Baldur's Gate 3 III: No Plans for DLC Or A Fourth Thread

[Eldonauran]

But what pissed me off in WotR was the vastly inflated ACs. "Hi, your martial characters are useless because we've given all the big enemies a +20 or more to AC."

That was actually quite annoying at times. But, if you attack enough times, you'll eventually hit. That 5% chance on every attack still matters. I got around those pesky uber AC monsters by throwing an ungodly amount of attacks per round at them. Summons help soak up damage until you can manage to hit.

[Keltest]

That was actually quite annoying at times. But, if you attack enough times, you'll eventually hit. That 5% chance on every attack still matters. I got around those pesky uber AC monsters by throwing an ungodly amount of attacks per round at them. Summons help soak up damage until you can manage to hit.

That sounds like a horrible game play experience though.

[Eldonauran]

That sounds like a horrible game play experience though.

I wouldn't call it horrible, unless you want to classify everything that causes mild annoyance as horrible. It wasn't as if every creature, or the vast majority of them, had such highly inflated armor class. If I recall correctly, most of them were optional 'boss' monsters, or there was something else going on that either allowed alternative ways to defeat or bypass the encounter.

To be honest, there were tons of ways to get around high AC enemies, though little to be done with purely martial characters that chose to focus on just the one thing. Not even resistances or immunities stopped elemental attacks if you had the right mythic power or chose a mythic path that opened up other tactics. There are even mythic powers that let you deal damage even when you missed.

[Rodin]

That sounds like a horrible game play experience though.

The one time I've liked that sort of mechanic is with the Geist from Battle Brothers. They have incredibly high evasion and 1 hit point. Battle Brothers uses honest dice rolls and has a lot of attacks per turn. If you're in melee with them, your chance of hitting them is pretty decent, but the hard part is breaking through the zombie front line to get to grips with the Geists in the back.

But remember what I said about honest dice rolls? The minimum hit chance is 5%. This means you can have your archers (who suck vs zombies anyway because a zombie doesn't really care how many arrows it has sticking out of it) spam attacks at them, and sooner or later they'll roll that natural 20 and the Geist goes down. There's only a few Geists per combat, so by preemptively flinging a crapton of missiles at the ghosts in the back you can remove most or all of them. It turns what would be a really irritating mechanic into an interesting tactical decision.

[Eldonauran]

Well, I just started a Gale origin playthrough and I've got to say... The first night's rest was interesting, as is the magical item I received to consume. Ring of Evasion. Nah, I was not going to consume that. That ring is awesome.

[Anonymouswizard]

Came back after a break, ended up restarting as a halfling lore bard. Also finally bothered to look into a hair bug I was getting, now some styles and beards look so much better.

I just need to remember to nab spells that target more than WIS saves. Oh, and probably Fireball/Lightning Bolt and Counterspell for my first Magical Secrets.

[diplomancer]

Came back after a break, ended up restarting as a halfling lore bard. Also finally bothered to look into a hair bug I was getting, now some styles and beards look so much better.

I just need to remember to nab spells that target more than WIS saves. Oh, and probably Fireball/Lightning Bolt and Counterspell for my first Magical Secrets.

Counterspell, yes. Not sure about Fireball/Lightning Bolt, Glyph of Warding works almost as well damage-wise, gives you several options, and unlike table-top version it's pretty much an instantaneous spell, and it's also a Bard spell.

[Cikomyr2]

Hey, i wanted to ask about Abigail Thorn's character, the sharrite Nocturne. Whats their deal?

In my one playthrough Shadowheart bascially went full lightside despite us breaking up on amicable terms, and I'll be honest when we showed up at the Shar cultist compound, they showed up out of nowhere "oh yhea ive been Shadowheart's bestie for years but she doesnt remember me", which was immediately swept away by the much more impactful reconciliation that happened immediately after.

Like, is Nocturnal more relevant for Darkside Shadowheart? Or when you play as Shadowheart?

[Anonymouswizard]

Hey, i wanted to ask about Abigail Thorn's character, the sharrite Nocturne. Whats their deal?

In my one playthrough Shadowheart bascially went full lightside despite us breaking up on amicable terms, and I'll be honest when we showed up at the Shar cultist compound, they showed up out of nowhere "oh yhea ive been Shadowheart's bestie for years but she doesnt remember me", which was immediately swept away by the much more impactful reconciliation that happened immediately after.

Like, is Nocturnal more relevant for Darkside Shadowheart? Or when you play as Shadowheart?

From what I can tell she exists so the game can pretend to actually be trans inclusive, despite literally every major NPC being cis.

[Zevox]

Hey, i wanted to ask about Abigail Thorn's character, the sharrite Nocturne. Whats their deal?

In my one playthrough Shadowheart bascially went full lightside despite us breaking up on amicable terms, and I'll be honest when we showed up at the Shar cultist compound, they showed up out of nowhere "oh yhea ive been Shadowheart's bestie for years but she doesnt remember me", which was immediately swept away by the much more impactful reconciliation that happened immediately after.

Like, is Nocturnal more relevant for Darkside Shadowheart? Or when you play as Shadowheart?

I don't recall her doing anything more with full evil Shadowheart. Haven't played as Shadowheart yet, maybe there's some more there then, but I don't expect it's much. She just seems to be a minor flavor NPC, someone from the Sharran compound that knew Shadowheart and was her friend, since it makes sense there'd be someone like that given how many years she spent there.

Also she's a minor shopkeeper, so there's that.

From what I can tell she exists so the game can pretend to actually be trans inclusive, despite literally every major NPC being cis.

I don't recall any indication that Nocturne is trans?

[Anonymouswizard]

I don't recall any indication that Nocturne is trans?

I believe if you give Shadowheart the nobles talk she hallucinates a memory of pre-transition Nocturne.

[Zevox]

I believe if you give Shadowheart the nobles talk she hallucinates a memory of pre-transition Nocturne.

Nobles talk? Not sure what you're referring to?

[Anonymouswizard]

Nobles talk? Not sure what you're referring to?

Phone added a space for some reason, the mushroom.

[Zevox]

Phone added a space for some reason, the mushroom.

*Googles* Oh, that thing! I didn't even find that until my third time through the game, and I just gave it to the Dwarf woman that time. Didn't know you could give it to Shadowheart and have it do anything.

[Keltest]

*Googles* Oh, that thing! I didn't even find that until my third time through the game, and I just gave it to the Dwarf woman that time. Didn't know you could give it to Shadowheart and have it do anything.

Shadowheart, Durge, and either of the two dwarves are all viable people to give it to. Honestly I think giving it to the woman whose name I cant remember off hand is probably the best use of it, at least after the first playthrough. Giving it to either of the origins is strictly a story move, and Baenlen(?) is, well, awful if you give it to him.

[tonberrian]

I think if you're patient, you can buy back the noblestalk from her in Act III in Baldur's Gate and then give it to Shadowheart or Durge.

[Errorname]

From what I can tell she exists so the game can pretend to actually be trans inclusive, despite literally every major NPC being cis.

I do think there's value to giving a sense of what Shadowheart's life in the cult was like from a peer and friend's perspective rather than an authority figure's. It makes sense for a character like her to exist, even if she's an easy cut.

Although now I'm curious, are there any other characters in the game voiced by trans actors? Nocturne's probably the only textual one, but this is a big game and it feels like they hired a lot of VAs.

Shadowheart, Durge, and either of the two dwarves are all viable people to give it to.

Okay, that is a neat thing to include.