Divinity Original Sin 2: Ultimate Red Prince Battlemage Guide

The Red Prince is one of the most distinctive origin characters in Divinity: Original Sin 2. As a proud lizard noble with a flair for fire, he’s naturally suited to a build that blends brutal melee combat with explosive magic. This guide walks you through turning him into a durable, high-damage battlemage who burns away armor, controls crowds, and anchors the front line.

This article assumes you want the Red Prince as an aggressive hybrid: part warrior, part fire mage, with a splash of support from other schools. You can still adapt the ideas here if you’re playing him as a companion rather than your main character.

Why the Red Prince Makes a Great Battlemage

The Red Prince’s racial traits and starting tools naturally push him toward a fiery frontline role:

• Lizard racial bonuses give him innate fire resistance and a unique source ability (Demonic Stare) that fits a tanky, in-your-face playstyle.
• His story and personality lean into domination and control, which pair nicely with a character who dictates the battlefield with both weapons and spells.
• Unlike a fragile pure mage, a battlemage Red Prince can soak damage while still outputting significant magical pressure.

In practice, combining Warfare (for physical damage and mobility) with Pyrokinetic (for fire damage and buffs) gives you a flexible build that works in almost any party composition.

Core Build Concept at a Glance

The following overview summarizes the direction this guide will take. You can tweak details, but these pillars define the battlemage Red Prince.

• Primary Attributes: Strength, Intelligence, Constitution
• Main Combat Abilities: Warfare, Pyrokinetic
• Secondary Abilities: Geomancer, Scoundrel (low investment)
• Preferred Weapons: One-handed weapon + shield, or two-handed weapon if you want maximum offense
• Role in Party: Frontline bruiser, fire damage dealer, soft tank, and crowd controller

Offense vs Defense: Two Ways to Arm the Red Prince

Leveling Attributes: Balancing Strength, Intelligence, and Vitality

A battlemage must scale both weapon hits and fire spells. The trick is balancing Strength and Intelligence so you never feel useless in either domain.

Suggested Attribute Distribution

• Strength: Your main early-game focus. It powers melee skills, improves weapon damage, and helps you punch through physical armor.
• Intelligence: Invest regularly as you gain reliable fire abilities. It boosts pyro spells and any other elemental skills you pick up.
• Constitution: Add points gradually to avoid being one-shot, especially if you go two-handed or often stand in hazardous surfaces.
• Memory: Increase whenever you consistently run out of slots for skills you actually use.
• Wits: One or two points later for initiative and crit chance if you want to act earlier in fights.

As a loose guideline by midgame, you might aim for something like roughly 50–60% of your attribute points in Strength, 30–40% in Intelligence, and the rest split between Constitution and Memory. Adjust this if you feel too squishy or if you lean more heavily into magic.

Combat Abilities: Building Your Skill Foundations

Skill point allocation largely determines how your Red Prince performs in combat. We’ll split this into main and secondary abilities.

Main Abilities to Prioritize

• Warfare (Max priority): Every point boosts all physical damage from weapons and Warfare skills. This is the backbone of your melee damage and many of your gap-closing tools.
• Pyrokinetic (High priority): Increases fire damage for your spells and any weapon attacks that deal fire damage. This turns your Red Prince into a walking inferno.

Invest heavily in Warfare early to secure consistent physical damage, then begin ramping up Pyrokinetic once you have access to strong fire skills and enough Intelligence to make them worthwhile.

Secondary Abilities for Utility and Defense

• Geomancer: Just a couple of points give you access to key defensive and control abilities. Geomancer also boosts physical armor, making this especially useful for a frontliner.
• Scoundrel: One or two ranks unlock useful mobility and displacement skills. The crit bonus is nice but not the primary reason you invest here.

Don’t spread too thin. Keep Geomancer and Scoundrel at modest levels, focusing most points on Warfare and Pyrokinetic.

Recommended Skill Picks by School

Below are categories of spells and skills that fit particularly well with the Red Prince battlemage concept. You don’t need all of them at once; pick according to your level, Memory, and party needs.

Key Warfare Skills for Control and Gap Closing

• Movement and initiation:
  • Battering Ram – A line charge that knocks down enemies once their physical armor is gone. Excellent for initiating combat and closing gaps.
  • Blitz Attack – Teleport-like multi-strike that hits multiple targets. Great for jumping into clustered enemies.
  • Phoenix-style leap skill (e.g., Phoenix Dive) – A leap that leaves fire behind and repositions you aggressively.
• Crowd control and disruption:
  • Battle Stomp – Clears ground surfaces and knocks enemies down after their physical armor is broken.
  • Whirlwind – Hits all nearby enemies, synergizing well with being in the middle of the fight.
  • Taunt/Provoke-style skills – Pull attention onto your tanky Red Prince so squishier allies stay safe.
• High-tier damage:
  • Onslaught or similar heavy strike – Devastating single-target finisher once you have the points and gear to support it.

Essential Pyrokinetic Spells

• Buffs and utility:
  • Haste – More AP and movement each turn; cast it on yourself early in fights.
  • Fire-based movement buffs – Any mobility tool that also leaves fire surfaces is ideal for a lizard battlemage.
• Area and surface creation:
  • Ignition-like effects – Ignite all flammable surfaces and enemies around you.
  • Classic fireball-style spells – Far-reaching AoE damage that synergizes with oil and other surfaces.
  • Nova-type explosions – Point-blank detonations that reward you for being in melee range.
• Single-target destruction:
  • Fire lash/whip-style spells – Strong damage on a single foe with modest AP cost.
  • Combustion-type spells – Consume burning effects or surfaces for burst damage.

