In this Divinity: Original Sin 2 Beginners Guide, I’m going to be covering the 10 best Skills that can make just about any build better, no matter whether they are melee, ranger, or mage. There may be Skills that are better suited for particular Builds, but these can be used in nearly every Build effectively. So if you’re looking for ways to improve upon a Build you’ve already created, consider adding some of these to it.

Divinity Original Sin 2 Beginners Guide: 10 Best Skills For Any Build

Source Skills are not included in this Guide because most of them belong in specialized Builds, so it did not seem fitting to add them here. However, one fantastic Source Skill that I can recommend for any Build is Skin Graft. Of all the Source Skills in DOS II, it has the most versatility to fit into any Build you are using, and will usually enhance it tremendously. It is arguably the best all around Skill in the game, assuming you have Source, so if you need some extra fire power be sure to add it.

10. Bone Cage

Coming in at number ten is Bone Cage. This Skill would actually be higher on my list if it weren’t for the fact that Mages and Rangers will typically get less use out of it since they are not usually in range to consume corpses as often. Still, it makes for a very effective method to replenish Physical Armour, providing 50% of the value of Fortify by default, and an extra 50% for each corpse consumed. For only one AP, this is still a good trade off, especially with the potential to provide much much more Armour than Fortify under the right circumstances. If you’re looking for a way to boost your Physical Armour, consider using this Skill, especially on your melee units.

9. Dominate Mind

Coming in at number nine on my list is Dominate Mind. Dominate mind might be the most effective CC in the game, as it not only removes an enemy from the fight for 2 turns, that enemy then fights for you. The downside is that it has a hefty cost at 3 AP, and requires some investment into Summoning, which doesn’t benefit most Builds. However, often times as you acquire gear it will have bonuses on it to Summoning, and this can make for an easy way to acquire Dominate Mind without spending valuable Ability Points. I highly recommend this one on any Build that uses Summoning, or any Build that has a couple of points into Summoning because of the gear they are wearing.

8. Challenge

At number eight on my list is Challenge. This is a Skill that used to cost 2 AP once upon a time, and was far too expensive to use for the benefit it provided. However, it has since been updated twice and no longer costs any AP at all. This Skill boosts both Physical and Magic Armour, as well as providing a damage boost if you manage to kill the target in the allotted number of turns, which is not difficult to do whatsoever. This Skill would be higher on my list if it didn’t require 3 Warfare, and if you could acquire it before level 16. You should have this on every single character that has at least 3 Warfare if possible.

7. Tactical Retreat

Coming in at number seven on my list is Tactical Retreat. This Skill is one of, if not the best mobility Skill in DOS II, costing only 1 AP and providing you with an extra AP the following round. It’s absolutely worth taking on any ranged character you have (Ranger or Mage), because they all can make use of the passive benefit that Huntsman provides, which is increased damage from elevation. This not only allows them to get out of harms way easily (and cheaply), but also boosts the damage they deal in the process, which is win/win. This would be higher on my list, but it is more challenging to justify this Skill on melee units who rarely see any passive benefit from Huntsman, but similarly to Dominate Mind, it’s worth taking on them if you have gear that comes with Huntsman on it already.

6. Chameleon Cloak

At number six on my list is Chameleon Cloak. Like Teleportation, this Skill has uses inside and outside of combat. You can use it to stealth by enemies you’d rather not deal with, or to help facilitate stealing in some cases. In combat it provides you with protection by making you Invisible for 2 turns, which is fantastic for only 1 AP. You can use this at then end of any character’s turn to help protect them from damage until their next one. It’s good on both ranged and melee characters, and even though sometimes it doesn’t always work exactly as expected, more often than not it can really turn the tide of battle. It also only requires 1 point into Polymorph, which is 1 less point into Aerotheurge than Uncanny Evasion which needs 2.

5. Uncanny Evasion

Coming in at number five on my list is Uncanny Evasion. This Skill is a fantastic way to prevent damage on the enemies’ turn, whether you are a ranged or melee character, but does not protect from all incoming damage. Instead it increases your Dodge Chance by 90%, making you nearly immune to all Weapon-based attacks, but still at risk to spells that can’t be Dodged. However, this usually works out fine because melee units can replenish their Physical Armour with the Living Armour Talent, and mage characters typically have more Magic Armour anyway. Additionally, enemies are still prompted to attack you, often wasting valuable turns and preventing other party members from being attacked, which isn’t the case with Chameleon Cloak. This Skill would be a bit lower on the list if it weren’t for the fact that Teleportation can also be acquired for the same investment into Aerotheurge (2 Points), which helps to justify its cost.

4. Teleportation

At number four is arguably the best overall utility Skill in DOS II. Teleportation can be used in so many ways it would take an hour to list them all. Whether it’s inside or outside of combat, you can almost always find a use for Teleportation that justifies 2 points into Aerotheurge (especially if you take Uncanny Evasion as well). Ranged characters can use this ability to move enemy melee units far far away, often preventing them from taking damage for several turns, and sometimes even giving them an elevation bonus if they drop them some place lower. Melee units can use this to group up enemies, or to bring some far away high up target down to them into melee range. In short, you can’t go wrong with this Skill, though you probably don’t need it on every single character in your party.

3. Armour of Frost

Coming in at number three is Armour of Frost. This Skill not only boosts Magic Armour on any friendly target, but it also protects against a number of CCs and status effects (or clears them if the target already has them). It can be used easily and effectively by every character in your party, and is available from the very beginning of the game. Managing your Armour values in DOS II is vital to success, and this Skill can help you achieve it because it only costs 1 AP and 1 Point into Hydrosophist. If you need Magic Armour, consider taking this Skill.

2. Fortify

At number two on our list is Fortify. Just like Armour of Frost, this Skill boosts Armour, only this time it increases your Physical Armour instead of Magic. It clears and prevents against less Status Effects than Armour of Frost, but enemies tend to do more Physical Damage, particularly early on in the game, which is why I’ve listed it in the number 2 spot ahead of Armour of Frost. It also protects you from being Teleported, which comes in handy further on in the game, and can be extremely annoying to deal with otherwise. Again, managing your Armour is the key to victory in DOS II, and this Skill can help you achieve it for 1 AP and 1 Point into Geomancer.

1. Adrenaline

Coming in at the number one spot is Adrenaline. This Skill is the pound for pound king of utility Skills inside of combat, and will vastly improve the performance of any character in your group. By allowing you to extend your turn with 2 more AP, you can often control situations resulting in better outcomes for you and your party. It does come with the drawback of losing 2 AP the following turn, however, more often than not (when used properly) you’ll come out on top. This is because combat is usually a race to strip Armour and CC your enemy before they do the same to you, and this is more easily achieved with additional Action Points. Once your targets are CCed, it’s all downhill from there, and this Skill only requires 1 Point into Scoundrel which is easily manageable on every single character you have.

This concludes our content for Divinity: Original Sin 2. With the Early Access for Baldur’s Gate III just around the corner now, I’ll be shifting my focus to that. I’ve already begun a guide series explaining the basics of 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons for those who are interested, and of course I’ll be adding Class, Build and Beginners Guides a bit closer to Early Access. I hope to see you all there! Good luck Sourcerers, Rivellon is counting on you!

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As promised here is the next Divinity: Original Sin 2 Enhanced Edition Build Guide, which is an Undead Summoner/Tank Build that can withstand all kinds of punishment while your other party members are free to spend their Action Points attacking without fear of retribution. There are many Builds you can make in Divinity: Original Sin 2, and in this Build Guide we’re going to be taking a look at the Undeath Incarnate.

Divinity Original Sin 2 Builds: Undeath Incarnate (Tank/Summoner)

The Undeath Incarnate Build is an Undead Tank/Summoner hybrid Build that actually induces enemies to attack you, while using Skill that replenish Armour to keep you alive, allowing your Incarnate to attack while you soak up damage and punish enemies for targeting you. This Build makes use of Poison to heal yourself, as well replenish Armour via the Living Armour Talent.

The way this Build works is that you’ll Summon your Incarnate before or at the beginning of combat, and then buff it and cast Deflective Barrier and ideally Heart of Steel. Enemies won’t be able to resist attacking you because you will have the Glass Cannon Talent, meaning you can be CCed through Armour. All the while they are ganging up on you, your party and Incarnate will be tearing them to pieces without concern for their own defense.

The key to ensuring you survive their attacks is having high Armour values, using the Living Armour Talent, and continuously using Skills that buff your Physical Armor like Shields Up or Fortify. Dome of Protection is also amazing for this Build because, like Heart of Steel, replenishes Armor each turn as long as you remain inside of it. And since you’ll be CCed quite a bit, and you don’t have much personal damage to speak of, this works nicely.

The best way to start this Build is by picking the Conjurer Class, removing the points from Constitution and placing them into Wits. Then remove the point from Leadership and place it into Geomancer. Then remove Dimensional Bolt and select Fortify. This will allow you to buff your Physical Armour from the very beginning of the game, but you’ll want to pick up the Contamination as soon as you can. The Race you want is ideally Undead Dwarf since this will give you extra Dodge and Vitality, but you can pick any Undead Race if you wish.

Undeath Incarnate Attributes and Equipment

As far as Attributes go, you’ll want to pump Wits early on because you need to go first in combat, only putting points into Memory to gain Skills you need. If your Initiative is not high enough you will simply be CCed on the first enemy turn, rendering you effectively useless so this is very important. Once you’ve got enough Initiative that you always go first (about 22 or so at level 10), you’ll begin pumping up Constitution to make yourself harder to kill via a higher Vitality pool.

Weapon-wise it doesn’t really matter a whole lot what you use, but you’ll need a Shield in your off-hand so this is going to regulate you to using a One-Handed Weapon. You can use a Wand, Sword, or Dagger. All are fine, and you won’t be attacking often with these, so they aren’t super important. Try to get Initiative on it if you can though, since this will help to lessen the investment you need in Wits, allowing you to spend more points on Constitution, making you tankier.

Armour-wise you’ll be using Strength-based because it has the highest Physical Armour, which is what you’ll need the most of. However, you can use Intelligence-based as well later on to balance out your Armour if you wish. You want to focus on Armour that gives you the highest possible Armour values, Shield as well, so bonuses are not as important for this Build. However, getting items that give you Immunity to certain crowd controlling effects is always a good idea, since that can prevent you from being Stunned for example, which helps out a lot.

Undeath Incarnate Abilities and Talents

Undeath Incarnates will begin the game with 1 point into Geomancer and 1 point into Summoning and from there they should get these both up to 2 each as quickly as possible. From this point they’ll want to grab 1 point in Scoundrel for Adrenaline, and 2 points into Polymorph to get Heart of Steel, and then they’ll want to further increase Summoning until it’s maxed, only spending a point or two into Warfare to gain Deflective Barrier when they reach Act 2. Once these things are done, they should pump Geomancer for increased Physical Amour from their Skills.

As far as Talents go I’d recommend the following:

Mnemonic – This is the Talent you should take during Character Creation so that you don’t need to invest as many points into Memory early on, allowing you to focus on Wits to increase your Initiative. This one will carry you through most of the game, but you can drop it later on if you find you no longer need it.

Glass Cannon – This Talent gives you 6 AP every turn in exchange for Status Effects going through your Armour. The reason we take this is not for the extra AP, it’s because it will attract enemies to attack you since you can be CCed easily. You want enemies to attack you so they don’t attack your party members. You’ll take this one at level 3.

Living Armour – This ability makes it so that when you heal you regain a portion of that healing as Magic Armour. This is the reason we focus so heavily on Skills that increase Physical Armour, because this Talent alone will allow you to heal Magic Armour easily. Get it. Slot it. Love it.

Walk it Off – This is not a bad Talent for this Build since you will have lots of negative Status Effects, and you can Poison yourself again very easily. Consider getting this one when you reach level 13.

Undeath Incarnate Skills

Undeath Incarnates use a mix of Geomancer and Summoning Skills in order to tank tons of damage and still help control the battlefield. Below is a list of Skills you will use and I will put them in the order you should obtain them in.

Character Creation

Elemental Totem – You cannot have more than 3 of these out at a time, but it’s a good idea to cast one every turn (if possible), because they only last 3 turns each. Cast them in on various surfaces to control the type of damage they deal.

Conjure Incarnate – This skill allows you to summon an Incarnate that gets progressively more powerful as the game advances. At Summoning Level 10 it becomes a force to be reckoned with and you can buff it for increased damage. You can summon it in Poison to make it deal Poison Damage, and as a bonus it’s throw ability can heal you if you need it.

Fortify – You’ll want this one at the beginning because you’ll have little in the way of Armour and you won’t have Heart of Steel yet. This Skill removes Poison, which isn’t great because Poison heals you, so consider replacing it once you get Deflective Barrier.

Character Levels 1-3

Contamination – A great way to turn water surfaces into Poison and to heal you a bit if you need it. You need to spend all your AP every turn once you gain Glass Cannon, so this is a great way to spend 1 AP.

Poison Infusion – This is a craftable Skill that will allow you to convert your Incarnate into a Poison version for 1 AP, which is excellent. It’s not always feasible to cast Rain, then Contamination and then Conjure Incarnate, so this will allow you to transform it more easily. Additionally, sometimes it may be better to have Physical Incarnate, but perhaps you need a Poison Incarnate later on in the fight. This allows you to change it easily.

Fossil Strike – This is a great AoE that Slows enemies through Armour, and reduces Dodge Chance by 30%. This spell is good for preventing melee units from getting to you, which helps reduce the damage you take, so it’s worth getting.

Farsight Infusion – This skill increases your Incarnate damage by +25%, provides it some Magic Armour, and gives it a ranged attack that has a 1 turn cooldown. You’ll need all of these things.

Adrenaline – Possibly the best non-source skill in the gain, it provides you with 2 AP this turn in exchange for 2 AP next turn. Summoners need lots of AP on their first turn to setup the battlefield, so this one is extremely useful. Particularly since you’ll likely be CCed on your next turn, so there is almost zero downside.

