Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General My open letter to Larian (and the BG3 community)

When I arrived to BG3, I was still extremely new to CRPGs with my only former experience being Divinity Original Sin 2 - which I had finished just a week or so before joining you guys here on the forums because my lack of DnD experience made me struggle ingame - and the community almost instantly replied with many helpful tips and advises (many of which I still heed :D). I spent (and still do) a lot of time observing the different debates here, sometimes offering my completely newbie point of view, and taking all of different opinions to heart in order to understand the many aspects of DnD and CRPGs.

During the winter, I had some recommendations from the community (special shout-out to Abits and Firesnakearies, thank you both for your recommendations!) and I have been exploring the games in-between my observations here on the forums. By now I have finished PoE 1 and 2 (which I loved so dearly that my heart broke in half when I finished the second game - and I would probably put PoE1 as my favorite game of all times), managed to finish the entire part of BG3 that is available, had my second play-through in D:OS2 and I am almost done with Pathfinder Kingmaker as I write this - and as soon as I am done with Pathfinder Kingmaker, I'll wrap up Dragon Age: Origins (which I got stuck on almost immediately due to being bad, but I now feel confident enough to try it again!) and after DAO, I'll move on to Tyranny (with a healthy dose of BG3 every now and then ).

Playing all of these games certainly gave me new aspects to ponder about - and, I actually am even more pleased with Larian than I was before playing all of these titles.

You see, it might be because I am not a die-hard fan to any of these games (nor their companies) exclusively. I truly enjoyed each and every one of these games, despite their differences and I would struggle to choose between them (except for putting PoE1 as my favorite, because that game seriously just blew me off my feet). I realized the fun interactions of RTwP - but I do not necessarily prefer it before turn-based. I feel happy and content with either, as long as it is well made and makes sense alongside the rest of the game. I also realized how much (or little) your actions might (or might not) matter in CRPGs and I came to appreciate the absurd amount of time and effort game/story developers pour into these absolutely fantastic stories - especially when the game-route is rather free and you're not forced in a direct linear story arc.

Disclaimer before you read any further - everything is based on my OPINION(S). You do not have to agree with everything I say, and I welcome discussions regarding any topic listed below - but please keep a good tone and let's respect the fact that sometimes we just don't think nor feel the same way about certain things.

So - onward to the part mostly meant for Larian (incase they ever read it <3 ):

Part one: Companions - banter, monologues and dialogues. One of the thing that bothered me almost endlessly in most of these titles where the queue-system used for companion dialogues (make sure to note the difference between dialogues, banter and companion monologues. By "Dialogues" I refer to actual conversations, where you (as PC) get to choose a response to which the NPC react. By "banter" I mean the quick exchange of words (which you can in no way control), usually between your companions (think Pathfinder Kingmaker campfire banter). By "monologues" I mean responses made from the companions that you cannot react to - such as their reactions to quest decisions/developments (think PoE, DAO or Astarions comment about the Loviatar priest).

All of these are, in my opinion, required and equally important in order for a game (or at least the companions) to feel alive and engaging. However - while I absolutely adore the campfire banter of Pathfinder Kingmaker and the monologues of Pillars of Eternity and Dragon Age: Origins, most of these games *severely* lack proper dialogues. And, the dialogues that do exist comes by far too rarely (which might be why they are usually of amazing quality, though!).

The relationship system (as in your personal favor/relationship/reputation/loyalty levels - the term is less important as long as everybody understands that I am referring to the sheet-reputation that you gain from doing things NPCs like or dislike) is usually but one of many criteria that has to be met in order for you to converse with your companions. One requirements is the relationship level required (when your companion likes and dislikes you more), and the second one is the story progression requirement (sometimes this meant conversations locked to particular events, which of course makes sense - but sometimes this requirement might be tied to the main story for no obvious reason). The third, more optional, requirement would be previous speech-checks - such as romance-interaction triggers or certain quest-choices triggers (partly related to requirement 1 and 2). Most of the titles that I mentioned above had at least the first two requirements enabled for any kind of companion dialogues. This means, that you did not only have to meet the requirement of said relationship level, but you *also* had to make sure you had progressed your main quest line enough - which lead to complications and/or irritation during the playthrough - at least for me.

