Larian Studios Forums Divinity: Original Sin 2 Divinity - Original Sin 2 - Suggestions and Feedback Balancing - An outsider's view

Hi all,

First of all let me say that I am loving this game, what a gem. The detail in what you can do /different approaches really stands out and I genuinely feel like I am on an adventure - something that can't be said for many RPGs today!

I have come from a background of different styled RPGs, strategy and competitive games of several genres. While I am experienced on similar games I have not been so caught up in this exact style so I thought my opinion might be a breath of fresh air maybe? (not trying to sound full of myself :/)

From my point of view there are a few glaring balance issues with the game before any minor balancing should be looked at:

. (1) Burst damage is too high.
. (2) CC is too effective.
. (3) Hybrid teams are discouraged.
. (4) Positioning means very little.

In detail:
. (1) There should always be somewhat of a balance of Burst-damage/Tanks/Sustained-damage. High burst is countered by having a tank to defend against it, tanks are countered by sustained damage and sustain is countered by burst.

At the moment there is no reason to have a tank as they can't peel or protect an ally - their team will just die around them. The meta is just to build wits until highest in the fight and burst. Having a full 'burst against burst' meta discourages teams with variety.

The solution would be to stop fights being decided on turn 1 (half AP on turn 1 maybe?) and replace the shield ability with an active ability to peel or protect an ally (think Opportunist but dashing towards and taking damage for said ally once between turns, after activating it for an AP cost each turn).

. (2) Everyone has CC. Mages have CC, Warriors have CC, Rangers attach non-aerodynamic attachments to their arrows to have CC! (And of course the ground has CC).

CC lasts too long for the availability. If I destroy a team's shields then I can stunlock them with no counterplay. The problem would not be fixed with changes to the cost or proc chance (still would be able to stunlock).

The solution would be to make using CC feel rewarding if pulled off. I would suggest instead of missing a turn a stun would move you along in the turn order, giving the attacker a smaller window to act in.

. (3) The shielding system is simple, fun to play around and gives a limitation to balance teams around. It makes the game have a personality and I would not like to see it scrapped in favour of a different system. However, there is no point in having a mage on a team with 3 physical damage characters, etc.

If I am doing pure physical damage, there should be a benefit for also using magic. Currently Warriors and Mages are playing in separate mini-games.

The solution would be to allow a relationship between Armour and Magic-resistance. If it were up to me I would have any attack damage the corresponding shield type as it is currently. Damage to health would also occur based on the attack multiplied by the percentage of both shields missing (each type contributes 50% regardless of max value weighting). And of course adjust health values to balance it all.

Examples:
. (1) I have a Ranger with full Armour and full Magic-resist and your Warrior attacks him for 10 points. Damage to his Armour *10*. Percentage of shields missing *0%* (0% of Armour missing, 0% of Magic-resist missing), so damage to his health = 10 x 0% = *0*.
. (2) I have a Ranger with 40% Armour left but full Magic-resist and your Warrior attacks him for 10 points. Damage to his Armour *10*. Percentage of shields missing *30%* (60% of Armour missing, 0% of Magic-resist missing), so damage to his health = 10 x 30% = *3*.
. (3) I have a Ranger with no Armour left but full Magic-resist and your Warrior attacks him for 10 points. Damage to his Armour value can't go past 0 and no damage is 'carried over' to health. Percentage of shields missing *50%* (100% of Armour missing, 0% of Magic-resist missing), so damage to his health = 10 x 50% = *5*.
. (4) I have a Ranger with full Armour but no Magic-resist left and your Warrior attacks him for 10 points. Damage to his Armour *10*. Percentage of shields missing *50%* (0% of Armour missing, 100% of Magic-resist missing), so damage to his health = 10 x 50% = *5*.


. (4) There is little value in positioning.

Just like CC being abundant, there are many gap-closers and dashes with high range available. Additionally the only way to hide behind cover is to stand vaguely behind it or abuse stealth/invisibility.

The solution would be to share cooldowns for abilities that have dashes and teleport skill/glove/scrolls. This would reward good positioning by removing the 'get-out-of-jail-free-card's.

Additionally I would add some kind of counterplay mechanic for invisibility (some kind of light?) and introduce a new cover mechanic to reduce damage based on nearby walls in the path of the enemy. This would make combat seem less 'black and white' compared to the current "target not in sight".

All in all I think the current game is fun and I would like it to keep its identity, but so long as these elements are in the game players will level a few times and realise their character cannot compete in a game balanced around 'All-physical' and 'All-magical' burst teams and be put off from continuing without rerolling with a team composition that they would prefer not to play.

Anyway, thanks for reading and hope I made at least one good point! :p
lulose