So, what kind of builds have you tried in DOS2?

What are builds, you ask? They’re only one of the most important parts of Divinity Original Sin 2, no big deal. Basically, it’s how the player uses stats, skills, and gear to create the perfect character for their playing style. So, what kind of build should you use? That depends on a lot of factors - different people do well with different builds. Here are 10 builds that I think you should give a try, but it’s a good idea to do some tweaking to find out what works best for you. 

10. Summoner of Sparks Summoner/Warrior Build (Great for Flame and Physical Damage)

Not only can you summon this gigantic incarnate, you can also do heavy attacks yourself!

This build combines summoning, warfare, and pyro skills to pack a punch. You ideally start with a conjurer character, rebalancing your stats so that it’s more focused on intelligence, wits, summoning, and pyro skills. The key to this build is the master of sparks spell, which sends flaming sparks flying during melee attacks. Another important part is your incarnate, which you should summon in flames. Not only will your flame skills decimate your enemies, your incarnate will be so powerful that it’ll tower over most of the voidwoken.

What summoner of sparks excels in:

• High intelligence stats increase the damage of your spells.
• Master of sparks, the main point of this build, can be used to spread sparks that buff your party’s melee attacks.
• Having more than 10 summoning points gives you a god-tier incarnate.
• Being able to buff both yourself and your incarnate gives you an extra advantage!

Build details:

• It’s best to start with a conjurer for this build. Start with +2 point in intelligence, +1 in wits, +1 in pyro and +1 in summoning.
• Focus on your intelligence, wits, memory, summoning, and pyro skills. Intelligence will be the most important stat, but you’ll need a lot of memory so that you don’t forget all of your skills! You’ll eventually want 10 summoning points  for that huge incarnate. 
• Armor should be balanced with different types, so you may need to raise your strength a bit.
• Try using a fire staff to amp up your pyro attacks.
• You’ll use flame skills such as ignition and searing daggers, but you’ll also use conjure incarnate and its associated spells. When you use Master of sparks, whirlwind is a good skill to have, so you’ll need warfare points.
• The race of your character doesn’t matter that much for this build, but an elf or a lizard would do well.

9. Elf Rogue Warfare/Scoundrel Build (Great for Getting a Kill In, Then Getting Out)

Sebille can give you plenty of advice about sneaking... If she doesn't kill you first.

The great thing about rogues is that they can go in for the kill and then sneak out, and this build helps you do that even better. It focuses on scoundrel skills, warfare skills, finesse, and wit so that rogues can do massive critical hits. It also helps that elves have flesh sacrifice as a natural ability, which makes this build do even more damage.

What the elf rogue warfare/scoundrel build excels in:

• Allows you to deal a crit, then get out of there. No shame in running!
• Learning enrage and having the flesh sacrifice ability gives this build a huge damage boost.
• Having the backstabber talent allows your character to sneak up on the enemy in the best way possible - by stabbing them in the back, of course!

Build details:

• Obviously, you’ll want to be an elf rogue. 
• You’ll want to give yourself 13 points of finesse to start with, but later give yourself 12 wits for the critical hit chance and initiative. Continue to focus on finesse as you level up.
• For starting skills, pick backlash, adrenaline, and enrage. These skills will give you the opportunity to deal more damage, while also allowing you to sneak if you need to.
• Focus on armor that gives you extra finesse and/or wits, while also looking for gear that gives you scoundrel and warfare points. 
• Pick the backstabber talent so that your character can sneak in for the kill.

8. Lizard Wizard Geomancer/Pyromancer Build (Great for Causing Explosions!)

Being able to breathe fire, The Red Prince knows all about pyromancy.

Are you a pyromaniac? Do you like making things explode? It’s alright, no judgment here - explosions and flames are actually very useful in the world of DOS2. The pyro skills in this build will let you burn the battlefield to a crisp, while your geomancer skills give you the option to make it explode. 