Two games handled this worse than the other titles - namely Pathfinder Kingmaker and Pillars of Eternity 2 (I did not at all feel this way about the first PoE..). Pathfinder Kingmaker is an extremely long game, and the small amount of actual dialogues you get with your companions prove... Disappointing. You see their amazing character development during their quests and you experience all of these amazing (and horrendous) things alongside them, yet you don't really feel like you ever talk it out (except for their personal quest objectives - I'll give credit where credit is due). In general, the dialogues in Pathfinder Kingmaker are limited, especially the ones related to the relationship between you and your companions (both romances and non-romances) - and in a game as long as Pathfinder Kingmaker (not just irl play-wise, but actually ingame-wise too) it just feels so odd to not have more proper dialogues with your companions. I mean, you basically live with these people alongside you for *multiple years*... A video containing *ALL* of Valerie's interactions with the player (romance run) only rounds up to 40 minutes (including the time given to read the conversations) in a game that is MORE than 50 hours (!!!) long! That's nowhere near enough, imo.

Pillars of Eternity 2 had the opposite problem, the main story line is really short and the game length relies heavily on side quests. Which is 100% fine by me! BUT, I played for ** 16 in real life hours ** in a row without a single dialogue, only to have *all companions diving me at once* as soon as I started progressing the main story quest. This bothered me so badly that I still feel salty about it - especially since literally NONE of the conversations had ANYTHING to do with the main story at all. I felt like there was literally no reason whatsoever for my companions to hold on to these conversations until we stood on an isle, right in front of our giant enemies. I would much rather have them approach me on the ship with this kind of small-talk - especially in a game that relies so heavily on DLCs and side-activities. I was so mad about this that I actually skipped one DLC-island because I was fed up with the silence.

So, regarding this matter in BG3 - I want to lift my hat off to Larian. You succeeded beyond well in all of the points above. I think you've made a very healthy balance of banter, monologues and dialogues (if I had to choose something to get more from, I'd like more monologues - as in, I want to *hear* my companions react to what is being said and done when we are questing ). Apart from that wish, the only request that I really have is that you make it more obvious when there are new dialogues available since they are easy to miss. You spent loads of resources into the voicing and writing - help your players to experience it! Put a chat icon next to characters that want to talk, and/or have them say "When we get back to camp, I'd like a word" or something similar. I would even be fine with an ingame notice hinting like "---- throws some quick glances at you - you might want to talk to them when you get back to camp."

Part two: Companions - romances. Now this part is 100% a personal preference, and I am mostly curious to see if anybody from the community agrees (or even how many disagrees) with my opinion. Something that has bothered me slightly in literally all game titles mentioned above is how the romance between the PC and a companion usually is drawn out for the entire course of the game. We're talking about ingame years of flirting and/or silence inbetween intervals and it just feels really... Odd. I would be delighted to play a game where the story didn't end with your chosen companion and you having a relationship - but rather, that if you choose to have a romantic relationship that it is PART of the story. I would give you an example, but honestly - I am not sure I have a good one. The best one I can think of is from Star Wars: The Old Republic (XD) or possibly Regongar and Octavia from Pathfinder.

Now, I'll be the first one to admit that while I - along with a fair share of the community - do not exactly approve of all companions jumping us at the goblin party (but that is supposedly fixed / to be fixed, if I remember right) - I do sincerely like the idea that you give us the option to start our romances already in act 1. I am VERY happy with this and I am very excited to see what consequences (positive and negative ones) this will have for the game story! And, I am also one of the people who enjoy having the NPC take the first step (although I think Pathfinder Kingmaker made a real good system for this as well). I can't wait to see the BG3 romance and non-romance companion story development!


