@Thrillho some of that is similar to mine, then. I think I just blagged my way in, despite killing the guard post, the camp didn't know that was me, so I spent ages just chilling there, discovering anything I could and going back to the Grove to clear up some other stuff, I think.
As the Goblins were having a never ending party, by the time I was ready to launch a full assault/assassinate the leaders, I decided to play music for them, they gathered round listening as Astarion went off to spike the ale. A very cool moment as the music is great and it was quite foreboding as I knew what I was planning to do to them as they watched me in awe.
A couple of my party had to succeed checks about spiking the Ale, I could just flat deny it, but Karlach had to pretend to drink the ale, and give a speech "lets drink until we die" or something like that aha, and also intimidate one once they realised it was spiked, and she basically told one loud accuser that she could always impale him, and he just, gulped, then shouted "oh no, nothing to see here, suspect must have run for it" or something 😅
The main battle was a while after this, as I made my way back inside so I could assassinate and fight my way out against the weaker enemies. I'd also noticed war drums on my way in, so was slyly taking then out from time to time to stop reinforcements 😁
I beat the goblin attack on the grove last night which was pretty tough. I had to restart at one point and swap out Astarion for Wyll as I needed Wyll and Gale for the spells as so much of the combat was more long range.
Lae’zel helped take out the spiders and any other enemies that made it on top with my character helping out with both. His dual wielding short sword/dagger is quite useful for some of those instances.
A 200+ hour twist is my favourite kind of twist. The quest seeking a dragon was both very cool and also very telling. And I was kind of powerless to do anything but go along with the fight. But also, I now kind of can't wait to give someone their long due comeuppance, and this kind of gives me the motivation to do it. I love how much grey area there is in all of the stories though, and it would be easy to argue and take the other characters side, I guess, but I am convinced, and no longer will I put up with it haha.
Don't click the spoiler unless you're basically at the end game or have finished it, as it is late, late game theory/discussion.
So, in my mind, the real reason a certain squidy dude does not like the big brain's influence, is that he himself has ambition to reach big brain levels of influence and he can't do that while the Elder Brain lives. His domination of Stelamane, his manipulation of Tav, and the fact that as Balduran he founded the city, but could not remain there long without his ambitions drawing him elsewhere, and the residue of those emotions kind of transfered so that the Emperor basically thinks he owns Baldur's Gate, hence his actions with Stelamane, using her as a puppet to continue his rule, almost as if it is his right to do so, as his former self founded it.
I mean, he calls himself The Emporor for crying out loud, and insists it is others that do so 😂
Next time he comes at me with his lies he is getting barbecued 🐙🔥
When it seems you're out of luck.
There's just one man who gives a f*************ck
⚔️🛡🐎
Just cleared the 'Hag' fight last night,,, closest I've come to dropping the difficulty down to explorer, but thankfully I prevailed and eventually beat her!
A great fight, and one that totally benefits from preparing adequately. A hideous villain, and testament to the writing/acting (yet again!)
Currently level 4, but wanting to hit level 5 so I can return to the Goblin camp and clear it out... currently the whole camp is full-aggro since I killed one of their leaders lol
@Ravix The quality of that sub-quest is amazing... the Hag is so well-written & evil, I genuinely felt amazing finally putting her down! It is a clever fight as it really makes you think... I used Gale's 'magic missile' to target several clones of her once she multiplies, allowing me to easily deduce in 1 turn which is the 'real' target. Also using Shadowheart to cast Silence means she can't use any spells requiring her voice etc. Really smart stuff!
Ahh Goblin camp, bloody hell! I took out Princess Gut easily, and then called upon my 3 ogre friends to support with Drow Ragzlin.... but once you take him out the whole camp goes beserk! So I'll level up to lv5 and then return for Goblin genocide (and rescuing Halsim of course )
Just recruited Karlach and doing a subquest to hunt down some Paladins that want her dead. Also, came across a Vampire hunter looking for Astarion, which is a really cool side story.
Love this game! TOTK was great, but Baldurs is absolutely GOTY in my eyes
@CJD87 haha was Astarion in your party at the time? He was in mine and it led to quite a fun encounter 😁😁😁 "oh, this pale MF with fangs who is clearly agitated by your presence? Nah, can't be him, it's day time, isn't it?" needless to say, it didn't end well for old vampire hunter, as my role as leader meant I was absolutely not allowing anyone to threaten the safety of any of my party, and a little nudge and wink and I let Astarion announce that he indeed was the Vamp he was looking for. And I got a nice crossbow out of it that I used for some time ☠️
When it seems you're out of luck.
