Topic: Baldur's Gate 3

@Th3solution You definitely want to do the mountain pass! I think it’s fair to say that there aren’t any areas that you should consider optional in this game..

I think it’s pretty common that Wyll becomes the forgotten companion but others really love his Eldrich blast move as you can power it up in so many ways.

I kept everyone as their origin class though and didn’t really tinker with multiclassing either as it sounded too complicated. There are loads of Reddit threads that can suggest easy multiclassing options and open hand monk is a popular class on there so you’ve probably got lots of options. I think the new barbarian subclass can mix well.

@Thrillho I’ll plan to try the Mountain Pass too then. I went that way briefly before I fully entered the Underdark and I got waxed pretty cleanly by that first encounter with some big dudes that had a group of zombies that rush you and they kept raising them back from the dead everytime I killed them. I think I’m better prepared to give it another go now though.

I have to clear the village of the duergar and explore that area and I think that’s about all I have left of the Underdark. I’ve kept it to the end because I love having the Sovereign Glut as a companion. Wish I could take him with me throughout the campaign.

Oh and I think maybe I need to find some kind of forge down here too that I keep hearing about.

And yeah, I’m not sure why Wyll is such a forgotten companion. I think it’s because that outside of Eldritch Blast, he’s a less powerful version of other characters. At least that’s how I found him to be when I played around with him. His story actually seems kind of interesting though.

@Th3solution one two-word phrase... Turn Undead. It is more than that, but really focus on Shadowheart and learn to see what she has available as a Cleric (can change her spells for each encounter if needs be) as Clerics are undead specialists and theres a bunch of spells where you can choose radiant or necrotic, like Spirit Guardians, and Radiant spells are usually good for fighting anything necrotic or evil looking.

I also read your big write up the other day, and I see you are fully going the open hand path. How are you finding the class? I know people are known to use that class to almost break the game with OP builds, but it doesn't seem like you are doing that.

Also, snap:
As i'm heading more into Monk, now I've got a few mushroom spells, we have the same outfit at the moment haha. But I tend to carry round a weapon despite being open hand for the bonuses, this big stick gives me 19 strength, the staff I carry most of the time gives some bonus relating to not wearing armour or something like that. I Currently have gloves that burn people I punch too, because why not 😁 but that can be swapped with the +2 AC gloves.

As for party make up, I'd keep most single class for now. I definitely keep Shadowheart as a pure cleric because they are great, but I always multiclass my Tav, and Astarion and maybe Karlach can benefit from a few levels in complimentary classes. But for now i'm keeping everyone but Tav as a single class. I am experimenting with a Giant Karlach (I have no doubt there's probably a group of people that would love a giant Karlach too, but I digress 😅) as that is a new feature. And also making Shadowheart a Death Domain cleric that can burst corpses and explode the living with cantrip quite effectively too. She carries a very naughty necrotic bdsm mace, but she is totally non melee in combat, it is more for her private life that she carries that (RIP domme dude. You will know who I mean, hopefully 😂)

There's the family, anyway:

It seems you are getting on nicely anyway, despite forgetting some things (we all do, as it is so massively intricate) and it is inspiring me to pick up where I left off, once more, so I can relive these moments and experiment with other things. Which is why I loaded it up yesterday to see where I was at and how my party looked. I'm currently on the way to the something something on the mountain pass, but I didnt fight the zombies yet, as I turned off to the right before triggering that fight.

As for performance, I think it can (at least when I first played) get a little chuggy at times, but its something I easily forgave. No idea if moving items out of the inventory helps, as I am notoriously bad at carrying everything I will never even use... just in case 😅 but there is a storage chest at camp that stays with you if you want to clear out the inventory a little.

You probably do have the little pet Shovel btw, but if you want to keep her it might require looking it up, I know I messed up this time around and they are gone now. I was too excited to summon them and forgot how I did it properly the first time 🤦‍♂️

@Ravix Thanks for the Turn Undead tip, that should prove useful. I have used some radiant skills and they do seem quite effective in specific scenarios. I have the powerful radiant mace that also gives you the sunbeam spell, Blood of Lathander, that I got from doing a random side quest but I have it equipped to Karlach right now. I figured it was good to get some radiant skills on to other characters too.

And that’s interesting that we are rocking the same outfit, it’s great to have that Cat’s Cradle (or whatever it’s called) and get the bonuses on top of my other dexterity bonuses so that I never have to wonder if I can pass a lock pick chance. I obliterate all of those easily.

