Healing outside of combat in Divinity: Original Sin can be a challenge, especially in the early game when resources are limited. However, there are several methods players can use to regain health and armor between fights. In this guide, we’ll break down the most effective ways to heal and highlight some tips for conserving your restorative items.
Use Bedrolls
One of the most basic ways to heal outside of combat is to use bedrolls. These can be crafted or purchased from vendors, and allow characters to rest and restore some Vitality and Armor. The amount healed scales based on your level, but it’s a handy option when you want to top off your party’s health after a tough battle.
Bedrolls can only be used a limited number of times before breaking, but it’s worthwhile to carry a few spare ones just for out-of-combat healing. Try to save your best quality bedrolls for when you really need the boost. Also remember that you’ll need to carry bedrolls for each party member if you want to heal everyone.
Stock Up on Restorative Items
Consumable restorative items like health potions, antitoxins, and armor scrolls are indispensable for out-of-combat healing. Health potions restore Vitality, antitoxins cure Poisoned and Diseased status effects, and armor scrolls replenish Magic Armor or Physical Armor.
Make sure to grab any of these items you find from chests or enemy drops. Buy extra supplies from vendors whenever possible too. It’s ideal to have at least a few regular health potions and scrolls of each armor type available at all times.
Prioritize Potions That Heal Percentages
As you progress in Divinity: Original Sin, you’ll start finding more powerful potions that restore health and armor based on percentages instead of flat amounts. These scale much better into the late game, so they should be your first choice for out-of-combat healing. Examples include Giant Health Potions, Armor Potions, and Giant Healing Potions.
Craft Potions and Scrolls
If you’re running low on restorative items, take advantage of Divinity’s fantastic crafting systems. You can craft both potions and scrolls once you find recipes scattered throughout the world. This allows you to turn otherwise useless junk like empty potion bottles and blank scrolls into valuable healing items.
Make sure to keep components like health herbs, essences, and magical ink on hand. Invest skill points into Crafting on at least one character so you can maximize the quality of your crafted items.
Heal with Skills
Many skill trees in Divinity: Original Sin contain abilities that can heal or provide armor buffs. Make sure to take advantage of these both in and out of combat.
Hydrosophist Skills
The Hydrosophist skill tree is a must for any healer build. Key skills include:
- Healing Ritual – Restore Vitality in an area around you
- Soothing Cold – Remove Burning and Warm status effects
- Armor of Frost – Grant Magic Armor to yourself or an ally
- Restoration – Cleanse Stunned, Frozen, Petrified or Silenced
Geomancer Skills
Geomancer skills provide physical armor buffs:
- Fortify – Grant Physical Armor
- Mend Metal – Restore Physical Armor and remove Weakened status
- Fossil Strike – Gain Physical Armor from damage dealt
Leadership Skills
Leadership offers party-wide armor replenishment:
- Encourage – Restore Physical and Magic Armor to the entire party
- Rallying Cry – Like Encourage, but stronger at higher levels
Necromancer Skills
Necromancy skills drain health from enemies to heal yourself:
- Blood Sucker – Take health from target character
- Blood Rain – Damage enemies and heal from blood surfaces created
- Bone Cage – Gain Vitality from damage received
Heal from Surfaces
Surfaces created from skills and environmental features can be used to heal characters with matching damage types. This allows you to replenish armor and eliminate harmful statuses without using any items. For example:
- Stand in a Puddle or Ocean to heal Water/Frozen damage over time
- Cast Blood Rain then stand in the blood for Necro/Physical healing
- Cast Poison Dart then stand in the poison to heal Poison damage
Carry skills that create useful surfaces on multiple party members. This provides healing zones whenever you need them outside of fights.
Heal from Food
Food items can restore small amounts of Vitality and even Magic Armor. Carry food like Bread, Potatoes, Carrots, and Apples to provide minor out-of-combat healing. Prioritize foods that also buff stats when possible.
Take Advantage of Camps
Temporary party camps allow you to fully replenish Vitality and Armor at no cost. When you see camp sites out in the wilderness, take time to rest the party and get everyone back into top shape before moving on.
In the Definitive Edition, Lady Kemm’s Camp becomes available partway through Act 2. This special camp provides free respite anytime and can be teleported to from any other camp.
Seek Shelter with NPCs
When exploring towns and settlements, look for NPCs like Innkeepers who will fully heal the party for a small fee. This is worthwhile after difficult fights if you want to get back to 100% before your next encounter.
Traders like Hannag in Act 2 can also heal the party completely for free. Their healing services reset after exiting and re-entering an area.
Prioritize Lone Wolf for Easy Healing
The Lone Wolf talent makes keeping two characters healed much easier since they receive bonus attribute points. Lone Wolves also replenish more Armor from consumables and environment effects.
For example, a regular health potion would restore around 220 Vitality. The same potion would heal a Lone Wolf for over 1,000 instead. Run a party of 2 Lone Wolves if you want healing to be simpler.
Take the Leech Talent
The Leech talent causes you to heal for a percentage of all damage dealt based on your Vampirism value. Any character can benefit from this self-sustain, but it’s especially useful for frontline fighters.
Leech lets your warriors heal themselves as they dish out damage. Combine it with Lone Wolf and Vampirism-boosting equipment for even stronger effects.
Prioritize Gear with Lifesteal and Vampirism
Keep an eye out for equipment that provides Lifesteal or bonuses to Vampirism. Weapons with Lifesteal help melee fighters sustain themselves in battle without draining healing resources.
Amulets, shields, and other gear that boost Vampirism increase Leech healing and how much health you steal from enemies. Equip your tanks and Warriors with these items to improve self-healing.
Take Advantage of Elemental Affinity
The Elemental Affinity talent reduces AP costs for skills that match your active surface element. This is extremely useful for out-of-combat healing. For example, casting Restoration on a Water surface would only cost 1 AP for a character with Elemental Affinity.
Carry skills that create elemental surfaces, then switch to Affinity characters to quickly replenish Armor and heal effects between fights. The bonus AP savings minimize consumption of restorative items.
Conclusion
Healing outside of combat in Divinity: Original Sin requires some planning, but becomes easier with the right skills, gear, and party setup. Take advantage of consumables, environments, and character abilities to restore health and armor between battles. Prioritize percentage healing and self-sustain so your resources go further.
With the proper preparations, you can enter each fight at full strength and avoid being overwhelmed. Divinity offers so many options for out-of-combat recovery. Experiment to find a healing strategy that suits your party and playstyle.