Divinity: Original Sin build help.

Vallmyr

Ok. So I've owened the game since release and so I have the enhanced edition now but just haven't played the game yet. I can't past the first boss, CHARACTER CREATION!

So with two characters I plan to create my two primary characters Val'myr the Necromancer and Piro the Bard.

Any recommendations for builds and what I should focus on stat-wise for making a Necromancer character and a Bard character? In D&D I prefer Necro-Clerics to wizard Clerics since I enjoy armor and such.

Vallmyr

Anyone have any experience with builds and such? I know there isn't exactly bardic music or anything but I figure there has to be a way for like a buffer/debuffer type character or something.

I know for a Necromancer I could probably go down the Witchcraft skill set but unsure for what else to focus on.

I'm just super scared of making a "bad" decision and ruining the character @_@

Caeria

I'm not great at advice and haven't touched this game in months (nor the enhanced edition at all) so I'm probably not going to be very helpful, but I'll at least throw in my two cents.

In my opinion, none of the builds are particularly overpowered or underpowered, although I'm sure there's tons of people who would disagree vehemently with me on that matter, since if you read up online it seems like a lot of people think certain builds are weaker and aren't as good. That hasn't been my experience, but to be fair, I have not played every single build, though I have played a good chunk of them.

My advice is this: don't agonize over builds too much. Yes, I know that's easier said than done. That said, I am a fan of the Shadowblade build, and absolutely recommend it, though I didn't use it for a bard.

ronaldo

Hi @Vallmyr I am doing a run right now with a cleric build and a shadowblade build. I'm no expert but for a necro-cleric I would choose the premade cleric build but switch hydrophist for witchcraft. You will have enough skill points to add another focus later on. Ability points should go to intelligence and some strength. You need high strength for the best heavy armor.

The bard build is tough.....I would say hydrophist for healing and maybe geomancer because it has some good buff spells. I know wands aren't very "bardish" but wands are amazingly powerful and fit an intelligence build like this.

I would recommend taking the ranger companion and the warrior companion. Also crafting is very powerful in this game.

Just my 2 cents hope it helps.

JuliusBorisov

Summoning DOS players here: @Fardragon and @procco

Fardragon

I haven't played DOS for a while, but I think the Necromantic stuff is filed under "Witch". I would suggest focusing on Intelligence and going for a straight caster. I can't think of any really bardy sets of skills, but you could do dexterity focused rogue and grab the interpersonal skills. You don't need to use any of the premade classes, I prefer to start from scratch.

Fardragon

Okay, been in and fiddled a bit:

Necromancer: Start with Witch. Remove Charisma, add Telekinesis. Change talents to Leech and either Zombie or Know it All.

Bard:
Attributes: +1 Str +2 Speed, +2 Perception
Abilities: Man-at-Arms, Charisma, Leadership, Lucky Charm, Loremaster
Skills: Cure Wounds, Encourage, Whirlwind
Talents: Politician, Light Stepper

NB: designed for theme, not optimal game-play performance!

Vallmyr

Thank you for the help! I super appreciate it. Maybe I can finally enjoy the game and get past the character creation screen.

procco

I won't be much help with figuring out a good build. I've been going through the game without any real plan for how my characters are going to end up. I've got generally a wizard with high perception for traps and other stuff, and generally a rogue with high lock picking, but I've been a little scattershot with my character builds. I've gotten as far as just leaving Cyseal (finally...I've been playing pretty much every day for a couple of hours for two months. This game is really long and dense). I haven't had too much trouble with most of the fights, although I've had to put off a couple of the fights towards the end of the Cyseal map until later (you can do that in this game!)

Keep us posted on how you like the game. I could not get into it when I tried the vanilla version, but something about the EE has really captivated me. I think it aimed down to it being a super FUN game.

Vallmyr

I shall most certainly do so if I decide if this will be the next game I beat.
I'm currently trying Kotor 2, D:OS, Morrowind, Sword Coast Legends, and Icewind Dale II. Since I recently beat NWN2 I go through this phase where I just try different games and then focus on the one I feel is the most fun.

Edit: Also looking at the Champions of Krynn series.

DragonKing

So, I too just learned that I have a copy of Divinity Original sin EE... I'm afraid to play it though because I might get hooked.

TheElf

I bought it during the x-mas sale. Haven't gotten too far yet, but my $.02 so far is on normal difficulty it seems you can really build your characters any way you want without worrying too much about them being 'wrong', at least as far as the combat goes.

ShapiroKeatsDarkMage

I made a fighter and a wizard for my first playthrough.

procco

TheElf said:

I bought it during the x-mas sale. Haven't gotten too far yet, but my $.02 so far is on normal difficulty it seems you can really build your characters any way you want without worrying too much about them being 'wrong', at least as far as the combat goes.

it does seem like it's balanced in a way that you can get away with making your characters however you like and still have them viable. a lot of the crafting/blacksmithing type skills can be boosted with equipment so it's not a problem if you don't want to dedicate points to those. I've been going with a well-rounded mage character for one of my mains with points in all the magic schools, with dual wielding for double wands, and she is my go-to damage dealer/crowd controller/healer. The other three characters are really her support. My other main is a rogue who deals with a lot of the non-combat stuff., like picking locks and whatnot (but even that, if you look around enough, you can usually find keys for most locks). He's also my crafter. I switch out the secondary companions depending on what I need, but Bairdotr and Madora have been in most of the time.

I'm just barely past the Cyseal map, and I have no idea how much longer the game is, but this may end up being one of my favorite, if not my #1 favorite game. Larian really did a great job with the EE.

SharGuidesMyHand

procco said:

TheElf said:

I bought it during the x-mas sale. Haven't gotten too far yet, but my $.02 so far is on normal difficulty it seems you can really build your characters any way you want without worrying too much about them being 'wrong', at least as far as the combat goes.

it does seem like it's balanced in a way that you can get away with making your characters however you like and still have them viable. a lot of the crafting/blacksmithing type skills can be boosted with equipment so it's not a problem if you don't want to dedicate points to those. I've been going with a well-rounded mage character for one of my mains with points in all the magic schools, with dual wielding for double wands, and she is my go-to damage dealer/crowd controller/healer. The other three characters are really her support. My other main is a rogue who deals with a lot of the non-combat stuff., like picking locks and whatnot (but even that, if you look around enough, you can usually find keys for most locks). He's also my crafter. I switch out the secondary companions depending on what I need, but Bairdotr and Madora have been in most of the time.

I'm just barely past the Cyseal map, and I have no idea how much longer the game is, but this may end up being one of my favorite, if not my #1 favorite game. Larian really did a great job with the EE.

Agreed with most of this.

What I've experienced of the game so far has been more amazing than can be put into words (although you did a pretty good job of doing so).