Did you ever play the original Divinity Original Sin? I just finished that one and was wondering if you had an idea for how it compares to the sequel. I enjoyed it for sure, but it felt like there was hopeful room for improvement/polish.
I played it briefly on the PS4 since my brother got that one first, this won’t be particularly organized but
I enjoy that there’s more interaction between the Source Hunters (and that they get more spoken dialogue as player avatars compared to the player’s character as an avatar in the sequel). My sis and I had a really fun time being unrepentant dicks but in DOS2 everything’s so grim and depressing in comparison that screwing people over isn’t as funny
The more whimsical and fantastic tone of DOS1 borders on pachiste is closer to Larian’s original game, Divine Divinity which I played many many years ago and still fondly remember
Debuffs in DOS1 vs DOS2 is a matter of variability vs consistency. While it can be frustrating getting hit by debuffs when you really don’t want it, DOS2′s armor system is probably the single most contentious point on an otherwise perfect game, but there are also a plethora of mods that rigorously balance it, while DOS1′s modding scene isn’t nearly as large
In DOS2 you can’t really run half physical/magical parties due to phys/mag armor being separate... and the HP bar that actually matters since once one of them is down you can stunlock enemies to oblivion (and they can do the same to you)
I found earlygame a lot more confusing in DOS1 because encounters are really tough and its not as apparent where you can go to get non-combat EXP, Cyseal is a lot more open right from the start than Fort Joy is
Melee is overpowered in DOS2, but melee in DOS1′s earlygame feels horrendously ineffectual, one could say this is due to getting access to teleport skills (Phoenix Dive, Cloak and Dagger, Tactical Retreat) as early as level 4 in DOS2, and the way damage increases exponentially per level when you get Warfare levels (not to mention two-handed levels’ bonus crit damage). In DOS2 accuracy is considerably less of an issue as well
Character building in DOS2 is a lot more condensed and straightforward, not having as many stats and skill sections to worry about
Persuasion in DOS1 is lal, in DOS2 its more like fallout/knights of the old republic
Money is a lot harder to come by in DOS1 so having a dedicated thief is more or less mandatory for the early game (and they don’t have a legit way of raising money like DOS2′s herb gardens gift bag add-on, as far as farming drudanae is legit anyways)
DOS1 feels more like a fun romp and DOS2 has a very thematically sound narrative about “power”
I don’t know about DOS1, but enemies in DOS2 tend to have decent elemental resistances which is another reason why melee is overpowered
Lone Wolf in DOS2 will only work with a party of 2 at max, while I like that you could technically run a party of 3 in DOS1 with one person having LW. Duo Lone Wolf is a good way to start to get acclimated to the way they changed AP economy between DOS1 and 2 (default 4AP, all attacks cost 2, get more movement per AP now)
I’m gonna get DOS1 on pc at some point bc its only 10GB compared to DOS2′s 60GB and probably is less cpu intensive, so I can finish it properly at least once, but to me it felt more like a proof of concept that was realized to full through DOS2
if you do get DOS2, lemme know because there’s a few mods I feel are mandatory for the best experience