D&D General Baldur's Gate 3 will now be releasing August 3rd on PC and September 6th on PS5, increased level cap, race & class details and more

[Henadic Theologian]

They all have dark and light paths, and always have done. They are all potential player characters after all. They have moved Wyll's "decision point" earlier, up to where he encounters Karlach, but the other characters are pretty much unchanged.

This may be for a mechanical reason - Wyll may need to find himself a new patron or multiclass.

I think they will all have early decision points.

 

[Synthil]

It's Divinity (and I never liked that game) with 5e rules wrapped around it

I disliked DoS2 so much, I never even played through Fort Joy. I hate the Forgotten Realms. I don't even particularly like 5E. Yet, from what I experience in EA, I love this game already. It's not really hard. Not even close to the extend where you have to "die over and over to figure it out".

Cross any line refuse to play as expected and the consequences are harsh and unforgiving.

This couldn't be further from the truth. This game offers an insane amount of freedom to the player.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

I tried it played it for about 12 hours and then got a refund. It's not Baldurs Gate. It's Divinity (and I never liked that game) with 5e rules wrapped around it. The fact that your first encounter's at first level are Mind flayers and intellect devourers that can one shot even your tanks is silly if you are trying to sell it as a dnd game. It's plays like some of the ancient RPG's where you are supposed to die over and over to figure out each scene. I'll be really surprised if they manage to pull out a huge success on this one. I think this one is going to be like the DND movie. They'll scream thier succes to the heavens till they have to admit defeat. (unless all the old divinity fans like the dnd stuff wrapped around divinity. they might save it)

From what you have said, I doubt you have played 12 hours. (Steam does not offer refunds if you play for 12 hours as well). Like nothing about what you have said is accurate. Also the game is one of the best selling games on Steam. I imagine it's going to do well.

 

[Ondath]

The fact that your first encounter's at first level are Mind flayers and intellect devourers that can one shot even your tanks is silly if you are trying to sell it as a dnd game.

I believe you when you say that you played the game and requested a refund, but this line makes it sound like you simply watched a few trailers about the game and then made up your mind about it. Your first encounters pit you against a bunch of imps and mind flayer thralls, and even the final encounter of the tutorial area doesn't pit you against a mind flayer proper (as that one is busy fighting the cambion) and all you need to do is reach the control console as fast as possible, so it doesn't expect you to fight mind flayers and intellect devourers to the death. Of course, everyone's tastes are different, but having played Divinity: Original Sin 1, I'd say the game's engine has some clear differences that make it closer to the 5e experience. Granted, at the start of the EA the game was basically a reskinned DOS 2 with 5E rules, but that gradually changed over time and right now it doesn't play like that at all IMO.

The original Baldur's Gates (which I'm currently playing actually, so I've got a pretty fresh memory of them) were a faithful recreation of the AD&D 2E experience at the table, set in the Forgotten Realms. BG3 is a faithful recreation of the 5E ruleset set in the Forgotten Realms (and the story is likely to be connected to the Bhaalspawn saga in some way, but haven't revealed how yet). In that regard, I think this game is as Baldur's Gate as Baldur's Gate games go.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

all this stuff about it exploding if it's not fed with magic is a pure fabrication. He needs to feed it magic in order to use it to gain UNLIMITED POWAH!

I mean, it's definitely not a pure fabrication in the EA, because if he dies, and you don't res him, the bomb does go off, and you die too, and I believe the same is true if he doesn't get his fix. Doesn't mean something more complex isn't also happening though.

(it is technically possible to Drizzt the cambion for his ubersword)

It's not even terribly hard. People have these elaborate strategies for doing it but if you're willing to reload if you fail, then at least 80% of the time you, two companions + your face-wiggly buddy can drop him and trigger the scene-end before the reinforcements catch you, just with a good old-fashioned "hit him with everything you've got!".

I tried it played it for about 12 hours and then got a refund. It's not Baldurs Gate. It's Divinity (and I never liked that game) with 5e rules wrapped around it.

If you played in more than a year ago, this viewpoint is outdated.

Let me be really honest here, when I first played BG3, which was early in Early Access, my view was IDENTICAL to yours. You can probably even go back and find posts I made to that effect. The game absolutely started out as Divinity with 5E rules. But that's changed over the three years of development and now? Nah. Just not true.

The fact that your first encounter's at first level are Mind flayers and intellect devourers

Also, to be clear: there isn't even a single Illithid you need to fight, nor even a single Intellect Devourer you need to, in the starting area. Any ones you fought, you attacked them, they didn't attack you. That's been true even in Early EA. So you're putting your decision to attack neutral or even friendly units as the game attacking you, which is not true.

So let's be clear that this is not a "fact". It's both incorrect on both points - i.e. they're not the "first encounters" nor are they are they hostile! I don't know how to be more clear about that.

