Board 8 > No Baldur's Gate 3 topic huh?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I wouldn't say I'm "good" at this game yet, so I am finding it a bit surprising I'm winning some of these fights that feel like they should be harder for me. I'm literally using three spellcasters and a rogue, and I'm sure there's absolutely no way I'm picking all the good spells and perks and things. Hell, my Gale still has a level of rogue on him from before I found Astarion and I thought I needed that to pickpocket people. I also took the chaos route for my MC warlock, and that's gotten me into sticky situations, lol.

mnk posted...

I wouldn't say I'm "good" at this game yet, so I am finding it a bit surprising I'm winning some of these fights that feel like they should be harder for me. I'm literally using three spellcasters and a rogue, and I'm sure there's absolutely no way I'm picking all the good spells and perks and things. Hell, my Gale still has a level of rogue on him from before I found Astarion and I thought I needed that to pickpocket people. I also took the chaos route for my MC warlock, and that's gotten me into sticky situations, lol.

You know you can respec them whenever you want right? You can take that level off Gale if you want.

I'm aware, I just haven't felt like doing it yet. I feel like I'm gonna wanna re-scrutinize everything I've given him, and that sounds like a hassle I haven't felt like dealing with yet, lol.

That said, I'm sure I'll do it when I hit level 5 so he'll have that second action.

I remember spending like 28 hours in act 1 during the alpha. Does anyone know how long the other acts are compared to it?

mnk posted...

That said, I'm sure I'll do it when I hit level 5 so he'll have that second action.

Spellcasters mostly don't get extra actions, they do however get the next tier of spellcasting on odd levels, and the ones at level 5 are very good (fireball)

Finished act 1 at 32 hours in, level 6. Act 2 has quite the opening there.

HeroDelTiempo17 posted...

Spellcasters mostly don't get extra actions, they do however get the next tier of spellcasting on odd levels, and the ones at level 5 are very good (fireball)

Just in case anybody isn't aware - bashers get the extra attack at level 5 which is huge, but spellcasters do get an improvement to their cantrips by adding an extra damage die. IE Firebolt goes from 1d10 to 2d10, Ray of Frost / Sacred Flame / Bone Chill go from 1d8 to 2d8, etc. I would say this isn't as good as an extra attack, but it's something. Especially since cantrips generally don't get damage increases from your casting stat or anything

Uniquely, the Warlock cantrip Eldritch Blast doesn't get an extra die, it fires a second beam. so it goes from 1d10 to two separate 1d10 attacks. This is really good, particularly because any damage bonuses you might have will get applied to both beams separately.

Trying to see how many goblins I can kill at the camp without raising any alarms. At three so far! Also robbed the trader blind. Killing Crusher after he slunk away in shame when I made him kiss my feet was very satisfying, lol. Next I'm hoping I can lure the goblins harrassing the owlbear into this side area and kill them quietly.

Seems Larian managed to talk Xbox out of enforcing feature parity between the two Series models.

https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2023/08/24/baldurs-gate-3-will-launch-on-xbox-this-year-but-without-split-screen-co-op-on

JonThePenguin posted...

Seems Larian managed to talk Xbox out of enforcing feature parity between the two Series models.

https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2023/08/24/baldurs-gate-3-will-launch-on-xbox-this-year-but-without-split-screen-co-op-on

That's awesome (and a little amazing they got Microsoft to bend the rules). It's too bad it's not cross play, I thought it would be between xbox and pc.

Im at the very end of the game

i do not want to be over, Ive become too invested in these people

Well I killed five before ending up trying my hand after getting the town on alert. Thankfully my positioning caused the troll/ogre thing to be stuck on some fences so I could just snipe at him and run back to avoid his tosses. In a hilarious turn of events, the only goblins who didn't join in were the ones who saw Crusher kiss my feet. I guess they're my fans.

Then I went inside, and no one was aggro... hooray! So I tried killing everyone in the entrance area. Seemed to work fine, but then everyone in the next area aggroed as soon as I went further in. So... I decided to see if destroying the drum before the attack would make a difference, and it did! So now I'm in the inner sanctum with lots of dead goblins in my wake, and no one the wiser. I guess I'll see what happens next.

