Topic: Baldur's Gate 3

@BearsEatBeets okay. So you know you said about the sea monster lol. I stumbled across a part of that quest in a different way (breaking in to a building I thought might be worth breaking in to, as i recognised the name on it...) and let's just say, the sea monster is only a tiny fraction of that quest you found and it turns into something much bigger and unrelated lol.

It may have taken me about 2 hours to get through what it will lead you to, so be warned 😅😅😅😅

Needless to say, I ended up doing pretty much everything, saving all I could, in quite an impressive way (eventually) and the only bad thing was my actual character was one inch, literally one inch from making it too... but I ended up dead on a beach. That's all I'll say 🤣🤣🤣

Thank the gods for revival scrolls 🙏🙏🙏

This game, and how quests can randomly kick off depending on how you act, and still be intertwined with about 4 other quests at the same time still amazes me.

I very much need to long rest now 😁😁😁

@Ravix yeah my Artist quest sent me to that other mansion, then searching for some other peeps around the city then back down to sewers (helped me find that skull) before picking a side, then back to the first building to conclude. Happy enough with how it played out and now have an extra lead for the Hammer.
Then I discovered the place for the next part of SH's quest so I thought I'd do it as everyone was full health after a short rest and only a few spell slots used.
Lets just say it's felt like it's been quite a while since any fight has been that taxing and this one wiped my party in 3 turns 😬.
I was going to finish soon anyway so shut it down. I'm going to have to have a good think about how I'm going do that one. I pretty much had my 'A' squad too.

@BearsEatBeets just you wait for the underwatery bit, then 😅 although that is more about tactics, luck and timing rather than just getting wiped out by spells or whatever.

I'm tempted to use Shadowheart's divine intervention for the next Shar bit (when I find it) as it seems like the perfect poetic justice for them to get wiped out by Selune via SH, and if i don't use it at some point, then I'll end up never using it and regretting it 😁

@Ravix talking about holding on to stuff until you think it will be best used, a few of my characters still have their 'unique' potions acquired from Moonrise Towers. On my last long rest I had a little story bit pertaining to Astarion. Not sure if you've had that yet but don't think it's spoilery to say a fight occurred. I'm not sure if it would be different if he was in my party at the time, but as he wasn't he was controlled by the AI. It wasn't a hard fight but on his one turn what does he do, throw a fire flask that hits himself too then drinks the potion 😡. The fight was over before he needed to take another turn. What a waste.
But yeah beginning to think that divine intervention might be designed for that battle. I'll make sure everyone is well rested before doing anymore on that underwater bit though.

@BearsEatBeets I think I'm done with the sewers for now, saved Big M the loopy mother f***er, and his beastly companion...
and actually anything else is probably not in the sewers down there any more, but i had a good explore, it's more like a ruined underground city now, but I can tell I reached a point I'm not ready for yet, due to all the Bhaalness, but it was safe enough to go forward to get a waypoint, at least. And by safe I mean, a very large battle first, but nothing locking me in to any more story, I don't think. I also found the last bit of Dribbles the Clown 😅 a bit of an underwhelming reward, but I was exploring anyway, so it didn't really need much pay off.

I keep thinking i'm making my way to the foundry, but I keep getting distracted, I met with the Society of Brilliance, and then remembered I need to read a dragon based tale with Wyll to, I guess, trigger even more quests 😁

So next time I'm either going to do: Shadowheart section, if I find it, Astarion/Cazador, or start reading the Dragon Book and see where that takes me. But maybe first I will meet the Diabolist that I found out about ages ago 😱 so much choice.
Edit: oooh, I very much need to go back to Nine Fingers first as well.

I'm also now understanding why people want a higher level cap, as I'm lvl12 and getting massive amounts of XP from quest completion and fights that does nothing but pop up and dissappear into the void 😆

@Ravix I thought it was kind of crazy after saving M that you could still pick up new companions this late into the game. I thought I had covered all of the sewers except for entering the big door by the waypoint but I must have missed something as I still need the Clown's head which I'm assuming is the bit you found.
I almost did the foundry but my sneaky entrance I found was only useful if I switched to gas form so no good for getting the whole group in. I decided to leave that for now and went looking for the sea beast and stumbled on all the bits you mentioned.
I was pretty chuffed with how it turned out as I only failed to get one prisoner out who ran past an enemy and got themselves killed. I wasted a few lockpicks before noticing there were levers for all the prison doors though. I was probably lucky though as my Tav went to rescue Omeluum. I got him freed with 2 turns left but an explosive arrow had shut the door with several enemies trying to get in outside. I was thinking they were never getting back in time when I discovered his cheesy teleport to the sub action so was able to search the chest in the room and teleport out on the last turn. I got Gale to summon his ghoul buddies before he ran for the sub as I thought they could be target fodder but as soon he reached the sub they teleported into the sub with him 😖. The only issue was Karlach getting ensnared just before her last turn so I had to go find her body on the beach alongside the one prisoner who died. Fun(tough) little mission though that reminded me of playing Xcom.

