9 Things You Might've Missed In Divinity: Original Sin 2's Opening Area

Divinity Original Sin II is an RPG filled to the brim with clever dialogue and hidden secrets, so much so that you could spend well over 10 hours in the opening area, Fort Joy, alone. To help you make the most of your early adventures across Rivellon, we've highlighted nine cool things you might’ve missed in the fort. Be wary; there are potential spoilers ahead.

Was there anything you can do at Fort Joy that we missed? Let us know in the comments below. While you're at it, you can also watch the video version of this guide.

For more about the acclaimed RPG, be sure to read our Divinity: Original Sin II review. The game is out now for PC, but it's been in Steam Early Access for almost a year. It's the sequel to our 2014 PC Game of the Year, Divinity: Original Sin, and it netted over $2 million from 40,000 fans on Kickstarter. It features over 1,200 characters, all of them fully voice-acted.

For more on how to better play Divinity: Original Sin II, check out our roundup of glass guides, tips, and walkthroughs.

From the moment you wash ashore on the beach, it’s clear that you’ll need to work your way up from the bottom. Luckily, some essential, yet easy-to-miss items are nearby. On a partially crumbled platform nearby, you can find a bedroll, which allows you to easily heal your party outside of battle, as well as a shovel, which you can use to uncover treasures whenever you come across a mound. It's possible to get a lizard character to dig for you, but where’s the fun in that?

Before you actually reach Fort Joy, you’ll come across a black cat that takes an immediate liking to you and starts to follow you. If you’ve got the Pet Pal talent, you can chat with the cat a little, but you’ll want to do everything in your power to keep it alive. That means no walking through fire, stepping in poison, or getting too close to superstitious guards.

If you manage to keep the cat alive, you’ll be handsomely rewarded with a new companion. When you leave Fort Joy, the cat will become a familiar, meaning you can summon him in and outside of battle to use its teleport ability.

If you’re in the market for some flashy looking armor, try getting the Teleportation gloves. To acquire them, talk to Gawin inside Fort Joy and tell him you're interested in his plan. Head to the beach he marks on your map and kill the pack of crocodiles. Retrieve the Teleportation Gloves from the dead body and then return to Gawin. Follow him until he inevitably dies, thus completing the quest. With this handy pair of gloves, you can teleport in combat, warp your party members behind an enemy for a sneak attack, help circumvent environmental obstacles outside of combat, or even use it on any random NPC or inanimate object.

The Teleportation Gloves aren't the only cool piece of equipment you can find in Fort Joy. There’s also a Healing Ring you can obtain from the quest, The Murderous Gheist. Magister Yarrow will ask you to confront and bring back Migo, a missing inmate who’s now a grotesque-looking monster. Unless you’ve got a Yarrow Flower on you, you’re gonna have to fight him for the Healing Ring. Once you retrieve it, you're required to give it back in order to complete the quest. Your options are as follows:

• Give it back and lose that cool healing ring, you doofus.
• Keep it and have a cool healing ring.
• Give it back, kill Yarrow, and have a cool healing ring, you murderer.

Like all things in Divinity: Original Sin II, the choice is up to you.

Fancy a fight? Then the arena is perfect for you. Find and talk to Noosey near the Fort Joy Ghetto to receive the quest, and enter the arena through the trapdoor on the ground. Speak to the leader of the arena and defeat the contenders. After you win, you have a chance to choose a reward and you’ll be deemed as “the One.”

With your new title, you can visit a blacksmith to remove your Source Collar, which actually, if you do it too early, could pose a problem for your character. While this might be the easiest way to remove it, the magisters that you run into will promptly throw you into prison, making getting anything done in town a hassle. We highly recommend getting further into the game before taking on the Arena.

What’s an adventure without some great party members to experience it with? While it’s entirely possible to go at it alone, you’ll want to recruit some hardy teammates to help you in your journey, and Fort Joy is the first and most convenient place to do it. The Red Prince, Ifan, Lohse, Sebille, Beast, and Fane are all situated in various spots around Fort Joy, waiting for you to pick them up. Here's where you can find each of them:

• The Red Prince: He's located outside Fort Joy near the beach you washed ashore on.
• Ifan: Once you enter the Fort, you’ll hear a commotion over some thugs harassing an elf. Intervene and then talk to Ifan.
• Lohse: You'll find her next to Ifan in front of the Fort Joy waypoint shrine.
• Sebille: Stalk the Lizard Stingtail, who you'll find near the Ghetto Camp Boss Griff. Afterwards, Sebille will be near Stingtail’s camp, which is to the west of the elf cave.
• Beast: He's located on the beach, west of Griff’s camp. You can see him fixing up a wrecked ship.

• Fane: Head out north of Fort Joy and follow along the right side path. You’ll come across a Hidden Alcove. Go through it and you’ll find Fane leaning over a body.

While you’re free to seek out each of these characters, keep in mind that you can only have four party members at a time. Luckily, you’re free to swap between them all during this section of the game, but you’ll inevitably have to give a few of them the boot once you complete Fort Joy.

In addition, don’t forget to complete their character quests. They’ll give you plenty of backstory, as well as some sweet loot, but perhaps more importantly, doing the quests early will affect your companions’ attitudes towards you.

As a rule of thumb: always pick up and read as many books as possible. These crafting books have recipes for spells, food, and other helpful items. Fort Joy is filled with books, so make sure to acquire as many books as you can there, so you're not struggling to find a good recipe later on.

If you have the Pet Pal skill (if you don't, then why don't you? It literally lets you talks to animals), make sure to talk to every single animal you encounter. Not only do you receive funny dialogue, but you also unlock new quest opportunities. For example, if you talk to the dog named Buddy at the beach, he'll ask you to find his mate at a nearby castle. Animals offer plenty of fun experiences well worth seeking out.

In the beginning of your adventure, it's important to get your hands on as many good weapons, armor, and recipes as you can. You'll find a fair amount of these items for sale at the local vendor, but if nothing they have suits your tastes or budgetary constraints, fret not. Vendors stock new items every half hour, so make sure to check back often as you never know what useful items you can purchase that could help you in your early runnings.