Baldur's Gate Baldur's Gate 3 Early Access Thread [GAME RELEASED, GO TO NEW THREAD]

[Heroic Liberator]

The virgin ranger vs the chad melee warrior.

Ranged combat is very strong in 5e.
It's just that the Ranger isn't the best at that (or at anything).

If one is to pick a ranged class, might as well pick a magical caster rather than some vanilla bowman.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

So on a scale of 0 to Shitmaker, how shit is this?

 

[Lawntoilet]

The virgin ranger vs the chad melee warrior.

Ranged combat is very strong in 5e.
It's just that the Ranger isn't the best at that (or at anything).

If one is to pick a ranged class, might as well pick a magical caster rather than some vanilla bowman.

Warlocks, Lore Bards, and Battlemaster Fighters are the best archers.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Who here is waiting for the patch that includes paladins just to make a solo run and smite the degenerate companions btw?

I've always wanted to play a paladin that's a total racist.

Just running around, massacring orc villages and putting subhumans to the sword in Faerun.

Not in a grimdark way like 40k where his holy order approves of it all, but in a "PALADIN DELRON NOOOOOO!" kind of way where all of society slowly begins to recognize what a massive asshole he is, but no one can stop him because he's technically correct kind of way.

Its kinda hard to get it because there is some basic war rules to follow, if they kneel you stop so avoid losing your Paladin powers because you smite an unarmed civilian orc. But when they engage with weapon you just make sure you gonna smite then with extreme prejudice so they can't even bother to breath after the event! Also fuck you Bard I ain't gonna parley by your damn rules, they were armed orcs ready to open your ass cheek like a cheap porno movie!

2E Palain's Handbook, Page 25:

Chapter 3: ETHOS

The set of principles that structures a paladin's
life and regulates his behavior is called an ethos.
While an ethos may encompass the written laws of
society, its scope is much broader, incorporating
spiritual edicts and moral absolutes to form an ethical
ideal. A paladin's ethos defines his attitudes,
shapes his personality, and influences virtually
every decision he'll ever make.

Though a guiding ideology is certainly not
unique to paladins, the paladin's ethos differs from
that of other character classes in two significant
ways. First, the paladin's ethos is complex, comprising
a long list of general guidelines and specific
rules. Second, the paladin's ethos is uncompromising,
requiring absolute dedication. Violations have
severe consequences, ranging from reprimands to
suspensions of privileges. Extreme violations may
result in a complete loss of s tatus and permanent
removal of all his special abilities.

Still, the paladin considers his ethos a privilege,
not a burden. To him, all conduct has a moral quality.
Every action is a choice between right and
wrong. With justifiable pride, he considers himself
an embodiment of the highest standards of human
behavior.

We begin with the three general components of
the paladin's ethos: strictures (formal rules), edicts
(commands from authorities), and virtues (behavioral
values). The final section explains how a paladin
may violate his ethos, and suggests suitable
punishments and atonements.

Strictures

The most important elements of a paladin's ethos
are his strictures, a set of inviolable rules from the
PH that the paladin must follow at all times. The
paladin's strictures are as inflexible as his ability
requirements; they are part of what defines a character
as a paladin and distinguishes him from other
classes.

Lawful Good Alignment

Every paladin must be lawful good. The moment
he abandons the conditions of this alignment is the
moment he stops being a paladin.
At the heart of a lawful good alignment is the
belief in a system of laws that promotes the welfare
of all members of a society, ensures their safety, and
guarantees justice. So long as the laws are just and
applied fairly to all people, it doesn't matter to the
paladin whether they originate from a democracy
or a dictator.

Though all lawful good systems adhere to the
same general principles, specific laws may be different.
One society may allow a wife to have two
husbands, another may enforce strict monogamy.
Gambling may be tolerated in one system, forbidden
in another. A paladin respects the laws of other
lawful good cultures and will not seek to impose
his own values on their citizens.

However, a paladin will not honor a law that
runs contrary to his alignment. A government may
believe that unregulated gambling provides a
harmless diversion, but a paladin may determine
that the policy has resulted in devastating poverty
and despair. In the paladin's mind, the government
is guilty of a lawless act by promoting an exploitative
and destructive enterprise. In response, the paladin
may encourage citizens to refrain from gambling,
or he may work to change the law.

