By Kurtis Seid
Building a strong character can be a tough decision. This guide will provide tips for making the best of a Metamorph base class.
Divinity Original Sin 2 has a plethora of options, including special ways of building characters and treasures hidden through the entire campaign. And even if you are indecisive you can also rebuild your entire team. But, with some planning and strategy, you can make a character you really want. One of these possible first classes includes Metamorph.
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The starting class Metamorph showcases the Polymorph line of magic. While Larian Studios provides a simple first-level build, characters can be improved by adjusting start parameters and investing in an array of combat skills.
Character Creation in Divinity Original Sin 2
The default Metamorph build is 2 Strength, 2 Finesse, 1 Two-Handed, 1 Polymorph, 1 Persuasion; Chicken Claw, Tentacle Lash, Bullhorns skills and Opportunist Talent. This is what recruited companions will have, but your main character can tweak this to be a bit better. You can also retrain your allies once getting to a Magic Mirror for respecing.
First, your primary focus should be Polymorph skills which gain a damage bonus from Strength, making it ideal to have 4 Strength, no Finesse, and wield Strength-based weapons; dump that starting spear that requires Finesse. Most Polymorph attacks deal Physical damage, and will gain a multiplicative boost from Warfare; so replace the Two-Handed with 1 Warfare. For Civil Ability, boost your character’s natural focus: Persuasion for Red Prince, Loremaster for Sebille, Thievery for Fane, etc.
For base skills,Tentacle Lash will be your primary damage attack that can also prevent enemies from using their own abilities. Bullhorns are great for movement more than actual damage. Last, consider either Battle Stomp or Bouncing Shield from Warfare depending on your weaponry. You will also have access to All In when using a two-handed weapon, Shields Up with a shield, Flurry with an off-hand weapon, and Sucker Punch when using a single one-handed weapon. Opportunist is good to stop enemy movement, but also consider Hothead for higher damage output.
As noted before, Strength should be your primary attribute. Every few levels defer a bit to Memory for more skill slots, Wits to improve crit rate and initiative, or Constitution to meet shield requirements. Note that each point in Polymorph will also give an extra attribute point to spend. Warfare will increase your raw Physical attacks. You should also grab whatever combat abilities to meet skill requirements, like Scoundrel and Necromancer.
For Talents, go for The Pawn to increase movement, Savage Sortilege for criticals (most of Polymorph are actually spells), and Living Armor for extra protection versus Magic damage. If you are using Gift Bags, consider Indomitable and Gladiator for more defenses. Bigger and Better and All Skilled Up are great for when you have spare Talent points.
Recommended Polymorph Skills
- Chicken Claw (1 Polymorph): Turns an enemy into a Chicken if they have no Physical armor but deals no damage. Great for trigger Opportunist attacks.
- Chameleon Cloak (1 Polymorph): Turn invisible for two turns. Ideal for either sneaking up or running away from danger. Dispelled if you run into environments, including simple rain.
- Heart of Steel (2 Polymorph): Restores Physical armor over four turns. Great if you plan on tanking in the front lines.
- Spread Your Wings (2 Polymorph): Allows you to fly nearby points. Keep in mind that if you try to fly over death fog (and aren’t Undead) you might still wind up dying. Good for movement, but cannot use Spider Legs at the same time.
- Spider Legs (2 Polymorph): Fire off webs that prevent enemies from moving and grants you Haste if you step in them. The webs can also spread fire already laid out by yourself or an ally. A great control ability, but cannot be used at the same time as Spread Your Wings.
- Medusa Head (2 Polymorph): Deals Earth damage around you and will cause Petrify on enemies with no Magical armor. Nice if other party members deal Magic damage, but might not be as useful if the team focuses on Physical damage. Also cannot be used with Bullhorns.
- Terrain Transmutation (2 Polymorph): Swaps surfaces in two locations. Good for either clearing out paths or placing nasty surfaces under enemies. Most enemies will instantly be killed by Lava surface Fire damage.
- Skin Graft (3 Polymorph): Resets all of your cooldowns. This is powerful on its own but becomes even crazier on Fane, whose special Time Warp allows an instant second turn (though for 1 Source point, and another for Skin Graft itself).
- Equalise (3 Polymorph): Redistributes all armor and health to everyone equally. This can be used defensively to heal up weakened allies, and also rob armor and health from the enemy. Can be very situational, but a great tool in boss fights.
