Hi everyone. Long-time lurker here, but finally registered and posted because i am quite excited about divinity: os.

Count me as one of those who prefer the turn-based combat and isometric view (it's isometric, right?) that you are planning to implement for original sin.

I played dd and bd before, and recently the dragon knight saga, but quit after the battle in the tower with the necro and his demon. Combat is too frantic, frenetic and hectic button-mashing for me in that game, and i found out it is not to my liking (though i love the other qualities of the game).

Also, and this is on my wishlist, i hope you also put in the extra effort to balance the difficulty in original sin, just like in bd, which was thoroughly discussed here:

http://www.larian.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=296381#Post296381

That being said, i wish you luck in original sin.

I don't know the exact camera angle, but D:OS does pretty much have an isometric view. There is a video of the E3 presentation in the Gamespot article.

For DKS, since you got to the battle tower, you could unlearn your skills at the trainer and go for a build that utilizes a less frantic combat style (and/or reduce the difficulty level). An archer shouldn't need to do much frantic button mashing, or much running around after learning Splitting Arrows and Explosive Arrows (Stun Arrows and Poison Arrows help early in the game). Some people keep their character mostly out of direct combat, and let their creature, a summon and maybe a charmed opponent handle most of the fighting.


Welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the welcome, raze.

When i asked if it's isometric or not, i actually meant if it's not going to be changed anymore. Between now and Q2 2013 is still a year away and lots of things can, well, still happen. i hope they keep it at that iso angle for the final release.

The char i finished the battle in the tower in DKS was actually an archer, w/ an undead summon and my creature in the mix. But i found out that i still handled most of the fighting even from range as most of the enemies just ignore/run past my summons and target me. Prior to playing that archer i had a two-handed warrior (found out also that wearing a shield confers minimal benefits in DKS), but stopped playing her. Enemies do too much damage imo. Now i would understand that if i were playing on hard or nightmare diff, but i was playing it on normal. I've played a handful of rpg's, and i feel a bit uneasy sliding the diff to "easy" in DKS. I might, one day, but i am playing other games and would like to finish them first.

Thanks again.

When D:OS was first mentioned (as Project E) more than a year ago, the only detail we got was the top down camera view. I think it is too late to change now; there may be a year before release, but changing the camera would require changes to the UI, controls, level design, etc.


In DKS with my archer I found a mage head worked best with my creature. It didn't run off much that way, or draw many opponents into the fight who could have otherwise been left for later, and provided more of a shield than with a warrior head.

With a few levels into Splitting Arrows, it becomes a one hit kill for non-boss opponents at close range.

I usually don't bother with temporary boost spells in games (an occasional potion can help in tough fights), but at level 40 bought a bow with +5 Way of the Ranger, which I found very helpful, and put another 5 points into the skill right away, and maxed it later.

I stopped distributing stat points after level 15 (playing on nightmare) and found that up to level 9 of Life Line on most pieces of armour, plus any vitality or hit point bonuses on equipment, and a couple level 10 Healing Auras on jewellery gave me plenty of hit points. Level 1 of Healing came in handy, and there were few places I had to use more than an occasional healing potion.

Good to know that the isometric view is there for keeps.

Thanks again for the add'l tips. I might make a new post in the DKS forums about my char, lest i be accused of hijacking this thread.

Back to Div: OS, is there a plan for a class that utilizes shield skills? The defender/conqueror class in titan quest was one of the best i've seen in an rpg at using shield skills. Couldn't recall any rpg i've played in recent memory that came close to the way the defender class was developed in that game.

We know that 4 of the 6 skill trees in D:OS are magic, but nothing about the other 2 yet. There should be a weapon + shield expertise skill, but at least in previous Divinity games there were not a lot of defencive skills specifically tied to shields (some skills have been similar to Titan Quests' defence mastery skills, though, from a brief description of them that came up when I googled).

