Board 8 > After 279 hours I finally finished my first run of Baldur's Gate 3. Let's talk.

(+) Yeah! (+)

*Eventual full game spoilers in here*

Initially I was going to make this a playthrough topic, but as soon as I started I quickly realized that I didn't want to do anything else besides play this game. I had never played a BG game before nor delved deeper than a surface level into DnD, so almost everything going in was new to me. I did a bit of research into world/race lore, but otherwise stayed spoiler free. I decided that if I was going to commit to a whole ass campaign, I was going to go full ass roleplay mode on this thing from the jump.

So for my adventure I became Xazrael, a Githyanki who had been abandoned by his creche after eschewing the martial teachings of his race and their war with the Mindflayers. Instead he focused on consuming any and all knowledge of the Astral Plane, Faerun, and beyond. This led to him initially becoming a Sage, spending countless hours reading books and tomes and scrolls and whatever scraps of parchment he could pull from behind bookcases. But no matter how much knowledge was consumed it was never going to be enough. And that's when he started to hear the whispers from a place beyond the fabric of reality itself... making a pact with the Great Old One and becoming a warlock in order to have a taste of knowledge that so very few get to experience. And all was well until he woke up on a Nautiloid, dragged back into the very war he thought he left behind.

From there, ask me anything about my adventure! There's way too much that happened it write it all down at once. To give you an idea though, how we started:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/0/0809df64.jpg

How it progressed:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/b/b0982657.jpg

How it ended:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/7/75601a4e.jpg

How it really ended:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/f/f4e3f340.jpg

did you savescum?

A little in the first few hours until I got a real grasp on all of the mechanics. Then I just learned to let things ride (once I was out of inspiration).

The only other abuse of systems I used was by the end of the game I was creating full on IEDs. Backpacks just stuffed with various bombs, fireworks, and runepowder. Chuck one deep and watch the mushroom cloud. Thinking about it, I may have been a terrorist. Freedom fighter, more like.

FFDragon posted...

A little in the first few hours until I got a real grasp on all of the mechanics. Then I just learned to let things ride (once I was out of inspiration).

The only other abuse of systems I used was by the end of the game I was creating full on IEDs. Backpacks just stuffed with various bombs, fireworks, and runepowder. Chuck one deep and watch the mushroom cloud. Thinking about it, I may have been a terrorist. Freedom fighter, more like.

We've got a bad case of the terroroids!

How much content do you think you missed?

Who was your MVP party member, aside from yourself?

MysteriousStan posted...

How much content do you think you missed?

I definitely tried to do everything I could, but there are lots of alternate paths I shut out by making other decisions. I played a mostly good, if not particularly pragmatic, custom character. From what I hear, playing as The Dark Urge and going more evil is basically an entirely different playthrough.

As such, I created a female Drow Dark Urge Bard last night to begin down that exact road some point soon (I still need a decompress).

junk_funk posted...

Who was your MVP party member, aside from yourself?

PARTY RANKING

N/A: Minthara
I didn't realize she was a possible companion until I killed her and she had underwear. "whoops"

9. Gale
This dick right here. I managed to help everyone else overcome their trauma, but despite me feeding him useful items and being like "hey remember how much you sucked before maybe don't do that again" and "this is definitely a tainted weave" he was just "i'm sad you don't trust me" and became a god of ambition anyway. And unsurprisingly become worse. Bench warmer. Also I showed interest in the Weave one time and he wouldn't stop trying to fuck me. At least Halsin took the hint.

8. Halsin
He, too, really wanted to fuck me. But he took the let down a lot easier. I enjoyed the whole quest surrounding him and shadowlands but he never came off my bench once he actually joined the party. In fact, he was kidnapped for most of Act 3 and I was... okay with that and didn't even see him for like 80 hours. He gave me a wooden duck though, so that was cool.

7. Minsc
The only character I was slightly familiar with before the game, because of Mercs. Big dummy with a miniature giant space hammer. I used him to get the achievement for multiclassing into every class. That was about it.

6. Wyll
He's fine. But the party had only room for one Warlock, and lmao was my pact waaaaaaaay better. My Old God just gave me powers and sometimes gave me some boons (like in the creche machine) and they only really wanted to see how much shit I get myself into and watch. He eventually became the Blade of Avernus and broke his pact with Mizora, so he and Karlach ended up back in the hells, which I found cute. A little Batman and Robin duo slaying demons. Also he was mad at me for a while because I may have slept with Mizora. Worth it.

