So I just made a large room and wanted to put 3 separate alien containment, each one with a different theme. But, when I tried to place one down, it is merged with 2. Is there a way to only do one in a large room??

Help

I love building a comprehensive base before I really get going most of the time but it seems like Alien Containment is always the last thing I manage to get. The only reliable way I know of is to get it from the >!deep Degasi Seabase in the deep grand reef!<. But by the time I get there, the game is half over.

Is there anywhere else I can easily get my hands on the Alien Containment blueprints?

I literally cant find it anywhere!

As post says. I started a new playthrough after starting(not finishing) a game several months ago and I really wanna find it as soon as possible

Dearly Beloved,

In a world of physical parties spamming weapon attacks and magical parties allergic to the notion, DOS2 too often feels sorely lacking in a true Gish playstyle. I know of your troubles. Too many of our number have fallen to the false promises made by the forbidden presets of Battlemage, Wayfarer, Inquisitor, and their ilk. I say unto you, do not be swayed by the blasphemous Hybrids and preposterous Blazing Deepstalkers who serve naught but the Void itself.

But fret not, for the Gods bestowed upon us the gift of their favored son. A Spell filled with such grand brilliance that it alone does what no other build before it could achieve. For it is only doused in holy fire that our builds may be purified.

Brothers and Sisters, guided by the Light of Lucian Divine I write to you today to spread the word of Larian's Favored Child - the Master of Sparks.

Note: this is not intended to be a paint-by-numbers guide, but rather a skeleton for players to build upon. I will include a link to a good build guide for each build for those who really want that at the end. But I do think the game is more enjoyable when a player takes a general build concept and finds ways to make it their own. I also think that doing so helps the player learn WHY certain things work better than others through practical application, which in turn helps subsequent runs go more smoothly.

TERMINOLOGY

Stats: Strength, Finesse, Intelligence, Memory, Wits, Constitution

Skills: Warfare, Scoundrel, Huntsman, Poly, Pyro, Aero, etc.

Spells: any ability that takes up a Memory slot(s). Fireball is as equally a spell as Whirlwind in my mind, even if one "feels" more like a traditional "spell" than the other.

AOE: stands for Area of Effect. Refers to spells that can target multiple enemies in a set radius/line/etc., as opposed to a spell that only targets a single enemy i.e. Whirlwind is an AOE whereas Ruptured Tendons is single-target.

CC: stands for Crowd Control. Refers to effects of spells, scrolls, etc. that impede enemy movement. "Hard" CC prevents the enemy from taking its turn i.e. Knockdown, Sleep, etc. "Soft" CC limits the enemy in some way on its turn i.e. Slowed, Blinded, etc. While Charmed does not prevent the enemy from taking its turn, I consider it to be a Hard CC since the enemy literally switches teams to fight for you, thus the enemy team still loses that turn. Some people consider it to be in its own tier of "Intermediate" CC. I think this distinction is unnecessary, but won't quibble over it if your prefer that method of categorization.

AP: stands for Action Points. In combat, nearly everything you do costs a certain number of Action Points. Maximizing your AP is a central focus of any good build.

SP: stands for Source Points. Certain actions require an SP cost in addition to (or sometimes in lieu of) AP.

WHAT IS SPARKSMASTER BATTLEMAGE?

Sparksmaster Battlemage refers to a build concept that builds around the single coolest spell in all of DOS2 - Master of Sparks. Master of Sparks is the Source version of Sparking Swings which is a single target buff that causes the target's weapon attacks to fire off Pyro-based single target spells ("Sparks") at enemies. Each individual weapon hit from a weapon attack shoots off a single Spark that targets enem(ies) other than the enemy that is the target of the individual weapon hit. Sparks deal the equivalent of a Fireball's worth of Pyro damage.. Master of Sparks upgrades the power of Sparking Swings for the cost of a Source Point in two ways: (1) it is now an AOE buff and (2) it fires off multiple Sparks per hit.

I know, this seems very carefully worded. But it is for a good reason. What seems unassuming at first is actually a spell capable of incredible potential that can solo entire encounters with the wild chain reaction nature of the build. The trigger for a Spark is a weapon hit. I say this to draw a distinction from a weapon attack. This is because a weapon attack can have multiple weapon hits. Lets explain by way of example. We will assume that Beast is in combat with 4 Enemies. He is equipped with an ordinary One-Handed Sword and buffs himself with Sparking Swings.