Character Levels 4-8

Power Infusion – This buffs your Incarnate with Physical Armour, +25% Damage and adds Whirlwind and Battering Ram to its Skills. Probably the best all around Infusion there is, and you want to use it near the beginning of combat to prevent your Incarnate from dying quickly.

Heart of Steel – This will increase your Physical Armour initially and then buff you with additional Physical Armour for 4 turns. This is a great Skill for this Build, and should be used Turn 1 because it will continue replenishing your Physical Armour, even when CCed.

Impalement – This skill has a reasonable sized AoE and does decent damage for its cost of 2 AP, and can Cripple targets with no Physical Armour. You won’t be optimized for damage, but it does help out, so it’s worth getting.

Character Levels 9 and up

Soul Mate – This Skill is great for keeping your Incarnate alive since you’ll be healing and buffing your Armour constantly, even when CCed. Use it before you buff your Armour for best results.

Dominate Mind – You can use this skill to convert an enemy with no Magic Armour to a friendly for 2 turns. This is one of the most powerful non-source skills in the game, so use it when enemies have no Magic Armour.

Deflective Barrier – A great way to increase your Physical Armour and also reflects projectiles. Requires a Shield, which we’ll have so that’s not an issue. This will help boost your damage since enemies will be attacking you constantly.

Earthquake – Since Knockdown is resisted by Physical Armour, it works here because you will be reflecting a lot of Physical Damage once you use Deflective Barrier. It also does damage to Magic Armour, which is what your Incarnate and your totems will likely do (assuming you make them Poison).

Final Tips

Playing this Build with a Water Mage in your group is preferable, because they will have access to Rain which when combined with Contamination creates Poison all over the screen. This will often be set on fire, so I have not added Rain to this Build. However, having someone who can use Rain does help with managing Fire, allowing for more Poison, so it’s nice to have.

Make sure that you always go first with this Build or you will not get a chance to put up your buffs and you will die horribly and miserably. Make sure you have the highest Initiative on your team, because you need to get these set before anyone else goes!

Prioritize Armour values on equipment! I said this before, but I’ll say it again, you must have high Armour in order to survive the amount of attacks you will face. This is true for any tank, but especially true for this Build since EVERYONE will be gunning for you. Keep high Armour and survive their attacks.

Lastly, try to find items to equip that give you Immunity to Status Effects if possible, and make sure your teammates have Skills that can assist you like Armour of Frost, First Aid and Soul Mate. This will drastically help you out, allowing for you to get more turns in combat.

Stay tuned as we bring you another round of Divinity: Original Sin 2 Enhanced Edition Build Guides, and be sure to check out the DOS II Wiki if you need help with the game!

The post Divinity Original Sin 2 Builds: Undeath Incarnate (Tank/Summoner) appeared first on Fextralife.

It has been over a year since my last Divinity: Original Sin 2 Enhanced Edition Build Guide, which is far too long. There are many Builds you can make in Divinity: Original Sin 2, and in this Build Guide we’re going to be taking a look at the Elusive Enchanter.

Divinity Original Sin 2 Builds: Elusive Enchanter (Mage)

The Elusive Enchanter is a Mage Build that utilizes Aerotheurge and Hydrosophist spells in order to keep enemies disabled and crowd controlled. Frozen and Stunned enemies cannot take an action on their turn, while Chilled enemies have reduced Dodge chance and Movement, and Shocked enemies have reduced Dodge chance and Action Points. This means even when enemies aren’t Frozen or Stunned they will still be at a serious disadvantage. The reason these two Schools synergize well together is because Wet enemies take more Air and Water Damage, and can be Frozen and Stunned more easily, which makes Rain benefit both of these Skill lines because it sets the Wet status effect in a rather large AoE.

• Shocked – For this Status Effect to apply you need to hit enemies with one Electricity spell from the Aerotheurge line. These are: Shocking Touch, Electric Discharge, Dazing Bolt, Closed Circuit, Superconductor, Chain Lightning, and Thunderstorm.
• Stunned – For this Status Effect to apply you need to hit a Shocked or Wet enemy with one of the above spells.
• Chilled – For this Status Effect to apply you need to hit an enemy with any Ice spell from the Hydrosophist line. These are: Hail Strike, Winter Blast, Ice Fan, Global Cooling, Hail Storm , Deep Freeze, and Ice Breaker.
• Frozen – For this Status Effect to apply you need to hit an enemy that is Chilled or Wet with one of the above Ice spells.

The best way to begin this Build is to take the Enchanter Class during Character Creation, and change your Attributes to 3 points into Intelligence. This will give you maximum damage right off the bat, and you shouldn’t need Constitution because you won’t be using a Shield. Leave Skills as is, as these are ideal for this Build, and change your Talent to Mnemonic to gain extra Memory Slots.

Elusive Enchanter Attributes and Equipment

As far as Attributes go, you’ll want to pump Intelligence to max as quickly as you can, only putting points into Memory to gain Skills you need. Once Intelligence is maxed out, you’ll focus on Wits to increase your Critical Chance.

Weapon-wise, you can go in two different directions if you wish. You can use Wand and Shield or Dual Wands. Both will work, but they come with their own advantages and disadvantages. Of the two, I suggest using Dual Wands since these both can come with Intelligence and Critical Chance buffs, and you will have cooldowns early on that leave you with nothing to do. Having Dual Wands ensures you still deal decent damage when this occurs, but as you progress the game becomes less of an issue, particularly if you take the Skin Graft Skill. So later on you may opt for a Shield for extra protection.

Armour-wise you will be using Intelligence-based Armour, as that is where the majority of your Attribute points will lie. This means you will have exceptionally high Magic Armour, particularly because you can use Armor of Frost to boost it even higher. Since you’ll use Uncanny Evasion and Chameleon Cloak to avoid Physical Damage attacks, you shouldn’t need to worry much about Physical Armour. Just make sure to focus enemies that deal Physical Damage, so they cannot attack you. They generally have lower Magic Armour anyway, so this shouldn’t be a problem.

Elusive Enchanter Abilities and Talents

Elusive Enchanters begin the game with 1 point into Aerotheurge and 1 point into Hydrosophist. You’ll want to get these both to 2 points with your first two levels, and then put 1 point into Polymorph so that you can pick up Chameleon Cloak. This means at Level 4 you should have 2 Aero, 2 Hydro and 1 Poly, and have access to nearly all Skills for this Build until you reach Driftwood, since vendors gain new Spells once you reach level 4.

From here onward you’ll alternate Aero and Hydro until they are both maxed out, only putting a couple points into Polymorph to pick up Skin Graft in Driftwood. You can also put 1 point into Warfare to take Executioner if you wish, but that is up to you. You shouldn’t have many points left over for anything else by the end of the game.

As far as Talents go I’d recommend the following:

Mnemonic – This is the Talent you should take during Character Creation so that you don’t need to invest as many points into Memory early on, allowing you to focus on Intelligence to increase your damage. This one will carry you through most of the game, but you can drop it later on if you find you no longer need it.

Elemental Affinity – This Talent allows you to cast Hyrdo spells for 1 Action Point cheaper when standing in Water or on Ice, and sometimes Aero spells if the Water is electrified. A must have for any Hydrosophist Mage, because you can make this happen by simply casting Rain.

Savage Sortilege – This Talent will allow your spells to Critically Strike and is a must have later on in the game to increase your damage. Consider taking this one when your Critical Chance hits about 20% around the beginning of Act 2, it won’t help out much until you actually have some Critical Chance.

Executioner – This is optional for this Build, but it’s good on nearly every Build out there if they deal substantial damage. It can give you an extra 2-4 AP per combat on some characters, so consider taking this one at level 13 if you find yourself finishing off enemies often. Just remember you’ll need a point into Warfare to take it.

Hothead – If you didn’t take Executioner, this is a good choice. It will increase your overall Critical Chance by 10% and Accuracy by 10% when at Max Vitality. Accuracy isn’t useful for casting, but the extra 10% Critical Chance can help boost your damage, resulting in more Frozen and Stunned enemies since you will get through their Armour faster.

Elusive Enchanter Skills

Elusive Enchanters use a mix of Hydrosophist and Aerotheurge Skills in order to keep enemies Crowd Controlled. Below is a list of Skills you will use and I will put them in the order you should obtain them in.

Character Creation

Rain – This should always be the first Skill you use in battle to give yourself Elemental Affinity with Hydro spells, and to make enemies Wet. Make sure you cast it where it puts a puddle on you as well, or you’ll miss out on the Elemental Affinity.

Hail Strike – This will be your go-to damaging spell until you reach Level 4 and more Skills become available. Be careful not to hit other party members with it, and make sure not to miss the enemy with some of the shards, which can happen. Aim dead center for best results.

Electric Discharge – A decent ranged skill with ok damage. We use this mostly for the range, and because it’s one of few Skills that can set Shocked and Stunned.

Character Levels 1-3

Armour of Frost – Armour of Frost will give you the Magic Shell status which increases your overall Magic Armour. It only gets more effective as you place points into Hydrosophist, an you’ll likely use it more later in the game than early on.

Shocking Touch – Does about 10% more damage than Electric Discharge, which isn’t a whole lot, but is still better. You will use this Skill much more often early in the game then you will later in the game because you don’t want to be near enemies if possible. Early on though, you simply won’t have the Skills needed to prevent this 100% of the time, and so it’s useful.

Chameleon Cloak – Use this skill at the end of your first or second turn to hide from enemies and prevent them from attacking you. It only costs 1 AP and is an excellent way to make sure you don’t take damage.

Character Levels 4-8

Winter Blast – This skill give you some AoE Freeze capability and only costs 1 AP while standing in water or on ice. It also doesn’t harm friendly targets, so don’t be afraid to use it liberally.

Ice Fan – You can hit 3 different targets with this skill, allowing for multiple Frozen enemies. Keep in mind they need to be Chilled first, so hit one target with 2 shards to Freeze them if you need to, or cast Rain on top of the 3 Chilled targets to Freeze them all.

Dazing Bolt – Has a hefty cost at 3 AP, but deals substantial damage in a small AoE. This skill can often 1 shot enemies if it Crits, and is a great way to create electrified Water if you have cast Rain already.

Uncanny Evasion – This skill is one of the few defensive skills this Build has and this one is a must. For 1 AP you’ll be virtually un-hittable during the enemies’ round (except by magic spells). Between this, Chameleon Cloak and all your CC spells, you should be near untouchable.

Character Levels 9-15

Global Cooling – A huge AoE that Chills enemies with no Magic Armour and Freezes water. Use this to Chill lots of enemies, or Freeze enemies that are already Chilled or Wet. Be wary of walking on Icy surfaces and put nails in your Boots to prevent slipping.

Pressure Spike – Though this is not an Electrical spell and it cannot set Shocked or Stunned, it deals decent damage for 1 AP so I like to take it. It can also douse Fire, but you won’t use it for that as much as you think.

Chain Lightning – Hits up to 8 targets and has extremely good range. The damage on this skill is also higher than all but Closed Circuit (which has a very small AoE) and isn’t optimal for this Build. A great way to open up a battle if you have the Source Points, after casting Rain.

Skin Graft – This skill works fantastically with this Build and it only costs 1 AP. Because you blow through Skills quickly, you’ll often find that you need to attack with your Wand(s). But with this Skill you can reset the cooldowns of your Skills and just blow through them again.

Character Levels 16 & Up

Ice Breaker – This skill destroys ice surfaces, dealing Water Damage to any target standing on them, friend and foe alike so be careful when using it. It only costs 1 AP, and it’ll return Ice to a Water Surface, allowing you to re-electrify it, which is great.

Hail Storm – This skill is absolutely devastating but costs you all your Source Points. Use when you just want to nuke anything on the battlefield, and if you haven’t already used Skin Graft.

Thunderstorm – Another absolutely devastating Skill that nukes enemies from orbit, but does so over several turns. You won’t be able to use this and Hail Storm in the same combat, so figure out what the enemy Resistances are and use the most appropriate one.

Final Tips

Because you’ll be doing a lot of nuking with this setup, ideally you wouldn’t have many melee units on the battlefield. This will prevent them from getting Shocked or Stunned. But if you do, make sure they have Nails in their Boots so they don’t slip on Ice, and make sure they have decent Air Resistance. Frost Paladins can pair really well with this Build, so don’t be afraid to use one.

Rain is such a crucial part of this Build that I recommend bringing along Rain Scrolls for some of the more challenging fights. That way you can make nearly every enemy Wet for just 1 AP as often as needed, drastically increasing the amount of CC you have. You can craft Rain Scrolls by combining: a Sheet of Paper, a Water Essence, and a Herring Fish. Keep these ingredients and be on the look out for them when looting.

Having a Summoner in your party can really really help this Build out a lot. Casting Totems on Water will allow them to make enemies Wet with each attack, making it much easier to Freeze or Stun them. Make sure they cast one Totem every round for best results.

Avoid playing this Build in a party with a Pyromancer or Geomancer  if you can because they will ruin your Water and Ice, and prevent you from taking the most advantage of it. If you want a second Mage I recommend adding a Necromancer, or another Mage that utilizes one of these two schools of magic as well. You can never have enough Frozen or Stunned enemies!

Lastly, this Build has almost no mobility to speak of, so consider picking up something like Bull Rush or Tactical Retreat if you find it becomes an issue from you. This may require spending some points into Huntsman, which isn’t ideal, so look for gear with it instead. It’s not hard to find one or two items with Huntsman, and Huntsman will boost your damage from elevation as well.

Stay tuned as we bring you another round of Divinity: Original Sin 2 Enhanced Edition Build Guides. And be sure to keep a look out for our upcoming Pillars of Eternity 2 Builds, as the game releases on console in just over a week.

The post Divinity Original Sin 2 Builds: Elusive Enchanter (Mage) appeared first on Fextralife.

In this Divinity Original Sin 2 article we’re going to explore what Build is right for you. While we wait patiently for Divinity: Fallen Heroes, which is due out sometime later this year, I thought it would be a good idea to sort of index the Builds I have made, and point players in the right direction if they are having trouble selecting one. The Builds themselves are rather straight forward, but it isn’t always easy picking the best fit for you or your party, regardless of whether you’re new or a veteran player. In this Guide we’ll cover just that.

