Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General Tone the dodging down

No, no problems on hitting, the stealth, attacking from shadows and attacking people in shadows can reduce hit chance. You can see the % chance to hit before attacking to find out what is messing you up, just activate a ability and highlight the target. Bottom right will have a combat log of attacks to see what's going on also.

enemy npcs have been adjusted already so they have lower armor and higher health to make it a tad easier to hit.

d&d games all have this, from Baldur's Gate 1 to Neverwinter nights 1, if you really did play a d&d video game you have missed before. 5e is different than say 3.0-3.5 but the core concepts are all their.

Edit* if you want advice from the community you could post a pic of your main character for his/her stats.

I rarely get above 45% on my hit chance. The most I've got is 85% with the Wizard fella on high ground. I'll give you an example of a fight that just took me 20 minutes to complete. The reason it took 20 minutes to complete was because it took five attempts with reloading to score a hit on a standard, non-boss Goblin, and when I did hit, I hit for a paltry 3 points, and that was just on one character. Not a single character on that turn hit the first time, all took several reloads before I did. Don't tell me that's normal, this game is not going to be remotely enjoyable if that stays. I've been PC gaming for almost 25 years and gaming in general for a lot longer and I have never once come across a game with a hit rate this low, and RPGs are one of my favourite genres. I can honestly say that if this continues I'll be putting the game down, and filing for a refund from Steam. This is just not enjoyable.

A variety of people have expressed frustration at the amount of missing, but everyone's experiences greatly vary and depend on their tactics in game. The die rolls in BG3 seem roughly balanced in the long-term but very prone to streaks.

• What are your typical chances to hit? If you are missing 70% of the time and you typically have a 30% chance to hit, then that makes sense. You should typically have a 60-90% chance to hit.
• Are you making use of Advantage? Ranged attacks from high ground and melee attacking the enemy's back grants Advantage which increases your chances to hit.
• What weapons are you using? Are you proficient in them? Are they making use of the best stat? Ranged weapons and finesse melee weapons are better for high-dex characters, all other weapons are better for high-strength characters. Using a weapon that your character is not proficient in (a different mechanic than str vs dex) effectively imposes a 15% to-hit penalty.
• Are you often attacking with Disadvantage? Disadvantage is most often granted if the enemy is unlit and your character doesn't have darkvision, or if you're attacking from low ground. For the former, use torches or spells that grant light. For the latter, go to high ground.
• What kind of spells are you using? Some are much better than others. Shadowheart's Sacred Flame, for example, is basically useless because it targets enemy's saving throws (and thus doesn't benefit from Advantage's bonus to-hit) and deals little damage. Some spells are guaranteed to hit, some require your character to make an attack roll, some target different enemy's saves. Some spells just deal more damage than others.
• Are you using any types of buffs/debuffs? The Bless spell can help your characters hit enemies by providing a +1d4 bonus to attack rolls. Mirror image and Blur make it more difficult for the enemy to hit you. Potions of speed give your characters extra actions for a couple turns.

I'll echo what @fallenj said about how to see your % chance to hit and also reading the combat log for more information.

Edit: you just posted saying you usually have a 45% chance to hit. This is very low. See my comments above on gaining Advantage (adds 15-25% to-hit), not having disadvantage (which subtracts 15-25% to hit), and ensuring you're using proper weapons.

mrfuji3 pretty much covered it all. And as fallenj has said the stats would everyone.

I'd start with light. Are you playing a human? If so you really need a torch or something similar.

Also, when Minthara is hitting you are glowing in pink-purple light? If so she has advantage and it would be good idea to switch from melee to ranged attacks.

Minthara also has mirror image, a spell that increases her AC and makes attacks less likely to hit. She usually pops that spell down pretty quick.

Also, there are traders in the goblin camp if they're not hostile yet. If you enter the courtyard outside, there's a goblin in the far left corner, assuming you're coming out from inside the fort. There's a tent and some goodies lying around where he hangs out, so you should be able to spot him easily enough. There's another one inside. Assuming you entered from the courtyard, head to the central room where you first encounter priestess Gut. Turn left, and follow a short flight of stairs up, and you'll see a halfling marching around a brazier. That's her.