Part three: Companions - group balance and class-flexibility. Most of the games mentioned at the beginning have specific classes and roles reserved to their characters. And most times, these classes and roles play a core part of the character's personality. Usually, this means that the game developers have to compensate by making more companions available - since most people prefer not having companions that feel absolutely dreadful (to the player) or companions that are a complete mismatch in terms of alignment. In DOS2, you could compensate the lack of sheer numbers of companions by them all being class-fluid. Everybody could do everything - and this resulted in you, Larian, being able to focus harder on their characteristics and character depth, since one could get a good and balanced party regardless of which companions one would choose out of the few available. In BG3 however, as far as I am aware, you've promised to focus on depth rather than sheer numbers. This might become problematic in the future considering the party balance. Now, obviously I am not going to call out disaster when the game is not even released yet - but I will admit to being slightly worried about feeling "forced" to have my main PC going for a specific group role just to be able to bring the companions I choose later on (or the opposite, bring companions I do not want for the sake of group balance). A reasonable "quick-fix" solution would be a mercenary system (like Pathfinder or PoE) - but I very much prefer to roll with NPCs in order to not miss out on the character writings.

Part four: Armor- stats vs. character fantasy One of the thing I hated most about DOS2 was the hideous armor. My characters, which was a ranger (surprise! Bet you didn't expect that!) looked NOTHING like I imagined her with her shiny blue outfit - and let's not even get into the conversation about my *ROGUE* wearing the same hideous bright blue armor. But stat-wise, I really didn't have much of an option. This has been a common occurring problem in ALL CPRGs that I've played - usually I am forced to wear an armor out of stats and usually they look nothing like the way I want to them to look ( I mean, look at the Steam Wallpaper you made for Sebille Where is that armor? ). Since CRPGs are focused on ... Well, roleplaying, I really do not see why the MMORPG feature of transmog/outfits have been left out of the CRPG genre. While the armor in BG3 are not making me want to bundle up and cry like the DOS2 ones, I would really like some way of choosing looks without losing stats on it. Could this in any way be considered for BG3 through either an transmog or outfit system or anything similar?

Part five: Evil Should Be Profitable! One of the things that surprised me about PoE (first game primarily) was how extremely profitable it would be to do evil deeds. Without spoiling too hard, at one point at the game you handle a vast amount of souls and you can choose to consume them for a *PERMANENT* stat increase buff - this completely blew my mind. In most CRPGs, evil deeds do, more often than not, just feel like "Hey - I am a dick." It does not feel like you're trying to put your own interest above others - it simply feels like you're being a dick for the sake of being a dick. There is usually no personal profit involved and sometimes the good option is even more self-preserving than the evil option. Your tad-pod system is like Evil Path should be - easy power access. But, like many have said before me, the evil choices in the story feels more like just being mean rather than looking for self-profit.


Part six: Popular Discussions and my thoughts on them - a quick summery! Anyone who has spent time here knows about the heated discussions regarding RTwP vs. turn-based debate, the night and day debate, the silent protagonist and, of course, the resting mechanic debate.

While I might lean slightly in favor towards one or another side, my opinions on these matters are nowhere near compelling enough to grant them a section each. Regarding RTwP vs. Turn-based, I could not really care less. I've learned to deal with both of them - and as long as the combat is done properly, I see no issue adjusting to either style. Does this mean BG3s current turnbased mode is flawless? No. But there are already plenty of threads open regarding this matter.

The night and day debate is somewhat more compelling, now that I've actually played Pathfinder Kingmaker. My meta roleplaying class fantasy is a ranger which is primarily quest-active between the hours dusk till dawn (but obviously do the "regular" stuff at day-time - she just "hunts" at night), with an owl companion (the silent night hunter, yes I am cringe af BUT I'VE EMBRACED IT FOR A LONG TIME <3 ). However, I'll admit that I hardly adjust my playstyle to play combat quests exclusively at night, even in games that technically would allow this. I think all systems have their charm, and as long as it works well with the rest of the game - I do not mind even the slightest. However, I primarily discuss this on the thread assigned for these discussions, so I'll leave it at "I am not die-hard for either side, but I think that there should be some sort of concept of time - even if it is only the night-time during camps (which BG3 already has)".

