Divinity Original Sin 2 Is Overwhelming Me

[Lucky Aces]

I have a background in playing an incredible amount of RPGs in my life. Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy(s), Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, Fallout series, KOTOR 1 and 2, Fire Emblem, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Elder Scrolls from Morrowind to Skyrim, Diablo, Witcher 3, Persona series, etc. You get the point.

I've had a wonderful time with them all. The good ones, the great ones, even had good times with bad ones. Yet for the first time, I feel incredibly overwhelmed to a point of being frozen in even trying to play THIS game. I don't think I dislike it, I just feel like there is SO MUCH information at once just coming out on me. Or maybe not enough explanation of some things.

Anyway, Ive been researching, watching videos, constantly debating on playing either a custom character or an origin character (I'm strongly for custom, but apparently I heard I miss out on a bunch of story if I don't do an origin character for some reason?), looking at builds so that I don't make a crap character at the start to get through the beginning, looking up certain hidden objects so that I don't ever miss on potential equipment or quests. Doing all of that...instead of just playing the damn game. I know this is purely a fault of my own, yet I can't seem to stop myself from needing to know certain information before playing a game. I wasn't always like this, hence my past gaming experience.

Is it the way Divinity presents information to me as the player? Is it the user interface looking cluttered and filled with too much information? Is it literally just me? Probably the latter. Maybe getting older is partly a result of this? I seem to be developing a habit of not finishing some games for some time now. And my patience for understanding some mechanics has been on the low side as of late. It's not a great feeling.

But I digress. TL;DR: Divinity Original Sin 2 is making me feel overwhelmed, and looks more complicated than I originally anticipated. For anybody that has ever felt this way about a video game, how did you get over this inner obstacle? And did you end up enjoying the game? Why or why not?

 

[Pikagreg]

It definitely is a lot to take in especially since the start of the game is pretty brutal and it is easy to take one step in the wrong direction and get into combat and die. The first game was a little better at sequencing and you have a ton of stuff to do in the opening town and it even tells you what direction to go in to avoid the higher level enemies. The biggest advice I can give is to just be careful and push through the opening hours of the game and try to do all that you can to get exp (there are some non-combat encounters) before moving on to larger fights.

 

[Cerulean_skylark]

I have a background in playing an incredible amount of RPGs in my life. Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy(s), Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, Fallout series, KOTOR 1 and 2, Fire Emblem, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Elder Scrolls from Morrowind to Skyrim, Diablo, Witcher 3, Persona series, etc. You get the point.

I've had a wonderful time with them all. The good ones, the great ones, even had good times with bad ones. Yet for the first time, I feel incredibly overwhelmed to a point of being frozen in even trying to play THIS game. I don't think I dislike it, I just feel like there is SO MUCH information at once just coming out on me. Or maybe not enough explanation of some things.

Anyway, Ive been researching, watching videos, constantly debating on playing either a custom character or an origin character (I'm strongly for custom, but apparently I heard I miss out on a bunch of story if I don't do an origin character for some reason?), looking at builds so that I don't make a crap character at the start to get through the beginning, looking up certain hidden objects so that I don't ever miss on potential equipment or quests. Doing all of that...instead of just playing the damn game. I know this is purely a fault of my own, yet I can't seem to stop myself from needing to know certain information before playing a game. I wasn't always like this, hence my past gaming experience.

Is it the way Divinity presents information to me as the player? Is it the user interface looking cluttered and filled with too much information? Is it literally just me? Probably the latter. Maybe getting older is partly a result of this? I seem to be developing a habit of not finishing some games for some time now. And my patience for understanding some mechanics has been on the low side as of late. It's not a great feeling.

But I digress. TL;DR: Divinity Original Sin 2 is making me feel overwhelmed, and looks more complicated than I originally anticipated. For anybody that has ever felt this way about a video game, how did you get over this inner obstacle? And did you end up enjoying the game? Why or why not?

Click to shrink...

Just focus on the fundamentals of combat.
You can have a custom character and follow the other character's storylines if you choose to put them in your party.
Focus on just removing enemy shields via physical or magical damage and then disabling them to force them to miss turns. Everything else is just styling around these fundamentals.

