Larian Studios Forums Divinity: Original Sin 2 Divinity - Original Sin 2 - General Gift Bags, Should I use them?

I just finished my first run of Divinity: Original Sin II, two days ago. So what about the Gift Bags? I didn't use any of them, I stuck to the "vanilla" gameplay. Now that I finished it, I created a new game just to take a look at the effects of the Gift Bags. I don't intend to finish this new game.

The impression that I get by seeing the effects of the Bags, is the same impression that I get from just reading them, in the Gift Bags Features menu inside the game. For me, they all look like they were intended to be additions, extra content, for players that have already finished the game. I don't feel like you're supposed to activate all of them in your first playthrough. But let's remember that I don't consider myself a, "mod person".

For example, the Endless Runner mod, that increases running speed. Sounds great, but look at how your character walks once you activated it (that slow walk of when you click somewhere close to your character). It's faster, but it looks unnatural, especially comparing it to how the other characters (NPCs) in the game move, walk and run. But then, for someone that is re-playing the whole game for the third time... this mod is a Blessing of the Divine, isn't it? 🙏.

So this is the feeling that I get from all the Gift Bags: They are ideal for someone that already beat the game, and now is going to have new features and experiences to enjoy. But ! what if you don't intend to play the game more than once? (like me). Then I'd say that it depends only on the player. Do you want to activate them? then do. Do you not want them? then don't. It's a matter of individual, personal taste, just like choosing the difficulty of the game.

So this is my conclusion, I can't say use them or don't use them. Think about it enough and you'll find your sweet spot.
I will define the Gift Bags as, very well made, official mods. The question of whether someone should use them is beyond me.

But let's be real here, the real bottom line about the Gift Bags topic is: props to Larian Studios for giving us, awesome, free content, in this dark era of lootboxes and what not. If EA are embarrassing themselves, Larian Studios is showing how it's done 😄.