Divinity: Original Sin Preview
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The conversation starts with one of the characters who gets a list of options to choose from, just like we are used to in an RPG. The other player does not see the options but will see the choice; based on that choice the person you are talking to responds and the second player gets to choose from a list of answers. The decision on what to do next is not decided by one of the characters, but both have to agree. If they do not, this is discussed and a virtual dice is thrown in the background with the result modified with the charisma that each of the characters has to determine who wins the conversation. At the moment the developers are also thinking about adding the option to intimidate the other party member, which would result in the virtual dice being modified based on the strength of the characters. Or, Intelligence could be used to win a conversation with arguments. This has not been finalized yet, but when implemented well, this could add a lot to the multiplayer experience of the game.
When one character is entering a conversation and the other is too far away, the other one will not participate but can see that a conversation is taking place and what is said in order to not loose valuable information. In that case, there is no opportunity to disagree either.
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Every time you level up, the four basic stats can be modified: strength, intelligence, dexterity and charisma. All other statistics are derived from these and equipment you are carrying and cannot be modified directly. This system is based on what was used in the first Divinity.
Next to modifying the stats when leveling up it is also possible to choose a skill. There are six schools of skills, four of which are magical schools based on the elements of nature: Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. Your opponents will have more or less resistance to these skills, rendering some skills useless on some creatures. Fire elements for example will have a very high resistance against fire but a very low resistance against water.
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Combat is turn-based and takes action points. Each action like moving, fighting, using a skill or equipping stuff will take action points. The switch to turn-based was made because they wanted to add something extra to the game. The original Divinity was an action oriented game. Beyond Divinity originally had turn based combat, but that was removed because of the publisher who wanted it to be real time and Divinity 2 was very much action oriented. And now Larian feel the RPG players are ready for a turn-based RPG.
If one person enters combat and the other person is near, both will be part of the fight. If the other person is further away, he or she will not enter combat and can freely roam the country and do other things, while the other character is fighting or even start their own fight. But it is never too late to join the fight and help your fellow hero out in a time of distress.
