Divinity: Original Sin 2 is in full swing, and one of the major issues players are having with the game isBuilds. WhatBuilddo I use? What’s a goodBuildfor a Warrior? Ranger? Mage? etc. Since the game is rather difficult this has come much more into focus than one would expect. In thisBuild Guidewere going to cover theTidalist. Let’s jump into thisBuildand see just how it works.
Tidalist – Mage Build
TheTidalistisMage Buildthat focuses on purelyHydrosophist Skillsto deal Water Damage, heal and buff.Tidalistswill unleash the fury of the tides by drenching and icing nearby enemies, hampering their Movement, Chilling and Freezing them. Since both Chilled and Frozen enemies lose 20% Water Resistance,Tidalistscan deal increased damage by repeatedly striking the same target.
BecauseHydrosophisthas many heals and buffs in its skill line,Tidalistshave fewer attacksSkillsthan otherMages. This is whyTidalistsuse Dual Wands in between cooldowns, to help keep their damage high. ATidalistusing Wands will deal slightly less damage per attack as that of aTwo-HandedpureWarrior Build. The downside being thatTidalistscannot hit multiple targets and have a lower Critical Multiplier. However, they can strike from 13m (or further in some cases), and gain a damage bonus fromHuntsmanif elevated, which can push them over the top.
Tidalist Attributes and Equipment
Tidalistsfocus onIntelligenceto increase the damage of their precious few damagingHydrosophist Skills, as well as their Dual Wand attacks.Tidalistsshould start putting points intoWitsonce Intelligence is nearly maxed to help increase theirCritical Chancebecause it is more important toTidaliststhan just about any otherMage Build.Hail Strike,Ice Fan,Hail Stormand Dual Wand attacks all fire multiple projectiles thatCritically Hit(or don’t) independently. What this means, is that it’s imperative that you increase yourCritical Chancewhen you can because the higher it is the more chance that each projectile willCritically Hit.
Tidalistswill utilized Intelligence-based Armour and a thus will have very high Magic Armour. This means their primary threat will be melee units and archers, because they will have low Physical Armour.Tidalistswill want to look for Armour withHydrosophist,Intelligence,Wits, Critical Chance,Huntsmanand finallyScoundrelon it, in that order. This will ensure maximum damage one both Spells and Wand attacks. SlotFrost Runes of Powerinto your Armour for increased Water Resistance and moreIntelligenceand aFire Rune of Powerinto your Necklace for moreCritical Chance.
As mentioned a few times above,Tidalistswill use Dual Wands to attack with when their damagingSkillsare on cooldown. You will want two Water Wands because they will increase in damage fromHydrosophistand they will place Ice under the targets that you strike, allowing you to useIce Breakerfor one AP if you need. Ideally they will both haveRune Slotson them, as well asIntelligenceandCritical Chance. You’ll want to placeFrost Runes of Powerinto them to increase yourIntelligenceand Water Damage.
Tidalist Abilities and Talents
One of the hardest parts about making aBuildinDivinity: Original Sin 2is getting yourAbilitiesdistribution correct. It’s easy to get spread too thin, and often people make the mistake of not spreading points around enough. The bonuses you gain fromAbilitiesin this game are somewhat different than the original, so it’s easy to see why people can get confused. Let’s take a look at whatAbilitiesandTalentsyou need for aTidalist.
Tidalistsare a pretty straight forwardBuildin terms ofAbilities. I like to get 2 points intoHydrosophistand then 2 intoHuntsmanto getTactical Retreat. After that I pumpHydrosophistuntil it is maxed out and then I start placing points intoPolymorphto be able to get a couple ofSkillsthere. After that I recommend placing all further points intoHuntsmanin order to increase damage with Wands andSkillsfrom up high. You can also place a point intoGeomancerto getFortifyif you didn’t get a point in it from equipment.
As far asTalentsgo I’d recommend the following:
Executioner- Although it requires 1 point intoWarfare, thisTalentcan be very effective for thisBuildas you deal very high damage. Consider taking this one first or second.
Hothead- ThisTalentis really good with thisBuildbecause it will increase theCritical Chanceof both Wand andSkillsif you haveSavage Sortelige. Consider taking this one first or second.
Savage Sortelige- ThisTalentis a must for anyMage Buildand will allow yourSkillstoCritically Hit. As noted above, manyHydrosophist Skillshave independent chances to do this, so it’s even more vital here.
Elemental Affinity- ThisTalentworks ok with thisBuildbecause you can castRainfor 1 AP immediately.Hydrosophisthas only a few attackSkillsearly on though, so unless you find you are doing a lot of healing, you might get more benefit from anotherTalent.
Parry Master- I like thisTalentfor thisBuildbecause there is almost no reason not to use it if youDual Wield. You certainly don’t need to have this one, but its one only a small number of Builds can utilize because most don’t involve Dual Wielding.
Far Out Man- ThisTalentwill increase the range ofSkillsand Wand attacks, so it has very good synergy here. You will get even more use out of it if you are up high.
Tidalist Skills
Now that you’ve decided whichTalentsandAbilitiesyou want, you’ll need to identify just whichSkillswork best with this kind of setup.Tidalistswill use primarily Hyrdosophist Skills to deal damage and buff/heal their teammates. SinceBuildsevolve over the course of the game, I’m going to put theSkillsin order from earliest obtainable to latest, because you won’t be able to get them all right way.
