Larian Studios Forums Divinity - Original Sin Divinity Original Sin - Help/Tips/Tricks Help for a beginner

Well, you could start with only Marksman and then see later what you want in addition, if anything.

And since you said before that you're "not at all into min-maxing", you maybe shouldn't let an unoptimized build stop you from finally playing the game. Dull theory can only take you so far.

For example, I decided only at our last D:OS session which of their resp. three spell schools my Inquisitor and Jahan will be specialising in from now on, since I won't have the points to max all three. Apart from some basic prerequisites, character development in D:OS is an open, fluid progression rather than a fixed path one has to decide at the beginning like in other games.

The problem with marksman itself is that is abilities don't crit. This is the reason I want to pair it with something else. It'd all be easier with bow, but I don't like it.. I decided for xbow because neither wand nor staff do decent damage. Bow, as Chrest said, is superior, I know, but the role I wanted to fill was another. And in another game I'm already playing archer so...

On what sources or calculations are your reservations about non-critting Marksman skills based on? I'd think that the developers did that for a reason, like that critting Marksman skills would be overpowered, as this Reddit thread suggests.

I also can't affirm your impression that staffs don't do decent damage. In our group Jahan is quite a heavy hitter with Staff of Magus, as is my Inquisitor with dual-wielded wands, as long as enemies don't have resistances against the respective elements. Knowing them in advance is what Loremaster 2 is for.

The important point is: We never optimized much but we still get by quite nicely with some tactics and preparations, many times even without them. So, as long as you don't plan to play on Tactitian or Honor difficulty I can't understand what's stopping you from just play and make further decisions on the way.

What abilities do you plan for your second character, by the way?

The second character would be a Fire/Geo Mage.
I like to "plan" in advance what I will become in order to give the character a shape that follows a precise idea. D&D heritage, you know... I imagined that 2h weapon with critting skills would have been OP but still... I believe that autoattacking all the time takes away something in the form of fun. I hereby paste you an answer I got on Steam from a guy about a possible build. Do you agree with him?

He says I should use "The healing spells, survivor's karma, farseer, absorb the elements. Need 9-10 dex for these. Also pick up at least the haste and invisibility from Scoundrel. If you want to make something really unique then start with 5 dex and only learn the stance. No idea if that would work:)
Playstyle would be open up with magic arrows to establish control, buff with survivor's karma, turn on the stance, then autoattack everything to death."

This answer suggests that crossbow's only usage is autoattacking. That's the reason I wanted to pair it with something magic/something to do out of combat.

You didn't answer my question about your problem with non-critting MM skills.

The answer from Steam sounds reasonable, but mind my very limited experience with Marksman because I don't play one. Nonetheless, Scoundrel seems like a good synergy ability for a Marksman in general and for you especially, since it gives you much to do off-combat, like sneaking around in settlements or scouting ahead in the wilderness. I don't want to spoil too much, but a Scoundrel is also well suited for the first main quest that involves much investigation – and who would be better suited for that?

As for your xbow build, I did a (quick) web search and found these:

• Crossbow Ranger
• Bows vs. xbows + a xbow sniper build
• Power Build: Ranger

Maybe you didn't know them already. But then again, I can't evaluate them for lack of Marksman / ranged weapons experience.

Sorry, I forgot The only problem is.. that theoretically Xbow is better than bow ONLY if it crits, because the bow ability increases your damage, while xbow one does not. Still in theory, the difference in damage between xbow and bow does not justify using it over a bow. To put it simple, a non-crit bow shot with bow5 is more harmful than a xbow shot (with or without xbow5, since it doesn't add to raw damage in any way). Add to this the fact that a ricochet almost triples the increased bow damage... and that's the reason why I regret xbow was conceived this way.

Still...I like Xbow more than bow It's a matter of style, really. (The crossbow always sounds to me like "monster hunter, vampire hunters and so on...) So I thank you a lot for your input, the builds you gave me will help me a lot to create the character, because no, I did not know them. I will put in the scoundrel then, many people by now recommended me to do this.

Finally...do you see Witch fitting in the build (not counting what those builds say...I'd just like your opinion..)
Thank you anyway a lot for the time you're dedicating to my (lost) cause

To my limited knowledge (some dilletantish archery and interest in medieval weapons) the historical x-bow was a weapon "any idiot" could use whereas bows needed more skill, so the average x-bowman was cheaper and thus more expendable than bowmen who often were trained in the art from childhood on.

The x-bow has the advantage that it can hold the bolt ready for a long time, while even trained bowmen can't hold a stretched bow for more than a few seconds, and every second makes your aim less steady. Bows on the other hand are way faster, a trained archer can shoot once every three seconds: draw, aim, shoot, repeat. Try that with a x-bow, even with a drawing help (usually a lever or a rack-and-pinion mechanism called Cranequin).

So in my opinion the x-bow seems to be conceived quite fairly in D:OS, given that its additional AP cost is way too small compared to reality. Ideally, they should have divided drawing and shooting with separate AP costs and the ability to "store" a draw as long as the x-bow isn't switched out or put away.


My pleasure, I'm always happy to give some help after I received it myself from others when I had little to no experience in something.

Witchcraft also fits the Marksman by buffing one's damage or debuffing the target(s). The difference to Scoundrel is that it can be used on the Marksman by other characters, whereas most Scoundrel skills are self-only (since most scoundrels being selfish, after all ). So I would give Scoundrel to the Marksman character and Witchcraft to another. Since you plan to have a Geomancer, his/her Bless skill also is your friend (+30 to hit).

Have fun

You're perfectly right about the xbow historical notions. My regret was not about historical accuracy, but about the fact that crossbow abilities don't crit. I know, maybe it'd be too powerful, but still... Anyway I'm approaching the definitive version of my build (according to my tastes, of course, some may disagree...) It'll have marksman and scoundrel, but maybe even that 1 single point in some elemental magic (fire comes to mind due to burn my eyes for example). Still tinkering on that. On the steam forum I also got the suggestion to take every element at 1 point...

Another thing I like is sneak, but the changes in EE made it worse... no reduction in AP cost while levelling the skill, only reduction of the enemy's cone of sight... pity that.

I read quite a few times that pre-EE sneaking was overpowered. If that's true, I can understand why it's effectiveness was reduced.

Since enemies can only notice you by sight as far as I know, and the cone can get really small (look at the animated picture in the wiki) , I don't share your qualms with it.

Besides, we both shouldn't worry too much about pre-EE D:OS since neither of us played it.

I'm not talking about how powerful an ability is, but about how it is conceived.
Why would you sneak and shoot (using guerrilla) at the cost of 5+4 AP when it's easier to just shoot twice?
They ruined the whole mechanic. My opinion, let it be clear, but shared far and wide across the forums...
Sterile talk you may say... but a sniper has to be sneaky, and I can't do it this way...