Baldur's Gate Baldur's Gate 3 RELEASE THREAD

[Zeltak]

Combat: 4/5 (enjoyable and interesting mechanics but a point off from being too easy, even on tactician).

Use of non-combat skills: 4/5 (good access to a variety of options but there are instances where different choices are meaningless and mostly filler shit like speak with the dead)

Environment and exploration: 4/5 (top notch but Baldur's Gate city was a huge letdown, just lower region why would you do opt for this in your magnum opus)

Companions: 3/5 (mixed bag, you can tell that the intended core party were Laezel, Astarion, Gale and SH. Wyll is boring and Karlach is redditor-tier. Halsin and old BG inserts are irrelevant as they appear way too late in the game. Gale's gay shit is undeniably too much when he could have been designed as a bro).

Writing: 2/5 (really bad: capeshit-level fantasy (

Spoiler

e.g. when the three main villains activate their powers at the end of act 2 like they were re-enacting a he-man scene was probably one of the most cringe shit i have witnessed in an RPG in a long time

), narratively inconsistent and illogical at times (

Spoiler

like why the fuck is the Githyanki queen sending randos to the astral plane to kill the one thing that can challenge her reign instead of the goddamn elite squad standing right there?

and frankly just a lot of meaningless choices that doesn't carry over to end-game despite the game being advertised as the complete opposite

Spoiler

for example, it doesn't matter AT ALL that your character doesn't use any tadpole powers or consume minor tadpoles. it has ZERO effect on the entire game, as long as you don't take the supreme tadpole the story doesn't change

. Also a severe lack of party banter both in quantity and quality, that you would expect of a game with this scope.

Overall: 3.5/5 surprisingly enjoyable combat and exploration carries this game. Could have been much better in the writing/companion department but I didn't quit half-way through out of bloated boredom like shitfinder.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

not a fan of respecs, should not be a thing

I think they're fine, but should depend on your level. Respecing at level 13 should cost 13000 or more. This infinite respecting for 100 gold is silly.

 

[janior]

I kinda wish the third act was structured more as a “the city is your central hub but you’ll visit plenty of peripheral regions” rather her than being a collection of streets, stores and fucking sewers.

iirc the city quests in bg2 a lot of the time required you to go outside the walls and explore at least

 

[Pizzashoes]

The only perception check I really cared about missing was the check for Wither's tomb, the resurrectionist/respeccer. But that leads to Larian's Early Access strategy of frustrating its common early access testers in order to ignore them to create the final experience.

The real problem now is a strategy of succeeding in skill checks is simply substituting soulless hirelings into the party. This video https://youtu.be/BGRu99XLSRc implies the problem is a feature. Your character, your party's face, and your party's abilities are chosen and they should create constraints. If they don't, then anything and everything is acceptable or even encouraged. Of course, the prestigious members of the RPGCodex have self-restraint, but the common degenerates?

 

[janior]

Spoiler

lol just found the frog girl dead on the road rip

 

[Incendax]

If it wasn't for the bugs in act 3 the game would be at 98 metacritic score by now...Fuuuuuuuuuarrrrkkkkkkk!!!!

Next mission for Larian: More and better bug fixers, upgrades to the engine.

Not just act 3. The henchmen are all fucked I could play Da:O on launch and get every scene with all the characters no problem. There is no way to access 90% of the content with the drow henchman. Last playthrough I got loads of interactions from the party and this time I miss scenes and get different scenes sometimes get the same scenes twice it is a bit of a clusterfuck at the moment.

Minthara is definitely not a fully developed party member. Her character is pulled in two different directions, almost certainly like two very different people wrote her. I'd like to reflect more on this before giving my take, but my initial impression is her character was given no clear direction on who she is or what she wants. In the game, she exists as a strong drow female, but when dominated, rescued, and subservient to a dominant male, her character collapses into nonsense. She will approve of the MC acting in terms of gathering power unto himself and disapprove of the MC empowering others. But she'll disapprove of your character killing for killing's sake and such. My issue is her character appears schizophrenic in terms of real gameplay. Of course, this may be my own perspective, but you save her literal mind from oblivion. Your character is her savior. To me, as long as your character demonstrates strength, competence, or confidence, she should be on board in every sense. Otherwise, she faces death.

Hopefully she feels a little more fleshed out when they add her missing dialog back into the game. We shall see.

 

[Lagole Gon]

Sigh...

Icewind Dale 2 (not exactly the best cRPG):
There's a dwarf in the town. He's a bit of a curiosity, being a dwarf who builds ships. What an odd fellow. You can chat with him about it.
Town mayor has an elven wife. Crazy, huh? Elves are a rare sight in the cold north.

Baldur's Gate 3:
Here's a beardless metrosexual negro dwarf tailor. You can't ask about it, because there's nothing weird about it. It's the current year, dwarves of all genders can have facial hair and penis types of their choosing.
A beardless tailor is as natural as a negro elf. We have nothing to say about it, because there's nothing weird about it (But you can mention how people stare at you because you are a half-elf).

...

God, I miss minimum effort in worldbuilding...

I miss fantasy... I really do...

