Baldur's Gate Baldur's Gate 3 RELEASE THREAD

[Barbarian]

I'd be more inclined to not shit on Sarevok if his encounter was like really well done. But given it took 2 turns to nuke him, it just made me wonder what the fuck happened.
Yeah got some sweet loot thats it oh yeah previous bg badass.

Literal main antagonist of the first game. Dude really deserved more respect.

Though the best treatment for him would probably be some note or book of his antihero roaming as in ToB ending. He became something of a wandering warrior getting involved in wars and adventures in search of feeling fully alive again if I remember correctly. Should have gotten a glorious death facing off against a dragon or demigod somewhere.

Instead dude is inexplicably back to his old self and reduced to being a popamole miniboss playing second fiddle to his granddaughter(wtf).

 

[AwesomeButton]

My expectation is that the flexibility comes from the character statistics, equipment, and skills I choose, and that I can make a variety of characters that focus on doing different combinations of things well. All while using the standard combat mechanics. High defense, low defense, high damage, low damage, high mobility, low mobility, range focused, melee focused, consistant damage, spikey damage, etc...

You have passive "talents" (in Deadfire "passive abilities") that give you a bonus to each of those - defenses, damage, mobility, damage bonus with proficient weapons... For the fighter in particular, he is designed to be more or less the center of gravity because of his engagement slots and high deflection. Combat in PoE revolves around engagement because of how the AI behaves. It rarely breaks engagement. So if you want to have a very active fighter you can't go without some active abilities. At least knockdown, so you can knock someone down and move away while he is prone, to avoid the AoO. Compared to the IE games fighters, you have more options for building your fighter in PoE.

You may feel that the PoE fighter lacks that obvious edge in terms of accuracy compared ot the IE games. In the IE games STR gives you both a higher chance to hit and higher damage with weapon attacks, and the fighter character is built for STR, to improve both. In PoE ofc, Mr. Balance has fixed, or "fixed", that. The difference in Accuracy (not counting bonuses from items, spells, talents, etc.) between classes in PoE is 5 or 10 - any class will start with either 30/25/20 Accuracy. Consider 5 as +1 to THAC0 (although in PoE there is no absolute cap to Accuracy or to Defenses, the to-hit dice is d100) and you see how much more even the field is. This may be the root of your feeling that the Fighter isn't that impressive in combat compared to the other classes. Still, you can build a fighter for Accuracy, and he will hit hard, but this will happen somewhat at the expense of his Defenses.

In PoE you had to focus on a specific set of stats and general capabilities if you went passive abilities only. It has been a few years, but some stats were only really useful you were doing special abilities, and the passives focused on a specific type of fighter (defensive, IIRC, but it has been a few years so I might be misremembering a bit).

PoE isn't a game where you get much from pumping and dumping base attributes. However some stats appear to gain a little more from pumping than others do. The bonuses to defenses seem least important as they will soon be surpassed by what you gain per level. The bonuses to durations and AoE of abilities seem most important. Still I'd say it's the wisest to have a roughly even distribution, to help you in attribute checks during scripted interactions, etc.

 

[Takamori]

I'd be more inclined to not shit on Sarevok if his encounter was like really well done. But given it took 2 turns to nuke him, it just made me wonder what the fuck happened.
Yeah got some sweet loot thats it oh yeah previous bg badass.

Literal main antagonist of the first game. Dude really deserved more respect.

Though the best treatment for him would probably be some note or book of his antihero roaming as in ToB ending. He became something of a wandering warrior getting involved in wars and adventures in search of feeling fully alive again if I remember correctly. Should have gotten a glorious death facing off against a dragon or demigod somewhere.

Instead dude is inexplicably back to his old self and reduced to being a popamole miniboss playing second fiddle to his granddaughter(wtf).