Divinity Original Sin 2: Which Build is Right for You?

The first thing to establish when choosing a Build is quite obvious and that is whether or not you want to be a Melee or Ranged character. This is a decision you will make in just about any RPG, and it’s one you’re going to want to make during Character Creation, as it will be the basis of much of your Build.

Melee or Ranged?

Whether you enjoy playing a Warrior, Rogue, Battlemage, Ranger or Mage, there are a few things to know about Melee and Ranged Builds. Not only will they help you decide which is right for you, but also how to play alongside these archetypes in combat. First, let’s take a look at Melee.

Melee Builds

Melee Builds utilize Weapons to deal close combat damage, and generally have a much heavier focus on Physical Damage than Magic Damage. In combat they will need to move to their target, which can sometimes be problematic, but they have the advantage of dealing very high damage with basic attacks.

• High Physical Damage
• Less reliance on Skills since Basic Attacks deal substantial damage
• Average to good mobility
• Have decent crowd controlling effects
• Have good Weapon variety

• It’s much harder to deal Magic Damage, and requires more knowledge of the game to be successful
• Have a tendency to get nuked by ranged characters, friendlies included
• Some Weapons are much worse than others to use
• Weapon attacks can Miss their target

Ranged Builds

Ranged Builds deal damage primarily with Spells or Bows from far away, usually keeping them out of danger. Ranged Builds have a slightly higher focus on Magic Damage, though Rangers and Necromancers do incredible Physical Damage. These can be more difficult to play earlier in the game when there are less Skills available to choose from.

• Excellent Magic Damage and Physical Damage
• Large variety of Builds to choose from, and damage types to use
• Tend to get hit less, as they are usually far from the enemy
• Can use multiple Elements for increased performance
• Spells cannot miss their target

• Can harm friendlies with AoE spells
• Magic Damage can be resisted, making it less effective in many fights
• Some Elements don’t work well together, making party composition relatively important
• Spells cannot Critically Hit without the Savage Sortilege Talent

Melee Archetypes: Warrior, Rogue, Battlemage

After selecting Melee, you’ll then have to determine what is the best Melee Archetype for you: Warrior, Rogue or Battlemage. While all three of these are comprised of close range combat, they all have very different ways of doing this. Warriors, for example, focus mainly on Strength, dealing predominantly Physical Damage with Weapons. Rogues focus on Finesse, and will generally use dual Daggers, dealing Physical Damage with their Daggers. Battlemages focus on Intelligence, dealing Magic Damage of some type with their Staff and spells.

Warrior Builds

Warrior Builds will usually use either Two-Handed Weapons or One-Handed and Shield to deal Physical Damage to enemies. Dual Wield is not typically used, because it does less damage on average vs. Two-Handed, and this is because Two-Handed provides a passive benefit of increased Critical Damage. Warrior Builds will mainly use Warfare Skills to deal damage, but can also use Polymorph Skills to help add further abilities to their rotation. They typically don’t do very much Magic Damage, because most Magic Damage abilities scale with Intelligence, and Warriors generally use Strength.

The following are some Warrior Builds I have created, with notes about each:

Blazing Deepstalker

The Blazing Deepstalker is a Warrior that uses Warfare and Pyrokinetic Skills to deal both Physical and Fire Damage to its enemies. Unlike many Pyro/Warrior Builds that focus on the use of Master of Sparks, Blazing Deepstalkers specialize in the use of traps. Traps deal Fire Damage, and only scale with Pyrokinetic and Character Level, much like Firebrand. This allows them to deal significant Fire Damage, while pumping Finesse, which increases their Physical Damage with Spears.

• Two Damage Types: Physical and Fire
• Can also be made into a Ranger variant
• Can be used as a Strength Build
• Great Build for a Lizard character

• Harder to use for a new player
• Requires some setup to use effectively
• Doesn’t work well with Water-based characters

Death Knight

The Death Knight is a popular well-known Build around the community, and it uses a mix of Warfare, and Necromancer Skills. The reason Necromancer synergizes well with Warriors is because most of its Skills are resisted by Physical Armour. Characters who utilize this skill line will also be able to heal themselves for a good amount of Vitality quite regularly, which is great because you should be taking more damage as a melee character.

• Both Warfare and Necromancer Skills deal Physical Damage
• Gives you the ability to melee or cast spells
• Hard to kill because of the passive Necromancer healing

• Not optimized for the highest damage possible
• Vitality healing isn’t necessary if you keep your Armour up, which you should be aiming to do

Eternal Warrior

The Eternal Warrior makes use of a decent amount of investment into Necromancer in order to obtain the passive healing when dealing Vitality Damage. When combined with Living Armour, the Eternal Warrior can replenish Magic Armour offensively, allowing them to maintain their position on the battlefield and keep on swinging without fear of being crowd controlled via magical attacks.

• Very high damage
• Great surviveability
• Can heal passively

• Less damage than a pure Warrior
• Less Armour than a One-Handed & Shield Warrior

Frost Paladin

The Frost Paladin is a durable Warrior that buffs himself to unimaginable heights and then decimates his enemies with powerful physical attacks. Frost Paladins will utilize healing Hydrosophist Skills as well as a few other Frost spells to trap their enemies from moving before punishing them with Warfare Skills.

• Great Surviveability
• Excellent support and healing
• modest crowd control and Magic Damage

• Less damage than a pure Warrior
• Doesn’t work well with Fire-based Builds

Juggernaut

The Juggernaut is a Warrior Build that uses a mix of Warfare, Geomancer and Polymorph Skills to flatten his/her enemies to a pulp or turn them to stone. Juggernauts focus on pure Strength, but deal a mix of Physical and Earth Damage to their enemies.

• Deals both Physical and Earth Damage
• Great AoE damage and crowd control
• Very hard to kill

• Less Physical Damage than a pure Warrior
• Long cooldowns on Earth Damage Skills

Warden

The Warden is a hybrid Warrior & Ranger Build that uses Spears and Bows to vanquish its enemies. The reason Wardens can do this effectively is because both Spears and Bows use Finesse for their damaging Attribute, allowing Wardens to deal maximum damage with both weapon types.

• Extremely versatile with Ranged and Melee combat
• Spears have longer range than other Two-handed Weapons

• Not as optimized as a pure Ranger or Warrior
• Finesse means that you cannot use Tentacle Lash effectively
• You lose 1 AP when you switch Weapons

Rogue Builds

Rogues are essentially Warriors that use Daggers and Finesse to deal damage to enemies. You must have at least one Dagger equipped in order to use many Scoundrel Skills, so this part at least is not optional, and is really what separates Rogues from Warriors. Daggers do less damage than other One-Handed Weapons, almost forcing Rogues to Dual Wield them in order to deal good damage. Rogues can still use Warfare Skills as well, but Warriors cannot usually use Scoundrel Skills, except for the few that don’t require Daggers.

The following are two Rogue Builds I have created, with notes about each:

Assassin

The Assassin is a hybrid Rogue & Ranger Build that uses Daggers and Bows to deal massive damage to its enemies. Assassins can pull this off because Finesse is used to determine the damage of both of these weapon types.

• Versatility as you can switch between Ranged and Melee
• Excellent Damage
• Can also be played as pure Ranged or Melee

• Weapon swapping consumes AP
• Pure Rogue or pure Ranger will do more damage

Duelist

The Duelist is a high risk, high reward Build whereby the character focuses on high damage and Dodging. Because players are more inclined to Duel Wield when playing a rogue-like character (with Daggers) there is a natural synergy here with the Talent Parry Master which increases Dodging by 10% when Duel Wielding.

• Can be very hard to kill
• Good Damage

• Very equipment dependent
• Prioritizing defense over offense isn’t usually recommended

Battlemage Builds

Battlemage Builds are essentially Warriors that use Staves to deal Magic Damage, and generally use spells from their chosen school of magic as well. They are a bit of a hybrid between Ranged and Melee, but they usually select spells that work well at close range, making them skewed much more towards the Melee side of things. These Builds can be harder to play as a new player, but can be devastating if played well.

The following are two Battlemage Builds I have created, with notes about each. I have not added the Elemental Champion Build here, because it is the one Build that was gutted by the Definitive Edition changes.

Battlemage

The Battlemage is a front lines Mage Build that focuses on Pyrokinetic Skills to deal massive damage to its enemies. Battlemages focus on pure Intelligence and get in close and unleash devastating Fire attacks on all nearby enemies. The Battlemage also uses a couple Warfare Skills and Polymorph Skills for mobility, resistance and some extra AoE, because they want to get in close and blast the hell out of foes.

• Excellent Damage
• Makes use of some Fire Skills that don’t see much use otherwise

• Can be hard to stay alive
• Hard not to hit other melee characters
• Doesn’t work well with Water-based Builds

Radiant Battlemage

The Radiant Battlemage is an Aerotheurge variant of the fiery Battlemage Build. It aims to be an alternative melee Magic Damage dealer, while at the same time avoiding Aerotheurge spells that may harm other melee units. The drawback of this Build is that it does not Shock or Stun targets, which is the primary function of Aero mages (besides killing things). However, it does have a decent amount of controlling effects via Skills like Vacuum Aura and Medusa Head, making it a much safer addition to any group which already has 1 or more melee character.

• Decent crowd controlling effects
• Much safer than a typical Fire-based Battlemage, since no friendly fire
• Can be used with Water-based Builds in the group

• Can be hard to keep alive
• Less damage than a typical Aero Build

Summoner of Sparks

The Summoner of Sparks uses a mix of Summoning, Warfare and Pyrokinetic Skills in order to deal both Fire and Physical Damage. The skill Master of Sparks has long been used by many players to buff their own personal damage with each swing, however, with the Summoner of Sparks we take this a step further. By buffing an Incarnate and our own character we get 2x the fun.

• Exceptional Damage
• Physical and Fire Damage
• Summoning is really strong
• Very little friendly fire for a Fire-based Build

• Doesn’t work as well with Water-based Builds
• High investment into Memory early on

Ranged Archetypes: Ranger & Mage

Rangers use their Bow to deal damage with Huntsman Skills and Basic Attacks to pick off enemies from afar. They deal some of the highest single target Physical Damage in the game, and can also deal Magic Damage with Elemental Arrows, to a lesser extent. Mages usually deal a mix of Damage Types, because they don’t focus on the use of Weapons, allowing for very versatile Builds and setups. They will use a Staff for increased Critical Damage, but more often than not use One-Handed & Shield for increased Armour.

Ranger Builds

All Rangers will use a Bow for a Weapon, allowing them to deal very high Physical Damage from range. They can also use Elemental Arrows, which can be crafted, to deal a decent amount of Magic Damage if they choose. This will be less than the Physical Damage they deal, but allows for versatility. Rangers, like Two-Handed Warriors, generally have the lowest Armour values, and so tend to be a bit squishier than other party members.

The following are some Ranger Builds I have created, with notes about each:

Assassin

The Assassin is a hybrid Rogue & Ranger Build that uses Daggers and Bows to deal massive damage to its enemies. Assassins can pull this off because Finesse is used to determine the damage of both of these weapon types.

• Versatility as you can switch between Ranged and Melee
• Excellent Damage
• Can also be played as pure Ranged or Melee

• Weapon swapping consumes AP
• Pure Rogue or pure Ranger will do more damage

Magick Archer

The Magick Archer is a versatile damage dealer that takes its targets out from range using Bow attacks and Elemental Arrows. This Build is one hundred percent optimized to maximize Elemental Arrow damage.

• Excellent Damage of any type
• Easy to gear up
• Very focused Build

• Can be hard to stay alive
• Elemental Arrows can be a pain to manage

Ranger

The Ranger is a hybrid Build that focuses on ranged damage with a Bow or Crossbow and Summoning some form of “Pet”. The reason it is advised that you use a ranged character when Summoning is because Summoning tends to take up the bulk of your character’s AP per turn, which doesn’t leave much for Movement.

• Excellent damage
• Elemental Arrows allow for different types of Incarnates
• No AP wasted on Movement

• Split Ability Points means the Ranger itself will have lower damage as a character

Sanguine Bowman

The Sanguine Bowman uses a mix of Huntsman and Necromancer Skills in order to deal good damage to many targets, as well as give the character multiple ways to deal Physical Damage. The biggest weakness of Rangers and Necromancers is that they blow through their Skills rapidly, leaving them with gaps in their cooldowns. With the Sanguine Bowman, we not only rectify this by adding more Skills to use, but we also add versatility to both of these Builds.

• Both Huntsman and Necromancer Skills deal Physical Damage
• Gives you the ability to use your Bow or cast spells
• Hard to kill because of the passive Necromancer healing

• Not optimized for the highest damage possible
• Vitality healing isn’t necessary if you keep your Armour up, which you should be aiming to do

Venomous Sentry

The Venomous Sentry is a unique Ranger. The general concept of the Venomous Sentry is to buff your Poison Damage through Skills like Venom Coating, Elemental Arrowheads and Siphon Poison, and then unload upon your enemies. This Build does a mix of Physical and Poison Damage, because of the use of a Bow, but focuses more heavily on the second one.

• Deals Poison and Physical Damage
• Very High damage

• Not great for a new player
• Requires some setup to use effectively

Warden

The Warden is a hybrid Warrior & Ranger Build that uses Spears and Bows to vanquish its enemies. The reason Wardens can do this effectively is because both Spears and Bows use Finesse for their damaging Attribute, allowing Wardens to deal maximum damage with both weapon types.

• Extremely versatile with Ranged and Melee combat
• Spears have longer range than other Two-handed Weapons

• Not as optimized as a pure Ranger or Warrior
• Finesse means that you cannot use Tentacle Lash effectively
• You lose 1 AP when you switch Weapons

Mage Builds

Mages deal Magic Damage or Physical Damage at range, rarely if ever, using a Weapon to attack. They will more often than not use a combination of two or more schools of magic, because since they don’t use Weapons, have an abundance of Ability Points. Since not all schools of magic work well together, this makes for a variety of combinations that outperform others.

