Baldur's Gate III Announced - ...and it's coming to Google Stadia and PC

[40 Year Old Boomer]

Combat in this game is chronically unfun.
It's painfully slow, and your characters, no matter how competently built, are so unreliable it's not even worth it.
Itemization, stacking buffs on your party and debuffs on the enemy, and procuring advantages through the environment is meaningless, either way you'll get fucked by your characters inability to roll anything above a 5, and the enemies immunity to rolling anything below a ten.
Using a spell or ability that has the target make a saving throw?
Might as well waste your action throwing a fish at them, it's not going to work 90% of the time.
Trying to break an enemy's concentration?
Only reliable way is to kill them, and even then, they'll successfully save from the attack that killed them, just to stick it in your face.
Did you miraculously manage to hit a 13 AC goblin with your 21 STR + prof. barbarian with a +1 weapon after two failed attempts?
Enjoy the 2 on the d12 damage roll.
The only way to not suck at combat reliably is to become a barrelmancer or just spam AoE spells and long rest after every two encounters.

Everything else in this game is excellent or fine, but I dread everytime I see a combat encounter is inevitable, because I know I'll just get fucked by RNG for ten minutes straight.

Don't try anything from an earlier edition then because 5e is easy mode, my friend.

 

[ZMOT]

I get what you are coming from, but what about reducing the difficulty? Even my boomer ass can do easy without trouble.

I think it's less about the difficulty but more fights being a slog/tedious, which isn't uncommon for d20 games and 5e in particular.

 

[Heavy Duty Boots]

Don't try anything from an earlier edition then because 5e is easy mode, my friend.

I play a 5e campaign, and it's just fine. Even through all the rule lawyering and shooting down stupid ideas from the Barbarian, an encounter against 5 orcs irl is faster than trying to fight 4 goblins on rooftops in this game.
Even if I don't get fucked by dice, the combat is just unfun.
I bought the first two Baldur's Gate for cheap, which I assume use an older ruleset, and I'm sure I'll enjoy them more than 3.
You give your name justice.

 

[Cheeseknife]

I think it's less about the difficulty but more fights being a slog/tedious, which isn't uncommon for d20 games and 5e in particular.
View attachment 5693265

Sometimes it takes the game half a minute to register an action too. There are some instances where you make an attack and the game more or less pauses for a time as it decides whether or not you hit something.

Annoying.

I wonder if Larian will ever allow an autocomplete option for encounters.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Combat in this game is chronically unfun.
It's painfully slow, and your characters, no matter how competently built, are so unreliable it's not even worth it.
Itemization, stacking buffs on your party and debuffs on the enemy, and procuring advantages through the environment is meaningless, either way you'll get fucked by your characters inability to roll anything above a 5, and the enemies immunity to rolling anything below a ten.
Using a spell or ability that has the target make a saving throw?
Might as well waste your action throwing a fish at them, it's not going to work 90% of the time.
Trying to break an enemy's concentration?
Only reliable way is to kill them, and even then, they'll successfully save from the attack that killed them, just to stick it in your face.
Did you miraculously manage to hit a 13 AC goblin with your 21 STR + prof. barbarian with a +1 weapon after two failed attempts?
Enjoy the 2 on the d12 damage roll.
The only way to not suck at combat reliably is to become a barrelmancer or just spam AoE spells and long rest after every two encounters.

Everything else in this game is excellent or fine, but I dread everytime I see a combat encounter is inevitable, because I know I'll just get fucked by RNG for ten minutes straight.

The devs really fucked around with the ability scores for enemies and/or their rolls, on tactician you are basically either gaming the system or just abusing resources to get through every fight, makes any non 90% attack spell basically wasting a turn unless you go for mop up duty.

Which is the issue with the game and DnD in general. You get cool ass spells which you cannot use because maybe the next fight might require them (and sometimes even the bosses have phases). Even if by the end of the game you can basically long rest after every encounter, the game makes your quest feel extremely urgent so you don't want go sleep because it's just feels against the narrative (doesn't help if you don't now the main plot isn't timed). It's just endless resource management. Even warrior classes are also locked behind resources (besides thieves) so they face the same issues. Enchanted gear being OP doesn't help, and your entire build could be fucked because you didn't pick an important piece at the start of the game.