People complain about missing... Larian focus on cheated dices...Then you realize that a tutorial is what poeple need.

The dice options are in settings, under Gameplay. There is a spot that says weighted dice with a checkbox for on/off.

Disadvantage is going to take a bit of an explanation. D&D 5e has attack rolls attempt to meet an armor value (for example you may need to be the number 16). A 20-sided dice gets rolled and that number added with proficiency (+2) and modifiers (+X) will determine if you succeed. When you have disadvantage you roll two 20-sided dice and use the minimum roll, greatly reducing your chance of success.

TBH if you try to play by D&D 5e rules Larian is a cruel DM. Right now the game expects you to take advantage of Larian's Homebrew (superfluous Advantage/Disadvantage, unlimited rest, eating mid-combat, etc.) I consider forcing the player to use strategies from homebrew rules to be anti-fun and I hope Larian will see the light and drop the homebrew rules and let combat be fun.

A lot of the strategies from homebrew rules are unintuitive. They force the player to reload until they figure out the cheese. The game would be a lot better if the player got to use intuitive strategies for how to win combat.

Okay ... there's a lot of ground to cover. So, first tings first.

Basics of the game's combat:

1. You can click on an attack, and then mouse over to your target, to see the chances to hit. And while you're doing that, see if there is a green or red arc around the circle. A green arc means you have Advantage (more on this below), or Disadvantage. You want to have Advantage when attacking.

2. What are Advantage and Disadvantage?
a. Advantage means the game rolls 2 dice at the same and the higher result is used. For a simple example, say the target has an AC of 15. The game rolls two dice at once with the results of 4 and 17. 17 is used, and you hit the target with your attack.

b. Disadvantage means the game rolls 2 dice at the same time and the lower result is used. In the above example, 4 is used because you have Disadvantage, so you miss the target.

Therefore, you do not want to be put in a situation where you have to attack with Disadvantage, instead, you want to attack with Advantage.

How to get Advantage

Attacking from stealth (applies to both melee and ranged attacks)

Attacking from high ground (applies only to ranged, mostly)

Attacking from behind (applies only to melee, mostly)


How to get Disadvantage

Attacking from low ground.

Attacking from high ground as ranged but target is prone.

Attacking in dim light without Darkvision.

Attacking with ranged weapon or ranged spells while an enemy is near you.


Thus concludes Larian combat 101.

For future reference for a lot of people new to DnD in general, the early levels are super RNG-heavy because you don't have much in the way of abilities that will help boost your AC/attack, and spells that target saving throws and still inflict half damage even if the enemy fails. That's why running to high ground and backstabs are so powerful right now, there's pretty much no other alternatives in comparison.

Once Bard is a thing, I imagine Dissonant Whispers/Shatter spam is going to be the name of the game for them. In the context of this game's rules, College of Valor Bard especially seems like it's going to be one of the most busted all-around classes you can take. Skill monkey, full caster progression, martial weapon/medium armor/shield proficiency for tanking and decent archery/melee damage on top of that.

Missing is not an issue.

Enemies taking forever before you get to attack again IS an issue.

All misses being shown as "dodging" is also an issue. Most of the time it's actually heavy armor or a shield soaking all damage. Combat needs that feeling of impact for immersion as well as accurate feedback.

I've seen many videos of players constantly attacking with disadvantage without paying any attention to what's causing it. Perhaps that needs attention. A combat tutorial that tells you what threatened, low light etc. mean.

In D&D misses are balanced by the fact that there is no ridiculous HP bloat. Things can die swiftly when you hit, which is much more satisfying than always needing many hits that never miss.

These posts are the reason Larian should make a DIFFICULTY SETTING their TOP PRIORITY in upcoming patches. A vocal portion of players get triggered by RNG, and a larger but equally vocal crowd dislike much of the homebrew implemented in part to accommodate the first group by making the gameplay easier/much less punishing.

1. Easy-mode for people like the original poster who have a hard time accepting RNG.
2. D&D-mode for people who though this would be a D&D game.
3. A dynamic Ironman-mode on top of these where the RNG is pre-rolled and the player rewarded by better loot according to difficulty level.