Regarding the silent protagonist debate, I am probably the most boring human being there is. I am 100% fine with a fully voiced PC, if it is done "right" (do NOT take notes from GW2...). I am also fine with a partly voiced PC (as long as she doesn't randomly scream "RAWRGRGGLLHH" when attacking - LOOKING AT YOU, PoE!) and I am fine with a completely silent PC. I really do not mind I am not even bothered by the sometimes-voiced-sometimes-not dialogues in Pathfinder - I don't even think about whenever I read or listen. HOWEVER, something more important in the case of BG3 is the FACIAL EXPRESSION OF THE PC. Please give us some option to adjust their regular face - I feel very uncomfortable with the face the BG3 PC is making sometimes, and I know for a fact that I am not alone in not recognizing my character in the weird faces they make. XD

Finally - the resting mechanic debate. So, regarding this debate it is primarily a question about how BG3 should handle short and long rests. There are many different views in the matter, all logical in their own ways. I am nowhere near experienced enough with the idea of short rests to actually participate in the discussion - but I do agree on one thing that has been brought up - being able to do long rests anywhere and everywhere without punishment is weird. Like REALLY weird. Some kind of rations system would also be great, imo. I think Larian could take a few ideas from Pathfinder Kingmaker (like so many already suggested) but I'd encourage them to add their own flavors to it. Regarding the fact that this would affect our ability to converse with our companions (since a lot of chatter happens at camp) - I'd vote for more conversations available OUTSIDE of camp. Small conversations, such as... As... Uhm... "weneedahealer" could easily be had outside of camp - similar to how we talk to them when we first meet our companions. Whenever you choose to just have the companions' interaction screen "force" us into a conversation (like PoE) or if you'd use some kind of chat marker to show that a conversation is available makes no difference to me.

... And well, that's it I suppose. It is nowhere near as complex and compelling as many of the impressive open letters I've read from the community - but I tried. All in all, I adore BG3. And I adore each and every single one of the CRPGs that I've played thus far - this entire genre of gaming has been eye-opening to me and I don't see myself ever stepping away from these types of games. I've learned so much from this community and am eternally grateful for the support you guys have offered and I'll do my best to repay my debt to the community as best I can. You guys are awesome - and all of us (or at least the vast majority of us) want Larian to succeed with BG3 - so let's do our best to help them do just that. Each of us in our own way, of course.

I agree with some and disagree with some but I just wanted to praise you for the well written and reasoned post, very good work!

(Also your night owl ranger sounds badass I'd have them in my party any daynight)

Thankyou for your thoughts. I'm glad you have been able to experience and enjoy a variety of Videogame RPGs without feeling the need to hate them for not being "perfect".

Every game I play has aspects that I would prefer were implemented differently, but generally I simply observe what the game is offering, and work out how I will play it in for my own enjoyment. If the game is highly configurable and/or open to mods, this is obviously much easier.

BG3 seems to be much better in terms of plot/story/experience construction than earlier Larian games, and this is the most imporant aspect for me. There are some issues like time of day, weather, environmental activity ( flocks of birds, animals and "people" moving about etc. ) that would improve the experience, but I won't worry too much if that doesn't change.

Other issues like mechanics, you just do the best with what you have, since you will never please everyone. Personally, if I think something is silly, and I don't have to use it, I will ignore it in favour of my idea of role-playing the character. I may suggest modifications or alternative if I think it worthwhile, but there is no real chance that Larian can make the 100s of different versions of the mechanics that might satisfy everyone, so I never have an expectation of changes.

I agree with this and I think it's related to having the max party size of 4. In order to make a balanced party you will see most groups consist of the following 4 roles:
* Melee / tank
* Healer / support
* Caster
* Ranged / trapper

That means in BG3 you will see that you need the following:
* Fighter (Laezel), Paladin, Barbarian, Monk
* Cleric (Shadowheart), Druid, Bard
* Wizard (Gale), Warlock (Wyll), Sorcerer
* Rogue (Astarion), Ranger

There are rumors we can recruit 2 more companions called Helia (possibly a bard) and Karlach (possibly a paladin).

