Yeah I'm fairly close to putting it back on the shelf for a few months, or at least until more content is patched in. I think capping at LvL 4 with only 4 party members is very limiting for replay. Right now there's only enough content/companions in EA to really support 2 full playthroughs in my view. Basically 2 main paths, the Goblin path or the Druid path, and really enough companions to support 3 party compositions for a run (which will have overlap with at least 1 companion each time.) So maybe enough to keep it going for a month more I'd guess before people start tapping out? Hopefully they start dropping more content reasonably soon, so it doesn't lose too much momentum.
Also I'm just curious, I've heard many people describe EA as "Act I"
Does anyone know where this came from?
Baldur's Gate and Shadows of Amn each had a Prologue and 7 Chapters.
For example in BG1 it was...
Prologue: Candlekeep
Chapter 1: Coast Way to Friendly Arm Inn and Beregost
Chapter 2: Nashkell and the Mines
Chapter 3: Bandit Camp
Chapter 4: Cloakwood and Cloakwood Mines
Chapter 5: City of Baldur's Gate
Chapter 6: Return to Candlekeep
Chapter 7: Final Fight with Sarevok
For a comparison I think what we have in EA is basically analogous to the end of Chapter 2 in the Original. In BG1 you had your first dream and gained initial Bhaalspawn ability after reaching Nashkell and sleeping. Following the Kobolds into the mine was the first major Dungeon. Sure you could do many more things via exploration or if gunning for Gnolls, but if you followed the story beats as presented I mean.
I think it was possible to get quite a bit of replay out of the first 2 chapters of BG at lower levels, but that also had to do with variety in Party composition and char creation options.
With just the first 5 classes in EA you'd think, alright 5 playthroughs, but I don't know if it holds up as well. Cause like how different is my Mage PC really going to feel from just using Gale? or am I really going to see a ton of new stuff if switching out PC thief for Astarion, PC cleric for Shadowheart? Class progression isn't as distinct at lower lvls, so I think it feels more "been there, done that" a bit sooner. Hopefully more classes and companions hit soon, or at least for lvl up Xmas.
i agree with alot of the points you made in your post and i think its also important to remind folks that while there was a time sensitive aspect to your journey to nashkel, depending on who was in your party, you largely could travel/explore/adventure throughout the whole world map at your own pace once Gorion got popped - there were no 'act maps' that the player got locked out of once you progressed the story/narrative to a certain point.
for bg3 i hope larian moves away from how they did act maps in the dos series and allow players to adventure back to the druid grove or the ruins even once the player progress past the act 1 climax in case you missed or want to revisit (re-recruit) any characters from the first act bc locking out act maps (in addition to companions, but thats another thread topic) seems overly restrictive even when considering the narrative/story elements, atleast from what ive seen of ea
