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Divinity: Original Sin |OT| Sandbox RPG. Co-Op friendly. Bread.

Instro

Member
I am like this close to pulling the trigger on this game. The only thing holding me back is whether or not the storyline is any good. Like something that makes me want to keep coming back to find out more.

I am pretty much sold on the gameplay and all the RPG elements, but after I come back from work, I literally want to lose myself in another world with a story that I actually care about. Was just curious if you guys felt that it had that kind of pull.

I'm not far enough to really comment, but I find the writing to be largely solid. It has a very heavy comedic bent, so I think it depends on how much you enjoy that. Main storyline seems somewhat cliche so far, but interesting none the less, the character and side story writing is very fun generally.
 

nbthedude

Member
I am like this close to pulling the trigger on this game. The only thing holding me back is whether or not the storyline is any good. Like something that makes me want to keep coming back to find out more.

I am pretty much sold on the gameplay and all the RPG elements, but after I come back from work, I literally want to lose myself in another world with a story that I actually care about. Was just curious if you guys felt that it had that kind of pull.
It's well written amd often quite funny but it isn't profound. But did anyone mention the combat in this game is absolutely amazing and ne of the best n any RPG in years, maybe decades? Perhaps you overlooked that part.
 
I am like this close to pulling the trigger on this game. The only thing holding me back is whether or not the storyline is any good. Like something that makes me want to keep coming back to find out more.

I am pretty much sold on the gameplay and all the RPG elements, but after I come back from work, I literally want to lose myself in another world with a story that I actually care about. Was just curious if you guys felt that it had that kind of pull.

The story may not keep you at the edge of your seat, but your story will definitely keep you engaged. Basically, DOS is all about the gameplay.

If you want a good idea of what it actually is like, check out the Giant Bomb Quick Look for the game.
 

Sentenza

Gold Member
All of them. The rules should be the same, right?
Nope.
There are skills where every single point counts as an useful improvements (i.e. your weapon of choice, Bodybuilding, Willpower, etc) and others where how many points you want to spend on them is strictly related to what/how many abilities you want to unlock and use.
 

Casimir

Unconfirmed Member
It's definitely gonna be a little tougher later on than with 4 people, I bet. That much is obvious from having two fewer chars. But the environmental stuff really helps a lot.

What I'm doing early on is relying on that to get through the big bad encounters. There's a cave with like 10 undead enemies guarding it and what I did was skirt the outside of their detection range and kept dropping puddles of oil on the ground. Enough to totally cover the walk way. i initiate combat and then light it all on fire. So whatever enemies want to run at me, they have to do it over through the smoke and burning. If they don't die from the fire, I smack'em dead with my weapons.

The AI is smart though, they'll try to avoid that as much as possible, by going for the edges. In some cases, the enemies just ran the opposite direction to try and go around to reach me. More oil and fire for them though. =P

You'll be happy to know that there is a fire spell (firefly) that allows you to draw a custom line of fire, and later a lava version.
 

duckroll

Member
I don't understand how this game is possible. I simply don't. I'm over 50 hours into the game, and the more I play, the more flabbergasted I get. RPGs like this just don't get made anymore. Sometime in the last decade, it just stopped happening.

I fucking loved Fallout New Vegas, but it was still the sort of game I expected to get made because it followed the formula of what people expected from content in modern RPGs. Obsidian's writing and quest design is really good, and they really made many of the areas memorable, but it was still very modular in design, with a good amount of geographical filler to create this illusion of a large world without having to double down or triple down on density to make a game feel really, really rich in content.

Here it's the complete opposite. Instead of having any filler areas at all, it's an insanely densely populated game where every screen and every area feels designed and packed to deliver maximum impact on the overall game. There's always something interesting in any given area, there's always a a bunch of quests in a region, stories connect and intersect in interesting ways, the world feels tightly connected, and every play session has something which makes the player go "oh!" or "ah!" when finding something new adds to the on-going narrative threads, or getting a new item or skill brings something fun to the table, or just finding an area you've been hearing about for some time from other characters.

It's really unbelievable how a game like this gets made in 2014. Comparing Divinity OS to pretty much every CRPG made in the past decade would probably be like comparing FFXII with every JRPG made in the past decade.
 

Ploid 3.0

Member
Today I had a massacre with a choke point and a ton of enemies. With midnight oil + flare making smoke they had to walk close to it and they couldn't see past it so I put a fire elemental in the door to greet them as I spread the fire trail to their feet. Any of them that walked around my elemental were lit up like a xmas tree.

I wish Square would make a game like this with it's classes and what not. I want more games like this, it reminded me of playing Civilization but without the "just one more turn" aspect. Battles get me sucked in as if I'm dealing with a civ opponent that declared war on me. I can't wait to see what people come up with in the mod content.

