Baldur's Gate 3

[Punisher]

Very disappointed that the barbarian wasnt nameds Peaches and the Monk named Cream.

Names can be changed at the magic mirror. But you've never watched The Expanse?

I think i have but it may have been in the before times or it could have been last year or the year begore, either way I don't remember much. I think i enjoyed it though.
Now thst you mention it, Amos does sound familiar but Peaches doesn't ring a bell.

[Jaymann]

I've already bought the game but the Digital Deluxe DLC is available for $9.99. Does anyone have it and is it worth it?

You get a few nice starter items. The most valuable is the Mask of the Shapeshifter. You can shape shift into other races and take advantage of the certain race only item benefits (much to Blackhawk's chagrin). Worth it for me YMMV.

[Isgrimnur]

I've already bought the game but the Digital Deluxe DLC is available for $9.99. Does anyone have it and is it worth it?

[Blackhawk]

Very disappointed that the barbarian wasnt nameds Peaches and the Monk named Cream.

I was about to say the same thing. I would have also accepted Captain and Tennille.

[Jaymann]

Yes! I have made it back to where I was on Honour Mode in Act 3. I am level 12 and prepared myself to pass the Unholy Assassin dice check. I had a hat that gives advantage to deception, Guidance, and 4 Inspirations to spend. I crushed it on my first roll.

Here is my revised Honour Mode party:

Human (for shield proficiency) Sorcerer/Warlock
Duergar (racial invis at level 5) Ranger/Gloomstalker/Rogue Archer Sharpshooter
Duergar Barbarian/Rogue/Fighter Thrower with the Dwarven Thrower hammer
Minthara as a Paladin/Sorcerer Great Weapon Master.

I will pass on Raphael since it sucks your whole party into his lair with no escape.

Next up I will take down Ansur with massive barrelmancy, then go after Orin.

[Jaymann]

Wow, what a difference Unholy Assassin makes! I was able to solo Orin with my archer in one turn. I couldn't kill Ansur since he did a total regen of HP half way during the fight. I was able to sneak around him and yoink the helm though.

[gbasden]

Hey there! I picked up a Legion Go around Christmas with the thought of playing some BG3 on the plane. I am stumbling hard on running the game with the controller setup. Everything seems much, much harder than with keyboard and mouse. Has anyone else transitioned over? Any good videos on getting used to the controls?

Thanks!

[Skinypupy]

Hey there! I picked up a Legion Go around Christmas with the thought of playing some BG3 on the plane. I am stumbling hard on running the game with the controller setup. Everything seems much, much harder than with keyboard and mouse. Has anyone else transitioned over? Any good videos on getting used to the controls?

Thanks!

I bought BG3 on PC, then later double-dipped on PS5. Played about 6 hours on console before going back to PC.

It works, but is way more clunky.

[Scraper]

Hey there! I picked up a Legion Go around Christmas with the thought of playing some BG3 on the plane. I am stumbling hard on running the game with the controller setup. Everything seems much, much harder than with keyboard and mouse. Has anyone else transitioned over? Any good videos on getting used to the controls?

Thanks!

I bought BG3 on PC, then later double-dipped on PS5. Played about 6 hours on console before going back to PC.

It works, but is way more clunky.

I''ve only played it on the PS5, so I can't compare the versions. But I can say that the controls for PS5 version work and for the most part aren't a distraction or a reason not to buy the game. I can however see how a mouse and keyboard would be far superior to the PS5 controller. There are times where it's difficult to aim spells and attacks on the PS5 and targeting things in the environment can be a real pain in the ass. often times I have to cycles through objects with the D pad to target the exact item I want. The precision of a mouse has to be better.

Ultimately though if your only option to play BG3 is on a console then don't let the controls deter you.

[Skinypupy]

targeting things in the environment can be a real pain in the ass. often times I have to cycles through objects with the D pad to target the exact item I want. The precision of a mouse has to be better.

That was my biggest issue with the PS5 version. Going from simply clicking on the item you want (on PC) to having to cycle through all the junk to find the one you want to pick up (on console) was incredibly frustrating.

Ultimately though if your only option to play BG3 is on a console then don't let the controls deter you.

100% agree. It's still a brilliant game, just takes a little getting used to on console.