At least if you have an IRL session the dungeon master can change the game to suit your condition.

Also the game should have done what Divinity 2 done and kill any excess cast member after act 1. Needing to micromanage 6+ characters is just excessive.

 

[Male Idiot]

Which is the issue with the game and DnD in general. You get cool ass spells which you cannot use because maybe the next fight might require them (and sometimes even the bosses have phases). Even if by the end of the game you can basically long rest after every encounter, the game makes your quest feel extremely urgent so you don't want go sleep because it's just feels against the narrative (doesn't help if you don't now the main plot isn't timed). It's just endless resource management. Even warrior classes are also locked behind resources (besides thieves) so they face the same issues. Enchanted gear being OP doesn't help, and your entire build could be fucked because you didn't pick an important piece at the start of the game.

Yeah I prefer the cooldown/mana cost alternatives to exhaustable spells slots of too.

 

[derpherp2]

Combat in this game is chronically unfun.

That's my gripe with all this turn-based faggotry. There was a crossroad somewhere between RTwP and this shit and the industry chose the most retarded one.

Like I get "rpg iz stury" faggotry, but that doesn't excuse shitty-ass combat. Especially for non TTS games

 

[Right To Bear Blarms]

The devs really fucked around with the ability scores for enemies and/or their rolls, on tactician you are basically either gaming the system or just abusing resources to get through every fight, makes any non 90% attack spell basically wasting a turn unless you go for mop up duty.

A lot of this is a function of bounded accuracy in 5e. There's effectively a cap on how high of a bonus you can have and how high your AC can get. So even if you're fighting something 2-3 levels below you, it still sucks.

In other TTRPG systems like PF2e, a 12th level fighter will have more than +20 to hit at 12th level (AC ramps up pretty fast as well) which means you'll never miss if you're attacked by a bunch of jobbers. That system also doesn't automatically fail your roll if you get a 1 which made me want to tear my hair out every time I failed a DC10 check with a +15 modifier in this game.

Missing by itself is not a problem but it just means the enemies have another turn to cast Sanctuary, Invisibility, Darkness, or whatever other bullshit they have that deals 0 damage and just makes the combat last longer for no reason.

 

[Shidoen]

So how many of you have accepted Lae’zel/Mintahra into your hearts?

 

[Male Idiot]

Minty isn't bad.

 

[Janusz z Gliwic]

I started Githyanki playthrough and went for Lae'zel but update came out and broke mods so I had to abandon it. I'll try again in the future, I was only in act 1 anyway.
With Minthara, I'd love to do a playthrough with her but I keep hearing her act 3 content is still almost nonexistent so I'm hoping for an update that will expand it.

 

[Neurotic]

Space Bards on the Youtube made a lil' rap video that sums up the feelings of many players regarding a certain Deep Gnome in under 2 minutes.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ClezDg8n6uw

Going to take this as a go ahead to gush about how much I love the gnomes in this game. It will be a great challenge to make this brief.

First, Barcus is the ideal gnome. Goofy looking, goofy voice, loyal af, crafty, intelligent but naive, softhearted, and prone to getting into trouble (with that signature Svirfneblin cynicism). In general the gnome animations are so perfect, how they borderline prance when they walk and butt-scoot their way down ledges, but Barcus' little bouncey thing he does when you trade with him is just chef's kiss.

Second, Gnomes are absolutely prone to being enslaved/killed in large numbers. This had become such a running joke amongst my DnD group that every campaign had to at least hint at some sort of gnome tragedy. (My players once managed to cause three separate mass deaths in one campaign, so proud.) When I saw the gnome slaves in BG3 I was over the moon. It is so perfect, freeing the little guys just so they can inevitably fall right back into more shit later. It's the way nature intended.

