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

[Infinitron]

When we launched Baldur's Gate 3 into Early Access we were overwhelmed by how many of you wanted to be involved in the process. We've been looking at all of your feedback, suggestions and discussions in various forums and have been working on increasing the breadth & depth, as well as introducing a list of quality of life changes.

In Patch 5 we'll be introducing Camp Resources which will make you think a little more strategically about when to activate a long rest. We've also overhauled the UI, making changes to the way that the dice rolls are shown and making it easier for you to apply bonuses, cantrips and spells mid-dialogue. We've also split up jump and disengage and added a way to cancel concentration! Plus there's plenty more tweaks and changes coming for you, as well.

With this patch will come save incompatibility, so if you want to continue playing your Patch 4 save, please take a look at this post for details: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1086940/view/2970669042943132348

 

[Shrimp]

Do camp followers and misc. party members not in your party also consume food?

 

[whydoibother]

That was an abrupt ending, I feel like there should've been a little team meet and goodbye at the end.

 

[Gargaune]

"We added something a lot of you wanted, a Point & Click system..."

Wait, really?

"... at Larian, we call command barks a Point & Click system."

Fuck you, Vincke. Fuck you with your own salami.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Do camp followers and misc. party members not in your party also consume food?

I think it's meant to be for your entire party

When we launched Baldur's Gate 3 into Early Access we were overwhelmed by how many of you wanted to be involved in the process. We've been looking at all of your feedback, suggestions and discussions in various forums and have been working on increasing the breadth & depth, as well as introducing a list of quality of life changes.

In Patch 5 we'll be introducing Camp Resources which will make you think a little more strategically about when to activate a long rest. We've also overhauled the UI, making changes to the way that the dice rolls are shown and making it easier for you to apply bonuses, cantrips and spells mid-dialogue. We've also split up jump and disengage and added a way to cancel concentration! Plus there's plenty more tweaks and changes coming for you, as well.

With this patch will come save incompatibility, so if you want to continue playing your Patch 4 save, please take a look at this post for details: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1086940/view/2970669042943132348

content that wasn't in the stream version at timestamp
https://youtu.be/F7_lnDAvd9s?t=500

 

[Saravan]

-Choice of background reacting to the environment
-Camp setting adapting to the in-game environment
-Unit sound ques when clicking on them or doing something

Three important additions to overall immersion.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

All of those seem like very nice changes, the larping was corny but funny.
Swen is the best

 

[Salvo]

Got up to get a drink so I missed half of that, something about backgrounds + inspiration points. Infini?

"Playing to your background" will net you inspiration points, now capped at 4. If you're full up on inspiration points you'll get XP instead.

That's dumb, since it encourages you to hoard inspiration instead of using it. If you don't use and miss out on points it should be your fault, you shouldn't be rewarded.

 

[Infinitron]

Archived stream:

 

[whydoibother]

I don't think they showed it, but the new version has hover tooltips and hyperlinks in the ability tooltips, so you can get extra information.
Fextralife has a video on the patch log, five minutes long and covers everything.

 

[Salvo]

All of those seem like very nice changes, the larping was corny but funny.
Swen is the best

Overall seems like a solid update, but not one that'd take 4 months to make... I know they're working on the game beyond EA, but still...

 

[Shrimp]

Got up to get a drink so I missed half of that, something about backgrounds + inspiration points. Infini?

"Playing to your background" will net you inspiration points, now capped at 4. If you're full up on inspiration points you'll get XP instead.

That's dumb, since it encourages you to hoard inspiration instead of using it. If you don't use and miss out on points it should be your fault, you shouldn't be rewarded.

Ultimately it comes down to whatever the player decides to do.
FWIW the amount of XP they got in the demonstration was a very miniscule amount (25 XP) although I don't know if that's a static amount or if it scales based on your character's level.

 

[Tuco Benedicto Pacifico]

"active roll system", can cast bonuses in the roll screen
roll UI itself has been revamped

Great, Guidance was very awkward to use before. Now it seems solid.
Also I hope they changed Shadowheart's stats, since iirc she was specialized like a DEX cleric, and had low DEX? Or some such.