The following are some Mage Builds I have created, with notes about each:

Blood Mage

The Blood Mage is a Necromancer Build that relies on high Intelligence and Critical Chance to deal massive damage. Unlike other Mages, the Blood Mage deals Physical Damage, much like a Warrior or Ranger.

• High Physical Damage
• Very hard to kill

• Very few good Skills early on
• Less versatility than other Mages

Crystalline Cleric

The Crystalline Cleric is a hybrid Warrior/Mage Build that leans a lot more to the Mage side of things in the offensive department, only with the defensive capabilities of a Warrior. The Crystalline Cleric does a mix of Water and Physical Damage to its enemies and is especially deadly against Undead (as a Cleric would be).

• Excellent vs. Undead enemies
• Great healing and support
• good crowd control
• Deals Physical and Water Damage

• Can take awhile to get going
• Doesn’t work well with Fire-based Builds

Druid

The Druid is a Summoner who utilizes his Conjure Incarnate to the fullest by buffing him to extreme lengths that make the Incarnate extremely deadly. Druids also come equipped with many utility Skills from many different skill lines and this allows them to have a wide variety of spells for nearly every situation. Druids stack Armour up high so that they cannot be controlled and they force their enemies to deal with their Incarnate or face the consequences.

• Summoning is very strong
• Very hard to kill
• Great for group support

• Low personal damage
• High Memory investment

Elementalist

The Elementalist uses all forms of Magic to destroy their enemies. Dumping only the minimum points into each Magic skill line, and the rest into Polymorph will grant you one extra Attribute point for each rank. This allows you to drop it into Intelligence, which increases the damage of all Intelligence-based Skills by 5%, regardless of skill line.

• Exceptional versatility of Damage Types
• Excellent crowd control
• Hard to kill

• Less damage than other Mage Builds
• Need tons of points in Memory
• Lots of Skill Books needed

Glacial Guardian

The Glacial Guardian uses a mix of Hydrosophist and Summoning Skills in order to control the battlefield in which they are fighting. One of the problems that water mages can have, is that they have to set: (Chilled + Chilled) OR (Chilled + Wet) in order to Freeze enemies. And, although several Hydrosophist Skills hit with multiple projectiles preventing this issue, often they run out of Skills to use. By adding Summoning to a Tidalist sort of Build, not only is this obstacle resolved, but Totems summoned on water or ice will hit for Water Damage. Water Damage makes targets Wet if they have no Magic Armour, which will Freeze Chilled enemies, or allow them  to be Frozen much more easily.

• Great Damage
• Excellent crowd control
• Summoning is really strong

• Doesn’t work well with Fire-based Builds
• Glass Cannon is risky

Occult Flamewielder

The Occult Flamewielder is a Mage Build that utilizes both the Pyrokinetic and Necromancer Skill Lines to deal two types of damage: Physical and Fire. Most Mage Builds will be able to max out at least 2 schools of magic, and because they share a common Attribute (Intelligence), they lose very little effectiveness.

• Deals Fire and Physical Damage
• Great synergy between Fire and Necro in the form of Corpse Explosion and Mass Corpse Explosion

• Doesn’t work well with Water-based Builds
• Very Talent hungry, meaning you won’t have all the Talents you want until later in the game
• Doesn’t work well with Water-based Builds

Scourge Wizard

Because of the Torturer change, this Build becomes extremely effective, especially in the earlier parts of the game. You can use Skills like Ignition and Contamination at the very beginning in order to deal significant Magic Damage to enemies around you. On top of that, the AoE radius is quite large, these 2 Skills both ignore friendly targets, and they both only cost 1 AP each.

• Multiple Damage Types
• Tons of damage over time
• Hard to kill
• Good Crowd Control

• Needs lots of Memory
• Less damage than other Mage builds
• Doesn’t work well with Water-based Builds

Stormchaser

The Stormchaser is an exceptionally high damage build that relies on Air Damage to Stun its targets, and Dodging to avoid being struck by Weapon attacks. Stormchasers can also Silence their enemies, making them have no choice but to attack with their Weapons, which will be Dodged.

• Very high damage
• Very easy to build
• Great synergy with Water-based Builds

• Friendly fire can be an issue
• Better as Lone Wolf than in a party
• Some enemies have Water Damage resistance

Tectonic Sage

The Tectonic Sage is a pure mage Build that focuses on Geomancer Skills to disrupt the movement and positioning of enemies. By Slowing, Entangling, Crippling, Blinding and Petrifying the opposition, these mages ensure their party always has the upper hand. Earth and Poison Damage spells make up the better part of their repertoire, allowing them to deal significant damage because of the heavy focus on one skill line.

• Excellent crowd control
• High damage
• Hard to kill
• Works well with Fire-based Builds

• Not great against enemies that have high Earth Resistance
• When paired with Fire-based Builds, can cause friendly fire if you’re not careful

Terramancer

The Terramancer is a Mage Build that utilizes the devastating AoEs of Geomancer to deal tons of Earth Damage, while also making use of Necromancer Skills that hit for Physical Damage to individual targets. Sprinkle in a few Hydrosophist Skills and you have a Terramancer.

• Great versatility with Physical, Water and Earth Damage
• Good crowd control
• Very hard to kill

• Doesn’t work well with Fire-based Builds
• Not as much damage as some other Mage Builds

Tidalist

The Tidalist is Mage Build that focuses on purely Hydrosophist Skills to deal Water Damage, heal and buff. Tidalists will unleash the fury of the tides by drenching and icing nearby enemies, hampering their Movement, Chilling and Freezing them.

• Excellent damage
• Great crowd control, some of the highest in the game
• Can add healing spells if you need support
• Works well with Aerotheurge-based Builds

• Not great against Water resistant enemies
• Doesn’t work well with Fire-based Builds

This should be the last Divinity Original Sin 2 Guide I will be making, because hopefully we will hear something about Divinity: Fallen Heroes soon. I’ve been in touch with Larian about it, and I will update you guys on its progress the second I know anything at all that I can share. God I hope there’s news at Gamescom! Until then, Good luck Sourcerers, Rivellon is counting on you!

The post Divinity Original Sin 2: Which Build is Right for You? appeared first on Fextralife.

In this Divinity Original Sin 2: Definitive Edition Guide, I want to explore Lone Wolf characters and Builds. The most frequent questions I’m asked about most of my Builds are: “Can you play this Build Lone Wolf? And if so, how do you do it?”. As it takes a lot of time to answer these questions, and I am not generally fond of repeating myself, I decided to create this Guide. Hopefully it will answer everything you want to know about Lone Wolf Builds in general, and how to make my Builds into Lone Wolf Variants. Let’s get started.

Divinity Original Sin 2 Definitive Edition: Lone Wolf Guide

The Definitive Edition has changed the way Lone Wolf works, because you can now no longer pump Attributes past 40 with Attribute Points, and you cannot increase Combat Abilities past 10 with Ability Points. What this creates is an over abundance of Points to place, and not always a clear picture of where to place them.

As it stands now you will hit the cap for your primary Attribute (Strength, Finesse, Intelligence) at Level 7, and you will hit your Combat Ability cap for a particular Skill at Level 5. This is of course supposing you don’t diversify, but allowing for some of that, you’re still looking at Level 7 or so to reach these caps. Since more than half of the game is played after that point, it leaves a lot of players wondering how to efficiently progress their Builds. To help answer those questions, let’s begin by taking a deeper look at Attributes.

Attributes and Lone Wolf Builds

Before the Definitive Edition players would simply push their primary Attribute up to 80, maxing the damage they dealt, and that WAS the most efficient method of playing. However, it relegated even the hardest difficult of the game to mere child’s play, and thus Larian made the above adjustments when bringing the game to console in August. Since pumping your primary Attribute still remains the most efficient use of your Attribute Points in the majority of cases, you’re faced with the decision of where to spend future points once you hit Level 8 or so. Luckily the answer is the same for most Builds:

Once your Primary Attribute (Strength, Intelligence, Finesse) has been maxed out, always pump Wits if you do not need any more Memory.

Most Builds will need a few Points for Memory, to be able to slot all the Skills they wish, but almost all additional points will go into Wits for increased Critical Chance. There are very few Builds that do not benefit from this, most notably are the “Rogue” archetype that gets guaranteed Criticals from Backstabs, and those that rely upon Enrage for their Critical Chance. And even then it isn’t possible to Backstab 100% of the time, and Enrage only lasts 2 turns, so they will still get some use from Wits. This means nearly all Builds will follow this principle.

Constitution is mostly a wasted Attribute in Divinity Original Sin 2, because if you’re taking Vitality Damage then you’ve already lost your Armour. This often results in being CCed, and blown apart no matter how much Vitality you have, unless you have a boat load of it. However, because you will max out Wits around level 17 or so, you will dump all remaining points here. This is simply because there is no other useful place to put them but Memory, and you only need so much of that.

The only exceptions to this are those Builds that deal the same damage type, but use two different Attributes to achieve this. Since the only way this is possible is via Physical Damage, this applies to Builds that use some combination of Warfare Skills, Huntsman Skills, Scoundrel Skills or Necromancer Skills. Of all the Builds I have made I have only done this with the Sanguine Bowman and the Death Knight, which are Ranger/Necro and Warrior/Necro respectively. I have spent many hours working on a Scoundrel/Necro Build, but after much testing, I came to the realization that is not efficient enough to use reliably outside of Lone Wolf. “Rogues” need to push their damage at every available opportunity to get the most from each attack, and you simply cannot do that by spreading out their Attribute Points.

If you were to make the Sanguine Bowman and Death Knight into Lone Wolf Builds, then you would not reach your two primary Attribute caps until Level 15. And, that’s assuming you placed no points into Memory, which you almost certainly have to do. So realistically, you’re looking at Level 17 or 18. Once there, you apply this same rule and pump Wits. Wardens and Assassins use the same Attribute, and thus they would increase Wits once Finesse is maxed, and do not fall into the above exception.

Combat Abilities and Lone Wolf Builds

While Attributes are rather straight forward when it comes to Lone Wolf, Combat Abilities are another matter entirely. The Definitive Edition change has taken what used to be a very clear way of making Builds, and made the waters very very murky. While players used to be able to take their Primary Combat Ability up to 20, now they can only take it up to 10, at which point they must find another two or (three) Abilities that will help to boost their damage. This is much easier to do for Builds that use Weapons as their primary means of damage, than those who don’t, so let’s break this down by archetype.

When making a Lone Wolf Build you will be able to max out 4 Combat Abilities. You will only need 3 that boost damage in order to succeed on the hardest difficulties, but any less than that and your Build will struggle later in the game.

Warrior Builds

Warrior Builds focus on the use of Weapons to deal damage, whether they use Strength, Finesse or Intelligence, it makes no difference. Traditional Warriors will pump Warfare to max ideally, while Battlemage types will pump whatever school of magic they are using. The next Combat Ability they will pump is determined by what they are wielding for weapons: Two-Handed, One-Handed or Dual Wielding. In any of these cases, you simply pump that Ability next to increase your damage with that weapon setup even further. However, it doesn’t end there.

Players will reach the cap for any of these Abilities at Level 9, if they don’t spend any other Points anywhere else, which means they have a lot more Ability Points to spend and a long way to go. Besides the odd Ability Point into various other Abilities to pick up some Skills, Warrior Builds will now add Scoundrel to increase their Critical Damage even further. By the time you’re done doing that, you should be around Level 14 or 15. Nothing after this point is going to boost your damage except Retribution, so either take that or Necromancer (if you took Living Armour), or Leadership to buff your party.

Now, this becomes a bit more convoluted when you add another type of damage to a Warrior Build. For example, the Juggernaut, Frost Paladin, Blazing Deepstalker, and Elemental Champion all deal 2 or more damage types. However, they are not as complicated as they might appear. Of these, only the Elemental Champion really suffers from the Definitive Edition changes, with respect to Combat Abilities. Below is some information that explains what to do with these Builds, it is a bit generalized and doesn’t take into account Abilities you may wish to take outside of these, so please see each Build Guide for more details if you need to.

• Juggernaut – Juggernauts will prioritize Warfare while at the same time placing some points into Geomancer. When Warfare is maxed out, Geomancer should be around 5 or 6, and then taken to max as well. Then you will pump Two-Handed for increased Physical Damage and increased Critical Damage with both Physical and Geomancer attacks. All extra points will go into Scoundrel for further increased Critical Damage with both damage types.
• Frost Paladin – Similar to the Juggernaut, you will prioritize Warfare while placing some points into Hydrosophist. When Warfare is maxed, then you will max out Hydrosophist, and then One-Handed or Two-Handed (depending on what you chose). And then it’s Scoundrel for further increased Critical Damage.
• Blazing Deepstalker – Pump Two-Handed while placing some points into Pyrokinetic. When Two-handed is maxed Pyrokinetic should be at around 5 or 6, and should then go up to max. Max out Warfare and then Scoundrel for further increased Physical Damage and Critical Damage.
• Elemental Champion – Pump Two-Handed to max, followed by the two schools of magic that matches the damage type of your favorite 2 Staves, and then follow up with Scoundrel for increased Critical Damage. Note that this Build has seriously been nerfed by the Definitive Edition change and is much much harder to play.

In short, you are simply prioritizing your primary damage type first, and then pumping up your secondary source. Mixed damage Builds really shine in Lone Wolf, because the extra Ability Points can be put to better use than those that have only 1 in most cases. Also note that Two-Handed works exceptionally well with mixed Builds because the Critical Damage multiplier will apply to ALL of your Skills.

Ranger Builds

Rangers are a more simplified version of Warriors in that they all use the same Weapon type: Bows. All Bows are Physical Damage so they will always max Warfare first, except of course a few points into Huntsman to gain Skills. From here they can either max Ranged or Huntsman, with Huntsman outperforming Ranged in terms of damage, but only when elevated. No matter which you choose, be sure to max it out and then max out the other after. Follow this up with Scoundrel for increased Critical Damage. Note that Elemental Arrows will deal the most damage from the above order of Combat Abilities, and they are not factored into “other damage types”.