I will agree with Codex here 7 man cuck squad strikes again. Like the dead three made no fucking sense, should had focused on fucking Illithids if this was the hardon that kickstarted this game.
Go full Underdark exploring the fucked up layers and where usually elder brains and such are located.

 

[Barbarian]

I'd be more inclined to not shit on Sarevok if his encounter was like really well done. But given it took 2 turns to nuke him, it just made me wonder what the fuck happened.
Yeah got some sweet loot thats it oh yeah previous bg badass.

Literal main antagonist of the first game. Dude really deserved more respect.

Though the best treatment for him would probably be some note or book of his antihero roaming as in ToB ending. He became something of a wandering warrior getting involved in wars and adventures in search of feeling fully alive again if I remember correctly. Should have gotten a glorious death facing off against a dragon or demigod somewhere.

Instead dude is inexplicably back to his old self and reduced to being a popamole miniboss playing second fiddle to his granddaughter(wtf).

I will agree with Codex here 7 man cuck squad strikes again. Like the dead three made no fucking sense, should had focused on fucking Illithids if this was the hardon that kickstarted this game.
Go full Underdark exploring the fucked up layers and where usually elder brains and such are located.

I haven't finished the game but you are welcome to spoil me on this one:

Spoiler

Are Bhaal, Myrkul and Bane(who are now mortal) actually involved and participating in this whole BS tadpole conspiracy? Do they show up in the game? The "absolute" seems to be a female entity and something of a merger between the 3, which is also pretty nonsensical and absurd

 

[Fedora Master]

Why the fuck would you limit the amount of dyes in shops, especially JUST so you CAN'T dye all your equipped armor at once? Who the fuck thought of that?

 

[Fedora Master]

I'd be more inclined to not shit on Sarevok if his encounter was like really well done. But given it took 2 turns to nuke him, it just made me wonder what the fuck happened.
Yeah got some sweet loot thats it oh yeah previous bg badass.

Literal main antagonist of the first game. Dude really deserved more respect.

Though the best treatment for him would probably be some note or book of his antihero roaming as in ToB ending. He became something of a wandering warrior getting involved in wars and adventures in search of feeling fully alive again if I remember correctly. Should have gotten a glorious death facing off against a dragon or demigod somewhere.

Instead dude is inexplicably back to his old self and reduced to being a popamole miniboss playing second fiddle to his granddaughter(wtf).

Someone like Sarevok, the guy behind the entire Iron Crisis, should have better contingencies. Even most PnP books stress this: The really high level evil guys all have a dozen different ways to escape or otherwise fuck with players, even IF your party manages to beat them up. This is akin to whipping Acererak in 3 turns. It's bullshit and causes ~*ludonarrative dissonance*~

 

[lukaszek]

should player be allowed to travel to both grim forge and monastery? Feels like there should be choice involved, as in quest failure mechanics that is already implemented

 

[Fedora Master]

I'd be more inclined to not shit on Sarevok if his encounter was like really well done. But given it took 2 turns to nuke him, it just made me wonder what the fuck happened.
Yeah got some sweet loot thats it oh yeah previous bg badass.

Literal main antagonist of the first game. Dude really deserved more respect.

Though the best treatment for him would probably be some note or book of his antihero roaming as in ToB ending. He became something of a wandering warrior getting involved in wars and adventures in search of feeling fully alive again if I remember correctly. Should have gotten a glorious death facing off against a dragon or demigod somewhere.

Instead dude is inexplicably back to his old self and reduced to being a popamole miniboss playing second fiddle to his granddaughter(wtf).

I will agree with Codex here 7 man cuck squad strikes again. Like the dead three made no fucking sense, should had focused on fucking Illithids if this was the hardon that kickstarted this game.
Go full Underdark exploring the fucked up layers and where usually elder brains and such are located.

For the n-th time: They clearly cared more about the Illithid plot than about the Dead Three but they had to mash the two disparate stories together to use the name "Baldur's Gate".
As expected this has nothing to do with the older games and was done for name recognition only.