Nah this was already addressed at least in Patch 4 if not even before.

 

[Larianshill]

Now she starts with a mace she can't use.

 

[Infinitron]

Fextralife has a video on the patch log, five minutes long and covers everything.

https://fextralife.com/baldurs-gate-3-update-5-major-changes-combat-and-gameplay-improvements/

Baldur’s Gate 3 Update 5 Major Changes: Combat And Gameplay Improvements

In this Baldur’s Gate 3 Early Access Patch 5 Notes Summary, I’m going to discuss the major changes related to Combat and gameplay improvements. Although this update doesn’t have an additional Class like the one that came before, there’s still a lot of alterations to talk about regarding new features that considerably enhance your overall experience.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 5 Major Changes: Combat And Gameplay Improvements
Several months after the release of Baldur’s Gate 3 in Early Access, the game continues to captivate players because of its highly engaging gameplay, accurate implementation of Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition ruleset, and engrossing characters and lore. Note that similar to Patch 4 and due to the sizable amount of content changes, you’ll have to start a fresh playthrough. Let’s first talk about combat and what this means for you.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Early Access Combat
Basic Actions
When it comes to Basic Actions, there are a number of improvements that you should take note of. First is the new Disengage Action, which allows you to retreat from enemies in Melee Range without giving them the chance to perform Attacks of Opportunity. This is a significant update because Disengage used to be a part of Jump that doesn’t guarantee the prevention of Melee Attacks.

To make it crystal clear, Jump is used to strategically position yourself better in combat whereas Disengage allows you to escape from precarious situations. So if you’re a Wizard who is caught in the thick of combat, you can now use Disengage without worrying if you’ll be hit by an Attack of Opportunity or not.

And second, there’s a new Non-lethal Attack Mode, which gives you the option to knock NPCs out without having to kill them. So if you wish to steal something from a hapless victim, and they’re starting to get riled up about it, you can just knock them out to pacify them. Simple.

Spoiler

Spell Changes
For Spell, the most noticeable changes are related to its effects and Concentration. These Spell animations and effects are updated and will have a unified look depending on the Class’s design that they’re a part of. Meanwhile, Spells which are used by multiple Classes will also be modified to be more similar to those that are Class specific.

You can also willfully cancel Concentration on a Spell. For example, you no longer have to suffer the prolonged effects of Fog Cloud.

Enemy AI Improvements
Enemy AI is now smarter than ever because they employ more tactical strategies and they possess some of the features available to player characters. For instance, creatures will do everything in their means to attack you regardless if they have a Weapon or not. If enemies are unarmed and they see a Weapon lying around nearby, they’ll grab it and attack you with it. What’s cool about this update is how you can use this scenario to your Advantage by disarming your target beforehand. This pushes them into a situation where they’ll need to utilize Action Points just to run towards and equip a Weapon in order to hit you.

Furthermore, enemy AIs are able to use their resources more efficiently. For example, they’ll carefully plan their next series of attacks so they can still have room to execute other actions like Dash or some Spells in the future. They can even use Throw to heal their party members from a distance by hurling Healing Potions at them, similar to how a player character would. Of course, these enhancements will be used by friendly NPCs as well.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Early Access Gameplay Improvements
How Spells Influence Dice Rolls
Dice rolls play an active part in whatever action you decide to do, may it be in combat or in dialogue. In the current setup, dice rolls are displayed at the center of the screen when you’re talking to NPCs. You just hope for the best that you get a favorable roll. In the new patch, you’ll be able to influence its outcome. To increase the chances of NPCs agreeing with you, you can use your or your Companions’ Spells. But remember that you’ll make use of Spell Slots when you cast a Spell so choose wisely.

So for example, you can opt to cast Enhance Ability first to account for the Advantage bonus you get in order to roll twice. This raises the chances of tipping the scale in your favor. Alternatively, Guidance is also a good Spell, which also increases your chances for success. What makes this more fun is when you’re playing with friends because they can decide if they really want to help you by casting a beneficial Spell on you or if they prefer to see you fail. You know what some friends are like.

