Crafting is a cornerstone of the RPG genre, andDivinity: Original Sin 2is no different. As the Godwoken and their companions venture through Rivellon, they’ll come across a wide variety of items they can use to craft handy tools — even if they’re not sure how at first.

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Crafting menu showing categories

Though the game’s crafting system isn’t the most intuitive, utilizing it grants the player helpful items and saves a lot of gold. Different play styles will make use of different aspects, but every player can find some way to put their skills to use in this game mechanic. Here’s how to navigate it.

What Players Can Craft

There’s a huge array of craftable items inOriginal Sin 2.In the Recipe section of the crafting menu, these are broken down into categories:weapons,potions, grenades, arrows, armor, food, objects,runes,andgrimoire.

Weapons

This crafting category comes in handy until around level three. When they first arrive in Fort Joy, players are fairly defenseless; these recipes allow them to craft such magnificent weapons as Makeshift Wand and Sharp Stone On A Stick. This crafting category quickly becomes obsolete once players start picking up decent gear.

Potions

On the other hand, this category comes in handy over the course of the whole game. Healing items are essential for a ragtag group of Godwoken being hunted by Magisters and Voidwoken alike. Players should grab empty potion bottles wherever they can, anduse Rivellon’s florato make elixirs to heal and buff themselves. Addingaugmentorsto crafted potions can make them more potent.

Grenades

Perfect in a pinch, use these to wreak havoc when spells are on cooldown. Every player is bound to pick some up in their travels, but crafting even more will come in handy often. Usegrenade canisters, and pack them with things that go boom.

Arrows

This is a more situational category, but it’s essential if there’sa Ranger or Wayfarerin the party (and there always should be). Combine plainarrowheadswith a variety of items to create elementally damaging projectiles, and combine those witharrow shaftsto make usable arrows.

Armor

Like weapons, this category is only useful early on. Players can scrap together some shirts and pants and boots, but they will quickly find much better gear from enemies and shops.

Food

While they may not provide buffs as impressive as potions, it’s still absolutely worth the player’s time to pick up culinary ingredients and cook when they can. Potion ingredients aren’t too common, butfood can be found almost anywhere.

Many recipes require a cooking station. Players can use any stoves they come across in the world, or use campfires if they have acooking pot.

Enchanting menu in DOS2

Objects

A vague term for a vague category, this section covers bits and bobs such as lockpicks, backpacks, cooking stations, and a few quest-specific items.

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Party looking through books

Runes

These are essential items forenchantingweapons and gear. Players can use these to help boost their lackluster crafted weapons and armor early on, giving them a bit more power. Each rune’s effect depends on its element and what item the player applies it to.

Grimoire

This category encompassesskill books and scrolls. A skill book willpermanently teach a character a skill, while a scroll provides a single, immediate use. Most players will craft scrolls more frequently, as sheets of paper are easy to come by. These are always useful in desperate battle situations, so when preparing for a tough fight, don’t forget to consult the Grimoire.

Understanding The Enchanting Menu

Enchanting is a subset of the crafting system inOriginal Sin 2, and a bit more complex than simply putting ingredients together until something happens. Here, players can userunesto imbue their gear with new effects, or amplify existing ones. Each type of rune has set effects depending on whether it is applied to aweapon,armor,or anamulet/ring. The effects increase in potency based on the rune’s size.

Standard Runes

Runes Of Power

Runes bearing the addendum “of Power” will add an additional effect along with the standard one when used to enchant gear. These do not vary with gear type.

Mystical Runes

As with Runes of Power, the following each provides another benefit in addition to the standard one. These, however, do vary by gear type.

How To Learn Recipes

There are a couple different ways for players to expand their crafting repertoire inDivinity: Original Sin 2.Once learned, recipes can be accessed from a tab in the crafting menu. Selecting one of these will allow the player to immediately craft as many of that item as they have ingredients for. Here’s how to find recipes.

In a game withas much lore as theDivinityseries, it’s always wise for players to skim through every book they find. However, these tomes can have an additional benefit: several within the game will teach players useful crafting recipes.

Crafting menu with ingredients

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In particular, look for installments of the"Rhymes of the Scribes"or"Crafting Bible"series; these typically have several recipes in store. Others can hold handy tips too, though, so don’t pass any volumes over.

Experiment Freely

Unlike other games such asSkyrim, components used in failed crafting experiments will not be consumed inOriginal Sin 2. For example, if the player mixes a sheet of paper and an arrowhead — a combination that creates absolutely nothing — those two items willremain in the inventory.

With that in mind, players shouldn’t let ingredient supplies stop them from trying new creations. Combine arrowheads with every available material until a new type reveals itself. Put every kind of mushroom and herb into an empty bottle. Of course, it may get tedious after several failed attempts, but at least the only thing the player wastes will be time.