For instance, there's a lot of rage going on about surfaces. I'm not saying they shouldn't be changed at all, but I think the main problems people are having with them are a) companions walking through them out of combat (but this is just a pathfinding issue. DOSII companions never walk on surfaces and it's not a problem) and b) some people are finding combat too hard because of them.
I have serious issue with the surfaces. It's true. Not because of any of the reasons you mention though. It's also not about all surfaces per se. It's attaching them to cantrips that has me worried. It turns them into serious crowd control and debuff spells with negative effects for enemies and allies. I'm noticing that it makes melee characters less useful and that has me concerned. If a choice that's been made negatively impacts a large group of D&D classes I see it as my early access duty to complain about it. That's why we are here, right?
I don't feel complaint like that warrant a D&D 5e purist label. Same is true for concerns about how the action economy impacts classes like the Rogue. I don't see the purity or rage in these arguments. The Fighter, Cleric, Thief, Wizard trope is core to D&D. They have their own roles and places within the adventuring party. If Larian's choices make fighters and thieves less viable we should let them know! It's important that fans of these D&D classes get an enjoyable game to, right?
This game has also forced me to reflect on what I think makes a Baldur's Gate game. Since I bought and played those games 20 years ago it'll take some time to come to a conclusion on this. Honestly, judging by the way Throne of Bhaal ended I never really needed/wanted a BG3. Yet, here it is! Baldur's Gate is what made me a fan of RPG's and gave me a 20 year long TTRPG hobby that provided me with many of my life long friends. That's huge! It's also unreasonable to expect from this game. So, what made Baldur's Gate? I need to come up with a good answer before I can be critical of Larian's efforts. I do feel I have a grasp of several editions of the D&D game system though, so I'll critique BG3 on that for now.
I want to stress however that this is not out of rage or some D&D purity ideal (whatever that is). It's out of a wish for this game to be good, be worthy of that Baldur's Gate title and prove an all round stellar entry in the RPG genre.
