Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Not all equipment needs to be about upgrading

Just a quick though I had while playing the game.

I realize that players can't be constantly showered with upgrades. ESPECIALLY in a game like D&D where magic items are supposed to be relatively rare, extremely expensive and they don't "scale" that much (it's mostly about special abilities, rarely about stat additions etc) and even more at low levels.

That said, the idea came to my mind that it wouldn't be half bad to be offered, say, three or four cosmetic variations even for equipment of the same tier/quality. For example you may want a Battlemaster and Eldritch Knight to wear armors that (while of the same AC value) may have a fairly distinct vibe about them. Same goes for Rogues, Rangers, Clerics.

Just to be clear, I'm talking about basic, generic items (normal armors, generic +1, +2 etc) being available in variations.
I'd take for a given that any "special" item or super rare artifact should have its own distinctive look, on the other hand.

I agree, cosmetic variants of generic equipment would be great.

I'd really like that actually.

Even though this means quite a bit more work for the graphic designers I +1 to this! Give me a sparkling unicorn hide with rainbows!!! Just kidding, but more cosmetic variants would be cool.

Agree. I like that DnD is more focused on unic items, than on generic +N gear. Would like to see that vibe here

I think thats in the game already actually? I think the shirt that shadowheart wears (for example) has the same stats as the medium starting gear while looking vastly different. I bought a +1 shirt for Shadowheart as well and that looks even more different! So looks to me like thats already in the game and maybe already planned for other items as well

Agreed! Equipment aesthetics are a major feature of character progression for me, and really important for replay in a game like this, especially with a lvl cap.

Could be that I just missed it, but is there anything here analogous to Major/Minor colors in BG1 and BG2?

That was a very simple but pretty effective approach.

In Infinity there were basically 2 colors that the player could easily change from their paper doll menus (the cloth components of the armor basically), and 2 colors that they couldn't easily change (the metal/leather components) unless they were using GateKeeper or Shadowkeeper.

I actually liked that scheme a lot, since it gave the player some control over their look, but without completely throwing in the towel and removing aesthetics as a feature of character progression (which is what happens when the player is given complete control to modify everything via the introduction of things like metal tints, or leather dyes or whatever). Making it a free for all the way stuff was handled in NWN also leaves a lot to be desired. I prefer some limits, at least for enchanted armor, since it gives you a reason to get excited for like Green Chainmail or a Black Breastplate say.

Since this is BG3, I would like to see 3 colors the player could modify for regular non enchanted armor from the Char menu or Inventory screen...

1 major color
2 minor/trim colors.

For enchanted equipment one of those colors could be locked. Each type of equipment could also have 1 color that can't be altered, like the metal component say, just so there is some built in flair to make enchanted armors and such feel unique.

Great idea!
Seriously, those standard wizard robes are ugly as hell. I've been considering running around in by underwear. Would love to have several different options to choose from.

I fully agree. DnD character progression is mainly about the power you gain from levels. Magic items are an important part too, but it should be a special thing finding one and not something you cycle through like cheap shoes. DnD isnt a loot focused game in the way Diablo is.

+1

Also longswords can be katanas (same thing in 5E), glaives can be guandao and halberds(already in game), a club can be a chiseled fancy elven cudgel with engravings of drudidic lore OR just a piece of driftwood.

And yeah I was really sad to abandon Astarions pretty puffy padded paltry pauldrons in favor of a generic leather set.

yeah I mean not to post twice in an hour on the same subject but...

how many times did you play BG for an extra couple hours, just for no other reason than you decided it would look cool if everyone was suddenly sporting Black and Red? Or like tried to deck everyone out in killer glowing color themes from the whole rainbow? Like "fear me I'm Tav the Green Knight!" You can tell cause I'm wearing the Green chainmail and that shitty +1 club that suddenly seems way more badass cause it has the clutch green tint hehe. Glad I didn't hawk it for the chump change.

I honestly think this stuff is way more important since they ditched custom 2D portraiture as a major feature of these games. Its always bummed me out, cause you can tell just from the splash screens here, how important cool art is to D&D. But least when the player can tweak their colors, even a really basic option can go a long way. The old BG games had what maybe something between 24-48 colors? That could be altered on the fly I mean (not including the fancy metallics.) With a Major/Minor scheme that's a lot of combinations for a look.

If BG3 did the same thing but had 3 colors rather than just 2 the color combo options go up by orders of magnitude. I mean since the late 90s sprites we can see a lot more detail on the avatar now, plenty of room for another trim color added into the mix.

White Blue and Gold -always glorious hehe.
Black Red and Gold - you villainous fiend!
Green, Dark Green and even Darker green? of course!

you get the idea

Most of the armor models are pretty beautiful, with plenty of cloth or straps or buckles and whatnot that it would be cool to see change color if the Player selected a different combo for the Char Colors on the paper doll

Oooh, I agree on the colours. With modern tech it could be amazing if they'd do it justice. Inquisition's system wasn't perfect, but it did have the right idea. (Though of course I'd do away with most of the crafting tedium and simplify it a lot. Having both colour and material options would be great though. A rugged cotton black for a rogue criminal and vibrant satin royal blue for a pompous wizard. I guess you could spread some advanced options across appropriate craftsmen? A tailor for materials, for example.)

And let's not forget the glorious colours of Jan Jansen...

Another vote for the ability to find items with cosmetic variation, especially clothing colours. Even if you could just have robes or soft armour with a different colour it would create a whole new level of immersion.

Looting another wizard's robes suddenly becomes worthwhile because you might find a set in deep red or vibrant yellow instead of those deep green that everyone else seems to be wearing.

I'm less interested in seeing regional variations for weapons (if I see one more katana in a Western-European-styled D&D campaign I may commit hari-kari)*, but there are enough small details that coulbe changed to keep things interesting. I love the longsword art, realistic-looking Medieval knightly hand-and-a-half longswords for once, but even there some small variation would be a huge addition to the game.


*Yes it is fantasy. Yes it is not exactly based in the real world. However, if the rest of the game art and setting resembles a Medieval Europe, I'm in favour of staying there and not having ninja and Samurai running about the place. That way flaming-crossbow-wielding Imperial Stormtroopers lie.