Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General DOS2 on sale - Steam!

Man. The pep talk continues. Glad I spent $20 bucks on this game. I can't wait.

Eh heck! The first act is probably worth $20 at least. But DANG! You guys are really making me worried about how the rest of the game is going to go. I'm back to pretty much expecting that this game is totally going to suck and I'm going to hate it. Maybe I'll just go back to Wrath of the Righteous or Kingmaker or Solasta.

Or maybe I'll get into sports and skip the whole genre. I mean, after all, I can't really remember the last time a video game ended in a way that I thought was super awesome. Maybe KOTOR. Nah. TOR ended well - the main story anyway.

No. Wait. BG1 and I did like Dragonspear. BG2s ending was pretty good, but Throne of Bhaal... not so much. I was actually quite underwhelmed by TOB. It was just too predictable. I thought, "Was that supposed to surprise me? Nah. Guessed the whole thing. Saw it a MILE away.

Yeah, I'd say continue. It's still a good game to experience as there's not much else like it, and to give yourself a clearer understanding on Larian's overall design philosophy, but don't put it on an unreachable pedestal like half the community is all too happy to do. Things aren't quite as dire as it may sound, and the flaws don't really become that apparent until you reach the last third of the game, hence most reviews not mentioning them at all.

I'd say DOS1 was much more consistent in quality, though the start is VERY slow. I actually ended up liking DOS1 way more than I though it would, and would also argue that the second half of DOS1 is much stronger than the second half of DOS2, and I say this as someone who played DOS1 after DOS2.

It's very interesting you say this, because I am one of those people who played D:OS1 and did NOT care for it at all. I especially did not care for the world/setting, the story, the characters, and the writing. The mechanics were okay, though of course I'm generally not a fan of TB combat. So then on the basis of this experience, I have not had any interest in playing D:OS2. But a lot of people on game forums keep telling me I should, because "D:OS2 is a much better game than D:OS1." But from all of my own research of D:OS2, including several hours of watching Youtube videos and streams, D:OS2 is better than 1 only in mechanics and gameplay, but even worse than 1 in all the other RPG elements as I've listed them above (which are the things most important to me).

Yeah, DOS2 is ironically more of a combat simulator compared to 1. There were far more varied environments and puzzles in DOS1, probably because the devs realized the sheer amount of mobility skills in DOS2 trivializes them to the point where it was pointless to implement more. DOS2 also has points of no return after every act due to how the plot is structured, while DOS1 doesn't.

It's much better in the combat department and the writing isn't as cheesy as in DOS1, but there's some caveats in regards to the combat late game that a lot of people conveniently don't bring up when recommending DOS2 (or never got far enough in the game to see the issues that arise, I've noticed over the years that quite a number of people praising DOS2 end up admitting later that they never actually got past act 2 for whatever reason, usually multiplayer-only players whose groups fell apart halfway through the game). Opinions almost universally sour the moment people step into Acts 3 and 4, and it was to the point where the Definitive Edition was aimed towards rebalancing and redesigning Act 4 especially.

Thanks for the feedback.

Yes. Though for me D:OS2 didn’t improve in that regard, but forced me to spend more time on the bad part of the game. D:OS1 is more straightforward with what it is, IMO is better for it - if you treat it as coop, combat oriented dungeon crawler.

Personally, I enjoyed 1 act the most, but it could be because that’s the part as played in coop. I finished the full game in singleplayer.

So far, I really like DOS 2, except for a few items:

Elves. Cannibals. Seriously. It's creepy. Definitely creative, but for someone who likes elves, it was a shock, and I did not like it. They're also too emaciated and scary looking. I view them as horror story versions of elves.

A good amount of healing magic is Necromancy. I tried creating a cleric and they gave me Necromancy spells and such. Again. Creative as most games associate Necromancy with Evil magic. Regardless, I don't like it.

Origin companion choices are, again, a bit unattractive. The Red Prince is insulting and totally arrogant. Sebille, like Astarion, puts a weapon to my throat as soon as I meet her. Fane is also a butt and arrogant. So, I like Lohse, Ifan and Beast. At least a full party. But I hardly know them, so I hope I at least continue to like them. I'm a bit leery.

