Divinity Original Sin

No1newts · 1 Jul 2017 at 16:10

Edrof said:
Quick bump for this as it's in the Steam sale and, as a Baldur's Gate veteran, it's tempting me. Is it fairly easy to get into? I have seen that the action is turn based - can you pause it to issue commands like in BG?

It true turn based unlike Baldurs Gate but I'm a Baldurs Gate fan and would say it's the best of the genre since and is arguably better.

Impossible to play without a guide as the story is absurdly convuoluted but that's fine as the combat is great. Very, very tactical.

Sleepery · 1 Jul 2017 at 17:51

It does fail badly on the story side though. I'd lost interest by the start of the second area because I just couldn't bring myself to care about the story.

Edrof · 2 Jul 2017 at 13:19

Thanks all - I'll give it a go.

Rasseru · 2 Jul 2017 at 14:06

I still haven't played this, might start it today.

I usually play mage, fancy something different - is it fun playing a witch or assassin, or just as an evil character? Is any playstyle well accommodated?

No1newts · 2 Jul 2017 at 15:47

Rasseru said:
I still haven't played this, might start it today.

I usually play mage, fancy something different - is it fun playing a witch or assassin, or just as an evil character? Is any playstyle well accommodated?

All styles are accommodated and nothing is "unusable" though some are better than others. Just don't expect to roflstomp fights especially if you don't utilise the environment or getting a sneaky first hit in pre combat as it is really challenging.

It doesn't scale either so if you are getting badly humped on a particular fight go find another one to level up with.

Sleepery said:
It does fail badly on the story side though. I'd lost interest by the start of the second area because I just couldn't bring myself to care about the story.

The story was interesting but the fact it was so convoluted and delivered in huge info dumps I must admit I lost the thread after a while.

Combat more than makes it up for it though.

Rasseru · 2 Jul 2017 at 17:44

No1newts said:
All styles are accommodated and nothing is "unusable" though some are better than others. Just don't expect to roflstomp fights especially if you don't utilise the environment or getting a sneaky first hit in pre combat as it is really challenging.

It doesn't scale either so if you are getting badly humped on a particular fight go find another one to level up with.

Sounds great. I also just did a bit of reading and learnt the classes are just templates, which suits me for RP purposes. I always gravitate towards having fun with glass canons, will probably do that anyway

MrWhippy · 2 Jul 2017 at 20:24

I found a lot to like with DOS but ultimately it was the restricted view point/angle that kept me from sticking with it. Would love to give it another go but I know I won't be able to keep at it unless I can tilt the camera a bit more level.

MouthBoy · 2 Jul 2017 at 20:41

I lost interest, not due to the story, but due to how RNG the combat became. Missing hits for no reason, spells not landing, healing not working etc. then suddenly everything works as expected. Very odd sometimes.

Pighardia · 2 Jul 2017 at 20:44

Rasseru said:
Sounds great. I also just did a bit of reading and learnt the classes are just templates, which suits me for RP purposes. I always gravitate towards having fun with glass canons, will probably do that anyway

Same here. Glass cannon is always the first build I try. Had fun with my last character a few months back. Had one PC as a rogue focusing on crits, and another as a battlemge.

You get two customizable main characters so there really isn't anything you can't experiment with.

You won't find many games with as much invention as DOS.Whilst the story is a bit poor, and could do with being a bit more serious imo, the writing is brilliant and the Voice acting is top class. OTT in the right way!

MrWhippy said:
I found a lot to like with DOS but ultimately it was the restricted view point/angle that kept me from sticking with it. Would love to give it another go but I know I won't be able to keep at it unless I can tilt the camera a bit more level.

You can move the camera as much as you like really.

Rasseru · 2 Jul 2017 at 21:15

Pighardia said:
Same here. Glass cannon is always the first build I try. Had fun with my last character a few months back. Had one PC as a rogue focusing on crits, and another as a battlemge.

You get two customizable main characters so there really isn't anything you can't experiment with.

You won't find many games with as much invention as DOS.Whilst the story is a bit poor, and could do with being a bit more serious imo, the writing is brilliant and the Voice acting is top class. OTT in the right way!

I dont know if I should go with the additional members or just roll my own... I have a mage & rogue duo from the start but would like maybe a witch alongside a knight/paladin... I know you can get a knight who hates magic (that might be fun) but there is no witch with backstory.

I remember liking the bald tank character from baldurs gate with the pet mouse... a bit of light hearted humour can be good in games like this imo

Rasseru · 3 Jul 2017 at 22:53

seriously, this game is a bit hard at the beginning!

I get that it doesnt have handholding or level-following enemies. I like that!

edit* was saying how bizarre it is, the levelling up to level 4, but I seem to be getting there - just did that blasted idiot wolfram quest

No1newts · 4 Jul 2017 at 11:20

Yeah it's tough to get going, are you utilising environmental factors? Group fights can be made much easier if you use environment. Using the rain spell and some electricity you can lock down huge numbers in stuns, alternatively to protect casters having a lake of fire (oil and some fire spell) is great and normally they either stand back and get nuked or are forced to plow through and almost kill themselves.

