Begin Your Conquest

Few role-playing games go as deep as Divinity: Original Sin 2. As a sorcerer chosen by one of the Seven Gods, you’ll begin an epic quest to claim power. Overwhelmed? Follow these tips to feel more at home in Rivellon—or at least as comfortable as you can be with the Voidwoken on the march.

The first thing you do in Original Sin 2 is create your character—a task that can feel daunting in many RPG games. How do you know which character is the best to play?

Don’t stress. Just pick one of the default classes and go with an “Origin” character, such as the Red Prince, Beast, or Lohse. They provide a deeper backstory and better dialogue than custom characters. And in Original Sin 2, you aren’t stuck with what you start with—you’ll have a chance to reshape your party later in the game.

Leveraging Rivellon’s varied terrain can help you gain tactical superiority. For example, you might send your strongest-range fighters—spellcasters, archers, and the like—to outcroppings and ledges to rain down on your foes from afar. Or if you spot an enemy in a pool of water, have your aerothurge send a jolt to shock them where they stand. By the same token, never finish your turn standing next to (or in) something an enemy might use against you.

It’s fun to hack and slash your way through Rivellon, but mindless combat can actually hurt your progress: Many of the Non-Player Characters (NPCs) you encounter will give you missions or quests, or offer info or loot you’ll need elsewhere in the game. Harm them and you might miss out.

Instead, use your character with the highest Persuasion points—and buff that character with additional Persuasion points whenever you can. Persuasion helps you avoid fights, get information from other characters, and more.

Trading lets you equip your party with useful gear without having to fight for it. As you interact with NPCs in Fort Joy, don’t forget to click the red Trade button to see what each has to offer. (This is where those Persuasion points pay dividends, helping you charm your way to better deals.)

Like in the real world, sleep is crucial! Whether on a bedroll you snagged at Fort Joy or in a proper house or tavern, sleep restores health and shields. This makes a bedroll one of the most important items in the game, as you’ll discover the first time you need to heal after combat. And unlike some other items, bedrolls are reusable, so nap whenever you need to.

The Pet Pal skill, which lets you talk with animals, is both amusing and strategic: Communicating with livestock, pets, and other creatures can reveal hidden secrets and traps you otherwise wouldn’t find. You’ll obtain this skill eventually, but if you encounter the Ifan Ben-Mezd character early on, add him to your party, as he has Pet Pal from the start.

Original Sin 2 is a big game (in a good way!) that encourages experimentation. You may have to repeat some battles to achieve a satisfactory outcome, so don’t be afraid to use the Save command frequently. This will give you a point to restore from if the next battle doesn’t go your way. (Save has a convenient shortcut—F5—and there’s also a dedicated Save button on the Touch Bar.)

Original Sin 2 has been optimized for the latest Macs. You can use special gestures if you’re on a MacBook Pro with a Force Touch trackpad, for example, and the Touch Bar provides one-tap access to character information and inventory, journal records, crafting, and more. The game also works with MFi-compatible game controllers, and Macs with a Thunderbolt 3 port can give the game’s graphics a big boost via an external graphics processor (eGPU).

Divinity: Original Sin 2

Definitive Edition

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