 

[Snagret]

I'm currently playing through this and I was really pressuring myself not to miss anything and complete every quest, but like I'm in the starting area like 20 hours later and there's still parts of the map I haven't gone to get. There's so many branching paths that at a certain point I kinda just let go of the need to do everything perfectly and build my characters flawlessly and see every quest through to it's best end, and honestly I've been having way more fun with it.

The combat gets way quicker and more fun once you understand the basics. I'd suggest just going all out and experimenting as much as possible, use your abilities as often as you can so you can really get a sense for how all the different elements interact with each other. And pay attention to what type of defense blocks status affects (it will say which kind when you mouse over the ability). Otherwise just jump in and enjoy the ride, it's a fun game with great writing and once the combat clicks it's fun as hell.

 

[Foreign Jackass]

Just focus on the fundamentals of combat.
You can have a custom character and follow the other character's storylines if you choose to put them in your party.
Focus on just removing enemy shields via physical or magical damage and then disabling them to force them to miss turns. Everything else is just styling around these fundamentals.

Click to shrink...

What this guy said +

If your opponent's level is more than yours, you're generally on the "wrong path", or you missed some quests.

 

[moustascheman]

You shouldn't worry too much about builds ATM because you can completely respec any character in your party at any time for no cost after you beat act 1. As for the whole custom character vs Origin debate, I think Origin characters are generally recommended since you get more content via their backstories. Origin characters also have unique options.

Act 1 can be kinda brutal though, but that's more due to lack of levels and gear. Some general tips I have is to focus on DPS and trying to get rid of their armor/magic armor ASAP. Also make sure to keep yourself properly geared by checking in with shops at every level. Good gear in DOS2 is very important for success (which tbh is kind of a problem I have with the game).

 

[Ra]

You get unlimited respec after the first area, and this isn't the type of game with major stuff you need to worry about missing out on forever to the point you need to pllay with an FAQ open.

You really just need to jump in so you can figure out what you like.

 

[DC5remy]

I bailed for the same reasons. It was way too much for me. Plus I sucked

 

[Vex]

Anyway, Ive been researching, watching videos, constantly debating on playing either a custom character or an origin character (I'm strongly for custom, but apparently I heard I miss out on a bunch of story if I don't do an origin character for some reason?)

Click to shrink...

This is where you messed up. Just go into it blind and feel it out. You will overwhelm yourself before you really get into it.

The game is great because of how it surprises you -- even mechanically. Just enjoy the ride. Save all of those videos and walkthroughs for your 2nd playthrough if you plan on playing it again. If you feel youll 'mess up' your build, dw... You can respec pretty early on.

On the UI of the game:

All you need to know is your enemies defenses (blue = magic def/ silver is physical def). It's up to you how you want to exploit it. There are tooltips on almost everything iirc, so if you forget what something does, you can view those.

Edit: like others said, act 1 is always hard in these games. Later on, you will be a GOD. :0

 

[ThereAreFourNaan]

Yeah I was playing this coop with someone I was dating at the time and we gave up after a few hours because the starting island kept having us take two steps to the left, and suddenly get ganked by some random person who just absolutely wrecked us and even when we won fights the whole planet caught fire during the battle and we were almost dead.

 

[Lucky Aces]

You shouldn't worry too much about builds ATM because you can completely respec any character in your party at any time for no cost after you beat act 1. As for the whole custom character vs Origin debate, I think Origin characters are generally recommended since you get more content via their backstories. Origin characters also have unique options.

Act 1 can be kinda brutal though, but that's more due to lack of levels and gear. Some general tips I have is to focus on DPS and trying to get rid of their armor/magic armor ASAP. Also make sure to keep yourself properly geared by checking in with shops at every level. Good gear in DOS2 is very important for success (which tbh is kind of a problem I have with the game).

Click to shrink...

Im definitely gonna keep trying to pursue the game because I know I will enjoy it a lot once I do, just the start of the game has been brutally slow for me.

At least I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one struggling with the beginning lol.

 

[TissueBox]

Pfft trial and error, my friend, trial and--*dies*

 

[moustascheman]

Im definitely gonna keep trying to pursue the game because I know I will enjoy it a lot once I do, just the start of the game has been brutally slow for me.