[Jaymann]

I have come up with a strategy for Gortash in my Honour Mode run. I tested this on a regular playthrough first. Mild spoiler...

Spoiler:

After beating Orin you can offer to team up with Gortash instead of fighting him. You can then get the legendary bow in the watcher foundry and Gortash and his minions will not go aggro on you. If you destroy the foundry his minions will go aggro, but Gortash will still show up at the Morphic Pool. So unless you are planning on killing Gortash, there is little point in destroying the foundry except to gain some allies.

[Apollo]

So I'm about to dive in but I would like some advice on party composition. RIght now I am thinking about going with Karlach, Gale, and Shadowheart with my custom character being a Bard. Does this sound like a good balance of characters? Are any of the companions particularly interesting or fun? Are any of them annoying, boring or useless? I would appreciate any advice you guys have.

[El Guapo]

So I'm about to dive in but I would like some advice on party composition. RIght now I am thinking about going with Karlach, Gale, and Shadowheart with my custom character being a Bard. Does this sound like a good balance of characters? Are any of the companions particularly interesting or fun? Are any of them annoying, boring or useless? I would appreciate any advice you guys have.

I haven't played as a bard, but that seems like a well balanced party to me. Do Bards have any trap detection / lock unpicking abilities? The one thing that party is missing at start is rogue abilities, though you can multiclass one character to add that I suppose.

Also one note on party balance is that fairly early in Act 1 an NPC joins your camp who (among other things) lets you pay gold to 'respec' NPCs (rebuild them starting from level 1 back to their current level) and/or to hire party members that you create. Meaning you can turn Gale from a wizard into a barbarian, or Karlach the reverse. So if you want a specific character in your party for story purposes you can turn them into whatever class you need them to be for party balance.

As for good characters, Karlach is tremendous, and as far as I can tell has a pretty high popularity among players. I find Gale to be annoying, and I don't think I'm alone on that, but not a big deal. I also enjoy Astarion. Also FWIW I think Shadowheart and Astarion have the best backstory quests.

[Apollo]

So I'm about to dive in but I would like some advice on party composition. RIght now I am thinking about going with Karlach, Gale, and Shadowheart with my custom character being a Bard. Does this sound like a good balance of characters? Are any of the companions particularly interesting or fun? Are any of them annoying, boring or useless? I would appreciate any advice you guys have.

I haven't played as a bard, but that seems like a well balanced party to me. Do Bards have any trap detection / lock unpicking abilities? The one thing that party is missing at start is rogue abilities, though you can multiclass one character to add that I suppose.

Also one note on party balance is that fairly early in Act 1 an NPC joins your camp who (among other things) lets you pay gold to 'respec' NPCs (rebuild them starting from level 1 back to their current level) and/or to hire party members that you create. Meaning you can turn Gale from a wizard into a barbarian, or Karlach the reverse. So if you want a specific character in your party for story purposes you can turn them into whatever class you need them to be for party balance.

As for good characters, Karlach is tremendous, and as far as I can tell has a pretty high popularity among players. I find Gale to be annoying, and I don't think I'm alone on that, but not a big deal. I also enjoy Astarion. Also FWIW I think Shadowheart and Astarion have the best backstory quests.

Thanks for the input! Now I'm thinking maybe I should play a Wizard and replace Gale with Astarion. That would give me Rogue stealth abilities and also let me replace an annoying character with my custom character. Thanks for the advice, as that was exactly what I was looking for.

[El Guapo]

So I'm about to dive in but I would like some advice on party composition. RIght now I am thinking about going with Karlach, Gale, and Shadowheart with my custom character being a Bard. Does this sound like a good balance of characters? Are any of the companions particularly interesting or fun? Are any of them annoying, boring or useless? I would appreciate any advice you guys have.

I haven't played as a bard, but that seems like a well balanced party to me. Do Bards have any trap detection / lock unpicking abilities? The one thing that party is missing at start is rogue abilities, though you can multiclass one character to add that I suppose.

Also one note on party balance is that fairly early in Act 1 an NPC joins your camp who (among other things) lets you pay gold to 'respec' NPCs (rebuild them starting from level 1 back to their current level) and/or to hire party members that you create. Meaning you can turn Gale from a wizard into a barbarian, or Karlach the reverse. So if you want a specific character in your party for story purposes you can turn them into whatever class you need them to be for party balance.

