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SPOILERS: Spoil Away (There Be BG3 Spoilers Here Yarrr)

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  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    DinoDin wrote: »
    ThacoBell wrote: »
    DinoDin wrote: »
    So, I've finished the Early Access content and wanted to comment about the supposed "excessive" use of elemental surfaces and explosions...

    One thing I've appreciated about your reviews here is you seem to have no expectation of how a BG or D&D game ought to be, and seem to be willing to analyze the game in a more neutral fashion.

    A sequel can't be evaluated in a vacuum, because it doesn't exist in one. Nobody talks about episodes 7-9 outside the context of their status as Star Wars films. Fallout 3, DA 2, etc.

    Sure it can. And people can actually judge some of the lesser Star Wars movies as mediocre without having to compare them to the top films in the series. Obviously people frequently make comparisons, but that doesn't at all have to be your criteria on whether you want to watch those movies. I've never watched Episode II for example, not because people talk about how much worse it is than ESB or New Hope, but because people say it's a straight up bad movie on its own.

    Fallout 3 is another solid example imo. It can be compared to its predecessors but no one is obligated to have to do that to judge whether it's a game they'll enjoy. And many gamers did play it, mostly ignorant of the older games.

    At that point though, there's zero reason for something that stands entirely on its own to be a sequel. Which would make the property a bad sequel. But this getting real close to old arguments, so I'm stopping here.
    kaja8
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,714
    That's great feedback. And even while I can't sign under all of it (eg. I didn't find it difficult to find traders in the druid grove as I talked to everyone there first), I can sign under 90% of it. You nailed it with Sacred Flame, haha.
    elminster
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited October 2020
    I found the druid grove a bit difficult to first figure out from a navigating standpoint. But maybe that is just how my brain works. So I think I just stuck to where I knew so I wouldn't get lost.

    For that reason I also missed out on the goblin interrogation there.
    JuliusBorisov
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    Going through it kind of reminded me of the dwarven city (Vergen) in the Witcher 2 (although not as bad). Just a lot of twists and turns and going up and down a lot. At first at least it felt easy to get lost in. So while I did go through sections of it initially I guess I just avoided doing so because it felt a bit confusing.
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited October 2020
    Actually kind of related. But right now imps are funny to use. As a warlock i could summon mine, turn it invisible, and then send it against enemies in the underdark half way across the map. When it got near enemies I'd have it hide. Then just kept attacking with it. The turn after i attacked, if it was still alive, I'd have it cast invisibility and then bonus action hide. Then attack the next turn again. Rinse and repeat.

    If enemies managed to kill it the best part was they would sometimes just magically know where i was. So they'd trot across the map looking for me.

    So that was where my suggestion for familiars only getting 100 feet came from.
    Post edited by elminster on
    Adam_en_tiumscriver
  • Adam_en_tiumAdam_en_tium Member Posts: 99
    Hello,
    just saw that on Reddit :

    https://www.reddit.com/r/BaldursGate3/comments/jfvegd/spoiler_paladin_deity_options_from_game_files

    (Possible Deities for Paladins)
    scriverelminsterArvia
  • scriverscriver Member Posts: 2,072
    Interesting!
    elminster
  • kanisathakanisatha Member Posts: 1,308
    No Lathander for good paladins. I am crushed. I LOVE playing paladin of Lathander. :'(
    ThacoBell
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    Lathander's a good deity.Well okay, duh. I mean he's a deity I like :P

    Question for people playing the EA, I remember there being backgrounds for surface drow being available. Is Ellistraee a possible deity choice for paladins and/or clerics?
    kanisatha
  • Adam_en_tiumAdam_en_tium Member Posts: 99
    @ThacoBell yes Ellistraee seems available
    ThacoBellkanisatha
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    Excellent. +1 point for the game. That makes...3 points in favor so far for me?
    elminsterkaja8
  • ZaxaresZaxares Member Posts: 1,325
    ThacoBell wrote: »
    Excellent. +1 point for the game. That makes...3 points in favor so far for me?

    We'll get you to a "Devoted" companion approval stage yet! ;)
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    Zaxares wrote: »
    ThacoBell wrote: »
    Excellent. +1 point for the game. That makes...3 points in favor so far for me?

    We'll get you to a "Devoted" companion approval stage yet! ;)