 

[Barbarian]

should player be allowed to travel to both grim forge and monastery? Feels like there should be choice involved, as in quest failure mechanics that is already implemented

Actually many players only went through one or the other because it is implied in the game that they are mutually exclusive paths.

Grunker mentioned himself as an example.

 

[Shaki]

I'd be more inclined to not shit on Sarevok if his encounter was like really well done. But given it took 2 turns to nuke him, it just made me wonder what the fuck happened.
Yeah got some sweet loot thats it oh yeah previous bg badass.

Literal main antagonist of the first game. Dude really deserved more respect.

Though the best treatment for him would probably be some note or book of his antihero roaming as in ToB ending. He became something of a wandering warrior getting involved in wars and adventures in search of feeling fully alive again if I remember correctly. Should have gotten a glorious death facing off against a dragon or demigod somewhere.

Instead dude is inexplicably back to his old self and reduced to being a popamole miniboss playing second fiddle to his granddaughter(wtf).

I will agree with Codex here 7 man cuck squad strikes again. Like the dead three made no fucking sense, should had focused on fucking Illithids if this was the hardon that kickstarted this game.
Go full Underdark exploring the fucked up layers and where usually elder brains and such are located.

For the n-th time: They clearly cared more about the Illithid plot than about the Dead Three but they had to mash the two disparate stories together to use the name "Baldur's Gate".
As expected this has nothing to do with the older games and was done for name recognition only.

Which is retarded, because the Illithid shit also had ties to BG2, and was unresolved, while Bhaal storyline was finished. It would be completely legit for sequel to respect the Bhaal storyline being over, and instead run purely with the Illithid conspiracy as the main theme.

 

[Takamori]

I'd be more inclined to not shit on Sarevok if his encounter was like really well done. But given it took 2 turns to nuke him, it just made me wonder what the fuck happened.
Yeah got some sweet loot thats it oh yeah previous bg badass.

Literal main antagonist of the first game. Dude really deserved more respect.

Though the best treatment for him would probably be some note or book of his antihero roaming as in ToB ending. He became something of a wandering warrior getting involved in wars and adventures in search of feeling fully alive again if I remember correctly. Should have gotten a glorious death facing off against a dragon or demigod somewhere.

Instead dude is inexplicably back to his old self and reduced to being a popamole miniboss playing second fiddle to his granddaughter(wtf).

I will agree with Codex here 7 man cuck squad strikes again. Like the dead three made no fucking sense, should had focused on fucking Illithids if this was the hardon that kickstarted this game.
Go full Underdark exploring the fucked up layers and where usually elder brains and such are located.

I haven't finished the game but you are welcome to spoil me on this one:

Spoiler

Are Bhaal, Myrkul and Bane(who are now mortal) actually involved and participating in this whole BS tadpole conspiracy? Do they show up in the game? The "absolute" seems to be a female entity and something of a merger between the 3, which is also pretty nonsensical and absurd

Spoiler

Themselves? Nope they never show up, Mykul and Bhaal at least offer some power to their choosens, Bane simply gave no fucks and left his guy to die in the most pathetic encounter ever. You thought Sarevok was bad? Wait for Gortash. The plot is a fucking non sense mess in this regard

 

[Fedora Master]

I'd be more inclined to not shit on Sarevok if his encounter was like really well done. But given it took 2 turns to nuke him, it just made me wonder what the fuck happened.
Yeah got some sweet loot thats it oh yeah previous bg badass.

Literal main antagonist of the first game. Dude really deserved more respect.

Though the best treatment for him would probably be some note or book of his antihero roaming as in ToB ending. He became something of a wandering warrior getting involved in wars and adventures in search of feeling fully alive again if I remember correctly. Should have gotten a glorious death facing off against a dragon or demigod somewhere.

Instead dude is inexplicably back to his old self and reduced to being a popamole miniboss playing second fiddle to his granddaughter(wtf).

