Larian Banner: Baldur's Gate Patch 9
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Joined: Apr 2023
R
Rogen80 Offline OP
stranger
OP Offline
stranger
R
Joined: Apr 2023
Loving the full release so far! Just finishing up Act 1, and I just have a minor bit of feedback + a suggestion for a possible remedy (Act 1 spoilers):

There is an interesting difference between Early Access and the full release - you can trigger the Act 1 romance scene with Shadowheart early. Like, really early. I got it as soon as I talked to Raphael and rejected the devil's deal. Immediately, I could talk to SH about my feelings and she triggered the cliff scene at the next long rest. Well before I had even gotten to the blighted village, let alone the goblin camp. Well before she even revealed her Shar worship.

I think that is awesome that there is that kind of flexibility. However, there is a significant drawback, in my opinion. Once you do defeat the goblins to save the tieflings and start the Big Party - there's... nothing for you to do with SH. There is no scene like in EA to share the wine (because I already did so 20 hours ago). She doesn't even have any unique dialogue to indicate that you're "together". None of the other companions make any commentary on your relationship like they did in EA. And the only reference to SH romance is when you try to go to bed, one option is "Try to push twisting thoughts about SH from your mind." to which the Narrator replies "Her mind is an enigma, but would you have it any other way?".

It just seems like Act 1 ends on a very flat note vis-a-vis SH romance compared to the EA... I know there is more to develop in later Acts, but the EA version made the big party, well - kinda special. Now, it's just another encounter (a fun one mind, but lacking that special spice).

Here is what I'd do to remedy the situation - you don't have to add a whole extra scene (though that would be awesome). You just need to make some reference to the fact that you've started the path. Even like a "share this bottle with me, I want to be with you" without a cutscene would be fine. Or even have some reactivity with the other companions - a "soo... you and Shadowheart, eh?" sorta deal. IDK, Larian are expert writers and could come up with something fitting. All I'm asking is for something just to let the player know that they didn't foul something up (which is what I thought at first until reading commentary from other players).

Thanks for your time!

Joined: Jan 2011
O
apprentice
Offline
apprentice
O
Joined: Jan 2011
I agree, it was curious how there wasn't a lot of commentary from our companions in the final release.

Mind you, in my own personal experience, Shadowheart's dialogue did acknowledge your relationship directly after the fact. It also gets progressively more romantic, the higher her approval gets and based on other options later on, which makes it relatively easy to see that the romance is still active.

That said, you also have Withers eventually asking about your love life at some point during Act 2. That was amusing.

Joined: Jul 2023
R
apprentice
Offline
apprentice
R
Joined: Jul 2023
Interesting. I've had nothing but approval from Shadowheart, and lots of it. Killing Laz'ael no doubt helped. Our approval reached "very high" well before I reached the party scene. There was an option in dialogue with her to say how I regretted we hadn't had a chance for a deeper connection, and she responds with a desire to get together later and have a private sexual encounter. This was well before the party scene, so when that rolled around I just assumed this was our sexual encounter and not just sharing a bottle of wine. Certainly all the companion dialogues and my options indicate this is at the level of physical intimacy. Now the moderator tells me, the romance is supposed to be a slow burn. This is either badly written or the script doesn't take into account that you can bond with Shadowheart very early.

Joined: Apr 2023
R
Rogen80 Offline OP
stranger
OP Offline
stranger
R
Joined: Apr 2023
Originally Posted by Ommadon
I agree, it was curious how there wasn't a lot of commentary from our companions in the final release.

Mind you, in my own personal experience, Shadowheart's dialogue did acknowledge your relationship directly after the fact. It also gets progressively more romantic, the higher her approval gets and based on other options later on, which makes it relatively easy to see that the romance is still active.

That said, you also have Withers eventually asking about your love life at some point during Act 2. That was amusing.

I see, thank you for sharing that! The "after the fact" dialogue still acknowledges the romance, thankfully. There is still the "we have something special" option. Interestingly, hers flipped from "Always good, with you." to " You know, I've always wanted to be a Dark Justiciar, but maybe I should just consider myself blessed to have you by my side" back to "Always good, with you" right after the party scene. I guess she got a renewed interest in the Justiciars after
Haslin mentioned we'd see them on the way to Moonrise Towers

Either way, I'm happy to hear things develop more in later Acts! It was just so strange to have a really impactful encounter early on, then at the big party when all my other companions want to "go to pound town", Shadowheart was surprisingly distant (a stark contrast from EA experience).


Link Copied to Clipboard
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5