When you add in additional damage types, the order of things change slightly, and I have really only one Build that does this. The Venomous Sentry focuses on mostly Magic Damage types, so pumps Geomancer, then Huntsman and then Scoundrel. Huntsman and Scoundrel boost both Physical and Magic Damage, so are a great choice. Lastly you can pump Ranged for more Physical Damage and increased Critical Chance.

The general concept is the same as the Warrior. You want to max out that which increases your primary type of damage first, while putting some points into your secondary source so it’s not completely irrelevant. Then once it is maxed, max out your secondary source, and try to add things that boost both of them if possible.

Rogue Builds

Rogues, much like Rangers, are rather straightforward. They will almost always Dual Wield Daggers, if they want to be effective, which means Warfare will be their Primary Combat Ability. Once this is maxed you can either pump Dual Wield, or Scoundrel, but no matter which you choose, you will max out both of these one after the other. There are really no other Abilities that help Rogues, so I would advise taking Necromancer for Life Steal, but only if you have the Living Armour Talent. Or you could use Retribution to return some damage taken.

I strongly advise not supplementing Rogues with additional damage types, as they tend to be much less effective when they spread their Combat Ability Points out too much. However, you can use something like Deploy Mass Traps or Ice Breaker very effectively with Lone Wolf, since you essentially have a 4 Combat Abilities maxed by end game. Rogues only need 3, so picking up a fourth that doesn’t require any investment into Intelligence is not a bad choice. Additionally, you could play something like the Assassin Build, and spend some points into Huntsman or Ranged for when you use a Bow.

Mage Builds

Mage Builds are the trickiest because they do not really have a Weapon Combat Ability that they can take after their primary school of magic, and they don’t attack with Weapons unless they absolutely have to. They can of course use Two-Handed for increased Critical Damage, but then they must use a Staff, and this leaves them particularly vulnerable to attacks, as they will have lower Armor. So what does a Mage do then once their school is maxed out? That’s a great question and it will really depend on the type of Mage they want to play.

Single School Mages like Tidalist, Stormchaser, Tectonic Sage, Pyromancer or Blood Mage will seek to max out their primary school of magic first. In the case of Blood Mage, this become Warfare, as that is what increases Physical Damage. Past this point the only real way to increase damage with a single school is by increasing your Critical Damage or damage from elevation. The way you do this is by investing into Huntsman for elevation damage, placing points into Scoundrel for increased Critical Damage, and placing points into Two-Handed for increased Critical Damage. However, what do you for your 4th Combat Ability if you don’t want to use a Staff? The answer to this is quite simple really:

When playing a Mage in Lone Wolf it is highly recommended that you choose a second school of magic (or Summoning) in order to deal with Resistances, and to be able to gain extra Armor from using a Shield.

This allows you to use a Shield for extra Armor, and to be able to deal two different damage types, which really really helps when dealing with resistant enemies. Summoning is probably the easiest to add to a Single School Mage, because it allows them to add damage of the same type easily. In addition, it helps to fill out gaps in skill usage, caused by a lack of skills that some Single School Mages suffer from. So if you’re playing a Tidalist, Stormchaser, Tectonic Sage, Pyromancer or Blood Mage I’ve listed what I would add to them and why:

• Tidalist – Necromancer is my favorite thing to add here because it allows you to attack 2 different Armour types with the same setup. Additionally, healing Undead deals damage that is amplified by Warfare, which is what you’d be adding here. This effectively makes you a Cleric. However, you can add Summoning to make them into a Glacial Guardian very easily. If none of those sound good, then there’s always Aerotheurge, since Wet + Shocked = Stunned.
• Stormchaser – There is also some synergy between Aero and Necro in the forms of Vacuum Touch and Vacuum Aura, which are both quite good, so I would recommend this one first. You can, however, add Hydro for the same reason listed above. Summoning and Pyrokinetic can also work, but they don’t have any particular synergies. I would avoid Geomancer because Petrified enemies have additional Air Resistance.
• Tectonic Sage – The two best choices here are either Necromancer or Pyrokinetic. Many Geo spells apply Status Effects if the target has no Physical Armor, thus the reason for Necromancer. Using spells that place Oil or Poison do extra damage when struck with fire, thus Pyrokinetic. Adding either of these schools will effectively turn this Build into a Terramancer or a Wizard.
• Pyromancer – I’d either add Summoning and turn this Build into a Summoner of Sparks, or I would add Geomancer and make it into a Wizard.
• Blood Mage – Blood Mages have so many options when it comes to adding a second school. You can add Hydro for the Cleric Build, you can add Geo for a Terramancer, you can add Pyro for an Occult Flamewielder, or Aero if you wish. Summoning also works very well here, so the choice is up to you.

You can still use Single School Mages in Lone Wolf very effectively if you use a Staff, but if you don’t, consider making some of the changes listed above for the reasons I’ve mentioned. Much like Warrior Builds that aren’t Two-Handed, it is difficult to deal only one damage type without seeing a drop off in performance further into the game, so consider supplementing your Build with another school or Summoning.

Summoner Builds

Summoners are a bit of a different animal than most other Builds, but they are not hard to create, and they work exceptionally well in Lone Wolf. This is because many Builds don’t have a 4th Combat Ability that makes sense, and Summoning requires no Attribute investment to be effective. If you are looking for something to flesh out your Lone Wolf Build, I highly recommend Summoning, because it is compatible with just about any Build out there.

Summoners should prioritize Summoning above all else until they have maxed it out in order to get a much more effective Incarnate. Once Summoning is maxed they will increase whatever makes the most logical sense for what they paired it with. It’s either going to be Mage, Ranger, Warrior or Rogue, so you simply follow the guidelines for those particular archetypes once Summoning is maxed.

Builds that utilize the Summoning Skill line should prioritize Summoning before boosting damage with their primary means of doing so. This means if you are a Warrior/Summoner, you want to place just enough points into Warfare to get some Skills and then pump Summoning to 10 before coming back to Warfare.

Summary

When it comes to Attribute Points, we’ve learned that most Builds will operate much the same way, placing most of their points into their Primary Attribute(s) first. This is the most efficient way, and the exception is placing a point or two into Memory to get more Skills, or Constitution in order to use a Shield if needed. Once this has been accomplished, they will place points into Wits for increased Critical Chance, which will in turn boost their damage.

All Lone Wolf Builds will be able to max out 4 Combat Abilities by the time they reach the end of the game, or very close to this. We don’t factor the odd ball point here and there into other Abilities, because it is likely this will be covered by equipment. You should aim to have at least 3 Combat Abilities that boost your damage, or you may be sailing along in Act 2, which is where Lone Wolf Builds really shine, only to find later Acts more difficult if you don’t plan ahead.

Single School Mages are now among the hardest Builds to play in Lone Wolf, because while they have means of increasing their damage, they are heavily reliant on circumstances they cannot always control. Elevation is not always possible in some fights, and their Critical Chance must be very high in order to make use of that extra Critical Damage. Since Critical Chance is somewhat reliant upon gear, you may have a harder time if you don’t get good equipment. Be sure to take the Hothead Talent when playing a Single School Mage for increased Critical Chance when at full health.

Lone Wolf Builds Cheatsheet

Lastly, I’ve compiled a cheat sheet of my Builds so that you can see just what 4 Combat Abilities I recommend maxing when playing them in Lone Wolf. Please keep in mind that these recommendations are not the ONLY thing you can do with them, but just my suggestions. I’ve listed them in priority of importance, but there is some wiggle room within them. However, at the end of the game these are the 4 Combat Abilities that I would have maxed.

Be sure to check out our other Guides! Good luck Sourcerers, Rivellon is counting on you!

The post Divinity Original Sin 2 Definitive Edition: The Sourceror’s Guide to Lone Wolf appeared first on Fextralife.

Divinity Original Sin 2 Definitive Edition has been out for several months now, and with it came some interesting changes to the game. While most Builds remain largely the same, there are some differences that impact the way you play. Because of this players have been asking me to not only update these Builds, but also create new ones. In this guide I will be introducing the Occult Flameweilder, which is long overdue, and explaining just how it works.

Occult Flamewielder – Mage Build

The Occult Flamewielder is a Mage Build that utilizes both the Pyrokinetic and Necromancer Skill Lines to deal two types of damage: Physical and Fire. Most Mage Builds will be able to max out at least 2 schools of magic, and because they share a common Attribute (Intelligence), they lose very little effectiveness. And, what they miss out on in Critical Damage, they make up for in flexibility of damage types. This is true for all Mage Builds, no matter which schools of magic they choose, but there are solid connections between these two in the forms of Corpse Explosion and Mass Corpse Explosion.

I have made other such “hybrid” Builds with the Terramancer and Crystalline Cleric, but neither of those Builds relied on the Torturer Talent to be good. This is simply because Torturer was changed with the Definitive Edition, and before this change Earth/Necro and Water/Necro were more effective than Fire/Necro. With the Occult Flamewielder we take full advantage of this Talent to set enemies Burning, reducing their Fire Resistance through their Armour, increasing the overall performance of our Pyrokinetic Skills.

The best way to start this Build is by picking the Wizard Class, and changing Geomancer to Necromancer. Then select the Ignition, Searing Daggers and Mosquito Swarm skills. This will give you access to an early game Wand, but you will need to keep an eye out for a Shield. As far as Races go, Elf (or Undead Elf) is always great when you play a Necromancer because of Flesh Sacrifice, but you can play this Build with a Human as well, for the increased Critical Chance and Critical Damage.

Occult Flamewielder Attributes and Equipment

As far as Attributes go, you’ll want to pump Intelligence to max as quickly as you can, only putting points into Memory to gain Skills you need, and Constitution to use a Shield if you decide to use one. Once Intelligence is maxed out, you’ll focus on Wits to increase your Critical Chance.

Weapon-wise, you can go three completely different directions if you wish. You can use a Staff, Wand and Shield or Dual Wands. All will work, but they come with their own advantages and disadvantages. Of the three, I suggest using a Wand and Shield for added Armour, and to be able to use the Bouncing Shield skill. Bouncing Shield helps with your Physical Damage output, and that helps to keep the Occult Flamewielder’s damage more balanced between Physical and Fire. Your Wand would ideally be Fire Damage, and would have Critical Chance, Intelligence and a Rune Slot if possible.

Armour-wise you will be using Intelligence-based Armour, as that is where the majority of your Attribute points will lie. This will give you high Magic Armour, which is great because Pyrokinetic Builds tend to send Fire everywhere, and that will usually hit you now and then. Prioritize Intelligence, Pyrokinetic and Warfare, but Critical Chance and Wits are also good.

Occult Flamewielder Abilities and Talents

Occult Flamewielders will begin the game with 1 point into Necromancer and 1 into Pyrokinetic. They will then place 1 point into Warfare to obtain Bouncing Shield, followed by a point into Polymorph to get Bull Horns and Bleed Fire. Then it’s 1 more point into Pyrokinetic to gain Fireball and Spontaneous Combustion. Now place 1 point into Necromancer to gain Infect. From here on out you will alternate between Warfare and Pyrokinetic until they are maxed out.

As far as Talents go I’d recommend the following:

Torturer – This Talent should be taken first by all Pyrokinetic Builds because it allows you to Set Burning from your very first attack, allowing subsequent attacks to deal increased damage. Take this one during Character Creation.

Elemental Affinity – This Talent allows you to cast many Necromancer Skills if you use Flesh Sacrifice or Raining Blood, and many Pyrokinetic Skills if you are standing in fire (which happens). Take this one second.

Savage Sortilege – This Talent will allow your Pyromancer and Necromancer Skills to critically strike, in addition to Bouncing Shield. Consider taking this one when your Critical Chance hits about 20% around the beginning of Act 2.

Executioner – Because you deal two different damage types you will be poised to “finish off” enemies no matter what Armour type they have the most of. This makes Executioner a great choice for this Build and should be considered later on in the game.

Far Out Man – This Talent works well for this Build because it increases the range of Infect, Mosquito Swarm, Bouncing Shield, Bleed Fire, Fireball, Corpse Explosion, Laser Ray, Spontaneous Combustion and Bull Rush. If you find yourself not gaining the Executioner bonus AP often, then use this Talent instead.

Occult Flamewielder Skills

Occult Flamewielders will use a mix of Pyrokinetic, Necromancer, Polymorph and Warfare Skills. While this may sound like a broad investment of stat points at first glance, many of these Skills have overlapping requirements. This actually makes them fit together rather well, which you can see from the list below.

Character Creation

Ignition – This skill will set Burning on enemies in a large AoE, with the Torturer Talent. It also avoids friendlies and deals modest Fire Damage, so it’s a good utility skill for 1 AP. You’ll use this first to debuff enemies you wish to purse with Pyro Skills.

Searing Daggers – A decent skill that allows you to Set Burning on many enemies, if not struck already with Ignition, or focus fire 1 down. This skill is also good for giving yourself Elemental Affinity.

Mosquito Swarm – Deals decent damage and Sets Bleeding through Armour with the Torturer Talent. It has very good range (13 meters) and heals you for a decent amount of Vitality, which is nice.

Character Levels 1-3

Corpse Explosion – A great Crafted Skill that deals insane Physical Damage for 1 AP, and one that very few Builds are poised to take full advantage of. Can hit multiple enemies, just be sure not to hit your party members!

Bleed Fire – This Crafted Skill is a great way to further reduce the Fire Resistance enemies have, allowing you to deal even more damage with your Pyro Skills. In addition, it places Fire beneath enemies, prompting them to waste AP moving.

Bouncing Shield – This skill works really well with this Build because it doesn’t scale off of Strength, only Warfare, which you will have a lot of. You can also increase the damage by upgrading your Shield, which you will be doing periodically.

Bull Rush – This Skill may seem like an odd fit here, and you would not be wrong. However, with the Torturer Talent you can Set Bleeding through Armour, and it scales with Intelligence and deals Fire Damage if you have a Fire Wand equipped. This allows you to deal more Fire Damage, Set Bleeding and gives you some mobility if you need to move out of a bad situation.

Character Levels 4-8

Fireball – A great AoE that deals decent damage and can help control the battlefield. This will be your main source of burst Fire Damage until you gain Laser Ray later in the game, so make the best use of it you can.