What the lizard wizard geomancer/pyromancer build excels in:

• Burn your enemies, then add poison to the mix to explode them into pieces!
• Being a lizard means that you gain the fire breath skill naturally and get two extra intelligence points. Having scales isn’t so bad sometimes.
• This build will allow your character to deal status ailments such as poison and burning.

Build details:

• Being a lizard is a good idea for this build due to the fire breath skill and the extra intelligence points. You’ll want to give yourself 15 intelligence to start with, while also giving yourself a pyromancer and geomancer point. Continue to focus on these stats.
• Choose the wizard class so that you can dual wield two poison wands (no, it’s not just because it rhymes).
• For starting skills, choose a fire skill such as ignition or searing daggers, then choose poison dart to cause a poisonous explosion. Fossil strike helps because it creates an oil surface that can be set on fire.
• To avoid being damaged by your own poison, you might want to be undead or choose the zombie talent, which lets you heal from poison (the downside is that you’ll be damaged by regular healing items). You’ll also want gear with plenty of magic armor. 

7. Warfare/Polymorph Build (Great for Lowering Physical Armor)

Metamorph is such a cool class that it goes from wielding tentacles to turning foes into chickens.

I’ve always liked the metamorph class. You can grow horns, tentacles, and wings, and even turn your opponents into chickens! There’s already a lot of possibilities as a metamorph, but combining polymorph skills with warfare is what helps this build pack a punch.

What the warfare/polymorph build excels in:

• Lower your enemy’s physical armor, then turn them into a chicken! Unfortunately, the enemy will change back eventually.  Pork tastes better anyway.
• The ability to grow wings and become invisible give you an extra advantage on the battlefield. This gives you more mobility and lets you  sneak around.
• Warfare skills such as thick of the fight give your physical attacks a huge damage boost. 

Build details:

• You’ll want to start as a metamorph. Race isn’t very important in this case, so try mixing and matching. 
• Mainly focus on strength (by level 21 you should have around 54), but you can also give yourself 16 memory to add more skills. Add 26 wits to get an extra critical hit chance if you’d like. Give yourself 4 points in polymorph and 10 in warfare, and use gear that gives you points in all of these.
• For talents, picture of health gives you extra vitality for your warfare, which is great for this build. Walk it off reduces status durations, and executioner gives you AP for a killing blow.
• You’ll want to learn a lot of the polymorph skills, but tentacle lash is vital - it does a ton of damage in this build, and can cause atrophy in enemies. Chicken claw is a must as well, and skin graft can remove some status ailments.
• Make sure you learn a warfare skill, such as thick of the fight, that gives you and your party a damage boost. Whirlwind and battering ram are also good for dealing massive damage.

6. Two-Handed Berserker Warrior Build (Great for Vitality, Damage, and Critical Hits)

Why not do even more damage with that gigantic sword?

This build is a lot like the last one, but it also focuses on your character’s health. After all, what’s the point of being insanely strong if you die instantly? Though this two-handed build deals a great amount of damage, it also makes sure that your character lives to see their enemies fall.

What the two handed berserker warrior build excels in:

• Its focus on strength, warfare skills, and two handed weapons give it a great damage output.
• Focusing some of your points on necromancer abilities gives you extra healing when you make the enemy lose HP. Since this build focuses on physical damage, this is a major plus!
• Having the picture of health talent gives your character vitality for each point of warfare. Since your goal is to have 10 warfare points, this means that your character will be very healthy!

Build details:

• You’ll want to be a knight. Race doesn’t matter much for this build.
• By level 17 you should have 40 strength, but also give yourself 12 memory and 27 wits. You’ll want 10 warfare points, while also giving yourself 3 in necromancer and 2 in polymorph. Put 8 points into two handed weapons for extra critical hit damage.
• You’ll want the picture of health talent, and you might also want to try opportunist - it lets you do attacks of opportunity. Since you’re doing so much damage, this will be very helpful.
• It helps to get armor that gives you more strength, vitality, warfare, and necromancer points. Of course, you’ll need a two-handed weapon.
• Tentacle lash, enrage, and whirlwind are all must-haves. Spread your wings and chicken claw are also helpful.

