Larian Studios Forums Beyond Divinity (English) Suggestions 10 hours with DD - you must read.

Hi friends...and Larian Team..
--First, i want to say "your work is great and i respect what you have done".
--Then, i have some suggestion..ah, no..argument that you should read.But be sure that these are not negative...then, we can continue...^^
--i heard a lot of DD,..people said that its good,..then i took 10 hour yesterday to try this game...i forget to tell you, i am a true fan of DIABLO2, anf till now i cant find any ARPG that is better than D2.
--back to DD, as i said, i took 10 hours to play it, yes, i tried..but i must say that i am disappointed.here are my points to the game.
+The good:
-2D Graphics, and it does not require a high system computer, i like it.
-very good voice acting.
-neat interface.
-interesting music. (i really like it).
-rather good classes. (though i think its a bit lack.)

+The bad:
-bad skill system.(this is very important and you did not do it well).
-item (also important but i will not say because i just tried 10 hours in game)
-mobs: this make me crazy, why the mobs is so strong, its juct the first time i join DD World, and if it does not have well reputation, i will clean immediately,..though its not actually cheap to buy the game.
-as the first time i leave the village, i cant event have a chane to hit any mobs,..thay are too strong, and as i said, you are sure die if trying to hit any monster. the Healing potions can be found at here and there, but it took too much time/. are you really mean to halt the players at their first sight???
-I cant drop item.
-I cant revive after death.
-THERE ARE NOT ANY HELP OR TUTORIALS...
-The battle system is boring, i make me feel asleep.
-The game process is too slow...

--Thats what i feel, friends. i hope you could have a clearly answer to me, because it make me actually disappointed...

--best regard - vnakira.

[color:"orange"]-interesting music. (i really like it).[/color]

DD music


[color:"orange"]-rather good classes. (though i think its a bit lack.)[/color]

Actually, I prefer an open class system, where any character can learn any skill. Beyond Divinity is more open, so you have more freedom to build or change character types.


[color:"orange"]-mobs: this make me crazy, why the mobs is so strong[/color]

If you complete the catacombs, you shouldn't have too much trouble outside Aleroth (except maybe for the heavy orc or orc drummer). The orcs north of Aleroth are weaker than the ones further south, and are not in groups as much. You can sneak past some opponents, or avoid them until later.

Generally, if you start having difficulty, explore in another direction first, check merchants for better equipment, or explore populated areas and do non-combat quests for awhile.

If you loot everywhere, you should find lots of crappy stuff to trade for potions (and/or gold). Meat and bread are handy at the start of the game for healing, and chicken for mana. Eventually, you will want to switch to restoration potions, rather than health or mana potions.


[color:"orange"]-I cant drop item.[/color]

Open your inventory, click on an item and drag it somewhere on the ground (where there is no red X) and release the mouse button to drop. You can also drag and drop to move items around on the ground or between containers. Also, broken barrels tossed at opponents this way can do a fair amount of damage.


[color:"orange"]-I cant revive after death.[/color]

With the latest game version, there are 2 quicksave slots by default, and you can increase that number. Check the version number shown in the bottom right corner of the main menu, and install the patch if it is earlier than 1.0034A; if you bought the game relatively recently it is probably already updated.

You can also make named saves before entering new areas, before or after major quests, after tough fights or finding good equipment, etc.


[color:"orange"]-THERE ARE NOT ANY HELP OR TUTORIALS...[/color]

If you bought a jewel case version of the game, the manual may be on the CD/DVD. Otherwise, you can download it (in pdf format).

Early Starter Tips (NON-Spoiler Version)


[color:"orange"]-The battle system is boring, i make me feel asleep.[/color]

Except for the skill trees, the combat in DD is fairly similar to D2. The difference may be that DD is not an action RPG, so is not focused as much on combat.

The beginning catacombs and the very end of the game are fairly heavy on the hack and slash. The rest of the game is better balanced (though it gets easier as it progresses), and for the most part I could freely explore, fight or do non-combat quests when I wished.


[color:"orange"]-The game process is too slow...[/color]

You should level fairly quickly at the start of the game. I'm not sure if you are looking for a continuous monster killing / equipment upgrading treadmill or just found the catacombs a little long (in which case I'd have to agree), but DD is not simply an action RPG, so you will need to take a little time for the plot.
Exploring everywhere and completing all the quests, it can take up to 70-100 hours to finish the game (IIRC the main plot can be done in around 50 hours or less).


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

BTW, there are separate forums for Divine Divinity and Beyond Divinity.

Welcome to the forums!

Raze seems to have said it all, lol.

But I never felt the game was too slow or hard ( except for occasional boss ).

Yeah, the no revival after death thing is very annoying, though, I admit.

hi. i used to play diablo2 with a necro (got it to lvl 82 then got bored)

i prefer good turn-based RPG's (very rare to find one) over real-time action battles, and found DD more satisfying than Diablo2. but this is just me. before i forget.. IF YOU MAKE A SINGLE PLAYER RPG WHERE YOU HAVE TO FIGHT MOBS YOU NEED NPC's WANDERING AROUND WITH YOU AND BE ABLE TO FORM A PARTY OF SORTS OR AT LEAST HAVE HIRELINGS, etc

WALKING AROUND BY ONSELF IN AN RPG IS EMPTY! I CAN PRETEND TO DO THIS AT HOME! TAKE NOTE - OTHERS FEEL THE SAME WAY.