At least I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one struggling with the beginning lol.

Click to shrink...

There's lots of cool quests you can do and fun NPCs you meet on the starting island. You should also try to recruit a full party ASAP (you'll meet the other origin characters on the island) since they'll help a lot in combat and will have their own unique quest lines that you can do.

The difficulty of Act 1 is absolutely brutal though, way more so than the beginning of DOS1 IMO. Like the first game could be a bit challenging at times but DOS2 absolutely kicked my ass throughout the game, especially in the beginning.

After you reach a certain point in Act 1, the game will become easier since you'll start getting some gear. The game is still going to be very difficult in later acts (act 4 in particular is kind of a huge spike), but you can mostly counteract this with some of the insanely powerful abilities you can get later on.

 

[Cerulean_skylark]

What this guy said +

If your opponent's level is more than yours, you're generally on the "wrong path", or you missed some quests.

Click to shrink...

Woman/Lady/Gal :P

but thank you XD

 

[Foreign Jackass]

Woman/Lady/Gal :P

but thank you XD

Click to shrink...

Oops sorry haha, should have used "person"

 

[Tuco Benedicto Pacifico]

I could get finding the game "hard" if you are blindsided because you didn't learn enough about how to deal with combat, but I'm fairly surprised to read that some people (OP included) seem to think it's "overwhelmingly complicated", especially after naming games that are way more complex.

If anything the rulest/stat&skill system is simple and straightforward to the point of being almost lame.
There's basically ONE stat for class that really counts, one or two talents per build that are must have and the rest looks immediately inferior... And then it's just a matter of buying skills from trainers.

I can just suggest to check some "character build" on Fextralife.

I.e. Party composition:





These are some generic ones, but there are dozens that go in greater detail describing a specific build combination.

 

[pink]

took me 3 tries to get seriously into it

i've now played dos2 about 400 hours

im so hyped for bg3

if you're having trouble start again and try a different class, try something with summons (HAVE SOMEONE WITH SUMMONS ON YOUR TEAM)

 

[Cats]

I really recommend a respec mod that adds the respeccing mirror right at the start of the game. That way you can try out all kinds of stuff and not feel like you messed up with the wrong build or infringing on other characters builds. There's no shame in it. Also save a ton, scum if you have to while learning. By simply experimenting and giving yourself freedom to fail with low penalty, it lets you learn the game very quickly. Don't just use an optimal character guide, that will suck all the fun out of the game. Just explore on your own, it's honestly not that complex.

I don't find the interface cluttered at all, it's fine and gives relevant info. The only part I always found silly was the crafting. I never bothered. And slotting gems into stuff is such a pain, why is this a 3 step process?

Also, just play on regular difficulty, don't play on hard, it's legitimately very hard.

Don't worry about missing stuff. They make points of no return pretty obvious and if you miss a few small things here or there it's not the end of the world. Grinding out a guide isn't going to be fun. Just play to play and experiment. Try weird things. The game is very freeform and it's for the best.

 

[HDNA]

Here's what you need to know and do op:

• Pick the skeleton origin character (forgot his name) he's the best in terms of story
• Choose the easiest difficulty, you are just starting the game and figuring it out
• Physical attacks reduce physical shield, Magic attacks reduce magic shield. Damage dealing Status effects are mostly magic.

That's what you need to know on your first playthrough

 

[ryushe]

I have pretty much the exact same RPG background as yourself OP, and also found Divinity 2 absolutely overwhelming in the beginning.

What I will say is this, while the opening hours are kind of rough and daunting, in retrospect I think Fort Joy is a perfect "tutorial area." it teaches you how to "think Divinity" in a relatively safe space, and you're able to make mistakes without there being too many repercussions. Just remember to quick save constantly and you'll be fine.

 

[Prototype Viktor]

Down with anyone suggesting builds. Just believe in the heart of the cards and have fun

 

[Princess Bubblegum]

OP, this won't help you now but when you get to the final act of the game love yourself and turn down the difficulty at least one notch from what you have it set to. The end game is brutal.

