Divinity: Original Sin 2 is not a simple game. Fights can be grueling, quests confusing and item management is a beast all of it's own.

With that in mind, we've gathered up some of the most useful tips and tricks to help you succeed early on in Divinity OS2. These include simple gold earning methods, clever tactics and powerful skill selections to carry you through the toughest fights in the game.

Get the Teleportation Gloves

Shortly after arriving in Fort Joy, you can find a man named Gawin lurking around a large fire on the West side of town. Whether or not you help him is unimportant, it's the item he speaks of. Teleportation Gloves!

They are found along a beach to the West of the town. There are 3 Crocodiles here. Kill them and loot the surrounding area for several items, one of which will be the Gloves of Teleportation.

These gloves are extremely powerful early on, as they give you access to a full version of the Teleportation spell. In combat, it's a useful skill for moving enemies around the battlefield, dropping them into fire or bringing mages closer to your fighters.

Out of combat it's even better. It allows you to traverse gaps that you can't walk across. You can move objects back and forth, and even teleport traps completely out of your way.

Give A Little, Save A Lot

A rarely brought up part of bartering in Divinity is the option to gift an item to the merchant. I know, that sounds crazy, but there are many good rewards for doing it!

When at a merchant that you like, or expect to do lots of business with, start gifting them items. You can do this by selling them items, without actually balancing out the gold. The more valuable the items you give them, the higher their attitude will be towards you. Although this costs money in the short term, long term you'll be able to sell them stuff at a much higher price and when their stock refills, you can buy from them at a cheaper rate!

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This is hard early on, due to limited resources, but as time goes on make sure to offer up a few items to your favorite merchants. Getting their attitude up will earn you a lot of money in the long run and is well worth the few hundred gold it'll cost early on.

Summoning Magic is Good...Very Good

There are no bad skills in Divinity. Each has a use, sometimes several, but Summoning Magic reigns supreme when it comes to combat.

The reason for this, is that the Incarnate skill summons an ally for you, based on the surface it was summoned from. See some fire? Conjure up a Fire Incarnate! Poison puddles all over? Summon a Poison Incarnate.

The element isn't the powerful part though, it's the additional numbers it adds to the fight. Divinity OS 2 is designed and primarily balanced around there being 4 combatants on your team. Introducing more allies will increase your odds of survival by huge margins. The Incarnates make great distractions, are surprisingly powerful and last for several turns. Even if someone only has level 1 Summoning, it's still wise to give them the ability to create Incarnates, their power cannot be stated enough.

Crime Pays

There is no polite way to put it, but it's never been a better time to be a criminal in Divinity: Original Sin 2.

Stealing, pickpocketing and even killing those who are rich can lead to your party being very well off both in gear and finances. You can then take these newly acquired goods to your favorite merchant like we mentioned above, and make a fortune selling them.

Of course, there are repercussions for this kind of behavior. Constantly stealing from people will quickly raise their suspicions of you and you'll begin getting called out by NPCs and Guards. Killing NPCs can also be dangerous, because other NPCs may find the body and alert the guards, or see you while you're doing the deed. Greed is good, but too much can get you into a lot of trouble.

Different Races Have Varying Reactions

This isn't something directly stated to you, but implied. Depending on the character you are talking to, the race of your character will matter.

Entire quests will come to a halt if you are the wrong race, or never begin in the first place. Anytime you meet an NPC who seems dodgy or evasive, try talking to them as a different party member and see what they say.

Switching to a different character also allows you to speak to the NPC all over. Each character gets to have their own interaction, so if you get shut out of dialogue with one person, you can switch to another and try an alternate line of questioning to see if there was another option.