And yeah, I’ve got a lot of the surplus in the camp chest and I’m getting better about sending items that I pick up straight there, rather than lugging them around. I also need to just stop picking up every random bottle of wine and carrot or apple because I think I have enough camp supplies to give me enough long rests for the remainder of the game. 😅

@Th3solution oh, I remember that mace. That's for Shadowheart, Shadowheart would like it more 😛 Have you not got any giant axes for Karlach? A big old Axe and a big old crossbow for her big old barbarian hands. Maces pair nicely with shields too, and if your Karlach has a shield you will definitely need to restart your game and delete all of your saves as punishment.

But as you have that mace, I guess you've done quite a bit of mountain passing already, so you are well ahead of me now.

I also noticed you were in the "one eyed club" who, may I ask, was responsible for yours? I did the same thing on both of my playthroughs as I can't resist a certain level of poetic idiocy within the fantasy genre. But I believe there are other ways that I didn't experience.

@Ravix Oh no… for shame… no shield for my big fire-chested barbarian sweetheart. Dual wielding. Mace in the main slot and a shortsword in the off hand. Crossbow for range, for only when I absolutely have to. Shadowheart has a nice shield, as does Gale. Because he’s soft.

I went through those monastery ruins and solved a bunch of puzzles to find 3 weapons to unlock the special door with the info on Blood of Lathander, but I actually didn’t have to solve the riddle because I passed the checkpoint throw to find and unlock the secret door without even having to go through the puzzle. But I didn’t realize that’s what finding the three other weapons does so I went through the whole place doing it, only to realize I had already got the secret that it opened up. 😂

And I guess I didn’t realize that area was part of the Mountain Pass. Maybe I’ve done more than I realized and if I could just make it past those zombies and undead resurrecting brutes then maybe I’m almost done? Regardless, I’m committed to wiping out the duergars with ma boi Glut down in the Underdark first.

And yes, in the Goblin Camp I saved the bard poet (forget his name… starts with a V I think), and let him operate on my eye later at camp. I was mostly curious to see what would result if I just let this crazy thing happen, knowing I could just reload if I die or lose something critical, and was pleasantly surprised that I can now see invisible! 😂.

A lot of the Goblin Camp I missed though. I thought I could go back later and mop stuff up, but after saving Halsin when I go back now the whole effin’ place aggros and so I don’t want to deal with fighting 20 goblins all at once.

Also, I still have the big ogre dudes’ horn to blow if I ever needed them to come to aid me, although I have no idea if they would come and help in the Underdark or the Mountain Pass or Moonrise.

@Th3solution ah, the ogre dudes, good guys. Saying that... I killed them this time and took the Headband of intellect from the leaders' stomach. I think he ate a mage 😂 anyway, it is my crown now, hence my ridiculously boosted attributes.

Did you visit Lae'zel's mates while you were around that monastery area too? You might well have done quite a bit more than you thought, if so haha.

Oh the aggroed area, yeah, I slaughtered everyone there too. I'm a combat whore even in BG3 😅 no harm going back and doing the same if you can RP that you lost your wallet or something 💀 I think first time it was because I killed the leaders, second time I lured some to the place they wanted to find and kill them there after I'd dealt with the camp anyway.

I'm sure there will be no consequences either way you do it. (I'm just messing with you, you've probably done the important things, maybe)

@Ravix Yes, I did the Githyanki Crèche, if that’s what you mean. It’s all a blur as to what order I’ve done these and what events happened at what location, but I had altercations with quite a few of the Githyanki and one of my toughest battles was having to face off with one of their leaders (I’m forgetting his name, but I think he’s an “Inquisitor” if I’m remembering correctly) because I refused to give up Shadowheart’s little artifact to him. After beating him and his crew I went ahead and entered the Astral plane, against my guardian’s recommendations, and had a sequence there. Lae’Zel is really ticked at me because I chose to oppose her Queen and so now she’s a refugee being hunt down by her people. I was worried she’d turn on me but thankfully Voss visited camp and talked some sense into her and she realizes now her Queen is corrupt (I think… who knows at this point because people you think are bad end up being good and vice versa 😅. I’m not even sure if my Guardian is friend or foe, actually).

I also stole a Githyanki egg but I don’t think I want to give it to that vendor lady who wants it. Lae’Zel will surely run me through if I do that.

So having done all that, I’m not sure where that puts me as far as Mountain Pass completion. I can’t see the rest of the map because I turned around once those zombie guys made short work of my group.

@Th3solution are you sure you didn't accidentally hit one of them with the explosion on your attempt? I cant exactly remember the sequence of the quest, but I do remember that I ended up fighting them anyway, because, you know, they are slavers 😂 and I remember I used positioning beforehand to help, Astarion behind the ranged ones on the ledge so he can dispatch them and have high ground etc. I beleive there is also a chasm which can be your friend, and also, using powder in the fight itself too. Focus on those control spells, status effects, surfaces to help max damage. Maybe a little grease to topple them and ignite them, stuff like that. Hold person. Things that take people out of their turns.

