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Baldur's Gate III | OT | Bear in Mind, Your Choices Have Consequences

I know, I just don't like wasting food!

Seems strange that it wants to supplement 3x10 with 2x8 when I have a load of other 10s in the inventory.
no idea why they do it that way...maybe to select food they just use all the most recently collected stuff and if it doesn't add up to 40 exactly then however big or small the next stacked food item is is the thing that determines it?
 
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I stumbled upon the Underdark passage in the goblin camp. First encounter was a bulette, which as an old school dnd nerd was cool to see. I managed to beat it at level 3 and made a hasty retreat, as I was clearly underleveled for the area.

A few things now that I've spent some time with it.

Having only 4 characters at a time is no bueno. I miss my 6 man teams.

I prefer the illustrated cutscenes of Pathfinder to the animated 3d ones showcased here. The 3d models are fine, the animations really take me outta it though.

The role playing options are great. Playing as a Drow I just bullied/bluffed my way into the goblin camp. Reading this thread and seeing how other builds dealt with it is neat.

People are blasting the technical performance on ps5, but aside from crappy load times I think it looks great and runs fine. Haven't got to act 3 though....

It's great to be playing a Baldur's Gate game again, even if it isn't the one I truly wanted.

Good game, but if it can eclipse Pathfinder 2 for me remains to be seen.
 

calistan

Member
I prefer the illustrated cutscenes of Pathfinder to the animated 3d ones showcased here. The 3d models are fine, the animations really take me outta it though.
174 hours of cutscenes, but 90% of them just have my character going through a very small repertoire of expressions. Fold arms and lean back... head cocked, slight smile... mild shock.

It's nice to have absolutely everything fully voiced though, the acting is excellent.
 
174 hours of cutscenes, but 90% of them just have my character going through a very small repertoire of expressions. Fold arms and lean back... head cocked, slight smile... mild shock.

It's nice to have absolutely everything fully voiced though, the acting is excellent.


Exactly. I get they didn't have the time or the budget to mocap a 1000 hours of cutscenes, but the repeated stock animations are terrible.


The game is too overwhelming and hard. I have the PS5 version. I made it to the grove but there's just so much stuff to learn.


A familiarity with tabletop DnD is immensely helpful. If you're brand new to the mechanics I imagine it would be pretty overwhelming. Youtube is loaded already with tutorial, faqs, and guides, they can be a great resource to get you over the initial hump.
Also, you can drop the difficulty level till you get your legs under you.
 

calistan

Member
Exactly. I get they didn't have the time or the budget to mocap a 1000 hours of cutscenes, but the repeated stock animations are terrible.
There's a lot of crossover in this thread and the Starfield ones praising BG3 for its high production values and condeming Starfield for its poor animations during conversation.

Seems to me like they are two very similar solutions to the same problem, i.e. animating a vast branching narrative that's too big for unique mocap.
 
Hmmm, kinda stumped now. Bluffed my way into the goblin fort, but I still can't find the druid and initiating any combat in there seems like a death sentence with the dozens of enemies.
I'm gonna try n level more, I feel woefully underpowered in some of these fights.
 

Doom85

Member
Hmmm, kinda stumped now. Bluffed my way into the goblin fort, but I still can't find the druid and initiating any combat in there seems like a death sentence with the dozens of enemies.
I'm gonna try n level more, I feel woefully underpowered in some of these fights.

What level are you at? I didn’t have too much trouble at Level 4.

Definitely try to explore the goblin fort as much as possible without initiating combat, at least one NPC will be worth talking to before aggro-ing everyone.
 
What level are you at? I didn’t have too much trouble at Level 4.

Definitely try to explore the goblin fort as much as possible without initiating combat, at least one NPC will be worth talking to before aggro-ing everyone.

I just hit level 4 like 5 minutes ago. I'm exploring the rest of the available overworld map for now, I'd like to hit 5 before I take on the fort.

finding the
gnoll and half ogre fuckin doggystyle
was pretty funny.
 

calistan

Member
I just hit level 4 like 5 minutes ago. I'm exploring the rest of the available overworld map for now, I'd like to hit 5 before I take on the fort.

finding the
gnoll and half ogre fuckin doggystyle
was pretty funny.
The druid will get himself out of there pretty effectively if you find him, minimal combat required. After doing the bare essentials there I revisited the fort much later and exterminated all the goblins for the XP.
 

