Divinity
Original Sin: Enhanced Edition
Released in 2014, then re-released a
year later in an Enhanced Edition, Divinity: Original Sin,
is the sixth game in the Divinity series, which began with
Divine Divinity in 2002. I only learned this fact in the
research to write this article. Yet, Divinity: Original Sin
is not the sixth sequentially, but was planned as a prequel to the
original trilogy (and its spin-offs). In spite of its chronological
position, it stands alone well, and not having played any of the
other games in the series, (and unable to find a website which offers
any confirmation) I can't confirm whether Divinity was only
planned as a prequel or is a prequel.
Developed and published by Larian
Studios, a Belgian developer founded in 1996, Divinity:
Original Sin Enhanced Edition
is a fantasy role-playing game like Neverwinter Nights (a favorite of
the genre), but distinguishes itself from other fantasy role-playing
games with its turn-based combat system. Because, for better or
worse, the player will spend an inordinate amount of time in combat,
this first article about Divinity:
OSEE will focus entirely
on this one aspect of the game.
Like
all RPGs the player designs their character for the adventures ahead.
They consider a number of features including aesthetic effect,
combat skill, stats, charisma, abilities, magic, and a character's
personality. In D:OSEE,
the player chooses how a character looks and speaks, but ultimately
there are three core perks: Attributes, Abilities, and Talents.
Attributes (Strength, Dexterity, etc...) are the foundational values
which determine the effectiveness of all actions. Abilities can be
divided into two categories: those which determine the Skills a
character can use (Pyrokinetic for fire magic,
Marksmanship for archery skills, Man-at-Arms for physical attack and
defense, etc...) and
aptitudes which provide and/or improve basic actions (Single-handed
increases damage done with a one handed weapon, Charisma improves
dialogue options, and Loremaster allows the identifying of items, for
example). Talents are passive skills, and won't be discussed in this
article.
Some
Abilities allow the acquisition of Skills which function like spells
and activatable actions, such as Teleportation (air spell) and
Crushing Blow (man-at-arms action). While a few Skills are useful
outside of battle, most serve only to achieve victory in it. The
Skills which the character's learn are crucial for progressing in the
game, but they are limited by the corresponding Ability level. All
Abilities start at a value of 0 and can be improved to a value of 5.
Each point increase unlocks the use of more Skills of the appropriate
type. At the first
Ability point, a hero can have three novice skills, at the 2nd
point in an Ability, a hero can learn 5 novice skills, 2 adept
skills. At 3, a hero can know 6 novice skills, 3 adept
skills, at 4 they can use 6 novice skills, 4 adept skills, 1
master skill, and at 5 a character can deploy 6 novice skills, 4
adept skills, 2 master skills. Even a hero with 5 points in
an Ability won't be able to learn all the Skills in the category, and
Skills can't be unlearned (except near the end of Divinity).
For this reason, it's crucial to know all the available Skills before
choosing any, and I recommend refering to online resources to plan
one's progression.
Battle
begins when a player controlled character walks into the view of an
enemy. Immediately heroes assemble into a formation predetermined by
the player. A turn order bar appears in the top left of the screen,
displaying the initiative of the characters. But sometimes the order
bar bugs
out, or the order
changes in the
middle of a battle without any discernible reason. When it's
working, the player can plan appropriately. Divinity's
combat revolves around the spending of Action Points. Each skill,
movement, or activatable item, costs Action Points. Spellcasters
will expend most of their action points using Skills, while melee
heroes are more likely to disburse them in moving and attacking.
Before
long, the player will recognize that Divinity's
combat favors a barrage of Area of Effect spells deployed by people
on both sides: Spellcasters are the primary source of this
mayhem, but grenades and other items, along with some melee Abilities
contribute to the pandemonium. The
elements of earth, air, fire, and water used by Spellcasters always
transforms battlefields into infernos of fire and smoke. Divinity's
developers decided to differentiate it from other fantasy RPGs by
turning the ground, on which the character's stand, and air which
they breath, into a mutable battlefield. Almost all the AOE spells
leave a residual coating on the landscape, while many battles begin
with the field already covered in one frosting or another. It's
possible for any piece of ground to be effected by roaring flame,
slippery ice, poisonous slime, poisonous cloud, dense smoke, sticky
oil, spilt blood, warm steam, or water.
