I think the ground effects have their place, they just have to be proportionate to the spell they are coming from. As i am sure many other posters have pointed out, setting the ground on fire feels right for a fireball spell. Firebolt on the other hand shouldn't. Perhaps having a very slim chance would be ok (rolling a 20 anyone?) but even then 5e has its way of dealing with crits which is already adequate.
exactly. as i already said on multiple threads, ground effects are nice. but if a cantrip can cause all these, then it isn't rewarding anymore, it's just normal gameplay. that makes ground effects a lot less exciting in a game, that isn't based/build around these mechanics (like DOS 1 and 2 are). dnd 5e has a lot of game mechanics. i think that stuffing even more mechanics in there overwhelms players, that don't know 5e yet ant need to learn it (together with all the extra mechanics that larian invented) and all players, that already know 5e mechanics are pissed, because it imbalances everything. ground effects shouldn't be the main selling point for BG3. it will just be called DOS 3. BG3 main selling point should be the dnd rule set.
Yeah, I think Larian's DOS engine will be wonderful when you start moving into the realm of Fireball, Spiderweb, Shatter, Gust of wind and Ice storm to name a few from the top of my head. I already have Thunderwave on my mage and think the engine does an amazing job with that spell! It's just to much for the cantrips. It throws everything out of wack. It's not like those cantrips are badly designed in 5e and needed fixing either. I feel the effects that Larian gave them moves them beyond cantrip level:
Ray of Frost: There is a huge difference between losing 10 ft of speed when you're hit by a ray of frost or falling prone even when you're missed by it. Acid Splash: Giving you the ability to hit 2 targets if they are next to each other is something radically different from a -2 on AC! 2 AC is a shield's worth! And you don't even have to get hit, just stumble through the puddle. Friends: Anyone not casting that on every person they speak to? It's annoying to do but gives you advantage on every Charisma check that comes up, no consequences. Firebolt: From wonderful little blast spell in 5e to the reason having melee fighters is pointless in BG3. They'll just hurt themselves on the fire anyway. (If they hadn't lost their armor in a puddle of acid earlier.)