Doom85

Member
I just hit level 4 like 5 minutes ago. I'm exploring the rest of the available overworld map for now, I'd like to hit 5 before I take on the fort.

finding the
gnoll and half ogre fuckin doggystyle
was pretty funny.

Wyll and Shadowheart: If that barn is a-rocking, don’t go a-knocking!
Me: But I might miss out on content!
Wyll: Huh?
Lae’zel: She speaks of FOMO! Let her open the doors!
Shadowheart: Bitch, you’re just hoping to find another fight, right?
Lae’zel:

Laugh Plotting GIF by Big Brother



Yeah, I was worried if I explored so much that I’d be Level 5 before the goblin camp, I might have to take too many long rests and the grove might be attacked. I know some events progress after so many long rests, just not sure to what extent.
 
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ManaByte

Gold Member
Wyll and Shadowheart: If that barn is a-rocking, don’t go a-knocking!
Me: But I might miss out on content!
Wyll: Huh?
Lae’zel: She speaks of FOMO! Let her open the doors!
Shadowheart: Bitch, you’re just hoping to find another fight, right?
Lae’zel:

Laugh Plotting GIF by Big Brother



Yeah, I was worried if I explored so much that I’d be Level 5 before the goblin camp, I might have to take too many long rests and the grove might be attacked. I know some events progress after so many long rests, just not sure to what extent.
I did the Goblin camp at 4. It's easy if you use grease on all the fire sources. BBQ them.
 
The druid will get himself out of there pretty effectively if you find him, minimal combat required. After doing the bare essentials there I revisited the fort much later and exterminated all the goblins for the XP.

wtf, I dunno how I missed him, I thought I explored the interior pretty thoroughly. He isn't in the underdark is he?

Wyll and Shadowheart: If that barn is a-rocking, don’t go a-knocking!
Me: But I might miss out on content!
Wyll: Huh?
Lae’zel: She speaks of FOMO! Let her open the doors!
Shadowheart: Bitch, you’re just hoping to find another fight, right?
Lae’zel:

Laugh Plotting GIF by Big Brother



Yeah, I was worried if I explored so much that I’d be Level 5 before the goblin camp, I might have to take too many long rests and the grove might be attacked. I know some events progress after so many long rests, just not sure to what extent.


Fuuuckkkk, didn't realize the events were running on a timer.
 

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
What sucks is how they missed the Labor Day weekend for a release. They have to release after the holiday. So stupid. Oh well. I’m waiting for the preload which should be today sometime.
 

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
The Deluxe Edition gave access three days early, so some of us PS5 owners have been playing since Saturday.
I totally forgot it had that. Around $75 USD with taxes. I was ok with a standard version. I don’t typically get much out of the deluxe editions.
 

Doom85

Member
Fuuuckkkk, didn't realize the events were running on a timer.

From what I’ve been told, it’s mainly an issue if you approach an active scene (like people screaming for help) and you long rest without dealing with it, you’ll find the scene played out without your involvement.

With the goblin camp and the grove, I’m not sure if too many long rests might result in something bad, but I figured don’t get too greedy with long rests. Just make sure you use your short rests before resorting to a long rest, the only exception if you know you’re about to walk into a tough fight and your wizard and/or cleric have used most/all of their spell slots (warlocks get theirs back with just short rests IIRC), you might need to go ahead with a long rest just so they’re more useful for the fight ahead.
 
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Doom85

Member
tvyFq1d.jpg
4uWpfmV.jpg




Look, I’ll confess, I was considering Shadowheart for my first playthrough, but Lae’zel came on to me surprisingly early (and most of my decisions prior she wasn’t happy with, my combat must have been going really well as I know that bumps her affection), and I was like, “you know what, she talks shit, but she also gets shit done, I’m down with this.”
 

thuGG_pl

Member



Look, I’ll confess, I was considering Shadowheart for my first playthrough, but Lae’zel came on to me surprisingly early (and most of my decisions prior she wasn’t happy with, my combat must have been going really well as I know that bumps her affection), and I was like, “you know what, she talks shit, but she also gets shit done, I’m down with this.”



