Larian Studios Forums Divinity: Original Sin 2 Divinity - Original Sin 2 - Help/Tips/Tricks Build for Undead

I'm wondering what the most appropriate builds for an undead would be.

The first obvious thing is that it's beneficial to have poison surfaces that are both sapping your enemies' HP and regenerating your undead. That means your undead must be at close- to mid-range.

If your undead is always going to be on a poison surface, then Elemental Affinity reduces the cost of Geomancer skills and would therefore be a good pick.
Taking Geomancer also means you can create your own surfaces without having to rely on another character. For maximum range, the Water+Contaminate combo gives the largest surfaces, so you might want to splash in Hydro (20m with Rain) and maybe Necro.
Leveling up your Geomancer is recommended to have the most effective poison effect possible.

Necro skills or Leech to heal from blood could be useful given you can't heal normally, but taking away blood limits your ability to create poison surfaces with Contaminate or Infect, and physical damage from Necro does not have great synergy with magical poison damage.

Another problem is that you need to stay at fairly close range so that you can benefit from the same surface that's debilitating your enemy, so that means mage is not necessarily ideal.
The closer range makes Glass Cannon much more dangerous than on a typical mage build, and opens the ability to create blood surfaces through physical attacks against the enemy.

Geomancer gives you increased physical armor regeneration, which should help with tanking at closer range. You'll probably want to get Heart of Steel from Polymorph.

Poison is very sensitive to fire, this could be bad news for you. Then again if the enemy is also standing in it, he won't necessarily set it alight as it would damage their own. In any case you probably want to spec with fire resistance and maybe Phoenix Dive for fire immunity.

It looks like undead will be most effective with a very hybrid build, which is more difficult to set up.

Otherwise do we know anything about the effects of cursed/blessed surfaces on undead?

Undead are also good at sneaking with playing dead, but that doesn't synergize very well with Geomancer's armor regeneration bonus.

Fane is the only one with Time Warp, which works well with the usual AP abilities that have been nerfed, and with Rage which is most effective for melee AoE.

Towards the end of the twitch stream when Migo uses Contamination -- the area effects seems reduced from what we currently have in EA.

I think that was because the door was closed. Sven said it is sight only currently.
Actually that is a nice change from pollutiong everything with fire or poison.

Maybe knight will be good for Undead?

Like close range can help you, but also hurt you. All the enemies just uses Regen and First Aid before your turn even comes up and you're already dead. Healing isn't blocked by Armor, and if they add it so it is just for undead, then it can kinda help...but wont help when enemies just use it right after, especially since early game you have like, barely any armor (or no armor at all).

Rogue/Necro or DeathKnight *like my name* Warfare/Necro would be nice too.
You can kill someone play dead wait for them to leave you alone, get back up assassinate some more.
Have a few points in necro so your damages heal you and you do good damages, shackle of pain, mosquitos swarm to sustain you if you can't sneak or play dead.

Unholy Death knight build from WOW would be good.

You divide your points mainly into geomancer and necromancy to increase the % of your heals from poison and the damage you do. Grab teleport from Aerotheurge, and this will be your gap closer, and atleast one point into warfare, so you can grab some aoe skills like whirlwind, and the rest of your points should be put into geomancer and necro to increases your heals. You also might want to keep strength, intelligence, and constitution balanced. I would also wield heavy armor and carry a big sword.

Being focused either magical/intelligence or physical/strength or finesse is more effective. It's a bit annoying that you'd have to balance the two.

If you're running Geo to heal, you pretty much have to be INT focused.
Otherwise necromancy on the side should help with sustaining.