Topic: Baldur's Gate 3

@Ravix I am playing on the easiest mode, but had to use short and long rests a lot. I know long rests will reset your skills usages and short rests is needed sometimes after battles when my party members were low on health. But that might also be because i was at places at which i shouldn't be yet for my level. Or at least that feels like it. I know i save a lot in between just so I can redo certain sections. There were parts with traps where I didn't know how to get past. Later i found out Astarion is great at detecting traps and i have to use trap disarming tools to disarm them.

Like you say it is a lot of trial and error. I try to read and test skills sometimes, but I still seem to focus to much on using as much damage as possible in a short amount of time and that doesn't always seem to be the best tactic haha. That's also why i treat this playthrough as my test playthrough to learn more about the game and the tactics i have to use during gameplay. Thanks for the advise on the split party that's a tactic I didn't think of yet. So i'll try that and see how it works.

I'll keep in mind if i have any questions to post them here Thanks for the offer.

@Lavalera aha, yeah I avoided a lot of fights early as easy mode made being a convincing Bard quite easy to skill check past people, confuse them with wit or deceive them outright. I.e "you'd better run away, that there is an invasion force/a ship full of monsters"

Also, the one tough fight I had, I reloaded anyway, so that negated needing to rest, as second time I just blew up some powder kegs and hid haha.

So yes, maybe more me avoiding stuff early led me to rest less. But I'm glad I'm now using more of what is available and developing a party tactical style.

I'm still trying to force myself to learn the buff/debuff side of things a lot more, because like you, attack seemed a good option, at first, but if you miss your one big shot, you then have to wait a turn and risk being slapped about, but if you get a buff/debuff, you're less likely to take a big hit, and can waste the opponents turn for them, and then yiu can go on the offensive when you have more of an advantage with your next turns or other party members 😄

So far I've still been relying on attack, as I've cunningly using split party positioning to get an advantage in fights though. One example, is at a location I won't say, as it might spoil a quest. But it's basically in a building, and I split off and used Asterion pre fight, and left him in the rafters, awaiting an opportunity, and then split Shadowheart to do similar (outside of the red markers that show enemy perception during stealth) I then went for a chat with the target with my character my last companion as a two person grouping. We initiated combat, and I instantly switched to Shadowheart and hit the main threat with a guiding bolt, with advantage, and melted some of their HP (shadowheart is listed as joining combat at this point, so 3 out of 4 are listed in the turn order that shows at the top of the screen) I then could do the same with Asterion with a stealth ranged attack if I had wanted to. But instead I switched to the engaged party, and hit two melee attacks on the main threat with my duelist bard, then it was the next companions turn, and I killed the main threat outright (second turn of the entire battle, as shadowheart attacked for free). Asterion could then join in via the L2 character switch, and I went about clearing up the other enemies with a few mistakes, but nothing too costly. Just one of them kept hiding so I never got a chance to jump on their head with Asterion and i had to enter a different room which cost me some turns and hits haha.

Next time I play I've already decided I'm going to make sure shadowheart has more buff/debuff spells, and just one short range and one long range attack spell, and try to focus on getting her into good positions to cast from afar and see how those spells affect the outcome for my other 3 attacking party members. Things like "Bless" or "Bane" and "Sanctuary"

And also maybe rotate her with Gale, as I added an "Enlarge/Shrink" buff that I haven't tested yet (I just thought, maybe rotating spell casters is a way to get free spell slots, as I wouldn't have to rest, just go to camp and replace whoever is out of slots for someone that has all their spell slots) 👀

Clever positioning, and keeping some of the party out of the combat turn list and able to move freely and attack when desired seems to be the number one way to get a good advantage early in fights though 😄

I think I shall take a slight break from BG3 now, and by that I mean for no longer than a day probably, and I'll still end up drawn back in late tonight, I imagine. But as there's so many tangents all coming to a head, it's very overwhelming. And I need to step back and reassess just to make sure I'm doing what I want RP wise.

I'm pretty sure there is no other option, for me, than to absolutely go in on the goblins now haha. I tried to find a diplomatic solution, and I tried to deceive so I wouldn't have to murder absolutely everybody, but as I am one with nature, and have already sorted out the druids problems, and also have a whole town worth of Tieflings relying on me, there seems to be no other way. But I just want to let it all sink in in the back of my mind, before I fully commit to any extreme acts.

I imagine there will be a lot of chaos, and I imagine a little toot on a certain Ogre horn could lead to quite a fun resolution 😁

Love that I'm having to consider my actions though, very nicely played Larian.