 

[Artdayne]

You need to know that you are not expected to find and do everything in a single playthrough. The game tries to maximize player choice to the point that I believe you can kill any character in the game and still complete it. There are multiple pathways to complete a number of the quests, there are a lot of secret basement doors, mechanical switches that open secret doors that are not all meant to be found in a single play through.

In short, just play the game and don't be afraid to save scum.

 

[Mandelbo]

Finished my playthrough of it at around 120 hours a few years ago - don't worry about missing story if you go with a custom character, you have the opportunity to put any of the origin characters in your party before you leave the first region, which will allow you to play out their story arcs. You can't take everyone with you, but each of their arcs are really meaty and they're all equally valid to go with.

OS2 is definitely a game though where you can't see everything on just a single playthrough, because of all the allegiances and branching paths there are, so it's better to know that now and not to tie yourself down to wanting to do absolutely everything. The game can be hard as nails but honestly it's one of my favourite RPGs, I really hope you get into it!

 

[Deleted member 20831]

• Lower game difficulty
• Try to play with a party split between physical and magical damage (two on each)
• Concentrate on levelling up stat or skill which purely increases your preferred damage method for that particular characters (emphasis on % increased on all magic or weapons if possible)
• Only spend points in other areas to level up stat or skill to equip or use certain items/skill in the same tree/etc
• Remove all the unnecessary skill/spell/items from quick bar and only keep relevant ones you use regularly
• Don't worry about failing quests, just bulldoze through the game (if you like the game, you may play it with more knowledge on the very next playthrough or with a restart)
• Breaking the game should be of little consequences

 

[cosmickosm]

Pardon the bump but thought this would be a good place to ask for some tips (the ones provided already are helpful).

I just started this and I'm currently in Fort Joy exploring a bit (playing on Classic). Sebille is my starting character and I've recruited The Red Prince, Lohse, and Ifan.

I'm talking to a bunch of people but I'm a bit at an impasse. I'm getting attacked by some fellow Narin who just completely wiped out my part. If I avoid that area I come across another fellow (Migos?) who wipes me out as well. Oh and those crocs are murdering my whole party.

I'm guessing I shouldn't be messing with those this early on while I'm wearing rags for armor (or the combat just haven't clicked with me and I'm shit at it).

Long winded way of asking if I just need to keep exploring the island or if those battles are needed at the moment?

 

[Rosol]

Playing on co op helped a lot for me, only had to learn 2 roles instead of 4.

 

[Dervius]

Anyway, Ive been researching, watching videos, constantly debating on playing either a custom character or an origin character (I'm strongly for custom, but apparently I heard I miss out on a bunch of story if I don't do an origin character for some reason?), looking at builds so that I don't make a crap character at the start to get through the beginning, looking up certain hidden objects so that I don't ever miss on potential equipment or quests. Doing all of that...instead of just playing the damn game. I know this is purely a fault of my own, yet I can't seem to stop myself from needing to know certain information before playing a game. I wasn't always like this, hence my past gaming experience.

Click to shrink...

I have a friend who suffers with this same kind of paralysis by analysis when it comes to RPGs. He just can't stand not using the 'optimal' build if there is one, as he says there doesn't seem to be any point in using anything else. It kills his enjoyment of those games, chasing the meta, min-maxing constantly.

For D2, just play the thing. It's remarkably forgiving in the amount of options you have for getting things done and you can respec infinitely. There's also a spectrum of difficulties to tailor it to your preference.

Your best bet for getting to know the game is just to get stuck in and play it. I'm faaaar from a CRPG aficionado but I've got so much enjoyment out of this game. It's huge, complex but manages to stay short of convoluted or overwhelming but then my approach was different from yours. I did far less revision prior to starting.

 

[Deleted member 45130]

It's actually quite a simple game once it gets going. Lots of things to do and ways to approach situations. I'd go for an origin character to start with and have fun poking about chatting and fighting.

Recruit a full party as soon as you can too, some of the fights can be pretty harsh early on. Oh and buy a bunch of ressurection spells when you can afford them.

 

[CHC]

The game is indeed very overwhelming. I had to wait for a break from school so that I could play it fully, because it was too mentally demanding juggling classes and the game. That said, it's also one of the greatest RPGs I've ever played and was absolutely worth getting over the hump.