There's just one man who gives a f*************ck
⚔️🛡🐎
@Ravix Ah unfortunately he wasn't with me at the time! It kills me to say this, but I have him permanently benched in camp... mainly because my character is a Rogue Class and having Astarion with me would dilute my overall group efficiencies (makes no sense to double up on Rogues I guess).
It must have been awesome to have him with you during that interaction! I think his back story, alongside Shadowheart, is one of the most interesting. Neil Newbon was incredibly deserving of the VA award at the Game Awards - Neil does a great job breathing life into that character.
How many hours did your first playthrough take out of interest? And did you play Balanced difficulty? Balanced seems perfect for me right now, as I am frequently challenged (having to reload a few fights, Hag took me a fair few goes) but not getting too wrecked.
@CJD87 yeah, balanced. Started on easy but realised very soon I could handle it on balanced despite being new. I've not quite finished, as i've been taking it slow, although I'm getting incredibly close now as I did one fairly big session last night to wrap up a few companion quests, I knew I'd need a longer session to be able to take in all that was happening as they were things I was invested in, and I'm glad I did.
But it's probably around the 250hr mark total.
I agree about Astarion and the performance, he hasn't been in my party a great deal, as my Bard has been quite rogue like in terms of traps and lockpicking and talking, but I've always kept him around for doing stuff that suits him more, stealth based stuff that I don't do as a Bard. But my most used party has been, Me and Shadowheart pretty much permanently, A front line force, early that was Lae'zel (superemely underrated character) and Karlach more for the middle and end of the game, and Gale for AOE who would be the one that swaps with Astarion. They are all absolute gold tbh.
But it is clear that Astarion is one of the best characters and performances, no matter how much you use him in the fights. By the end the performance steps up 100% and it is truly breathtaking as a character arc, in my game, anyway.
I basically finished a couple of character arcs last night and feel like I pretty much have to have a break from the game as it is so emotionally charged. So much to take in, and truly superb writing and performances.
When it seems you're out of luck.
There's just one man who gives a f*************ck
⚔️🛡🐎
@CJD87 I took the Hag down earlier today; good tip on using Gale's "missiles" to clear the duplicates! I didn't struggle too much with the fight though to be honest as I sneakily positioned everyone around the battlefield and Lae'zel and Karlech did the heavy hitting (although I did have to restart the fight as I accidentally killed the woman after extinguishing the flames on the cage... whoops!)
I actually did the goblin camp already. As I said before, I got in easily as I released Sazza from the grove and she let me in. Princess Gut I killed easily by sneaking everyone else in the party into the room and taking her out before she called for reinforcements. I poisoned the wine in the courtyard to take most of them out that way, and then I told the main boss I'd help them attack the grove before taking down the goblins from inside the grove (a tough fight!).
Although I'm currently trying to sneak back in to go explore the secret area in Gut's chamber..
@Thrillho What truly fascinates me about this game is the differentiation between everyone's experiences... it must be nearly impossible for any given player to experience 'everything' unless you're willing to undertake numerous playthroughs? Interesting you had Karlach for the Hag, as I hadn't actually recruited her yet! The 'Magic Missiles' tip was solid - I often forget what spells/skill each character has due to the wealth of options, and occasionally just need to re-familiarise myself with their action wheels lol. Well done on the camp, I'm planning to go back in full-on assault mode as soon as I hit level 5!
@Ravix Yeh agree completely that all the VAs are pretty incredible, Lae-zel also is a terrific performance in fairness. Really goes to show the power that these performances can have, in terms of immersion and also overall 'game quality'. Makes me think back to Disco Elysium.... how different that game must have been for those who played it pre-VA patch? (I can't imagine reading all that text, without audio performances!!)
Lae-zel is a permanent fixture in my party also, albeit she tends to miss a lot? I have her using the flame sword I pillaged from the commander within the tutorial session, but she seems to rarely land hits!
How would you rank BG in your GOTY assessment?
@CJD87 for hit chance keep an eye on those percentages and make sure to get the "+ number" in the inventory up, as that is attack roll bonus, the thing that determines hit success (Proficiency in certain weapons and using weapons with a good bonus to attack rolls are what you need to look out for. For example a weapon good damage might actually not be the best one if it has a low percentage to land) If you have great weapon master trait, there is also a toggle in the radial dial for either +5 damage (or something) but a minus to attack roll/hit chance, so you can always flick that bit to off and you still get the extra attack from the trait. It depends how you are building her though, and it could just be a balance thing, as she gets to make a lot of attacks (not sure how Karmic dice work as i've not looked into that) it could also be that she is attacking people in melee that have high melee defence.
