Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback A special slot for utility items like torches and a button to switch to it.

Hello, I think it would be awesome to add a special slot for torches and having a button that automatically swaps to this item. I know torches can be used as weapons, but then that would mean ill put it in my main hand instead of the utility slot.

having to manually swap between torches and weapons every time i enter a dark area (and there are a lot of them and I'm loving it!) and having to swap 2 to 3 torches and then get in a battle then swap back to weapons, finish the battle then swap again... its a bit tedious. I like that some items like torches get special case uses but not when they are behind such a chore.

keep up the good work! and I hope to see more useful utilities like this other than torches :P

this early access keeps blowing my mind... and then i remember that its just early access.

I think the inventory and UI in general need some attention.

They went with a UI that’s common with current MMOs and it’s a pain. I’m constantly rearranging and working on those slots, especially spell casters and their spells and scrolls. I’d like to be able to organize my potions, scrolls and spells separately some how instead of dragging and dropping into one big slot section.

But to your point, yes I like your idea.

The UI right now feels like a base thats a bit rough but where a bunch of things can be added upon. And yeah I think torches should be able to be put into the offhand as a utility and switched with a shield or a normal offhand with a button, since not every character has darkvision and using torches is fairly immersive.

This and bugged Darkvision makes me switch to an elf in my own party rather than use torches. It really is quite tedious.

Maybe torches could act like when you get a weapon with a spell ability, and have a toggleable ability on the hotbar that lasts until toggled off or (if torches have a limited use) - burns out.

I'd prefer not having to equip and unequip them, and just have the option available if I have them in my inventory.

I like the idea of being able to switch to the torch more easily.

But as an alternative, you might want to check out the "Light" cantrip that Shadowheart can get. Gale might be able to get it too, but I'm not sure. Anyway, she can cast it on herself and the other party members and it makes the items in their hands glow with light.

Cast that on all party members and there is no need for torches. And no worries about entering combat without a weapon or shield in your hands. No losing the light when you swap back to your weapons/shield. Though if you have a character that switches between melee and ranged weapons, you will want to cast it on them twice - once with their melee weapons equipped and once with their ranged weapon equipped. That way they don't lose the light when they switch.

It eventually runs out, but it does last a while. Just refresh it between fights. And as a cantrip, it doesn't use up spell slot.

I honestly kinda expected torches to move to "utility slot" once that slot will be created for bards ...
I somehow cant force myself to expect that Bards are suppose to equip lute as a weapon. O_o

I mean, you have a left hand and a right hand, being able to carry a sword and a shield and play a lute is pretty ridiculous. A sword and a shield and a torch is also pretty weird.

There should certainly be penalties in combat for having to juggle more than two hands worth of stuff. But during exploration, I totally get wanting to make torch use simpler. What if, instead of having a melee loadout button and a ranged loadout button, you can just have some number of loadouts that you can use for whatever you want. So maybe you've got presets that you can swap between quickly:
-a longsword that you can wield two-handed
-the same longsword, but wielded one-handed with a torch in the other hand
-the same longsword, but wielded one-handed with a shield in the other hand
-a torch in one hand and a shield in the other hand
-a longbow

If you want it to be truly immersive, when you swap to your weapon loadout you should have the option to drop the burning torch at your feet so that it still provides light. Just don't drop it in water or that pool of blood.

I agree that there should be a penalty for swapping anything from your inventory while in combat. It seems that should cost an action, or at least a bonus action. But I can't see that for switching between equipped melee and ranged weapons. Even on our avatars, they show the other set on our backs, in easy reach. And for some classes it's common to have to switch between them in combat if there are no enemies you can get in melee range for on that turn.

But where would it make sense to put the torch other than your inventory? Hanging at your waist? Especially since one of the unrealistic things about these torches is that they stay lit in your inventory, but they don't burn you or anything else you're carrying!

Actually, I like the idea of a separate torch slot. Once you put a lighted torch into it, it acts like the melee/ranged buttons. Out of combat when you click on any of those buttons - or click a melee/ranged attack - it swaps the torch in and out of your inventory for you. But if you find yourself in combat with the torch equipped, then once you select a melee or ranged button/attack, it automatically drops the torch on the ground as you bring up your weapon(s). Because why would you take the time to put their torch away in their pack while in combat? That would make sense at least.

And if you end up dropping it in water, that's just the cost of doing business. After combat you can pick it up and relight it somewhere. Can you light a torch from a party member's torch? I never tried that.

Please explain, in practical terms, what you think the difference is between something that is equipped and something that is in your inventory. What does it mean for something to be equipped?

For me, something is equipped if and only if it is in your hand. Everything else is in your inventory. That bow on your back is in your inventory. The only slot that seems reasonable for a lit torch is a hand - otherwise you are burning everything in whatever bag you put it in.

