Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General Every time I get to act 3...

... I am for some unknown reason bored. Not interested. I don't even know what I should call it.

It is my third run, this time as a completely solo run just to see if there is a challenge. Yet again as soon as I reach act 3 I feel... Underwhelmed. I can't even explain why that is. Maybe I miss the "freedom" of bg2:soa to walk in any district I want and really think of it as a complex city. Every time I left irenicus dungeon and be greeted by the Grey mages I was excited to explore every damn building... But I don't feel this in act 3.

Besides that I absolutely love bg3.. But act 3... Oh man...
Does anyone else feels like this?

Perhaps I feel the same way. Act 3 is missing something, but I don't really know what it is. It feels more like something I have to do, instead of wanting to do.

I can't really find a root problem, but I can think of possible explanations while Act 3 feels somewhat lackluster:

1) The area is very partitioned. It feels like every house has its own mini-quest. And there probably will be a cellar that is bigger than the house itself. An all-encompassing adventure is absent somehow.
2) It's a city. With houses. And some houses have very big cellars. Which makes the environment rather ... mundane. The thrill of exploring strange new environments seems to be mostly absent in act 3.
3) You reach level 12 at the start of act 3, you send two thirds of your gold to camp because it weighs too much, and you have far too many magical trinkets. Incentives for self-improvement have dwindled significantly in the last act.

Yeah, I kind of feel the same way. By the time you get to the city, it feels like most of the plot development is done and you are pressured to just bash your way to the ending. I don't have time for Dribbles! Plus, some of the quests are downright confusing ... Rescue the Duke for one. I have even checked the web to see how to do it, and I still don't understand it.

But I do love the city ... lots of people milling about, interesting alleyways, and occasionally running into characters from earlier chapters. That really gives a sense of life to the environment that the original BG series never quite had (except for Narlen Darkwalk).

Not necessarily letting Larian off the hook for this... but I feel this way with most cRPG's that I play. Even with games that I really love, I often feel like I have to force myself to play just to bring them to conclusion.

I have the same problem with Act 3.

When exploring Act 1 and the Shadowlands in Act 2, I wanted to find all there was. There were small quests hiding in far reaching corners but nothing felt overwhelming or like it didn't add to the story itself.

So much of the quests in Act 3 feel like chores and most of them have little to no impact on the story (except the companion quests). The undercity in particular is super frustrating to go through.
In addition, everything is so saturated. There is way too many nothing-burger quests that provide almost nothing as a reward. Considering you had reached max level at the very beginning, there's no incentive to get experience. You've been a bajillionaire for a long time so you don't need the gold. And unless it's going to elicit an interesting companion reaction or decision you have to make, everything feels pointless.

What they need to do is increase the level cap, get rid of innocuous fetch quests, increase the amount of decision making, and HEAVILY improve companion reactions and interactions particularly at camp.

This thread is super interesting.

I have restarted my "official definitive all the cookies all the screenshots G-Durge" playthrough three times. Each time I feel the need to restart I'm a little ways into Act3 and have always thought I restart because I'm anxious about messing up a companion quest, the assets loading in at a snails pace every time I travel, and/or I can't handle the excitement of actually being in the city *starry eyes* and ultimately I just don't _want_ to finish the game yet (considering how upsetting the ending/s have been for a lot of players, I'm scared and sad lol) but hindsight and reading through these comments I get this sort of sinking feeling that I too felt a bit, idk stymied in Act3. That maybe it isn't just my own silly hang-ups.

I heard a long time ago that Act3 was supposed to be as lengthy as Acts1and2 put together but if that content is just a whole bunch of inconsequential side quests I'm going to have to adjust my expectations. Set my mind to enjoying the scenery, atmosphere, and energy of the bustling big city if nothing else? hmmmm

And also drink up all those little details for headcanons! Teehee, you know.

*grin*

For me, I think it was the combination of a few things. The early level cap being hit removing the sense of progression, the plot's major glaring flaws really coming to the forefront, and combat becoming totally trivial really drained my sense of fun.

I’m only on my second playthrough and just about to leave act 1. In my first playthrough I felt pretty overwhelmed when I first reached act 3. But I just started chipping away at the tasks and ended up loving it, bugs notwithstanding. With a few small exceptions I found the quests varied and interesting and the city wonderfully realised, given the constraints of video game development. Which isn’t to say that I don’t want more, as of course I do. But I’m actually looking forward to getting to act 3 again, as I’ll not be as impatient to find out what happens and so will be able to relax and just explore Baldur’s Gate at my leisure. I guess I’ll see in a while whether it lives up to my expectations. But I’ve a shadow curse to lift first!

