Divinity: Original Sin - Enhanced Edition: Complete Guide

This guide covers Larian's 2015 Enhanced Edition of Divinity: Original Sin: character creation, the elemental combat system, talents worth taking, companions, the region order through Rivellon, and tips for Tactician and Honour Mode.

Researched September 2026 — current as of patch v2.0.113.775 (the last major EE balance patch) with the 2022 Brazilian Portuguese update. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

• You make two heroes, not one. The two Source Hunters share the story. Build them to complement each other, for example a melee fighter and a caster, rather than making two copies of the same thing.
• Combat runs on surfaces. Water, oil, blood, poison and fire all interact with each other. Most fights are won by setting up the ground (rain, then lightning; oil, then fire) rather than by hitting harder.
• Get Loremaster, Bartering and Telekinesis on someone. Loremaster identifies items and enemy stats. Bartering makes trading much better. Telekinesis moves heavy crates and hidden objects.
• Save constantly on separate slots. The game lets you walk into fights far above your level and makes very few things clearly missable. Rotating saves protects you from both.
• Out-of-level areas are normal. Enemy level shows on hover. If a whole camp is 3+ levels above you, come back later.
• All four companions are in Cyseal. In the Enhanced Edition, Madora, Jahan, Bairdotr and Wolgraff can all be recruited in Cyseal. You can have up to two companions besides your heroes; paid hirelings come later from the Hall of Heroes in the Homestead.
• Waypoint shrines are your fast travel. Activate every one you pass.
• Use every point you get. The Enhanced Edition splits attributes (Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Constitution, Speed, Perception) from abilities (weapon, defence, school, crafting and social skills). You need both.
• Pick a difficulty you'll enjoy. Explorer is story-focused, Classic is the baseline, and Tactician remixes encounters with smarter enemies and different traps. Honour Mode is Tactician with a single save file that gets deleted if your party dies.

Character Building

Attributes

Attribute | Main effects | Who wants it

Strength | Melee weapon requirements and damage, carry weight | Knights, two-handers

Dexterity | Bow, crossbow and dagger damage and accuracy | Rangers, rogues

Intelligence | Spell damage and requirements | Casters

Constitution | Vitality and some resistances | Everyone, front line most

Speed | Movement and Action Points | Everyone (more AP means more actions)

Perception | Initiative, spotting traps and secrets, crits | Scouts, ranged

Action Points (AP) decide how much you can do each turn. Anything that adds AP is valuable.

Ability Groups

• Weapons: Bow, Crossbow, Dual Wielding, Single-Handed, Two-Handed, Wand. Each point adds damage or crits for that weapon type.
• Skills (schools): Aerotheurge (air/lightning), Geomancer (earth/poison), Hydrosophist (water/ice/healing), Pyrokinetic (fire), Witchcraft, Man-at-Arms, Expert Marksman, Scoundrel. Your level in a school decides which skillbooks you can learn.
• Defence: Includes Bodybuilding and Willpower, which give saving throws against physical and mental statuses. Several talents need them.
• Personality and crafting: Bartering, Charisma, Leadership, Blacksmithing, Crafting, Loremaster, Telekinesis.
• Nasty deeds: Sneaking, Lockpicking, Pickpocketing.

Ability costs go up per rank (1 point for rank 1, rising to 5 points for rank 5), so spreading points thinly gets expensive. Decide which one or two skill schools each character owns.

Learning Skills

Skills come from skillbooks. You buy them from vendors or find them as loot. Reading one teaches the skill if your school level is high enough, and you can forget skills to free up space. Novice skills that are worth grabbing early:

School | Early skills

Aerotheurge | Blitz Bolt, Shocking Touch, Thunder Jump, Wind of Change

Geomancer | Boulder Bash, Fortify, Midnight Oil, Wildfire

Pyrokinetic | Burning Touch, Firefly, Flare, Self-Immolation

Hydrosophist | Freezing Touch, Rain, Regeneration, Slow Current

Witchcraft | Decaying Touch, Lower Resistances, Malediction, Vampiric Touch, Summon Undead Warrior

Man-at-Arms | Battering Ram, Crushing Fist, Encourage, Helping Hand, Cure Wounds

Expert Marksman | Ricochet, Splintered Arrow, First Aid, Ranged Power Stance

Scoundrel | Lacerate, Trip, Venomous Strike, Walk in Shadows, Winged Feet, Fast Track

Rain + Blitz Bolt is the classic early combo: soak the enemies, then shock them to stun the group. Midnight Oil + any fire slows enemies and then sets them alight.

