Honor Mode Speedrun

Get the honor mode achievement for D:OS EE fast and "relatively" easily (two or three high stake and difficulty moments, the rest is easy).

It's more or less a 90 minutes run, more if you are not familiar with the game.

Written for Divinity: Original Sin Extended Edition v2.0.119.430

The basics

This guide is a speedrun of Honor Mode. Most of it is fairly easy.

I think it's funnier this way to get the achievement if you already beat the game in Tactician, as there's next to no difference and it might be better than just play a safe but tedious and long Honor game. At least, if you screw up you only lost a fraction of the time of a regular run =)

If you want to see a run under 45 minutes, you can check Kruulos' achievement guide. The video is at the very bottom.

During this guide, you will pick up a lot of heavy barrels. If you're meant to keep using the same character but this character becomes slow-moving or stuck, quickly offload (I will use this as keyword when you should force an offload) your heavy stuff onto your other character. Your main character should be able to pick up 5 Barrels before slowing down. Keep that in mind.

Some passages will require you to use Invisibility (Walk in Shadows). It's generally better to use Fast Track and then Invisibility than Invisibility alone, however do not do the opposite as it breaks Invisibility. Take the habit of doing Fast Track + Walk in Shadows when I say Invisibility, unless it's just to kill somebody (doesn't happen often).

I will often tell you to regroup your party: it means in most cases that you have to use the Pyramid to regroup where one of your two character currently is (use the Pyramid on the other one).

In case of a mistake, for instance if combat is initiated when you didn't expect it, you can use quickloading to reload your previous save before enemies attack you, if you manage to quickload during their animations. You can quicksave often (and very importantly the few times I'll tell you so), maybe just don't do it during dialogs as it's been reported it can crash your game.

Lastly, it is advised to reduce clutter in the inventory: throw away the stuff you don't need, and put the important stuff in backpacks. Move the items you will use during combat in your quickbar.

Character creation

Select two inquisitors (you want the fire wands).

One will be your primary character, which you will control most of the time and explore.
The other will typically just hold an obscene amount of barrels in his inventory and do nothing.

Edit each of them, and remove all their attributes/abilities/talents.

Give your primary character (the most beautiful!):

• 8 DEXTERITY and 7 STRENGTH
  
• Abilitites: 1 in scoundrel, hydrosophist, telekinesis, lockpicking and pickpocketing.
  
• Talents: Lonewolf and Packmule
  
• Skills: Walk in shadows and Fast Tracks from scoundrel, Regeneration from hydrosophist

Give the other:

• 8 DEXTERITY and 7 CONSTITUTION
  
• Abilitites: 1 in scoundrel and aerothurge, 2 in telekinesis
  
• Talents: Lonewolf and Packmule
  
• Skills: Walk in shadows and Fast Tracks from scoundrel, Teleportation from aerothurge

Start the game.

Cyseal

Run straight North, until you reach some stairs and stop there. You can see Leandra, and behind her the door to the tutorial area. Unlink your characters and select your secondary character. Use invisibility and click on the Tutorial door to give the order to enter there. While he's moving, select your primary character.

With your primary character, keep heading NorthWest (after Leandra moved away), until you meet some drunk guards who stop you. Say you want to leave at the first opportunity, and they will invite you to follow them. Accept and keep moving NorthWest. Along the way, pick the Water Barrel. An autosave trigger. You will have to use invisibility to get to the town's door, and pick the two Oil barrel on the way. Once you reach the (locked door), activate sneaking mode and switch to the other character.

The secondary character is inside the tutorial zone. Just run, move the crates that block your way, and once you pass the trap, head to the south chest and grab the lockpicks. Then go east and open the secret door with the hidden button. Smash the wooden door with your wands (CTRL + click). Keep moving, and you will find yourself in a room with fire on the ground and a Rain scroll that you should pick up and use on the fire area. Grab the 4 Water barrel, send the lockpicks to your main character and switch character.

Back to your main character. Lockpick Cyseal's door, pick the Water Barrel nearby and go to the first Cyseal Portal. Nearby, you'll see an Oil Barrel and 2 Water Barrels.
Inside the building, there's also 3 Water Barrels that you can steal with one use of invisibility.

