10 Things Divinity: Original Sin 2 Does Better Than Baldur’s Gate 3 (2024)

The success of Divinity: Original Sin 2 is what led to the ground-breaking development of Baldur's Gate 3. With a bigger budget and more time, Larian Studios took a big step forward in many ways with its latest title, using motion capture to improve animation and cinematic storytelling to make the game more immersive. Despite the vast improvements over its prior title, there are some things that the older game does better, and that is for a few reasons.

Despite being in the same genre, Divinity and BG3 are fundamentally different games. Yes, both are CRPGs, but they use different systems, with Baldur's Gate using the far more beginner-friendly Dungeons & Dragons 5e system. They also vary in tone, since BG3 tends to take itself more seriously with its realistic art style, while there is a whimsical nature to DOS2. That, and Divinity is more traditional as CRPGs go.

10 Divinity: Original Sin 2 Is Funnier

Just Look, There's A Squirrel Riding A Skeleton Cat

Thanks to its whimsical nature, Divinity tends to have funnier moments. That isn't to say that BG3's humor doesn't land, as both have witty scripts and brilliant line delivery. For instance, Lae'zel's low frame rate eye roll will never not be funny, but comedy seems more ingrained into Divinity's identity. Thanks to its art style and presentation, everything is a bit more slapstick, whether that be enemies exploding into bloody gore piles when they die on a crit or the waddling walking animation of dwarf characters.

Divinity goes to the Metal Gear Solid school of stealth in hiding under inanimate objects, although Larian's title takes it one step further. Depending on the environment, characters in stealth will either hide under a giant rock, barrel, or bush, and lizard characters will have their tails sticking out as it trails behind them. Touches like this show Larian's different approach in its two titles, since stealth is similar to how it is written in DnD. There are no barrels, bushes or rocks involved. Characters merely crouch to enter stealth.

9 DOS2 Races Change Gameplay More

Elves Eat People

Races in Baldur's Gate don't tend to matter mechanically all that much; some interactions are different and some get extra abilities, but it tends to be treated as an aesthetic difference most of the time. Divinity makes races matter much more. This is partly due to there being fewer races in DOS2 compared to BG3, and also because Baldur's Gate is based off DnD 5e, where most of the differences tend to be felt from a role playing perspective.

Races in Divinity fundamentally affect gameplay. For instance, elves can eat people (they have to be dead first) to receive new skills and knowledge. Any undead race must wear some kind of headwear to hide their true nature, which ranges from headwear as non-stealthy as a feathered cap to something as grotesque as someone else's face. They are also immune to Death Fog and must be healed with poison, since healing magic and potions deal damage to them.

8 DOS2's Environmental Effects Are Better Than BG3's

Everything Can Be Set On Fire

Baldur's Gate 3's environmental status effects tend to be quite tame, largely because DnD 5e has very few written rules surrounding this, but these elemental environmental effects are pivotal to Divinity's gameplay. There is even a puzzle in the game's second act which tests a player's understanding of these effects, but no such thing is done in BG3. The newer title seems to focus more on what characters can do, rather than the environment.

In Divinity, making large areas wet to later freeze (so enemies constantly trip) or electrify (to shock or stun foes) adds a new layer to the combat. It becomes even more tactical when enemies also use these effects to their advantage. Of course, this can get out of hand at times, especially if a character is using a pyrokinetic wizard build. These builds often result in everything in the nearby area being set on fire, so be careful not to burn allies.

7 The Ending Sequence Of DOS2 Is Better

BG3's Third Act Feels A Little Under-Cooked

Both Divinity's and Baldur's Gate's weakest sections are arguably their endings, due to them both being grueling, linear affairs where role play is thrown out the window, and it is combat encounter after encounter. Still, DOS2 makes more narrative sense than BG3. For much of Act 3, Tav and the crew are gearing up for a big battle, but aren't sure what that big battle is until the Elder Brain decides to become the Nether Brain and all hell breaks loose.

With Baldur's Gate 3, the Chosen of the Dead Three are assumed to be the final bosses, yet all are dealt with before the last stretch, so players are forced to fight the Nether Brain, despite having very few genuine interactions with it or conversations about it where it isn't treated like a tool, so the entire fight comes out of nowhere. Divinity's final fight involves Dallas, Braccas Rex, and Lucien, all figures that are constantly talked about throughout, with Dallas being a reoccuring antagonist throughout. It just makes more sense overall.

6 The Lady Vengeance Has Better NPCs Than BG3's Camp

They're All Vendors Too

It should be noted that Baldur's Gate arguably has better party members, but for NPCs hanging around the "home base" of both games, Divinity's are better. Outside of Withers, most BG3 camp NPCs don't do anything. Arabella is set up to do something amazing, then never does. Yenna is just there to talk about her paring knife, and most other NPCs only join after their involvement in the story is done or nearly done, giving them nothing to do.