Mix and Match Skills and Abilities

Traditionally, RPG games reward you the most if you stick to one talent tree. You'd often pick just Magic and only that, commit to it fully and become a Grand Wizard of immense power by the end of your game.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 instead rewards diversity. This doesn't mean you should level up every skill, but it pays off to divvy your points around between 2 or even 3 different combat abilities. For instance, having a Hydrosophist who can also use Aerotheurge and Summoning is a powerful combination. A Scoundrel who can access Warfare and Necromancy can be near impossible to kill, and Polymorph fits into almost any build with it's strange and unusual skills.

You Can Never Have Too Many Hydrosophists

The Hydrosophist ability tree has several useful spells in it, but none more useful than Regeneration. It's the primary healing spell and it's going to be your main source of survival for a very long time.

Damage is plentiful is Divinity: OS2, so having several ways to heal is going to be crucial if you want to succeed. Also, since Regeneration has a fairly long cooldown in combat, having two characters that have access to it will make your life much easier.

As if healing wasn't great, Regeneration also douses you with water, removing flames!

Pet Pal is Basically Mandatory

Technically, it's not. However, if you don't take the Pet Pal Talent then you'll be missing out on a lot of dialogue and several quests.

This doesn't mean you need it on your main character of course. Ifan, a companion has it by default and you can always pick it up later on someone else if you don't use him. There are so many instances where you can speak to animals for quests and other goodies, that adventuring without it just won't feel the same.

Always Carry a Bedroll

Early in the game you come across the Bedroll item. You can get several of them on the boat you start with. Pick. Them. Up!

The Bedroll may be the single best item in the game. When out of combat, it allows you to fully heal your party at no cost. So long as you have a single Bedroll in your inventory, you can heal the entire party, anywhere you are. It's far faster than standing around, constantly casting Regeneration on everyone.

Crafting Is Awesome

It takes time to build up, but the Crafting system is very useful. Cooking in particular is a hidden wonder that you can often overlook while playing.

Food has several perks that can go a long way in combat. Firstly, most food heals a percentage of your health, so that it's useful throughout the entire game, unlock potions that heal a flat amount. Food also gives many other bonuses, like stats or resistances. Food is also very plentiful, so it's easy to stock up an entire party with several options to consume in battle. It's a great way to even the playing field, or get that extra stat point boost to help you through a particularly tough boss fight.

Multiplayer

At first glance, Multiplayer can seem a tad confusing. There are two ways to go about it.

First, there's the server browser. From the main menu you can select Multiplayer, which will bring up a list of lobbies. This method is for starting a campaign. Anyone who joins will then be able to make a character, and journey with you from the very beginning.

Once you have a game going, it's not necessary to use this anymore. Simple load up your game, open the main menu in-game then select Connectivity Menu. From here, you can just select who can join and invite people. People who join through this method will be assigned one of your current party members.

Crime Pays, But Only Once

Being a thief is a quick way to get rich. Whether you're stealing off a shelf, or right out of someone's pocket, you're always sure to turn a profit.

The downside? If you get caught stealing off a shelf or table, then the guards will be alerted and the NPC will likely become hostile towards you. If you're caught pickpocketing, the person will notice their items missing and question you if you stick around for too long.

It should be noted that you can only Pickpocket someone once! How much you steal is determined by your skill level, but no matter what level you are, you can only steal from them once.



Moral of the story? If you plan to steal items, do it fast and make a hasty exit before anyone gets suspicious!

You Get a Free Stat Rebuild

As we mentioned on our comprehensive Creating the Strongest Characters in Divinity: Original Sin 2 page, you will get a free character rebuild at the beginning of Act 3.

This happens while you're still on the boat. Below decks is a mirror and if you speak to it, it lets you completely redo your character but lets you keep all the levels you've obtained. This means, that if you made a bad decision, or use party members with overlapping skills, you can rebuild them to better fit your team.

Certain Races get Unique Skills

It's barely touched upon in the game, but the different races have hidden talents beyond what is listed.

For example, the Lizard race can dig holes without using a shovel and the Skeleton race can pick locks using their boney fingers. Elves can eat body parts, which is well known, but what the game doesn't tell you is that they also can learn skills while eating body parts!

