I haven’t played any Baldurs gate before, but the hype has definitely made me look into it.
Definitely seems like a game I’d like, a fantasy RPG, I haven’t always loved turned based combat, so that’s one of my hold ups. What do y’all think of the combat system?
The combat is fairly challenging - it’s easy for one or two bad moves (or bad luck) to kill your whole party in a battle. It also takes a bit to learn the combat system if you haven’t played D&D.
That being said, I love it. Once you get the basics of combat down and get used to playing carefully, it’s a lot of fun and you get to build out the character that you think is both effective and just cool - and there’s probably a way for you to succeed with whatever build you end up making.
If you don’t love turn based combat I’ll say that it will probably feel very dense at first. You end up with 4 different characters with different strengths and weaknesses and each with a bunch of different abilities that have different rules for when and how often you can use them. Turn based means you get the time to make an educated decision about what you want to do next, but it’s a lot of information to juggle.
The combat is fairly challenging - it’s easy for one or two bad moves (or bad luck) to kill your whole party in a battle. It also takes a bit to learn the combat system if you haven’t played D&D.
I’ve always been interested in D&D, but no never played it.
You end up with 4 different characters with different strengths and weaknesses and each with a bunch of different abilities that have different rules for when and how often you can use them.
I have played quite a few games with the party system, so I have so previous knowledge on the strengths and weaknesses of party members, which may help. Thanks for the info!
BG3 would be a good introduction to dnd. 5th edition tabletop plays pretty much the same. notable differences are in how movement is and the obvious aspect of being on more guardrails in a video game. although they still managed to make those guard rails feel near nonexistent.
No problem! It is a lot of information at once but I’ve been having a great time playing it so I’d really recommend it to anyone who thinks it could be interesting.
As someone who hasn’t played a single game remotely close to it before (Titanfall, a little call of duty, Final Fantasy 14, Halo), all I can say is PLAY IT. It’s disorienting at first but once you play it for an hour you’ll like it, and after three you won’t he able to pit it down.
The combat system is classic but with tactical Larian improvements from their other games.
I like it, but you can definitely get burned out from really long combat sessions. You can always lower the difficulty and blast your way through it, though.
Outside the combat, how have you liked the game?
Apart from a few glitches here and there, the game feels really complete. The story is really well made and the writing is top tier. If you come for the RPG elements of talking to every NPC and finding a lot of fun dialogue, you’ll love it.
If you want something without combat, although not fantasy, Disco Elysium has become my favorite CRPG ever.
If you’re unsure if it will be for you, pick up divinity original sin 2, same maker and very similar style, but (a) without the d&d license and (b) will cost much much less. Both BG3 and DOS2 are incredible games which you can easily pour a hundred hours into
DOS2 is my favorite RPG ever. The game uses tactics and positioning far better than any other RPG I’ve tried.
The AI uses it a bit TOO well and too much, imo. It always find some impossible angle to fire at me.
Also got annoying with surface magic effects. AI covered the battlefield in it. Particularly that super-fire that one needed a limited spell to remove. BG3 has a better balance between combat and surface elements. At least so far in the game.
I personally like it very much, it feels dynamic?, for a lack of a better word, despite it being turn based.
However most encounters can be avoided, via conversation, choices, environment kills etc. So you don’t need to fight much, if you don’t end up liking it. ^(*as of act 2/3)
Pacifist playthrough 100% when?
Won’t even launch for me on steam deck, tried all the proton types, verifying files, restarting the deck, dx11 or vulkan, etc etc.
Nothing.
Incredibly big waste of money and disappointment
Edit : hilarious to be fanboy down voted for stating my experience, get over it
Have you tried using the
--skip-launcherlaunch parameter? Seems to work with a lot of people with Proton Experimental.Yeah, doesn’t do anything either for me, it already doesn’t use the launcher it goes straight to the larian logo, then nvidia, then crash.
- It’ll likely get fixed unless you did something funky to your steam deck that makes it a weird edge case
- Steam offers refunds
What could I possibly have done to it, I only use it to play steam games, I bought this game, tried to launch it, and nothing.
Just because you don’t experience an issue doesn’t mean it’s infallible and somebody else isn’t.
What I’m saying is that unlike other PCs the steam deck has very few varying factors (out of the box). Meaning, if it works for others, it is likely it could work for you.
I’m not saying anything or anyone is infallible. In fact, I just had a look at proton DB and there are certainly plenty other people with similar problems.
These are good news because Larian has a reputation for supporting and improving their games long after release. These kinks will get ironed out.
And again, if you don’t wish to be an early adopter (which is completely fine), refund it.
Buying the game now is not being an early adopter, that’s what early access was which I didn’t purchase. Additionally, it’s fine for it to be fully released AND still not verified on deck or ready for it.
This is also not the case. It is now in full release AND deck verified.