I managed to do that SH mission battle on my second attempt but was still pretty tough. That gave me a lead for the hammer so I now have the means for going to get that but I'm torn if I should get Laz back first to come along for it. I also got Astarion's mission done which finished with another tough fight, which part way through I didn't think I was going to succeed with, but did manage to complete. I used up a lot of healing potions, Gale died and SH had zero spell slots left at the end though. Both those missions had tough choices at the end and I actually looked up the outcomes for Astarion's as I had no clue what was for the best.

I'm tempted to do the Wyll/Dragon quest but not sure how closely it ties in with taking on G much like not sure if you can finish the murder questline without taking on O, so might finally actually try the foundry quest. Especially as the underwater bit as added the extra twist to it.

I had one tiny bug with talking to Wyll's dad in camp. He talks about Florrick and I told him I had already freed her but after discussing that it goes back to the 2 other responses to the question I just answered. Tried a reload as I had only just saved at camp but happened again so after telling him she was free and an ally, I then had to say I would see if I could maybe get around it. Also not sure if there is a slight bug but found it odd that Mizora is still in camp after trying to stop you and you can't discuss it with her. Then is a tiny skip when talking with her that makes me think there should be some sort of conversation about it.

Yeah a higher level cap would be cool. Every time I swap out a party member you see this big xp gain but it's leading to nothing. I wish they could make it a bit quicker/simpler to swap party members too. I start everyday with leaving camp with Jaheira so she can do her feast spell that gives everyone extra HP then go back and swap her for Karlach 😁.
I hope they add transmog at some point too. A lot of games suffer for it where the outfit that gives the best stats/buffs can look goofy or not as good as other things so it's great when a game lets you make what you're wearing look like a different outfit.

@BearsEatBeets oh, yeah dribbles is right by there. If you have the waypoint, just look near there, there's a few routes down and there's a pile of corpses you might not think to loot. I think tav will say something like "they've been laid out to be found" or something, like they do with all the other ritual stuff you find, which I guess is the clue to loot them. But... tread carefully 😆

I don't know what I'd do about Laezel, that's why I'm happy it's Halsin in my game, as I really want to save that bit until last, as O did say come to me after seeing G, and then we fight for the remaining power. So I imagine she'd 1. Be pissed if you go there before G is done 2. Trigger the big fight that feels like it should be done second.

I also stumbled across an area down there with lots of hints that it is definitely the end game part, or the way to it. So it does feel like it is better to be left until last. Also geographically G is at the start of the area, O the end. Despite there being 100 hours of content before you actually have to trigger those bits in the city lol. It just feels like the intended/more satisfying order.

As far as Mizora, I think she is indebted to you, and is also waiting for the contract to terminate, so is sticking around for those reasons. It is kind of awkward, but the Dad stuff was her trying to fulfil her side of the old contract Wyll signed, and she wasn't really against you, just being a pragmatic devilish d***

It'd be better if they weren't stood so close, maybe haha. I can't remember if I had any specific dialogue of her saying "you got me, i'll stop trying to do that to him now" but she did give me a taste of the hells 😅😅

@Ravix yeah I would have been so much happier if Halsin had been taken. I get your point about G being in the earlier area you visit so would make sense to go there first. I think they way they both try and persuade you to do the other means it's doesn't matter too much. Laz would often swap with Karlach in my main group as they are both effective close damage dealers, meaning I've managed okay without her. I'm eager to get her back though, so will do that one first I think. If SH or Gale had been taken I probably would have got them back straight away. 😁
This is off course assuming I can rescue her without killing G first like O wants. If that does happen I'd probably go back and try the other way. Attempting to get a good ending for my whole team , providing that the game has one.

Yeah that makes sense about Mizora still being around, but with how much all the characters have to say in the game just a little surprised she doesn't have anything to say on it. (unless it is a tiny bug skipping a short line).

I'll have another look around the sewer when I next get on as it would be good to tick another quest off the list. I'm pondering whether I should reconsider getting a statue done when I go back to the circus in case it has a benefit or some funny dialogue attached. I didn't at first as I felt it doesn't fit my humble protagonist.
I've got a portrait of my character but don't think I can do anything with it except sell it but I'm not exactly short on cash or found anything new worth buying. I even threw some cash to get some daily blessings from a couple of god statues.

