Larian Banner: Baldur's Gate Patch 9
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Joined: Jun 2017
W
Wilker Offline OP
journeyman
OP Offline
journeyman
W
Joined: Jun 2017
Hello beautiful Divinity people.

I want a little advice. I finished DOS I a few years ago. I'm starting to play DOS II today. I want to have a "pure" experience going through DOS II. No mods. I've never been a mod person. No mods on Skyrim or any other games. But those Gift Bags... they look so tempting. And for being "official" mods, I'm kinda okay with them.

So my fear is: are the Gift Bags going to make the game too easy for me? I want to play DOS II as it was originally intended to be played.
Are the Gift Bags going to make the game too easy? or are they just going to add a bunch of cool features?

I used to play DOS I on Classic and Tactical difficulties. For DOS II, I'm going with Classic.

I don't care about achievements.

Joined: Feb 2020
Location: Poland
apprentice
Offline
apprentice
Joined: Feb 2020
Location: Poland
These gift bags can change the gameplay significantly since you can have 8 action points or restoring source points when using bedroll. Such features definitely gonna make the game too easy. You must choose which gift bag suits your needs. Personally I am not using them, i also prefer the real D:OS 2 gameplay.

I think that Gift Bag 3 called ''Order & Magic'' is the safest. It adds some cool stuff but doesnt change the gameplay as much as the others.

Last edited by BananowePole; 19/02/20 10:06 PM.

You will face many defeats in life, but never let yourself be defeated - Maya Angelou
Joined: Jun 2017
W
Wilker Offline OP
journeyman
OP Offline
journeyman
W
Joined: Jun 2017
Thank you for giving your perspective. It's exactly what I wanted to hear. I played DOS I at least some 5 years ago, and I'm just starting DOS II, so I feel like I don't know anything about the game again. I didn't know if the 8 action points thing, or the restoring source points with bedroll would be really significant. If they are, I'm not going to use them.

I already started the game with no Gift Bags activated. And I think I'll keep it like that until I finish it. And then after finishing it I'm gonna play around with the Bags. Or not.

Last edited by Wilker; 19/02/20 10:40 PM.
Joined: Feb 2020
Location: Poland
apprentice
Offline
apprentice
Joined: Feb 2020
Location: Poland
Glad i could help at least a little. The game is excellent enough to play it without any mods though. I also considered them, some changes are really nice and i would like to see how they look in the game, but nah. The real D:OS 2 experience is what it takes.


You will face many defeats in life, but never let yourself be defeated - Maya Angelou
Joined: Apr 2020
stranger
Offline
stranger
Joined: Apr 2020
How gift bags could change gameplay significanly if most of them pure QOL stuff? (except 8AP) You still can have infinite SP just by placing pyramid near source jar. So why wasting time and not just using gift bag option when result is the same?
How infinite running and spirit vision chould make the game easier?

The thing like really can change game experience is: 8AP, Battle randomizer, divine talents and gardener.

Last edited by FallenSorcerer; 11/04/20 12:26 PM.
Joined: Apr 2020
stranger
Offline
stranger
Joined: Apr 2020
In a recent thread i made in steam discussions;


Hi guys. The list of Gift bags i have found that a few are really broken and some are really good, albeit most are preference. I figured i'd try to list (based on my knowledge so far as of Act 2) what the ones are and what you should use and avoid.

If you have any extra info please add, and i might make this a guide and flesh it out a bit more.

Listed in order of the in-game menu.


------------------------------
TLDR:


USE:
Nine Lives
Herb Gardens
Animal Empathy
Crafters Kit
Endless Runner
Enhanced Spirit Vision


DON'T USE (They are broken) :
Improved Organisation
Hagglers

Combat Randomizer




The rest are mostly preference, depending on the balance you want your playthrough to have.

------------------------------


8 action points - PREFERENCE.
I think it makes the game a LOT easier. Not recommended for Tactician unless you want a really easy playthrough. The default amount of AP makes you think more carefully and tactically, in my opinion. Extra AP turns the tides of battle significantly and makes formidable battles really a breeze.