Saying I should refund it if I don’t want to be an early adopter is a fallacy of the facts, and is blaming the consumer for the product being in a state lesser than advertised.
I can’t understand how you can defend a game that has been in early access, is now in full release, and deck verified, having issues even LAUNCHING on deck. It shows an ignorance of facts and a bias view in favour of the “everything is fine, larian good” view.
You do you, friend. I’m not trying to defend anything, just trying to help you out.
If you want to go on a crusade against anti-consumer practices or whatever then requesting a refund seems like the first step.
In short:
🤷♂️
No crusade at all, quite the dramatic description, just thought I’d clarify the difference between “early adopter” and “full price, full release, deck verified”
Yeah, they must have done something because it fired right up for me. I’ve died 30 some times already in my first day (I like to touch things and I’m horrible at making save throws 🙃)
“It works for me so its obviously something you did” is never helpful and often just rude.
Good point, his Steam Deck probably just needs its aura cleansed.
The machine spirit inside is clearly unhappy.
The number one cause of errors is overwhelmingly operator error.
How does it run on Steam Deck? I was probably going to wait for PS5, but don’t know how the controls will be.
Runs great! Took a bit to get the hang of the controls and the battle system, but I’m 10 hours in and it’s a fantastic game.
Why is it a problem that IT was not prepared for so many concurrent players? Yes, it has multiplayer, but it’s mostly a single-player game. Did they pull a Diablo?
They didn’t pull a Diablo because you don’t have to wait in a login queue to play single player.
A lot of people are playing with their friends, not just alone
Yeah players can drop in and out of games pretty fast plus there’s stuff like user authentication
And save games can be synced to the larian account. So you can continue your game on PS5… If you brought the game twice.
Is it not p2p and should barely matter?
closed source spyware, trash
Local linux user discovers video games
I know of it, but the vast, vast majority of games aren’t open source. A lot of them aren’t good in comparison to other games, like the Linux community loves bringing up Super Tux Kart and it’s just… Bad…
Just because they’re closed source doesn’t mean they’re spyware. They just want full ownership of their work and being able to profit off it.
Yeah I love Linux but I’m not about to put 600 hours into open tux cart
My friends keep telling me that getting the game is unethical because it supports Wizards, so I’ve not gotten it yet. I know Wizards is shitty and sent the Pinkertons to someone’s house, but does this game actually directly support them? Can anyone here weigh in on this? Should I just pirate the game instead? It looks fun, but I also don’t want to put my money in a bad place.
Sounds pretty wild to call it unethical to buy the game because of WoC (which isn’t even the one responsible for the game). I doubt their worst act even comes close to a normal Tuesday for a lot of companies you likely buy from, directly or indirectly.
You can look up Larian if you want, but they are far from a big game publisher the way EA or Rockstar is. And they are going against the trend of mtx or DRM. Pirate if you want, but using morals as an excuse for not wanting to spend money doesn’t really fly in this instance.
Larian is a fantastic company, Divinity original sin 1 and 2 both got massive free updates in the enhanced edition and definitive editions respectively, not to mention the mod-like grab bags they released. They’re great and I’m so oddly proud of their massive success with bg3
And no micro transactions…
Ok, so looking into it, WOTC owns the D&D license, which Larian Games had to licence. So, yes it indirectly supports WOTC. They don’t own a stake in the game studio, and therefore aren’t directly getting revenue from this games sales. They have already received the licencing fees they would be getting for this game. It does however help WOTC since they aren’t developing their own 6th edition games currently and keeps D&D relevant so in that way it does support them.
Personally I would find that a morally grey area, and will pirate the game to see if I will buy it on sale.
Be careful, at least one version has a bitcoin miner. Look for fitgirl or rune.
deleted by creator
The reason is called money
What he means is that anyone can get clean files on GOG and then distribute those I think. No DRM or anything to clean up, so no need to rely on anyone to repackage it etc.
How is it morally grey? What factors makes it potentially unethical to buy a game from Larian? I don’t see an angle that wouldn’t immediately imply that it’s unethical to buy essentially any large company.
It’s the keeping D&D as a main part of the hive mind. I love D&D. Have played the first 3 editions. That being said, there are a ton more games out there, and it would be nice to watch D&D “die” again for a few years. See if WOTC is about to pull a TSR
I mean it’s definitely licensed d&d 5e content
I’m not familiar enough with licensing contracts of this nature to know whether there are royalties being paid out based on the number of copies being sold. But in the case of whether WotC is going to get paid again for another licensed Baldur’s Gate game in the future, that’s already a done deal. Sales from this point aren’t going to matter. It’s similar to how that became clear pretty quick in the case of Hogwarts Legacy.
D&D is among the most mature IPs in gaming. It’s not going anywhere, and Hasbro has it right now. The most effective thing you can do is support one of its competitors, like Paizo’s Pathfinder.
