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 the:Frost Paladin. Let’s jump into thisBuildand see just how it works.
Frost Paladin - Warrior Build
TheFrost Paladinis a durableWarriorthat buffs himself to unimaginable heights and then decimates his enemies with powerful physical attacks.Frost Paladinswill utilize healingHydrosophist Skillsas well as a few otherFrostspells to trap their enemies from moving before punishing them withWarfare Skills.Frost Paladinsfocus primarily onStrength, which works well here because only oneHydrosophist Skillthey use actually scales withIntelligence, and we don’t use it for its damage, but rather its effect. Much like theJuggernaut, this allows us to utilize twoSkilllines without splitting ourAttributes.
Frost Paladin Attributes and Equipment
Frost Paladinsfocus primarily onStrengthwhich is used to increase the damage of theirWarfare Skills.Frost Paladinswill then focus onWitsto increase theirCritical ChanceandInitiative, allowing them to attack more quickly in combat. We use two damagingHydrosophist Skillsfor thisBuild:Global CoolingandIce Breaker, butGlobal Coolingis simply used to freeze the ground andIce Breakerdoes not scale withIntelligence(or anyAttribute), so we can use it here to great effect.
Frost Paladinswill utilizeStrength-based Armour, which is exactly what thisBuildneeds, becauseFrost Paladinscan buff theirMagic Armourquite well, but will have some difficulty buffing theirPhysical Armouras effectively. The concept behind theFrost Paladinis that you don’t need to Stealth during combat because you have so muchArmourthat you can just withstand attacks while you take down enemies. For this reason having the highestArmouryou can is imperative. You will also utilizeIceto prevent melee units from hitting you, giving you some relief.
I recommend thatFrost PaladinsuseSingle-HandedandShield, but you can also use aTwo-Handed Weaponif you have high enoughArmour. Using aShieldwill also give you access toDeflective Barrier, which not only buffs yourPhysical Armour, but also reflects projectiles back at enemies for 3 turns. You can also get aShieldwith aRuneslot that will allow you to increase yourShield’s PhysicalorMagic Armoureven higher. Make sure yourWeaponisStrength-basedand has aRuneslot that you can use to increase physical damage (if you can). I like to use aWeaponthat has both physical and water damage for myFrost Paladin, but the damage type on it isn’t super important.
Frost Paladin Talents and Abilities
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 aFrost Paladin.
Frost Paladinswill focus on a mix ofWarfareandHydrosophist. I like to prioritize them in a 2:1 ratio, meaning for every 2 points I put intoWarfareI put one intoHydrosophist. This will ensure that you deal relatively good damage, while at the same time improving your heals, buffs and the damage ofIce Breaker(when you get it). You’ll also want 2 points intoNecromancer, 1 intoPolymorph, and 2 intoScoundrelto unlock a fewSkillsthat work well with thisBuild.
As far asTalentsgo I’d recommend the following:
Opportunist- As with all meleeBuilds, this oneTalentdrastically increases your damage output, so take this one first.
Executioner- ThisTalentis just wicked good, especially later on in the game. Take this 2nd or 3rd to increase your AP by 2 per round if you get a kill.
Living Armour- Because thisBuildfocuses very heavily onArmourthisTalentis a natural fit, especially because you have access to powerful heals.
Hothead- ThisTalentworks well here because you should rarely be below full health, having so muchArmour. Take this 3rd or 4th.
Picture of Health- ThisTalentis always good for aBuildthat focuses onWarfare, but if you find you aren’t taking any directVitalitydamage, consider taking something else.
Elemental Affinity- Worth considering for thisBuildbecause you will be standing in water or Ice quite often. However, mostHydrosophist Skillsalready cost 1 AP that we use, so you won’t really feel the effectiveness of it like you would in some otherBuilds.
Frost Paladin Skills
Now that you’ve decided whichTalentsandAbilitiesyou want, you’ll need to identify just whichSkillswork best with this kind of setup.Frost Paladinswill use a mix ofWarfare Skills, Hydrosophist Skills, and miscellaneousSkills.This allows them to maintain decent physical damage while being able to buff up, heal and use Ice to control the battlefield. 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.
Warfare Skills
Battle Stomp- A great AoE with aKnockdown. Very effective at taking 1 or more opponents out of the fight for a turn, and should only be used when you can do just that.
Bouncing Shield- If you’re using aShieldthis is a must-have skill. Does tremendous damage and can hit up to 2 targets. A huge benefit of being aShielduser.
Battering Ram- Very good for mobility (especially acrossIce) and comes with aKnockdownto boot. Get this one early and use it to hit targets not in theIceyou’ve created if possible.
Blitz Attack- Another great gap closer that can be used to maneuver acrossIceand other surfaces. Save this for after you have usedGlobal Coolingif possible and attempt to position yourself to land aBattle StomporWhirlwindafter.
Whirlwind- A tremendous AoE that deals full damage to each target struck. attempt to verify you hit at least 3 targets when using this or save it for a moment when you can.
Phoenix Dive- This should be your opener to get to your target. For 1 AP this will get you where you need to go and then hopefully a follow upAttack of Opportunityon that target’s turn.
Deflective Barrier- This skill isn’t quite a must-have for thisBuild, but it’s close. Not only does it buff your Armour, but the reflect is REALLY GOOD for 3 turns. I like to use first thing turn 1.