Oh it's my game of the year by far, despite loving my time with Zelda and FF16, BG3 just hits different and made me learn a totally new way to play. I imagine Alan Wake 2 could compete in a wildly different way, as the concept and design is right up my alley, I just suck at Survival Horror and have been too busy with BG3, and too scared I'll ruin the experience by being crap at it, to try it out yet 😅
I would say that overall, BG3 is yet to top TW3 for me, but that is only because I really, really favour action and open world games, and the DLC's especially made me such a big fan of the Witcher and that got me into the books too, but BG3 has made me crave its combat encounters in this tactical mode too to be fair, I'm just not really seeking out other DnD experiences yet, but the game itself, I'd definitely play more of.
When it seems you're out of luck.
There's just one man who gives a f*************ck
⚔️🛡🐎
@CJD87 Did you see the video I posted on the previous page? It was someone talking through all of the different ways people had managed to complete the goblin camp and some of them would never have though of.
Amazing that Larian were able to think of all of those options and manage to implement them all.
@Thrillho Yes I did see your video on the previous page... but I actually stopped watching 10 seconds in, as I didn't want to 'influence' my own forthcoming tackling of the camp! Once my Goblin massacre is complete, I plan to watch in entirety.... and see how lacklustre my own methodology was vs. some of the most creative minds in the community lol.
Hard agree that Larian are geniuses to have integrated so many avenues in this game.
@Ravix Thanks and you were absolutely right re. Lae-Zel...... I had a toggle/ability on that meant her likelihood to connect a hit was reduced, in favor of doing more damage on the occasions she actually does land. Considering many of the current enemies have high armor class, this explains why I seemed to miss majority of hits. I have toggled off for the meantime, and now she is super effective... thanks!
Ooooh, I'm so close to the end. I've been dragging it out as long as possible, and there is literally only one quest "steal a githyanki egg" (or maybe two if you include: embrace the tadpole) that will forever sit in my journal unfinished.
The emotional impact of finishing Astarion and Karlach's quest gave me time to pause and reflect back on the game, which has been phenomenal. And last night I went on intending to finish up, but I got a bit sidetracked exploring and found a graveyard that i'd not discovered and then decided to go the tombstones route towards my final destination, just to see how that played out... I was not expecting to meet
Redd Pepper (as Sarevok) down there
😁😁😁
I still need to finish off the final encounters next time I'm on, but there is literally no more to do, and no going back from here 😁
I made it through the Underdark recently having finally cleared the area (including the arcane tower). I didn’t realise hitting the Grymforge from there was the beginning of Act 2; I was expecting some sort of big story event to signal the end of the first act 😁
Instead of plowing on there, I’ve taken a step back and gone to do the mountain pass route and am currently deep into the monastery and looking for the Githyanki crèche.
@Thrillho I wouldn't worry about the act 2 thing, I think that is mostly just the PlayStation console saying it's act 2 at a certain point, when really it's a bit more free form than it can fathom. And yeah, like you are doing, you can still head the other way too and then travel back to the forge to do all that area. I'd say doing the Grymforge section last is more like the proper end of act 1/emergence into act 2, and things will be clearer (or not) when you've done all that 😁 act 2 is technically accessible to you once you are at the forge/mountain pass, I guess, but really that would mean skipping so much content, and it is worth doing all the stuff that is available before actually advancing to the real act 2.
Depending on what you end up doing, it could still be some time before you get to the real act 2 area anyway 😁
Hopefully this comment was mysterious enough 😁😁 but so many times I was like "oh this is just a cool little side bit, I must be close to the next act" before many hours later thinking, "oh, okay that was like a full act worth of content in itself too" 😅
When it seems you're out of luck.
There's just one man who gives a f*************ck
⚔️🛡🐎
I'm glad I read all this, because I am currently in Grymforge...! I have found the elevator that leads to the Moonrise Tower, but my party were deterred from using this yet until I speak with Nere(?) who is allegedly trapped somewhere due to a rockfall I believe.
My plan was to 'clear' Grymforge and then fast travel back to the surface to do the mountain pas and Githyanki creche.
Once I've done the creche I think I'll be good to go with act 2!
How much longer is act 2 btw? Or shorter than act 1?
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