The solution to Fireball being OP isn't to make firebolt even more OP than Fireball though.
That is completely off topic - please dont do that. Balance for BG3 specifically will obviously be adjusted during EA and making any kind of comment on the current state of any specific spell is pointless - we were talking about the Core DnD rules being uninteresting and certain spells in Core DnD being op.
To me it's the movement mechancis being bonus actions which is the biggest issue in a departure from 5e.
I agree with this but i actually think its an EA issue as well - to make a wild guess: Id assume they havent finished making conditions for it.
PS: Fireball is a "staple" style spell. It's designed to be powerful and even OP. I don't think that's a "balance" issue in DnD. There are lots of times where a fireball isn't OP. But in Larians Edition DnD I can see it being way too good, huge area, then set everything and the town on fire, exploding all the barrels... wow that's a scene stopper.
I mean half the problem is its size honestly as you pointed out. Its freaking 6 meters in diameter in core rules. Thats absolutely insane. You can toast a lot of orcs and gobbos running at you like that. Nevermind using it to bomb rooms from outside.
And yes its iconic and a staple. But that doesnt mean its not super easy to exploit - like the barrels arent the problem here. Its a massive aoe bomb - of course its going to be the dominant strategy as soon as it is available.