One thing that helped me was deciding early on what I would NOT focus on. I built a completely physical based party, and just looked up builds that revolved around that play style. It worked incredibly well and my party became very powerful. It was also liberating because I could freely sell most magic skill books and just go "oh, magic, cool but not for me." It narrowed the focus and helped reduce the clutter a lot.

Battle strategies were approached similarly. I ignored oil, poison clouds, most status effects, etc. I just focused on knocking down and crowd controlling, instead of lighting big fires, exploding things, etc. Those are valid options of course, but I'm just trying to illustrate how to approach a game with so, so many options. Just decide on themes for your party early and don't try to do it all.

Also, for inventory management - get a few pouches, backpacks, etc. I made one for books, one for keys, one for potions, and one for scrolls. That way I could keep a tidier inventory. Later on you get a storage box you can send things to, as well as the ability to respec your skills, talents, and stats.

FINALLY, you should DEFINITELY play a pre-made character. The only thing that is prescribed is really their race, gender, and a single talent -- the rest is up to you including skills and appearance. There's really no advantage to building a total custom character, you only lose out on a cool origin story in exchange for one single talent slot. Not worth it, the stories are great.

 

[jinkx]

I'm going to start this game as well, what is the most fun mage to play with?

 

[theDidact]

You absolutely do not lose out on origin stories playing a custom character. It may actually be better to witness them that way since you get far more voice acting for said stories.

 

[Mercador]

I felt the same, had to restart two times. Next time I'll try, I think I'll just focus going through, not trying to do everything. There's too much to do and I never got to the boat.

 

[AuroraMusisAmica]

Hah, I hear you OP. I've never been one for Iso-RPGs, and D:OSII proudly wears that badge with pride. I honestly recommend watching tutorial videos (and build guides), because the game really throws you in there with so much to juggle and to come to grips with that it becomes incredibly intimidating.

Also, get Tactical Retreat (Mages, Rangers, honestly everyone)/Cloak and Dagger (Rogues, Assassins)/Phoenix Dive (Tanks, Warriors) for all your characters ASAP. Hugely beneficial.

Here's what I wrote about the game back in the Games of the Decade thread:

Before I played Divinity: Original Sin II, I was never a fan of Isometric RPGs. Diablo? Pass. Dragon Age? Boring. I always found them to be games removed from the experience, seperating the player from what the character was witnessing below. More interested in an over-encumbered games system than having an adventure. Might as well roll some dice and play with friends. But it's 2020 and I'm bored. And wherever I go, people keep saying "You've gotta try Divinity." "Divinity's an incredible game." So, what the heck. Right away I'm hit with the same feeling of regret. That removed feeling of viewing some tiny character roam a cluttered room. A games system with so many moving parts and wheels that I'm overwhelmed in the tutorial (and knowing perfectly well that they're going to add even more to juggle). But it's 2020 and I'm bored and now I'm out fifty bucks. So I close the game, take a breath, and dive into guides from more experienced players. What to do, what abilities to build a foundation on, what secrets to find, and how to make sense of the intricate world Larian created. I literally made a notebook of what I wanted to achieve this time, no longer blind, but ready to tackle Rivellon.

Without drowning in the unknown, I was allowed to see what this game really was: brilliant. The system that was once overbearing and debilitating was now a doorway into a game of endless opportunities. How to interact with the world, characters, and combat around you... it all became (almost, there's still a lot of moving parts in there) second nature as I molded the elements and strategy to my will and rid this world of the Voidwoken and anyone who stood against me (and Sebille, Lohse, and Fane). But that wasn't what endeared me to this game. It was how... wonderful, beautiful, terrible, full of despair, and hopeful the world was. A simple quest of how I sat down and listened to a mother recollect about her beloved children, or having to tell another that her daughter was never coming back. To hold and comfort a blind man, even though he was my enemy... that I could wield mercy as much as I did my sword. That I could prove to a former slave that she wasn't beyond redemption, that she could still be loved and love in return. This game gripped me with its humanity and hope even in a dying world. There was great evil and injustice, but there was also a yearning to make things right and beautiful once more (that was at least my runthough, you could very well choose to kill and corrupt all in your path). By the end of the journey, I wasn't ready to leave Rivellon, but I knew that my time had come. The world, characters, and adventure had gripped me from the start, and I would be ever grateful for my time there.

