Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition: Complete Guide

Everything you need to get through Rivellon: party building, the armor-based combat system, build archetypes that actually work, act-by-act priorities, and the mistakes that wreck most first runs.

Researched September 2026 — current as of patch 3.6.69.4648 (the last content patch, August 2020) with all five Gift Bags. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

1. Play an Origin character. Red Prince, Sebille, Lohse, The Beast, Ifan ben-Mezd and Fane all have personal questlines and extra dialogue. A custom character is the "blank slate" option with less personal story, though it leaves all six Origins free to recruit as companions.
2. Recruit the Origins you want in Fort Joy before you leave. Companions are spread around the prison island and your party holds up to three of them. At the end of Act 1 (on the Lady Vengeance) you make a final choice, and anyone you don't take leaves your journey permanently - so try them out before you commit.
3. Pick one damage type per party - ideally all physical or all magic. Enemies have separate Physical Armor and Magic Armor bars. Mixed parties waste turns chipping two bars at once.
4. Two strong beginner parties: four physical (Warfare/Huntsman/Scoundrel) or four magic (Pyro/Geo/Hydro/Aero). Both are far easier than a 2/2 split.
5. Consider a Lone Wolf duo if you want an easier game. Lone Wolf (two-character party) doubles attribute points and ability points up to caps; it is the strongest option in the game.
6. Save constantly and use multiple slots. Quests can break, people turn hostile, and Honour mode only gives you one save.
7. Put points into Persuasion on your face character. A lot of fights, bribes and quest outcomes are decided by Persuasion checks, which also use your relevant attribute.
8. Use height and surfaces. Attacking from above adds damage and range; water plus lightning stuns, oil plus fire burns, poison clouds explode.
9. The Magic Mirror on the Lady Vengeance lets you fully respec (attributes, abilities, talents) once you reach the ship at the start of Act 2.
10. Source points are not a resource to hoard. Source skills (Source Vampirism, Mass Corpse Explosion, Meteor Shower etc.) win big fights; refill at Source fonts, with Source Vampirism, or at your bedroll if the Gift Bag "Source Meditation" option is on.

How Combat Actually Works

Action Points (AP)

Every character starts a turn with a pool of AP (normally 4 regained per turn, max 6, with modifiers from talents like Executioner and statuses like Haste). Skills cost 1-3 AP; basic attacks are 2 AP; moving costs AP per distance. Unspent AP carries over up to the maximum, so a 2 AP skip is sometimes smarter than a weak attack.

Armor, not HP

Enemies (and you) have three bars: Physical Armor, Magic Armor, Vitality. Crowd control only lands when the matching armor bar is at zero:

This is why a focused party is so strong: strip one bar fast and your whole team can lock enemies down. Characters with high armor are immune to most CC.

Surfaces and Elements

• Water + Lightning = electrified water, Stuns.
• Water + Cold = ice, which knocks down anyone who moves.
• Oil + Fire = burning oil; Poison + Fire = explosion.
• Blood surfaces can be electrified or frozen too.
• Fire + Water = steam; lightning on steam makes a stun cloud.
• Blessing a cursed surface cleanses it; cursing fire creates Necrofire that can't be put out normally.

Use Rain to cleanse fire and set up stuns, and Fortify / Frost Armor / Peace of Mind to restore your own armor.

Initiative and Positioning

Turn order is based on Initiative (Wits raises it). Going first means you often kill or disable enemies before they act. Before combat starts, use Sneak (default C toggle on keyboard) to position everyone, then open with your best ranged or burst skills.

Attributes and Abilities

Rule of thumb: dump almost all attribute points into your main damage stat and put the rest into Memory as needed. Constitution and Wits are gear-driven for most builds.

Combat Abilities (skill schools)

Warfare boosts all physical damage and is worth stacking on physical parties; for mages, put points in the school you use most, since each point in an elemental school boosts that element's damage.

