Divinity: Original Sin 2 is in full swing, and one of the major issues players are having with the game is Builds. What Build do I use? What’s a good Build for a Warrior? Ranger? Mage? etc. Since the game is rather difficult this has come much more into focus than one would expect. In this Build Guide were going to cover the electric Lone Wolf Build: Stormchaser. Let’s jump into this Build and see just how it works.

Stormchaser – Mage Build

The Stormchaser is an exceptionally high damage build that relies on Air Damage to Stun its targets, and Dodging to avoid being struck by Weapon attacks. Stormchasers can also Silence their enemies, making them have no choice but to attack with their Weapons, which will be Dodged. Stormchasers need very little Physical Armour because of this and really only need to deal with magical attacks, but only when their opponents aren’t Silenced. Playing a Stormchaser requires very high Air Resistance because Air Damage has a pretty good chance of finding its way back to its caster (you).

Stormchaser Attributes and Equipment

Stormchasers focus primarily on Intelligence to help increase their Air Damage, but they also need some Wits and Memory to help increase their Critical Chance and Initiative, as well as help them slot the larger volume of Skills they will need for this Build. Stormchasers should focus on Intelligence through out Act 1, only putting points into Memory as necessary. Once they reach the middle Act 2 they will start to add points into Wits to increase their Critical Chance and Initiative.

Stormchasers utilize Intelligence-based Armour, which is exactly what you want with this Build as 90% of the damage you take should be elemental. Stormchasers will use Skills that allow them to Dodge most physical attacks, and so shouldn’t need much Physical Armour. Players should look for Armour that has Aerotheurge or Intelligence on it to help increase their damage, but they will also need Armour with a fair amount of Air Resistance as well. Finding a Chest Armour and a Shield with Rune Slots can really help in this regard, because you can drop Thunder Runes or Frost Runes of Power into them to increase your Air Resistance.

As far as Weapons go, you’ll want to use a Wand and Shield for maximum Armour. You won’t ever need to attack with your Weapon, so we’ll take a Wand here just because you’ll have the correct Attributes for it and they generally give a bonus to Intelligence. Always pick the one with best bonuses, not damage. Shields will help keep you alive, and will allow you to replenish Armour on yourself. They also come with Rune Slots, which will allow you to not only increase your Air Resistance, but also increase your damage (via Intelligence) if you use a Frost Rune of Power.

Stormchaser Talents and Abilities

One of the hardest parts about making a Build in Divinity: Original Sin 2 is getting your Abilities distribution 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 from Abilities in 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 what Abilities and Talents you need for a Stormchaser.

Stormchasers want to focus on Aerotheurge trying to max it out as quickly as possible, as this is their main source of damage. Stormchasers also need 2 points into Huntsman, 2 points into Necromancer, 1 point in Hydrosophist and 1 point into Warfare. All points not allocated to these things should be dumped into Polymorph to increase Intelligence or Wits (if Intelligence is maxed). This will allow for the proper Skills needed for this Build, as well as keeping damage as high as possible.

As far as Talents go I’d recommend the following:

Lone Wolf – This Talent makes this Build possible, so it is listed here first. You can still play this Build outside of Lone Wolf, but it doesn’t work quite as well.

Executioner – This should be the second Talent you take because it works really well with this Build. You’ll need 1 point into Warfare to get it, but it’s worth it as it can trigger once per round.

Savage Sortilege – This Talent is a must for this Build as it allows your spells to Critical Hit. However, you won’t need it right away because you won’t have much Critical Chance early on in the game. Take this around the beginning of Act 2 if you can.

Mnemonic – This Talent works really well with this Build because you will be using many Skills that require 2 Memory. This one will help ease the burden of points into Memory.

Hothead – Another very good Talent for this Build since you shouldn’t take a whole lot of damage. Can really help you increase your Critical Damage.

Far Out Man – Will increase the range of many of your Skills by 2 meters. This isn’t the greatest Talent for this Build because you’re trying to get close anyway, but it can help you reach that one target just out of range.

Elemental Affinity – This Talent would be listed higher if it wasn’t so hard to maintain. Electrified water or clouds are not hard to create, but you have to constantly move with this Build to hit the desired targets, and they don’t generally like to walk in these things.

Stormchaser Skills

Now that you’ve decided which Talents and Abilities you want, you’ll need to identify just which Skills work best with this kind of setup. Stormchasers will use a nearly entirely Aerotheurge Skills with a couple miscellaneous Skills from other lines. This allows them to deal maximum damage and focus on what really matters, Shocking the shit out of everything! Since Builds evolve over the course of the game, I’m going to put the Skills in order from earliest obtainable to latest, because you won’t be able to get them all right way.

Aerotheurge Skills

Blinding Radiance – This skill is one of the many AoEs this Build possesses that also applies some sort of negative Status Effect (in this case Blinded). Unleash it on as many targets as you can at once. Also grants 20% Air Resistance, which is nice.

Electric Discharge – A decent ranged skill with ok damage. Use this when you can’t get in range to use closer proximity Skills, or to finish off a weak target who is far away.