So if you can't stand the companion offers for a particular role, e. g. Astarion as the rogue / ranged you might feel forced to select the role yourself to have a balanced party. That is not good. You better hope the ranger companion (if any) is to your liking and can pick rogue levels.

I think Larian Studios could avoid these contraints if they increased the max group size from 4 to 5. Then you fill the roles you need for a balanced party with companions and select the class you prefer to play as the 5th. E. g. then you can have Laezel as a fighter and boost the front line by being a barbarian or monk yourself. With just 4 characters you can't pick Laezel if you want to be a melee yourself if you also want a balanced group.

If you can complete the game without having all roles covered then this is less of an issue. However, we don't know that so we assume we need a balanced party to avoid getting stuck somewhere. E. g. not having a trapper to open an important door.

This is not related just to BG3, but most group based RPGs. You feel constrained if the max number you have have in your party is too low. Personally I loved the original BG games, Icewind Dale etc. with the party size of 6.

Personally I think BG 3 has the potential to become a great RPG. Strangely enough the aspect of BG3 I like the least is the user interface. I'm also playing Solasta using the DnD 5e rules too.

Solasta makes it easier for the player to pick spells, select actions and so on. I hope Larian Studios get some hints about how to improve the UI without directly copying what Solasta does. E. g. spell selection in Solasta is easier in Solasta compared to BG 3. Cluttering the hotbars in BG3 with spells and then having to move them when you get new spells is not fun. It was the same issue with DOS 1+2 as well.

You forgot datamining revealed Minsc will also make a return. Karlach could fill the Tank or the Healer role, and Minsc could fit the Melee or Ranged role, with limited abilities in the Healer role. It's DnD 5e, everybody gets Cure Wounds.

I'll be honest, I didn't read most of that, but I will say, do we have any indication that Larian is reading anything on these general forums? It'd be a little sad if people like OP are putting in so much effort when Larian isn't even listening.

Welcome, always nice to hear someone recently discovered cRPGs and enjoys them

Thank you, guys! I appreciate you all taking the time to read the entire wall of text. <3


I'd bring grumpy Mattis, the hermit druid any day (or night) too. (yup, I am stalking those parts of the forums as well) He seems like an amazing fellow to bring for an adventure - and your short description of him made me think of Durance (from PoE1 - and I adored his character, he was a fresh breeze to the team I was sad not to see him during PoE2.)


I agree! There were a list of things I think could have been better for each of the titles that I played, but all in all - the entire bunch of them were are great games. I look forward to seeing the entire genre develop and flourish as different developers borrow each others ideas and make use of the best combinations. I believe the future of CRPGs will be bright! Maybe not this year, maybe not next year - but I am quite sure it will grow on into something enjoyable for all (or at least most) of us!


I can't say I am 100% sure, but I'd imagine they are lurking around and about. :] Either way, even if they would never read this - it is not much of a big deal, for me personally. I wrote this both to Larian and the community because I wanted to, not because I felt obliged to. And, compared to many of the other early open letters (I still remember reading the open letters from many other talented authors early in the EA release), mine hardly give Larian much feedback and/or concrete information as of how they can improve their game. :] So if they can't spare the time, I'd shove them towards those letters any day of the week. Mine is mostly encouragement, and probably better aimed at the community (which has replied to an extent that exceeds my expectations already I did not think many would ramble through my wall of text).

There are some heated discussions around here that sometimes can make you forget what an amazing community you guys actually have, even if you do not always agree with each other. :] I wrote it in an attempt bring some of this positive energy back because while I believe almost everybody who took the time to make a Larian forum account did so out of care for the future of the game, some discussions take unnecessary hostile turns.

