You won't really get Fireball for example until Chapter 2.
I know that cantrips are sorta meant to be weak, but it's one thing how it plays in PnP and another thing entirely how things play out in a video game where you fight hordes of enemies in a short period of time.
Actually, if you do all side quests, doesn't skip the random encounters, etc; you can reach lv 6 on the first chapter, an wizard can cast a fireball on lv 5 and playing solo with XP share disabled and being completitionist allow you to reach lv 10 on the first chapter. You can also cast fireball on the first chapter of NWN1, NWN2, BG2(start with tier 4 spells like stoneskin which are extremely more powerful on 2e). Hell, most games that i've played has you at lv 3 after the tutorial/prologue.
The idea of a campaign where you start by escaping an mindflayer spelljammer ship and can enter on the underdark at chapter 1 restricting you to lv 4 is so much BS... And I thinking that putting an balor to fight a lv 10 party on ToEE was BS enough.
As for cantrips, cantrips are weak on every game that i've played. Except 5e based games which tried to make cantrips more powerful. You have kineticist which has unlimited SLA "infusions" and martial classes to take hordes of weaklings.
Regardless my point still stands, it's EA and more powerful spells are a thing in Baldur's Gate 3 and will be there when the exp is unlocked.
Yes, cantrips have been weak in every game I've played too and I think it has more to do with trying to stay true to the DnD PnP formula.
What I am saying is just that it doesn't translate well into a video game, especially not Pathfinder where you fight hordes and hordes of enemies.
In PnP a single fight can take quite a while, but in a video game you can go through a lot of fights pretty quickly.
So I think that cantrips should be adapted to that.
I played a Kineticist in my previous Pathfinder Kingmaker playthrough so I am aware, all I am saying is that Wizards and Sorcerers for example feel very gimped like 90% of the time.
They do shine very brightly in the 10% of the time, but I think that the 90% of the time where they're not using their big spells and rely on cantrips could be made slightly better.