This would please both camps and disincentivize habitual save-scumming in a positive way.

Agreed.

I've advocated more accurate and varied combat feedback (both verbal and animated) for a long time. There's a lot of psychology in this and showing misses as blocks, deflections and dodges when it is due to shield, armor or dexterity, would make for both better gameplay and likely constitute a higher threshold for save-scumming.

Typical chance is 35% -45% but that's not the issue. The issue is that the AI rarely ever misses. In any given battle the AI misses perhaps once. The AI also lands big hits on average, 6s and 7s to my 1s to 3s even though I'm one level ahead of them. The bosses I've fought can each one-shot a character from full health. I'll give them this, the AI is very, very good because you get that character up, and the AI immediately targets them again putting them down. This is leading to a situation were the party is wiped out before they can score a hit in some cases. I want to drive this point home. The issue is that the game is unbalanced. Either there needs to be a whole lot more healing ability or the numbers need looking at so the AI's hit rate is identical to the players because having a situation where the AI rarely misses and the player rarely hits is making this game unenjoyable.


Where available, yes, but most of the map does not contain areas for height advantage.



Swords/Mace and bows for ranged. Wizard aside, of course. My character is a fighter. The fighter was using a longsword, the weapon I start the game with because there is zero opportunity to upgrade weapons or armour. The fighter was stood next to a bog standard Goblin who had no buffs so I didn't even have to move, and my hit chance was 35%.


Disadvantage in what sense? Give me a specific example.



Flame Bolt, Ice Beam, Witch Bolt are my offensive spells. I have sleep (varies in usefulness), Grease, Mage Armour, Reflective shell and Thunderwave.



None of my characters have bless.

Example fight: Walked through a transition door, straight into a fight. First character (Gale) is stood next to a standard Goblin. 55% chance to hit, red circle. For once I'm first in the pecking order so the Goblins have cast no buff spells. Why is a swordsman disadvantaged standing next to a bowman who has no opportunity to defend against a sword strike, let alone have a 55% chance of hit? That should be a high percentage to hit and I should have the advantage. Not a single goblin in the attacking party has a green circle.

• Despite having a 55% chance to hit, I still miss.
• Goblin fires a fire arrow, rolls a miss, still sets me on fire, each character has around 30% damage. That's from a single hit from a non-boss enemy.
• Goblin's turn, miss.
• My turn, Cleric, Mace, 50% to hit, miss.
• Goblin's turn, hit.
• My turn, Swordsman, 50% chance to hit, miss. Goblin turn, hit.

So after one round where each character has had a go, I've hit once, missed three times. The AI missed once, hit three times. This is a typical fight and is the issue I keep saying. It's not that I miss a lot, it's that the AI is confined by the same rules. The AI rarely misses, the player rarely hits. I have a total of three potions, I've used some of my spell slots and all my characters are between 50-60% damage and I've got to go up against a three bosses and dozens of Goblins. Either the numbers are looked at, the spell slots are looked at, or the health potion availability is looked at.

Man if you have 50% to hit you really have a problem to understand the rules (they're poorly explained in the game).

Missing is definitely not a problem but you should probably read a bit or watch video about the basics rules of 5e (modifiers, AC, proficiencies, abilities in combats, advantage/disadvantage,...)

It's not your fault but it's not about D&D, it's about the complete lack of explanations in BG3.

OK you explain this to me then. I have rescued Haslan and I have agreed to take out the three bosses. Each character has 60%-70% health, used spell slots and I have a total of three healing potions between the entire party. Each boss can one-shot a character it hits from full health. How do I take the bosses out? Give me your tutorial on how I do that under these conditions.

Alright, step by step.

Please note that the red or green thing is just an arc, not the whole circle. If the whole circle is red, then you're looking at something else.

Regardless, assuming you're seeing a red arc and it says 55%, it means you have Disadvantage. There are a few possible reasons why, given the situation. By swordsman, did you mean a Fighter? What is your Fighter's race, and are you in a room with dim light? Are you attacking with your melee weapon or with a bow/crossbow?

