Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Latest News Official Community Update #4:Combat&Stealth

"We invested heavily into what drives our animation pipeline, and specifically made tweaks to improve the feel and motion in combat. The increased brevity and flow is down to many, many changes shaving off microseconds (and sometimes entire seconds). For example, another character’s turn will begin - behind the scenes - as the previous character is ending their animation. Even things as simple as combining move animations with the hit of a melee strike shaves seconds off combat.

BG3’s combat is now set so that each combatant takes a turn at a time but there’s a twist. If multiple combatants of the same faction follow one another in the turn order, then you can simultaneously command each of them.

That means that based on the results of the initiative roll, you’ll experience a different tactical puzzle in each combat that really mixes everything up but still allows you to react to the “cards” you’re “dealt”, so to speak. (There aren’t literally any cards, sorry MTG fans!) Between the RNG of initiative, and the planning, you should be able to have a fresh experience with every combat while still being able to predict and plan with friends how to combine spells and abilities, and ultimately win the fight.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is a party-based game that you can play alone, controlling each character, or as a party of up to four where each person rolls their own character. (It’s of course possible to also play as 2, or 3 people, with AI, etc).

In multiplayer, when your avatars and companions are next to each other in the turn order players can simultaneously control characters. This allows you to communicate with your friends and combine spells and abilities to take advantage of more brains on the battlefield, and more hands on the keyboard. This, compared with Divinity: Original Sin 2, drastically reduces the amount of time each player would have to wait between turns, since they’re able to move together."


"Our stealth mechanics now also take light and darkness into account. You can be obscured or heavily obscured so that even when you are caught in the visibility cones of the enemy, you still have a chance to slip through unseen. Of course, that is if your enemies don’t have darkvision. Here’s a little table that summarizes how light, darkness and darkvision affect stealth.

Clear area = always visible.
Lightly obscured = stealth check.
Lightly obscured + enemy has darkvision = visible.
Heavily obscured = undetected.
Heavily obscured + enemy has darkvision = stealth check.

Things get even more interesting when you discover you can manipulate light by using spells or throwing water at a torch, as lighting is dynamic, and thus shadows are also."

I was wondering the rolls you see to pass the various checks they are already taking into account characters abilities & buffs ? e.g if a rogue is sneaking around a guard & needs say a 10 to be successful then I take it a plate wearing fighter needs a 19, or if you are moving a group the game works out averages & spits that out as the roll required say a 14 ?

This may be common knowledge I just hadn't seen it clearly demonstrated apart from in an individuals case & I just assume all the buffs etc are built into the roll required - I hope Im making sense......

I think they did a fantastic job with the new initiative system! I think they got the best of both worlds, maintaining everyone having their own initiative but also allowing you to do simultaneous moves or switching orders when your party members are going back to back. It allows you to do some more complex tactics but at the same time also ensures that you must think on your feet as each tactical situation will be different considering that the turn order may or may not give you these back to back situations!

How is it best of "both worlds"? There are no two worlds here. Only one world - one combat system. People who like that get what they want, while those who don't like it don't get what they want. I want simultaneous movement and controlling my party however I want. I DO NOT get that from this system. You are being completely disingenuous in trying to claim that those of us who don't like this system are still somehow, magically, getting what we want.

Sounds nice that you can play with 2, 3, 4, with IA, etc. in MP It would come in handy if someone has to leave or the net goes down here, as usual.

That kind of cool hybrid system would allow some pretty crazy stunts in Mp: Taunt the guys with one player, flank with the other and then a zero strike together if we are side by side.


Also it seems darkvision became a very important feature if you are playing a rogue or some sneaky character, for players and enemies alike.

You claim to not know why people single you out for your opposition to TB, but you constantly go out of your way to make it an issue when that isn’t what is being discussed. You also put words in people’s mouths, in this case accusing somebody of insincerity in a claim they never made or implied.

Just doing you a favor: this is why people single you out.

Thanks for responding to the previous poster Warlocke and may your search for hidden knowledge increase your magical prowess.

You claim to not know why people single you out for your opposition to TB, but you constantly go out of your way to make it an issue when that isn’t what is being discussed. You also put words in people’s mouths, in this case accusing somebody of insincerity in a claim they never made or implied.

Just doing you a favor: this is why people single you out.

It looks amazing about lights but I'm really conflicted with the idea of a button to turn everything into TB.
It looks so easy to avoid traps or ennemies with that system... I think it's gonna be so easy to start nearly every single fight with a crit in the back of moving ennemies.

I could understand a pause so you can take your time, choose the right moment and move with accuracy but here doesn't it look like a cheat ?
What do you think about it ?

I hope they'll change the field of view because we can see moving things on a way larger angle than what we saw in the gameplay videos.

I think they will balance the encounters to take advantage & disadvantages into account - agree with you this looks like a great take on the stealth system & the TB piece is just a way they are trying to bring some aspects easier in table top gameplay to a computer game - you have to applaud them for all the mechanics they are bringing into this game.

Can fights be avoided by using social skills?
Yes. All the fights that Sven did [Editor's note: in the version shown to the press], could have been avoided. There is none that was essential. Each time, there is a dialogue: that's something new. It's a big evolution for us since DOS 1. In this game, you had monsters; they were aggressive so as soon as they saw you, they attacked you. It is something that we no longer do or if we do, it is extremely rare. Without exaggerating, you can avoid everything. You can talk, lie or just hide each time. There is no fight that you have to do.