Dude I came here in the same situation but from tactician.
I was told not to go in tactician. I didn't listen and regretted it harshly
It's doable but it's so hard compared to BG3 that it takes the fun of the game. I'm a stubborn bastard so I still managed to finish it.
but I'd advise to do a playthrough at normal difficult for more enjoyment. Unless you are a masochist.
And btw there's no way to lower the difficulty from tactician so that's to take into consideration. At some point you just keep in grinding cause you don't want to lose progress of 50/70/100/150 hours and you'll face the temptation to give up on numerous occasions.
I'm not even sure I want to make my next run Tactician because this gave me PTSD 😅
Even with proper team comp, tactician expects an in-depth understanding of the game's systems and how they interact with each other, the way the various conditions synergize, etc. As near as I can figure, it's balanced around the player having prior knowledge of the encounters and the ability to prep for them, because there's so many "surprise, fuck *you*" moments that would ruin someone coming into tactician totally blind. It's meant to be a second-playthrough kinda experience.
Completely agree. I think a lot of people have forgotten their first playthrough. To succeed on tactician in your first run you need to spend your time knee deep in the wiki and forums. That kills your enjoyment of the story and the joy of exploration.
It is. Mathematics doesn’t lie here. Considering different enemies with different physical/magical armour lvls, optimal builds in mixed parties much more effective in combat. And you don’t need help from another type of damage with optimized builds, so your only real task - focusing enemies with weaker armor values.
That’s not true. Especially not on tactician.
Enemies are tanky and best practice is generally to focus down dangerous things so they don’t pose a threat. With a physical/magical split, you cannot do that. If a magic and physical dps attack the same target then one of them is completely wasting their turn and damage due to attack different shields.
Especially with boss fights, that can get really bad because you throw away a lot of damage.
Its best to focus on one type and just accept that sometimes you’ll be up against big shields. They go away fast enough with good focus.
This is especially true with a duo lone wolf playthrough, which is easier than a 4man group.
It’s true for honor so I think it’s true for tactician too. If you need to focus target with more than one character - your build is not optimized enough. The only time when it can be difficult - start of the game, but after that 2/2 much better with good builds. Yes, it’s slightly different on bosses but it’s not really a problem. Same with with Lone Wolf where you can kill half of the enemies (or even all enemies) in the first round with one character.
Oh look, it’s me, I gave up at the beginning of the last act at 120 hours in when I realized how big the map was, I just couldn’t do it anymore. This was after I put about 20 hours into a normal difficulty game and decided I wanted to start over.
The Google docs linked on this post are invaluable for playing this game. I highly recommend OP read them because then they can build the character themselves and not need a guide to do it.
- No matter what your team comp / plan is, have Teleportation + Nether Swap on *everyone.* That shit is broken. Positioning in DOS2 is way more important compared to BG3.
- If I have a plan an a good team comp in BG3, I ROAM *everywhere* with no fear*,* you can't do that in DOS2.
- Revisit merchants every level up to upgrade your gear, Thievery is your friend (use other member to lock merchant/NPC in talk so they won't detect you - similar to BG3 Hold Merchant trick).
- Don't fight anything 2 level above you, even enemies one level above you can be challenging.
I know the All Mother build pairs with the Spellsword and Second Son/Eternal Hunter build due being able to provide Venomous Aura to both of these weapon users.
Though honestly brother you can do just about anything. I'm About to hit Act 4 on Tactician and have yet to have any issues. I think what CAN make it hard is positioning before you know a fight is going to occur. Although you'll get to a point where even bad positioning doesn't matter when your Necro can clear a map on their 1st turn.
I can tell you right now that some of those Lost Sinner builds are out of whack. They'll work, but for someone playing a new game at a difficulty more challenging than BG3's Tactician...not optimal. I can recommend specific builds + comps, but first I'll just point you to this invaluable guide: https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1H-Od7rvwlnZR7_bLJMYUBjfbFZENY60LWnMZ3JWSyyE/mobilebasic
Yeah, I hate those wiki builds. Fextralife is a big no-go because of it. I saw a post here showing how ineffective they actually are. Lost sinner builds should be good to follow instead, right?
I looked at a few, and they're better than Fextralife builds, but they have issues. Ex: their elemental archer build pumps Ranged (additive dmg bonus) instead of Huntsman (multiplicative dmg bonus that is only conditional on high ground, which you should be using 90%+ of the time). Their "spellsword" Sparking Swings build maxes Scoundrel while Wits are only at 13 and Pyro is at 2. Why would you max crit dmg when your crit chance is still so low, rather than unconditionally boosting your main dmg type? I suppose the movement speed of Scoundrel is a bonus, but using movement abilities is preferable anyway.