What's your composition? I went lone wolf knight (or warrior) to tank and the damage sponge from him is insane. Not many are as keen but I swear by my lone wolf tank, at times he's tanked 6-8 mobs solo and barely reached half health whilst mauling them with his damage output. I then took 2 casters both stacking summons as they cause damage but are also useful damage sinks if you are under pressure. Even in a group of 4 the summons add some great utility for soaking damage.

Rasseru · 4 Jul 2017 at 12:36

No1newts said:
Yeah it's tough to get going, are you utilising environmental factors? Group fights can be made much easier if you use environment. Using the rain spell and some electricity you can lock down huge numbers in stuns, alternatively to protect casters having a lake of fire (oil and some fire spell) is great and normally they either stand back and get nuked or are forced to plow through and almost kill themselves.

What's your composition? I went lone wolf knight (or warrior) to tank and the damage sponge from him is insane. Not many are as keen but I swear by my lone wolf tank, at times he's tanked 6-8 mobs solo and barely reached half health whilst mauling them with his damage output. I then took 2 casters both stacking summons as they cause damage but are also useful damage sinks if you are under pressure. Even in a group of 4 the summons add some great utility for soaking damage.

i'm getting better now. Yeah utilising environments. I went for the warrior & mage as my companions, and I have a mage & rogue. My rogue is a better tank than my warrior currently so its a bit off -she charges in to gain ground and then gets mauled (my rogue currently has almost double her defense) I didnt want lone wolf because I wanted to try and experiment with two caster trees and a rogue... I'm at that stage where I cant double up on actions, I think I need more APs on my characters

the fights are quite hard! Its not like Baldurs where you can see who is ahead, you think there is three enemies but there ends up being ten o.O

Main complaints are I wish it was more adult or gritty (its a bit too wafty for my liking). And the camera is really bad. zooming in is pointless as it doesnt flatten enough to actually be able to navigate, why even have it. Zooming out needs to be farther. I dont think it would break the game as you can move about anyway. Seems a really odd design choice.

But - its got me hooked, I like the tactical combat enough for one-more-go syndrome that kept me up way too late last night. Also, sometimes the UI is a bit janky - you can't queue up attacks, the cursor doesn't change shape to indicate a response, things like that would make it feel better - also say I heal with one character, click to another to heal and have to wait for the first one to finish (even out of battle). I've also attacked my own a few times, and they sometimes do stupid things (I know thats a minor gripe but anyway)

No1newts · 4 Jul 2017 at 12:54

Yeah getting your ap up is important as getting them extra actions is worth it over a slightly better spell.

There are definitely a few niggles and I share most you mentioned but same as you I forgive them for the combat.

SPG · 4 Jul 2017 at 13:06

I liked it a lot, however I am getting tired of the general world facing uber doom every time a new RPG comes out.

Just give me AD&D without the world of uber doom facing god(s), but lots decent sized castles, dungeons and Towers to loot with a crazy despots playing with demons and stuff.

Rasseru · 4 Jul 2017 at 13:37

lol just now I beat 3 level 7 skeleton warriors and i'm only level 4. pretty satisfying use of CC.

No1newts · 4 Jul 2017 at 14:03

SPG said:
I liked a lot, however I can getting tired of the general world facing uber doom everytime a new RPG comes out.

Just give me AD&D without the world of uber doom facing god, but lots decent sized castles, dungeons and Towers to loot with a crazy despots playing with demons and stuff.

I agree with this. Would love an RPG where it was 1 player sandbox make your own world and adventure type of game.

Rasseru · 4 Jul 2017 at 14:46

SPG said:
I liked a lot, however I can getting tired of the general world facing uber doom everytime a new RPG comes out.

Just give me AD&D without the world of uber doom facing god, but lots decent sized castles, dungeons and Towers to loot with a crazy despots playing with demons and stuff.

Totally agree with that

Pighardia · 4 Jul 2017 at 18:44

SPG said:
I liked a lot, however I can getting tired of the general world facing uber doom everytime a new RPG comes out.

Just give me AD&D without the world of uber doom facing god, but lots decent sized castles, dungeons and Towers to loot with a crazy despots playing with demons and stuff.

Absolutely! Just give us a game where we aren't necessarily a world saver, just a part of a larger story instead of the center of one.

Rasseru · 4 Jul 2017 at 21:49

I'm a bit confused, I seem to sometimes have AP points for two moves and sometimes not.

My rogue has haste, im aware of that.
I don't see a status like cripple or anything.

For instance, sometimes my pyro mage can oil & flame it in one turn, then other times not.

I can't work out what it is, anyone have an idea?

It happened later in a battle too so I'm guessing it's not initiative bonus... (?)

Am I just being a div or is there something I'm missing by not being used to the mechanics?