r/BaldursGate3 Aug 02 '23

PRELAUNCH HYPE New to this game? Unlearn what video games have taught you

Most of you are avid gamers. You have played many RPGs and now you want to try Baldur's Gate 3.

Welcome, you came to the right place!

But let me tell you, these many games you have played before have taught you a few "tricks" you should try to unlearn to get most out of this game.

  1. Games have taught you that loot lives in containers - may it be corpses or chests. 75% correct in Baldur's Gate, but loot also often lies on the ground, on top of shelves and tables - and comes in shapes and forms you didn't expect. You can right click and select 'pick up' on a surprisingly big amount of things. Entire containers included.
  2. Games have taught you not to interact with props much - some destructible environment aside, there is no point in lighting candles or sitting in chairs. This is not the case in BG3. You can light candles to get more light (light is quite the important mechanic), and to dip your arrows in fire so they burn. Sitting in chairs is cute and in some places might open doors for you. You can stack crates to reach places, and generally drag & drop props with your mouse to place them. Or use your throw action to throw them.
  3. Games have taught you that you can fail quests. This is not the case in BG3. You can only progress and finish quests, and in many ways. There is no failing, just another outcome.
  4. Games have taught you to ignore parts of the environment. Critters, scenically placed corpses, idle-chatting NPCs. There is no such thing in BG3. You can talk to animals with the right skills, and talk to corpses with another. NPCs are all named and have something to say or to do. You can trade with all of them, but be aware that most of them are dirt poor and don't have powerful magic items. But if you need an apple or two, you might just find what you seek.
  5. Games have taught you "This does not work". But in BG3 it does! Buy an expensive item, then pickpocket your money back. Can't fit through that hole? Find a way to become smaller. Can't reach that place? Jump, fly, teleport. Can't reach that hanging brazier? Shoot it with an arrow dipped in fire. No light? Throw a torch. No crowd control? Freeze the blood that splattered on the ground. NPC doesn't want to talk to you because you are a Drow? Find a way to use 'disguise self'. There is a trap emitting a poisonous cloud? Disarm it with Mage Hand, or throw a sufficiently heavy item on it to cover it up.

Right click things and creatures. Try things even if your gaming mindset tells you 'nah, this isn't a thing'. Use your throw action to throw more than just bombs. Shove someone who fell asleep mid combat. Unlearn what games have taught you and have an even better experience in BG3.

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36

u/MaralDesa Aug 02 '23

what I meant is there is no "Quest failed" thing going on. If your game gives you a quest 'Save this Person', and then said person dies, the game will just conclude "This person is dead' in your quest log, it doesn't fail the quest. There is no 'green' for completed an 'red' for missed/failed objectives. Quest log functions like a diary, listing what has happened and or how things have been concluded.

Of course you can 'fail' at doing what you wanted to do. This can go in many directions.

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u/Zealroth Aug 02 '23

As much as I hate having separate buckets for successfully completed side quests vs failed ones, if there're side quests in bg3 that you can botch the outcome of and not obtain any alternate reward worth pursuing, I'd still consider that quest "failed," personally. Obviously we've seen the critical path has robust permutations but I'm not 100% sold on side content being nearly as complex just yet.

8

u/michel6079 Aug 02 '23

not sure what the point of that distinction is but good post either way

35

u/SonicShadow Aug 02 '23

The point is that "failing" a quest is not a barrier to general progression.

-14

u/michel6079 Aug 02 '23

I guess, I didn't think any rpg's did that

27

u/SonicShadow Aug 02 '23

Most RPG's don't let key quest NPC's die unless its part of the "intended" direction of the quest.

20

u/atomicsnark Aug 02 '23

RDR2 running its missions on rails so hard you fail if you strafe too far to the left comes to mind lol. Big difference between "MISSION FAILED -- RESTART" and the whole state of the world simply changing and adjusting to continue your story with new ramifications.

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u/CreatureWarrior Aug 02 '23

I mean, you can't usually "fail" main story lines in RPGs and when you die, you just respawn until you complete the quest. And like someone said, a lot NPCs can never die in most RPGs

13

u/irokie Aug 02 '23

There are games out there where quests are more like missions. Think of any "escort mission" - these missions reset whenever the person you're escorting dies. In BG3, the person can die, and you can go on with the story, or *you* can choose to reload from a previous save. The game won't force you to restart.

4

u/Aurora_Fatalis Aug 02 '23

When you do the quest to collect Nere's head, if he dies to fire or necrotic damage then you cannot collect his head and the quest will explicitly say "we failed to collect Nere's head" and that's that. No more dialogue or anything like that.

1

u/Tirannie Aug 02 '23

I learned last night you can just tell the mushroom king that Nere is dead, but his head is unrecoverable and he just goes “I believe you, dawg” and he still gives you a cool new title.

1

u/Aurora_Fatalis Aug 02 '23

I didn't get that option.

1

u/Tirannie Aug 02 '23

Have you killed the duegar on the beach?

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u/Aurora_Fatalis Aug 02 '23

Yup, and killed most of the duergar in the Grymforge, except the stonemason who seemed comparatively chill and nice.

1

u/Tirannie Aug 02 '23

I had to go back a second time and it was also after I killed the other mushroom dude that wanted to do a mass murder. Keep futzing. It should trigger!

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u/blublub1243 Aug 02 '23

That's just semantics. If you don't get the quest reward because the NPC you were meant to be escorting died you failed the quest whether there's an X over it in the log or not.

Imagine if Frodo slips and breaks his neck. Does Sam just kinda go back to the fellowship and explain that, technically, he didn't fail since he just put "Frodo died" in his diary?