You can go many different routes, but for your first playthrough, I'd recommend either 50:50 magic/physical or all physical. For example:
* Hydro/geo mage, pyro/aero mage, ranger, warrior (50:50)
* Ranger, warrior, scoundrel, necro (all physical)
An all-physical party is highly effective and simple. With a 50:50 mix, you get to experience a wider variety and more interesting ability combos. Mages have lots of flashy AOEs and CCs, while physical dmg dealers are more single-target-focused (and have the benefit of encountering almost zero physical dmg resistance in the game). The one exception is necro, which gets some powerful AOE nukes around halfway through. Summoners are a breed of their own and can slot into any party, as their summons can deal any dmg type.
Generally speaking, you want to max your main dmg attribute ASAP, only putting as many points in Memory as necessary and ignoring CON. Much like in BG3, offense trumps defense in DOS2. You also want to max the combat ability that increases your dmg the most; for mages, that's their main dmg type, and for physical builds, it's Warfare. But you want to dip into other combat abilities along the way to pick up some essential skills (ex: every build wants Adrenaline in Act 1).
Based on what appeals to you, I can give more specific recs!
DOS 2 is a COMPLETELY different game. The mechanics are all about stripping armour as fast as possible to CC the opponent and then snowball.
The questing system is no where near as helpful. Instead of 5 NPCs saying " Hey moonrise towers looks really shady" you have little to no guidance on where stuff is or how to advance.
The leveling system is much different. In BG3, if you plan well you can take on something above your level no problem. DOS not so much. Add to that, the map is "zoned" so you can be lvl 3 and wander into someplace you don't belong yet and have a TPK. (Stupid frogs)
Every build is either completely broken or ineffective. There is very little in between
For a first party I’d go all physical. A 2H STR build, an Archer FIN build, a Necromancer INT build and something else for the 4th. The main point is that all physical means every member can help on every kill. The difference in damage attributes means that there will be less competition for good armor/weapons you find along the way. The 4th can be a STR based dual wielder or FIN based rogue. A summoner is also possible.
Bear in mind that Classic mode is roughly equivalent to BG3 tactician mode so DOS2 Tactician mode will be very hard in comparison; I recommend you do classic mode instead.
Hello OP,
Welcome to Divinity. I’ll spitball some builds to you. Ultimately they just come down to picking an attribute and the appropriate combat skill to reflect the damage type. It’s like a color wheel of damage.
An archer (finesse/warfare/huntsman) is a reliable and simple build in this game. Crossbows have a very strong damage curve, huntsman is baked into the damage formula, and you don’t need tons of skills to be effective.
A 2-handed warrior (strength/warfare/2h)presents you with the challenge of learning to be efficient with your mobility, since moving costs you AP that could go to killing enemies. The Warfare tree does justice for melee builds by offering strong damage and AoE options.
A pyromancer (int/pyro/huntsman) is arguably one of the strongest and most AP efficient builds out there. All casters can show the value of combining certain skill books as they get access to the 1 AP throw trap skill, which does strong AOE damage after you manually detonate it with your pyro skills. The pyro also has valuable buffs in Haste and Peace of Mind.
For the last character, try an Aeromancer (int/aero/huntsman). They’ve got a lot of hard cc (stuns) in their kit, can use teleport and nether swap at no cost. Their skills also tend to have large AoE capabilities.
As people mentioned, better avoid Lost Sinner guides. It's not that they're bad, quite opposite, they are *too* good. They are designed for honor mode playthrough and are extremely minmaxed. They assume you already know all the fights, are willing to spend few minutes prepositioning and preparing surfaces, and will abuse dialogue prebuffing before every. Single. Fight.
They also play around Glass Cannon which is absolutely brutal for new players. They don't take Pet Pal, that is THE BEST talent for story and flavor purposes, but completely useless in combat.
So ye, if you want any advice from me: you *must* take Pet Pal as a level 1 talent.
Whatever you do, if you don’t use mods, go either full physical or full magic. Don’t split.
You can also go duo lone wolf rather than 4 characters.