My Shadowheart killed Lae'zel, which took me by surprise (well I let her, but I thought she won't do it :D ). I rolled without Lae'zel for entire game ;)
 

Doom85

Member

My Shadowheart killed Lae'zel, which took me by surprise (well I let her, but I thought she won't do it :D ). I rolled without Lae'zel for entire game ;)

Is that early on when she was captured by the tieflings?

If it’s an event later, damn, glad I’m decent at Persuasion.

Anna (my PC): Don’t do it, Shadowheart!
Shadowheart: No, I’ve had enough of this! You and I are clearly meant for each other, but she interfered!
Lae’zel: A true warrior would acknowledge their defeat, but please, continue to whine like a sad puppy!
Shadowheart: Argh, that‘s it! I’m cutting you down right here, right now!
Anna: No! I’ll show you violence is not the answer! If we…..hang on, could you give me Guidance for this?
Shadowheart: …..you want me to Guide you in convincing me not to do what I want?
Anna: If you wouldn’t mind?
Shadowheart: Well, I would!
 

thuGG_pl

Member
Is that early on when she was captured by the tieflings?

If it’s an event later, damn, glad I’m decent at Persuasion.

Anna (my PC): Don’t do it, Shadowheart!
Shadowheart: No, I’ve had enough of this! You and I are clearly meant for each other, but she interfered!
Lae’zel: A true warrior would acknowledge their defeat, but please, continue to whine like a sad puppy!
Shadowheart: Argh, that‘s it! I’m cutting you down right here, right now!
Anna: No! I’ll show you violence is not the answer! If we…..hang on, could you give me Guidance for this?
Shadowheart: …..you want me to Guide you in convincing me not to do what I want?
Anna: If you wouldn’t mind?
Shadowheart: Well, I would!
Yeah I think that was the moment, you are quoting.
 

lmimmfn

Member
Wyll and Shadowheart: If that barn is a-rocking, don’t go a-knocking!
Me: But I might miss out on content!
Wyll: Huh?
Lae’zel: She speaks of FOMO! Let her open the doors!
Shadowheart: Bitch, you’re just hoping to find another fight, right?
Lae’zel:

Laugh Plotting GIF by Big Brother



Yeah, I was worried if I explored so much that I’d be Level 5 before the goblin camp, I might have to take too many long rests and the grove might be attacked. I know some events progress after so many long rests, just not sure to what extent.
If you complete the main goblin camp quest, I.e. it's completed in the Journal and I'm excluding any other "must be done immediately" quest you mahe have open then you're fine to long rest as much as you want.

I did goblin camp then spent 8-10 hours doing other stuff(went back to kill remaining goblins to level up and others) with 5 or 6 long rests and then triggered the Grove attack at level 5 which made it nice and easy :).
 

Alpha Male

Member
I just want to say what a pleasant surprise this game has been for me. I've never played Baldur's Gate before and this wasn’t even on my radar...but the hype convinced me to get the PS5 early access and I'm absolutely loving it even though I have zero idea how DnD rules work.

Playing this and Starfield right now sure is something special. I'll be playing and enjoying both games for many hours in the months to come I'm sure.
 

calistan

Member
wtf, I dunno how I missed him, I thought I explored the interior pretty thoroughly. He isn't in the underdark is he?
No, he's right there in the building. If you can get into the main hall without aggro, you're free to explore passages to the right...
 

Auto_aim1

MeisaMcCaffrey
I am level 3 and I freed the bear in the goblin camp and killed one leader. The other two are way too hard at my level. I hate looking at the inventory on ps5 can't see shit.
 
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ManaByte

Gold Member
I am level 3 and I freed the bear in the goblin camp and killed one leader. The other two are way too hard at my level. I hate looking at the inventory on ps5 can't see shit.

One of the leaders you don't even have to fight to kill. Only the 2nd one is really tough but using the explosive barrels can take out his adds.
 

ManaByte

Gold Member
How to take the barrels without alerting anyone? The ones on top of the boss right?
There are two up by the treasure room. You can take those and place them down by his adds. Shoot those first and it should kill all the goblins at the start of the fight.
 

calistan

Member
Once again I've gone off to level up before a major fight that was handing me my ass, only to come back to it and discover a way to win via pure cheese.