5e already has rules for switching between weapons. Every turn, you get one free object interaction. This can include something like drawing one weapon or stowing one weapon. If you want to do more than this, it takes a full action*. So, if you're holding a bow and you want to switch to a longsword, you have the following options:

1) Turn 1: Take a shot with your bow (action). Stow your bow (free object interaction). Turn 2: Draw your longsword (free object interaction). Attack with your longsword (action).
2) Turn 1: Stow your bow (free object interaction). Make an unarmed attack (action). Turn 2: Draw your longsword (free object interaction). Attack with your longsword (action).
3) Turn 1: Drop your bow on the ground and draw your longsword (free object interaction). Attack with your longsword (action).
4) Turn 1: Stow your bow (free object interaction). Draw your longsword (action). Turn 2: Attack with your longsword (action).

*The dual wielder feat will allow you to draw two melee weapons as a single object interaction.

This seems like a granularity that isn't all that practical for a video game, but it might inform an actual cost for switching weapons in combat.

I just want a way for the UI to equip my torch easily. I don’t like fumbling in my inventory every time I need one.

I don’t think we need to complicate equipping weapons. Allow everyone to swap once per turn. That’s it. A torch in your hand is considered a weapon.

But I don’t think you should start with a sword and board then switch to a bow, fire off a shot and then switch back to sword and board for the AC. At the end of your turn you still have the bow.

Yeah, I agree with all that - one free switch from one weapon loadout to another each turn seems like a reasonable compromise.

The one thing that you should to be able to do that your suggestion wouldn't allow, is get a sense of your range to a target without having to switch weapons. Currently, you have to switch to your bow and try to aim at someone to know if they're in range. It gets even more complicated if altitude differences are involved, because then it's not just linear distance that you care about.

How is that any weirder than a sword, a shield, and a bow with arrows? O_o

Obviously, when you dont "use" your torch, you simply let it hang somewhere at your gear, just as you do with bow ... or sword and shield ... when you dont use them. :P

"Please explain, in practical terms, what you think the difference is between something that is equipped and something that is in your inventory. What does it mean for something to be equipped?

For me, something is equipped if and only if it is in your hand. Everything else is in your inventory. That bow on your back is in your inventory."

They are equipped in the equipment screen that comes up when you hit "E". And that is different than being in your inventory because they are shown as being available on your character. Everything that is not equipped on the "E" screen is in your "pack." I know they don't show the backpack or whatever sort of pack it is. But there has to be one or else your arms would be holding a huge stack of stuff. But if you have both melee and ranged weapons equipped on the "E" screen, and your melee equipment is in hand, then your bow or crossbow is shown on your back. If you have your bow or crossbow in hand, then your melee equipment is shown on your back.

Maybe I shouldn't be using the word equipped for both. It might be better to say you have one set "equipped" and the other "at the ready." Anyway, the implication is obvious that the "equipped" and "at the ready" sets can be swapped easily. Which is why they don't charge you an action or bonus action to swap between them in combat. And I'm good with that. I don't want that to change, even though in the real world you would never be able to swap weapons that fast. If they started charging an action or bonus action to swap them, then it would make fights harder for classes that use both.

My point is that it would make even less sense to find yourself in combat and take the time to remove your pack, stick your torch back in it, and pull out the weapon that you stuck in there when you equipped the torch, all while your attacker is waiting patiently for you. And none of that costs an action or a bonus action. I was thinking it might make more sense - assuming they add this "torch slot" that someone mentioned - for when your character finds himself in combat, to drop the torch on the ground as soon as they equip either their melee or ranged weapon. It would make more sense than taking the time to put it back in your pack. And it might even be helpful to have that light there during the fight.

Outside of combat it wouldn't matter since you presumably have the time to pack the torch away safely.

I usually select a human for the main character in D&D games, and I think this was maybe the first game where Darkvision was actually a factor at character creation for me. But was mainly because torches are so wonky and frustrating to use. The tutorial doesn't cover it, so the first encounter is like bah.

I don't mind the idea that having a torch equipped might impact whether I can carry a shield or a second weapon at the same time in combat. I love the idea of torches. And of throwing the torch, or dropping it to the ground and doing cool immersive stuff like that. It's just a pain to equip and to light initially right now.

The mini-management isn't fun enough to justify all the steps involved.

They should just approach it as an item with limited uses like a potion. I think they should automatically be lit and doused from a quick key, and go in the offhand slot. If you drop a lit torch on the ground you should be able to switch back to the shield or offhand weapon. But they need to make it slick, so its fun to do, instead of a UI chore.

By approaching it like a limited use item, it would leave the door open for other ideas for longer lasting lights like lamps and lanterns, or a torch of ever burning light, or other magical equipment that glows later on. Right now the downside of the torch is just that its clunky to set up.

If light and being able to see is going to be such an important part of the game, it would be cool if it had its own hotbar tab section for utility items, where torches or light related cantrips could be organized, and bring it up in the prologue tutorials.

In BG1/2 they kind of went the easy route of group infravision as a game setting, and then going the extra mile by providing a Helm of infravision almost immediately when the Party arrived in Nashkell, to really let us know that light wasn't going to matter lol. But NWN had a fun torch. I still prefer the way they handled quickslots there, allowing you to ready different combos, sword and shield, sword and bow, sword and torch where the icons of the weapons would display in the hotbar.

But yeah, from the way its set up now, I'd rather it just have a quicktab and light up torch automatically during exploration. I'd use it more often that way

I'd prefer a separation of the Cantrips and the regular spells myself I think it would make spellcasting a little easier.