This game nails such small aspects really well. After tying up all loose ends in the Goblin Camp that, of course, meaning killing absolutely everyone that remained there, apart from those two stupid siblings that were following the orders of the absolute, Brynna and someone, they seem pretty harmless now, and they can, for all I care, take full control of the old Selune temple haha. This was after dispatching Minthara and Dror Ragzlin, with a combination of stealth, cunning and brute force. All of this was absolutely fantastic in its own right. I had to literally fight my way out of the goblin camp in stages, with waves of attackers who aggro on the death of Dror. It was a proper massive scale battle to escape the camp from behind enemy lines. Truly EPIC. And I didn't have to use the Ogre horn yet, I managed it with just my infitration party

I made my way back to the Grove and spoke to absolutely everyone who was relying on me for a solution, and was able to take in just what my actions had meant for each NPC. As a Bard, I delighted in them singing my praises one after the other, swelling my ego, ready for my next adventure. But it really felt like a worthwhile ending to the path I took and there was so many reactions, every single NPC cared for what I had done in their own way, even the pompous one who said that he could have easilly done it, but sometimes its best to not tarnish a master blade when you can simply use a butchers knife, haha. And I've yet to go to camp and celebrate properly 😁😁😁 it's just so well done, and the people and the world feel meticulously crafted for proper immersion into your RP.

Also, at one point I set up camp within the Selune Temple itself (great acoustics) and dear Volo, who I'd set free earlier, did a little medical examination to see how I was faring. And I do not regret my actions, one bit 👀😁

Haven't played this in a few days since I bought Marvel's Spider-Man on impulse and completed it over the weekend.

Can't quite remember which part I'm up to - I know I'm in Act II - but I'm looking forward to getting stuck back in!

@KAIRU aha, I thought I would be in act II, I could technically progress to it from this point, if I wanted to, I think, but I found a bunch more tangents to the north on the first map, so I am taking the much more scenic way to act II 😅

I'm glad I did too, as there are more quests that mention Baldur's Gate, so probably link to act III 🤯

I seem to keep creating carnage. Totally shutting off entire areas, having to kill team members and other potential team members refuse to join.

I'm on the easiest mode and battles take forever, I keep dying, running out of camp supplies and trap disarmers. I bloody love this game, shame I'm not any good at it!

@Throb camp supplies are everywhere, any food inside crates/barrels/sacks etc. I got them coming out my ears. I've only used a trap disarm a few times, I just avoid them generally and disarm them when they are on chests. Battles do take a while.. some 30 minutes+ so far (most of it rolling misses.....). I am not sure why you're having so much trouble with team members etc. though!

@Throb I mean, you surely don't HAVE to kill any team members, just like irl. It might be tempting, but still not mandatory 😂😂

If you're struggling, try to find out what specifically is going wrong. Is it missing attacks? If so, try to find a way to increase proficiency, try to attack when you have advantage etc. And the rest of the time use buffs to help you make more efficient attacks.

If it's getting hit too much, try to improve your armour class, which makes enemies miss more.

Remember to short rest after fights from the R2 radial dial, you don't have to even go to camp or use any camp supplies for short rests, but you get a good deal of HP. And make sure one of your party is a good healer (shadowheart)

Edit: also, look for ways to avoid fights or gain enemy cheesing advantages, like splitting your party and keeping your best stealth character out of combat and wrecking people with a stealth range shot, and then hiding again with the bonus action so you can do the same next turn

Hope you get the hang of it soon, but at least you're still liking the game 😁

My biggest issue with this game is I can't decide on my preferred party make up 😬😬😬

I really enjoy using Asterian for stealth in certain areas but he mostly hates the things I do, so I'm having to leave him at camp until I can help with his quest. And he always ends up missing out on the moments when I do deceive enemies 😅

But I also really enjoy Karlach as a Barberian, purely for gameplay, especially when she can carry a bunch of chests and heavy weapons, and use a bonus action to hurl them (or the enemies themselves) at the main threat whilst being able to tank hits.

But as I'm heading to a Lae'zel quest, I'm using her instead of Karlach (I also tried a double tank party with both, and that was fun, but also a bit impractical as my own character is usually in and around the centre of the battlefield too, in a different way)

Shadowheart is a near constant companion, but having both her and Gale sometimes feels a bit too unbalanced, as it means I have to drop one of the other more melee focused companions. And rotating Asterion, Gale, Karlach, Lae'zel and Shadowheart means I'd constantly be switching and never getting a grasp of the gameplay for a solid 4, I really need to decide who to focus on 😅

This all means I have zero time for learning Warlock with Wyll, so I just don't bother taking him anywhere. And I guess you can druid it up with Bear boy too, but I doubt I can be bothered learning another play style lol.