This time, Balthazar - I beat him down so badly, he only managed to hit me with one attack and didn't get to summon the army that otherwise makes that battle quite a challenge.

I got two of my team onto the platform where he's standing with Nightsong, but rather than step close enough to start the cutscene I just blasted him from range. Brought in the other two to join the fight, knocked him down with Eldritch Blast and Thunderwave, finished him off with a crossbow. The whole thing lasted a single round. Nightsong was downed by the splash damage but she recovered in the end cutscene, so no problem at all. Plus, bonus - Shadowheart is now DTF!
 

Dunkelgrau

Member
Spoiler, Act 1, Monk, first few hours of the game, goblin camp:

I play as a monk and I met people in the forest who told me that I had something to do with "The Absolute". In the goblin camp, something similar happened to me with the leader. Is this a) because I'm playing as a Monk b) because I slept through something or c) because I don't remember the first two parts?

And: There is also a big translation error in the German version, at least, I think. Sazza speaks of a healer (at least in the German version of the game), which she wants to introduce me to - but in fact it is a priestess.
 
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Doom85

Member
Spoiler, Act 1, Monk, first few hours of the game, goblin camp:

I play as a monk and I met people in the forest who told me that I had something to do with "The Absolute". In the goblin camp, something similar happened to me with the leader. Is this a) because I'm playing as a Monk b) because I slept through something or c) because I don't remember the first two parts?

And: There is also a big translation error in the German version, at least, I think. Sazza speaks of a healer (at least in the German version of the game), which she wants to introduce me to - but in fact it is a priestess.

The Absolute bit happened to me too, I’m a Dwarf Rogue. IIRC this has to do with our tadpoles, so it should always have people telling you you’re connect to this unknown entity.
 

Mossybrew

Member
Yo, the goblin camp area is nuts:

Had the Priestess Gut lead us to her room, was able to kill her in one round before she alerted anyone. Good thing, afterwards found a halfling merchant who had some nice superior weapons and armor for my party.

Also, randomly found a path into the underdark. I assumed this was the right way, but after a while of no longer seeing any goblins, realized I was headed into totally unrelated business and made my way back.

Kept poking around, freed a dude named Liam, and then found where they were keeping Halsin. Seemed like it was impossible to free him without starting the aggro so took out the room.

I assumed I’d have to send him back to camp, but no, he just joins as a 5th party member (temporarily, I assume), meaning we‘re about to raise hell in the whole camp with a goddamn BEAR at our side.

P5HZWkE.jpg
Yeah I just finished killing the leaders and getting the druid out. Many reloaded saves, I feel like I spent a hundred hours in there, but it was kind of a crucible that taught me a lot about the game and im enjoying it more.
 

Denton

Member
Act 3, Iron Throne and Foundry questions:

I saved everyone I could in Iron Throne, Duke, all the gnomes, blind Toobin's daughter.
Then immediately went to foundry, killed banites on the first floor, all gnomes survived. Toobin went with me to second floor - destroyed all enemies there, but all the gnomes working there died due to insane stupidity of their AI. Went to the third floor, destroyed the Titan and the watchers, Toobin exploded the foundry, we ran out.

Now, he says he is the only one alive and wants to mourn his daughter. Those are two lies in a single sentence - I saved his daughter as well as all the gondians from Iron Throne and at least three from the Foundry first floor.

WTF? Then there is a dialogue with Wulbren, so I convince Barcus to become leader, who agrees, makes peace with Gondians, journal entry seems to end on positive note.

And then the dialogue ends and I get this monstrosity:

1086940_20230905000820cf1u.png


Act 3 needs a bit of work.

So, did I miss something here? was there some other way to
destroy the foundry, perhaps without blowing it up?
Why did Toobin say his daughter is dead when that's not true? Questions, questions...
 
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Buggy Loop

Gold Member
Almost done with the game.

Raphael's fight at the house of last hopes that the song that plays! OMG that was fun. Best act 3 quest by far.
 
Act 3 needs a bit of work.

[/SPOILER]
Strongly agree. Yeah I wrote about it in a post on the previous page but act 3 was so glitchy and rough for me I'm not gonna replay the game until the enhanced edition comes out and its fixed up.