Barrel count: 14 (weight 840+)

Exit the bulding and keep heading NorthWest then engage in the long stairs. Once you've reached upstairs at the fountain, head South. In each of the two sheep enclosure, there's one Water Barrel. The bigger enclosure belong to Thelyron house, enter it.

Barrel count: 16 (weight 960+)

Approach the other exit of the building, and use invisibility to grab the Water Barrel, exit the building, and grab 3 additionals Water Barrel that are near the merchants and Bertia plus Jerome's paintings. Then, talk to Fletcher, the marksmanship merchant, and buy her a Smokescreen arrow. If there's none, buy a Smokescreen arrowhead and an arrowshaft.

Barrel count: 20 (weight 1200+)

Head back to Thelyron's house, and go in Evelynn's room, and spam talk to her: you should have made a pragmatic choice, granting you a crafting bonus, and you find yourself teleported to the End of Time.

Talk to Zixxzaxx, inspect the telescope (you can cancel cinematics), talk to Zixxzaxx again, enter the portal and follow him. He will automatically talk a lot with the Weaver of Time, once it's over, talk to him again and tell him you want to leave. A new icon will appear to your screen, which allow you to teleport yourself to Portals. Go back to where your secondary character is stuck. Once grouped, you can teleport to Cyseal's North Gate.

Arhu jumps on you. Tell him you wanna leave. He gives you the Red Teleportation Pyramid. Give it to your main character, and put it on your quickbar (remove the Magus Staff spell). Do not use it yet.

Head towards the West. There's a Water Barrel up some stair (where Eglandaer stands), another one aside the Mortician's house, one in the crafting area (upstair after Mortician's house), and one near the West Gate (where there are guards).

Barrel count: 24 (weight 1440+)

Cross the West Gate, but don't engage the zombies. Go past them with invisibility (grab the Water Barrel) up until the house with a lot of skelettons, where you see 2 Water Barrels and 2 Poison Barrels. Don't pick them as invisibility will fade, and enter in sneaking mode behind the wall. Offload your barrels to your secondary character. If you didn't buy a smokescreen arrow but an arrowhead and an arrowshaft, combine them now to make one, and put it somewhere in your quickbar. This arrow is a good candidate for your backpack.

Once invisibility cooldown's up again, grab the 4 visible barrels there plus 2 underneath the building's roof, then use the pyramid. You're teleported in some woman's house: lose the Rock/Paper/Scissor game, pick up the Blue Pyramid and send it to your secondary character, and put it in the quickbar aswell.

Barrel count: 31 (weight 1860+)

Exit the house and head South, to the market, and approach the fish seller. Regroup there, then approach the poor hungry couple leering the fish. Be honest and don't let them steal to gain a Leadership bonus and the Righteous trait.

Then, head to the Inn, directly North, and don't talk to the guy at the door (just skip). Enter, use invisibility to steal the Water Barrel in the entrance, and head downstairs. There's two Water Barrel in the Inn's cave. Head upstairs to the second floor, and check the Scoundrel merchant: buy her the Winged Feet Skillbook. Once it's done, use invisibility again, grab the Water Barrel near the stair, and Teleport to Cyseal: North Gate.

Barrel count: 35 (weight 2100+)

Move to the East, where you see guard's tents. There will be a Water Barrel beside the first building, and more importantly a Decorated Chest hidden between this building and the nearby wall. Grab it and send it to your secondary character.

Keep moving East until you see a noisy woman in a prison. It's Baidotr. Steal her Bow sitting on the bench nearby, and head SouthWest. Grab the Water Barrel on the way, and stop at the demolished house with the beggar. Regroup there, then talk to this beggar. This should trigger a dialogue between your characters: pick the Spiritual choice, which will grant you fear immunity.

Barrel count: 36 (weight 2160+)

Head back to Baidotr's prison, and then North, to the town gate. Ask the guards to open it, and move North, towards the Mill. NorthEast of the Mill you'll have to use Invisibility to get past the Fire skelettons. You want to head North. Offload your main character. There's 3 Water Barrels along the way and once you reach the Poison Barrel, stop there and activate sneaking. If you see the giant fire tree, don't approach it, otherwise move North while sneaking. As soon as you get invisibility back, use it and continue North until the Portal, a Starstone and the exit bridge.

