Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Baldurs Gate 3 is ridiculously hard

Stealth is actually a thing as an opener for classes that have bonuses ( Rogue and Ranger come to mind ), the main issue here is that it can be used infinitely and breaks the enemy A.I. when you enter combat and use it again after every attack from long range. It could be easily fixed if it was a full action instead of bonus action for example ( That way the player decides wether is better to hide or attack in his turn ) but i still believe they should change the A.I. to move where the last attack came from so the player is at least forced to move around. The way it is atm this cheese can be used even by a 3 year old.


All classes aren't supposed to be able to backstab, that's another big issue that trivializes the whole Class System which is almost as fake as the one they have in DOS2. You even have backstabbing bears here.

Again Larian, Stealth should not the Invisible Spell and enemies shouldn't be able to detect Invisible characters even if they are close to each other. Invisibility should be voided by any action or by taking dmg and should only be allowed for scouting areas ahead because it still gonna give you the first action advantage. So no placing 9000 barrels or crates while invisible either since each placement should count as an actual action.

We talked about this a lot... But the help action in RAW also allow players to distract ennemies to offer an advantage to other characters.
The flanking rules could also do the job, such as faery fire, inviibility and/or hide...

There should have many ways to offer advantages to rogue's sneak attack instead of one that is obviously better than anything else.

You mean Bulette?

Someone soloed it too ... 2:47 (Not mine video. :-/ )

I generally don't think the balance is too bad (at least not to the point where only exploits can win). The only "larian mechanic" that I really felt like I needed to use is the high ground advantage and backstab - mainly because even if you don't use it, the enemy will still do it.

There was another thread on the forums discussing the Gith Patrol fight, where someone claimed the fight was nigh impossible without all sorts of exploits (which was contrary to my experience). I ended up recording a couple of videos with a pretty sub-optimized, no-exploit party just to see if it was really the case (since I believed that fight was far from impossible).

That same unoptimized, derpy team basically 100%ed the game and every encounter the same way.

In my experience, outside of some insanely bad initiative RNG, every fight is pretty winnable, especially when you start getting more and more magical items.


For context, when I say no exploit for the Gith Fight, I did use backstab and high ground, but not the following:

• No pre-position (running the chained party right in)
• No pre-buffing (outside of Aid, which is an always cast because it lasts forever)
• No usage of psionic powers
• No 1-time consumables (i.e. haste potion, wyvern poison)
• No munching of food mid-fight
• Very limited magical items (Sword of Justice and a headband on a Gale who already had 18 INT)

Edited: I just realize this post might sound a bit like a "git gud" post, and that really isn't my intention. It's just that I think it's just important to distinguish that the current difficulty isn't impossible and cheese-only. I'd be happy to see a wide range of difficulty added to the game, I just hope Larian doesn't tone it down for the harder ones.

Because if you don't use it, the ennemy will still do it ? Or because GWM would suck without it ?

Ennemies are really bad at exploiting those mechanics. They just rush highround without anything in mind and if they sometimes try to backstab, it's not really common.
If they are running behind, you'll always have an AOO with advantage. You're AOO safe because you're explotiing a bug, saving in the same time your bonus action to take as much healing potions as necessary...

Honnestly backstab and highground are the most usual OP mechanics in the game... and you have to exploit them to succeed.
This is the minimum requirement and if a strategy game with tons of spells, features and so-called "choices" turns arround 2 mechanics, I call this a bad balance.

If they fix the AOO exploit, it's done for newcomers and the difficulty will increase a lot - even for us that have played for hours.
And I hope they'll fix it because this is just non sense.

I remember a post like that he rushed to the patrol and couldn't defeat it. The game has level based areas, so it'll be harder if you go their early.

I'm going to guess you was level 4 when going the patrol, not 2.

In the specific thread I linked to, the OP was trying to do it with a level 4 party. I don't recall the thread where someone was trying it at level 2 - but you'll kind of have REALLY go out of your way to get the the patrol prior to 3. I normally hit level 3 by the time I make it into the Druid Grove for the first time (if I do the ruins).

For the run I did in my video, I was level 4 - I chose to do the Gnolls/Flind fight right before the Gith Patrol, which had levelled me up from 3 to 4.

Side note, I will 100% take some form of level based encounters over the Skyrim "everyone scales to your level" system, which is 100% immersion breaking for me.

It is totally fine if you can find some enemies where you have to come back later while others are easy if you find them while you have some levels more.

good examples: Gothic1+2, Risen: You can go almost everywhere from the start, but almost everything can kill you. Through experiance YOU become stronger and you can explore more areas.
bad example: Oblivion: After beating tons of demons you face bandits in epic equipment and goblins are almost impossible to beat. It was one of the few games I quit because game mechanics were too frustrating.

By the way, I finished DOS1, but I never finished DOS2. The extreme stat inflation basically forced you to do all encounters in a specific order. There were moments where it was very helpful to solve quests in a specific way to maximize exp early because one level more can make a huge difference in some encounters. I also disliked random equipment and that the whole map was filled with necrofire or similar stuff after every battle.
From my point of view BG3 is a step in the right direction, but the step is not far enough.

Honestly I think this is beyond redemption. When you want to use spells, attacks, and tactics to defeat your enemies like in D&D 5e, you should play Solasta.

When you want to have fun using Barrelmancy, Backstab Stealthing, Pit Shoving, and High Ground Jumping, then Baldur's Gate III is the game for you.