It's just boring and tedious with a few precious exceptions, especially when it's not your first run and you know there will be no payoff in the end.

There's too much to do for an area of that size and no point in doing most of it. Only companion quests if you care about them, but even those feel rushed in their implementation.

I personally lost interest in the main plot the moment the Emperor was introduced.

Wow I never thought that there will be quick answers who all report the same feeling (more or less).

So far I read several points that explain for me why act 3 feels bland.


This, oh yes this. It absolutely feels like chores. Lifting the shadow curse felt more interesting than beating the brain. Ketheric Thorm was way more interesting as a character compared to Orin and Gortash.

Orin and Gortash have potential to be just as good I think, but they don't get opportunities to be truly seen. They have to share the spotlight with each other, those 1000 irrelevant side quests, and the brain.

Also, with Ketheric, you have his personal motivations for becoming the way he is. To get to know Orin and Gortash you have to put effort into finding things yourself (letter, diaries, some people) in an oversaturated city.

Well I only did 1 full pt so far, soo don’t know if I’ll get bored the 2nd time, but I actually liked every next Act more than the previous, and Act 3 was the best for me. Despite hitting level cap like 1 hour after getting there with 50-60 hours to go, despite performance issues etc.

It’s REALLY good - it managed to keep me engaged, playing RPG without exp and without progressing the character for a good 1/3 of a game - can’t say I know any other RPG that can pull that off.

What act3 lacks in my opinion is an overarching theme. The first two acts have this, the third just doesn't.

Act1 was all about exploration for me. There's lots of exotic places to explore while you're slowly figuring out what to do about the tadpole. You're getting to know your companions, and also exploring the mechanics of the game.

In act2 you have a clear goal to work towards. Going to moonrise, and then killing Ketheric. And so the whole act is driven by that narrative. Everything you do in act2 feels like it has some connection to that main storyline.

Then act 3 begins with an overwhelming amount of questlines converging on that city. It just feels like I'm going down a list checking off plot point after plot point. There is some excellent content in act3, but it doesn't get room to shine because the whole act is too saturated.

The Real Problem its that Act 1,2 of this Game is So Great, So Strong and Powerfull as a Story Telling..
that when yu get to act 3 the game fall short compared to the Rest..
(especially if yu went down the Hero Path.. this will disapointing yu really bad becouse of the ending..)
Just some Closure to Act 3, Endigns its what this Game Needs..
to be a True Masterpiece that he can be.

The Blood God will Protect yu..
Praise the Sun! \0/

100% how I feel and 100% what I think the crux of the issue with Act 3 is. So much of what you do throughout it doesn't lend itself to a goal of any kind. It's just "lets run around EVERYWHERE and help random people/improve our image/find clown bits etc."

Ketheric and Moonrise was an omnipresent danger that was looming over a tarnished landscape. Everything felt like it was building up to that area and then the climax felt important and relevant. Everything affected your companions in a significant way.

Whereas, Act 3 we have Orin and Gortash and Ansur and Cazador and Raphael and Orpheus and Sarevok and The Mother Superior all mashed into a single Act. None of these characters get a proper build-up, none of them feel like an omnipresent danger, and every one of their stories ends suddenly with no payoff or reaction from your companions other than "That happened! Wow!...moving on."

I think it might have been cool if they slid in another Act between Rivington and the City of Baldur's gate proper.

The way they got it set up right now, is sorta like if BG1 had Beregost and the Carnival area happen right before arriving arriving in the Big city. Rivington is our first actual town in BG3, but it's eclipsed by the lower city. Probably should have broken it up a bit more there, with another interlude before the crescendo.

Then they could have given Orin and the doppelgangers a bit more of a spotlight and pushed out some of the endgame plot for the pacing.

Also for the Emperor, I think an Empress would have been equally compelling.

I was kinda surprised actually that they didn't give an alternative VO for this character, like depending on the choices made in character creation for the Guardian, or to somehow carry that through into the Flayer's visualization. In the wardrobe basically, since we've seen a lot of artwork over the years showing different riffs on the same basic flayer phenotype with varying types of gear/apparel. I think something like that would have been nice just to make those initial choices feel somehow more consequential.

