Return To Faerun? Embarking on Baldur's Gate III
Currently out on early access since October 6, 2020, there has been no definitive date set for this classic turn on RPG lore by the creators of #DivinityOriginalSin, #LarianStudios. Some players may remember #LarianStudios for their previous game series, specifically the Divinity series, which garnered them a fair shake at the classic D&D RPG style that they totally nailed.
From classic stat making, combat, turns, spells, and abilities splashed in with the occasional well entrenched lore and comedic takes mixed with dark humor, Divinity's influences are very apparently in this return to the world of Faerun. Currently Baldur's Gate 3 is only available on PC through #Steam, but if history proves right the series will likely branch out into other consoles in the near future.
Keep in mind the game is currently still in early access, but the Studio is constantly providing updates to the game that are very large on scale, from cinematic tweaks, romance options and general bug fixes, like in the October 23, 2020 patch, and we're hoping to get more soon. We've had our fair share of buggy experiences in the game, but overall #BaldursGate3 is headed in a good direction, and nothing so far has been game breaking. To the contrary #LarianStudios has been very responsive with the community and provided updates and feedback.
The latest December 2, 2020 saw, in true RPG style, more rewards and options for player choice, giving the reigns over to Inspiration, Freedom and Pacifism choices. Larian Studios has added more rewards for taking the non-violent route, less punishing dialog skill checks, improved resting and spellcasting. Apparently your companion will be less harsh towards you in terms of behaviour, as this was something players gave in terms of feedback.
The Spell Casting system has also received a significant update with this patch as well making spells that requires more resources feel much of powerful and game changing. The Fire Bolt, Ray of Frost and Acid Splash cantrips will no longer create surfaces on impact, but instead Fire Boldt and Ray of Frost will still ignite or freeze pre-existing surfaces. Other changes include Inspiration points are now visible in the interface, and “upcasted” versions of spells can be be selected through a separate widget, which means a much cleaner UI.
Neat Factoid: In the last week, players died 78,293 times by fire. Making up 28.6% of player death. Perhaps this will change as we expect surfaces to be a little less common now that cantrips are changing
Players will also be happy to know this latest update, the game will now focus on more adventuring, as 2 short quick rest are now the standard. This also includes less micromanaging on the "jumping" side of things. Party members will now automatically follow you if you jump over a gap.
Hotfixes are very responsive from the Larian Team and just recently Hotfix #6 went live. You can find the full commentary here in the Community Update 11 after the jump:
If you're wondering if this Baldur's Gate will do justice to your memories of old or is worth getting into while in early access, check this first impressions video from #ForceGaming