As for whether you should pirate it, something to weigh is that Larian is one of the good guys. This is an offline/single-player capable game, with no MTX.
I love headlines like this.
Larian makes such great games. This kind of success means maybe a BG4 somewhere down the line.
It seems this game has local coop? I was wondering if it was a nice experience for me and my GF
Yes, you can play on a LAN connection, offline assuming you both have your own PCs in the house. There is no split screen multilayer, yet. In fact, this is supposed to be the reason why only the PC version had it’s release date moved up. They didn’t see it as a requirement for the PC release and decided to work on the PS5 split screen issues, post PC release.
So PS5 will definitely have split screen functionality, and I suppose that might also go to PCs as well, but that’s just a guess on my side.
Thanks a lot for the summary! 🤗
I was just playing split screen multiplayer on PC a couple days ago. Not sure where you heard that PC didn’t have it, if that’s what you’re implying. Seems to be working fine.
Do you need two copies of the game for that?
Using software called Parsec, you can use 1 copy of the game where the person who owns it streams it to your pc.
No
I have added the Baldur’s Gate series to my backlog, I will probably play these in 10-15 years, wish me luck.
Just in time for BG4! (probably)
Wasn’t sure if I still had a taste for this kind of game, but I’m loving it so far.
Getting it for a winter project 🖖🏻
The saddest thing is that with the destruction of the media over the past 20 years, I’m still waiting to hear whether it’s actually any good or not.
It’s good, best with a group
Definitely not unless your group is insanely dedicated to keeping it serious. All it takes is one person who doesn’t care about lore or the story or some NPC talking to rush through something or make a joke and completely take you out of it. I could never play it in a group on my first serious play.
Just like regular D&D!
The group glitch where someone can’t leave your party once they join is pretty bad.
it’s best in any format, imo. shaping up to be my all-time favorite game.
It’s good. It may well be my favorite game, ever.
It’s very good. Larian studios really went above and beyond with the level and attention to detail. The replayability is incredible. Most streamers are still on act one and there is no shortage of stuff to do. Edit: autocorrected a word
Latharian studios
Guessing some kinda typo/autocorrect business going on here, but just to cover the bases, it’s Larian, not Latharian.
Yeah I think part of the reason there’s so few reviews is that the game is so large that not my reviewers have finished it yet. Or at least a lit of what I’m seeing are “reviews in progress”
It’s super fuckin good. If you liked dos2, it’s basically that but with more immersive conversations, more potential dialogue trees, more DnD like, and more titties and dongs.
Msdos?
What is that? A character in Act 2?
i was flabbergasted to see titty and (various) dodongos on my character just like that. it’s rad as fuck! I’ve spent the past 2 hours pretty much just reading flavor text. 100% worth the asking price, especially since it runs perfectly on my potato pc on ultra.
It’s fantastic, if you have any familiarity with d&d and enjoyed that experience then you’ll love this.
What are you even talking about
Fucked a tiefling with my dragon penis, 10/10
That’s awesome. Also the lack of micro transactions makes me want to support them more. I kinda wish they had a donate button or something.
Buy the DRM free version on GOG if you haven’t already.
Can steam and gog players play together?
There was in their previous game DOS2 and Larian’s website says you can.
Sorry, dumb question, what’s GOG?
Gog.com Alternative games with some focus on old games.
It is another digital game store owned by CD Project, parent company of company that made the Witcher series and Cyberpunk 2077. They originally started by selling old games that they would get running on newer OSes. They have since started selling new games and have an alright launcher that you can link to other stores to see your entire game collection.
Most importantly, GOG as a storefront does not allow DRM. If you buy a game on GOG and keep the installer around (on a drive that’s regularly backed up), you’ll always have the ability to play that game even if GOG’s servers die.
Also they published the game on GOG - so it’s DRM free!
Gift me and I’ll enjoy it 😉
I’m open to the idea.
steamcommunity.com/id/renegade1506 if you’re not joking!
The donate button is buying the game and their previous titles.
Especially Divinity 2: Original Sin.
Or gift friends. Then play with them
Awesome idea that I totally just did!
When you’re out of friends, gift to random strangers!
The digital deluxe upgrade is basically that. You get some bonus stuff like extra bard songs, some cosmetics I think and the official Soundtrack. Stuff like that.
Is the soundtrack in the game files I assume? I haven’t seen it yet, and I can’t seem to get the dice skin to work so I wondered if I even got the deluxe edition for a moment.
I bought it only because of their stance on microtransactions.
It wasn’t really on my radar because turn based rpgs are not my thing.
I saw their press release and figured just for that upfront refusal to try rip everyone off to make money was good enough for me to buy the game and try it out.