Also, what are your Fighter's stats? What weapons is he using?


Missing on a 55% chance to hit is to be expected, as it's almost like flipping a coin. This is why you do not want to be put in a situation where you have Disadvantage.


Whoo boy. I've written a thread on this. Enemy goblin throws something at you. He misses, but the item still sets you on fire and takes out 1/4 of your HP. If you think this is ridiculous and incredibly dumb and unfun, you'll have many here who agree with you, myself included.


By Cleric, did you mean Shadowheart? Shadowheart has more Dex than Str now, so the mace that is part of her default gear is actually pretty bad. Give her a dagger instead. Larian really didn't think this through, as with many other aspects of the game.


The AI rarely misses because the enemies, guided by the algorithm, know how and where to get Advantage and do the most damage to you. So, to counter this, you need to learn how to gain Advantage and avoid Disadvantage. I've given you a list in my previous post that should help you with this.

Here are a few steps you can take that should improve your hit chance right away.

1. When it's your Fighter's turn, carefully walk to the enemy's back without triggering an Attack of Opportunity and then hit it from behind. If you're not sure how to walk behind it without triggering an Attack of Opportunity, you can jump behind it.

2. When it's Shadowheart's turn, DO NOT use Sacred Flame. Get to high ground and use a crossbow to attack instead. Or, cast Bless on the party.

3. When it's Astarion's turn, make sure he has short swords in both hands and attack the enemy from behind as well. And when attacking, click on the skill for Sneak attack instead of attacking normally like you would for the Fighter.

4. When it's Gale's turn, get him to high ground and attack with Fire Bolt, or Magic Missiles, if he has learned the spell.

Follow the above basic steps and you'll be back in a couple of weeks, wondering why the combat in this game is so easy and dumbed down.

I'm using the term "swordsman" to make it abundantly clear my fighter is using a sword, not an axe or mace. Specifically a longsword, with a secondary shortbow. When I hover over the enemy a second, inner circle is added. That is also red. There are no arcs unless the arc is red and is indistinguishable from the main circle as a result. My Party is an Elven fighter, Shadowheart, Gale, and Wyll. My Elf has 15 Strength, 15 Dexterity, 14 Constitution. Cleric 10/15/13, Warlock 9/13/15, Wizard 9/14/15 with 16 intelligence.

Let me explain why I'm so livid at this game right now. I just killed the Drow boss lady and spitefully the game releases a necrotic cloud killing my most injured player. I just manage to revive him on the third attempt and get off the platform I was fighting on and now I have critically injured characters, 10% or less health left and every boss creature has a one-shot-kill move even if you have full health, one with 2/20 health and no way out of the Goblin camp except through another boss fight who is surrounded by half a dozen Goblins. Please, explain to me how that is in any way, shape or form, even the tiniest, most miniscule amount balanced? My game is now literally over. I cannot heal, I cannot fight and I cannot sneak out because the route is covered with a zone of control or whatever you want to call it.


No it isn't. 55 times out of every 100 attempts at that attack I should hit. That is significantly better odds than any lottery. People win the lottery. I almost always miss. Regardless that wasn't the point, the point is I missed. Again.


You've got to be kidding me, that's about the stupidest thing I've ever heard. When in the history of RPGs have Clerics used Daggers? Rogues use daggers (or Bows), Clerics use shield and Mace, Fighters use Sword or Axe (1h/2h) etc. You aren't wrong saying Larian didn't think this through.


I do, I still miss. This game isn't close to being balanced right now, even taking into account it's early access. If you want people to playtest your game, people at least need to be able to progress in your game.


She doesn't have Bless.


I know and I'm telling you that the algorithm needs looking at. It's too heavily stacked in favour of the AI. The AI needs to miss as often as the player, or at least more often than it does now. I keep saying it until I'm blue in the face, the AI rarely misses. The PC rarely hits. Combined that makes fights wholly unenjoyable.


Astarion is not in my party, Wyll is. My PC, Shadow, Wyll, Gale.


Which is all well and good assuming there's high ground to get on. Most areas don't have it, or do have it but your line of fire ends up blocked because Larian don't understand what an arc means.