Some of my favorite tracks:

The Queen's High Seas (Beast's Theme)
Sins and Gods

My Party:

Custom Character (Earth Paladin/Tank)
Sebille (Assassin)
Lohse (Water Mage/Healer)
Fane (Air/Lightning Mage)

My tank build would soak up damage and dish it back out while Sebille would finish them off up front. Lohse and Fane had great harmony with Wind and Water, and stayed back to deal huge damage around them.

 

[Senjuro]

• Try to play with a party split between physical and magical damage (two on each)

Click to shrink...

I've been told the opposite, focus on one or the other so that you don't have half your party trying to reduce the magical shield while the others are trying to reduce the physical shield.
Is this tip not up to date anymore?

 

[Igniz12]

DOS2's absurd level scaling also does not help matters. If you feeling overwhelmed take a look at NPC levels, even a single level can make a noticeable difference. Go around and see if you missed any fights that are at your level or find non combat quests you can do to get XP.

On the flip side the level scaling also works in your favor if enemies have a level deficit against you.

I've been told the opposite, focus on one or the other so that you don't have half your party trying to reduce the magical shield while the others are trying to reduce the physical shield.
Is this tip not up to date anymore?

Click to shrink...

The dumb magic armor system favors DPS so your method would be fine still. Spread out your magic elements and take polymorph for ranged physical attacks if you need.

For the record I split my party into magic and physical and I manage just fine so its doable if you want to go that way too. I also have more experience with the game so I know not to lock myself into no hope situations.

 

[Deleted member 20831]

I've been told the opposite, focus on one or the other so that you don't have half your party trying to reduce the magical shield while the others are trying to reduce the physical shield.
Is this tip not up to date anymore?

Click to shrink...

If you are playing at anything but the hardest difficulty, that's an overkill and it quickly starts getting boring once you get out of Fort Joy prison.

 

[theDidact]

Whatever you do, have Fane and the Red Prince in your party.

 

[AIan]

I played this game up to Fort Joy and quit because I'm not a huge inventory sorter person and I just felt like there was so much on the screen, too much to invest in. My sister played the game and fully completed it though.

 

[Mollymauk]

Play on Story Mode with two lone wolves and you coast through the game

 

[CabooseMSG]

I bounced off it twice til I played through it with 3 friends. I think that really helped with some of the slow and more obtuse situations. Same way I feel about BG3, can't imagine playing it by myself

 

[Graven]

It really is, early game will require a lot of trial and error, and patience, it will take some time, but once you adjust, it's simply phenomenal.

 

[TaterTots]

Felt exhausted reading the OP. I just play. Reading that seemed like a job description.

 

[ClearMetal]

Pardon the bump but thought this would be a good place to ask for some tips (the ones provided already are helpful).

I just started this and I'm currently in Fort Joy exploring a bit (playing on Classic). Sebille is my starting character and I've recruited The Red Prince, Lohse, and Ifan.

I'm talking to a bunch of people but I'm a bit at an impasse. I'm getting attacked by some fellow Narin who just completely wiped out my part. If I avoid that area I come across another fellow (Migos?) who wipes me out as well. Oh and those crocs are murdering my whole party.

I'm guessing I shouldn't be messing with those this early on while I'm wearing rags for armor (or the combat just haven't clicked with me and I'm shit at it).

Long winded way of asking if I just need to keep exploring the island or if those battles are needed at the moment?

Click to shrink...

The game doesn't tell you, but it expects you to explore Fort Joy first and gain a level or 2 before diving into the fights. Even then there's an order these fights are best attempted in.

That said, if you know what you're doing you can definitely attempt most of these fights and win from the get-go. The lack of armor and good weapons isn't as major as it appears. What really matters is proper preparation: manipulating the odds in your favor through for example party member positioning so you start every fight at an advantage instead of being taken by surprise.