Shocking Touch – Does about 10% more damage than Electric Discharge, which isn’t a whole lot, but is still better. Use this after you’ve used a good AoE skill to finish off a remaining enemy.

Erratic Wisp – An excellent 1 AP skill that increases your Air Resistance by 40%, which is what you’ll really use it for. The fact you teleport when struck is just an added bonus.

Vacuum Touch – Deals Air Damage and sets Suffocation and Silence. This skill is another reason you want to be close to your targets. Silence will force the target to attack you with a Weapon, which will be Dodged.

Uncanny Evasion – This skill is one of the few defensive skills this Build has and this one is a must. For 1 AP you’ll be virtually un-hittable during the enemies’ round (except by magic spells). Get this one as soon as you can.

Teleportation – A great all around skill both in and out of combat. You’ll use this during fights to move enemies into range so you can AoE more than 1 target (ideally 3 or more).

Evasive Aura – We use this just like Uncanny Evasion, for the Dodge chance. Cost 1 more AP than Uncanny Evasion and also costs 1 SP, so it’s not as good, but still necessary to keep from being hit.

Vacuum Aura – This skill is absolutely awesome and is a must have. Costs 2 AP and 1 SP but can Stun, Shock, Silence and Suffocate enemies in a huge AoE. Silence as many enemies as you can so they are forced to attack into your high Dodge.

Dazing Bolt – Has a hefty cost at 3 AP, but deals substantial damage in a small AoE. This skill can often 1 shot enemies if it Crits. A great way to get an easy kill on turn 1 or 2.

Superconductor – Really good damage in a large AoE around the player and only has a 3 turn cooldown. This is a great way to Stun nearly every enemy around you in one turn. If not, follow up with Vacuum Aura to Silence and/or Stun them.

Chain Lightning – Hits up to 8 targets and has extremely good range. The damage on this skill is also higher than all but Closed Circuit (which has a very small AoE). Use this when you can’t seem to get close to your targets.

 

Miscellaneous Skills

Rain – Make targets Wet, which increases your Air Damage to them, and Stuns enemies who have already been Shocked (or allows targets to become Stunned instead of Shocked). Can also help create a surface for Elemental Affinity.

Armour of Frost – A great way to buff up your Magic Armour. This is great because it’s mages that you really have to worry about since melee and ranged cannot hit you easily.

Tactical Retreat – This is a great skill to close the gap between you and your prey. Also grants Haste which is just fantastic because you will need all the AP you can get.

Final Tips

When you start a fight it’s a good idea to lead with Rain to make targets less resistant to Air Damage (note this will also reduce yours as well, so be sure you have good resistance to begin with). I like to use Erratic Wisp at this point to buff my Air Resistance by 40%, which really helps you not kill yourself! Then I follow up with Tactical Retreat if I know I can AoE a few targets by doing so, but if not then I’ll use Electric Discharge or Dazing Bolt to try to eliminate one target quickly and then use Uncanny Evasion. If I jumped in, then I’ll cast either Blinding Radiance or Vacuum Aura and finish up with Uncanny Evasion.

On turn 2 I either use Vacuum Aura or Superconductor for another devastating AoE (use Teleportation beforehand if you need to move more enemies in range). Then I end the Evasive Aura so that I cannot be struck for another enemy round. Then turn three it’s another AoE if I need one, or I pick off targets as necessary or use Chain Lightning if they are spread out a bit. Enemies should be Silenced, Shocked and Stunned most of this time so you’ll hardly ever take damage that you don’t inflict upon yourself.

Stormchasers do devastating damage and Stun so many targets they can be a lot of fun to play. The danger with this Build is that you can easily wipe out all of your Magic Armour or Stun yourself if you aren’t careful. This is one of the reasons you need to stack Air Resistance when playing one, and one of the reasons a couple Aerotheurge Skills grant Air Resistance. You also have to watch out for your party member(s) when using this Build because you could easily electrify them, which is why I recommend playing Lone Wolf. I also suggest, if you are playing duo, that the other character is some sort of ranged character to keep them out of harms way.

You can add Opportunist and play this Build with a Staff if you desire, but there are a couple issues with it: 1) you usually don’t get many uses of it per fight because things die relatively quickly anyway, 2) this Build is short on Talents as it is because there are so many that are good, so you’ll have to sacrifice another great Talent for this one 3) you’ll have less defense than you would with a Shield leaving you with an extremely low amount of Physical Armour, which you shouldn’t need but you never know when things might not go according to plan. If you do use a Staff, however, I recommend adding Whirlwind for some extra AoE.

Lastly, ideally you’d want to play this Build as Beast because he comes with the Special Skill Blinding Squall, which also does Air Damage and Blinds targets in an AoE. Another good choice for this Build is Elf so that you can make use of the Flesh Sacrifice skill. You can play this Build as any Race, but those are the two I would recommend.

Be sure to check out our other Build Guides! Good luck Sourcerers, Rivellon is counting on you!