In my honest opinion I think Larian are sticking too close to the TT rules. What makes for good pen and paper RPG doesn't always make for a good CRPG. BG3 is not fun, it's not even close to being fun. Coming off the back of DOS2 which I finally got around to completing only this week, it's twice as unfun. Your average casual player isn't going to enjoy this game unless they tone down some of the more punishing rules, and start explaining things. If ever a game needed a tutorial level, this is it. As another poster said, it also desperately needs difficulty levels. Right now, in its current shape, there isn't a hope in hell's chance this game is releasing this year in a finished state. It feels like I'm playing a pre-Alpha build. Since I'm a gamer, not a developer, that isn't fun. If I cannot find a way out of this keep, I'm done with the game until it's released.

Edit: Nope, I'm done. I can't get out of the citadel and my party is far too injured to stand a chance in two more boss fights. I can't sneak past the guards and if I attempt to walk past them I'm dragged into combat. What a waste of money this was. Lesson learned, don't buy early access games.

Edit 2: I just tried to fight from the highest platform in the Goblin Preistess hall. It's analogous to my being on the third floor with the Goblins on the first. The goblin warlock one shot one of my characters. My best attack percentage with a short bow was 85%. It still missed.

Edit 3: And now the AI can hit without line of sight. Because of course it can.

Ideally, you'll want your Fighter's Str to be least 16, but you can't get that at character creation with an Elf, so that can't be helped, if you want an elven fighter. And 14 Dexterity is the highest you'll want for a character that's wearing Medium Armour. But while the stats aren't min/maxed, the character is fine, and still playable. So, moving on ...


Wait ... have you not taken any Long Rests before?

A few things to know, just in case:

1. You can actually just open the map and click on one of the waypoints you've discovered and you'll be teleported there.

2. You can just click on the button to take a short rest and your party will heal up some of their lost HP.

3. You can click on the button to take a long rest and your party will be magically teleported back to camp where you can rest up and heal up to full HP.


Shadowheart is an Origin character, and Larian made her a Deception cleric. Deception clerics don't fit the conventional profile of a cleric, since for them, Dex is more important than Str, and so using a dagger is correct. You can make her use a mace still, but her hit chance will be lowered by 10%, since a mace uses Str to determine hit chance and her Str is only 10, while her Dex is 15, which gives her a +2 modifier with Finesse weapons.


What is the hit chance when your Fighter is attacking from behind?


That's not possible. She has Bless. Your hot bars are probably so cluttered with scrolls, potions, actions, spells, arrows, etc that you can't find it. Clear your hot bars of stuff you won't use, open up your spell book, and drag Bless from the spell book to your hot bar. That or you've used up all your spell slots so Bless is greyed out. Take a long rest.


That's an argument for having different difficulty levels, but it won't happen during Early Access, so learning about Advantage and Disadvantage is the way to go to enjoy the game.


If there's no high ground, use Thunder Wave to push enemies to a low ground (if any), or use Magic Missiles.


It really does sound like you haven't teleported before. Take a long rest, or teleport to the grove and restock on potions.

55% chance to hit is crap, thats a 45% miss chance, ITS HUGE!!! You are really not doing something right, what level is your party? Spell list on your party? Why do you only have 3 potions? You two-handing the longsword? You High-Elf or Wood? This game modifies almost every aspect of 5e it isn't full rules.

You can use jump to disengage/escape without being hit (if you have high enough strength you can jump farther than you can walk in a turn), being behind a enemy gives advantage, high-ground gives advantage. Just these two options should boost your percent to hit by a good amount. There usually is no reason your character will NOT have advantage, its given out like candy.

Portal stones don't require you to be their to teleport to another, you can teleport from any location, you can teleport to your camp from any location.

What I just mentioned is common knowledge, means you didn't test stuff out, watched a vid, read one of the blatantly huge threads on here about broken features.

It is Early Access btw so yes it is a unfinished product with bugs, level capped at 4, and only first chapter. This is the second time you mentioned getting a refund, the only person to blame is yourself for not putting the time into figuring stuff out. Good bye.