My gripes with them is that I have no idea what I am checking for, is it a trap? A secret container? A lever? An invisible enemy? I know there is something, but I can not point my finger at it.
Player: i walk into the crypt
DM: okay roll a perception check
You don't need to know why you are rolling, you just now know something is up and you probably hope you had prof in perception.
Yeah, I get that. But it is still not entirely thought out. it works for pen and paper, because the DM has to create the visuals for you. In a game however the visuals are clear. So visible perceptions in BG3 are like nipples on men or your appendix: A Rudiment. Obsolete at best, harmful in the worst.
So you roll a visible check with four characters and something pops up. Sadly with the way scenery is designed in this game you might not have the slightest idea what you just perceived. The trap room in the first ruins is a fine example. What did I just notice? Is it this button? Or one of the other 23 highlighted and interactable objects? Why doesn't newly discovered trap or button clearly light up, with an explanation what it is? Did you also just notice the button or did you discover what it is for? In BG2 hidden doors lighted up pink, traps in red. It was clear what it was. I just learned that you can right-click on these objects to, to disarm them. A video told me that, because Larian could not do that, or did in a sentence or maybe video that I might or might haven't watched.
It is also highly abusable, just keep calling and dismissing familiars that will do a perception check. If they are visible you are absolutely inclined to just reload until you succeed anyway. Either hide the roll, so that you are genuinely surprised and/or tell the player what they found and if it is a container, door, trap or miscellaneous...