I think it's very likely people from Larian Studios are lurking these forums. They probably keep a low profile to avoid lots of people asking for their attention to get their ideas into the game. However, if an idea is good I think they will discuss it in the back room. Especially if the idea is backed by many.

Quite a few changes from the initial EA release has been done after feedback from the players. So they DO listen, but we won't know when and what they will address. So don't expect a reply from a Larian Studios person in this forum about suggestions made to the game.

Great read....good points....hope larian do read our suggestions

Yes, the hotbar is still a bit of a soup, although Larian have made some improvements. Automatic reorganization when spells/abilities/items change is clearly a problem.

I would happily accept a single "Spells" button, that then expanded to present all spells available, with maybe one line of buttons per spell level, with currently unavailable spells "dimmed" rather than reorganized/removed.

Same with abilities and Item-based actions, a "pop-up" selection of everything you might use, that doesn't reorganize would be good. The remainder of what is the current "hotbar" could then be player-defined "favourites" buttons to give single-click access to what the player wants, rather than Larian having to guess.

I'll just respond to this as this is what I know the most about compared to most others on these forums.

You might be pleased to know that the sequel addresses this problem, at least in a different way. There is slightly more interaction between your character and your companions in general (and also seemingly more elaborate companion quests, chapter 3 of WotR feels like it's 40% main quest and 60% companion quests - sidequests seem to have taken a back seat in favor of the main story and companion quests), but they also went all in on party banter in general. They talk, a lot, often reacting to each other.

For example, here's a screenshot of FOUR party members talking to each other at one point in the main quest, one of them outside of the party for story reasons but about to rejoin, and three inside your current party.

Larian provide this forum for the player base to discuss the game, not as a direct link to the developers; and any developer foolish enough to post directly here would instantly be swamped. Besides, I'm sure they are generally quite busy with developing the game.

As @Stauffenberg says, it is highly likely that Larian employees do read and consider posts, just not in any formal way. The "official" position from Larian is that they read the forums to hear what people say about the game.

But, no-one should be posting here with any expectation of direct engagement, or any expectation that Larian will act on suggestions, no matter how often or how loudly those suggestions are made.

On the other hand, if you never make a suggestion or put your point of view, there is no chance that it will even be considered

You can be sure many devs. are checking the forum <privately>. Who wouldn't unless you absolutely HATED your job??? They are artist and want to know what people think of their game.

@OP: Thank you for your post.

Some things about companions and dialogue:
- In BG3 tons of character related stuff happens when you rest in the camp.
I think I missed lots of stuff about my companions because I did not rest very often.
So the game does not only NOT restrict resting in any way, it also encourages you to rest spam just to progress companion quests and see some interesting things.
There is one scene you can only see when you rest before recruiting the first companion and you can find her after a few steps with no enemies in between.

I would prefer Kingmaker style when companions come to you and say they want to talk about something.
When you come to a situation that is related to their quest they say they want to talk about this later and you can talk to them in camp (without resting).
In some cases this is the case but I feel some interesting things are locked behind rest spamming.

I have suggested that resting would consume some kind of rations.
Think of PoE1, resting is not really limited there.
But I think it makes a psychologic difference if something is free or if it costs a very small prize.

- About companions and party role
Because of the reasons described above I want to be a bard when the game is fully released.
- They can fill many roles, so I have more freedom which other chars to take.
- They have high charisma and many skills. This means that I (the main char) can interact a lot with other NPC or the environment.
If I optimize my char for combat now it always is better to have somebody else talk to other people so I am playing somebody else and not my main char which feels strange.