Example 1: Beast uses a standard attack on Enemy 1. Enemy 1 suffers Weapon Damage from the single hit. That single hit fires off 1 Spark at Enemy 2 who suffers 1(Sparks) damage.

Example 2: Beast uses Whirlwind which hits both Enemies 1 and 2. Enemies 1 and 2 each get hit and damaged separately by Whirlwind which means that two weapon hits occurred. That means that Sparks triggers twice. So Enemies 3 and 4 BOTH get hit by a Sparks a piece for 1(Sparks) damage each, or 2(Sparks) damage total.

Example 3: Enemies 1, 2, 3, and 4 all stand in a line. Beast uses Bull Rush on those enemies. Each enemy gets hit one time which triggers one Spark a piece, or four Sparks in total for a total of 4(Sparks) damage.

Example 4: Beast uses Onslaught against Enemy 1. Enemy 1 gets hit five times which triggers five Sparks which hit other enemies for a total of 5(Sparks) damage.

And this is just by buffing with Sparking Swings. Multiply the number of Sparks in each example when buffed with Master of Sparks instead and we can see how this can quickly get out of hand; i.e., Example 3 now applies 8(Sparks) damage for just 2 AP. The thesis of the build is therefore simple: group up enemies, buff with Master of Sparks, and unload AOE weapon attacks to serve as a conduit for a HOST of Sparks.

This is my favorite build in the entire game. If you haven't had a chance to play with Master of Sparks, I'm overjoyed to help you experience it for yourself. If you have, then I have no doubt you too have felt giddy overlaying AOE after AOE watching the literal fireworks show on display.

WHAT STATS DO WE CARE ABOUT?

The primary damage stat for a Sparkmaster Battlemage is Intelligence. We don't actually care about our raw weapon damage, as each hit is just the catalyst for our Sparks, but we do have ways to make our weapon damage meaningful (i.e., convert weapon damage to magic damage).

Like literally every build in the game, we also care about Memory and Wits. Memory is a mandatory maintenance stat. You want to allocate exactly enough Memory to slot all of your spells, and not a single point more. Wits is a secondary damage stat which affects crit and initiative.

The standard approach to stat allocation is a follows:

1. Enough Memory to get by
2. Intelligence
3. Wits

You can also allocate some points to other stats to equip good gear as you come across it.

WHAT SKILLS DO WE CARE ABOUT DROPPING POINTS INTO TO IMPROVE DAMAGE?

Pyro is your primary damage skill, NOT Warfare. Sparks scale with Pyro. While yes we are a weapon-based melee build, Warfare only universally increases Physical damage. So even though we are going to use a LOT of Warfare spells, taking extra points in Warfare won't help with the conceit of the build.

Scoundrel improves crit damage, which is also helpful to increase damage. This is a secondary damage skill.

Two-Handed offers bonuses to Crit assuming you use a Two-Handed weapon (see "Weapon Selection" below).

Polymorph gives us more points to put into our main stats. The other skills are more important for damage overall, but its still worth mentioning that every point taken here will slightly increase your overall damage. We'll be taking certain Poly spells anyways, so you'll get that benefit naturally.

WEAPON SELECTION

We need to address Weapon Selection before we talk about spells. What weapon(s) you select has an effect on spell selection. This is a situation where inherent weapon properties are more important to us than a weapon's damage output.

Staff: Staves are the go-to option for a Sparksmaster Battlemage because its the most straightforward way to convert otherwise physical weapon damage into magic damage. Staves inherently deal magic damage on hit (and scales with the elemental type of stave so i.e. Fire Staff scales with Pyro, Poison Staff with Geo, etc.). Staves also have solid reach which helps with making sure enemies get caught in AOEs.

Dual Wield Strength One-Handed Weapons: Remember how we said that its the individual weapon hit that matters for triggering Sparks? Well dual wielding has an interesting interaction with this. Some (though not all) dual wielding basic attack animations swing each weapon separately. For those specific animations, the game registers two hits (one for each swing). Other animations swing both weapons in unison. For those specific animations, the game registers one hit. So, for standard dual wield attacks that have a multi-hit animation, you double your Sparks output. Dual wielding also opens up the option to use Flurry which is three hits for six Sparks. The use case for this is specific though - fighting enemies that aren't neatly grouped up, such that using your AOEs won't help increase the number of Sparks you output. And it comes at the cost of not dealing base weapon damage inherently with the weapon and shorter reach on your weapon.