5. Elemental Conjurer Build (Great for Buffs and Elemental Attacks)

If you use this build, you can buff your team while also dishing out powerful spells.

Do you like using spells to cause mass destruction? If so, this build might be the one for you. Not only is this build good for dishing out elemental damage, it’s also good for providing buffs to your team, which makes the elemental conjurer the ultimate support character.

What the elemental conjurer build excels in:

• Their many buff abilities mean that they can share their power with the whole team, not just themselves. Share the wealth!
• Their powerful summoning ability means that their incarnate can really pack a punch.
• This build has some points in every elemental ability, which means they can learn a mix of different spells.

Build details:

• Start as a conjurer. A human, an elf, or a lizard works best.
• Start off putting 13 points into your constitution, and a point in summoning and pyro skills. You’ll want to use summon incarnate, a skill to buff your incarnate, and a pyro spell such as ignition as your starting skills. As you move on, you’ll want every skill for your incarnate that you can find. 
• By level 20 you should have 32 constitution, 47 wits, 20 memory, 14 finesse, and 19 intelligence. You should also have 21 summoning and 9 geomancer. 
• The torturer talent means that status ailments inflicted last longer, so it would be good to start with that. The ignition spell works great with this talent to fry your enemies. Also try elemental totem to take advantage of magic surfaces, fortify to protect yourself and allies, and dominate mind to take advantage of your magic armor reducing attacks. 
• As you level up, focus on your summoning skills the most to get over 10, which gives you a powerful incarnate and some great buffs. You’ll also want to balance out your elemental skills - you’ll want 3 in hydrosophist, polymorph, and pyro. Give yourself 2 scoundrel points for the critical hit chance.
• Focus on magic armor the most, but also give yourself plenty of physical armor. A wand and a shield work well. 

4. Elf Ranger/Summoner (Great for Both Ranged and Up-Close Attacks of Different Types)

A combination of melee and ranged attacks makes this build a good choice.

Here we have another build that involves summoning. This one is especially great fordoing ranged attacks from afar, while your incarnate deals the melee attacks. It makes for a nice little decoy on the battlefield, don’t you think?

What the elf/ranger summoner build excels in:

• Having the incarnate deal up close attacks means that your character can step back and take less damage.
• Starting out with the dimensional bolt skill gives you the ability to make different types of surfaces for your incarnate to spawn on, which gives it different elemental skills. 
• With this build, depending on what weapon you use and what type of incarnate you have, you can do a balance of physical and magic damage.

Build details:

• Start as an elf ranger. Put 15 points into finesse, while putting one into summoning and huntsman. You’ll want to get up to 10 summoning points eventually for a bigger incarnate.
• In terms of skills, start out with summon incarnate, dimensional bolt, and marksman fang. You’ll want to get any skills you can find that buff your incarnate later, while also grabbing some strong huntsman skills.
• Get armor that focuses on finesse, but make sure you have magic armor so that your elemental surfaces don’t accidentally hurt you if you step in them (your incarnate may like fire, but your character might not feel the same way!). In terms of weapons, try out different things to see what works for you.

3. Elemental Archer (Great for Ranged Damage and Status Ailments)

Equipped with his trusty crossbow, Ifan knows a great deal about archery.

Attacking from afar is always fun, but it’s even better when you can poison and burn your enemies. With different types of elemental arrows, this build can seriously damage magic armor, but it can also do physical damage if needed. In short, the elemental archer can deal with all types of enemies on the battlefield. 

What the elemental archer excels in:

• This build is balanced in both physical and magic damage, letting your character adapt to any enemy.
• Attacking from afar means that you don’t have to get right in the middle of the battlefield - that’s less damage for you!
• Using elemental arrows can do all kinds of things to your enemies. You can set them on fire, poison them, shock them… There’s a lot of different ways to make them suffer.

