The Eternal Warrior is one of the most powerful and well-rounded melee builds in Divinity: Original Sin 2. It excels in both offense and defense, utilizing necromancer lifesteal to replenish magic armor while dealing devastating physical damage. If you’re looking for a warrior build that can withstand punishment and keep on swinging, this is the ultimate choice.

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Why Choose the Eternal Warrior Build?

✅ Extreme survivability – Lifesteal + Living Armor replenishes magic armor. ✅ Massive two-handed damage – Focuses on Warfare and Necromancer for maximum output. ✅ Crowd control – Uses AoE knockdowns and atrophy to keep enemies disabled. ✅ No reliance on healing potions – Passively heals while dealing damage. ✅ Great mobility – Utilizes multiple gap closers for engaging combat.

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Attribute Allocation

Primary Focus:

• Strength – Increases Warfare skill damage.
• Intelligence (3-4 points max) – Allows hybrid armor use.
• Memory (As Needed) – For equipping essential skills.

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Armor & Gear Priorities

Eternal Warriors should use a mix of Strength & Intelligence-based armor to maintain a balance of physical and magic armor:

1. Prioritize High Armor Values – Survivability is key.
2. Look for bonuses in this order:
   • Warfare → Necromancer → Two-Handed → Wits.
3. Weapon Choice:
   • Two-handed sword/axe/mace – Higher damage = more lifesteal.
   • Prioritize: Critical chance, lifesteal, Warfare bonuses.
   • Weapon with rune slots is ideal for additional boosts.

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Abilities & Skill Distribution

Efficiently allocating ability points is crucial for maximizing survivability and damage:

• Max Warfare (20) – Increases all physical damage.
• Necromancer (10-12) – Grants lifesteal, replenishes magic armor.
• Polymorph (3-5) – Unlocks key skills like Skin Graft.
• Hydrosophist (1-2) – Grants Armor of Frost for magic armor restoration.
• Aerotheurge (1-2) – Unlocks Uncanny Evasion for dodging attacks.
• Scoundrel (1) – Unlocks Adrenaline for extra AP.

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Best Talents for the Eternal Warrior

✔ Opportunist – Extra attacks when enemies move near you. ✔ Living Armor – Lifesteal replenishes magic armor. ✔ Executioner – Bonus AP on kills, keeping momentum in fights. ✔ Hothead – Increases crit chance and accuracywhen at full health. ✔ The Pawn – Boosts mobility, allowing for better positioning.

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Best Skills for the Eternal Warrior

The Eternal Warrior is a mix of Warfare, Necromancer, and Polymorph skills, with some utility from Hydrosophist and Aerotheurge.

Core Warfare Skills

✔ Battle Stomp – AoE knockdown and surface clearing. ✔ Battering Ram – Gap closer + knockdown. ✔ Whirlwind– Massive AoE damage. ✔ Challenge – Grants bonus physical/magic armor & 15% more damage. ✔ Phoenix Dive– Jump into combat + fire immunity.

Core Necromancer Skills

✔ Bone Cage – Boosts physical armor based on nearby corpses. ✔ Vampiric Hunger – Boosts lifesteal, replenishing magic armor. ✔ Living on the Edge – Prevents death for 2 turns.

Polymorph & Utility Skills

✔ Bull Rush – Strong gap closer with physical damage. ✔ Skin Graft – Resets cooldowns instantly. ✔ Uncanny Evasion – Dodge incoming attacks. ✔ Teleportation – Reposition enemies for better AoE control. ✔ Armor of Frost– Restores magic armor, removes status effects. ✔ Adrenaline – Grants extra AP, at the cost of 2 AP next turn.

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Combat Strategy & Playstyle

1. Engage with a gap closer
   • Use Phoenix Dive, Bull Rush, or Battering Ram to jump into combat.
   • Target multiple enemies to maximize AoE control.
2. Strip enemy armor & lifesteal
   • Open with Whirlwind or Battle Stomp to strip physical armor.
   • Once armor is gone, attack aggressively to heal magic armor via Living Armor.
3. Use Challenge for extra armor & damage boost
   • Activate Challenge before a big fight.
   • Grants bonus physical/magic armor + 15% damage.
4. Use Bone Cage & Vampiric Hunger as needed
   • Bone Cage boosts physical armor, keeping you tanky.
   • Vampiric Hunger provides extra healing while attacking.
5. Reset cooldowns with Skin Graft
   • When needed, use Skin Graft to reset key abilities like Whirlwind, Phoenix Dive, and Challenge.

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Additional Tips & Variations

✅ Use teleportation to pull enemies into AoE attacks. ✅ Always save 1 AP for a defensive skill at the end of each turn. ✅ Avoid sword & shield – you need high damage for optimal lifesteal. ✅ Elves are ideal due to Flesh Sacrifice (extra AP & damage boost). ✅ Undead works well too since lifesteal keeps them alive without potions.

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Final Thoughts & Summary

The Eternal Warrior is an unstoppable melee powerhouse, combining aggressive physical damage with lifesteal-based survivability. By carefully balancing offense and defense, you can crush enemies without worrying about healing or magic armor replenishment.

Key Takeaways: ✅ Max Warfare & Necromancer for optimal damage & healing. ✅ Use gap closers (Phoenix Dive, Bull Rush) to stay mobile. ✅ Save 1 AP per turn for defensive abilities (Uncanny Evasion, Bone Cage). ✅ Always prioritize armor values over stat bonuses. ✅ Use Skin Graft to reset cooldowns for sustained damage.

If you enjoyed this build, check out our other powerful build guides covering Mage, Rogue, Summoner, and Rangerarchetypes!

🔹 Good luck, Sorcerers—Rivellon is counting on you!