One thing I don't like is how the party trail you though. Single file line, 2 and 2, diamond, etc. They don't exactly move predictably and will swing out a lot more or walk inside a room that you didn't want them to go in. I wish they acted as if you were moving a flexible soft string rather than a stiff formation where the character is the pivot point. You can almost just turn your character by a little and the whole group will swing around as if they were the pointy end of a stick or picture frame. I also wish the chain thing was just a simple mouse select, either single click, or drag box like Dragon Age. That chain system + the train behavior makes for some annoying positioning.

I already want to go back and give dagger another shot, I had no idea it got access to cooler abilities later on. I just need to see what abilities open up. Loving my ranger/geomancer for the spider and buff the heck out of it. The Fire elemental is pretty nice too (pyro/witch).
 

Noaloha

Member
I don't understand how this game is possible. I simply don't. I'm over 50 hours into the game, and the more I play, the more flabbergasted I get. RPGs like this just don't get made anymore. Sometime in the last decade, it just stopped happening.

I'm curious; earlier in this thread I believe, Aenea was saying she was attempting to push this game on you and that you were pushing back somewhat. As a friendly, minor case study, can you describe that initial reluctance? Was it linked to Divinity itself, some preconceived notions of the game, was it a general disbelief that the game could be as claimed, or was it just a personal backlog thing? My intention isn't to single you out or anything, just that you might provide some small insight into why a game would go unplayed by someone who ended up really enjoying it. Without a friend's insistence that you try the game, do you think you'd still have picked this up earlier rather than later?
 

duckroll

Member
I'm curious; earlier in this thread I believe, Aenea was saying she was attempting to push this game on you and that you were pushing back somewhat. As a friendly, minor case study, can you describe that initial reluctance? Was it linked to Divinity itself, some preconceived notions of the game, was it a general disbelief that the game could be as claimed, or was it just a personal backlog thing? My intention isn't to single you out or anything, just that you might provide some small insight into why a game would go unplayed by someone who ended up really enjoying it. Without a friend's insistence that you try the game, do you think you'd still have picked this up earlier rather than later?

Lol. There's really nothing to think about. I didn't know that much about it, so I wasn't planning on getting it immediately. I was interested after learning more about it but I was finishing off older stuff like Spec Ops and Bioshock Infinite at the time. She was just egging everyone on to bug me to play it so we could talk about the game more! :p
 

Noaloha

Member
Lol. There's really nothing to think about. I didn't know that much about it, so I wasn't planning on getting it immediately. I was interested after learning more about it but I was finishing off older stuff like Spec Ops and Bioshock Infinite at the time. She was just egging everyone on to bug me to play it so we could talk about the game more! :p

I see. :) I asked only because a friend of mine was in a similarish situation and I wondered if there might be some overlap. In her case she actually had no intention of playing the game whatsoever, despite no small amount of egging on from myself. For whatever reason, she was adamantly under the impression that D:OS was a middle-of-the-road Diablo-a-like. After explaining to her and showing videos, she warmed up a lot and made a point of wondering just where she had got that initial (off-putting, sale-costing) impression from -- something she couldn't quite place. She figured it was something she (inexplicably) auto-associated with 'Divinity' in the back of her brain.
 
I felt the game was getting a little easy but then I ran into
Baccus Rex
and that changed my mind in a heartbeat. Took a couple of tries but with some pre-battle prep I took him down. After cashing in his quest is there anything left for me to do in Cyseal or should I pack it up and move onto the next area?

As an aside still a little bitter I can't finish a certain quest just cause I failed the RPS mini game.
Talking about the Headless Nick quest. I failed to convince the crowd warmer way back when and now there is nothing I can do. I thought I was super clever when I feather falled the whole audience away from the head so I could steal it but trying to interact with it just fires up dialogue, I am not able to grab it apparently.
 

NIN90

Member
Anyone got tips for (late game enemies)
Death Knights? Having a cool down on that spell that removes their invincibility is kinda bullshit. They hit like trucks and have lots of DPS.
 

Durante

Member
As an aside still a little bitter I can't finish a certain quest just cause I failed the RPS mini game.
Talking about the Headless Nick quest. I failed to convince the crowd warmer way back when and now there is nothing I can do. I thought I was super clever when I feather falled the whole audience away from the head so I could steal it but trying to interact with it just fires up dialogue, I am not able to grab it apparently.
You have to convince
Nick, or rather his head,
in dialogue to join you.
 

duckroll

Member
Oh great. I finally hit a point in the game where a vendor actually has a few pieces of pricey equipment which I really want. It would immediately boost the capabilities of 3 of my party members. The problem? I know I have enough equipment worth more than the amount. Except they're scattered all over my party members and I haven't been doing a good job managing what I definitely don't want and what I might be saving up for later. I also have equipment I've been keeping which boosts bartering, so this would be a good time to use it.