Particularly abhorrent practices, such as slavery
and torture, may force the paladin to take direct
action. ft doesn't matter if these practices are culturally
acceptable or sanctioned by well-meaning
officials. The paladin's sense of justice compels him
to intervene and alleviate as much suffering as he
can. Note, though, that time constraints, inadequate
resources, and other commitments may limit
his involvement. While a paladin might wish for a
cultural revolution in a society that tolerates cannibalism,
he may have to content himself with rescuing
a few victims before circumstances force him to
leave the area.

When will a paladin take a life? A paladin kills
whenever necessary to promote the greater good,
or to protect himself, his companions, or anyone
whom he's vowed to defend. In times of war, he
strikes down the enemies of his ruler or church. He
does not interfere with a legal execution, so long as
the punishment fits the crime.

Otherwise, a paladin avoids killing whenever
possible. He does not kill a person who is merely
suspected of a crime, nor does a paladin necessarily
kill someone he perceives to be a threat unless
he has tangible evidence or certain knowledge of
evildoing. He never kills for treasure or personal
gain. He never knowingly kills a lawful good
being.

Though paladins believe in the sanctity of innocent
life, most kill animals and other nonaligned
creatures in certain situations. A paladin may kill
animals for food. He will kill a monster that endangers
humans, even if the monster is motivated by
instinct, not evil. While some paladins a void hunting
for sport, others may hunt to sharpen their
combat and tracking skills.

2E Monstrous Compendium 1, Page 106:

Orcs

Half-orcs are included on this page.

Orc-kind aren't people, they are monsters and may be freely exterminated by a Paladin, as may gobo scum.

2E Palain's Handbook, Page 100:

Vengeful
A passionate hatred of evil fuels the vengeful paladin, who crushes his opponents with savage fury. Often, he's motivated by revenge; perhaps he saw his parents slaughtered by drunken ogres, or his village burned to the ground by an evil warlord. In any case, he seems intent on singlehandedly eliminating evil from the face of the planet.
Secondary Traits: Unapproachable, moody, bitter, bold, inspiring, violent.
Suggested Kits: Chevalier, Expatriate, Ghosthunter, Skyrider, Wyrmslayer.

^ t. lawful good paladin.

 

[Thonius]

Paladins are chads indeed.

 

[Thonius]

So on a scale of 0 to Shitmaker, how shit is this?

3 POE or 4 DAO

 

[Storyfag]

The virgin ranger vs the chad melee warrior.

Ranged combat is very strong in 5e.
It's just that the Ranger isn't the best at that (or at anything).

If one is to pick a ranged class, might as well pick a magical caster rather than some vanilla bowman.

Again, truth.

Cantrip spells are unbelievably powerful in 5e, seeing as how they scale up with your levels.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

The virgin ranger vs the chad melee warrior.

Ranged combat is very strong in 5e.
It's just that the Ranger isn't the best at that (or at anything).

If one is to pick a ranged class, might as well pick a magical caster rather than some vanilla bowman.

Again, truth.

Cantrip spells are unbelievably powerful in 5e, seeing as how they scale up with your levels.

Yeah. That's why there's no real problem with limiting rest for players, since you can get through most of Act 1 with just cantrips.

Warlocks also can select a feat which adds their Charisma bonus to Eldritch Blast's damage, making it a pretty darn powerful cantrip indeed.

 

[Lawntoilet]

Again, truth.

Cantrip spells are unbelievably powerful in 5e, seeing as how they scale up with your levels.

They're far better if you can find a way to get your casting stat bonus added to damage (which is why Warlocks are so good at it), and if you get multiple attack rolls (also why Warlocks are so good at it).

 

[Lawntoilet]

So on a scale of 0 to Shitmaker, how shit is this?

To put it in terms you might understand:

 

[Xamenos]

The virgin ranger vs the chad melee warrior.

Ranged combat is very strong in 5e.
It's just that the Ranger isn't the best at that (or at anything).

The Unearthed Arcana Ranger is pretty good, with some minor tweaks. And it's been out for years. Wizards should have just errata'd the base class long ago.

