Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General Dealing with this Game Balance Obsession

Max, you seem to have gotten quite worked up over the circlet, please just take a few moments to consider this:

Having at +4 in your primary offence stat at level 4 is fairly normal. Still having a +4 in your primary offence stat at level 8 is common and acceptable, but not ideal. Still having a +4 in your primary casting state at 12 or beyond is generally going to be considered a weakness.

In the DMG, this circlet is an uncommon magic item; it is precisely the kind of item you might pull out of low level treasure, and is exactly the kind of thing adventurers in the level 1-4 bracket might find. The circlet in the DMG is actually more powerful than this one - it sets your Int to 19, which is a mostly academic difference except for one edge case that may well be relevant in this particular game (18 Int is not immune to being brain-blasted by an intellect devourer, while 19 Int is).

No-one who uses Int as their main casting state is going to want to tank that stat just to go grab this circlet - because they will want to push their int to 20 as soon as they reasonably can, in most cases. They also probably don't want to have that equipment slot unavailable for the rest of the game. More likely, your wizard on 16 or 17 at the start of the game, will get this and enjoy a +1 benefit until such a point as they up their own Int to equal and then surpass it, before handing the circlet on to someone else.

Intelligence, as an ability score, is actually a very low value ability, compared to others (There is no "set Dex to 18" equivalent item in the DMG because such an item would need to be legendary rarity, in terms of its functional value).

For classes that don't use intelligence, having a 10 or having an 18 in the ability yields only very marginal benefits - you're better with knowledge related checks, which are usually social and exploration tools. A benefit, yes, but not a game-breaking one by any stretch.

The only situations that really gain any good value from this item at all, are the branch casters - 1/3 casters like Eldritch Knight and Arcane Trickster - coincidentally two of the very few limited subclasses put into the game already. These characters generally still want to favour their primary stat, and may not have very high Intelligence by default (a player planning to class that way is likely to have given it more attention though). A player with foreknowledge could certainly ignore their In and faovur others abilities, planning on getting this item... but they'd be no better off than any other fighter who favours strength, dex and con above all else, or a rogue who favours dex con and charisma above other things. The boost to 18 for their int, when they class to the arcane subclass provides, even then, minimal benefits: The casting abilities favoured by these subclasses are generally the kind that do not rely on attack rolls or saving throws. EKs are fond of shield, for example, and of the martial cantrips (which, admittedly, we do not have in game yet, and it makes the EK struggle as something with two little magic pops, and otherwise a fighter with no perks), both of which do not need your intelligence to work or hit . Tricksters are fond of invisibility, distracting illusions, blinding or sleeping, or other things that debilitate foes and give them easy advantage or crits - all things that don't use your intelligence stat.

Even if you play an EK who is blazing force bolts and fury, for the kicks of it - well, you're going to need all the help you can get to stay contemporary with your allies and feel like you're contributing meaningfully, and getting a free boost to a +4 on your offence casting stat is nice, in the short term. Again - even for an EK; having a +4 in your ofence stat is good for level 1-4, acceptable for level 5-8, and a weakness beyond that... so if you neglected you int because of the circlet, but picked save and attack roll spells, then you've only done yourself a disservice in the long run. You will not be OP - you'll be weaker than your allies before long.

In this EA, where we're capped to level 4, it is at the point where it will feel the strongest, and it can provide a nice perk for specific builds, for now; it's all downhill from here. There is no problem with the circlet. It is not a balance concern in any way.