Nine Lives (Summonable black cat) - ENABLE.
No reason to not enable this, really. It's just a basic improvement on the cat summon.


Herb Gardens (Allows seed planting) - PREFERENCE / ENABLE
I enable it, figure it's nice to have, even if i don't use it, i might some time.


Source Meditation (Gives Source when resting) - PREFERENCE / ENABLE
I don't enable it, but that's because its my first playthrough, but i absolutely would consider it, because it's really annoying to get source and feels a bit of a chore.


From the Ashes (Resurrect party on rest) - PREFERENCE / ENABLE
I don't use it, simply because it makes res scrolls pointless, and also not recommended for Tactician as it defeats the purpose of a more difficult game. At some points you may run out of res scrolls, making you try to play conservatively and plan more careful.


Animal Empathy (Talk to animals) - ENABLE
It's a talent normally, enabling this just gives you a way to talk to animals without wasting a talent. Good for a first playthrough in my opinion.


Hagglers (Shared barter and Persuasion)? - DISABLE
I read a lot that this is broken, and doesn't work how it should. Don't enable this...


Combat Randomiser (Randomised enemy attribs?) - DISABLE
"Combat randomiser is also buggy. A certain buff enemies get when their allies die can end up applied to you PERMANENTLY.
+100% damage and +50% to all res unless you die isn't exactly that great "


Crafters Kit (Adds more recipes?) - PREFERENCE / ENABLE
Not really sure what this does, supposedly it adds more crafting recipes but im not sure ive noticed any.. Seeking opinions/info on this one...


Divine Talents (More talents added) - PREFERENCE
I personally feel some of the talents that get added are WAY overpowered.. so i never enable this myself. It's too strong, especially master thief...


Enhanced Spirit Vision - ENABLE
Fixes spirit vision, making it permanent/toggleable. Without this on, using spirit vision is just annoying as hell to have to keep toggling..


Fort Joy Magic Mirror (Fort Joy re-spec) - PREFERENCE / ENABLE
I personally don't use it, as i use a mod that does this, but better.. But it's nice to be able to respec in fort joy, especially on tactician as some fights are really difficult. Better to have and not need, than to need and not have.


Improved Organisation (Inventory/sortable bags) - DISABLE
These bags are terrible for your game, as you can't craft or sell from them. It makes your playthrough really tedious, and has the opposite effect of instead making inventory management better, it makes it so, so much worse. AVOID!!!!

note: Personally, i find a better way to manage inventory is to pick up little pouches around the place, like unique containers and give certain types of items a unique container in the inventory. I use 1 backpack for each character, and then 1 pouch with specialist items for that class.. ie: for mage; scrolls, skill books. For melee/fighters; armors and weapons For another character, the books and keys, crafting materials etc. It's not perfect but better than these bags...


Pet Power (Better summoning) - PREFERENCE
I personally don't use it, but it makes some changes to make summons more useful/powerful. On Tactician i want an increased challenge, and with summoning being really powerful already, i don't want to rely on it.


Sourcerers Sundries (A way to level your items up) - PREFERENCE / ENABLE
Can be nice to have. I personally don't use it as i have mods that conflict with it.. I hear this mod makes massive changes to the game that break a bunch of mods, but if you dont use mods it might be worthwhile.. Having to constantly upgrade by getting new gear is a bit tedious at times.


Endless Runner (Better/faster sprinting) - ENABLE
No reason not to enable it. I personally use a mod that does this, but better, but if you dont use mods it's definately useful.




Please share your feedback/thoughts on these if you have anything to contribute.

Cheers

Last edited by fixxer; 13/04/20 09:16 AM.
Joined: Jun 2017
W
Wilker Offline OP
journeyman
OP Offline
journeyman
W
Joined: Jun 2017
Thanks for the recent additions to the thread.

Joined: Jun 2017
W
Wilker Offline OP
journeyman
OP Offline
journeyman
W
Joined: Jun 2017
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 😄.