Talents Worth Taking

Talent | Why | Requirement

Lone Wolf | Large boost to vitality, AP and ability points, designed for a two-hero party without companions | None

Glass Cannon | +4 recovery AP but half vitality. Strong on ranged casters | Level 5

All Skilled Up | 2 extra ability points | Level 3

Bigger and Better | 1 extra attribute point | Level 5

Far Out Man | +2 m range on spells and scrolls | None

Elemental Affinity | -1 AP on spells when standing in a matching surface | None

Pet Pal | Talk to animals. It opens up quests and hidden information all game | None

Bully | +50% damage to Knocked Down, Slowed or Crippled targets | None

Back-Stabber | Backstabs with daggers are always crits | None

Opportunist | Attacks of opportunity | Man-at-Arms 1

Comeback Kid | A killing blow leaves you on 1 HP | Willpower 5

Stand Your Ground | Can't be Knocked Down | Bodybuilding 5

Lightning Rod | Immune to Stunned | Aerotheurge 5

Zombie | Heal from poison, but take damage from normal healing | None (a niche build around poison surfaces)

Packmule | Double carry weight | None

Pet Pal is considered essential by most players. Give it to one of your two heroes.

Sample Two-Hero Setups

Hero A | Hero B | Notes

Two-Handed knight (Man-at-Arms, Strength, Constitution) | Aerotheurge/Hydrosophist caster | The easiest start. Rain + lightning stuns while the knight holds the line.

Ranger (Expert Marksman, Dexterity) with Elemental Ranger | Geomancer/Pyrokinetic caster | Oil and fire surfaces make Elemental Ranger arrows much stronger.

Scoundrel rogue with Back-Stabber and Guerrilla | Witchcraft/Hydrosophist support | Stealth openers, then control and healing.

Lone Wolf battlemage | Lone Wolf ranger | Two heroes, no companions. Very strong in the Enhanced Edition.

Companions and Hirelings

Companion | Role | Where

Madora | Two-handed knight | Cyseal

Jahan | Elemental wizard | Cyseal

Bairdotr | Ranger/marksman | Cyseal, jailed near the Legion Headquarters

Wolgraff | Rogue | Cyseal, in the tunnels under the cemetery

Companions have personal quests (and achievements), and they'll argue with you on some decisions. Dismissed companions wait at the King Crab Tavern in Cyseal until you unlock the Homestead's Hall of Heroes, then move there. Hirelings are bought from John Smythn in the Hall of Heroes and cost gold. They cover every archetype, such as knights, wizards, enchanters, shadowblades, rangers and clerics, and they come in levels from 2 to 20. They're useful if a companion doesn't fit your plans.

World and Progression

The main regions, in story order:

• Cyseal: a port town under attack, with a murder investigation (Councillor Jake), the lighthouse, the graveyard and the undead-infested outskirts. There are many fights and puzzles here. Take the time to clear it, because the XP matters.
• Luculla Forest: a large open region with Silverglen, the Immaculates' cult and the Conduit, orcs, goblins and a troll bridge. Enemy levels vary a lot here, so explore sideways instead of heading straight in.
• Hiberheim: the frozen fairy realm. Bring water/frost resistance gear and fire damage.
• Dark Forest: Hunter's Edge and the late-game areas leading to the Source Temple and the finale.
• The Homestead: a hub outside time. Star stones you find across the world unlock new rooms: companion quarters, a hireling hall, a room to change your appearance, and more. Zixzax, an imp, is your contact there.

Notable Bosses (for preparation)

• Cyseal: Evelyn, Braccus Rex, Ragequin, The-Ghoul-That-Guards-The-Lighthouse, Baron of Bones
• Luculla Forest: The Troll King Gungir, Goblin Shaman Kromkromkris, the Spider Queen, the Immaculate Shadow Summoner
• Hiberheim: The Guardian, King Boreas
• Dark Forest: The Rat King, The Last Weresheep, Cyclops Spiritcaller
• Finale: Leandra, then the Void Dragon

The Enhanced Edition reworked the end-game fights and ending. Patch 2.0.113.775 also rebalanced combat at the end of the game.