Dwarves and Humans get the short end of the stick and sadly have no extra special hidden perks.

Bless is a Very Picky Spell

Several hours into the game you will unlock the Bless spell. It's a strange one and at first it might not seem particularly useful.

Bless has several applications, but most of them are secretive. Below are some applications of the bless spell:

Removing Curse from an Object - Some objects, like levers and switches are cursed. You can usually tell because there will be a black fog on or around them. Bless the object to remove the curse and make the item safe.

- Some objects, like levers and switches are cursed. You can usually tell because there will be a black fog on or around them. Bless the object to remove the curse and make the item safe. Cleansing Hellfire - Some creatures will have a debuff on them called Hellfire. This is a form of fire that normal water can't extinguish. Try casting Bless on them and sometimes the fire will go out. Other times you'll need the character to be standing in a puddle of blood, and Blessing the blood will cure them.

- Some creatures will have a debuff on them called Hellfire. This is a form of fire that normal water can't extinguish. Try casting Bless on them and sometimes the fire will go out. Other times you'll need the character to be standing in a puddle of blood, and Blessing the blood will cure them. Clear the Ground/Turn Water into Healing Ponds - If there are cursed surfaces on the ground, using Bless will cleanse them. Alternatively, you can Bless a normal surface of water and turn it into a pond that heals you every time you step into it.

Chicken Claw is Secretly the Best Attack

There are a lot of useful status effects in Divinity. Knockdowns and Stuns for instance are powerful spells that buy you time in combat to deal with a scary situation.

Chicken Claw however, is a true treat. Once an enemy has no Physical Armor, you can use Chicken Claw on them to turn them into a chicken! This makes them very easy to hit and causes them to miss several rounds of combat. What's better, is that it works on a lot of bosses who are immune or resistant to other status effects.

Set Traps With Barrels

You know those barrels you are usually avoiding in combat? Well, a high strength character can actually pick them up and carry them around!

If you find a tough fight that you're struggling with, run around the area and grab a few barrels. Set up a giant trap, then lure your enemies into it and blow up the barrels, causing massive amounts of damage. Virtually everything in Divinity can be moved with enough Strength, so remember to experiment!

Elements Can Trigger Different Effects Off Each Other

This is something you'll learn fairly early, but the game doesn't do a great job of highlighting it. The various elements in the game can cause different effects depending on what hits them!

Fire and Poison - These two mix together to cause a massive explosion that leaves the target on fire and poisoned.

Fire and Water - Creates a cloud of steam and smoke, making it impossible to be hit by ranged attacks.

Water and Lightning - This makes the water get electrified, shocking and stunning anyone in the water.

Bless and Water - Creates a pool of blessed water, healing everyone standing in it.

Vendor Items Rotate Over Time

You may have noticed that some Vendors sell new items when you visit them. This is because when you level up, it causes vendors to get new items. Keep in mind this doesn't always mean they will get new items, as it seems vendors will eventually stop stocking items that are far out of their item range, but it still pays to check back anytime you've leveled up.

Did you know Vendors will also hold on to your items you sell them virtually indefinitely? If you ever need an item back, make sure to check nearby vendors to find your missing items.

Companion Died? Who Needs Them!

Sometimes, bad things happen and people die. Don't sweat it! If you finish a fight but have no way to revive your allies, you can leave them dead for as long as you like. Just make a note of the location and come back for them after you've bought a scroll of Resurrection.

Everything is Valuable

One of the easiest things to overlook in Divinity is the value of items. This doesn't strictly speak to the monetary value, but the general use the item might have to you.

The game is pretty tight lipped on what is worth selling, keeping or simply passing by, but we suggest you take everything! Books, silverware and other knick-knacks can be sold for a few coins, and are great for gifting to merchants to make them like you more.

Food can be turned into various cooked meals that buff your stats and heal you in combat. There are countless crafting materials that can be hoarded for the future (and trust us, later in the game you'll thank yourself).