That Narin character, for example, gets the jump at you... or so it seems. Notice how he engages in dialogue with you before the fight starts. You can't do anything with the character he's conversing with... but you can move the other three around at will (as far as the other end of Fort Joy and beyond if you'd want). So while he is locked in conversation you can pickpocket any powerful items he might be carrying without him being able to stop you, and set up your party members in such a way that he can only debuff one of them instead of hitting three of your party members with the blind debuff.

This game really encourages you to think out of the box.

At one point I made a post with beginner tips and a video example of how fights can be approached. Maybe it helps you:

General tips:
- You can change party members whenever you want on the first island. After that the choice is final, but the game warns you about it beforehand so don't worry about missing the point of no return.
- You basically want to avoid combat as long as possible in Fort Joy. Try to do as many quests and explore as many areas as you can (since it rewards you exploration bonus xp), which should get you to level 3 without ever drawing your weapon. After that you should be able to tackle every encounter in Fort Joy (although some will remain challenging).
- It is generally not a good idea to spend too much money on gear in the beginning. Money is scarce and you are probably better off buying skill books so you can learn more combat abilities. Luckily the crocodiles drop a piece of gear which lets you teleport characters and objects around. The beginning of the game kind of revolves around using this as much as possible to get access to hidden chests and the like. Trust me when I say there are a lot of them around Fort Joy. I have escaped the place two dozen times by now and I am still discovering new things.
- Everyone can be bartered with. The lizard inside the elf cave sells the most gear, but again, try not to spend too much money on it. I usually just buy all the cheap shoes, shirts, pants and gloves (a couple of gold each) just to get a few points of armor before jumping into combat. As for skill books: there are several inmates selling them. Try to make it a habit to trade with everyone you come across just to see if they sell something useful. Trading doesn't interrupt dialogue, so there is no reason not to do it.
- The map is kind of barebones, although you can add markers yourself. You can have multiple of them and give them custom titles, so they may help.
- You can select and warp to waypoints from anywhere on the map. This saves some time on backtracking at least.

A few combat tips:
- Focus on one type of damage. It is possible to do a mixed physical/magic party, but it is very hard in the beginning. I personally find it much easier to let everyone deal physical damage and only use magic as support. Once you get to Act II, you can respec freely and infinitely, so you can always switch to a mixed party when you feel you got a solid handle on the combat.
- Try to position your party members before combat. Ranged characters (either bow/crossbow or mages) benefit greatly from high ground as this will greatly increase their range, their damage (in case of Rangers/Wayfarers) and generally keeps them safe from enemies for at least a few turns.
- Have at least one character with the Battering Ram and Battle Stomp. These skills inflict knockdown on enemies that are stripped of their physical armor, forcing them to skip a turn. I cannot overstate how important this is. They require a melee weapon, so your rogue can use them as well if you give them one point of Warfare.
- Rogues do the most damage when backstabbing, so use Backlash on cooldown and otherwise position them manually behind enemies. Talents like The Pawn (the first few meters of movement don't cost an active point) and Duck Duck Goose (lets them avoid attacks of opportunity) are useful for them.
- Speaking of which, always make sure your melee characters have the Opportunist talent. This gives them a free attack as enemies move past them (the aforementioned attack of opportunity). And enemies move around a lot. It's free real estate! 👋
- The game usually autosaves before fights, so don't hesitate to reload when things go south. In fact, it is a valid strategy to use your first attempt to scout the battlefield and look what your options are in terms of terrain and positioning. The game really likes to screw you over with enemies moving first and using the environment against you. But once you know what the game does, you can make preparations and start the fight on your terms.

As for the crocodiles: I recorded a fight to show how I deal with them. No editing, about 6 minutes long:




Custom Character - Elf - Wayfarer
Red Prince - Inquisitor - bought Battle Stomp for him from the lizard in the elf cave
Beast - Shadowblade - actually gimped him by forgetting to equip him with a second dagger, so his damage was on the low side.
Lohse - Summoner - outfitted with a wand and shield. The wand is actually suboptimal because it deals magical damage (while the rest of the party is physical) but it lets her stay at range and keep a shield equiped for additional armor.

In general I always put my archer on the wooden platform and move in the other three party members seperately, pulling them into combat one by one. This is important, because if they weren't unchained they would all enter combat together and you have to waste more active points on walking around.