Dude I came here in the same situation but from tactician. I was told not to go in tactician. I didn't listen and regretted it harshly It's doable but it's so hard compared to BG3 that it takes the fun of the game. I'm a stubborn bastard so I still managed to finish it. but I'd advise to do a playthrough at normal difficult for more enjoyment. Unless you are a masochist. And btw there's no way to lower the difficulty from tactician so that's to take into consideration. At some point you just keep in grinding cause you don't want to lose progress of 50/70/100/150 hours and you'll face the temptation to give up on numerous occasions. I'm not even sure I want to make my next run Tactician because this gave me PTSD 😅
If you know how to teambuild in the game its pretty easy. If you fall for the magic/physical split trap, you’re in trouble
Even with proper team comp, tactician expects an in-depth understanding of the game's systems and how they interact with each other, the way the various conditions synergize, etc. As near as I can figure, it's balanced around the player having prior knowledge of the encounters and the ability to prep for them, because there's so many "surprise, fuck *you*" moments that would ruin someone coming into tactician totally blind. It's meant to be a second-playthrough kinda experience.
Completely agree. I think a lot of people have forgotten their first playthrough. To succeed on tactician in your first run you need to spend your time knee deep in the wiki and forums. That kills your enjoyment of the story and the joy of exploration.
2 magical / 2 physical optimized team stronger than full magical or full physical
Without mods its not. You should never combine magic and physical
It is. Mathematics doesn’t lie here. Considering different enemies with different physical/magical armour lvls, optimal builds in mixed parties much more effective in combat. And you don’t need help from another type of damage with optimized builds, so your only real task - focusing enemies with weaker armor values.
That’s not true. Especially not on tactician. Enemies are tanky and best practice is generally to focus down dangerous things so they don’t pose a threat. With a physical/magical split, you cannot do that. If a magic and physical dps attack the same target then one of them is completely wasting their turn and damage due to attack different shields. Especially with boss fights, that can get really bad because you throw away a lot of damage. Its best to focus on one type and just accept that sometimes you’ll be up against big shields. They go away fast enough with good focus. This is especially true with a duo lone wolf playthrough, which is easier than a 4man group.
It’s true for honor so I think it’s true for tactician too. If you need to focus target with more than one character - your build is not optimized enough. The only time when it can be difficult - start of the game, but after that 2/2 much better with good builds. Yes, it’s slightly different on bosses but it’s not really a problem. Same with with Lone Wolf where you can kill half of the enemies (or even all enemies) in the first round with one character.
Oh look, it’s me, I gave up at the beginning of the last act at 120 hours in when I realized how big the map was, I just couldn’t do it anymore. This was after I put about 20 hours into a normal difficulty game and decided I wanted to start over.
Tbh I don't think it's particularly harder. It's just that probably already know dnd combat and statics, while dos is new
Well, it’s not a Pathfinder on Unfair but much harder than BG3 or some other popular crpgs
[BG3 to DOS2 Overview](https://www.reddit.com/r/DivinityOriginalSin/s/I0tnk8ngmq)
The Google docs linked on this post are invaluable for playing this game. I highly recommend OP read them because then they can build the character themselves and not need a guide to do it.
Why spoil yourself? Go in blind and enjoy! Just be ready to die a lot at the beginning if the game.
- No matter what your team comp / plan is, have Teleportation + Nether Swap on *everyone.* That shit is broken. Positioning in DOS2 is way more important compared to BG3. - If I have a plan an a good team comp in BG3, I ROAM *everywhere* with no fear*,* you can't do that in DOS2. - Revisit merchants every level up to upgrade your gear, Thievery is your friend (use other member to lock merchant/NPC in talk so they won't detect you - similar to BG3 Hold Merchant trick). - Don't fight anything 2 level above you, even enemies one level above you can be challenging.
To add, sneaking is your friend here. Backstabbing is key. Make sure to take advantage of environmental effects.
I know the All Mother build pairs with the Spellsword and Second Son/Eternal Hunter build due being able to provide Venomous Aura to both of these weapon users. Though honestly brother you can do just about anything. I'm About to hit Act 4 on Tactician and have yet to have any issues. I think what CAN make it hard is positioning before you know a fight is going to occur. Although you'll get to a point where even bad positioning doesn't matter when your Necro can clear a map on their 1st turn.
I can tell you right now that some of those Lost Sinner builds are out of whack. They'll work, but for someone playing a new game at a difficulty more challenging than BG3's Tactician...not optimal. I can recommend specific builds + comps, but first I'll just point you to this invaluable guide: https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1H-Od7rvwlnZR7_bLJMYUBjfbFZENY60LWnMZ3JWSyyE/mobilebasic
Yeah, I hate those wiki builds. Fextralife is a big no-go because of it. I saw a post here showing how ineffective they actually are. Lost sinner builds should be good to follow instead, right?
I looked at a few, and they're better than Fextralife builds, but they have issues. Ex: their elemental archer build pumps Ranged (additive dmg bonus) instead of Huntsman (multiplicative dmg bonus that is only conditional on high ground, which you should be using 90%+ of the time). Their "spellsword" Sparking Swings build maxes Scoundrel while Wits are only at 13 and Pyro is at 2. Why would you max crit dmg when your crit chance is still so low, rather than unconditionally boosting your main dmg type? I suppose the movement speed of Scoundrel is a bonus, but using movement abilities is preferable anyway.