True that. I vaguely recall one skill, shield expertise, in dd, but that only sets off on a 5% chance iirc. In bd, i played as an archer with the death knight as a warrior, so i can scarcely remember any shield skill in that game. In DKS, shields didn't matter much at all to my limited time playing it.

it'd be nice if there will be a weapon + shield in D:OS, if only to increase the survivability of melee chars. Don't know how well that can be implemented in a turn-based game, but we can all have wishes.

The only wish I've is that Original Sin has those 4 magic skill trees (fire, water, eard & wind/ear) to use in turn based combat or also to burn wood or make a pool of water to do your dishes ...

And that the other 2 skill trees are for NON-combat (or passive skill that can be useful in all kind of situations, combat too), like lockpick, stealth, etc ... such things ! Maybe also a very special skill Larian Studios is making (like they did with Mindreading for DKS, that was o so nice, fun .. very great !)

My wish is that you can do amazing things to your weapons. I have seen some examples, but I am hoping that there is even more.

Examples:
1. Pour oil on sword, cast fire spell on it and then attack.
2. Cast water on enemies iron sword/axe. Cast freeze and shatter their weapon when it is next used.
3. Polish/sharpen weapon with found whetstone. Increases weapon damage.
4. Cast spells on arrowheads before firing, similar to above.

In E3 video all special kinds of arrows were as skills (like in DKS)

You know what would be a cool spell? Exploding Arrows.

No, not the kind where you take a bow and fire an arrow at the enemy, which explodes when it hits. A spell you cast on enemy archers, so when they try and fire, their arrows explode. In their bows.

Please, bring again into the game the way one could make honey from the first Divinity game !

Keep on going guys - some of these ideas we didn't think of but they'll make it in the game!

Variability in decisions - in situation with Sarah we, for example, may extinguish the suicide bomber. Or teleport Sarah out of the house. Or protect her with the kind of invincibility. Or convince bomber not to blow up. Or just kill them both. Or... well, only imagination of players is the border, in fact. Should we expect this?

Yes. There's multiple ways to deal with the bomber from what I heard. There was a video showing the gameplay on Gamespot and the player later killed Sarah afterwards to steal an apple from her house for the greater good.

Just go to the bomber and ask him, why he is there ?

Or even worse : Ask him a question/riddle/philosophical something that is so difficult that he will vanish like the two skeletons from early within the first Divinity 1 dungeon ?

Or something like ... making him believe that he doesn't exist at all (sililar to in PS:T making people believe the Nameless One exist - or like in the Discworld where things come into being by people simply believing in them ) ? - Would requite a persuasion skill check, I believe.

Someone in another thread mentioned cards (altho, in a totally different context) and this gave me an idea. Is it late to implement something like that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=264wi-_Yxmw

In FF8 universe/gameworld, Triple Triad was a popular game card you could play with almost anyone, win rare cards and fill in your collection or transform cards into nifty things later. I really loved this small addition to the game series (later it evolved into Tetra Mist in FF9). Any chance we can see something like that in D:OS? I'm not talking about some primitive dice-rolling game, a-la Two Worlds, I'm talking about the min-game that repays for your effort and dedication later. Just like some kind of unspoken sidequest - it is not just enough to play it, sometimes you will have to find the person to play with, and only he/she has rare card. Or may be, with your social skills (convince/intimidation), you can turn a deadly encounter with some menacing villain boss into a card fight (and thus get a chance to win something rare)? Ah, the opportunities.

That would be really awesome and it would add some depth to the setting and gameworld.

Larian I think I remember did "Casino Games" in the past - why not implement a simple card game as an easter egg ?
Perhaps even a Solitaire game within a Tavern ?


Edit :

... If you leave wine too long in a barrel, then it turns either into

- better wine
- vinegar

on a random dice roll.

A trading card mini-game? Yuck, yuck, yuck, no thanks!

Think of it as a bestiary.

I think it would be fun to have some mini-games as easter eggs.


On a different tangent, what about mounts in-game? As a turn based game, this may be pointless, but the world seems big enough to support it.