Barrel count: 40 (weight 2400+)

Regroup there, and exit the area.

Luculla

Arhu will talk to you. If you still have painting and useless items, you can trade them for Resurection Scrolls. Head NorthEast, then North to get to Silverglen and get an Oil Barrel along the way. Inside Silverglen, another Oil Barrel. Head towards the house with the purple flags.

Barrel count: 42 (weight 2520+)

Save your game.

Enter the house with the purple flag. Loïc will greet you, but you realize you're in a sect church, so refuse to talk to this guy and don't even try his faith test. Regroup there, make your main character exit the building, and make sure you've offloaded all barrels to the secondary character.

Switch to your secondary character. Put all the barrels inside the decorated chest, and drop the chest on the floor. The heretic doesn't seem impressed and keeps proletyzing, so use invisibility and smite him by dropping the divine chest on his face (just drag and drop the chest - Telekinesis is a passive ability that lets you do that).

There is only one god: Astarte. The followers in the church don't seem perturbed, nor should they since it was only justice.

Pick your chest back up, and switch to your main character.

Enter the church with your main character, and pick up the ex-heretic keys on the ground. There's a chance you will find an Immaculate Amulet aswell. If you do, equip it. Then head downstairs. You can grab the two blood stone there (if you use them you resurrect and fully heal your party). Use the portal, and get teleported somewhere else in Luculla. Move down the spirally road, and head to the East. If you reach the Immaculate Portal (Sacred Stone), go South and locate the exit Bridge to the Phantom Forest area.

Regroup there, and exit the area.

Hunter Edge

Once you change area, Zixzaxx appears and say some nonsense. He's just crazy and we have stuff to do.

Move south until the green gloomy tree, and then go West until you reach the Portal. Once you're at the Portal, go South. Keep going South until you findsome funny looking bulb/plants, with a rocky brige nearby and several Sea Spiders. Use invisbility to cross the rocky bridge, and try to keep moving South, SouthEast. If you get damaged by a trap, heal yourself before continuing.


You will reach a Skeletton Merchant who engage a conversation with you. You don't like undead phenomenon, but there's more pressing matters and he doesn't look dangerous right now, so cut it short.

Save your game.

If you got the Immaculate Amulet, just head South and talk to the Gate Guards and show your amulet. Otherwise, you will have to give the Chest treatment to the three of them, and get their key (don't forget to pick your chest back up).

Once the door is open, enter the town. Once you're at the bloody fountain, head SouthWest to reach the Hunter Egde Portal, and then a Strange Boulder. Regroup near the Boulder and throw one Fireball on it with both your characters (their fire wands grant them this spell).

Select your main character, and head back to the bloody fountain. Go SouthEast but don't enter buildings or open any door, pick the 4 barrels on the way, and you should arrive at the Magician's house. SouthEast of his garden, you'll find Bee hives, and in one of them is a key.

Barrel count: 46 (weight 2760+)

Save your game.

Use your pyramid to get back to the boulder, and launch again one Fireball each, then finish the boulder by auto-attacking (CTRL + click). A secret cave appears, which you can enter in with your newfound key. People inside will talk to you. Approach the father, use invisibility and activate sneaking mode, then pickpocket his Activation Crystal.

Use the Portal in the room, and once you've changed area, DO NOT MOVE.

Regroup both your characters there. And select your main character. Move upstair while avoiding the traps. On the second floor, don't move and examine where the traps are. Typically in front of most door, so enter through the sides. You want to enter the South room. Go there by avoiding the traps, and light the 4 candlelights. Use the portal.

In the next room, activate the lever and stay between the Portal and the lever. Examine the traps again, and now you want to go to the last room.

In the last room, activate the lever, which will desactivate all the traps. In the room with all the ninja traps, loot the jewellry box to find the Spectral Amulet inside. Equip it and Teleport to Phantom Forest: Cascade.

Save your game.

Phantom Forest

If you have attributes points, invest in CONSTITUTION on both characters.

From the Phantom Forest: Cascade waypoint, go East and, with your Phantom Protection Amulet equipped, cross the gloomy green tree/bridge. Arhu will babble again, you can pass.

