New to Larian games

[Misa]

Should I play Divinity 1 and 2 first or just jump into BG3?

[Hollow-Enigma]

Doesn't really matter. Go with which looks most engaging to you if you are going to spend. Besides they aren't related, just divinity 1 and 2 are in the same universe but also have rather separate stories.

[Conker]

bg 3 shapes up to be the most polished one
you can play them in any order youd like

but dos 1+2 are a blast too

its a different ruleset though if that matters to you at all

short answer : just pick the one you fancy most

[Paddy]

Graphically is BG3 much better than DOS2. Which one has the more engaging story?

Also which one has the best combat?

[Megiddo]

I'm also a bit curious here. I have DOS and DOS2 in my library, but haven't played them much. To avoid spoiling overmuch, I avoided playing BG3EA. I know that the rule sets for these titles are different, but is the basic game play in Baldur's Gate 3 completely different than what it is like in DOS and/or DOS2? Or would playing either of those titles give me a decent feel of how things will work in Baldur's Gate 3? I'm most specifically wondering about how things that are happening in real time will work for Baldur's Gate 3. I've heard a lot of conflicting information here. Would playing DOS and/or DOS2 show me exactly how the things that happen in real time will work in Baldur's Gate 3? Or do they work entirely differently here?

[cire87]

just wait for full release , dont worry about the older games

[VastGirth]

All their games are great but DoS2 is a big improvement over 1, but I also expect BG3 to be another big improvement. At this point you may as well wait the few more days....

[Nilserrich]

Divinity and Baldur's Gate have nothing to do with each other in terms of lore and story. Divinity has its own universe developed by Larian. Baldurs Gate is set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe by Wizards of the Coast.

Technically, however, there are some similarities. You can immediately tell that you are playing a Larian game. I don't think it's necessary to have played the Divinity games to get started with BG.

[Damage Case]

well...BG3 is set in the D&D setting. DOS1 and 2 have nothing to do with this. That said, they have the similarity of being turn-based-games in a fantasy setting, all of them. We expect from BG3 to be something like a super-production but, DOS1 and 2 were, also, milestones of the RPGs. You want a personal opinion? Jump on the hype-train and go for BG3 first. if you like it, then go for the DOS games (as said: this is my personal opinion only)

[FunkyMonkey]

Divinity and BG will feel like Larian games, but will play very differently. Divinity has a classless leveling system, BG has class leveling system. Divinity has it's own combat system, BG is inspired by D&D 5e ruleset.

Most importantly though, in both games, it's very important to be able to talk with animals.

[Damage Case]

Originally posted by Megiddo:

I'm also a bit curious here. I have DOS and DOS2 in my library, but haven't played them much. To avoid spoiling overmuch, I avoided playing BG3EA. I know that the rule sets for these titles are different, but is the basic game play in Baldur's Gate 3 completely different than what it is like in DOS and/or DOS2? Or would playing either of those titles give me a decent feel of how things will work in Baldur's Gate 3? I'm most specifically wondering about how things that are happening in real time will work for Baldur's Gate 3. I've heard a lot of conflicting information here. Would playing DOS and/or DOS2 show me exactly how the things that happen in real time will work in Baldur's Gate 3? Or do they work entirely differently here?

well, BG3 is based on the 5th edition of D&D. So, expect to see differences in the set rules between BG3 and DOS 1/2. Also, the ambientation is completely different, 'cause we are talking about different fantasy settings. The common points are that they are all fantasy RPGs and that they are all turn-based. Pick your poison! (I already advised the OP for going with BG3 first but, again, this is just my personal opinion)

[Chiryuu]

Originally posted by Misa:

Should I play Divinity 1 and 2 first or just jump into BG3?

AFAIK divinity 1 sucks hard if we are talking about qol. Divinity 2 is much better with that, so if anything - play divinity 2 and bg3 or just bg3, don't play divinity 1.

[Nilserrich]

Originally posted by FunkyMonkey:

Most importantly though, in both games, it's very important to be able to talk with animals.

That's so true

[Megiddo]

To be more clear, I'm wondering if playing DOS or DOS2 will give me a good idea of how the basic game play mechanics are going to work here. I'm sure that there will be some differences with the different rule sets being used, but I'm meaning with how the party mechanics work, how things happening in real time that cannot properly be paused work...those sorts of things that don't really have anything to do with the D&D rule set.

[Bloodwest]

D:OS and BG3 are completely different games even though on the surface they have some "striking" similarities e.g. interface, graphics, genre. Your experience in BG3 will be useless in D:OS and vice versa so enjoy all of them.

[Chiryuu]

Originally posted by Megiddo:

To be more clear, I'm wondering if playing DOS or DOS2 will give me a good idea of how the basic game play mechanics are going to work here. I'm sure that there will be some differences with the different rule sets being used, but I'm meaning with how the party mechanics work, how things happening in real time that cannot properly be paused work...those sorts of things that don't really have anything to do with the D&D rule set.

It might give you some idea, but still BG3, even though it looks like a copy paste of Divinity, it's still differen game.
But you can try, combat wise it will be a bit similar.