Dual Daggers: See Dual Wield Strength One-Handed Weapons. The range is even shorter, but it does open up a few notable dagger-exclusive spells. And in Act 4 if no one else is using Rancour, then I suppose you can make use of it.

Spears: Even more range than Staves for AOEs, but no other unique benefit.

One-Handed+Shield: I, uh, well if you really wanted to have a shield you can do this. But ordinarily the biggest reason to use a Shield is to use Shield Throw. So not helpful here because Shield Throw does Physical Damage and does not trigger Sparks. Realistically the biggest mechanical draw for this is if you want to abuse Supernova as a Shield can help you not kill yourself. But its just not worth it.

So in looking at all of this, when in doubt Staff is the easiest route. Sparkmaster's BIGGEST weakness is single-target damage as Sparks can't trigger if there is only one enemy in range/left in the fight. With a Staff you aren't DOA in those situations. And automatic weapon damage converted to magic damage is hard to pass up as that is a free damage buff. The other options have upside, but I'd be hard pressed to say their upside overcomes the natural consistency a Staff provides.

SPELL SELECTION

Sparks Triggering Spells

The primary reason to use spells instead of autoattacks is to increase your AP:Sparks ratio. So AOEs and multi-hits are critical.

Warfare offers a lot of options. Battering Ram and Battle Stomp hit in a line. Both are Physical CC so get extra free value in a mixed party. Battering Ram repositioning is also very helpful. Whirlwind hits in a circle around you. Blitz Attack and Onslaught are multi-hits. Crippling Blow is also an AOE just with a small cone so not as easy to spam as Whirlwind.

Poly: Bull Rush deals weapon hits so its basically another Battering Ram that you can use every turn.

Scoundrel is only relevant if you're taking daggers (which I think is inferior to a Staff but you do you). Backlash is a repositional that triggers a Spark. Terrifying Cruelty and Gag Order have interesting if not amazing CCs that you can actually reasonably make use of unlike a normal dagger build. Daggers Drawn is a multi-hit. Sawtooth Knife has no special interactions with Sparks but it does pierce so you can use it to deal some actual weapon damage to potentially finish off an enemy at low health (even more niche is Mortal Blow which can technically do the same thing but for a much higher cost - don't actually do this lol).

Damage Buffs

Venom Coating and Venom Aura apply a Poison damage increase to your weapon attacks. This stacks with Geo so its out of the way on our ordinary stat allocation, but its essentially free damage if prebuffed even if you don't stack Geo to improve the damage. Realistically the Aura Source version is only of value with other Melees in the Party. Obviously don't use either if fighting undead.

Firebrand applies a similar buff to the Venom spells, but dealing Pyro damage instead of Poison which is generally preferable. Weird spell in that it ordinarily comes baked into a lategame staff and iirc its funky to actually get the spell itself memorized (craft the scroll first and then craft the spellbook after from the scroll).

Enrage applies 100% crit to your Sparks so long as you have Savage Sortilege. That's a big deal, particularly in the early game.

Utility Spells

Note, a build need not slot every utility option. Some spells are certainly more valuable than others. Some are very much party-comp reliant. And, of course, your party can distribute spell access among all party members to ease individual memory costs.

Aerothurge offers access to Teleport and Netherswap as positioning tools. It also offers Uncanny Evasion for defensive options.

Polymorph offers Skin Graft to reset the cooldown on your best spells. Medusa's Head and Flay Skin provide helpful utility.

Pyromancy offers the always useful Peace of Mind and Haste buffs. Bleed Fire is a damage boost.

Scoundrel offers the always great Adrenaline. Cloak and Dagger is a good jump spell. Chloroform is a strong single-target CC.

Huntsman Tactical Retreat is a jump spell that also applies the Hasted buff. Very nice but out of the way.

Necromancy offers utility spells like Living on the Edge and Deathwish.

