I have to be honest, I hate DOS:2's spell system. It's the definition of all flash no substance. You cast a spell ... it looks epic. but it's just the animation when mechanically it's a peashooter so it becomes a big disappointment... D&D is set up to be the opposite. You have a limited number of spell slots, they're supposed to hit hard and have a big impact. Which is why health bloat that we're seeing to make up for lowering AC is such a pain. And it leads to balance problems and ruins spells.
This is my issue with DOS mechanics as well. Everything looks overpowered but is underpowered against the never ending HP pools. And after a while the big flashy effects are more repetitive than impressive.
In D&D, you launch a Fireball and it turns the tide of battle or even incinerates weaker enemies in one hit. That feels powerful and satisfying.
I'm mostly in agreement, adding to both of your thoughts:
For D:OS2, Let's not forget how magic resistance + magic armor heavily nerfs spell damage. Physical damage doesn't have to worry about resistance and gets just as much crowd control as magic casting. So in D:OS2 I'm taking utility spells and warfare, with necromancer/summoning for fun. Why necromancer & summoning? Because summons deal physical damage to help your fighters shred armor faster.
Other Issues with combat in BG3:
It's not talked about enough that we don't have a full D&D 5e action economy. Current mechanics (near-free Advantage, etc.) limit strategy in the game. For example, ladders being free movement, and jump being a bonus action obscures the action economy. It makes it hard for players to notice that a bonus action is a choice and not just part of movement. To expand on this, the player should have these choices from D&D 5e:
- XX feet of movement to use in a turn
- 1 Action (+1 Action Surge)
- 1 Bonus Action
- 1 Reaction that can be used in the whole round
- Free actions depending on the DM
Per character, that should be about 3-4 choices to make in a turn/round. Comparing with D OS:2 the player usually had 2-3 (depending on how AP was used each turn).
It feels like the player has fewer choices in Baldur's Gate 3 because the player is highly incentivized to use Jump/Disengage, which gets obscured with movement cost. And, reactions are not truly in the game, so that choice is also removed for the player. Now we're looking at 1-2 realistic choices for the player to make per turn.
All the distortions from 5e add up, and it's making combat an unpleasant experience. Players need meaningful choices to make in combat. Take Fire Emblem for example, each character the player can move and have them perform an action. It's fun and exciting because every choice is meaningful. As long as un-balanced mechanics take away meaningful choices from the player in BG3, combat will always feel lacking.