As for good characters, Karlach is tremendous, and as far as I can tell has a pretty high popularity among players. I find Gale to be annoying, and I don't think I'm alone on that, but not a big deal. I also enjoy Astarion. Also FWIW I think Shadowheart and Astarion have the best backstory quests.

Thanks for the input! Now I'm thinking maybe I should play a Wizard and replace Gale with Astarion. That would give me Rogue stealth abilities and also let me replace an annoying character with my custom character. Thanks for the advice, as that was exactly what I was looking for.

FWIW with Astarion I multi-classed him into an assassin (rogue) and doom stalker (ranger). Adding the ranger stuff took him from being a bit of a weak link in combat to being a real killer.

[Jaymann]

So I'm about to dive in but I would like some advice on party composition. RIght now I am thinking about going with Karlach, Gale, and Shadowheart with my custom character being a Bard. Does this sound like a good balance of characters? Are any of the companions particularly interesting or fun? Are any of them annoying, boring or useless? I would appreciate any advice you guys have.

My main is now a human (for shield proficiency) Sorcerer/Warlock. I find most of the origin characters somewhat annoying. Asterion is OK for the early game, and Karlach for meat shield. When you get a chance I recommend you hire a Duergar (they get invisible at level 5) for a Ranger archer + Rogue Assassin. When you get to Act 2 you can swap out Asterion and Karlach for Minthara and Jaheira, as they are fun and entertaining. Minthara is a little tricky to get without trashing the Grove, but it can be done (knock her out then rescue her in Act 2). Jaheira won't join until you storm the tower near the end of Act 2.

[Jaymann]

Well my Honour Mode run is officially over. I did everything right and was soooooo close, but:

Spoiler:

I used invis to get all the way to the Netherbrain, cast a globe of invulnerability and was casting the spell to open the portal. The thing is, the globe protects you from almost all damage, but some A-hole was casting Black Hole which sucked me out of the globe and slowed me to boot. I was even able to to rez a couple times and get back on the portal spell, but the same thing happened. The worst part is the Slow spell left me with almost no action points so I couldn't mount a counterattack.

I will take a break then load a different save and beat it easily on Tactician Mode.

[Pyperkub]

xBox Firmware update to address save game deletion bug incoming next week (1/16):

In a tweet, Larian said Microsoft had identified the cause of the save bug on Xbox and will issue a firmware update to fix it. Users can update their console manually on January 16 or wait a week longer for the update to roll out globally, Larian added.

“Although we haven’t been able to independently verify this fix, we’re optimistic that Microsoft have gotten to the bottom of it,” the developer said.

I do wish they'd fix the Narrator audio being so damn quiet (non-existent for some users, apparently) tho.

Side note, I'm enjoying this on the xBox and haven't been bitten by the save game deletion bug, but I'm feeling underpowered at level 3 (running vengeance paladin with sorc, cleric, rogue companions as main group) as I hit some of the act 1 areas (Act 1 is supposed to be for level 1-6, I think), and I'm getting some decision paralysis in what to do next.

Spoiler:

Specifically in the goblin town before the camp - I guess I can talk my way through it, but my vengeance paladin doesn't really want to. I've taken out some of the goblins in town without getting all the rest riled up, but when I've fought another group, I get slaughtered (even trying to circle around to the east), and I also have seen the 3 ogres room, and don't think I can take 3 ogres, each with 50+ hp. I also ran into the hag, but I have a bit of decision paralysis there as well. I did find the underground necromancer cache tho.

[Jaymann]

xBox Firmware update to address save game deletion bug incoming next week (1/16):

In a tweet, Larian said Microsoft had identified the cause of the save bug on Xbox and will issue a firmware update to fix it. Users can update their console manually on January 16 or wait a week longer for the update to roll out globally, Larian added.

“Although we haven’t been able to independently verify this fix, we’re optimistic that Microsoft have gotten to the bottom of it,” the developer said.

I do wish they'd fix the Narrator audio being so damn quiet (non-existent for some users, apparently) tho.

Side note, I'm enjoying this on the xBox and haven't been bitten by the save game deletion bug, but I'm feeling underpowered at level 3 (running vengeance paladin with sorc, cleric, rogue companions as main group) as I hit some of the act 1 areas (Act 1 is supposed to be for level 1-6, I think), and I'm getting some decision paralysis in what to do next.

