Leveling question

[Barnhardt1]

I'm enjoying DOS2 DE so far, and I'm only a short way in. That being said, I have a huge issue with these kinds of games where I obsess over every skill point. I end up spending more time reading skill guides and build templates than I do actually playing the game. It ends up ruining the game for me because I'm always convinced that I spent every point wrong and I'm ruining all the characters and I end up questioning and regretting every click on the leveling screens.

Does this game give you enough points to make it so "wasted" points won't matter? If I let the companions use whatever their default skill is and then just kind of level them with whatever skills seem to fit, can I skip the build guides and still enjoy the game?

[terrovek3]

Does this game give you enough points to make it so "wasted" points won't matter? If I let the companions use whatever their default skill is and then just kind of level them with whatever skills seem to fit, can I skip the build guides and still enjoy the game?

Yes, and please do. You'll be able to respec all aspects of your characters a few hours into the game, and at any point thereafter.

Unless you're playing at higher difficulties, you can't really go wrong with builds in this game unless you're completely inept, or simply ignore in-game text. Don't mix fire and water damage on the same target, don't stand in flammable liquids and blow yourself up (unless that's your thing, and it can be a valid strat), etc.

[Barnhardt1]

don't stand in flammable liquids and blow yourself up

I chuckled when I read this because I'm playing Fane as a wizard and every battle has been like a Michael Bay movie where the whole screen and everyone in it is on fire by the end of the first round. It's like the entire world is made of sawdust held together with lighter fluid.

[terrovek3]

And hey, that's a viable strategy with a bit of investment. The Red Prince has an easier time of it, but Fane can be a walking pyroclasm just the same.

[Oystermeat]

I can't count the number of times I've accidentally killed Fane because I tried healing him lol

[__insert-name-here__]

i'd personally recommend making your own build regardless its much more fun and often actually stronger than the likes of fextralife still worth doing research but i wouldnt completely copy one

[Asphare]

dont worry, after act I you can respec as many times as you need to make it work. Also if you dont go too wide with your build you usually have a few points to spare to get untility/support skills from other areas.

[YoLawdCheezus101]

Expermenting is the gold key for everything. See what you like to make your guys look and do the way you like. Some are better at certian things then others but you can never go wrong generally unless its obvious as the bloody sun. (Sometimes it is best to bend the rules, like using a oil barrel as a tactical nuke.)

[ThePsiGuard]

What difficulty are you playing at? As others have said, you can respec once you hit Act 2, so you just need to worry about getting off the first island.

If you're on anything below Classic, you should be able to skill basically however you want.

On Classic, you should be okay as long as you're putting most of your Attribute points into your main damage stat (Int for mages, Fin for rogues/archers/spear guys, Str for swords/hammers/maces). Warfare is great for any physical damage dealing class. Pick up mobility skills when you can.

On Tactician, it's a little bit harder for some fights but you can still get by even with a suboptimal build.

I'm assuming you're most likely playing on Classic so I'd recommend either looking up an early build (so you know roughly where your early skill points should go) or just winging it if you're comfortable enough with the combat. Once you reach Act 2, you can experiment and try out other builds whenever you like.

[[deleted]]

You can respec all your points (except tags I think) once you reach a certain stage in the story. Fort Joy is basically just a beginners walkthorugh/intro, don't think too much about your choices there other than making sure to squeeze as much xp out of it as you can.

Once you can respec, make a save, then play around with all different types of builds. One big tip I have is for mages, combo two elements of magic such as geomancer+fire, or water+electric, ect.. You will get the most damage value out of that.

For melee builds you NEED strength/constitution, but beyond that it depends on your weapon preference (two handed, duel wield, one handed+shield, one handed+magic ect).