Spontaneous Combustion – A great ranged skill that not only deals decent damage, but also consumes the Burning and Necrofire Status Effects of an enemy into instant Fire Damage. Since you can Set Burning again easily with the Torturer Talent, use often to deal burst single-target damage.

Infect – Deals substantial single-target Physical Damage at long range, but has a hefty cost of 3 AP. Use this one only when you have Elemental Affinity, or would gain the Executioner bonus for doing so to maximize AP efficiency.

Character Levels 9 and Up

Laser Ray – A great damage dealing skill that can hit multiple targets in a straight line. You will use this skill and Fireball for the majority of your Fire Damage with this Build. Bull Rush can be used to position yourself for maximum effect.

Mass Corpse Explosion – This skill is hard to use effectively but when you can it deals devastating damage for 1 AP and 1 SP. Try to use when corpses are grouped on your target. Can one shot enemies if done right.

Bone Cage – A great skill for buffing up your Armour and the more dead bodies around the better. Try to save this one for mid fight after at least 1 or 2 enemies have gone down for maximum effect.

Silencing Stare – This skill is a great way to strip Magic Armour of enemies that are highly Fire Resistant. Use this to help out your other party members who deal Magic Damage types when your Fire Damage will not be helpful.

Deflective Barrier – A great skill for buffing your Physical Armour and also dealing some damage to enemies. I like to use this turn 1 or 2 of any engagement to get the best results.

Challenge – This skill costs 0 AP, increases your damage and boosts your Armour. What more could you want? You won’t get it until level 16, but make sure that you do!

Final Tips

Because the Occult Flamewielder can do either Physical or Fire Damage, it is advised that they go after the first Physical Damage dealer and Magic Dealer in your party. This will provide them the opportunity to see how the first few turns play out, and allow them to make judgments on which targets to prioritize based on remaining Armour/Vitality values. This should be no problem if you are playing with a Wand and Shield, since you should be able to withstand damage until you reach your turn no problem. You can Delay your turn if needed.

When placing a Occult Flamewielder into your party, you’ll want to put them in a mixed damage bunch. Ideally you’d have another Physical Damage dealer, another Magic Damage dealer and perhaps another split damage type (such as an Archer or Summoner). You’ll also want to avoid placing them with any Water Damage based characters, since these two damage types do not work well together.

Elemental Affinity can be difficult to achieve, particularly if you are not an Elf. Seering Daggers is a great way to gain it for fire, if you fling one dagger at yourself. Consider adding Raining Blood because it not only will give it to you, but it will Set Bleeding through Armour because of the Torturer Talent.

Lastly, this is a more advanced Build. This is not only true because of the split damage types, but also because Fire Damage can hurt your party members very easily, and you have no CC to speak of whatsoever. If you have a Warrior out front swinging away, he’s not going to be thrilled if you drop a Fireball on his head. This means you will have to calculate and plan accordingly, and I highly advise keeping your melee unit(s) on the outer edges of combat, so that the middle is open for AoEs.

Be sure to check out our other Build Guides! Good luck Sourcerers, Rivellon is counting on you!

The post Divinity Original Sin 2 Builds: Occult Flamewielder (Mage) appeared first on Fextralife.

Divinity Original Sin 2 Definitive Edition has been out for a bit over a month now, and with it came some interesting changes to the game. While most Builds remain untouched, there are some tweaks to a few of them. Players have been asking me to not only update these Builds, but also create new ones. In this guide I will be introducing the Venomous Sentry, and explaining just how it works.

Venomous Sentry – Ranger Build

The Venomous Sentry is a unique Ranger, one of few possible Builds that can make use of the Elemental Ranger Talent, in addition to using the Reactive Shot skill effectively. The general concept of the Venomous Sentry is to buff your Poison Damage through Skills like Venom Coating, Elemental Arrowheads and Siphon Poison, and then unload upon your enemies. This Build does a mix of Physical and Poison Damage, because of the use of a Bow, but focuses more heavily on the second one.

Because the Venomous Sentry uses a lot of AP to buff its damage, it doesn’t have a lot of AP left over to attack, which is the main issue with using the above Skills. This problem is rectified by using the skill Reactive Shot, which allows you to attack up to 3x for 2 AP. Because the attacks done with it are basic attacks, the Venomous Sentry will deal increased damage by using the Elemental Ranger Talent, if the enemy is standing in Poison, Fire, Water, Oil or Electricity. Of these types, Poison, Fire and Electricity are ideal, because they will provoke the enemy to move, triggering Reactive Shot.

The best way to start this Build is by picking the Wayfarer Class, placing all points into Finesse, and selecting Elemental Arrowheads, Ricochet, and Contamination. You can use Human for the Crit Chance/Damage, Elf for Flesh Sacrifice or even Undead for the Poison Immunity if you wish. All work well for this Build, making it quite flexible.

Venomous Sentry Attributes and Equipment

As far as Attributes go, you have 2 options. You can place points into Finesse, increasing your Physical Damage dealt, as well as increasing the Poison Damage that your weapon has on it. This is probably the best option early on, before you gain more of the Skills you need for this Build, and before your Geomancer is very high. Or, you can increase Wits instead of Finesse, to increasing your Critical Chance, improving your average Poison Damage. I would recommend doing this later in the game, when your Critical Chance is already around 20% from equipment alone.

Armour-wise you can really use whatever you wish, but Finesse probably makes the most sense, particularly early on when the Build will be played more like a traditional Ranger. You want to look for Armour with Geomancer, Huntsman, Wits and Critical Chance. This is a very focused Build, and these things will help to increase your Poison Damage the most, forsaking anything that boosts Warfare.

Weapon-wise, you’ll want to look for a Bow or Crossbow that deals Physical and Poison Damage if possible. You’ll want to make sure that it has a Rune Slot so you can further increase the Bow’s Poison Damage with a Venom Rune. Besides these 2 things, Critical Chance is the single most important thing you can add. Set Poisoned, Set Burning, Set Suffocating, or Set Bleeding are also all great choices as well, because we’ll be using the Torturer Talent, and that makes these Statuses apply 100% of the time when on a weapon.

Venomous Sentry Abilities and Talents

Venomous Sentries will begin the game with 1 point in Huntsman and 1 in Geomancer. Next you will place 1 point into Scoundrel in order to gain Adrenaline and Venom Coating. Then boost Huntsman to 2 in order to gain Tactical Retreat, Barrage and Marksman’s Fang. From this point forward you will pump Geomancer in order to maximize your Poison Damage. Once Geomancer is maxed, you can place points into Huntsman or Scoundrel in order to gain increased damage from elevation or when Critically Striking.

As far as Talents go I’d recommend the following:

Hothead – This Talent will increase your Critical Chance, which will further boost your Poison Damage (when you Crit). Make sure to keep your Vitality at maximum when using this, or you will gain no benefit.

Elemental Ranger – Very few Rangers use this Talent because it only affects basic attacks, which rarely deal a Magic Damage type when playing a Ranger. It works well here because of the Reactive Shot skill, which does Basic Attacks, and because we’ll be focusing on Poison Damage. This will increase your Poison Damage by ~20% when using this skill, and when just attacking in general.

Executioner – You will use a lot of points buffing with this Build, so gaining extra AP goes a long way towards improving the performance of this Build. You will have to invest a point into Warfare in order to take this at level 8.

Torturer – This Talent works well because it allows you to Set Poisoned, Burning, Suffocating and Bleeding 100% of the time when attacking. This means if you had all of these on your Bow, you could set them all at once with just 1 basic attack, or on multiple enemies with Ricochet, Barrage or Reactive Shot.

Venomous Sentry Skills

Venomous Sentries use a mix of Huntsman and Geomancer Skills in order to boost the Poison Damage they deal with their Bow attacks. Below is a list of Skills you will use and I will put them in the order you should obtain them in.

Character Creation

Elemental Arrowheads – This skill will allow you to coat your arrows with elemental damage if you are near a surface that contains one. Ideally this would be Poison or Oil, because points into Geomancer will increase the amount of damage you will gain from this skill.

Ricochet – A great way to deal damage to multiple targets and spread around Status Effects once you have the Torturer Talent. Use this when you can hit at least 2 enemies.

Contamination – A great way to turn surfaces to Poison, which serves two purposes. First it will allow you to use Elemental Arrowheads on it, adding Poison Damage to them. Second, enemies standing in Poison will attempt to move on their turn, and that will trigger Reactive Shot if you have it deployed around them. Combine this with Rain for best results.

Character Levels 1-3

Adrenaline – You will need the extra AP to buff yourself and attack, and this skill will make this possible. Use it to cast Elemental Arrowheads, Venom Coating, Siphon Poison, Tactical Retreat and still get a Reactive Shot or Ricochet off on turn one.

Venom Coating – This skill only scales with Geomancer, and not Intelligence, making it work well for this Build. This will be the best way to boost your Poison Damage for most of the game.

Fortify – Since you will have high Geomancer, this skill will perform exceptionally well in this Build. Use it to buff yourself or a party member to increase their Physical Armour as necessary.

Character Levels 4-8

Tactical Retreat – This skill will allow you to get positioned perfectly once combat begins, and this Build depends heavily on good positioning. Because you need to get Ricochet or Reactive Shot off in order to be effective, this will help you to do just that.

Barrage – This skill is a great way to spread around Poison Damage by hitting 3 different targets, or 1 target 3x. Once you have Torturer and Status Effects on your weapon, you can apply them as well with this skill.

Ballistic Shot – This skill is just a great way to apply increased Poison Damage by adding +5% damage per meter you are from your target. Use it when you need to deal a lot of damage to a single target.

Reactive Shot – This is a huge part of the Build because it allows you to spend many points buffing and still get 2 or 3 attacks off in the same round. Make sure you have a surface under the enemy that will cause them to move before using, or it will be wasted.

Character Levels 9 and up

Siphon Poison – This skill will suck up Poison around you and apply it to your Bow damage. You will use it situationally, and make sure when you do it’s after you use Elemental Arrowheads, so you don’t remove the surface needed to add Poison Damage first.

Arrow Storm – Once you reach level 16, this will be your go to Source Skill that will apply Poison to everything in a huge area. Slot it, and make Poison fall from the sky!

These are of course not the only Skills you can use, and there are others that may come in useful, but some will depend on party make-up. For example, if you don’t have someone in the party with the Rain skill, then it’s advised that you take it in order to create huge poison pools. In addition, Ignition and Bleed Fire can be added to create Fire surfaces, prompting more enemy movement, and granting you the Elemental Ranger bonus.

Final Tips

The trick to this Build is placing surfaces under enemies that trigger a “move” action from them, allowing for Reactive Shots. Not only will you gain many attacks this way, but you will add the Elemental Ranger bonus damage to these shots, because it hits them before they move off the surface. Contamination, Ignition and Bleed Fire are all great ways to make enemies do this.

Enrage can also work extremely well with this Build, if used correctly. This will nearly double your damage on all your attacks if you are a Human and have many points into Scoundrel. If you can, try to use it when you know you can get 2 or more Reactive Shots off on the enemies turn, allowing you to make the most of it.

Consider adding Teleport to this Build in order to place enemies where they need to be in order to make the most of Reactive Shot. Since this Build is an AP hog, it may be wiser to have other party members do this for you, however. It’s always a great idea anyway, to have 1 or more party members have this skill, no matter your composition.

This Build works best in a party where other party members deal Fire or Poison Damage because this will prompt enemies to move more often, making Reactive Shot more useful. Since you will be doing primarily Poison Damage once you hit Act 2, try to use other Builds that compliment this playstyle like Blazing Deepstalker, Terramancer, Summoner of Sparks, Scourge Wizard, or the Occult Flameweilder (coming in the next Guide).

Lastly, you can also pump Warfare along side Geomancer if you wish to deal more Physical Damage. This isn’t an optimal setup, but it can be useful in some parties where they deal a mix of damage types. Warfare also increases the damage of the special Elemental Arrows you can use, so if you want some more flexibility, consider doing that instead.

As always, be sure to check out our other Build Guides, and good luck Sourcerers, Rivellon is counting on you!

The post Divinity Original Sin 2 Builds: Venomous Sentry (Ranger) appeared first on Fextralife.

Divinity Original Sin 2 Definitive Edition arrived a little over a 2 weeks ago, and with it came some interesting changes to the game. While most Builds remain untouched, there are some tweaks to a few of them. Players have been asking me to not only update these Builds, but also create new ones. In this guide I will be introducing the Blazing Deepstalker, and explaining just how it works.

Blazing Deepstalker – Warrior/Mage Build

The Blazing Deepstalker is a Warrior that uses Warfare and Pyrokinetic Skills to deal both Physical and Fire Damage to its enemies. Unlike many Pyro/Warrior Builds that focus on the use of Master of Sparks, Blazing Deepstalkers specialize in the use of traps. Traps deal Fire Damage, and only scale with Pyrokinetic and Character Level, much like Firebrand. This allows them to deal significant Fire Damage, while pumping Finesse, which increases their Physical Damage with Spears.

The best way to start this Build is by picking the Metamorph Class and removing the points from Strength and putting them into Finesse. Then remove the point from Two-Handed and place it into Pyrokinetic. Then select the Bull Horns, Ignition and Peace of Mind skills. Peace of Mind is one of the most powerful 1 AP buffs in the game, and works extremely well with this Build.

Blazing Deepstalker Attributes and Equipment

As far as Attributes go, you’ll be placing most of your points into Finesse, but you will also place some into Wits for increased Critical Chance and Initiative, and a bit into Memory as needed. Because Ignition is used primarily for Burning, and none of the other Pyrokinetic Skills you will be using scale with Intelligence, you will not need to invest into Intelligence (unless you want to meet the requirement for Armour).

Armour-wise you’ll be using Finesse based, which is usually balanced between Physical and Magical defense. This fits well here, as you’ll need to protect against both types of damage, being on the front lines. Look for bonuses of Pyrokinetic or Warfare in order to maximize your damage, but Wits or Scoundrel are not bad either.

