Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Little things piling up really hampered my desire to play by the end of Act 2

So, I'm playing as a gnome diviner wizard PC, and while I had loads of fun in Act 1, I am really struggling to want to go through act 3.

First and most obvious...the nerfs that make casters feel not that great to use.
1. First of all, all casters, by virtue of this being a computer game and not a tabletop session, are nerfed by sheer virtue of all spells not being implemented, and the game not being flexible enough to really let the full usefulness of the spells shine through, anyway. That's fine; I expected that.
2. But in *this* game, casters are *additionally* nerfed because ANYONE can use scrolls; it's just another thing that makes casters feel less unique and useful. I get that what Larian probably wanted was a way for friends to play together without having to worry about which class they selected. But maybe they could make this a toggled option or something...?
3. And then, casters are also ADDITIONALLY nerfed by several CC spells being nerfed and some effects being much easier for allies to break you out of. Which honestly, I don't mind some of these homebrew rules; some of the CC that casters got access to could seem way overtuned. Even if I think some of the nerfs are a little *too* harsh. But then when you combine it with...
4. The fact that some CC spells are outright nerfed through blatant bugs (it's been detailed elsewhere how hold person essentially has to pass two saves to have even one round of effect or the default DC of ground-based CC which honestly I haven't even noticed myself). This just feels bad; the bugs just need to be fixed.
5. And *then* there's the fact that the default "karmic dice"...I mean, if I understand what's happening with them, they make it so both you and the enemy are more likely to succeed at their rolls. But...wouldn't that be an inherent buff to martial classes (who are often rolling against an enemy's AC) and an inherent nerf to caster classes (where enemies are often rolling to save against a spell's effects?)
6. And THEN there's the fact that the game just overall seems to hand out WAY more goodies (in the form of items) for martials than for casters, particularly wizards.

And then there's the fact that some wizard subclasses seem redesigned to be more compatible with the game, while others just seem like they get really lackluster bonuses, while OTHERS get insane buffs? Honestly, all of this makes it feel like magic classes were really an afterthought in a lot of ways.

But then it seems like they tried to overcome some of these nerfs by making weirdly broken buffs to other aspects? Like, portent dice being recoverable on short rest feels insanely broken. Casting more than 1 leveled spell per turn, and all the shenanigans you can get up to with that, feels broken. Which leads partly to the other big problem...

I am playing on tactician difficulty, and yet I went through the entirety of act 2 not really feeling challenged by it at all. I'm not trying to brag or anything and I'm not saying people are bad for playing on lower difficulties, but I can't be the only one who noticed it. And the thing is I'm not even trying to optimize builds. I'm keeping all my companions as pure members of whatever class they started with (except Astarion who I made into a rogue/fighter.) I basically never use poisons or consumables (many of which seem absurdly OP to me). I barely even use healing potions. I think part of the problem is that extensively exploring act 1 essentially made me overleveled for the entirety of act 2. Maybe you could have harder, or more enemies, spawn in combat based on the character's current level? But then that would lead to a snowballing exp problem. Maybe what you really need to do is like, cut down the amount of exp awarded to players by 30 percent or so. You could even have it kick in after level 5, so players could still get through those painful early levels quicker. But even on the highest difficulty it feels WAY undertuned. I think maybe a combination of less exp, and dialing back some of the more OP homebrew rules, is necessary.

And then, the writing...
I mean, look. I'll be blunt. The story itself is far down on my list of complaints about the game. Not because it doesn't matter, but because I've learned not to expect great storytelling from Larian. I play Larian games because they're fun to play, not because they have amazing plots or anything. So even though there is definitely some stuff that gets on my nerves, it's not a big deal. I even thought that the writing actually improved significantly in BG3 compared to your prior games, not because the plot was so great, but because you've managed to actually make likable and endearing companions this time around. Even though I really don't like the whole "origins character" system.

Though here, it's actually a companion that's the problem. A specific companion.

Look, it's Gale. Don't get me wrong, because I like the guy's personality, and the VA does a lot to save him. But do you have any idea how much it feels like he's overshadowing a PC wizard when you play one?


Like look, I'm a wizard main. It's my favorite class and always has been. But between spells not working as intended and SO many design decisions favoring martials it's a bit discouraging. And it's a bit troubling that even when I *handicap* myself by refusing to use OP consumables or let anyone spam scrolls, combat at the highest difficulty STILL seems to be pretty easy. And then on top of that I have to deal with the fact that the game seems to be telling me "Hey, if you were going to play a wizard, you really should have played Gale. He's great."

I don't know, it's just led to me starting act 3 and not really looking forward to it. Maybe I'll actually start over as Gale, and go for something besides divination wizard. Abjuration maybe? Maybe combat picks up again in act 3, I don't know. I'm bothered by other things too, like how absurdly OP the tadpole powers are, and at least if I start over I can just refuse to get them this time around.