Billy O

I like Divinity a lot but the environmental effects are a bit overdone. I prefer what we have seen of PoE.

Agree to disagree I suppose. I'll grant you repetitive but the challenge was certainly there. Any encounter could kill you if mismanaged. And it was certainly not just press attack, you needed to tank, heal, focus fire, etc. I have played some of the old IE games but not to completion just due to issues with the interface aging so poorly and they may have very well been more difficult than DA:O. I'm fine with more enemy variety/difficulty in encounters, I was just making the point that DA:O was in no way a button masher.

Do you mean Dragon Age 2? DA:O had some of the best combat I've ever experienced in a single player RPG.

Human Druid or Elf Ranger. After plating Divinity I wish more games will allow you to create two characters. Not necessarily for role playing, but just so I can create two complimentary characters right from the start. I think it encourages you to be unique with unusual builds when you can build a second character designed to compliment their strengths and cover for their weaknesses.

Do we know the setting and timing of the Novella? Has it been said that it takes place concurrently with the main story? A year prior? A thousand years prior?

Do we know if this will be released prior to the game? I remember when Dragon Age; Origins came out a novel was released a month or so before. I'd like to read the novella before release to get a feel for the world and its lore before i play the game.