Keep going East, and you will encounter a dead Immaculate body, and then a little bit to the NorthEast a giant Titan head (big statue). East to that statue, there's a wooden bridge. Stop when you see the bridge (not close), and Save.


This area is trapped, avoid walking in the center of the road. There's a patrolling demon, but you first want to grab the Oil Barrel first (avoid center of road). Regroup there, and kill the demon with your Chest. Don't fret if the chest activate traps, it's a solid one. Don't forget to pick your loaded chest back up.

Barrel count: 47

Head NorthEast and grab the 2 Water Barrels on the way and use the pyramid to get back where you killed the demon. He was patrolling near a metallic gate.

Barrel count: 49 (weight 2940+)

Approach the door but not too close (trap), and regroup there. Use the Teleportation spell on your secondary character to make your main character cross the door as far as possible. Inside, walk on the Red square so it turns green, and pyramid back.

Go South. If your screen is trembling, use invisibility and keep going. As soon as you can, head East, use invisibility if not active, and follow closely the walls until you arrive at another metallic door. Activate sneaking mode on both your characters and regroup there.

Save your game and BE CAREFUL NOW.


Same trick with the Teleportation spell: try to place your main character close to the Water Barrel, but not too close. Grab the 2 Oil Barrels first, then the Water Barrel and the Poison Barrel.
Stand on the non oily part of the stairs and don't move anymore. Regroup there.

Barrel count: 53 (weight 3180+)

Wait for your Teleportation spelll cooldown to resume, and use it to teleport your main character close to the door below, between the lever and the red square. Once done, select your main character, activate the lever and walk on the red square to turn it green.

Select your secondary character, offload to your main, and click on the key on the crate box. Should pick it up without activating trap or enemies.

Switch back to your main character. Offload. Now's the time to learn the Winged Feet spell.

In the next room, there are sentinels that force you to move only under invisibility, and you will not want to walk on the vent trap, nor between them. Walk on the outer borders. Use Winged Feet and invisibility to place yourself on the big button on the ground nearby and activate sneaking on both of your character, then regroup there. Your secondary character must stand on this giant button.

Examine the room: on the diagonal side, there's another room with a metallic door, and inside you can see two scrolls, an Oil Barrel, a Water Barrel, a square button on the ground and a Sentinel Statue. That's where you wanna go, but the Sentinel will pop lava between it and the square button.

Wait for Winged Feet to be available again. Once it's up, use Winged Feet, Fast track and Invisibility to get to the other room, by walking on the outer edges of the room, and there stand on the red square for it to turn green, then move away from the lava and grab the barrels.

Barrel count: 55 (weight 3300+)

Wait for your cooldowns to resume again, and use them to exit this zone through the stairs SouthEast (an autosave triggers). There's a demon patrol there, cross him and go West then stop when you think the demon is far from you. Keep your distance from him if he follows.

South of the Demon patrolling route (not where you see poison), there's a Portal. Click on it to be sure to activate it, and regroup there.

And save.


Head back East side of the demon's patrol route, and follow that path to the North. Stop when you see fire (there's traps). Examine that room: there's a Wooden statue, a lever and two Water Barrels. If you stand too close to the statue, you are silenced and can't use spells. Use Winged Feet and enter the room through the side (not between the fire), activate the lever first, get the barrel, and then go through the metallic door that the lever opened.


Barrel count: 57


Farther, 4 Barrels. Pick the water one first. In this place, you will find 3 statues: a warrior, a fish and a lady. Move these statues on the fitting pedestal near the center of this place, and activate the lever. Enter the Portal that just popped, walk on the last (4th) red square to turn it green and use the green portal to get back.

Barrel count: 61

Still in the same place, you should see a big door with 4 green symbols (if you missed red square buttons, some symbols might be red). There's a lever near the door, activate it to open it then stand back at the bottom of the stairs. Examine the room: big demon in the center, behind him the entrance to the Source Temple, and 4 Oil barrels.
Offload your main character, use Winged Feet, Fast Track and invisibility to get the barrels then move closest to the door and activate sneaking mode.

Barrel count: 65 (weight 3900+)

Drop your pyramid on the ground, and offload your barrels to your secondary character. Load all barrels in the chest, and send it to your main character. Select your main character again, and drop the Chest. Activate invisibility, and move the Chest close to the boss. If you're slow, don't try to kill him yet and wait for another invisibility.