    Don't hold your breath :P

    But I will choose to hate/tolerate it for legitimate reasons, and that means taking stock of the positives as well.
    kanisathaZaxares
  • scriverscriver Member Posts: 2,072
    So I saw this and thought there might be one-handed spears coming anyway:
    ym5KO7k.jpg?1
    Adam_en_tiumelminster
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,714
    One month ago one of the writers, Kevin VanOrd (the writer for Lae'zel, Wyll, Kagha, Dror Ragzlin, and all of the myconids) did a live stream of BG3 where he revealed, among other things, the following:
    • It's hard to say right now if the story's game will feel better playing an origin character over a custom character or vice versa
    • All the companions are meant to be ten times deeper than DoS2's companions
    • There will be more content for EA. Does not know if any new companions or classes will be added
    • They plan to have eight companions, possibly more, and potentially including companions that won't be origin characters
    • There will be more companions than DoS2 but possibly less than BG2. Part of the "less than BG2" bit is because they want all the companions to have fleshed out stories
    • Doesn't know if duergar will be a playable race
    • The tutorial was the last thing that was made before EA went live, so it changes the context of some things that happen afterward. One that he mentions is Lae'zel's recruitment, which he said he'll be going back and revising so it better reflects the time the two of you spent on the nautiloid
    • It's important for the team that they stray away from the idea that whole races are evil and instead people are seen as individuals, following in line with WOTC's new direction. That's why alignment isn't going to be very important in this game
    • Not sure if they'll stick with having a fixed party after Act 1 or not. One reason he gives for having a fixed party is because it can be hard to experience a character's full story arc if they aren't in your party enough, and for the writers, continuing their arc into the second act when you haven't experienced it enough is very hard.
    • Gale wasn't originally planned for EA, but his writer and voice actor were so good that he got pushed through anyway
    • He doesn't think it's possible to have an origin character for every class
    • Believes that Wyll is the most good-aligned of all the origin characters so far
    • Said that Lae'zel has "the most incredible love scene in the game"
    • All origin characters will be romanceable by PCs of any gender
    • There will be more origin characters than in DoS2
    • The devs were surprised at the thirst for Halsin. In Kevin's case, he didn't know about Halsin's update look as the original look for Halsin was old and wizened
    • Doesn't know if origin characters will be playable in EA
    • It's possible that we'll get to go to other planes in the full release, though we won't be going to space to meet up with the githyanki
    • His headcanon age for Lae'zel is around 21-22
    • Kagha will be getting new lines in a later content update
    • There will be a new recruitment for Lae'zel for in case you find her dead body and resurrect her. Also, the devs don't typically allow NPCs to be resurrected, so it sounds like that mechanic won't be coming any time soon.
    • It's a significant detail that githyanki PCs don't know what this purification protocol is that Lae'zel keeps talking about
    • The devs have talked about getting companions more involved in skill checks, but he's not sure what will happen with that
    • They want the evil route to be viable and more complicated than just "I'm evil"
    • Said that romances with origin characters won't be one-time flings, then added "depending on the origin"
    • No plans at the moment for low intelligence dialogue
    • When asked if there were plans to include githzerai, he is answer was never say never, but ultimately he doesn't know the answer
    • When asked why the Drow aren't an elf subrace, he said he doesn't know but thinks it has to do with the tagging system and because there's such a difference between Drow and other elves
    • Companion quests won't be like in Dragon Age where some areas were locked unless you had a certain companion with you. You'll be able to complete parts of the quest without them and they'll react in turn (such as meeting with the githyanki without Lae'zel in your party)
    • At some point Wyll's recruitment scene is likely going to be set up to trigger automatically when players get close enough so people don't miss him so much
    • Doesn't know if interactions between warlock PCs and their patrons will be a thing, but it's been discussed
    • They're working on adding the ability to swap out companions while in dialogue if your party is full and that this should be coming out soon
    • Compared to DoS2, playing as a custom character should be much more satisfying (he said "playing as an origin" but I'm pretty sure he meant custom characters)
    • There'll be more Detect Thoughts options
    • Things that limit player agency will usually always be removed, and he specifically mentions that the bit of lore about Lolth-sworn Drow all having red eyes only will likely be removed since they offered a range of eye colors for players
    • It used to be assumed that githyanki would all have yellow skin, but because custom githyanki characters can have different skin colors the writers had to go back and revise any lines that mentioned yellow skin.
    • Said that Kagha isn't evil, but it's more like she's flirting with evil. Ultimately she's just trying to protect her people
    • Wyll is the kind of person who believes in the "right thing" over the "nice thing"
    • The devs have talked about being able to Indiana Jones the Idol of Sylvanus, so maybe we'll get to do that at some point
    • What's in EA right now isn't all of Act 1 but is most of it

    Source.

    One of the main highlights, to me, is the fact they might be reconsidering the much-criticised decision to stick with having a fixed party after Act 1.
    ArviaelminsterZaxaresMirandel
  • BallpointManBallpointMan Member Posts: 1,659
    ThacoBell wrote: »
    "It's important for the team that they stray away from the idea that whole races are evil and instead people are seen as individuals, following in line with WOTC's new direction. That's why alignment isn't going to be very important in this game"

    I don't see why this makes alignment less important. If anything, having more individuals makes alignment even more informative, since you can't just look at an orc and go, "Yeah, probably evil."

    All interesting stuff. I agree with this. I immediately thought that alignment would be more important if we arent going to write off characters based simply on their race.

    I hope it's both (Races arent uniformly good/evil, and that alignment is more important). It does seem like they are putting nuance into evil roleplay, so that makes me think alignment will be nuanced too. That's good, at least.
    ThacoBell
  • ZaxaresZaxares Member Posts: 1,325
    ThacoBell wrote: »
    "It's important for the team that they stray away from the idea that whole races are evil and instead people are seen as individuals, following in line with WOTC's new direction. That's why alignment isn't going to be very important in this game"

    I don't see why this makes alignment less important. If anything, having more individuals makes alignment even more informative, since you can't just look at an orc and go, "Yeah, probably evil."

    Have to agree here. Having races being more variable in alignment doesn't mean the alignment system is now redundant. If anything, it makes spells like Detect Evil even MORE important in games now. ;)
    kanisathaThacoBell
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    To clarify, I'm not against taking uniform alignments away from races. I've been playing good goblins, kobolds, and Gnolls for years. Just the idea that alignment is somehow negated in importance by this shift.
    kanisathaZaxares
  • WarChiefZekeWarChiefZeke Member Posts: 2,651
    Starting to regret my purchase of the EA solely on the basis that it might be seen as support for WOTC in any shape or form.
    kanisathamegamike15
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