Other than that, it's good. I like Pathfinder and Solasta a bit more so far, but that could change. I'm still not totally familiar with the combat system, but it's growing on me. Reminds me almost of Pokemon. Lightning beats water. Water beats fire. 😁

In AD&D 2e, the Necromancy Sphere contains the magic responsible for restoring life.

Ok. Fine. So maybe not THAT creative. Still don't like necromancy.

Maybe memory is failing me, but.. Isn't water magic the "healing-focused" branch in DOS 2?

It has the Regenerate spell. So far, that's it.

All I know is that when I created a cleric, default was to build up Necromancy and starter magic was Necrotic.

Yeah, Hydrosophist is the main healing magic branch, while Necromancy is the indirect 'lifesteal/heal by inflicting damage' branch. IIRC leveling Hydrosophist also increases the potency of direct healing spells, while leveling Necromancy increases the amount of lifesteal. You've probably noticed by now that Hydrosophist/Aeroteurge (more support/crowd control-oriented) and Pyromancer/Geomancy (more damage-oriented) combo very well together, but mixing any combination of elements other than those two might have mixed results (especially since things like the wet/frozen status effect lowers damage inflicted from fire spells and vice-versa for warm/burning).

Ironically, since most Necromancy spells are considered physical damage, leveling Warfare also boosts Necromancy damage. EVERYONE utilizing physical damage wants to level Warfare, including archers, even if they have no use for the majority of the skills.

The end of act 1 fight is considered one of the hardest fights in the game, and I think my easiest run of that on Tactician with a more traditional party setup (as in, not going all in on stacking either magical or physical damage, utilizing a 2-2 spread instead) was when I had a Hydrosophist/Aeroteurge-focused mage and a Necromancy/Hydrosophist/Summoner-focused mage. The enemy AI really doesn't know what to do when half the floor is frozen or electrocuted. They are generally far more willing to walk through fire or oil, but prioritizes avoiding ice or electrified surfaces due to their potential in outright canceling turns.

(I usually specced Fane as a Necromancy/Hydrosophist/Summoner mage, though the Hydrosophist is usually to support my actual Hydrosophist/Aeroteurge mage in crowd control, and summons provide even further support in that department. I tend to have him wielding a shield and wand, which makes him rather tanky, and would give him enough points in Warfare to learn Battle Stomp or whatever that AoE knockdown move was along with Shield Toss and Phoenix Dive. The power of Shield Toss actually scales off of your shield's armor amount most of all. He won't do much damage attacking with that wand, but it's more of a field effect manipulator and stat stick late-game. Battle Stomp doesn't do much damage with this build, but it still knocks down anyone without armor.)

IIRC there was a chart floating around years ago in which people calculated that Aeroteurge spells on average actually inflicted the most magic damage of all elemental types per AP spent, but there are less offensive Aeroteurge spells and some are conditional/more difficult to use without getting your allies caught in the crossfire. A lot of the calculation was also skewed by that 1 AP spell (Pressure Spike, from Act 2 onwards) that additionally turns cloud effects into surfaces, and it also does quite a lot of damage for a 1 AP ability. It's also one of the very few large AoE spells that doesn't have friendly fire.

Another thing I noticed is that BG3 camp really does break a lot of mechanics that even worked better in DOS. Weight limitations, for example. You had to carry everything with you in DOS. No Send to Camp. So, encumbrance was a thing because you didn't have infinite storage at camp.

Granted, it's ridiculous in both games how much you can carry in your magic pockets.

Oh yeah. Really? You carried over magic pockets? Larian! Come on. You don't carry over things like that from one world to another. That's acceptable for one universe. You don't do it for a different one.

That's like having a lightsaber in Star Trek.

But anyway. It bugs me to no end that DOS 2 has campsites and bedrolls and you can make camp right there in the world, but BG3 is some phantom other plane of existence. It breaks immersion so much and provides endless storage, makes many items you find, like campfires and bedrolls, obsolete. Frankly. DOS 2 is better in this regard... Well... So far anyway.