Spoiler:

Specifically in the goblin town before the camp - I guess I can talk my way through it, but my vengeance paladin doesn't really want to. I've taken out some of the goblins in town without getting all the rest riled up, but when I've fought another group, I get slaughtered (even trying to circle around to the east), and I also have seen the 3 ogres room, and don't think I can take 3 ogres, each with 50+ hp. I also ran into the hag, but I have a bit of decision paralysis there as well. I did find the underground necromancer cache tho.

At that level I recommend you:

Spoiler:

Be friendly with the goblins so you can enter their temple. No need to take them on right away. Get the brand from Gut in the goblin temple, then come back and convince the 3 ogres to work for you. Jump across the bridge after the first goblin village and explore under it and to the north until you hit a waypoint.

[Scraper]

xBox Firmware update to address save game deletion bug incoming next week (1/16):

In a tweet, Larian said Microsoft had identified the cause of the save bug on Xbox and will issue a firmware update to fix it. Users can update their console manually on January 16 or wait a week longer for the update to roll out globally, Larian added.

“Although we haven’t been able to independently verify this fix, we’re optimistic that Microsoft have gotten to the bottom of it,” the developer said.

I do wish they'd fix the Narrator audio being so damn quiet (non-existent for some users, apparently) tho.

Side note, I'm enjoying this on the xBox and haven't been bitten by the save game deletion bug, but I'm feeling underpowered at level 3 (running vengeance paladin with sorc, cleric, rogue companions as main group) as I hit some of the act 1 areas (Act 1 is supposed to be for level 1-6, I think), and I'm getting some decision paralysis in what to do next.

Spoiler:

Specifically in the goblin town before the camp - I guess I can talk my way through it, but my vengeance paladin doesn't really want to. I've taken out some of the goblins in town without getting all the rest riled up, but when I've fought another group, I get slaughtered (even trying to circle around to the east), and I also have seen the 3 ogres room, and don't think I can take 3 ogres, each with 50+ hp. I also ran into the hag, but I have a bit of decision paralysis there as well. I did find the underground necromancer cache tho.

At that level I recommend you:

Spoiler:

Be friendly with the goblins so you can enter their temple. No need to take them on right away. Get the brand from Gut in the goblin temple, then come back and convince the 3 ogres to work for you. Jump across the bridge after the first goblin village and explore under it and to the north until you hit a waypoint.

I played it very similar, and then went back at the end of chapter 1 and wiped the floor with the remaining goblins.

[El Guapo]

I'm inching closer to starting a second playthrough. What else am I going to do with my time, better my physical health?

[Scraper]

I'm inching closer to starting a second playthrough. What else am I going to do with my time, better my physical health?

I'm currently in Chapter 3, playing a good Paladin. I normally don't replay RPGs this big, BUT I really do want to see how the game plays out making evil and different decisions.

[El Guapo]

I'm inching closer to starting a second playthrough. What else am I going to do with my time, better my physical health?

I'm currently in Chapter 3, playing a good Paladin. I normally don't replay RPGs this big, BUT I really do want to see how the game plays out making evil and different decisions.

Part of what I'm wrestling with is - do I really want to spend all that time on an evil playthrough? Like hard to imagine slaughtering the Grove. But maybe I'll do a Dark Urge playthrough with a guy that's more ruthless / prone to violence

[Punisher]

I'm inching closer to starting a second playthrough. What else am I going to do with my time, better my physical health?

I'm currently in Chapter 3, playing a good Paladin. I normally don't replay RPGs this big, BUT I really do want to see how the game plays out making evil and different decisions.

Part of what I'm wrestling with is - do I really want to spend all that time on an evil playthrough? Like hard to imagine slaughtering the Grove. But maybe I'll do a Dark Urge playthrough with a guy that's more ruthless / prone to violence

I'm still waiting to start my official run but in games like these i find it very hard to play the bad guy. It'd just not in my nature. I do realize it's just a game but its dtill hard to do. I'll definitely play good on my first run through. Not sire if I'll do a 2nd run through because thats almost unheard of for me, but if i do, i might try it.

[Scraper]

I'm inching closer to starting a second playthrough. What else am I going to do with my time, better my physical health?