It's probably going to take 20 minutes for me to efficiently sort through everything and arrange it such that I can maximize this transaction. Just thinking about it is making me ill. On the bright side though, once I get through this wall, I'll suddenly have a whole lot less of junk to carry around! Might be good timing. :p
 

Sinatar

Official GAF Bottom Feeder
Anyone got tips for (late game enemies)
Death Knights? Having a cool down on that spell that removes their invincibility is kinda bullshit. They hit like trucks and have lots of DPS.

the skill book for removing their immunity is reusable, teach it to your whole party
 

Sinatar

Official GAF Bottom Feeder
How do I start a dialogue with him? The action icon is red in my game like I am attempting a theft.

If you failed to convince the crowd warmer to switch sides, then the only way to get the head to talk to you is to kill the stage performer. I had to stealth assassinate him to avoid the whole town agroing me.
 

Violet_0

Banned
need some little help with the pirate cave
the ghost girl said there's a secret in the pirate office, I pulled the lever and now I don't know how to proceed. Also, can I already open that "ominous black door"?
 

Noaloha

Member
need some little help with the pirate cave
the ghost girl said there's a secret in the pirate office, I pulled the lever and now I don't know how to proceed. Also, can I already open that "ominous black door"?
Give the office a thorough once over, turn the place upside down.
You'll find it.
 
Just recently finished the game today, what a fantastic job Larian has done. There are a few minor issues (mainly NPC arguments and the inventory), but it's definitely the best overall CRPG since the Infinity Engine era and the best RPG combat system since ToEE.
 

Noaloha

Member
guess I should have listened to the rat. Thanks!

Did you find it yet? Ha, I was in the kitchen just now, my thoughts wandering, and I suddenly realised I glossed over something you wrote.
You mentioned you pulled the lever -- if I'm remembering the room correctly, I believe the lever is simply an 'off' switch for a pressure-plate trap. The secret is opened via some other means.
You say you spoke to the rat, so I'm guessing you're now on the right path. :)
 

DMiz

Member
Just recently finished the game today, what a fantastic job Larian has done. There are a few minor issues (mainly NPC arguments and the inventory), but it's definitely the best overall CRPG since the Infinity Engine era and the best RPG combat system since ToEE.

Out of curiosity: could you PM or spoiler when the game ends?

I think I'm near the end (
I'm almost done restoring the Soul Forge b/w Leandra and Icara
) and, while I love the game, I'm also burning out a bit on it (70+ hours in and there are a few other games on the backlog I'd like to tap into).
 
"Out of curiosity: could you PM or spoiler when the game ends? "


It's hard to say how many hours you have left because of the open nature of the game, but you're definitely near the end.
 

Brakke

Banned
So... what's the deal with bloodstones. How rare are they? I've cleared out the first zone--the Rex and all his lieutenants--but I still haven't opened up enough of my homestead to unlock respec. All I have are recruit room, bedroom, and one element room.

Am I totally blowing it? Do I already have respec available and don't realize? Have I missed something?
 

Fuz

Banned
So... what's the deal with bloodstones. How rare are they? I've cleared out the first zone--the Rex and all his lieutenants--but I still haven't opened up enough of my homestead to unlock respec. All I have are recruit room, bedroom, and one element room.

Am I totally blowing it? Do I already have respec available and don't realize? Have I missed something?

Nah, you open it in act II. I think you need 6 stones for it.
It sucks tho... you lose all your learned skills when you respec. I wanted to fix the damage caused by wrong level ups (easy to fuck up when you still don't know the rules well), respecced, saw that I lost all my skills, reloaded an old savegame. Too much hassle.

It's one of my few complaints about the game.
 

Sinatar

Official GAF Bottom Feeder
Early game quest question:

I just found that Staff of Pergemmon the mayor was asking for. Should I give it to him or keep it?

Depends on whether you want it or not.

In other news, it's finally sunk below DayZ on the best sellers list.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
Is there ever anything to spend money on?

I have well over 100,000 gold now, and all I've ever been buying is skill/spell books, resurrection scrolls and invisibility potions.

I also spent some money in the homestead of buy those limited quantity books that increase your attribute/skills.

I'm about 30 hours in now and nearing the end of the Luculla area, I believe.
 

Sinatar

Official GAF Bottom Feeder
Is there ever anything to spend money on?