As an aside, as this turned into a more general combat theory discussion for every battle, especially hard ones, check the order of turns and focus all your might on taking the next enemy up out of action, as if they cant take their turn because they are dead or under under an effect, then they cant hurt you. And obviously taking out the main threats too. But if you can take out say 3 lesser threats, that is 3 whole turns worth where you no longer take damage

Also: quicksave during any battle where you think you have had a good round or the tide has turned to you, just in case you mess up from that point. And then it will be less work redoing the fight if indeed you do end up losing

Quick save spamming for life 🤜🏻 🤛🏻

@Ravix Sound advice. I need to pay attention to the order of turns and the save mid-battle is not something I even thought to do. That will be helpful.

Finished my second playthrough a couple of weeks ago. After playing a few quick games in-between I embarked on my Dark Urge 'Tactician' run today hoping to get the platinum. I'm going to try and play as evil as possible and make as many different choices as I can.

One early choice resulted in me ripping Gale's hand off and not 'saving' him. It was quite amusing, especially the convo with Astarion afterwards but seeing as I'm also playing on the harder difficulty I didn't want to lose out on a companion so reloaded.
I'm looking forward to having Minthara as a companion as I have never done that in my playthroughs. I know it is possible whilst being 'good' but also quite tricky, so I left it for this run. What is required to get her to join the 'easy' way is certainly going to test my willingness to be evil.

Fingers crossed I can pull it off, I may have to look up guides on optimised builds/specs further in but going to see if I can manage it on my own.

Definitely going to be quick-saving often. At the start my Tav and Laz both rolled ones trying to free Shart so she was stuck! I don't think difficulty affects dice rolls so just super unlucky.

Started playing this. Again. This time with some mods and on Tactician difficulty. Adjustable party limit allows me to have everyone in the party at the same time plus it allows me to hear all the travel banter out of combat between characters who wouldn't be in the party otherwise.

I'm using a rogue subclass that was specifically made with Astarion in mind as it plays into his Vampiric side and gives him some really cool abilities as he levels up. Wyll is now a Hexblade Warlock which is pretty fun to play. I've also downloaded some of the 5e subclasses for a bunch of classes and I'm having fun with those, as well as a mod that adds more weapons/armour for specific classes as I think those are quite scarce in the base game. The final mod I'm using is one where it places extra mobs/minibosses throughout the world. It adds more enemies to regular battles and even has some new encounters that aren't available without it. Walking into Waukeen's Rest and immediately rolling initiative took me by surprise.

Having fun with it so far. IIRC I just got level 5 and I only have Auntie Ethel to deal with before moving on to the Underdark. Let's hope I'll actually manage to finish the game this time.

@Kairuuu Have you noticed the mods affecting the game’s performance at all? I’m not a PC gamer so am not familiar with using mods, but I do worry that some mods may make the game glitch or even crash.

@Th3solution The only issue I've had, which has happened twice, is when I'm using the combat wheel it lags and drop frames briefly.

I'm not on PC either. The mods I'm using are available on console and they're all approved by Larian themselves.

@Kairuuu I would really like the ability to have all companions in the party at the same time. The added banter sounds like a lot of fun and I’m sure the combat becomes quite a bit easier with more characters.

I’m not sure how it will end up for me, but I want to complete one playthrough without mods and with a more traditional approach. I can definitely see myself wanting to play the game again, which is rare for me, and tinkering with mods is one reason why I might do that. I also want to try doing some alternate scenarios, like siding with the goblins or picking the selfish options in the dialogue just for laughs. Some of the options are quite tempting — verbally shutting down someone and telling them I don’t have time for their sob story, asking people to pay me when I help them, and just flat out murdering someone when they are being suspicious… lots of options that I’ve avoided during my “good” playthrough.