I'm currently in Chapter 3, playing a good Paladin. I normally don't replay RPGs this big, BUT I really do want to see how the game plays out making evil and different decisions.

Part of what I'm wrestling with is - do I really want to spend all that time on an evil playthrough? Like hard to imagine slaughtering the Grove. But maybe I'll do a Dark Urge playthrough with a guy that's more ruthless / prone to violence

I'm still waiting to start my official run but in games like these i find it very hard to play the bad guy. It'd just not in my nature. I do realize it's just a game but its dtill hard to do. I'll definitely play good on my first run through. Not sire if I'll do a 2nd run through because thats almost unheard of for me, but if i do, i might try it.

I'm in the exact same boat, BUT BG3 really can change depending on your decisions. I could see an evil play through being a totally different experience over a good one. But I too struggle with being a bad guy in games.

[Scraper]

I need some very spoilerific advice on a choice in act 3.

Spoiler:

I'm currently talking to Raphael at the bar/brothel and he wants me to free the Githanki prince and steal a crown for him. I'm aware that this will definitely impact the game. I'm playing a good and lawful paladin character. Ultimately I want to get the best good ending I can and I want to at least survive as a human at the end of it all. Should I free the Prince and give the crown to Raphael? Or should I continue to side with the Emperor, or should I free the prince and then not give Raphael the crown? Tough decisions. My gut tells me to side with the Emperor, but this game has a way of throwing curveballs at you.

Does anyone have any advice without going into further spoilers?

[El Guapo]

I need some very spoilerific advice on a choice in act 3.

Spoiler:

I'm currently talking to Raphael at the bar/brothel and he wants me to free the Githanki prince and steal a crown for him. I'm aware that this will definitely impact the game. I'm playing a good and lawful paladin character. Ultimately I want to get the best good ending I can and I want to at least survive as a human at the end of it all. Should I free the Prince and give the crown to Raphael? Or should I continue to side with the Emperor, or should I free the prince and then not give Raphael the crown? Tough decisions. My gut tells me to side with the Emperor, but this game has a way of throwing curveballs at you.

Does anyone have any advice without going into further spoilers?

At a high level:

Spoiler:

Don't give the crown to Raphael. Do you think that handing a powerful artifact to an archdevil will get you a good ending?

Beyond that, either siding with the Emperor or freeing Orpheus can be defended. Which one you want to do depends a bit on where things are with Lae'zel - her best ending depends on freeing Orpheus. On balance freeing Orpheus is probably the slightly more "good" ending.

[Scraper]

I need some very spoilerific advice on a choice in act 3.

Spoiler:

I'm currently talking to Raphael at the bar/brothel and he wants me to free the Githanki prince and steal a crown for him. I'm aware that this will definitely impact the game. I'm playing a good and lawful paladin character. Ultimately I want to get the best good ending I can and I want to at least survive as a human at the end of it all. Should I free the Prince and give the crown to Raphael? Or should I continue to side with the Emperor, or should I free the prince and then not give Raphael the crown? Tough decisions. My gut tells me to side with the Emperor, but this game has a way of throwing curveballs at you.

Does anyone have any advice without going into further spoilers?

At a high level:

Spoiler:

Don't give the crown to Raphael. Do you think that handing a powerful artifact to an archdevil will get you a good ending?

Beyond that, either siding with the Emperor or freeing Orpheus can be defended. Which one you want to do depends a bit on where things are with Lae'zel - her best ending depends on freeing Orpheus. On balance freeing Orpheus is probably the slightly more "good" ending.

That's good to know and it's the way I was leaning.

[Jaymann]

The only advantage I see in going the other way is:

Spoiler:

You get the legendary Gith silver sword from Voss. But I always yoink it in Act 1. Besides I hate the Gith.

[Scraper]

The only advantage I see in going the other way is:

Spoiler:

You get the legendary Gith silver sword from Voss. But I always yoink it in Act 1. Besides I hate the Gith.

I got it in Act 1 from him as well.

[Jaymann]

I have now finished the game on Tactician Mode (twice) with a bit of save scumming on the final boss. Now I am basically playing Item Quest. I currently have a level 4 monk with 24 AC. How is this possible, you ask?