Then finally, Wulbren is the perfect gnome villain. Just looking at his weirdly handsome face and serious expression for the first time, my brain went "This is not right". Then you get him to LastLight and see the kind of ass he is. Wulbren isn't the anti-gnome. He is still intelligent but naive, has his own brand of loyalty, and obviously can't stay out of trouble. But he lacks the all of the goofy charm you would expect, he lacks the massive heart gnomes are known to have. What is absolutely wild is that he, who probably suffered a lot of the same shit all gnomes suffer, decided that in return he was going to be the shit-giver. He's the gnome that broke. I have never before considered a story of a gnome being the one to genocide his own kind, but God I love it.

Then bonus, a few Barcus things that I just adore. If you talk to his corpse and ask for his name, he says "He called me Barcus". It is a major part of gnome culture to sort of collect a long list of names from friends and family. I think this line implies that "Barcus" was the name that Wulbren called him, and Barcus valued their friendship so much that he chose that to be his main name. If you get Barcus to Act2 but do not save Wulbren, he doesn't even get mad. He is obviously hurt, but tells Tav with a smile on his face "I'd tell you to write, but I don't check the post". In the after-party, you'll get a very short letter from him that basically says "Withers stopped by to tell me I should write a letter to my friends. Here it is. Return address included". Simple but oh so satisfying, binding those long apart phrases together.

Tldr: I fucking love gnomes and will continue to type forever if I don't stop myself soon.

 

[Cheeseknife]

I want a mod that gives Wyll the larger male body type. I feel like there's some kind of shota thing going on with the whole dynamic he and Karlach have going and that bothers me. More generally, a bigger figure would fit his backstory better since has spent a great deal of time fighting demons. I'd expect he would have the physique to match his exploits.

After having but a short chat with his corpse, I feel the game would improve 1000% with more Franc Peartree content.

Space Bards on the Youtube made a lil' rap video that sums up the feelings of many players regarding a certain Deep Gnome in under 2 minutes.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ClezDg8n6uw

I would love a mod where this song plays softly in the background every time Wulbren appears.

 

[Dick Mason]

What's your honest opinion on Karlach? I tried to use her on an all paladin run and she was alright. I think she's more of a Mary Sue than Gale. Gale is the punching bag of the group in game and in real life. Everyone wants to bang Karlach. I don't think her personality suits her backstory. If she were acted like and older experienced woman maybe I'd like her more. Her rage scream is pretty weak too. Or maybe it's just me. Out of all the party members I tend to favor the rogue more, since they're pretty versatile in and outside combat and my Tav is usually the barbarian.

I disliked her immediately. I was looking forward to killing her and Wyll, but after I slaughtered the druid grove (hated them too) they huffed off never to be seen again.

 

[Chin of Campbell]

Friend of mine suggested that the reason that this game is pozzed to the point of parody (there are multiple characters with fucking vitiligo like this is 2014 tumblr for Christ's sake) is that WotC forced Larian to include that shit. I want to know how "It's fucking dead" I should consider any future Divinity sequels, can you guys weigh in on this?

 

[Absurdist Laughter]

Friend of mine suggested that the reason that this game is pozzed to the point of parody (there are multiple characters with fucking vitiligo like this is 2014 tumblr for Christ's sake) is that WotC forced Larian to include that shit. I want to know how "It's fucking dead" I should consider any future Divinity sequels, can you guys weigh in on this?

I wouldn't be worried, I heard Dungeons and Dragons is up for sale. Not saying Larian would but it could be picked up by the studio if they have interest in making more games like BG3. I would be a little worried if Tencent buys it but I think that is the best bet; begrudgingly.

 

[Rick The Stick]

Buddy bought me a copy of this game as a late Christmas present.

I'm like 75% through act 2. Just gotta save the tieflings from moonrise and go through the little portal lake thing in Shars Gauntlet temple place. So I feel I've put enough time in to earn some complaining.

This shit feels like Dragon Age: Inquisition with better graphics and slightly better rp/dialog options. Nothing about what I've experienced so far has lived up to any of the positive circlejerking I've seen, certainly not enough for it to be same faggoty "breath of fresh air" in gaming. It's mid at best from what I've experienced to this point.

The animation/mocap is about on par with Inquisition which isn't good. Seems most of that part of the budget went to the facial animations, which tbf at times are pretty good but can easily and often veer into uncanny valley goofiness at the drop of a hat.

