Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Why not implement customizable difficulty options?

Are you really trying to gaslight on a forum?


High ground doesn't have to provide any advantage. It doesn't in 5E, and there's not basis for it in BG3, except that Larian has put it in the game.

Hah, yeah, that'd be pretty foolish of Maximuuus to gaslight us when there is ample evidence of their words on previous pages.

Maybe you should go back a little farther, and brush up on the conversation that started the discussion?

Here, I'll make it easy for you...

Cool. That's irrelevant to the claim of gaslighting. You are claiming that Maximuuus wants High Ground Advantage to be in the game and doesn't understand the problems with Advantage.

Maximuuus is arguing that there should be some high ground bonus that is not advantage (+1/+2), especially since so much of the Larian maps are built around verticality. Which is a fair point and it's disengenous to misrepresent his argument as "High Ground Advantage or nothing."

One of Maximuuus's suggestions is that High Ground Advantage should just be replaced with only a range increase for ranged weapons, which is a pretty good suggestion. That would be a nice mix of
-already implemented in DOS, so easy for Larian to do
-doesn't waste the verticality present in BG3 maps
-not too powerful, in that it doesn't invalidate Advantage-granting spells & abilities and also doesn't affect bounded accuracy
It is true that height does not give a range increase according to 5e RAW, but that alone is not a good argument against Larian implementing it

Edit: The goal should be to balance the various difficulty options so that high difficulty forces you to make tactical decisions, and height can and should be one of these considerations. The problem right now is that it's too powerful (Advantage) for its cost (movement, sometimes 0 if you're just climbing a ladder), so getting high ground & backstab is always correct. If it height was modified to only give increased range and maybe a +1 bonus, jump+disengage was removed from the game, and ladders were difficult terrain that might require dashing to climb, then choosing to take high ground might become a real tactical choice with benefits and drawbacks.

Of the 3 listed options I'd probably be playing on #3 DM mode myself if those were all that was offered. I would love to see a more detailed options menu like that in the post with Solasta's menu though. I would much rather have options built into the base game than have to mod it in later.

I do want to comment on "the point" of taking high ground even if there was no innate mechanical advantage applied for doing so. Even though it is not 5e, I can see the argument for an increase to the range for crossbows/bows due to simple physics but personally feel/will play with no bonus is needed. Holding a higher position is already a tactical advantage in a few ways.

1. Shoving/blasting an enemy so they take fall damage is obvious and there are multiple ways to do that, everyone gets at least 1 in the form of the Shove bonus action. Changing the Shove option from bonus to full doesn't change the fact that fall damage itself is no joke in BG3.

2. Limited access/choke points. Whether it be a ladder or a stair like structure built into the terrain getting squishy toons to high ground allows you to use a tankier toon or 2 to hold the access route and keep the enemy's melee off your peeps.

3. LoS manipulation. In many places if I'm on higher ground I can fire down at an enemy and then move back out of their LoS so they can not return fire. You can add going into stealth with that but often isn't needed so long as you have enough space on your level to just back up enough the terrain blocks any return fire/spells and abusing the stealth in the game is a bit cheesy to me so I don't bother.

High ground is already the better position before you start adding game mechanical advantages to that.

Jesus dude I even gave you the starting point, and you still couldn't follow the conversation.

He started out asking why in a suggested difficulty mode titled "D&D 5e mode", that height advantage would be removed, as if the reasons weren't obvious in the name of the suggested difficulty mode, that it being 5e rules, which do not apply any sort of bonus or Advantage to ranged attacks from a raised position. Then went on to suggest that, regardless of the difficulty mode, that some bonus had to be ascribed to ranged attacks from height, and then ended his diatribe by saying that he was against Advantage for ranged attacks from height.

Maximuuus can write all the novellas that he wants, describing what he feels to be the perfect game, and it still will not back up his statement that "Highground has to matter even if it definitely shouldn't be a god mode.". Not getting a +1 to hit because you climbed your toon onto a box is not going to demolish any sense of tactics in the combat, and it especially wouldn't matter in a 5E difficulty mode if Larian is ever capable of actually implementing one, because height does not impart any bonuses under 5e rules.

Come on, you two. Don't me make me pull this thing over.

Good points. Having high ground is beneficial even without mechanical bonuses for these reasons. Especially #1, and I like that it comes with a corresponding risk that you get blasted off of high ground.

The effectiveness of #2 and #3 are reduced since all goblins can disengage and a some other monsters are given a jump+disengage ability. I'm also not sure if you can physically completely block off a ladder with just a single character. I feel like I've tried to set one of my guys at the top of a ladder, but enemies are still able to climb up past them...? But yeah, one of the convienient things about D&D is that you can split up your move before & after an attack, and thus return to cover.

The effectiveness of #3 is also lessened because ladders take ~0 movement, allowing enemies to reach you more easily. It'd be nice if ladders did cost at least normal movement (double would make more sense); then using Misty Step to reach high ground would be much more useful in getting yourself up to a place where enemies can't reach.

