Topic: Baldur's Gate 3

@Th3solution I mean use those scrolls to simply cast spells in combat. It saves you using a saved spell so it is cheaper to cast and can give you a powerful move when you are out of your own relevant spells.

Yeah, the inventory is something else. First run I collected everything and barely used anything 😅

Bard is THE best class. Hey, @Tjuz maybe we have found another member for the 'impossible to organise so it will remain just an idea' 4 bard squad run. A tourning band of Push Square Bards, adventuring, entertaining and murdering their way through Faerun 😅

What month are you in now with BG3? About month 5? More? 😬 I can only apologise, Sol, haha.

@Ravix Believe it or not, my first trophy was in late May! 😅 So closer to eight months. 😵

And I know that playtime is only one of many metrics to consider when gauging enjoyment and one’s money’s worth, but pound-for-pound this has to be the best return on investment for any game I’ve ever played. Even at $70 the amount of content and level of fulfillment per dollar is off the charts. The last game like this that I felt I could take to a deserted island and play ad infinitum was probably RDR2. The Soulsborne games are also in that category, in part because of the replayability with different builds.

A Bard run may need to be in the works. It sounds like fun. I do feel like I need to move on with my life before I start driving myself insane with thoughts of tadpoles in my brain. But because I did a really thorough run this first time, I do feel like any subsequent runs can be more targeted. I’ve long since reached the level cap, so I know I could get away with a shorter playthrough and still level up sufficiently. In addition to experiencing some of the classes I missed, I also wouldn’t mind tinkering with mods on a subsequent playthrough. I forgot who it was but one of the users said there’s a mod that expands your party so you can have the whole gang present while you explore and hear all the dialogue and banter that you missed. 😄

@Th3solution wow, that is a long haul. Also, sh**, where does time go? 😬😬😬 brutal.

The way you class it I fully agree with. It is why I have a similar top-tier of games, that can't really be touched by other games for what they offer as experiences and pure value. The Witcher 3 (your next big game) Elden Ring (my only Fromsoft game) KCD 1&2, BG3, RDR2 and maybe GTA4 but that is a bit old now and so I keep it separate.

Probably the best of the bunch in terms of value was TW3 as I got the edition with all the DLC for super cheap, and even though it took me a few attempts to get into it, it was basically like 3 full games, all much better than most individual games to begin with.

But every single one has a very similar quality about it, they are made in such a thorough way, their open worlds are actually either functional and logical, or just really well designed and planned out, and they are stuffed full of well written content, characters and are fun to play.

It is perhaps why I try to seek out mostly games of a similar standard and can struggle when games aren't that, unless they have some unique draw that somehow distracts me enough from them not being as good as the others. So a Watchdogs or a Far Cry kind of game where it isn't perfect but it has ebough about it to still be fun. And then good indie games don't need this giant scope as something being made with care and passion on a small scale is still great in a different way.

Can you imagine you are yet to get through both The Witcher 3 and Elden Ring. You have some good eating ahead of you. And KCD, but I feel you don't dare to even try that 😛

@Ravix I picked up KCD for around $5 on sale, so it’s in the library. But yeah, I do want to prioritize W3 and ER, but as I’ve mentioned, I really want to do Dark Souls 3 first.

And I agree with you in the sense that masterpiece level games are few in number and important touchstones, but there’s a place for the less-than-perfect good games too. Even if they don’t bowl me over like some of the epic favorites, I do like to have the smaller and less ambitious titles sprinkled throughout.

Speaking of, you should probably give some of the other FromSoft games a try, now that you’ve had your appetite whetted by Elden Ring. I know their other games won’t have the same enormous open world discovery aspect, but despite being more linear, there’s quite a bit of exploration to do and many hidden areas, bosses, and quests. I think the difficulty in general is higher because of lesser freedom to roam around if you hit a enemy or group that you struggle to get past, but there’s actually some options, depending on the game, to come back later when you’re stronger. Since you’ve ‘cut your teeth’ on ER, I think you’d acclimate to From’s other stuff. Demon’s Souls is probably the easiest and has a central Hub with some degree of openness to what order you do the different worlds. Dark Souls 1 has the famous intricate map that rewards exploration due to the weblike interconnectivity of the worlds. Bloodborne has a similar satisfying map structure. So you might scratch the ER itch with their other games.

I need to give you my Witcher books/audiobook update, as reminded by your post of the Peter Kenny sweet portrait over on chit-chat. And yeah, although he looks like a Witcher perhaps, he also looks like a lost member of the Bee-Gee’s. 😅

I’ve gone off topic enough so I’ll get into that over on the book thread…