I have a cool idea for making Gale into a fiery Wizardy Warlock though, which would make him a beastly damage dealing glass cannon, which means I'd always need Shadowheart and Gale together with Shadowheart dealing with party health and buffs while Gale just stands there blasting things and misty stepping around the battlefield. So this would mean having to rotate Karlach, Lae'zel and Asterion

Who does everyone else take with them most? it's probably the most challenging aspect, for me, as I have to learn every DnD party member play style from scratch. And at this rate I'll be in Baldur's Gate and still not know who my A-Team is 🤦‍♂️

Definitely loving some of my character upgrade creations though. My Bard is currently a lv4 Bard, lv1 Fighter and I have 3 radial dials stacked with attacks, spells, cantrips and buffs now, which is rather pleasing for on the fly battlefield adaption. 14m movement speed too (oof) and teleporting via Bardic Ranged Flousishes so I can start ranged, or casting fear spells, and then join the front line with ease. (Finally found an upgraded rapier that has a sadistic bonus attack buff) I also permanently have the 'see invisible enemies' ability thanks to my earlier decisions, which will probably help at some point. And my armour class can reach 18, unbuffered, which is higher than Lae'zel (I switch between a few medium and light armours depnding on need and mood)

So this, along with the fiery b*stard wizard I'm building with Gale. The blessing heavy Shadowheart who has some amazing buffs and healing. And the combination of Fighter or Barberian alongside my Battle Bard, things do seem to be shaping up. But I do still want to use stealth at times, and bring the banter with Astarion. Maybe I am just about getting the hang of it 😅

I've given Astarion lv1 ranger so he can have a raven, and also perform true strike into a vampire bite when not hidden, with Hunters Mark into a Ranged Sneak Attack for when he is hidden. (And now i'm leaving him in camp after upgrading him lol) I want to test out all these new things at once and there's no room 🤦‍♂️

@Ravix There was a moment where one character wanted to kill the other character, I had to step in and choose a side. There wasn't another option. Don't want to do any spoilers and not sure how to post them but I had no choice, one of them was going to slit the other's throat in their sleep at camp

On no all my saves are corrupt! Don't know what happened. It keeps having me send error reports to Sony. I'm going to pause on this game for a bit and hope the next update helps. Otherwise I'm starting all over again.😵

Update: Did some research online and found a post for a possible fix and it worked. In case you need it at some point. Exit the game. Disconnect your ps5 from the internet. Reconnect, load the game. And it should work.

@Elodin oh wow, that's a scary moment 😱 Is it to do with cloud backups or the thing where it says "syncing with Larian network" or something like that, when you first boot up?

This is why Sony need to allow backing up your own saves via USB. For big rpgs I always liked to keep a hard copy that I'd update every so often, just incase.

@throb aha, unlucky, I guess it ties to other stuff you've done, as I've not had to straight up pick sides like that yet, despite clear tensions at one point.

My main issue with camp mates is they all want to f*ck me at varying and always inappropriate times, it's not Love Island ffs, settle down we've got sh*t to do 😬

@Ravix 🤣 That last paragraph. So the reports of copious romance in the game is not overstated, I presume. I thought I read somewhere that you have the option to turn off adult content?

@Th3solution yeah, you probably can turn nudity off. I don't how that would effect dialogue though. Nothing has materialised, anyway, as I put Gale firmly in the friend zone 👀 and turned Lae'zel's advances into comedy gold, but it seems like if you are nice or simply devote any time to any of the characters then they are up for a f*ck quite quickly (or at least verbally hint at it very strongly) 😅 it is hilarious the different pick up lines they try out on you, so it is totally worth leading them on, or at the very least not falling out over their thirstyness, up to a point 😁

The sheer amount of individual dialogue is nothing like we've ever seen before though, I'd say. Great if you love to take a break from combat and just soak in the overall Lore and the motivations of your party members.

The VA's have done a terrific job, probably the most realistic and well rounded characters and performances in a game where you can choose 7 or so different dialogue options per sentence lol. Really breathes life into the game.

@Ravix I've left Shadowheart wanting more. But I want more. She's not having it yet. What a tease.

@Ravix I knew something was wrong with her the moment I met her. The tone in her voice and facial expressions said everything. I’m glad I trusted my instincts. Lol.

@Throb I know what moment you’re talking about exactly. I managed to talk them out of killing one another. I was nervous, too, because one of them is my romance option. Lol.

All of my characters are walking around in the nude, some of the dialogue scenes are fantasticly hilarious because of this. Also, some of the cutscenes show the amount of detail they went to. Their details of genitalia are very, very realistic

@Kraven there's something wrong with all of them haha, including my own character tbf 😁 who were you referencing, Lae'zel? She's a properly hilarious companion, but I'm not gonna let her "taste" me 😬😅 Gale was banging on about how he liked my unwashed smell too, they all a bunch of freakz 🤣