Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Please Add Free Mode

I am just here to suggest something that hopefully Larian will consider before they are done with the game: free mode.

This would be an additional mode of the game which allows players to explore all of the regions/environments without the constraints of the story. I LIKE THE STORY, I PLAY FOR THE STORY, but it would be nice to have a mode of the game that allows for free exploration so that you can spend as much time in any given region/act as you desire. I am not suggesting new content be added, not asking for new dialogue, not asking for new battles, and I am not asking for new locations. There are already modders who are working/have made new dialogue for TAV/Durge, and eventually there will be options for companions as well. There are also a fair amount of mods that offer additional combat. This mode would be for people who just want to explore or people who use mods that add combat or dialogue options. There are already mods that allow you to teleport to locations, but for the most part they are not stable for regular gameplay. It would be nice to have a mode of the game that allowed for travel and stability when saving/reloading the game.

I am suggesting that this is done in one of the following ways:

Option one: A mode like any of the others (custom, explorer, etc.) that allows players to just roam around the regions and explore as they desire. In this setting, the game could just plop you at the beach camp and then allow you to fast travel to wherever you like. At the start of the game in character creator, you could choose your party instead of a guardian. If we wanted to get super ideal here, this mode would allow you to set relationship flags from the start, so if you want to start the game partnered with someone you can. Changing relationship flags can already be done through a few different mods, I believe it is a debug feature, so it seems it should be possible to just allow players to access this. Also, allow players who are entering free mode without playing the story to set flags for companion stories as well, meaning if you want people to ascend, become gods, disavow gods, and all that other good stuff, you can just set a flag for this so that you get that version of the companion in free mode. Basically, give people the option to start the game in whatever state they desire while not adding new locations, dialogue, or content.

Option two: Free mode is available after a playthrough. I have no idea if this is harder or easier to accomplish. Essentially, you playthrough the actual game, and then at the end of your game you get the option to enter free mode. All relationship flags would stay the same, and you are just sent back to the Elfsong but can now fast travel anywhere you want. In this mode, the companions with you are whomever you ended the game with and survived. This would allow players to experience the story and then play in anyway they desire after it is over.

Option three: Free mode is available after playthrough but your party is just you/you and your love interest if you had one. I am sure this is the most complicated, but this is the most ideal for me personally (outside of my last suggestion below). Free mode is available to enter at the end of the game. Like the above, the companions available in free mode are whomever is alive. HOWEVER, the only person you begin free mode with is yourself/your love interest if you had one. You are sent back to a camp. What camp you are sent to doesn't matter to me UNLESS you chose somewhere super specific to go at the end of the game. However, the thing that would probably be the coolest is allowing you to just click a box and choose which location you will be sent to in free mode. You can fast travel to anywhere you like from there. Now, for the big complication, the other companions are sent to the locations that match how they ended the story but you can recruit them. So, if someone is in the astral plane then you can fast travel there and recruit them. Or Avernus, or the Shadow Cursed Lands, etc. Again, not asking for new dialogue or content. Companions could be added to the party in the same way you switch out companions now ("come on, we are heading out", etc.). When you dismiss someone, they return to their "home". This adds for an additional layer of immersion, and really opens the doors for mods to expand the story.

Option four: A mix of options one and three. Free mode is both available as a mode by itself and a mode you enter when the story ends. You can choose to enter the story, or you can choose to just enter free mode. This is the most ideal I think, but probably the hardest.

Additionally, whatever dialogue you had available to you at the end of the game (romantic or otherwise) that was not related to a quest should remain. Basically, I am just stating the obvious that if you had a partner you should obviously still be able to kiss them and all that jazz. I am not however asking that you get to see all the cutscenes for romances. Again, if someone is entering this mode they probably don't care about the long story or have seen all of the content already.

*Editing to add some ideas for where companions could be placed (NOT married to this just throwing out ideas to give examples for how option four could work):
For your character and love interest (if you had one), selecting a camp that is your base camp would be nice. So whenever you decided to travel if you dismiss your love interest they will return to that camp. Also not important but ideal would be locking items to camp locations in this mode, so players can personalize camps without things returning to the camp chest.
For individual companion locations see below (SPOILERS AHEAD):



I really think that a free mode would help sate some of the desire for a DLC, and most importantly it would allow players to continue to tell whatever stories they want without having to start a new playthrough. With the addition of modding tools and the mods already available, there is so much room for creativity post game if a free mode is added. I also think this would increase the longevity of the game, because players could truly play how they wanted without having to replay at best 50 hours of story. A lot of games have a free mode, this isn't a novel idea at all. I hope Larian at least considers free mode as a option.

If this has already been suggested, or if this thread gets off topic and people start breaking forum rules, please moderators delete or lock it as I won't be returning to check these comments. I just wanted to leave a suggestion.

I like the idea of an Open World mode. In fact all the other Baldurs Gate games would let you travel wherever you wanted without having to follow the story.