Warfare offers access to the Phoenix Dive jump spell and Challenge which is a damage boost. Thick of the Fight is very much fight-dependent. High enemy density fights can make it worthwhile.

Other Spell Considerations

You can also take advantage of the various Touch-Range spells with this build. Particularly ones that offer helpful CCs. You don't need to be a pokemon master and collect them all, but its worth slotting some where memory permits. Which ones to slot are party dependent. Some notable examples include:

If you have a Necro (or I guess a Hydro) in the party, Shocking Touch can electrify Blood Surfaces to Shock/Stun enemies.

Blinding Radiance can be used in connection with Worm Tremor to budget hard-CC enemies (Blind+Entangled heavily limits what an enemy can do). Particularly since Torturer is already a good talent for any Pyro build.

Supernova is an AOE nuke that can be worth casting in certain situations. And of course we can make solid use of any Pyro spell since we stack Pyro anyways (including exploding Mass Deploy Traps).

TALENTS

The following Talents are worth considering. I have not put them in any particular order. I will not be discussing Lone Wolf but of course if you are doing a Lone Wolf playthrough, you should prioritize that Talent.

1. Savage Sortilege - Lets your Sparks crit. Major damage boost.
2. Executioner - +2AP each turn for a kill is great value. Worth slotting on almost every build in the game.
3. Torturer - setting Burning before breaking magic armor is a damage buff. Can be used in conjunction with a bunch of other spells to apply other good effects.
4. The Pawn - I would be more gung ho about this if it didn't directly compete with Executioner, but alas it does. Executioner is undeniably better than Pawn for most builds, but Pawn is at least worth mentioning for giving what is effectively a conditional +1 to AP each turn. It gets to be a harder sell over time, though, as your options increase and the free walk starts to lose relative value. Players who struggle with positioning may find this more helpful than Executioner in the short term while they improve that part of their game.
5. Five Star Diner - improving the effects of powerful potions can be game breaking
6. Hothead - damage increase
7. What a Rush - damage increase
8. Mnemonic - basically a damage increase because +3 Memory is +3 stats to put into Intelligence/Wits
9. Glass Cannon - unconditional +2 AP per turn is game changing
10. Bigger and Better - more Intelligence/Wits
11. All Skilled Up - more Pyro or other useful skills
12. Elemental Affinity - We don't cast a lot of Pyro spells so frankly this isn't as useful to us as your ordinary Pyro mage. But for those fights where it would be particularly helpful to cast multiple spells it can be worth slotting.

Trap Talents to avoid:

1. Living Armor - does not help you deal damage or CC things. The amount of armor recovered is conditional and fairly low.
2. Opportunist - honestly should have just been a feature associated with using Melee weapons. Unfortunately, it can only proc once per round of combat and is dependent on the enemy both being able to move and moving in such a way that procs the attack. A conditional small damage boost that the player largely cannot control and only comes about by playing sub-optimally is not worth the talent point. I will admit its always funny to secure an backstab Opportunist kill - especially with Sparksmaster where you can get the ever-elusive but HIGHLY satisfying double opportunity attack kill (simultaneously killing the enemy you hit and the enemy who caught a stray Spark) - even if in most fights its a dead talent.
3. Picture of Health - sounds tempting since we take several Warfare points so the boost feels "free," but more health doesn't actually do anything for the build and it comes at the cost of a whole talent point.

If you truly want to follow a build guide and don't want to build for yourself off of this skeleton, or otherwise, SinTee offers a pretty solid one.

FINAL NOTE

This one did technically come quicker than the Hydro/Aero one did in comparison. So that is something. Again, no promises this series ever gets completed. That said, if you have a preference for what build I write up next, then feel free to let me know and maybe that will incentivize me to do this quicker? But again, no promises that more of these even come out. But who knows.

If you are interested in reading any of the other How To posts in the "series," please see below. I will try to remember to keep including these as we go:

Strength Melee ("Knight")

Geo/Pyro

Daggers ("Rogue")

Hydro/Aero

And because I will probably never do a Summoning Guide because Speed's write up on the subject is highly comprehensive and it seems silly to essentially re-tread the same ground, this is Speed's Summoning Doc.

And also here is my Necro Cheat Sheet which is far less comprehensive or polished than what these posts look like, but I do end up linking it pretty often in comments when people ask about Necro.