Build details:

• Start as a ranger. An elf, a human, or an undead human would work well.
• Start out putting 13 points into finesse, while putting one point into huntsman and scoundrel. Let finesse be your main focus. By level 21 you should have 69 finesse, 15 constitution, and 47 wits. 
• As you level up, you’ll want 10 warfare. By level 21 you should have 7 scoundrel and 4 huntsman. Give yourself a small balance of magic skills (no points in summoning or necromancer, but a few in the rest), and you’ll want about 12 ranged weapon points. 
• For armor, focus on a balance of physical and magic. Get gear that gives you finesse, huntsman, ranged, scoundrel, and wits points. A crossbow would work well, and be sure to collect elemental arrows!
• For starting skills, choose elemental arrowheads, adrenaline, and chloroform. Enrage is a must have, since it gives you more critical hits, and tactical retreat allows you to step back when you need to. Pyro skills such as ignition and bleed fire will also give you a chance to keep your enemies burning. 

2. Necromorph Build (Great for Destroying Physical Armor)

Use cool polymorph skills while also harnessing the power of the undead.

Ah, the joys of being friendly with the dead (or being dead, if you’re an undead character). Both necromancy and polymorph have great abilities, and if you combine them, it’s a match made in heaven. If you’re tired of enemies with high physical armor always getting in your way, try this build out. 

What the necromorph build excels in:

• The combination of necromancy and polymorph skills means that your character will be able to get rid of physical armor with little effort. That means more direct hits!
• This build’s high warfare points gives its physical attacks a massive boost.
• Putting some focus on scoundrel points increases this build’s critical hit modifier, which means even more damage!

Build details:

• Try starting as a polymorph. As for race, an elf would be good, but try different things. 
• Focus mainly on intelligence while also giving yourself plenty of wits. Focus most of your points on warfare and scoundrel. Having scoundrel will increase the critical hit modifier, and warfare increases physical attacks. 
• By level 21 you should have 15 strength, 14 finesse, 48 intelligence, 19 constitution, 17 memory, and 38 wits. You should also have 5 necromancer, 4 polymorph, 10 scoundrel, and 12 warfare. 
• Blood rain is a good skill for a physical build, as are chicken claw and mosquito swarm. Backlash is also good for sneaking up on the enemy, and corrupted blade is good because it sets decaying and diseased.
• For weapons and armor, try a dagger and a shield. This gives you the chance to backstab and increases physical armor. Get armor that gives you extra intelligence and wits.
• In terms of talents, try elemental affinity - it lowers the AP cost of spells by one point when standing in a field of the same element. You can also try picture of health for the extra vitality.

1. The Gatekeeper (Great for a Balance of Attack and Defense)

While your armor protects yourself, your attacks do massive damage.

Though being extremely powerful and destroying your enemies is fun, it’s also good to have a balance between attack and defense. I say that being able to take hits while also doing great damage is definitely a win-win. Overall, this build is good as a shield for protecting party members, which is always welcome!

What the gatekeeper build excels in:

• Its balance between attack and defense makes it good in the battlefield, both for slaying enemies and protecting party members.
• Should you happen to lose all of your armor and take a few hits, necromancer skills can help you take your health back. 
• Focusing on warfare and scoundrel points gives you attacks that pack a punch, while also giving you a great critical multiplier.

Build details:

• You’ll probably want to be a human, undead or not. Start off as a rogue and give yourself 13 finesse, along with one point of warfare and scoundrel. Focus on finesse, wits, scoundrel, and warfare points as you move on. 
• By level 20, you should have 15 strength, 54 finesse, 22 constitution, 19 memory, and 49 wits. You should also have 11 points in scoundrel and 13 points in warfare. 
• You’ll want armor that gives you extra finesse and wits points, while of course focusing on physical armor. For a weapon, use a dagger and a shield for extra physical armor and the ability to backstab.  
• The backlash skill is great to start out with for some good damage, as well as bouncing shield, tentacle lash, and battle stomp. Skills such as heart of steel and bone cage which boost physical armor are also very helpful. It also helps to have frost armor, which raises magic armor. 

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