Divinity: Unique Sin 2’s good armor system is certainly one of a sort in RPGs, and I am bummed we’ll apparently by no means see it once more

I am mourning a buddy at present, and what’s extra, my buddy’s reminiscence is being slandered. Not solely will Divinity not carry ahead the distinctive armor system Larian crafted for Divinity: Unique Sin 2, my coworkers hold bashing it. PCG guides author Rory Norris known as it “damaged” in large letters on our entrance web page.

I overlook what PCG information author Morgan Park stated to me precisely throughout our Friday assembly, but it surely was one thing like D:OS2’s armor system sucks, I am silly for liking it, and I am a silly moron with an unpleasant face and an enormous butt, and my butt smells and I prefer to kiss my very own butt.

There’s nothing on the market like D:OS2’s armor system. It lends the sport a fight rhythm that’s utterly distinctive amongst CRPGs, and I used to be thrilled on the prospect of Larian returning to it with contemporary eyes and a Baldur’s Gate 3’s price of design expertise. The saving grace right here is the opportunity of one thing new and even higher, however I can not let the second go with out sticking up for my fav.

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Far out, man

Crowd management⁠—stuns, knockdowns, something that hampers an enemy or participant as an alternative of instantly damaging them⁠—is a key a part of RPG fight, but it surely’s virtually all the time based mostly on a certain quantity of random probability, like Dungeons & Dragons’ D20 saving throws. It really works properly sufficient as a style default, however D:OS2 is the one CRPG I’ve performed that went again to the drafting board to interchange this core assumption with one thing else solely.

In D:OS2, each character and enemy has bodily and magic armor bars over their well being bars. The bodily is lowered by weapon harm and talents centered on these weapons, just like the warrior ability tree. The magic armor protects in opposition to spell and elemental results.

As soon as an armor bar is depleted, the corresponding assaults then have an effect on the bottom well being bar. The curve ball is that crowd management results don’t work till the related armor has been depleted, however as soon as a personality’s armor is gone, these crowd management talents have a 100% success price. Take the warrior cost assault Battering Ram: When an enemy’s bodily armor is up, it is only a solution to deal harm and reposition your character, however when that armor is gone, Battering Ram will knock over an enemy each time you employ it.

Which means that each character, even ones you do not often affiliate with battlefield management like rogues and warriors, is a vital vector for each harm and crowd management. It’s a must to go away sure assumptions on the door when taking part in: There isn’t any want for a conventional tank or healer, as a result of enemies can simply ignore your tank (particularly with all of the mobility powers like teleportation), and well being simply is not as vital as armor. The few armor restoration talents within the recreation are a part of ability bushes with ample offensive choices.

Each character has to tug triple obligation as a tank, DPS, and controller, with construct variations coming within the type of which weapons, armor, and ability bushes a given character takes benefit of⁠—you don’t need two archers squabbling over the most effective bows, for instance. All of it leads to a extremely aggressive type of flip based mostly techniques the place you are racing to strip enemy defenses and lock down precedence targets earlier than they will do the identical to you.

Greater and higher

Unique Sin 2’s system has weaknesses, however not more than the genre-standard, random chance-based different. I’ve all the time felt that D:OS2’s few missteps lie elsewhere, like its randomly generated, leveled loot or dearth of non-combat questing. One in every of Rory’s essential complaints that I do get regards celebration composition: You are incentivized to go all elemental or all bodily, and the mixed-damage celebration from my first playthrough struggled within the endgame.

However even this, I might argue, is much less of a weak spot and extra of a distinction. There is a ton of character construct selection even throughout the elemental/bodily silos, and D:OS2 isn’t any extra restrictive with what constitutes a well-built, viable character than some other RPG, notably as you go decrease in problem. On my final playthrough, I ran with an all-physical celebration consisting of a twin daggers rogue, two hand warrior, archer, and summoner.

Once I return to the sport for yet one more cheeky replay, I used to be eyeing an elemental celebration⁠—I am notably excited by some builds I’ve seen for a melee-focused battlemage who pairs elemental staves with warrior talents. It is an important system, however I am extra damaged up by my colleagues’ slander than Larian not revisiting it for Divinity. This can be a studio I belief to give you one thing equally creative.