5. Karlach
This is the character I wish I had spent more time with the most. Every single word out of her mouth is great and she was a joy to have around. I prioritized fixing (but not really) her engine and gave her a hug when she cooled off, but she was like the beefy older sister of the group. I never really learned Barbarian though, so she didn't see much of the battlefield. And I was scared she would burn us all down again like after we first saved her. I convinced her not to just die and head back to the hells with compatriot Wyll to try and find a real solution to her engine. They seem to be making progress and having a blast while doing it, so I'm glad we got to that point.

4. Jaheira
Every word out of her mouth is also great, and we just shit talked the fuck out of each other. The first time I was a sarcastic prick to her and got the "Jaheira approves" prompt, I was sold. She's seen some things and it shows. Her kids are just like her, so there will be a whole new generation of sass. I took her around the city for a while, just to get her perspective on things, which was a huge honor for me

3. Astarion
A lot of this has to do with me loving having a rogue in the party - Double dagger double handbow destruction. Vampy was the setup man for the rest of us to knock down. As previously stated I enjoy a sarcastic run in my characters, so his dialogue was pretty solid throughout. I let him bite me once then told him just to eat enemies and to leave me out of it, which he was fine with. And his quest flows through the whole game, weaving with Raphael and everything, which I valued. I convinced him not to ascend, because you know he would become an insufferable prick at best and full evil at worst, but damn did I feel horrible when started burning up in the sun during the ending. The epilogue made me feel less bad though, he seems to be genuinely happy and free. Also god dammit if I have to hear "what I wouldn't give for a skeleton key" one more time my brother in selune YOU ARE THE SKELETON KEY.

2. Shadowheart
"I can fix her." I did fix her, but damn it took a while. Battlewise, she was all buffs, heals, and scrolls but that was an integral part of things. She was also the keeper of Scratch, the best boy. Storywise I loved the pull of Shar and Selune and how she wove right into the story of the Nightsong and everything. Finding her parents was the worst part because I didn't know what the right choice was, so I solely put the burden on her and chose to kill/free them into Selune, but keep her own curse. Which, I do think was the right call but she was very (understandably) sad about it for a while. As far as companion quests, I think hers was the most well rounded and I connected with her overall character the most (which is why I romanced her). The internal struggle of base selunite against overwriting sharan was great. After fully becoming a mindflayer I thought we were done as a couple, and she definitely had reservations, but in the end she smuggled me out of the city and we got a nice cottage with a bunch of animals (and the Owlbear too!) so big wins all around. Except I had to use the last of my inspiration to resist the urge to eat her brain, so baby steps.

1. Lae'zel
Despite being all in on the Shadowheart train, Laezel was 100% the MVP of my personal story. She was everything the classic githyanki was supposed to be. Fighter first, servant of Vlaakith. Slowly, but surely, I broke her of that. Well hold up, fighter first stayed because damn she was my main damage dealer. Just crushing heads over and over and over, flying around like a banshee and action surging people to death. That never changed. But I changed her worldview about what githyanki culture had to be, and she eventually warmed to me. We banged it out once, then kept it platonic. I showed her how horrible gith culture really was and how Vlaakith was kinda a bitch and oh shit Orpheus is still alive we should check that out. She almost left the party like four times and Shadowheart almost killed her once, but we got there in the end. She completely flipped her worldview, but also went face first into the comet lore instead but we worked with it. I also forced her to stop seeing things in black or white with the mindflayers, only her and I ate brain worms since I convinced her it was our duty. Auto flight on her is busted. Also made her make friends with a sticky kitty. I'm convinced that's the only reason she didn't kill me in the end too.

The absolute best thing though is we took the githyanki egg from the creche early on and killed the person looking for it (and later refused to sell it in Act 3). It never left Laezel's inventory, as a reminder of the future being fought for. I was absolutely FLOORED in the epilogue when she brought up the egg, saying that it hatched and she named him "Xan" for freedom. And that "his destiny will be his to own to follow. Warrior, poet, explorer, scholar. His way will be the way of the Comet." I literally could not have scripted a better ending for my character, and made my sacrifice to become a Mindflayer and allow Orpheus to lead the githyanki all worth it.

0. Us
As soon as I started the game I felt like Rosa from Brooklyn 99. "I've only had Us for a day and a half, but if anything happened to him, I would kill everyone in this room and then myself." I was mortified at the start of Act 1 when I couldn't find him and spent like my first 20 hours on a specific quest to find him and failing. I eventually moved on but then in Act 2 when I found him and he joined the party I was over the fucking moon. He was Laezel's permanent familiar, as part of her learning to chill the fuck out. Sticky Kitty!

shadowheart best girl

I played through the entire game coop and I can't imagine it any other way

just watching my best friend make tough decisions as I sat back and laughed was maybe my favorite coop experience of my life. We've tried another playthrough but might need to do it in like a year because the game is still so fresh

I didn't think any game could surpass Elden Ring for my favorite of the decade but this game is pretty damn close.

