Overview of the Elemental Surface System

In Divinity: Original Sin II (DOS2), the Elemental Surface System represents a pivotal aspect of the game’s tactical combat. Players interact with a range of elemental surfaces—fire, water, poison, oil, ice, and blood—created through the use of abilities, spells, or normal attacks. These surfaces persist over time, influencing both allies and enemies that move through or remain on them during their turns.

Each elemental surface bears its own unique properties and can be altered through further elemental interactions. For instance, fire can transform water into steam, ice can freeze water, and elemental combinations like electrified water can produce various tactical advantages. Surfaces can also be blessed or cursed, substantially changing their effects—blessed surfaces often provide benefits, while cursed ones can inflict detrimental conditions like decay.

Creating and Manipulating Surfaces

1. Basic Creation:
– Spells from the Pyrokinetic, Hydrophist, Geomancer, and Aerotheurge schools typically create corresponding elemental surfaces upon impact. Basic attacks, such as those from wands, also contribute to this dynamic by generating smaller surfaces that can activate specific talents.

2. Transformation:
– Surfaces can be transformed through additional elemental interactions. Notable examples include:
– Fire on Oil: Creates a large explosion.
– Water and Lightning: Produce electrified surfaces, which can inflict stunning effects.
– Ice on Water: Turns water into slippery frozen surfaces, potentially leading to dramatic changes in enemy movement.

3. Blessing and Cursing:
– Spells like Bless and Curse can significantly alter the effects of surfaces. For example, a blessed fire will heal allies or grant invulnerability to freezing, while a cursed poison will bring about decay to those standing on it.

4. Removing Surfaces:
– Surfaces can be dispelled or altered by utilizing opposing elemental spells or specific abilities like Tornado, effectively clearing hazardous areas or transforming their characteristics.

Combat Exploits and Advanced Tactics

Elemental Affinity Talent

The Elemental Affinity talent is critical for energy management in combat. It reduces the Action Points (AP) cost of casting spells by one, contingent upon the caster standing on a surface that matches the spell’s element. This mechanic provides various strategic advantages, such as:

– Self-Surface Creation: Players can create advantageous surfaces at their feet prior to casting, thus enabling the use of more powerful spells at reduced AP costs (e.g., casting a fire spell to lower the cost of subsequent Pyrokinetic spells).

– Blood Pools for Necromancy: Elves can use Flesh Sacrifice to generate blood pools under themselves, allowing for cheaper Necromancer spellcasting.

– Strategic Use of Grenades: Those with the Ambidextrous talent can utilize grenades to create desired elemental surfaces efficiently.

– Surface Borders: Positioning characters on the edges of intersecting elemental surfaces can enable access to multiple Elemental Affinities concurrently, maximizing spellcasting efficiency.

Environmental Synergy

1. Chaining Elements:
Utilize elemental reactions to create powerful combinations:
– Set oil ablaze for extensive area damage.
– Freeze water to create barriers or knock enemies prone.
– Electrify water or blood to stun multiple targets.

2. Blessed/Cursed Zones:
– Change harmful elements into beneficial surfaces for your party and vice versa, impacting the enemy’s strategies and potential weaknesses.

3. Surface Denial:
Remove or alter beneficial enemy surfaces using spells like Tornado to maintain battlefield control, disrupting enemy strategies while enhancing your own.

Summoning and Surface Interaction

Certain summons depend on specific surfaces for summoning, requiring careful planning. For example, summoning an incarnate on a fire surface grants it fire-based abilities, emphasizing the importance of surface management in building effective strategies.

Practical Examples

1. Cost-Effective Pyrokinetic Spells: Cast Searing Daggers at your feet to create a fire surface, then follow up with spells like Ignition or Fireball at a reduced AP cost.

2. Elf Necromancer Strategy: Use Flesh Sacrifice to generate a blood pool followed by casting Necromancer spells more affordably.

3. Ambush Techniques: Lure opponents into oil slicks and ignite them for substantial area damage, or freeze water beneath them to incapacitate.

4. Blessed Surfaces: Transform harmful surfaces into beneficial ones using Bless to turn threats into healing zones for your team.

Summary Table: Key Surface Interactions

| Surface | Created By | Transformed By | Effect (Basic) | Blessed Effect | Cursed Effect |
|————–|——————————|———————–|——————————-|———————————|——————————|
| Fire | Pyrokinetic spells, oil+fire | Water (steam) | Burn, area damage | Invulnerability to frozen, heals | Stronger burn, decays armor |
| Water | Hydro spells, rain | Fire (steam), Ice (ice)| Wet, can be electrified | Heals, damages undead | N/A |
| Poison | Geomancer spells | Fire (explosion) | Poisoned | Regeneration | Decay, poison cloud |
| Oil | Geomancer spells | Fire (explosion) | Slippery, flammable | Fortifies, removes Stun/Petrify | N/A |
| Ice | Hydro spells (freeze water) | Fire (water) | Slippery, knockdown | Magic Shell (magic armor buff) | N/A |
| Blood | Physical damage, Flesh Sacrifice | Fire (blood cloud) | Slippery, conductive | Heals | N/A |

Conclusion

The elemental surface system in Divinity: Original Sin II is a fundamental element of the game that empowers players with deep tactical options for battlefield manipulation. Mastery of surface creation, transformation, and the strategic use of the Elemental Affinity talent leads to potent spellcasting and creative environmental exploitation. Engaging in experimentation with combinations, utilizing Bless and Curse spells for strategic advantages, and understanding the dynamic effects of surfaces is essential for any player looking to excel in DOS2’s combat.