I have well over 100,000 gold now, and all I've ever been buying is skill/spell books, resurrection scrolls and invisibility potions.

I also spent some money in the homestead of buy those limited quantity books that increase your attribute/skills.

I'm about 30 hours in now and nearing the end of the Luculla area, I believe.

The merchants in the 3rd town had some seriously awesome gear in my game, 20-40k a pop though.
 

Brakke

Banned
Nah, you open it in act II. I think you need 6 stones for it.
It sucks tho... you lose all your learned skills when you respec. I wanted to fix the damage caused by wrong level ups (easy to fuck up when you still don't know the rules well), respecced, saw that I lost all my skills, reloaded an old savegame. Too much hassle.

It's one of my few complaints about the game.

I'm saying, I have no idea how many stones I ought to have at this point. I haven't completed anything in Luculla yet and I have three inert stones. Do the stones start coming quicker?
 

DMiz

Member
"Out of curiosity: could you PM or spoiler when the game ends? "


It's hard to say how many hours you have left because of the open nature of the game, but you're definitely near the end.

Thanks. Think I'll power through it this weekend and tuck it away for now. Definitely worth a replay at some point again in the future with other builds and alternative quest paths.
 
So... what's the deal with bloodstones. How rare are they? I've cleared out the first zone--the Rex and all his lieutenants--but I still haven't opened up enough of my homestead to unlock respec. All I have are recruit room, bedroom, and one element room.

Am I totally blowing it? Do I already have respec available and don't realize? Have I missed something?

It's in your bedroom. The mirror respecs your characters.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
Nah, you open it in act II. I think you need 6 stones for it.
It sucks tho... you lose all your learned skills when you respec. I wanted to fix the damage caused by wrong level ups (easy to fuck up when you still don't know the rules well), respecced, saw that I lost all my skills, reloaded an old savegame. Too much hassle.

It's one of my few complaints about the game.

Yup.

I got all excited that I could respec and finally rid myself of the needless points spent in dexterity and other stuff, but then I realized that I'd lose all of my skills and have to go back and find (and buy) those skill books again.

Nope! Too much work for a small bit of min-maxing.

It's in your bedroom. The mirror respecs your characters.

No, that just lets you change your appearance.
 

Sothpaw

Member
Finished last night. I honestly did not think I would ever play a game like this again. This is truly worthy of the title "great crpg". Some notes:

- the game is DENSE with content
- makes you think differently; no other modern game has quest solutions like this
- inventory/selling loot can be a pain in the ass
- combat is exceptional
- sometimes during long fights I would surf the net while the enemy takes its long turn
- used youtube a few times because I am too busy nowadays to pixel hunt
- the game is beautiful
- great character building
- great skill variety
- unique boss battles (not just reused skins like in Dragon Age games)
- only used crafting for repair
- did not respec

That's off the top of my head. Took ~60 hours with some youtube usage for quest/puzzle solutions. My warrior Roderick had ~3K health, 64% block chance and huge resistances at the end. Could not be killed. Thank you tenebrium smith merchant.
 
So is crafting and blacksmithing worth it? 20 hrs in or so and about to leave the first town. Outside of combining healing potions and sticking special arrow heads on shafts I have done zero crafting. Running with 2 mages, 1 ranger and 1 fighter.
 

Brakke

Banned
So is crafting and blacksmithing worth it? 20 hrs in or so and about to leave the first town. Outside of combining healing potions and sticking special arrow heads on shafts I have done zero crafting. Running with 2 mages, 1 ranger and 1 fighter.

Maybe not so much blacksmithing. I've never made an item worth half a damn, but being able to sharpen swords / axes and reinforce armor is kind of nice. Crafting is slightly more useful since you can use it to combine magic scrolls with blank books, helps you fill out your magic repertoire is there's nothing on-sale when you need it.

It's pretty cheap to give one person Scientist and then spend one point each in Crafting and Blacksmithing. Then just keep a pile of +craft/blacksmith gear on-hand for when you need more than 2 points in either.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
I haven't crafted a single item. I don't even know how, nor really care.

I do use repair a lot, though!
 

Pancakes

hot, steaming, as melted butter slips into the cracks, drizzled with sticky sweet syrup OH GOD
I only crafted when the story required me to. Repair does come in very handy though. Never bothered with cooking, blacksmithing or any of that.
 

Styles

Member
I find that putting a few points into Blacksmith can make a huge difference in your melee's damage output and movement speed.
 

Amir0x

Banned
Ok, I'm picking up this game on Thursday. It sounds like from reading this thread that this is some special game, so I gotta go all-in. Am I making the right choice GAF? If so, then if possible list one experience you've had in the game that can make me more excited about my impending play experience! :D
 
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