 

[Infinitron]

https://store.steampowered.com/newshub/app/1086940/view/2896336186753128622

Community Update #9 - Launch

Hello everyone!

We launched Baldur’s Gate 3 exactly 1 week ago, ish. The launch surpassed all our expectations. Our philosophy heading into Early Access was to hit a comfortable amount of players, gather feedback, and incrementally iron out and improve the game towards launch.

Good news! That’s still the plan. But the *bigger than expected launch* broke a few things. In chronological order, it apparently broke Steam, it then broke our launcher sign ups because the servers couldn’t keep up, and then it went on to break our support pipeline with a huge influx of support tickets. We’re not complaining. These are good problems to have.

The day before launch, the weather also broke the Ghent basement. Which was suboptimal because we were shooting a thing for those who get to the end of Act 1 (no spoilers).

Soon after, the power broke in Quebec. This is the 3rd launch in a row where Larian has had a powercut somewhere. One of the good things about upscaling to 5 studios globally, is that now if one gets defeated by water or electricity (please, not both together), we have 4 other studios to deal with the tornado, earthquake, or a Kaiju. At this point launching a game is basically like playing Sim City.

On launch, which we managed to get to in the end, we celebrated very socially, very distanced, and watched you all play the game. Someone at the office (we won’t mention the name of the perpetrator... I mean, we get it) stole Gale from the gateau. We have since recovered Gale.

Since then, we’ve shot out 3 hotfixes that have greatly reduced the number of crashes and stability issues experienced in the first week of launch. The real heroes in this are the community who stuck with us as we were working on those patches and hotfixes. We know that jumping into an unfinished game in Early Access, when your saves will eventually be wiped, is a big ask. We are phenomenally grateful to each and every one of you who’ve jumped in, provided feedback, and sent error reports. These reports are channeled back to our QA leads and producers, and the information you provide helps us to understand why certain things are happening, and thus reproduce and solve them.

Spoiler

Working with feedback

All feedback, positive or negative, is extremely helpful and important to us. We’re really grateful to everyone who organizes their thoughts and talks to us on Steam, or the forums, or the feedback form. For us, that’s a big part of what Early Access is about. Keep the feedback flowing, and we’ll keep shooting out those updates.

Under the hood we’re starting to get our first look at data, and decisions players are making, which teaches us how you’re playing the game. Before you launch a game, you’re making a lot of assumptions about what people will do, and why they’ll do it. When you launch, you can start to see if you were right.

As an example, let’s look at a cut down version of a heatmap (avoiding spoilers)! This is a *map of death* (make a spooky noise when you read that). *MaP of dEaTh*.

As our early access campaign progresses, you’ll see a shift as combat is tuned and content is altered. It might not look like much, but this shows us where to investigate. We can correlate this with direct player feedback, balancing feedback, and even bug reports to find out why people are dying where they’re dying, and also is it normal that people are dying there? It’s just one example of how people are helping simply by playing the game.

A strange point of interest is for instance that there are lots of deaths where you first meet Gale. Maybe people don’t like being ambushed by a spooky wizard jumping out of a rock? Something to investigate.

The amount of death in the camp is also surprising. We won’t spoil as to why that may be, but there are many, many in depth stories online, and on Reddit, about how death befell the campsite. They’re hilarious so please keep sharing them!

We also know how many times characters are dying. Gale died 333757 times. 333758 if you include the cake incident. Gale has a party-member kill-rate 4 times higher than any NPC in the game, so maybe he deserved it?

The Owlbear Cub has killed 5717 of you brave enough to try and tame it. Exactly 4000 people died as a result of interrupting the intimate moments of Ogres and Bug Bears.

And Shadowheart is the only companion that died more than the player character.

We’ll continue to share more data and insights over Early Access, but this is early days. Play however you want, in whatever way you want. There’s no one way to play the game. We’ve created systems that try to react to whoever you are, and whatever you do. The results of this make the game better.

(We’re working on this btw. Soon.)

Quick note on Discord and public multiplayer lobbies: The public multiplayer lobbies will soon be set live. Discord integration is in the works, so your friends can stop pinging you when you’re trying to tame a Mind Flayer (and dying 3753 times).

With that said, here are the full notes for Patch 1 - Launch. TLDR; fewer glitches, better stability, and more polish.