 

[Agame]

If it wasn't for the bugs in act 3 the game would be at 98 metacritic score by now...Fuuuuuuuuuarrrrkkkkkkk!!!!

Next mission for Larian: More and better bug fixers, upgrades to the engine.

Not just act 3. The henchmen are all fucked I could play Da:O on launch and get every scene with all the characters no problem. There is no way to access 90% of the content with the drow henchman. Last playthrough I got loads of interactions from the party and this time I miss scenes and get different scenes sometimes get the same scenes twice it is a bit of a clusterfuck at the moment.

Minthara is definitely not a fully developed party member. Her character is pulled in two different directions, almost certainly like two very different people wrote her. I'd like to reflect more on this before giving my take, but my initial impression is her character was given no clear direction on who she is or what she wants. In the game, she exists as a strong drow female, but when dominated, rescued, and subservient to a dominant male, her character collapses into nonsense. She will approve of the MC acting in terms of gathering power unto himself and disapprove of the MC empowering others. But she'll disapprove of your character killing for killing's sake and such. My issue is her character appears schizophrenic in terms of real gameplay. Of course, this may be my own perspective, but you save her literal mind from oblivion. Your character is her savior. To me, as long as your character demonstrates strength, competence, or confidence, she should be on board in every sense. Otherwise, she faces death.

This sounds like good and insightful female character design; have you interacted with women much?

 

[Tuco Benedicto Pacifico]

Some examples?

Here's a couple out of what's probably dozen:

- in act 1 you are given the chance to save a girl from an angry serpent (a druid's pet/companion): if you fail the check the girl can die. In another game this would be just a net loss, period. In this game this leads to a sequence later in the game where you witness the girl's mother putting in act her revenge against the druid and poisoning her.
- In the goblin camp you can be captured and put in chains by Priestess Gut. You are given to skill checks to free yourself... if you fail both another NPC intervenes and saves your ass, but reminds you that you are now in debt with her patron (spoiler: it's Raphael, not a big secret).

These are two examples of "Failure with a roll" that leads to two interesting story tidbits rather than just to a failed state requiring a reload.

 

[Pizzashoes]

Then, my weekdays of work consisted of anticipating a few hours of Baldur's Gate 3 after work. That was how much I wanted to play

I know this. Same way I felt at school in my BG2 days.

Yes. I've taken some blows recently, and this has been a welcome relief. Regardless, the game defends itself due its quality and excoriates itself due to its problems.

Breh, one might objectively say I've interacted with the most chaotic of women to my detriment. In terms of the character itself having opposing wants and desires, I don't believe that is evident of her innate feminine nature. I believe that is evident of confusing, polar opposite desires, but again I admit I would like to take more note than I have. Personally, I think her character is incorrect. As I said, she should submit to your main character after he fucks her brainwashed mind and then decides to rescue her mind from oblivion. I'm no expert on love, but for selfish people, that is either the world or the work of a fool.

 

[Dwarvophile]

What is this "Nature" the druids keep on babbling about?

 

[Anthedon]

Time for a break.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

Here's a beardless dwarf druid. You can't ask about it, because there's nothing weird about it. It's the current year dwarves of all genders can have facial hair and penis types of their choosing (Penis B is still recommended though).
A beardless druid dwarf is as natural as a negro elf. Or a flying elephant detective. We have nothing to say about it, because there's nothing weird about it (But you can mention how people stare at you because you are a half-elf).

I talked about this. This is the hypocrisy of 5E. Everywhere is simultaneously accepting, loving and a refuge for faggots of all shapes and sizes against racism and bigotry...from somewhere.

The entire world is a hugbox, but if you go to some evil, bad city, they're the bigots...except not all of them, it's just the system!

Races and nations don't even really exist anymore. Humans are all sorts of skin colors in every part of the world, and so are elves. The Drow can have vitiligo, orcs can be guards in Baldur's Gate. One of the nobility in charge of the Flaming Fist is a black elf. Not a Drow. An elf whose skin is dark brown.

The only time a race really exists is for someone to either brag about it, or claim oppression.

 

[Pizzashoes]

That sounds really uninteresting for the average BG3 roleplayer. I think he'll likely dismiss and ignore all of that. How would you, Non-Edgy Gamer , account for the player who simply ignores all of your attempts to safeguard the world against his racism?

 

[AwesomeButton]

* "Roll with failed checks" gameplay - provided! Show me another RPG that does that, in the last 20 years.

Some examples?

Too many to recount, but I put skill checks for perception and survival here, dialogue skillchecks, etc in this category.

Last Light is such an example, if you take "Failed checks" to include the "death" of an NPC during combat

What do you get when you fail perception and survival checks? You just miss stuff.

How would I know, I've missed it? Yeah, these are not important.

The lamp for the shadowcursed lands seemed important and I failed both checks on it though. I failed the check to save the boy from the harpies. Those felt important at the moment and didn't immediately lead to a failed state.

 

[AwesomeButton]

Some examples?