Hurt the boss with the chest (you'll enter combat because you need to drop the chest on the boss twice to kill him), this will activate combat but enemies won't do anything. When it's your turn finish the boss and get back downstair, closest to the door. If you haven't dropped your pyramid on the ground yet, do it. Flee the battle, this will teleport you to the Phantom Forest: Swamp portal.

Go East. Quickly stop at the deer. Further east, there's a patrolling giant tree that goes north and south. Use Fast Track and invisibility to head to the South, South-East. As soon as you see a house, know that it's possible to enter just with sneaking. You can enter the house in one go, or with a break and wait for invisibility to come back up, or use sneaking.

Inside the house, save, then go downstairs.
A Stone Elemental is imprisonned by a man. Not our business, talk to the man but don't say you want to fight or anything like that. The man is ready to exchange a Rune if you kill the big demon Axaloth, which you just did. So get the Rune.

Select your secondary character, activate sneaking mode then use his pyramid. You will be back to the Temple entrance. Use invisibility to pick up your precious chest, and use the pyramid to get back to the door. Pick up the other pyramid that is on the ground, and send it back to its rightful owner.

Regroup there, and enter the temple.

Source Temple

Inside the Temple, head North and click on the button on the boulder wall to open the way. Keep moving until the door with a face. You can talk to it but I wouldn't bother. Regroup there, and drop your pyramid on the ground, then move it to the other side of the door (find a place where you can). Your other character can teleport on it and cross the door without needing any starstone, pick it back up and send it back to the owner.



Don't approach the doors and go North-West until you find candles on the ground. Light them all except the central one and wait. Then light the central one. Then the central one, the one near the empty bookcase on the wall, and the one opposite to it (making a line from where you came from to the bookcase). Secret door opens, continue to find Zandalor.

Talk to Zandalor, he will wait for you in the End of Time.

So go there.

Original Garden - The end

Teleport to the End of Time, and follow Zixxzaxx to the entrance of the Original Garden. Regroup and talk to him. Enter.

From now on, your Pyramids won't work anymore. If you want to regroup, you'll have to juggle the loaded chest between characters.

You also have two blood stones to quick rez and heal your whole party, on top of whatever Resurection Scrolls are left.

Say whatever Leandra wants to hear to her Portals to be allowed to use them. Once you're in the Inn, go downstairs. In the cave, get the key in the book. Go back upstairs, open the door and click on the purple stuff. You'll be teleported from room to room. Once you're in the room with the blue forcefield, talk to the dude then click on the fish and wait. The door will open. 1 Oil Barrel in this room, 5 Water Barrels in the next room.

Barrel count: 71 (weight 4260+)

In Astarte room, just auto attack her with your fire wand. Fetch the key from her remains and continue through your way. The first final boss is waiting for you in the room you will unlock, so prepare yourself:

On both characters

• Take the Bigger Better and the All Skilled Up talents
  
• Invest all attributes points in CONSTITUTION.
  
• Invest in the leadership ability so you get to 4 total (both your character should have the Honest trait, so you only need 6 Ability points to get 3 leadership base).
  
• Invest the rest of your ability points in Telekinesis. You should have 4 or 5 total in Telekinesis.

The BIG BLUE MONSTER BOSS

You don't need your two characters. Walk until you see a green ghost from afar, approach carefully, and once you talk to the ghost, retreat. The boss will spawn, but you won't enter combat. Send the chest to your current character, and drop it on the ground. Use invisibility and drop the chest on the boss once or twice. That's it.

Pick up your chest before attacking the orb! Otherwise you will lose the chest and the whole run.

Break the Orb with your wands. Doing so will lead you to the next pair of rooms and the second boss.

LEANDRA


Zandalor will talk to you.

After he's done, equip Baidotr's Bow on your main character, make sure you've put your Smokescreen arrow in your quickbar, relink your characters, and then save your game.

Get to the next room. You will arrive in the Leandra area. Do NOT approach her yet.
If you notice Zandalor is following you, activate sneaking mode and he will stop.

Drop your chest on the ground. You need both your characters to be able to move.