Spoiler:

Got Raphael's Helldusk Armor (21 AC), the Bracers of Defence (+2 AC if not wearing armor, and Helldusk doesn't count) and Ring of Protection (+1 AC)

When I get to Act 2, I can add another +1 AC with the Cloak of Protection.

[Unagi]

I have now finished the game on Tactician Mode (twice) with a bit of save scumming on the final boss. Now I am basically playing Item Quest. I currently have a level 4 monk with 24 AC. How is this possible, you ask?

Spoiler:

Got Raphael's Helldusk Armor (21 AC), the Bracers of Defence (+2 AC if not wearing armor, and Helldusk doesn't count) and Ring of Protection (+1 AC)

When I get to Act 2, I can add another +1 AC with the Cloak of Protection.

That's super impressive. I saw a video on the Act 1 Helldusk Armor yoink.

Apparently, the highest end-game AC someone has gotten is 34.

Spoiler:

Armor of Agility (17)
Dex of 22 (6)
Defense Style (1)
Viconia's Walking Fortress (3)
Ring of Protection (1)
True Loves Caress (1)
Defender Flail (1)
Wondrous Gloves (1)
Evasive Shoes (1)
Cloak of Protection (1)
Helm of Balduran (1)

I'm ignorant of well over half of those, as I'm only just now wrapping up Act 1 at nearly level 7.

[Jaymann]

I have now finished the game on Tactician Mode (twice) with a bit of save scumming on the final boss. Now I am basically playing Item Quest. I currently have a level 4 monk with 24 AC. How is this possible, you ask?

Spoiler:

Got Raphael's Helldusk Armor (21 AC), the Bracers of Defence (+2 AC if not wearing armor, and Helldusk doesn't count) and Ring of Protection (+1 AC)

When I get to Act 2, I can add another +1 AC with the Cloak of Protection.

That's super impressive. I saw a video on the Act 1 Helldusk Armor yoink.

Apparently, the highest end-game AC someone has gotten is 34.

Spoiler:

Armor of Agility (17)
Dex of 22 (6)
Defense Style (1)
Viconia's Walking Fortress (3)
Ring of Protection (1)
True Loves Caress (1)
Defender Flail (1)
Wondrous Gloves (1)
Evasive Shoes (1)
Cloak of Protection (1)
Helm of Balduran (1)

I'm ignorant of well over half of those, as I'm only just now wrapping up Act 1 at nearly level 7.

I think I have had all of those items (will have to check on evasive shoes). He could have reached 35 with a +4 shield:

Spoiler:

You have to knock out Hope in the House of Hope and loot her. It is plus 4 AC but no other stats, called simply Shield

Now you have put me on a mission.

[Jaymann]

Yes! Mission accomplished, and I bested him by 1 AC. I had everything except the armor, which I promptly pickpocketed. I give you the mighty AC Hammer:

[Max Peck]

All hail the new world champion!

[Skinypupy]

I’m currently playing a party where INT is everyone’s dump stat. The highest Intelligence on my team right now is an 8.

ALL HAIL THE MORON BRIGADE!!

[Jaymann]

I'm right there with you. I am currently running a three Duergar team of Moe, Larry and Curly plus Lae'zel (clocking in with a mighty INT of 10).

[Scraper]

Was anyone else disappointed when they realized the level cap is 12 and they still had a ton of stuff left to do in act 3?

[Apollo]

I was really, really enjoying this game (the first new game I can remember enjoying in a couple of years or so) until I realized the game was going to throw difficult ethical choices at me, sometimes involving the lives of innocent animals or children, and that those choices might cause problems many hours down the road when it is far too late to replay the scene. I've never been a fan of "every choice matters!" games because of this eternal second-guessing of every. single. thing. my characters do. If I were 12 and had the time and desire to tinker with different choices and replay the game multiple times, I wouldn't mind so much but this will be my one and only playthrough and I don't want to miss items, side quests, characters etc. because I chose to "roleplay" all of the ethical conundrums in the game. Just gimme a "good" choice and a "bad" choice please.

[Jaymann]

Was anyone else disappointed when they realized the level cap is 12 and they still had a ton of stuff left to do in act 3?

Yes. But I have dealt with it by only doing those quests/areas that give tangible rewards. Ain't nobody got time to wipe out the territory for no xp.