I love dnd so it can’t be bad
I don’t know why this sentiment is so popular. It’s a single player game, most single player games don’t have microtransactions… In fact I think it’d be odd and outside the normal if it did
@qwertyWarlord @AlecSadler I would like to respectfully disagree. Witcher 3 had DLC. Skyrim had DLC. Dragon age origins also had DLC. Many many single player games had DLC. I’m not sure where you’re looking.
Dlc and mtx aren’t really the same thing tho.
@StinkyRedMan got it. Sometimes it’s hard to tell because in both cases I’m not getting a complete game or there’s some sort of FOMO involved. Heh. I get what you’re saying though.
There will most definitely be an expansion/enhanced edition for BG3. Expansions are not “in game purchases”
Something something Skyrim horse armor something something….
Oblivion horse armor even
It’s not a single player game. It has online and LAN co-op. Lots of single player games have micro transactions these days too.
Its like everyone forgot Civ 6 exists
The game has LAN support as well as steam cloud. While it’s designed for single it handles multiplayer extremely well. The only annoyance I’ve ran into is that only one person can interact with a merchant at a time.
Game is designed for multiplayer from the ground up. Its the same engine they used for divinity. All about partying up, but has great single player support too.
I wouldnt call it single player
You could always buy a second copy to gift to a friend. Then you’d be able to play together on top of giving them another sale!
I almost never buy a game on opening day for full price. But fuck microtransaction nonsense – as soon as the devs made an official statement about it, I was on board.
Day 1 dlc.
And?
The key is that nothing in that DLC is needed to win the game. In fact, the only real game advantage at all is some camp supplies. The rest is art, character sheets (they’re PDFs), and the soundtrack. It also allows Larian to throw a little extra at the early adopters who bought the game in early access.
“Day 1 dlc” means nothing without context. Not all DLC is pay-to-win.
It’s also not egregious where you get a piece of a game, then have to finish out with dlc. It’s one thing if you get a full game, then some optional add-ons. But we can’t trust the “AAA” game makers to do that. Too much greed.
Buy the Divinity games. They’re all good.
You could request they offer something small…maybe cosmetic…within the game that you could buy to support them.
I should make a Drow…
That’s what I did. Her skin is white though so she basically looks like a normal boring human though lol.
Well deserved, haven’t play it a lot personally but friends are very much still raving about it after playing for 20+ hours, so well worth it.
What I love is that means this game would have been a success at 100k concurrent. That makes this a runaway success. Hopefully other triple As are paying attention to what Larian is doing.
Releasing an early access game as a full release? Other devs are doing that already.
Care to elaborate? The game had an early access and the official release has been incredibly well polished with few bugs that are already being patched out
The game is riddled with game ending bugs. I’ve lost about 5 hours of play time from reloaded saves. Bugs that have been reported in EA are still present.
Missing key RPG fetures that were requested by almost everyone during EA. Such has more PC voice options, ability to change style of character in game and can’t see full class or race level progression before starting.
The game feels too much like a Divinity game and not like a Baldurs Gate game. It’s 100% a reskinned Original Sin. It’s beautiful and has the lore of D&D but it has me longing for the dungeon crawl of BG 1 and 2, planescape, ice wind Dale.
Jump height and distance is insane. Maximum jump height for a running start is 3 feet yet my PC can jump the height of a 2 story building from standing.
Difficulty scale is backwards, the game gets easier the further along you get rather than scaling with you, like the original games.
Classic skills from 5e have been tweeked for no apparent reason other than to fit the reskinned Divinity skills. Skills with no comparable in Divinity, like dodge, were cut.
The ability for other party members to step into conversations is still missing. My fighter should be able to step in and intimidate rather than silently watching off to the side. My character that has buisness with an NPC should be able to jump into the conversation rather then having to select them and talking as party lead.
The spell icons resemble the pictographs of Divinity more than the previous BG games or anything from D&D.
Plus they limited it to act 1 only. So I don’t get how you could even claim it was a “full release game released as early access”. You literally couldn’t even play the whole game.
But you would have to pay full price as if it was the full game so the fact that it wasn’t the full game is even worse.
I don’t think so. You got the full game when it came out if you preordered, and they even gave every pre order digital deluxe for free. They were also very blatant about what you’re getting in early access (act 1 only, only access to certain classes, way more content to come with the full release).
I dunno, I got the early access for half price (of release price) with the 1st act (as advertised), and the full game at no extra cost.
The 1st act alone probably net me ~50+ hours of play, so their beta is better than 90% of AAA releases recently
There have been no discounts on EA.
Oh, I meant I got the early access right when it came out and was only like $30ish
The price of Early Access has not changed on Steam or GOG.
Did you buy it the day it released?
Want to continue to be a pedantic jerk?
Want me to share a receipt?
Sorry you are butthurt people are enjoying a thing. Now shut up
Yes. I bought it day one of release $60 USD.