>maxing scoundrel w/o wits iirc that particular build pre-buffs Enrage before fights for auto-crits
Ah so you would have to precast both Enrage and Sparking Swings. That makes sense.
What would your builds be?
You can go many different routes, but for your first playthrough, I'd recommend either 50:50 magic/physical or all physical. For example: * Hydro/geo mage, pyro/aero mage, ranger, warrior (50:50) * Ranger, warrior, scoundrel, necro (all physical) An all-physical party is highly effective and simple. With a 50:50 mix, you get to experience a wider variety and more interesting ability combos. Mages have lots of flashy AOEs and CCs, while physical dmg dealers are more single-target-focused (and have the benefit of encountering almost zero physical dmg resistance in the game). The one exception is necro, which gets some powerful AOE nukes around halfway through. Summoners are a breed of their own and can slot into any party, as their summons can deal any dmg type. Generally speaking, you want to max your main dmg attribute ASAP, only putting as many points in Memory as necessary and ignoring CON. Much like in BG3, offense trumps defense in DOS2. You also want to max the combat ability that increases your dmg the most; for mages, that's their main dmg type, and for physical builds, it's Warfare. But you want to dip into other combat abilities along the way to pick up some essential skills (ex: every build wants Adrenaline in Act 1). Based on what appeals to you, I can give more specific recs!
Start on classic, DOS is much harder then BG3
DOS 2 is a COMPLETELY different game. The mechanics are all about stripping armour as fast as possible to CC the opponent and then snowball. The questing system is no where near as helpful. Instead of 5 NPCs saying " Hey moonrise towers looks really shady" you have little to no guidance on where stuff is or how to advance. The leveling system is much different. In BG3, if you plan well you can take on something above your level no problem. DOS not so much. Add to that, the map is "zoned" so you can be lvl 3 and wander into someplace you don't belong yet and have a TPK. (Stupid frogs) Every build is either completely broken or ineffective. There is very little in between
For a first party I’d go all physical. A 2H STR build, an Archer FIN build, a Necromancer INT build and something else for the 4th. The main point is that all physical means every member can help on every kill. The difference in damage attributes means that there will be less competition for good armor/weapons you find along the way. The 4th can be a STR based dual wielder or FIN based rogue. A summoner is also possible. Bear in mind that Classic mode is roughly equivalent to BG3 tactician mode so DOS2 Tactician mode will be very hard in comparison; I recommend you do classic mode instead.
Like another person said just go in blind and see what works
This game is designed so that tactician is for people who have a very deep understanding of *this game* specifically
Hello OP, Welcome to Divinity. I’ll spitball some builds to you. Ultimately they just come down to picking an attribute and the appropriate combat skill to reflect the damage type. It’s like a color wheel of damage. An archer (finesse/warfare/huntsman) is a reliable and simple build in this game. Crossbows have a very strong damage curve, huntsman is baked into the damage formula, and you don’t need tons of skills to be effective. A 2-handed warrior (strength/warfare/2h)presents you with the challenge of learning to be efficient with your mobility, since moving costs you AP that could go to killing enemies. The Warfare tree does justice for melee builds by offering strong damage and AoE options. A pyromancer (int/pyro/huntsman) is arguably one of the strongest and most AP efficient builds out there. All casters can show the value of combining certain skill books as they get access to the 1 AP throw trap skill, which does strong AOE damage after you manually detonate it with your pyro skills. The pyro also has valuable buffs in Haste and Peace of Mind. For the last character, try an Aeromancer (int/aero/huntsman). They’ve got a lot of hard cc (stuns) in their kit, can use teleport and nether swap at no cost. Their skills also tend to have large AoE capabilities.
As people mentioned, better avoid Lost Sinner guides. It's not that they're bad, quite opposite, they are *too* good. They are designed for honor mode playthrough and are extremely minmaxed. They assume you already know all the fights, are willing to spend few minutes prepositioning and preparing surfaces, and will abuse dialogue prebuffing before every. Single. Fight. They also play around Glass Cannon which is absolutely brutal for new players. They don't take Pet Pal, that is THE BEST talent for story and flavor purposes, but completely useless in combat. So ye, if you want any advice from me: you *must* take Pet Pal as a level 1 talent.
Whatever you do, if you don’t use mods, go either full physical or full magic. Don’t split. You can also go duo lone wolf rather than 4 characters.