I will agree with Codex here 7 man cuck squad strikes again. Like the dead three made no fucking sense, should had focused on fucking Illithids if this was the hardon that kickstarted this game.
Go full Underdark exploring the fucked up layers and where usually elder brains and such are located.

For the n-th time: They clearly cared more about the Illithid plot than about the Dead Three but they had to mash the two disparate stories together to use the name "Baldur's Gate".
As expected this has nothing to do with the older games and was done for name recognition only.

Which is retarded, because the Illithid shit also had ties to BG2, and was unresolved, while Bhaal storyline was finished. It would be completely legit for sequel to respect the Bhaal storyline being over, and instead run purely with the Illithid conspiracy as the main theme.

But that isn't what secondaries and zoomers who never actually played the IE games remember.

 

[Takamori]

Well some huge ass spoilers incoming:

Spoiler

The whole plot schtick is the dead three being played fool by the elder brain so he could get his tentacles whatever in the Neltherese relic, but the whole idea would put all 3 gods in a INT score of 6. They work with souls and Illithids are soulless creatures, so if you got a a army of illithids you will start losing divine power and eventually would lead to them losing control because they have no divine power left. The game would be way more respectable if the elder brain was a clear threat right off the bat with agency and agents, meanwhile you have all the gods,demons and devils pissed and trying to meddle with this without attracting Ao wrath given its fucking up with soul economy. And you could make an entire conflict between all the parties due to their natures and possible solutions to the crisis they would bring.

 

[Tyranicon]

I haven't finished the game but you are welcome to spoil me on this one:

Spoiler

Are Bhaal, Myrkul and Bane(who are now mortal) actually involved and participating in this whole BS tadpole conspiracy? Do they show up in the game? The "absolute" seems to be a female entity and something of a merger between the 3, which is also pretty nonsensical and absurd

Spoiler

Themselves? Nope they never show up, Mykul and Bhaal at least offer some power to their choosens, Bane simply gave no fucks and left his guy to die in the most pathetic encounter ever. You thought Sarevok was bad? Wait for Gortash. The plot is a fucking non sense mess in this regard

Spoiler

So it's ambiguous, the avatar of Myrkul does show up(?) in the final fight with Thorm. The entity speaks like it's Myrkul. But then you one-round KO it, and the writers walk it back like you didn't just kick a god's ass at level 6.

 

[The_Mask]

 

[Tyranicon]

Friendship with Yathzee ended.

 

[perfectslumbers]

In my game, he started with some "legendary resistance", which was +20 to the next saving throw I think? And a spirit cast Sanctuary on him too. So he lasted a bit, as I didn't know the mechanics and killed off the spirits, buffing him further. He had maybe 30 AC.

If you inspect and read all the enemies so you know how it works it's a very easy fight. Also if you're like me and roleplay close doors the guards outside the room won't join

 

[Modron]

Friendship with Yathzee ended.

But Torment has bigger titties than Duke Nukem 3D in it?

 

[The_Mask]

Friendship with Yathzee ended.

I think he's always admitted to Planescape: Torment being too good for a videogame, and putting it alongside stuff like Shadow of the Colossus as being straight-up art.

 

[lukaszek]

should player be allowed to travel to both grim forge and monastery? Feels like there should be choice involved, as in quest failure mechanics that is already implemented

Actually many players only went through one or the other because it is implied in the game that they are mutually exclusive paths.

Grunker mentioned himself as an example.

maybe if you go murder hobo.

myself I just infiltrated/talked my way through without picking a side. It appears that you can make it all the way to grim forge without combat(once you escape illithids)!
So for my playthrough

Spoiler

I get all the way to grim forge
I learn that while there is an elevator, there is some fog and i lack protection
After exploring well I finally pick a side - duergar rebels. I got lantern but no fuel
So i backtrack, i side with mushrooms
I continue backtracking, side with druids
fine, i guess ill go after githyanki

never felt it was implayed at all. Now I'm looking at this darkness and started to think about my progression so far

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

What I mean is, D&D is "simulationist" in terms of what people think mediaeval combat would have looked like (even though we know from the manuals that it was much more tricksy and sophisticated than that, really fully as sophisticated as East Asian martial arts) - so maybe that's the secret of its success, it appeals to people's imaginary idea of the crudity of what that type of combat would have been like.