Once the reveal happened, I thought about how it might have been done a bit more subtly with some disorienting quick cuts. This could play two ways in the Meta, one which suggests that we're still in a pod on the Nautiloid somehow and the entire game is a delusion, the other where the Flayer reality is breaking through.

So pretty much Total Recall (1990) on that one. Like that's totally where I thought it was heading hehe. Might have been interesting to try something like that, or just another way to bridge that transition. Particularly at Wyrm's Crossing.

Speaking of bridges, so the Flayer on the Nautiloid was sorta reduxed in the visual as well right? This makes sense since that one can die, but it used to look pretty similar to the current Emperor. Since this is BG3 perhaps it could be more like a Triumvirate? So basically 3 Archetypal Flayers depending on the selections made initially. So they got this one for the Emperor already, maybe another for an Empress, and then a third would be sorta the Elder Brain itself maybe, with some crazy modulation that does both voices at once? That would sorta mirror the capitoline trinity for extra mythological flare. Just in the same way that we have the Dead 3, we could have the Flayers doing a tripartite thing too. Maybe just with different modulations on the audio, and then using the visualization stuff to kinda carry it. Just an idea.

Another reason for me is, in Act 3 the game stries to force you to go to the end content from the start of the act. But what if you're not ready and want to level instead of getting killed in the end battle?

So what i do mostly, is not talk to Gortash until i got most side quests and companion quests done. Then i go to Gortash, then kill Orin and then kill him, and go to the Elderbrain instead.

But i played all difficulties at least once, to see the differences. I noticed that in Tactician, the game is especially penetrating about that pressure. I don't like that act because of this either. I get that time is running out due to the events, but i still play a game to have fun and relax, not for stress. :P

I didn't have the feeling of being "rushed" to the elder brain finale. There are a few occurances that push you to one or other sidequest, but I found this quite fun after all.
- Misora constantly urging you to attend the archduke's inauguration. But there's no push to fight him. Could differ according to playing style, but I found it quite logical and natural to ally with him so as to betray him when the time was right for me.
-I read all the posters and plaques and the first time I read the poster about Florrick's "treason", I thought it said "execution takes place in 5 days.". Next time I reread that poster, I saw "execution takes place in 3 days". So suddenly I wasn't sure if I read it well the first time or if the time is really running out. I couldn't go back to check so put Florrick on top of my sidequest priorities. I think this "rime running out" was quite a fine touch to the quest. (If I didn't imagine it all )
- Finally the Baldur's mouth quest is pushed on you. Had a lot of trouble fining out how to do it. But it was quite original and different from the "normal" quests.

I also found the House of Grief quest quite revealing after finishing the bad guys. But maybe I've got a soft spot for Shadowheart. I felt very badly for all that she was put through. (As remarked in some other threads on the forum. There should have been a big hug-moment after this quest.)

Cazador's quest ended very bizarre for me too. My plan was to keep to the good side, release the spawn and just kill Cazador. But out of curiosity I wanted to see the cutscenes of Astharion ascending also. The plan was just to check that out and then return to the "good" flow and continue on from there.
But then the Gurs came and insulted my party in both flows, good and bad. That made me so angry at them that I changed plans and continued with the "bad" Astarion flow.
(I didn't include Astarion in my team anyway, so it wouldn't make much difference I suppose. Only took him with me to Cazador because it was his quest after all.)

Not all the quests felt bad for me, but I do agree that they are all packed too tight in a small area, and intermingle too much with eachother because they're practically in neighbouring doors.

It's really simple. The writing quality declines.

I'm not talking about the writing of individual scenes and encounters, etc which remains great. I'm talking about the larger picture, the big story arcs. The first two acts have central, unifying story arcs that drive the experience. As you progress, the tension rises and the stakes get higher. This is a classic narrative structure which keeps the experienced focused and fun. Because our brains are wired to process narrative.

Yes, there are plenty of side quests and different ways to do to central stories, sure, but those central stories and conflicts still exist.

By the time you come to Baldur's Gate in Act 3, it's not like that. Most everything is effectively a series of unconnected side quests. In fact, Act 3 does what the game is lauded for NOT doing in Acts 1 and 2: it's basically a series of unconnected fetch quests. Without a unifying story arc everything feels pointless and random and, in the end, tedious. And you get bored. And you restart and do Acts 1 and 2 again, even though you know them intimately, because they have that structure which your brain craves.

This is precisely what I was trying to get at in another reply, but put in different terms.

You nailed it, as far as I'm concerned.