i found DD's skill tree and classless system better than Diablo2, but Diablo2 had much better items etc. i see DD and BD took the Diablo2 socket idea tho' and renamed it charms.. it works well i think, but more charms would always be good. and strange ones. RPG developers REALLY should beef up the item generation procedures i think, as getting items is a major part of the game, and knowing there is strange things (strange items) out there is (one of the things) that keeps me replaying any RPG game..

why not take it futher? expand upon this? - from high weirdness/abstractness such as a coin that always regenerates when you wake up from sleeping somewhere, to simple stuff like a sword that detects certain enemies, does more damage against certain enemies, or even magic weapons capable of speech and impacting certain areas of gameplay?

computers are developing and a devoted programmer can make this stuff happen <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

not much else to add from what the others said above..?

getting exp can be a drag in DD and games with a set amount of enemies, especially when the exp reward depends on your level vs the enemy level (but there are rnd exp bombs that deliver bonuses to exp.. rarely)

[color:"blue"]about DD, similar issues as akira[/color]
after i was told to go to the dwarven-bread tavern (or something) i got virtually LOST in the game! this was not an issue with Diablo2 at all!

because i seemed to have lost my quest with those two healers (i was supposed to investigate the other shopkeepers murder) *there seems to be a bug with this? was i supposed to take that 'arrow' i found to one of the two healers or something? ..anyway.. due to this 'anomoly' i spent the remainder of my time wondering and wandering: since i am unlocking quests along the way, how is this impacting on the game, am i going to screw anything else up? -- sure i CAN come here to the forum and ask how to do it, or reload a saved game BUT I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO! -- GAME DEVELOPERS SHOULD KEEP AN EYE ON THIS STUFF.

i program small RPG's also, and i must say my stuff is usually IMMACULATE although rarely completed as i am still working towards a game of the sheer size of baldurs gate or DD/BD etc..

how *companies* miss this stuff is beyond me?
i consider myself a seasoned RPG *user* and find this a little sloppy. not that i expect an answer here, but somebody please take note of it.

[color:"blue"]about DD exp[/color]
it's common sense to an RPG player to scout around, look for items, secret areas, and level-up (gain EXP) so playing god with the players EXP is always a tricky thing. i think any decent RPG should allow the user to experience the game/world as deep as possible? - there should be no level/skill cap etc.. and there should always be things/areas to discover in the game..

back OT: akira, keep scouting the nearby areas and sweeping up the monsters, if you miss them and get them later you'll be a higher level and get less EXP for killing. erm.. i think you get MORE exp for killing higher level monsters so i don't know how it all balances out in the end?

anyway enough of my rant.

[color:"orange"]after i was told to go to the dwarven-bread tavern (or something) i got virtually LOST in the game! this was not an issue with Diablo2 at all![/color]

The number of quests you can get can be a little overwhelming, but it is also very immersive, and you can go through the quest log and finish off the smaller quests first, if you wish.
This wasn't a problem with Diablo 2 because it there were not any real quests (go kill something, or go find something, which involves killing something) and it is relatively linear.

Hey, I can tell you I was frustrated too at the start of the game.. so few potion drops and powerful enemies made me almost want to quit.
I'm so glad it was this difficult because it made the later stages of the game much more satisfying.
I will tell you the first 10 levels of the game will be a struggle.. you will cherish every single item that drops especially health potions
Also remember that DD is more open-ended than D2. You have to decide what you're capable of undertaking. Nothing is really guiding you in DD as you'll make many decisions.

As Raze says, go as far as you can in the catacombs and then up your XP with orcs. For me, though, the orcs were also very tough so I made a risky move and headed south from Aleroth so I could reach another town called Verdistis (which is on the north east part of the map.. its quite a trip). I recommend you give it a shot though.

Go south and avoid as many orcs as possible.. when you see the bridge , cross it and then start moving north through the farmlands. Avoid the corpses along the way as almost any enemy here is very strong. If you reach a place called the Cursed Abbey (you will know when) avoid it and go around it heading north east. Keep going north east through the forest.. you'll have many enemies following you at this point but don't stop. You won't have a clue where you are but eventually you'll end up on a stone road on the northern part of the map and if you follow it you will go to Verdistis.
This was the best part of the early game as Verdistis has many non-fighting quests available that will help you raise maybe a level but more importantly, you can make some good money here.
Go to the Inn and scout for quests.. also find a character named Sir Patrick to the west in his big mansion.
He can loan you money which you can use to buy some better weapons, armor and potions. (Just don't forget to pay him back!!!)
Scout around and explore and see what else you can find.
When you've been able to catch your breath go back to Aleroth and finish of the catacombs.

This worked like a charm for me. I'm now level 23 and I just cleared out the entire orc camp to the south east. It took me 3 hours but it was worth it! Don't underestimate the enemies you meet, though, as some will really test your skills.
The game is a blast after you get some good weapon and armor drops so don't shy away from scouting every little corner of a dungeon or certain area. You can miss out on something that is really valuable.
I've played Diablo 2 for quite a while but DD does it for me.. its got the Baldur's Gate quests + the action from D2.. its the perfect combination.

@Akira:

If you don't like it, that's your problem. This is not Diablo. It is not played like Diablo. And there is such a thing as a manual, or perhaps the internet.

I'm sorry if it sounds a bit harsh but this person really is in some kind of black closet and needs to learn a few things about searching on the internet. I think part of the problem is that people like this can only gain some unexplicably epic amount of pleasure from a game such as Diablo 2. Also I think he never found the catacombs or took the time to talk to NPCs. Either he didn't want to quest or doesn't really...know how it works usually.

D2 is a hack 'n' slash, DD is not.