Long Rest and Camp 2.0
If you’ve been playing Baldur’s Gate 3 for quite some time now, you’ll notice how easy it is to abuse the Long Rest Feature with the simple click of a button. Previously, you’d get instantly teleported into your Camp by the river, to restore all of your HP and Spell Slots. This could be done after every combat encounter, which cheapens these fights as your resources are always topped up.

This time around in order to take a Long Rest, you’ll have to gather camp supplies, which comprises all of the food and scrap you can buy (or steal). Heaps of food should go a long way to keep you satiated and ready for the events to come. If you’re low on supplies, you can opt to take a Partial Rest instead. This only restores a portion of your HP and Spell Slots, but it won’t use up any food.

Moreover, your party will also be teleported into different campsites, depending on the location. You no longer magically exit the Underdark when you want to take a nap. Larian has made Mini Camps near major landmarks, such as the Chapel near the Ravaged Beach or the Underdark.

New Player Experience
In Patch 5, a huge chunk of the changes stems from the need to improve new player experience. On top of the tutorials, which start popping out in Character Creation, more tooltips will be present after this update. These tooltips will be linked to others so it’s easier to digest and to understand the game’s core concepts and mechanics. You can simply hover over one to know more.

Additionally, you even have the option to pin them to your screen so you can easily refer back to it should you have questions about certain terms or actions.

New Background Goals
As a returning Baldur’s Gate 3 Early Access player, I’m excited to dive in once again because there will be new side quests to participate in. Backgrounds such as Folk Hero, Acolyte and Urchin now matter more than ever and it doesn’t end in Character Creation. Like in Solasta, backgrounds will now have corresponding secret side quests to further flesh out the origin stories of your characters and to accumulate Inspiration Points when you complete them.

These Inspiration Points can be used to reroll an unfavorable dice roll in dialogue checks. You can obtain a maximum of 4 Inspiration Points. So when you reach this number, any additional points go into extra XP. Not only do you discover more about how your character came to be, you’ll also be rewarded for seeking out these secrets.

Interactions with Shadowheart
Out of the 5 available Companions in Baldur’s Gate 3, Shadowheart will receive a lot of improvements. To provide more details about her background, new dialogue will be uncovered once you recruit her and once you find out more about her mysterious item. Most importantly, you can now free Shadowheart during the tutorial. No more leaving her behind!

Point and Click Dialogue System
Sometimes adventuring can get lonely, so who better to talk to but yourself? The new Point and Click Dialogue System will now allow your character to provide their insights and thoughts on the world, the story, and the environment during their travels. Huge efforts have been made to make this new feature as immersive as possible. Dialogue will change depending on the context and the character you’re playing as. Should you wish to reduce the constant mumbling of your thoughts, there’s an option to make this less frequent.

Lastly, expect to see considerable enhancements when it comes to the visual and audio aspects of the game while you’re exploring the world of the Forgotten Realms. And there’s going to be a new dog, don’t forget. Hopefully we can pet it! For a complete list of Patch 5, you may refer to our Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch Notes page in the coming days.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

All of those seem like very nice changes, the larping was corny but funny.
Swen is the best

Overall seems like a solid update, but not one that'd take 4 months to make... I know they're working on the game beyond EA, but still...

A lot of the stuff they're working on now won't be seen until the EA is over.
There was post-act 1 content already in the game in the original EA release, including the outskirts + city of BG itself. You could actually glitch your way past the "ending" of the EA, no idea if they fixed it.

Also, I've found act 2 information so I'm guessing some of it is already in the game and someone found a way to access it

ayyy

Spoiler

How to get there:

Spoiler

You need a way to revive a dead party member by themselves. I don't know of a good way to do it, so I used cheatengine to inject a revive call to the Osiris API.
You start the underdark boat fight, one char jumps off, get teleported dead to your camp, revive them somehow, then have the others jump off and revive them typically. Rest, because you'll have another fight.
Go back to the beach after resting, kill the duergar, take the skiff again, it takes you to the duergar camp.