Last edited by Wilker; 14/06/20 02:30 PM.
Joined: Jun 2020
apprentice
Offline
apprentice
Joined: Jun 2020
Well, i found gift bags... curious for say something.
Overall, i'm agree with @fixxer, but with some little variations:

Herb Gardens, nine lives, hagglers, crafters kit, Pet Power, Sourcerers soundries - Niche or little impact. Really, activate only that you'll use

Source Meditation, Animal Empathy, Enhanced Spirit Vision, Fort Joy Magic Mirror, Endless Runner. QoL mods. True, makes some things easier, even save some talents, but not reach's absurd levels. If you wanna keep a good challenge in tactician / honour AND this mods, continue reading.

Combat Randomiser: God... this can ruin combats XD... It applies random states to the enemies... Some of them are very troublesome. IE: inmunities to magic or teleports, more armour, electrified clouds, spider spawn at dead and more. You feel bad for use the previous mods? Well! enable this and enjoy. Fact: first time with this, i died in the first combat. Walking disaster (electrified cloud) state. Perma-stun as you don't have magical armur. Bye!

8 action points, From the Ashes, divine talents: If previous talents are in the limit, this is directly OP.

Improved organization: Lol... a big NO. Adds an unnecessary layer of confusion. If you need to classify, just use containers you find (bags, purses and so...) out there and sell those you don't need.


Always outnumbered, never outgunned
Joined: Jun 2017
W
Wilker Offline OP
journeyman
OP Offline
journeyman
W
Joined: Jun 2017
I mostly agree with you and fixxer. I'd say that all the Gift Bag mods are good to go, with one exception. The only mod that annoyed me was Combat Randomiser.
You kill an enemy then spiders crawl from inside him and it's like... why.😄 Well, just like the name says, it's supposed to be random. But that's just too random for me (no offence Sir Random 😄). I did not enjoy the random statuses.

Another thing about Combat Randomiser is that I actually expected it to be good and fun judging by it's name. What I expected from it was something along these lines:
enemies in different (random?) locations during battle
enemies with different classes/races/equipment etc
enemies using different skills. Enemies having different A.I.
enemies having different stats
maybe new encounters, more... random? idk

I'm sure some people will actually enjoy Combat Randomiser for it's extra layer of difficulty though.

Out of all mods this one is probably the most controversial. For me the game just felt weird with it on. And this feeling of "weirdness" is most of the reason why I tend to always avoid mods.
The last Gift Bag though, The Four Relics of Rivellon, is not so much of a mod is it? With so much new content, new enemies, new equipment. That doesn't give me the feels of a weird mod, just extra content, and with that I'm fine.

Last edited by Wilker; 17/06/20 12:06 PM.
Joined: Jun 2020
apprentice
Offline
apprentice
Joined: Jun 2020
XD Don't worry about randomiser. Just different opinions. I found that weirdness... wonderful. I can't hate it. Another lavel of difficult is a plus.
And yes, the last gift bag is more like additional content.


Always outnumbered, never outgunned
Joined: Jun 2017
W
Wilker Offline OP
journeyman
OP Offline
journeyman
W
Joined: Jun 2017
Oh wait, so you actually like Combat Randomiser. I had understood that you didn't like it by your first post here. Ok, now I get it. I wrote my whole last post thinking that you didn't like Combat Randomiser. 😄

Joined: Jun 2020
apprentice
Offline
apprentice
Joined: Jun 2020
ouch yes, reading back, my first post can be... Neutral for say something. yes, i like the mod. However, i understand why randomiser can dislike. As you say, it's about concept:

Random states (as It is)
Or
Random attribs/equip/enemies/... (As you say)

In any case, if someone doesn't likes random things, this will dislike her for sure.

Extra: no. My user name It is not related with this mod. Just a random coincidence


Always outnumbered, never outgunned

Moderated by  gbnf, Kurnster, Monodon, Stephen_Larian 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5