- my 2 cents about the games you mentioned
+ I think Kingmaker is the best game at the moment. It is big and epic as BG2 and in many regards it is even better I think. Main downside is that the pathfinder system is the most complex system I know and often things are not explained very well. It is great when you understand it. But many players will fail a lot and maybe even quit before they can enjoy this. My first char was quite a desaster.
+ PoE1+2. I liked both games. Actually I like the PoE game system. The basics are easy to understand though there are some exceptions. Like PoE2 adding the totally unintuitive double inversion (20% bonus and 20% penalty does not result in zero but a small penalty, even the devs sometimes did not understand this).
My problem with PoE1 was that sometimes it was too depressive. You see a tree of dead people, tons of cultists and children without soul and almost nothing funny. As counter example, the witcher series is very dark but it does not feel depressive. One of my favourite games is Nier Automata (action JRPG): While the setting is as dark and and depressive as it can be and everybody goes insane (they really do, its not just a theoritical thread as in PoE) there are also some funny moments and you get a strong emotional connection to the characters.
+ Dragon Age Origins: A very good game. My main problem is that for every main quest you have to chose between two sides but it does not feel it makes much of a difference.
+ DOS2: I have never finished it. I hated inflating stats, random equipment, the whole screen filled with stuff like necrofire after every fight, the new armor system and some other things. I also do not really like the origin system, so in BG3 I will play a custom char and treat the others like normal companions in other games.
While DOS1 had some flaws, I finished it and enjoyed it more than DOS2.

I think BG3 is great and I like it. The best change was going to DnD 5E system. My opinion is that if they stick closer to DnD rules and leave behind more DOS2 mechanics it would be even better.

To all of you regarding whenever the devs are reading or not - I am also quite sure they are around. However I'd be beyond surprised if they replied and I am not expecting them to. I'd be happy if just one Larian-employee reads the letter gets just a tiny bit of encouragement in silence. I'd ask for nothing more. :] Just seeing the community reading it is more than enough for me!


Thank you very much for your reply - I am truly delighted to see this! <3 I will keep a close eye on WotR and I will most definitely buy it. I am very excited to see Owlcats development as a gaming company in general. <3




Thank you for your thoughts and your suggestions. I absolutely agree on most things. Especially regarding resting.



+ Pathfinder Kingmaker - I agree! I was nervous since I knew what kind of rep it had, so I'll admit without shame that I made everything as easy as possible and I did a ton of beginners guide reading before I actually started playing. I never gave up on my first character, but chose to live with my mistakes and play the entire game through in one go. I do not regret it at all (I am at the very end right now ).
+ PoE1 and 2. Like I said in the original post, I adored both games. Imagine how different people feel about the scenery! PoE1 being so eerie and dark with comical relief in the banter is one of the things that made me adore it. Perhaps it is because it gave me some hack-n-slash vibes (most famous hack n slash titles use similar eerie environments - and I played a lot of hack n slash) - but I absolutely adored it. And it also genuinely felt like a world that needed saving. The entire first thing with the dead tree and when you meet Aloth and Edér there is among the things I remember most fondly - I feel so nostalgic about it even though it only happened like one or two months ago! And the first dream about the dwarven lady - sure, I got a bit spooked playing the entire thing, not knowing the game very well and sitting here, in the dark, late at night getting introduced to this dark universe - but oh god did it leave a lasting impression. <3 I absolutely loved it. Every minute. Unfortunately I did not yet have the chance to enjoy the NA games, so I cannot comment on this particular part.
+ DAO. Can't tell just yet as I didn't get very far on my first attempt with an RTwP-game :'D But apart from getting my butt kicked by random bandits - I loved the entire thing!
+ DOS2. I played DOS2 without having any prior experience of CRPGs, so I had nothing to compare it to. I absolutely loved their turnbased combat with environment-interactions and I believe DOS2 was a perfect first CRPG game for me, because of how different and simple it is compared to the other titles. It felt natural because it had similarities to Xcom 2 (which I played A LOT) which made the combat much easier for me. c:

I have not played XCOM and most hack&slay stuff was boring for me.

You might like the earlier Larian games:
- Divine Divinety has gameplay like Diablo, but with a hand crafted map, lots of humor, many quests and lots of things to explore.
I had problems to run it on a new computer sometimes.
- Divinity 2 is a 3D single character action RPG were you can turn into a dragon.
The mind reading ability is one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

Thank you for your recommendations! I'll check them out!

There's still time to feel the weight of your shame and correct the mistake.

War of the Chosen is LIFE and JOY.