 

[The_Mask]

I think this is my kind of update: when a developer adds depth, rather than new (shallow) content. Especially the part about the backgrounds. That one seems right up my alley.

 

[Larianshill]

Out of the 5 available Companions in Baldur’s Gate 3, Shadowheart will receive a lot of improvements. To provide more details about her background, new dialogue will be uncovered once you recruit her and once you find out more about her mysterious item.

Shadowheart already has the most content of all companions by far. Poor Lae'zel has about one thing you can ask her about. But I like Shadowheart, so I'll take it.

 

[Salvo]

Got up to get a drink so I missed half of that, something about backgrounds + inspiration points. Infini?

"Playing to your background" will net you inspiration points, now capped at 4. If you're full up on inspiration points you'll get XP instead.

That's dumb, since it encourages you to hoard inspiration instead of using it. If you don't use and miss out on points it should be your fault, you shouldn't be rewarded.

Ultimately it comes down to whatever the player decides to do.
FWIW the amount of XP they got in the demonstration was a very miniscule amount (25 XP) although I don't know if that's a static amount or if it scales based on your character's level.

Stacks up in the long run. Either way I think it's bad design, but then again I'm no dev.

 

[Tuco Benedicto Pacifico]

There are few good changes here (and according to the Fextralife dude there are a bunch more that will get revealed with the update next week) but overall I still think this was a WAY over-produced event for what little they had to reveal.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

There are few good changes here (and according to the Fextralife dude there are a bunch more that will get revealed with the update next week) but overall I still think this was a WAY over-produced event for what little they had to reveal.

It was fun. I prefer it over throwing more cooks in the kitchen.

 

[Infinitron]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1086940/view/2970669042968481195

Community Update #13 - Breadth & Depth

Hello once again! We hope you’ve been doing well since Patch 4 released, because it seems a whole lot has happened since then. The ocean burned, the West Coast boiled, UFOs may or may not be a thing, and that was all just this past month. But while the world invents new ways to surprise us, at least there’s one thing we can always count on like a dependable old friend, which is the rise and fall of floods as they lap at our Belgian office servers once again. Through all of that we’ve been hard at work to bring you Patch 5.

So what can you expect from this patch? New game-changing mechanics, tons of combat and AI improvements, a bigger focus on roleplaying, a tantalizing step toward unearthing Shadowheart’s mysteries, and more Owlbear cub content to make your heart burst, just to name a few.

And, well, we’re partial to some of the incoming fixes as well:

· Skeletons are no longer in a celebratory mood when emerging from coffins.
· Fixed being able to eat some buckets.
· Fixed being able to cast Charm Person on yourself.
· Liam will no longer run away while unconscious

This update features a ton of improvements directly inspired by the community, many of them addressing things you’ve raised in your feedback so far. We’ve been listening closely to requests you’ve made throughout Early Access and we hope you’re really going to be excited by these changes - We definitely are. Together they improve the game a lot, and they bring Baldur’s Gate 3 yet another step closer to its 2022 release ambitions.

We’ve got lots up our sleeve this update, so let’s jump right in.

Spoiler

Active Roll: A new way to die (as in dice, it’s a dice pun)

One of the biggest improvements coming in Patch 5 are Active Rolls, our new dice mechanic. In addition to a full upgrade of the old UI, the biggest change here is in how you can influence dice: While previously, the accepted method for attempting a skill check was to tightly cross your fingers ahead of a roll, now you have the option to apply spells and bonuses to these checks to help increase your odds.

So what does that mean exactly? Well, let's say the chances of you passing a certain check seem pretty slim. Rather than leaving you at the mercy of the RNG gods, you now have more agency in the outcome of those rolls. For example, cast Enhance Ability to add an Advantage bonus to the skill check in order to roll twice, or you can cast Guidance to bump that number up for good measure. You can also cast spells from your other party members, although in multiplayer your teammates will have to decide for themselves whether they'll let you use their spells during these rolls. You’ll be spending a spell slot any time you do this, so use them wisely. That is, unless the skill check relates to recruiting the Owlbear cub, in which case we’d recommend you let your heart guide you.