In AD&D 1st edition, Gary Gygax defended the use of 1-minute combat rounds by asserting they simulated this kind of imaginary martial finesse. Never mind the actual reason is that he translated the 1-minute "turn" in Chainmail rules for miniatures directly into a 1-minute combat round for the less abstract combat of Dungeons & Dragons. Holmes Basic D&D converted the round to 10 seconds, which was maintained in B/X and BECMI D&D, but AD&D 2nd edition continued to employ a 1-minute round.

the bigger issue to me is how ridiculously overpowered the parasite abilities are

I dunno. How often do you even get to use them considering the supreme power of any class with extra attacks? Sure, there are extra powers, but have you seen what a normal paladin, barbarian, bard, or fighter can do? Rarely is it worth to use a whole action on a power instead of just using an action for attacks.

Also, in terms of game system changes that make it easier, bonus action for potions is way up there. Typically what people complain about with 5E is that the players are invincible unless you burst them down in one turn. That change just makes it harder for the player to ever die if they use their resources. Shove is only super powerful when you are near a chasm, and even then, it's often better to get the loot than it is to get the easy kill.

Succeeding in the use of a certain machine in the githyanki creche converts all of those tadpole abilities from costing an action to costing only the bonus action.

 

[Barbarian]

Well some huge ass spoilers incoming:

Spoiler

The whole plot schtick is the dead three being played fool by the elder brain so he could get his tentacles whatever in the Neltherese relic, but the whole idea would put all 3 gods in a INT score of 6. They work with souls and Illithids are soulless creatures, so if you got a a army of illithids you will start losing divine power and eventually would lead to them losing control because they have no divine power left. The game would be way more respectable if the elder brain was a clear threat right off the bat with agency and agents, meanwhile you have all the gods,demons and devils pissed and trying to meddle with this without attracting Ao wrath given its fucking up with soul economy. And you could make an entire conflict between all the parties due to their natures and possible solutions to the crisis they would bring.

The way you guys put it it sounds more retarded than possible.

 

[Lagole Gon]

Is the fight with Orin hard?
I don't know because she bugged out and attacked me only once.

Also, RIP Halsin. I actually got there in time, but he died... in friendly fire, I think? I'm honestly not sure and I didn't do it on purpose.

 

[Alienman]

Spoiler

Even wearing the same helmet and armor from the first game. As if he hasn't learned anything or changed at all after all that happened. They completely took a dump on his redemption arc and moody endings he had in ToB

There was some Wizards book about the Baldur's Gate characters, and he was in it I think he was a homeless junke and went back into Bhaal worship.
So its not Larian changing the plot, they are following up from that one book.

Wasn't it established that that BS was noncanonical fanfic despite being published by Wotc?

It was established people at Larian have read it. Someone was tweeting about it.
No idea if it was taken, but its a possible reason for why that guy was in that place wearing those clothes doing that job.

Some of the crap in there would have been even worse if they had followed up on it.

Spoiler

Imagine Imoen showing up as a vampire randomly. Irenicus and Bodhi are still alive somehow even. Though you are right that both Viconia and Sarevok seem to have been brought back on that basis, which was utter shite - both remaining one dimensional villains ignoring all changes some players uptook.

How did Imoen become a vampire?

 

[Alienman]

Why the fuck would you limit the amount of dyes in shops, especially JUST so you CAN'T dye all your equipped armor at once? Who the fuck thought of that?

Sounds like something you would do if you planned to have microtransactions.