Should i buy divinity original sin? (revised into discussion thread)

[Seishisha]

*Edit* As suggested by one 'chrissx2' this thread will stay open and is being revised into my initial thoughts about the game. All my original post's will stay unedited so people can see the context if they want.

Hey there, just a quick question or two, hopefully i've provided enough context below for what im looking for, if you have questions feel free to ask so i can elaborate if needed.

So i was browsing the steam store earlier and i noticed divinity original sin enhanced is currently on sale. (ends 27th feb 2017 for those interested)

I have some experiance with the divinity universe and i know roughly what to expect from larion in terms of story and characters, realy the only thing im on the fence about is the fact the game has turn based combat.

For me turn based games have to be either exceptionaly well realised (lots of interlocking systems and meaningful interactions) or have unique elements that make them stand out.

Two examples of the most recent turn based games i've played, only two because i hardly own any turn based games, and frankly i don't rmember the last time i played any others.

I've played xcom enemy unknown, and if it wasn't for the base building; research and so on i probably would not have bothered with it. The combat in that game is very simplistic at it's core, truthfully i often found xcom to be dull to play while also being very frustrating due to RNG.

Im not opposed to RNG i just found xcom's to be kind of shitty when you can miss 4-5 60% shots in a row from elevation against an enemy standing in the open, and then be killed from half way across the map by a single thin man when you dude is in full cover.

I've also played mordheim city of the damned and although the combat is also simple, the warband management was nice, lots of meaningful choices when it comes to equipment and skills. The three-dimensional movement of characters and various tactics that could make use of the enviroment made the combat far more interesting to me. I defintatly enjoyed it more than xcom anyway. To be honest i'd happily go back and play it again anytime, xcom not so much.

So my question is as the title says should i take a stab at original sin, does it offer enough of merrit in the combat, i already know about some things such as setting fire to oil to create smoke and burning aoe.

What i want to know if anyone can answer is, how much do spells/skills interact with enemies and the enviroment during combat, is the game more stategic allowing for creativity or is it more like xcom using the same tactics in every fight, and relying on good rolls to win?

Thanks in advance for reading or replying.

 

[Zhukov]

The combat in DOS:EE is great. Especially at the start.

You can do things like throw a water balloon at some enemies then electrify the puddle with a lightening bolt to stun them all. I made one of my characters a fighter/mage hybrid who would charge into the middle of enemy groups, taunt, then set herself on fire, set everything else on fire and then repeatedly explode. Then I boosted her fire resistance over 100% so she'd actually heal from being on fire. It was pretty great.

Later on it gets a bit stale since the more intricate mechanics get rendered less relevant by the sheer numbers of health and damage being thrown around.

I'm not going to claim that it'll change your mind on turn-based combat though.

The main problem with the game is that it buries it's excellent combat under mountains of by-the-numbers story and bad dialogue. The opening area is especially bad in this respect. Hours upon hours of bad voice acting split up by the occasional breath of fresh air from a combat encounter. I have no idea what the designers thought they were doing.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

The main problem with the game is that it buries it's excellent combat under mountains of by-the-numbers story and bad dialogue. The opening area is especially bad in this respect. Hours upon hours of bad voice acting split up by the occasional breath of fresh air from a combat encounter. I have no idea what the designers thought they were doing.

Can confirm the opening area is pretty bloated. I got the game during the last Steam sale and just got around to starting it. I personally find the game a little obtuse with a lot of systems that aren't quite explained well enough. I also find it pretty difficult but that seems to be a common opinion. I need to play with the elemental and environment interactions more I think. Also I made one of my characters a witch and have points in pyro and geo but haven't found any skill books for her. Also the rogue character I found kind of sucks.

If you have the time to devote hours and hours to it and you like this type of game I think it's a good buy. I kind of regret it. My limited time doesn't allow me to completely immerse myself in it and I'm having trouble finding the interest to continue.

 

[Seishisha]

Ah thanks for the replies, Zhukov what you said about your mage character is pretty much exactly what im looking for in turnbased games, creative use of skills/enivroment during engagements, this has gone one step closer to getting a purchase from me now.

As for a slow start i don't mind so much, i have plenty of spare time probably too much to be honest. Alot of rpgs are fairly slow to start with, having played my share over the years i don't mind.
I've seen a video of the tutorial dungeon and the voice acting didn't seem bad to me, even if it is generaly terrible i'll just put up with it. As for complex systems i actualy enjoy that sort of thing and im not opposed to looking up somthing if i can't grasp it.

Thanks for the input fellows, i'll probably give it some more consideration over a day or two, got plenty of time left before sale ends, though what has been said thus far certainly peaked my interest more.

 

[chrissx2]

This game has the best turn-base system I've ever seen. It's super fun. There's a lot of run-and-talk at the beginning of the game, but it gets more dynamic later on. Most of the enviromental stuff works the way you think it would. You don't have a key? Just blow the doors/chest into pieces. There's a fire on the ground? Summon rain etc. I'm not gonna spoil any more of those because it's fun to figure it out by yourself.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

The Enhanced Edition is the version to get, with a lot of balance changes, VA, VFX and fixes to make a tighter, more polished experience. It's a very good game. The role-playing and customising of your characters and party are great and while I am also not a fan of turn based combat, I found D:OS to be really satisfying. Eventually...it's a very slow start with a very annoying difficulty curve that I believe has been tweaked in the EE.