On the other hand, all NPCs aboard the Lady Vengeance have a function. Most are vendors or have mechanical functions of some kind, and most also have character arcs and quest lines to follow, which pay off when it is time for the Godwoken to finally become Divine. For instance, Gareth will sell Warfare skills, but also have a quest line about finding faith and purpose in something after the death of his parents by putting his trust in the Godwoken as the story goes on. This is missing from BG3 because party member quests are so all-encompassing.

5 Divinity Offers More Challenge

Things Get Hard Real Fast

For those looking for a challenge, which has been common since the rise of soulslike games, Divinity is the better option. Both have difficulty settings to up the ante, but fundamentally, Baldur's Gate is far easier. This is for two reasons: the game was made to be an accessible CRPG to appeal to most people and BG3 is based on DnD's simplest rule set, being its fifth edition.

Divinity is far harsher than BG3, since the latter's classes offer a safety net which ensures that it is hard to make a build that is bad. It is the opposite with Divinity, as players need to know what they're doing with their build to escape mediocrity. On the other hand, those that know what they are doing can make truly ridiculous builds that can defeat any enemy with ease. The enemies also tend to have more options in Divinity, thanks to the environmental status effects at their disposal.

4 Malady Is A Better Guide Than Withers

And Amelia Tyler Gives An Incredible Performance

There is likely a reason that Larian chose Amelia Tyler to narrate Baldur's Gate 3 with an identical voice to DOS2's Malady. The half-demon is incredibly charming, despite her snark, and certain character moments make her relatable, despite her high and mighty attitude. Withers is not a bad character – far from it. He's mysterious, has some funny moments with his flat line delivery and is incredibly useful, but he lacks the charisma of Malady.

Malady is more relatable, since Withers could quite literally be a god. The half-demon demonstrates some human qualities with her favoritism of Lohse (which is fair enough) and her anger at Meistr Siva's death. Withers seems a bit too unflappable, except if players ruin his party right at the end of the game, and seems like he could do more to guide Tav's crew. On the contrary, Malady is doing everything she can to aid the Godwoken, but is trying her best to make it look effortless.

3 DOS2 Has Better Co-op

It Isn't As Buggy

Especially at launch, Baldur's Gate 3 was known for having buggy multiplayer. The local co-op is even worse, since split-screen causes more issues, but with Divinity being in the state it's in, its co-op functions exactly as it should. It's smooth, the chaining of NPCs is easier to manage, and it doesn't feel like one player has priority over the other, despite one needing to host the game and having ownership over the campaign.

To be fair to BG3, it is the harder game to implement co-op, since it is more cinematic, which presents issues alone, but the companions also have separate gauges for relationships. This makes it hard for both player characters to raise affinity with others, and, in general, the BG3 co-op experience feels like the world belongs to one player while the other is a visitor. This is technically the case, but no one likes to feel like player 2.

2 DOS2 Offers More Movement Options

People Don't Just Dash For A Round

Practically everyone can teleport in Divinity after a certain stage. This helps combat feel quick and stops turns from feeling like they were wasted. Characters can also be more easily displaced with spells, which are not prevalent options in BG3. On the other hand, there are moments when enemies will do nothing but dash in Baldur's Gate just to get close to an opponent, only to put themselves in the worst possible situation for the next turn.

Outside of combat, there is no limit to how far the camera can move away from the player characters in Divinity. This means that a player can click on the other side of the map and their characters will shuffle their way over without the player needing to do anything else. This is a small thing, but useful, and it helps that other party members will move at double speed to catch up. It looks a little strange, and sometimes the pathfinding can struggle, but it works for the most part.

1 Divinity Isn't Capped At Level 12

It Goes All The Way To Level 20

Divinity: Original Sin 2 does not cap off at level 12. Instead, it goes to level 20, and this happens close to the end of the game. On the other hand, Baldur's Gate 3 caps at level 12 to stop higher level spells from being used. This is, unfortunately, a byproduct of transferring a tabletop game to a video game format, since not everything can work. Since Divinity was always meant to be a video game, the issue does not apply here.

It seems Larian attempted to go to higher levels in Baldur's Gate 3, since players can be at the beginning of Act 3 and hit the level cap, meaning that there is a sizable chunk of the game to play at the highest level. This is an odd choice, since players can still gain XP, but their gauge will not go up. There are even some NPCs that are beyond level 12, such as Elminster, who struts around at a solid level 20, practically taunting players about how far they could have gone.