Civil Abilities

Spread these across the party rather than stacking one character:

• Persuasion on your main talker.
• Loremaster to identify items and see enemy stats (1-2 points is fine).
• Thievery / Sneaking on one rogue.
• Lucky Charm on whoever opens chests.
• Bartering helps whoever sells loot.
• Telekinesis is a fun utility for moving heavy objects.

Build Archetypes

Physical Party (easiest for new players)

Physical skills like Battering Ram, Battle Stomp and Mosquito Swarm all hit Physical Armor, so everyone breaks the same bar.

Magic Party

Useful talents: Elemental Affinity (cheaper skills when standing in matching surfaces), Savage Sortilege (spells can crit), Torturer (certain damage-over-time statuses like Burning, Poisoned and Bleeding ignore armor and last longer - strong for Pyro and Geo), Far Out Man for extra range.

Lone Wolf Duo

Two characters, both with Lone Wolf: extra Vitality, AP and doubled ability/attribute points (up to caps). A classic duo is a Warfare/Necromancer melee plus a Huntsman ranger. It's the easiest way to play Tactician.

Difficulty Modes

Classic is right for a first run if you know turn-based RPGs. The Fort Joy fights feel hardest on every difficulty until you hit level 3-4.

Act-by-Act Priorities

Act 1 - Fort Joy

• Grab companions (Sebille, Red Prince, Ifan, Lohse, Beast, Fane are all around the prison).
• Use Spirit Vision to see ghosts and hidden items once you unlock it.
• Get to level 3-4 before taking on Magister-heavy fights; Fort Joy's fights are level-gated.
• Talk to Gawin, Griff, and the Seekers at the Hideout for major quests.
• There are several ways out of the fort itself (sneaking, talking, fighting, hidden passages); the act ends when you escape the island on the Lady Vengeance.
• Before leaving, finish everything: Fort Joy becomes inaccessible once you sail.

Act 2 - Reaper's Coast

• The biggest act. Driftwood is your hub; the Lady Vengeance holds the Magic Mirror for respecs, and your companions' conversations on the ship advance their personal quests.
• Explore in a rough level order (per the Fextralife wiki): the Beach and Driftwood (around level 9), Paladin Bridgehead and Reaper's Bluff, the Undertavern, then Wreckers' Cave and Stonegarden (11-12), Cloisterwood (12-13), and last Paradise Downs and the Blackpits/Ancient Temple (13-14). If a fight feels impossible, you are probably in a later zone - come back.
• The Source-related questlines here unlock more Source power; save often, as several dungeons are trap-heavy.
• Hunt down everyone's origin quests here; many conclude in Act 3/4.

Act 3 - Nameless Isle

• A shorter act with trials that decide your Source power.
• Save before every trial and read carefully - choices here affect endings.

Act 4 - Arx

• The final city. Several Act 2/3 questlines conclude here (Lohse's, the Red Prince's, Fane's).
• Arx has some of the highest-level loot in the game; prepare accordingly before the finale.

Gift Bags (free Definitive Edition extras)

Enable any of these from the Gift Bag menu (in the main menu, before starting a game; some can be toggled mid-campaign):

• Gift Bag 2: Crafter's Kit (new recipes and craftable uniques), Endless Runner (sprint toggle out of combat), Animal Empathy (talk to animals without spending the Pet Pal talent), Fort Joy Magic Mirror (respec before leaving Act 1), 8 Action Points (raises max AP), Herb Gardens.
• Gift Bag 3: Pet Power (infusion spells on all summons), Combat Randomizer (random enemies get special statuses - good for replays), Nine Lives (the Black Cat becomes a follower), Improved Organisation (inventory bags), Sourcerous Sundries (vendors sell gear-upgrade artifacts), Haggler.
• Sourceror Secrets (Gift Bag 4) - bedroll resurrects the party (From The Ashes), bedroll restores Source (Source Meditation), Divine Talents (extra talents including Indomitable-style ones), and permanent Spirit Vision.
• The Four Relics of Rivellon (Gift Bag 5) - quests for four armor sets: Captain, Vulture, Contamination, Devourer. The Vulture set grants permanent wings; Contamination grants poison immunity.