Also I made Astarian's day with some hardcore BDSM. Pretty sure we're gonna bone on the next long rest. I'm just kinda worried about getting too far in and needing to rest before finding Halsin and possibly having him die if I do? Also seems like it'd be good to have some Illithid wisdom available, which would also require a rest. Hmm...

The first big patch is out and the patch notes are a doozy.

mnk posted...

The first big patch is out and the patch notes are a doozy.

I stopped reading them and just started scrolling because I was curious how many mouse wheel scrolls I needed to get to the bottom

Still avoiding reading the topic until the PS5 version is out. As mentioned ages ago this will be my first game of this type. Looking up info I think I've narrowed down what I would like my first playthrough class to be to 2, purely aesthetically. Obviously I'm sure I will be able to play whatever I want, but do want to know if either of these may not be the best for a complete beginner. Note I will not be playing co-op.

Storm Sorceror
Tempest Cleric

Found a giant spider down a well

Guessing I am not strong enough to kill it?

masterplum posted...

Found a giant spider down a well

Guessing I am not strong enough to kill it?

I'll spoil post this I guess, just in case you don't want advice.

You can break the webs when it's on it to drop it down and deal a lot of damage. You can also knock it off the top level to get the same result. Knocking things off the edge is one of the best ways to kill enemies - there are areas you can throw them immediately to their death, or at the very least knock them down a level. I've been thunderwaving everyone as my wizard and cheesing some harder fights. Just know if you hit them into an area you can't walk, you can't loot them.

masterplum posted...

Found a giant spider down a well

Guessing I am not strong enough to kill it?

I thought so too, but I found a way to beat it at level 3 with my unoptimized party of three mages and a rogue. Largely through the way Aecioo spoilered, but also luck. Took me three tries, but I learned from my defeats.

UshiromiyaEva posted...

Still avoiding reading the topic until the PS5 version is out. As mentioned ages ago this will be my first game of this type. Looking up info I think I've narrowed down what I would like my first playthrough class to be to 2, purely aesthetically. Obviously I'm sure I will be able to play whatever I want, but do want to know if either of these may not be the best for a complete beginner. Note I will not be playing co-op.

Storm Sorceror
Tempest Cleric

Casters can be a little complicated as a newbie but these are two good ones to pick if you just want to blast people

Sorc is probably the better option considering one of the companions is already a Cleric, and Sorcerer's charisma helps with dialogue options. You can respec any character to any class though, but most people stick with minor tweaks and a I've seen a lot of people end up making her the Tempest Cleric.

unfortunately the patch did not address a crumbled wall in the final sequence of the game that you can interact with to squeeze through if youre small which leads below the geometry and immediately kills you

just discovered that little issue personally

MoogleKupo141 posted...

unfortunately the patch did not address a crumbled wall in the final sequence of the game that you can interact with to squeeze through if youre small which leads below the geometry and immediately kills you

just discovered that little issue personally

is that a bad thing

Hmm, what's in this room of the goblin camp. Oh, a puzzle. Well let's find that Nightsong thingy I guess. Wait where am I now. Oh fuck, I didn't sign up for this shit.

I did get a laugh at the statues almost fully killing this minotaur for me, but nah, I ain't messing with this place right now.

I did the entire Underdark aside from a few harder things and everything else on the surface before actually doing the Goblin Camp xd

tcaz2 posted...

I did the entire Underdark aside from a few harder things and everything else on the surface before actually doing the Goblin Camp xd

The forge fight took me and my coop buddy about an hour to figure it out. It was so rewarding at the end. My favorite thing so far

Having to map out every turn and the realization I had when I would mist step behind the pillar to draw him in as he ghost handed the lever was astounding.

Great game

I just found out that being an Owlbear and using Crushing Flight whilst Enlarged and having a Colossus Potion active makes for some fun damage!

(Act 2 area spoilers)
https://streamable.com/zxkoye

When y'all play couch co-op, do you use a controller to play or a wireless keyboard and mouse?