Well, for me the easiest of the previously challenging fights was with a druid party (level 3) against the redcaps. Found a narrow path, then shifted the druid in spider form and cast web, started combat via ranged attack and then kept plinking away. It took some time, as the ranged hit chance was mediocre, but the spider can keep spamming web indefinitely. I had to use one of those void bulbs to keep them in the webs, but that is because I didn't have any characters with thunderwave or repelling blast. So I don't think you need backstab etc. when it comes to level-appropriate content. However, currently the characters are locked at level 4, while I suspect the githyanki & underdark are level 5 content.

Now druid no. 2 is on the way, but this time Wyll wisely chose repelling blast.

Oop the way you typed it sounded like the link led to a vid.

What? Backstab is just Larians take on the flanking rules.

By the rules, [i]no[/] class is supposed to be able to backstab. Backstabbing is something Larian has added, not something they've moved from one class to all.

I actually think it's Larian's implementation on the combat facing rules (from chapter 8 of the Dungeon Master's Guide). Basically, shield bonus only applies to attacks from the front or the same side of the shield, and attacks from behind have advantage.

It's an obscure variant rule that few tables actually use, but it's technically a legit D&D 5e mechanic.

The simpler answer to this sentence is "play like a fighter, exploit dual wield" and before you get conjure flame blade, just play longbow wood elf with moonbeam in the meantime.

You could go through sin tee's videos and they're all the same thing. Either abuse flame axe+ offhand with fire dip for huge burst damage from dual wield, play a caster with fire ray helm and force missile necklace, or a battlemaster 2H build. Doesn't matter the class, basically plays the same because the balance of actual class skills, and particularly how worthless most spells outside force missile/fire ray/inflict wounds are, and the fact the only utility spell you get to use courtesy of the trash Concentration mechanic is Bless because Bless makes a huge different in landing non-martial attacks.

The spell casting in this game is totally horrendous gameplay. Even the melee is not that much more interesting even if it's supremely better.

Divinity by far had a far better repertoire of spells and combat. The sheer variety of melee attacks and spell combos isn't even close compared to this snoozefest of "single ability per turn that, if not a melee backstab, may probably miss 40-50% of the time" is among the worst design decisions in place.

Honestly there is a fair learning curve here. Just going in clueless tends to end very poorly. On my first playthrough I died, a LOT however it should be noted that said playthrough was on and older patch so my "first" time experience is of little value in this instance, that being said as compared with before.. it's quite a bit easier than it was.

A key part of the optional facing rules is that creatures, as a reaction, can rotate themselves in response to enemy movement and thus prevent backstabs.
Additionally, at least how I'd read it, when you move from the front of an enemy to the back, you'd provoke an AoO because you are moving out of the enemy's reach/threatened zone.

Neither of which Larian has implemented.

The game still does not make a serious effort to teach new players how to play it. The difficulty scale is going to be way off depending on experience or familiarity. The game assumes that we already know Dungeons and Dragons, otherwise virtually none of the information presented at character creation would make much sense. But it also builds off a familiarity with DOS systems, such that even someone who already knows D&D or BG1/2 pretty well may still struggle with it. Not to harp on it again, but in 4 major patches since EA began, the Prologue/Tutorial on the Nautiloid has remained basically unchanged. By now that part of the game should be like a masterwork in introductions to gameplay lol.

I think what is needed is a low pressure combat environment with no rewards, where the new player can figure out what's going on at whatever pace they might need.

In BG1 this was handled pretty effectively before even leaving Candlekeep, when the PC was approached by the Gatewarden and asked if they wanted to train in group combat...

"I've arsked Obe the illusionist to run through a few simulations fer ye down in the storage cellars. Just follow me this way an' I'll unlock the door fer ye..."

The PC then fights a series of illusionary monsters of different types in a progressively more challenging group combat scenario. They join a fight ongoing with a ready-made party covering all the basic classes and abilities. It happens in a discrete area detached from the rest of the main game so the player doesn't get to keep any of the experience or items from the encounters in the trainer. It was a simple way for the new player to learn how to navigate the game's combat systems and also basic stuff like equipment and consumables via the pre-built party or from the magical chest in the middle of the warehouse gauntlet. The player could finish till the end or stop at any point if they got bored, and they couldn't actually be killed since it was all an illusion without real consequences outside of the training.

Something like that could easily happen as a narrative conceit in the Grove, where Wyll is already training the Tieflings how to fight. That's a bit far into the game for a combat tutorial, but it could at least serve as a practice zone. That would give Larian somewhere to show off monster types or environmental effects and the like, in a low pressure arena type setting. I think the illusions idea is an easy one, just because it's been done before doesn't mean its a bad call. They need a place where they can really do up a tips and tricks type trainer with focused attention on all the systems we have available in this game. Done with slightly less urgency than would be suggested by a crashing spelljammer ship in the cold open.

and what are these things?

what skill does he have in the video? Thief ? and which talent did he choose? which level is he and where did he get the invisibility potions from?

@Wolfenring

Literally every question you have is answered in the video. He is 4th level Wood Elf thief and he took moderately armored feat instead of ability increase at 4th level because that way he could increase his dexterity to 18 and get to wear medium armor to get AC to 17. You get penalty to stealth from wearing medium armor but he said that he doesn't care because he doesn't use stealth.

Anyways, how can you even play the game if you didn't get those answers from watching the video? I mean those answers literally hits you in the face and you didn't get them, lord have mercy.