There are myriad abilities and actions that interact with each other in various ways. Elements of fire, water, wind/electricity, poison each affect each other in interesting ways, like falling over on ice, rain putting out fire, lightning electrocuting water, fire igniting poison, etc. Battles and the terrain on which they take place are varied, challenging and often amusing but almost always satisfying. If you can handle isometric, party based RPGs, it's a brilliant game and worth getting. Better yet, get a friend to play thru with you in coop.

 

[Sonmi]

If you've got someone to play it with, absolutely.

I've rarely had MP sessions as fun as playing D:OS with a friend, and I can't wait til D:OS2 comes out and I can enjoy the same with double the players.

 

[Seishisha]

Well then, after giving it some thought, reading what you guys have been saying, looking into some review materiel both from users and critics, i have decided to buy and give it a shot.

Thanks for all the input everyone. I suppose this thread can be locked now if a mod wants to take care of it.

 

[chrissx2]

Well then, after giving it some thought, reading what you guys have been saying, looking into some review materiel both from users and critics, i have decided to buy and give it a shot.

Thanks for all the input everyone. I suppose this thread can be locked now if a mod wants to take care of it.

You could leave it open and tell us later what you think about the game .

 

[Baffle]

It's good; I just wish they'd hurry up and release the rest of DOS2, I haven't set Mrs B on fire for a while.

 

[American Fox]

If you've got someone to play it with, absolutely.

I've rarely had MP sessions as fun as playing D:OS with a friend, and I can't wait til D:OS2 comes out and I can enjoy the same with double the players.

Same!

 

[Seishisha]

So as suggested by chrissx2 i will keep the thread open and talk abit about my initial impressions.

Character creation, at first i was a little overwhelmed with all the class's, stats and spells, but after taking my time to look through it i settled on a cleric and witch, altered a few of there starting spells/feats but left ir mostly default. It seemed like a good idea to have a healer and a support character and for the most part i got through the encounters with little difficulty. I am somewhat starting to regret not taking a more offensive oriented team now that i have played more, not run into a brick wall yet but i feel it getting closer with each battle.

I ended up taking a two handed knight style character and some crazy archer lady who was raised by bears as my npc teammates. I met a rogue in an underground cave and a wizard in the townhall, i added them to my roster but not actualy played with them in a team yet.

Combat playing in classic the challenge is pretty decent, i won't say too much about it because i know i have not experianced enough of the game to realy have a decent opinion but so far i am enjoying it, one early game party wipe taught me to quicksave after every encounter as i soon learned autosave is basicly garbage.

I will say though that combo chaining various effects into enemies is realy cool, so far the best i've achieved was to use a smokescreen which forced the enemies into a bottle neck so they could regain line of sight, then hit them with aoe poison followed up by a fire arrow, pretty much wiped out 3 orcs in a single turn, very satisfying can't wait to see what else i can do.

Dialogue/writing, this is easily the highlight of the game for me, larian's quirky sense of humor shines through and it's nice to have a not so serious story that doesn't overdo the stupid stuff. Voice acting seems pretty spot on to me, though i can certainly understand why some would dislike it. Im not sure i wan't to wear the smelly underwear even if it does increase charisma.

As of right now, im in a pirate cove and heading down a path where some monster killed two dragon's, not realy sure what to expect but i guess it's time for a boss fight.

That'll do for now, i might add some more later if people are interested.

 

[chrissx2]

Nicely written initial impression. Reading it makes me want to go and finish the enchanced edition.


I personally wouldn't mind hearing more when you sink deeper into the game .

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

potentially not your thing, but I would say there are some definite things worth knowing before going into certain parts of the game, it's been a while since i've played it and I don't want to spoil anything for you, but things should/can be done in a certain order and I think keeping certain things for later on (certain parts of quests) can make for some interesting shortcuts. so if you feel like you might be coming up to some big quests, could be worth reading a quick notes version of a walkthrough on it.


Also, offensive based magic is super good IMO with summoning (spiders/elementals/etc..), they each get their own turn in the order, so instead of having 1-4 players to control, you're potentially controlling ~7 which makes for *much* more control of big battles and even lets you retreat with your main characters sometimes while providing pressure/damage with the summons.

if you like act 1, then I think you'll really like the rest of the game, it's alot to swallow at first, especially the first town, but it sounds like you're having a ball and will enjoy the rest of the game.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

Eh...

If you're getting it for the story, absolutely. Everything else, just wait for D:OS2. Or just get Neverwinter Nights if you're impatient. NWN isn't as tactical as D:OS, but there's a LOT more options at your disposal in general. Especially for Wizards/Sorcerers. In fact, NWN is the game where I had the most fun playing a magic user. No joke. And dem lvl 9 spells... o_o

Yes, I know you already bought it though. lol

 

[Zhukov]

... and it's nice to have a not so serious story that doesn't overdo the stupid stuff.

Agreed on that point at least.

The game gets away with a lot due to its goofy tone.