Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Larian's communication, faithfulness to 5E rules, and the players who feel betrayed.

I was trying to think of the words to try to give an adequate answer to the question and I think you really nailed it. I would also like to add my own list, with some points in common:

- A day/night cycle complete with weather and a calendar/clock.
- The world felt alive. Myriad animals inhabited the wilderness, along with monsters and random encounters.
- BG 1 & 2 had moments of humour and silliness but it was not overdone. The characters were for the most part believable and not everyone had such extraordinary and mysterious backgrounds.
- No Origins characters. The focus was on you and your own character, not playing someone else's creation. I realise this is a contentious point but clearly the Origins characters are a big part of Larian's game design.
- 6 person party.
- A palpable sense of progression/achievement. Low level parties weren't exposed to a plethora of crazy monsters or locations from the outset. The right to face those foes and explore those places was gradually introduced.
- The world map was open without being a sandbox and was the antithesis of the theme park feel of BG3.
- Party interactions could happen anywhere and weren't triggered only when you rested. Which leads on to: you could rest anywhere, provided it was safe to do so (apart from in cities and towns where you had to find an inn).