Surely the reason that Toobin guy said his living daughter was dead is that is act 3 is full of bugs and glitches. He did acknowledge I saved his daughter in my game but there were loads of other weird things around him like the security footage at the foundry showed the gnomes trapped underwater even though the underwater facility had already been blown up. Also as I was walking around with toobin after freeing him he stopped me for trespassing in the facility I was rescuing him from wtf.

Looking at that screenshot, are you on console? What's performance like walking around the city in act 3?
 

Tahj

Member
After playing 30hrs as a Drow Rogue, Dark Urge included, I put that run on pause, & began anew as a Drow Bard. 90~ hrs later, I entered Act II, now abt 12hrs into it. Ultra-Super-Mega-Sloth (USMS) gameplay in Larian games for me, & unsurprisingly I've loved nearly every minute. Karlach is my gal, for the moment. These games really feed my snoop/pickup/steal everything addiction (does not transfer to RL!).
 
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Denton

Member
Surely the reason that Toobin guy said his living daughter was dead is that is act 3 is full of bugs and glitches.
Actually I thought about it, and in that moment it does make sense for him to say she is dead and he is the last one - after all, Wulbren wants to kill him and "every last gondian parasite". Maybe it was an oversight, but if it was intentional, it makes sense in context. And when I speak with him again after that dialogue, he has a line about leaving the city with his daughter, so it is acknowledged that she survived.
Looking at that screenshot, are you on console? What's performance like walking around the city in act 3?
I am on PC and getting mostly 60 with occasional drop to 50s. It is well enough playable for me.
 

Doom85

Member
In the swamp area:

Okay, so we couldn’t save the girl, but this hag was talking mad shit, so I was at least satisfied taking her down.

anchorman GIF


Run into this hunter Gandrel who tells me now that I’ve done this, the hag’s entire coven will be focused on dealing with me:

Arrested Development Mistake GIF
 

FireFly

Member
In my playthrough I also got the starry night scene with Gale but it was entirely platonic and a culmination of the events of Act 2 and their consequences for Gale's arc. Nowhere did Gale force himself on me, and neither have any of the other companions done the same after their initial interest. So far Lae'zel, Astarian and Gale have expressed romantic interest in me and Wyll, Shadowheart, Karlach, Halsin and Jaheira have not. I suspect there *is* a bug with the romance system that causes party members to continually proposition the player.
ResurrectedContrarian ResurrectedContrarian

So, the companion behaviour was confirmed to be due to a bug.

 
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Actually I thought about it, and in that moment it does make sense for him to say she is dead and he is the last one - after all, Wulbren wants to kill him and "every last gondian parasite". Maybe it was an oversight, but if it was intentional, it makes sense in context. And when I speak with him again after that dialogue, he has a line about leaving the city with his daughter, so it is acknowledged that she survived.

I am on PC and getting mostly 60 with occasional drop to 50s. It is well enough playable for me.
Based on the other things I've seen in act 3 I'd say bug/oversight but you seem to be having less weird stuff happening
 

Fools idol

Banned
I am getting my asshole handed to be in the house of shar. An I missing something here with the beefy sides and hellcat monster things or are they just brutally hard? I skipped this area somehow on my first run
 

AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
I am getting my asshole handed to be in the house of shar. An I missing something here with the beefy sides and hellcat monster things or are they just brutally hard? I skipped this area somehow on my first run

It's one of the tougher fights in the game. Get someone with sunlight and precast it on all your characters to nullify darkness a bit (sunlight actually breaks another hard fight wide open, OP spell). Then try and use the arena geography to your advantage, make people run to you as much as you can instead of just standing in the middle and shooting.

If you go full Shar Shadowheart that section is hilariously easy because you can convince most of the room to fight for you.
 

calistan

Member
I'm at the end of act 2 now and I've started to see some bugs and performance issues.

Massive battle at the Tower - this knocked my framerate down from a locked 60 to single figures when panning the camera across the piles of dead bodies. Reloaded the save today and it was fine, back to 60. Maybe this is a taste of what's to come in act 3.

Arabella's quest - I completed it and she left, but now she's back at my camp as if nothing happened.

Halsin - he assured me of his help in the battle to come, but he never showed up and the quest log says he left to follow his own path. No doubt he would have died anyway, the AI companions are not great at staying alive, but if he dares show up later on he'll have some explaining to do.
 
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