I would definitely like difficulty options as or more detailed as Solasta's. Customize your experience, choosing whatever bonuses (or lack therof) you wanted for high ground + etc.

Let's drop the posturing and willy-waving on this thread, thanks.

I don't know what "willy-waving" means so I hope it's not something I'll do.

Gm4's suggestion was :
- a story mode = a unchallenging mode
- a RAW mode = a strict RAW mode that exclude anything that don't belongs to D&D.
- an extreme RAW mode.

When reading "remove highground" you may understand "remove advantage from highground" and I may understand "remove any bonuses from highground".

Your words and quote and screenshot won't make your assumptions stronger because I have the same opinion since monthes : highground shouldn't give an Advantage.

On the other hand in a tactical TB game and even more - in a world build with A LOT of verticality - it would be stupid not to offer players mechanics to play with higher ground
(or to limit them to a boring and unchallenging story mode).

I find shove OP and I'd like them to tone it down.
I hate that we have an Advantage going higher and I'd like other bonuses. But as many players I like that being higher (or not) mean something.

As OcO said you already have (very) situational bonuses and that's cool but very limited.

RAW or not, a better range make sense and is an interresting bonus in tactical games.
On the other hand a lot of players complain that we're missing too often and I guess that's why they implemented advantages for highground and backstab.
A flat bonus is something that allow players to miss less and that can be easily custom for everyone to play with or without it.

Also, can we add the Inspiration Point farm.

The first iteration of EA, those points were much rarer. However, due to complaining about RNG fails (as almost all Larian changes have been spawned from dice and RNG complaints), Larian put in excess Inspiration Points for re-rolls.

I would like those points to be very rare and for difficult quest lines. Between loaded dice and these points, it is now almost impossible not to get the result you want. And yes, I know that is the goal of Larian in the first place.

They want to have 5e and the illusion of dice but give you 4395340540 ways to circumvent and manipulate it so that, essentially, the presence of a dice mechanic is irrelevant.

You are equating the removal of a bonus for ranged attack from high ground, with removing combat tactics. You have nothing to support your opinion, other than "you believe that high ground should give "some bonus", while completely ignoring the inherent benefit of getting to high ground, less chance of a ranged character being pulled into melee, and greater chance of maintaining concentration spells.

Getting to high ground does not make a person more accurate with a ranged weapon.

I agree with the last sentence even if it does not matter.
Yes, removing bonuses from highground reduce combat tactics. Exactly like giving the best D&D bonus for highground reduce combat tactics.

The flat bonus suggestion many talked about allow you to play with or without any bonuses so I can't understand your point.

"The inherent benefit" seriously don't make me laugh with your exemples. It looks like my experience with the game is far from yours.

+1 for inspiration being a rare reward for difficult quest lines or optional encounters. Idk exactly how many we current get in EA, but 2-4 seems like a reasonable amount for EA. Maybe 1-2 that most everyone gets from the main quests and then another 1-2 that are rare and only ~half or less of players get?

You are correct on trying to hold the top of a ladder. I haven't been able to make that work either, the enemy always just shuffles around whomever is standing up top. However, I have successfully held ladders from the bottom. That is how I took out the goblin city on my first play through. I had Lazeal stand at the bottom of the ladder right behind where the goblin stands to officiate the chicken chase event with the rest of my toons at the top of the ladder raining down death. None of the enemies got past Lazeal and climbed up the ladder. I used the same tactic to fight the group of oath breakers looking for Karlach, Lazeal held the base of the ladder in the main room and the rest of my toons where up top. It may indeed be possible for enemies to reach past and climb anyway,, but I haven't seen it happen yet.

How does high ground help maintain concentration?

Indirectly, of course. If people on low ground have disadvantage to attack = less chance to hit = more chance to maintain concentration.

Anywho, we know that high ground is way too important for the way combat works. And Larian designed the game with convenient high ground spots for every encounter. Like, it is soooo obvious they made sure to put high ground in every encounter.

There are literally no combat spots that are completely flat. The game is intended for the human to take high ground and exploit the homebrew advantage. They did not even try to make it organic at all.

It can also be used to block LoS so enemy ranged can't attack at all by backing up. Some times arrows/bolts can still target you if the terrain blockage isn't enough for the arc, but most spells require a straight line LoS and won't arc up and over like that.

Ah, good to know! I assume it has something to do with ladders not actually being surfaces you can stop in the middle of. If an enemy can begin climbing a ladder, then they have to be able to get off at the top or else that'd break the game/otherwise have wonky results.

Similarly, I imagine you could stand at the top of a ladder and prevent enemies from climbing down. You just can't stand at the top of a ladder and prevent enemies from climbing up, or the the bottom of the ladder to prevent enemies from climbing down...

To move this thread somewhat more on topic, it'd be neat if "ladder climbing speed" was a toggle option.
Instant / Costs Normal Movement / Costs Double Movement (Difficult Terrain)