I don't think my OCD collecting every vase and exploring every corner is conducive to coop play.

Though it would have been fun agonizing on some of these decisions though.

I'm sad I killed "Us" at the beginning of the game after hearing they become a pet.
I didn't trust the thing and thought a Mind Flayer creature was obviously going to be evil so my character just smushed it :(

I beat it a couple weeks ago! Although I think my playtime was closer to 140. My Tav was a half-elf bard who romanced Astarion. I've never felt more of a basic bitch. My main team though was me/Gale/Wyll/Shadowheart. I wanted to use Jaheria more but by the time I got her I was just too committed to my main team.

I kind of disliked Act 3? Baldur's Gate was too big and overwhelming for me, Lae'zel getting kidnapped by Orin made me prioritize taking down Orin, but then she was way more interesting than Gortash, so Gortash being the last one defeated before end-game just felt like a let down. I played the whole game as super pro-Emperor (yes, I fucked him) and super pro-Orpheus with Lae'zel so when all of a sudden I *had* to betray one of them I felt super gross.

I'm tempted to replay as Dark Urge but... I dunno, I think I'd fall into the trap of just still making too many of the same decisions. I can't play evil in games like this because I feel too attached to the characters and if I play Heroic Dark Urge then I don't think the game is going to really feel different.

TotallyNotMI posted...

I kind of disliked Act 3? Baldur's Gate was too big and overwhelming for me, Lae'zel getting kidnapped by Orin made me prioritize taking down Orin, but then she was way more interesting than Gortash, so Gortash being the last one defeated before end-game just felt like a let down. I played the whole game as super pro-Emperor (yes, I fucked him) and super pro-Orpheus with Lae'zel so when all of a sudden I *had* to betray one of them I felt super gross.

Baldur's Gate itself was definitely overwhelming for me, but not necessarily in a bad way. Just a very time consuming way for me. Orin was definitely way more interesting, so I took her down last but also because I didn't care that she had Halsin (is it random who she takes?)

I was also pro both Emperor and Orpheus, but the Emperor's insistence to not even let me talk to Orpheus was the last straw. And considering how quickly he flipped the switch on us there, I'm wondering how much of the game was him gaslighting us. There was no way my character wasn't going to try and reason with Orpheus (who was surprisingly chill all things considered), but I did feel bad about it after the Emperor did spend all game shielding us.

The fact that Orpheus was even willing to go full squid for the team shows that at the very least the Emperor was misguided about him. I almost pulled the trigger on that too, but then took the bullet myself and Orpheus was all "ahhhhhh you got me, you were just testing my honor, good one." Which I actually was, kinda. But he said my name will live on in Gith legend, which is good enough for me.

Though Shadowheart did have to smuggle me out of the city because she said that even though my name should live on in legend there, everyone would definitely still try to kill me now that things went back to the status quo.

So who knows. I'm sure I made more of an impact on the Gith than in the Gate anyway.

tcaz2 posted...

I'm sad I killed "Us" at the beginning of the game after hearing they become a pet.
I didn't trust the thing and thought a Mind Flayer creature was obviously going to be evil so my character just smushed it :(

Thankfully the curiosity of character allowed me to pluck him out of there, they really are the best right from the jump.

"My friend and I are going to the helm!"

And when you find them/save them again, they shit talk the absolute and talk about how they are illusioning themselves to others as a kitty and how happy they are to see you again. Just the absolute best.

Im at what appears to be the end of act 3 so I wont read most of the topic until Im done. But Id say Karlach has been my MVP and its been a real treat every turn after she uses Frenzy.

My Tiefling Warlock also had no use for Wyll in the party and could not resist Karlach's charms. It was me and the girls for the most part but Astarion found his way into the party from time to time.

Planning on doing an evil durge run as well which should allow me to have Gale, Minthara, and Astarion full time. It's gonna he sooo different and I just know I'm gonna be tempted to be good again lol

It was always me, Laz, and Shart. Astarion was always the one to get the boot if I was hanging out with Jaheira or Karlach for a while.

FFDragon posted...

(is it random who she takes?)

I think it's Lae'zel > Halsin > Gale > Yenna in that priority order based on who is in your party at the time the kidnapping happens.

I am debating on starting a Surge run or playing Divinity 2 now

FFDragon posted...

I am debating on starting a Surge run or playing Divinity 2 now

Divinity 2 is great, but I can't imagine playing it after bg3. I'm sure it feels so dated

All right I beat this last night. About 153 hours in-game. My PS5 adds another 20ish hours. 5-10 of those extra hours were due to the Ravengard glitch, where he stays in the Wyrmhold throne room unless you physically walk into Lower City (can't fast travel).