Also, this first playthrough I’m trying to see the whole map if possible. I know I’m missing a few areas and events, but I’m trying to be as complete as I reasonably can. So I’m still languishing in the first Act even after 70 or 80 hrs. It’s been great fun, but a repeat playthrough can likely be more streamlined and quicker. Especially if I just murder companions who annoy me and such. 😂

I've cleared a large portion of the first map now and it's not going too bad for a Tactician run but not done any of the tricky fights yet. I'm finding myself struggling with the choice to take regarding the 'Goblin v Grove'. I've realised trying the evil route this time is going to make the later stages of the game harder due to the characters that will be lost and the unique loot some provide. I find myself leaning towards only being slightly 'evil' and ensuring I do whatever gives my character an advantage to reach the final goal.
I can always do a true evil forth run later on using an easier difficulty with the added benefit of mods as I should have all the trophies done. There always seems to be slightly different ways to do things. I thought I was always scouring every inch of the maps but I have already found 3 new loot spots on this playthrough. Although everyone in my party (including swapping) missed a perception check for a certain spot which I remember having loot hidden. It's not one of the ones where you can just dig anyway to get to either.
Still, I've met my butler and experienced BDSM for the first time with this character. Planning on consuming some tadpoles for the first time as well.
Both of my first playthroughs I played a high charm character (rogue then bard) but went with a big fighter this time thinking I would intimidate instead of charm and persuade, only to discover intimidate also uses your charm stat 🤷‍♂️. I'm trying to remember to use Wyll to talk to traders too, especially with the stingier prices on this difficulty.
Also having to use Astarion for my locks/traps but thankfully planned to use him more this playthrough as I didn't in my previous plays.

Was able to snag myself a physical copy of the game from Larian's site, wow is the box big

I’ve been out of pocket the last several weeks, but I’ve still made some progress in my BG3 run. This is just an all-encompassing lifestyle game. I feel like it’s taken over my entire brain. I mean… like an Illithid tadpole, actually. 😕 Scary.

Ive not had the time I wish I could take to completely immerse myself and get through the game quicker, but I’ve still been able to invest some serious hours. I’ve gone way past 100 hours and currently in the latter half of Act 2.

I’ve successfully preserved Last Light Inn, recruited both Minthara and Halsin, reunited Thaniel, freed the Gnome and Tiefling prisoners, and just in general have rummaged around the whole map. I’ve left the main storyline quests for the end, so I think I’m about to dive into the whole Shar temple questline and figure out how I’m going to take down Ketheric Thorm.

I’m really making nice progress in my build, my Tav is much more powerful than all my other companions, as far as enemy take down capacity and movement around the battlefield. I’ve been experimenting with using Halsin and Minthara, both of which have some nice skills and useful abilities, but my main is still Karlach, Shadowheart, and Gale. Gale is pretty much the only one that never gets switched out because he’s my only really pure caster with high level spells. Sometimes Karlach gets a break and Lae’Zel or Halsin get the tank duties, and I’ll swap out Minthara for SH sometimes for a support character with a little more oomph. But SH is going to be a constant in the party for the rest of this Act, I think, because it all seems to be dealing with that Shar cult that she belongs to. 😅

The forgotten companions remain Wyll and Astarion. Stealth has just not clicked with my playstyle and I rarely find it effective. I’m sure I’m doing it all totally wrong. But even with invisibility and using Astarion and stealth characters, things always descend into a free-for-all as I seem to always get discovered eventually, so it’s just easier to brute force my combat encounters.

I am trying to avoid a lot of the combat though, especially the really difficult fights. I tried fighting the Tollmaster and got my head handed to me real quick, so I reattempted and tried the persuasion route and that was much easier. Did the same for the barkeeper guy.

Other random factoids - I’m level 8. I’m in a committed relationship with Karlach, as yeah, we stabilized her heart for now. Her eyes turn blue when we touch, so that’s nice. And I’m using Illithid powers and consuming tadpoles, but I’ve only used 2 of them. I have like 7 more but I’m kind of scared to use them. Most of my party is against using them.

Anyway, that’s a basic summary of progress, just shooting from the hip.

Tagging @Ravix but also anyone else who might be curious.

@Th3solution The gold is for the Toll! I collect the gold!

Not sure I understand the American use of 'out of pocket', but I looked it up as the context for my understanding made no sense in your sentence, but it seems to mean busy/otherwise engaged which now totally makes sense.

It is, it is an all encompassing game. But you were warned 😁 it isn't even that you have to play it non stop, as it can be spread out across the weeks and months, (100 hour first act club say whaaaat) but that, when you're not playing it, 90% of the rest of the time you are maybe still thinking about it in some way or another in the back of your mind, which means it feels like you are playing it when you aren't, and I know that very feeling haha. I mean, if you play it 3 hours a day it will take 3 months to complete, but you will still have thought about it for many more hours outside of that gaming time. A parasitic game, indeed. I'd probably not let a bad poet and a god awful naturalist poke around in my eye irl to try and fix that, however. I will let it float around in my brain forever 😁

Wait, you recruited Minthara while dating Karlach?!? Such madness. Sounds like a potentially guided playthrough at this point 😛

Good that you are making progress still. And the Temple of Shar is lovely at this time of year.

Good luck on your further travels!