Blazing Deepstalkers use a Spear in order to capitalize on the increased range that Spears have. However you could use any Two-Hander and use Strength instead, but you need to decide this during Character Creation, or you’ll be in a bad spot until you can repec in Act 2. In terms of bonuses you’ll want to look for one with Critical Chance, Warfare, Two-Handed or even Fire Damage or a Rune Slot. You do not need Fire Damage on your weapon with this Build, but it is a nice to have. Note that it appears as if having Set Burning, Set Bleeding or Set Poison on your weapon will be applied 100% of the time with the Torturer Talent.

Blazing Deepstalker Abilities and Talents

Blazing Deepstalkers will begin the game with 1 point in Polymorph and 1 into Pyrokinetic. They will then place one point into Huntsman in order to obtain Throw Explosive Trap and Elemental Arrowheads. Next is 2 points into Warfare so that they can get Battle Stomp, Battering Ram and Whirlwind. After that will be 1 point into Scoundrel to get Adrenaline. From here on out they will place points into Two-Handed and Pyrokinetic, alternating, until they reach Act 2, where they will bump Huntsman up to 2. At some point place a point or two into Aerotheurge in order to gain Teleportation and Uncanny Evasion, then continue to increase Two-Handed and Pyrokinetic.

As far as Talents go I’d recommend the following:

Opportunist – This is always the first thing I recommend on melee Builds, and it holds true here as well. Extra damage is always good. Take this one during Character Creation.

Mnemonic – Consider taking this Talent second and dropping it later on in the game when you have more Memory slots. You will acquire at least 5 new Skills before you hit Level 4, and you will have to invest heavily in Memory in order to get them otherwise.

Torturer – This Talent will allow your Ignition and Bull Rush to be more effective, and Burning enemies receive -15% Fire Resistance. This will increase your overall damage by a a good amount.

Savage Sortilege –This Talent will allow your trap Skills to Critically Strike, just keep in mind they can only do so on YOUR turn. This means that you are better off detonating them, than letting them arm and just explode. Plan accordingly.

Executioner – Because you can get many kills easily with your trap Skills, you will make good use of this Talent. You will need the extra AP to buff, so this is a no brainer.

Far Out Man – This Talent works well for this Build because it increases the range of Phoenix Dive, Bull Rush, Battering Ram, Battle Stomp, Throw Explosive Trap, Deploy Mass Traps and Teleportation. In short, it just makes you more effective in general.

Blazing Deepstalker Skills

Character Creation

Ignition – This skill will set Burning on enemies in a large AoE, with the Torturer Talent. It also avoids friendlies and deals modest Fire Damage, so it’s a good utility skill for 1 AP.

Peace of Mind – One of the best buffs in the game, it only gets better as your Character Level increases. You really want it for the Wits to increase your Critical Chance, but the bonus Finesse is good too. Also removes a slew of horrible Status Effects.

Bull Rush – A great skill that allows you to gap close over and over, and sets Bleeding (with the Torturer Talent). Use this to hit multiple enemies each round if you can, or to get in range for a Whirlwind.

Character Levels 1-3

Battering Ram – This skill is great for Knocking Down enemies once they have no Physical Armour. Don’t use it until you are sure you can get the Status Effect, or you’ll just waste it. The damage it deals is modest compared to a regular attack.

Battle Stomp – This skill is great for clearing surfaces and Knocking Down many enemies at once. Like Battering Ram, it deals less damage than a regular attack (or Whirlwind), so be sure to use it when you can get the Status Effect.

Bleed Fire – This Crafted Skill is needed for 2 reasons. First it lowers Fire Resistance by an additional 20% on enemies with no Magic Armour. And second, it creates a fire surface with which you can detonate your traps when thrown. This is one of the cheapest spells in the game that creates a fire surface, without external factors.

Throw Explosive Trap – This skill gives you really high Fire Damage for 1 AP, and it has a 13m range. The trap doesn’t scale with Intelligence, only Pyrokinetic, so works well here.

Elemental Arrowheads – This skill will be used sparingly because it doesn’t add enough Fire Damage to be useful in many cases, and there will be some situations where you don’t need to deal Fire Damage. This skill’s damage will increase with level, and Pyrokinetic if used on a fire surface.

Character Levels 4-8

Whirlwind – This skill will be useful in distributing Physical Damage to enemies nearby, as well as some Fire Damage. If you’re using a spear the radius of this skill will be wider, making it easier to hit more enemies.

Enrage – This skill will Mute you when cast, but guarantee every target hit by your traps takes Critical Damage. Throw your traps down, pop Adrenaline, then Enrage and detonate your traps with a grenade for massive damage!

Adrenaline – A must have skill for nearly any Build, you’ll need this on your first turn in order to buff and attack. Use it any time it’s off cooldown in order to get the most of your turn.

Uncanny Evasion – This skill is pretty much a must have for any melee unit that doesn’t use Chameleon Cloak as a means of avoiding damage. Will make you virtually immune to weapon-based attacks for 1 turn.

Teleportation – Another skill that is useful on nearly any Build. Use this one to group enemies up in order to AoE them down with Whirlwind or Deploy Mass Traps.

Character Levels 9 and Up

Deploy Mass Traps – The best Fire Damage skill in this Build, you will get this one at the beginning of Act 2. It has a 13m range, and each trap explodes in an AoE, making it a very versatile skill. Because it doesn’t scale with Intelligence it does more damage by simply having higher Pyrokinetic.

Phoenix Dive – This skill not only allows you some good mobility, but also drops a fire ring around you upon landing. This makes it possible to jump into enemies and then buff with Elemental Arrowheads for 2 AP if you wish.

Challenge – This skill costs 0 AP and will increase your damage by 20%, and provide additional Armour for 2 turns if you kill the marked enemy within 3. An amazing skill that any Warfare-based Build should utilize.

Firebrand – Much like Elemental Arrowheads, you will use this skill less often than you think. However, it doesn’t scale with Intelligence so works well to buff your Fire Damage if you need to. Note that it is an AoE, but friendlies who don’t have high Pyrokinetic will see much less effectiveness.

Final Tips

I like to start combat by throwing traps before the encounter begins, in order to save the 3 AP cost that Deploy Mass Traps has. However because you need to trigger the explosion on your team’s turn (during combat) in order to give them the chance to Critically Hit, you must engage immediately after. This will allow you to detonate them with a skill or item, like a Grenade. Note that the damage done by them when cast this way is affected by the character who sets them off, enemies included. They will do more or less damage based on their Pyrokinetic ability, and they won’t Critically Hit if the person who detonates them does not have Savage Sortelige. For this reason, it is advised you either have the highest Initiative on your team, or simply wait until combat to cast them if not.

Race is not particularly important with this Build, but playing a Lizard gives the Dragon’s Blaze ability. It is an extremely cheap Fire Damage skill at 1 AP, and can also be used to detonate traps. You also gain some additional Fire Resistance as a Lizard, which can come in useful when you are causing explosions often. Elf is also a solid choice because it costs 3 AP to Deploy Mass Traps, 2 to Enrage and 2 to throw a Grenade. This means with Adrenaline you would have exactly enough to do this, if you didn’t throw the traps before combat began. Human gives you increased Critical Chance and Damage which works well with Enrage.

Enrage is just insane when used with this Build because you will be placing points into Two-Handed, which increases your Critical Damage and your melee damage. Since your traps will all Critically Hit when Enrage is active, it become invaluable when you need to deal massive Fire Damage, and great when you want to deal Physical Damage with Whirlwind.

Because traps scale only with Pyrokinetic, and not Intelligence, you can play this Build as a Ranger as well. You don’t gain the advantage of the Critical Damage increase from Two-Handed, so you’d place points into Warfare or Huntsman instead. This allows you utilized Elemental Arrows for increased Fire Damage as well, and those also scale off of Finesse and Warfare. Fire Arrows are a great way to detonate traps, so I suggest using them if you can.

Lastly, because you can Deploy Mass Traps without triggering combat in many cases, you may wish to invest somewhat into Sneak. This will allow you to get close enough to throw them out before combat begins, saving you 3 precious AP. This makes you sort of a rogue, wizard, hunter, warrior, but whatever. It works!

The whole concept of this Build is somewhat similar to the Frost Paladin. The primary damage you’ll deal until you gain Deploy Mass Traps is Physical because you will deal modest Fire Damage with Ignition, Throw Explosive Trap, and Elemental Arrowheads. The great thing about this Build, is for the most part, that it is compartmentalized. You can deal Physical Damage if you wish, or you can deal Fire Damage, but you usually aren’t dealing some strange mix of Fire and Physical Damage together to one target.

As always, be sure to check out our other Build Guides, and good luck Sourcerers, Rivellon is counting on you!

The post Divinity Original Sin 2 Builds: Blazing Deepstalker appeared first on Fextralife.

Divinity Original Sin 2 Definitive Edition arrived a little over a 2 weeks ago, and with it came some interesting changes to the game. While most Builds remain untouched, there are some tweaks to a few of them. Players have been asking me to not only update these Builds, but also create new ones. In this guide I will be introducing the Tectonic Sage, and explaining just how it works.

Tectonic Sage – Mage Build

The Tectonic Sage is a pure mage Build that focuses on Geomancer Skills to disrupt the movement and positioning of enemies. By Slowing, Entangling, Crippling, Blinding and Petrifying the opposition, these mages ensure their party always has the upper hand. Earth and Poison Damage spells make up the better part of their repertoire, allowing them to deal significant damage because of the heavy focus on one skill line. In addition, they boast some of the strongest Physical Armour buffs in the game, allowing them to use Dual Wands without concern.

The best way to start this Build is by picking the Wizard Class, removing the point from Constitution and placing it in Intelligence. Next remove the point from Pyrokinetic and place it into Polymorph. Then select Fossil Strike, Contamination and Fortify. I highly advise Elf for this Build because of you can convert the pool of Blood beneath you create by Flesh Sacrifice, into Poison for 1 AP which will give you Elemental Affinity.

Tectonic Sage Attributes and Equipment

As far as Attributes go, you’ll be placing most of your points into Intelligence to increase the damage of your Geo spells but some Wits will not hurt. Because you can have such a profound impact on the battlefield, ideally you would go first or second with this Build, so Wits can help with that while also boosting your Critical Chance.

Armour-wise you’ll want to use Intelligence-based Armour to try to keep your damage 100% maximized by sparing points that could be placed into Strength. In addition you will have extremely strong Physical Armour buffs because of the high Geomancer, so you will want more Magic Armour to help keep your Armour balanced. On your Armour you’ll look for Geomancer, Intelligence and Critical Chance. If you cannot get these then looks for Wits or Scoundrel for increased Critical Chance/Damage.

Tectonic Sages can use a Wand and Shield, Dual Wands or a Staff if they wish. I personally find that Dual Wands seems to work best, where one is Fire and one is Poison. This tends to set the Burning Status Effect on top of Poison on enemies you target with Wand attacks. In addition, you will blow through your spells quite rapidly with this Build, so having 2 Wands will help increase your overall damage if you have no spells available to cast.

Tectonic Sage Abilities and Talents

Tectonic Sages will begin the game with 1 point in Geomancer and 1 point in Polymorph. They will then place 1 point into Huntsman in order to acquire Throw Dust, followed by a point into Scoundrel to acquire Adrenaline. Next is a second point into Geomancer, and after that it’s one more point into Polymorph to obtain Medusa Head. Then place one more point into Huntsman in order to get Tactical Retreat, and then it’s max out Geomancer. After Geomancer is maxed, pump Polymorph until Intelligence is maxed. If you have any other points left they should go into Huntsman for elevation damage, or Scoundrel for Critical Damage.

As far as Talents go I’d recommend the following:

Elemental Affinity – This Talent allows you to cast many Geo spells from the very beginning of combat. Use Flesh Sacrifice and then Contamination to create a Poison surface beneath you, granting this bonus.

Torturer – This Talent will allow your Contamination to set Poisoned through Magic Armour, but more importantly, it will allow Worm Tremor to Entangle enemies through Armour. This will prevent enemies from moving at all, and reduce their Dodge Chance by 70%, as well as deal Poison Damage over time.

Savage Sortilege – This Talent will allow your Geomancer Skills to critically strike. Consider taking this one when your Critical Chance hits about 20% around the beginning of Act 2.

Hothead  – This Talent will give you +10% Critical Chance when at full health, which you will be often due to high Armour values. Use this to help improve your damage, and make you more effective overall.

Far Out Man – Nearly all your Skills with this Build are targeted and affected by this Talent. Consider taking this one in order to be able to reach more enemies, while staying outside of their attack range.

Tectonic Sage Skills

The Tectonic Sage deals a mix of Earth and Poison Damage to strip Armour and disrupt enemies. Below is a list of Skills you will use and I will put them in the order you should obtain them in.

Character Creation

Contamination – This skill makes it possible to get Elemental Affinity on turn one when combined with Flesh Sacrifice. In addition, with the Torturer Talent, it will set Poisoned on enemies in a large AoE. This AoE also does not hit friendlies, making it even more valuable.

Fossil Strike – This is a great AoE that Slows enemies through Armour, and reduces Dodge Chance by 30%. This spell is good for preventing melee units from getting to you, from the very beginning of the game.

Fortify – This skill will allow you to buff your Physical Armour or another party member’s for 1 AP. Because you will have high Geomancer it will be much more effective than is typical, particularly later on in the game when things start scaling more exponentially.

Character Levels 1-3

Throw Dust – This crafted skill will allow you to Blind a target while dealing Earth Damage from 13m away. Blinded characters cannot attack or cast spells very far, so this will help to prevent damage your party takes.

Adrenaline – This skill will give you 2 AP this turn, at the cost of 2 AP next turn. Because you will have Elemental Affinity and Flesh Sacrifice, this skill will allow you to cast Contamination, Worm Tremor, Dust Blast, Impalement and Fossil Strike all in the same turn. That’s 5 Geomancer spells, all of which are AoEs, on turn 1.

Character Levels 4-8

Impalement – This skill has a reasonable sized AoE and does decent damage for its cost of 2 AP, and can Cripple targets with no Physical Armour. This skill will only cost you 1 AP with Elemental Affinity, making it super cheap for what it does.