Here's a couple out of what's probably dozen:

- in act 1 you are given the chance to save a girl from an angry serpent (a druid's pet/companion): if you fail the check the girl can die. In another game this would be just a net loss, period. In this game this leads to a sequence later in the game where you witness the girl's mother putting in act her revenge against the druid and poisoning her.
- In the goblin camp you can be captured and put in chains by Priestess Gut. You are given to skill checks to free yourself... if you fail both another NPC intervenes and saves your ass, but reminds you that you are now in debt with her patron (spoiler: it's Raphael, not a big secret).

These are two examples of "Failure with a roll" that leads to two interesting story tidbits rather than just to a failed state requiring a reload.

I had forgotten about the tiefling girl, and didn't know about the goblin camp thing.

 

[mastroego]

So I managed to take down the 3 ogres.

They seemed to be beyond my level, but they basically died to Grease.
Falling to the floor, the tree provided me with ample chances for opportunity attacks, critical hits and so on.
And I'm finally "mature" enough to use consumables instead of hoarding them.
So I used a potion of speed, a venom, and 2 or 3 health potions, and the fight was won.

I admit, it was fun.

The inventory system is bad. The campsite chest is ATROCIOUS. Just a small window, it's impossible to navigate and to order things in it.
What the flaming heck.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

That sounds really uninteresting for the average BG3 roleplayer. I think he'll likely dismiss and ignore all of that. How would you, @Non-Edgy Gamer , account for the player who simply ignores all of your attempts to safeguard the world against his racism?

If I were making a product and only cared about finances, I would probably ignore the player and pretend he doesn't exist.

If I were making a product and either truly cared, or got strongarmed into doing something about it after MasterCard twisted my arm behind the scenes, I would just make black NPCs unkillable, or else make the game virtually unplayable for the racist due to reputation mechanics (ie, you kill Wyll and suddenly all your companions leave you). Maybe even brick their installation or ban them from online play, which a lot of games can do.

If I were a DM and cared about that, I'd probably have the player branded as a vile criminal wherever he goes, even having his own evil allies turn on him eventually, leading to an unwinnable fight where he gets TKP'd.

If I cared. Which I don't.

 

[Parabalus]

Some examples?

Here's a couple out of what's probably dozen:

- in act 1 you are given the chance to save a girl from an angry serpent (a druid's pet/companion): if you fail the check the girl can die. In another game this would be just a net loss, period. In this game this leads to a sequence later in the game where you witness the girl's mother putting in act her revenge against the druid and poisoning her.
- In the goblin camp you can be captured and put in chains by Priestess Gut. You are given to skill checks to free yourself... if you fail both another NPC intervenes and saves your ass, but reminds you that you are now in debt with her patron (spoiler: it's Raphael, not a big secret).

These are two examples of "Failure with a roll" that leads to two interesting story tidbits rather than just to a failed state requiring a reload.

Those aren't "perception or survival" checks though.

The first outcome you can get regularly by picking another choice, so it's not really something unique.

 

[Swen]

 

[Tuco Benedicto Pacifico]

Those aren't "perception or survival" checks though.

The first outcome you can get regularly by picking another choice, so it's not really something unique.

That's because I was just answering the original question and not following your little game of moving the goalposts.
And even then I'd be hard pressed to think about a single survival or perception check that prevented you from finding more than a buried chest with 12 coins inside or similar pointless shit.

 

[Pizzashoes]

Supposed Lord of Murder

This? This was what players spent plenty of time on Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 and Throne of Bhaal and, honestly, countless hours on creating the perfect <CHARNAME> to win and succeed all challenges.

That sounds really uninteresting for the average BG3 roleplayer. I think he'll likely dismiss and ignore all of that. How would you, @Non-Edgy Gamer , account for the player who simply ignores all of your attempts to safeguard the world against his racism?

If I were making a product and only cared about finances, I would probably ignore the player and pretend he doesn't exist.

If I were making a product and either truly cared, or got strongarmed into doing something about it after MasterCard twisted my arm behind the scenes, I would just make black NPCs unkillable, or else make the game virtually unplayable for the racist due to reputation mechanics (ie, you kill Wyll and suddenly all your companions leave you). Maybe even brick their installation or ban them from online play, which a lot of games can do.

If I were a DM and cared about that, I'd probably have the player branded as a vile criminal wherever he goes, even having his own evil allies turn on him eventually, leading to an unwinnable fight where he gets TKP'd.

If I cared. Which I don't.

I asked you this question to force you to think that BG3 forces you into playing more polarized characters in order to fit the mold of what they want for you. Obviously, you will face clear-cut objects no one wants to exist. The crazy duty you are instilled with is creating these objects which appeal to more people.

 

[Tuco Benedicto Pacifico]

The inventory system is bad. The campsite chest is ATROCIOUS. Just a small window, it's impossible to navigate and to order things in it.
What the flaming heck.

Yeah, the UI is fucking atrocious.
I have honestly no idea of what they were even thinking on some of its implementations. Inventory management in particular.
And some of us had been saying this for three years in EA, but they simply refused to listen.

 

[perfectslumbers]

That's cool and all but when are you going to open a cosplay onlyfans Swen?

 

[Sunri]

How are you supposed to break the vengeance oath?

-me, drenched in the blood of anybody who looks at me wrong-

Vengeance oath:

View attachment 40163

I spared Viciona and that broke my oath