- Apotheosis (5 Polymorph): All other Source skills cost 0 Source for three turns. If you have the AP reserves to use other Source skills, this can be very game breaking. This can allow you to instantly use other skills like Skin Graft, Thick of the Fight, Dome of Protection (Custom Character), Demonic Stare (Red Prince), or Time Warp.
Other Skill options
- Adrenaline (1 Scoundrel): grants two AP now, but lose out on two AP next turn. Good for piling on damage and ending fights fast.
- Cloak and Dagger (2 Scoundrel): leap to other areas without breaking stealth. Really good for positioning before a fight, and out of combat trickery.
- Whirlwind (2 Warfare): hit all enemies around you. Great if you are using a two-handed weapon.
- Blitz Attack (2 Warfare): jump at two different targets and deal slightly reduced damage. Mostly used to teleport near a foe, but will still deal some decent damage.
- Thick of the Fight (3 Warfare): gain a damage boost for every character in range, including NPCs, enemies, and summons. Can be a huge buff.
- Peace of Mind (1 Pyrokinetic): increases Strength and Wits and also prevents nasty debuffs like Blinded, Terrified, and Charmed.
- Haste (1 Pyrokinetic): grants extra AP and movement each turn. Really handy to approach the enemy.
- Fossil Strike (1 Geomancer): mostly to create an Oil surface that will cause Slow, even if the enemy still has Magic armor.
- Favourable Wind (1 Aerotheurge): increases the movement speed of yourself and allies. Once again, really good for closing distances.
- Teleportation (2 Aerotheurge): move other targets around the battlefield. Great for more control and bring enemies closer.
- Bone Cage (2 Necromancer): restore Physical armor by draining nearby corpses. If you are fighting lots of minions, this can be a great way to stay alive.
- Corpse Explosion (1 Necromancer, 1 Pyrokinetic): detonate a corpse to deal high Physical damage. You won’t be as powerful as an Intelligence-based mage, but your Warfare investment will make this reasonably strong.
Unique Equipment for Metamorphs in Divinity Original Sin 2
While most gear will have random enchantments, there is some select unique gear you should search for. If you are using Gift Bag, you can even polish these items to your current level.
- Sundering Cleaver (Two-Handed Axe): bought (or stolen) from Zaleskar in Fort Joy. Grants Thick of the Fight for free.
- Fan of the Winter Dragon (One-Handed Sword): looted off Slane if you decide to fight. Grants bonuses to Strength, Warfare, and cleaves.
- An Mey Falin (Belt): bought from the undead merchant Eithne in Reaper’s Coast. Gives bonus Warfare, Polymorph, and Wits.
- Emrach (Body): bought or looted from Basatan the Wishmaster in the Advocate’s encampment. Nice bonuses to Strength, Two-Handed, and movement.
- Lohar’s Two-Handed Source Hammer (Two-Handed Mace): rewarded by Lohar for defeating Mordus in Reaper’s Coast. Deals good damage, can Knock Down, and grants Onslaught.
- The Shadow Prince’s Signet (Ring): gained from defeating the Shadow Prince as part of Sebille or Red Prince’s questline. It is Finesse based, but also gives Wits and the Chameleon Cloak skill.
- Truth Seeker (One-Handed Sword): bought from the Unarmed Elf in Arx at X: 330, Y: 373. High accuracy and crit chance. Also can apply Blind.
- Ancient Belt (Belt): bought from Adam in Arx at X: 210, Y: 273. Great resistances, will heal the living but damages Undead characters.
- An Maflin (Shield): looted from Lord Kemm’s Vault at X: 510, Y: 742. Gives Polymorph and Initiative bonuses. Oddly, doesn’t allow Shields Up.
- Kvyn’s Hands (Gloves): possible loot inside the Doctor’s basem*nt. However, getting these may lockout Lord Ruaney unique items. Has a Finesse and Thievery penalty, but a Strength boost and gives innate Tentacle Lash.
- Gloach Girt (One-Handed Mace): obtained from a chest after killing Isbeil for Beast’s questline. Attacks in a cleave and give Terrain Transmutation.
- Last One Standing (Belt): sold by Lord Omyt in the top level of Lord Kemm’s house. Gives lots of Memory and includes Skin Graft for free.
There is lots of freedom in Divinity Original Sin 2. With the proper planning, you can make a strong character for your team of Godwoken.
Next: Divinity Original Sin 2: Best Abilities for a Beginner
Divinity Original Sin 2is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and the Nintendo Switch.
