Just picked up DOS1 in the steam sale; just started playing only 4 hours into it. I started a tactician run, I’ve been party wiped about 8 times so far.
so far I enjoy it, great voice acting. Some of the UX improvements in BG3 would be welcome, but its not too bad.
It’s neat because you see the arc of the Larian engine over time.
It is a goofy game but that is what gives it its charm.
Environmental interaction( especially with spells) is great
Tip with the rogue, stealth will be very useful at one point
20 hours in and I just learned the basics of the backstab mechanic! I’ve been playing my rogue like a fighter!
It’s a cool game, took me a long time to get into the groove with it, and I have to say most of the time the humour really landed flat with me and broke the immersion and enjoyment of the game.
If you’re finding yourself dying a lot, be aware that this game more than most has a very specific levelling path to follow.
By that I mean you will struggle to kill anything over 2 levels from you until you are in the later game, and I think it’s impossible to over level.
If you find one fight too hard circle back and try another path, the combat may be more your level
Same for the second one, I actually ended up locking myself out of the last act by not leveling up enough, and just got stomped by the first set of enemies right off the bat.
I still distinctly remember the first time I used a bedroll in Divinity: Original Sin 2 and knew immediately it’d be impossible for me to ever go back to the first one.
I enjoyed the original D:OS a lot more later once I had more chances for XP. Both D:OS games are brutal about punishing you for trying encounters while underleveled, to the point where I didn’t feel like I had much flexibility. That’s tough when freedom to roam and not worry about skipping things–or saving them for replays–is one of the things I most like about Western RPGs. I wasn’t a fan of spending a ton of time in town early on, too, for that reason. Was itching to get to the combat again and I just kept getting stomped. So yeah, okay, I’ll go chat everyone up for every last bit of experience.
Larian is the gamer’s best friend. Free patches that are sometimes big as DLC and free upgrades to Enhanced Editions… It’s really how a triple A game developer should act and the money they make just in game sales shows it. They know they make good games.
Even the hype for BG3 wasn’t superficial with just trailers. They let you play the actual first part of the game and took feedback. That’s real hype.
It is also really fun in coop. The way your two main characters interact makes it perfect for playing it with somebody else.
And of course all the different fuckups if your fire ball destroys the oil barrels you didn’t see before…