Ugh I think I might legitimately have to put my playthrough on hiatus for some time. I just ran into the FOURTH incident of the game not remembering or caring about my previous world state and decisions and it just is really taking me out of the game.

I think I may just have to wait for several more major patches.

is anyone playing on the easiest difficulty? i feel like i keep running into things i'm not prepared for in the interest of doing the quest i think my party would prioritize, and i die, and it's a bad use of time

like i'd at least be able to run instead of wipe

if i went down would it still be fun?

Gosh I'm so excited to get into this.

Thinking of starting a few different characters for a few hours and just see what sticks the most.

I've been running around Baldur's Gate in Act 3 for hours and hours and god damn is there an overwhelming amount of bullshit to do

Crazy big game

yeah I was surprised by how dense the lower city ended up being

for like three days straight I thought today is the day I beat the game, but it kept going

still only in act 2 because I can only play a day or two a week (doing it entirely coop with my friend)

it continues to impress me how anything we think of ends up working

As I don't have a PC worth a damn I'll join you all soon.

I haven't felt like playing since I got sick. :(

On a second playthrough now

i thought I was so thorough in act 1 the first time through

so imagine my surprise when I happened upon a subarea of the Underdark that I completely missed the first time. The Festering Cove.

10/10 area, do recommend

Less than 48 hours. I've been constantly changing what I want to start with.

Currently planning on bouncing between 2 character for a couple hours to see what sticks: An Oath of the Ancients Tiefling Paladin and a Dragon Ancestry Dragonborn Sorceror.

Is going Double Dragon too much? I don't care because his name will be William Jameson.

what color dragon though

theres like a dozen options, both for Dragonborn and for dragon ancestry

Won't know for sure until I get in, want to see that stuff in-engine. I am assuming a mix of Lightning and Ice just for my aesthetical preference, but I know both have multiple color selections, and I need to decide which is my primary body and which is my subclass scales.

My spouse was mad I demanded to just kill all the Goblins.

I was excited we got a quest to do it

Patch 2 went live today. A big thing is it now allows you to ditch co-op characters from your party by talking to Withers.

Dammit, apparently 72 hour early access actually means 60 hour early access, this thing doesn't unlock until noon Saturday!

I was looking at making an evil character and clicked on the Dark Urge. I don't know if it's because it's the default but the White dragon just seems the best. I think maybe because the red fleshy parts provide a contrast that none of the other types seem to have?

Black dragon was probably in second

im doing a dark urge/evil run now and Im finding it hard because I dont want to be mean to these characters who were all my friends last week when I was playing the first time

poor barcus didnt deserve to die

Have decided on a Silver Dragonborn, have not decided between Blue or Bronze Ancestry yet. It really may just come down to which scales I like best rather than ability once I get in that creator.

Choose guardian WTF

I was not prepared to have to make a second character. I somehow completely missed this in every preview I looked at.

Apparently a bug where you can preview character voice in creator.....hnnnnnnnnn.

Did an entire difficult tomb only to find out a 4th party member was right next door after beating it. Pain.

I need to learn when to do stuff. I understand the short rest system, and I assume long rests reolinish those, but when should I long rest?

Also I keep getting Tiefling checks to be racist. No thanks lol.

my first time through, I was very reluctant to long rest because I was afraid there would be some sort of consequence to doing it like time progressing would lock me out of something

it turns out thats only true in a small number of specific situations that generally require you to have initiated a situation before time becomes a problem

an example: theres a building on fire that you can rescue people from. If you find that building and go back to camp before you rescue the people, theyll die. But until you find that building, you can go through as many days as you want and those people will still be alive when you finally get there.

the situations where time is relevant are mostly intuitive like that, but not always. i ended up looking up a guide online at some point just to be safe.

on this second playthrough, Im realizing the developers actually expect you to long rest much more often than I was doing it. There are events that only happen at camp at night , and only one will occur each night, so I missed out on some scenes the first time through due to my extreme rest reluctance

honestly, its one of my bigger issues with the game. Based on how many events there are at night, they really seem to expect you to rest a lot more than is actually necessary for healing/spell slot reasons.

Ive started occasionally long resting without using supplies just to try to run through all these scenes.