Get rewarded for roleplaying

In this patch we also wanted to find new ways to really celebrate roleplaying. Enter, Background Goals.

You know how the character creator includes an option to choose your character's background? Folk Hero, Acolyte, Urchin, and so on. Now every character will have their own series of secret miniquests based on these roles. Finding out how to complete them is part of fun, but for each you complete you’ll receive an Inspiration Point. Players will get a maximum of four Inspiration Points which can be put toward rerolling dice whenever they wish. Or alternatively, if you’ve already reached your IP cap for the moment then any further point becomes XP.

Camping 2.0

One of the main comments we've received about our resting system has been that it's far too lenient. Before Patch 5, you could initiate a Long Rest and recharge all your spells and HP between every fight without penalty. A lot of players felt this just didn't feel right, and we couldn't agree more. So we've fully revamped how camping works.

Camp Resources are a new feature that will make you think a little more strategically about when to activate a Long Rest. Now in order to make camp, you first need supplies. You know all the food and scraps you find around Baldur's Gate 3? Starting this patch, those can be used to unlock camp for the night. So if you ever wondered to yourself “how much Waterdhavian cheese wheels could one person possibly need?” the answer is as many as you can physically carry, for cheese is now one of the sacred doorways to sleep. Alternatively, you can still initiate a Partial Rest without using any resources but this won't recharge you fully.

Another new addition are Mini Camps. Previously, any time you camped for the night, you would return to your HQ down by the river regardless of how far away it was from the area you were exploring throughout your day. This made us feel sorry for all the characters who were being forced to partake in marathon hikes just to go to bed. So we’ve now introduced smaller localized camps. From the Chapel near the Ravaged Beach to the Underdark, we've recreated every landmark as its own isolated location that can be accessed when you’re ready to hunker down for your Long Rest.

Smarter enemies, revamped spells, and a little something for the pacifists among you

This update comes with a lot of combat improvements, from smaller fixes - we’ve now made sure Mud Mephits are no longer afraid of mud - to more substantial alterations. Let's have a look at some of those below.

Enemy AI:

You’re going to discover a lot of AI improvements in this patch, so expect to see enemies who are a lot smarter and more resourceful in combat. For instance, now if there is a weapon nearby, unarmed enemies will grab it to defend themselves. Not only does this make fights more challenging, you can also use this behaviour to your advantage: if you disarm an enemy, they’ll have to use up an Action Point to go retrieve the weapon, which puts them at a disadvantage.

You can also expect better resource planning from enemies – when it comes to deciding what spells to use in a fight, who to target, whether to use actions like Dash, or to throw a health potion to a character in need, they’re a lot more adept. And all of these actions are new to friendly NPCs too.

Spellcasting Upgrade:

You can also expect to see updated class spell animations, which are looking awesome. Spells that are specific to a class now have an identifiable look, and spells that are usable by multiple classes have had a full revamp to create more cohesion with the class-specific ones. Oh and by the way, you can now cancel a concentration spell. That’s a small quality-of-life change but it’s something a lot of you have been asking for.

Non-Lethal Combat:

We’ve done some tweaking to the game which should please our pacifist players, too. We have added a new Nonlethal Attack Mode. This means that if you steal something from NPCs and they start attacking you, you can actually just knock them out instead of killing them.

In another widely requested change, we’ve separated the jump and disengage actions! So now players have the ability to either Jump to gain some strategic positioning during combat, or Disengage from melee range with an enemy and move to a safe distance. Finally, we’ve introduced a shortcut key for Jump, so it's much easier to navigate the various intricate levels as you explore the world. This has been a big request from the community too, and if there are other situations you wish you could solve through peaceful means let us know!

