PAX: Divinity: Original Sin II Aims To Raise The High Bar Set By The Original

Origin characters are ready-made characters that have their own base personality and backstory. These characters include Beast, a dwarf who led a failed rebellion against the queen, Fane, an undead human who woke up with the world he knew long gone, Ifan ben-Mezd, a human who was a crusader who lost his faith and has become a Lone Wolf mercenary, Lohse, a star chanteuse whose body is now host to a mysterious entity who makes its presence known at inopportune times, The Red Prince, a brilliant warrior general who was exiled for cavorting with demons, and Sebille, an elf slave turned assassin who hunts her former master. While certain classes make more sense for these character's history, the player is free to change their build into whichever one they wish to play as. The Origin characters can also be recruited into the player's party, and their presence will activate origin events the player can engage in specific situations and they also open up certain dialog options. When recruiting them, changing their class is worked into the dialog so the player has a lot of customization options in their party. The player can also split up the party if they want to have someone do some sneaking around alone or divide the party into two groups of two, which is easily done by moving the portraits of the character in the upper left hand corner.

Set roughly a thousand years after the events of Divinity: Original Sin, the story begins with all the Origin characters along with the player and other NPCs on board a ship taking them to the prison island of Fort Joy, guilty of all being able to use the power of source like Rivellon's equivalent of a witch hunt. Source was declared an evil force, and all sourcerers have been rounded up and fitted with source muting collars to prevent them from unleashing their powers, which is quite a reversal of circumstances from its predecessor where the player took on the role of a source hunter. The time on the ship serves as an introduction, a way for the player to get comfortable with the mechanics of the Slg game maps and get a sense of the story. They are free to explore the ship and get a feel for interacting with NPCs and combat. This sequence will end the same way regardless of the player's choices, and that end is unfortunately on Fort Joy, possibly the most ironically named place in Rivellon. Escaping from Fort Joy is the primary objective, but the speed at which this task is completing and how exactly the player goes about this is entirely up to the individual.

Creating a Lockpick is a quick and easy recipe that requires a Hammer and Nails. While this produces only 4 Lockpicks, the Hammer isn't consumed during crafting and remains in the player's inventory. As long as the player has nails, they have an unlimited source of the item. Players can also craft Lockpicks using Soap and a Key. Much like the Hammer, the crafting process does not consume Keys. If the player has two Needles, their combination will also result in a Lockp

There are numerous preset classes to choose from: battlemage, conjurer, inquisitor, fighter, shadowblade, wizard and several more. In addition to the preset build players can select talents such as Elemental Affinity, Ambidextrous or Picture of Health to name just a few of the many. These talents provide stat bonuses or abilities, with one of the more interesting ones being Pet Pal that allows the character to speak to animals. Origin tags contribute to the character's background and open different dialog options such as barbarian, mystic or outlaw. The player may also choose an Origin Instrument for their character between bansuri, tambura, oud or cello, and this instrument may play automatically during certain parts of the game.


Going with a physical damage party will have the best outcome for the player. An example of a party built for physical damage could start with a Cleric. Put points into the Attributes of Constitution and Wits, and then the Combat Abilities Hydrosophist and Geomancer. Take skills like Armour of Frost, Restoration, and Fortify. Pick a Knight as the next character in the party. Make sure there are points put into Warfare. Select Battle Stomp, Battering Ram, and Crippling Blow as Ski

The character creation process has received a massive overhaul. The player is no longer restricted to only playing as a human as Divinity: Original Sin II offers the option of also playing as a dwarf, elf, lizard, or undead. Each of these races has their own unique ability. For example, an elf can gain the memories of another individual through the simple act of cannibalism. So if you happen to stumble across a corpse, grab that severed limb, liberally apply some seasoning and let the elf party member chow down to unlock some of their memories. Dead men do tell tales, and they are also delicious part of a balanced diet.


Once the player becomes comfortable with the game, they should experiment with different hybrid builds and see what works best for them. There is no perfect way to make a party. There are, however, various combinations of character builds that work better together as a pa