Once you get off the starting area, there is one place where you can - entirely voluntarily - fight three severely down-gunned Intellect Devourers. They have subnormal HP - around 15 HP, instead of 21, an AC of 7 instead of 12, don't have their Devour Intellect attack at all, so instead just make a single melee and I don't think they even melee for 2d4+2 (I also suspect their +to hit is lower than normal, as they miss a lot), I think it's a lower value but I'd have to check. Furthermore, they're spaced out to make the fight much easier. There's one in the starting area who is tougher, but it's neutral (and IIRC the only difference is it has more HP).

It's plays like some of the ancient RPG's where you are supposed to die over and over to figure out each scene.

Nope.

You did the opposite of that. You threaded the needle, and found a special way to die that 90% of players will never discover, by intentionally attacking mobs that you both knew were very dangerous, and were neutral to you.

This isn't a wind-up or trick from the game either - it's a valuable lesson - don't always attack people who aren't fighting you, even if they "look evil". Observe and decide on the basis of observation what you're going to do.

There's also a major wave in CRPGs these days of "nO hAnDhOlDiNg" so making the initial fights invoke some of the extreme difficulty of certain Throne of Bhaal fights may just be a winning strategy.

Nah. Nevin did this to himself. He attacked neutral mobs. You're not meant to fight them.

Also the idea that it's outrageous for a D&D game to feature mobs that can one-shot a tank at level 1 is pretty funny. I'd be surprised if there are any adventures on the market which manage to entirely avoid mobs that, on a crit or even max damage in some cases, couldn't drop a tank (who probably has 12 or 14 HP at most).

 

[Ruin Explorer]

The first tough fight are a bunch of undead in a nearby tomb.

That's such a D&D fight too because depending on how your rolls (attacks and saves) go, it can be anywhere from utterly trivial (I took zero damage one time I did it, not even really intentionally) to "OMG will we survive?!". Smart tactics will help a lot, of course, but on a bad day even they can't save you at like L2 (well, can't save you from expending a ton of resources, anyway).

I mean that is one aspect of D&D that, for better or worse, BG3 does replicate. At lower levels, 5E is a swingy game (so are most editions), in the sense that a few (2-5) unlucky rolls can sometimes destroy even a perfectly reasonable approach, or make an extremely dumb approach work out just fine. Even by level 4-5 which you could reach in EA, that's noticeably less of an issue.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

That's such a D&D fight too because depending on how your rolls (attacks and saves) go, it can be anywhere from utterly trivial (I took zero damage one time I did it, not even really intentionally) to "OMG will we survive?!". Smart tactics will help a lot, of course, but on a bad day even they can't save you at like L2 (well, can't save you from expending a ton of resources, anyway).

I mean that is one aspect of D&D that, for better or worse, BG3 does replicate. At lower levels, 5E is a swingy game (so are most editions), in the sense that a few (2-5) unlucky rolls can sometimes destroy even a perfectly reasonable approach, or make an extremely dumb approach work out just fine. Even by level 4-5 which you could reach in EA, that's noticeably less of an issue.

The other thing about that encounter is you might be level 2 or level 3 when you reach it. If you are level 2 it can be difficult, at level 3 it's easy. Big power difference between level 2 and level 3 characters.

 

[Burnside]

LOL worst case, dude, you know what the old stats were, so use those. That's the beauty of that system.

To be precise though it's not actually Tasha's, it's the 1D&D take, where everyone gets a +2 and a +1, we haven't yet been told how/what compensates humans/half-elves (who are in) for this change.

There's the REAL problem with Tasha's, absolutely throws a grenade at whatever character we were planning if we were playing Tav!

I'm still vacillating between Karlach Origin and a Bard Tav myself (will probably try Dark Urge eventually, but not a first playthrough, esp. as I feel I may well only make it a certain distance with Dark Urge before fleeing), but now I just have absolutely no idea what race I'd pick for Bard, because it genuinely could be any.

I also plan to start with a Bard. I want to see what human and half-elf will get by way of compensation. Failing that, I will likely go with a high elf for the extra cantrip or wood elf for the extra 5 feet of movement.

 

[Burnside]

I tapped out after ten hours both times I attempted to play DoS2. Really didn’t care for it at all. But I love BG3.

 

[Lidgar]

I also plan to start with a Bard. I want to see what human and half-elf will get by way of compensation. Failing that, I will likely go with a high elf for the extra cantrip or wood elf for the extra 5 feet of movement.

Funny how so many of us plan to run a Bard for our first run. It's hard to pass up the utility and social skills they bring. I'm leaning towards valor bard with the criminal background so I can pick locks and us all those elemental arrows with a magic longbow...

Second run will probably be with a drow (class TBD), just because the social interactions with that species are interesting.