Character creation may as well have been scrapped entirely in favor of unique, but set in stone, presets for the non origin characters considering how many npcs I've seen look just like my character just with different colored hair or eyes or a different scar/face tat. But hey, at least they let you choose between having a pussy or cock/balls! Because that's what really makes a character unique to you and the role you're playing. Nothing makes a character creator as worthwhile as designating your giant barbarian man a they/them and giving him a pussy I guess. Also why are the cock and balls animated but tits aren't? Whats the logic behind that? Whatever.

Build variety is okay, but still feels really boring. And multi-classing seems like a complete waste of levels for the vast majority of combos. From the experimenting I've done anyway. And the origins/backstories you can choose from feel like they've got really little point. Maybe you get the option to use it to get through a dialog check without any dice rolling, but thats happened so few times to this point that it seems to mostly just be flavor text and nothing more. Also why are you stuck with having baldurian as part of your backstory no matter what? That's gay. I wanted to be an outlander, completely separated from this land, but nah. I still have all the options of acknowledging the inner workings of the Gate as if I was born and raised there my whole life until getting abducted by Cthulu people.

This is my first game that actually adheres to the dice roll shit basically everything, and it's been frustrating on more occasions than I care to admit. It'll always be weird to me that an enemy that's being held in place by magical vines can dodge my point blank attack because the dice said so. Or failing to disarm a trap despite all the bonuses my rogue has to slight of hand going into it. Guess that just comes with the territory.

Voice acting is probably the thing I've been appreciative of the most, but even that's only in certain cases. Of the people I've come across so far the stand outs have been Sharr, Gale and Raphael and the Gobs. And maybe a bit of Wyll and Withers. The worst, to me, have definitely been Laezel and Karlach, and really most of the gith abominations.

Combat is also really mid at the best of times, but can have flashes of "turn your brain off" fun when you pop a bloodlust elixir and run around mercing one enemy after another until you arbitrarily run out of movement points for that round.


All in all, so far, I'd give it a meaningless rating of 4.5/10. Pretty game with a few bright spots, but they've been so few and far between that if I'd paid for this myself I'd have felt ripped off and returned it. But it's been a decent time waster when I've got nothing else to do to hold me over until Dogma 2 drops or I get the itch to play MonHun again.

 

[Dick Mason]

WotC forced Larian to include that shit

I think it's more likely they just read the room. Even if most people won't explicitly come right out with it, everyone intuitively knows which way the wind is blowing, and, with little thought given, will surf the ever-shifting cultural terraforming we're experiencing. It's also, I guess, just probably their culture now, and they're going to express in it everything they do. It doesn't have to be calculated, its just how they're being built now.

It is to their credit that they handled it pretty well. Look at Starfield to see how that sort of thing can be taken too far. Bethesda focused primarily on that to the point where they kinda forgot to include a fun game. At least Baldur's Gate is fun, and has a decent engine underneath. And the characters look human and are generally almost all beautiful/easy on the eyes! For example, as annoying as Astarion is, the art style is at least excellent: he looks exactly right for what he is. They really nailed the aesthetics altogether.

 

[FatalTater]

Yeah the more I think about it the more I think I need more Franc Peartree content.
From arms distribution to soup making to causing Gortash to write gay af letters before the Larian overlords censored their delightful exuberance, my interest has been piqued.
DLC Franc edition when?

 

[mandatorylurk]

I’ve been playing the game and while it’s commendable the depth of it and the actual bang for the buck compared to activision trash, it makes me feel incredibly retarded.

And there’s the ever feeling sense the language just isn’t right since it’s euro trash so things don’t make a lot of initial sense has made it where your party all wants to fuck you (go the fuck away Halsin), yet I’ve also been locked out of some romances because I didn’t do enough long rests to trigger events at night, even though the game makes it seem like you rest and all the NPCs die like in Mass Effect 2.

It’s a frustrating experience, and the goodwill the game has gets eaten up very quickly by the sense the game needed one more clean up before being released, but it’s now in this revered status.