Improvements:

• Added polish and bug fixes to several in-game cinematics, such as Shadow Heart recruitment, Astarion recruitment and Volo's Poem. (These will be ongoing throughout EA).
  
• Added minor text tweaks to various bits and bobs.
  
• Altered certain dialogue choices for different NPCs.
  
• Added extra combat tutorial messages to better explain the basics (let us know how you get on).
  
• Astarion no longer thinks Lae'zel inspected you at camp when she is not in your party. Quite rightly.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed a crash related to having the level up screen open while in a dialog.
  
• Fixed a crash related to dropping items from inventory.
  
• Fixed a rare crash that could happen at the start of combat.
  
• Fixed a possible blocking issue when using the transponder at the end of the tutorial twice.
  
• Fixed black screen issue when ending tutorial if the transponder was used by any character that is not the main player avatar.
  
• Fixed a possible blocking issue when reassigning characters to others players while in combat.
  
• Fixed an issue with lip sync not working correctly.
  
• Fixed several localization issues.
  
• Fixed combat UI not updating correctly when someone joined during combat.
  
• Fixed party shared gold and items not always working in dialog checks.
  
• Fixed summons from NPC’s getting stuck in combat.
  
• Fixed levelled up characters having duplicated racial and class features.
  
• Fixed not being able to level up to level 4 on a Zariel Tiefling Cleric of Light due to cantrip selection.
  
• Fixed text cut-off issues in several interfaces.
  
• Fixed party members getting stuck trying to open doors they run past.
  
• Fixed listening in to dialogs getting stuck in multiplayer, also causing players not being able to save.
  
• Fixed camp button being broken after closing the camp window with escape key.
  
• Fixed "end the day" multiplayer message being broken if a player closed it with an escape key.
  
• Fixed certain quests not having map markers.
  
• Fixed certain secret entrances incorrectly showing up on the map.
  
• Fixed incorrect player portraits in the lobby screen as more people joined.
  
• Fixed Cambion wings and Tiefling tail animations.
  
• Fixed map not centering correctly on player characters in smaller subregions.
  
• Fixed health values not being synced correctly to the Baldur's Gate 3 twitch extension.
  
• Fixed superiority die not showing actual values when using abilities such as Menacing attack.
  
• Fixed minor issues with hair, skinning and textures on several models.
  
• Fixed lighting issue in owlbear cave.
  
• Fixed not being able to walk over corpses.
  
• Tweaked ragdolls to reduce the possibility of models exploding (or glitching. Idk how to explain it, but it’s spooky).

 

[Gargaune]

I understand that you’re talking about the classic hero’s journey. However, think about what that usually looks like in games. For example, NWN2 OC: you start as some kind of farm boy...in a swamp...at some sort of pig contest.

Even the original Baldur’s Gate had an exciting intro, but you probably forgot it: Sarevok breaking down a door and throwing a man from a building. And then it moves to Candlekeep, which is basically a tutorial area. Then you get attacked and Gorion murdered. It’s pretty high-stakes stuff, considering.

BG2 starts with you being captured and tortured by an evil sorcerer who is fighting a battle against unnamed thieves. In fact, it wasn’t such a different introduction from this game’s mechanically speaking, except that you start on a beach in this one instead of in a city.

Quite the contrary, BG's intrigue is one of the examples I was thinking about. It is exciting considering the circumstances, like you said - you're a whelp being hunted by some strange murderer in fancy plate, but you're not thrust into the middle of some interdimensional conflict right off the bat. Even in BG2, where you're already someone, you just start in some creepy wizard's sex dungeon. IWD, a bunch of lowlifes looking for work in the arse-end of the world. PFKM, contracting bandit exterminator. You get the picture, the major stakes are revealed gradually.

I've posted this before somewhere, but BG3 kicks off with you caught in a battle between Cthulhu monsters and planar goblins riding red dragons, and that battle's on a tentacle UFO that teleports into hell for a cool minute or two. Even though you're later deposited on a beach to resume your regularly scheduled programming, the game's already given away that there's some massive shit going down. As gamers we expect it, but in character it's quite jarring, your average Level 1 should be screaming "You weren't there, man! You weren't there!"

if they kneel you stop so avoid losing your Paladin powers

Not in 5E, you can have Chaotic Evil Paladins now, and BG3's done away with Alignment anyway. Calling it now, BG3 Paladins will be able to murder civilians and wear their asses for hats. But I'm not sore about it or anything...