For a first playthrough, the Fort Joy Magic Mirror, Endless Runner, Improved Organisation, and Sourceror Secrets' bedroll resurrect and Source Meditation smooth out a lot of friction with no real downside. Combat Randomizer and 8 Action Points change balance noticeably - save them for a second run.

Crafting and Loot Tips

• Carry a Mortar and Pestle and Needle and Thread for crafting. Grenades and scrolls are cheap and strong early.
• Skillbooks can be crafted by combining a Blank Skillbook with element essences and other skillbooks.
• Check traders after each level-up: stock refreshes and scales with your level.
• Loot in DOS2 scales steeply per level, so gear from two levels ago is often a big downgrade. Replace gear whenever you level.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Mixed damage parties. Two physical and two magic characters wastes AP on two armor bars.
2. Leaving Fort Joy under-leveled. Clear side quests first.
3. Selling your best Persuasion character's gear. Some items that boost Persuasion or Wits are worth keeping for key conversations.
4. Ignoring Memory. Without enough slots you can't equip the skills you've learned.
5. Standing in your own surfaces. Electrified water stuns your own party too; ice knocks you down.
6. Forgetting to rest. Use your bedroll outside combat to heal; don't burn potions after every fight.
7. Only saving on the quick-save. Rotate saves so a bad decision doesn't lock you in.
8. Not using the Magic Mirror. Respec is free once you reach the ship in Act 2.

Advanced Tips

• Initiative is king on Tactician. Wits gear and Lone Wolf both help you take the first turn.
• Teleportation (Aerotheurge) and Nether Swap move enemies into bad surfaces or out of cover.
• Chameleon Cloak (Polymorph) makes a character invisible for a turn - a lifesaver when someone is about to die.
• Peace of Mind removes Fear, Charm and Madness from allies and is a key panic button.
• Skin Graft (Polymorph) resets all your skill cooldowns - on a Warfare/Huntsman build, this lets you double up on the big hits in one fight.
• Executioner gives AP back on kills; build chains so one character kills something every turn.
• Pre-buff before combat starts. Out of combat, cast armor restores and damage buffs, then start the fight on your terms.
• Divine Talents Gift Bag adds extra powerful talents for those comfortable with a few more options during respec.

FAQ

Which Origin should I play first? The Red Prince or Sebille are the most popular first picks; both have a strong personal story and interesting dialogue. Fane is fun but his undead mechanics (disguises, healing restrictions) add friction on a first run.

Can I play solo? Yes. A two-character Lone Wolf party is a common solo setup; you can also just control a full party of four by yourself.

Is co-op worth it? Yes. Up to four players online or two in local split-screen, drop-in/drop-out. Each player controls their own characters.

How do I respec? Use the Magic Mirror on the Lady Vengeance (available once you reach the ship in Act 2). If you enable the "Fort Joy Magic Mirror" Gift Bag option, you get a mirror in Act 1 as well.

Why can't I stun or freeze enemies? Their Magic Armor isn't at zero. Strip the matching armor bar first, then apply statuses.

Should I buy Divinity: Original Sin 2 or wait for a new Larian game? DOS2 is complete and hasn't had a content patch since 2020. It's stable and Steam Deck Verified, and you get the full Definitive Edition with all Gift Bags.

Can I skip the launcher? Yes. Add --skip-launcher to Launch Options in Steam (right-click the game, Properties, General).

Does my save carry to iPad/Mac? Steam Cross Save works between PC and iPad for supported versions (added in the September 2021 update).

Sources

• Steam store page - Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition
• Steam news: Update 3.6.69.4648
• Steam news: Gift Bag 5 - The Four Relics of Rivellon
• Steam news: Gift Bag 4 - Sourceror Secrets
• Steam news: iPad/Steam Cross Save and launcher skip option
• Divinity: Original Sin 2 Wiki (Fextralife) - Gift Bags
• Divinity: Original Sin 2 Wiki (Fextralife) - Companions
• Divinity: Original Sin 2 Wiki (Fextralife) - Status Effects
• Divinity: Original Sin 2 Wiki (Fextralife) - Reaper's Coast