Guardian Angel- Probably one of the fewBuildsaround that I’d actually recommend this skill for. If you’re playing 2 playerLone Wolfthis skill can be a lifesaver.
Challenge– As of February 1st, 2018 this Skill now only costs 1 AP, making it viable for nearly every Warfare oriented Build. Buffs Physical and Magic Armour in addition to increasing your damage by 15% for 1 turn.
Hydrosophist Skills
Armour of Frost- The best way to buff yourMagic Armourand also removes a variety ofStatus Effects. Use this turn one to buff up, and reapply when as soon as it is off cooldown.
Rain- Use this skill orRaining Bloodto create wet surfaces to freeze withGlobal Cooling. This will help you prevent melee from getting to you, and often cause a fewKnock Downs.
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).
Cleanse Wounds- Another early game heal that can remove a wide variety ofStatus Effectsand damageUndead. Probably not used outside of thisBuild. Very good for damagingUndead.
Cryotherapy- This skill can restore a shit ton ofMagic Armour, but doesn’t add to your total. If you use after you’ve castArmour of Frostit will replenish moreMagic Armour. Requires 1 point inHuntsman.
Global Cooling- This skill doesn’t do a whole lot of damage no matter what you do in this game, and it’s primary function is to freeze surfaces, which is what we use it for. For 1 AP you’re able to block whole areas that are wet or use theIceto gainArmour.
Healing Ritual- A great heal that will hit multiple targets. If you’re playingLone Wolfit becomes less valuable, but it can still be used to damageUndead. Lack ofStatus Effectremoval hurts it a lot.
Mass Cleanse Wounds- A great AoE heal that removes a ton ofStatus Effectsand heals for a good amount. Again not as useful inLone Wolf, but great in a party and better when there is another melee character.
Ice Breaker- This skill doesn’t gain any benefit fromIntelligenceorStrength, onlyHydrosophistseems to increase its (non-critical) damage. We use it here because for 1 AP it can deal quite a bit of water damage if you need to.
Miscellaneous Skills
Adrenaline- A must have skill for just about anyBuild. You never know when you might just need one more attack or buff to save you from a really bad situation. Don’t leave home without it.
Cloak and Dagger- A great mobility skill for 1 AP. Since you’ll have 1 point invested intoScoundrelalready, 1 more won’t hurt you too much.ScoundrelincreasesCritical Multiplieranyway.
Tentacle Lash- Does extremely good damage and setsAtrophywhich prevents the target from attacking next turn. Get this one early and use it often. Fairly decent range as well.
Bone Cage- A great way to replenishPhysical Armour, that only grows in effectiveness the more corpses on the ground. Wait until you’ve killed at least one target before using.
Bless- What would a Paladin Build be without this Skill? Not only removes Cursed surfaces, but the bonuses it provides are vastly underrated. You can also turn fire into holy fire, which heals teammates!
Final Tips
I strongly recommend thisBuildto new and first time players because it will ease the learning curve of the early areas of the game just a bit. As you learn the ropes and get more familiar with combat you will realize that you shouldn’t need much healing or you’re doing it wrong. That doesn’t mean however, thisBuildcan’t be effective in harder difficulties or more advanced situations, you just need to learn how to use it. Healing can be used to damageUndeadvery effectively and Ice is very good at controlling the battle.
If you’re playing aLone WolfFrost Paladina recommend taking theEnrageskill because it will drastically increase your damage with thisBuild. When you have 6 AP a turn it becomes much more effective than when you have 4 or I would have put it in theSkillssection above. It will prevent you from using non-weapon attacks though, so be sure you don’t need to cast anything first. I suggest using it when you are already in range of your target, when you are likely to get anAttack of Opportunityduring the enemy’s turn.
Combine theBootsyou are wearing withNailsto prevent yourself from slipping onIce. You should have enough maneuverabilitySkillsto make this not required, but it doesn’t hurt anything to add them, so be sure you do. It’s also a good idea to do the same for any other melee type characters that may need to move through theIceto attack as well.
Instead of usingBone Cageyou could drop a point intoGeomancerand and take theFortifyskill. The upside is that it requires one less point intoGeomancerthan you would need inNecromancerand you cannot beTeleported. The downside is that having points intoNecromanceractually returnsMagic Armourwhen you deal damage (withLiving Armour). It’s really up to you, so try it out and see what works best.
You can also play a variant of thisBuildwhere you don’t put as many points intoHydrosophist, but instead put them intoRetributionto reflect damage. This works very nicely with thisBuildbecause you get hit quite a bit, and it can be a good way to soften up your targets before you close for the kill. If you decide to go this route, I recommend splitting your points betweenHydrosophistandRetribution1:1.
As of Feb 1st,Provokenow goes through Physical Armour and will allow you to Taunt nearby enemies. Consider adding this to this Build if you wish to fulfill the “tank” role. You have tons and tons of Armour as aFrost Paladinso this would be a natural fit. If you decide to do this, I would suggest taking a couple points of Summoning to get theSoul Mateskill.
Lastly, you can actually make aRangerversion of thisBuildthat may work as well if not better. The benefit of using aBow, is that when you createIcearound you, you can still shoot at enemies without needing to move which is great. If you go down theRangerroute, you’ll have lessArmour, so you’ll have to take care to make sure you have the best you can find/purchase.
Be sure to check out our otherBuild Guides! Good luck Sourcerers, Rivellon is counting on you!
