effectively pinned to a small area. But a knight with heavy armor moves as if he's wearing nothing.

It's the combination of limited AP, slowed move speed from equipment and lack of move bonuses for str based that makes heavy characters feel like teleporting towers.

Rogues are melee fighters who move quickly, but use weak weapons which require precise positioning, and are protected with only light armor and chance to dodge.

Warriors are melee fighters who move slowly, but use powerful weapons, and are protected with heavy armor and high health.


Right now in exchange for their weaker protection and weaker attack except from the back, Rogues get faster movement. If Warriors get speed bonuses as well, that removes their major weakness, changing it to:

Warriors are melee fighters who move quickly, use powerful weapons, and are protected with heavy armor and high health.

I'm currently solo'ing Act 1 with a custom melee character. Most fights are over in 2 turns since I can one-shot most enemies. I put a point in Warfare and a point in Scoundrel (the latter just so I could get Cloak And Dagger. As I've leveled, I've got 1 point in Physical Armor, 1 point in Magic Armor, and 3 points in Two-Handed. Race is Dwarf (of course). Talents are The Pawn (starting) and Warlord (after leveling).

Between The Pawn, Cloak And Dagger, and Phoenix Dive, I can get around the battlefield really fast. Also, I haven't changed out those Teleport gloves, so I've still got Teleport, which means if I can't get to my enemy, I can bring my enemy to me. Teleport also lets me group up enemies so I can one-shot more of them in one go (I've killed as many as 4 enemies, who were at full health, in one attack). Warlord basically gives me free turns.

Playing this character solo I'm almost at the final fight. I mean, I can see the final fight, and the shriekers are already dead, so I could just go in, but I don't think I'm quite strong enough for that fight. I particularly need more armor. When you're one-manning, you need lots of armor (mostly magic armor) to avoid getting CC'd, because CC=death. If I was running this character with a full party, the fights would be stupid easy.

Ranged is more effective than melee tactically, but melee can deal out the most damage overall (unless they're 1h+shield, in which case they do the least damage).

But you did really confirm to "melee" in this game it's all about teleporting around the battlefield. How much actual movement AP do you use with that build?

Umm... He's hitting them in what is by definition melee range, with a melee weapon, in a melee. So I would say that counts. Teleporting around at the speed of sound is another issue entirely, but my two cents is that I really like it, and wish to see this trend continue in the future.

Well Scoundrel gives movement and crit mult and Pawn is free movement so you can easily get mobile with that.

There's also nothing wrong with a fighter making use of movement abilities -_- Giving a fighter in D:OS EE thunder jump, batter ram, and teleport in order to be mobile around the map was one of the best things you could do

I played a fighter and didn't use teleports to get around, and I still thought moving around in combat was fine. I did take the Warlord and Pawn Talents.

There is something I'd like to know. How high can one stack elevation advantage? And on paper, could a ranger stack more damage bonuses than a fighter?

1st:
Assuming Crit on both is 100%
2nd:
Assuming crit on both is 0%
3rd:
Average damage on either including crits when you remove rage from game