Helpful Geomancer and Scoundrel Tools

• From Geomancer:
  • Oil and control spells – Create slow-inducing surfaces that you can ignite with your fire skills.
  • Protective spells – Boost physical armor for yourself and allies, reinforcing your frontline role.
• From Scoundrel:
  • Quick repositioning moves – Step behind enemies or escape danger to re-engage elsewhere.
  • Displacement skills – Move enemies into hazardous fire or oil zones your team has created.

Talents That Complement the Red Prince Battlemage

Talents offer powerful passive bonuses that further define your playstyle. Which ones you take first depends on difficulty and team composition, but the following are particularly strong for this build:

• Opportunist: Enables attacks of opportunity when enemies try to disengage. As a frontline melee, you dramatically increase your damage output with this.
• Elemental Affinity (for fire): Reduces the AP cost of fire spells when you stand on a fire surface. With your racial resistance and pyro focus, this can be extremely efficient.
• Comeback-style survival talent (e.g., one that revives you from a killing blow): Useful on higher difficulties if you’re often in the center of chaotic fights.
• Lone Wolf (optional): If you plan to run a small party, this can transform the Red Prince into a monstrous powerhouse, but it changes how you build the whole team.

On a standard four-character run, Opportunist plus an affinity or defensive talent will provide the most reliable value throughout the game.

Gear Priorities: What to Look For on Equipment

Because the Red Prince is juggling both physical and magical roles, you should pay attention to more than just raw armor values.

Weapon and Shield Considerations

• Weapon: Look for Strength-scaling melee weapons with good base damage and, ideally, bonus Warfare or Strength modifiers. Fire damage or pyro bonuses on the weapon are a welcome plus.
• Shield: When using a shield, prioritize high armor values and useful bonuses like extra Constitution, resistances, or ability points (Warfare, Pyrokinetic, or Geomancer).

Armor and Accessories

• Armor pieces: Choose items that provide a solid mix of physical and magical armor. As a battlemage, you can’t afford huge weaknesses in either type.
• Key stats to prioritize:
  • +Strength
  • +Intelligence
  • +Constitution
  • +Warfare or +Pyrokinetic
  • +Resistances, especially fire and poison
• Rings and amulets: These are great slots to stack Pyrokinetic, Intelligence, and critical resistances. Don’t ignore initiative bonuses either.

Tactical Tips: How to Play the Red Prince in Combat

With the build foundations in place, combat becomes about decision-making and positioning. The Red Prince should dictate the flow of battle, not chase it.

Opening the Fight

• Start combat by buffing yourself with Haste or similar effects before fully committing to melee.
• Use gap-closing skills (Battering Ram, Blitz Attack, leap-style skills) to immediately pressure priority targets.
• If enemies are clumped, follow up with fire AoE after allies have stripped armor or applied crowd control to minimize friendly fire risks.

Mid-Fight Positioning

• Stay in the center of the action where your Whirlwind and nova-type spells can hit multiple foes.
• Keep an eye on ground surfaces: stand on fire when it’s safe for Elemental Affinity benefits and to make the most of your fire resistance.
• Use Knockdowns and Taunts to protect fragile party members whenever enemies try to slip past you.

Synergy With the Rest of Your Party

• Allies with water or ice spells can freeze targets whose magic armor you’ve burned down.
• Summoners can drop creatures into the burning zones you create, adding extra damage over time.
• Ranged physical damage dealers benefit when you strip physical armor quickly with Warfare skills.

The Red Prince works best when the party agrees on whether a fight will be primarily physical or magical. This battlemage build leans a bit toward hybrid play, but you should still coordinate with companions so damage types are not spread too thin.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Red Prince Battlemage

Is this build viable on higher difficulties?

Yes, a well-planned Red Prince battlemage can perform strongly on higher difficulties, provided you keep his gear updated and invest carefully in armor and resistances. His combination of crowd control, mobility, and both damage types makes him flexible enough to handle complex encounters.

Should I ever play the Red Prince as a pure mage instead?

A pure Pyrokinetic mage Red Prince is absolutely viable and can output extreme fire damage, but you sacrifice the frontline control that this battlemage build offers. Choose pure mage if your party already has a solid physical tank and you want him in the backline.

How many points should I put into Geomancer and Scoundrel?

Typically, one to three points in each is enough. Their main purpose in this build is unlocking key skills and adding utility, not maximizing damage. Focus most of your points on Warfare and Pyrokinetic, then sprinkle in Geomancer and Scoundrel when you want a specific ability.

Is a one-handed plus shield setup strictly better than two-handed?

Not strictly. One-handed plus shield is safer, giving you better survivability and defensive options. Two-handed weapons, on the other hand, provide higher raw damage and more explosive turns. The choice depends on your comfort level with risk and the overall toughness of your party.

What if my party already has a dedicated fire mage?

That’s still fine. Your Red Prince will function as a physical-heavy battlemage, using fire primarily for buffs and opportunistic damage while a dedicated mage handles large-scale nukes. Consider investing slightly more in Warfare and Constitution in that scenario.