@BearsEatBeets haha I'm same as you with the statue, I didn't, but then after dribbles quest I just thought, why not. I was going to get one of me and then Shadowheart if possible, but it only let me get the one, so I regret my choice of statue style hahaha.

@Ravix Yeah I'd totally imagine completing the second of the 2 will pretty much lead straight into the endgame. It would seem weird to wander around doing random stuff while in possession of all 3 stones. I'm pretty sure we should be okay after just doing one of them.

After going near the Upper City I'm fairly sure that is just going to be for the Endgame scenario.

Question for you fine folks.

I've never played a Baldur's Gate game, and have no real desire to go back and play the older ones. I don't play D&D, either. The most exposure I've had to that universe was the pretty good recent film adaptation lol.

Is this going to lose me in a sea of references I don't understand? Or is this newbie friendly?

@Ralizah I'd hadn't played tabletop "Dungeons and Dragons" in over two decades, let alone the previous "Baldur's Gate" games and I've been completely fine. I'm sure there are plenty of deep cuts and Easter Eggs that are going completely over my head, though!

@Ralizah You could try something like Divinity Original Sin 2, as it is a similar type of game and by the same developer. It might be a cheaper, and I believe available on Switch. If you like that, I'd say you are good to go with Baldur's Gate 3.

@Ralizah I've not played either of the previous games or ever played the table-top and had no problems following the story. You probably might have a richer experience if you're more invested and knowledgeable of the lore but I certainly don't think it's necessary to enjoy.
I will say it probably took me a while to fully grasp how to best utilise my builds for the different characters/classes but there are plenty helpful stuff online.

@Falcon94 I'm sure it was in one of the recent PS store sales, but it is back up to full price now.

@JohnnyShoulder I played DA Origins, so I have a bit of familiarity with this style of RPG. I've thought about playing DOS2 for years, but never pulled the trigger.

@BearsEatBeets Thanks, that's helpful. I'm heavily considering playing BG3 on Steam Deck once I get one, but I didn't want to be bombarded with references the game expected me to understand without context.

Normally ignore CRPGs, but I love some of the videos I'm seeing online, and so many people seem happy with it, so I'm willing to venture outside my comfort zone a bit.

@Ralizah forgot to respond to this. But yes, I am (or was) also a complete newbie to D&D and Baldur's Gate. And I think that probably says it all, as I've been going on about how good it is for months 😆😆😆

All I did was take my time to learn the systems, terms, and stuff like that early on (decided to be a bard before even buying the game, learnt a few things etc) but it's something that when it clicks, it continuously rewards you for playing it lol. Mostly it's just understanding what the DnD specific terms relate to, and how they function within a video game. But then it's just RPG goodness from then onwards.

As for knowing the world, there is that much going on that it doesn't really matter if you knew about all the races and history of the lands etc, as it's just like any game world you get plopped in to, you slowly learn stuff as you live it 😁

Completed the House of Hope last time. A fun little dungeon with a few fights sprinkled in.

As you can't fast travel away, I'm very much glad I had hoarded potions since day one, as I had 4 Angelic Slumber potions, so my whole party could "long rest" before the main event, after being chased by fireballs for quite a while 😆

All I'll say is

I'm curious about peoples experiences of current performance in the later stages of the game?

I caved in and bought it about a month ago after finishing my replay of Disco Elysium, which gave me a taste for the RPG thing (and also the thank you to Larian in the closing credits )

I have just started Act 2. The game has been phenomenal so far. I've found it to be better balanced and more forgiving than DOS2, which I found a bit too challenging, and harder to get my head round the systems/stats than BG3- this is despite never having played DnD. BG3 seems less dependent on getting your character stats and gear just right, and I'm finding the quests to be less obtuse, but no less interesting.

I've been playing on quality mode and have zero complaints so far. Only a few graphical bugs here and there, but only a handful.

I went with a lightfoot halfling urchin thief for my character.

BG3 has a horrible ending and the game is clearly unfinished. I thought for so long it was an easy 10/10, but it’s not. I think many reviewers didn’t finish the game due to its length. The ending is knock points off bad. I’m honestly upset after playing it for 180H to find it just wasn’t finished and got released anyway.
Larian is not a trustworthy studio.
They said the ending had 17,000 variants, which is a lie unless your character’s hair color counts, which is still a huge lie because that’s not what they meant. The ending doesn’t give a crap about anything you did. Reviewers should have been pointing out that the studio was flat telling enormous lies to hide a game that wasn’t far from being in a releasable state.