The only thing that went wrong in this fight was one of the crocodiles oiling Beast. I had hoped they would go after Lohse, since she doesn't need to move anyway. But it all worked out in the end.

Lastly, note how I make sure Red Prince doesn't use more than 2 active points when moving around, so he can still use either Battering Ram or Battle Stomp afterwards. When in doubt, just activate the skill and look at their range before determining how far you need to move.

Click to shrink...

 

[TheCthultist]

Definitely don't need to do an origin character. Having three of the other origin party members more than makes up for anything you might miss.

If you're looking for a fun build, my favorite play through has been as an undead summoner, focusing mainly on spells and summonable creatures through Necromancy or Summoning. Super fun and can really help you cheese some of the more complex fights in the game if you need to.

 

[Deleted member 54073]

Felt the exact same way.

All the skills, icons, stats, people to talk to.. then if you aren't paying attention properly you'll just get massacred in battle by some crocodiles.

At that point I turned it off.

 

[cosmickosm]

The game doesn't tell you, but it expects you to explore Fort Joy first and gain a level or 2 before diving into the fights. Even then there's an order these fights are best attempted in.

That said, if you know what you're doing you can definitely attempt most of these fights and win from the get-go. The lack of armor and good weapons isn't as major as it appears. What really matters is proper preparation: manipulating the odds in your favor through for example party member positioning so you start every fight at an advantage instead of being taken by surprise.

That Narin character, for example, gets the jump at you... or so it seems. Notice how he engages in dialogue with you before the fight starts. You can't do anything with the character he's conversing with... but you can move the other three around at will (as far as the other end of Fort Joy and beyond if you'd want). So while he is locked in conversation you can pickpocket any powerful items he might be carrying without him being able to stop you, and set up your party members in such a way that he can only debuff one of them instead of hitting three of your party members with the blind debuff.

This game really encourages you to think out of the box.

At one point I made a post with beginner tips and a video example of how fights can be approached. Maybe it helps you:

Click to shrink...

Wow, thank you for that reply! That's honestly a tremendous help. I would have never even tried to reposition my characters during a bit a dialogue.

I really appreciate the info and tips.

As an aside, I felt pretty pleased with myself in figuring out that Migos issue. Which wasn't really an issue as much as it was me being inpatient and not exploring and talking more.

 

[Mr.Deadshot]

It's min/maxers dream game. If you are not into that kind of stuff and don't want to break the game with certain builds it can be a quite frustrating and often annoying experience. You pretty much have to min/max your characters to stand a chance in certain battles - at least at the normal and higher difficulty levels. Good thing is you can always respecc in your ship at the mirror.

I also never liked how there is a secret order in that you should do the battles. It's better than the first game, but it's still not great. I also hated that you can't return to old placed after ending a chapter. And the last chapter is downright bad.

That said, it has a lot of good things to offer as well, even if you dislike the complexity of the combat a fiddling around with numbers. Like good characters, quests, nice graphics and dialogue and puzzles/dungeons.

 

[ClearMetal]

Wow, thank you for that reply! That's honestly a tremendous help. I would have never even tried to reposition my characters during a bit a dialogue.

I really appreciate the info and tips.

As an aside, I felt pretty pleased with myself in figuring out that Migos issue. Which wasn't really an issue as much as it was me being inpatient and not exploring and talking more.

Click to shrink...

Glad it helped! Yeah, the reposition thing was such an eye opener when I realised it. Even then it took me a while to convince myself to use it as much as possible, because it kind of felt like cheating? It just shows how used we are to these tropes and rules in our video games. You can certainly play DOS2 like a traditional RPG, but the game gives you a surprising amount of freedom to play around these genre conventions. It never stops being fun looking for alternative ways to approach a given situation and the satisfaction when the game actually allows you to pull it off.

I actually wondered if I should give a hint on how to deal with Migos, but now I'm glad I didn't. Good job on figuring that one out, since I feel it's actually one of the more obtuse starting quests.

 

[coolasj19]

You absolutely do not lose out on origin stories playing a custom character. It may actually be better to witness them that way since you get far more voice acting for said stories.

Click to shrink...

Can you elaborate please? I'm about to start a 4 player co-op any hour now