Hydrosophist Skills
Armour of Frost– The best way to buff your (or a teammate’s)Magic Armourand also removes a variety ofStatus Effects. You shouldn’t need to buff yourself with this often, but great for helping others out.
Rain– Use this skill to create wet surfaces to freeze withGlobal Coolingand to getElemental Affinityif you took it. This will also reduce the Water Resistance of characters in its AoE by 10% which can help with damage.
Hail Strike- This is one of the few early gameSkillsthat you will have that deals damage. Does decent damage in an AoE, but is pretty expensive at 3 AP. attempt to use after you’ve castRainif you haveElemental Affinityto lower its cost.
Restoration– A good early game heal that can remove a couple ofStatus Effects. Can also be used onUndeadto mess them up pretty good (deals damage to theirPhysical Armour).
Ice Fan- This is a decent damaging ranged skill that can strike up to three targets. CanFreezeenemies, so consider using it to CC multiple targets if they have no Magic Armour instead of trying to kill one.
Global Cooling– This skill doesn’t do a whole lot of damage no matter what you do in this game, however it can freeze multiple enemies that have no Magic Armour. Consider using turn 2 or 3 after many have been stripped.
Winter Blast– Deals really good damage for 2 AP in an AoE that ignores teammates and alsoChillsenemies. This skill hits like a truck from high up and can really help put pressure on a group of enemies.
Mass Cleanse Wounds– A great AoE heal that removes a ton ofStatus Effectsand heals for a good amount. Can be acquired by dropping a Source Orb into your Armour.
Ice Breaker– This skill doesn’t gain any benefit fromIntelligenceorStrength, onlyHydrosophistseems to increase its (non-critical) damage. Works well when paired withGlobal Cooling.
Deep Freeze- This skill costs 4 AP, and is one of the highest damage dealing non-SP skills in the game. It hits like a truck andFreezestargets with no Magical Armour, which they are pretty much guaranteed not to after being struck by it.
Hail Storm- This skill is absolutely devastating and what’s really great about this build is that becauseDeep Freezehas no SP cost you may utilize both of theseSkillsin one fight, which is something otherBuildscannot unless they useApotheosis.
Miscellaneous Skills
Tactical Retreat- This skill really helps to increase damage (and range) and I think is definitely a must have for any rangedBuild. Also provides Haste which can help with Movement and extra attacks next round.
Fortify- This skill is useful in buffing your Physical Armour, which will be lacking in this sort ofBuild. You don’t need to take if it someone in your party can buff you. Only requires one point intoGeomanceranyway and that can be gotten on gear.
Terrain Transmutation- Costs 1 AP to use and has a 2 turn cooldown. Because you don’t move hardly at all as aTidalist, it’s useful for moving harmful effects from under you while at the same time placing Water to getElemental Affinity.
Skin Graft- You don’t have many damagingSkillsas aTidalist, and this skill can help solve that problem by resetting your cooldowns. It does cost 1 SP though, so you won’t be able to useHail Stormif you use it. Very good for early to middle of Act 2.
Final Tips
Turn 1 useTactical Retreatif you can to get up high and buff your Armour if you need to. You can castRainto getElemental Affinityat this point which will allow you to use eitherHail StrikeorIce Fan, or you can castWinter Blastand save 1 AP. Turn 2 Use whatever is left of these three skills, orDeep Freezeif you can pull it off. Turn 3 you will need to begin to use Wand attacks while you wait forSkillsto come off of cooldown. Turn 4 you will mix a skill and Wand attacks and then repeat.
Finding two good Wands for thisBuildcan be tough so check the vendors every hour or so and every time you level up to be sure you find them. If you find a vendor with a Wand, but terrible stats, you’re able to save and reload to role different ones. Also, try changing the order you visit vendors as this can change the what they sell all together. Keep this in mind when looking for them, because they are vital to theBuild.
Instead of takingFortifyyou can put a couple of points intoNecromancerto getBone Cage. This will also allow you to use some otherSkillslike:Raining Blood,Death Wish,Vampiric HungerandLiving on the Edge. This makes you more of aClerictypeBuild(which I will cover in another guide) but can increase your damage and give you some extraSkillsto use if you find you don’t like basic attacks with Dual Wands. I would suggestBlood Stormhere, but it does Physical Damage and you already haveHail Stormanyway.
Consider addingEnrageto thisBuildfor those times when yourSkillsare on cooldown. Since it lasts 2 turns, its very likely that a few of them will be refreshed by the time it runs out and you can get some good damage this way early on in the game (especially if you are already up high). It’s only 1 more point intoWarfareif you tookExecutioneranyway, and you can probably get that from gear.
Finally, remember that healingSkillsdamageUndeadandDecayingenemies and can be used as a weapon against them. Healing damages the Physical Armour ofUndead, so it allows for some flexibility against this enemy type, because you may pick whichever Armour type is lower to attack and help your teammates. Just be sure not to use both healing and regularSkills/Attackson the same target if they have both Armour types or you’ll waste damage. Healing canCritically Hit Undeadif you haveSavage Sortelige.
Be sure to check out our otherBuild Guides! Good luck Sourcerers, Rivellon is counting on you!