Worm Tremor – This skill was almost never used by Geomancers before the Definitive Edition, but the changes made to the Torturer Talent makes this skill godly. Being able to Entangle targets through Magic Armour is invaluable and allows you to control a huge portion of the battlefield from turn 1. Costs 3 AP, but with Elemental Affinity this is reduced to 2, which is manageable.

Medusa Head – This skill will grant you +1 Geomancer, as well as Petrify enemies around you in a small AoE. In addition, it will give you access to Petrifying Visage which deals Earth Damage and Petrifies enemies in a HUGE AoE if they have no Magic Armour. Petrifying Visage does scale with Strength, so it won’t deal as much damage as other Geo spells, but the CC is invaluable.

Tactical Retreat – This skill will allow you to jump to any location that makes sense for the encounter you are facing. Getting up high will increase your damage, and you’ll also gain +1 AP on the next turn, which is an added bonus.

Character Levels 9 and up

Earthquake – This skill gives you a huge AoE that will help to strip Magic Armour from many enemies at once. It can also Knockdown enemies with no Physical Armour, which makes it very useful in mixed damage parties.

Dust Blast – This Source Skill will allow you to Blind enemies from 13m (for 2 turns), while dealing a good amount of Earth Damage to each. Because Blinded enemies have shorter attack and casting ranges, if you combine this with Worm Tremor, you can render them ineffective for multiple turns. You and your teammates can unleash devastating attacks from afar, while they cannot reach you or move.

Skin Graft – This Source Skill will allow you to refresh all your cooldowns once per encounter for 1 AP and 1 SP. This will allow you to pull off your Worm Tremor/Dust Blast combo back to back, making 4 turns affected enemies can do nothing but stand there and look cute.

Final Tips

When combat begins you’ll use Tactical Retreat to position yourself in the best possible location. Once there, use Flesh Sacrifice in order to gain +10% damage and gain +1 AP. Then use Contamination in order to turn the Blood beneath you to Poison and set several enemies Poisoned as well. Then cast Worm Tremor on as many targets as you can, preventing as much movement as possible. Then either use another AoE to further strip Magic Armour (if needed), and then cast Dust Blast to Blind as many of the Entangled enemies as you can. If you cannot Blind them with this skill because of remaining Magic Armour, save it for when you can.

Geomancers have many great AoEs, however, you’ll need to be careful not to hit friendly targets with them. Not only can Impalement, Fossil Strike, and Worm Tremor hit party members, but you have to be careful when using them around Fire surfaces. Pay attention to your teammates and your surroundings and be sure to aim your shots precisely. Additionally, It will be very hard to have a Physical Damage melee character in your group because it will be in harms way damaging a different Armour type. Either use a Battlemage, use a Rogue with high single-target damage that can pick off other targets, or don’t field a melee unit instead.

This Build works exceptionally well when paired with mages that deal either Air/Fire or Air/Water, but not both. Fire mages will help to increase your overall damage, while water and air mages will help to increase your overall CC potential. Just be sure to choose spells that have longer reach, because you want to stay out of Blinded enemies’ range if possible, preventing you from taking damage.

Lastly, you can make this into a DoT Build by adding Raining Blood and Ignition. You can cast Ignition for 1 AP, then cast Flesh Sacrifice, and then Raining Blood for 1 AP. Then use Contamination and go into your rotation. This will place 4 DoTs on your enemies while they are Entangled!

Geomancers, since the Definitive Edition have become much more powerful because Torturer is a game changer, and really allows Geo Builds to shine. Very few mage Builds can outperform them early on in the game, because they have so many damaging Skill available to them by Level 4. This allows them to focus solely on one school of magic with very little down time between cooldowns, which is something both Hydro and Aero mages struggle with.

As always, be sure to check out our other Build Guides, and good luck Sourcerers, Rivellon is counting on you!

The post Divinity Original Sin 2 Builds: Tectonic Sage appeared first on Fextralife.

Divinity Original Sin 2 Definitive Edition arrived a little over a 2 weeks ago, and with it came some interesting changes to the game. While most Builds remain untouched, there are some tweaks to a few of them. Players have been asking me to not only update these Builds, but also create new ones. In this guide I will be introducing the Radiant Battlemage, and explaining just how it works.

Radiant Battlemage – Warrior/Mage Build

The Radiant Battlemage is an Aerotheurge variant of the fiery Battlemage Build I made back in October of last year. It aims to be an alternative melee Magic Damage dealer, while at the same time avoiding Aerotheurge spells that may harm other melee units. The drawback of this Build is that it does not Shock or Stun targets, which is the primary function of Aero mages (besides killing things). However, it does have a decent amount of controlling effects via Skills like Vacuum Aura and Medusa Head, making it a much safer addition to any group which already has 1 or more melee character. In short, if you’re having trouble playing a Stormchaser or Battlemage in your party, try giving the Radiant Battlemage a try.

The best way to start this Build is by picking the Enchanter Class, removing the point into Constitution and placing it into Intelligence. Then remove the point in Hydrosophist and place it into Polymorph. Next deselect Electric Discharge and select Blinding Radiance, Bull Horns and Chameleon Cloak. This will give you a good AoE, a great charge ability, and a way to reduce your damage taken.

Radiant Battlemage Attributes and Equipment

As far as Attributes go, you’ll be placing most of your points into Intelligence to increase the damage of your spells and weapon attacks. Once you’ve maxed Intelligence start pumping Wits for increased Critical Chance. You may need a few points into Memory in Act I, but you should be able to pull them out as you get higher in level.

Armour-wise you’ll want to use primarily Intelligence-based Armour in order to protect yourself from spells, which will be your biggest threat. Uncanny Evasion, and Chameleon Cloak should prevent much of the Physical Damage you would otherwise take, but you can use some Strength-based Armour if you feel you need it.

Radiant Battlemages will wish to use a Staff for their weapon and specifically an Air Damage Staff. This is because Aerotheurge will increase the damage you deal with it, maximizing the damage you deal with each swing. Bonuses you’re looking for are Critical Chance, Aerotheurge and Intelligence, in that order. All of these things will increase your damage with both spells and melee attacks, but if you cannot get them look for ones with a Rune Slot or Two-Handed for more melee damage. Ones that Set Blinded may help as well.

Radiant Battlemage Abilities and Talents

Radiant Battlemages will begin the game with 1 point in Aerotheurge and one in Polymorph. They will then want to place 1 point into Necromancer in order to obtain Vacuum Touch, followed by 2 points into Warfare in order to gain Whirlwind. Then another point into Aerotheurge to obtain Uncanny Evasion, and another point into Polymorph to acquire Medusa Head. If no other party member has Rain, then you’ll invest one into Hydrosophist here to get it. Otherwise, you’ll pump Aerotheurge from this point forward until maxed out, followed by Polymorph until Intelligence is maxed, with the only exception being 2 points into Necromancer once you hit Reaper’s Coast. Once Intelligence is maxed out, you’ll place all remaining points into Two-Handed to increase Critical Damage and damage with your Staff. Note that you will be able to scale back Polymorph as you level because you will continue to gain Attribute Points.

As far as Talents go I’d recommend the following:

Opportunist – The first Talent I recommend on any melee Build, it boosts your overall damage significantly if you can place yourself next to ranged units frequently. Take this one during Character Creation.

Executioner – This Talent is a solid second choice because you will be hitting multiple enemies often with Bull Rush, Whirlwind, Blinding Radiance, and later Vacuum Aura. This should ensure some extra AP nearly every encounter.

Savage Sortilege – This Talent will allow your Aerotheurge Skills to critically strike. Consider taking this one when your Critical Chance hits about 20% around the beginning of Act 2.

Hothead  – There is a lot to love here. +10% Critical Chance applies to both spells and weapon attacks and the +10 Accuracy will help so you don’t miss with Whirlwind and other melee attacks. I’d recommend it earlier, but you will lose Vitality often in Act 1, making it less useful.

Radiant Battlemage Skills

The Radiant Battlemage does almost exclusively Air Damage, but has many methods of dishing it out. Below is a list of Skills you will use and I will put them in the order you should obtain them in.

Character Creation

Bull Rush – This skill will allow you to close the distance between yourself and your target(s) nearly every turn, which helps to boost overall damage. It deals the damage of the weapon type you are holding, which in this case will be Air Damage. Since it doesn’t scale with Strength, but rather the Attribute of your chosen weapon, we can use it here to great effect.

Chameleon Cloak – This is a great way to prevent damage to yourself while on the front lines if you have no other options. Use it only when things will be bad if you don’t, and try to prioritize Uncanny Evasion first once you get it in order to make enemies waste attacks on you.

Blinding Radiance – A decent sized AoE that can also set Blinded on enemies with no Magic Armour while they remain in the Aura. Since enemies lose Blinded if they move out of it, it doesn’t tend to prevent as much damage as you’d think. However, enemies will move out of it often, prompting Attacks of Opportunity.

Character Levels 1-3

Staff of Magus – This one will come from equipping a Staff and is a nice addition to your skill set. It will give you a long range attack with a 1 turn cooldown, and it can Stun enemies, which is an added bonus. Use this one when you cannot otherwise reach an enemy.

Vacuum Touch – This crafted skill will give you a decent damaging option for 1 AP, which is nice. The icing on the cake is that it sets Suffocation and Silence on the target, destroying Magic Armour and preventing the use of spells, if the target has no Magic Armour. It has very poor range though, so use it when you are already near a foe.

Character Levels 4-8

Whirlwind – This skill is a staple of any melee Build and allows you to connect with many targets at once. Staves have the same range as Two-Handed Weapons, so try to position yourself where you can hit the most targets possible (ideally 3 or more at once).

Medusa Head – This skill is not compatible with Bull Horns, but you can override Bull Horns with it. You’ll use this one after you’ve stripped all Magic Armour from enemies near you in order to Petrify them. Petrified enemies gain +30% Air Resistance which isn’t ideal, but when playing in a party you will have multiple damage types helping you out.

Uncanny Evasion – This skill is excellent at preventing nearly all Physical Damage by increasing your Dodge Chance by +90%. Since spells cannot Miss, you’ll need solid Magic Armour to help protect you from those attacks, even while this is active.

Rain – If no one in your party has Rain, it’s a good idea to pick it up because the Wet status decreases Air Resistance by -20%, which is a LOT for 1 AP. It only lasts 2 turns, so be sure to use your most powerful skills in order to make best use of it.

Character Levels 9 and up

Pressure Spike – This skill does decent damage to multiple targets, in an AoE, at range. What’s not to like? Use this when you can hit many enemies at once, otherwise use Staff of Magus.

Vacuum Aura – This will be your first Source Skill and it deals solid damage in a rather large AoE, inflicting Suffocation and Silence. Suffocation destroys Magic Armour and Silence is only applied if the target(s) have no Magic Armour. What’s great about it is that it’s an Aura, so it will Silence enemies that lose their Magic Armour, even after you’ve already cast it. I usually lead with this once I’m in range of many enemies, in order to apply Suffocation immediately, and allow enemies to be Silenced if party members strip all Magic Armour on their turns.

Phoenix Dive – This skill is simply here for mobility. Although you have Bull Rush, which will be used the bulk of the time, sometimes you need to jump up or down. Since you’ll have 2 Warfare already, this is the natural choice.

Skin Graft – The second Source Skill you will obtain, it will allow you to reset all of your cooldowns once per encounter, which is fantastic. Because both Skin Graft and Vacuum Aura only cost 1 SP each, you can potentially get 2 uses of VA and 1 SG per encounter (with max SP).

Silencing Stare – This is a great skill for this Build because it destroys Magic Armour in a cone and Silences enemies. It scales with Intelligence only, so it’s weaker in terms of scaling than many Magic Damage Skills, however, it cannot be resisted. This means it will always destroy the Magic Armour listed, despite the resistances of enemies, making it a powerful tool against enemies with high Air Resistance.

Challenge – This skill costs 0 AP an will increase your Armour, Vitality and damage for 2 turns if you defeat an enemy within 3. It’s a must have for any Build that has 3 points into Wafare, no matter what type of damage they deal. This will be the last skill you acquire.

These aren’t all the Skills you can use, but the minimum ones I would recommend. For example Bone Cage is not a bad choice if you need more Physical Armour, which you may. And Teleport can also be useful for grouping enemies up for AoE damage and CC.

Final Tips

Elf is a solid choice of Race for this Build because you will not be using a Shield, so the Constitution penalty from Flesh Sacrifice does not hurt. This gives you an extra AP and a small damage boost, helping you to kill enemies faster. Beast is also not a bad choice because of his skill Blinding Squall, which also does Air Damage, and the extra Dodge Chance he gets (+5%).

Positioning is very important with this Build because you will be using two Auras: Vacuum Aura and Medusa Head. You want to affect as many enemies as you can when using them, so being in the middle of many enemies is ideal. You will also get better use out of Blinding Radiance and Whirlwind by doing this, so Bull Rush to get into the middle of packs of enemies, or Phoenix Dive if you can’t with Bull Rush.

When starting combat you always want to use either Vacuum Aura or Silencing Stare first, once positioned, and once you’ve obtained them. This is because Suffocating and Silencing Stare destroy Magic Armour, and once Magic Armour is gone these Skills become much less useful. Don’t waste them if you can’t hit many targets, but if you can, unleash them ASAP.

Because this Build is chocked full of AoE Skills, many of which Crowd Control, consider adding Equalise to this Build. This will allow you to lower the Magic Armour of enemies that have higher values, by raising the Magic Armour of ones with lower values. This works well here because you have Skills that strip Magic Armour, and because you want to Silence anyone with no Magic Armour.

Lastly, you can actually improve the damage of your Air Staff by combining it with a Poison source (for Poison Damage), or with an Eternal Artifact for more Air Damage. Poison is much more common earlier on, so you can do that when you are lower level. However, Eternal Artifacts are much more rare and you will only be able to do this much further into the game.

As always, be sure to check out our other Build Guides, and good luck Sourcerers, Rivellon is counting on you!

The post Divinity Original Sin 2 Build Guides: Radiant Battlemage appeared first on Fextralife.