Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General Unique Weapons in Baldurs Gate 2 vs Divinity 2

One big difference between Baldurs Gate 2 and Divinity Original Sin 2 is how long you hold on to a unique magic weapon or item that you find. In the Baldurs Gate games when you found a magic weapon or item it was something special because the chances were good that you would keep that same find through out the entire game. While in DOS2 you only kept the magic weapon/item so long as it remains viable compared to your current level. Finding a piece of magic armor or a weapon in DOS2 wasn't as special because you knew in a hour you were going to find some thing better.

This is one way you could make the game feel more like Baldurs Gate and less like Divinity Original sin 3l And I know sometimes the magic weapons you found in Baldurs Gate 2 were OP. who cares? it was awesome finding a new powerful piece of equipment in BG. DOS2 was probably more balanced in that regard but maybe it was a little too balanced.

I totally agree.

In nearly every modern video games there are way too many magical items of differents categories (common, rare, epic, legendary,...).

This give the feelings that these items are just absolutely everywhere in the world and that every random NPCs (i.e a peasants) can have one.
Finding a magical item in not that rewarding, it's common and finding one legendary items after you found hundreds of common/rare isn't that impressive.

I need the feeling of great, powerfull and unique magical weapons.

I hope they'll focus and inspire only from D&D and FO because they are obviously way more coherent about that in their universe than DoS would be.

The magic items in BG3/DnD5e won't be nearly as prolific as in D:OS or the more recent Pathfinder: Kingmaker. This will make the ones we do get matter more.

However, I do care that magical items aren't overpowered. Especially in a setting where such items are relatively rare. Two main reasons for this, both of which diminish player agency:
* OP weapons tend to function as strait-jackets and enforce a certain playstyle over others to be competitive/as strong as you can be.
* OP items take focus away from the characters; your loot matters more than your build.

There are better ways to give characters OP abilities that do not enforce specific builds or detract focus away from the character, like the Bhaalspawn abilities of the first games or indeed the super-powered tadpoles of BG3. Beyond that, I feel magic items shouldn't play a vital role until perhaps really late levels.

One of the reasons you tossed unique weapons away almost immediately after finding them in DOS2 was partially because of the way the game's level and item scaling worked.

Since BG3 is based on 5e rather than a homebrewed system by Larian I can't imagine that this is going to be too much of an issue this time around.

Kinda disagree on that. Forgetting the comparison between BG and DOS, I think that 5e is severely lacking in magical items, and BG had hundreds of those, and the most memorable items in the game are the craziest ones like Crom Faeyr and Vhailor Helm. There is a tradeoff between balance and fun, and whilst Josh Sawyer often chooses balance (a consequence is PoE2 having some of the worst gear in all RPG), I hope Larian chooses fun.
Yes, put crazy OP shit there in the optional dungeons, this is how the BG games did.

How....???? That's a gold standard of item design.

Not only you get a wide range of unique weapons, that can compliment variety of role-play and builds but they stay relevant throughout the entire game. While in Baldur's Gate2 there is a handful of items you will actually use on multiple playthrough.

Then again, I don't find +4 weapons, to be an exciting change from +2 weapon. I would rather keep the balance stabe but add unique properties... as PoE2 did.

BG items had both +4 quality AND unique properties.
The unique properties in PoE2 sucked. Killing a Mega Boss in the highest difficulty to get an trinket that gives you an effect that lasts 6 seconds once per day feels like being castrated, such is the frustration.
A cape that has 1% chance of granting Brilliance? Really? Where is the +4 perception from the first game?

That mostly applies to armor, but most of the weapons sucked too. A consequence is that stuff like Scordeo's Edge and The Red Hand seem like being from another game, such is the power difference compared to the other weapons.

I completely agree, but don’t think it’s something to worry about at all.

In the divinity games it wasn’t even increasing magical properties that made your previous gear obsolete, but the base damage or armour ratings. You could find a unique named weapon with bonuses and maybe even a free skill that really complemented your build, and it would still be completely outclassed by some magister scrub’s standard issue sword a few levels later.

But item leveling just isn’t a thing in D&D, and I hear in 5e they deliberately balanced the game so that magic weapons and armour aren’t necessary to keep up.

That said, getting cool loot is a big part of RPG video games, probably now more than ever before. So I expect there will be plenty of magical weapons, armour and items to find. They could still offer all sorts of interesting bonuses, but without the basic damage scaling. So if you find something you particularly like, I guess you could just stick with it.

You know that those were to challenge the players? Not to reward them? There were end game build testers, not end game gear givers.


Yeah, I give you that. Those were universally too powerful and a nerf would be welcome. Still, plenty of other ways of making fun, unique and viable characters.

Don't remember optional bosses not giving great loot in any other CRPG I've ever played, this applies to PoE1 by the same guys. If you are going to get something it should reflect the difficulty of the monster you killed, and the frustration of getting those useless trinkets is so immense that if they dropped a scrap of paper with "congratulations" on it would be better.

Or better, put other powerful items in the game, maybe like BG did?

Items having levels, and thus turning useless within hours, is one of the aspects I like the least about Original Sin. Easily.

As Larian have to play by 5e rules this time, I'm very much looking forward to what they do for BG3. It will be better either way. :D

I really hope the weapons are BG2 like and not PoE like. I enthusiastically agree JE Sawyer 70 percent of the time but that other 30 percent -- yikes. Someone needs to keep Sawyer's hand away from the nerf button. "Let's nerf the mages. Now let's nerf the weapons. Oh, that obsidian sword is too good nerf it in the next patch."

Per 5e FR lore, magic (both arcane spellcasters and items) is both very rare and low in power. A +1 weapon is considered a big prize, and a +2 weapon very rare. Anything greater is not even likely to exist let alone you having it in your hands. This is the result of the Spellplague having both decimated the ranks of mages and destroyed/drained the vast majority of magic items and especially the most powerful items. So if Larian sticks closely to FR lore, as they claim they are doing, then there should be no problem with magic items not feeling special. Getting my hands on my first +1 weapon in BG1 felt so incredibly special. I hope Larian can recreate that feeling in this game.