Crafting and Economy

• Combine items in your inventory. Most recipes follow real-world logic: ingredients combine into food and potions, tools plus raw materials make gear, and weapons can be combined with elemental components. Recipe books you read are saved in the recipe list.
• Blacksmithing lets you repair gear with a repair hammer and do smithing-type crafting. Gear loses durability in combat (the My Precious talent slows that down), so keep a hammer on you.
• Bartering and Charisma move prices and trader attitude. Give gifts to raise attitude, and let your best talker handle all trades.
• Loremaster identifies magic items and shows enemy stats and resistances. Plan resistance-based fights around it.
• Selling: Traders restock. Sell junk regularly and buy skillbooks every time you reach a new town.

Dialogue and Personality

The two heroes argue about choices, and those arguments build personality traits (pairs like Righteous/Egotistical). When you both disagree, the game settles it with a rock-paper-scissors minigame. Charisma and relevant traits give you the edge. The same minigame is used for many persuasion checks with NPCs. In co-op, the two players really do argue this way.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Fighting where the surfaces help the enemy. Standing in water when an enemy caster has lightning means your whole party gets stunned. Check what's under your feet.
• Setting everything on fire. Burning kills loot, blocks your own path and can hit your party. Use fire deliberately.
• Making both heroes fully melee or fully casters. A mix lets you deal with enemies that resist physical or elemental damage.
• Ignoring Speed. More AP means more actions. Low-Speed characters fall behind badly by the midgame.
• Leaving Pet Pal and Loremaster to chance. Both give huge amounts of information and quest content.
• Taking fights 3+ levels above you. The level gap hurts a lot, especially on Tactician.
• Relying on one save slot. Quest-breaking deaths and choices are rare but they happen. Rotate saves.

Advanced Tips

• Stun locks decide fights. Wet targets plus lightning, or Frozen from water plus ice, stop enemies from acting. Opening with crowd control beats opening with damage.
• Teleport and lift abuse: Telekinesis and teleport skills can move barrels (explosive, oil, water) into enemy groups before combat starts.
• Initiative matters: High Perception often lets you act first. Start fights from sneak or with a ranged opener to get free turns.
• Honour Mode plan: Choose Lone Wolf or a balanced four-person party, carry resurrection scrolls, and never start a fight without an escape route. Talents like Comeback Kid and Stand Your Ground are insurance.
• Split-screen and online co-op: Both players control a hero. Agree on who handles trading and talking so points aren't wasted twice.
• Mods: Larian released the Divinity Engine: Enhanced Edition editor in March 2016, so Steam Workshop and community mods can tweak difficulty, add content or fix things you don't like.

FAQ

Should I play the original or the Enhanced Edition? The Enhanced Edition. It's the version on Steam as app 373420, with full voice acting, new content, a reworked ending, controller support and split-screen co-op.

Is Lone Wolf worth it? In the Enhanced Edition, yes. It's one of the strongest setups. You give up companions for much stronger heroes.

Can I play solo? Yes. You control both heroes. Co-op is optional.

Where do I recruit companions? All four (Madora, Jahan, Bairdotr, Wolgraff) are in Cyseal in the Enhanced Edition. Hirelings are for sale at the Hall of Heroes in the Homestead.

What's the difference between Tactician and Honour? Tactician changes encounters and enemy AI. Honour uses the same rules with one save that gets deleted if the whole party dies.

How do I unlock more Homestead rooms? Find star stones as you explore. Each one opens up more of the Homestead.

Is Divinity: Original Sin 2 a sequel I need this for? No. Original Sin 2 is a separate story set much later. This game is useful background but not required.

Sources

• Divinity: Original Sin - Enhanced Edition on Steam
• Steam news for Divinity: Original Sin EE (patch v2.0.113.775, 2022 localization)
• Divinity: Original Sin — Wikipedia
• Divinity Original Sin Wiki (Fextralife) — Talents
• Fextralife — Skills
• Fextralife — Abilities
• Fextralife — Companions
• Fextralife — Bosses