You will need to use your smokescreen arrow to block Leandra vision, then approach her, and when you will do that, all your character will be teleported too close for comfort and enter in dialog with Leandra. You want to end the dialog quickly and RETREAT BOTH of your characters far away as fast as possible, before the smokescreen disappears. If you engage combat, you will be able to reload the game as Leandra has the first turn, is kinda slow and does no damage.

Anyway, in QUICK Succession:

• Fire a Smokescreen arrow in front of Leandra, at the bottom of the stairs.
  
• Approach Leandra, this will trigger a dialog that you MUST end fast.
  
• Retreat with both your characters fast. Zandalor will be following you again, which is good considering how close he stands to Leandra.
  
• If you didn't engage combat, all is good, otherwise reload fast.

Once you're in control, unlink the characters again, approach the chest, enter in invisibility and oneshot her with the chest. Pick up the chest after your nasty deed.

Leandra drops a special wand: equip it in place of your bow. It will grant you a new spell. Use that spell on the portal to be able to go to the next room, and the final boss: the Void Dragon.


The VOID DRAGON

Save the game.

Before fighting the Void Dragon, you will encounter Special Deathknights that you can oneshot safely from afar with Leandra's wand (it gives you a special spell). If you engage combat with them, reload. You can kill them without engaging combat.

After killing them, you should have levelled up. Make sure you get 5 Telekinesis on both characters (it's likely you can).


Once you reach the final room (with a big unique chest in the center, the God Box), the game will autosave.
Don't enter in this room yet, as your secondary character is still stuck with the chest. Send it to your main character, then drop it on the ground near the final room and bring your secondary character too.

Select your main character, make sure he doesn't have the chest in his inventory, and run towards the right side of the God Box, slightly past it (you should stand farther from the entrance than the chest is) . Astarte will appear and talk to the closest character. DO NOT REPLY and select the other character. You're free to move where you want, and free to move the chest where you want. As long as you don't terminate the dialog, the fight will not begin.

Move the chest behind the God Box, and place the other character on the left side of the God Box. The chest should lay between both your characters.

Once you feel ready, end the dialog, and the fight will begin.

The Void Dragon will appear, but he's probably unable to kill anyone in the first turn. You will be able to act soon after the Void Dragon. Once it's your turn, kill the Void Dragon with the Chest.

If you don't succeed in killing the Void Dragon in the first turn, reload. It takes a little bit of experience to hurt the Void Dragon each time you move the Chest (once you notice you hurt him, move the chest as minimally as possible and it will hurt again).

He should die in two or three hits.

Congratulations, there's nothing but fluff left before your achievement.

[intjbill]

COMMET

[intjbill]

also if you like Spiffing Brit content, please tell him on his youtube comments about doing a dos ee 1 video or stream.

[intjbill]

also great guild you, have, i would make a one with my blood stone exploit, but i look kind of complacent, like the copyright thing for making guild stuff, then i thought i thought well if just make a comment underneath your guild i could have people see it, and maybe have a somebody else make a guild for my exploat.

[intjbill]

j

[intjbill]

hello anybody there

[intjbill]

sorry my gramar is bad, i just not putting a lot of work into it, at least you can be level 40 or 55 if you want

[intjbill]

I found a Exploit, Witch allow me to become level 63, All you need is a companion like madora and a blood-stone in a container like a chest or backpack, and then use Madora to use the stone inside, this would allow you to have infinity amount of uses with stone, winch mean unlimited xp Harvest. this with a noth patience will allow you to be, any level you want, also to get stone very early on you need to Kill evenly before she heals two men to get blood stone now, you can do that by making a heavy chest and lad it on her feet.

[lmzzi]

Epic run even while guided :) Thanks for the guide.
I only played honour mode & lost all my parties badly (mainly those bloody traps & not knowing about the 'abuse save' feature) so I gave your guide a go.
I still died countless times & the dragon 'swipe' i found tricky but it helps to read properly!
Thanks again.

[BoriorZ]

Thanks for the guide.
Was missing only 2 achievements, tactitian and honnor mod.
I had just started a legit honnor run, but since i had a character die on each of the first 2 fights, i though it would go poorly. With more than 80 hours for my first game, doing that for nothing would have broken me xD
Thanks for that great guide!

[Turncloak]

Awesome, so fun killing people with a loaded chest.