Each
of these coatings impede the implementing of the battle plan, and as
a result, each battle becomes an obstacle course as the player
attempts to navigate their heroes around the treacherous terrain.
This could be enjoyable, except for the pathing problem. While not
in combat, heroes avoid poison, ice, and all the rest on their own,
but once battle begins they walk right through it. In combat, the
player must carefully micromanage heroes around the fire, earth,
water, and air hurdles. This makes sense, as sometimes the player
needs a hero to run through fire to win, but most of the time, it
would be only an inconvenience. Except that the final problem with
pathing is about location.
Unlike
The
Banner Saga
series, which uses a board with clearly delineated spaces for its
battles, Divinity's
battlefields are composed, not of distinct tiles or spaces, but an
infinite number of points. It's impossible to see definitively
whether a space is clear or covered by a hazardous element, and it's
difficult to know if a hero's path crosses the spot. To avoid
incurring nature's wrath, the player must spend valuable Action
Points circumscribing any possible obstacle.
And
when a battle finishes, it's not unusual to end with at least one
hero very low on health and standing in, or right next to, something
nasty. Immediately as the battle ceases, heroes act like chickens
with their heads cut off, forget to avoid these dangerous spaces,
step right in, and die immediately. Resurrection scrolls, while not
exactly rare, are not an abundant resource, and this infuriating
result wastes the player's time.
Over
time the many battles of Divinity
begin to blur together into one great hellish affair, whether the
player ascribes to the
fire and brimstone or the icy frozen wasteland
depictions. The combat becomes increasingly repetitive, with the
same Skills, the same pre-battle buffs, and the same obstacles as the
player traverses a deadly labyrinth of ground coatings and airy
vapors.
Because of its
repetitive nature, the player should combat as easy as they can. One
recommendation is to ambush enemies, which isn't a difficult
technique to learn. The downside: it's not clear if the enemies will
deliver dialogue. Even minor bosses will skip their conversation
with the player if a hero sneaks up and strikes first. But don't
trust too much on Skills because some of the bosses seem immune to a
number of Skill effects, though the final boss is vulnerable to the
Scoundrel's Coup De Grace Skill (immediately kill any enemy who
retains less than 20% of their original health)!
Even
more boring then the repetitive combat and frustrating than the
inability to provide reasonable pathing are the hitboxes.
Not only are they small, but when the player is taking his turn, the
enemies impliment an idle animation where they shift in place. This
was undoubtedly done to make them seem more alive and increase
Divinity's
visual effect, but their hitbox moves with them. An uncountable
number of players
have missed
and moved instead
because an enemy leaned a back or shifted
their footing.
While it might seem like an insignificant issue, a mistake can lose a
battle, and force the player to replay the ten minute combat again.
Combat
is repetitive, pathing over dangerous terrain is difficult, and the
hitboxes are terrible, but some times features are only a bit messed
up. Blood conducts electricity like water. Toggled stances don't
stay toggled between battles, which is a minor inconvenience. Late
in the game Grutilda one-shots both my wizard and thief on the same
turn with two different attacks.
Then
there's the really broken bit, but before describing it (and it's
only a minor issue which effects one class), there's a need in this
article for a few compliments to combat. Overall, combat looks
great, functions well, and is enjoyable in limited doses. Divinity
knows and is trying to keep combat smart, like when the Aerotheurge
yells, “I
sing the body electric,” as she casts lighting. If the
combat had more space to breathe it probably wouldn't have felt as
repetitive as it did. Now the broken bit.
Taunt,
the Man-at-Arms skill which is supposed to force enemies to attack
the taunting hero, does nothing. The hero uses it, the game shows
which enemies the Skill effects (they even receive the taunted status
debuff symbol) and yet they attack anyone they want, sometimes the
taunter, but other heroes as well, rendering the skill useless.
In conclusion, if one wants to reduce
the number of times they engage in tiresome combat with the enemy,
invest in Charisma. It won't allow the player to avoid as many
battles as they wish, but it will offer some comfort.
Next week, the
second and final article on Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced
Edition. While this article was singularly focused on combat,
next week's will explore quests, plot, puzzles, and overall design.
Also: Watch Games
Done Quick 2017 complete Divinity: Original Sin in under 30
minutes.
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