Divinity: Original Sin II - Larian needs you!

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Larian wants your Divinity: Original Sin II test data:

Divinity: Original Sin 2 Needs YOU!
Oh sure, it's easy to look at a video game and think "this came together really well because of the programmers, or the artists, or the very, very attractive and humble writers," but it's a little more complicated than that.

The fact is, any game that we make is a draft before it goes through testing. A well-tested game is a well-polished game, and that's part of the joy of early access! Every single person that sits down to play Divinity: Original Sin 2 generates testing data, but it's only useful if we get to see it.

How do we get to see it? Well, once you close the game you click the friendly little box that appears asking if you'd like to share the game data with us. It really is that quick and that easy.

Sure, but does it really matter?
Yes! VERY yes! It's easy to think "all this data just goes in a big bucket, I'm sure they have plenty - they don't need mine", but the amount of data isn't half as important as the variation. We can catch game-breaking bugs or exploits because one person thought outside the box and did something we didn't expect, or which 99% of players missed. It's these outliers - these individuals - that help give us the fine layer of polish that we're aiming for in Divinity: Original Sin 2. So please, don't ever think that your contribution will be ignored, or isn't worth much. Every piece of data is sacred, and we need each bit we can get.

So what exactly do we track?
If it's in the game, then we want to know about it! We want to work together with you to produce the best game possible, and that means giving you the chance to share as much game data as you can. But what exactly are we interested in? Here's a summary of the data you can send us.

Position:
There are a bunch of ways out of Fort Joy, and we need to check which routes are used most often (and therefore might be too easy) or which are barely used at all (and may need to be tweaked or balanced.) The same is true of treasure that might be too easy/difficult to find, fights that people are missing, or characters and quests that aren't getting the attention we expected because people just don't spend enough time hanging out in shady alleyways or exploring caves.

We use this data to create a heatmap, which tells us the most common paths people take and which areas they explore. This is also very handy for spotting and fixing mistakes like "I'm pretty sure you shouldn't be able to walk through that wall" or letting us add a chest to reward you for walking through that Sourcerer's cunning wall illusion!

Primary Stats:
STR, FIN, INT, WIS, etc. are the beautiful three-letter building blocks of any character, so it's important we track what builds you're working on and spot any inconsistencies in the system. What stats are picked more than others, and does that change as you level? Does that indicate that any of them are over/underpowered?

Secondary Stats:
In regards secondary stats, the experience points you gain and the speed you gain them at is essential for the pacing of the game. We also need to know how quickly you move and what resistances you're working on so we make sure the levels ahead are balanced and well-paced.

Items and Inventory:
Making sure you have the right equipment as you go is vital, so we check how much you're picking up along the way, and what sort of armour you're using. This lets us know if there's too much or too little, and if it's the right level.

Tags:
Tags are a foundational part of Divinity: Original Sin 2, so being able to track the origins, race, and profession tags used is as important as anything else. Also, some tags are dynamic, and are added or removed as you play, which will have to be tracked and carefully balanced to make sure they work well in the final game.

Abilities and Talents:
As the nuts-and-bolts of combat and exploration, making sure abilities and talents work is core to making sure the game plays well. We need to find out what's popular. What ain't? How many of you are picking PetPal? What weapons specialisations do you love? What spells are being used in every battle, and what needs to be buffed up a little?

Gold:
How are you making your gold? Is most of it looted directly or does it come from selling items? Do you have enough gold? Are you doing okay? Can you afford rent and still spend the occasional night at the tavern?

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