Remove the phantom camp. Make it so you can switch out companions with a menu and not have to dismiss them with dialogue. Make Short Rest and long rest locations on the map that you have to find and go to instead of just buttons on the UI. Switch out companions button on UI. Yes. Not rest.

Short Rest locations are benches, chairs, etc. Long rest are campfires and bedrolls. Stuff like that. SO much better than what BG3 has now.

Yet.
You'll go past Act 1 at some point.

I remember getting to the stash in DOS2 was very inconvenient, because you had to fast travel back to where it was and then go through a few flights of stairs to reach it. It even took me a moment to remember that there even WAS a stash to begin with. I generally only ever sent keys to the stash after I was done using them so they wouldn't clog up my inventory.

Then again, the game doesn't really incentivize holding onto outdated unique gear due to the sheer quantity of them combined with how the itemization worked in that game, unless you had plans to upgrade a specific piece of gear to your current level if you have the related options turned on. Hoarder mentality is not something you want to deal with in DOS2.

Oh, the main things you should be aware of in regards to the crafting system for DOS2 consists of the following:

Mortar and Pestle + any Bone = Bonemeal
Mortar and Pestle + Starflower I think it was called? = Stardust
Stardust + Bonemeal = Pixie Dust

You can combine two smaller runes of the same type to create an upgraded version. I think after a certain point, you need to add Pixie Dust to upgrade any further.

You can also combine the elemental spellbooks with skillbooks of every other type to create a hybrid skillbook. You probably found that Blood Rain skill somewhere in Fort Joy, which can be normally created by combining a Hydrosophist book + Necromancy book. There's other ones like Hydrosophist + Warfare which creates a skillbook that teaches you a powerful touch range heal that also cleanses the Decaying status effect (though you need 1 point in Hydrosophist AND Warfare to use it, obviously).

There's a list of hybrid skills here:

https://divinityoriginalsin2.wiki.fextralife.com/Crafted+Skills

Also, if you have a strength-focused character, I highly recommend taking a 1 level dip into Polymorph so you can use Tentacle Lash. It's a high power longer range attack, and it causes the Atrophy status effect after you strip them of physical armor, which disarms them for 1 turn. Incredibly useful.

Once you start making Masterwork Runes or any Runes for all available slots = gg.

Not even Tactician stat bloat can handle the damage output a party can do in the opening turn with everyone knowing Adrenaline.

Combat has a lot of potential. It was praised for good reason. D:OS1 had more traditional resistances making different enemies susceptible to different effects, but D:OS2 went for binary shields, which IMO greatly impacted combat in a negative way.

We can talk more once you play more. Wouldn’t want to spoil your fun. You are still at the stage where combat is developing and complexity grows with regular income of new skills.

Boy, you weren't kidding. Story mode has become way too easy now. Got to the same spot and beyond where I left off on Classic mode, and enemies are so easy, I'm not nervous at all wherever I go. Is there no in between? I felt like I couldn't get anywhere in my previous playthrough without getting my butt handed to me. Now I almost waltzed into Alexander with just my MC because I thought maybe I could take him.

The armor is a bit ridiculous, and it is a bit weird that I kept going back to the same vendor within seconds of leaving him, and he had new armor I could buy that was better. I didn't even mean to. I'd buy stuff, equip it, and go back to the guy to sell what I unequipped and thought, "Wait. Was that there a minute ago? Oh well. Yoink."

I just feel like I'm too OP now. That's not as much fun. Still, I'm on Story Mode, and in terms of story, I'm still enjoying it.

I can't speak for StoryMode. I found Normal to be alright, with couple difficulty spikes here and there. Act2 can be frustrating but that's mostly because you can easily run into content that outlevels you and you need to figure out in what order you are supposed to do it.

Personally, once I understood how equipment works, I found the game managable. My initial mistake was not to upgrate gear after level ups, as itimization in D:OS is tedious and boring as hell.

Things do get more manageable as you gain more experience with the system. Is there no option to bump the difficulty back up to Normal, or is everything already set in stone? I haven't played with the game's difficulty settings in years.