Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Patch 3. Barrelmancy: Fixed, but not fixed.

I really hope that what was done to the barrels at the moment is just a temporary solution to check statistics and players reaction on reduction of "barrelmancy" possibilities.

1. What is right about barrels at the moment:
1.1. We can’t so easily throw them.
1.2. We can break them and make them spill their contents around.

2. What is wrong with barrels at the moment:
2.1. Their weight if their model size is proper.
I mentioned before in my previous feedback 50l many times, that's the approximate volume of your barrels judging by their size in comparison to characters. An empty barrel itself should weigh at least 1kg, 50l of water is nearly 50kg. Oil, spirits and gunpowder are lighter, but not that much.
2.1a. Their model size and amount of contents if their weight is proper.
2.2. We can put a barrel in our inventory.
Look at your backpacks, look at your barrels - they do not fit. And even smaller ones realistically would be a problem to carry as a part of the inventory. One 10l barrel may be tied to a backpack, but more than 1 should create considerable hindrance.
2.3. We can't throw them at all.
Throwing a barrel is actually technically possible. Here is youtube video https://youtu.be/DoEBdoN72ZI
It's weight that should prevent us from throwing barrels or throwing them too far.

So I'm partially returning to suggestions I've posted before:
1. Fix weights for barrels or their model sizes along with the amount of contents they spill.
2. If barrels will stay big do not allow to put them in inventory.
3. Create a separate interaction mode for carrying objects in character hands and make it possible to use that with barrels.
4. Allow us to throw the barrels with proper involvement of strength.

+1

Things should be generally systemically tagged with weight and size. I believe both values are already in the game. Then apply throwing rules depending on the object weight and Strength modifier. Objects above certain sizes couldn't be thrown or carried. (Maybe some heavy ones could be "transported", like you suggest.) Sounds complicated, but again, this would be systemic, so no need to makes special rules for each object.

But it would be nice to have a way to transfer heavier things to the camp... without the ridiculous "carrying 50 barrels in my pocket, no problem".

Yeah totally agree with this. Valhalla handles it pretty well, you can lug one barrel around and throw it a short distance. It never touches your inventory.

What, you mean Gale's carrying capacity here isn't realistic?

That makes up for him eating my best items though.

I pointed it countless times already: some of these barrels are approaching the cubic meter in volume. One cubic meter of water would be a literal TON.
Let's say these barrels are half that volume at best and let's concede that OIL is marginally lighter than water. You'd still need an ogre strength to MOVE these barrels around without any mechanical help, let alone to toss them around like bowling balls.

"Realism at all costs" may not be the most important thing in a game, but here we have case where being a bit more realistic would actually implicitly fix a broadly criticized game exploit.

Basically: if Larian really wants to have its exploding barrels laying around, they could at least make it so that they are, for all intents and purposes, just a fixed part of the scenario that the player can't carry in droves, accumulate in specific spot and toss around like marbles.

And IF you have a character that is actually above the strength threshold expected to move a barrel (let's say 19 or 20) he should at most be able to hug one, raise it from the floor and VERLY slowly move it around a bit, let's say like it happens in Shogun: Shadow Tactics when you move a container.

EDIT: found a Youtube clip as reference: https://youtu.be/ypgl6cxxIXg?t=544

Can you, please, tell where exactly you saw 1 cubic meter barrels in the game?
Look:
Standard BG3 barrel in comparison with a throne https://images.app.goo.gl/AWAyUYchQdf2X7uT6 and it doesn't seem 1 cubic meter for me. Not even tall enough and far away from wide enough.
Standard 50l real barrel in comparison with a table https://images.app.goo.gl/YdscQVSfAgBWVjVt9
For the rest you're surely right, it should not be easy to drag or throw them. Again - strength checks.

"At all costs" no, but in general realism should be strived for if there's no good reason to do otherwise. (That as a side note, I agree with the post.)

Btw, barrels have one characteristic feature: they roll really well. Perhaps we could simply roll the barrels by pushing?



(Psst, your links are the same!)

But you're right. Now that I think about it, two 25 l fermenters are about the size of a normal barrel, so say it would weigh ~60 kg.

Thank you! Fixed that

Perfectly stated. +1000!!

The argument that because a game's setting is high-fantasy, anything goes, logic be damned, is very high on my list of the stupidest claims about games.

This.

Last time I described this way of moving barrels, you answered that

https://forums.larian.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=735725#Post735725
And never answered me why. Did you change your mind?

This is one of my pet peeves, actually. I think I've once heard a seriously made argument that one can't expect realistic character behaviour in a book that has dragons - it's already unrealistic, there are no dragons in the real world!

Yes, I have changed my mind. Your original idea was good.

Why barrels anyway? Its like a bad Hobbit joke or something. I could see it working thematically in specific areas, like blowing up a distillery, or maybe at the docks knocking over barrels of fish to go full monger, whatever. I don't remember that chapter in Conan, but sure. Having barrels and chests to hurl about constantly just seems silly though. Maybe it would feel more realistic if you could interact with barrels, knocking over a barrel and rolling it towards someone. The same way you could maybe roll a boulder down the hill for a clutch goblin flattening. Picking up a small to medium sized rock or object to throw is alright I guess. But carting around barrels for combat like a literal mule is weird.

I don't mind the idea of shit like barrels getting jostled around in combat, but it should work more like a "Shove" action, not a "Throw" action.

You should be able shove a barrel or big rock or crazy nautiloid tank, maybe launch it a short distance for big damage like a raging circus strongman, but only in the area where combat is going down. Not like pocketing them for later.

The caustic bulb seems alright to throw since its pretty alien anyway, flask of acid or lamp of oil, ok. But barrels? For the big hits it could just as easily be an occasional magic rod with similar exploding environmental effects couldn't it? Or case of strange Gnome grenades. Some other more limited items or artifacts that make sense for high fantasy.

Aah, okay.

Actually after people here on forums talked a lot how there is too many barrels and they are all in wrong places I nearly went for the Great census of barrels in the game. But all barrels I found were in their rightful place and in normal amount. So I'm really talking only about ways of interacting with them. And I hope my thoughts in the first post are clear enough.