Nested Tooltips offer extra clarity to the new and confused

The world is a bewildering wilderness; games should not be. In this patch, we've updated our old tooltip system and created something we feel will make the rules and concepts of BG3 much easier to digest. Nested Tooltips are essentially hyperlinked tooltips. Think Wikipedia. If there's a term in the text that you don't understand, we got you. Just hover over it for more information. And you can now pin tooltips to your screen so there's no fear of losing previous tooltips along the way.

Shadowheart’s storyline just got a little more mysterious

Shadowheart got extra love in this patch. Not only does this update feature extra dialogue permutations with her, her storyline was also kicked up a notch. Expect to start hearing a little more about the mysterious item she carries with her. Oh, and you can now free her in the tutorial! Or leave her of course.

And now introducing Point and Click dialogue

Speaking of dialogue, let’s take a look at our new Point and Click dialogue system. This is something fans have been asking for from the beginning: Your character will now speak as you click through the world, reacting to the story and environment around them in real-time. A lot of recording power went into making this feature come alive - not only is the dialogue context-sensitive, it also changes depending on which character you're playing. But, of course, if you're of the 'less talk, more game' philosophy then there is an audio option to change the frequency of their barks.

These are just some of the improvements in this patch. We didn’t even mention the new dog. There are also a ton of visual and audio improvements and tweaks. You'll be able to jump in to experience these changes for yourself when Patch 5 releases Tuesday 13th July! And you can see Swen going over all of these changes in our Community Update video below:

 

[Saravan]

Got up to get a drink so I missed half of that, something about backgrounds + inspiration points. Infini?

"Playing to your background" will net you inspiration points, now capped at 4. If you're full up on inspiration points you'll get XP instead.

That's dumb, since it encourages you to hoard inspiration instead of using it. If you don't use and miss out on points it should be your fault, you shouldn't be rewarded.

Ultimately it comes down to whatever the player decides to do.
FWIW the amount of XP they got in the demonstration was a very miniscule amount (25 XP) although I don't know if that's a static amount or if it scales based on your character's level.

Stacks up in the long run. Either way I think it's bad design, but then again I'm no dev.

In terms of exploiting game mechanics one of the more important ones will be resource management of long rests. Adding a supplies mechanic is a step in the right direction but too early to tell if it's made trivial anyways (compare for example Solasta). For example if all it ultimately does is just add a "work task" to the player to waste time farming supplies randomly. It's a delicate balance as other games try to tie it mainly to encumbrance such as PF:KM but that method doesn't really add much depth to challenge either.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

The world is a bewildering wilderness; games should not be. In this patch, we've updated our old tooltip system and created something we feel will make the rules and concepts of BG3 much easier to digest. Nested Tooltips are essentially hyperlinked tooltips. Think Wikipedia. If there's a term in the text that you don't understand, we got you. Just hover over it for more information. And you can now pin tooltips to your screen so there's no fear of losing previous tooltips along the way.

Only took 20 years for developers to finally start copying ToEE.

 

[Salvo]

Got up to get a drink so I missed half of that, something about backgrounds + inspiration points. Infini?

"Playing to your background" will net you inspiration points, now capped at 4. If you're full up on inspiration points you'll get XP instead.

That's dumb, since it encourages you to hoard inspiration instead of using it. If you don't use and miss out on points it should be your fault, you shouldn't be rewarded.

Ultimately it comes down to whatever the player decides to do.
FWIW the amount of XP they got in the demonstration was a very miniscule amount (25 XP) although I don't know if that's a static amount or if it scales based on your character's level.

Stacks up in the long run. Either way I think it's bad design, but then again I'm no dev.

In terms of exploiting game mechanics one of the more important ones will be resource management of long rests. Adding a supplies mechanic is a step in the right direction but too early to tell if it's made trivial anyways (compare for example Solasta). For example if all it ultimately does is just add a "work task" to the player to waste time farming supplies randomly. It's a delicate balance as other games try to tie it mainly to encumbrance such as PF:KM but that method doesn't really add much depth to challenge either.

In CRPGs I try to stretch the time between rests as long as possible (like doing the entire Siege of Drezen without resting in Wrathfinder) since it forces you to both play smart and not blow your resources on a single encounter, so I probably won't have trouble with supplies.