Being Divine is Tough.

For a long time I watched and waited for Divinity:  Original Sin 2 to finally make it to full release.  It sat on my wishlist for many months and I kept an eye on any news about the quality of the game.  Almost everything that I read was positive and there was even talk of it possibly being one of the best RPG's of the year.  So, I finally decided to bite and buy it the last time that it was on sale.  Now, I'm guiding my band of misfit heroes through a brand new story and set of challenges.

I will admit that Divinity:  Original Sin wasn't a game that I initially had strong, positive feelings toward.  It was a CRPG in a more classic form and definitely had a difficulty curve that I struggled with.  Those struggles finally got the better of me and after some serious frustrations, I played through 80% of it and then decided I was tired of the long, drawn out bouts of combat.  It sat neglected in my library for a long time and then I finally decided to finish it.  After finishing it, I can definitely say it's a great game--the frustration came from the depth of the game and my inability to fully understand that depth.

I've been playing through Divinity:  Original Sin 2 for awhile now (I haven't finished it yet and have probably less than 50% completed) and it feels like a significant improvement over the first game.  The systems are very similar, but much easier to understand.  I'm enjoying the fact that you can play as either a pre-designed character with their own story or that you can create your own.  Divinity:  Original Sin 2 features a wide variety of races to choose--you have your normal fantasy variants humans, elves, and dwarves--but now there are also lizards and the undead.  The neat thing about choosing a pre-designed character is that they come with their own backstory, quests, and speech abilities that are particular to their story and background.  Uniquely, you can choose any class for these pre-designed characters and mold them into anything you want them to be.

Not uniquely, I decided that I would play as Sebille and that she should be a rogue.  Elves in Divinity:  Original Sin 2 are somewhat unique when compared to the stock elven characters in fantasy games.  There is still a strong tie to nature, but elves also possess a unique ability to witness the memories of the dead through cannibalism.  Eating a severed body part can unlock abilities or quest information that can prove helpful.  Sure, it's macabre, but it gives elves a new spin that they desperately need.

Sebille's story has remained largely a mystery.  She has an odd tattoo on her face, possibly from being a slave, and her speech options include "outlaw," which means that she has a colorful past.  She's not the friendliest of characters and can be quite ruthless.

To accompany Sebille, I chose a squad made up of the Red Prince, Beast, and Lohse.  My squad represents the diversity of DOS2--a lizard, a human, a dwarf, and an elf.  Unwisely, I didn't choose the best set of skills for my party.  I decided that the Red Prince should be our fighter/tank--there's just something about his haughty demeanor that screamed "noble knight."  Lohse seemed perfect for a mage/caster type.  Stupidly, I decided that Beast should be a battlemage, a class that seems sort of bizarre--an illogical combination of melee and magic.  Generally I like to keep a balance between ranged and melee, but I'm heavy on the melee side, which can be problematic.  Somehow, I'm managing to keep them alive though.

One of the biggest improvements in DOS2 is the crafting system.  In the first game it was barely explained and I often found myself Googling crafting guides just to learn how to do the basics.  Now, there's a handy "recipes" tab that keeps track of all the different crafting recipes that your team has learned.  The inventory system has also been vastly improved (but can sometimes be mind boggling) and party inventory can be easily shared.  I still think that crafting is largely a waste of time, but it's nice that it's not so archaic.

On the combat side of things there is plenty to be excited about.  There are a few new classes with their own special abilities--polymorphs can use magic to transform themselves into different beneficial forms; summoners can summon elemental totems and other objects and necromancers can summon undead creatures to fight with your party.  The fighting itself has largely remained the same, but with some minor improvements.  Utilizing strategy is very important--characters have both physical and magical armors that help to negate either physical or magical attacks.  Paying attention to these armor types can help you decide where different attacks are better focused--casters can easily whittle down an enemy with low magical armor and characters that do physical damage can tear up a caster like a piece of wet tissue paper.  It's also important to note which types of armors negate certain abilities.  Of course, there's also the issue of friendly fire--if you're careless you could end up barbequeing all your melee.

Thus far, I'm enjoying DOS2 much more than the original.  There have been some tough battles and some confusing quests, but I haven't felt the same level of frustration that made me quit the first game.  I'm definitely feeling that DOS2 is a great game.