You’re standing on the deck of the Lady Vengeance, the salt air is thick, and honestly, you have no idea who to kill first. That’s the magic of Larian Studios. But here’s the thing about a typical Divinity Original Sin 2 walkthrough: most of them treat the game like a linear checklist. They tell you to go from point A to point B, talk to the dog, find the hatch, and kill the magisters.
That’s a mistake.
Divinity is a systematic playground. If you play it like a standard RPG, you’re basically trying to drive a Ferrari in a school zone. You’re missing the sheer chaos that makes Rivellon worth visiting. Whether you’re a veteran of Baldur’s Gate 3 looking for where it all started or a newcomer wondering why everyone is obsessed with "barrelmancy," understanding the flow of this game requires more than just a map. It requires a shift in how you think about problems.
The Fort Joy Trap and Your First Ten Hours
Most players quit in Fort Joy. It’s a fact. The difficulty curve doesn’t just spike; it punches you in the throat. You start with no clothes, no skills, and a collar that keeps you from using Source.
When you’re looking for a Divinity Original Sin 2 walkthrough for the early game, don't just look for the exit. There are actually about five or six ways out of the prison. You can sneak through the teleportation quest with Gawin—who, by the way, is a total jerk and will absolutely ditch you—or you can fight your way through the main gates.
Pro tip? Do all of them.
Not at once, obviously. But the experience points in this game are a finite resource. There is no grinding. You can’t just go out into the woods and kill boars until you’re level 20. Every encounter is hand-placed. If you leave Fort Joy too early, you’ll arrive at the marshes at level 3, encounter a group of Voidwoken, and get evaporated.
Explore the kitchens. Talk to the Griff. Decide if you want to betray the elf or the dreamer. These choices aren't just "flavor." They are the difference between having enough gold for a Resurrection Scroll and staring at a "Game Over" screen because you couldn't afford a single health potion.
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The Truth About Origin Characters
Should you play a custom character? Honestly, no. Not for your first run.
Playing as Lohse or The Red Prince gives you a built-in narrative that a custom "Human Male Warrior" just can't touch. Lohse’s personal quest is arguably the best writing in the entire genre. If you don't have her in your party, you're missing a literal rock concert and a terrifying internal demon that can hijack your combat turns.
Fane is another heavy hitter. Being Undead changes the entire mechanical landscape. Healing spells hurt you. Poison heals you. You can pick locks with your bony fingers. It's weird, it's tactile, and it makes the Divinity Original Sin 2 walkthrough experience feel completely different.
Mastering the Elemental Chaos of Combat
Combat in this game is about surfaces. Forget "I swing my sword." Instead, think "I create a puddle of oil, light it on fire, and then use a wind spell to turn that fire into a cloud of smoke so the archers can't see me."
Larian built a chemistry set disguised as a combat system.
If you see water on the ground, expect it to be electrified or frozen within one turn. If you see a barrel, it’s not a prop. It’s a tactical nuke. Many people struggle because they try to build "pure" classes. They want a "healer" or a "tank."
The "tank" role doesn't really exist here. The AI is too smart. If you build a guy with 5,000 armor and 10 health, the enemies will simply ignore him and go kill your squishy wizard. Everyone needs a way to move. Every character should probably have one point in Scoundrel for "Adrenaline" or one point in Aerothurge for "Teleportation."
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Teleportation is the best skill in the game. Period. Want to move an enemy into a fire pit? Teleport. Want to move a chest that’s out of reach? Teleport. Want to drop a heavy gold-filled chest onto a boss's head to kill them instantly? That’s "barrelmancy," and it’s a legitimate strategy.
The Mid-Game Slump in Reaper’s Coast
Once you get off the island, the game opens up. It’s overwhelming. You land at Driftwood and suddenly have fifteen quests in your log.
The biggest mistake here is heading North too fast. The level scaling in Act 2 is incredibly tight. Even being one level below your enemies is a massive disadvantage because of how the armor system works. In Divinity Original Sin 2, you have Physical Armor and Magic Armor. Until you strip one of those away, you cannot apply status effects. You can’t stun a guy who still has 1 point of Magic Armor.
This leads to the "split damage" debate. Some players swear by a full physical party (warriors, archers, necromancers). Others love the elemental synergy of a full magic party. Mixing them 50/50 is the hardest way to play, but often the most fun. Just know that if you’re following a Divinity Original Sin 2 walkthrough that tells you to "just play how you want," they might be setting you up for a lot of frustration in the Blackpits.
Speaking of the Blackpits: prepare for fire. So much fire. The "Oil Voidlings" fight is legendary for turning the entire screen into a burning lag-fest. If you haven't learned "Bless" or don't have a way to clear Necrofire, you're going to have a bad time.
The Nameless Isle and the Power of Choice
By the time you reach the Nameless Isle, you’re basically a god in waiting. This section is shorter than the others, acting as a sort of gauntlet before the final act.
The puzzles here are more prominent. You’ll be aligning pillars to sun and moon symbols. It feels very old-school. But the real meat is the interaction between your companions. By this point, they all want to become Divine. They might not want you to be the one. If you haven't been doing their personal quests or talking to them at camp, they might turn on you at the Academy.
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It’s heartbreaking to lose a companion you’ve spent 60 hours with because you forgot to ask them how they felt about a specific NPC.
Arx: The Final Hurdle
Arx is beautiful, cluttered, and incredibly difficult. It’s a city under siege by both the Void and political corruption.
The final boss encounter is a nightmare. I won't spoil who it is, but I will say this: the fight has multiple phases and a massive shift in scale halfway through. If you’ve been relying on one specific "cheese" tactic, the game might punish you for it here.
Many people find the ending of their Divinity Original Sin 2 walkthrough a bit jarring because of the "Lucian" reveal. The lore gets heavy. You find out that the "Good Guys" were doing some pretty horrific things to keep the world together. There isn't really a "perfect" ending. Every choice has a cost. Do you give everyone Source? Do you take it away? Do you become a benevolent dictator?
Actionable Steps for Your Playthrough
If you want to actually finish this 100-hour behemoth, keep these specific strategies in mind:
- Prioritize Initiative: Going first is more important than having high health. If you can kill or CC an enemy before they even take a turn, you've already won. Look for gear with Wits.
- Pet Pal is Non-Negotiable: At least one person in your party needs the Pet Pal talent. You will miss roughly 20% of the game’s best content, quests, and funniest writing if you can't talk to squirrels, dogs, and rats.
- The Mirror is Your Friend: Once you get to Act 2, you have access to a magic mirror on the ship that lets you respec for free. Forever. Don't like your build? Change it. Experimented with summoning and hated it? Switch to Pyromancy. You aren't locked into your mistakes.
- Save Often (And in Slots): Don't just rely on quicksave. The game can "state-lock" you where you save in the middle of a disaster you can't win. Keep a "town save" and a "dungeon save."
- Thievery is Broken: Gold is scarce early on. Use one character as a dedicated thief. Wait until the end of an Act to do a massive pickpocketing spree on all the vendors before you leave the area forever. It’s the only way to afford the high-end legendary gear in the later chapters.
The beauty of this game isn't in following a guide perfectly. It's in the moments where the guide fails because you accidentally blew up a bridge or turned a quest-giver into a chicken. Accept the mess. Use the environment. And for the love of the Seven, stay out of the fire.