 

[Alienman]

5 studios, kinda insane. Considering how buggy the EA is. There seems to be a lot of content in it already, but you got to wonder.

 

[Child of Malkav]

5 studios, kinda insane. Considering how buggy the EA is. There seems to be a lot of content in it already, but you got to wonder.

There's nothing to wonder about. This game in it's EA state has more content than actual full games out there. I'm coming close to 40 hours now and I'm not done by a long shot.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Even in BG2, where you're already someone, you just start in some creepy wizard's sex dungeon.

I'm referring to the level of drama with these intro examples.

Again, this is up to you the player to decide who you are at the start of the game. Frankly, that's an improvement over a dev deciding to tell you that you're Gorion's Ward or whatever.

Did Arcanum do this? No. You just build a character and start on the blimp. You can select an origin optionally if you want, but it isn't required or shown in game.

If you need a dev or a DM to provide your character with a background, you're just being lazy.

the game's already given away that there's some massive shit going down.

And the BG intro doesn't do this? "I will be the last...and you will be first..." The BG2 intro explaining you're the spawn of a dead god of murder and having a cryptic wizard talk about unlocking your power?

Yes, there's massive shit going down. There usually is. And that's a bad thing because?

I'm pretty sure that 90% of the butthurt over the intro is simply a reaction to how flashy the cutscene is and not the actual story. You all got the feeling you were going to play "Michael Bay D&D" because there were graphics and explosions and you never dropped that judgement from the moment you made it.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

BG1 intro: you are a child of the GOD OF MURDER, there are multiple attempts to assassinate you in the first few minutes, your powerful foster father gorion is assassinated, you are put in the care of two members of a super secret society and on the run
BG3 intro: you're some random person who got kidnapped by bodysnatchers

wow can you believe how ridiculous BG3 is compared to the old BG games?!

 

[Storyfag]

BTW, any writeup on Myrkul in the game? There's still a drearth of information on his return to godhood.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

BTW, any writeup on Myrkul in the game? There's still a drearth of information on his return to godhood.

I read every note/book I found and didn't see anything beyond passing mentions of him as part of the dead three.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Since Swen has confirmed that the EA intentionally contains the neutral and evil companions, I wonder if the final game will have different companions in the place of some of those it has now. If swapping them is possible I wonder if it may even be possible that they be randomized.

Nah, I don't think so. I don't understand how they're going to cram a few more characters into the opening of the game. Then don't you have to decide on your final party by the end of act 1? Not sure how this is going to play out.

I don't mean cram more, I mean swap meeting Shadowheart or the mage guy for someone else. Their introductory dialogue could easily be redone, and some other character could easily get his own introductory dialogue which will work for meeting them in the same circumstances in which you now meet these two NPCs.

First full playthrough, I'll probably go with the vampire, the wizard and either the Githyanki or the warlock.

Ehm... excuse me, what the fuck?

shadowheart is a complete qt
if you spend the night with her

Spoiler

you drink wine and optionally kiss her, very wholesome

 

[Takamori]

I understand that you’re talking about the classic hero’s journey. However, think about what that usually looks like in games. For example, NWN2 OC: you start as some kind of farm boy...in a swamp...at some sort of pig contest.

Even the original Baldur’s Gate had an exciting intro, but you probably forgot it: Sarevok breaking down a door and throwing a man from a building. And then it moves to Candlekeep, which is basically a tutorial area. Then you get attacked and Gorion murdered. It’s pretty high-stakes stuff, considering.

BG2 starts with you being captured and tortured by an evil sorcerer who is fighting a battle against unnamed thieves. In fact, it wasn’t such a different introduction from this game’s mechanically speaking, except that you start on a beach in this one instead of in a city.