Only quest that I didn't complete (according to my log) was the Dribbles the Clown body part collection. I do see I missed some tangential content (I just killed Mystic Carrion on site because killing stuff is fun, but it looks like there is a quest to do it or something, for instance).

I played a bronze dragonborn bard named Goji and made him look reasonably like Legendary Godzilla.

I tried to be a typical bard early on.... lie and joke and persuade my way through stuff. It didn't really seem to suit the game. I'd say for the first 15 hours my guy was just insensitive and squishy. I also didn't like early combat because I missed Lae'zel so my bard was the tankiest character. Fights were basically fire bolt cantrips with my bard tanking and using fire breath. Once I replaced Gale and Astarion with Wyll and Karlach, I never really looked back.

I did use Gale for his personal quests in act 3. And spent some time with Jaheira and Minsc. Jaheira was terrific - you can pick the joking dialog options and she rolls with it. The other characters are super sensitive and it was a bit of a drag playing a bard, killing dragons and defeating gods and your party can't engage in a little friendly back and forth.

Minsc is a legend and one of my all-time faves. I was genuinely happy when I recruited him and figured we would ride off into the sunset together... but after a few quests, I wanted Karlach back in the group.

Went with Shadowheart. After the ending I kinda feel like maybe I shoulda picked Karlach

TotallyNotMI posted...

I think it's Lae'zel > Halsin > Gale > Yenna in that priority order based on who is in your party at the time the kidnapping happens.

Huh I was wondering why she was threatening me with a little girl I just met. All of my living companions were in my party.

I loved act 2 specifically because my charisma warlock was just earworming the entire Thorm family (and Yugir) into killing themselves.

Felt very satisfying.

TotallyNotMI posted...

I think it's Lae'zel > Halsin > Gale > Yenna in that priority order based on who is in your party at the time the kidnapping happens.

She also won't take a locked-in love interest to my understanding.

Minthara is also potential choice, but I believe it's lower priority than everyone but Yenna.

Aecioo posted...

Divinity 2 is great, but I can't imagine playing it after bg3. I'm sure it feels so dated

I booted it up the other night and it definitely looks like a step back, which I guess more correctly BG3 was a giant step forward.

Also elves apparently eat people now so I got confused and bailed at character creation. I'll go back at some point though. Decided to just pump the crpg brakes and try some cult of the lamb for a while.

FFDragon posted...

I booted it up the other night and it definitely looks like a step back, which I guess more correctly BG3 was a giant step forward.

Also elves apparently eat people now so I got confused and bailed at character creation. I'll go back at some point though. Decided to just pump the crpg brakes and try some cult of the lamb for a while.

Cult of the lamb is really good, until it's not.

Not that it gets bad but it just turns into a lategame grind for like the last 20%

Favorite BG3 boss fights?

for me, Raph was the best. The music starts and the vocals kick in and it's like, oh yeah a cool battle in hell with a devil, organ music going, this lady singing... and then the Raph section starts and it's so perfect. Hell, hell, hell has its laws! The fight itself is great and can go south quickly for you.

Temple of Shar (forget the lady's name) was the hardest for me. None of my buffs or spells allowed me to see in the darkness AOE. I had to replay it a bunch of times and use one character (Karlach) to charge the enemy in the back, kill it, and then allow the goons to slowly kill her. Everyone else had to figure out AoE to take down the rest. Fireball, wonderful spell!

Ansur was disappointing. the myrmidons are a bad addition, they teleport to a ledge, cast an AOE, and get pushed off right away. Being a dragon he was very strong and wild! But also mind blast worked well on him.

The courtyard battle was cool but a little too easy.

The finale was neat. I used the dragon breath attack and all my allies charged into it once the enemies were all dead. Zevlor noooo

The final guy in the goblin camp was tough for me, I had to use ogres and spiders. It was my second use of ogres so they turned on me so they were also part of the fight lol.

I didn't get the iron flash until the very end of act 3, that might have helped. The spectator got vaporized in the final fight but I feel like it would have been really useful in the Shar fight.

Astral tadpole + summon elemental, with Karlach just smashing everything. That was my main strategy. Shadowheart with guardian spirit was also a big part of every battle.

I think I accidently skipped the courtyard battle by cutting through the sewers at the very end and now I'm curious as to what I missed.

The game really hooked me with the goblin camp, because I accidently triggered everyone to go hostile and it was an absolute shitshow getting out in the best way.

The underwater prison was probably the most unique fight, but frustrating as all hell.

The Grimforge Golem was an all out war, mostly because I didn't realize you could drop the hammer on it until I got the achievement for not using the hammer.

Shoutouts to Balthazaar, Cazador, and Orin too, but obvious the House of Hope was the top tier fight.

oh shit they fixed shield bash let's goooo

Think Durge time is upon us.