Quite the contrary, BG's intrigue is one of the examples I was thinking about. It is exciting considering the circumstances, like you said - you're a whelp being hunted by some strange murderer in fancy plate, but you're not thrust into the middle of some interdimensional conflict right off the bat. Even in BG2, where you're already someone, you just start in some creepy wizard's sex dungeon. IWD, a bunch of lowlifes looking for work in the arse-end of the world. PFKM, contracting bandit exterminator. You get the picture, the major stakes are revealed gradually.

I've posted this before somewhere, but BG3 kicks off with you caught in a battle between Cthulhu monsters and planar goblins riding red dragons, and that battle's on a tentacle UFO that teleports into hell for a cool minute or two. Even though you're later deposited on a beach to resume your regularly scheduled programming, the game's already given away that there's some massive shit going down. As gamers we expect it, but in character it's quite jarring, your average Level 1 should be screaming "You weren't there, man! You weren't there!"

if they kneel you stop so avoid losing your Paladin powers

Not in 5E, you can have Chaotic Evil Paladins now, and BG3's done away with Alignment anyway. Calling it now, BG3 Paladins will be able to murder civilians and wear their asses for hats. But I'm not sore about it or anything...

Aren't they classified as Blackguards?

 

[d1r]

if they kneel you stop so avoid losing your Paladin powers

Not in 5E, you can have Chaotic Evil Paladins now, and BG3's done away with Alignment anyway. Calling it now, BG3 Paladins will be able to murder civilians and wear their asses for hats. But I'm not sore about it or anything...

Not Larian's fault though. The cucks at Wizards told them not to include alignments in BG3.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

I understand that you’re talking about the classic hero’s journey. However, think about what that usually looks like in games. For example, NWN2 OC: you start as some kind of farm boy...in a swamp...at some sort of pig contest.

Even the original Baldur’s Gate had an exciting intro, but you probably forgot it: Sarevok breaking down a door and throwing a man from a building. And then it moves to Candlekeep, which is basically a tutorial area. Then you get attacked and Gorion murdered. It’s pretty high-stakes stuff, considering.

BG2 starts with you being captured and tortured by an evil sorcerer who is fighting a battle against unnamed thieves. In fact, it wasn’t such a different introduction from this game’s mechanically speaking, except that you start on a beach in this one instead of in a city.

Quite the contrary, BG's intrigue is one of the examples I was thinking about. It is exciting considering the circumstances, like you said - you're a whelp being hunted by some strange murderer in fancy plate, but you're not thrust into the middle of some interdimensional conflict right off the bat. Even in BG2, where you're already someone, you just start in some creepy wizard's sex dungeon. IWD, a bunch of lowlifes looking for work in the arse-end of the world. PFKM, contracting bandit exterminator. You get the picture, the major stakes are revealed gradually.

I've posted this before somewhere, but BG3 kicks off with you caught in a battle between Cthulhu monsters and planar goblins riding red dragons, and that battle's on a tentacle UFO that teleports into hell for a cool minute or two. Even though you're later deposited on a beach to resume your regularly scheduled programming, the game's already given away that there's some massive shit going down. As gamers we expect it, but in character it's quite jarring, your average Level 1 should be screaming "You weren't there, man! You weren't there!"

if they kneel you stop so avoid losing your Paladin powers

Not in 5E, you can have Chaotic Evil Paladins now, and BG3's done away with Alignment anyway. Calling it now, BG3 Paladins will be able to murder civilians and wear their asses for hats. But I'm not sore about it or anything...

Aren't they classified as Blackguards?

WotC:

They fundamentally don't understand what a paladin is and have the relationship between gods and a paladin backwards. I went over it in the alignment thread.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

if they kneel you stop so avoid losing your Paladin powers

Not in 5E, you can have Chaotic Evil Paladins now, and BG3's done away with Alignment anyway. Calling it now, BG3 Paladins will be able to murder civilians and wear their asses for hats. But I'm not sore about it or anything...

Not Larian's fault though. The cucks at Wizards told them not to include alignments in BG3.

Yeah. Wizards has MAJORLY nerfed alignments and seems to want to remove them altogether.

Paladins can no longer detect evil. Instead they just detect magical creatures. Oh wow, what a useful ability. “It’s there an angel within 30 feet of me? No? Ok...what about now?”

 

[Ontopoly]

shadowheart is a complete qt

but does she have a 0.55 hip to waist ratio?